8 

2000

Hitachi, 

IBM

, 

LG

 Electronics, Matsushita Electric (Panasonic), Nortel Networks, Seagate 

Technology, Solectron and Toshiba, along with technology partners Ariba and i2 announce the  

creation of e2open.com, an independent, global business to business e marketplace for the 

computer, electronics and telecommunications industries.  

Bank of America, The Chase Manhattan Bank and 

IBM

 form Viewpointe Archive Services, a 

new check image archive company to provide Web based check imaging.  

IBM

 acquires equity in Structural Bioinformatics, Inc., the company's first equity investment in a 

life sciences business.  

Science & Technology

For the eighth consecutive year, 

IBM

 receives the most U.S. patents, some 2,886 in all and 850 

more than the closest competitor. 

IBM

 is awarded the 2000 U.S. National Medal of Technology for the company's record of 

innovation in storage technology. This marks the seventh time that 

IBM

 and its scientists have 

received the nation's highest award for technological innovation, more than any other company 

or organization.  

IBM

 scientists say they have discovered a way to transport information on the atomic scale that 

uses the wave nature of electrons instead of conventional wiring. This new phenomenon, called 

the  quantum mirage  effect, may enable data transfer within future nanoscale electronic circuits 

too small to use wires.   

IBM

's Almaden Research Center develops the world's most advanced quantum computer and 

scientists demonstrate that such devices can solve problems that are impossibly hard for 

conventional computers.  

Company researchers demonstrate breakthrough results in developing a new family of 

experimental high speed computer circuits that run at test speeds up to five times faster than 

today's top chips. The new circuits employ an innovative design called  Interlocked Pipelined 

CMOS

  to reach speeds of 3.3 to 4.5 billion cycles per second using conventional silicon 

transistors.  

IBM

 reports that it has developed a new method for building microchips that can deliver up to a 

30 percent boost in computing speed and performance. The new technique uses a material known 

as a  low k dielectric  to shield millions of individual copper circuits on a chip, reducing 

electrical  crosstalk  between wires that can hinder chip performance and waste power. 

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