TECHNOLOGY companies bring hope for economic growth in New York

• Days after last month's $4.8 billion mega-deal between the state and IBM Corp, Intel and other high-tech firms, a technology center in Canandaigua, Ontario County, started receiving inquiries from companies interested in locating there.
• And only days before the announcement, companies from the Hudson Valley toured the GlobalFoundries plant in Saratoga County in hopes of building partnerships with the new $4.6 billion microchip factory.
• The activity signals how New York has become a leader in research and development of nanotechnology and could provide the backbone for growth in the stagnant upstate economy.
• It comes at a needed time. Consumer confidence has fallen in the state, a Siena College survey found this month. In August, the state's unemployment rate was 7.7 percent, down from 8.3 percent a year ago. The national unemployment rate was 9.1 percent last month.
• Gov. Andrew Cuomo's announcement with IBM and Intel said 2,500 new jobs would be created across the Hudson Valley and west along the Thruway in Utica and Canandaigua.
• What has created optimism among business groups is that the nanotechnology research, which aims to develop faster and cheaper semiconductor chips for computers and other devices, may also spur the manufacturing of the chips in New York.
• That's what has happened with the research at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at SUNY Albany. It helped lead to the GlobalFoundries plant, which will employ about 1,400 workers and was aided by about $1 billion in state aid and tax breaks.
• IBM, Intel, GlobalFoundries, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung announced Sept. 27 a five-year agreement for computer-chip research in New York that will create or retain about 6,900 jobs. The 2,500 new jobs are expected to include 950 at IBM's laboratory in Yorktown Heights in Westchester County and the chip plant in East Fishkill.

Ultra take centre stage at Gitex

Intel Corporation is leading the industry to re-invent personal computing with the introduction of a new breed of no-comprise computers, Ultrabooks. Ultra thin, ultra stylish and ultra responsive, these are the devices of the future.

Designed to deliver the most complete and satisfying computing experience, Ultrabooks combine best-in-class performance, improved responsiveness and security in thin, elegant, must-have mobile designs. 

Predicted by Intel to become the PC market norm by 2013, Intel is focused on investing significant money and resources to create and accelerate the Ultrabook category ensuring consumers enjoy the benefits of no-comprise personal computing. This includes a $300m Ultrabook Fund from Intel Capital that invests in companies around the world that are innovating in hardware, software, battery technology and design. 

Commenting on the introduction of the Ultrabook category to the Middle East market, Nassir Nauthoa, General Manager,Intel Corporation stated, "Intel aims to reinvent mobile computing once again with the introduction of Ultrabook devices that provide the most complete and satisfying computing experience in one device at affordable price points. The Ultrabook is an emerging breed of no-compromise computers that will increasingly combine best-in-class performance, improved responsiveness and security in thin, elegant, must-have mobile designs. "There are some fantastic Ultrabook products on display at Gitex Shopper from different vendors including Acer, Asus and Lenovo."