Hynix Semiconductor, Micron Technology and Nanya Technology have asked a federal judge in California to delay a patent-infringement trial scheduled for May 2 over claims brought by Rambus.

The shock Italy gave us this week is another reason to stick with manufacturers that have project development divisions. First Solar and SunPower lead that group and should be cushioned if the second half of the year is tougher than expected. Most Chinese manufacturers are still trying to integrate and grow their upstream operations and don't have nearly the downstream capability of these two powerhouses.

Any payouts or incentives to continue MeeGo development emphasize that Nokia's eggs are not all in Microsoft's basket when it comes to smartphones-or other devices, for that matter. MeeGo is an open-source platform that can power handsets, tablets, and netbooks, which may be why Nokia isn't letting go of MeeGo just yet.

I fear our business is dividing in a way that that threatens the continued employment of those of us who make games," said Satoru Iwata during a keynote address at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. "Is maintaining high value games a top priority, or not?"

Growing global demand has fuelled a surge in US manufacturing activity, which last month (Feb. 2011) accelerated at its fastest rate in almost seven years, according to the Institute of Supply Management.

Here's what we definitely know: Apple is holding an event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. As is Apple's ever-present policy of secrecy at all costs, that's pretty much all we know for sure.

The Motorola Droid Pro is a fair approximation of a BlackBerry handset, minus the inferior keyboard and the fact that it doesn't come close to matching Research In Motion's security measures.

Chinese companies will be allowed to buy a stake of as much as 10% in Taiwanese technology companies, according to a proposal by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Samsung Electronics won a US trade ruling in its efforts to block imports of flash-memory chips made by Spansion. Shares of Spansion fell after the close of regular-hours trading.