Brand: MacNews

Shares of Apple closed down today nearly 5 percent to end the day at US$17.72, as tech stocks on the whole fell sharply.

A small Colorado company today filed suit against Apple alleging that the company’s use of parallel processing infringes upon its patents. BIAX Corp. is seeking an order that bars Apple from infringing on its patents as well as unspecified damages. Apple has yet to respond to the suit.

A new cable standard in the US is expected to be finalized later this year that could significantly boost the bandwidth of cable Internet connections. The Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification 2.0 will triple the speed at which users can send data with a cable modem, allowing cable modem ISPs to lift the 128kbps upload cap that many impose on their users. Equipment that’s certified for the new standard isn’t expected for at least another year, however.

At the Salomon Smith Barney Tech2001 Conference today, Apple CFO Fred Anderson said the company is on track with its earnings estimate for this quarter. Anderson also called Apple a “cash machine,” noting that its cash reserves have grown by US$200 million during 2001 to more than $4.2 billion.

Motorola today announced that it will be cutting an additional 2,000 jobs in an effort to improve its finances. The company also announced that third quarter revenue will be flat with the previous quarter, after originally forecasting a small increase. With the exception of its mobile phone business, all other Motorola divisions — including the semiconductor unit responsible for the PowerPC chip — are expected to report a decline in revenue and earnings.