Computer Drives & Storage

WHY CONTRACT ELECTRONICS MANUFACTURING IS GOOD FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Back then companies that create and design complex electrical component used to manufacture equipment themselves.

In 1981, IBM changed the landscape of electronic equipment manufacturing when the company, for the first time in history, decided to outsource their manufacturing operations to a separate and independent company. It was a practical move on part of IBM. The process was convenient and, depending on where you outsource to, operation costs are cheaper. Soon this way of manufacturing electronic equipment became known as contract electronics manufacturing, or electronic contract manufacturing (ECM).

Contract electronics manufacturing allows original equipment manufacturer (OEM) companies to focus on what they do best – design better electronic equipment. Afterwards this new piece of technology needs to be mass produced for consumers, and this is where ECM companies come in.

This trend of outsourcing manufacturing operations has only been around a couple of decades and it's already made a huge impact in the industry. Especially these times, when almost everything relies on the use of a computer or a machine.

ECM companies are gauged by the accuracy of their work based on the designs given by OEM companies. Which is why most ECM companies maintain close contact with their client OEM companies: to keep them informed throughout the design and development process.

This way mistakes are minimized, if not eliminated altogether. Contracting the services of a good contract electronics manufacturing company is a lot like doing the task yourself, but at a cheaper cost.

Other services include PCB design, digital electronics, analogue electronics, data-logging, bespoke instrumentation, wireless communications, embedded software and testing for regulatory standards.

A few of the most successful contract electronics manufacturing companies today are Solectron, Foxconn, Flextronics, Sanmina-SCI, Tresmine, Celestica, Jabil Circuit, EE Technologies and Benchmark Electronics. Some of these companies have become so successful they are now called Original Design Manufacturers, which skips OEM companies altogether and takes direct equipment orders from the companies that need them.

If you're looking to outsource your manufacturing, do your market research and find a contract electronics manufacturing company you strike up a good chemistry with and allows a full view of their operations from conveyor belt to delivery by shipload. It is worth every ounce of effort you put into it, and lets you keep up with the tight market competition.

flash bios from OEM to Original motherboard manufacturer?

Hi, I have a Acer PC M1100 with Acer motherboard f690gvm wich is actually a foxconn motherboard A690GM2MA-8EKRS2H. Acer has put their BIOS version in this mobo, so the question is - can I flash acer's selfmade bios to original foxconn bios without a risk to damage my bios???

Pretty risky I'd have thought. If they've changed the BIOS, it's probably to accommodate other changes they've made on the board, so you're likely to end up with a dead board if you try it.

Leave well alone is my advice.

I presume you're trying to upgrade to a CPU the current BIOS doesn't support?
If you just want a later BIOS thinking it might improve performance - forget it, it won't

Report: Amazon Set to Start Second Kindle Fire? (newsy-allvideos)

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(Image source: Ubergizmo)

**BY JIM FLINK**

**ANCHOR LAUREN GORES**

Amazon has apparently only begun stoking the flames of the tablet wars. The
new Kindle Fire is the hot new gadget. Now, a bigger Fire could be in the
works.

DigiTimes has the scoop.

**"Amazon is developing 8.9- and 10.1-inch next-generation Kindle Fire models
and has selected an 8.9-inch model for launch by the end of the second quarter
of 2012 due to LG Display's and Samsung Electronics' promotion of 8.9-inch
panels ..."**

The embers of that rumor, are being stoked in Taiwan. And that's not all.
Ubergizmo reports, if a larger Fire is to be built, it will have to be lit by
a company other than the original manufacturer.

**"Foxconn is expected to be the company behind the manufacturer for Amazon's
8.9" tablet, as opposed to Quanta who was responsible for the original Kindle
Fire (and RIM's Blackberry Playbook). The release of the 8.9" tablet ... seems
to contradict earlier rumors that Amazon would release the 10.1" Kindle Fire
first, which was meant to be the successor to the 7" model."**

That little FoxConn nugget is sure to create a ton of smoke. The Chinese
factory is ...

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Foxconn to replace workers with 1 million robots