Whats gone on year to date in the semiconductor equipment space from a business perspective?
Mr. Muter: It’s been a very dynamic year to date. I believe the year started very strongly, with strong orders and very high expectations, and so far the industry has begun to lose momentum on the order front. I believe that Q1 orders were very strong and I see continued order growth in calendar Q2, but down substantially in terms of the growth rate from Q1. Also, I believe orders will likely decline in calendar Q3. Starting the year, expectations were very high for continued order growth well into the second half of the year, and I believe that order momentum has slowed. TWST: What has brought about this change in a relatively short period of time? Mr. Muter: I think that the PC food chain has been relatively disappointing regarding demand. According to our semiconductor analyst, PC demand has been quite weak in calendar Q1, which has diffused some of the high expectations of late 2005. Also, as NAND flash prices have dropped substantially, we believe that some of the major memory man
