In an example of the kind of collaborations that are the shape of things to come in the European computer industry, Philips NV has a $40m order from Ing C Olivetti & Co SpA for 268,000 colour and monochrome computer displays this year, with follow-on orders expected to be placed thereafter: it is the first time Olivetti has given Philips such an order, but both companies get their top-end Unix processors from Arix Corp’s Edgcore unit, and observers wonder how much longer Philips will plough on with its painfully patchy computer business before retreating into semiconductors and peripherals that are spin-offs from its television and Compact Disk businesses – if it does put its computer business on the block, Olivetti is likely to be among the first in line to buy it.
