In May Jurvetson invested in Vancouver, Canada-based D-Wave Systems, which aims to build a solid-state quantum computer.

FORBES: Mr. Nanotech

Its products include integrated circuits that are used in disk drives, solid state drives, high-speed communications systems, computer servers, storage systems, and personal computers.

FORBES: Earnings Preview: LSI

It seems clear that solid-state storage will have a growing role in personal computer architectures, although users needing more storage may find flash memory a bit expensive.

FORBES: Seagate Discontinuing 7,200 RPM Drives--A Focus on Capacity?

G6 mainframe computer depends on the use of silicon chips with copper connections that draw on solid-state physics research done in the firm's laboratory in the 1980s.

ECONOMIST: Philips