51.   Chip maker Altera Corp. added to the gloom by announcing late Wednesday that it, too, would post lower-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter.

52.   Chip maker Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. reported earnings in line with analyst expectations Monday, allaying fears of a revenue slide because of troubles at major customer Lucent Technologies Inc.

53.   Chip makers consume thousands of wafers and spend months in tests to decide whether a wafer company is qualified to supply them.

54.   Chip makers have been among the hardest hit.

55.   Chip makers have, for years, created tiny works of art on the unused space on the prototypes of silicon chips.

56.   Chip makers joined in the decline.

57.   Chip makers of Asian countries have also shown dramatic growth.

58.   Chip makers, too, are feeling the pinch.

59.   Competition from chip makers like Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and the Cyrix Corp., is being blunted.

60.   Computer sellers, chip makers and data storage giants all are under pressure as the growth cycle slows down.