Intel's main business is producing microprocessors, the brains of PC's, but it also develops some software.

Most of the company's revenues were reinvested in research and development, along with building new facilities, in order to produce improved and faster microprocessors.

The indictment contends the trade secrets were obtained in connection with an effort to promote a Chinese venture called Supervision Inc. that sought to produce and sell microprocessors in China.

An Eaiser Technology RISC technology is an easier and faster way to produce microprocessors for computers.

He said the large volumes of varied, low-cost consumer electronics products indicated Japan had developed considerable skill in developing equipment needed to produce complex microprocessors.

While Motorola itself produces microprocessors based on RISC, they have been slow to gain market acceptance.

Today, Intel produces microprocessors with transistors measuring only 45 nanometers wide.

The Toshiba Corporation., a leading Japanese industrial electronics concern, announced yesterday that it would build a new factory in northern Japan to produce microprocessors and computer memory modules.

"Then a group of scientists discovered that one of the pieces of unknown alien equipment sold to us by the Saren was an automated factory which produced positronic microprocessors."

Both produce microprocessors and operating systems that compete with the offerings of those companies, and Sun is the producer of Java, a software programming language that would help make possible the production of a simple device that receives its applications across a network.