Appeals are likely to go on for years, but the people have spoken. A Houston jury resoundingly rejected the "stupid CEO" defense, convicting former Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling of almost all charges against them.

A reader recently asked for an electronic copy of an article on metrology costs from last summer. Semiconductor Manufacturing Magazine does not post most of its content online, but I was able to post the article here. If there's something you'd like to see, leave a comment or drop me an email. Also, if you're interested in yield management and metrology, watch for a two-part series in the July and September issues of Semiconductor Manufacturing.