Laser Eye Institute back in local hands

Local shareholders of the former Laser Eye Institute of Hawaii have bought back its assets from an Oklahoma-based company that acquired the company in 1999.

The business, now a limited liability company, has been renamed Laser Eye Center of Hawaii LLC.

When Laser Eye Network Inc. of Oklahoma purchased Laser Eye Institute, the company had plans to expand services and eventually move to a public offering. When plans didn't materialize and some of the company's other centers were not successful, the Laser Eye Center's original owners decided to repurchase the clinic.

Laser Eye Institute of Hawaii began in 1996 as Hawaii's first free-standing private center to specialize in laser vision correction services. The company now has eight employees and is affiliated with more than 130 optometrists and ophthalmologists in Hawaii, Guam, Saipan and Kwajalein.

2-gigahertz processors to hit markets today

SAN JOSE, Calif. >> Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will begin selling the fastest models yet of their flagship processors, the electronic brains of personal computers, today.

Intel's new top Pentium 4 chips run at 2.2 gigahertz and 2 GHz, or 2.2 and 2 billion cycles per second. AMD's latest, the Athlon XP 2000+, clocks in at 1.67 GHz.

Judge denies Microsoft request to delay case

WASHINGTON >> A federal judge today denied Microsoft's request to delay the company's historic antitrust case by four months, holding to the current schedule that calls for a trial in March.

Before lawyers for the company had a chance to plead their case, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said she had no intention of giving Microsoft as much time as it desired. Microsoft has said in the face of broad penalties requested by the nine states, the company doesn't have enough time to prepare its case.

University of Baltimore law professor Bob Lande said the judge's denial of Microsoft's request was a major blow to the company. If the remedy hearing could be delayed, the judge might already approve a settlement reached by the federal government and nine other states, which would hurt the remaining states' case.

Nissan Altima is named top North American car

DETROIT >> Practicality and value won over flash and luxury as the Nissan Altima was named the 2002 North American Car of the Year yesterday.

The Chevrolet TrailBlazer narrowly won North America Truck of the Year honors over the Chevrolet Avalanche and the Jeep Liberty.

Last year's winners were the Chrysler PT Cruiser for car of the year and the Acura MDX sport utility vehicle for truck of the year.

High-tech entertainment is expected to steal show

LAS VEGAS >> Amid the latest in high tech -- from wearable gadgetry to automobile accouterments -- the loudest buzz at the 2002 International Consumer Electronics Show will likely center on entertainment devices for the living room.

At the show that opens tomorrow, hardware makers plan to unveil DVD players that double as digital music or photo storage centers. New entries are also expected among a small but fast-growing crop of networked devices that are designed to play MP3s and Internet radio, as well as host personal music collections.

Analysts think one product in particular will stand out because it appears to deliver the best yet in digital convergence -- the ability to integrate digital audio, video, television and computer data in a single device.