Synchronous Transfer Mode, as opposed to ATM or Asynchronous Transfer Mode.

Short-Term Memory. As opposed to LTM (Long-term memory), SM (Sensory memory), and WM (Working-memory).

This is where information that is being actively used is stored. It holds about 7 Chunks (for example, 7 digits, list with 7 items), and will deteriorate after about 18 seconds if not rehearsed.

Formerly known as "SGS-Thomson", they are a French-Italian multinational company who are the number 1 supplier of MPEG decoder chips for set-top boxes, amongst many other things. Their huge product portfolio includes discrete components, ASSP's for a wide range of applications and a family of microcontrollers and associated IP.

As a footnote: They also bought Inmos, a semiconductor company set up by the British government in the late 70's and, rather short-sightedly IMO, sold a few years later.

A Scanning Tunneling Microscope; a microscope that uses the phenomenon of quantum tunneling to map the electron surface of a material. Particularly useful if you want to "see" the configuration of a material's surface or do cool things like manipulate individual atoms. The classic examples are the quantum corral and the smallest IBM logo in the world. See also: Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, AFM (Atomic Force Microscope), SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), LEED (Low Energy Electron Diffraction).