TECNOSFERA

Sale of I.B.M. PC Unit Is a Bridge Between Companies and Cultures: The transaction - The Times reported late last week that I.B.M. had put its PC business up for sale - points to the rising global aspirations of corporate China as it strives to become a trusted supplier to Western companies and consumers. The sale also signals a recognition by I.B.M., the prototypical American multinational, that its own future lies even farther up the economic ladder, in technology services and consulting, in software and in the larger computers that power corporate networks and the Internet. All are businesses far more profitable for I.B.M. than its personal computer unit.