Rethinking Differentiation


Differentiation is becoming more difficult, more time-consuming, and in some cases much more expensive for chipmakers. The traditional metrics of faster performance, lower power and less area/cost, which are leftovers from the PC era, no longer are a guarantee of success despite the fact that they are still baseline metrics for many designs. Even new metrics such as ecosystem completeness, w... » read more

5 Things To Know About The IoT


The IoT means many things to many people. While the numbers and projections are all very large, the views of what it actually means are vastly different because it can include anything from a sensor in a car or an ingestible medical device to a data center full of servers and the connectivity in between. But there are some interesting shifts under way, both driving the [getkc id="76" comment... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Investment firm TIG Advisors, a stockholder of Altera, has urged stockholders to vote against Altera’s lead independent director to the board. TIG also contends that Altera has failed stockholders by rejecting a recent acquisition bid from Intel. Altera’s 14nm foundry partner is Intel, while TSMC handles the 20nm and above foundry work. Soon, Altera will choose a 10nm foundry partner. “Sh... » read more

Full Steam Ahead For IoT


Criticism is rampant about the [getkc id="76" comment="Internet of Things"] being partially baked, ill-defined, or just a rehash of old ideas that never got off the drawing board. While there is some basis for that criticism, it really doesn't seem to matter. The semiconductor industry is in full pursuit of what many perceive to be the largest opportunity since the invention of the PC, the pub... » read more

More Things Are Critical Systems


Defining a critical system used to be pretty obvious. It was something that could affect the health and safety of people, such as the chip inside a pacemaker or insulin pump, a car's braking system or an airplane's guidance system. But as more devices are connected together, that definition is changing and expanding. More devices are now considered critical, such as a connected baby monitor ... » read more

Another Inventory Glut?


For nearly a year, Semico’s IPI index has been indicating that the fundamental demand in the second half of 2014 would be seasonally weak. Back in early 2013, our initial view for 2014 was a 10% market growth. However, as the IPI declined in the second half of 2013 we revised our semiconductor revenue forecast down to 7.3% heeding the warning that was projected by the Semico IPI index. This w... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


About 150 to 200 employees from IBM’s chip unit will be dispatched to work at GlobalFoundries, according to the Poughkeepsie Journal. GlobalFoundries said the arrangement is temporary, according to the report. GlobalFoundries is the leading candidate to buy IBM’s chip unit, which is apparently on the block. To date, however, GlobalFoundries and IBM have yet to make any announcements on the... » read more

The New Face Of MCUs


For years, the humble microcontroller was known as the workhorse of white goods and other embedded applications that required some amount of processing, but not as much as a microprocessor would provide. Much has changed since then. Today’s MCUs are the star components in fast-growing and increasingly sophisticated application areas such as automotive, smartphones and the Internet of Thing... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Design, Test


Prosecutors have charged the CEO of chipmaker Entropic Communications with assaulting a model who appeared on the reality television show "Beverly Hills Nannies," according to the L.A. Times. Molecular Imprints Inc. (MII) has signed an agreement to sell its semiconductor imprint lithography equipment business to Canon. The agreement also allows for the creation of a new company that will ke... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing & Design


Gesture sensing is a hot topic. Apple recently confirmed the acquisition of PrimeSense for a reported $360 million. PrimeSense is an Israel-based company known for its structured light technology. “Gesture sensing of 3D depth without a controller is the standard for game consoles such as Microsoft Kinect for Xbox and new PS Camera for PlayStation 4. Clearly, a future Apple TV is the logical p... » read more

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