TechOnline Blog

Apple's aura may be thinning

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:42:28 -0500

The launch of the Apple iPhone 3G is a perfect segue way into the next stage of my design differentiation discussion: the source of innovation -- and why Apple seems to have a lock on it. Or maybe not.

How to differentiate

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 20:26:14 -0500

When I blogged recently about silicon becoming irrelvant, I touched a sensitive spot, but my silicon funk was soon dispelled and I was nursed back -- by your gentle and considered guidance -- to a more moderate 'it's a combination of both' mentality. Thank you. But...

Video blog: Freescale's CEO, Rich Beyer, discusses company's future

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:42:18 -0500

Three months into his tenure as chairman and chief executive officer of Freescale, Rich Beyer sat down with me to discuss the company's future growth areas and the technolgies and products that will propel it forward.

Can inspiration be imported?

Tue, 27 May 2008 08:20:32 -0500

I was pretty skeptical about Dubai's efforts to transform itself into a technology hub as I departed for the recent International Electronics Forum (see full report in Dubai: from sand to silicon). So imagine my surprise when, the very night of my arrival, my conversion began.

IC industry's catharsis in the desert: A bad mirage?

Sat, 10 May 2008 06:02:26 -0500

I was pretty annoyed over lunch yesterday, and it wasn't because I'd just broken a front tooth on an olive pit. I had just come from the closing panel of the IEF here in Dubai, where, instead of focusing on the future of innovation, the panelists and attendees devolved into navel gazing, finger pointing and—dare I say it—whining. It was like a mirage gone bad.

IEF puts Dubai in electronics spotlight

Wed, 07 May 2008 23:52:43 -0500

The 17th International Electronics Forum kicks off today in Dubai, an Emirate energetic in its efforts to become a high-tech hub in a region stereotyped as awash with oil. While skepticism remains, the DSO is taking concrete steps in the right direction, most importantly in education (TechOnline exclusive). At the IEF itself, photovoltaics and energy in general loom high on the priority list, as does 22-nm investment and the logic of fab-lite strategies.

Reader's speak out: Engineering as art

Tue, 06 May 2008 03:59:21 -0500

My musings from ESC on the irrelevance of silicon sparked quite the flood of emails. Responses ranged from flipping the argument to how software isn't keeping up with silicon and is slow to adapt, to the need for more efficient architectures such as ASIPs and reconfigurable silicon, to the complete failure of the EDA and chip-design communities to innovate. But one reader hit it out of the park.

The irrelevance of silicon

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:50:08 -0500

It's Wednesday, day three of the Embedded Systems Conference, and I'm here in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel in between meetings. It occurs to me that twice in as many days I've heard off-hand remarks in two completely separate contexts that slam home the long discussed prospect of the irrelevance of silicon. As the iPhone showed, it really is all about the software.

iPod or bust!

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:15:47 -0500

Part of my job entails running around the country doing teardowns in front of a camera for our very own TearDown TV. I enjoy doing teardowns, but the video thing, well, put it this way, I'm no Brad Pitt.

Stop the tears: Find your 'latch points'

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:14:01 -0500

My wife's part Irish, part German, so while there's a glint in her eye, she's pretty tough. So it was with much amazement that I heard her break down crying on the phone while talking on the washing-machine repair hotline, before hanging up in frustration. And this was the second time in as many months.