Dilbert has always been a favorite comic of mine because it is based on truth and there is no better humor than truth, especially at work. According to Wikipedia; Scott Adams and Dilbert came to national prominence through the downsizing period in 1990s America. A former worker in various roles at big businesses, he became a full-time… Read More
User Review: iOS 6 on iPad
Much has been written about the new iPhone 5 and iOS 6 in terms of the features, specifications, bill of materials, and chips used in the design. Today I’ll share my experiences of actually using the new iOS 6 on iPad as an EDA blogger.
Upgrading to iOS6
Clicking the On button and noticing that the App Store icon has something new,… Read More
The End of an Era
I drove down from San Francisco, where I live, to Silicon Valley this morning. Something odd was going on. As I approached San Francisco Airport there were a couple of buildings with lots of people standing on the roof. As I got further south, the bridges over the freeway all had lots of people just milling around. It was when I got to … Read More
Over-under: Apple, 52M iPhones in 4Q
I’m in a Twitter conversation with some friends, with the subject: how many phones can Apple ship in the 4th quarter?
A respected analyst said 52M is “an easy mark” for Apple; others are saying 58M is the target for just the iPhone 5 in 4Q. However, the start for the iPhone 5 has been anything but easy. Oh, the orders… Read More
SemiWiki Releases Mobile Apps!
In response to the growing mobile audience and increasing cost of data plans, SemiWiki has uploaded Android and Apple IOs applications. The SemiWiki mobile apps are available to you at no cost and are advertisement free. The Android app is available TODAY but the IOs app is still PENDING Apple approval (up to 60 days) versus Google… Read More
Have You Ever Heard of the Carrington Event? Will Your Chips Survive Another?
In one of those odd coincidences, I was having dinner with a friend last week and somehow the Carrington Event came up. Then I read a a piece in EETimesabout whether electrical storms could cause problems in the near future. Even that piece didn’t mention the Carrington Event so I guess George Leopold, the author, hasn’t… Read More
Apple’s Victory Will Re-Shuffle the Semi Industry
Apple’s legal victory over Samsung has been analyzed in thousands of articles and TWEETs since last Friday’s announcement and surely more will follow. Most of the commentary has focused on the first order impact to handset manufacturers. It is not entirely clear how it will all settle but there are sure to be secondary ramifications… Read More
The Generational Legacy of Steve Jobs
Truly great leaders are recognized by the impact they leave several generations down the road. Roosevelt and Churchill are two historical figures who together saved Western Civilization, thus leaving a tremendous legacy even now, two generations later. In the semiconductor world we mark our generations in the two-year cadence… Read More
Smartphones: Is It Game Over?
The Q2 numbers for smartphones are now all in and the basic story is that Google is now registering an incredible million Android phones per day, half of them made by Samsung. That’s 85% of all the smartphones shipped last quarter. Android has (per IDC) 68% market share of all smartphones out there.
Apple grew by double digit… Read More
"Death of Equities" = A Silicon Valley Revival
Bill Gross, founder and co-chief investment officer of PIMCO, the world’s largest Bond Fund, recently declared, “We’re Witnessing the Death of Equities.” Contrarians should take note as Gross made a similar calling 10 days before the previous major stock market bottom on March 9[SUP]th[/SUP] 2009. For Entrepreneurs and Venture… Read More
Facing the Quantum Nature of EUV Lithography