This news announced two weeks ago is not really good news for those expecting to see this new generation of computers, running Windows RT OS and no more based on x86 processor but on ARM CPU core, coming on the market. The reason invoked by Toshiba was “delays in getting adequate supplies of components” and, even if Toshiba did not specifically… Read More
Semiconductor Intellectual Property
Arteris joins Inc. 500 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies… thanks to Arteris customers!
Arteris, founded in 2003, is the inventor and leading supplier of network-on-chip (NoC) interconnect IP solutions. Can we say that the company is still a start-up? I would say yes, as their flagship product, FlexNoc (Network on Chip IP function) was a completely new concept when it was introduced. As for every disruptive technology,… Read More
Smart mobile SoCs: Made in China
One of the comments to previous installments of this series was that there isn’t much left for the merchant suppliers of smart mobile SoCs, considering Apple and Samsung have majority share and design their own parts. The theory is this makes it hard for many suppliers to continue investing at the resource levels needed to bring … 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
IP Wanna Go Fast, Core Wanna Not Rollover
At a dinner table a couple years ago, someone quietly shared their biggest worry in EDA. Not 2GHz, or quad core. Not 20nm, or 450mm. Not power, or timing closure. Call it The Rollover. It’s turned out to be the right worry.
Best brains spent inordinate hours designing and verifying a big, hairy, heavy breathing processor core to do … Read More
ARM + Broadcom + Linux = Raspberry Pi
Broadcom has designed an impressive SOC named the BCM2835 with the following integrated features:
- ARM CPU at 700MHz
- GPU – VideoCore IV
- RAM – 256 MB
The British chaps at Raspberry Pi have created a $35.00 Linux-based computer based on the Broadcom BCM2835 chip that is tiny in size but big in utility:… Read More
Debugging Subtle Cache Problems
When I worked for virtual platform companies, one of the things that I used to tell prospective customers was that virtual prototypes were not some second-rate approach to software and hardware development to be dropped the moment real silicon was available, that in many ways they were better than the real hardware since they had… Read More
The Business Case for Algorithmic Memories
Economic considerations are a primary driver in determining which technology solutions will be selected, and how they will be implemented in a company’s design environment. In the process of developing Memoir’s Algorithmic Memory technology and our Renaissance product line, we have held fast to two basic premises: Our technology… Read More
Ex ante: disclose IP before, not after standardization
Many of the audience here are involved in standards bodies and specification development, so the news from the Apple v. Samsung on the invocation of ex ante in today’s testimony is useful.
I worked with VITA, the folks behind the VME family of board-level embedded technology, on their ex ante policy several years ago, and … Read More
What’s Next For Emerging Memories
In doing some digging in preparation for the start of www.ReRAM-Forum.com Christie Marrian asks if ReRAM.CBRAM technology is approaching a ‘tipping point’ relative to NAND Flash. You can read more of his analysis over at the blog he moderates (ReRAM-Forum.com). Also a note to readers. The blog is interested in collecting new … Read More


An Insight into Building Quantum Computers