The theme of our book “Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry” comes from the Steve Jobs quote,“You can’t really understand now if you don’t know what came before.” After chronicling the rise of the semiconductor industry and transformation to the fabless business model we ask in the final chapter, “What’s next for the semiconductor industry?” We now have more than two dozen passages from CEOs, luminaries, and pundits, which makes for an interesting read, absolutely.
In the same vein, researchers from IBM publish an annual list called “5 in 5”, five technologies that will change our lives in the next five years:
- It will be easy for you to be green and save money doing it
- The way you drive will be completely different
- You are what you eat, so you will know what you eat
- Your cell phone will be your wallet, your ticket broker, your concierge, your bank, your shopping buddy, and more
- Doctors will get enhanced “super-senses” to better diagnose and treat you
- Energy saving solar technology will be built into asphalt, paint and windows
- You will have a crystal ball for your health
- You will talk to the Web . . . and the Web will talk back
- You will have your own digital shopping assistants
- Forgetting will become a distant memory
- Cities will have healthier immune systems
- City buildings will sense and respond like living organisms
- Cars and city buses will run on empty
- Smarter systems will quench cities’ thirst for water and save energy
- Cities will respond to a crisis — even before receiving an emergency phone call
- You’ll beam up your friends in 3-D
- Batteries will breathe air to power our devices
- You won’t need to be a scientist to save the planet
- Your commute will be personalized
- Computers will help energize your city
- People power will come to life
- You will never need a password again
- Mind reading is no longer science fiction
- The digital divide will cease to exist
- Junk mail will become priority mail
- You will be able to reach out and touch through your phone
- A pixel will be worth a thousand words
- Computers will hear what matters
- Digital taste buds will help you to eat healthier
- Computers will have a sense of smell
- The classroom will learn you
- Buying local will beat online
- Doctors will routinely use your DNA to keep you well
- A digital guardian will protect you online
- The city will help you live in it
The common theme of course is semiconductors enabling our future health and welfare. Speaking of semiconductor innovation, CES 2014 is next week but first lets look at previously announced CES innovations that changed our lives:
- Videocassette Recorder (VCR), 1970
- Laserdisc Player, 1974
- Camcorder, 1981
- Compact Disc Player, 1981
- Digital Audio Technology, 1990
- Compact Disc – Interactive, 1991
- Mini Disc, 1993
- Radio Data System, 1993
- Digital Satellite System, 1994
- Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), 1996
- High Definition Television (HDTV), 1998 Hard-disc VCR (PVR), 1999
- Digital Audio Radio (DAR), 2000
- Microsoft Xbox, 2001
- Plasma TV, 2001
- Home Media Server, 2002
- HD Radio, 2003
- Blu-Ray DVD, 2003
- HDTV PVR, 2003
- HD Radio, 2004
- IP TV, 2005
- An explosion of digital content services, 2006
- New convergence of content and technology, 2007
- OLED TV, 2008
- 3D HDTV, 2009
- Tablets, Netbooks and Android Devices, 2010
- Connected TV, Smart Appliances, Android Honeycomb, Ford’s Electric Focus, Motorola Atrix, Microsoft Avatar Kinect, 2011
- Ultrabooks, 3D OLED, Android 4.0 tablets, 2012
- Ultra HDTV, Flexible OLED, Driverless Car Technology, 2013
Every January CES brings an onslaught of new products, most of which we never see again. I’m still waiting for a 65″ OLED flatscreen. Curved TVs? Smarter smartpones and 2-1 one tablets? Wearables from head to toe? I decided to skip CES this year. Too much going on with work and family and honestly I just did not see anything worth the drive down. The keynote by BK (the Intel CEO) will probably be the highlight of the conference and I can live stream that. If I’m missing something here let me know.
More Articles by Daniel Nenni…..
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Semiconductors Slowing in 2025