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Trump is the greatest gift that Twitter could have asked for!

Trump is the greatest gift that Twitter could have asked for!
by Vivek Wadhwa on 07-01-2018 at 7:00 am

In the 1930s, psychologist B.F. Skinner put rats in boxes and taught them to push levers to receive a food pellet. The pushed the levers only when hungry, though. To get the rats to press the lever repeatedly, even when they did not need food, he gave them a pellet only some of the time, a concept now known as intermittent variable rewards.… Read More


The TI Experience and Morris Chang

The TI Experience and Morris Chang
by Daniel Nenni on 06-29-2018 at 7:00 am

This is the fourth in the series of “20 Questions with Wally Rhines”

I joined Texas Instruments (TI) in 1972. Most Stanford PhD’s in my field at that time remained in the Bay Area to work for Fairchild, National Semiconductor, HP or other local companies. But TI was the largest semiconductor company and there were plenty… Read More


The Technology China Trade Growing Snowball

The Technology China Trade Growing Snowball
by Robert Maire on 06-28-2018 at 12:00 pm

As we have been warning for months the China trade issue continues to grow and accelerate. As we are approaching the June 30th cliff (when export sanctions will be announced) it seems as if the administration has given the industry a kick so we fly even further. The US will also restrict Chinese investment in US tech companies. The … Read More


Design for Power: An Insider View

Design for Power: An Insider View
by Bernard Murphy on 06-28-2018 at 7:00 am

The second keynote at Mentor’s U2U this year was given by Hooman Moshar, VP of Engineering at Broadcom, on the always (these days) important topic of design for power. This is one of my favorite areas. I have, I think, a decent theoretical background in the topic, but I definitely need a periodic refresh on the ground reality from the… Read More


Imec technology forum 2018 – the future of scaling

Imec technology forum 2018 – the future of scaling
by Scotten Jones on 06-27-2018 at 12:00 pm

At the Imec technology forum in Belgium, Dan Mocuta and Juliana Radu presented “Evolution and Disruption: A Perspective on Logic Scaling and Beyond”, I also had a chance to sit down with Dan and discuss the presentation.

Device scaling

Scaling of devices will only get you so far, you need to look at new devices and new… Read More


When Why and How Should You Use Embedded FPGA Technology

When Why and How Should You Use Embedded FPGA Technology
by Alok Sanghavi on 06-27-2018 at 7:00 am

If integrating an embedded FPGA (eFPGA) into your ASIC or SoC design strikes you as odd, it shouldn’t. ICs have been absorbing almost every component on a circuit board for decades, starting with transistors, resistors, and capacitors — then progressing to gates, ALUs, microprocessors, and memories. FPGAs are simply one more… Read More


RISC-V Ready (Tools) Set (Security) Go (Build)

RISC-V Ready (Tools) Set (Security) Go (Build)
by Camille Kokozaki on 06-26-2018 at 12:00 pm

The second Bay Area RISC-V Meetup event was held at the DoubleTree Hilton in Burlingame on June 19 with about 150 attendees. This event was hosted by SiFive and started with a networking session. The topics and speakers for the evening were:

  • Commercial Software Tools – Larry Lapides, Imperas
  • Securing RISC-V Processors
Read More

Integrity, Reliability Shift Left with ICC

Integrity, Reliability Shift Left with ICC
by Bernard Murphy on 06-26-2018 at 7:00 am

There is a nice serendipity in discovering that two companies I cover are working together. Good for them naturally but makes my job easier because I already have a good idea about the benefits of the partnership. Synopsys and ANSYS announced a collaboration at DAC 2017 for accelerating design optimization for HPS, mobile and automotive.… Read More


7nm Networking Platform Delivers Data Center ASICs

7nm Networking Platform Delivers Data Center ASICs
by Daniel Nenni on 06-26-2018 at 7:00 am

We all know IP is critical for advanced ASIC design. Well-designed and carefully tested IP blocks and subsystems are the lifeblood of any advanced chip project. Those IP suppliers who can measure up to the need, especially at advanced process nodes, will do well, absolutely.

It is interesting to note that eSilicon now has a very … Read More


Leveraging AI to help build AI SOCs

Leveraging AI to help build AI SOCs
by Tom Simon on 06-25-2018 at 12:00 pm

When I first started working in the semiconductor industry back in 1982, I realized that there was a race going on between the complexity of the system being designed and the capabilities of the technology in the tools and systems used to design them. The technology used to design the next generation of hardware was always lagging… Read More