There are multiple opinions on from different sources which make the world so obsessed with the IoT. But really, Internet of things is far bigger than anyone realizes. Some people tell that it’s the term given to the connected things and it’s just about providing IPv6 to any “thing” that is available in… Read More





Prototyping the Future of Semiconductors!
With major semiconductor mergers and acquisitions running rampant in 2015 (more than double the M&A activity in 2014), the question is where will we go from here? There are many different ways to slice this but for this blog let’s talk about the thousands of semiconductor professionals that will be changing jobs as a result … Read More
Xilinx Skips 10nm
At TSMC’s OIP Symposium recently, Xilinx announced that they would not be building products at the 10nm node. I say “announced” since I was hearing it for the first time, but maybe I just missed it before. Xilinx would go straight from the 16FF+ arrays that they have announced but not started shipping, and to the… Read More
Nine Cost Considerations to Keep IP Relevant
It’s about 15 years the concept of IP development and its usage took place. In the recent past the semiconductor industry witnessed start of a large number of IP companies across the globe. However, according to Gary Smith’s presentation before the start of 52[SUP]nd[/SUP] DAC, IP business is expected to remain stagnant for next… Read More
How to Build an IoT Endpoint in Three Months
It is often said that things go in big cycles. One example of this is the design and manufacturing products. People long ago used to build their own things. Think of villagers or settlers hundreds of years ago, if they needed something they would craft it themselves. Then came the industrial revolution and two things happened. One… Read More
5 uses of Bluetooth Smart Technology that you didn’t know!
Ever wondered why they named the most universal wireless technology Bluetooth? Apparently it was named after a 10[SUP]th[/SUP] century Danish King named Harald Blåtand whose nickname was Bluetooth because one of his teeth was blue. King Bluetooth’s claim to fame is that he helped peacefully unite Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.… Read More
Phablet Impact on PC Sales
Apple iPhone 6 and 6s users are recent converts to the latest growth trend in smart phones, large screens at 5.5″ in size and aiming even higher each year. I’ve owned a 5.5″ smart phone from Samsung for some 3 years now, so have immensely enjoyed the larger screen size to get my daily work done with: web browsing, … Read More
Together At Last—Combining Netlist and Layout Data for Power-Aware Verification
The market demanded that gadgets it loves become ever more conscious of their power consumption, and chip designers responded with an array of clever techniques to cut IC power use. Unsurprisingly, these new techniques added to the complexity of IC verification. When you’re verifying a design that has 100+ separate power domains,… Read More
A Brief History of FPGA Prototyping
Verifying chip designs has always suffered from a two-pronged problem. The first problem is that actually building silicon is too expensive and too slow to use as a verification tool (when it happens, it is not a good thing and is called a “re-spin”). The second problem is that simulation is, and has always been, too slow.
When Xilinx… Read More
Samsung to cut Semi Capex 20% due to over capacity
Article confirms market fears…
An article in the Korea Times cites sources that say Samsung will cut Semi Capex by 20% due to current oversupply and weak pricing. This is obviously a huge negative as Capex for 2016 will certainly be down significantly from 2015 given these cuts which follow on cuts by Intel and others. We can… Read More
Flynn Was Right: How a 2003 Warning Foretold Today’s Architectural Pivot