Last Monday was the first working day of 2015, dedicated to installing a new PC. Tuesday was also dedicated to an admin work, asking for a new passport, so Wednesday was supposed to be the first real working day for me. In fact, because the Radio is on when I am working, I heard about this crazy offense against the complete editorial board… Read More





Intel’s Diversity Goals Explained!
One of the more interesting announcements by Intel at CES was surprisingly not about technology, it was about a $300M Investing in Diversity and Inclusion initiative. According to Intel CEO Brian Krzanich “A fully diverse and inclusive workplace is fundamental to our ability to innovate and deliver business results.” After … Read More
Wanna Buy a Used Stepper? Only One Owner, Mint Condition…
Back in the early 90s there used to be a billboard alongside 237 advertising second-hand fab equipment: steppers, ion implanters, diffusion ovens. It used to amuse me as an “only in silicon valley” thing; after all, even in silicon valley the number of individuals who were likely to be in a position to buy used fab equipment… Read More
Curie to Bring New Dimensions in Wearables!
In the past year, seeing the kinds of wearables doing what Smartphones can do, I wasn’t much excited about wearables; however after looking at what Intelhas demonstrated in CES 2015, a button sized SoC called Curie, I get to believe that it will be a game changer in wearables and would let Intel do what it couldn’t do with Smartphone… Read More
Mentor Moves to Enter IoT Fray
In December I signed up for an IoT “lunch and learn” hosted by Mentor Graphics. There were a number of surprising things about the session. The first and most obvious is that it was really a “breakfast-to-lunch and learn”. Starting at 9AM and going through the end of lunch, it was packed full of ‘learning.’ It was also packed full of … Read More
Makers get access to Intel RealSense
One of the great devices in maker lore is the Polaroid 6500 Series Sonar Ranging Module. It was originally part of the autofocus system for their SX-70 cameras circa 1978, long before through-the-lens optical autofocus sensors were perfected. Back then, people couldn’t focus. Dr. Land thought he was teaching people to compose… Read More
Tizen to connect Samsung’s world – Can it set new equations?
The USA has very good culture of demonstrating new innovations in every industry by way of conferences, exhibitions, workshops, large meetings and so on. The Consumer Electronic Show (CES) is one of its kinds which exhibit new electronic products that tell about which way the industry is heading. Electronic products are final… Read More
Ion Implant – Its Not Just for Doping Anymore
At the heart of fabricating integrated circuits is the ability to selectively change the electrical properties of the semiconductor substrate. This key to fabrication is accomplished by doping – introducing atoms locally into the semiconductor substrate.
In the early days of the semiconductor industry doping was accomplished… Read More
Tizen, Is It a Thing?
I’m not at CES so I’m reporting second hand. But Samsung made some announcements and, since they didn’t make any mobile announcements, people were disappointed. Like Don Dingee, I think that any major mobile announcements will be done in March at Mobile World Congress. Although CES is starting to get a little… Read More
Cycling, Semiconductors and CES 2015
I’m an avid cyclist that rode some 6,744.3 miles in 2014, according to www.strava.com, a free web site and popular app for road bikers like me. At CES this week I’ve read about many creative devices and apps to make your cycling experience better, so here’s my take on all of it.… Read More
Facing the Quantum Nature of EUV Lithography