Deal Struck for Sale of Toshiba NAND to Bain Apple and Others

Deal Struck for Sale of Toshiba NAND to Bain Apple and Others
by Robert Maire on 10-01-2017 at 12:00 pm

What does it mean for the skyrocketing memory sector? In a last minute plot twist, Bain capital appears to be the winner in the auction of the Toshiba memory unit. The Bain consortium includes a strange cast of characters including Apple, Dell, Seagate, Kingston Technology, Innovation Network Corp of Japan and Development Bank… Read More


Smart Speakers: The Next Big Thing, Right Now

Smart Speakers: The Next Big Thing, Right Now
by Bernard Murphy on 08-17-2017 at 7:00 am

There are many “next big thing” possibilities these days in tech but mostly behind the scenes; few are front and center for us as consumers. That is until smart speakers started taking off, led by Amazon Echo/Dot and Google Home. The intriguing thing about this technology is our ability to control stuff without needing to type/tap/click… Read More


Integrated Photonics Accelerates with Entrance of TSMC and TowerJazz Foundries

Integrated Photonics Accelerates with Entrance of TSMC and TowerJazz Foundries
by Mitch Heins on 04-05-2017 at 12:00 pm


I’m writing this from the Boston airport on my way home from four straight weeks of PIC (photonic integrated circuit) related travel. It’s been a grueling but very rewarding four weeks and the big take away from this month is that there are now many more signs in the market that integrated photonics is reaching a real tipping point.… Read More


Apple Going (IP) Vertical with no Imagination!

Apple Going (IP) Vertical with no Imagination!
by Eric Esteve on 04-03-2017 at 12:00 pm

What conclusion could we derive from the recent (April 3) PR from Imagination where we learn that the company “has been notified by Apple Inc. (“Apple”), its largest customer, that Apple is of a view that it will no longer use the Group’s intellectual property in its new products in 15 months to two years time, and as such will not be … Read More


This Apple Fell a Little Further from the Tree

This Apple Fell a Little Further from the Tree
by Bernard Murphy on 01-04-2017 at 7:00 am

Some companies are famously, even obsessively secretive about internal development. We never get to see discussion of areas they are working on (other than through patent filings) – we only see the polished and released product/service. Amazon is one such company but Apple must rank for many of us as the pre-eminent company in … Read More


Final SemiWiki Book Signing at REUSE 2016!

Final SemiWiki Book Signing at REUSE 2016!
by Daniel Nenni on 11-08-2016 at 4:00 pm

It has been a hectic year for the semiconductor industry so now is a good time to reflect on how we got to where we are today in hopes of better understanding where we are going tomorrow.

Given the importance of semiconductor IP (the $32B ARM acquisition by SoftBank for example) I would strongly suggest attending the REUSE 2016 event… Read More


Apple Car Crumble

Apple Car Crumble
by Roger C. Lanctot on 10-21-2016 at 7:00 am

Software, mechanical and electrical engineers working for auto makers received a huge self-esteem injection this week as events unfolding at Apple suggested that the company had abandoned long-rumored plans for building a car. Considering the fact that Apple still hasn’t delivered a decent navigation app with traffic services,… Read More


One line of macOS code could cap a 20-year pivot

One line of macOS code could cap a 20-year pivot
by Don Dingee on 10-07-2016 at 4:00 pm

When Steve Jobs made it clear at the 1997 Apple Worldwide Developer Conference he was taking back his company, he tossed the now famous line in his opening monologue: “Focusing is about saying no.” Approaching 20 years later, that decision still reverberates.… Read More


Of distant dreams and violent delights

Of distant dreams and violent delights
by Don Dingee on 10-05-2016 at 4:00 pm

Another report today of a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 catching fire, this time an allegedly refurbished unit, takes us back to the turning point in Samsung mobile phone history. It’s not the first time a defective Samsung phone – or a pile of thousands of them – has been on fire.

Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-Hee issued a powerful edict to his mobile… Read More


Scalable Infrastructure for Digital Businesses

Scalable Infrastructure for Digital Businesses
by Sudeep Kanjilal on 10-02-2016 at 7:00 am

Building Digital businesses is tough. The run-time changes rapidly (browser – apps – bots), and standards for the digital architecture/stack gets refined constantly. Pace of innovation is accelerating due to massive war-chest of the top digital players like Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon. For the Fortune… Read More