Microsoft, FPGAs and the Evolution of the Datacenter

Microsoft, FPGAs and the Evolution of the Datacenter
by Bernard Murphy on 10-03-2016 at 12:00 pm

When we think of datacenters, we think of serried ranks of high-performance servers. Recent announcements from Google (on the Tensor Processing Unit), Facebook and others have opened our eyes to the role that specialized hardware and/or GPUs can play in support of deep/machine learning and big data analytics. But most of us would… Read More


Network vs. Platform

Network vs. Platform
by Sudeep Kanjilal on 09-25-2016 at 7:00 am

So, how do we define these terms? What is the core difference? Why does it matter – what is the implication on business models? And finally, which firms today embody these models?

First, the basics. Digital business models are inherently exponential in terms of value generation. Data drives powerful flywheel effect, and these … Read More


Demystifying IoT – The 15 key building blocks of an IoT solution

Demystifying IoT – The 15 key building blocks of an IoT solution
by Padraig Scully on 09-23-2016 at 7:00 am

IoT solution development is complex. In many cases, development entails combining expertise from a number of different areas such as embedded system engineering, connectivity solution design, big data handling, application development, and data encryption techniques. Each area demands a specific array of competences Read More


Microsoft Raises The Mixed Reality Bar Yet Again With New Holographic Platform

Microsoft Raises The Mixed Reality Bar Yet Again With New Holographic Platform
by Patrick Moorhead on 07-15-2016 at 7:00 am

There have been many hardware and software developments over the past 18 months in the worlds of AR and VR. However, most of them solely existed only within the separate realms of AR or VR. Many within the industry, including I, eventually see VR and AR merging into some hybrid reality that fluidly moves between the two. Some companies… Read More


How Microsoft Could Become A Mobile Player

How Microsoft Could Become A Mobile Player
by Patrick Moorhead on 05-26-2016 at 4:00 pm

Microsoft BUILD is the company’s annual developer conference where they communicate their latest strategies and deliverables to developers and launch many new innovations. BUILD is extremely developer- focused and is intended to inform current Microsoft developers as well as recruit more developers to develop for Microsoft… Read More


Submerging the Data Center

Submerging the Data Center
by Eric Esteve on 02-02-2016 at 4:00 pm

One of NetSpeed’s customers is a Tier-1 semiconductor company that develops some of the industry’s best performing and most complex system on chips (SoC) for the data center and cloud computing markets. To keep its leadership in the data center market, the company needs to produce best-in-class SoC solutions year after year. … Read More


Microsoft Cloud-based Connected Car Service Insights from Patents

Microsoft Cloud-based Connected Car Service Insights from Patents
by Alex G. Lee on 01-21-2016 at 4:00 pm

Microsoft patent application US20150262486 and patents US9092984 and US9218740 illustrate a cloud computing service to assist drivers with respect to improving driver safety. The cloud-based driver assistive system can warn drivers upon impending collisions.

The cloud-based driver assistive system includes many grid… Read More


SemiWiki at #52DAC: Nominated for Best Paper Award!

SemiWiki at #52DAC: Nominated for Best Paper Award!
by Eric Esteve on 05-18-2015 at 7:00 pm

Blogging for Semiwiki is a very good exercise to prepare a paper submission at DAC. Writing a short article using about 600 words to pass one message, and try to deliver this message as clearly as possible. Writing a paper for DAC is very similar, as you have to be synthetic and develop a thesis in 5 slides, no more, as it’s a time limited… Read More


SoCs in New Context Look beyond PPA – Part2

SoCs in New Context Look beyond PPA – Part2
by Pawan Fangaria on 05-10-2015 at 10:00 am

In the first part of this article, I talked about some of the key business aspects along with some technical aspects like system performance, functionality, and IP integration that drive the architecture of an SoC for its best optimization and realization in an economic sense. In this part, let’s dive into some more aspects that… Read More


How Pebble Reinitiated the Inning for Smartwatch

How Pebble Reinitiated the Inning for Smartwatch
by Pawan Fangaria on 04-06-2015 at 7:00 pm

The effort for adding phone function into watch had started much earlier in 1999 when several tech companies joined the crusade to enter the big watch market. Notable among them were Samsung, IBM, Microsoft, Fossiland Sony Ericsson. The effort lasted for about a decade before showing its signs of fatigue. Microsoft SPOT (Smart… Read More