International CES: Day One

International CES: Day One
by Bill Jewell on 01-05-2014 at 10:00 pm

Semiconductor Intelligence will be attending the International CES this week in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) puts on the show each year. The CEA insists the meeting be called “International CES” and states “CES” no longer stands for Consumer Electronics Show. The… Read More


Innovations that will change our lives in the next five years

Innovations that will change our lives in the next five years
by Daniel Nenni on 01-05-2014 at 8:00 am

The theme of our book “Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry” comes from the Steve Jobs quote,“You can’t really understand now if you don’t know what came before.” After chronicling the rise of the semiconductor industry and transformation to the fabless business model we ask in the final chapter, … Read More


Fab-U-Less! The 2013 Global Semiconductor Awards!

Fab-U-Less! The 2013 Global Semiconductor Awards!
by Daniel Nenni on 12-17-2013 at 9:00 pm

It was a dinner with more than a thousand semiconductor professionals from around the world keynoted by Author and Editor in Chief of Forbes Magazine Steve Forbes. What more could a humble blogger ask for? Even at $250 a plate it was well worth it just to mingle amongst the people who make this industry so great.

Global Semiconductor
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DAC 2014: Designer Track/IP Call for Submissions

DAC 2014: Designer Track/IP Call for Submissions
by Daniel Nenni on 12-17-2013 at 8:00 pm

Yes, it is that time of year again, DAC is coming and it is in San Francisco so you can bet we will break attendance records, absolutely. I would like to call on ALL semiconductor IP companies to exhibit this year. IP is the center of the semiconductor design universe, DAC is the premier semiconductor design event, and San Francisco … Read More


Mobile Maturity Leads to Extremes

Mobile Maturity Leads to Extremes
by Bill Boldt on 12-12-2013 at 3:00 pm

The smartphone is becoming a commodity, a lifecycle stage where the strong get stronger, the weak get weaker, and the products standardize and start to look alike. This dynamic is driving innovation in existing products to extremes and spawning a new class of wearable devices.

Today two major players are leading the mobile hardware… Read More


My iPhone 5s is having hot flashes!

My iPhone 5s is having hot flashes!
by Daniel Nenni on 11-29-2013 at 1:53 pm

It is bad enough my wife is “flashing” but now my phone is 100+ degrees too!?!?!? It seems that an application is getting stuck and the SoC is thrashing. Which application I do not know, you need to use the old process of elimination method to figure this one out. Doing a hard reboot (turning your phone off and on) is the quick fix, you can… Read More


Analog & Mixed-Signal Design Lunch & Learn

Analog & Mixed-Signal Design Lunch & Learn
by Daniel Nenni on 10-20-2013 at 9:00 pm

I’m a big fan of lunch and learns, mainly because I’m a big fan of lunch but I also like to learn. I’m also a big fan of Tanner EDA which is why I helped organize this event. Face to face interaction amongst the fabless semiconductor ecosystem is critical to our success so stop on by and network, lunch is on me.

Take a look at the Brief HistoryRead More


Can you Publicly Benchmark EDA Tools?

Can you Publicly Benchmark EDA Tools?
by Daniel Nenni on 10-08-2013 at 7:00 pm

There is an interesting discussion on SemiWiki in regards to the age old question aboutbenchmarking EDA tools. I remember benchmark discussions at my first DAC in 1984. It was deemed impossible to do a “fair” public benchmark then and it’s not possible now, just my opinion of course but let me tell you why. Simply stated it is a legal,… Read More


The US Executive Forum 2013

The US Executive Forum 2013
by Daniel Nenni on 09-26-2013 at 10:00 am

The US Executive Forum hosted by the Global Semiconductor Alliance was held last night at the beautiful Rosewood Sand Hill Hotel in Menlo Park. We all have memorable events in our professional lives and this is one of mine, absolutely. The audience was filled with semiconductor executives from around the world who chatted freely… Read More


The Significance of Apple’s 64 Bit A7

The Significance of Apple’s 64 Bit A7
by Ed McKernan on 09-11-2013 at 9:00 pm

The disappointment amongst analysts is palpable. Dreams of low cost iphones for the masses were kicked away when Apple introduced their two new iphones at the same price points as the old ones. Clearly Apple is playing a different game than what most others are anticipating as the market runs to 5BU. The market has split into the land… Read More