In Part 1 of this who-knows-how-many-parts-there-will-be Retro-Futuristic-Steampunk Technologies mini-series, we focused on one of my favorite display technologies in the form of Nixie tubes. We also featured a photograph showing the main control room of an abandoned power plant in Hungary that—much like your humble narrator—was simply oozing with style.
Read More → "Retro-Futuristic-Steampunk Technologies (Part 2)"
Nvidia has something that Intel and AMD covet. No, it’s not GPUs. Intel and AMD both make GPUs. However, they don’t have Nvidia’s not-so-secret weapon that’s a close GPU companion: CUDA, the parallel programming language that allows developers to harness GPUs to accelerate general-purpose (non-graphics) algorithms. Since its introduction in 2006, CUDA has become a tremendous and so-far unrivaled competitive advantage for Nvidia because it works with Nvidia GPUs, and only with Nvidia GPUs. Understandably, neither Intel nor AMD plan to let that competitive advantage go unchallenged.
In Part 1 of my soon-to-be-famous Let’s Read Our Little Cotton Socks Off mega-mini-series, we closed with my noting that much of what I know (or, at least, what I think I know) leads me to believe that life in one form or another is pervasive throughout the universe. We also posed the question: “But what proportion of this life is intelligent?” (Truth be told, the actual question was: “But what proportion of … Read More → "Let’s Read Our Little Cotton Socks Off (Part 2)!"
The proverb “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing” was coined by Alexander Pope (1688-1744) in An Essay on Criticism (1711). If this sentiment is true, then I flatter myself that I’m a very dangerous individual indeed.
As an aside (we’re commencing on the asides early in this column because that’s just the sort of chap I am), Publilius Syrus (85-45 BC), a Syrian who started out as a Roman slave and eventually gained his freedom, presented this … Read More → "I’ve Been Captivated by Compound Semiconductors"
Buried in Intel’s recent and somewhat dismal second-quarter 2022 financial results was a line item under “Non-GAAP adjustment or measure” that read: “Optane inventory impairment” for the sum of $559 million. Ouch. About 60 percent of the way through the “Forward-Looking Statements” section of the financial earnings statement is the phrase “the wind-down of our Intel Optane memory business.” Bye, bye Optane.
This is a CEO-level decision, and it can’t have been an easy one for Pat Gelsinger. Optane Persistent Memory has been a foundational cornerstone of Intel’s differentiation strategy … Read More → "Optane, We Hardly Knew Yeh"
From one perspective, I’m not very good in an argument because I can usually see both points of view. Oftentimes, if the argument is between two other persons, I can introduce a third way of looking at things that really gums up the works. Contrariwise, from another viewpoint, I can be great in an argument because—since I can usually find something with which I can empathize on each side of the disagreement—I can happily dispute from either position.
I’m much the same way with technology. On … Read More → "Retro-Futuristic-Steampunk Technologies (Part 1)"
I recently got the news that my friend Nick Tredennick had passed away in an accident on his property in the hills above Los Gatos, California. I’ve known Nick for nearly a quarter of a century, and he was one of those people who were larger than life. Nick was always upbeat and full of life. So with that in mind, I would like to use this platform to celebrate his life.
You may well know Nick. He was a fixture at Microprocessor Forums for many years in the 1990 … Read More → "Nick Tredennick: Requiem for a Heavyweight"
STMicroelectronics (ST) and GlobalFoundries (GF) have just signed a memorandum of understanding to create a new, jointly operated 300mm semiconductor fab to be located alongside ST’s existing fab in Crolles, France. The new fab will support multiple semiconductor technologies and process nodes, including FD-SOI (fully depleted silicon on insulator). ST and GF expect that the fab will start producing chips in 2024 and will ramp to full capacity, producing as many as 620,000 300mm wafers per year, by 2026.
The Grenoble area in southeastern France, not far from the Italian border, has … Read More → "STMicroelectronics and GlobalFoundries Jointly Press on with FD-SOI in a New Fab Near Grenoble"
Earlier today as I pen these words, I was video conferencing with one of my friends regarding a project on which we’re working. We’ll call my chum Brian (because that’s his name). Although he’s a young whippersnapper who has braved only a scant 55 cold and gray winters, Brian told me that he’s becoming increasingly conscious as to how fleeting is our time in this plane of existence. “Tell me about it,” I thought, “just wait until you get to my age!”
Our conversation reminded me … Read More → "Let’s Read Our Little Cotton Socks Off! (Part 1)"
Just to put you out of your suspense, the tantalizing topic of this column is that a company called PulseForge has developed a technology that allows us to solder surface-mount components onto conductive inks pads and tracks which are themselves printed on thin, flexible polymer (plastic) substrates. This is quite a trick when we remember that the melting point of lead-free solder is around 227°C ± a dibble and a dab, while the maximum working temperature of many low-cost, lightweight polymers is typically around 150°C. Based on these numbers, it would seem that the idea of melting … Read More → "Melting Metal on Plastic Without Melting the Plastic!"
