Articles – Page 61

The Metaverse is Coming and GridRaster Is Ready to Take Us There

November 18, 2021

Before we plunge headfirst into the fray with gusto and abandon and — of course — aplomb, I’d like to make mention of the fact that I am a huge fan of virtual reality and augmented reality. We should also remind ourselves that, as I discussed in my What the FAQ are VR, MR, AR, DR, AV, and HR? column, virtual reality and augmented reality form only part of what I call the Reality-Virtuality Continuum.</ … Read More → "The Metaverse is Coming and GridRaster Is Ready to Take Us There"

Xilinx Unveils U55C Data Center Card

More Power for Less Power

by Kevin Morris

November 17, 2021

With Supercomputing 2021 underway this week, all eyes are focused on high-performance computing (HPC) and the incredible advances we are seeing in the world’s fastest computers. (OK, not really ALL eyes, some are still focused on Tik Tok and… well, you know).

The landscape in HPC is changing rapidly, with supercomputers playing a much larger role in solving the world’s most critical problems. With direct impact on crises such as climate change and the global pandemic, and the rise of new and challenging workloads such as AI, supercomputing is … Read More → "Xilinx Unveils U55C Data Center Card"

Say Happy 50th Birthday to the Microprocessor, Part 2

It Almost Didn’t Happen

by Steven Leibson

November 16, 2021

Part 1 of this article describes how Busicom chose Intel to develop and manufacture the world’s first commercial microprocessor. Part 2 describes how the Intel 4004 microprocessor was created and brought to market.

It was late March or early April in 1970, and Busicom’s Masatoshi Shima was very angry! He’d visited Intel with Busicom executives several times in 1969, and Busicom had agreed to pay Intel a development fee to design and manufacture a proprietary 4-chip set for Busicom’s modular 141-PF calculator. Shima had developed an initial design proposal … Read More → "Say Happy 50th Birthday to the Microprocessor, Part 2"

Say Happy 50th Birthday to the Microprocessor, Part I

by Steven Leibson

November 15, 2021

The same year that I began my quest for a BSEE at Case Western Reserve University in 1971, someone posted a photocopy of a groundbreaking ad on the EE department’s bulletin board. … Read More →

Using Machine Learning to Optimize FPGA Layout and Timing

by Max Maxfield

November 11, 2021

As usual, I’m amazed by how fast and how far things have changed in my own lifetime. When I started my career in electronics and computers in 1980, we thought simple programmable logic devices (PLDs) were pretty darned cool, not least that their creators managed to wring so many acronyms out of the same small collection of letters (engineers are nothing if not lovers of acronyms — especially of the TLA (three-letter acronym) variety).

The original PLDs were programmable read-only memories (PROMs), which appeared on the scene in 1970. Although these were … Read More → "Using Machine Learning to Optimize FPGA Layout and Timing"

Tortuously Topological Toroidal Transformations (a.k.a. Donut Math)

by Max Maxfield

November 9, 2021

For reasons that will be revealed in the fullness of time, I’m wrestling with a passel of perplexing posers revolving around the math associated with a torus (plural tori), which is colloquially known as a donut.

Before we plunge into the fray with gusto and abandon, let’s first remind ourselves that, in the realm of mathematics, the topical topic of topology is concerned with the properties of a geometric object that are preserved under continuous deformations, such as stretching, twisting, crumpling, and bending; that is, without closing holes, … Read More → "Tortuously Topological Toroidal Transformations (a.k.a. Donut Math)"

Book Review: Designing Electronics that Work

by Steven Leibson

November 8, 2021

Back in the day, 60 years ago, I built a lot of Heathkit test equipment including two oscilloscopes, two analog multimeters, an audio signal generator, an RF generator, an adjustable single-voltage power supply, and an automotive tester. I also built a Heathkit stereo receiver (that was a disaster), a digital clock with a Panaplex gas-discharge display (sure wish I still had that), and a microwave oven. Mid-century Heathkits were great because you learned a lot about electronics by building kits that were created by skilled engineers who had to develop working designs that could be assembled by … Read More → "Book Review: Designing Electronics that Work"

MathWorks’s Satellite Communications Toolbox is Out of This World!

by Max Maxfield

November 4, 2021

If you had asked me about the folks at MathWorks a few days ago, I might have waffled on about all of the traditional stuff for which they are internationally (and deservedly) renowned. I might even have made mention of their recently introduced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities (see also Want to Learn AI? But Where to … Read More → "MathWorks’s Satellite Communications Toolbox is Out of This World!"

If You Thought Bitcoin was Bad, Wait Till You Get a Load of NFTs

Non-Fungible Tokens are Turning the Art World on its Pointy Little Head

by Steven Leibson

November 3, 2021

I needed to get my wife a present for her recent birthday. What do you get for someone who says she doesn’t really want anything? You’ve probably run into this problem before with your own spouse, significant other, friend, etc. What do you get for them? If you know their digestive tastes, you might get a consumable like a bottle of wine or a Bundt cake. If they’re a reader, perhaps you’ll get them a book. If they like movies… well, going to the movies isn’t what it once was given … Read More → "If You Thought Bitcoin was Bad, Wait Till You Get a Load of NFTs"

Intel Welcomes You to the Angstrom Era

PS: Moore’s Law is Still Dead

by Steven Leibson

November 1, 2021

Intel took a lot of flak when it announced new names for its future semiconductor process nodes during the Intel Accelerated event in Late July. The new nodes are called Intel 7, 4, 3, and 20A. Industry pundits have knocked the company for calling its 10nm enhanced SuperFin process node “Intel 7.” (Intel announced and demonstrated 12th Generation i5, i7, and i9 Core processors built using the Intel 7 process node just last week at its Intel InnovatiON developer event, so this process technology is clearly well in hand.) The company now uses the name “Intel 4” for the node previously called 7 … Read More → "Intel Welcomes You to the Angstrom Era"