Today's announcement by Macronix of a 256-Mbit serial NOR flash chip is interesting from a capabilities point of view, but leaves a number questions regarding market pull, interface standards and overall market size that makes me wonder who will follow Macronix to create a storm in this teacup?

IMEC puts 10-nm interconnects in perspective

At last week's tech fest at the IMEC research facility in Belgium, we were given an update on the technologies, processes and design techniques that will get us to 10-nm interconnects. But one slide hits hard and shows just what 10 nm really means.

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Use IC vendors to bring your product idea to life

The next time you have a great idea for an end product, you should look at bit more closely at your choice of IC: the vendor-as-partner model can do more to realize your idea than any venture capitalist or angel investor ever could--without eating into your long-term profits.

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Old and new: Marconi's Irish roots

In a remote region of Ireland last week I happened upon a monument to Guglielmo Marconi's first commercial wireless transmission: between Rathlin Island and Ballycastle in North Antrim on July 6th. 1898.

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UWB is dead! Oops, sorry: It's alive… again!(?)

There's been a miracle at Computex: It seems there have been enough prayers to breath life back into UWB, at least according to second-hand accounts by a remote witness.

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Intel hiring DSP programmers: Cognitive dissonance?

I don't want to read too much into this, as it's part of the natural way of things given recent processing trends, but this job opening does did stop me in my tracks: Intel Ireland seeking senior DSP software developer.

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Having a look at "Micro" electronics

The laboratory facilities of TechInsights Services can provide an interesting view of the microelectronics world. Check out the Image of the Week, and take a unique look at some of the electronics you help create.

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Bluetooth: Dead and alive

After all the research, development, marketing and debates, Bluetooth was successful. As a mobile headset cable replacement. So, is that it?

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IMEC needs your help

The famed Belgian research group is working on new, more-efficient approaches to dynamic, heterogeneous processing across distributed systems and is actively soliciting any and all suggestions as to how it should be done.

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Its about passion, not the money (thankfully)

I just got off the phone with Al Wegener, CTO at Samplify Systems. You know how it goes, sometimes you come across someone who just makes you realize how glad you are to be in this business, despite the many ups and downs.

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