Jim Turley
Feb 10
|08:17
Last Updated on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:25
Chalk one up for sensationalist journalism.
A new Associated Press article article describes, in somewhat breathless terms, how security consultant Chris Tarnovsky "cracked" the security chip found in most PCs. According to the article, this will lead to widespread identity theft, lost passwords, stolen military secrets, and more.
Although the details of Tarnovsky's exploits are accurate, the fallout is not. In reality, this is no big deal. Here's the background.
More News and Analysis
Actel's Three-Legged Stool
They say good things come in threes: the Three Stooges, triple plays, the first Star Wars movies, two halves of a six-pack. Now FPGA maker Actel adds another happy trio: SmartFusion.
Actel’s triple...
Read More... Microchip Maxes Out Might Mites
For a silicon company, Microchip has the best brand name ever. Even your grandmother knows what a “microchip” is, even if she isn’t clear on what they do. Like Scotch tape, Xerox copiers, and Kleenex...
Read More... ARM Cortex-M4 Stirs the Soup
It’s a floor wax! It’s a dessert topping! It’s the Cortex-M4!
As if ARM’s pantry of microprocessors weren’t already well stocked, now there’s another tasty treat to squeeze on the shelf. The...
Read More... Hetero Unions and Changing Your Name
A real-time operating system (RTOS) used to be just a tiny microkernel of code. Nowadays they’re growing into fully featured operating systems with their own development tools and third-party support....
Read More... Analog Devices and Your Digital BFF
Circling silently beneath the murky waters of the Gulf of Mexico, a solitary fin breaks the surface; then two, then three. Panicked swimmers paddle for the shore, anxious to distance themselves from the...
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Featured Highlights
Intel Has Just 2% Share!
Contrary to popular belief, Intel makes just 2% of the world's processor chips.Read more...
The Real Cost of Chip-Making
You're not paying for the silicon and copper. It's the shiny real estate.Read more...
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Twitter Feed: ChipGuy
10.02.10
Recent hack of PC security chip is no big deal. http://tinyurl.com/yjk45lj
09.02.10
Memory maker Micron to buy Numonyx for $1.27 billion in stock. http://on.wsj.com/aGQYxm
09.02.10
Want to design your own CPU? There are a few hurdles http://www.techfocusmedia.net/embeddedtechnologyjournal/feature_articles/20100209-diy/
05.01.10
Got 66 cents? You can buy an ARM Cortex-M0 processor from NXP.
http://tinyurl.com/ycbqwau
15.12.09
Stay away from chip making. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the 10 industries most likely to lose jobs. http://tinyurl.com/ycye33g
18.11.09
Microchip's new PIC32 chips combine MIPS processor with CAN, Ethernet, or both for about $5. A nice upgrade from the volume monster.
11.11.09
is attending the 6Sight Conference on Imaging in Monterey.
02.11.09
MIPS do-over: New M14K processors reinvent code compression. Like ARM, MIPS is appealing to low-end MCU buyers. Tweet for more info.
28.10.09
All Your Chip Are Belong To Us. ARM and MIPS again partner with Altera and Xilinx. What's different this time? http://bit.ly/VkcoI
28.10.09
"Ushering in the Tile Era." Tilera does mesh chip with 100 custom processors; gets investment from Taiwanese ODMs. Tweet for more info.
14.10.09
says, Windows 7 launch "party" gets weird(er). Microsoft is paying Fox television to produce a Windows 7-themed episode of The Family Guy.
06.10.09
Altera to put MIPS processors in its chips. The FPGA-with-CPU concept gets another try.
23.09.09
ARM's new -A9 processor finally puts ARM in with the big boys. http://bit.ly/2ZSFzs
18.08.09
@timoreilly CashForiPhones.com offers a similar deal. How can they pay so much for used phones when new ones are <$99?
18.08.09
ARC International, my old company, is being acquired by Virage Logic for $41 million. Maybe my tax losses will buy me a Big Mac.
03.08.09
Chip sales were up in June, the 4th straight month of growth. That puts Q2 up 17% over Q1, but still down 20% from last year. Yippee!
04.06.09
Intel buys Wind River Systems for $884 million. They're getitng serious about embedded systems.
04.06.09
Microsoft sez no Windows for ARM-based netbooks. That makes sense, as Windows alone, w/o an x86 CPU, means PC apps wouldn't run anyway.
03.06.09
Gave a talk at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. Those guys are smaaaart. Some are working on cool projects, too.
01.06.09
Windows 7 won't be limited to just 3 apps after all. That's good news for Microsoft. It was dangerously close to losing netbook business.
About Us
Technical insight.
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For over 20 years, Jim Turley has been an acknowledged expert on microprocessors, embedded systems, and IP licensing.
From engineer to CEO, international marketing VP to journalist, Jim Turley has seen the microprocessor and embedded-systems industry from the inside out. There's no better expert on the business or the technology. Put that expertise to work for you.
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