Thursday, July 31, 2003

Hi. I'm back. Anyone miss me?

There is just too much to catch up on in one update. But I had a great vacation. Lots of sun and surf in Maui.
I didn't get into the Maui High Performance Computer Center (needed security clearance and a sponsor), so I didn't get to see their IBM Linux cluster. So I got to really get away from tech for a week and a half.

It's been very busy since I got back. The high point was an analyst/press day held by Infineon at the Infineon Raceway at Sears Point. At the event, I got to ride in a Porsche SuperCup GT3 driven by Mario Andretti. How cool is that? And Mario (who didn't say "boo" the whole drive) was pushing that car hard. What a rush! Better than anything at Great America Amusement Park. Also learned that it takes 2-3 years to get a chip designed into a car. By the time it's in production, it's obsolete (in PC terms). Then you have to supply the part for 8-10 years and provide for 10 years of spares. So a chip they make today, could still be around in the year 2030. But the reality of the market is that the chip guys will try to requalify more contemporary processes and may not be able to supply chips for that long. Then is will be junk-yard diving for working modules. Some contemporary cars may just become museum pieces in the future.

More later..
KK

Wednesday, July 02, 2003

It's a mind-Blogging experience!

Well, actually my mind is blogged out right now. I'm in crunch mode trying to get a bunch of things done before vacation. Yeh, vacation!!!! Sun, surf, Sierra Nevada, more s-words... (see, my mind es gone). Anyway, the PC industry is on summer brake as well. September is gets nuts: TechXNY, IDF, Computex, and Athlon 64--all in one month. Yikes!

I'll see if I get to post over the break. Later all.

KK