Hardware Podcasts

BASIC, Chip companies & Robots - Pernicious Projects, Puppies in Peril

The Amp Hour · 24 May 2011 · 1h 04m · Episode 44

What this episode covers

Dave Jones and Chris Gammell discuss the perception of chip companies, specifically highlighting Maxim's historical reputation for innovation but poor delivery, and Touchstone Semiconductor's controversial contest rules. They review the Luna robot and Maximite microcontroller, while also covering Google's autonomous vehicle project and Intel's entry into the smartphone market. The hosts emphasize the importance of distribution channels like Mouser and DigiKey for hardware startups and share anecdotes about collector communities for test equipment and musical instruments.

Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Maxim, Touchstone Semiconductor, Google, Intel, Agilent
Products
Luna, Maximite, U1272A
Chips
LT3080
Also
Mouser, DigiKey

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Circuit · 33m

    Episode 44: Silicon, Tech Exploration and the Awkward Journey of Progress

    Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the 'awkward journey of progress' in semiconductor technology, focusing on early-stage products like the Humane AI Pin and Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses that push hardware limits. They analyze how these devices highlight current constraints in miniaturization, battery life, and compute power, while encouraging necessary experimentation. The conversation extends to the automotive sector, examining how Chinese EV makers and Tesla are driving innovation in software-defined vehicles and custom silicon like Tesla's Dojo, despite significant challenges in advanced packaging and automotive qualification.

    Connected products & IoTChips, FPGAs & semiconductors
    6 chapters

  • EE Times Current · 34m

    AI Hardware Summit | India’s Silicon Ambitions | Frankfurt Motor Show

    Kevin Crewell and Jim McGregor of Terry's Research report on the AI Hardware Summit, noting that while major players like Intel, Nvidia, and Habana showed real silicon, several startups including Grok and Wave Computing failed to appear, sparking speculation about technical failures or acquisitions. Nitin Sinha discusses India's semiconductor ambitions, highlighting that while the country has a strong design ecosystem rooted in companies like Texas Instruments and Synopsys, it lacks large homegrown manufacturers and significant government funding for infrastructure. Finally, Colin Barnden reports from the Frankfurt Motor Show, describing an industry in distress with declining exhibitors, shifting focus from autonomous to assisted driving, and innovations like BiT's 48-inch screen and BMW's concept car featuring augmented reality HUDs.

    Chips, FPGAs & semiconductorsPolicy, trade & tariffs
    7 chapters

  • The Spark Gap · 1h 19m

    The Spark Gap - Episode 32

    Hosts Carl and Corey revisit topics from their first 31 episodes, discussing the NXP acquisition of Freescale, MakerBot's layoffs, and Tesla's certified pre-owned program and Powerwall. They also analyze the John Deere firmware ownership controversy, the performance trade-offs of No-OS and Lua on microcontrollers, and the evolution of the Raspberry Pi. The episode highlights specific components like NXP current-sensing MOSFETs and the PCA8550 I2C dip switch, while addressing software bugs in Boeing 787 generator control units and the importance of checking simple parts like LDOs.

    Microcontrollers & dev platformsBatteries & low-power design
    11 chapters

  • EE Times Current · 18m

    ON Semi’s Acquisition | TSMC’s Finer Nodes | Tesla’s AI Chip | China’s Fabless Companies

    Rick Merritt reports on ON Semiconductor's acquisition of GlobalFoundries' East Fishkill fab to transition to 300mm wafers and TSMC's roadmap updates on 7nm, 5nm, and advanced packaging. Junko Yoshida analyzes Tesla's new Full Self-Driving computer and criticizes the company's marketing of its autonomous capabilities. Echo Zhao discusses the 2019 China fabless survey, highlighting rapid growth, fragmentation, and the rise of IoT applications in the region.

    Chips, FPGAs & semiconductorsPolicy, trade & tariffs
    5 chapters

  • The Circuit · 49m

    IFS Connect Takeaways | Nvidia Earnings as the New Semiconductor King

    Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg analyze Intel's recent foundry event, noting their strategic pivot to advanced packaging and chiplets with 18A process technology, while expressing skepticism about their ability to overcome cultural inertia and win major customers like Apple away from TSMC. They then discuss Nvidia's recent earnings, highlighting the unusual influence of retail investors on the stock price and concerns about Nvidia's ability to meet heightened expectations given supply chain constraints and a rapidly shrinking product cadence.

    Manufacturing partners & offshoringChips, FPGAs & semiconductors
    7 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by The Amp Hour. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.