# An Interview with Steve Leibson - Impavid Ideopraxist Insider

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2012-06-11
- Length: 1h 19m
- Episode: 99
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-06-11-an-interview-with-steve-leibson-impavid-ideopraxist-insider
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/the-amp-hour-99-impavid-ideopraxist-insider/

## Summary

Steve Leibson, marketing director at Cadence and author of the EDA360 Insider and Denali Memory Report, recounts his career from designing early HP computers like the HP 9825 and HP 9845 to working at early EDA firms like Cadnetics and later as a technical editor for EDN Magazine. He discusses the evolution of the semiconductor industry, the challenges of scaling to 20nm and below, the future of memory technologies like magnetic RAM and memristors, and the business dynamics of the EDA market. Leibson also shares anecdotes about the Design Automation Conference (DAC) and his unexpected appearance on a TV show with Leonard Nimoy.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-06-11-an-interview-with-steve-leibson-impavid-ideopraxist-insider#t=0) Introduction and Early HP Career
- [7:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-06-11-an-interview-with-steve-leibson-impavid-ideopraxist-insider#t=460) HP 9825, HP 9845, and the Birth of Personal Computing
- [14:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-06-11-an-interview-with-steve-leibson-impavid-ideopraxist-insider#t=897) The Agilent Spinoff and Early EDA Companies
- [20:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-06-11-an-interview-with-steve-leibson-impavid-ideopraxist-insider#t=1258) Transition to Technical Journalism at EDN
- [22:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-06-11-an-interview-with-steve-leibson-impavid-ideopraxist-insider#t=1327) The Decline of Trade Magazines and Rise of Google
- [27:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-06-11-an-interview-with-steve-leibson-impavid-ideopraxist-insider#t=1678) Return to EDA: Tensilica, Denali, and Cadence
- [34:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-06-11-an-interview-with-steve-leibson-impavid-ideopraxist-insider#t=2088) Scaling Challenges: 20nm, Lithography, and Yield
- [41:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-06-11-an-interview-with-steve-leibson-impavid-ideopraxist-insider#t=2515) EDA Startups, DAC, and Open Access Database
- [54:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-06-11-an-interview-with-steve-leibson-impavid-ideopraxist-insider#t=3254) Future of Memory: Flash, Magnetic RAM, and Memristors
- [1:03:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-06-11-an-interview-with-steve-leibson-impavid-ideopraxist-insider#t=3834) Moore's Law, Graphene, and Liebson's Law
- [1:09:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-06-11-an-interview-with-steve-leibson-impavid-ideopraxist-insider#t=4197) Anecdote: Filming with Leonard Nimoy

## Topics

- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [EDA & CAD tools](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/eda-and-cad-tools)
- [Batteries & low-power design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/batteries-and-low-power)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Cadence (company)
- Hewlett-Packard (company)
- HP 9825 (product)
- HP 9845 (product)
- Agilent (company)
- Cadnetics (company)
- EDN Magazine (other)
- Tensilica (company)
- Denali (company)
- Mentor (company)
- TSMC (company)
- Toshiba (company)
- Intel (company)
- Google (company)
- IBM (company)
- Rigol (company)
- Keithley (company)
- LaCroix (company)
- Teledyne (company)
- Ramtron (company)
- Texas Instruments (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Episode 67: A Conversation with Aart de Geus on EDA and the Future of Silicon Design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-05-13-episode-67-a-conversation-with-aart-de-geus-on-eda-and-the-future-of-silicon-des) (The Circuit)
- [Words to the Wise with Sally Ward-Foxton](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-10-07-words-to-the-wise-with-sally-ward-foxton) (EE Times Current)
- [376: Left Half of My Brain Is Digital](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-06-10-376-left-half-of-my-brain-is-digital) (Embedded.fm)
- [S4E28 Kevin Distelhurst | Semiconductors – What They Are & How They’re Manufactured](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-07-28-s4e28-kevin-distelhurst-semiconductors-what-they-are-how-theyre-manufactured) (Being an Engineer)
- [IMEC & the End of the Road(map) | EDS and the Trade War | Restoring Notre Dame](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2019-05-17-imec-the-end-of-the-road-map-eds-and-the-trade-war-restoring-notre-dame) (EE Times Current)

## Citing this page

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