Consolidate All The Things - Zonked Zelotic Zaitech

The Amp Hour · 12 Jun 2015 · 1h 02m · Episode 253

What this episode covers

Hosts Chris Gammell and Dave Jones discuss the consolidation of the electronics industry, citing the Intel-Altera and Avago-Broadcom acquisitions and the failed OnSemi/Microchip bid for Atmel. They analyze how these mergers drive scale and accounting benefits rather than just strategic synergy, and warn designers about the risks of chip discontinuations and custom pinouts. The conversation shifts to hardware trends, including the feasibility of ultra-low-cost $1 chips, the impracticality of WiFi power harvesting, and the battery life challenges of running full OS stacks on IoT devices.

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