Denser, faster, cheaper: the microchip in the 21st century; the exponential growth of transistor capacity will continue to have a huge impact

Article Abstract:

Commercially available silicon memory chips nowadays contain as many as 4 million individual transistors, and the number of transistors that can be fitted onto a chip continues to grow geometrically as technology continues to advance. Such growth is consistent with 'Moore's Law,' which was proposed by Gordon Moore of Intel Corp in the 1960s. This 'law,' as amended in the 1970s, holds that the number of transistors per chip doubles every 18 months and quadruples every three years. Experts believe that chips that contain as many as 256 million transistors will be in use by the year 2000. If so, it will mean that tomorrow's video-game equipment could be as powerful as today's supercomputers. Advanced applications in areas such as artificial intelligence, voice recognition and machine vision, which are not possible given today's technologies, will be possible then.

Integrated circuits, Forecasts and trends, Circuit design, Microelectronics, Miniaturization (Electronics), Trends, Outlook, Future Technologies, Packaging Density, Miniaturization, Transistor

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Battles loom for control of TV's portal to cable

Article Abstract:

Intel, Microsoft and General Instruments are jointly developing a device that will combine the features of a microcomputer and a cable converter box. The device is expected to be available in a few years and will be designed to offer about 500 channels. It will be a tv set-top unit, much like the current cable converter box, and will function as the portal through which video signals flow. Aside from the three companies, computer makers such as IBM and Apple, and video game companies such as Nintendo and Sega, are searching for partners among cable and telephone companies to develop devices for the emerging interactive market. At stake is the control of the access to video entertainment and electronic information that will be available to homes nationwide.

Prepackaged software, Computer terminals, Computer peripheral equipment, not elsewhere classified, Electronic components, not elsewhere classified, Semiconductor industry, Computer software industry, Software industry, Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp., INTC, Equipment and supplies, Internet services, Cable television, Contracts, General Instrument Corp., Product development, MSFT, Product introduction, New Product, Access Controls, Competition, Cooperative Agreements, New Technique, Cable Television/Data Services, GRL

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