这个Single-Chip PC

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28 years ago, EW carried this yarn: ‘National Semiconductor’s president and CEO, Brian Halla, said that the company would reduce the chip count of PCs from 12 to one […] ‘National Semiconductor’s president and CEO, Brian Halla, said that the company would reduce the chip count of PCs from 12 to one by mid-1999, making possible the sub-$500 PC. “National has assembled, through acquisition and internal development, all the pieces it needs to integrate a PC on a single chip,” Halla told the 1998 Semico Summit semiconductor conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The acquisitions are: Cyrix for processor cores, Gulbransen for audio compression, FIS for graphics, Mediamatics for MPEG, and PicoPower for system logic. The co-ordinated chip is being designed at National’s design centre in Herzlia, Israel. The chip will contain all the PC functions – processor, I/O, graphics, video decompression, power management, network and audio, leaving only memory and high-voltage to be performed off-chip. Rival SGS-Thomson (now ST) responded: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Metaflow (a US company controlled by SGS) is targeting exactly the same application except that we’ve got the high voltage parts and the memory as well.” Both companies have been using Cyrix-developed microprocessor cores to develop system-level chips. SGS-Thomson will move on to use Metaflow for its Pentium II-class cores. Metaflow is also said to be working on ways to mimic Intel’s proprietary Slot 1 processor interface so allowing it to be pin-for-pin compatible with Intel Pentium II processors. “We will offer it to customers if they want it in a particular application,” said an SGS-Thomson spokesman, “but we’re not competing head-to-head with Intel.” Halla sees the single-chip PC as powering other appliances than just PCs. These include set-top boxes, DVDs, flat panels and electronic systems in cars.’ Add us as preferred source Share Tweet Share Pin Previous Post Failure analysis in the era of 3D integration Next Post Axiom Space highlights space computing progress David Manners David Manners has more than forty-years experience writing about the electronics industry, its major trends and leading players. As well as writing business, components and research news, he is the author of the site's most popular blog, Mannerisms. This features series of posts such as Fables, Markets, Shenanigans, and Memory Lanes, across a wide range of topics. Most Popular Qualcomm vs Arm (day 3) 0 shares Share 0 Tweet 0 Arm vs Qualcomm, episode 2 0 shares Share 0 Tweet 0 SK Hynix chairman to sell shares worth $700m 0 shares Share 0 Tweet 0 Qualcomm vs Arm (cont’d) 0 shares Share 0 Tweet 0 Qualcomm vs Arm (Day 4) 0 shares Share 0 Tweet 0 Don’t miss out on EW Newsletters Get our news, blogs and comments straight to your inbox! Sign up for the Electronics Weekly newsletters: Mannerisms, Gadget Master and the Daily and Weekly roundups. The excellent Electronics Weekly podcast, CHIIPS, is brought to you by our editor Caroline Hayes. Hear interesting insights from a range of industry figures. Catch all the episodes » Read our special features celebrating 65 years of Electronics Weekly and looking ahead to the future of the industry. Read the Electronics Weekly @ 65 features » Read the first ever Electronics Weekly online: 7th September 1960. We’ve scanned the very first edition so you can enjoy it. Read the very first edition » Established in 1960, Electronics Weekly is the market-leading, longest-established electronics brand, read by key decision makers throughout the industry. Electronics Weekly reaches an international audience of 200,000 people each month across online, email, social media and events, and readers rate its editorial as informative, interesting and relevant. Our prestigious events portfolio includes Electronics Weekly’s Elektra Awards, Electronics Weekly’s BrightSparks, and the recently added Electronics Weekly’s Women Leaders in Electronics Awards. News AI Au