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Tag: microprocessor

  • Renowned Chip Engineer Jim Keller Departs Intel

    Renowned Chip Engineer Jim Keller Departs Intel

    Jim Keller, something of a legend in the microprocessor industry, has suddenly resigned from Intel after just two years.

    Jim Keller has a long history in the industry, having working for Digital Equipment Corp., AMD, Apple, Tesla and Intel. Wherever Keller has gone, he has often led the development of game-changing microprocessors for the company employing him.

    During his first stint at AMD, in the late ‘90s, he worked on the K7 Athlon chips and led the development of the K8, AMD’s first 64-bit line of chips. He eventually found his way to P.A. Semi, the company focused on mobile processors, going to Apple shortly before it bought the firm.

    During his time at Apple, Keller helped develop the A-series line of processors used in iPhones and iPads, and rumored to be coming to Macs.

    In 2012, Keller returned to AMD, where he lead the development of the Zen families of chips, that helped the company gain ground on Intel for the first time in years.

    After a brief stint at Tesla, where he designed the company’s autopilot chip, Keller took a job at Intel where he was believed to be working on helping the chip giant become competitive once again. Intel has had well-publicized struggles recently, with a Fortune profile piece saying the company was “betting its chips on microprocessor mastermind Jim Keller.”

    Needless to say, his history of staying with a company until he helps it achieve a ground-breaking success makes his sudden departure from Intel all the more unusual. In the company’s announcement, Intel said Keller was leaving “due to personal reasons,” and wished “him and his family all the best for the future.”

    AnandTech’s Dr. Ian Cutters did receive confirmation that Keller will remain a consultant for six months to help with the transition.

    Whatever caused Keller to leave Intel, here’s to hoping all is well with him and his family, and that he continues to have as much influence on the industry as he has in the past.

  • Robert Noyce Google Doodle Celebrates The Father Of The Microchip, Intel

    Today, Google honors “The Mayor of Silicon Valley” with a Doodle that puts the Google logo right in the middle of a chip.

    That chip is there to celebrate Robert Noyce, the influential tech figure that is credited with the being one of the minds behind the microchip. Noyce died in 1990, but this Doodle recognizes his birthday – he would have turned 84 years old today.

    Noyce graduated from MIT and immediately jumped into research. He eventually landed a job at the Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, but shorty left the company as part of a group called the Traitorous Eight. These eight left the company due to a difference of opinion regarding managerial style and the direction of research.

    He then co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor, an highly influential company headquartered in San Jose, California. In 1968, he founded Intel with Gordon Moore – and you probably know a little about that company.

    Noyce was also an advocate for education, understanding that preparing kids for the technological improvements of the future was key to success. A year after his death, his family set up the Noyce Foundation, a charity charged with helping kids excel in math and science, among other things.

    Check out this amazing footage of Noyce from 1981. You’ll be amazed at how he describes the future of work – and how he accurately predicts the rise of the information sector. As one YouTube commenter points out, it looks like he’s talking about Skype about halfway through the piece. And because of this, he says people will live “where it’s conducive to live, not where it is conducive to work.”