Oh the horror. What a bunch of random, clueless and non-technical crap. I especially like the part where he compares the operating costs of Intel (a company owning a number of multi-billion-dollar fabs that are far above the competition in capabilities) and ARM holdings (a comparatively tiny intellectual property shop).
Unfortunately, it is exactly by the advice of such "strategically thinking" MBAs our industry is often run :-(
Yes, it's of course a grapes-to-watermelons comparison. But it's still worth considering.
This economic concept of 'dimishing returns' (small competitors can operate more efficiently than large ones) is to a big degree what enables and inspires the HN tech startup scene.
I like how he quotes the 7.6 billion primitive chips (embedded processors just a notch above a bunch of random logic gates) "shipped" by ARM to the high-margin (for Intel) PC market.
Even ARM's "embedded processors just a notch above a bunch of random logic gates" are fully-fledged 32-bit microprocessors with hardware support for preemptive multitasking, running at fairly respectable clock speeds. And that's the sub-dollar embedded stuff!
It's a lot of white-label Fabs, so manufacturers can take the blueprints, tweak and then do their own runs. I think the author's comparison is spot on - the ARM model is actually a killer advantage. It will actually shrink the value of the market while pushing the volumes through the roof. That sounds like a crazy thing to do - unless you're the one in control of the show.
>What a bunch of random, clueless and non-technical crap. I especially like the part where he compares the operating costs of Intel (a company owning a number of multi-billion-dollar fabs that are far above the competition in capabilities) and ARM holdings (a comparatively tiny intellectual property shop).
Yes, he sounds like someone in the late nineties comparing the nearly bankrupt Apple with competitors worth ten times more, like Sun and Dell.
Unfortunately, it is exactly by the advice of such "strategically thinking" MBAs our industry is often run :-(