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Processors and Embedded Software

How the Internet Became Hardware-Dependant

The Web was supposed to be the great equalizer. On the Internet no one knows your computer is a dog. But something happened to change that.

Web content is now as PC-centric as Microsoft Office. If your Web site includes much more than just basic text, you better hope your audience is using x86 or ARM chips. Read more »

Microprocessor Market Stats

Intel Has Only 2% Market Share!

Surprised? The world's biggest chipmaker makes just 2 percent of all the microprocessors and microcontrollers shipped every year.

That other 98 percent comes from a variety of other vendors, many of whom ship far more chips out the door than Intel ever has.

Read more »

Top 10 Lies About the Chip Business Here's What You'd Know If You Worked With Us

  1. Intel Dominates the Market
    Did you know that Intel has just 2% market share? Not quite the all-conquering behemoth you might have thought.
  2. The Internet is Processor-Agnostic
    It was supposed to work that way, but in reality the Web is becoming a two-headed monster. How did this happen and who benefits?
  3. Software Is Easy, Chip Design Is Hard
    Too many microprocessor companies put all their effort into chip development. Hear why software is the more important — and more expensive — investment.
  4. Price Is Related to Cost
    “Price” is what the market will bear; “cost” is the overhead of designing and building something. There's no relationship between the two.
  5. Price Is Proportional to Performance
    You would think so, but the processor market is like any other. There are some very fast chips for half the price of the famous ones.
  1. ARM Is the Low Power Leader
    Bollocks. ARM earned its reputation for low power, but competitors have caught up. Today's low-power leaders are a different breed
  2. Java Chips Are Coming
    So is Christmas. Real Java processors will never be here — and that's a good thing.
  3. The Processor Shakeout Is Coming
    Probably not. The microprocessor and microcontroller markets are more varied than most observers realize and there are plenty of good reasons for that.
  4. RISC Is Better Than CISC
    This one borders on religious doctrine. In reality, it depends mostly on what you're making -- or what you're selling.
  5. There Are No New Opportunities In the Market
    The market is maturing but it's not saturated. You just need to look in the right places. That's what we do — help our clients find new opportunities. Call or write to find out more.
Up2Speed

Today’s Tutorial 101: Processor or Controller? Helping professionals get up to speed

What's the Difference Between a Microprocessor and a Microcontroller?

It's largely a matter of semantics and technical nit-picking, but everyone has their own ideas about what's a microprocessor chip and what's a microcontroller chip. to make things more complicated, it seems every market-research firm uses its own definition, so you can't even compare projections from two different firms.
I tend to count them together, but if you're a stickler, here's the most common definition: microcontrollers have on-chip RAM or ROM, which allows them to run standalone (without extra memory chips).

Our "Up 2 Speed" tutorial pages are updated regularly.

Services and Skills

Jim TurleyWho Is This Guy?

updated April 2008

Analyst on Call

If your company develops microprocessor-based products, we can help you make better business and technical decisions. How? By objectively evaluating, analyzing, and researching alternative business models and technology resources. We help engineers, managers, investors, and marketing professionals work smarter.

Whether it's managing a team of engineers, educating a roomful of investors, or evaluating a dozen competing chip designs, we deliver extraordinary technical insight combined with practical business relevance.

Get a major league business/technology switch-hitter on your team. Read more »

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