With the mass production of personal computers, the PC has found widespread use just like its predecessors: telephones and television. By the turn of the century, the PC's of today will evolve into a 1000 mips, 16MB cache, 2 GB disk portable machines. Better graphics and asynchronous mode transfer technology will enhance the performance of multimedia applications and provide the telecommuters and home office users with a powerful communication infrastructure.
The power of mass produced PC's and communication bandwidth are now interdependent. Digital technology and standards will power the moves to tie PC's in to existing satellite, cable and ISDN networks. Digital storage devices and interface providers need to become widely integrated to external infrastructures to access information via the information highway.
Convergence of media, network and industrial application via digital technology presents unique challenges to designers and tool developers. The need for smaller and faster machines with better video, graphics and networks will continue to grow. Approximately 90% of present PC computing mips were installed in just the last two years. Submicron technologies and VLSI integration will play a critical role in meeting these challenges.
To accelerate growth based on growing requirements, ASIC designers must meet the challenge of developing complex 500,000 gate, 150 MHz, low cost, low power sub-micron devices that do not require the current simulation/verification paradigm. The infrastructure for development of such devices will need formal verification and correct by construction systems. ASIC and system designers will face the challenge of converting PC into a ubiquitous information device.
Ron Smith has been with Intel Corporation for 16 years. He is currently General Manager of PCI Components Division. Prior to this, he served as the General Manager of Programmable Logic Device Operation and Gate Array Operation. He has also served as the Manager of Intel's logic process technology development, including Intel's first CMOS processor on which the original 80386 was fabricated. Ron holds an M.S. and Ph. D. in Physics from University of Minnesota and a BA from Gettysburg College, PA.