Headworx

Apple has been buying chips from Intel. But now we have learned Intel cannot make the latest generation chips, as they are lagging with the 7nm process. And what once was a heresy at Intel: outsourcing chip manufacturing to a 3rd party fab, is now seriously being considered. And TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) is probably the most likely candidate for that assignment, as they are already manufacturing AMD processors using the 7nm process. Now TSMC is probably one of a few potential big acquisitions targets for Apple. Apple likes making everything in house. SO not, especially with the cost-optimizing move from Intel to ARM, Apple might want to own the world's most advanced semiconductor fab. Which may mean Apple will be making Intel processors for Intel. Such turn of events is quite probable, especially as with Intel's manufacturing setback US has effectively lost the semiconductor crown.

The COVID pandemic, and the travel bans and lockdowns in particular have just proven our (global) economy is (mostly) digital now. The impact on businesses (airlines and cruise lines excluded) has been much less than initially feared. Of course this is far from over yet. But still it would be hard to imagine so many activities and developments just going on. Despite the complete change in way people and businesses interact with each other. The Internet has saved us (so far). Which means two things: We are more resilient (globally) to events like pandemics. We are more vulnerable to disruptions (or a collapse) of the global information / communication network. It may be that it is easier now to kill  the civilization with a serious software virus than with a biological one. Or just by cutting a bunch of undersea cables...

Faster is not always better. Or rather - it is very often not the raw numbers but the overall usability of a product (or completeness of a standard) that makes it a winner. From my own turf: what has made Bluetooth mesh the winning offering is the inclusion of the complete set of application layer models . This is what enabled the rapid adoption of Bluetooth mesh in buildings. But back to Thunderbolt 4. It is not faster than Thunderbolt 3. But it includes a number of enhancements that will make the products using it much better. The ones I like the most are: Longer cables. Version 3 has been limited to 60cm. Above that amplified optical cables must be used, and while they work just fine, they are expensive. $50 for a cable is a lot. Version 4 addresses that, enabling standard cables up to 2m. Mandatory power delivery an remote wake-up. This makes Thunderbolt 4 a very clean and interoperable interface for all sorts of laptop docking station. This will not only be the domain of high end ...

Long Term Support is another aspect that true standards bring much confidence into. This is especially important for commercial buildings, as the systems, once commissioned, will stay there not for years, but decades. When proprietary systems are considered, it is unlikely their manufacturers will maintain full backwards compatibility for an extended period of time. The reason is cost, and when you do not need to care about a broader audience, it is easy to make a decision to deprecate older versions. For customers this means the proprietary system which look nicely today, will have to be scrapped prematurely, as soon as one of it components ages and stops functioning. And while manufacturers may claim 5- or 10-year support, such period of time can hardly be considered long term. So how about 30 years? Open standard-based system is probably the only assurance you will be able to find compatible spare parts when something breaks. The original vendor may be out of business or will have s...