Extra!

Q&A: Nvidia’s Dally on 3-D ICs, China, cloud computing

Bill Dally (shown), Nvidia’s chief scientist calls for a 3-D memory champion, more U.S. spending on computer research and an Ethernet alternative for data centers.

Too soon to count U.S. out of solar market

The U.S. does not need a dominant position in photovoltaic cells or modules to have a sunny spot in the growing solar market, according to a round of interviews conducted in and around a recent Silicon Valley solar conference.

China Mulls National CPU Architecture Spec

Chinese officials have kicked off a program to define a national processor architecture that could become a requirement for projects seeking government funding.

Mil/Aero Giants Dial into Secure Smartphones

A wave of secure smartphones and tablets using virtualization software from a trio of vendors is expected to hit the market later this year. Some will come from unexpected sources: military contractors jumping into the booming mobile sector.

Apple Execs Are Top Inventors

In the midst of a mobile patent war, Apple has relatively few design and semiconductor patents. But the company has been aggressively increasing its patent portfolio with senior executives among its most active inventors, according to a report from UBM TechInsights.

Get Ready For 5G Wireless Nets

Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Huawei and a handful of European universities are requesting EU funding to research 5G cellular networks. Bell Labs' Tod Sizer (shown) says it's not too early to begin contemplating the outline of future 5G nets.

Unity Deal Gives Rambus Leg Up in Memory Race

Former Unity CEO David Eggleston (shown), now a Rambus senior vice president of nonvolatile memory storage, says Unity needed a foster parent to nurture its still-promising technology. The Rambus deal was a good fit despite ongoing legal battles between Rambus and Micron.

Portrait of a Mobile Software Developer

South Korea’s mobile code jockeys like David C. Park (shown) are plugged in and trying to push the boundaries of what’s next in mobile, showing a level of style and sophistication that should be raising eyebrows in Cupertino.

Three Reasons To Take Silicon Labs Seriously

Riding a wave of mixed-signal designs and fueled by its strategy of going after a broad-based horizontal market, Silicon Laboratories Inc., according to CEO Necip Sayiner (shown), is “well positioned” to compete against rival Texas Instruments, especially in the emerging “Internet of things” market.

Mobile Congress: Wireless Nets Move Front and Center

With the roll out of LTE and small cell basestations, cellular networks are moving in many directions at once, but perhaps not fast enough. Some solutions may emerge during this year's Mobile World Congress.