2011 PAPERBACK EDITION AVAILABLE NOW
INCLUDES A NEW UPDATE CHAPTER
What do you really know about the economic battles behind the chips that power your computer, cell phone, and television? Who makes these chips? And how can they keep getting faster every year? In Chips and Change, UC Berkeley economists Clair Brown and Greg Linden look under the hood of the chip industry and find that despite its incredible accomplishments, the industry has been in a state of perpetual crisis for the past 25 years, facing rapidly rising costs and fierce global competition.
Everything changes, but the crises keep coming:
* The US versus Japan was the story of the 1980s.
* The US chip industry faces new rising giants, China and India.
* The famous Moore’s Law is heading toward the limits of physics.
* Development costs soar while fierce competition keeps profits modest.
* Consumers demand everything faster and cheaper.
* Firms and countries compete to attract top engineering talent.
“If you are involved in the challenges of the semiconductor industry, this is a book you should read.” — Paul McLellan, Electronic Design News “It might be thought that being at the forefront of technology, in an industry with very rapid technological development, is a sure way to fame and fortune. But Brown and Linden show that the semiconductor industry for the last thirty years has faced eight different types of crisis. They show that living with Moore’s Law is not easy. Brown and Linden’s careful on-the-spot research provides the rich detail that we need to understand technological change, especially at its most rapidly evolving frontier. Chips and Change is the book that everyone has been looking for.” —George Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in Economics, 2001 “No other major industry has the severe ups and downs of the global semiconductor industry. While microchips play a major role in every aspect of modern life, the industry has given participants a roller-coaster ride since the invention of the microchip in the late 1950s. Brown and Linden, two experts who have followed the industry for decades, capture the excitement of the ride. “ —Bill Spencer, Chairman Emeritus, SEMATECH “Chips and Change makes an important contribution to understanding the intensifying global competition for leadership in one of the world’s most strategic industries. This book will help demystify the complexities of the semiconductor world for a nonprofessional audience. A must-read.” —George M. Scalise, President, Semiconductor Industry Association