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Let's ban "computer chip" from the lexicon, and watch who we call a "chipmaker" |
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Aug 09, 2007 at 09:40 AM |
A seemingly inocuous phrase jumped out at me from a story in this morning's L.A.
Times business section: "...Broadcom, which makes computer chips." First off, when will the mainstream and business media learn that the term "computer chips" is as outdated as audiocassettes?! Do the reporter and copy desk really believe that all of Broadcom's chips---or those of just about any other semiconductor company---only go into "computers"?
Unless someone is writing specifically about ICs destined for the innards of PCs, laptops, handhelds, etc., can't we jettison "computer chip," a leftover from the '80s, once and for all? Of course, this also begs the question of what actually constitutes a "computer" these days.
Then there's the issue of saying Broadcom and other fabless companies really "make" their own chips. Yes, they certainly create them in terms of IP, design, prototyping, and the like. And yes, they work very closely with their foundry/outsourcing partners to make sure the chips are manufactured properly. But to say a company without fabs "makes" their own chips or is a real "chipmaker" may not be the most accurate use of the language.
And if I see the term "fabless semiconductor manufacturing company" one more time, I'm gonna spit. Talk about contradictory phraseology!
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