The Difference Engine: Intel left outside

May 13th 2011, 17:05 by N.V. | LOS ANGELES

No Intel inside
UNTIL recently, the processor chips at the heart of computing devices have been taken largely for granted—as the tick-tock of incremental innovation delivered a steady doubling of processing power every couple of years. Thanks to Moore’s Law, prices of computers have tumbled and performances have soared over the years, spurring unprecendented innovation in products and services. But recently a couple of not entirely unrelated developments have refocused attention on the differing philosophies behind processor design; and why Intel—the semiconductor powerhouse that has dominated computing for decades—is suddenly having to play catch-up, as mobile devices like smartphones and tablet computers start to suck the air out of the chip giant's traditional business.

It was Intel co-founder Gordon Moore who, back in 1965, first noticed that the number of transistors capable of being crammed on a sliver of silicon was doubling every two years. Over the past half century, Moore’s Law has held up remarkably well—though nowadays it is more an industry target than a prophesy, and therefore a self-fulfilling one at that. Even so, the world has benefited handsomely from the decline in the cost of computing made possible by constant manufacturing improvements that have shrunk the width of semiconductor circuitry from tens of microns (millionths a metre) in the early 1970s to tens of nanometres (billionths of a metre) today.

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