Splitting my time between MPR and RWT

Home Sweet Home

Real World Tech has been my home online for over a decade. I first learned computer architecture through reading articles by Paul DeMone and David Wang, and participating in many community discussions. The forums in particular have been an excellent resource, with members who are experts in topics ranging across semiconductor manufacturing, circuit design, computer architecture, networking, databases, operating systems, and compilers. Learning from everyone in the forums has been a privilege and a pleasure, as well as an excellent opportunity to sharpen my rhetorical skills.

I feel very lucky that I can contribute back to the community, through my numerous articles and forum posts. At last count, I had written over 100 articles and I’m thrilled that I have transformed RWT into the premier resource for detailed microarchitectural analysis and discussion of related topics. I’m particularly proud of my sleuthwork on the QuickPath Interconnect. It was the most difficult article to write and the most personally satisfying. Just as importantly, the accuracy of predictions served to establish my expertise in the field and kickstart my career.

Over the last few years, my career has taken a number of interesting turns. In 2007, I became a founder of Strandera, a startup commercializing speculative multithreading using a combination of dynamic binary translation and transactional memory on x86 microprocessors. This was an exciting opportunity that brought me into close contact with AMD, Intel, and other companies – and deepened my technical understanding of computer architecture.

Sadly, things did not work out and Strandera shut down in 2011. Conveniently, as we wound down the company, my consulting business started to flourish, thanks to many of my friends and colleagues. Since then I have worked on a number of enjoyable projects including researching the evolution of integrated voltage regulators, writing whitepapers, and advising companies and attorneys on intellectual property and patent litigation.

I’m Joining the Microprocessor Report

Late last year, I was approached by the Linley Gwennap of the Microprocessor Report, regarding a potential collaboration. In many respects, this is a natural fit. My work at RWT is widely recognized as some of the best technical analysis of microprocessors, graphics, manufacturing, and other related areas. Within the analyst community, the Microprocessor Report is well regarded and focused on the same topics by and large. Just as importantly, we share a goal of differentiating through technical expertise. After several months, we happily came to an agreement.

As of January, 2014 I joined the Linley Group as an analyst and senior editor of the Microprocessor Report (MPR). At the Linley Group, I am responsible for PC and server processors, and will be lending a hand with graphics, power management, and mobile devices as well. My comprehensive microarchitectural analyses will primarily be published through the Microprocessor Report. In fact, my two pieces on Ivy Bridge-EX and the four-socket Ivy Bridge-EP family are already available online for subscribers. I am also an author on the Linley Group’s forthcoming Guide to Server Processors.

To celebrate my new position, we have put together a special offer for RWT readers – a 60-day free trial to the Microprocessor Report (which includes archives of older articles as well). This is a great opportunity to continue to read my detailed analysis, and explore the rest of the top-notch content at MPR. The 60-day free trial closed on April 10th, 2014.

I’m Still Writing and Consulting at RWT

Going forward, I will continue to write at RWT, but the nature of the writing will change. Specifically, I will be focusing on shorter articles, e.g., impressions from ISSCC. My goal is to share my thoughts on the industry, but in a fashion that does not conflict with my editorial responsibilities at MPR. Right now, I’m working on a few articles that will come out over the next several months and one or two of those are more in-depth, but most of my future writing will be shorter (and hopefully more frequent).

Little will change in our forums, I will continue to be involved and look forward to making some improvements there over the next few months.

In addition to writing longer articles at MPR and shorter pieces at RWT, I will continue my consulting practice. In the past I have worked on the following types of projects:

• Competitive and technical analysis
• Intellectual property litigation, e.g., infringement analysis, invalidation searches
• Intellectual property evaluation, e.g., evaluating patent portfolios
• Intellectual property strategy and development, e.g., patent portfolio
• Whitepapers
• Investment advising
• Due diligence

For those interested in my consulting services, I can be reached via personal email (dkanter AT realworldtech.com) or my LinkedIn profile.

Thanks to the Community, See you in the Forums

I want to close by thanking all of the RWT readers, forum lurkers and posters – it has been a pleasure to see the community grow, and I look forward to staying involved for many years. Lastly, if you have any questions, drop by our forums.