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Silicon Planet: My Life in Computer Chips
A developer’s account of the breakthroughs and battles that made computer chips the foundation of our world.
Computer chips, like sand and water, now cover the earth. Each year, more than 60 billion computer chips are shipped inside smartphones, data centers, cars, airplanes, refrigerators, and more. How did we get to this point? And what even is a computer chip?
For nearly forty years, author Pat Hays developed state-of-art computer chips, as a designer and entrepreneur. Silicon Planet is his personal story, full of the ideas, people, and drama at the heart of this technology. In it, the reader will learn how computer chips are designed and fabricated while witnessing breakthroughs and battles that have shaped our world.
Silicon Planet concludes with an analysis of the Boeing 737 MAX disasters—events that exemplify the risks to safety and security that computer chips have brought alongside their benefits. Silicon Planet will engage general readers as well as engineering professionals.
Computer chips, like sand and water, now cover the earth. Each year, more than 60 billion computer chips are shipped inside smartphones, data centers, cars, airplanes, refrigerators, and more. How did we get to this point? And what even is a computer chip?
For nearly forty years, author Pat Hays developed state-of-art computer chips, as a designer and entrepreneur. Silicon Planet is his personal story, full of the ideas, people, and drama at the heart of this technology. In it, the reader will learn how computer chips are designed and fabricated while witnessing breakthroughs and battles that have shaped our world.
Silicon Planet concludes with an analysis of the Boeing 737 MAX disasters—events that exemplify the risks to safety and security that computer chips have brought alongside their benefits. Silicon Planet will engage general readers as well as engineering professionals.
320 pages, Paperback
Published April 4, 2023
9 people are currently reading
2321 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 6, 2023
Very technical but understandable! As a former computer programmer I enjoyed the trek. So glad I won this book on a Goodreads giveaway!
July 14, 2024
The reason I chose to read this book is that I had an interest in computer chips. I was aware of DuPont's patents for cleaning semiconductors and semiconductor lithography; and I have a background in science.
This book is exactly what is stated in the title. It is a very personal story about a computer engineer's (Ph.D. Physics) experiences in computer design; the book details his life story. It even includes his vacation travels.
Some previous reviewers have stated that the book is somewhat technical in it's descriptions. I don't agree with those reviewers. After slogging my way through the book, I have come to the conclusion that the book is not technical. The book is written by an engineer who is writing his own memoir - it's not written to communicate with a general audience. It's like reading a book about football written by a football fan whose been around the game for years. What is described is not technical, it's just not understandable because of the language, statistics, names of owners, teams, etc. This is what happens in this computer chip book. The author, often rambles and uses abbreviations, anacronyms, company names, names of colleagues, and describes chip design processes. That is just too many names to absorb in one reading. There is no glossary. The author does make an attempt to write at different levels with summaries and explanations of some of the inventions. I think that was a good idea. I found the "deep dives" the most interesting. There are no illustrations, except for some tables.
I have some caveats for reading this book. If you understand scientific notation, you will be O.K. with the math, so you don't need to be concerned about that. But, if you have never looked inside a computer or put one together, it would help your understanding of the material to study and look at illustrations of the inside of a computer. It would also help if you have an understanding of how programming is used in a general way for computers and chips. It would also help to take notes and do some further learning. It would have helped me to have read a book or some general articles about computer chips, before I read this book. Because I own the copy of the book, I will keep it as a reference and come back to it from time to time.
This book is exactly what is stated in the title. It is a very personal story about a computer engineer's (Ph.D. Physics) experiences in computer design; the book details his life story. It even includes his vacation travels.
Some previous reviewers have stated that the book is somewhat technical in it's descriptions. I don't agree with those reviewers. After slogging my way through the book, I have come to the conclusion that the book is not technical. The book is written by an engineer who is writing his own memoir - it's not written to communicate with a general audience. It's like reading a book about football written by a football fan whose been around the game for years. What is described is not technical, it's just not understandable because of the language, statistics, names of owners, teams, etc. This is what happens in this computer chip book. The author, often rambles and uses abbreviations, anacronyms, company names, names of colleagues, and describes chip design processes. That is just too many names to absorb in one reading. There is no glossary. The author does make an attempt to write at different levels with summaries and explanations of some of the inventions. I think that was a good idea. I found the "deep dives" the most interesting. There are no illustrations, except for some tables.
I have some caveats for reading this book. If you understand scientific notation, you will be O.K. with the math, so you don't need to be concerned about that. But, if you have never looked inside a computer or put one together, it would help your understanding of the material to study and look at illustrations of the inside of a computer. It would also help if you have an understanding of how programming is used in a general way for computers and chips. It would also help to take notes and do some further learning. It would have helped me to have read a book or some general articles about computer chips, before I read this book. Because I own the copy of the book, I will keep it as a reference and come back to it from time to time.
August 19, 2023
This book is essentially a technically detailed autobiography of the career years of a silicon computer chip designer from the early years of the industry, through the explosive Silicon Valley growth years, a late career high level position with Boeing and finally a well deserved retirement. Silicon Planet has value as a record of this man's career and the dizzying rise of the companies and major players in the chip industry, the birth of the numerous start ups and their inevitable purchase by bigger fish in the pond, or the flash of their falling star burning out.
It is filled with alot of technical detail. A LOT, and I found it difficult getting through all the highly detailed information and examples. I feel that this would be the case for most casual readers. I think that level of technical detail should be reserved for those with a special interest in this industry.
I was able to get a general timeline of the computer chip industry and there were some interesting and entertaining anecdotes included along the way. One of the more interesting chapters for me was at the end of the book, during the author's time with Boeing and detailing the design flaw in the 737 Max that was the cause of the two horrific crashes during 2018 and 2019.
It is filled with alot of technical detail. A LOT, and I found it difficult getting through all the highly detailed information and examples. I feel that this would be the case for most casual readers. I think that level of technical detail should be reserved for those with a special interest in this industry.
I was able to get a general timeline of the computer chip industry and there were some interesting and entertaining anecdotes included along the way. One of the more interesting chapters for me was at the end of the book, during the author's time with Boeing and detailing the design flaw in the 737 Max that was the cause of the two horrific crashes during 2018 and 2019.
March 25, 2024
Must Read
Pat Hayes has written a book that very few others could write Bout the interplay and evolution of technology and business strategy over at least three decades MBAs could be well served to learn about business from a world class engineer and marketer
Pat Hayes has written a book that very few others could write Bout the interplay and evolution of technology and business strategy over at least three decades MBAs could be well served to learn about business from a world class engineer and marketer
August 1, 2023
An excellent history of computer processor evolution! Well written, easy to read and thorough. Many entertaining facts and stories as well!
September 10, 2023
This is a very good front row seat to silicon development trends outside of one of the big CPU, GPU, or memory companies. Mr. Hays career took him through some very important developments. These include technical advancements for video compression, to the inevitable IP lawsuits, to important career steps as leading engineering for MIPS and licensing IP. While silicon continues to evolve and face new challenges, anyone in the industry or close to the industry will benefit from this book. It does help if to be science and engineering oriented as some of the topics will be more easily understood, but anyone working in the industry should be familiar with the subject matter. Excellent book. I wish it existed when I was a product manager a couple of decades ago, but still found it very useful as the industry takes on new challenges like AI and softwares defined networking, compute, storage, etc.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews