''Microprocessor Report'' is a newsletter covering the

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...

industry. The publication is accessible only to paying subscribers. To avoid bias, it does not take advertisements. The publication provides extensive analysis of new high-performance microprocessor chips. It also covers microprocessor design issues, microprocessor-based systems, memory and system logic chips, embedded processors,

GPUs A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobil ...

, DSPs, and

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

(IP) cores.

History and profile

''Microprocessor Report'' was first published in 1987 by

Michael Slater Michael Jonathon Slater (born 21 February 1970) is an Australian former professional cricketer and former television presenter. He played in 74 Test matches and 42 One Day Internationals for the Australia national cricket team. Early life S ...

. Original board members included Bruce Koball, George Morrow, and J H Wharton all of whom served for many years. Originally published monthly in print, since 2000 it has been published weekly online and monthly in print. Slater left MicroDesign Resources (MDR), at the end of 1999. Typical articles describe the internal design and feature set of microprocessors from vendors such as

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...

Broadcom Broadcom Inc. is an American designer, developer, manufacturer and global supplier of a wide range of semiconductor and infrastructure software products. Broadcom's product offerings serve the data center, networking, software, broadband, wirel ...

, and

Qualcomm Qualcomm () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, 4 ...

. The articles usually compare the leading products and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. The annual "year in review" articles provide a broader look at the processor landscape. The publication gives annual awards to the best microprocessor products. Free summaries of these articles are availabl
online
Slater's company MDR, based in

Sebastopol, California Sebastopol ( ) is a city in Sonoma County, in California with a recorded population of 7,521, per the 2020 U.S. Census. Sebastopol was once primarily a plum and apple-growing region. Today, wine grapes are the predominant agriculture crop, a ...

, originally published ''Microprocessor Report.'' MDR also hosted an annual conference, the Microprocessor Forum, and related events. In 1992, MDR was acquired by

Ziff Davis Ziff Davis, Inc. is an American digital media and internet company. First founded in 1927 by William Bernard Ziff Sr. and Bernard George Davis, the company primarily owns technology-oriented media websites, online shopping-related services, an ...

. During the 1990s, ''Microprocessor Report'' was recognized four times as Best Newsletter by the

Computer Press Association Founded in 1983, the Computer Press Association (CPA) was established to promote excellence in the field of computer journalism. The association was composed of working editors, writers, producers, and freelancers who covered issues related to comp ...

, which noted its "comprehensive and in-depth coverage." In 1999, MDR was sold to

Cahners Business Information RELX plc (pronounced "Rel-ex") is a British multinational information and analytics company headquartered in London, England. Its businesses provide scientific, technical and medical information and analytics; legal information and analytics; ...

(later

Reed Business Information RELX plc (pronounced "Rel-ex") is a British multinational information and analytics company headquartered in London, England. Its businesses provide scientific, technical and medical information and analytics; legal information and analytics; ...

), where it became part of the analyst group In-Stat. During the 2000s, the staff of the newsletter declined. On 6 May 2010, ''Microprocessor Report'' was acquired by The Linley Group. In addition to Slater, regular contributors have included Linley Gwennap,

Keith Diefendorff Keith Diefendorff is a computer architect and veteran in the microprocessor industry. Diefendorff is one of the persons that has led the industry in developing RISC processors, both for embedded systems and superscalar high performance systems. ...

, Steven Leibson, Markus Levy, Peter Glaskowsky, Kevin Krewell, Tom Halfhill, Jim McGregor, and Max Baron. The current staff is led by editor-in-chief Gwennap with Bob Wheeler, Mike Demler, and Aakash Jani. Tom Halfhill retired in June 2020. Slater wrote an account of the early years for the newsletter's tenth anniversary. Slater also recounted his career in an oral history at the

Computer History Museum The Computer History Museum (CHM) is a museum of computer history, located in Mountain View, California. The museum presents stories and artifacts of Silicon Valley and the information age, and explores the computing revolution and its impact on ...

.Computer History Museum Oral History Collection
Computerhistory.org Retrieved on 2014-03-02.

References

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