China is reportedly blocking multiple mergers and is now investigating Micron for an unspecified cybersecurity concern. Delays include Intel’s acquisition of Tower Semiconductor, Maxlinear’s purchase of Silicon Motion, Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, and Microsoft’s bid for Activision Blizzard, as well as the long-delay in Cisco’s acquisition of Acacia and the called-off purchase of NXP by Qualcomm which we reported on previously. The latest move against Micron seems designed to antagonize rather than investigate any real cybersecurity flaws at the memory provider. What’s going on here? This and more on this week’s Rundown.
1:00 – Cisco Pulls Out of Russia
Cisco withdrew from Russia back in 2022 and has now destroyed $23 million in spare parts stored in the country, according to the Russian news organization TASS. Was Cisco specifically worried about Russian espionage or is something else happening here?
2:38 – Sony Invests in Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Pi is receiving some new investment from a familiar name. Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation is pouring some money into everyone’s favorite single-board computer in an effort to spur adoption of their AITRIOS platform for edge AI sensors. Is this story about Sony or is it about the strength of Raspberry Pi at the edge?
Read More: Raspberry Pi Receives Strategic Investment from Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation
4:10 – Always Greener on the Google AI Side
Google released a paper last week showing that AI systems built on its custom TPU are greener than systems built on Nvidia’s last-generation A100. Given the importance of AI these days, both to hyperscalers and chipmakers, this must have felt like a shot across the bow to Nvidia. But is it really a surprise that a custom next-generation processor is more efficient than the last-generation general purpose GPU?
Read More: Google says its AI supercomputer is faster, greener than Nvidia A100 chip
6:28 – Jacob Ziv Dies at 91
Data compression pioneer Jacob Ziv passed away at the age of 91. With Abraham Lempel, he invented the Lempel-Ziv compression algorithm that paved the way for GIF, PNG, and ZIP files. Was Ziv and Lempel algorithm instrumental in the technology we are using today, beyond GIFs and memes?
Read More: Remembering Data Compression Pioneer Jacob Ziv
8:03 – MinIO Fires Back at Weka
The conflict between MinIO and Weka intensified yesterday as the object storage developer fired more accusations at the storage platform vendor, claiming that they are still not properly licensing this code. Although we can’t comment on the merits of this case, it seems that the increasing use of open source software in the enterprise requires companies to be more careful about proper licensing and attribution.
Read More: Our Response to Weka’s Post and Clarifying Terminology
13:48 – China Plays Hardball with Western Companies
China is reportedly blocking multiple mergers and is now investigating Micron for an unspecified cybersecurity concern. Delays include Intel’s acquisition of Tower Semiconductor, Maxlinear’s purchase of Silicon Motion, Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, and Microsoft’s bid for Activision Blizzard, as well as the long-delay in Cisco’s acquisition of Acacia and the called-off purchase of NXP by Qualcomm which we reported on previously. The latest move against Micron seems designed to antagonize rather than investigate any real cybersecurity flaws at the memory provider. What’s going on here?
Read More: Announcement on Initiating a Cybersecurity Review of Micron’s Products Selling in China
Read More: China’s New Tech Weapon: Dragging Its Feet on Global Merger Approvals
21:44 – The Weeks Ahead
Networking Field Day 31 – April 12-13, 2023
Networking Field Day Experience at Aruba Atmosphere 2023 – April 25-26
Mobility Field Day 9 – May 17-19, 2023
The Gestalt IT Rundown is a live weekly look at the IT news of the week. Make sure you follow Gestalt IT on Twitter and use the #Rundown if you find a story you’d like read on the show. Follow us on LinkedIn as well to keep up to date on the IT coverage from across the enterprise. Be sure to subscribe to Gestalt IT on YouTube for even more weekly video content.
