EDA News ¨[ Monday June 16, 2003 From: EDAToolsCafe _____ Test drive it now, and experience the future! _____ About This Issue ¨[ Fan mail from some flounders? No, this is what I really call a message! _____ June 9-13, 2003 By Peggy Aycinena Read business product alliance news and analysis of weekly happenings _____ Poor Rocky and Bullwinkle. They never had e-mail and had to resort to messages in a bottle to communicate with friends and fans. James Thurber didn't have e-mail either. I suspect he did all of his correspondence on a Smith-Corona. Then there was Galileo's daughter. Sans e-mail, surely all of her correspondence was painstakingly handwritten in secret at night, by the light of a flickering oil lamp. Celebrate the fact, then, that all of us have e-mail these days. And celebrate the fact that e-mail provides endless opportunities to communicate, pontificate, and articulate ideas and differences. Case in point: Following is a series of e-mail communications that has kept everyone involved entertained over the last week or so. Received on June 4th Peggy, Would you please explain to me how Ron Lucke came by the title of "Dr. Linux?" And why is HP supporting him at DAC in this self-proclaimed role? I see by the information in your article [May 19th - Linux Lunges into the Limelight] that he is a consultant with "more than 30 years of experience in Linux computing." How is this possible, when Linus Torvalds (the originator and architect of the Linux Kernel) started the project in 1991, twelve years ago? As one of the people who is responsible for protecting the Linux trademark, I find it irritating that Mr. Lucke has declared himself "Dr. Linux." While Linus has made the term "Linux" freely open to all sorts of purposes, we have tried to limit the broad generalizations of the term such as "Linux University" and "Linux School" to allow for as much breath as possible. Having someone declare themselves "Dr. Linux" defeats this purpose. I would appreciate it if you would pass this on to him. I would like to know why he feels he has the right to proclaim himself "Dr. Linux?" Thank you, Jon "maddog" Hall Executive Director Linux(R) International Board Member: Uniforum Association, USENIX Association (R)Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in several countries. Sent on June 7th (the abridged version) Jon, In acknowledgement of your obvious righteous indignation, I'm writing a lengthy response to your note. Many years ago, on NPR, there was a comedian who did a very silly daily show called "Dr. Science." He always ended by saying, "I'm not a real doctor." It was hilarious and no one questioned the spoof-ish nature of it all. Rob, in my mind, was neither claiming to be a doctor, nor was he spoofing when he said he knows a lot about Linux. Most importantly, Rob was the very last person in the world who wanted to be called "Dr. Linux." (As a footnote here, I'm not sure what particular statement you're referring to when you say Rob claimed to have 30 years' experience in Linux - yes, in IT, but Rob is not an idiot. He admires Linus Torvalds immensely and knows the Linux story quite well. He may have 30 years in IT, but nowhere does he say it's 30 years in Linux.) Have you spoken to Rob? He's very, very accessible and was making live appearances at DAC all this past week. I, unfortunately, was too busy with my DAC schedule to have a chance to meet him in person. For that I am sorry. However, I am not sorry that HP was touting him as "Dr. Linux." It was all in fun, although a major marketing campaign such as HP's regarding Linux is no joking matter. HP takes this all quite seriously, I'm sure. Clearly you take the whole move to Linux quite seriously, as well, or you would not be committing your professional life to the cause. I am not an expert, by any means, in marketing issues. Perhaps you are, I don't know. But calling Rob Lucke, "Dr. Linux," I don't think convinced anyone that he was attempting to destabilize the open source nature, or lively and free-spirited community that surrounds Linux, Linus, etc. Thanks for your note and your candor. I'm sorry you did not write sooner. Nonetheless, I'll run it in its entirety on July 7th and hope to have a response from Rob to run alongside as you can see that I'm copying this long message to him as well. I am also copying this letter to the management of IBSystems, James Lee (an ASIC designer and self-proclaimed Linux bigot), and several people at HP that I know were working on the "Dr. Linux" campaign. I'm fascinated to see that several individuals at HP are also on your mailing list. Would love to know who they are and what roles they fulfill at HP. I am also copying this to Linus. I know he won't respond, but perhaps he has some extra time on his hands and will be amused by it all. Maybe he will be incensed. Who knows? Very best wishes to you in your work. I hope that you and I might meet in person one day as well. Regards, Peggy Aycinena Contributing Editor EDA Weekly P.S. - In an earlier issue, in conjunction with LinuxWorld (does that imply that the whole world consists of Linux?), I included several links to the Linus Torvalds fan club website. I certainly hope that no one thought I was trying to foster a cult of personality around the man. I'll leave that particular task to others. Received on June 7th Peggy, Thank you for your lengthy explanation of your column, and the "Dr. Linux" issue. First of all, let me also thank you for your work in helping to move Linux forward in the Design Automation arena. Yes, I am aware that chip design has been done on Unix systems for a long time, and I am glad to see it moving to Linux. In answering your letter, I should tell you that, like Rob Lucke, I have been in the computer science field for over thirty years. I have been a programmer, systems administrator, systems designer, product manager, technical marketing manager and college educator. I have been using Unix since 1980, and actually using free software since my college days of 1969. In May of 1994 I met Linus Torvalds, was introduced to Linux for the second time (long story), and instantly formed a deep respect and friendship which I am happy to say was returned not only by Linus, but by his lovely wife, Tove and all three of his children, the oldest two being godchildren of mine. Over the past nine years I have been advocating the use of Linux, and from that, Open Source. Some times it has been rough, and I have had to do things that I did not like doing. Most of those things have been legal issues surrounding the word "Linux." Fate has deemed me to be one of the main people who worry about that, and worry about it takes a certain amount out of me. Linus would like everyone to be able to use the word "Linux." In order to do that, we have to protect the trademark, so that people who would use it for unscrupulous uses (such as a porn site that one time briefly appeared) can be stopped. We also like to make sure that the name space stays open so as many people can use it as possible. Along these lines I have had the sad responsibility of telling people who wanted to call their enterprise "Linux University" (and who had actually printed up books and advertising collateral with that name) that they had to narrow the name to something like "Linux University of XXXXXX" or "XXXXX University of Linux," or something so others could be a "Linux University" too. I look at people like Linus, like Allan Cox, like Ted T'so, David Miller, David Mossberger, Bdale Garbe and others who have been in the Linux community from the beginning, and none of them describe themselves as "Dr. Linux." In fact, all of them display the modesty that you attribute to Rob Lucke. Ergo my irritation in my first letter to you. Your letter, however, projects a picture of Rob Lucke at DAC, up on a stage which has a sign beside it "Dr. Linux," where he is answering questions. I would not have an issue if this was strictly an advertising stunt done for one or two shows as an ad campaign. If, like "Dr. Science," it helps to educate people about Linux, while still being "fun," which is what Linux is all about, then there is nothing to object to. However, to build a trademark, and therefore a brand, around the term "Dr.Linux," and to apply that to one company or one person (other than Linus himself), and I might have an objection. From your letter I don't think there will be an issue. As to the people I copied on the letter, they are all people in the Linux program office of Hewlett Packard who I deal with a lot. As you know, the new HP is partially made up of the Old Compaq, which was partially made up of the even older Digital Equipment Corporation, for which I worked for many years. I assume the people you copied from HP are the ones you have been dealing with from the DAC marketing space. I hope that this letter explains my issues. Warmest regards, md Jon "maddog" Hall Executive Director Linux(R) International Board Member: Uniforum Association, USENIX Association (R)Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in several countries. P.S. I too hope that some day you will meet Linus in person. Please realize that through this all, Linux is still "just" a hobby with him, and he just does not have time to personally answer all the email sent him. Received on June 8th Dear Jon and Peggy, I thought I would quickly try to write some kind of explanation with regards to the bad feelings generated by the "Dr. Linux" theme at DAC. In retrospect, I think there is a massive misunderstanding at work here, based on our poor choice of a theme for the booth at the show. It was *not* our intent to appear to speak for Linus Torvalds or LinuxR or Linux International in any capacity, official or otherwise. It *was* our intent to *promote* Linux at DAC as a solution for electrical engineering design environments and have some fun while doing it. We were not trying to establish a trademark, start a long-term advertising campaign, or create any confusion about our relationship to Linux. It was simply to be a fun theme for the booth. Unfortunately, the moniker "Dr. Linux" does not accurately describe the theme of the activities at the DAC show, and the HP folks will remember that I registered some initial concern about being called "Dr. Linux." A meta-search for the phrase "Dr. Linux," before the DAC show, yielded 39 hits, including from Red Hat, linuxdoc.org, and other Linux sites. I did this search just before the show to check on the common usage in the Internet community, and was less concerned after seeing so many hits and the common usage. This is why I did not press for a last-minute change in the phrasing. In retrospect, I should have followed my instincts and requested something else. While "Dr. Linux" implies PhD-level, superlative expertise, and a singular role as an expert and spokesman, this was not an accurate description of the activities at DAC. A better description would be "The Linux Workgroup Doctors" or even "The Linux Workgroup Mechanics." Looking back at my e-mail records, I see that the theme for the sessions mutated from "The Doctor Is In" ala the Peanuts comic strip and the Lucy character, to the final "Dr. Linux" somewhere along the line, within a week or so of the show. The whole idea was to "get a checkup" for your EDA environment and come away with "a prescription" for how to use Linux to replace specific elements in the workgroup that currently are proprietary RISC/Unix systems. It was intended as a "tongue-in-cheek" approach to a serious subject. Please believe that I am not so ignorant or egotistical as to think that I speak in any way for any portion of the Linux community, whether that is Linux International, Red Hat, or Linus himself. I can certainly see where the usage of the "Dr. Linux" phrase might have caused someone outside of the scope of the DAC activities to register concern. For that concern and any bad feelings, I sincerely apologize. It was never anyone's intent to cause bad feelings in the Linux community, to create confusion, or to infringe on the Linux trademark; instead, we just wanted to have a little fun and promote Linux along the way. Please, I hope that everyone involved will recognize this situation as an innocent mistake, executed in the last-minute haste of preparing for a trade show, and will allow my profound apologies to heal any bad feelings or controversy. I am truly in awe of the accomplishments surrounding Linux and would not intentionally do or say anything that might harm the Linux cause. I certainly will never allow myself to be called "Dr. Linux" again in any venue! Regards, Rob Lucke Received on June 8th Dear Rob, Peggy, and Jon, I think we all need to keep this in perspective. I think that no one doubts Linus as the father of Linux. We have to remember that this was DAC, part technical show, part amusement park. This DAC had many people dressed up as Dr.'s in various parts of the show. In past shows there, have been Dr. Verilogs. I have never been an official "Dr. Verilog" although I have been called "Dr. Verilog" in appreciation from my students and customers. Neither Phil Morby, the father of Verilog, nor Cadence, the Verilog Trade mark holder have been offended by the Dr. Verilogs. As a long time Linux and EDA user, I have experience with the issues regarding Linux, EDA, and corporate infrastructure. Rob's suggestions for implementation plans, life cycle, and deployment of Linux in an EDA/Corporate environment were quite helpful for people who are troubled with the decisions and plans. Certainly anyone will understand that it was a marketing gimmick to have Rob dressed up in a white coat with a stethoscope presenting well-founded technical material regarding Linux deployment. Sincerely, James M. Lee President The ASIC Group Silicon Valley's Design Center Author "Verilog Quickstart" ISBN 0-7923-9927-7 Sent on June 8th James, Rob, and Jon - This whole set of e-mails has been so fascinating and informative, I'm going to run it in the June 16th newsletter. I know everyone will learn a lot in the process. Regards, Peggy Aycinena Contributing Editor EDA Weekly Received on June 9th Peggy (et. al.), First of all, I am removing Linus from the "cc" list. The poor guy gets enough email without having to filter through this. Anyone else who wants to be removed, just speak up, but hopefully this letter will be the last. Secondly, in my second letter to Peggy I acknowledged that the type of marketing that Rob described in his letter was "O.K." by my book. I can understand the "Lucy Van Pelt: Doctor Is In" set up to be used for marketing. I agree that it was the issue of "singular role" more than the issue of "superlative expertise" to which I reacted. Dr. Lucke, Doctor of Linuxology might also imply that level of expertise, and I do not object to that, since there could also be a "Dr. Aycinena, Doctor of Linuxology", or any number of "Doctors". But to make a trademark of "Dr. Linux" was to what I objected to, since it not only raised the level of knowledge to a superlative expertise, but (in effect) said there could only be one...otherwise, what is the use of a trademark or brand? Whether or not DAC created that concept, I have no idea, since I was not there. However, in Peggy's original article that I read on the net, it DID come across as a "singular role", so I reacted. I feel that this issue has been put to bed. Warmest regards, md Jon "maddog" Hall Executive Director Linux(R) International Board Member: Uniforum Association, USENIX Association (R)Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in several countries. Industry news - EDA and IP Accelerated Technology, the embedded systems division of Mentor Graphics Corp., announced that its Nucleus RTOS was used in the development of the e-ReMedy project from Air Machine. The e-ReMedy project is a telemedicine or long-distance medicine platform that enables patients requiring rehabilitation for cardiology, respiratory, and orthopedic problems to manage their therapies at home via an Internet connection. The overall objective of e-ReMedy is to increase the quality of the rehabilitation services provided by hospitals and rehabilitation centers to patients, while at the same time, reducing the costs incurred. A typical set-up at a patient's home might include one rehabilitation machine (bike or isotonic machine), one set of suitable medical sensors, client software directly displayed on the machine console and provisions for an Internet TCP/IP connection. The infrastructure takes advantage of a number of technological advances including advanced sensors, real-time Internet connections, wireless connections, teleconferencing and decision support systems. Accelerated Technology's Nucleus PLUS real-time kernel, Nucleus NET TCP/IP protocol stack and Nucleus GRAFIX software package have been implemented in the design and development of the electronic control board that pilots the rehabilitation machine (bike) used in the e-ReMedy project. The board provides a connection to a remote control server through the Internet. From this connection, hospital personnel can receive the patient's rehabilitation session parameters and work parameters from monitoring sensors on the patient and the bike. Examples of data include monitoring the speed and difficulty of the bike while keeping an eye on the patient's electrocardiograph (EKG) readings. Agilent Technologies Inc. introduced a development infrastructure that permits semiconductor foundries to implement their own process design kits for the Agilent ADS EDA software suite. The new ADS design kit infrastructure consists of the ADS graphical cell compiler that is used to develop parameterized artwork macros and software that automatically tests the simulation behavior of the active and passive models used by the design kit. The company says that engineers using these ADS process design kits benefit by being able to load and manage multiple design kits simultaneously. Also from Agilent - Agilent Technologies Inc. announced that Toshiba has selected Agilent's RF and mixed-signal design software tools as its new standard for mobile and wireless IC development. Altium Ltd. announced a "significantly enhanced" new version of the TASKING C166/ST10 embedded software development toolset. Version 8.0 of the toolset includes numerous major enhancements and new and unique features, including improved code optimization, the addition of flash memory programming, enhancements to the Embedded Development Environment (EDE), extended ROM monitor support, and a Standard Template Library. Finally - Cascade Microtech and Microvue announce an integrated, on-wafer device characterization and modeling solution that is compatible with Agilent's IC-CAP modeling software. National Instruments and Ansoft Corp. announced integration between Ansoft Designer high-frequency electronic-design software and the NI LabVIEW 7 Express virtual instrumentation software. Cadence Design Systems, Inc. announced that China National IC Design Industrial Base (Shenzhen) Institution has selected Cadence technologies as its essential EDA solution. The institution, called Shenzhen IC Base, is an IC design industry incubator supported by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. The company says the collaboration demonstrates Cadence's "long-term commitment to support fully China's growing electronics industry, with a focus on education, research and services initiatives." Shenzhen IC Base, one of seven national IC design bases in China, provides Chinese IC design firms with access to electronic design infrastructure and tools. In addition to Shenzhen IC Base, IC Bases such as Beijing IC Base and Shanghai IC Base have chosen Cadence products and services, including Encounter digital IC design platform, Incisive verification platform and custom IC design solutions. Icinergy Software Co. announced that SiRF Technology, Inc. will integrate Icinergy's SoC Prototype technology into their ASIC design flow. Mentor Graphics Corp. announced that Infineon Technologies AG has adopted the Mentor Calibre platform, and TestKompress as "key enablers" for Infineon's nanometer IC design strategy. (Editor's Note: I'm pretty sure that means they used Calibre and TestKompress to do some mighty good work.) "Our collaboration with Infineon has been very rewarding," said Walden C. Rhines, Mentor Graphics' chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors. "It exemplifies all facets of true collaboration - mutual goals, clear communication and groundbreaking technical advancements. Infineon's choice of Calibre and TestKompress underscores Mentor's leadership position in critical aspects of next generation IC design flows." (2nd Editor's Note: I'm including this note out of respect to Hacks and Flacks who ask two questions - Why is the sky blue and why are quotes included in Press Releases?) OEA International, Inc. (OEA) announced the availability of its extraction software packages running on Linux running on Intel-based 32-bit and 64-bit workstations and servers. The applications ported include the NET-AN, P-GRID, CELL-AN, and P-PLAN. All EDA Linux applications will run on Intel Itanium 2-based systems, Pentium 4 processor-, and Intel Xeon processor-based systems, and high-end laptops using Intel's Centrino mobile technology. Intel says these platforms will be "offering mobility for design engineers." (Editor's Note: Be that as it may, still not sure you'll find designers lounging about the beach, gazing out at the waves, and solving challenging designs as their friends and family gambol in the sand all about them. But, then, one never knows, does one.) Pulsic Ltd. announced that Elpida Memory, Inc. has selected the company's Lyric Physical Design Framework for use in its new 0.11-micron tool flow. Elpida says that during the definition phase of the project, the company identified the most time consuming activity as being the routing of the peripheral logic, where rows of standard cells are positioned between the memory cores in the design. This most difficult and intensive phase of DRAM/SRAM design is currently done using a combination of manual and older automatic legacy tools, but those tools cannot provide the quality of results required. In order to address these complex routing issues, Elpida undertook an extensive evaluation of potential solutions from other EDA vendors, and chose the Pulsic tools as a result of their study. Mysticom Ltd. announced it is adopting Tenison EDA's VTOC to "speed architectural modeling of future ICs." VTOC is used to model key Verilog RTL blocks in C++. These are then integrated with Simulink architectural models for detailed analysis using Matlab. Tera Systems, announced the sale of TeraForm-LPA (LSI PRO Analyzer) to Arrow Electronics, Inc. Arrow design services teams will use the Tera Systems tool to analyze deep-submicron designs in the LSI Logic Design environment. VaST Systems Technology Corp. announced a new product that the company says "enables embedded system architects to specify, create, explore, and optimize virtual platforms on which to run embedded software. A virtual platform - a surrogate for a software-rich chip that runs on an off-the-shelf PC - is used to execute embedded software, accurately predicting its eventual behavior. Typical applications for software-rich chips are 3G cell phones, automotive power-train controls, and digital cameras." "The new product, PCT, operates at the block diagram level with designs of any size. It contains a library of graphical elements representing components such as processors, buses, and peripherals; attributes such as memory cache sizes and peripheral addresses; and their required interconnections. These elements are accessed through a drop-down menu and designers simply select the desired components, place them in the platform window, and specify the attributes and interconnections. PCT's extensible component library allows for models to be supplied by VaST, by the customers' own modeling groups and by third parties." Newsmakers Magma Design Automation Inc. announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Aplus Design Technologies Inc., which provides logical and physical synthesis and prototyping software solutions for programmable logic devices. The companies expect to complete the acquisition early in the quarter ending September 30, 2003, the second quarter of Magma's 2004 fiscal year. Mentor Graphics Corp. has announced the acquisition of the assets of DDE-EDA A/S, a Denmark-based supplier of advanced packaging tools for the telecommunications, automotive, military, and aerospace industries. The company's Press Release says that "with this acquisition, Mentor gains technology and additional expertise in multi-chip modules, hybrid, radio frequency, integrated circuit package, embedded component and direct chip attach design." The company intends to support existing DDE-EDA products for their current installed base, and Mentor's Systems Design Division will integrate the technology into their Board Station and Expedition products. Engineering of the technology will remain in Denmark, while sales and support of the technology will be through Mentor Graphics' worldwide direct sales channel and Customer Support organizations. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Synplicity Inc. announced that Thomas Weatherford has been appointed to its Board of Directors and as Chairman of its Audit Committee. Weatherford recently retired as CFO of Business Objects and has 30+ years' financial experience in the software, computing and semiconductor industries. Prior to Business Objects, Weatherford held CFO or other senior financial positions at NETCOM On-Line Communication Services, Logitech, Applied Materials, Texas Instruments, Schlumberger, and Tandem Computers. He currently serves on the boards of Ilog S.A, Peregrine Systems, Inc., and Saba Software, Inc. Weatherford has a B.A. in finance from the University of Houston. One of many Awards at DAC Synopsys, Inc. presented Silicon Metrics with the third annual Tenzing Norgay Award, "recognizing Silicon Metrics' efforts in providing outstanding technical interaction with a broad range of EDA tool providers in order to serve not only its own customers but also its partners' customers." Vess Johnson, President and CEO at Silicon Metrics, said the company was honored to receive the commendation. Tenzing Norgay EDA Interoperability Achievement Award. - established to recognize EDA providers who collaborate on interoperable design flows that benefit the user community. The award is presented annually to an EDA company that has surpassed common levels of interoperability, has contributed to overall industry advancement, and has helped provide a new view of the future for EDA interoperability. The award is named for the crucial role that Sherpa Tenzing Norgay played in the first successful attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953. In the category of ... Issues at DAC - Design Services It was interesting to sit with Eva Pang, CAD Infrastructure Manager PMC-Sierra, Inc., at the Women in EDA Forum at DAC. I had just come from Mike Santarini's panel on the merits - or lack thereof - of outsourcing across the semiconductor design and manufacturing supply chain. One of the many topics that fall under the broad umbrella of "outsourcing" s Design Services. Eva was able to give me feedback on PMC's outlook with respect to Design Services. Clearly there's been quite a shakeout in the EDA industry in this regard. (Evidenced most notably at Cadence, where the Year 2000 initiative to spin off Tality and its 1700 design engineers stalled dramatically with the economic down-turn. Cadence reported at Mike's panel that, today in 2003, they have approximately 300 engineers in-house providing Design Services.) Eva told me, "'Design Services' is not a well-defined term in the industry. To me, it means to provide any service to assist the design process. In some CAD companies, the Design Services group provides methodology development to their customers, especially with respect to using their tools to complete a design project." "I am from the Design Services department of a chips company in the telecommunication domain. PMC-Sierra adapts the COT model. Basically, we do all the development in-house except the silicon fabrication. The design services (DS) group is a central support group to the R&D, both in the area of digital and analog. We take up the challenge of developing design methodology from block-level design, top-level design to system-level integration. Moreover, the DS group provides the backend implementation service." "Instead of having multiple CAD people supporting different R&D projects, we centralize the CAD resources including the people resources and software licenses. This makes things for us much more manageable through these rough times in business, in terms of expense and planning. For the new development, with this model, we have the benefit of closing the gap between design and layout faster because methodology and implementation is in the same group. In addition, we are able to leverage the experience in the company more efficiently because of the centralized model." Gone fishing EDA Weekly's going on vacation. See you all back here once again on July 7th. Don't want to stay away too long, as news from both Magma and Mentor (see above) reflect the fact that the M&A season - like hurricane season - has just begun. That's when the winds start blowing and lobsters start jumping out of the pot. --Peggy Aycinena is a Contributing Editor and can be reached at peggy@ibsystems.com . You are subscribed as: [dolinsky@gsu.by]. EDAWeekly is a service for EDA professionals. EDAToolsCafe respects your online time and Internet privacy. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email or if you consider this message as unsolicited commercial e-mail, please click here . PLEASE NOTE: You can change the frequency of this newsletter by clicking here . If you have questions about EDAToolsCafe services, please send email to edaadmin@ibsystems.com . Copyright c 2003. Internet Business Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.