There was a time when owning a computer meant you probably knew most or all of the instructions it could execute. Your modern PC, though, has a lot of instructions, many of them meant for specialized ...

I've been writing on CPU technology here at Ars for almost five years now, and during that time I've done my best to communicate computing concepts in as plain and accessible a manner as possible ...

SAN MATEO, Calif. — MIPS Technologies Inc. has entered the race to deliver microprocessor cores that accept custom-made instructions, saying the move gives designers an alternative to hardwired logic ...

Santa Clara, Calif., October 16, 2002 – Tensilica, Inc., the leader in configurable and extensible processors, announced that Bill Huffman, Tensilica’s Chief Architect, will preview the ...

We all think of the CPU as the "brains" of a computer, but what does that actually mean? What is going on inside with the billions of transistors that make your computer work? In this four-part series ...

This paper presents an instruction set simulator of a 32-bit CPU and explains its use in embedded software development. Interaction of the ISS with transaction level model of a complex peripheral ...

Forty years ago today, electronics and semiconductor trade newspaper Electronic News ran an advertisement for a new kind of chip. The Intel 4004, a $60 chip in a 16-pin dual in-line package, was an ...