computer science

Microprocessor Report

Microprocessor Report is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Microprocessor Report rather than just read about it. In short: Microprocessor Report is a newsletter covering the microprocessor industry. The publication is accessible only to paying subscribers.

Key takeaways

Microprocessor Report belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Microprocessor Report to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Microprocessor Report from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Microprocessor Report is a newsletter covering the microprocessor 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, DSPs, and intellectual property (IP) cores.

History and profile Microprocessor Report was first published in 1987 by Michael Slater (engineer). Original board members included Bruce Koball, George Morrow, Brian Case, John Wakerly, Nick Tredennick, Bernard Peuto, Rich Belgard, Dennis Allison, and J H Wharton all of whom served for many years. Slater left MicroDesign Resources (MDR), at the end of 1999. Slater's company MDR, based in Sebastopol, California, originally published Microprocessor Report. MDR also hosted an annual conference, the Microprocessor Forum, and related events.

Publication Originally published monthly in print, in 2000 it began publishing weekly online and monthly in print. Typical articles describe the internal design and feature set of microprocessors from vendors such as Intel, Broadcom, and Qualcomm. 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 available online[link removed]. During the 1990s, Microprocessor Report was recognized four times as Best Newsletter by the Computer Press Association, which noted its "comprehensive and in-depth coverage." 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.

Contributors In addition to Slater, regular contributors have included Linley Gwennap, Keith Diefendorff, Steven Leibson, Markus Levy, Peter Glaskowsky, Kevin Krewell, Tom Halfhill, Jim McGregor, and Max Baron. The 2018 staff was led by editor-in-chief Gwennap with Bob Wheeler, Mike Demler, and Aakash Jani. Tom Halfhill retired in June 2020.

Acquisition In 1992, MDR was acquired by Ziff Davis. In 1999, MDR was sold to Cahners Business Information (later Reed Business Information), 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 October 2021, TechInsights acquired The Linley Group, gaining control of Microprocessor Report. In May of the following year, Joseph Byrne rejoined the publication's team, having been on staff until 2013. Byrne took over the editor-in-chief role at the end of 2022 and continued in that position until December 2023.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Microprocessor Report

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Microprocessor Report claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Microprocessor Report before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Microprocessor Report ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Microprocessor Report

In research: Microprocessor Report appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Microprocessor Report in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Microprocessor Report is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1987 establishments in California, Computer magazines published in the United States, Engineering magazines, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Microprocessor Report outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Microprocessor Report in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Microprocessor Report means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Microprocessor Report out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Microprocessor Report in simple terms?

Microprocessor Report is a newsletter covering the microprocessor industry. The publication is accessible only to paying subscribers.

Why does Microprocessor Report matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Microprocessor Report?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Microprocessor Report.