EDA gets some needed levity - News - from Wally Rhines of Mentor Graphics

Electronic News, Sept 23, 2002 by Gale Morrison

Mentor Graphics Corp. Chairman and CEO Wally Rhines lightened the mood in EDA last week when he ended his lunchtime keynote presentation to the Magma Users' Group meeting in Santa Clara, Calif., with this "Top Ten List" a la David Letterman.

The Top Ten Signs That Your SOC Design is in Trouble:

10. Your server farm exceeds the acreage of the average real farm.

9. Your silicon foundry crosses out the "minimum yield" clause in your contract negotiations.

8. Your power estimator suggests that you invest in [BEGIN STRIKE THROUGH]Enron, Dynegy, CMS,[END STRIKE THROUGH] Calpine energy futures.

7. You drive off the edge of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors.

6. Your die size estimator starts quoting in square centimeters instead of square millimeters.

5. Politicians in Bangalore, India, contact you to see if your design team is willing to vote as a block in the upcoming election.

4. Your children ask you whether they were born when you started your current design project.

3. Your answer is "no."

2. Xilinx AEs stop telling you that your custom SOC design could be done in an FPGA.

And the No. 1 sign your SOC design is in trouble ...

1. Your EDA vendor presents you with its Customer of the Year award.