The Professional Life of Peter N. Glaskowsky

(It's been fun, productive, and rarely boring.)

I'm a computer design engineer, currently working as a senior technology analyst at MicroDesign Resources. I'm a senior editor of MDR's Microprocessor Report. MDR also hosts the annual Microprocessor Forum and Embedded Processor Forum conferences. MDR is a subsidiary of Cahners Business Information.

My primary focus at MDR is technical analysis of 3D-graphics chips for personal computers and PC workstations. This is the most dynamic topic in the PC hardware business since 3D chips are doubling in speed about every six months, compared to the 18-month period for CPUs to double in speed, as defined by Joy's Law. I also cover PC core-logic chip sets, memory technology, and what I call "extreme processors"-- those that deliver extremely high levels of performance for specific applications such as multimedia processing and networking.

One nice thing about this job: I get to go to a lot of trade shows, as you can see in this picture of my namebadge collection (click to view a high-res version). The oldest badges here are from NCC '79 near the top edge, and Interface '80, just below it and partially obscured.

On my personal page on the MDR site you can see some of the articles and books I've written there; use the site search engine to get everything (recent content is available only to subscribers).

I've also written articles for other publications:

PC Magazine

It's All in the Chips

Pen Computing Magazine

Under the Hood: CPUs and Chipsets for Windows CE

Upside Magazine

Graphics Violence (a concise summary of the challenges facing 3D-chip designers)

Toscana is Far From Nerd Nirvana (a story about my apartment's Internet service; see also here)

Multimedia Systems Design Magazine (now defunct)

Drawing Conclusions (a monthly column that appeared in every issue)

Standing Out in a Standards-Based World (the cover story of their April 1998 issue)

Before I joined MDR, I was a chief engineer in the Systems Technology Group at Integrated Device Technology, Inc., where I was involved in product definition, applications engineering, and technology analysis. I also designed the first reference board for IDT's NICStAR ATM controller chip.

Before that, I worked for SuperMac Technology (now part of Radius), where I designed several products:

The SuperMatch Display Calibrator

The SuperView Display Adapter for Apple PowerBook computers

The SuperMac Splash GX PostScript RIP

Before that, I was with Telebit, where I was the lead engineer on

The Telebit T3000/WorldBlazer modem

And before that, I worked for General Dynamics (the less said the better :-). I also spent four years in the U.S. Air Force, 1981-1985, and I received a BSEE degree from the University of Miami in 1988.

If you'd like more detail, see my résumé in HTML or .TXT format.