So even if someone steals the secret sauce, does that mean they can actually cook the same dish?
No, but if you want to cook the same dish it sure helps to have the secret sauce.
TSMC says employees tried to steal trade secrets on iPhone 18 chip process
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Re: TSMC says employees tried to steal trade secrets on iPhone 18 chip process
#92Right before I left Samsung Austin Semiconductor (Samsung’s fab in the U.S.), in 2019, they were phasing out local share drives in favor of a self-hosted cloud that Samsung created. The supposed reason was better security, though it’s unclear to me why they couldn’t globally apply whatever rules they wanted to enforce to all office locations, instead of forcing everyone to use a remote endpoint. The throughput was ab…
This abuse of Excel might be in the running for a new form of esports.
Re: TSMC says employees tried to steal trade secrets on iPhone 18 chip process
#93Right before I left Samsung Austin Semiconductor (Samsung’s fab in the U.S.), in 2019, they were phasing out local share drives in favor of a self-hosted cloud that Samsung created. The supposed reason was better security, though it’s unclear to me why they couldn’t globally apply whatever rules they wanted to enforce to all office locations, instead of forcing everyone to use a remote endpoint. The throughput was ab…
It is great that particular tools enable employees automate stuff and make their work more effective.
From developer point of view I see that the effort would most certainly be diverted in another kind of solution.
But yeah, "citizen developer" stuff is a thing that microsoft pushes especially in Power Platform / Canvas Apps - one programs with WYSIWIG and Excel-like formulas (PowerFX)
But then again I wonder who are the people that can program in VBA and chooses excel. Is it the constraint around software they can use? An excel being a GUI which you don't have to implement? Anyways, a net positive for business.
Re: TSMC says employees tried to steal trade secrets on iPhone 18 chip process
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just knowing how the thing is built doesn't seem to be enough. Comac still sources its jet engines from Pratt and Whitney for instance, despite many years of trying no local manufacturer has been able to build them to the same spec.
Are P&W and Rolls Royce the only companies in the world capable of manufacturing high-end jet engines end-to-end?
Don't forget GE Aerospace. It gets a bit weirder too since you have joint ventures like CFM and Engine Alliance.
Re: TSMC says employees tried to steal trade secrets on iPhone 18 chip process
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Out of nowhere" would be a stretch. IBM may not have mass-market volume anymore but they kept up the production chain to build mainframes (and I would guess other "specialty" products) for institutional customers.
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IBM has been publicly working toward 2nm since at least 2021, though, so it doesn't seem like it's coming from nowhere. Unless this is a completely different 2nm development, here's a presser about it from 2021, titled "Introducing the world's first 2 nm node chip" (https://research.ibm.com/blog/2-nm-chip)
Re: TSMC says employees tried to steal trade secrets on iPhone 18 chip process
#96Serious props to TSMC for having the processes in place to catch this or figure it out, sacking the alleged bastards, announcing the insider breach publicly (and accepting the consequences of a moment of corporate vulnerability, but at the same time showing their transparency and commitment to protecting client IP), and further not allowing mere job loss to be the end of the story. I had no particular opinion about TSMC, but my respect for them has moved up a notch now.
Re: TSMC says employees tried to steal trade secrets on iPhone 18 chip process
#97Re: TSMC says employees tried to steal trade secrets on iPhone 18 chip process
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
No recipe accounts for ambient temperature/humidity, very few for altitude differences, etc. etc. It still takes knowledgable tweaks to get just right.
Such recipe could exist.
At the end of the day, the map won't ever be the territory. Typically the properties that makes something successful are those which cannot be specified. If it were otherwise and those qualities could be specified in a reproducible manner, that thing would not be observably successful.
Re: TSMC says employees tried to steal trade secrets on iPhone 18 chip process
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are P&W and Rolls Royce the only companies in the world capable of manufacturing high-end jet engines end-to-end?
Don't forget GE Aerospace. It gets a bit weirder too since you have joint ventures like CFM and Engine Alliance.
Good point. Isn’t there also Safran?
Re: TSMC says employees tried to steal trade secrets on iPhone 18 chip process
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are P&W and Rolls Royce the only companies in the world capable of manufacturing high-end jet engines end-to-end?
No, but they provide the best efficiency/performance for the buck. China can produce its own jet turbines, but they have to trade off performance or longevity to do it.
Interesting. Thanks.