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There was some speculation in the previous thread about brendangregg on where they're going next ((https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31051662 https://news.yc

There was some speculation in the previous thread about brendangregg on where they're going next ((https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31051662 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31051662)). Not a single person seems to have gotten it right :) Caught me a bit by surprise as well, as Intel seems to have stagnated a bit as of late, but the opening paragraph seems to indicate Brendan thinks otherwise, and who am I to disagree. I wish you luck on the new adventures, and hope you'll have tons of fun!

MikePlacid 5y ago
>Caught me a bit by surprise as well, as Intel seems to have stagnated a bit as of late The best place for an engineer to be (in my observation) - is at a company that faces a fierce competition. To envision, design and build a pipe pumping gold vs to exploit such a pipe when it is built - requires different skills. >I recently worked with another hardware vendor, who were initially friendly and supportive but after evaluations of their technology went poorly became bullying and misleading. I wonder who this is.
alberth 5y ago
Apparently Brendan has known Intels CTO for a long time (they both worked at Sun together) https://mobile.twitter.com/GregL_Intel/status/1520789156024098817?cxt=HHwWgoCp8cHr9poqAAAA https://mobile.twitter.com/GregL_Intel/status/15207891560240...
neogodless 5y ago
Intel has a ton of product lines, and a sort of parallel business of design and production, which they've started to split apart. Their core CPU design has managed to stay relevant (and profitable) despite issues with production, and has regained some measure of success with their 12th generation. Their production business has a good roadmap, but success in execution remains to be proven. GPU design is a bit of a wildcard, and I'm excited to see if it pans out. I would say it's fair to say that what came out of Intel certainly felt stagnant as the past decade drug on, but there's still promise that they remain competitive.
- foobiekr 5y ago
  Their network business is a trainwreck now controlled entirely by people who don’t know product or networking customers.
singhrac 5y ago
While the fabs might have hit some missteps, Intel’s software group has still been very strong for a long time. MKL and icc are examples of Intel putting effort into software (I can’t remember whether they hobble it on AMD which would be a real shame). Still a great company and will likely be a leader again.
- ncmncm 5y ago
  > whether they hobble it on AMD That has varied. At one point, you could set a "please don't sabotage performance" environment variable that made e.g. Matlab 2x faster. Then it started being ignored. Making software deliberately cripple performance to make your hardware look better reveals the kind of company it is.
snowwrestler 5y ago
A high-profile hire probably would not word it this way exactly… but old org that is struggling can be an interesting place to be. Especially if there is new leadership looking to right the ship and put their stamp on things. A lot of “we can’t do that” or “we don’t do that” in big corps actually comes down to “we don’t think we need to do that.” Because why mess with success? But when everyone realizes success is slipping, a lot more things become possible. I’m going through that now at my employer and big ideas that bounced off of walls for years are now getting done in months. It’s fun.
- lukeh 5y ago
  Apple circa 1997 :)

MikePlacid 5y ago

>Caught me a bit by surprise as well, as Intel seems to have stagnated a bit as of late The best place for an engineer to be (in my observation) - is at a company that faces a fierce competition. To envision, design and build a pipe pumping gold vs to exploit such a pipe when it is built - requires different skills. >I recently worked with another hardware vendor, who were initially friendly and supportive but after evaluations of their technology went poorly became bullying and misleading. I wonder who this is.

alberth 5y ago

Apparently Brendan has known Intels CTO for a long time (they both worked at Sun together) https://mobile.twitter.com/GregL_Intel/status/1520789156024098817?cxt=HHwWgoCp8cHr9poqAAAA https://mobile.twitter.com/GregL_Intel/status/15207891560240...

neogodless 5y ago

Intel has a ton of product lines, and a sort of parallel business of design and production, which they've started to split apart. Their core CPU design has managed to stay relevant (and profitable) despite issues with production, and has regained some measure of success with their 12th generation. Their production business has a good roadmap, but success in execution remains to be proven. GPU design is a bit of a wildcard, and I'm excited to see if it pans out. I would say it's fair to say that what came out of Intel certainly felt stagnant as the past decade drug on, but there's still promise that they remain competitive.

foobiekr 5y ago
Their network business is a trainwreck now controlled entirely by people who don’t know product or networking customers.

singhrac 5y ago

While the fabs might have hit some missteps, Intel’s software group has still been very strong for a long time. MKL and icc are examples of Intel putting effort into software (I can’t remember whether they hobble it on AMD which would be a real shame). Still a great company and will likely be a leader again.

ncmncm 5y ago
> whether they hobble it on AMD That has varied. At one point, you could set a "please don't sabotage performance" environment variable that made e.g. Matlab 2x faster. Then it started being ignored. Making software deliberately cripple performance to make your hardware look better reveals the kind of company it is.

snowwrestler 5y ago

A high-profile hire probably would not word it this way exactly… but old org that is struggling can be an interesting place to be. Especially if there is new leadership looking to right the ship and put their stamp on things. A lot of “we can’t do that” or “we don’t do that” in big corps actually comes down to “we don’t think we need to do that.” Because why mess with success? But when everyone realizes success is slipping, a lot more things become possible. I’m going through that now at my employer and big ideas that bounced off of walls for years are now getting done in months. It’s fun.

lukeh 5y ago
Apple circa 1997 :)