IBM sets up collaborative design site

[Sean]

I thought this would cool and thought others might be interested. 
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IBM sets up collaborative design site
http://www.ebnews.com/story/OEG20010301S0042

IBM Corp.'s Microelectronics division is introducing an online design
environment for its ASIC customers-one of the industry's first
Web-based collaborative design tools.

^ÓCustomers say IBM has good technology, but they want more access to
information and customer support,^Ô said Anirudh Devgan, manager of
the Fishkill, N.Y.-based unit's custom chip e-business initiative.
^ÓThe design collaboration tool, over the Internet, allows customers
to share designs with IBM design engineers.^Ô

The system, which Devgan said can help cut develop-

ment costs and decrease time-to-market, is being offered to a pilot
set of ASIC customers during the first half of the year. The
environment is intended to help engineers quickly identify and fix
design problems and obtain support needed to complete a custom chip
design. A Java-capable Web browser will allow users to access design
kits, software tools, and related product information.

^ÓIt's one of the first private design collaboration exchanges for
chip design,^Ô said Rita Glover, an analyst at EDA Today L.C.,
Phoenix. ^ÓI know [IBM] has been working hard to integrate some of
their own technology into this environment, where people from
anywhere in the world can connect through and use the IBM tool set.^Ô 

Although e-tools have been available for a while, Glover said the
IBM system offers a new opportunity.

^ÓWhat's different is that this is a collaborative environment,
meaning people can share information with other members of the team
very readily,^Ô she said.

The development system supports custom chip offerings from IBM's Blue
Logic ASIC portfolio, including Cu-11, SA-27E, SA-27, SA-12E, SA-12,
and 5SE.

ÓWhen a company decides to do business with IBM, they need
information about the technology,Ô Devgan said. ^ÓThe design kit for
their specific technology will be available for download [as opposed
to] shipping them a CD. And any changes to the tool kit can also be
downloaded.Ô

In addition to offering Internet design capability for custom ASIC
chips, IBM has also expanded its e-business offerings for PowerPC
processors. Online development, remote evaluation, and testing
resources for the processors are available through the independent
engineering Web sites TechOnline, Design and Reuse, and
DevelopOnline. These sites allow customers to remotely connect to and
evaluate processor systems and use the PowerPC platform in Linux
applications.

For more technology news, visit http://www.ebnews.com