Asianometry

AT&T aimed to dominate the computer market in the 1980s by leveraging UNIX technology. They introduced the WE32000 CPU and the Unix PC, hoping to challenge IBM's reign. However, the venture quickly stumbled due to competition and a less-than-stellar graphical user interface. Despite its multitasking capabilities, the Unix PC couldn't compete with faster rivals like the Macintosh. Ultimately, AT&T's ambitious leap into personal computing ended in disappointment, underscoring the lessons learned in the unforgiving tech landscape.

Dive into the fascinating world of computer cooling technologies! Discover how heat management has evolved from the early days of vacuum tubes to the sophisticated liquid cooling solutions we have today. Learn about groundbreaking methods like immersion cooling used in supercomputers and how recent advancements tackle the heat generated by AI accelerators. Explore the challenges tied to these innovations and the interplay between technological progress and cooling efficiency.

In the early 2000s, the Japanese press referred to Sony, Sanyo and Sharp as the 3S. Sanyo has this fascinating history. A ubiquitous Japanese electronics brand I saw all the time growing up. The company rode a wave of economic growth and globalization. But like other Japanese companies of this first generation, they failed to adapt. In today's video, the life and times of Sanyo. Get all episodes of Asianometry, Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, and Dithering as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year. Listen to Stratechery. Listen to Dithering. Listen to Sharp China. Listen to Sharp Tech. Listen to Greatest Of All Talk.

In June 2025, Nippon Steel acquired US Steel, with the US government retaining a "Golden Share". Nippon Steel first announced the $14.9 billion acquisition back in December 2023. And the Japanese steel giant has pursued the deal despite competing American bids, union disapproval, and seemingly insurmountable political opposition. US Steel was once the world's biggest steel company and remains America's third largest steelmaker. They now face considerable challenges. Nippon Steel was also once the world's largest steel company. And they now face substantial challenges. The two are now together. In this video, Nippon Steel's historic acquisition of US Steel. Get all episodes of Asianometry, Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, and Dithering as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year. Listen to Stratechery. Listen to Dithering. Listen to Sharp China. Listen to Sharp Tech. Listen to Greatest Of All Talk.

Unlike other state-owned oil giants like Saudi Arabia's Saudi Aramco or Norway's Equinor...Brazil’s Petrobras was founded without meaningful oil reserves. Bit strange isn't it? But for decades, Brazilians believed that their country had oil. And they persisted in that belief despite words and data saying otherwise. And their faith was rewarded! Turns out there was oil in Brazil. It just wasn't on land. In this video, how Brazil learned to drill its deepwater oil. Get all episodes of Asianometry, Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, and Dithering as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year. Listen to Stratechery. Listen to Dithering. Listen to Sharp China. Listen to Sharp Tech. Listen to Greatest Of All Talk.

Before smartphones, there was little interest in mobile wireless broadband. Mobile operators only had to carry voice signals and a low data rate of 8-10 kilobits per second was more than enough for that. So from 1G to 3G, operators focused instead on improving their economics, by increasing how many calls can be made within a particular cell with the same amount of spectrum. Then in the mid-2000s came the smartphone, which turned wireless broadband into a real customer demand. Which meant drastically raising data transfer rates. But how are operators going to do that without buying vast sums of bandwidth? Or pumping huge amounts of power into the signal? What the industry devised and adopted was deviously clever. In this video, the story of Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output or MIMO. Get all episodes of Asianometry, Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, and Dithering as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year. Listen to Stratechery. Listen to Dithering. Listen to Sharp China. Listen to Sharp Tech. Listen to Greatest Of All Talk.

DRAM has been the graveyard of semiconductor empires. Competing in this market is not for the faint of heart. After decades, the DRAM industry consolidated to just three big companies: Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. But now they are being challenged by a new kid on the block. A Chinese DRAM monster emerging out of Hefei: ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT (長鑫存儲). In today's video, we profile the third of the People's Republic of China's semiconductor titans: CXMT. Get all episodes of Asianometry, Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, and Dithering as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year. Listen to Stratechery. Listen to Dithering. Listen to Sharp China. Listen to Sharp Tech. Listen to Greatest Of All Talk.

Solar and wind are some of the fastest growing energy sources. One problem is that they are intermittent. It is not always windy and the sun sets. Seasons change, cutting daylight hours. So on. To deal with this, we need a way to store electricity for use during times of peak demand: Energy storage. In this video, a simple and reliable energy storage scheme that has been used for decades and is now somewhat back in vogue. A lake up on a hill. Get all episodes of Asianometry, Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, and Dithering as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year. Listen to Stratechery. Listen to Dithering. Listen to Sharp China. Listen to Sharp Tech. Listen to Greatest Of All Talk.

Dive into the world of gene therapy and uncover why it's the priciest treatment available today. Explore the labyrinthine production process of viral vectors, which poses unique manufacturing challenges. Discover the historical milestones that have shaped the industry and the regulatory hurdles that complicate development. This fascinating topic reveals the intricate balance between innovation and cost in biopharmaceuticals.

Dive into the intriguing history of AI in the 1980s, where Lisp machines promised to revolutionize computing. Discover how government funding fueled expert systems and the fierce rivalry between companies like Symbolics and Texas Instruments. The narrative explores the meteoric rise of these technologies, only to face challenges and decline due to the knowledge acquisition bottleneck. Uncover the dramatic collapse of Symbolics amidst a changing market and the lasting legacy of Lisp, which continues to influence AI development today.