John Moussouris, chief executive of the six-year-old start-up company MicroUnity Systems Engineering Inc, has revealed details of a strategy to create a new type of super-fast chip he calls the media processor and has promised shipments of it next year, reports the Wall Street Journal. The firm has attracted Microsoft Corp and Tele-Communications Inc as investors, and a music producer and newspaper publisher as advisers. Moussouris claims his chip’s internal clocks will operate at 1GHz. The promised advance is claimed to be the result of a new approach to chip design. While others are working to create smaller transistors, he says, MicroUnity is reducing the length and number of wires that link the transistors. If manufacturers use MicroUnity’s chips, developing interactive programs will become easier because there will be a single set of internal instructions instead of separate instructions for each of several chips. The chips could speed up commuication on the information highway because they communicate so much faster, can perform several multimedia functions on one chip, and can easily be reprogrammed to reflect the latest software standards. The chips could speed up and simplify communications over cable and phone lines, improving the operation of television set-top decoder boxes, cellular telephones and digital radios. The chip would compete with parts from the likes of Intel Corp and Motorola Inc, and specialists in fields such as video compression. Investors have helped MicroUnity set up a $50m chip factory. Microsoft has put up $15m. Other rumoured backers include Hewlett-Packard Co, Cray Research Inc, General Instrument Corp and Digital Equipment. Moussouris will not name any of the partners but says the names being suggested are not accurate.
