CES 2013

robert noyce

Could PBS Silicon Valley doc spawn 'Mad Men' for geek set?

Somehow "Mad Men" just sounds cooler than "Sili Men." Still, there's no telling what sort of martini and microchip soaked show some wild-eyed TV exec might concoct after seeing PBS' upcoming "American Experience" documentary on the origins of Silicon Valley.

Take a peek at the photo above. Just look at that chrome-y Fairchild Semiconductor logo in that oh-so-midcentury interior. Check out those natty suits and spectacles. And (sigh) look at that dreamy, tieless rebel in the foreground -- he makes Don Draper look like a wuss.… Read more

Google doodle honors 'Mayor of Silicon Valley' Robert Noyce

Robert Noyce, a man as responsible as anyone for the name and culture of Silicon Valley, was honored today with a Google doodle to commemorate what would have been his 84th birthday.

Visitors to Google.com are greeted with an image of an integrated circuit with Google etched onto its center. Noyce is credited as one of the inventors of the integrated circuit, which combines multiple compute functions on a semiconductor.

Noyce was a co-founder of the Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957 and Intel, which he co-founded with Gordon Moore and Andrew Grove in 1968.

He was considered a visionary and … Read more