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YOU SAY TOMATO

by Tom Cantrell

Start ý I Say Tomato ý DSC? ý All Grown Up ý Go Forth and Multiply ý Switch Hitters ý Sources and PDF

SWITCH HITTERS

So, is the dsPIC a DSP or an MCU? The answer is yes. Itýs both.

Whatýs the difference between a mini-van and a small SUV? Look around and youýll find it boils down to little more than a difference in sheet metal up front.

The real difference isnýt so much in the hardware, but rather in the marketing. What the vehicle is depends more on the target market and sales pitch than whatýs actually under the hood.

So, there will continue to be pure MCUs for the cost-conscious ones-and-zeros types. And, there still will be pure DSPs for the op-amp crowd. But, expect the trend to continue that most chips (like mini-vans and SUVs) will be heading neither right nor left, but straight down the middle of the road.

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