Fast Forward into the Future The Internet Era is here and the advances in digital technology are completely changing the way we live. From digital cellular phones to handheld computers not much bigger than a stack of playing cards, digital technology has created an unprecedented explosion of new products that allow consumers to communicate with one another as well as integrate the numerous products they use in their daily lives. This increase in integration along with the increased speed of communication has created the “global” economy in which most business must operate to remain competitive. “Hardly a day goes by that we do not encounter products that are enabled by DSP technology. From consumer electronics including cell phones, toys, TV’s DVD, answering machines, to military, scientific, medical and infrastructure applications. DSP’s are showing up everywhere.”(Frantz, 2000) Let us take a look at one company that is heavily involved in the Internet Era.Company ProfileTexas Instruments Incorporated is a global semiconductor company and the world’s leading designer and supplier of digital signal processing and analog technologies. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company’s businesses also include materials and controls and educational and productivity solutions. The company has manufacturing or sales operations in 27 countries. (TI Annual Report, 1999) Texas Instruments has become the world’s leader in real-time technologies that help people communicate. Texas Instruments has also developed a revolutionary digital light processor technology that combines more than a million tiny mirrors on a dime-sized surface to create an ultra-sharp display for use in televisions, PCs, and movie theaters. (Moody’s, 2000)Texas Instruments is the world’s leading manufacturer of digital signal processors having acquired nearly half the world’s market. These di...
