The Secret Life of Computers – The Chip Letter

- **The Chip Letter** is an influential Substack newsletter (by Babbage, a pseudonymous industry veteran) that digs into semiconductor history, architecture, and the business of chips. It's widely read by engineers and tech strategists. - This article argues that we misunderstand what a "computer" really is: most people think of PCs, phones, or servers, but the vast majority of processors today live inside other devices — cars, factory robots, medical implants, smart appliances, and infrastructure equipment — unseen by users. - It traces how this "hidden computing" landscape emerged: from the rise of microcontrollers (a CPU, memory, and I/O all on one chip) in the 1970s, through the ARM processor revolution (low-power chips that came to dominate embedded systems), to today's world where an average car contains 1,000+ chips and a modern jet has 100+ computers on board. - Key context: while the public obsesses over the latest PC or smartphone CPU, the real volume and economic value of chips lies in these embedded systems — and supply-chain shocks (like the 2021 auto-chip shortage) exposed just how dependent modern life is on computers nobody ever sees.