On April 19, one of the most misunderstoodmaxims in history will celebrate a birthday.

No, ot the Second Amendment. Moores Law, the prescient observation outlined in an article in Electronics Magazine by Intel Intel co-founder Gordon Moore that effectively became the foundation document of thetechnology industry.

For a quick handy guide, here are a few pointers to remember:

1. Its An Observation, Not a Law. Laws dont change. Observations do. The classic statement of Moores Law is that the number of transistors on a chip double every two years. From 1965 to 1975, it was doubling every year. Since around 2008, the pace has slowed down to around 2.5 to 3 years. Weirdly, it was never 18 months although thats the most remembered version. Still, flexibility has added to its longevity. He also didnt call it a law.

Moores Law has come to be applied to anything that changes exponentially, and I am happy to take credit for it, Moore joked once.

2. Everything Depends On It. VCs dont invest in chip companies, budding entrepreneurs dream about launching sharing sites, and Apple Apple has become one of the most valuable companies in the world by selling technology as a luxury good. Semiconductors are about as cool as vacuum tubes they replaced.

But without the work being accomplished in those low-slung beige buildings off the Central Expressway we wouldnt be here. If we were still using the technology that was around when ENIAC (the machine that kicked off the tech revolution) was developed, an iPhone would be the size of a steamer trunk. Cellular relay stations would rival the Washington Monument in size. And a Google Google datacenter would consume as much energy as Manhattan.

Over the years, people have claimed transistor advances were becoming irrelevant. A series of well-publicized articles in 2003 quoting Marc Andreessen and Eric Schmidt warned about how hardware was delivering more performance than necessary. Then, oops, a few months later WiFi became a global sensation. Facebook and YouTube followed.

Visit link:

Moore's Law Turns 50: Seven Things To Remember - Forbes