This is a picture of the Broadcom GPS chip in my cell phone. Both before 2000 and today. - Robert Scoble from email

In the picture on the wall is a prototype that takes an entire PC case. On the finger is the current chip. Already they are making things even smaller. Today's chips do wifi, bluetooth, and GPS all on one tiny chip. Tomorrow? Will have accelerometers and other kinds of MEMS (Microelectronic machines) that will do a bunch of stuff that will enable new Google, Nokia, and Apple phones. How significant was this to the world? They are making hundreds of millions per year. - Robert Scoble

Thanks to the GPS team at Broadcom for giving me a tour. I'm uploading videos from my visit. - Robert Scoble

tech=$$$ - Anthony Farrior

Not many people can say they changed the world in a massive way. This team can. Their technology is now inside hundreds of millions of new cell phones every year. - Robert Scoble

Sometimes we take for granted just how fast this industry moves. Think about it. Eight years and we went from the size of a PC to 1/8th the size of a thumbnail. Amazing. - Robert Scoble

These devices will be making their way into more than just phones as they get cheaper. - Eric @ CSTechcast.com

One other fact that impressed me. The GPS satellite it is sensing is putting out the equivilent energy of a 25-watt bulb. But it is 16,000-miles away. It is a major miracle that this stuff works at all and now they are working on ways to make it work through tunnels, under ground, places where the satellite doesn't reach. How will they do that? Well, that's why I need to upload the videos. - Robert Scoble

Eric: absolutely, but they already are pretty cheap thanks to the volumes of the cell phone industry (more than a billion phones are sold every year, and every year more and more will have GPS included). - Robert Scoble

I'm excited about the integrated accelerometers. I've already heard of future applications in the data center for these. - Eric @ CSTechcast.com

In 10 years this will seem terribly primitive. "What? You could see it with your eyes?? Pfft!" - Internet's Tad

Eric: the accelerometers are going to work with a datacenter to figure out exactly where you are, even if you can't sense the GPS satellites. - Robert Scoble

Was working at ICL in the 70s. 2 basements floors of towering whirring computers.Spent my lunchtimes down there. Now all that power's in a tiny laptop. - Nicola Quinn

Tad: in 10 years we might have that implanted into our brain. Think about that. We might never need to ask for directions again! :-) - Robert Scoble

I dunno if we'll have it in our brain, but I won't be surprised if that chip is the size of a mote of dust and said dust will begin coating everything. - Internet's Tad

Heh, I think we have a few things we need to learn about the brain before we can talk about that without a hearty guffaw. - Jason Wehmhoener

Things like this help put scientific growth in perspective. - Jay

Jason: you would be amazed at what they are already implanting in humans. Usually people who have been disabled. - Robert Scoble

Ah, I guess you're right, I haven't been keeping up with the prosthetics, but I guess the finger movement for whole-arm prosthetics requires some kind of nervous system interface. Is it neural, or more localized? - Jason Wehmhoener

Also, there's a big difference between motor coordination and the processing of concepts like "directions". - Jason Wehmhoener

Jason: the ones I've seen demoed at conferences like PopTech are neural. True, we have a lot to learn. I bet we figure it out in the next 10 to 30 years, though. The science here is moving very quickly. I met some brain researchers in Davos that told me amazing things. - Robert Scoble

Jason: you have to watch this video. Amazing. http://poptech.com/popcast... - Robert Scoble

Great video, thanks for the link! - Jason Wehmhoener