The holidays are a time to slow down, take a deep breath, and prepare for the year ahead — and sometimes, for change. To that end, I’ve decided that after 40 years, it’s time for me to say goodbye to the embedded industry at the end of December.
In 1983, I dropped out of art school to pursue a degree in computer science. I began my career hacking assembly code on a Motorola 6809, followed by an NEC 7811 — which is how I ended up in Sweden. The company I worked for couldn’t find a 7811 programmer for the medical devices they were building, so off I went. When I arrived in Stockholm in 1993, I knew immediately I was never going back to Texas.
Half a dozen assembly languages later, I decided it was time to learn C. That led to a role at IAR Systems as a Product Marketing Manager — a compiler guy, no less! — and eventually to 11 exciting years at Percepio. The embedded industry has certainly changed along the way. Bubble memory has faded into obscurity, fax machines once ruled the world, and my first hard disk was an Intel Hardcard with a whopping 4 MB of storage. The Embedded Systems Conference in the US came (and sadly went — who remembers the ThreadX stuffed monkeys?), while Embedded World continues to chug on. I’m sorry I won’t be in Nürnberg with Percepio this year, but I’ll be there in spirit.
As everything changes — and sometimes comes full circle — it’s time for me to begin a new chapter, return to my first love. I’ve always regretted not completing my fine arts degree, so I’m heading back to school here in Sweden to finally finish what I started all those years ago.
“Crossing the chasm”, Michael M. Skrtic 2025
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of meeting an extraordinary group of people, all contributing in their own ways to making the modern world work. Microcontrollers are everywhere — from dishwashers and electric razors to the countless MCUs in today’s cars. Flash memory in the megabytes is now routine, and RTOSes live inside toothbrushes! I could go on, but you all know exactly what I mean. Please keep up the great work.
I’ve truly enjoyed meeting, talking, and working with so many of you over the years. Perhaps our paths will cross again — who knows about these things? Be well, and strive to be happy.