The current-mode muddle

With the arrival of monolithic processes for the fabrication of bipolar transistors during the mid-1960s, it seemed like a good time to examine new paradigms for design. Current-mode (CM) was attractive because it suggested that small voltages swings could be used to process analog signals represented as currents; whatever voltages that did arise were treated as incidental. These were good ideas at the time. Are they still true today? It is important to know when CM offers a real advantage, to know when it is truly valuable, and to know when it is of only passing and academic interest.