Serving the Electronic Design Community Since 1956
Respect for trial & error, & success
May 13, 2013 9:14 am | by Alan Nicol, Executive Member, AlanNicolSolutions | Blogs | CommentsThere are many ways we transform questions and uncertainty into confidence, new products, or innovative solutions. Experimentation and trial is one that many seem compelled to avoid. Give respect to the power of trial and experimentation, and to its risks. Right now I’m working on a project with a friend of mine and it strikes me how differently we approach the development of our vision.
Nowhere to run
May 13, 2013 9:04 am | by David Mantey, Executive Editor, PD&D | Blogs | CommentsKarma certainly is a swift vixen, isn't she? I was a few hours removed from editing Meaghan Ziemba’s column, Smartphone Shakes, for the latest issue of Wireless Design & Development magazine (PD&D’s sister) when I was retelling the story of her troubles following an incident involving a barroom toilet and her smartphone — nothing pairs well with such sleazy settings, particularly electronics.
Non-inherited mutations account for many heart defects, Yale researchers find
May 12, 2013 1:00 pm | by Yale UniversityYale University | News | CommentsNew mutations that are absent in parents but appear in their offspring account for at least 10% of severe congenital heart disease, reveals a massive genomics study led by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine....
Bloomberg bars reporters from client activity
May 11, 2013 2:13 pm | by RYAN NAKASHIMA - AP Business Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsFinancial data and news company Bloomberg LP says it has corrected a "mistake" in its newsgathering policies and cut off its journalists' special access to client log-in activity on the company's ubiquitous trading information terminals after Goldman Sachs complained about the matter last month. ...
Flawed diamonds promise sensory perfection
May 10, 2013 1:34 pm | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsFrom brain to heart to stomach, the bodies of humans and animals generate weak magnetic fields that a supersensitive detector could use to pinpoint illnesses, trace drugs – and maybe even read minds. Sensors no bigger than a thumbnail could map gas deposits underground....
Heady mathematics
May 10, 2013 1:25 pm | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsBubble baths and soapy dishwater, the refreshing head on a beer and the luscious froth on a cappuccino. All are foams, beautiful yet ephemeral as the bubbles pop one by one. Two University of California, Berkeley, researchers have now described mathematically the successive stages in the complex evolution and disappearance of foamy bubbles....
New technique to improve quality control of lithium-ion batteries
May 10, 2013 12:44 pm | by Purdue University | News | CommentsResearchers have created a new tool to detect flaws in lithium-ion batteries as they are being manufactured, a step toward reducing defects and inconsistencies in the thickness of electrodes that affect battery life and reliability. The electrodes, called anodes and cathodes, are the building blocks of powerful battery arrays...
NRL shatters endurance record for small electric UAV
May 10, 2013 12:40 pm | by U.S. Naval Research Laboratory | News | CommentsResearchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory flew their fuel cell powered Ion Tiger UAV for 48 hours and 1 minute on April 16-18 by using liquid hydrogen fuel in a new, NRL-developed, cryogenic fuel storage tank and delivery system. This flight shatters their previous record of 26 hours and 2 minutes set in 2009 using the same vehicle...
New magnetic graphene may revolutionize electronics
May 10, 2013 12:27 pm | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsResearchers from IMDEA-Nanociencia Institute and from Autonoma and Complutense Universities of Madrid (Spain) have managed to give graphene magnetic properties. The breakthrough, published in the journal 'Nature Physics', opens the door to the development of graphene-based spintronic devices...
Global network of hackers steals $45M from ATMs
May 10, 2013 11:26 am | by COLLEEN LONG - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsThe sophistication of a global network of thieves who drained cash machines around the globe of an astonishing $45 million in mere hours sent ripples through the security world, not merely for the size of the operation and ease with which it was carried out, but also for the threat that more such...
Kit helps developers gain fast entry into the world of embedded ARM processors
May 10, 2013 11:25 am | Kontron | Product Releases | CommentsKontron announced the ready-to-use SMARC Starterkit. The kit offers developers fast entry into the world of embedded ARM processors, which is now highly scalable owing to SMARC Computer-on-Modules. The kit comes in a sturdy transport case, has all the cables already connected and is
Tesla Model S gets Consumer Reports' top score
May 10, 2013 11:15 am | by TOM KRISHER, AP Auto Writer | News | CommentsThe Tesla Motors Inc. Model S electric car has tied an older Lexus for the highest score ever recorded in Consumer Reports magazine's automotive testing. The Model S, which starts at $62,400 after a federal tax credit, scored 99 points on a scale of 100 in the magazine's battery of tests.
Starter Kit speeds up choosing and commissioning the optimum drive
May 10, 2013 11:06 am | Product Releases | CommentsWith its new StarterKit, Nanotec Electronic is helping companies choosing and commission the optimum drive. Various motor settings can be tested, and different operating modes such as open loop and closed loop can be
NKorea nuke arsenal seen as matter of when, not if
May 10, 2013 11:04 am | by FOSTER KLUG, Associated Press | News | CommentsAfter three nuclear tests of apparently increasing power and a long-range rocket launch that puts it a big step closer to having a missile that can carry a nuclear warhead to American shores, many believe that in a matter of years — as little as five, maybe, though the timeframe is a point of debate — Pyongyang will have a very scary nuclear arsenal.
Encoders and inclinometers have J1939 interface
May 10, 2013 10:52 am | Fraba / Posital | Product Releases | CommentsPOSITAL announced its inclinometers and absolute rotary encoders are available with J1939 communications interfaces. (The J1939 protocol was developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers for use in heavy vehicles such as trucks, buses, fire trucks and construction machinery. The protocol
