Blogs
Would you like to contribute to our Brainstorm section?
January 2, 2013 4:50 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | CommentsWe here at ECN love to hear what you have to say, so for our February issue we’re opening up the Brainstorm discussion to our faithful readers. We want to hear your thoughts about consumer electronics and the future of technology. Typically, the Brainstorm is an editorial section consisting of short commentary....
The chicken-and-egg challenge of innovation
January 2, 2013 11:06 am | by Alan Nicol, Executive Member, AlanNicolSolutions | CommentsInnovation is a very popular topic right now, and has been for several years. The inventive spirit and a long history of innovative prowess has kept United States industry on top of the global pile for, arguably, nearly a century. It’s hard to argue that it has been so for the last half-century.
Semiconductor testing: Going back to the future
January 2, 2013 10:19 am | by Dirk de Vries, co-founder of Qualtera | CommentsThe integrated circuit semiconductor testing process produces oceans of data. This data is used to control product quality, performance and yield, and to resolve issues in those areas. Paradoxically, while the semiconductor industry has been one of the key enablers in the development of the technology responsible for dramatically changing our daily lives, it is conservative in its ways of working.
What is wrong with programming?
January 2, 2013 8:32 am | by M. Simon, Technical Contributor | CommentsPoul-Henning Kamp, "one of the primary developers of the FreeBSD operating system", has written a long screed about the current state of programming. He discusses Eric Raymond's The Cathedral and the Bazaar (Eric chimes in with a comment) and has this critique of the Bazaar....
Transcipt for Engineering Newswire 8: Glasses-free 3D and a near replacement for Knight Rider
January 1, 2013 12:00 am | by Editor | CommentsThis is the full transcript for Engineering Newswire 8: Glasses-free 3D and a near replacement for Knight Rider Welcome to Engineering Update, brought to you by Mouser Electronics, the electronic components distributor with the widest selection of the newest products. With this week’s headlines, here’s Executive Editor David Mantey
Transcript for Engineering Update #9: The gossiping Pinoccio and the power line inspecting Skysweeper
January 1, 2013 12:00 am | by Editor | CommentsMelissa Barnes: Welcome to Engineering Update, brought to you by Mouser Electronics, the electronic components distributor with the widest selection of the newest products. I’m Melissa Barnes, Associate Editor of ECN. In this week’s headlines: New Movies In An Old Format
System for Approving New Medical Options Needs Improvement
December 31, 2012 8:13 am | by Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog | CommentsSomething Doesn’t Add Up Not only did the team find that evidence for Infuse’s benefits over existing alternatives for most patients was questionable; they also discovered in a broad array of published research that risks of complications (including cancer, male … Continue reading →
Make Crosswalks More Visible
December 25, 2012 10:28 am | by Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog | CommentsGood simple idea. And then executed well – for nighttime at least. Crosswalk lights up when in use giving drivers a more visible clue to stop. Related: Ministry of Silly Walks – Kindergarten Students Pedel Their Own Bus to School … Continue reading →
Circumhorizontal arcs – fire rainbows – cloud rainbows
December 20, 2012 7:52 pm | by Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog | CommentsYesterday afternoon I spotted this odd, colorful, spectrum seemingly in a cloud in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. The colors are similar to a rainbow but the prism effect takes on a bit different form than a rainbow as I learned with … Continue reading →
Designing just for fun
December 20, 2012 3:58 pm | by M. Simon, Technical Contributor | CommentsI'm in the process of designing and building a 10 MHz time/frequency receiver to pick up the WWV signal and to see if I can accurately reproduce the signal frequency for general lab calibration purposes. Yes, there are better ways to get accurate frequency calibration.
Working as a software developer
December 17, 2012 8:26 am | by Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog | CommentsFor most of my career I have been focused on management improvement – helping organizations improve results. Technology plays a big role in that and along the way I found myself becoming a programer for a while; and then....
Apple iPad shipments to reach 100 million in 2013?
December 14, 2012 4:29 pm | by David Hsieh, DisplaySearch | CommentsIn 2012, Apple’s iPad continues to dominate tablet PC panel production. According to our Quarterly Large Area TFT Panel Shipment Report, panel makers including Samsung, LG Display, Sharp and Innolux will ship 70 million 9.7” iPad panels in 2012. Of those, 23 million will be iPad 2 XGA panels and 47 million will be new iPad QXGA panels....
Exploring the potential of watch crystals
December 14, 2012 9:14 am | by M. Simon, Technical Contributor | CommentsWatch crystals are amazing devices. Typical 32KHz clock crystals are very stable in frequency if you can keep them close to their turnover temperature. If you can hold the crystal to within 1 degC of the turnover temperature, it is +/-.04 ppm from the frequency at turnover.
Continuously falling notebook PC panel prices
December 10, 2012 1:04 pm | by David Hsieh, DisplaySearch | CommentsTrends in TFT LCD panel prices are very different for the three main applications. TV panel prices have been increasing for 3 quarters, and are becoming the main source of profit for panel makers; monitor panel prices are stagnant, as panel production has been falling due to weak demand....
More Beagle CAD Paws
December 6, 2012 4:30 pm | by Screaming Circuits | CommentsContinuing on from my last post... As I said, I do everything I can to avoid re-using the package footprint when adding the the parts library in Eagle CAD. The schematic symbol can be a different story though. It still...
