Applications
The Lead
Mourning the death of Google Reader (and finding a suitable replacement)
March 18, 2013 3:40 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | Comments
Like many of you, I was shocked, dismayed, and several other adjectives upon learning that Google Reader will soon go kaput. As a journalist, I sift through copious amounts of content daily, and it would be no exaggeration to say that Google Reader makes my job exponentially simpler, so I took its demise rather hard.
My wish list for the next iPhone
April 4, 2013 10:32 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | Comments
A new iPhone is imminent! Man the ramparts! Sound the trumpets! A new coronation is upon us! OK...
Technology forces your teen to stop texting and driving
March 19, 2013 12:19 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | Comments
Everyone knows texting (or Redditing or Facebooking or Tweeting) while driving is a bad idea,...
Why your car is a better driver than you
February 7, 2013 2:06 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | Comments
It came to my attention while working on an article about intelligent systems in cars that...
Mouser Electronics’ President and CEO Glenn Smith celebrates 40 years of service
May 22, 2013 11:16 am | News | CommentsMouser Electronics announced the 40th company anniversary milestone of Glenn Smith, Mouser’s President and Chief Executive Officer. In 1973, Pong was cutting edge in the world of video games, music came on eight-track tapes, TV viewing was limited to three networks and Glenn Smith was a college kid....
With high-tech guns, users could disable remotely
May 22, 2013 10:51 am | by MARTHA MENDOZA, AP National Writer | News | CommentsA high-tech startup is wading into the gun control debate with a wireless controller that would allow gun owners to know when their weapon is being moved — and disable it remotely. The technology, but not an actual gun, was demonstrated Tuesday at a wireless technology conference in Las Vegas and was shown to The Associated Press in advance.
First Look: New Xbox elegant, but much unknown
May 22, 2013 10:47 am | by DERRIK J. LANG, AP Entertainment Writer | News | CommentsAfter four years of development, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One entertainment console and touted it as an all-in-one solution for playing games, watching TV and doing everything in between. Microsoft wants the Xbox One to be central to your living room...
Solar plane departs Phoenix on 2nd leg of US trip
May 22, 2013 10:36 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA solar-powered plane is flying from Arizona to Texas on the second leg of a trip across the United States. The Solar Impulse is making the first attempt by a solar airplane capable of flying day and night without fuel to fly across the U.S.
Industrial-grade safety disc capacitors offer reliable operation up to 125 degrees celsius
May 22, 2013 10:08 am | Kemet Electronics Corporation | Product Releases | CommentsKEMET Corporation announced the release of the new Radial Through Hole Ceramic Safety Disc Capacitors. KEMET's 900 Series encapsulated radial through-hole ceramic disc capacitors are specifically designed for interference-suppression AC line filtering applications.
What steps are necessary to keep counterfeit components out of the supply chain?
May 21, 2013 3:36 pm | Articles | CommentsWhat steps are necessary to keep counterfeit components out of the supply chain? Are more industry standards needed? Stop having unrealistic pricing expectations. Understand and qualify quality vendors of all kinds. Allocations and obsolescence are part of our industry, we have to identify a realistic market price to ensure the vendors we trust and work with can meet our needs without sacrificing quality.
Reference design delivers ultra-wideband Doherty amplifiers
May 21, 2013 3:29 pm | Nxp Semiconductors | Product Releases | CommentsNXP Semiconductors N.V. announced the availability of its ultra-wideband Doherty reference design using the BLF884P and BLF884PS – asserted to be the industry’s first wideband Doherty power amplifiers capable of broadband operation (470 MHz to 806 MHz). The new 70-W DVB-T LDMOS designs
ITO coatings provide optical and electrically conductive properties
May 21, 2013 3:06 pm | Product Releases | CommentsUtilizing the latest in thin-film vacuum deposition technology, Dontech’s CAR-Series and VC1-IM-Series index-matched ITO coatings on glass filters provide exceptional optical and electrically conductive properties. For high-end display programs, CAR-Series coatings are index-matched to air and VC1-IM-Series coatings are index-matched to lamination to optimize display contrast....
Power supply offerings include multiple volt/amp combinations up to 1200 W
May 21, 2013 2:55 pm | B&K Precision Corporation | Product Releases | CommentsB&K Precision expands its DC system power supply offerings with the introduction of the model 9115 multi-range programmable DC power source. The 9115 can deliver up to 1200 W in multiple combinations of voltage up to 80 V and current up to 60 A. With a high density, compact 1U form factor and standard 19" rack-mountable design...
DC-DC converter series provides efficiencies up to 89 percent
May 21, 2013 2:38 pm | Mornsun America LLC | Product Releases | CommentsMORNSUN launched its 4200VDC Isolated 20W DC-DC converter URF series which is aimed at applications which require high isolation such as electric power monitoring systems & medical equipment. With high power of up to 20W, the unit satisfies the demand of an extended load in one system with efficiency up to 89%.
Army Ground Combat Systems adopts Sandia tool for choosing future warfighting vehicles
May 21, 2013 1:09 pm | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsImagine trying to solve this complex problem: You have to modernize a fleet of combat vehicles, such as tanks, tracked howitzers and infantry fighting vehicles, choosing from among more than 50 ways to update them to meet future threats. Each modernization option can be configured differently to meet a variety of missions around the globe.
Building a better team -- on Mars
May 21, 2013 12:55 pm | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsSometime in the next quarter-century, NASA plans to send the first humans to Mars, a mission that will push the boundaries of teamwork for a handful of astronauts who will spend as long as three years together in a tiny capsule. A Michigan State University project, now wrapping up its third year, aims to arm the crew....
New study recommends using active videogaming ('exergaming') to improve children's health
May 21, 2013 12:45 pm | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsLevels of physical inactivity and obesity are very high in children, with fewer than 50% of primary school-aged boys and fewer than 28% of girls meeting the minimum levels of physical activity required to maintain health. Exergaming, using active console video games that track player movement to control the game (e.g., Xbox-Kinect, Wii), has become popular....
Fueling fitness on the final frontier
May 21, 2013 12:43 pm | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsThink keeping in shape is an uphill battle? Try staying fit in space, where living quarters are cramped and prolonged weightlessness withers muscle and bone. That's the challenge a group of Michigan State University researchers will address with a new three-year, $1.2 million grant from NASA.
Apple's Cook to face Senate questions on taxes
May 21, 2013 12:32 pm | by MARCY GORDON, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsApple's CEO is disputing assertions by a Senate panel that the company avoids billions of dollars in U.S. taxes by shifting profits to foreign affiliates. Tim Cook testified at a hearing Tuesday by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which released a damning report Monday on Apple's tax practices.
Playing games in space
May 21, 2013 12:02 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | Blogs | CommentsChris Hadfield might just be the coolest guy on the internet (or in this solar system.) The astronaut—who just recently returned to earth—made it part of his mission to share different things happening on the international space station since he took command—the first Canadian to do so—on December 19, 2012.
Opening the door to smart battery design
May 21, 2013 12:02 pm | by Robert Rozario, Application Engineering Manager, Infineon Technologies | Articles | CommentsThe worldwide transition to ever smarter mobile devices, including phones or connected tablets, has obliterated the line that once existed between phones and computing devices. Today’s multitasking devices enable work, finance, entertainment and social interaction on the go like never before.
Catalog presents detailed specifications on magnetic components for a wide range of applications
May 21, 2013 11:32 am | Coilcraft Critical Products & Services | Product Releases | CommentsThe Coilcraft CPS Short Form Catalog is a comprehensive reference to the company’s four lines of RF and power magnetics for critical applications. This 24-page catalog presents detailed specifications on magnetic components for a wide range of applications, including signal generation and processing, RF, power, impedance matching, LED drivers, timing and much more.
Evolution of light sensor integration
May 21, 2013 10:59 am | by Darrell Benke, Sr. Marketing Manager, Opto Sensors and Lighting, ams AG | Articles | CommentsLight sensing technology, in the form of photodiodes and phototransistors, was invented around the 1950s. Since the inception of the first optosensors, the devices have gradually found their place in commercial and industrial applications, but their adoption was limited due to the size, cost and overall performance.
Certifying industrial systems using IEC 61508
May 21, 2013 10:52 am | by Shrikant Satyanarayan, LDRA, Inc., www.ldra.com | Ldra Technology, Inc | Articles | CommentsThe IEC 61508 standard is a risk-based approach for determining the SIL (Safety Integrity Level) of safety instrumented functions. If computer system technology is to be effectively and safely exploited, it is essential that the available guidance on these safety-related aspects is adequate to make correct decisions.
Wireless networks balance military’s defense-in-depth, custom requirements
May 20, 2013 4:44 pm | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Ultra Electronics Ems Development Corp. | Articles | CommentsWireless and wired technologies have advanced to the point where automated control systems are routinely networked together. Information can be shared and tasks performed across long distances, via the Internet, linking systems in large industrial spaces, or across remote or rugged areas. Networked control systems (NCS) offer many benefits such as far greater efficiency than manual controls....
Charge your phone in 20 seconds
May 20, 2013 4:19 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | Blogs | CommentsWhat’s the key to charging your phone (and other small electronics) in the blink of an eye? Invent a better supercapacitor, according to Eesha Khare, an 18-year-old, from California who was just awarded Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award and $50,000 at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for her project...
Lower healthcare costs could mean less human interaction
May 20, 2013 3:23 pm | by Stephanie Carmichael, Contributor | Blogs | CommentsFor those who live alone, good medical care is all the more important. The machine-to-machine (M2M) communications business is growing, and the prevalence of wireless connectivity could push down the price of healthcare for the elderly, especially — but at the greater cost of human interaction.
LEDs deliver high flux density & efficacy
May 20, 2013 3:05 pm | Mouser Electronics | Product Releases | CommentsMouser Electronics announced it is stocking the new LUXEON M LEDs from Philips Lumileds, delivering high flux density and high efficacy with Freedom From Binning. Philips Lumileds LUXEON M is an illumination grade LED designed to enable indoor, outdoor, and industrial applications and is optimized either for high efficiency or low cost, where exceptional flux density and uniformity are critical.
Flip-chip Schottky diode features high cutoff frequency
May 20, 2013 2:57 pm | M/A-Com Technology Solutions, Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsM/A-COM Technology Solutions announced a new broadband Flip Chip Schottky Diode for multi-market applications. The MADS-001317-1500 is designed for customers who need a versatile, low cost, ultra-small Schottky solution for Police Radar, Point to Point, Electronic Warfare, and Aerospace and Defense applications.
