Blogs
Television's next big thing: Smell-O-Vision (again)
April 3, 2013 3:44 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | Blogs | CommentsNow that 3D television has failed to take off the way designers were hoping, companies have moved on to a newer, better, greater, bound-for-failure idea: Smell-O-Vision. Haruka Matsukura and a team from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology have designed an olfactory display system that can work in conjunction with a 2D display.
Top 10 must-read posts from March
April 3, 2013 10:47 am | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | Blogs | CommentsHere’s a rundown of the most read, most popular, most awesome articles on the web. Take a look at what you missed the first time around or check up on an old favorite to see the conversation in the comments. Keep checking out the Lead at www.ecnmag.com and follow us on Twitter @ecnonline for our most up-to-date articles.
More thought required: The simplest designs aren’t so simple
April 3, 2013 9:29 am | by M. Simon, Technical Contributor | Blogs | CommentsI'm in the process of designing an I2C system that uses telephone cable to route the signals around. It uses standard four-conductor cables with RJ-11 type plugs on the ends. For my system, it is important that there be no twists in the cable. Getting the signals reversed (clock and data) is not too bad. It will just prevent the system from working.
BIL Gates and the BioBrick Foundation: A new paradigm for biotechnology?
April 2, 2013 11:15 am | by Karl Stephan, Consulting Engineer, Texas State University, San Marcos | Blogs | CommentsNo, that’s not a typo in the headline. I’m not talking about the founder of Microsoft, though he is no doubt the reason that biotechnology researcher Drew Endy decided to name his new computer-in-a-cell devices Boolean Integrase Logic gates (BIL for short). The technology, which I’ll get to in a minute, is fascinating on its own.
Looking forward on Ethernet's 40th anniversary
April 2, 2013 10:24 am | by John D’Ambrosia, Chairman and Board of Directors, Ethernet Alliance Chief Ethernet Evangelist, CTO Office, Dell | Blogs | CommentsEthernet this year is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and anniversaries are typically the time to celebrate the past. But with so much innovation and development percolating across the global Ethernet ecosystem, there is little time for the technology’s vast array of stakeholders to look back on its successes.
A legitimate case for drones
March 29, 2013 3:32 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | Blogs | CommentsThere’s been a lot of chatter in the news (and here on ECN) about drones. These arguments usually come down to questions about ethics, military power and tangentially the military industrial complex, and the relationship of the US with various other countries. It’s rare to see drones talked about in any context outside of military.
Post-Sandy legislation: Backup generators would prevent long gas lines
March 28, 2013 4:12 pm | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Blogs | CommentsFive months have passed since Superstorm Sandy, and legislators are nipping around the edges of bolstering the fuel distribution system so more gas can get to the consumer in the case of a widespread power outage or other state of emergency.
Is re-industrialization the key?
March 28, 2013 2:27 pm | by Tom McNamara, Assistant Professor of Operations Management, Rennes School of Business | Blogs | CommentsMost economists agree that the “Great Recession” of 2008 ended sometime around August 2009, and while the economy has been slowly recovering, unemployment still appears to be a stubborn problem. The headline rate is just a shade under 8 percent, which translates into a little over 12 million Americans out of work.
Replenishing the “brain drain”
March 28, 2013 9:26 am | by Paul Michalicka, SKF USA Inc. | Blogs | CommentsIt is a phenomenon that is referred to with a catchy rhyme: “the brain drain.” Older workers are leaving companies, taking their experience and knowledge with them. And, for various reasons, the reservoir is not being refilled at the same rate. Knowledge leaves, and the tank threatens to go dry.
The first high-tech war
March 27, 2013 2:54 pm | by Tom Ligon, Technical Contributor, with contributions by the SIGMA Think Tank | Blogs | CommentsIronclad warships. A steam-powered warship defending New York’s harbor. Submarines. Rifled cannon firing elongated explosive shells. The first use of steam power for logistical support of a battle. Industrial automation. Obviously, I’m talking about the U.S. Civil War, right? Nope.
Internet sales tax will only benefit the state
March 25, 2013 3:34 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsGet ready to pony up more dollars for online purchases. On Friday, the U.S. Senate passed the innocuously-titled "Marketplace Fairness Act" through the upper chamber on a 75-24 vote. The bill would require e-tailers to collect and remit sales tax on interstate commerce, even when the business has no physical presence in the state.
Nuclear power: The future of human civilization
March 25, 2013 10:23 am | by Tom Ligon, Technical Contributor | Blogs | CommentsThis is not an article about the environment. This is not an article about oil. This is an article about the long-term future of human civilization. Are you with me so far? Are you in favor of human civilization having a future, not just for another hundred years, but for thousands ... tens of thousands?
The best way to improve distributors, according to engineers
March 22, 2013 4:43 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | CommentsHow do you deal with distributors? Distribution is a key aspect of the engineering process, and it's important to choose the right distributor. You need dependibility, reliability and transperency to make the relationship between distributor and manufacturer work.
The LED rundown
March 22, 2013 2:16 pm | by M. Simon, Technical Contributor | Articles | CommentsThe life of a light-emitting diode (LED) isn’t as simple as some advertisers may lead you to believe. Manufacturers offer numbers like 100,000 hours as the expected lifetime of high-powered LEDs, but those numbers reflect calculations done using optimum conditions and specification points.
Bendable display technology takes the stage
March 22, 2013 12:06 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | Corning, Samsung | Articles | CommentsIt happens to everyone who owns a smart phone or tablet. One ill-fated toss into the car or accidental drop on the hardwood and suddenly the screen is too cracked to read. Not only does this render the phone useless until you can get to a store, it can mean spending hundreds of dollars on a new screen or an entirely new phone.
Soldering and other tools
March 22, 2013 9:17 am | by M. Simon, Technical Contributor | Blogs | CommentsI don't have a lot to say today. I'm busy on the bench building things. But I have come across a few good tools and soldering helpers, so I thought I'd provide a few links. Harbor Freight has a couple of good items. Yes. I know it is easy to buy junk there, which is why I thought I'd mention these two items.
Level the playing field between retailers and e-tailers
March 20, 2013 9:38 am | by Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring | Blogs | CommentsAs a former local elected official, I know that tax revenues need to come from somewhere and that they should be levied on as fair a basis as possible. It’s a delicate balance, one that does not come easily. Government must be responsible in its spending and should not abuse its authority to effect change in the marketplace....
Fighting to reclaim manufacturing in America
March 19, 2013 1:34 pm | by Kristopher Settle, Energy Curtailment Specialists | Blogs | CommentsAmerican manufacturing is battling for its vitality right now. Yes, the industry is still a global juggernaut; producing 18.2 percent of all manufactured goods, which tops the list globally (still over half a percent more than China).
An itch for telecom reform
March 18, 2013 5:00 pm | by Brian Santo, Editor-in-Chief, CED magazine | Blogs | CommentsMore than two decades after the Cable Act of 1992, and almost that long since the Telecommunications Act of 1996, it appears that the sentiment that it’s time for wide-ranging, substantive telecom reform is beginning to coalesce among legislators.
Lady brains: Dumbing down technology for women
March 15, 2013 3:53 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | CommentsManufacturers are constantly trying to find ways to appeal specifically to women. The justification is often that their product—be it pens, cars, or toys—sells with men, but they’re trying to attract more women. It’s a logical thought process: figure out what a demographic wants, market those specific traits, sell more product.
Green energy pirates
March 15, 2013 9:26 am | by M. Simon, Technical Contributor | Blogs | CommentsI got an e-mail from a friend recently railing against what he called (loosely translated by me) "Green Energy Pirates". Let me quote one sentence from his e-mail. "There is a whole slew of companies that move from subsidy to subsidy globally and then abandon 'green projects' when the subsidies dry up."
Using biometrics to avoid credit fraud
March 14, 2013 2:45 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | CommentsCredit fraud is a growing problem, and new technology isn’t making it any better. With the advent of electronic wallets and fewer cash transactions, maintaining privacy and verifying identity are becoming an alarming issue.
Is the Nobel Prize obsolete?
March 14, 2013 9:29 am | by Cynthia Fox, Bioscience Technology | Blogs | CommentsOver the last few months, the Nobel Prize has generated much controversy—again. More than 3,000 scientists contributed to the most high profile science event of 2012: the discovery of the Higgs boson subatomic particle. Yet the Nobel can only be split between three laureates. Was the Nobel Prize finally obsolete, the press fretted, in one angst-ridden blog after another?
The best use for Google Glass yet
March 13, 2013 9:05 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | CommentsThere is something universally horrifying about that moment at a party when you meet someone briefly but you can’t recall his name when you bump into him a few minutes later or running into a coworker on the street during lunch and being unable to come up with anything besides "that lady who works two cubes down from me".
Drone pilots don’t need a “participation trophy”
March 12, 2013 4:31 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsSometimes — and I stress sometimes — the government does work for the people. Case in point: The new Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, has halted production of the new Distinguished Warfare Medal — awarded to drone operators — in response to veterans' complaints that the "participation trophy" ranks above combat medals like the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
