Computing
Regulators feature constant on-time control architecture
April 26, 2013 10:16 am | Product Releases | CommentsAlpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited released AOZ1237, the latest addition to a family of high efficiency, easy-to-use synchronous EZBuck regulators featuring a proprietary Constant On-Time (COT) control architecture that enables smaller solutions and simplifies designs.
Fabric-enabled networking solutions include multi-service edge device
April 26, 2013 9:32 am | Product Releases | CommentsAvaya unveiled what it asserts is the industry’s first fabric-enabled multi-service edge device. Avaya VENA Fabric Connect transforms the entire network from data center to desktop into a more agile one that is easier to configure, manage and maintain. Based on an
Computers are sorcery! Kill them with fire!
April 25, 2013 4:13 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsIt's hard to believe we were ever this dumb. And it's hard to believe the '90s ever happened. This wacky decade — when we were all still finding our digital bearings — spawned gems like "Komputer Tutor", a VHS series from "America's Digital Goddess", Kim Komando, that takes simple computer concepts and dumbs them down even further ... and further and further. It's comedy gold.
Single board computer simplifies instrument control
April 24, 2013 3:24 pm | Mosaic Industries | Product Releases | CommentsThe PDQ Lite is a low cost single board computer and development board that hosts the Freescale HCS12/9S12 MCU and an embedded RTOS. This GNU C-programmable instrument controller is well suited for data acquisition and control, PWM drive, I2C sensor interfacing, laboratory automation, scientific instruments, SCADA, instrumentation and automation.
VPX processor blade provides up to 8GB DDR3-1333/1600 dual channel ECC memory
April 24, 2013 2:17 pm | Adlink Technology | Product Releases | CommentsADLINK Technology announced its flagship VPX product line, the VPX3000 Series rugged 3U VPX processor blade. The VPX3000 Series is ideal for system integrators who have a need for an advanced VPX board with VPX REDI and OpenVPX compliance in order to deploy high performance military and aerospace applications requiring quick time-to-market.
iBeetle: Everything you never wanted in an infotainment system
April 22, 2013 2:59 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | CommentsWe’ve talked A LOT about safety and innovation when it comes to infotainment systems in cars. We've talking more regulation, less regulation, new systems and crazy ideas. The discussion revolves primarily around how to integrate electronics
Development platform for the Kinetis K20 MCU is Arduino compatible
April 22, 2013 9:50 am | Product Releases | CommentsPremier Farnell announced the global availability of Freescale Semiconductor’s newest Freedom Development Platform for evaluating Kinetis K20 MCUs at element14. The new FRDM-K20D50M Development Platform is form-factor compatible with the Arduino R3 pin layout, providing
This is the most ridiculous phone ever
April 19, 2013 3:48 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | Blogs | CommentsThe words “mega” and “phone” should never be combined when it comes to cellphones, but that didn’t stop Samsung from making the most ridiculous phone yet. The company has blown away the competition when it comes to screen size with their new 6.3 inch (diagonally) and 5.8 inch Galaxy Mega phones. For the sake of comparison, the Apple iPhone 5 is 4 inches.
Multi-conductor cable provides safe, reliable data transmission
April 18, 2013 12:09 pm | Nte Electronics Inc | Product Releases | CommentsNTE Electronics is now offering a full line of high quality multi-conductor cable. Providing safe, reliable, high performance data transmission, this type of cable is widely used in many different applications such as computer peripherals, robotics, PA systems, intercom systems, remote control circuits and many more.
I²C bus analyzer ideal for embedded software and firmware development
April 17, 2013 4:11 pm | Product Releases | CommentsBlackhawk announced the release of a new I²C bus analyzer product, dubbed Blackhawk Scribe. The Scribe represents Blackhawk’s first product introduction outside of its core JTAG emulation-based products. Combining an easy-to-use rich feature set with an affordable price, Scribe is well suited for both entry-level and complex I²C applications alike.
Security holes in smartphone apps
April 17, 2013 12:17 pm | by UC Davis | News | CommentsPopular texting, messaging and microblog apps developed for the Android smartphone have security flaws that could expose private information or allow forged fraudulent messages to be posted, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis.
New keyboard for touchscreens
April 17, 2013 12:00 pm | by Max Planck Institute for Informatics | News | CommentsA research team has created a new keyboard called KALQ that enables faster thumb-typing on touchscreen devices. They used computational optimization techniques in conjunction with a model of thumb movement to search among millions of potential layouts before identifying one that yields superior performance.
Why the government should ban cellphones while driving
April 16, 2013 10:28 am | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | Blogs | CommentsThis term “nanny state” is an interesting one. It’s a term people throw out when they feel the government is infringing on their right to do something stupid. Frankly, if people could be trusted to police themselves, we wouldn’t have any laws at all.
Computers are the new Freud of dreams
April 15, 2013 9:25 am | by Stephanie Carmichael, Contributor | Blogs | CommentsWe use computers for just about everything: communicating, avoiding long lines at the mall, and even ordering pizza. Thanks to new research, their presence is extending beyond our waking lives. It might sound like something out of science fiction, but scientists have discovered a way to use computers to read people’s minds.
Bose-Einstein condensates for communicating among quantum computers
April 12, 2013 1:25 pm | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsQuantum computers promise to perform certain types of operations much more quickly than conventional digital computers. But many challenges must be addressed before these ultra-fast machines become available, among them, the loss of order in the systems, which worsens as the number of bits in a quantum computer increases.
Processor blade delivers telecom-grade performance with optimum cost efficiency
April 10, 2013 3:17 pm | Adlink Technology | Product Releases | CommentsADLINK Technology rolls out the newest member of its AdvancedTCA blade family, the aTCA-9300. The aTCA-9300 delivers high performance, high-throughput connectivity, versatile and rich I/O, reliability at a cost-effective price, and is suitable for high-end applications such as network monitoring or media streaming.
The creepiest robot yet
April 9, 2013 2:28 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | Blogs | CommentsThere is an interesting inverse phenomenon involved in creating humanoid robots: The more lifelike they are, the creepier they become. It’s not something that makes complete sense if you think about it. Theoretically, as robots become more human-like, they should begin to blend more into society and become less weird.
A step toward optical transistors?
April 9, 2013 11:44 am | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsAs demand for computing and communication capacity surges, the global communication infrastructure struggles to keep pace, since the light signals transmitted through fiber-optic lines must still be processed electronically, creating a bottleneck in telecommunications networks.
The Facebook "phone" that no one wants
April 8, 2013 2:56 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | Articles | CommentsWell, well, well. It looks like Facebook has finally decided to join the big boys and create their own phone. It’s the phone that absolutely no one was waiting for. To quote the parody video below, “Stop. Don’t do that. Nobody wants it.”
Should a computer grade your essay?
April 8, 2013 10:09 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsOne should never swap quality for instant gratification. Yet that’s exactly what EdX, a nonprofit educational organization founded by Harvard and MIT, is doing with their automated grading software that promises “instant feedback” on students’ essays. Creativity need not apply.
An engineer's wishlist for car infotainment systems
April 5, 2013 2:51 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | Blogs | CommentsWith Google's self-driving car hitting the road and all sorts of driver-assistance features hitting the showroom, it's a crazy time for drivers and designers alike. Cars are practically overflowing with (good and bad) attempts to integrate outside technology (smartphones, weather apps, virtual assistants) into vehicles interfaces.
One-resistor-tunable timer ICs operate over wide supply voltage range
April 3, 2013 11:09 am | Product Releases | CommentsTouchstone Semiconductor added four, high-accuracy, micropower timer ICs to its rapidly expanding family of “NanoWatt Analog” timer integrated circuits. These higher-single-supply voltage, second-generation timer ICs operate over a wide supply voltage range
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.
Industrial analog I/O server targets process control and automation markets
April 3, 2013 10:26 am | Lantronix | Product Releases | CommentsLantronix added the xSenso Controller to its xSenso analog sensor networking family, designed specifically for use in rugged and harsh environments including industrial automation, process control, manufacturing, chemicals, and oil and gas industries. The new analog and relay outputs provide the ability to
One accelerometer interrupt pin for both wakeup and non-motion detection
April 2, 2013 4:48 pm | by Jay Esfandyari, Gang Xu, Fabio Pasolini, STMicroelectronics | Stmicroelectronics | Articles | CommentsMEMS accelerometers can output different kinds of interrupt signals such as data ready, freefall, portrait/landscape, single-click/double-click, and impact detection, etc. Some accelerometers have built-in wakeup and motionless detection features to automatically switch between lower output data rate (ODR) at low power mode and higher ODR at normal mode....
