Computing
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".
Solving the counterfeit crisis, engineers weigh in
March 11, 2013 9:57 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | CommentsHow would you stop counterfeiting? One of the hottest topics in electronic components--and basically every other industry-- is how to deal with the issue of counterfeiting. So we put it to the readers to come up with the best solutions for the counterfeiting crisis.
Coolers designed for low-profile applications
March 6, 2013 9:52 am | Jaro Thermal | Product Releases | CommentsBy embedding a leading-edge 50x50x13 mm fan inside of a skived-copper-fin heatsink, Jaro's unique "Skive" Cooler significantly reduces height requirements for low-profile applications, while providing unsurpassed surface-area. The dense arrangement of thin copper fins offers unheralded thermal conductivity.
Optimizing high-speed, embedded memory interface designs
March 4, 2013 2:00 pm | by Steve Durnal, Micron | Micron | Articles | CommentsDesigners of energy-efficient, high-speed memory subsystems for small form factor or power-sensitive embedded and wireless products are often making the shift from traditional DDR2/DDR3 to low power (LP) DDR2/DDR3 memory solutions. This is largely in response to the ever-challenging power reduction requirements....
Maximizing solid-state storage capacity in small form factors
March 4, 2013 10:38 am | by Kent Smith, Senior Director of Marketing, Flash Components Division, LSI | Lsi Corporation | Articles | CommentsUsers want ever-smaller and lighter devices but also demand ever-increasing storage capacity to keep more apps and data loaded on their mobile computing platforms. To accommodate these two competing objectives, solid-state storage form factors will need to get smaller, while NAND flash memory geometries will be shrinking and storing more bits per cell.
Software patents are evil
February 28, 2013 10:08 am | by M. Simon, Technical Contributor | Blogs | CommentsI was planning to write about software patent trolls and was entering "software patents" in my search engine when it offered the suggestion "are evil" to complete the phrase. I'll buy that. So to encourage more traffic here, that is the title of this post. Yes. I have been blogging for quite some time.
Buck regulator series adds 12-V optimized devices
February 27, 2013 5:12 pm | Vicor Corp. | Product Releases | CommentsVicor Corporation expanded its Picor Cool-Power ZVS Buck Regulator product line for high efficiency point-of-load DC-DC regulation. Optimized for 12-V operation (8 V to 18 Vin), these new PI34XX Series buck regulators increase performance for a host of embedded applications in computing
Saelig announces world's first USB 3.0 PC oscilloscope
February 27, 2013 4:15 pm | Saelig Company, Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsSaelig Company has introduced the PicoScope 3207A and PicoScope 3207B, the first PC oscilloscopes to offer a USB 3.0 interface. The PicoScope 3207A is a 2-channel USB oscilloscope with 250 MHz bandwidth, 1 GS/s sampling rate, 256 Msample buffer memory and a built-in function generator.
Hackers target European governments via Adobe bug: researchers
February 27, 2013 11:05 am | by Jim Finkle, Reuters | News | CommentsHackers targeted dozens of computer systems at government agencies across Europe in a series of attacks that exploited a recently discovered security flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's software, security researchers reported on Wednesday. Russia's Kaspersky Lab and Hungary's Laboratory of Cryptography and System Security, or CrySyS, said the targets of the campaign included government computers in the Czech Republic, Ireland, Portugal and Romania.
Lessons from cockroaches could inform robotics
February 26, 2013 11:23 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsANN ARBOR—Running cockroaches start to recover from being shoved sideways before their dawdling nervous system kicks in to tell their legs what to do, researchers have found. These new insights on how biological systems stabilize could one day help engineers design steadier robots and improve doctors' understanding of human gait abnormalities.
Tool suite designed for planning, optimizing and verifying embedded real-time systems
February 26, 2013 11:10 am | Product Releases | CommentsSymtavision has launched SymTA/S 3.3, a major new version of its award-winning system-level tool suite for planning, optimizing and verifying embedded real-time systems. SymTA/S 3.3 features significant new timing analyses including support for FlexRay System Distribution,
Apple to settle lawsuit on inadvertent app purchases by kids
February 26, 2013 9:13 am | by Reuters | News | CommentsApple Inc has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit that said customers were charged when their children inadvertently downloaded certain applications from the company's online store, a court filing showed.
EU judges to hear arguments in Google test privacy case
February 26, 2013 9:12 am | by Claire Davenport, Reuters | News | Comments(Reuters) - Google will do battle with Spain's data protection authority in Europe's highest court on Tuesday in a landmark case with global implications which poses one of the thorniest questions of the Internet age: When is information really private?
Chinese hackers seen as increasingly professional, methodical, as they plunder Web for secrets
February 26, 2013 9:09 am | by CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press | News | CommentsBeijing hotly denies accusations of official involvement in massive cyberattacks against foreign targets, insinuating such activity is the work of rogues. But at least one piece of evidence cited by experts points to professional cyberspies: China's hackers don't work weekends.
Music service Spotify hooks up with Ford in first vehicle foray
February 25, 2013 2:34 pm | by Reuters | News | CommentsStreaming music service Spotify has partnered with Ford Motor Co (F.N) to allow its subscribers to listen to music in more than one million Ford vehicles in North America. Owners of Ford models with SYNC AppLink can access Spotify's catalog of more than 20 million songs through voice activation using its smartphone app. The deal, announced by both companies on Monday, is Spotify's first collaboration with an automaker
Tech leaders plan 'virtual march' to push lawmakers on comprehensive immigration overhaul
February 25, 2013 2:33 pm | by ERICA WERNER Associated Press | News | CommentsHigh-tech leaders including the former heads of AOL and Mozilla are organizing a "virtual march for immigration reform" aimed at pressuring lawmakers to enact sweeping changes to the nation's immigration laws. The effort unveiled Monday is particularly focused on making it easier for the U.S. to attract highly educated immigrants and those aiming to work in high-tech fields
Changes in how people watch TV make measurements much harder
February 25, 2013 2:32 pm | by DAVID BAUDER AP Television Writer | News | CommentsEvery Tuesday, the Nielsen company publishes a popularity ranking of broadcast television programs that has served as the industry's report card dating back to when most people had only three networks to choose from. And every week, that list gets less and less meaningful.
Analysis: The near impossible battle against hackers everywhere
February 25, 2013 8:49 am | by Joseph Menn, Reuters | News | CommentsDire warnings from Washington about a "cyber Pearl Harbor" envision a single surprise strike from a formidable enemy that could destroy power plants nationwide, disable the financial system or cripple the U.S. government. But those on the front lines say it isn't all about protecting U.S. government and corporate networks from a single sudden attack. They report fending off many intrusions at once from perhaps dozens of countries, plus well-funded electronic guerrillas and skilled criminals.
White House directs open access for government research
February 25, 2013 8:47 am | by Mark Felsenthal, Reuters | News | CommentsThe White House has moved to make the results of federally funded research available to the public for free within a year, bowing to public pressure for unfettered access to scholarly articles and other materials produced at taxpayers' expense."Americans should have easy access to the results of research they help support," John Holdren, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, wrote on the White House website.
NYPD, Microsoft create crime-fighting technology; city could make millions in business deal
February 22, 2013 9:02 am | by COLLEEN LONG Associated Press | News | CommentsA 911 call comes in about a possible bomb in lower Manhattan and an alert pops up on computer screens at the New York Police Department, instantly showing officers an interactive map of the neighborhood, footage from nearby security cameras, whether there are high radiation levels and whether any other threats have been made against the city. In a click, police know exactly what they're getting into.
Going wireless in North Korea: Koryolink to begin offering 3G mobile Internet for foreigners
February 22, 2013 9:00 am | by JEAN H. LEE Associated Press | News | CommentsNorth Korea will soon allow foreigners to tweet, Skype and surf the Internet from their cellphones, iPads and other mobile devices in its second relaxation of controls on communications in recent weeks. However, North Korean citizens will not have access to the mobile Internet service to be offered by provider Koryolink within the next week.
SD college tests fingerprint purchasing technology
February 22, 2013 8:57 am | by AMBER HUNT Associated Press | News | CommentsRAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) -- Futurists have long proclaimed the coming of a cashless society, where dollar bills and plastic cards are replaced by fingerprint and retina scanners smart enough to distinguish a living, breathing account holder from an identity thief.
Smart panel series provides high-value cost/performance
February 21, 2013 3:25 pm | Adlink Technology | Product Releases | CommentsADLINK Technology announces the launch of their latest Smart Panels, SP-7W61 and SP-1061. Based on the TI-Sitara AM3715 Cortex-A8 processor 1GHz and Integrated POWERVR SGX Graphics Accelerator, these two products support multiple OS—Linux, Android and Windows—more than other panel PC products in the same price range.
The greatest use of (bus stop) technology ever
February 21, 2013 3:13 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | CommentsCompanies often struggle with how to incorporate new technology in a useful way, but Qualcomm knocked it out of the park this week with their new bus stop surprise. Qualcomm, a company that specializes in wireless technology, decided that they could use the combination of smart phones and boredom at bus stops
Digital I/O interface provides 16 Reed relay outputs
February 20, 2013 4:49 pm | Product Releases | CommentsThe 8003e PCI Express digital I/O interface provides 16 Reed relay outputs. The outputs provide high quality, long-life, dry contact switch closures suitable for low-current applications up to 10VA. Reed relays are normally open and close when energized. The board is PCI Express X1 compliant and is compatible with any PCI Express slot.
