Computing
Top 5 free apps for the holiday season
November 20, 2012 9:22 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsBack in the dog days of summer, we offered up a list of the 6 must-have apps for a stress-free summer. It was all about keeping kids distracted, watching your spending, and utilizing apps that got you to the relaxation phase faster.Now we’ve entered a season that can feel entirely the opposite of relaxing: holiday season
This watch could save your kid’s life
November 19, 2012 11:35 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsIf you’ve ever felt that heart-in-throat, hyperventilating, out-of-body feeling of not being able to find your kid in a park or after school, only to have her reappear after a few seconds of mind-numbing panic, you can understand why someone would want to invent a Lojack for children.
Nintendo's Wii U launches in an ocean of gadgets. Will it sink or swim?
November 19, 2012 8:30 am | by BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsIn the six years since the last major video game system launched, Apple unveiled the iPhone and the iPad, "Angry Birds" invaded smartphones and Facebook reached a billion users. In the process, scores of video game consoles were left to languish in living rooms alongside dusty VCRs and disc players.
Fundamentals of battery fuel-gauging
November 16, 2012 10:49 am | by Karthik Kadirvel, Texas Instruments, www.ti.com | Articles | CommentsThe battery fuel gauging system is the component responsible for determining the energy remaining in the battery. In this article, a battery fuel gauging system used in single-cell applications is described. This is followed by a discussion of the various algorithms used by the fuel-gauging system to determine battery capacity along with the pros and cons of the algorithms.
Titan is also a green powerhouse
November 15, 2012 9:11 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsNot only is Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Titan the world's most powerful supercomputer, it is also one of the most energy-efficient. Titan came in at number three on the Green500 list. Organized by Virginia Tech's Wu-chun Feng and Kirk Cameron, the list takes the world's 500 most powerful supercomputers—
Military drones zero in on $400 billion civilian market
November 15, 2012 9:10 am | by Chris Wickham, Reuters | News | CommentsMilitary drone technology, which has revolutionized warfare over the last decade, will be ready for civilian use within four years and could create a market worth more than $400 billion.That's the prediction from a UK research project backed by the government and top aerospace companies hoping
A look at how new Google Nexus 10 device compares with other large-size tablets
November 15, 2012 9:08 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsGoogle has started shipping a larger version of its Nexus tablet computer, one that comes closer to competing with Apple's full-size iPad and other tablets. Here's a look at how the Nexus 10 compares with other tablets with similar screens.
California lawyer sues Microsoft claiming storage space on Surface tablet less than advertised
November 15, 2012 9:07 am | by RYAN NAKASHIMA AP Business Writer | News | CommentsA California lawyer is suing Microsoft Corp., claiming the Surface tablet he bought doesn't have all the storage space the company advertised. Andrew Sokolowski, a lawyer in Los Angeles, claims that he bought a Surface with 32 gigabytes of storage last week. But he quickly ran out of space after loading it with music and Microsoft Word documents.
South Korean presidential candidate promises freer web browsing
November 15, 2012 9:05 am | by YOUKYUNG LEE AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsA South Korean presidential candidate has promised to get rid of encryption technology that has tied South Korean Internet users to a single web browser - Microsoft's Internet Explorer -for online financial transactions. Ahn Cheol-soo, a popular independent presidential candidate,
All-female team ties for first at National Engineering Management contest
November 14, 2012 9:18 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsA team of undergraduate students from the University of Arizona student chapter of the American Society for Engineering Management traveled across country to the annual meeting of industry professionals in Virginia Beach, Va., and captured first place in the national engineering student competition.
Crystal clock oscillator includes phase noise performance of -80dBc/Hz at 10Hz offset
November 13, 2012 4:47 pm | Product Releases | CommentsIQD’s new CFPS-115 crystal clock oscillator offers two key features; low phase noise and low current consumption. At 40.0MHz the phase noise performance is -80dBc/Hz at 10Hz offset and -145dBc/Hz at 1kHz offset, figures which are around 5dBc better than similar design parts.
Technology enables mobile-friendly 3D gesture interfaces
November 13, 2012 10:23 am | Microchip Technology Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsMicrochip Technology Inc. announced its patented GestIC technology, which enables the next dimension in intuitive, gesture-based, non-contact user interfaces for a broad range of end products. The MGC3130 is presented as the world’s first electrical-field (E-field)-based, configurable 3D gesture controller, offering
Donating in the wake of Sandy gets social with apps
November 12, 2012 2:18 pm | by Natasha Baker, Reuters | News | CommentsPeople eager to support relief efforts following Hurricane Sandy can use apps that provide creative ways of donating to charity and nudge friends to do the same.Budge, an iPhone app released last week, aims to make donating to charity social. Friends can challenge each other in games and activities such as chess or
Storage class memory combines DRAM speed with non-volatility of Flash
November 12, 2012 10:46 am | Product Releases | CommentsEverspin Technologies announced Spin-Torque Magnetoresistive RAM (ST-MRAM), a storage class memory (SCM) that provides non-volatility, high endurance and ultra-low latency. The 64 Mb device is the first
A better brain implant: Slim electrode cozies up to single neurons
November 12, 2012 9:12 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsA thin, flexible electrode developed at the University of Michigan is 10 times smaller than the nearest competition and could make long-term measurements of neural activity practical at last. This kind of technology could eventually be used to send signals to prosthetic limbs, overcoming inflammation larger electrodes cause that damages both the brain and the electrodes.
Google says search engine, other services cut off in China as ruling party picks new leaders
November 12, 2012 9:01 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsGoogle says its search engine and other Internet services have been cut off from much of China just as the country's ruling party picks new leaders. Data posted on Google's website shows its services in China became largely inaccessible beginning around 1 a.m. PST Friday. That would be about 5 p.m. Friday in Beijing.
Predicting presidents, storms and life by computer
November 12, 2012 8:58 am | by SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer | News | CommentsForget political pundits, gut instincts, and psychics. The mightier-than-ever silicon chip seems to reveal the future. In just two weeks this fall, computer models displayed an impressive prediction prowess.It started when the first computer model alerted meteorologists to the pre-Halloween disaster headed
Do you have what it takes to be a Roundtable expert?
November 8, 2012 11:11 am | Articles | CommentsIn October, we asked you for your words of wisdom for a brand-new design engineer and boy, did you guys have advice in spades. The responses we received were so good in fact, we’ve decided to open up our December Roundtable to our faithful readers in hopes that you can offer more words of wisdom.
This week in engineering: Gasoline From Air
November 8, 2012 9:11 am | by Engineering.com | Videos | CommentsTWIE 126: Gasoline From Air: This Week in Engineering - Robot waverider survives Sandy; inflatable plug for flooding; dental music player; nanotube transistors; gasoline from air; and deflecting asteroids with paint.- Engineering.com
Review: iPad Mini charms with design and finish, but screen is a letdown
November 8, 2012 8:49 am | by Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer, The Associated Press | News | CommentsI bet the iPad Mini is going to be on a lot of wish lists this holiday season. I also bet that for a lot of people, it's not going to be the best choice. It's beautiful and light, but Apple made a big compromise in the design, one that means that buyers should look closely at the competition before deciding.
Active spread spectrum clock generator ICs manage EMI reduction in portables, consumer apps
November 7, 2012 12:05 pm | 3M Electronics Solutions Division | Product Releases | CommentsON Semiconductor has introduced a new series of active spread spectrum clock generator integrated circuits (ICs) that manage EMI and RFI at the clock source, delivering system-wide EMI reduction of all clock dependent signals. The P3P8203A LVCMOS peak EMI reduction clock generator targets
Low profile DC/DC power supplies boast ceramic capacitors
November 7, 2012 10:51 am | Product Releases | CommentsAimtec has launched three new series of DC/DC converters featuring multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs). According to the company, MLCCs used in the AMxQ-Z family of DC/DC converters withstand high temperatures; higher voltage conditions and reduced leakage current better than
Virtual reality could help people lose weight, fight prejudice
November 7, 2012 9:17 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsInternet-based interactive games and social media outlets have become intertwined with the physical realities of millions of people around the world. When an individual strongly identifies with the cyber representation of themselves, known as an avatar, the electronic doppelganger can influence
General-purpose, 32-bit MCU lineup expands with latest ARM cores
November 6, 2012 11:40 am | Product Releases | CommentsFujitsu Semiconductor America introduced a new FM4 family of 32-bit general purpose RISC microcontrollers based on the ARM Cortex-M4 processor core, featuring DSP and floating point (FPU) functions. In addition, the company is introducing a new FM0+ family of devices based on
New mobile app helps migraine sufferers track and analyze pain
November 6, 2012 9:02 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsA new iPhone app developed at the University of Michigan lets migraine or facial pain patients easily track and record their pain, which in turn helps the treating clinician develop a pain management plan. Dr. Alexandre DaSilva, director of the Headache & Orofacial Pain Effort (H.O.P.E.) at the U-M School of Dentistry and one of the project developers,
