Editor's View
A look inside The Idea Factory
May 18, 2012 4:44 pm | Articles | CommentsHave you ever wondered what it would be like to work in an environment where new ideas are allowed to develop and flow freely — not just as some empty policy or even a company with a “20 percent time” program as made famous by Google — but a real wellspring where ideas and innovation is the raison d'être?
The ZigBee impact
May 16, 2012 3:44 pm | by Janine E. Mooney, Editor | Articles | CommentsYour home and office contain a host of technologies working to improve the way you live. From monitoring energy intake and usage, to controlling your appliances and lighting, ZigBee is a protocol that is changing the way we live – and in some cases, we don’t even realize it.
The human price point for electronics
April 16, 2012 9:51 am | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | Comments“Americans will buy American products when they’re willing to pay for American work.” Those words came from one of my PR contacts a couple of years ago as we discussed bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. While a return to those standards seems light years away, a more pertinent question we should ask ourselves is “what price are we willing to pay to reclaim our humanity?”
Welcome to ECN’s new website!
April 9, 2012 2:37 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsSo you may have noticed that ECN recently got a facelift. Like what you see? Our brilliant web team spent countless hours molding and shaping a gorgeous site. For starters, ECN now has a cleaner, more professional facade to compliment its award-winning content.
New rumors of smaller Apple tablet continue to surface
April 5, 2012 5:42 am | by Ron M. Seidel, Editorial Intern | Articles | CommentsStories about an “iPad mini” started receiving attention March 13 when 9to5Mac posted a link to a Korea Times report in which an unnamed Samsung official told the newspaper that Apple will be building a 7.85-inch version of the iPad utilizing Samsung displays.
Design with your eyes on the road
March 21, 2012 6:57 am | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | CommentsThe other day, I received a press release from a company that announced plans to apply its technology to the automotive space. The memo cited research from Strategic Analytics which predicts a 10 percent compound annual growth rate in the market for the next five years.
It’s been fun
February 17, 2012 9:49 am | by Alix Paultre | Articles | CommentsThis is the last column I’ll write as an editor and journalist...at least for now, as I’m moving on to another job where I will continue to serve the electronic design industry. Since joining this publishing group five years ago, I have had a fantastic time working with a great team...
CES 2012: Microsoft goes out with a whimper
January 16, 2012 8:29 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor, Special thanks to ECN's photographer, Andrew Maiman | Articles | CommentsFor a company that changed the world with its PC operating systems and dominated CES for over a decade, Microsoft left a mute impression in its swan song at the world’s largest consumer electronics show.
Deconstruct to Construct
January 5, 2012 3:58 am | by Alix Paultre, Editor in Chief | Articles | CommentsReverse-engineering something may be used mostly to copy someone else’s work, but it can also be used as a thought exercise to aid original design.
Missives to the Future
December 19, 2011 4:29 am | by Alix Paultre, Editorial Director | Articles | CommentsWhat legacy do you believe your work will leave?
Tantalum Capacitors Comply with Conflict-Free Smelter Program
December 15, 2011 3:38 am | News | CommentsAVX announced that as of December 2011, all of its Congolese tantalum raw material, powder and wire suppliers are fully compliant with the independently audited Conflict-Free Smelter Program.
Gifts for Geeks
December 14, 2011 5:08 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsSo you waited until the last minute to complete your shopping list...luckily, your trusty friends at ECN are here to help. And praise the lord for that, because geeks are a tough crowd: They don’t bow to the fashion gods, patronize expensive beauty salons, or play anything that involves cardiovascular activity.
PMICs Are Presented as the Smallest for Solid State Drives
December 13, 2011 12:25 pm | Products | CommentsTexas Instruments introduced a family of tiny, single-chip, power management integrated circuits (PMICs) for powering all the supply rails in solid state drives (SSDs), hybrid drives and other Flash memory management applications. The new LM10504, LM10503 and LM10506 PMICs feature
Looking Behind, Leaping Ahead
December 9, 2011 10:52 am | by Alix Paultre, Editor in Chief | Articles | CommentsWe enter 2012 with great enthusiasm, reflecting not only what we’ve achieved, but what we will do in the future.
Embedding Systems
October 28, 2011 6:59 am | by Alix Paultre | Articles | CommentsThe impact of convergence on the design community is not just increasing in scope, it's also speeding up. Consolidation of functionality and integration of subsystems has meant that the very definition of what an embedded system is becomes more elusive.
A proactive approach to healthcare
October 13, 2011 10:42 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsWe’ve cured cancer. Well...not quite, but according to some, early detection will eradicate deadly diseases. This was one of many fascinating topics covered at the 2011 Imec Tech Forum.
Thinking Differently: Steve Jobs, 1955-2011
October 6, 2011 5:28 am | by Alix L Paultre, Editorial Director | Articles | CommentsThe world will be a little less interesting with Steve Jobs gone. He was one of the people who had truly changed the world, how we percieve it, and how we live in it.
Saving the Post Office
September 22, 2011 5:57 am | by Alix Paultre, Editorial Director | Articles | CommentsAs we create the next generation of our pervasive-computing society, not only is the virtual world entangling the real one, the blending of the two worlds gives us an opportunity to save the Post Office.
Design in a Connected World
August 22, 2011 11:18 am | by Alix Paultre, Editorial Director | Articles | CommentsWe live in an information-based society, where app-driven cloud-based ubiquitous computing is in the palm of almost every hand and in many of the devices around us
Lessons learned inside a cubicle
August 3, 2011 11:31 am | by Melanie Sena, Editorial Intern | Articles | CommentsI felt intimidated yet confident as I entered the Javits Center in New York. Hundreds of men and women in business attire strolled by as if I didn’t exist. But as I listened to snippets of conversation about the latest electronic and medical technologies, I realized I was exactly where I wanted to be.
Art and Technology
July 20, 2011 7:27 am | Products | CommentsI must admit I am still surprised when I see technical people dismiss art as useless. Art is not only a pleasant aesthetic; it is often essential to design.
Incandescent Ban Steamrolls Past Legislative Efforts
July 19, 2011 12:11 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsThe Better Use of Light Bulbs Act (BULB) has been defeated in the House of Representatives. BULB would have amended the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, thereby staying the incandescent ban. But it was not to be.
Retirement of Shuttle Leaves Void in Manned Space Program
July 7, 2011 11:20 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsAfter Atlantis’ two-week mission, NASA will retire the Space Shuttle. Between the Shuttle’s retirement and the completion of the International Space Station in 2020, the U.S. faces a nine-year gap during which we’ll lack the ability to independently ferry astronauts into space.
Sensors Expo 2011 Rewind
June 24, 2011 11:15 am | by Chris Warner | Articles | CommentsSensors Expo returned to Rosemont Illinois in June and the mood inside the convention center was noticeably more optimistic than last year. Outside, the town was in the grip of a heat wave; but inside it was the technology itself that literally raised both the excitement level and the level of performance for new designs which made things seem, well, hotter. Here are just some of the highlights
ECN is Recognized as a Top 10 Media Website
June 16, 2011 7:44 am | News | CommentsI am humbled by the ECN Website being recognized by BtoB Media Business as one of the 10 Great Media Sites, and want to congratulate the ECN team on a job well done.
