2
replies
Bridging the Gap
If I could have a MAX V kit , I'd like to use it to build a " homemade " smart high torque servo RC "on steroids" for legged robotics applications.
Via the expansion headers I could easily interface the kit to a PS2 optical mouse .
In this way I could g...
posted by caccolillou on 01/28/12 at 3:37 AM
2
replies
Helicopter drone flies HD camera through a snowstorm
Yeah yeah yeah, I know...I was born in Alaska. "Storm" is one of those relative terms. But yes, cool RC machine for sure. 
posted by LauraDomela on 01/27/12 at 10:15 PM
2
replies
The PC In Your Ear
True enough, but for many people a "PC" is, by definition, something that runs Windows.
posted by Jim Turley on 01/27/12 at 9:25 PM
0
replies
After software, what's next?
During six-plus decades of adherence to the Turing paradigm, the computer field has reaped the benefits of ever- faster and -denser (and -reliable) hardware. Over the same span of decades, the creation and maintenance of software hasn’t gotten any easier ...
posted by CharlieM on 01/27/12 at 2:53 PM
5
replies
Tools for the Gifted
Yes, there are several open source tools that are useful, including Wireshark and SCAPY, among others. The P+ 1000 provides additional control and interactivity that is not available with any open source or other commercial tools.
For example, using...
posted by RickDenker on 01/27/12 at 2:44 PM
4
replies
Why Use an 8-bit Core When 32 Bits Are Better?
In other news, they hold another kind of 8k mcu demo compo in France; spooky computation at EU distance.
The Microprocessor Report abstracts on Lilliputian mcu are generous, but it is nice to see this as an option to a Cadence module suggestion I can't...
posted by SteveNordquis4 on 01/27/12 at 12:09 AM
11
replies
Connecting the Dots
I would like that kit. The kid's still working through the C++0x0B and D+ standard libraries, so I have a little time before he takes the 1/8-pitch brazing gun and makes everything single-inheritance (or Hadoop templates.)
posted by SteveNordquis4 on 01/26/12 at 11:27 PM
1
replies
Extending Macrocell Life
In some countries the cell phone carrier and the land line carrier is the same company. And it is these guys who are working hard with the femtocell people, particularly as most smart phone users do the heavy downloads, such as software upgrades and addin...
posted by Dick Selwood on 01/26/12 at 5:06 AM
1
replies
Looking Back on Five Years
OK guys (and gals) - what stuff do you think was important in the last five years?
posted by Dick Selwood on 01/19/12 at 5:11 AM
3
replies
Tough Times Ahead for AMD
I think you are spot-on with your suggestion that AMD license ARM cores and maybe find synergy with their ATI products. That strategy might actually work.
The x86 architecture is dead.
Licensing x86 cores won't work because they take up far too muc...
posted by manfred.bartz on 01/18/12 at 4:24 PM
9
replies
Pay No Attention to The Man Behind the Curtain
The Altera MAX V architecture is loaded with "Awesome (tm)". By building the CPLD with "Awesome (tm)", Altera has been able to produce a device with unparalleled coolness. Even their FPGAs are envious. Well, only the older FPGAs, because the Cyclone V,...
posted by kmathis71 on 01/18/12 at 2:54 PM
2
replies
Signals and Swats
Air-motion-only instrument = theremin?
But point taken. Why would people want to wave their hands about to control their phone? And where is the phone when all this hand waving is going on? Controlling the TV by shouting at it - now that's my goal! ...
posted by dysonwilkes on 01/18/12 at 6:43 AM
1
replies
The Valley of FPGA
Will the green green valley of FPGAs survive the long cold winter? Or, will alternative solutions push programmable logic back to a niche?
posted by kevin on 01/18/12 at 1:27 AM
1
replies
A Memristor By Any Other Name?
Regardless of what you call them, do you have resistive memory on your radar in the future?
posted by bmoyer on 01/17/12 at 10:49 AM
7
replies
Moore for the Masses
According to definitions of “random logic” I’ve read online, PDQ belongs to the collection of semiconductor circuit design techniques that translate high-level logic descriptions directly into hardware features such as Boolean gates, temporal function-, a...
posted by CharlieM on 01/16/12 at 5:57 PM
1
replies
Thomas Dolby kicking off his 2012 Time Capsule Tour at SXSW
Also, if you're interested, Thomas Dolby will be one of the keynote speakers at ESC/Design West in Santa Clara, CA at the end of March: http://www.ubmdesign.com/conference/keynotes/
posted by LauraDomela on 01/16/12 at 12:36 PM
1
replies
Pilot uses airplane parachute after engine quits over Bahamas
This is an amazing life-saving technology, with an interesting psychological back story.
I fly one of these airplanes. Cirrus was the first (and I believe is still the only) manufacturer who equips all of their aircraft with a whole-airfame parachut...
posted by kevin on 01/14/12 at 2:17 PM