Archives: Articles

June 24, 2019

We hear a lot about artificial intelligence (AI) these days. The mentions are typically delivered in acronym salads that include machine learning (ML), deep neural nets (DNNs) and the other various NNs (convolutional – CNNs, recurrent – RNNs, etc.), and a pile of other technologies. Many of these are accessible only to specialists; the rest of us nod our heads sagely, pretending to understand, hoping no one calls us out.

But at this year’s Linley Spring Processor Conference, Linley Gwennap did a keynote that looked at many of the technological vectors … Read More → "Fundamental AI Concepts"

When Companies Shoot Themselves in the Foot

Killing Off a Product for No Reason is Bad Customer Service

by Jim Turley

June 19, 2019

“We’re sorry. You have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service.”

It’s summer, it’s hot outside, and I’m cranky.

The weather isn’t the problem. It’s the #%$@ hardware vendors that have me steamed. Why do they seemingly go out of their way to irritate and annoy thousands of happy customers? Do the marketing people in these companies have some sort of death wish? Are they angling for jobs at the DMV … Read More → "When Companies Shoot Themselves in the Foot"

High-Speed Communications: Not Just Binary Anymore

A Look at PAM-4, Courtesy of eSilicon

by Bryon Moyer

June 17, 2019

Flash memory technologists had a problem. Their customers needed more memory, and so they were trying to make the memory cells smaller so they could fit more onto a chip. But the demand was growing faster than the technology was shrinking, so they needed to get to higher densities more quickly.

The basic flash memory cell had traditionally stored one of two values: a 1 or a 0. They read the memory by detecting the amount of charge in the cell: a lot meant 0; a little meant 1. But they … Read More → "High-Speed Communications: Not Just Binary Anymore"

What We Lose If We Lose Maker Faire

(An Elegy for Maker Media and an Ode to My 3D-Printer)

by Larra Morris

June 13, 2019

This week, we found out that Maker Media, the company responsible for Make: Magazine and Maker Faire, ceased operations and laid off all of its employees.

Kevin Morris has already written for EE Journal about the tragedy this represents for the engineering world. While his piece points out that the maker movement is much larger than Maker Media and will last beyond it, the potential loss of Maker Faire is devastating.

As EE Journal’s favorite sandal-making hacker, Becky Button, recently wrote on twitter: “the end … Read More → "What We Lose If We Lose Maker Faire"

Instrumenting the Internet of Really Big Things

Everactive Does Low-Power Sensors Bundled with Service and Support

by Jim Turley

June 12, 2019

“I like to rattle cages.” – Viv Albertine

Noise, vibration, and harshness. In the automotive world, NVH is a bad thing. There are specialist NVH engineers at most carmakers laboring away to exorcise mechanical gremlins.

But not all NVH is bad. In the industrial world, we can steer those gremlins toward good. We can even – if we’re clever enough – make them do work for us.

That’s the premise behind a new hardware/software company called Everactive, formerly named < … Read More → "Instrumenting the Internet of Really Big Things"

Staying Too Long at the Faire

Maker Media Closes

by Kevin Morris

June 11, 2019

It’s a sad day. Maker Media, Inc. ceased operations this week and laid off all staff. The company published Make: magazine and operated and licensed “Maker Faires” around the world. We have covered the maker movement and Maker Faires for years, even though our audience is professional engineers. We saw value there. Maker Faire was a window into the future of engineering – a place where we could go to escape the stodgy booths and stilted demos of typical industry events, and walk around in the dirt asking 10-year old kids how they wired up their own LED-blinky-sneaker contraption, … Read More → "Staying Too Long at the Faire"

Blockchain in IoT Security?

It’s Not Just about Money

by Bryon Moyer

June 10, 2019

Let’s chat about blockchain technology, shall we? If you know almost nothing about blockchains, then it’s probably easy to conflate it with so-called cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Those are systems where someone magically created a store of money – well, a store of some sort of artifact that becomes money only when someone decides it’s a good idea to pay for them with officially recognized money (which some refer to as fiat currency, literally meaning, “Let there be money” – which pretty well describes … Read More → "Blockchain in IoT Security?"

Security As a Business Enabler

Stopping Malware for Fun and Profit

by Jim Turley

June 5, 2019

“A sect or party is an elegant incognito devised to save a man from the vexation of thinking.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hey, buddy, you want a good deal on a gearbox for a city bus? Hardly used, works great. I’ll give you a good deal. Take your pick; I got thousands of ’em.

In fact, I’ll rent ’em to you if you don’t have the cash to buy. Low monthly rates. My associate … Read More → "Security As a Business Enabler"

Maintaining the Cadence

EDA in the Cloud, 3D Solvers, and DSP Updates

by Bryon Moyer

June 4, 2019

Cadence has had a number of announcements over the last few months. I’ve been collecting them up so that we can review them here now. We’ll cover four stories: their Cloudburst announcement, their Clarity 3D solver, a Read More → "Maintaining the Cadence"

Follow EE Journal’s Live Coverage of the Design Automation Conference

by Larra Morris

June 3, 2019

The 2019 Design Automation Conference (DAC) is in Las Vegas and our EE Journal team is on the scene to learn about recent developments and trends, and new products and technologies in the design and automation of electronic systems.