Articles – Page 37

Do You Long Nostalgically for Retro Tech? Part 2: Film and Nixie Tubes

August 2, 2023

Of course, retro-tech nostalgia is not limited to sound reproduction, which I discussed earlier in Part 1 of this article series, so let’s now talk about retro photography nostalgia. For 30 years, I shot photos with an SLR (single-lens reflex) camera using film, starting in 1972. I’ve shot Kodak Kodachrome and Ektachrome slide film, Kodacolor and Kodacolor II print film, Fujicolor print film, Ilford black-and-white film, and assorted film stock from Agfa. So, I’ve taken a lot of photographs using film. … Read More →

Do You Long Nostalgically for Retro Tech? Part 1: Audio cassettes, LPs, and Vacuum Tubes

by Steven Leibson

July 31, 2023

One of the many things that have happened to me as I age is that the tech toys of my youth are now coming back into vogue. A recent PBS NewsHour segment on the “revival” of Philips audio cassettes triggered this article. In that PBS NewsHour segment, Stephanie Sy discussed the growing use of audio cassettes by the underground music scene. Independent music artists distribute their music on cassette because it’s a convenient music distribution medium. Sy interviewed a Los Angeles artist that goes by the name Miral, whose 2019 music project sold out its first run – … Read More → "Do You Long Nostalgically for Retro Tech? Part 1: Audio cassettes, LPs, and Vacuum Tubes"

Are You Ready for the Chiplet Age?

by Max Maxfield

July 27, 2023

As is usually the case, I’m astonished and astounded by the leaps in technology that are occurring all around me. Things are now moving so fast that there will probably be yet another mindboggling development before I’ve finished this column (so I’d better write it as quickly as I can).

The generation of electronics engineers that came before your humble narrator (as you know, I pride myself on my humility) were obliged to work their magic with discrete transistors. I was fortunate to come up in the time of “jellybean” … Read More → "Are You Ready for the Chiplet Age?"

MEMS Oscillators Address Precision Timing Problems

by Max Maxfield

July 25, 2023

Everywhere I turn these days I discover more instances of the need for precision timing. I’m also learning about various amazingly clever solutions engineers have come up with to address some exceedingly complicated problems.

Consider packet-based networks, for example. Let’s suppose you have a master clock somewhere. How would you set about ensuring that any lowly remote nodes have the correct time (i.e., the same time as the master clock) simply by sending packets back and forth across the network? Before you answer, may I remind you … Read More → "MEMS Oscillators Address Precision Timing Problems"

Meet the CAN Invader – How Can Automotive Ethernet Curb Car Theft?

by Steven Leibson

July 24, 2023

There’s a car-theft gang in Atlanta that’s stealing late model, high-end Toyota and Lexus vehicles by hacking the cars’ CAN (car area network) Bus. Apparently, this type of car theft originated in Japan, where criminal hackers have developed a device called a CAN Invader that can shut off the vehicle’s immobilizer, unlock the car’s doors, and start the car once the thief physically hacks into the vehicle’s CAN Bus. Apparently, gaining physical access is distressingly easy. Toyota and Lexus vehicles have a vulnerable node near the driver-side front wheel well. By unclipping … Read More → "Meet the CAN Invader – How Can Automotive Ethernet Curb Car Theft?"

Want Tailormade Screamingly-High-Performance RISC-V64 IP?

by Max Maxfield

July 20, 2023

Soooo… you’ve decided you’re going to create a system-on-chip (SoC) device of such awesomeness that it will leave your competitors gnashing their teeth and rending their garb. You’ve also decided to base this on a RISC-V processor. What you want is the biggest, baddest RISC-V processor going. Furthermore, you want this processor to be customized to allow you to take full advantage of your own “secret sauce” IP. Who ya gonna call?

I’ll give you a clue, which is that the Read More → "Want Tailormade Screamingly-High-Performance RISC-V64 IP?"

Processors for Wearable Medical Devices Help to Fight Type 1 Diabetes

by Steven Leibson

July 17, 2023

My cat developed diabetes this year. She’s 16 years old and has become lethargic, even more than is normal for an old cat. The vet diagnosed diabetes and I now need to give her an insulin shot twice a day, right after I feed her. So far, her diabetes has been relatively easy to manage. Initially, I took her to the vet every two weeks to check her glucose levels, and we quickly converged on a regimen. Each trip proved traumatic for the cat, who didn’t understand what was happening. Before starting on insulin, she’d … Read More → "Processors for Wearable Medical Devices Help to Fight Type 1 Diabetes"

A Tempting Taste of the AI-Powered World to Come

by Max Maxfield

July 13, 2023

Recently, I talked to two young artificial intelligence (AI) start-up companies. Although these companies are tackling completely different problems, they both present a tempting taste of the AI-powered world that is racing towards us like a runaway juggernaut.

As an aside, it just struck me how much AI is already permeating our lives in general and my life in particular. As we discussed in a previous column, I currently … Read More → "A Tempting Taste of the AI-Powered World to Come"

Indoor Voice or XCORE-VOICE?

by Max Maxfield

July 11, 2023

I remember as a kid being constantly admonished by my mother to “Remember to use your indoor voice.” I also remember feeling quite aggrieved because whatever news I wished to impart was of great import (obviously, otherwise I wouldn’t have wanted to divulge it in the first place), and—being so important—it deserved to be imparted at high volume to a wide audience.

Unfortunately, this was one of many topics on which my mother and I didn’t see eye-to-eye, which wasn’t surprising because, in those days of yore, she … Read More → "Indoor Voice or XCORE-VOICE?"

Book Review: “Silicon Planet” describes the hands-on, hard-knocks education of a processor architect

by Steven Leibson

July 10, 2023

If you want the world to celebrate and remember your life’s accomplishments, the best way to achieve that goal is to write an autobiographical book about your life. If you want to make sure that book is printed and distributed, then publish it yourself. That’s exactly what processor architect extraordinaire Pat Hays has done. He wrote and recently self-published “Silicon Planet: My Life in Computer Chips,” now available on Amazon. You may not have heard of Hays, but you … Read More → "Book Review: “Silicon Planet” describes the hands-on, hard-knocks education of a processor architect"