Articles – Page 57

April 6, 2022

Well, PCI-SIG has done it once again. They’ve doubled the peak maximum bandwidth of the PCI Express (PCIe) bus by releasing the PCIe 6.0 specifications on January 11. A 16-lane PCIe 6.0 connection has a peak bidirectional bandwidth of 256 Gbytes/sec. That’s pretty darn fast. How’d they do it? The simple answer is that they ripped a page from the high-speed Ethernet spec and adopted PAM4 modulation. PAM4 modulation encodes two bits with each signal excursion by using 4-level voltage signaling instead of the familiar, digital, 2-level signaling. Presto! You’ve doubled the bandwidth. PAM4 Serdes … Read More → "PCI-SIG’s PCIe 6.0 Spec Continues the Long, Happy Evolution of PCI Express"

Want to Make Your Data Impossibly Secure?

by Max Maxfield

April 5, 2022

I’m currently ensconced in the command chair in the Pleasure Dome (my office) drooling with desire, as opposed to my usual modus operandi which involves me simply sitting here drooling. I now know that I want an SSD drive that is “impossibly secure” — so secure, in fact, that it renders my precious data invisible on the basis that attackers cannot compromise what they cannot see.

The reason for my newfound desire for this incredible level of security — the term “Impossibly Secure” has been trademarked by the bodaciously brainy boffins … Read More → "Want to Make Your Data Impossibly Secure?"

Printer Manufacturers Hoist by Their Own Petard

Semiconductor Shortage Short Circuits Printer Cartridge DRM

by Steven Leibson

April 4, 2022

Once upon a time, long, long ago, printers used ribbons on metal spools that looked much like typewriter ribbons. In fact, some of them were typewriter ribbons. Then manufacturers started to develop plastic cartridges to hold the ribbons. These cartridges made ribbon installation much easier, but they served another purpose as well. They were proprietary mechanical housings. If you wanted to buy a new ribbon for your printer, you needed to buy it from the same manufacturer that made your printer. Ribbon cartridges provided a new, … Read More → "Printer Manufacturers Hoist by Their Own Petard"

VMAccel Offers FPGA as a Service (FaaS)

by Max Maxfield

March 31, 2022

The way in which my mind leaps from topic to topic with the agility of a young mountain goat sometimes gives me pause for thought and makes me wonder: “Is it just me or do everyone’s brains work this way?”

I’m reminded of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who — in particular, the Blink episode in the third … Read More → "VMAccel Offers FPGA as a Service (FaaS)"

Founding Stories of Famous Electronic Distributors, Part 3

Two Component Manufacturer Origin Stories from The ECIA’s New Book

by Steven Leibson

March 28, 2022

In Parts 1 and 2 of this article, I discussed the founding stories of two early pioneers in electronic component distribution (Sager and Allied) and two post-war distributors (TTI and Digi-Key). These stories came from a new book published by the ECIA (Electronic Components Industry Association) titled “Electronic Component Industry Evolution: 100 Years of the Authorized Channel.” The ECIA’s book also contains few founding stories for companies that … Read More → "Founding Stories of Famous Electronic Distributors, Part 3"

The Day the “NanoDrip” Moniker Became Sexy!

by Max Maxfield

March 24, 2022

As always, I am amazed by the astounding ingenuity of the human race, of which I am proud to be a card-carrying member. The reason I say this is that my eyes were just opened to a profusion of production possibilities provided by a revolutionary new ultra-high resolution 3D printing technology that could transfigure and transform a wide range of industries, including semiconductor and display manufacturing.

In a recent column — Welcome to a … Read More → "The Day the “NanoDrip” Moniker Became Sexy!"

You Too Can Rule the AoT with Audio Weaver

by Max Maxfield

March 22, 2022

I am aghast, alarmed, astounded, shocked, and horrified. If pushed, I might admit to being flabbergasted (rarely has my flabber been so gasted). If I were feeling uncouth, I might even go so far as to say I was gobsmacked. How could something as awesome as what I am about to discuss have existed for so long without my knowing anything about it?

These days, audio experiences have grown to be a major part of our daily lives — not just listening to high-fidelity music coming out of incredibly small speakers … Read More → "You Too Can Rule the AoT with Audio Weaver"

Founding Stories of Famous Electronic Distributors, Part 2

ECIA Celebrates 100 Years of Electronics Distribution

by Steven Leibson

March 21, 2022

In Part 1 of this article, I discussed the founding stories of two early pioneers in electronic component distribution: Sager and Allied. These stories came from a new book published by the ECIA (Electronic Components Industry Association) titled “Electronic Component Industry Evolution: 100 Years of the Authorized Channel.” This book contains many stories of distributors who are very familiar to me, as well as telling electronic component distribution’ … Read More → "Founding Stories of Famous Electronic Distributors, Part 2"

Shhh! Aspinity’s AML100 Analog AI Voice & Vibration IC is Listening!

by Max Maxfield

March 17, 2022

Although the vast majority of people in the embedded and IoT industries are bouncing back and forth and jumping up and down singing the praises of digital systems and digital signal processing (DSP), it’s the topics of analog systems and analog signal processing (ASP) that have been much on (what I laughingly call) my mind of late.

As I’ve mentioned on occasion, I’m a digital hardware design engineer by trade. My first job after staggering out of the university doors into the light of day was as … Read More → "Shhh! Aspinity’s AML100 Analog AI Voice & Vibration IC is Listening!"

Founding Stories of Famous Electronic Distributors, Part 1

ECIA Celebrates 100 Years of Electronics Distribution

by Steven Leibson

March 16, 2022

Electronic distributors are the Rodney Dangerfields of the electronics industry. CEOs heading component vendors view them mostly as a necessary evil. Worst case, they’re viewed as middlemen that erode profit. Best case, they’re a partner that requires a lot of support. Engineers have, in the past, also viewed distributors as a necessary evil. You turn to them when the component vendor won’t give you the time of day because your company’s too small to be dealt with directly. These are mean-spirited attitudes.

In reality, most of … Read More → "Founding Stories of Famous Electronic Distributors, Part 1"