Articles – Page 88

April 28, 2020

Note: I was inexplicably invited to address a graduating class of Electrical Engineers, which included my nephew, Daniel. That gathering got canceled, of course, so in the spirit of design reuse I’m summarizing my address here.

Ladies and gentlemen, members of the clergy, heads of state, madames et monsieurs, our forces overseas, members of the press, nursing mothers, and small children:

Thank you for coming, and thank you, class, for becoming … Read More → "To the Graduating Class of 2020"

Debugging as a Career Goal

Searching “Upstream” for Problems is a Valuable Skill

by Jim Turley

April 27, 2020

“There has never been an unexpectedly short debugging period in the history of computers.” – Steven Levy

Debugging your code or hardware is rarely seen as the glamorous part of the job. As engineers, we like to make stuff – to design. Any debugging activity is a tacit admission that our designs aren’t perfect; that we didn’t get it right the first time.

But debugging, and the debugging mindset, are valuable career skills – and not just in engineering. On the contrary, good … Read More → "Debugging as a Career Goal"

Compellingly Cunning Embedded Code Coverage

by Max Maxfield

April 23, 2020

I just heard about a new code coverage tool from Microchip Technology that’s targeted at embedded designs, that’s quick and easy to use, and that does things no other code coverage tool has done before. Just writing that gave me a flashback to the opening spiel of Star Trek: The Original Series, where the narrator waffled on about “Boldly going behind the beyond, behind which no man has boldly gone behind, beyond, before,” or words to that effect. But we digress…

Xilinx and Samsung Collaborate on 5G

Key Conspiracy Features Still Lacking

by Kevin Morris

April 22, 2020

These are crazy times. Even though most of the world is locked down in quarantine right now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, engineering teams around the world are still working – through a variety of clever means – to continue making progress on the deployment of 5G infrastructure. 5G is by far the most ambitious rollout of wireless networking technology ever attempted, and it brings with it daunting engineering challenges. We are seeing in real time the enormous value the current global network infrastructure is delivering at this time of crisis, and the motivation to get 5G up … Read More → "Xilinx and Samsung Collaborate on 5G"

Networking for Third Graders

Adesto’s FT6050 Free Topology Controller Does LON and BACnet

by Jim Turley

April 21, 2020

The sign of true mastery is making a difficult task seem easy. We watch cooking shows, or magic acts, or woodworking demonstrations, and think, “Hey, I could do that.” The delusion lasts right up until we try. Gee, those experts really do know a few things that we don’t. Guess we’ll have to put in those 10,000 hours of practice after all. … Read More →

Geopolitics of SoC Design

What You Design May Be Less Important Than Where You Designed It

by Jim Turley

April 20, 2020

“All politics is local.” – Tip O’Neill

My in-laws are from Detroit, born and raised. They’re big believers in buying American, and especially American cars. They’ve owned a string of Fords, Chevys, Lincolns, Dodges, Buicks, and Pontiacs. Often, they knew the people who built their cars, or at least knew someone who knew someone. That’s what happens when you live in the Motor City.

I teased them a bit, asking how “American” those cars really were, given that their … Read More → "Geopolitics of SoC Design"

Ultimate Guide to Switch Debounce (Part 8)

by Max Maxfield

April 16, 2020

I can’t believe it; we've finally arrived at the ultimate part of what started out as a mini-series and ended up being a mega-epic. In a moment, we're going to consider FPGA (hardware) and MCU (software) solutions to the switch bounce problem, but first... … Read More →

AMD’s Epyc 7Fx2 Edges Past Intel

New “Rome” Series of Processors Aimed at High-End Servers

by Jim Turley

April 14, 2020

“I’m like a racehorse attached to a freight wagon.” – Jamie Hyneman

The Intel-versus-AMD battle is like watching a good horse race. One takes the lead, then the other noses ahead. One’s the odds-on favorite while the other is the longshot. Both competitors have ardent fans screaming from the sidelines, with big-money bets placed on the eventual winner.

And then, suddenly, the leader stumbles.

Intel has enjoyed such a long winning streak that it’s … Read More → "AMD’s Epyc 7Fx2 Edges Past Intel"

Mastering x86 Memory Segmentation

Turning an Old Hack into a New Feature

by Jim Turley

April 13, 2020

“Time’s fun when you’re having flies.” – Kermit the Frog

Mention “segmentation” to a marketing guy, and you’ll get a long discourse on demographics, targeted advertising, pricing brackets, and other arcana. Use the same word around an x86 programmer, however, and you’ll get a different response. He’ll either spit on the ground, roll his eyes, or punch you in the mouth. Your choice.

Memory segmentation is one of those defining features of Intel’s x86 processor architecture that … Read More → "Mastering x86 Memory Segmentation"

Ultimate Guide to Switch Debounce (Part 7)

by Max Maxfield

April 9, 2020

I think this is it! I honestly believe this is going to be the last installment in our switch bounce saga. This is where we finally get to consider software solutions to the switch bounce problem (along with a bunch of other topics, of course). Having said this, as usual there are no promises, because -- like you -- I have no idea what is to come until I've written it down. … Read More →