Fish Fry – Page 71

January 13, 2012

In this week’s Fish Fry (brought to you by Altera), I investigate some of the not so fabulous behind-the-scenes action that happens in the ramp up for the Consumer Electronics Show. I check out a curious press release retraction, why headphone maker Klipsch is gunning for counterfeiters in China, and how HzO will save the world’s electronics…one nano-scale skin at a time.

I have a MAX V CPLD Development Kit to send your way this week courtesy of Altera, but you’ll … Read More → "Pay No Attention to The Man Behind the Curtain"

RTOS Smackdown

by Amelia Dalton

January 6, 2012

In this week’s Fish Fry, I investigate the battle brewing (in press releases at least) between Green Hills and QNX and why this may not be the first time this sort of thing has happened. I interview Jeff Jussel (element14) about their “knode” and how exactly element14 fits into the grand scheme of electronic design. As a precursor to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week, I also check out one of the strangest pieces of embedded design for consumers that I have ever seen.

< … Read More →

FPGA State of the Union

by Amelia Dalton

December 16, 2011

This week I chat with EE Journal Editor-in-Chief and resident FPGA expert Kevin Morris in a special FPGA State of the Union Fish Fry. Kevin talks with me about where he sees FPGAs headed in 2012, what to expect from market leaders Xilinx and Altera, how Lattice Semicondutor’s acquisition of SiliconBlue will affect the landscape, and where smaller start-ups Tabula and Achronix fit into that mix.

I am also offering up a 25 dollar amazon.com gift certificate, but you’ll have to tune in to find out how to win. </ … Read More → "FPGA State of the Union"

Adventures in EDA Land

How EDA and Disneyland May Have More In Common Than You Think

by Amelia Dalton

December 9, 2011

Did you ever consider that EDA is a lot like Disneyland? I know it may sound a little kooky but check out this week’s Fish Fry to find out more! I interview Shawn McCloud (Vice President of Marketing – Calypto Design Services) about Catapult-C’s transition to Calypto, the ambiguous nature of the term ESL, and what Calypto brings to the EDA party. Also this week, I interview Shishpal Rawat (Accellera Chair) about why it’s important to have IP standards and where he sees IP and system design standards headed.</ … Read More → "Adventures in EDA Land"

The Humorization of EE

A Look Into How Lattice Semiconductor Makes Even FPGAs Funny

by Amelia Dalton

December 2, 2011

If anyone tells you that EE can’t be funny, you send ’em my way! In this week’s Fish Fry, I interview Chris Turman, one of the funniest engineers in the business, about how the culture at Lattice Semiconductor has allowed him the freedom to have fun and make people laugh about FPGAs. Yes, really. Also this week, I check out the new pico-projector from Texas Instruments and Brookstone and report on why it may be fantastic and problematic at the same time.

… Read More → "The Humorization of EE"

Turning Up The Volume To 11

Supercomputing Gets Even Cooler

by Amelia Dalton

November 18, 2011

In this week’s Fish Fry, I have a couple of super-cool supercomputing super-stories for you. I look into the Blue Waters Project that aims to solve the world’s most complex problems through petascale computing. I also interview Stefan Mohl (Mitrionics – CTO) about how Mitrionics has reorganized this year, how they are shifting the focus of their supercomputing FPGAs to the HPC market, and how Mitrion-C is facilitating that new focus.

I have a super awesome new nerdy giveaway to throw your way this week, but you’ll have to tune in … Read More → "Turning Up The Volume To 11"

ARM TechCon Redux

by Amelia Dalton

November 9, 2011

This week in part two of my 2011 ARM TechCon coverage, I chat with Will Tu from ARM about the development of ARM’s new Embedded Software Store and his impressions of the show this year. I also chat with Jake Alamat (Director of Product Marketing for Sitara ARM microprocessors at Texas Instruments) about their new line of $5 ARM® Cortex A8 microprocessors, and try to find out what the heck they were thinking with that price point.

I’ve got another Spartan-6 SP-01 Evaluation kit to give away this … Read More → "ARM TechCon Redux"

ARM TechCon Shakedown

Tools, IP and Processors, Oh My!

by Amelia Dalton

October 28, 2011

ARM TechCon was a hip and happenin’ show this year and I’ve got the interviews to prove it. This week I interview Tony Xia and Amit Bhojraj from NXP Semiconductor about their new 49 cent 32-bit microcontroller and why they were encouraging designers to dismantle, maim and otherwise destroy their old 8- and 16-bit development boards. From the tool side of the ARM community, I also interview Thomas Sporrong from IAR Systems about the newest version of the IAR Embedded Workbench and how IAR’s acquisition of Signum Systems expanded their already wide range of … Read More → "ARM TechCon Shakedown"

Speak Softly and Carry Some Big Code

How Dennis Ritchie Changed the World

by Amelia Dalton

October 20, 2011

What would our world look like without C, or UNIX? In this week’s Fish Fry, I look at the remarkable life of computer science pioneer Dennis Ritchie, the challenges he faced in creating some of the most widely-used software in history, and the far-reaching impact of his elegant code – as well as how his vision of an engineering community openly sharing knowledge inspired the open source movement of today.

I have a Spartan-6 SP01 Evaluation Kit to give away this week, but you … Read More → "Speak Softly and Carry Some Big Code"

Making The Pieces Fit

Distribution Series Part I

by Amelia Dalton

October 14, 2011

In the first of a series of distribution-focused Fish Fry episodes, I interview Alex Iuorio and Jeff Ittel from Avnet Embedded about how Avnet used a start-up mentality to get this new embedded division up and running. They discuss, among other things, how they see distribution playing a vital role in each step of the electronics design and supply chain. Then, in keeping with the distribution theme, I look into the ramifications of counterfeit chip production and highlight three overall challenges we face in protecting ourselves from counterfeit components.

Also, I check … Read More → "Making The Pieces Fit"