Electronic Design articles from June 2004

Electronic Design archives from June 2004

Research agreement puts new spin on electronics.(TechScope: electronics technology at work and at play)
June 7, 2004... The industry is getting closer to the limits of transistor technology. That's why IBM's Almaden Research Center and Stanford University have teamed up in the advanced research and creation of high-performance, low-power spintronics. This effort...

A library on your laptop.(TechScope: electronics technology at work and at play)
June 7, 2004... Shakespeare's drama. Plato's philosophy. Darwin's science. Michelangelo's art. Keats' poetry. But you don't need to scour a bookstore to find the works of the world's great thinkers. According to an exclusive three-year agreement with Vital...

Tough memory stick takes on the elements.(TechScope: electronics at work and at play)
June 7, 2004... Rugged situations require durable memory solutions. Military and emergency personnel as well as extreme athletes can carry vital data in the FM-10 Pro USB 2.0 memory stick drive from Freecom Technologies. This robust device completely resists...

The global resource for electronics engineers.(PlanetEE.com)
June 7, 2004... Aimed at electronics engineers and engineering managers worldwide, PlanetEE serves as a gateway to the Individual Web sites of the highly respected engineering publications and specifier's tools of Penton Media's Electronics Group.

New: find the latest on power products.(PlanetEE.com)
June 7, 2004... Need a quick way to gather data on the latest power-related products and services from the world's leading vendors? Want to loam more about the latest introductions In power sources, power passives, power semiconductors, and power products for...

Free design automation conference webcast.(PlanetEE.com)
June 7, 2004... Can't get to the Design Automation Conference? Bring DAC to your desktop via Electronic Design's DAC Show Cast. EDA Editor David Maliniak gives you the DAC lowdown, direct from the show. Sign up to join the FREE webcast. Hear the hot market...

Analog means never having to say "you're obsolete".(Editorial)(Editorial)
June 7, 2004... One of the amazing things about the world of analog is the huge depth of product lines offered by the market's leading manufacturers. Just as noteworthy, product obsolescence issues are real and important, as outlined in Ron Schneiderman's...

What's all this theme park stuff, anyhow?(Pease Porridge)(Editorial)
June 7, 2004... My colleague Jon Carroll wrote a story a while back when he was in India. An Indian friend of his said, "Isn't it wonderful? Read here in this newspaper! There's going to be a new theme park that this businessman is going to develop, right here...

Tiny PGAs pay off big in data-acquisition systems.(POV: point of view)
June 7, 2004... Too often, even though we have a great analog circuit design, the system specification changes before the product goes into production. Programmable-gain amplifiers (PGAs) can provide the adjustability needed to deal with such last-minute...

Code morphing delivers security features fast.(Embedded Software)
June 7, 2004... New firmware for Transmeta's Efficeon x86-compatible processor provides improved system security that's compatible with the forthcoming Windows XP Service Pack 2 from Microsoft. Known as Execution Protection, the feature is integral virus...

ASIC users say technology is important, but cost is key.(Market Watch)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... SYSTEM DESIGNERS ARE WILLING TO TRY new ASIC business models that take advantage of advanced technology, but they still want to keep costs down, according to a survey by Gartner Dataquest. Also, designers are placing more importance on ASIC...

Controller-IC and power-module lines ease Power-over-Ethernet designs.(TechView: analog & power)
June 7, 2004... A family of versatile IC power controllers and a plug-in power-supply family from Texas Instruments promise to reduce the design time and ease implementation of Power-over-Ethernet (POE)industrial and commercial devices. The TPS2375...

24-V DIN heavy-duty rail supplies meet stringent standards.(TechView: analog & power)
June 7, 2004... Housed in a rugged compact casing, the SDN-P 24-V DIN single-phase rail power supplies are designed for reliable operation in industrial process-control, machine-tool, and other harsh factory floor applications. They meet standards for Class 1,...

Ultra-Compact DAC packs a performance punch.(TechView: analog & power)
June 7, 2004... THE AD5641 NANODAC is the first in a family of very small digital-to-analog converters (DACs) with high-performance features despite their small package size. Available in a compact 2- by 2.2-mm SC-70 package that consumes 70% less pc-board...

Voice chips reinvent telephony architecture.(TechView: communications)
June 7, 2004... Existing plain-old-telephone-service/public-switched-telephone-network systems a re patch-works of hardware designed for centralized circuit-switch functionality and four to 16 channels. But the industry is slowly changing to packet-centric...

Single-chip tuner implements TV anywhere.(TechView: communications)
June 7, 2004... IMAGINE WATCHING TV JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE--on your laptop, your PDA, or even your cell phone. All you need is a device with a screen and the XC3028 TV tuner chip. Xceive's RF-to-baseband receiver conforms to all worldwide analog and digital TV...

Ethernet chips prep networks for voice, video, and metro services.(TechView: communications)
June 7, 2004... Most new PCs and laptops hooked up to local-area networks (LANs) have one-gigabit Ethernet (1GE) ports. Enterprises soon will be able to aggregate these devices with 10GE backbones and switches. Meanwhile, companies are straining existing...

Timer/counter/analyzer sets performance marks.(TechView: components & test)
June 7, 2004... The CNT-90 high-performance tool measures, analyzes, and calibrates frequencies, time intervals, and phase. Designed by Pendulum Instruments AB, it suits laboratory, test-system, benchtop, and field applications. Its combination of performance...

Low-profile SMT BGA optocoupler meets demanding applications.(TechView: components & test)
June 7, 2004... DESIGNED FOR DEMANDING CONSUMER ELECTRONICS and industrial applications, the FODB100 Microcoupler boasts a transistor output housed in a surface-mount (SMT) ball-grid-array (BGA) package. This single-channel optocoupler from Fairchild...

Two-channel PCI DAQ board acquires 8 Gbytes at 800 Mbytes/s.(TechView: components & test)
June 7, 2004... The AD8-650x2DMA two-channel PCI data-acquisition (DAQ) board can acquire 8 Mbytes of continuous analog data at 800 Msamples/s on both channels simultaneously. This externally triggerable board from Ultraview Corp. is designed for high-speed,...

Arbitrated high-speed bus removes on-chip data-transfer bottlenecks.(TechView: digital)
June 7, 2004... As the number of high-performance on-chip peripheral functions supporting a system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution increases, bus traffic overwhelms the standard on-chip buses linking the CPU core to the functions. And unlike current conventional...

Physical synthesis tool boosts FPGA performance by 20%.(TechView: digital)
June 7, 2004... In a deal with Magma Design Automation, QuickLogic has added PALACE, the Magma physical synthesis tool for programmable logic devices, to the QuickWorks tool suite for its mWatt Eclipse II and Eclipse FPGA products. PALACE also will support the...

DDR memory-interface core eases DRAM controller design.(TechView: digital)
June 7, 2004... ALTHOUGH KNOWN FOR ITS PROPRIETARY and high-performance memory interfaces, most notably the RDRAM and more recently the XDR, Rambus Corp. has decided to go mainstream. The company has used its high-speed design expertise to create a...

Tool generates RTL code from untimed C++.(TechView: EDA)
June 7, 2004... The complexity of compute-intensive applications is driving the move to system design at the algorithmic level. With the release of the Catapult C synthesis tool. Mentor Graphics now offers the core foundation for a C-based design flow. By...

Physical synthesis steps up to nanometer designs.(TechView: EDA)
June 7, 2004... As 90-nm design starts ramp up, so does the productivity gap in IC implementation. Most of today's tools have very long runtimes that pose obstacles to achieving acceptable quality of results for the largest 90-nm designs. Sierra Design...

Silicon-versus-layout tool confirms RET closure.(TechView: EDA)
June 7, 2004... Nanometer designs require new approaches to silicon-to-layout verification (SVL). Widespread use of resolution enhancement technology (RET) techniques has led to far greater silicon complexity. Synopsys' latest enhancements to its SiVL tool...

Dual wideband, low noise, 160 MHz, operational amplifier.(Featured products)(Advertisement)
June 7, 2004... The LMH6622 is a dual, high-speed, voltage feedback operational amplifier specifically optimized for low noise. Features * Bandwidth ([A.sub.V] = +2) 160 MHz * Supply voltage range [+ or -] 2.5V to [+ or -] 6V, +5V, to +12V *...

Industry's first 100V, fully integrated buck bias regulator for high-voltage systems.(Featured products)(Advertisement)
June 7, 2004... The LM5008 is the industry's first 100V Buck bias regulator, which operates at up to 90 percent power efficiency and delivers significant power savings for customers' designs. Features * Integrated 100V, N-Channel buck switch *...

A quick sine wave generator.(Design/idea)
June 7, 2004... In various design and test situations, a sine wave signal with an arbitrary frequency may be needed. The following design, and accompanying Excel spreadsheet (see spreadsheet online at edge.national.com); implement a sine wave generator that...

Very wideband, low distortion triple programmable gain buffer.(New products)(Advertisement)
June 7, 2004... The LMH6739 is a very wideband, DC-coupled monolithic programmable gain buffer designed specifically for ultra high-resolution video systems as well as wide dynamic range systems requiring exceptional signal fidelity. Features * 750...

Lighting management system for six white LEDs and two RGB or FLASH LEDs.(New products)(Advertisement)
June 7, 2004... The LP3933 is a complete lighting management system designed for portable wireless applications. It contains a boost DC/DC converter, 4 white-LED drivers to drive the main LCD panel backlight, 2 white-LED drivers for the sub-LCD panel and two...

Latest Nios CPU targets 32-bit control needs: available in three performance options, the Nios II processor core delivers from 20 to 200 DMIPS based on the option and FPGA family hosting the core.(Leapfrog: first look: putting new technology in perspective)
June 7, 2004... A second-generation implementation of the Altera Nios processor architecture boosts the embeddable CPU core to a full 32-bit implementation. The company enhanced this core to implement many more custom instructions than its predecessor. These...

Mini low-g accelerometers sport five functions: featuring an acceleration range of 1.5 to 10 g, a family of capacitive MEMS sensors offers tilt, motion, position, shock, and vibration sensing to satisfy a host of low-cost applications.(Leapfrog: first look: putting new technology in perspective)
June 7, 2004... Consumer, computer, automotive, industrial, medical, and scientific applications are all potential fits for a broad range of low-cost and low-g dual-axis MEMS sensors introduced by Freescale Semiconductor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Motorola...

Managing product obsolescence--now you see it now you don't: impending international lead-free mandates are putting pressure on chip manufacturers to better manage their product portfolios.(Engineering Feature)(Cover Story)
June 7, 2004... Communications is critical when it comes to managing product obsolescence. In many cases, procurement managers don't know that a product is obsolete until they try to order it. But they're still the first to know, often long before the design...

Java garbage and other myths.(Special editorial feature: embedded in electronic design)
June 7, 2004... C still is the top embedded development language, while C++ and Java are catching up. Are you worried that trying these object-oriented platforms will poison the water, cause object-code bloat, and slow execution to a crawl? If you believe...

J2ME implementation adds profiles and services.(Java News)
June 7, 2004... The service-oriented improvements in IBM's WebSphere Micro Environment 5.6 are designed to enhance collaborative applications. Websphere now includes MIDP 2.0 and Personal Profiles. Platform-management services are based on the Open Systems...

Safe, mission-critical Java.(Java News)
June 7, 2004... General availability will be later In the year, but Aonix's JRTK will make the company's real-time Java support compatible with mission-critical standards coming from the Open Group. JRTK is based on JRaven, a safety-critical system based on...

New faces for Java system application server.(Java News)
June 7, 2004... The latest J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) includes the first production version of JavaServer Faces. Sun Microsystems' J2EE 1.4 contains a range of new features like the Web Services Integration (WS-I) Basic Profile and extensive developer...

Critical Java: they aren't standards yet, but these efforts will pay off in embedded Java for safety- and mission-critical applications.(Java series: embedded in electronic design)
June 7, 2004... Under the auspices of the Open Group, Java is taking a turn for the worst--solving the worst programming problems, that is. The Safety Critical Java and Mission Critical Java standard efforts are under way. These specs are based on the Real...

New tools spur DSC development: tool and kits target signal processing, motor control, and sensor applications.(Embedded DSP series: embedded in electronic design)
June 7, 2004... The dsPIC digital signal controller (DSC) from Microchip Technology targets a wide range of DSP and general embedded applications, from motor control to audio processing to power-supply management. Its architecture supports C and the latest...

Quad flash fills VME SCSI slot.(News: embedded in electronic design)
June 7, 2004... The E-Disk VME from BitMicro Networks packs up to four 2.5-in. flash memory drives into a 6U VME slot. The board can handle up to 5000 operations/s with a burst read/ write rate of up to 20 Mbytes/s and a sustained random read/write rate of up...

AMC processor handles ATCA.(News: embedded in electronic design)
June 7, 2004... The AM7501 Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC) from Artesyn Technologies is based on a 1.6-GHz Pentium M with a 400-MHz, 3.2-Gbyte/s front-side bus and up to 2 Gbytes of ECC SDRAM. It has two Gigabit Ethernet channels, up to 128 Mbytes of flash...

Putting POSIX in the kernel.(News: embedded in electronic design)
June 7, 2004... Accelerated Technology has added Nucleus POSIX to its line of real-time operating-system (RTOS) products. POSIX (Portable Operating System Interface for UNIX) support makes it much easier to migrate POSIX-based applications to Nucleus. POSIX...

PowerPC Powers PMC.(News: embedded in electronic design)
June 7, 2004... Force Computers puts one or two PowerPC 750GX processors on its PowerPMC-275 PrPMC PCI mezzanine card (PMC). The card has up to 1-Gbyte of DDR SDRAM, 64-Mbyte flash, dual serial interfaces, and a pair of Gbit Ethernet interfaces. It costs...

Programming FPGA systems doesn't have to be difficult.(Design View Embedded)
June 7, 2004... Hardware designers have taken to FPGA computing for high-performance DSP solutions because it offers throughput gains on the order of 10 to 100 times faster than PC- or single-board-computer (SBC) systems. Previously, the advantages of powerful...

Digital potentiometers convert voltage to resistance.(Design briefs: innovative designs from readers)
June 7, 2004... Industrial controls and variable-bias circuits sometimes require the services of voltage-to-resistance converters. But they can be difficult to implement. The simple approach shown in the figure builds such a converter with two identical...

Low-cost audio delay line uses 1-bit ADC.(Design briefs: innovative designs from readers)
June 7, 2004... The concept of an audio delay line is simple. The voice or music to be delayed is analog-to-digital converted and fed into a shift register or any digital delay or storage medium. The delayed (or playback) digital signal is fed into a...

Component specifier.(New products: the latest notable components at a glance)
June 7, 2004... COOLING DEVICES TYPE/Model Features HEATSINKS /LIQUID COOLERS /COLD PLATES HEATSINK Line of low-cost Tiger CPU coolers for the Intel Tiger series Pentium 4...

SAN tester cuts costs and speeds time-to-market.(... Test & Measurement)
June 7, 2004... * Addressing the 4-Gbit/s Fibre Channel standard, the dual-speed (2- and 4-Gbit/s) 1733A storage-area-network (SAN) tester cuts device costs by 97% and accelerates time-to-market. It is built on the existing 1-Gbit/s 1730A and 2-Gbit/s 1730B,...

Cable-harness tester includes bar-code input.(... Test & Measurement)
June 7, 2004... * The CableEye tester now includes software compatible with bar-code scanners to document the unit under test's (UUT's) serial number, date code, lot code, operator name, test station, and other data from a bar-coded work-order sheet. Users can...

USB DAQ module offers high performance at low cost.(... Test & Measurement)
June 7, 2004... * The PMD-1608FS data-acquisition (DAQ) module provides eight simultaneously sampled 16-bit analog inputs with continuous multichannel sampling rates up to 100 ksamples/s and burst sample rates up to 200 ksamples/s. Priced at $399 in one- to...

Four-channel analog input card samples at 30 Msamples/s.(... Test & Measurement)
June 7, 2004... * The PC1-1714 four-channel analog input card performs 30 Msamples/s. It features software triggering for acquisition when needed, internal pacer triggering for continuous high-speed acquisition, and external pacer triggering for synchronous...

Digital delay generator cuts response time to 100 ms.(... Test & Measurement)
June 7, 2004... * A firmware upgrade to the Model 555 digital delay generator slashes the device's response time for signals on both GPIB and RS232 interfaces by a factor of 10 to less than 100 ms. Users now can fine-tune their delaying, gating, and triggering...

Pocket probes measure surface or immersion temperatures.(... Test & Measurement)
June 7, 2004... * The PTT pocket temperature test probes measure surface or immersion temperatures in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit. The TPP1 immersion probes and TPP2 surface-area probes measure from -50[degrees]C to 250[degrees]C (-50[degrees]F to...

2.7-GHz PXI RF generator card enhances vector signal generation.(... Test & Measurement)
June 7, 2004... * A complete platform for accelerating RF product design is now available from the 2.7-GHz PXI-5670 RF vector signal generator card. The module offers 16-bit resolution arbitrary waveforms generation at 100 Msamples/s (400 Msamples/s...

Four-channel, 24-bit audio DAC brings 118-dB dynamic range.(... Analog & Power)
June 7, 2004... * Designed for professional audio applications, the four-channel, 24-bit PCM4104 digital-to-analog converter (DAC) comes with a 118-dB dynamic range, -100-dB total harmonic distortion, and a sampling rate of up to 200 kHz. It uses delta-sigma...

Fuel-cell-powered online UPS serves mission-critical tasks.(... Analog & Power)
June 7, 2004... * The Pulsar EX RT online uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) feature an extended runtime option using Ballard Power Systems' Nexa RM fuel-cell modules. The rack systems offer power protection optimized for maximum reliability and long backup...

DIN power supplies pack punch in smaller, lighter package.(... Analog & Power)
June 7, 2004... * Significantly more power in a package that's smaller and lighter than traditional linear supplies: That's the earmark of the SDP-T series of DIN-mounted, plastic-housed, dc power supplies. With models ranging from 15 to 100 W, some members of...

Transformer-less dimming--a breakthrough for ballast ICs.(... Analog & Power)
June 7, 2004... * A phase-control loop and half-bridge driver for fluorescent lamps are included in the 600-V IR21592 and IR21593 dimming ballast ICs. Both offer a comprehensive set of protection features, including dimming ignition detection and brownout and...

100-V buck bias regulator operates at up to 90% efficiency.(... Analog & Power)
June 7, 2004... * With its integrated 100-V, 500-mA n-channel power MOSFET, the LM5008 buck bias regulator offers all of the functions needed to implement a compact, efficient bias power supply. It sports efficiencies of up to 90% and is used to step down a...

Optimal battery performance calls for different solutions in different applications: battery-based systems cover a multitude of applications ranging from cell phones to Personal Data Assistants (PDAs), games, and medical instruments. These systems require effective power management to optimize equipment size and battery lifetime.(Basics of design: battery power management)
June 7, 2004... A battery-based power management subsystem includes the battery and the voltage regulation circuit that supplies power to the system. Its important design objectives include: A Achieving performance and time-between charge goals, while...

Webcasts.
June 14, 2004... "Why factorized power architecture?" Presented by Patrizio Vinciarelli In this webcast, Vicor's President, Patrizio Vinciarelli, reviews inherent limitations of power distribution architectures, including CPA, DPA and IBA. He...

Tracking markets and skills helps map out career options.(Issue Overview)(Editorial)
June 14, 2004... Welcome to our second annual The State of the Industry issue. Business within the electronics industry is percolating at a much stronger clip compared to this time last year. But for many design engineers, job worries prevail. Even as...

The pulse of our industry.(The Big Picture)
June 14, 2004... Politics and the economy aside (an impossibility in reality), the near- and long-term future of the electronics industry looks pretty good. In general, the outlook for virtually all major industry sectors is healthy from a fiscal standpoint....

Gentlemen, start your electronically enriched automobiles.(High-Tech Vehicles)
June 14, 2004... No, you won't hear that at an Indianapolis 500 race event any time soon. But there's little doubt that electronics technology stands to permeate even further throughout all kinds of automobiles of the future, from compacts to race cars,...

Can anything be done about offshore outsourcing?(Career Paths)
June 14, 2004... OFFSHORE OUTSOURCING stirs up several important issues for engineers, the companies that hire them, and the U.S. overall. The rippling affect of offshoring initially displaces engineers in the U.S., which is foremost an economic loss. Further...

Today's home-theater systems lack only a popcorn maker.(Home Entertainment)
June 14, 2004... The pleasure of going to the movies or a concert is the sensory experience brought on by massive screens and booming sound systems. Thanks to the confluence of many technologies, you can recreate the ambience of the movie theater or concert...

Real-world robotics: an appetite for construction.(Robotics)
June 14, 2004... Fixed robots have proven themselves in industrial environments, but autonomous and semi-autonomous robots must operate in changing and often rugged climates. This requires more robust sensors and programming techniques. Environmental analysis...

Do-it-all cell phones juggle multitude of data services.(Portable Communications)
June 14, 2004... People love their portable communications devices, specifically their cell phone. Heading out the door, you pick up your wallet or purse, watch, car keys, and your cell phone. Other portable communications devices like laptops and PDAs with...

Technologies vie for a share of the expanding homeland-security budget.(Homeland Security)
June 14, 2004... Technology development and new-product cycles are always driven by the prospect of sustained or increasing demand, and homeland security is no exception. Each year since 2002, the U.S. government's budget for homeland security has escalated,...

State of mind.(Advertorial)(Advertisement)
June 14, 2004... BILL SINCLAIR PRESIDENT, ARIES ELECTRONICS, INC. FRENCHTOWN, NJ "If Moore's Law is to stay on the track we must embrace nanotechnology or molecular technology." "The web allows customers to essentially design their own...

Newark InOne's expanded GSA contract now covers 500,000 products.(Market Perspective)(Advertisement)
June 14, 2004... Leading distributor continues to offer largest electronic components selection of any GSA schedule holder. Newark InOne, the leading small-quantity distributor of electronic components and test equipment in North America, has expanded the...

Nanotechnology: still science fiction or finally scientific?(Nanotechnology)
June 14, 2004... The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), a strong supporter of nanotechnology, calls it the next industrial revolution. Most scientists and engineers view it as a vastly more powerful technology than any they've ever seen. Billions of...

To live well, follow your passion.(Career Paths)(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... "LOOK FOR THOSE CAREERS THAT EXCITE YOU. Don't look for a perceived goal like living well," says Richard Heckel, technical director for Engineering Trends, a Houghton, Mich., consulting firm that provides data on college and university...

The smart home: living with the Jetsons.(Smart-Home Technology)
June 14, 2004... "Meet George Jetson. His boy Elroy. Daughter Judy. Jane, his wife." The theme song from the 1960s cartoon classic The Jetsons brings back memories, not only of the show itself, but also of that really "way out," futuristic house they lived in....

E-commerce becomes mainstream amidst security concerns.(E-commerce Security & IP Management)
June 14, 2004... Springboarding in 1995, e-commerce's fervent escalation can be seen in its number of users it and the amounts of money they spend. Compared to overall retail spending, though, e-commerce is still nary a blip on the radar screen. But as one...

Actel's engineering recruitment faces cultural, political challenges.(Career Paths)
June 14, 2004... ACTEL CORE WANTS TO HIRE MORE ENGINEERS, but it faces two employment dilemmas: getting software people for a hardware company in Silicon Valley, and obtaining visas for foreign grads from U.S. universities. "Because silicon has been king,...

Biomedical advances upgrade health care's future to strong.(Biomedical Technology)
June 14, 2004... Microelectronics and nanoelectronics technologies, combined with advances in chemistry, molecular biology, and medicine, will revolutionize diagnostics, patient monitoring, and medical procedures. The ultimate results, of course, are longer and...

Fuel cells go back to the future--again.(Alternative Energy)
June 14, 2004... With adequate funding, alternative energy will power your laptop and car and lower your home energy bill in the next 10 years. The energy crisis of the 1970s is a fading memory for aging baby boomers who once looked forward to a future warmed...

Today's tough job market calls for versatility.(Today's Job Market)
June 14, 2004... Cross discipline and team capabilities are key to today's engineering careers. In many ways, the engineering job outlook is a matter of perception, or more specifically, a matter of how engineering is perceived by those in high school and...

The search for up to 5000 engineers.(Help wanted: U.S. engineers)
June 14, 2004... ACCORDING TO DR. MALCOLM R. O'NEILL, vice president and chief technical officer at Lockheed Martin Corp., his company plans to hire between 3000 and 5000 engineers in the coming year. That represents the 5% annual engineering turnover for its...

Researchers test brain implant for quadriplegics.(Electronics Technology At Work And At Play)
June 21, 2004... Quadriplegics may be celebrating their own independence day in the not-too-distant future. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently cleared a pilot study of the BrainGate Neural Interface System. Developed by Cyberkinetics Inc., this...

Wi-Fi tracks down lost kids at amusement parks.(Electronics Technology At Work And At Play)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... SUMMER IS HERE, and it's time to plan a vacation. But taking the kids to one of those big, crowded amusement parks can be a scary proposition. What if they wander away? How will you find them, short of alerting park security and paging the...

PlanetEE.com.(Electronics Technology At Work And At Play)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... THE GLOBAL RESOURCE FOR ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS Aimed at electronics engineers and engineering managers worldwide, PlanetEE serves as a gateway to the individual Web sites of the highly respected engineering publications and specifier's tools...