EDN articles from November 2004

EDN archives from November 2004

Reference design delivers low-cost Bluetooth access point.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... CAMBRIDGE CONSULTANTS has unveiled a reference design for a Bluetooth cordless-telephony access point with a bill of materials of less than $15. The design allows users to employ mobile handsets with Bluetooth as three-way devices. They can...

Keep cool by conforming.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... IT'S VITAL TO MAINTAIN tight thermal coupling between an IC and its heat sink, and a new group of thermal pads from Bergquist offers conductance along with conformability; you can even use these pads so a single sink can bridge several ICs. The...

6U-high FPGA-based analyzers reduce 2G-sample/sec data as fast as it arrives.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)
November 11, 2004... SAYS PHIL GREGOR, product manager at Acqiris, which manufactures modular, high-speed data-conversion instruments, "Acquiring long records of wide-bandwidth analog signals at rates as high as 2G samples/sec is only part of the problem that many...

Dilbert.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)
November 11, 2004... I'LL DESIGN THE SYSTEM AS SOON AS YOU GIVE ME THE USER REQUIREMENTS. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BETTER YET, YOU COULD BUILD THE SYSTEM, THEN I'LL TELL YOUR BOSS THAT IT DOESN'T MEET MY NEEDS. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I DON'T MEAN...

Tool combines coverage-driven, assertion-based verification.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... MENTOR GRAPHICS has released a version of ModelSim that integrates the technology the company recently acquired with the purchase of 0-In Design Automation. ModelSim 6.0 offers standards-based support for assertion-based and coverage-driven...

Graphite spreader diffuses thermal woes.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... A DESIGNER'S CHALLENGE is not only to remove heat from the component that is dissipating it, but also to get that heat to where he wants it to go. The conventional approach is to employ a copper or an aluminum heat spreader, often coupling it...

Acceleration/emulation products get faster, add capacity.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... THE PALLADIUM II addition to Cadence's Incisive functional-verification platform is the next generation of the company's massively parallel engines. It uses high-speed on-chip memory, high-bandwidth interconnect, and multichip-packaging...

Programmable logic aims for automotive apps, proliferates low-price spins.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... AUTOMOTIVE-ELECTRONICS applications are now sufficiently alluring, according to Xilinx, to justify dedicated-testing device variants, and the XA product spins are the result. Both Q-grade options, which operate at -40 to + 125[degrees]C, and...

RF designers get microwave support.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Applied Wave Research's Microwave Office 2004 design suite for RF- and microwave-design engineers integrates 5-D planar electromagnetic simulation with circuit-simulation and -layout tools. The EM simulator, which uses a full-wave...

PC/104 cards target analog applications.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... OCTAGON SYSTEMS has recently expanded its PC/104 line with four analog cards for industry, transportation, commercial-off-the-shelf-military, and medical applications. The cards include analog-I/O, digital-I/O, and timing functions. One of the...

Chip sets revisit AMD prospects.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(Advanced Micro Devices Inc.)
November 11, 2004... THE LAST TIME THAT ATI Technologies rolled out AMD-targeted core-logic chip sets, AMD was a far less formidable presence in the x86 microprocessor market than it is today (see "Embedded graphics goes with the trends," EDN, April 4, 2002, pg...

Protocol modules simplify embedded networking.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... ELIMINATING ONE of the most complex portions of a networked design, FieldServer Technologies recently announced a quick and easy method of adding serial and Ethernet protocols to embedded controllers. The company's family of ProtoCessor modules...

In memory of Bill Travis.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(Obituary)
November 11, 2004... We are sad to announce the death of Bill Travis, a long-time technical editor at EDN, an industry veteran, and our Design Ideas guru. He had a strong sense of good writing and proper English, and he was an expert at detecting and denouncing...

Microcontroller targets portable-system applications.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(ML69Q6200/500)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... OKI SEMICONDUCTOR'S ML69Q6200/500 microcontroller series integrates a 32-bit ARM946E core with a high-speed USB2.0-device controller with an on-chip MAC (media-access-controller)/PHY (physical layer); an Ultra-DMA66 ATA interface; and flash,...

Star topology.(signal integrity)(computer architectures)
November 11, 2004... A STAR TOPOLOGY CONNECTS N devices in a completely symmetrical, peer-to-peer fashion. Each device in the star connects to a central node where all the wires directly join together. The star topology looks like a great way to interconnect a...

The standards process deserves a non-standard global perspective.(edn.comment)
November 11, 2004... THE HIGH-GROWTH SEGMENTS of our industry have as a common attribute a reliance on standards-based information storage, processing, and communications methods. It is, therefore, troubling to observe that, in increasingly numerous examples, the...

The American Heritage Dictionary defines global as "... involving the entire earth; worldwide.".(edn.comment)(Editorial)
November 11, 2004... The definition conjures up many notions: size, universality, and the absence of boundaries and free trade among them. The realities of a global electronics industry and by extension a global publication are as complex as they are contradictory....

USB microcontrollers.(New Products for Embedded Design)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
November 11, 2004... The PIC18F2455/2550/4455/4550 are full speed USB 2.0 PIG[R] microcontrollers capable of operating at 48 MHz, delivering 12 MIPS performance. * FS-USB transceiver and interface * Extensive USB class library for ease of migration from...

LCD microcontrollers.(New Products for Embedded Design)(Liquid crystal displays)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
November 11, 2004... The PIC18F6390/6490/8390/8490 devices meet the advanced display requirements of the segment and touchscreen LCD markets. The integrated LCD driver module is capable of driving 128 to 192 LCD segments in 64- and 80-pin packages. The...

CAN microcontrollers.(New Products for Embedded Design)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
November 11, 2004... The new 28- and 40/44-pin PIC18F2585/2680/4585/4680 microcontrollers offer an onboard ECAN[TM] module, up to 64 Kbytes of Enhanced Flash memory that can be programmed remotely and integrated nanoWatt Technology low-power modes. * ECAN...

6-pin microcontrollers with stable internal oscillator.(New Products for Embedded Design)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
November 11, 2004... The world's smallest microcontrollers, 6-pin PIC10F products, feature the world's most stable internal oscillator. * 25 mA Sink Source Current I/O drive capability * Up to 512 instructions, 24 bytes RAM * 6-pin package ...

64/80-pin flash microcontrollers.(New Products for Embedded Design)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
November 11, 2004... The PIC18F6310/6410/8310/8410 microcontrollers target cost-constrained applications requiring additional I/O, balanced with a requirement to consume less power, over a broad range of applications such as industrial, computing,...

PIC18F demo board.(New Products for Embedded Design)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The 64-/80-pin TQFP Demonstration Board (DM183020) allows you to evaluate the performance of Microchip's high-end PIC18 Flash microcontroller architecture. This low-cost tool is the ideal complement to our popular MPLAB[R] ICD 2 In-Circuit...

30 MIPS digital signal controller in a 6x6 mm package.(New Products for Embedded Design)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
November 11, 2004... The 16-bit dsPIC30F2010 dsPIC[R] digital signal controller offers an industry-leading combination of 30 MIPS performance in a small 6X6 mm QFN package. With its microcontroller and DSP capabilities, this small device can be used to add...

Power supply PWM controller.(New Products for Embedded Design)(MCP1630)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... When used with a microcontroller, the MCP1630 controls the power system duty cycle to provide output voltage or current regulation. The MCP1630 inputs attach to the I/O of a microcontroller, which supplies the reference and oscillator to the...

Fully integrated linear battery chargers.(New Products for Embedded Design)(MCP7386X)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The MCP7386X family offers industry-leading voltage regulation accuracy (0.5%) and combines high-accuracy constant-voltage/ constant-current regulation, cell preconditioning, cell-temperature monitoring, and other key features in space saving...

Glow in the dark.(tech toys)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... See the power: Flick the switch on the FLT-5001 and the flashlight's three 1W LEDs emit 1800 footcandles of white light. Each LED has a 10-year life and includes its own collimator to deliver a more focused beam. The torch operates for nearly...

That secure feeling.(tech toys)(ThinkPad T42)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Biometrics comes to the notebook PC. IBM's ThinkPad T42 includes a fingerprint reader, which is located on the wrist rest below the arrow keys. Just run a finger across a sensor to log on and access applications, Web sites, and databases. The...

Precision timing.(tech toys)(Casio)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... A line of Casio solar-powered, atomic-timekeeping watches tunes in multiple times during the day to the official time transmitter in Fort Collins, CO. The solar-panel dials feature digital readouts for battery levels/date, atomic-timekeeping...

The password is ...(tech toys)(MetaPass Inc)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Logging in bogging you down? The MetaPass MS00 Digital Key remembers passwords, automatically and securely admitting users to Web sites, applications, and terminals. The plug-and-play device requires no software. Plug it into a USB port and...

Full-featured MP3 player.(tech toys)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... For reasonable money and in a package not much bigger than a pack of gum, the SA520 digital-audio player transfers songs from tapes, CDs, and even the radio into MP3 files. The device offers 256 Mbytes of built-in memory, USB 2.0 compatibility,...

Play it here; watch it there.(tech toys)(PureAV RemoteTV)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Belkin's PureAV RemoteTV is a wireless-audio and -video sender that lets users play video and music in one room and watch or listen to it in another. The device employs Magis Networks' Air5 technology, which reduces interference and provides 40...

Charge!(tech toys)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... A cell phone can be a lifesaver in an emergency, but only if it has sufficient juice. Never worry again about having a dead phone with the Sidewinder charger. It needs no battery; just crank the handle for two minutes to give a phone six...

Make room for media.(tech toys)(WMG80 Wireless Media Gateway)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The WMG80 Wireless Media Gateway from ViewSonic has room for 80 Gbytes of digital media. When users combine it with a wireless media adapter, they can view that content from any room in their house. The device is easy to connect and set up and...

Hollywood at home.(tech toys)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... LSI Logic's Dimension 8602 DVD-recorder-system processor powers GoVideo's VR2940 DVD recorder plus VCR. The device automatically turns home movies into Hollywood-style DVDs--complete with onscreen menus, chapters with picture thumbnails, music...

Multimedia on the move.(tech toys)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... For road warriors looking to develop impressive presentations or relax with a little entertainment, the Satellite M35X series of notebook PCs from Toshiba offers a rich multimedia experience in convenient packaging. Starting at $1299, devices...

Let me entertain you.(tech toys)(Gmini400)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The Archos Gmini400 is no mere portable music player. In addition to letting users record and listen to 300 hours of music, this 4.2 x 2.4 x 0.7-in. device stores and plays back movies and video on its 2.2-in. color LCD screen. Users can play...

Shred this.(tech toys)(DVD/CD Shredder Plus)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Want to make sure that valuable data doesn't fall into unscrupulous hands? Use the DVD/CD Shredder Plus to destroy unneeded DVDs, CDs, floppies, and credit cards. The device cuts the media into small, unreadable strips using carbon-steel blades...

Ringleaders.(tech toys)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Atrio of cell phones offers features to please everyone. The $349.99 Samsung SCH-A790 integrates both CDMA and GSM modems on a single chip, so travelers can dial home whether they're cruising Route 66 or the Autobahn. It also includes a VGA...

Framed.(tech toys)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Slated for introduction this month, the Epson L-500V captures three high-resolution frames/sec in continuous-shooting mode. View those or other pictures taken in manual mode on the 2.5-in. LCD and then choose one of 100 frames--be it birthday-,...

In the palm of your hand.(tech toys)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... For portable-storage needs, check out the three new versions the FireLite hard-drive line. Weighing in at about 6 oz each, the devices come in magnesium casings and deliver capacities of 40, 60, 80, and 100 Gbytes. They need no driver...

Do it yourself.(tech toys)(DVDirect burner)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... With the DVDirect burner, users can transfer videos directly from a camcorder to a DVD. It records on standard 4.7G-byte or double-layer 8.5G-byte discs for 12 hours of video on one disc. When attached to a PC with a USB 2.0 connection, the...

Car tunes.(tech toys)(interface adapter)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The Alpine interface adapter for iPod (KCA-420i) uses any of Alpine's 2004 Ai-Net in-dash head units to let users control and enjoy their iPod or iPod mini library from their car stereos. Users can view song information on the display and use...

Music and movies to go.(tech toys)(IMP 1100)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Watch a movie, listen to music, or share photos with the iRiver IMP 1100 portable entertainment center. Featuring Digital Media DSPs from Texas Instruments, the IMP is the first audio/video CD player. The player delivers six hours of video on...

Longer battery life through integrated power management.(Next generation: wireless architecture)
November 11, 2004... A Special Series Sponsored By Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. WITH EACH NEW GENERATION of portable devices, consumers expect to be able to go longer between charging sessions. However, growing demand for new features such as enhanced...

Accelerate your performance.(hands-on project)(hardware acceleration)(Cover Story)
November 11, 2004... The options and development tools available to designers for implementing custom hardware acceleration are evolving. Custom hardware acceleration is an increasingly viable method for implementing parallel processing that balances performance,...

Power and wireless options extend Ethernet's reach: Ethernet's power-delivery and wireless abilities offer new application potential that hugely extends the reach of the IEEE's 802.X series of standards.(design feature)
November 11, 2004... PART ONE OF THIS TWO-PART SERIES examined wired Ethernet's migration from 10-Mbps to 10-Gbps technologies (EDN, October 14, 2004, pg 63). Part Two wraps up our review of wired Ethernet. Continuous development over more than 20 years enables...

Getting the most from Class D multichannel audio amplifiers: top-rate performance means understanding clocking, power supplies, and transistor-switching characteristics.(design feature)
November 11, 2004... CLASS D AMPLIFIERS have evolved to the point at which they are a viable alternative in most audio applications. However, because their principles of operation differ from those for linear amplifiers, it's worth examining a new set of factors to...

Proper pc-board layout improves dynamic range: modern IC amplifiers, with ultralow harmonic distortion, can improve dynamic range in a variety of applications. However, placing these amplifiers on a pc-board requires special attention, because poor pc-board layout can degrade distortion by as much as 20 db.(design feature)
November 11, 2004... TYPICAL HIGH-SPEED-AMPLIFIER Configurations include two sets of bypass capacitors (Figure 1). One set of capacitors is large (approximately 1 to 10/[micro]F), and the other pair is smaller by a few orders of magnitude (1 to 100 nF). These...

Fully autonomous IEEE 802.3af Power over Ethernet midspan PSE requires no microcontroller--design note 350.(Design Notes)(power sourcing equipment)
November 11, 2004... Introduction The IEEE802[R].3af Power over Ethernet (PoE) standard defines how power will be delivered over CAT5 lines. Despite the differences between legacy devices and those that adhere to the new standard, there is no need to...

Digitally control room light intensity.(design ideas)
November 11, 2004... MANY PEOPLE FAVOR different light and temperature settings for different rooms depending upon their mood or whether they are working or relaxing. The circuit in Figure 1 controls the intensity of the artificial light in a room and monitors the...

Circuit tests [V.sub.COM] drivers.(design ideas)
November 11, 2004... FLAT-PANEL LCD monitors offer excellent image quality and more compact form factor than CRTs--hence, their steadily increasing popularity. Unfortunately, the complexity of their manufacturing process makes LCD monitors considerably more...

Use two picogate devices for bidirectional level-shifting.(design ideas)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... IN NEW MIXED-VOLTAGE systems, it is often necessary to level-shift a control signal from a high level to a low level. An open-drain device, such as the 74LVC1G07, easily performs this shift. However, when a bidirectional signal requires...

Simple nanosecond-width pulse generator provides high performance.(design ideas)
November 11, 2004... If you need to produce extremely fast pulses in response to an input and trigger, such as for sampling applications, the predictably programmable short-time-interval generator has broad uses. The circuit of Figure 1, built around a quad...

Accurately measure resistance with less-than-perfect components.(design ideas)
November 11, 2004... FOR TRANSDUCERS, such as strain gauges or thermistors, you must accurately and inexpensively measure resistance using circuitry built with imperfect components and in which gain and offset errors can significantly limit the accuracy of ohmic...

Integrated connector module complies with IEEE 802.3i/u/ab and ANSI X3.263 standards.(connectors)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The JC0-0019 RJ45 2X1 and stacked RJ45/USB ICM (integrated connector module) supports a LAN interface suitable for 10/100/1000BaseTX applications, such as LANs on motherboards and desktop and embedded PCs. The RJ45 connection meets the...

Circular connector available in 37- and 51-way styles.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Targeting automotive, transportation, and industrial-environment applications, including those subject to high shock and vibration, the new higher pin-count versions in the APD series of circular DIN72585 connectors reduce the number of...

Precision connector suits applications to 40 GHz.(connectors)(RF29M-SR1 50[OMEGA])(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The RF29M-SR1 50[OMEGA], 2.92-mm precision connector works at frequencies to 46 GHz and features a gold-plated body and pin with a molded dielectric bead and a stainless-steel coupling nut. The connector targets 0.085-in., semirigid, and...

High-density MT cable assemblies enable configurations up to 72 fibers.(connectors)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The $600 high-density MT Cable Assemblies, the latest addition to Molex's optical-cable-assembly product family, are well suited for use with parallel optic-transceiver interconnections, such as the Xanoptix XTM series of multifiber...

Differential right-angle copper connector suits high-speed coplanar- and perpendicular-system expansion.(connectors)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The microGiGaCN series high-speed differential signal, right-angle SMT plug connector now accommodates coplanar and perpendicular board-to-board connections. Tested at speeds of 622 Mbytes to 10 Gbytes per channel over standard FR-4 material,...

SC connectors optimized for 1.6- to 2-mm cable.(connectors)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... These single-mode SC connectors optimize performance on 1.6- to 2-mm cable. The 1.6-mm SC jumpers have been tested to Telcordia GR-326, Issue 3. They incorporate a six-position tuning feature that optimizes fiber alignment. Tyco Electronics,...

Multimedia processor allows audio- and video-data recording directly to in-product hard disk.(Integrated Circuits)(OXAV940)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The OXAV940 multimedia processor offers nonlinear editing facilities and provides ultrafast upload and download via integral FireWire 800 and USB2.0 interfaces. It achieves a processing capacity equivalent to more than 24 billion instructions...

2M-pixel CCD-camera module suits high-end mobile phones with cameras.(Integrated Circuits)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... This 2M-pixel CCD-camera module features an optical-inner-zoom function that users can easily switch between normal and 2x zoom. It also includes an autofocus function and a FIT (frame-interline-transfer) CCD and high-performance lens that...

New addition to EPIC form factor is compact.(Embedded Systems)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The Gecko targets OEM applications for medical, homeland-security, semiconductor, and industrial-control industries. It features as much as 512 Mbytes of RAM; AGP video with flat-panel support; analog and digital I/O; an IDE interface; a...

Audio DSP occupies a small footprint.(Embedded Systems)(Freescale Semiconductor)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The DSP56374 offers sound equalization and audio delays to provide "smart" audio in cars. It features a 150-MIPS, 150-MHz clock frequency, an Onyx core, 18k x 24-bit RAM, 28k x 24-bit ROM, a six-channel DMA controller, dual enhanced...

GPRS/GSM application kit lets machines notify users when they need service.(Embedded Systems)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The GPRS/GSM application kit lets you develop applications that combine a Rabbit-based control device with a GSM/GPRS modem. It includes Dynamic C with a TCP/IP stack, quad-band wireless modem, and all supporting embedded-system hardware. $649...

CompactPCI card targets workstation/server applications.(Embedded Systems)(CSATA 31244)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The CSATA 31244 controller card features four channels of front-panel-accessible Serial ATA with a maximum transfer rate of 1.5 Gbps; Intel's 31244 controller; and a 66-MHz, 64-bit PCI interface. The card finds use in external storage, NAS, and...

Thermal printer with Bluetooth, IrDA, and serial interfaces available with development and production kit.(Embedded Systems)(Able Systems Ltd.)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The AP1300 thermal-printer range offers options of RS-232, IrDA, and Bluetooth interfaces. Its typical applications include mobile ticketing and recording, PDA printing, utility billing, in-vehicle reception, test-and-measurement equipment, and...

Flash microcontrollers come in 28- and 40/44-pin packages.(Microprocessors)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Featuring 16 or 32 kbytes of flash program memory, as much as 1.5 kbytes of RAM, and nanowatt-technology low-power modes, PIC18F microcontrollers incorporate a 32-kHz to 32-MHz software-configurable internal oscillator and a fail-safe clock...

Processor extends product family.(Microprocessors)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Based on x86 architecture and an AMD Athlon core, the NX1250 at 6W processor is the newest addition to the AMD Geode NX family of processors. It features 128/256-kbyte L1/L2 cache, 266-MHz front-side bus, floating-point logic, AMD PowerNow!...

Low-power, high-speed, 8-bit microcontrollers operate at as low as 1.8V.(Microprocessors)([F.sup.2]MC-8FX)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The [F.sup.2]MC-8FX series features dual-operation flash memory and can perform write operations while programs execute on the other memory bank. Its uses only 1.0 [micro]A in the real-time-clock mode. The initial [F.sup.2]MC-8FX...

Tool version adds system-level-design features.(Microprocessors)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Version 6.3i of the Platform Studio supports MicroBlaze, immersed PowerPC cores, and Virtex and Spartan-3 Series platform FPGAs and enables system-level design for the Virtex-4 LX, SX, and FX device families. It comes with a processing-IP...

Five new low-power AVR flash microcontrollers operate at as low as 1.8V.(Microprocessors)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... The Mega 165, Mega 325, and Mega 645 are housed in a 64-pin TQFP and have 16, 32, and 64 kbytes of self-programmable flash memory. The Mega 3250 and Mega 6450 are 32- and 64-Kbyte function compatible alternatives in a 100-pin package. They...

Preface.(Global Report)(Editorial)
November 11, 2004... Welcome to the first EDN Global Report. Although we produce separate editions of EDN for North America, Europe, Japan, China, Asia, and Australia on an ongoing basis, we've never before created a single issue that contains contributions...

Convergence missed.(Editorial)(New Trends: digital-media devices)(Editorial)
November 11, 2004... AS WE DEVELOPED PLANS for this first global collaborative project, we knew that connected digital-media devices would be the thread connecting all of the content. Indeed, for years, we've recognized the opportunity arising from the trend...

Standard procedures: the development of standards is vital to the industry yet fraught with compromise and conflict. And now it's a global issue.(Standards)
November 11, 2004... IMAGINE A WORLD in which your TV receives one network but not another, or your mobile phone works only in your home city. Without industry standards to define how networks broadcast TV signals, for instance, you could be at the mercy of a...

HD stalled: coalitions and countries duel over high-definition DVD.(Standards)(HIGH-DEFINITION)
November 11, 2004... HD (HIGH-DEFINITION) VIDEO IS STALLED AGAIN. That refrain is familiar to those of us who have waited the better part of a decade to get our HDTV. But this time, high-definition is DVD stuck in the standards conundrum. The situation perfectly...

3G's third player: the Chinese alternative to 3G technologies, TD-SCDMA, faces an uncertain future.(Standards)(time-division synchronous code-division multiple access)
November 11, 2004... THE CATT (China Academy of Telecommunications Technology) in 1998 presented TD-SCDMA (time-division synchronous code-division multiple access) to the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) as a third option for 3G mobile standards. Since...

Korea seeks 3G balance: a report from ground zero in the competition between CDMA 2000 and WCDMA.(Standards)(code-division multiple-access and wideband-CDMA)
November 11, 2004... ALONG WITH JAPAN, South Korea is on the cutting edge among nations when it comes to adoption of 3G cellular technology. However, the convoluted history of 3G in Korea demonstrates how standards selections can result in unintended consequences....

Unintended benefits: what drives cell-phone definition and design, and why does it matter to designers of other products?(Mobile)
November 11, 2004... NAME A PRODUCT that's designed to global standards and has a leading-edge processor, a state-of-the-art power system, an ultracompact mechanical design, and an extensible operating system and feature set. There may be others, but the cellular...

Phone design hinges on serial links: the demand for small phones with big display performance is driving a move toward new serial interfaces.(Mobile)
November 11, 2004... WITH MOST CELLULAR PHONES based on a clamshell design, the LCD panel and camera module reside in the upper chassis, and the lower chassis contains the processors. The wires connecting the two chassis run through the hinge that mechanically...

Feature packed: a guided tour of Japan's cell-phone trends.(Mobile)
November 11, 2004... THE NUMBER OF CELLULAR PHONES SHIPPED in Japan soared 27% year to year in 2003 to 52.2 million units, according to the JEITA (Japan Electronics and Information Technology Association). As of March 31, 2004, the accumulated number of...

Global brands go mobile: think mobile content is just for geeks? Mickey Mouse begs to differ.(Mobile)
November 11, 2004... MANY PEOPLE HEAR the words "mobile content" and instantly think of young male "garner" types. Although that segment represents early adopters, Disney has found that mobile content presents a strong business opportunity in more mainstream...

Adaptive engineering: designing products in the global era.(The Design Landscape)
November 11, 2004... EVERYTHING CHANGES. Everything stays the same. To succeed in the design-engineering profession today, you need to both understand and act on apparently conflicting trends. Time-to-market is as important as ever. But design teams face a...