Choosing the Right Connector

English: Standard 24-pin ATX power connector
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By David Cianciolo – When it comes to reliable system operation, choosing the right connector is key.

The right connector can make your system smaller, lighter, and easier for the user to handle. It’s not a place to take shortcuts, as the right connector system can help avoid the high price of recalls, repairs, and lost customers. Conducting adequate research on the connectors and cables must be done at the beginning of a systems design process to produce the optimal design. Follow these 10 steps to research the ideal connector early in the design phase and you can positively impact the design, usability, and cost structure of your entire device. more> http://tinyurl.com/b954x5h

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The Growing Integration Challenge

IP Quality and IP Reuse (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Ed Sperling – As the number of processors and the amount of memory and IP on a chip continues to skyrocket, so does the challenge for integrating all of this stuff on a single die—or even multiple dies in the same package.

There are a number of reasons why it’s getting more difficult to make all of these IP blocks work together. First of all, nothing ever stands still in design. As a result, what works once doesn’t necessarily work the next time. There are too many components to effectively control in an SoC ecosystem.

The rule of thumb in the IP world is that if you’ve used it before, it should work. But that’s not necessarily true. more> http://tinyurl.com/alt24jo

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BitForce Single ‘SC’ 40 GH/s

Butterfly Labs – Plug in the USB cable to a host computer and run the supplied software. Additional BitForce singles can be added to the chain via a USB hub for linear performance multiplication with no overhead cost. Each additional unit is auto-configured and folded into the workforce without any user intervention required.

Beyond the Mouse

SLIDE SHOW (8)

By Beth Stackpole – Are you a CAD or 3D design tool user feeling stuck in a rut? Do you think your creativity is being stifled by the limitations of your mouse? Don’t sweat it. There has been a burst of new, innovative technology advances that promise to change how engineers interact with their longstanding 3D design tools.

It’s not just 3D mice, though there have been some interesting developments on that front. Taking a page from smartphones and tablets, manufacturers are melding gesture-like capabilities into all sorts of input devices. more> http://tinyurl.com/8apw9k9

The IBM PS/2: 25 Years of PC History

By Benj Edwards – By the time of the PS/2′s launch in 1987, IBM PC clones–unauthorized work-alike machines that could utilize IBM PC hardware and software–had eaten away a sizable portion of IBM’s own PC platform. Compare the numbers: In 1983, IBM controlled roughly 76 percent of the PC-compatible market, but in 1986 its share slipped to 26 percent.

By 1990, it was abundantly clear that IBM no longer guided the PC-compatible market. And in 1994, Compaq replaced IBM as the number one PC vendor in the United States. more> http://tinyurl.com/7z6k6hn

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