Electronic Engineering News, March 2013
Here are some highlights from the world of Electronic Engineering and Embedded Systems Programming, for March 2013:
Embedded System Developers Turn To Android and Linux For Operating Systems
"Between 2012 and 2013, companies began to shift more of their embedded systems over to Android, representing an increase from 13% to 16%. Likewise, Ubuntu and FreeRTOS shares also rose, from 12% to 13% each." [link]
pcDuino – 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 Dev Board with 1GB memory
"pcDuino is a high performance, cost effective mini PC platform based on ARM Cortex A8 CPU and is able to run full-featured operating systems such as Ubuntu and Android ICS. It was specifically designed to make it easy for the open source community to develop computationally demanding projects using the vast, existing catalog of Arduino Shields." [link]
Design Idea: Read 10 or more switches using only two I/O pins of a microcontroller
"This Design Idea describes a method for reading multiple pushbuttons or open/closed switches using only two digital I/O pins and a timer interrupt of the MCU. You can easily expand this circuit to many more than 10 switches, yet still use only two MCU I/O pins, by cascading multiple CD4017 counters through their carry-outs to the following enables." [link]
The world's lowest cost multicore microcontroller
"XMOS claims to have unveiled the world's lowest cost multicore microcontroller: the xCORE XS1-L4-64 integrates four 32-bit logical processor cores at a price that is comparable with competing single-core devices. The L4 breaks new ground by combining low unit cost, real-time deterministic execution, multicore performance, on-chip DSP and the industry's fastest response times." [link]
The Secrets to Becoming a Great Programmer
"These fabled wizards of industry can turn a dying program into a thriving reconfigurable and bug-free product at the drop of a hat. Design teams lucky enough to have one of these magicians on staff hardly understand the pain of delivering a product late, over budget or bug-ridden. Great Programmers: Write structured, maintainable code; Recognize and reuse design patterns; Document their code in a clear manner; Document their code in a clear manner; Are passionate about writing code; Never stop learning and sharpening their skills; Enjoy challenges; Are humble and adapt to change easily; Are humble and adapt to change easily; Ask the right questions; Are Patient." [link]
Notable Quote
"A good engineer thinks in reverse and asks himself about the stylistic consequences of the components and systems he proposes."
~ Helmut Jahn
Electronic Engineering News is a periodical roundup of news and notes from the world of Electronic Engineering and Embedded Systems Programming, featuring EE news, project references, and new product highlights.
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