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Robot me, robot you

Friday, March 5, 2010

Will your favorite TV robot soon be knocking at your door?

We all grew up watching movies and TV shows that included robots, from cartoons like the Jetsons to  dramas like Lost in Space. Robots still continue to draw awe even in the biggest blockbuster movies like Avatar. When I was six years old, I saw the first Star Wars. I came out of that movie thinking when I grew up, or at least by now, I’d have a robot to do everything from menial task like washing dishes to advising me on what to do in complex situations. Okay, maybe I was getting ahead of myself, but I was only six. . . .

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Revised IEEE standard promises to make semiconductor chip design and verification more efficient

Friday, March 5, 2010

IEEE recently announced the completion of IEEE 1800-2009, a revision to an existing IEEE standard.This new standard defines a single, comprehensive standard language that is designed to help boost the productivity of electronic system design and verification engineers and make possible broader and improved Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools to more quickly bring complex system-on-chip (SOC) devices to market.

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New Atom processors target embedded

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Intel has announced the N450 and D410 single-core and the D510 dual-core Atom processors for embedded systems. With 7-year lifecycle support to meet the needs of embedded design engineers, the Atom processor-based embedded platform is intended for small, energy-efficient designs for print imaging, security surveillance, industrial control, and many other areas.
The three processors are paired with the 82801HM I/O controller that was designed for the embedded market for a 2-chip solution that provides rich I/O capabilities including PCI Express, PCI, SATA, and USB 2.0. – Jim Harrison

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Insights from Semico Outllook 2010 meeting

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

At Tuesdays Semico’s Outlook 2010 meeting in San Jose, Walden Rhines, Chairman and CEO of Mentor Graphics, offered some food for thought I thought I would share:

1) In the 4th quarter of 2009 53 million new cell phone subscribers signed up in India.

2) Every year the chip industry ships 50% more transistors than the year before – with a 35% cost reduction every year.

3) While there is a lot of talk about fabless semiconductor companies, foundries produce only 21% of chip revenue, while integrated device manufacturers produce 55%, and the rest comes from memory manufacturers.

Jim Harrison

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Tri County Science and Technology Fair – Call for New York volunteers

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

This years Tri County Science and Technology Fair will be held in White Plains, NY on April 24, 2010 and they need volunteers, visit  http://www.discoveryctr.org/tricounty_sci_fair.htm

I have volunteered as a judge for this science fair so many times for the past 6-7 years and I have to say it is a lot of fun and very rewarding.  See my past write-up on my experience: http://www.eebeat.com/?p=577

Hope to see you there. CN

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Environmental monitoring satellite to go up March 2

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Slated to launch next Tuesday, March 2nd, between 6:19 and 7:19 a.m., GOES-P is the last of the current series of satellites that are part of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Program, a joint effort of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). GOES-P is one of the newest generation of environmental satellites built by Boeing that provide the familiar weather pictures seen on U. S. television newscasts every day. No more GOES satellites are scheduled for launch until 2015. (Continued)

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How Has USA.gov Made Your Life Easier? $2500 Cash Prize Offered for Most Creative or Inspiring Video

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Responding to President Obama’s goal for a more citizen-centered government that is transparent, participatory, and collaborative, USA.gov , the citizen’s portal to the government, is giving the public a chance to show how the award-winning Web site has made their lives easier and win some money in the process.

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