Electronic Design UPDATE: January 4, 2006

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Electronic Design UPDATE e-Newsletter
Electronic Design Magazine 
Electronic Design ==> www.electronicdesign.com
January 4, 2006
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*************************ADVERTISEMENT**************************

Design Once for Both FPGA & Structured ASIC

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Stratix II FPGAs and then seamlessly migrate to a HardCopy II 
structured ASIC without any need for redesign or additional timing 
closure efforts. Learn how Stratix II FPGAs and HardCopy II 
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http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1D048:484C79

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Today's Table Of Contents:

1. News Focus
  *Ultra-Thin Hard Drive Helps Shrink Consumer Devices
2. News From The Editors
  *LEDs Will Light Next New Year's Eve Ball
  *Enclosure Doesn't Need Customizing
  *Post Amplifiers Serve Growing PON Market
3. TechView Scope
  *Pacemaker-Like Device Treats Depression
4. Upcoming Industry Events
  *IPC Printed Circuits Expo
  *DesignCon 2006
  *PCB Design Conference West
5. Book Review
  *"The Reasoned Schemer"

Electronic Design UPDATE edited by Lisa Maliniak, eMedia Editor
mailto:[email protected]
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1. News Focus
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Ultra-Thin Hard Drive Helps Shrink Consumer Devices

Increasingly tiny mobile phones, audio players, and other consumer 
devices will benefit from a micro hard drive unveiled by Cornice 
this week at the Consumer Electronics Show. Measuring just 3.5 or 
4.75 mm thick, the Dragon Series micro hard drives store from 8 to 
10 Gbytes of data in a 1-in. form factor. The company achieved this 
size by narrowing the casing around the disk and by shrinking the 
"z" height. The Dragon Series drives are Cornice's first two-headed 
micro storage devices, and they're 40 percent smaller than the 
company's previous drives. 
   In addition to their size, the drives offer the capacity, 
durability, and low power required by portable consumer electronics. 
Current storage capacity is 8 Mbytes, with a 10-Mbyte version 
expected in the near future. Power consumption is 4.5 mW during a 
typical audio playback, which represents only 5 percent of the total 
battery consumption within a typical MP3 player system. In addition, 
the company's Crash Guard technology protects the Dragon Series 
drives, which can withstand excessive shaking, extreme drops, and 
other abuse without skipping, stopping, or crashing.
   Crash Guard consists of three features: active latch, skip 
control, and drop safe. When dropped, the most common damage to a 
hard drive occurs when the head scrapes across the surface of the 
disk. Active latch securely locks the head in place with a latch 
mechanism. Skip control lets the drives withstand harsh conditions 
while providing continuous playback without skipping or restarting. 
Drop safe allows the drive to actually sense when it's dropped. This 
means that even if the drive is in the middle of reading or writing 
data to the disk, it can immediately react and place the head safety 
under the active latch well before the unit strikes the ground.
   The Dragon Series drive is available in volume quantities this 
quarter. List price is $85 each in quantities of 10,000 per year. 
     Cornice Inc. ==> http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1D055:484C79

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*******************Live on ElecDesign.com***********************

Free eBook: Black-Box Approach To ADCs

This eBook provides a black-box approach to the traditional 
analog-to-digital coverter (ADC) tutorial. It concentrates on the 
common characteristics of all ADCs and what they imply for the 
system-level designer. The second chapter is now available. Download 
the first two chapters today!
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1D04B:484C79

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2. News -- From The Editors
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***LEDs Will Light Next New Year's Eve Ball
This past Saturday night in Times Square marked the end of an era -- 
the final New Year's Eve ball lit with traditional bulbs. After an 
almost 100-year history, the traditional light bulbs used in the 
Times Square New Year's Eve ball will be replaced in 2006 by Philips 
Electronics' environmentally friendly and more advanced LED 
technology. Philips has supplied the bulbs for the past five years, 
and it's auctioning off 90 of the bulbs used to light the famous 
ball. The date-inscribed bulbs will be up for sale on eBay, with all 
proceeds going to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. The charity 
auction ends on January 6, 2006. In addition, 10 more bulbs will be 
awarded to 10 winners of the 2006 Philips New Year's Eve 
Sweepstakes. Enter the sweepstakes at the Philips site through 
January 6, 2006.
     Philips Electronics ==> http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1D04F:484C79

***Enclosure Doesn't Need Customizing
A new type of electronics enclosure from CircuitShell does not 
require customization of any kind, eliminating the 
nonrecurring-engineering, tooling, setup, and profiling charges (and 
associated delays) of a custom enclosure. The CircuitShell enclosure 
consists of two identical rectangular covers that fasten to opposite 
sides of the pc board. Both high-impact polycarbonate covers protect 
circuits and components but leave board-mounted switches, 
connectors, and other I/O devices accessible. The enclosures are 
ready to use right out of the box. They also are reusable and 
interchangeable across a broad range of products, simplifying 
inventory management. Transparent versions are available for viewing 
board-mounted displays and indicators, and gaskets are available for 
harsher environments. A powerful general-purpose microcontroller 
board is available to demonstrate the CircuitShell concept. Pricing 
is consistent with traditional small plastic electronics enclosures. 
     CircuitShell ==> http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1D052:484C79

***Post Amplifiers Serve Growing PON Market
Micrel's newest limiting post amplifiers are 1.25- to 3.2-Gbit/s 
devices featuring high gain and high sensitivity for either signal 
or loss-of-signal indicators. Post amplifiers are optimized for 
detecting wide variations in input levels and for sensing the low 
input signal levels typically encountered in optical network and 
passive optical network (PON) applications. The ICs run off a single 
3.3-V power supply and work with Fast Ethernet, OC3 to OC48, and 
parallel 10GE data rates. They're offered in small-form-factor 
packages and suit optical modules in datacom, telecom, and PON 
systems. The SY88903ALKG, SY88149CL, SY88313BLNG, and SY88343BL ICs 
are all available now with pricing starting at $1.95 each in 
10,000-unit quantities.
     Micrel Inc. ==> http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1D057:484C79

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Give us your view and we may give you a t-shirt!

Take our short "Industry Barometer" online survey to give us your 
unique view of the electronics industry. Five minutes is all it 
takes to answer eight short questions and enter to win one of five 
stylish Electronic Design t-shirts. 

Go to http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1D04C:484C79

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3. TechView Scope 
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Pacemaker-Like Device Treats Depression

Since 1997, epileptics have been using vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) 
to reduce the frequency and duration of seizures. Recently, the Food 
and Drug Administration approved the procedure to treat chronic 
recurrent treatment-resistant depression as well. VNS Therapy 
depends on a pocketwatch-sized device implanted in the patient's 
chest that sends precisely timed and measured mild electrical pulses 
to the left vagus nerve, which then activates various areas of the 
brain.
   Developed and patented by Cyberonics, the therapy begins with the 
pulse generator. Three models are available, ranging in size from 
6.9 by 52.2 by 51.6 mm to 10.3 by 54 by 54 mm and from 25 to 38 g. 
All three come in a titanium case and operate from a lithium-carbon 
monofluoride battery. The battery offers three to eight years of 
operation depending on stimulation parameters, though the Model 101 
provides up to five to 11 years of operation. 
   Surgeons implant the generator during an outpatient procedure 
that takes just 45 minutes to an hour. Small wires run under the 
skin from the generator to the left vagus nerve in the neck. Using 
an external programming system, physicians can adjust the timing and 
amount of stimulation the patient receives. The external system 
requires a handheld computer with the Microsoft Pocket PC operating 
system, 16 Mbytes of memory, a Type 1 flash card, and serial 
communications capability. Researchers associate the therapy with 
increased alertness, reduced daytime sleepiness, improved mood, and 
improved memory. Side effects include voice alteration, tickling in 
the throat, cough, and shortness of breath, though they only occur 
only during stimulation.
   Pulses stimulate the left vagus nerve, which then activates areas 
of the brain that regulate mood and affect the production and 
activity of neurotransmitters like serotonin and 
norepinephrine. These pulses, which range from 0.25 to 3.5 mA, 
last for about 30 seconds and occur every five minutes. Once 
the doctor adjusts the pulse generator, stimulation is regular, 
automatic, and generally unnoticeable. VNS Therapy is typically 
painless, since the vagus nerve does not contain pain fibers. 
   Psychiatrists diagnose chronic recurrent treatment-resistant 
depression as a major depressive episode where the patient has not 
responded to at least four adequate antidepressant treatments over 
the course of two years. The FDA also has approved VNS Therapy for 
patients with unipolar or bipolar depression in a major depressive 
episode. Its effectiveness does not diminish over time. More than 
32,000 epilepsy and depression patients have used the therapy since 
its approval in 1997.
     Cyberonics ==> http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1D054:484C79 
		 
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4. Upcoming Industry Events
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February 5-10, IPC Printed Circuits Expo, APEX, and the Designers Summit
Anaheim, Calif.
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1D053:484C79

February 6-9, DesignCon 2006
Santa Clara, Calif.
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1D051:484C79

March 26-31, PCB Design Conference West
Santa Clara, Callif.
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1D056:484C79

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5. Book Review
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"The Reasoned Schemer"
By Daniel P. Friedman, William E. Byrd, and Oleg Kiselyov

For a small book (169 pages), "The Reasoned Schemer" will make you 
think. It's a must-read for anyone interested in relational 
programming and artificial intelligence (AI), but I think the 
mental gymnastics it generates will appeal to embedded developers 
looking for a challenge... 

Read the full book review at 
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1D049:484C79

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EiED Online -- Best Computer of 2005

Embedded in Electronic Design (EiED) Online is your source for 
technical insight and hands-on reviews. Read Technology Editor 
Bill Wong's latest EiED Online column, "Best Computer of 2005." 
Building the Best Computer of 2005 requires the best components 
and a bit more. Check out Bill's holiday project, which takes 
gaming and multimedia entertainment to the max. Find out why this 
system is twice as good as others.

http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1D04A:484C79

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TAKE A POLL!

How do you see your career path changing in 2006?

-- I'm looking for a new engineering job
-- I'd like to move into management
-- I might start my own firm or consulting business
-- No change, I love my career as is
-- I'm thinking about leaving the engineering field

Vote at Electronic Design ==> http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1D050:484C79

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CONTACTS: Electronic Design UPDATE e-NEWSLETTER
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Editorial: Mark David, Editor-in-Chief
mailto:[email protected]

Advertising/Sponsorship Opportunities: Bill Baumann, Publisher:
mailto:[email protected]
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