Electronic Design UPDATE: October 19, 2005

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Electronic Design UPDATE e-Newsletter
Electronic Design Magazine
Electronic Design ==> www.electronicdesign.com
October 19, 2005
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http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C55:484C79 

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Today's Table Of Contents:
1. Editor's View
  *Technology's Higher Purpose Is Education
2. Focus On Embedded
  *Green Hills And I-Logix Unify UML And IDE
3. News From The Editors
  *U.S. Senate Pressed To Add 60,000 H-1B Visas
  *Free Service Checks BOM For RoHS Compliance
  *Chips Move Time, Synchronization Data Over Packet Networks
4. Magazine Highlights: October 13, 2005
  *Cover Story: Engineering Feature -- Weapons Of Mass Protection
  *Technology Report -- Packaging Rides The Z Axis Into The Third 
   Dimension
  *Leapfrog: First Look -- Magnetoresistive RAM And Rad-Hard MCU Go 
   To The Extreme
  *Leapfrog: First Look -- 10GbE MAC Streamlines Multiprotocol 
   Traffic
  *Design View/Design Solution -- Carefully Weigh The Tradeoffs Of 
   Cell-Based Vs. Structured ASICs

Electronic Design UPDATE edited by Lisa Maliniak, eMedia Editor
mailto:[email protected]

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http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C59:484C79 
 
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1. Editor's View -- Exclusive to Electronic Design UPDATE
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Technology's Higher Purpose Is Education

By Lisa Maliniak, E-Media Editor

Every year, my daughter's school has a drive to collect gently used 
books for a neighboring low-income school district. Many of these 
children, we are told, do not have a single book to call their own. 
But even worse is that many children worldwide do not receive any 
education at all.
   Education is key to eradicating hunger, disease, and poverty in 
developing nations by improving agricultural productivity, health 
care, and business opportunities. It's also key to stabilizing 
the political and social structures of regions that find 
themselves in constant flux. Yet as of 2000, roughly 25% of the 
young-adult and adult populations of such nations were illiterate 
and without schooling. If allowed to persist, such conditions can 
only lead to further destabilization and to a wider gap between 
the haves and the have-nots, leaving entire societies without the 
means with which to dig themselves out of poverty.
   But technology can be a great facilitator of education, a great 
equalizer, and a great agent for empowerment. The United Nations' 
Millennium Development Goals initiative has a number of 
potentially far-reaching objectives. One of these is to ensure 
that children everywhere will have access to a full course of 
primary schooling by 2015. Such a goal is virtually unachievable 
without broad application of advanced technology. But the good 
news is that some large technology providers are already on board 
to help...

Read the full article at 
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C4F:484C79

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http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C4A:484C79

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2. Focus On Embedded
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***Green Hills And I-Logix Unify UML And IDE
Green Hills and I-Logix have combined their expertise to integrate 
Green Hills' Multi integrated development environment (IDE) with 
I-Logix's Rhapsody, an Object Management Group (OMG) unified 
modeling language (UML). This is more than just combining the two 
environments into a single package, though. It actually provides a 
two-way link between UML models and the C/C++ source code, as well 
as a link between the UML and Green Hills' Multi debugger. Any 
change made in the Multi C/C++ or Ada editor is reflected in the UML 
model, and vice versa. Integration extends throughout the 
development process. Rhapsody test vectors can be executed on the 
target hardware or in the Multi simulator. The combination can 
target Green Hills real-time operating systems and kernels, 
including Integrity and velOSity. This level of integration is a 
boon to embedded developers who use a development tool like Multi. 
Now, they can take advantage of model-driven development with 
Rhapsody while still retaining the low-level, hands-on feedback of 
Multi. The integrated version will be available from Green Hills.
     Green Hills Software ==> http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C5D:484C79
     I-Logix ==> http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C5C:484C79

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3. News -- From The Editors
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***U.S. Senate Pressed To Add 60,000 H-1B Visas
The on-again, off-again H-1B visa battle is on again. Corporations, 
trade associations, universities, and others are besieging the U.S. 
Senate to increase the number of H-1B visa available by 60,000 per 
year for at least the next five years...
     Read the full article at 
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C52:484C79

***Free Service Checks BOM For RoHS Compliance
Newark InOne has launched a free bill of materials (BOM) update 
service to help component buyers comply with Restrictions on 
Hazardous Substances (RoHS) legislation. BOMs are submitted through 
the BOM Upload feature on the company's homepage. An Excel 
spreadsheet or the sample template may be used, and the manufacturer 
or Newark InOne part number must be included for each part. Upon 
receipt, a member of the company's "Green Team" reviews and 
qualifies the BOM for service. This member also sets an update 
schedule with the customer. Updates are important because new 
RoHS-compliant parts are continually being added in the marketplace 
as the legislation's July 1, 2006 deadline approaches. After the BOM 
is "scrubbed" against a database of 4 million products, a generated 
quote indicates whether the part is RoHS compliant, whether the 
manufacturer part number is changing, and the number of substitutes 
available. Typically, the BOM is returned to the customer within two 
business days.
     Newark InOne ==> http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C5B:484C79

***Chips Move Time, Synchronization Data Over Packet Networks
Wide-area network and metro-area network carriers face a critical 
issue as they roll out their packet-based systems. Even "best 
effort" services cannot meet the timing requirements of video, 
gaming, Voice over Internet Protocol, and other services. Typically, 
expensive GPS receivers and T1/E1 connections step in to achieve the 
accurate synchronization for quality of service in packet systems. 
Or, designers can look to Zarlink Semiconductor's ZL30301 and 
ZL30302 Timing over Packet (ToP) chips...
     Read the full article at 
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C4B:484C79

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http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C57:484C79

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4. Magazine Highlights
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In case you missed them, here are some of the high points of our 
most recent issue.

October 13, 2005:

* Cover Story: Engineering Feature -- Weapons Of Mass Protection
Homeland security looks to technology companies for innovative ways 
to combat potential terrorist strikes. 
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C4C:484C79

* Technology Report -- Packaging Rides The Z Axis Into The Third 
Dimension
Demands for lower-cost, higher-density, and smaller-footprint ICs 
aimed at portable electronics make 3D-packaging designers sweat.
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C4D:484C79

* Leapfrog: First Look -- Magnetoresistive RAM And Rad-Hard MCU Go 
To The Extreme
This outer-space-capable RAM/MCU combo handles radiation levels of 
the highest degree.
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C4E:484C79

* Leapfrog: First Look -- 10GbE MAC Streamlines Multiprotocol 
Traffic
By combining key building blocks, this media access controller 
simplifies 10-Gbit line-card designs.
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C53:484C79

* Design View/Design Solution -- Carefully Weigh The Tradeoffs Of 
Cell-Based Vs. Structured ASICs
When all is said and done, the structured ASIC's shorter development 
cycle may well be the deciding factor for your design team. 
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C51:484C79

For the complete Table of Contents, go to Electronic Design ==>
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C54:484C79

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Free Web Seminar: Advanced Verification For FPGA-Based Designs 

Wednesday, November 2, 2005
2:00 pm EST

Today's FPGAs require hundreds of probes and weeks of work to debug 
in the lab. Often, that's still not enough. Join Electronic Design 
and Mentor Graphics for this free webcast as you learn how to create 
designs for advanced verification. Learn how to use assertions to 
view your design from the inside out and go places where probes 
could never go. Learn how transactors, constrained random testing, 
and coverage statements can increase verification confidence while 
reducing verification time. 
  
Register today: 
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C49:484C79 

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Free Web Seminar: TCAD Technology

Tuesday, November 8, 2005
2:00 pm EST

Through the use of TCAD simulation software and services, 
semiconductor companies can reduce product development cost and 
enhance process and device performance even before silicon is 
available. Join Electronic Design EDA Editor David Maliniak for a 
look at Synopsys' Sentaurus TCAD process and device simulation 
software during this live Web seminar.  If you can't make it, don't 
worry. We'll have an archive live the next day. So register now! 

http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C48:484C79 

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EiED Online -- Packing The PowerPC

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, "Packing The PowerPC." PowerPC 
microcontrollers deliver high performance but draw little power, 
making them ideal for embedded applications. Bill checks out AMCC's 
EP440C development kit, which encompasses a variety of different 
tools.
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C50:484C79

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TAKE A POLL!

Would you invest in a hybrid vehicle?

-- Yes, they're great
-- Someday, but the technology needs improvement
-- Maybe in the future when the price comes down
-- No, they'll never measure up to gas-powered vehicles
-- Not sure

Vote at Electronic Design ==> http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16C5A: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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