==================================Electronic Design UPDATE e-Newsletter Electronic Design Magazine PlanetEE ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ0Jvu0Aw September 24, 2003
=============================*************************ADVERTISEMENT************************** Keithley Solutions for Test & Measurement Keithley's handbooks, application notes, white papers, and catalog help engineers and scientists make accurate electrical measurements, and select the right products from its full line of general purpose and high performance DC, RF, and optoelectronic instruments--for production and R&D testing. Available FREE at 1-888-KEITHLEY or http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ0BBdh0AP **************************************************************** HOT TIP: Visit our recently redesigned Web site, www.elecdesign.com, where the power of Electronic Design is a mouse click away! Read our Web exclusives, discover Featured Vendors, access our archives, share viewpoints in our Forums, explore our e-newsletters, and more. Be sure to participate in our current QUICK POLL: Large-area flat-panel displays seem to be everywhere these days, truly challenging the perennial CRT. Are you jumping on-board the large-area flat-panel bandwagon? Go to Electronic Design ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ05Am0Aa Today's Table of Contents: 1. Editor's View ESC -- Worth The Time 2. Focus On Test & Measurement * Measurement Software Aids Development In Visual Studio .NET 2003 3. News From The Editors * Flash Controller Aims At Portable Systems * More Capable Phones Challenging PDAs * Solid-State Power Controller Amplifies, Protects PLC Outputs * 10GE SERDES Devices Convert XGMII Data To XAUI Data * Development Kits Coming for Intel Chipsets 4. Upcoming Industry Events * Hardware/Software Co-Design (CODES) * Workshop on Embedded Systems for Real-Time Multimedia (ESTIMedia) * IPC Designers Learning Symposium * Third High Information Content Display System Symposium * International Conference on Computer Design 5. Magazine Highlights: September 15, 2003 issue * Cover Story: Engineering Feature -- Picking The Right Manufacturing Partner * Leapfrog: First Look -- Power Converter Stands Out From The POL Crowd * Leapfrog: First Look -- USB On Board: Flash Memory Leads The Way * Technology Report -- PC-Based Instruments Reshape The Test Landscape * Design View / Design Solution -- Multiport Memories Soup Up Wireless Broadband Processing Edited by John Novellino ********************** 1. Editor's View -- Exclusive to Electronic Design UPDATE ********************** ESC: Worth The Time By William Wong, Embedded Technology Editor The Embedded Systems Conference/Boston was a little smaller and attendence was light this year. There were a few big names missing, such as Wind River, but there was no lack of significant announcements, especially in the COTS arena. SBCs from the likes of WinSystems, VersaLogic, Vista Controls, and Kontron were cutting edge, cramming even more functionality onto one board: o Ampro's CoreModule 600 packs a 400-MHz Celeron onto a PC/104Plus board. o SBS Technologies showed off its AMC-cPCI 3000, a rugged, conduction cooled CompactPCI chassis designed for harsh environments. o Amulet Technologies presented a production-oriented version of its smart LCD display The 8-bit MCU arena was busy, with new AVR MCUs from Atmel and a new OTP (one-time programming) Z8 from Zilog. Renesas unveiled their LPC (low pin-count), 20-MHz R8C/Tiny 16-bit MCU. Its internal clock takes over if it detects a failure in the external clock. At the high end, AMD announced mid- and low-power versions of their 64-bit Opteron processor. These are ideal for high-performance embedded applications such as blade servers. Software vendors didn't take a back seat to the hardware folks. Quadros displayed a new real-time profiler that is integrated with Metrowerks' CodeWarrior debugger. UML 2 products were out in force with I-Logix's Rhapsody 5 and Aonix's Ameos. Intel's IXDP processors garned support from Green Hills' Integrity operating system. Most vendors were talking about existing standards like USB 2.0, but they say to watch out for the next ESC. Expect more in all areas from real products with Serial ATA to PCI Express. Still, ESC Boston was worth the trip, especially for finding tools and products for near term development. To comment on this Industry View, go to Reader Comments at the foot of the Web page: Electronic Design UPDATE ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ0BCl40Ag *************************ADVERTISEMENT************************** Learn In-Circuit Debug Techniques Using FPGAs Visit Agilent.com for an eSeminar on in-circuit debug techniques for identifying the source of problems in various situations designers face. Learn about finding root causes of failure with logic analysis cores inside FPGAs, using logic analyzers and mixed signal oscilloscopes to look at signals inside and external to FPGAs, and more. Click for more. http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ0BCl50Ah **************************************************************** 2. Focus On Test & Measurement ********************** ***Measurement Software Aids Development In Visual Studio .NET 2003 A comprehensive suite of native classes and controls speed up development of measurement and automation applications in Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003. Measurement Studio 7.0 from National Instruments features the recently introduced Instrument I/O Assistant and the DAQ Assistant. The Instrument I/O Assistant simplifies and dramatically speeds instrument control through interactive I/O connectivity to GPIB, USB, serial, VXI, and other traditional instruments. The DAQ Assistant delivers interactive access to the NI-DAQ 7 API, the company's redesigned data-acquisition interface, which features multithreaded capabilities, DMA data transfers, and improved synchronization. It speeds performance by 10 to 20 times for concurrent and single-point I/O. Developers who have VXIplug&play, IVI, or legacy instrument drivers can use the Instrument Driver Wizard to integrate their instruments with Visual Studio .NET 2003 without rewriting the drivers. To simplify presentation of measured data, the software includes pre-built interface controls, including graphs, knobs, and buttons, for the Microsoft .NET Framework. National Instruments ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ0BCl60Ai ********************** 3. News -- From The Editors ********************** ***Flash Controller Aims At Portable Systems A next-generation flash-memory controller for use with USB 2.0 interfaces will be designed for low-power consumer and communication markets (digital still cameras, mobile phones, PDAs, and the like). PointChips Inc., a fabless USB flash drive controller company will partner with Renesas Technology Corp. to craft an ASIC that leverages its controller know how with Renesas' silicon-proven, low-power USB 2.0 link, physical layer intellectual property (IP), and advanced ASIC design and 0.15-micron manufacturing technology. The chip, to be manufactured by Renesas, will support various flash memory types. The device will be the first ASIC that can support Renesas' Assist Gate-AND (AG-AND) flash memory technology. Engineering samples of the USB 2.0 flash controller device will be available from PointChips this month and mass production quantities will follow by December. Renesas Technology Corp. ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ08hC0Aa PointChips Inc. ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ0BCl70Aj ***More Capable Phones Challenging PDAs As bad as 2002 was for PDAs, 2003 may be worse. A forecast from iSuppli Corp. foresees shipments of only about 10 million PDAs this year. That's a 9.8% fall from 2002 and a 15% drop from 2001, according to a report, "Next-Generation Mobile Phones: PDA Nemesis?" from the supply-chain market analysis firm. PDAs face several challenges. But as the name of the report implies, they are encountering increased competition from next-generation mobile telephones. The report includes rankings of the top PDA manufacturers and the kinds of microprocessors being used in PDAs. iSuppli Corp. ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ0BCl80Ak ***Solid-State Power Controller Amplifies, Protects PLC Outputs The E-1048-700 solid-state remote power controller protects programmable logic controllers (PLCs) from overloads and short circuits while amplifying PLC power output signals, without changing PLC output cards. Just 12.5-mm wide, the device's opto-coupled transistor switch physically isolates the control signal, the load output, and the fault indicator. Inrush currents up to 40 A are automatically delayed for about 100 ms. The unit has LED indicators and fits into any standard 17-P10-Si terminal block or E-T-A's DIN rail-mounted 17Plus power distribution module. It's priced at $40 each for medium-size lots with 4-week delivery. E-T-A Circuit Breakers ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ0BCmA0Au ***10GE SERDES Devices Convert XGMII Data To XAUI Data The VC1061 and VC1062 serializer/deserializers (SERDES) convert 10-Gbit Media Independent Interface (XGMII) data to serial 10-Gbit Attachment Unit Interface (XAUI) data. The quad-channel devices operate at 3.125 Gbits/s for 10-Gbit Ethernet or at 3.1875 Gbits/s for 10-Gbit Fibre Channel applications. The VC1062 differs from the VC1061 in that it has a redundant serial XAUI interface for working/protection backplane applications. Their GigaCore technology exhibits very low power consumption and error-free transmission of multigigabit traffic over low-cost pc-board materials, copper cabling, or fiber optics. The VC1061 consumes less than 2 W. Both devices are sampling now. Pricing is $49 each in 1000-unit quantities. Velio Communications Inc. ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ0BCmB0Av ***Development Kits Coming for Intel Chipsets Intel has announced Q4 availability of its PCI Express Product Development Kits (PDK). The PDKs are based on Intel's Lindenhurst server and Tumwater workstation chip sets. The motherboard has PCI Express slots for X1, X4, X8, and X16. Pricing starts at $8,000. Intel Corp. ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ01x80AY ********************** 4. Upcoming Industry Events ********************** Oct. 1-3, Hardware/Software Co-Design (CODES), Newport Beach, Calif. http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ0BCSf0A6 Oct. 3-4, Workshop on Embedded Systems for Real-Time Multimedia (ESTIMedia), Newport Beach, Calif. (co-located with CODES-ISSS) http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ0BCSg0A7 Oct. 6-8, IPC Designers Learning Symposium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ0BCmC0Aw Oct. 7-8, Third High Information Content Display System Symposium, Arlingon, Va. http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ0BCmD0Ax Oct. 13-15, International Conference on Computer Design (ICCD), San Jose, Calif., http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ0BCmE0Ay ********************** 5. Magazine Highlights ********************** In case you missed them, here are some of the high points of our most recent issue, September 15, 2003. * Cover Story: Engineering Feature -- Design Help: Just A Click Away Need design support? The Web puts an incredible array of information, tools, and design expertise right at your fingertips. * Leapfrog: Industry First -- Co-Emulation Rides Standard To New Heights By leveraging the new SCE-API standard, a transaction-based co-emulation environment boosts throughput while enhancing testbench reuse. * Leapfrog: First Look -- Optimization Breeds Application Efficiency Linker and compiler work on different optimizations to create faster and smaller applications. * Technology Report -- Tool Up For Alternatives To Standard ASICs Standard-cell ASIC NREs got your eyes bulging? Check out tools and Methodologies for emerging alternatives like structured ASICs and, yes, FPGAs. * Design View / Design Solution -- Combat integration's dark side with new development tools. For the complete Table of Contents, go to Electronic Design ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ0BCmF0Az *************************ADVERTISEMENT************************** LeCroy--A Study on Oscilloscopes What sort of performance is ideal for an everyday bench scope in the 350MHz-2GHz bandwidth class? How can new technology and innovative thinking make the everyday bench scope a tool that is faster, easier and more accurate in its use to verify signal performance or troubleshoot circuit problems? Click here for more information: http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/ectw0DJhTw0EmQ0BCmG0A1 ****************************************************************
==================================CONTACTS: Electronic Design UPDATE e-NEWSLETTER
==================================Editorial: Lucinda Mattera, Associate Chief Editor: mailto:[email protected] Advertising/Sponsorship Opportunities: Bill Baumann, Associate Publisher: mailto:[email protected]
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