Is Jeff Goldblum Hollywood’s go-to person for an on-screen engineer?

Actor Jeff Goldblum recently appeared as a guest host for the Jimmy Kimmel Live! TV show. Kimmel was on vacation. As part of his first-night monologue, Goldblum played piano (he’s an accomplished jazz pianist) and sang a song with references to several of the movies that he’s appeared in over the last four decades. While he was singing, I realized that Goldblum’s … Read More → "Is Jeff Goldblum Hollywood’s go-to person for an on-screen engineer?"

The Moon Needs Its Own Time Zone. Relativity Says It Also Needs Its Own Clocks

A CNN article written by Jackie Wattles and titled “Why scientists say we need to send clocks to the moon — soon” grabbed my attention and quickly sent me down several rabbit holes that involved some ideas in physics that I knew but had not internalized. First, the moon needs its own timekeeping … Read More → "The Moon Needs Its Own Time Zone. Relativity Says It Also Needs Its Own Clocks"

One EDA Tool, One Giant Leap for Hardware: How JITX is Reshaping Circuit Board Design

This week my guest is JITX Co-founder and CEO Duncan Haldane. Duncan and I discuss the challenges of board design and how the benefits of software reuse encouraged the development of JITX, why holistic system design is cornerstone to the JITX software-defined electronics platform, and how you can improve your productivity with the JITX cookbook.

 

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No Slacking! Put Your Sem;colons to Work [Exclamation Mark Goes Here]

I’m still chafing under the impositions imposed by the punctuation police. I speak of those who don the undergarments of authority and stride the corridors of power. Those despicable despots who dictate I can no longer terminate the titles to my columns with exclamation marks, all the time muttering inscrutable incantations to their SEO gods. Fortunately, I’m not bitter. … Read More → "No Slacking! Put Your Sem;colons to Work [Exclamation Mark Goes Here]"

There’s More Than One Way to Become an Engineer (Part 2)

As we discussed in the initial installment of this 2-part extravaganza, some people pursue a predictable path on their way to engineer-hood (where “-hood” comes from the Middle English “-hode,” which itself comes from the Old English “-hād,” meaning “state of being”). Others, like your humble narrator, end up taking a more circuitous route, which may involve Lady Luck finagling the dice in their favor (I … Read More → "There’s More Than One Way to Become an Engineer (Part 2)"

Apple’s iPhone 15 debunks the “full-line” semiconductor supplier myth

From time to time, I’ll get a presentation from a company announcing a new product, usually a new chip, that includes a statement like this:

“We’re the only semiconductor maker with a full line of FPGAs, from the smallest, most cost-efficient devices to the most advanced, leading-edge devices.”

or this:

“We’re the … Read More → "Apple’s iPhone 15 debunks the “full-line” semiconductor supplier myth"

September 11, 2024
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August 30, 2024

featured chalk talk

Versatile S32G3 Processors for Automotive and Beyond
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton and Brian Carlson from NXP investigate NXP’s S32G3 vehicle network processors that combine ASIL D safety, hardware security, high-performance real-time and application processing and network acceleration. They explore how these processors support many vehicle needs simultaneously, the specific benefits they bring to autonomous drive and ADAS applications, and how you can get started developing with these processors today.
Jul 24, 2024
53,144 views

featured paper

A game-changer for IP designers: design-stage verification

Sponsored by Siemens Digital Industries Software

In this new technical paper, you’ll gain valuable insights into how, by moving physical verification earlier in the IP design flow, you can locate and correct design errors sooner, reducing costs and getting complex designs to market faster. Dive into the challenges of hard, soft and custom IP creation, and learn how to run targeted, real-time or on-demand physical verification with precision, earlier in the layout process.

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discussion
Posted on Sep 11 at 8:29am by Max Maxfield
I've seen all of them except Threshold -- I'll have to see if that's available on a streaming service. Jeff is one of those characters that I sort of like but he annoys me at the same time -- but he would be my go to guy if I wanted ...
Posted on Sep 9 at 6:20pm by Steven Leibson
Next time I'm reaching for a headline, Tacitus, ...
Posted on Sep 9 at 11:13am by Tacitus
Personally, I’d have used the title: “Space-Dog Lassie LaGrange: The Time Little Timmy fell down the Spacetime Gravity Well” ...which, while wildly inaccurate is, well, never mind... Too late now! QUOTE: “...with two pairs of Hewlett-Packard (HP) 5061A cesium-beam atomic clocks…” My first thought was, Hewlett-Packard uh? I’ll ...
Posted on Sep 9 at 9:55am by Max Maxfield
I remember the days before GPS (that's how old I am). Now I can't imagine life without it. The thought of trying to navigate through a strange city using a paper map without a navigator sitting next to me sends shivers down my spine. I was reading a column about ...
Posted on Sep 6 at 8:58am by Max Maxfield
Hi Karl -- although C (and eventually C++) are great for describing, simulating, and verifying things at a high-level of abstraction -- back in the day there was no way to take these descriptions into a gate-level implementation other than by hand. It's worth noting that C/C++ compilers don;...
Posted on Sep 6 at 7:11am by Karl Stevens
And I forgot to mention that expression evaluation is stack based rather than being dependent on a weak kneed RISC and C compiler.
Posted on Sep 6 at 7:03am by Karl Stevens
Visual Studio and C# are really great for Logic Design and Debug! Not at all like the pitiful VHDL and Verilog That start with synthesis and timing driven placement. HDL is hardware DESCRIPTION language. C# has conditional assignments instead of load/compare/branch/assign nonsense and the equivalent of HLS ...
Posted on Sep 4 at 6:41am by Max Maxfield
"You might want to spell that out with so many impressionable minds running about these days." I agree. It would be unfortunate if some random stable genius mistakenly started using Ernst Stavro Blofeld as an example for youngsters to emulate LOL
Posted on Sep 3 at 5:07pm by Steven Leibson
@Tacitus, Like Hannibal Lecter, Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a FICTIONAL character. You might want to spell that out with so many impressionable minds running about these days.
Posted on Sep 3 at 10:26am by Max Maxfield
"[...] I should clarify that it was Paul Anka who actually wrote the English lyrics to “My Way”, for Frank Sinatra to sing [...]" You are correct -- that's why I was careful to say "The song 'My Way' was popularized in 1969 by Frank Sinatra." :-)
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featured blogs
Sep 11, 2024
In which we cogitate, ruminate, and pontificate on the things you can do to further your goal of landing (and keeping) a job in engineering...
How to Implement Protection and Power Management ICs for Super Capacitors
Many super capacitor applications require protection and power backup. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton and Pete Pytlik from Littelfuse explore the benefits of protection and power management ICs for super capacitor applications. They also investigate how these IC solutions compare with discrete solutions, and the advantages that Littelfuse protection and power management ICs bring to super capacitor applications.
Sep 10, 2024
921 views
High Power Charging Inlets
All major truck and bus OEMs will be launching electric vehicle platforms within the next few years and in order to keep pace with on-highway and off-highway EV innovation, our charging inlets must also provide the voltage, current and charging requirements needed for these vehicles. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton and Drew Reetz from TE Connectivity investigate charging inlet design considerations for the next generation of industrial and commercial transportation, the differences between AC only charging and fast charge and high power charging inlets, and the benefits that TE Connectivity’s ICT high power charging inlets bring to these kinds of designs.
Aug 30, 2024
3,827 views
Power Modules and Why You Should Use Them in Your Next Power Design
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton and Christine Chacko from Texas Instruments explore a variety of power module package technologies, examine the many ways that power modules can help save on total design solution cost, and the unique benefits that Texas Instruments power modules can bring to your next design.
Aug 22, 2024
8,509 views
STM32 Security for IoT
Today’s modern embedded systems face a range of security risks that can stem from a variety of different sources including insecure communication protocols, hardware vulnerabilities, and physical tampering. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton and Thierry Crespo from STMicroelectronics explore the biggest security challenges facing embedded designers today, the benefits of the STM32 Trust platform, and why the STM32Trust TEE Secure Manager is an IoT security game changer.
Aug 20, 2024
8,213 views
Industrial Internet of Things
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and CUI Inc.
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton and Bruce Rose from CUI Inc explore power supply design concerns associated with IIoT applications. They investigate the roles that thermal conduction and convection play in these power supplies and the benefits that CUI Inc. power supplies bring to these kinds of designs.
Aug 16, 2024
13,553 views
Wi-Fi Locationing: Nordic Chip-to-Cloud Solution
Location services enable businesses to gather valuable location data and deliver enhanced user experiences through the determination of a device's geographical position, leveraging specific hardware, software, and cloud services. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton and Finn Boetius from Nordic Semiconductor explore the benefits of location services, the challenges that WiFi based solutions can solve in this arena, and how you can take advantage of Nordic Semiconductor’s chip-to-cloud locationing expertise for your next design.
Aug 15, 2024
15,689 views