Jack's Random Rants And Thoughts About Embedded Systems

There are a lot of articles here; so much it can be hard to find what you're looking for, but they are searchable.

Index to categories of rants:

Electronics

Business Issues

  • Down With Productivity - How to kill a software team’s productivity, in one easy lesson.
  • On Goals - Schedules are vitally important. But they are not always the most important thing.
  • 2013 Embedded Market Study Embedded.com's parent company has released the results of a new survey, and it has some fascinating data.
  • Milestones in 2013 - What were the most important milestones in the embedded industry in 2013? Here's Jack's picks.
  • RadioShack in Turmoil - Do you get components from RadioShack? That may not be an option much longer.
  • Agilent Spins Off Keysight Technologies - One of the best test equipment vendors gets a new name. What's the scoop?
  • The Dumbest Thing I Never Did - The dumbest thing I never did was to not buy ARM stock. Read on for why.
  • Company-Provided Training Does your company demand that you engage in some sort of continuous education?
  • A Colossal ESC-Brazil 2013 ESC Brazil was bigger and better than ever.
  • High Tech Jobs A new jobs report shows where high-tech jobs are moving.
  • Highly-Skilled H1-B Fashion Models It's time we greatly increased H1-B visas, at least for certain jobs.
  • Invisible Embedded CPU/MCU shipments are exploding.
  • Informal Observations - Farewell, 2012! Here are my observations about the industry this year.
  • Ten best things - What are the ten best things that happened in the embedded space in 2012?
  • Not enough engineers? - Are you old and in the way? Or does experience count?
  • Bright eyes - Brazil is a bright spot for young embedded engineers.
  • Let There Be Light, and IP Forget PCs and embedded systems: light bulbs will soak up vast numbers of IP addresses.
  • Hope and Horror The electronics market is set to drastically expand. or fail. Take your pick.
  • Selling Yourself We all hate sales, but must be good at one aspect of selling.
  • The Price of Tools Firmware is the most expensive part of engineering a product. Tools reduce those costs. Yet developers have a hard time getting management to pony up the cash.
  • 2010 VDC Survey The latest VDC survey of this industry is not promising.
  • Consulting Survey What are consultants paid? Do they like their work?
  • CS Graduates On the Rise CS enrollments are up; graduation rates continue to decline.
  • Cubicle Madness Cubicles are productivity-killers. Yet they're here to stay.
  • Does Engineering Pay Well? How much is enough? Rockefeller said "just a little more." Engineers do well compared to other Americans.
  • EE Times Engineering Survey A recent survey illustrates some cultural differences between engineers.
  • Embedded Salaries Though raises are seriously off, most of us are happy with our career choice.
  • Job Churn Lifetime employment died decades ago. How often do you change jobs?
  • Listening to Your Customers The customer is always right. Sorta.
  • NRE vs COGS What's most important? Schedule? Cost? Maybe none of these.
  • Salary Survey Jack's 2009 salary survey is now out, and the data is interesting.
  • Security Gets Attention Wind River forms an alliance with McAfee. What will result?
  • License Agreements EULAs: Read 'em and weep. They are completely one-sided.
  • The Decline of the H1-B H1-B visas are barely being issued any more.
  • Thoughts on Consulting Some insightful comments about consulting from a reader.
  • Overtime?
  • Pay By Use Tools - Tools are expensive; perhaps pay-per-use model makes more sense.
  • Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt - Layoffs have started. More are likely. What does this all mean to us?
  • What's In a Name? - What's the fuss over titles?
  • Firmware, it's not so firm anymore - Yet another vendor of consumer products issues a recall for firmware upgrades. Is this the pattern of the future?
  • See You in Court - Are we legally culpable for our design failures? Should we be?
  • Next Dot Com Bubble Burst - Is anyone ever gonna make money on open source products?
  • Just Do It - No one cares about your career except you. Whatcha gonna do?
  • Surveys Lie - What is an average embedded system? Or an average developer? I bet the surveys don't tell.
  • Applied Bails - Applied Microsystems is leaving embedded. Does this suggest hardware tools are dead or dying?
  • Toxic Bosses - You better watch out, Mr. or Ms. Boss. There's an exodus coming.
  • Securing Cyberspace - Embedded systems will ensure the President's new strategy for securing cyberspace will be a bust. What's the solution?
  • Mental Health Days - We get sick leave for physical ailments. What about our minds? They pay us to think. Should we get burnout days as well?
  • April 1 - The State of the Art - Hate your job? Tired of the same old same old? It seems you're not alone.
  • RTOS Implosion - Is the RTOS market collapsing? Is it a victim of the recession or part of a sea change?
  • Resume Follies - Should creating a resume be an act of creative writing or absolute non-fiction?
  • A Cheaper CE Creates Competitive Challenges - Microsoft mounts another attack on the embedded market.
  • Outsource Vulnerabilities - Does contracting software overseas lead to insidious security threats?
  • H1-B - Out of work? How do you feel about that H1-B visa holder doing your ex-job?
  • National Missions - Do we need another Apollo-like crash program? Or will that lead to yet another tech crash?
  • NRE - Does your company understand NRE versus cost of goods sold?
  • It's Only a Software Change - Reprogrammable memory devices are evil, in that they lead bosses to figure there's no cost to firmware changes.
  • SCO - : If SCO can't play nicely they shouldn't be allowed in the sandbox.
  • On Getting Respect, Redux - Maybe we don't want any respect after all. This leads to a prediction about the nature of engineering jobs in the future.
  • I'm OK, You're OK - Perception is more important, it seems, than reality, whether it's choosing insurance or paying an engineer's salary.
  • Offshoring - Some thoughts on Outsourcing.
  • Schedules and Budgets - Decompose the problem into little bits. Design each module carefully. Estimate time per piece and sum to form a schedule. Then multiply by two?
  • Who's at Fault when code Kills? - In 2001 a software error in a radiotherapy device killed a number of cancer patients. Just this week a Panamanian court sentenced the guilty. Did those responsible for the bad code go to jail?
  • Bonus Time - How will programmers' bonuses stack up this year?
  • iPods for the Masses - Offices are so noisy it's hard to be productive. To compensate wise managers should provide MP3 players to the developers.
  • See Ya Carly - Carly Fiorina is out. There's talk of selling off the printer division. Turmoil, for a time, is sure to follow.
  • Software is Cheap - Though traditional wisdom claims software is hideously expensive, in fact it's pretty darn cheap. At least compared to the alternatives.
  • Brave New World - In the Brave New World of product development, lawyers may become more important than engineers.
  • 40 Hours - Though overtimes seems inevitable in this industry, companies have a responsibility to manage it properly. and fairly compensate the developers.
  • Failure is an Option - Zero percent of big software projects succeed. Even smaller systems are generally delivered late and with only a subset of the promised functionality.
  • Certifications - As firmware controls ever-more of our lives, and is responsible for legions of safety critical applications, will developers someday require certifications?
  • Wall Warts - Want to make a million bucks? Here's an idea that could launch a couple of startups.
  • Liability - EULAs are merely tools to thwart lawsuits, yet the cruddy code they guard can reap havoc on our computers.
  • Balance Sheets - A balance sheet tracks the value of all of a company's assets. except the most expensive. Like software and IP.
  • Stashing It Away - Retirement is closer than you think. Will you be a pauper peddling programming talent or living the life of sand and palm trees?
  • Engineering Employment - A recent spate of articles suggests that hardware design jobs are disappearing, while software developers will be needed in copious numbers. But they're not to be found in the USA.
  • It's a Business Effort - Everything decision engineers make should be evaluated from a business perspective.
  • Quality is Job One - For some non-embedded firms meeting quality goals determines when a product will ship. What's up with the embedded field?
  • Talking to Management - Engineers are doomed to failure when we try to communicate with upper management using the lingo of the lab.
  • Getting Rich While Doing Good - VCs are starting to fund eco-companies. They better hire a bunch of embedded engineers, because all green tech will be driven by processors.
  • Vacation - Vacation is a critically important bit of down time that revitalizes every worker. Without it, we're tired drones creating bugs. Yet in the US vacation seems a commodity in short supply.
  • Failure to Launch - An astonishing 41% of all engineering projects never see the light of day. Think of the waste!
  • Reverse-Shoring Jobs - Indian companies are hiring like mad. even here in the USA.
  • The Show Myth - It's time to stop using The Show as the basis for the schedule.
  • Learning a Trade - Advice for college bound students: learn a trade. The skill can't be offshored and it offers its own satisfaction.
  • Engineering Shortage - A few years ago engineers were working in Walmarts. Today at least one report claims there's a shortage of talent.
  • Going Gray - US engineers are getting older, while in developing countries most are in their twenties.
  • For Love or Money - As Ford goes down the tubes their executives are showered in riches. What about their engineers?
  • Telecommuting - Telecommuting still has a small presence in the embedded space. Why?
  • Tool Costs - When selecting a software tool, the only important consideration seems to be price.
  • Blocked Sites - Does your company block access to parts of the Internet? Why?
  • The Unending H-1B Saga - H-1B Visas are always a hot topic. Here's a fascinating link about the issue.
  • Unionization - Engineers are telling me they're unhappy being compromised by offshoring and guest worker visas.
  • Software Warranties - Is it impossible to build a warranted product from components that disclaim any sort of guarantee?
  • The Rule of Fifty - Studies suggest overtime is counterproductive. But it's still commonplace.
  • The Dearth of C Training - New grads learn on huge systems. Are they prepared for resource-constrained system development?
  • Salaries and Ages - There's new salary data that shows healthy wages and aging (in the US) developers.
  • Fictitios Features - A new survey shows IT people are sick of sales folk.
  • Jobs: Has the Meltdown Hit us Yet? - Obama signs a big stimulus bill. How are prospects in the embedded space?
  • CS Education Statistics - CS enrollments have been awfully gloomy for a long time. New data suggests that at least the rate of decline is slowing.
  • Take Charge - No one cares about your career except you. Or, do you?
  • Life After Layoffs - Engineers are no longer immune from the recession. What's your job-seeking strategy?
  • Vacation Time - Two weeks of vacation is ridiculous
  • Intel Buys Wind River - In a surprise move, Intel plans to purchase Wind River.
  • No Time for a Startup? - Things are awful. Maybe that means it's time to start a company!
  • Doom and Gloom - EE unemployment doubles. What's the prognosis?

Software Engineering

  • The Cortex MPU - Why wouldn’t you use an MPU in your next design?
  • Are You a Superprogrammer? - Many are called; few are chosen.
  • On Names - Getting names right is hugely important and too often neglected.
  • Of Molasses and Software Engineering - How a great flood of molasses led to engineering licensure.
  • C for Everyone - A new C book is a welcome addition to the literature.
  • On eheap - Sometimes you really need a steaming heap of… RAM.
  • MISRA Update - New security updates improve an already excellent MISRA
  • Firmware Updates - Automatic firmware upgrades are both a bane and a boon.
  • Fixed-Point Math - Ints have limited ranges. Floats can be slow and memory hogs. Are there any alternatives?
  • On Comment Headers - Modules should start with great comment headers. Too many don’t.
  • On Function Headers - It’s critical that we document functions well. Do you?
  • On Languages - What language would you choose for your firmware?
  • On Testing - Testing is crucial. And flawed.
  • Requirements Defects - How accurate are your requirements? Do you track this? There’s plenty of historical data available.
  • Filters - A tiny impurity in the fuel can damage a diesel. The answer: filters.
  • Gimme an MMU - Software is inherently fragile. An MMU can prop it up.
  • Inspections Prior to Test - Inspections are a cheap way to get good code fast. Do them pre-test.
  • On Engineering Notebooks - Debugging is hard. We need to slow down to get speed up.
  • On Reference Code - Depending on reference code is not always wise.
  • Tester To Developer Ratio - How many testers per developer do you need?
  • The Role of QA - QA is not supposed to find bugs.
  • A Conversation With HCC Embedded, Part 1 - Jack talks to HCC Embedded about very high reliability firmware design, Part 1.
  • A Conversation With HCC Embedded, Part 2 - Jack talks to HCC Embedded about very high reliability firmware design, Part 2.
  • Do The Numbers - Divine inspiration might get you into heaven, but it won't guarantee system reliability.
  • Is Estimation Evil? - Ron Jeffries thinks estimating schedules is evil. Is it?
  • Asserting Failure Debugging is hard. We need to seed our code with constructs that find bugs automatically.
  • Toyota’s Expensive Software - Take your pick: do it the expensive way or get it right.
  • Extending Debugging Resources - Are we using the debugging resources available in so many MCUs in the most effective manner?
  • Fear of Flying - Flying is incredibly safe because accidents are analyzed. How about firmware engineering?
  • Coverity Scan 2012 The annual Coverity Scan Report is out, and has some interesting data.
  • Firmware Developer's Essential Reading List There are a ton of great books about firmware. Here are Jack's favorites.
  • Metrics We Need Engineering is about numbers; firmware people need to collect metrics.
  • Metrics We Need - Part 2 If you don't know about V(G) your code could be at risk.
  • MISRA C 2012 MISRA C is probably the most popular firmware standard extant. Now there's an upgraded version.
  • Start Collecting Metrics Now Start collecting metrics so you establish a baseline against which change can be measured.
  • Time to Market Here are some tips to get to market faster.
  • Ada 2012 Redux - Answers from AdaCore to many of your questions about Ada.
  • The cost of quality - The cost of quality code may surprise you. It can be much less than you'd think.
  • Basis Path Testing - There's a scientific way to compute the lower bound of how many tests on a function are enough.
  • Ada 2012 Ada 2012 includes some important improvements.
  • Autonomous Vehicles Self-driving vehicles are coming. Will they be engineered as well as commercial aircraft?
  • Design Patterns Finally, there's a book about patterns for firmware.
  • To Source or Not to Source How important is it for you to have the source of a package?
  • Embedded Cyberrisks Embedded security? Few care, though the Feds are waving warning flags.
  • FSMs and Tools Automate everything. Especially brain-dead stuff like standards checks.
  • Latent Defects Some numbers illustrate the cost of ignoring quality.
  • On Metrics It's all about people, process, and good data.
  • On Testing Testing is important. But it's just one quality gate.
  • Safety is Hard Building a safe system requires a level of systems thinking that may be impossible.
  • 15 Bugs Teenagers can learn only from their own mistakes. That seems true for a lot of software types, too.
  • Cars Attacks Hacking a car sounds farfetched, but it's possible today.
  • Code Reviews - Not Just for Code Code reviews are not just for code. And now there's a tool available.
  • Department of Redundancy Department Redundancy does not necessarily lead to reliability.
  • Embedded Security Follow-up Securing a system means a lot more than disconnecting it from the Internet.
  • Getting it Right A new OS has been proven to be correct using mathematical proofs. The cost: astronomical.
  • I Desperately Need Stinkin' Requirements We need requirements, and must spend more energy gathering them.
  • Hardware Testing Board testing is harder than you think, but there are solutions.
  • Making Software Engineering Engineering Are there provable theoretical underpinnings behind software engineering?
  • More on Requirements What makes great requirements? A few simple rules serve as guidance.
  • SCADA Security Infrastructure includes the digital systems that control factories. Is it crumbling?
  • The Use Of Assertions A new study shows the power of seeding your code with assertions.
  • Writing In Software Development It's time we recognize that software development is mostly about writing, not coding.
  • Version Control: A disgruntled FAA employee deleted the only copy of critical en-route flight control code.
  • Reliable Firmware - Is reliable firmware an oxymoron? What's the answer to the quality crisis?
  • Firmware without a Design - We don't need no stinkeen design for our code.
  • Big Balls of Mud - Software too often resembles a Big Ball of Mud.
  • Hardware Vs. Software - Most hardware is all but defect-free. Is there a lesson for firmware folks?
  • The Doc Scavenger - Too many systems contain a lot of undocumented, and thus useless, error codes.
  • The Failure of Reuse - Real reuse has been a bust. Why?
  • Failure is an Option - Your perfect code is probably rife with latent errors. What happens when one appears? Crash and burn or safely carry on?
  • Why the Towers Fell - Build it and it will break. Everything fails, but sometimes in a way that saves lives.
  • Twists on Testing - Testing? Nah, our systems are bloody perfect.
  • Schedule Masturabation - Agile methods are as flawed as big up-front design in creating schedules. Worse - there's no solution.
  • Power Programmers - Superprogrammer or not, most of us think we're killer developers, and none of our bosses know how to properly use our skills.
  • Local Knowledge - Local Knowledge, accumulated painfully via experience, is not valued by companies. That's a mistake.
  • Expectations of Perfection - A single grid failure in 25 years means the system is too well designed. Maybe we should downgrade the electric system?
  • Tool Costs - Do firmware development tools cost too much?
  • Clairvoyance - Without clear requirements it's tough to build decent software. Many would argue it's impossible. Yet too many of us wind up guessing what the code is supposed to do.
  • Refactoring - Agile methods stress the importance of refactoring, yet few of us "get it".
  • Topsy Turvey - Firmware is topsy-turvey. Unlike most engineering, adding margin costs big development bucks.
  • Teaching Testing - Testing? We don't need no steenkin' testing, at least at the college level.
  • Gaining Creativity - Is it "a RTOS" or "an RTOS"? Does the curly brace go on a line by itself, or as part of the next statement?
  • Cheap Changes - Agile methods appealingly promise a drastic drop in the cost of making code changes. Utter nonsense.
  • Software Aging - Software rots. It generally ages badly, especially when maintenance people hack in quick fixes instead of cleanly excising the necrotic tissue and healing the wound.
  • Productivity - How productive are you? Do you track the numbers? Why not?
  • Medical Upgrades - A systems engineering manager writes that the tsunami of embedded systems coming into his hospital have created new integration and support issues largely unaddressed by the vendors.
  • Software Engineering is NOT an Oxymoron - Is software engineering an engineering discipline, a science. or one of the liberal arts?
  • The Hundred Years War - Feedback stabilizes systems. but only if it's used. We developers need to reflect on our practices from time to time.
  • Flash - Flash memory is one of the great inventions of the silicon age. But are we using it as a schedule-enhancer?
  • Nuclear Exception Handler - A nuke plant's emergency coolant system had a design flaw that lingered for almost two decades. Why is it so hard to get emergency systems right?
  • Team Sizes - Big teams tend to be unproductive, but growing code sizes mean we need more developers.
  • Total Recall - Recalls, upgrades and patches are a way of life in the software world. Perfection isn't attainable, but we can surely do a lot better.
  • Keep It Clean - Successive maintenance cycles can make the code grow ever worse. The solution: refactoring.
  • Refactoring Mercilessly - To refactor or to not refactor, that is the question? Whether `tis nobler in mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous bugs, or to refactor against a sea of troubles.
  • Discipline - Much of success in life stems from a disciplined approach to doing, well, everything. That applies to software engineering, too.
  • Code Inspection Book - Code inspections and reviews are a powerful bug-prevention tool. Here's a great book on the subject.
  • Quality Software - Quality starts first with a customer or team that demands great software. Then we use a reasonable process to deliver code that lives up to those demands.
  • Firware Maintenance - Those who study software have always claimed that maintenance is the biggest cost in software. But is this true for firmware?
  • Code Size - Some of us are working on huge programs. It appears, though, that most applications remain pretty small.
  • Expectations - When there's not an absolute expectation that products will be correct, they won't.
  • Know Your Numbers - Do you know your bug metrics? If not, why not?
  • Metrics - Few of us collect metrics. That's not what engineering is all about.
  • Software Engineering - Some wags call software engineering an oxymoron. What's needed to change this perception?
  • Hacked - Virginia loses a pile of data. How could this happen?

Products and Reviews

  • Siglent’s New Arbitrary Waveform Generator - Siglent’s new arbitrary waveform generator is a pro-level instrument for a (well-off) hobbyist price.
  • Empire of the Air - Patent litigation, shady deals, Eros, and brilliant inspirations all contributed to the history of radio.
  • Real-Time Current Monitor Rev 2 - An updated current monitor logs the current and power consumption of your system in real time.
  • Microchip’s New PIC16F18877 Family - Microchip’s New Microchip’s New PIC16F18877 MCUs offer a lot of interesting peripherals. The ADC is singularly powerful and complete.
  • New Book About the Cortex-M0/M0 - Working with the M0/M0? There’s an excellent new book out about these MCUs.
  • On Wait States - ST’s ART accelerator gives near-zero wait state operation out of slow flash.
  • Review: Real-Time Embedded Systems - The new book Real-Time Embedded Systems is dry, pretty mathy, but very complete with some important topics one rarely sees covered.
  • A Cheap DDS Signal Generator - A signal generator from China offers mixed performance. But what do you expect for $50?
  • The AMPERE Current Sensor - Another tool has arrived for measuring the current used by low-power microcontrollers.
  • Energy Monitor - EEMBC is now scoring MCUs for energy consumption. Here’s a look at the tool they use.
  • GW Instek GDS-1052 Review - A $300 bench scope really shines.
  • Saleae’s Logic Pro USB logic analyzer/scope - Saleae’s Logic Pro USB logic analyzer/scope
  • Freescale's FRDM-KL25Z - Freescale's FRDM-KL25Z board is an excellent learning and prototyping platform.
  • Embedded Ada Book "Building Parallel, Embedded, and Real-Time Applications with Ada" is a new and important book I recommend even to those who will never write a line of Ada.
  • IAR's I-jet Power Debugger Jack has been evaluating tools for monitoring current consumption of low-power systems. Here's another.
  • LogiPort Logic Analyzer Here's a review of the best value I've found in an USB logic analyzer.
  • Logic16 Saleae's new Logic 16 is a well-engineered, low-cost logic analyzer.
  • MPLAB REAL ICE Power Monitor Microchip's new Power Monitor is my PICk for working with their MCUs
  • Agilent's N2820A Current Probe Agilent's N2820A Current Probe
  • Real-Time Current Monitor As power becomes increasingly important more tools are coming to market.
  • The uCurrent A $60 tool makes measuring low levels of current consumption easy.
  • ViaDesigner ViaDesigner makes analog design like working with FPGAs.
  • Coremark - Benchmarking is like statistics; it's easy to fiddle with the results. CoreMark strives to be more quantitative.
  • An RTOS from TI - TI has a new RTOS. It's free. Is it a good choice?
  • The LPC800 - Low-pin count, low-cost MCUs always interest me. Now NXP has 32 bit parts in this category.
  • A strange IDE - IDEs are a pain to install and configure. Till now.
  • The not-boring iPhone5 - Pundits have proclaimed Apple's latest a "boring" product. They are completely wrong.
  • Microchip's new USB parts - Need an MCU with on-board USB controller? Microchip has upped the ante by lowering the cost and form factor.
  • A Puddle of Gates Sometimes a puddle of gates makes a lot more sense than a sea of gates.
  • A SPIFI New Idea Execute from serial flash? Yes we can.
  • Android - Now or Later Android was on fire at ESC-Boston. Are you using it now?
  • Android Users Get Screwed Keeping a product up to date is tough, but is one way to market success.
  • Better Glasses A nearly-perfect display technology already sits on our noses.
  • Kozio's Hardware Diagnostics It's surprisingly hard - and expensive - to get the hardware right.
  • Microchip's New Analogish Part Microchip has grafted programmable op-amps on the PIC16 family.
  • Virtex-7 2000T FPGAs A new FPGA is truly astonishing.
  • CodePeer A new tool writes DBC-like contracts for you.
  • Debugging - The Book Debugging is a learned skill, not one acquired by accident. Here's a good book on the subject.
  • A Value Proposition - Methodologies are great but vendors do a lousy job of proving their approaches are any good. So practically no one buys the tools.
  • Static Analysis Tools - We have a wealth of tools that help us generate better software, tools that delve deep into the code and highlight potential errors before debugging starts. Surely you use these. If not, why not?
  • Analogies - We have rotten tools. At best they give us only a crude analogy about our code. The future holds more visceral visualizations.
  • Static Analyzers at the ESC - A new breed of static analyzers are surfacing. Two companies showed their wares at this week's ESC
  • RTOS Dissatisfaction - RTOS vendors have never offered better or more powerful products, but a growing chorus of developers seems less than thrilled.
  • Is it live, or is it Memorex? - I've been playing with a simulation environment that seems pretty good. Is simulation finally coming of age?
  • Nohau - Nohau USA is dead. Long live Nohau USA.
  • Microchip and Atmel - Contrary view: Microchip is pretty smart to make a move on Atmel.
  • Small is Beautiful - 8 bits will never go away. In fact, various vendors have some pretty cool new parts available.
  • The Kindle - Amazon's Kindle gets the ebook just about right.

Philosophy of Engineering

  • A Checkup From the Neckup 50 minutes a month to keep the brain tuned?
  • Who Are You? - Firmware engineer? Hardware designer? Who are you?
  • On Control-S - That nervous twitch of the left hand to save files may be obsolete.
  • Buy Your Kid a Car - Mechanical aptitude seems to be waning.
  • Ethics and VW - The VW admission should cause us to think deeply about engineering ethics.
  • H1-B Visa - H1-B visas are in the news again.
  • Is Twitter Evil? - Jonathan Franzen thinks Twitter is a bloodsucking monster squid. Jack can't stand Twitter, but disagrees with Franzen
  • I Am Gandalf - How does a TV work? Just press the “on” button.
  • Ethics and Engineering - The boss wants something that makes us uncomfortable. How does one balance the ethics?
  • Coding in Grade School - Should we teach coding in grade school? Jack thinks not.
  • Advice to a Youngster Stability and security are the least important career drivers when young. Go for the wild and crazy.
  • Careers Engineering is a fabulous profession. Some disagree, often vehemently.
  • Cloudy Benefits of the Cloud The cloud offers some advantages, but at a steep price.
  • Older Engineers Rock Are graying engineers old and in the way? Or are they at their peak?
  • Tech Distractions The Amish are said to want to manage, rather than reject, technology. That's not a bad idea to emulate.
  • Engineering Congress - The 2012 election is over. Nothing really changed. Do we need more engineers in office?
  • Do Epic Stuff A new Microsoft motto aims to inspire but misses the mark.
  • Dumbing Down Embedded Design If you believe the pundits, prepare to stuff Android into your next electronic toothbrush.
  • Engineering Everything Engineering is not just a career. It's a way of thinking about problems.
  • Hobbies Our hobbies often define our careers.
  • Hot Fields for the College-Bound Studying architecture or the arts? Better get some experience in the food service industry.
  • Is 8 Bits Dying? Mike Barr's recent column got readers thinking about the future of 8 bits.
  • Software Liability Laws - Part 1 A proposed software liability law is fun, perhaps, but naive.
  • Software Liability Laws - Part 2 A second installment about a proposed software liability law.
  • Speaking Truth to Power The truth can be unpleasant or even job-threatening. What is one to do?
  • 8 Bits is Dead Conventional wisdom is that low-end processors are a dead-end.
  • Another Take on Twitter Grammar I wrote about poor grammar in electronic communication. Here's a rebuttal.
  • Sharpening the Saw Dull tools and dull developers cripple productivity.
  • Smoking: For fools only Light 'em if you've got 'em. And prepare for an awful death.
  • The Uncelebrated Engineer Though engineers can't get no respect, we are the builders of the modern world.
  • A Problem Technology The modern era is nearly defined by the devices that clamor for our attention. One, though, is guiltier than most.
  • Why Did You Become an Engineer? Fame, money or fun? Why did you become an engineer?
  • Wither Linux? Linux and Android are the future. Or are they?
  • Who Needs a Degree?-Are developers born or made? Does that diploma hinder or help creative design?
  • Networked Appliances - Pfoowie! Jack feels the embedded Internet mania is more hype than reality. The near future of embedded is not the Internet.
  • Loss of Options - fun is more important than money. But times are hard now.
  • I know What You Did Last Summer
  • A Call for a New Curriculum - Coding stinks, but that's all schools teach. We need a better way.
  • The DMCA and Us - Better bone up on the DMCA - it's your new bible.
  • Columbia - NASA is delivering the goods; we just lack imagination.
  • I R a Enjineer - Use the title "engineer" in Texas and expect to shell out $3k/day in fines.
  • Memory Lane - The boss might be Ghengis Kahn, but this is still the best job in the world.
  • Magic is Back - Are we creating a culture of division, of savvy people who understand how the world works, and the vast majority who haven't a clue and care even less?
  • California Votin - Time to vote in California; just don't expect us to actually count the votes.
  • Mr. Fixit - Consumers are baffled by their technology, and have largely given up trying to understand anything more than which button to press. Isn't it important to understand and master the technology?
  • At Sea - There's no escaping the world of embedded systems - even if we wanted to.
  • Who Needs a Degree? - How important is a degree, anyway?
  • Worst Case Analysis - Engineers have a very different way of looking at the world. We apply worst case analysis to our products, designs, hobbies and relationships.
  • A Wal-Mart Future? - An engineer writes of his inability to find a job. other than at the local Wal-Mart.
  • Drunk Driving - Embedded "virtual cops" monitor our behavior. Who holds them accountable?
  • NASA - I'm in awe at the amazing missions NASA has accomplished. But their current direction is troubling.
  • Five Technologies You Need to Know About - Will you be using holographic storage in your next embedded app? Probably not. What does the future hold?
  • Voting Software - It's an election year, and we're still struggling to get voting machines that people trust.
  • Walter Mitty Dreams - It's an emergency; is there an engineer on-board?
  • Work vs Life - Do we live to work or work to live?
  • Retire Rich - You will get old. Will you then live in poverty?
  • Experiential Engineering - Engineering is about building stuff. Yet few EE students have a chance to really do that.
  • Degrees - Once it was possible to fall into an engineering job without a lot of credentials. Now one needs an appropriate degree.
  • Is Honesty the Best Policy? - Don't lie. We all know it. But is it the best policy when creating schedules?
  • R & D - Do engineers really do R&D?
  • E-Voting - In 2008 we chose a president. Or. will someone else control the election?
  • The Age of Ignorance - Too many supposedly educated people feel the modern world of science and technology to be utterly inaccessible.
  • IP Theft - Is the theft of IP any different than stealing that bright red Ferrari?
  • Warning Labels - WARNING! Do not insert neck into sawblade! Do not start car before adjusting seatbelts!
  • Hardware/Software Disconnect - There are hardware engineers, software people, analog experts. and then there are the systems people.

Miscellaneous

History of Electronics and Embedded Systems

  • Ada Lovelace - Alice Though the Looking Glass, Still Alice. There are a lot of Alices. Jack remembers one.
  • Remembering John von Neumann - John von Neumann, central to the development of the digital computer, would have been 110.
  • What We've Saved - Are you a packrat? I'm not, and sometimes wish that wasn't the case.
  • Fifty Years of TTL - TTL turns 50, more or less, in 2014.
  • BASIC at 50 - BASIC was a gateway to great developers, not a development dead-end.
  • John von Neumann Meets 2014 - What would John von Neumann think of 2014 technology?
  • Computers In Spaceflight The space program needed computers, lots of computers. Here's a new find about their history.
  • Birthday Week Two hugely important inventions were introduced this week, 20 and 30 years ago.
  • Glenn's First Ride Half a century ago the USA first put a man in orbit.
  • Tony Sale, RIP Tony Sale, who built a replica of Colossus, passed away this month at 80.
  • The Black Box Unheralded Australian David Warren's invention has improved our safety.
  • A Half Century of TIROS TIROS 1, the first weather satellite, was launched 50 years ago.
  • State of Grace - Grace Hopper was born 97 years ago this week. She gave us many things we still use today, including bugs.
  • One Hour - What a long, strange trip it's been. One generation ago computers were guarded by a tribe of high priest operators. Now we buy them like appliances.
  • Rock Stars - In the 1800s engineers were veritable rock stars. One engineer is still considered the second greatest Briton of all time.
  • Intel Bows Out - The end of an era. Intel's 8051, 186 and many other processors have been end-of-lifed.
  • Microkernal vs Monolithic - Minix's reliability design goals represent a philosophy that should apply to all sorts of code.
  • EDN Turns 50 - EDN, the electronics industry's leading publication, is 50 years old this year. It has reported on breakthroughs that have taken us from the vacuum tube age to the Core 2 Duo.
  • 60 Years of Change - ENIAC and the IEEE Computer Society were born the same year. So much has happened in just a single lifetime!
  • State of Grace - Grace Hopper was born 100 years ago December 9.
  • A Visit to Bletchley Park - Perhaps the first electronic digital computer has been reconstructed at Bletchley Park.
  • Bell Labs - Bell Labs, sadly, is refocusing to concentrate on near-term problems rather than basic research.
  • Dr. Dobb's Journal No More - Dr. Dobb's magazine is going to a web-only presence. And that's a shame.
  • Where Were You On July 20, 1969? - 40 years ago man first walked on the moon. What were you doing at the time?
  • Wernher von Braun - What role did Wernher von Braun play in getting us to the moon?

Software

  • On Backups - Your hard disk will fail. What’s your backup strategy?
  • How My Mom Got Hacked - How My Mom Got Hacked
  • Software Updates - Jack is reminded that data is terribly ephemeral.
  • A C tidbit - Did you know sprintf() is a dangerous construct? This article explains why and gives an alternative.
  • A Different Kind of USB Scope GUI We need a new way to interact with those inexpensive USB scopes and logic analyzers.
  • Code - The Good and the Ugly Careful C Craftsmanship Creates Correct Code.
  • Linux Wins - Or Does It? RTOSes die, Linux is in. Or is it?
  • Software IS Pretty Darn Good A recent article bemoans the sad state of software. It's just more FUD.
  • The First Rule of UI Design The first rule of UI design is Don't Piss Off The User.
  • Time to Move On? Are developers starting to think about moving beyond C and C?
  • Your Development Platform A poll suggests most of us would like to have Linux tools. Are vendors serving us poorly?
  • Annoying Delays - Developers unite! Let's eliminate all pointless delays in our systems.
  • Sterile Code - Does consistency mean sterility?
  • Embedded Linux - A Bust? Linux gets an awful lot of press, but seems to be a stealth OS. Is it really just a tiny part of the embedded space?
  • C sucks - It's a horrible language that offers little to help us make correct programs.
  • The End of Days - The Collapse of the World, and More on C.
  • No One Likes GUIs - Does a GUI or command line interface make more sense for developers?
  • A Feel For Things - EEs have a feel for circuits, Justin Timberlake a feel for, uh, whatever, but do firmware people develop a feel for code?
  • No Cute Code - C is a very expressive language. We can make working code that's ugly, pretty, silly or just cute. That's not always a good idea, though.
  • Some Assemly Required - In a world of high level languages, does being an expert assembly language developer help one craft better C/C++ code?
  • Separating Functions - Architects design, contractors build. Software engineers design, estimate, code, debug, test and document. Maybe the Jack-of-all-trades model is flawed?
  • A Shifting Landscape - Microsoft's new CE license targets the GPL, while Wind River now embraces Linux and offers alternatives to per-unit royalties. Everything we know about OS licenses is changing.
  • Code Guardians - Who is really responsible for the code? Should we assign a strong guardian angel, someone with the authority to say "no!", to ensure we're not taking shortcuts?
  • Big Code - Vista, Microsoft's long delayed next-generation of Windows, will be huge. And really buggy. As are nearly all large software projects.
  • Comments - Self-documenting code? What rubbish!
  • Tool Upgrades - Do you bungie jump? Climb K-2? Do helo-skiing? How's this for scary: changing compilers in the middle of a project?
  • Middleware Madness - Middleware and big OSes offer lots of significant benefits. The costs are much harder to quantify.
  • Complexity - Complex and hard to use products and processes surround us. and it's not just because of software.
  • Trusted ICs, Trusted Software - PCs are under a hailstorm of virus attacks. What about our development tools?
  • Quantum Puzzlement - The promises of quantum computing are astounding. Will we non-physicists be able to actually program these things?
  • Languages - The use of OOP continues to grow in the embedded space.
  • UML Use - Go to the ESC and you'll see "UML" plastered over many booths. But is anyone using it?
  • Linux Surveys - Is Linux dying in the embedded space? Or is it healthier than ever? Surveys don't paint a clear picture.
  • Stack Management - It's tough to estimate stack size. Now it appears that at least one tool can help.
  • Data Management - Programs have been described as collections of algorithms and data structures. But in firmware we tend to cobble up our own data management code all the time.
  • Comments on Comments - It's a mistake to place a comment after a line of C or C++.
  • It's (Not) a Poor Craftsman Who Blames His Tools - Homo Sapiens is a tool-maker and tool-user. Great tools help developers ship better products faster.
  • RMA - Preemptive multitasking is inherently non-deterministic, but RMA can change that. But does anyone use it?
  • Superprogrammers - What is a superprogrammer? An undisciplined hacker with social failings or someone with another set of characteristics?
  • GNU Tools - What's in your toolbox? Do you favor proprietary tools or those that are open source?
  • New Code - Legacy code, no matter how bad, will be the foundation for most products of the future.
  • The Use of Agile - The agile community's primary conference occurs in August, and looks to be quite interesting.
  • Watchdogs - : Is a watchdog timer a crutch for lousy developers or a wise bit of insurance?
  • Ads I Like - Ads: Love `em? Hate `em? Some are great
  • Agile 2007 - The Agile 2007 conference catered mostly to PC types, but some embedded heads showed up.
  • Self Documenting Code - Are comments always necessary?
  • Data Has No Value - That's my conclusion based on how poorly we take care of it.
  • Protected Memory Spaces - Protected memory spaces are like a fuse that gives a system some degree of fault-tolerance. So why aren't we using them?
  • A Million Lines of Code - Programs on the scale of 1m lines of code are getting more common. But how big is 1m LOC?
  • Apprentices - In the days of guilds craftspeople were expected to serve a long apprenticeship. Is this appropriate for engineers as well?
  • Demotivated Teams - Broken teams need a serious dose of enlightened management, not more process.
  • Is Assembly Obsolete? - The reports of assembly language's death are greatly exaggerated.
  • Optimistic Programming - We assume 1+1=2, but the evidence suggests that's often not true.
  • Brain Books - We're drowning in information. One way to capture it is the use of Brain Books.
  • Assembly Languages - Embedded might be the last refuge of assembly language. Is it fading from that, too?
  • Integrity at EAL6+ - Security is usually neglected in the embedded space. Now there are some options.
  • Ada's Lack of Adoption - Despite its strengths, Ada just doesn't have a lot of market share.
  • Ada Take Two - More on the lack of adoption of Ada. and career inertia.
  • On Language Again - Language is important. That includes spelling and grammar, whether your writing ad copy or comments. (And that word misuse is intentional).
  • Deep Agile - Deep Agile 2009 explored using agile methods in embedded development.

Random Thoughts

  • On Resumes - A resume has to be a compelling sales document. Here’s some pointers.
  • Getting Started - What got you into this field?
  • Reflections on a Career - From a world without embedded to it being everywhere. What a career!
  • How I sent my boss to jail - What's in the code? Does the boss have any idea?
  • CS In K-12 - Bill Maher has his new rules. But there’s an old rule: when in doubt, petition the Federal government for a solution.
  • Facile software - Writing software is easy. Software engineering, though, is hard.
  • ARM TechCon 2014 - ARM TechCon had a number of surprises.
  • Burned by a Consultant - The source code was in limbo, somewhere on the consultant’s machines.
  • Data Dumping - Did the paperless-office ever happen? To a first approximation, yes.
  • Engineering Congress - Congress needs an engineering mindset.
  • Farewell Dr. Dobb’s - Another important publication bites the dust.
  • A Look Foreback - What can we expect in technology in 2015?
  • Screens Everywhere - Screens are everywhere. Will you need one in your embedded system? ThreadX has a nice solution.
  • Tools I Like - Jack believes in buying high quality tools. Here are some of his favorites.
  • The Hackaday Prize - Want a free ride into space?
  • Those Unsightly Code Sores - Infectious code can be highly contagious. Here are some examples.
  • Software Updates - Jack is reminded that data is terribly ephemeral.
  • On Backups Your hard disk will fail. What’s your backup strategy?
  • Agile Bertrand Meyer’s latest book won’t make many agile enthusiasts happy.
  • ARM TechCon 2014 ARM TechCon had a number of surprises.
  • Ham Radio Today Ham radio, and the ESC, are now both paths into this field.
  • Heathkit Returns Heathkit, the fabled electronics kits company, is going back into that business after a two-decade hiatus.
  • Heathkit Shutters Heathkit was coming back. Now it appears they're folding.
  • Multicore Madness Here's one speed limit that's heavily enforced.
  • OSTAR The world runs on GPS, but only in recent years.
  • The Death of the JWST The James Webb Space Telescope faces an uphill battle to survive.
  • Anti-Human Apps Smart phone apps do some amazing things. Others are designed to distance us from humanity, or turn us into sociopaths.
  • What's all this cell phone stuff, anyway? Drivers weaving across lanes. People walking into walls. They're all staring dumbly down at their phones.
  • GPS Perils GPS is becoming as ubiquitous as the power grid - which is both good and bad.
  • Home Labs Science and technology: It's growing in America's basements.
  • Is 4 Bits Dead? Four bits is still around, though seems to be as stealthy as an F-117.
  • Does Linux Suck? Linux is the solution to all engineering problems. Or is it?
  • Making the Switch Mac or Windows? I've been lured by Steve Jobs' siren song, at least for the laptop.
  • Math Is Needed A math professor scoffs at the teaching of math.
  • On Higher Education Should web-based delivery replace the university classroom?
  • Science Under Attack The sun goes around the Earth. Or so some still believe.
  • Time or Money? The Embedded Systems Conference is the best event for our industry. Did you go?
  • Which Degree? - Do you really need engineers to develop firmware?
  • India Rules! - Americans be not complacent! The tide is turning.
  • Open Source Windows - Poetry or junk? What does Windows look like internally?
  • Reading? Bah, Humbug - USA Today claims Americans don't read. What about us techies?
  • The Death of PCs - PCs are commodities with a bleak future.
  • Code Books - Too many computer books substitute code for descriptive writing.
  • Quality vs convenience - Consumers are voting with their wallets for convenience, not quality.
  • Ada's Slide into Oblivion - Did Ada die because we're intellectually lazy?
  • Beware of Programmers Carrying Screwdrivers - Or not?
  • Over-optimizing - Are we developers creating a world we don't want to live in?
  • Old Farts - Where do all of the old engineers go?
  • Certification - A vision of the future: without a government "safe-coder" certification, you can't get a job.
  • RTFM - Manuals stink. Tech support is worse. Vendors need to deliver complete, well written docs with their products.
  • Digital TV - The Feds say "if you don't want digital TV, you get nothin'"
  • kibi - My computer does NOT have 256 mb of RAM; it has 256 mebibytes, built of an array of 64 mebibit DRAMs.
  • Engineers Without Borders - Engineering is great, but rarely gives one a feeling of helping others. Here's an option
  • What a Show - The recent ESC was a near sell-out; maybe that's a sign of lurking health in the embedded industry.
  • Convergence - Dump the PDA and MP3 player -cell phones rock.
  • Warchalking - Don't bogart my air! Nor my `net connection.
  • Drive in London? Dig out your Wallet - Londoners start paying 5 quid a day to drive in the middle of town. Technology, not the cops, is the enforcer.
  • On Language - The word "embedded" has yet another, new, meaning. but nothing to do with electronics.
  • Too Much Cool - Cool features are pretty, well, cool. But not at the expense of basic functionality!
  • Send in the Engineers - The country was torn by wars and decades of neglect. Only the engineers can save it.
  • Road Rage - Does an assault on Linux justify e-violence?
  • Age Discrimination - New to engineering? Plan to be used as a disposable commodity, tossed out just when you're hitting max capability.
  • Salaries Hit Zero - Now you, too, can spend $100k on a college education and work for free! Limited time offer - sign up now!
  • Message From the President - Companies are getting more honest in their employment policies. Read one and weep.
  • Yea for Big Brother - Perhaps a big brother world isn't so bad after all?
  • Hurricane Madness - As Jimmy Buffet said, You just can't reason with hurricane season.
  • The Dialectics of Technology - Are consumers and vendors locked in a class war that would delight Marx?
  • The Vote - Followup - In an earlier Pulse I badgered the state of the voting machine industry. The Feds answer. and it's scary.
  • Professionals - Why can't we get no respect? Does anyone think engineers are professionals?
  • Just Reset It - Everything crashes all the time. Or so it sometimes seems. I'm sick of cycling power, removing batteries and the like. Are there any options?
  • Killing Time - Real-life, daydreaming, Slashdot and telling anecdotes consumes a big chunk of the work-week. Is this normal?
  • The Commoditization of Software Development - Software development went from an artistic process, to a sort of science, back to the arts, and is now just a commodity.
  • Treat Them Well - Engineers are not robotic automatons mindlessly cranking out code. Great results come from teams that feel "special".
  • Connectivity - We have an insatiable demand for more, better and faster communications. How much is enough?
  • Abused by the Machine - The machine sucked in Jack's ATM card but hung. Where's the cash?
  • Geeks On Call - Vision-challenged? A lot of us are. Why, though, are glasses the thickness of coke bottles an enduring image of geek-dom?
  • The BUG Tax - A tax is an expense levied on citizens, often without the payer's approval. Are bugs a form of taxation? And how much is the bug tax, anyway?
  • The Two Things - It's enlightening - or at least a lot of fun - to try and express the essence of a profession with just two facts. What are the two facts for embedded systems?
  • Real-Time Firmware Updates for the Dishwasher - Lots of embedded systems use desktop OSes and processors. What distinguishes an embedded app from a PC? Could the fundamental difference be quality?
  • Specialization - The evolutionary impetus to specialize or die is changing the nature of embedded development. It's hard to be a generalist when systems explode in complexity and size.
  • Radio Days - Efforts to clean up our rivers and air aren't enough. We need to preserve the pristine wilderness of the RF spectrum as well.
  • Device Software Optimization - Marketing-speak is now taking over the embedded industry. What are these folks talking about, anyway?
  • Writing Rite - Emale iz fast but giffs a image of who u r. Rite pour Englsh and ur reader wll think u is an idiot
  • Old and In The Way - Few engineers stay in the field past age 50. Are these people really dinosaurs? Is their experience a useful resource we're squandering?
  • Generational Differences - Some products are too hard to use. Others have secret modes nearly impossible to access. But most of it baffles an awful lot of people.
  • Anyone Can Do It - Don't know embedded systems? No problem! Take a week-long programming class and then start cranking code.
  • It's Show Time - If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair. And check out the ESC.
  • Advanced Degrees - More engineers seem interested in getting their MS degree. Jack wonders why, since there seems so little benefit to one's career.
  • Sea Code - Want to go on a cruise. and get paid? You, too, can make $1800/month while living the life of luxury, anchored 3.1 miles off LA for months on end.
  • Spares & Tools - What's with us engineers? We collect spare parts and tools more assiduously than most folks buy lottery tickets.
  • Human Failure - A Cessna approaches Washington DC. Air traffic control goes into overdrive. Was the pilot evil or just confused?
  • Professionals - If we want to be treated as professionals, we must act as such. That starts with continuous education.
  • The New Greenies - The environmental movement has neglected their best ally. Us.
  • For the Want of a Nail - Tight funding gave New Orleans part of a hurricane protection system. A few bucks more might have made a huge difference.
  • More on Certification - An ACM author plunges into the certification argument. and then flounders.
  • Juxtapostions - In the south of England a masons built a castle that has stood for a thousand years. Would that our products lasted for more than a few years!
  • Margin - Flight 292's near-failure was in fact a brilliant success, an example of engineering margins that saved lives.
  • The Further Decline of English - Technology is leading to the total breakdown in the use of English. Or something.
  • Apolcalypse Now? - It is the best of times; it is the worst of times. Or is it?
  • New Years's - The Morning After - E gads! It's the morning after yet the night before won't go away.
  • Keystroke Madness - Computers are great productivity enhancers. some of the time.
  • National Engineers Week - This is National Engineers Week. Though few will take note of it, it's a great profession that we should be proud of.
  • Brainstorming - Brainstorm this! What's the best way to generate lots of ideas quickly?
  • Marketing Speak - Some marketers seem to speak their own lingo, which is composed of English words. but conveys no meaning.
  • PC Programming - Job description: "Programmer needed to write filters to produce politically-correct DBMS results that read the mind of the searcher to ensure we don't offend, well, anyone."
  • Best Job in America - Surprise! You've got the best job in America, according to a new CNN Money poll.
  • Henry Petroski - Henry Petroski is a prolific and interesting chronicler of the nature and spirit of engineering. If only more people read his stuff.
  • We're All Geeks - 40% of this nation is fascinated by science. That's a hopeful number for all of us.
  • Catastrophe Disentanglement - Catastrophes are ultimately people problems.
  • A Close Vote - November 7 is almost upon us. Much of the nation will vote electronically. What will happen?
  • Introspection - Though Socrates' statement "The unexamined life is not worth living" is somewhat elitist, there is some wisdom in the thought.
  • A Pretty Good Bill - The Vote Integrity and Verification Act of 2007 is Congress's latest attempt to fix e-voting problems. It's a pretty good bill.
  • Feature Creep - How many things does your cell phone do? And how many of those do you use?
  • Backups - Reformat hard drive. Lose $39 billion.
  • Spares - It's the project's end. Do you know where your resources are?
  • The Descent of Man - Engineers are usually curious about the world. But is that a recessive trait?
  • Why I Became an Engineer - Why did you become an engineer?
  • Married to the Team - Marriage and developer teams have a surprising amount in common.
  • 40 Hour Weeks - A survey suggests we waste 20% of the workday. Can this be true?
  • The Boston ESC - Are you an East Coastie? Don’t you dare miss the Boston ESC!
  • ESC India - The first-ever Embedded Systems Conference in India exceeded all expectations.
  • The Fourth Law - Isaac Asimov's Three Laws are neither sufficient nor applicable only to traditional human-like robots.
  • Google Trends - Google Trends suggests a declining interest in embedded subjects.
  • Working From Home - Despite all of the promises of the e-age, most engineers continue to commute to the office every day.
  • What's Embedded? - Can you define "embedded system?" I can't.
  • Professional Organizations - Are you part of a professional engineering organization?
  • CS Schooling - Do CS departments come even close to producing graduates that meet the needs of the firmware community?
  • Recession Proof Jobs - A new survey pegs software as recession-proof. Does that scale to embedded development?
  • The Real National Security Issue - The oil will run out, eventually. And that will devastate our economy.
  • Misguided - More stories abound about electronics steering us wrong. Both users and developers need to step up to the plate.
  • Miracle and Wonder - These are the days of miracle and wonder. Sometimes, though, we forget that.
  • A Trillion Lines of Code - We're counting the dollars as the financial mess expands. Has anyone counted how much code we're produced?
  • Jobs: Implosion or Same Old - Is engineering the place to be. or are we equally at risk with burger-flipping English majors?
  • Ode to an End mill - The iPod was designed to be beautiful. Many mundane products weren't. but are.
  • Trigger Warnings - College is terrifying. Thankfully, trigger warnings reduce the risk of feeling bad.
  • Going Walkabout - Max Maxfield has ruined my year. Unless I fail to keep the resolution.
  • Hurricane Season - You just can't reason with hurricane season.
  • The Death of Software Engineering - Tom DeMarco, always a fascinating pundit, thinks we should stop building mundane products.

Fun Stuff

Real-Time Issues

  • Determinism What makes you think your system will be responsive all of the time?
  • Disabling Interrupts Accessing shared resources is harder than one thinks.