Over the past few years, SparkFun has had some amazing success. And that’s due in no small amount to the idea of open source. SparkFun: Why Open Source? article tells about how SparkFun ended up open sourcing many of their electronics products.
SparkFun: Why Open Source?
January 17th, 2012The Commodore 64 is 30
January 16th, 2012Commodore 64 was the most successful 8-bit micro ever according to The Commodore 64 is 30 article. Commodore 64 made its public debut at the 1982 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), though it wouldn’t go into production until later in the year before going on sale in the US market in August and few months later in Europe.
Inside, Commodore had packed a 6510 processor, an updated version of MOS Technology’s popular 6502, the chip used in the Vic-20, the BBC Micro and many others. In the UK, the 6510 was clocked at 985KHz, though the US version apparently ran at slightly over 1MHz. As the computer’s name suggested, it had 64KB of memory (though only 38KB of that was available to Basic). Basic was stored on a 20KB Rom chip and copied into the main memory when the 64 was booted.
WANem network emulator
January 12th, 2012There are many cases when need to emulate various networking conditions and scenarios. Usually the most practical way to test the application on different networking conditions is to use some kind of WAN emulator that lets you control the various networking characteristics. WANem is a free WAN emulator suitable for this task. WANem allows the application development team to setup a transparent application gateway which can be used to simulate WAN characteristics like Network delay, Packet loss, Packet corruption, Disconnections, Packet re-ordering, Jitter, etc.
WANem is a Wide Area Network Emulator that is designed to provide a real experience of a WAN/Internet during application development and testing. WANem works over an Ethernet LAN environment. WANem is available in bootable CD and VMware virtual appliance versions at an affordable cost (for FREE!). Award winning (FOSS INDIA AWARDS 2008) WANem is built on top of Linux and many open source component. From a functionality perspective WANem hooks into the Linux kernel towards provisioning the network emulation characteristics and extends the functionality with additional modules.
Setup is pretty straight forward. WANem is normally launched through a LiveCD, which is based on a re-mastered Knoppix. Another option is to use VMware virtual appliance. I have used both versions. Both versions allow a quick and easy setup in any development environment with an intuitive web interface for purposes of configuration. You don’t need to be a network and Linux guru to use WANem because the provided easy and very quick. There are many example configurations you can easily select and you can modify them as needed.
In advanced mode you have option to set all necessary network performance parameters you can think of. If you are a networking expert and know what are the right setting for different parameters, this is the way to go. You can see the supported settings (in advanced mode) on the picture below.
WANem has even tool (WANalyzer is distributed along with WANem) that allow you to measure the performance of an existing real network, and then it can simulate how that network performed.
WANem has to be located between two hosts, between each we want to simulate a network link. The routing parameters which need to be configured on the clients and/or on the WANem machine. The preferred and most straightforward configuration uses a PC with two Ethernet cards and connect that between the two hosts.
It is possible to work also with only one Ethernet card (with some limitations), but for this to work you need special configuration on the end hosts to make sure all traffic they send gets sent to the WANem machine that forwards the traffic to other host. I have personally used this approach only when I have wanted to use the virtual machine version of WANem.
Installing and Configuring WANem Virtual Appliance and Using the WANem WAN Emulator Virtual Appliance articles tells that setup is pretty straight forward. After the WANem Virtual Appliance has been started and setup in your network environment, all you have to do is to route your traffic through it.
WANem is an excellent tool.
Scheme-it on-line schematic tool
January 11th, 2012Digi-Key Corporation and Aspen Labs launched around one month ago one-of-a-kind online ‘Scheme-it’ tool for drawing schematics. Scheme-it is a new on-line design tool that allows engineers, students, and enthusiasts to quickly create and share electronic schematics from directly within their web browser. “Digi-Key is excited to launch Scheme-it, the industry’s only fully-online schematic tool,” said Tony Harris, chief marketing officer, Digi-Key Corporation.
Try the software at http://www.digikey.com/schemeit. This is an interesting tool and I have just started to learn it. To experience an instructional video tutorial featuring Scheme-it go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVaWkhrEo4s.
PS. If you are interested in circuit sharing check also CircuitBee. It has good circuit diagram sharing options but you need to use a separate schematic software to draw the circuits (software you need to install to your PC).
Security trends for 2012
January 10th, 2012Here is my collection of security trends for 2012 from different sources:
Windows XP will be the biggest security threat in 2012 according to Sean Sullivan, security advisor at F-Secure: “People seem to be adding new systems without necessarily abandoning their old XP machines, which is great news for online criminals, as XP continues to be their favourite target.”
F-Secure also says also that it might not be long before the cyber criminals turn their attentions to tablet devices. Attacks against mobile devices have become more common and I expect this to continue this year as well.
Americans more susceptible to online scams than believed, study finds. A recent survey from The Ponemon Institute and PC Tools dives into this question and reveals a real gap between how aware Americans think they are of scams and how likely they actually are to fall for them.
Fake antivirus scams that have plagued Windows and Mac OSX during the last couple of years and now it seems that such fake antivirus scams have spread to Android. Nearly all new mobile malware in Q3 2011 was targeted at Android.. When antivirus software becomes a universally accepted requirement (the way it is on Windows is the day), has the platform has failed and missed the whole point of being mobile operating system?
Cyber criminals are developing more sophisticated attacks and the police will counterattack.
Mobile phone surveillance will increase and more details of it will surface. Last year’s findings have included Location data collecting smart-phones, Carrier IQ phone spying busted and Police Surveillance system to monitor mobile phones. In USA the Patriot Act lets them investigate anything, anywhere, without a warrant. Now they are on your devices and can monitor everything. Leaked Memo Says Apple Provides Backdoor To Governments: “in exchange for the Indian market presence” mobile device manufacturers, including RIM, Nokia, and Apple (collectively defined in the document as “RINOA”) have agreed to provide backdoor access on their devices.
Geo-location tagging in smartphones to potentially cause major security risks article says that geo-location tagging security issues are likely to be a major issue in 2012—and that many users of smartphones are unaware of the potentially serious security consequences of their use of the technology. When smartphones images to the Internet (to portals such Facebook or Flickr) there’s a strong chance they will also upload the GPS lcoation data as well. This information could be subsequently misused by third parties.
You need to find your balance between freedom and security (
Vapauden ja turvallisuuden tasapaino). Usernames poured out for all to see, passwords and personal identification numbers are published. A knowledge of access management is even more important: who has the right to know when and where the role of functioning? Access, identity and role management are essential for the protection of the whole system. Implementation of such systems is still far from complete.
When designing networked services, the development of safety should taken into account in the planning stage, rather than at the end of execution. Even a secure network and information system can not act as operating a vacuum.
Reliability of the server certificates will face more and more problems. We can see more certificate authority bankruptcies due cyber attacks to them. Certificate attacks that have focused on the PC Web browsers, are now proven to be effective against mobile browsers.
Stonesoft says that advanced evasion techniques (AET) will be a major threat. Stonesoft discovered that with certain evasion techniques (particularly when combined in particular combinations) they could sneak common exploits past many IDS/IPS systems (including their own, at the time last summer). Using the right tool set (including a custom TCP/IP stack) attackers could sneak past our best defenses. This is real and they foresee a not too distant future where things like botnet kits will have this as a checkbox feature.
Rise of Printer Malware is real. Printer malware: print a malicious document, expose your whole LAN says that sending a document to a printer that contained a malicious version of the OS can send your sensitive document anywhere in Internet. Researchers at Columbia University have discovered a new class of security flaws that could allow hackers to remotely control printers over the Internet. Potential scenario: send a resume to HR, wait for them to print it, take over the network and pwn the company. HP does have firmware update software for their printers and HP Refutes Inaccurate Claims; Clarifies on Printer Security. I wonder how many more years until that old chain letter, where some new insidious virus infects everything from your graphics card to your monitor cable, becomes true.
Unauthorized changes in the BIOS could allow or be part of a sophisticated, targeted attack on an organization, allowing an attacker to infiltrate an organization’s systems or disrupt their operations. How Do You Protect PCs from BIOS Attacks? The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has drafted a new computer-security publication that provides guidance for computer manufacturers, suppliers, and security professionals who must protect personal computers as they start up “out of the box”: “BIOS Integrity Measurement Guidelines,” NIST Special Publication 800-155.
According to Stonesoft security problems threaten the lives and the year 2012 may be the first time when we lose lives because of security offenses. According to the company does this happen remains to be seen, but the risk is due to industrial SCADA systems attacks against targets such as hospitals or automated drug delivery systems. I already posted around month ago about SCADA systems security issues.
Haitz’s Law
January 8th, 2012As manufacturers strive for market share in the burgeoning LED lighting market each tries to outdo the other with ever-improving efficacy claims. But just how far can the LED chip makers go and how soon will they get there?
Equally important: LED cost is plummeting. Thanks to a phenomenon known as Haitz’s Law, LED cost is said to be falling by a factor of 10 every decade, while the light generated per package rises by a factor of 20.
Haitz’s law is an observation and forecast about the steady improvement, over many years, of light-emitting diodes (LED). It states that every decade, the cost per lumen (unit of useful light emitted) falls by a factor of 10, the amount of light generated per LED package increases by a factor of 20, for a given wavelength (color) of light. It is considered the LED counterpart to Moore’s law.
LED Efficacy Improvement Shows No Signs of Slowing article briefly explores the historical trend of improving efficacy of high-brightness LEDs, considers the theoretical efficiency limits, and takes a look at how contemporary devices stack up. Finally, the article takes a look at what manufacturers such as Cree and OSRAM are up to in their R&D labs to find out how tomorrow’s chips will perform. Rapid increases in LED efficacy show no sign of slowing just yet. And with a mainstream lighting market for LEDs potentially worth billions of dollars, manufacturers are not shy about pouring hundreds of millions into R&D.
Video and movie shooting with a smartphone
January 5th, 2012As the technology that powers smartphone cameras has steadily improved, the point-and-shoot has become an endangered species. The video capabilities of smartphones have greatly improved, and nowadays the best phones can shoot good quality high-definition video at good lighting conditions.
Still, smartphone cameras have some limitations. For example, because of the constraints of the lens, it is almost impossible to snap a really good close-up or a really good distance shot. Say, Can You Make Phone Calls on That Camera? article tells there are companies that are producing dozens of inexpensive smartphone attachments that can easily convert a mobile phone into a mini-professional camera. These products include zoom, fisheye and ultra-up-close macro lenses.
With a good smartphone camera can give amazing good pictures and video when lighting conditions are good (for example outside) but when it is dark the limitations will show easily (for example many inside locations). How to Shoot Great Video With Your Smartphone article tells that before you can overcome your smartphone camera’s limitations you need to understand them. After introduction the article gives you lots of tips how to shoot great video with your smartphone, including instructions for simple DIY accessories like the one you see in picture below.
Some professional movie makers have even found smartphone cameras and tried them. Feature film shot on a smartphone to get theatrical release. Olive is the very first full length feature film shot 100% on a cell phone according to the film home page. Hooman Khalili first got the idea to make a feature film shot entirely on a smartphone in January 2010. A little less than two years later, his film “Olive”, shot on a Nokia N8, is going to be shown in a Los Angeles theater for a week.
When I first read about this, it feels just like another gimmick. Marketing with “A feature film shot on a phone!!” gets a lot more attention, yeah. It would feel like “another indie short film” if shot on anything else. Yet for Nokia more marketing proof the Nokia N8 is the World’s best ever Camera phone!
The news on film shot with N8 became much more interesting when some technical details how they do the shooting came up. First I was a picture of their camera setup in Amerikkalaisohjaaja kuvasi kokopitkän elokuvan Nokian puhelimella article. They have some way attached the full size movie camera optics to the N8 camera to the phone. Good optics are essential to get good quality shots and right film visuals like shallow depth of field. Here is a picture of the camera system from Olive – Behind the Scenes video.
A 35 mm lens adapter was fabricated to fit the smart phone in order to achieve a shallow depth of field. Feature film shot on a smartphone to get theatrical release article tells that Khalili and his team had built what they needed from scratch, dismantling a 1940s-era movie camera to figure out how it should be done. And when it came time to attach the camera to the phone, the best they could come up with was double-sided tape. The downsize of the special construction was what the image you see on the N8 screen upside down, which is a little bit annoying I think. For more details take a look at Olive – Behind the Scenes video.
The one overhead shot in the movie was made by putting the phone in a remote-control helicopter. This is where the small size of the camera phone and built-in optics is comes very handy. Camera phone optics as such were OK for motorcycle shots.
A gimmick is a gimmick, and they have maybe made things difficult for themselves with results that maybe aren’t as wonderful as they could be with some more traditional film gear. Bu if the result is good then all good. Tasty sweet is a tasty treat and what was used to bake it is insignificant. Interesting test for limitations of cell phone camera capabilities.
Telecom trends for 2012
January 4th, 2012What can we expect for the fast-moving telecommunications market this year?
There are many predictions. I started looking for information from Twelve 2012 Predictions For The Telecom Industry and Top 12 Hot Design Technologies for 2012 articles. Then I did some more research on what is happening on the field and decided to make my own list of what is expected this year. You can go to the original information sources by clicking the links to see where all this information comes from.
The global telecommunications services market will grow at a 4% rate in 2012 (was 7% in 2011).
Mobile growth does not stop. The number of global mobile subscriptions will pass the 6 billion mark in February. India will pass China to become the world’s largest mobile market in terms of subscriptions.
The mobile handset market will surpass the $200 billion mark. Smartphones are most heavily used by people under 45, and that age group increasingly sees the smartphone or tablet as a portal to Facebook and Twitter, among other social networks. The demand for the chips that generate and process that data in smartphones is increasing (sales of smartphone applications processors surged to $2.2 billion in the third quarter of 2011). Six Companies Want Supremacy On The Smartphones Chip Market! Qualcomm Look Out!
There is lots of competition on mobile OS marker, but I expect that thing continue pretty much as 2011 ended: Android continues to boom, RIM and Microsoft decline. Symbian’s future is uncertain although Symbian started and finished 2011 as the undisputed king of mobile OSs (33.59%). Windows Phone will try to get to market and Leaked Windows Phone Roadmap gives us a peek into the future. Java Micro Edition making a comeback according to the NetApplications report because large number of low-cost feature phones. The real mobile application battle lines of 2012 will be drawn across the landscape of HTML5.Tizen open source project tries to push to mobile Linux market (first version Q1 2012) with ideas from Meego, LiMo and WebOS. Cars and smartphones start to communicate using MirrorLink technology to allow new features.
Mobile campaigns to be hot in 2012 presidential race article tells that though mobile advertising not seen much on the campaign trail, mobile strategy is expected to be important for attracting younger voters. Social networks played an important role in the last U.S. presidential election, but the explosive growth in smartphone usage and the introduction of tablets could make or break the candidates for president in 2012. Expect to see specialized apps to help campaign groupies follow the candidates.
Text messaging has been very profitable business for mobile phone operators and making them lots of money. Text Messaging Is in Decline in Some Countries tell that all signs point to text messaging’s continuing its decline. There has been already decline in Finland, Hong Kong and Australia. The number of text messages sent by cellphone customers in USA is still growing, but that growth is gradually slowing, “SMS erosion” is expected to hit AT&T and Verizon in this year or next years. The fading allure of text messaging is most likely tied to the rise of alternative services, which allow customers to send messages free using a cellphone’s Internet connection.
EU politicians want to ban roaming charges according to Computer Sweden magazine article. If the proposal becomes law in the EU, it takes away slippery roaming charges for mobile data (could happen earliest at summer 2012, but I expect that it will take much more time). Roaming robbery to end – 2015 article tells that the goal is that the mobile roaming fees should be completely abolished the 2015th.
Near Field Communication (NFC) is becoming available in many mobile phones and new flexibility via organic materials can help in implementing NFC. NFC-enabled SIM cards are expected to become a worldwide standard. Electronic wallet in smartphones probably takes a step forward with this. Google, opened the game with Google Wallet service. According to research firm ABI Research estimates that in 2012 NFC phones is growing 24 million to 80 million units. There is still years to wait until mass market on NFC wallets starts. ABI Research estimates that there is 552 million NFC enabled devices at year 2016.
The 4G technology WiMax will see the beginning of its end in Asia. Like operators in other regions, Asian operators will opt for the rival 4G technology LTE instead.
The number of active (installed) PCs worldwide will pass the 2 billion mark. Broadband penetration continues to increase. Broadband penetration of the world’s population will pass the 10% mark globally. IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) penetration of the world’s population will pass the 1% mark. Broadband technologies are fundamentally transforming the way we live. UN wants two-thirds of the world online by 2015.
Today’s Cable Guy, Upgraded and Better-Dressed article tells that the cable guy is becoming sleeker and more sophisticated, just like the televisions and computers he installs. The nearly saturated marketplace means growth for cable companies must come from all the extras like high-speed Internet service, home security, digital recording devices and other high-tech upgrades.
Ethernet displaces proprietary field buses. As Ethernet displaces proprietary field buses to facilitate the operation of the digital factory. Ethernet switches are the ubiquitous building block of any intelligent network. Ethernet has also become the de facto networking technology in industrial automation even in mission-critical local networks. Modern Ethernet switches have added significant new functionality to Ethernet while decreasing port prices. Ethernet for Vehicles also becomes reality largely to serve the expected boom of camera-based applications in cars.
Operators’ growth will increasingly depend on their having a cloud computing strategy, an approach for the high-growth IT service market and a clear value proposition for the enterprise market. Data center technologies will be hot topic. 10GBase-T Technology will become technically and economically feasible interface option on data center servers. 10GBase-T Technology allows you to use RJ45 connectors and unshielded twisted pair cabling to provide 10Mbps, 100Mbps, 1Gbps, and 10Gbps data transmission, while being backward-compatible with prior generations.
40/100 Gbit/s Ethernet will be a hot topic. Carriers and datacenters have been clamoring for the technology to expand their core backbone networks. 2012–A Return to Normalcy and Pragmatic, Power Conscious 100G article mentions that in 2010 and 2011, the industry saw the first real roll-outs of 100G transport solutions based on Coherent Detection and FPGA-based Framers. In 2012 we’ll start to see 100G taking a bigger place in the build out of new and existing networks around the world. The initial deployments of 100G are clearly too costly and too power hungry to be widely deployed as the primary transport technology, so optical transport marketplace will move to much lower power and lower cost Direct Detection optical transport solutions. The average WDM link for 10G is dissipating about 3.5W per optical module, the average WDM link per 100G is dissipating about about 100W.
5 Major Changes Facing the Internet in 2012 article tells that 2012 is poised to go down in Internet history as one of the most significant 12-month periods from both a technical and policy perspective since the late 1990s. This year the Internet will face or can face several milestones: root servers may have a new operator, new company could operate the .com registry, up to 1000 new top-level domains will start being introduced, additional 10,000 Web sites will support IPv6 and Europe will run out of IPv4 addresses.
No IPv6 Doomsday In 2012. Yes, IPv4 addresses are running out, but a Y2K-style disaster/frenzy won’t be coming in 2012. Of course there’s a chance that panic will ensue when Europe’s RIPE hands out its last IPv4 addresses this summer, but ‘most understand that they can live without having to make any major investments immediately. Despite running out of IPv4 addresses we will be able to continue to use IPv4 techniques (Asia depleted all of its IPv4 address space already April 2011). ISP’s and hosting companies will not run out of IPs. This only means that the price per IP will start to slowly grow. Forward thinking enterprises can spend the year preparing for the new IPv6 protocol (USA is expected run out of addresses next year). Comcast has said it will offer production-quality IPv6 services across its nationwide network in 2012.
Operators start to pay more attention to the business opportunity of “M2M” (machine-to-machine connections). Investment and innovation in M2M (think smart energy meters and fleet trackers for logistics) will follow.
Smart Grid technologies include smart power management and architecture system components are already hot. Smart meter deployment on the rise globally. The global power utilities are the next mega-market moving from analog, standalone systems to digital networked technology. The opportunities are huge in everything from wireless components in smart meters to giant power electronics. First cut of some very basic framework standards have been drafted and lots of works needs to be done (ensure safety!). Forward-looking utilities and such vendors have now put business units and plans in place. IPv6 is seen as a needed technology in implementing Smart Grid communications. IPV6 has become a buzz word for smart grid firms.
You Will See A Ton Of Hype Around “The Internet Of Things” article tells that “The Internet Of Things” is a catchy term revolving around the idea that most everyday objects around us will be equipped with internet-collected electronics, and this will open up new applications. You Will See A Ton Of Hype Around “The Internet Of Things”, and it is hard to say if The Internet Of Things will be a huge business or a passing fad. NXP Semiconductor’s vision of Internet of Things starts with lightbulbs. Wireless sensor networks will get attention. EE Times article Top ten Embedded Internet articles for 2011 gives you links to articles that help you to catch on those topics.
Security issues were talked about lot on 2011 and I expect the discussion will continue actively during year 2012. There are still many existing security issues to fix and new issues will come up all the time.
Self-healing electronics
January 3rd, 2012One tiny fault inside battery or IC usually makes an entire electronics device is unusable. Scientists from University of Illinois have come up with an interesting solution to this. They have developed a technology to repair broken conductors instantly and automatically, without the people even notice the problem.
Self-healing electronics could work longer and reduce waste article tells that self-healing electronics uses microcapsules full of liquid metal sit atop a gold circuit. When the circuit is broken, the microcapsules rupture, filling in the crack and restoring the circuit.
This news was also mentioned by Tietoviikko and Prosessori.
London 2012 Fireworks–Amazing Sync!
January 2nd, 2012London 2012 Fireworks–Amazing Sync! London’s spectacular midnight fireworks display, welcoming in 2012. Happy New Year! This is really BRILLIANT. Best camera settings and really cool firework. This makes other large fireworks look mediocre!
Thank you Control Geek blog for telling about this.
