Bringing Big Smiles to iPhone Shutterbugs
November 27th, 2009 | 
Author: New York Times (November 25, 2009) - A basic tenet of photography is that the best camera is the one you have on hand when you need it. For many people these days, that means an iPhone.
Guardians of Their Smiles
New York Times – FOR Jessica Gwozdz, a professional photographer and mother of two, Flickr was a blessing. It allowed her to share photos of her children, Grace and Henry, with distant, tech-averse relatives for whom a username and password would have been too great an obstacle. It even allowed potential clients to freely browse her gallery.
Posted in Technology Lifestyle | 
Tags: Facebook, Flickr, parenting.com, Professional photographer, Twitter | 
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US digital TV switch-over impacts set-top sales
ElectronicsWeekly.com (August 8, 2009) — Shipments of digital terrestrial (DTT) and satellite (DTH) set-top boxes to China, India and the US accounted for more than 60% of total worldwide set-top box (STB) shipments in 2008, according to marketwatcher IMS Research.
Queens develops first photonic crystal for space
ElectronicsWeekly.com (August 7, 2009) – Queen’s University Belfast has developed the first quasi-optical frequency selective surface (FSS) that can simultaneously filter both horizontally and vertically polarised sub-millimetre wave signals.
Posted in Design Idea |
Tags: Copper, EADS Astrium, European Space Agency, Interference, Photonic Crystal, Queens University, Titanium |
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SEC asks Intel about terrorist dealings
ElectronicsWeekly.com (August 7, 2009) – A news item from May 2008 has emerged to bite Intel. The US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked Intel to explain its dealings with Cuba, Iran and Syria.
Design OVP circuitry for safe USB charging
EETASIA.com — While the infrastructure for plugging portable devices into the USB for datacom-with-power applications is fairly universal today, using the USB as a power source for direct powering or charging a battery isn’t necessarily foolproof. You’ll generally need over-voltage protection (OVP) circuitry; here’s what to consider in designing your discrete or IC-based circuit.
Posted in Design Idea |
Tags: connector, Li-ion battery, over voltage protection, OVP circuitry, USB charging |
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Scope: Power electronics conference, robots rise, more
Looking Ahead: To the Power Electronics Technology Conference
Opening Oct 30 and running through Nov 1 in Dallas, the Power Electronics Technology Exhibition and Conference has retuned, its sponsors say, to focus on the greatest innovations in power design. The keynote and general- session address highlight two of these innovations. One session covers opportunities to improve efficiency in power electronics, and the other covers the ROHS (restriction-of-hazardous-substances) situation in China. Tutorials cover subjects ranging from basics of components to motor control and energy harvesting. Technical tracks include power design; applications, including the use of ZigBee for energy management; and components.
Posted in Business Technology |
Tags: Energy Management, Power Eectronics Conference |
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Quasiresonant flyback converter easily charges energy-storage capacitors
EDN.com — Designers often use chargers with flyback topologies to quickly charge energy-storage capacitors (reference 1 and reference 2). In a flyback topology, the energy transfer takes place only when the charger’s power MOSFET is off, which effectively isolates the power switch from the load, comprising high-energy storage-capacitor banks. Thus, the voltage levels on the circuit transformer’s secondary can vary from zero to a predetermined value and corresponding energy level without any significant stress on the components on the primary side of the transformer.
Microsoft and Yahoo Are Linked Up. Now What?
The New York Times (July 29, 2009) — The bumpy, marathon mating dance between Microsoft and Yahoo finally concluded on Wednesday, when the two companies announced a partnership in Internet search and advertising to take on the industry powerhouse Google.
But there was plenty of skepticism about whether the new partners could make a serious dent in Google’s dominance.
Posted in Business Technology |
Tags: Google, Internet search, Microsoft, partnership, Yahoo |
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Mobile Handset Inventories Bulk Up
ElectronicsNews.com.au (July 27, 2009) — The handset vendors have a spring in their step as Q2 2009 results come in, says analyst ABI Research. The exception is North America which is still struggling economically. In contrast, Asian economies have been lifted by regional stimulus packages and by an anticipation of improved retail sales conditions in the latter part of H2 2009. Overall, the company is revising downwards its forecast 2009 contraction to -7.5 percent from -8.1 percent (to 1.11 billion units).