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  Headlines and summaries from the pages of Electronic Engineering Times. Previous editions are available from the 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997 News Archives.
Friday, September 5, 1997Tech firms push campaign fundingThe U.S. computer industry spent $7.3 million on political-action-committee contributions, "soft money" donations and contributions to political parties and candidates for federal office during the 1995-96 election cycle, according to a survey by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Algorithms create on-chip subwooferWaves Ltd., an audio-signal-processing firm, has developed a set of signal-processing algorithms that can give the illusion of extreme bass response on small loudspeakers, the company said last week. The algorithms, to be available either in software for Motorola's 56000 DSP family or as an analog IC, can eliminate the need for subwoofers or full-range speakers in many audio applications, according to the company.
JVC unreels projector playBetting big on an esoteric reflective-LCD technology, Victor Co. of Japan (JVC) last week premiered a new large-screen projector. Although more than a few companies, including IBM and Pioneer, are reportedly working on reflective-LCD projectors, none has shipped a commercial product yet. JVC will launch its "Direct Drive Image Light Amplifier" next spring at $10,000 to $15,000 for the professional market, with hopes of using the new technology to attack the home-theater market in the future.
Flywheel innovation could doom battery backupActive Power Inc., a startup in power-quality hardware, has brought a new level of integration to flywheel technology with a development that could eliminate the use of lead-acid battery backup systems at utility companies, telco central offices and mission-critical data centers, the company said.
IEEE-USA undertakes its own IT head countFacing a losing battle against the widespread predictions of a 190,000-person shortfall in information technology personnel, IEEE-USA is responding with its own forecast. The American arm of IEEE has commissioned a $10,000 study from the economic-forecast analysis firm of DRI-McGraw Hill to "develop a 10-year forecast of employment in 17 scientific, engineering and technical occupations in 89 industrial sectors." While IEEE-USA has some preliminary numbers in hand, it doesn't expect a full report until October.
Thursday, September 4, 1997Digital aims revamped StrongARM at WinCE applicationsDigital Equipment Corp. is sampling a StrongARM processor optimized for the increasingly competitive field of handheld computers and other portable applications. Because the StrongARM 1100 operates at 1.5 V, Digital claims it has a substantial lead in the Mips-per-watt race. The SA-1100 MPU performs 230 Dhrystone Mips at 200 MHz and 150 Mips in the 133-MHz version--enough performance to deliver a V.34 software modem, or support for voice recognition.
Wafers support fast HBT circuitsA new epitaxial wafer system optimized for high-speed heterostructure bipolar transistor (HBT) designs is being introduced by Kopin Corp. Based on a novel indium-gallium-phosphide scheme, the new wafers, said the company, may make life easier for manufacturers of high-end wireless and A/D converter circuits by offering a more robust basis for the definition of HBTs.
SAR targets multiservice ATMRockwell Semiconductor Systems is sampling a segmentation-and-reassembly (SAR) processor for asynchronous transfer mode that offers more than an upgrade from its popular Steamboat Bt8230 SAR. The Bt8233 xBR ServiSAR is the first of a family of processors that will emphasize support for all ATM service classes at once.
HP Infinium scopes focus on ease-of-useWhat is the best way to ensure user acceptance of a new product? Let the user design it. Hewlett-Packard Co. did not do exactly that with its new Infinium family of oscilloscopes, but it did the next best thing: spend a million bucks on research to sort out users' frustrations and needs when using scopes.
Laser anneal shows promiseBy examining the process that uses a laser to recrystallize the polysilicon channel area when making thin-film transistors (TFTs), researchers have uncovered some surprising results that may significantly improve TFTs and give them higher mobility and lower threshold voltage.
Wednesday, September 3, 1997Apple to buy Power ComputingApple Computer Inc. and Power Computing Corp. (Round Rock, Texas) have agreed to a merger, effectively ending the disputes between Apple and its top Mac OS licensee.
3-D graphics chips get pipeline to main memoryIntel Corp. is making an effort to bolster graphics performance on PCs by introducing its first chip set that supports the accelerated graphics port (AGP), a special bus that marks a fundamental shift in how 3-D graphics data is managed in PCs providing a pipeline between the graphics controller and system memory.
Tektronix beefs up VXI line with three offeringsTektronix Inc. has enhanced its comprehensive stable of VXI products with three offerings, including IntelliFrame mainframes, waveform analyzers and a mainframe configuration service. The object is to meet customer demands for smarter application-specific instruments, faster throughput and greater test functionality, the company said.
Mentor weighs Precedence, Exemplar spin-offsSignaling a major strategy shift, Mentor Graphics Corp. is said to be weighing the spin-off or divestiture of several design-automation business units, including simulation-backplane specialist Precedence Inc. and FPGA-synthesis provider Exemplar Logic.
U.S. telecom companies court ChinaA dozen U.S. telecommunications companies have signed up so far for an October trade mission to China aimed at drumming up new sales in China's booming telecom market. The trip is being cosponsored by the Commerce Department and the Telecommunications Industry Association.
Panasonic MCU architecture follows new pathPanasonic Industrial Co. has decided to join the U.S. market for 8-bit microcontrollers by introducing the MN 10100 series. The new family of MCUs breaks three cardinal rules. In a market that dislikes new architectures, Panasonic is launching one. In an industry where assembly-language programming is still the rule, Panasonic is focusing on C programs. And in a world where RISC architectures can never have enough general-purpose registers, Panasonic is arguing that fewer is better.
August 30 - September 2, 1997Hot Chips trailblazes a path to parallelismMuch of the ninth annual Hot Chips Symposium last week was given over to the search for parallelism. Designers sought every possible opportunity to execute operations simultaneously, whether at the task, thread, instruction or even sub-operation level.
Moto, Sony connect in smart-card siliconThe infrastructure for smart cards got a big boost last week, when Sony Corp.and Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector agreed to codevelop an IC for cards that can be read in both contactless and contact modes.
Startup snags $40M in a bid to redefine routersJuniper Networks Inc. last week pulled ahead of the pack of startups planning carrier-class router architectures, winning $40 million in funding from a group of OEMs and service providers.
Microsoft 'Bobs and Weaves' to living roomIn a move to place the PC platform at the high end of the home-entertainment spectrum, Microsoft Corp. has developed a pair of algorithms, called Bob and Weave, that will let a PC display better-than-TV video images from a DVD-ROM.
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