Sidense rolls OTP memory macrocells
(09:28 PM EDT, 05/13/08)
Sidense Inc. has rolled out a line of one-time programmable (OTP) memory macrocells for use in low-power and cost-sensitive applications.

ST, Synopsys drive XA verification of analog ICs
(12:22 PM EDT, 05/13/08)
A project between STMicroelectronics and Synopsys has resulted in significantly improved verification of analog IC designs, the companies claim.

Only secure hardware can safeguard standards
(11:50 AM EDT, 05/13/08)
Who would have imagined that a 13-year-old kid could compromise an industry standard overnight?

Making design choices between DSP and FPGA
(11:45 AM EDT, 05/13/08)
System designers face a number of key questions during the architecture phase of their project. Increasingly, one of those questions is whether to use a field-programmable gate array or a digital signal processor.

Under the Hood: Mature devices get Rolly rocking
(11:45 AM EDT, 05/13/08)
The Sony Rolly, shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, is a "dancing" MP3 player: When songs are loaded or streamed via Bluetooth, the Rolly can roll around and flap its speaker coverings in time with the music. The speaker flaps can also muffle the sound and give it a bit more flare when noise is channeled through one side or the other.

ARM cleared in MMP patent appeal case
(08:42 AM EDT, 05/13/08)
ARM Holdings plc has won a significant round in the long running legal dispute with Technology Properties Limited, Inc. and Patriot Scientific Corporation over the Moore Microprocessor Patent (MMP) portfolio, with the U.S.Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirming that the Cambridge, England based company's products do not infringe the patent.

Mezzanine trade-offs stack up
(05:08 AM EDT, 05/13/08)
Mezzanine connectors get no respect. They aren't often considered a strategic interconnect (as, for example, backplane connectors are), because they simply provide stack heights between two boards.

Lightspeed raises $800 million with an eye to India, China
(10:14 AM EDT, 05/12/08)
Lightspeed Venture Partners (Menlo Park, Calif.) has said it has closed Lightspeed Venture Partners VIII LP capitalized with $800 million of limited partner commitments, above the firm's target of $675 million.

PicoChip preps architectural refresh after August tape-out
(04:29 AM EDT, 05/12/08)
PicoChip Designs Ltd., a fabless chip company focused on wireless basestation applications, is getting ready to tape-out its fourth generation of multicore DSP chips while also planning an architectural refresh to allow it to take chips to higher performance.

Tools automate support for multicore CPUs
(12:01 AM EDT, 05/12/08)
The MathWorks has built new parallel processing techniques into its flagship MatLab environment, and startup Exludus Technologies, Inc. is preparing an enhanced release of its scheduling middleware for X86 servers, the latest examples of companies tackling the challenge in automating the shift to parallel software for multicore processors.