There’s good news on the Net Neutrality front, and then there’s not-so-good news. First, the good news: On Wednesday, February 19, the Federal communications Commission (FCC) announced it would not challenge the Federal Court’s ruling that vacated the FCC’s 2010 Open Internet rules and would instead rewrite its rules. The FCC’s Open Internet Order essentially […]
GaN-based transistors take to the sky to capture the action
HEMT devices give breakout performance for power amplifiers used to film aerial scenes in action movies When Ray Breslin and Emil Rottmayer attempted a highly daring escape from a super-high security prison in this fall’s thriller Escape Plan, audiences got up close to see (spoiler alert!) our two heroes — played by Sylvester Stallone and Arnold […]
The power of the datacenter
We love to interact with our engineering community at ECN, and we’re always interested in learning about the different trends and new technologies our readers are working on! In fact, we’re devoting an entire issue to what our readers think about the impact of different technologies on their jobs and projects. Our power category will […]
Now’s a good time to “reclaim your name” from data brokers
What’s in a name? Juliet Capulet didn’t see much value in a name in her famous, fictional dialog with Romeo Montague but in the age of “big data,” try telling that to today’s big data brokers. As our modern, personal conveniences put more of our information out there to be gathered and sold, a consumer’s […]
Datacenters look to the moon to meet the cloud’s requirements
Specialized servers aim to revolutionize the fast-growing data center When technology experts talk about the “Internet of Things,” it’s not an understatement. The sheer number of connected devices is growing at an unprecedented rate. IDC estimates mobile devices will total 1,832.3 million units in 2013 while predicting the total mobile phone shipments will reach 2,281.4 […]
Is this the connected home’s wave of the future?
Here’s some news that will make couch potatoes everywhere rejoice: Computer scientists at the University of Washington have come up with a sensorless and cameraless way to detect human movements, allowing for gesture control of their electronics and household appliances. We are already beginning to control our home electronics and appliances via the internet, smart […]
Wireless networks balance military’s defense-in-depth, custom requirements
Wireless and wired technologies have advanced to the point where automated control systems are routinely networked together. Information can be shared and tasks performed across long distances, via the Internet, linking systems in large industrial spaces, or across remote or rugged areas. Networked control systems (NCS) offer many benefits such as far greater efficiency than […]
Big Brother makes our rational choices less rational
While writing my February 2013 column about EDRs (event data recorders, AKA “black boxes”), I came across an article on the same topic (http://bit.ly/12YX4Fe) by one of my colleagues. She commented on the reservations I share with many others about the use of the data derived from the black boxes. She asks, “What is contemporary […]
New Jersey’s power and fuel infrastructure was no match for Sandy
The love-hate relationship we have with “the grid” was inescapable during Superstorm Sandy. We don’t think about it much when our homes are lit and appliances are humming – we have the freedom to do anything we want. But when there’s an interruption, there’s that nagging wish to be free from the grip of our […]
Sensor Zone: April 2009
Hall-effect Sensors Measure Up For the last half-century, sensors based on the Hall effect have provided a low-cost, solid-state option for sensing any object that incorporates a magnetic field. Hall effect sensors are based on the discovery by Dr. Edwin H. Hall in 1879. He found that a thin conductive material, placed in a magnetic […]
