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Programmable Logic DesignLine Newsletter
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The Programmable Logic DesignLine Newsletter is
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05-07-2009

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This issue sponsored by: ALTERA CORPORATION

Adding multi-touch to a variety of products is easier than you
think. View this webcast to see a cost-effective way to add
multi-touch to your system using Altera's MAX II CPLDs and
surprisingly simple IP. View the multi-touch webcast now!
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwi0Ei
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EDITOR'S NOTE
We've got a great design feature in this week's issue of the
Programmable Logic DesignLine newsletter from the folks at Xilinx on a
hot topic: power. The article describes ways designers can leverage an
FPGA's programmability and use related tools to accurately estimate
power and then employ optimization techniques to make FPGA designs and
the PCBs that contain them more power efficient.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwh0Eh

We also feature the latest installment of our ongoing series about FPGA
startups. This one focuses on SiliconBlue Technologies, which Gartner
analyst Bryan Lewis calls the most intriguing of the current crop of
FPGA startups because of its focus on the handheld consumer devices
market.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwM0EG

Among our featured blogs this week, I took the opportunity to salute
Rick Merritt's coverage of the U.S. patent system and to applaud the
subsequent reader reaction. I hope that some of you will consider
adding your voices to this important discussion.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwN0EH

In his guest blog entry, Clive "Max" Maxfield brings to our attention
more interesting videos and tidbits from around the Internet,
including a fantastic stop-motion video, a Computerworld piece on old
school programming techniques and some interesting (and funny)
snippets from young kid's writings about the ocean. Luckily we can
count on Max to bring us a little bit of everything.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwO0EI

Questions, Ideas, Comments, Complaints? Email me, Dylan McGrath, at
dmcgrath (AT) techinsights (DOT) com

FEATURED HOW-TO ARTICLE

--Optimizing Xilinx FPGAs for power --
As IC processes have advanced over the last half dozen years from the
130-nanometer to the 90-nm and now the 65-nm node, at each step power
management has grown in importance. This article will describe ways
designers can leverage an FPGA's programmability and use related tools
to accurately estimate power and then employ optimization techniques
to make their FPGA designs and the PCBs that contain them much more
power efficient.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwQ0EK

RECENT HOW-TO ARTICLES OF INTEREST

--A new approach to FPGA testing and validation for today's market--
As the market for FPGAs continues to evolve, a new approach to FPGA
debugging and validation is needed to reduce costs and time to market.
The tools that support their cost-effective development must evolve as
well, and expand their capabilities beyond what is available today.
This paper outlines a new approach to FPGA testing and validation. It
includes comparison of how advanced FPGA validation tools compare to
conventional FPGA tools and outlines the requirements for new tools
for today's market.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwR0EL

--Top 10 tips to minimize power consumption when designing with
FPGAs--
With stricter system power limits, specifications and standards that
put a cap on the total power consumed, system designers are
increasingly challenged. This paper presents the key Dos and Don'ts to
help designers manage power budgets with FPGAs.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwS0EM

--An example of application--elliptic curve cryptography--
This chapter excerpted from "Hardware Implementation of Finite-Field
Arithmetic," gives an example of finite-field application--namely, the
implementation of the scalar product (point multiplication) over an
elliptic curve. It is the basic computation primitive of elliptic
curve cryptography.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwT0EN

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TOP PRODUCTS

--Actel offering free design examples --
Actel this week announced the availability of eight free-of-charge
design examples for use with its low-power, flash-based FPGAs.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwU0EO

--PCI expansion card promises complete solid state storage system--
DDRdrive LLC this week rolled out the DDRdrive X1, described as a PCI
Express expansion card featuring a complete solid-state storage
system, which uses an Altera Cyclone II as a storage controller.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwV0EP

--Open-Silicon launches TestMAX--
Open-Silicon, a provider of spec-to-silicon ASIC design services,
announced a new MAX technology called TestMAX, which addresses test
time reduction to lower device cost.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwW0EQ

TOP NEWS ITEMS

--FPGA startup crunch: SiliconBlue looks to break new ground--
SiliconBlue Technologies, a four-year old startup backed by $40
million in venture capital funding, is aiming to buck the odds and
thrive with low-cost field programmable gate arrays in a product
market that has traditionally shunned programmable logic:
battery-based handheld consumer products.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwX0ER

--System ICs to return to growth in Q3, iSuppli says--
The market for system ICs--including ASICs, application-specific
standard products and programmable logic devices--is poised to return
to sequential growth in the third quarter after watching its revenue
fall by nearly one third over the past six months, according to market
research firm iSuppli.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwY0ES

FEATURED BLOGS

--Patent strike?--
In case you've missed it, there has been a fascinating exchange about
the broken U.S. patent system taking place on the pages of EE Times
over the past couple weeks.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwZ0ET

--The world is our mollusk!--
From the evolution of information technology to Dr. Seuss motorcycles
to innovative stop-motion animated pigs to...
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwa0Ea

AVAILABLE COURSES

--Test and Measurement Applications with C674x-based DSPs --
Review how oscilliscopes can be improved by integrating a C674x-based
device into the design.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwb0Eb

--Power Protection Systems with C674x-based DSPs --
Learn how different power protection systems can be improved with a
C674x-based DSP.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwc0Ec

--Fundamentals of Mixed-Signal FPGAs--
The analog domain describes the way things typically work in the real
world. By comparison, the digital domain is useful when it comes to
storing and manipulating data and making complex decisions based on
the results of its data-processing operations. Most people think of
FPGAs as being primarily digital devices, but a certain class of
mixed-signal FPGAs provide a mixture of programmable analog fabric
combined with programmable digital fabric. This opens the door to a
wide range of applications along with some very interesting
techniques, such as using a soft microprocessor core in the digital
fabric to reconfigure the programmable analog fabric on-the-fly.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwd0Ed

--Accelerating Device Time-to-Market with Embedded Software Test--
This webinar will explore the challenges facing device delivery teams
and demonstrate this new tool's powerful automation features for
manual and scripted system test, white box testing, lab device
management, runtime code coverage, performance profiling, and advanced
diagnostics.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHVJ0Ee

--Leveraging Multicore & Virtualization--
We will discuss how the availability of multicore processors for the
embedded marketplace opens new opportunities for device manufacturers
that include better efficiency and more functionality for less cost.
We will also explore the use of virtualization to consolidate hardware
and reduce bill of materials.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHVK0Ef

--RF range extender - increase your range with the CC2591--
This video talks about the CC2591 and how you can use it to increase
your RF range.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HHwe0Ee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOW HIRING ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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SEL seeking RF Engineer in Pullman, WA
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SEL seeking Process Engineering Technician in Pullman, WA
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Sheet Dynamics LTD seeking Research Scientist in Cincinnati, OH
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Osram Sylvania seeking Tool and Die Mechanical Design in York, PA
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AccuWeather seeking Senior Account Executive in New York, NY
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For more great jobs, career-related news, features and services,
please visit TechInsights EETimesCareers.
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