research notes:
  > research note: rtos support by architecture - 14 dec 2008
  > research note: eda and embedded systems - 15 sept 2008
  > research note: vhdl and verilog for fpgas - 1 sept 2008
  > research note: fpga's / programmable logic in embedded systems - 28 aug 2008

eletters:
  > 1 july 09 - intel embedded atom...
  > 1 june 09 - embedded graphical user interfaces ...
  > 1 may 09 - embedded software quality: static analysis & beyond ...

new products blog:
  > 8 aug 2008 - com express, board test, bluetooth

interviews:
  > 17 mar 09: Low Power FPGA for Consumer or Portable Devices
  > 10 mar 09: IPextreme: Practical IP / Intellectual Property for Embedded Systems
  > 3 mar 09: New Power Management / Low Power Reference Designs from National Semiconductor

jasonmcdonald.org - a blog

welcome to my blog! i (jason mcdonald) am a technologist in silicon valley, writing on embedded systems generally for eg3.com. my blog is about cool new products, interviews, research notes, conferences, etc., in embedded systems, rtos/real-time, dsp, boards (pc/104, compactpci, advancedtca), etc., of interest to engineers, programmers, oem involved in the design of electronic products... worldwide.

posted: 22 june 2009
courses on seo (search engine optimization) and marketing

I am teaching a number of courses on search engines, how engineers search, and especially search engine optimization for technology companies. Some of these are with AcademyX in San Francisco - which is a fantastic hands-on school, if you are in the Bay Area. In addition, we are conducting a large survey of the eg3.com user community as to how engineers search, and this will be the foundation of 8 in-depth one hour webinars on search marketing for technology companies. more info >

posted: 1 june 2009
tech choice winners - spring, 2009

And the winners are... eg3.com has just released our winners of readers' and editors' choice awards for the spring, 2009, competition. We focused on Intel Atom (hardware and software), Java for embedded systems, wireless modules, and software testing. Over 250 people participated in choosing the readers' choice. It's a great quick picture of the best innovations in the last three months! more info >

posted: 12 May 2009
pay-per-click advertising class in san francisco, california

I've met some really great people at AcademyX in the San Francisco Bay Area, and have agreed to teach a course in May on Search Engine Marketing, namely the various pay-per-click advertising programs like Google AdWords, Yahoo Sponsored Search (search marketing), and MSN. If you are in the Bay Area and have a marketing / PR job, this could be a great overview to how best to optimize your pay-per-click efforts. more info >

posted: 28 April 2009
the crisis of embedded software quality

We all know that embedded software is in 'crisis.' Code has gotten more complex, and vendors such as Coverity or LDRA have begun to offer solutions, beginning first and foremost with static analysis for embedded software. I have just posted the May, 2009, eg3.com newsletter on the embedded software crisis... more info>

posted: 6 April 2009
embedded security - mocana microsite

Interested in embedded network security? eg3.com has just partnered with Mocana to create an informative microsite of free white papers on key topics in device security - firewalls, cryptography, SSH, and even security in the Android platform. They're free! more info >

posted: 15 march 2009
fpga guide - interviews

As part of eg3.com's Insiders' Guide: FPGAs, Boards, & Tools, I just revised all the interviews to be in a much, easier-to-read format. If you are interested in topics like Altera tools, Xilinx learning as well as the harder-to-find innovators like GateRocket or PLDA, these interviews are good introductions to FPGA technologies, intellectual property, and the like. All are now available both in HTML summaries and with PDF links to each interview. The guide is free as well, just click on any of the registrations links to get your free copy. more info >

posted: 23 february 2009
venture capital for embedded / hi-tech electronics

In this economic crisis, the seeds of a new future are being planted. As happened in the mid-1990s, and then again after the tech bubble collapse in 2000, the many and talented often got fired. Leave it to the big companies to fire or scare away their "best and brightest" - and what often happens is they go off to form the new companies that become the next wave of innovation. Consequently, eg3.com has begun a major new project - eg3 connect - designed to research the seed / angel investor / venture capital marketplace. If you are an entrepreneur or a VC / Angel Investor, please download our free directory and reserve your copy of our forthcoming Insiders' Guide: Venture Capital. free copy >

posted: 13 january 2009
selecting an embedded rtos - 2009 edition

eg3.com just completed our massive 'Insiders' Guide: Selecting an Embedded RTOS' for 2009, complete with overview, survey results, vendor interviews, 'editor's choice' shortlists and more. If you are investigating a commercial real-time operating system, embedded Linux, a free RTOS like eCos, or even doing it yourself - this guide overviews all the important issues. We had almost 900 people take our in-depth reader survey, and analyze those results as well. FREE for readers of my blog - so click for more info. free copy >

posted: 31 december 2008
new podcast - AMCC / PowerPC

Have you ever wondered, which is it - PowerPC or "Power Architecture"? Or wondered why the big semi's don't create more easy-to-use reference designs? Why is everyone out there re-inventing the proverbial ethernet-tcp-ip wheel? Recently, I interviewed Dan Bouvier, who is processor CTO of AMCC to find out. more >

posted: 8 december 2008
eg3.com 'Editor's Choice' Podcasts

eg3.com has a new program - podcasts! We have posted our first two - one on multicore and one on the 'business' side of selecting an RTOS. Our plan is to do one per week, and begin interviewing leading vendors on leading topics. It's a cool new way to keep informed. more >

posted: 8 december 2008
Mindy Star - Home Loan Modification

My sister-in-law has started a really exciting, new, helpful business and cajoled me into creating a link to her site to help her get more ''coverage.'' If you are underwater in your mortgage, can't pay it, need to renegotiate your mortage - she can help. I don't know the first thing about home loan modifications, but she does. Check out her website - more >

posted: 1 december 2008
eg3.com Tech Choice Awards

eg3.com has announced our Fall, 2008, "Tech Choice" product awards for the best editors' and readers' choice new products in ARM Cortex-M3, ESL ("Electronic System Level") tools, embedded MCU's / MPU's, and embedded software. As always, our editorial staff choose the top three products in each category, and our readers (this time over 450) voted on their picks for the most exciting embedded products. Check it out - results are, free, of course. more >

posted: 11 nov 2008
fpga insiders' guide: fpgas, tools, & boards

One of my responsibilities at eg3.com is to coordinate and write our Insiders' Guide series. Our most recent on FPGAs is now available. It has an overview to the FPGA ecosystem, survey results from more than 700 respondents, interviews with key FPGA vendors, and appendices identifying the best Internet resources, companies by product type, books, etc. If you are interested in FPGAs, it's really a fabulous read. more >

posted: 3 nov 2008
embedded systems conference, boston

Be there without being there! I trekked to the Embedded Systems Conference, Boston, endured probably thirty meetings and briefings, and have distilled my thoughts into a show wrap up worthy of E.E. Cummings. Embedded software trends, boards and Linux, as well as the best of show announcements. Linked up to eg3.com - you also have all the news, and all the participating vendors. So forget air travel and hand shakes, just read it all online. more >

posted: 23 oct 2008
advancedtca, microtca, advancedmc - interoperability, middleware, software

Just back from the AdvancedTCA Summit, Santa Clara, California. It was a fantastic, in-depth event for the cognoscenti of the xTCA ecosystem. Who cares? Well the cognoscenti care, of course, but I have written the eg3.com newsletter focused on potential customers or users of xTCA. Where are the new value plays? How will hardware, software, and services work together to provide customers with total solutions, and choice among vendors. What is interoperability, anyhow? And what about middleware? more >

posted: 17 oct 2008
embedded systems boston, sneak preview

I will be covering the Embedded Systems Conference, Boston, 27 October 2008 - 29 October 2008. We asked our vendors to submit their most exciting news and new products for a special "sneak preview" of the show. If you are attending - or even if you are not - it's a great quick look at some of the more exciting new technologies for Fall. more >

posted: 10 oct 2008
news from arm developers' conference, cortex m-3

Just back from the ARM Developers' Conference in Santa Clara, California. It was a really exciting show, especially for chip announcements of the Cortex M-3 and related RTOS, hardware, and software. I've written it up in a special edition of our monthly newsletter. more >

posted: 15 sep 2008
embedded.com 'marketing survey' posted

Our friends at embedded.com have posted the results of their 2008 'embedded market' survey. I'm not sure why it's called a market survey, as it details more of the pain and suffering of the hard-working engineers worldwide. Why are projects late? How is the RTOS choice shifting? What choices are important in microprocessors? You can read it along with our own Insiders' Guide: Embedded Opportunities, which surveys both engineers and marketers. The two complement each other quite well! more >

posted: 8 sep 2008
eg3 Tech Choice Awards

In our efforts to help embedded engineers identify the most exciting and most meritorious new products, eg3.com has a quarterly award program, called "Tech Choice." For summer, 2008, we choose the most exciting products in Computer-on-Module, Embedded Processors Multicore, Security, and Software. Our readers then voted on a "readers' choice" award in each category. Over 340 people participated in the survey! more >

posted: 1 sep 2008
VHDL and Verilog for FPGAs

Research never stops, so I just posted a "Research Note" to "VHDL and Verilog for FPGAs." Some hard-to-find websites, plus some good upcoming training classes if this is your interest. more >

posted: 29 aug 2008
New products: COM Express, Board Test, Bluetooth

August is a slow month for news and new products. Nonetheless, here is my week in review from last week on new products in COM Express, Board Test, and Bluetooth. COM Express in particular is an emerging trend - if you do anything with computer-on-module, pay attention to the COM Express race! more >

posted: 28 aug 2008
Research Note: FPGAs in Embedded Systems

FPGAs are a keen research area for us at eg3.com. So, here is a "research note" with my recent web surfing and thoughts on some of the cooler sites and trends in the FPGA area. Some new conferences, plus some ideas about vendors like National Instruments and Altium that are quite innovative in the FPGA space... more >

posted: 27 aug 2008
Multicore design(ed) & multicore deployed

Interested in multicore for embedded systems? I have just written the eg3.com monthly newsletter, focused on new developments in multicore. Of special interest: virtual prototyping technologies (not to be confused with virtualization), and the proliferation of new embedded boards based on multicore (especially from Intel). Main applications seem to be areas that benefit from parallel processing / low power (think military, signal processing on the high end, and cell phones on the low power end). more >

useful links:
  embedded >
  fpga >
  rtos >
  insiders' guides >
  my schedule >

about me >
contact me >

free directory
vc's & angels
in hi-tech...
got an idea? looking for angel investors or venture capital? learn more >