Web Seminar: The Transition to Multi-core: Is Your Software Ready?

Transition to multi-core environments necessitates that software development organizations come up with a clean migration strategy, preserving their existing software. To help solve the challenge, QNX Software Systems has introduced Bound Multiprocessing (BMP). Download the web seminar today!

Will Keil abandon the 8051? That question used to be unthinkable, but that was before ARM acquired the long-time leader in 8051 development tools. Then on November 16, Keil announced enhancements to its µVision 3 Development Environment, lending credibility to the statements that the new Keil would indeed continue to support the 8-bit world. Announcements here and here.

Silicon Laboratories just put out a very cool 8051 announcement, their "Toolstick" - a complete 8051 evaluation platform on a tiny USB device. Now you can develop on the plane, in your hotel room, at the beach. Priced at $10.99, you can find the release here and a special "Toolstick" home page, here. So cool, so practical, and so cheap - buy a dozen!

Another 8051 leader, IAR is making the architecture easier to use by introducing C++ support in version 7.20 of their "IAR Embedded Workbench," here. And, Dallas/Maxim - a long-term silicon leader in 8051 - has introduced a very exciting 16-bit product, their MAXQ™ RISC microcontroller. Designed to entice 8-bit designers to migrate up to more functionality, the MAXQ3120 microcontroller is a high-performance, 16-bit microcontroller that incorporates dual, true-differential, 16-bit sigma-delta analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), a liquid-crystal display (LCD) interface that can drive up to 112 segments, and a real-time clock (RTC) module with a dedicated battery-backup supply. Datasheet, here, $75.00 evaluation kit, here.

At the high end, Xilinx continues to push into the DSP space. The San Jose company now has an entire division devoted just to DSP, and plans to target high-growth digital communications; multimedia, video and imaging (MVI); and defense systems segments. Forward Concepts estimates the value of the high end DSP market that can be addressed by FPGAs at $2 billion. Release here. For what Xilinx intriguingly calls the 'MVI' segment, the company announced a specific group of products, here.

Other vendors are scurrying to the Xilinx bandwagon, with a range of hardware and software products supporting FPGAs for DSP:

• The MathWorks Announces New Version of Video and Image Processing Blockset;
• Vast Digital Signal Processing Power Promised by New Compact Circuit Board for DSP Developers; and
• Nallatech extends DIME-II FPGA Computing Range.

Xilinx competitors are not resting, either. Altera is also targeting the high-end computing market - medical devices, for example, by improving its software tool chain. In partnership with The Mathworks, Altera announced DSP Builder version 5.1. "An important ingredient of Model-Based Design is the ability to simulate systems with HDL-based blocks. Altera has created a platform for high-speed DSP development on FPGAs that can shorten the verification process," said Ken Karnofsky, marketing director, signal processing and communications at The MathWorks, Inc.. Release here.

(conference, 4 stars) - 12/6/2005, San Jose

AdvancedTCA Summit
With the cooperation of CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems Magazine and RTC Magazine, and the endorsement of PICMG, leading are sponsoring a three-day summit on AdvancedTCA. Join them in San Jose in December to learn more.

(conference, 5 stars) - 1/5/2006, Las Vegas

International CES - Consumer Electronics Show
The 2006 International CES is a four-day crash course in the consumer electronics industry's hottest technologies. Digital, wireless, interactive, broadband-you can try them, evaluate their potential and get a sneak peek at what's on the other side of the CE horizon. Think of it this way: In consumer electronics . . . everything that's coming is here!

(conference, 4 stars) - 1/10/2006, San Diego

West 2005 - Military & Technology Conference
West 2005 is the largest event on the West Coast for communications, electronics, intelligence, information systems, imaging, military weapon systems, aviation, shipbuilding, and more. This is a one-of-a-kind forum featuring the people you need to hear from, the products and services you need to do your job, and informed discussion of the critical issues of today and tomorrow!