Years ago, when I was starting my engineering career (at just about the same time as the HP8510 (automatic) Network Analyzer), I worked for M/A-Com's corporate research. My mentor would jot down some ideas he wanted me to pursue, provide a little scientific guidance and then send me to the lab to experiment. Around this time, a lot of research centered around Gallium Arsenide. Distributed circuit designs that had been applied to PCBs and alumina were being adopted for MMIC interconnects and on-chip passive components. Much of my time was spent using the available design software (SuperCompact or Touchstone) and 8510 to design and test matching, bias and coupling structures scaled for use on GaAs. The job was about science and discovery and it was fun. Who would want to do anything other than research? To do anything else was considered The Dark Side.
At a time when government funding supported the R&D efforts I was involved with, even the idea of working in production was considered moving over to the The Dark Side. High volume testing - where's the science in that? I was not alone in this thinking. Does such "purists" thinking still exist today?
As time went by, I was introduced to another specimen in the corporate food chain. This one talked much faster (and louder) and often dressed differently than the "pure" engineers I worked with. I soon found out that this individual was in product marketing. At one point this marketer had been an engineer, but was led astray, over to The Dark Side.
Eventually I made this journey myself. In product marketing, I was almost immediately surrounded by an even faster and louder talking group of individuals. These people were in sales and as I was informed by my colleagues - these were individuals that had truly crossed over to The Dark Side. Some had even been engineers at one point, if you can imagine that fall from grace !!!
I have not crossed the chasm into sales yet, but I have discovered that salespeople are not evil (for the most part) . Like the research or production engineer or the marketeer, they play a vital role in corporate life and the organization's struggle for survival. Our differences are not so great. In fact, I've heard some of them even bemoan another Dark Side - otherwise known as management.
So do we still live in an environment of mistrust over a Dark Side? Be warned, it may be your eventual career path. Like that hair style you had back in the early 90's, perceptions often become dated with time.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Computers Make Us Stupid?
I recently received this from our Jan 09 antenna expert Dr. Raines and thought it was a relevant subject these days:
"Computers Make Us Stupid"
That was a key point, and a direct quote from Prof. Pat Winston of the Electrical Engineering Dept., made to over a thousand returning alums at the MIT reunion on June 6. Looking back over recent events, it certainly seems that this was not an idle, abstract, or rhetorical observation.
On Monday, in Washington, DC, the worst Metro commuter train crash in its 33 year history claimed 9 lives and caused many more serious injuries. The most recent evidence suggests that the train was being driven by an errant computer. When the operator tried to apply the emergency brakes and override the computer, the computer prevailed.
A few weeks ago, an Air France plane disappeared over the Atlantic en route from Rio to Paris. The latest theory is that an airspeed sensor iced over and confused the computer that was flying the plane. As an amateur, instrument rated pilot, I know firsthand that the Airbus aircraft are the fly by wire type, that is, almost entirely operated by computers. From the time the airplane taxis to the takeoff position until after it lands and is on the ground, it is controlled by a computer. A pilot in the cockpit once told me, "We aren't really pilots. We’re just computer jockeys."
Almost two years ago, the entire world banking system approached a complete meltdown from which we are still suffering. The best explanation so far is that derivatives caused it. Warren Buffet calls them “weapons of economic mass destruction.” Well, it wasn't just those derivatives. It was the derivatives coupled with computer controlled trading so that billions of dollars were exchanged in less than a second with each trade.
The evidence suggests that computers are making us stupid as a society. Conversely, perhaps, a dumbed down society is complacently giving up thinking and control to computers. We are turning over major functions and decisions to computers. But who programs the computers? Perhaps, as Forest Gump astutely observed, stupid is as stupid does.
I feel like this has been an ongoing issue since the first electronic calculator was developed. Many people do not bother to perform easy math calculations in their head because they know they can use a calculator.
But on the other hand, computers have greatly advanced our knowledge and standard of living. New hardware and software have accelerated our technology at a fast rate. Our July cover story addresses how RF/microwave software has changed the industry over the years so look for that in mid-July.
What do you think???
"Computers Make Us Stupid"
That was a key point, and a direct quote from Prof. Pat Winston of the Electrical Engineering Dept., made to over a thousand returning alums at the MIT reunion on June 6. Looking back over recent events, it certainly seems that this was not an idle, abstract, or rhetorical observation.
On Monday, in Washington, DC, the worst Metro commuter train crash in its 33 year history claimed 9 lives and caused many more serious injuries. The most recent evidence suggests that the train was being driven by an errant computer. When the operator tried to apply the emergency brakes and override the computer, the computer prevailed.
A few weeks ago, an Air France plane disappeared over the Atlantic en route from Rio to Paris. The latest theory is that an airspeed sensor iced over and confused the computer that was flying the plane. As an amateur, instrument rated pilot, I know firsthand that the Airbus aircraft are the fly by wire type, that is, almost entirely operated by computers. From the time the airplane taxis to the takeoff position until after it lands and is on the ground, it is controlled by a computer. A pilot in the cockpit once told me, "We aren't really pilots. We’re just computer jockeys."
Almost two years ago, the entire world banking system approached a complete meltdown from which we are still suffering. The best explanation so far is that derivatives caused it. Warren Buffet calls them “weapons of economic mass destruction.” Well, it wasn't just those derivatives. It was the derivatives coupled with computer controlled trading so that billions of dollars were exchanged in less than a second with each trade.
The evidence suggests that computers are making us stupid as a society. Conversely, perhaps, a dumbed down society is complacently giving up thinking and control to computers. We are turning over major functions and decisions to computers. But who programs the computers? Perhaps, as Forest Gump astutely observed, stupid is as stupid does.
I feel like this has been an ongoing issue since the first electronic calculator was developed. Many people do not bother to perform easy math calculations in their head because they know they can use a calculator.
But on the other hand, computers have greatly advanced our knowledge and standard of living. New hardware and software have accelerated our technology at a fast rate. Our July cover story addresses how RF/microwave software has changed the industry over the years so look for that in mid-July.
What do you think???
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Reader's Choice
With coverage of the IMS 2009 behind us, now is a good time to take a quick look at what visitors to the Microwave Journal web site have been most interested in (based on page views).
Why now?
Well, the IMS is a time of heavy activity for both company product releases and a curious industry that wants to know who is doing what. So here's the quick run down of the ten most visited web pages since the third week of May.
1. The IMS 2009 Multimedia section. About 1600 "readers" came to see our video interviews shot from the exhibition space. We interviewed representatives from about a dozen companies, covering topics from EM simulation (Ansoft, Agilent and AWR) to miniature passive components (Anaren) to high-voltage LDMOS transistors (Frrescale). We heard about the Narda strongest link contest and why AWR had 3D glasses at their demo stations.
2. Over 1,000 people came to our new products report, proving customers (or competitors) have inquiring minds.
3. Our third most popular feature this month was a news item entitled " Development Report of Power FETs for Solid-state Power Amplifiers from GaAs to GaN Devices". This is timely with all the GaN news coming from the show and our cover story for June - The New Power Brokers. 900 visitors
4. Many site visitors went directly to the news item of choice via our online show daily home page or through a link in our newsletter, but a number of you browsed the master listing of all show news, making it our fourth most visited page at 700 page views.
5 and 6. Our cover stories from the May issue: "IMS in Boston: Reflections from the Past" and June: "The New Power Brokers" were next in line. Our cover story usually takes the top spot each month, but with competition from Show product news and splitting the reporting period over two 2-week periods, these two items slipped in ranking but still had over 1200 page views combined.
7. News of Andrew's expansion of a production plant in China was a popular item among our readers with about 600 page views
8. The technical feature from our May issue: "Frequency Generation and Synthesis: Cost-effective and Power-efficient Solutions" was the only technical article (apart from white papers which were not part of the review) to make the top ten list. Despite appearing in the magazine and online for several weeks, readers were still interested in the subject and continued to click on this feature.
9. More news in the top ten, this time "Rohde & Schwarz at Femtocells World Summit 2009 in London" with well over 500 page views
10. And finally.... The Puzzler. Clearly, microwave engineers like to have fun too.
So while everyone was busy this past month traveling to Boston for IMS and then digging out from a back-log of action items or perhaps you were back in the office the whole time holding down the fort, some of you managed to find the time to stay informed via www.mwjournal.com. Do you think this top ten list accurately reflects the industry's interest?
Why now?
Well, the IMS is a time of heavy activity for both company product releases and a curious industry that wants to know who is doing what. So here's the quick run down of the ten most visited web pages since the third week of May.
1. The IMS 2009 Multimedia section. About 1600 "readers" came to see our video interviews shot from the exhibition space. We interviewed representatives from about a dozen companies, covering topics from EM simulation (Ansoft, Agilent and AWR) to miniature passive components (Anaren) to high-voltage LDMOS transistors (Frrescale). We heard about the Narda strongest link contest and why AWR had 3D glasses at their demo stations.
2. Over 1,000 people came to our new products report, proving customers (or competitors) have inquiring minds.
3. Our third most popular feature this month was a news item entitled " Development Report of Power FETs for Solid-state Power Amplifiers from GaAs to GaN Devices". This is timely with all the GaN news coming from the show and our cover story for June - The New Power Brokers. 900 visitors
4. Many site visitors went directly to the news item of choice via our online show daily home page or through a link in our newsletter, but a number of you browsed the master listing of all show news, making it our fourth most visited page at 700 page views.
5 and 6. Our cover stories from the May issue: "IMS in Boston: Reflections from the Past" and June: "The New Power Brokers" were next in line. Our cover story usually takes the top spot each month, but with competition from Show product news and splitting the reporting period over two 2-week periods, these two items slipped in ranking but still had over 1200 page views combined.
7. News of Andrew's expansion of a production plant in China was a popular item among our readers with about 600 page views
8. The technical feature from our May issue: "Frequency Generation and Synthesis: Cost-effective and Power-efficient Solutions" was the only technical article (apart from white papers which were not part of the review) to make the top ten list. Despite appearing in the magazine and online for several weeks, readers were still interested in the subject and continued to click on this feature.
9. More news in the top ten, this time "Rohde & Schwarz at Femtocells World Summit 2009 in London" with well over 500 page views
10. And finally.... The Puzzler. Clearly, microwave engineers like to have fun too.
So while everyone was busy this past month traveling to Boston for IMS and then digging out from a back-log of action items or perhaps you were back in the office the whole time holding down the fort, some of you managed to find the time to stay informed via www.mwjournal.com. Do you think this top ten list accurately reflects the industry's interest?
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Crystal Oscillators Threatened by Si Timing Devices?
I am having IMS2009 withdrawals but came across this ABI Research release that states the crystal oscillator is threatened by a new set of devices grouped under the label "silicon timing solutions." According to research director Lance Wilson, "There’s a growing battle for market share between silicon timing solutions and the traditional quartz oscillator and its derivatives. Right now, silicon timing solutions have about 20% of the market, but ABI Research forecasts that percentage to nearly double within five years."
Virtually every device that contains an IC or generates a radio signal needs these devices. The incentives for equipment manufacturers to switch to silicon timing solutions? They are generally less expensive, more robust, and can integrate other functions onto the chip. But although great strides have been and will be made, they do not yet equal crystal oscillators in accuracy and stability.
In order to maximize their long-term chances of holding market share, many crystal oscillator vendors are focusing on military, aerospace and industrial markets where accuracy is at a premium and buyers are somewhat less price-obsessed. Silicon timing solution vendors, on the other hand, see fertile territories in mainstream computing and consumer electronics with MIDs and netbooks two particularly active new segments.
What do you think???
Virtually every device that contains an IC or generates a radio signal needs these devices. The incentives for equipment manufacturers to switch to silicon timing solutions? They are generally less expensive, more robust, and can integrate other functions onto the chip. But although great strides have been and will be made, they do not yet equal crystal oscillators in accuracy and stability.
In order to maximize their long-term chances of holding market share, many crystal oscillator vendors are focusing on military, aerospace and industrial markets where accuracy is at a premium and buyers are somewhat less price-obsessed. Silicon timing solution vendors, on the other hand, see fertile territories in mainstream computing and consumer electronics with MIDs and netbooks two particularly active new segments.
What do you think???
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
An Obsession with Size
How Big was this year's IMS? That seems to be the metric that everyone measures the show by. For me, this annual event is almost more than I can handle. Really. Fortunately our staff editors were able to stay on top of all the press releases and keep the online show coverage up to date. As for me, by the last day my head was spinning from all the input and brainstorming and information overload and piling up action items. Not that I'm complaining. I just don't see how bigger could possibly be any better. I already have regrets for the many people I was unable to see or spend quality time with. If you're on that list, please accept my apologies.
Of the meetings I did have and the press conferences I did attend, I was very impressed by Bob Van Buskirk and the entire team at RFMD as they rolled out their new GaN foundry. Bob gave a great talk about what he believed RFMD could bring to the market and specific benefits to future customers. I was also impressed by the quality of questions asked by attendees. And then... I missed my one-on-one meeting with Bob at the RFMD booth due to other meetings running late. See what I mean - it can be over whelming. There is never enough time at IMS.
Responding to the RFMD GaN foundry news, I did hear from the folks at TriQuint who sent a friendly reminder that they have been in the GaN foundry business for a few years and are therefore in a very strong position to offer many benefits to GaN designers. While I did get to exchange personal hellos with the Triquint foundry VP, Glen Riley. My colleague, Pat Hindle took the longer meeting and will be filing the report on their specific activity. I know they had a productive year, so I'm sure there will be lots of news there. The competition between foundries can only mean good things for driving innovation forward.
The RFMD conference presented me with a scheduling conflict. As I was with RFMD, our editors P. Hindle and R. Mumford and publisher C. Sheffres attended a special VIP session with Agilent. While I missed their CTO - Darlene Solomon discuss the many technologies Agilent was pursuing, I was able to later catch up with one of our past Expert Advice columnist , Agilent senior technologist - Joel Dunsmore. Joel did walk me through the latest developments with their nonlinear network vector analyzer (NVNA), the PNA-X and what has been happening with the industry adoption of X-parameters. This is a developing story that the Journal will be paying close attention to.
Nonlinear characterization was also being featured at the Tektronix/Mesuro booth with their active load-pull system and design by "waveform engineering". Rohde & Schwarz also has some activity in this arena as well. stay tuned.
We had a number of meetings with exhibitors who talked about the entire microwave supply chain, what these companies were doing to improve the supply chain and how the industry itself is evolving. Without giving too much away, this is a topic that will be giving special editorial coverage in the not too distant future. Also on this topic - Cobham is thinking outside the box and is evolving the way they do business with prime contractors that could actually transform the industry. Think efficiency on a global scale.
All my friends in the software market have been busy and were on hand to show their latest and greatest. Ansoft was showing off the beta version of HFSS12 (almost a teenager, imagine that!!), Agilent had demos of the latest features in ADS and a very impressive EMPro demo. Sonnet, AWR, CST, Remcom and others were also "in the house" with their latest releases. We ended up shooting a few videos with the folks at AWR as well as Agilent and Ansoft. Please check them out on our online show daily.
The high power transistor guys were in full effect, with Freescale pushing their LDMOS technology higher in frequency, Integra manning a very busy booth, Eudyna with a large central presence, HVVi and Microsemi all making noteworthy news.
My final thoughts on the show? The BCEC is a wonderful convention center and all exhibitors did a great job showing off their stuff; the weather was lousy (bad news for all those chartered harbor cruises) , but could have been worse; the parties were a blast and I enjoyed catching up with so many people while meeting new friends. With that, my hat's off to Fred Schindler and everyone on the steering commitee. I had a front row seat to what goes into organizing such an event. It is time consuming and it ain't easy. You folks did a great job. Thank you.
Of the meetings I did have and the press conferences I did attend, I was very impressed by Bob Van Buskirk and the entire team at RFMD as they rolled out their new GaN foundry. Bob gave a great talk about what he believed RFMD could bring to the market and specific benefits to future customers. I was also impressed by the quality of questions asked by attendees. And then... I missed my one-on-one meeting with Bob at the RFMD booth due to other meetings running late. See what I mean - it can be over whelming. There is never enough time at IMS.
Responding to the RFMD GaN foundry news, I did hear from the folks at TriQuint who sent a friendly reminder that they have been in the GaN foundry business for a few years and are therefore in a very strong position to offer many benefits to GaN designers. While I did get to exchange personal hellos with the Triquint foundry VP, Glen Riley. My colleague, Pat Hindle took the longer meeting and will be filing the report on their specific activity. I know they had a productive year, so I'm sure there will be lots of news there. The competition between foundries can only mean good things for driving innovation forward.
The RFMD conference presented me with a scheduling conflict. As I was with RFMD, our editors P. Hindle and R. Mumford and publisher C. Sheffres attended a special VIP session with Agilent. While I missed their CTO - Darlene Solomon discuss the many technologies Agilent was pursuing, I was able to later catch up with one of our past Expert Advice columnist , Agilent senior technologist - Joel Dunsmore. Joel did walk me through the latest developments with their nonlinear network vector analyzer (NVNA), the PNA-X and what has been happening with the industry adoption of X-parameters. This is a developing story that the Journal will be paying close attention to.
Nonlinear characterization was also being featured at the Tektronix/Mesuro booth with their active load-pull system and design by "waveform engineering". Rohde & Schwarz also has some activity in this arena as well. stay tuned.
We had a number of meetings with exhibitors who talked about the entire microwave supply chain, what these companies were doing to improve the supply chain and how the industry itself is evolving. Without giving too much away, this is a topic that will be giving special editorial coverage in the not too distant future. Also on this topic - Cobham is thinking outside the box and is evolving the way they do business with prime contractors that could actually transform the industry. Think efficiency on a global scale.
All my friends in the software market have been busy and were on hand to show their latest and greatest. Ansoft was showing off the beta version of HFSS12 (almost a teenager, imagine that!!), Agilent had demos of the latest features in ADS and a very impressive EMPro demo. Sonnet, AWR, CST, Remcom and others were also "in the house" with their latest releases. We ended up shooting a few videos with the folks at AWR as well as Agilent and Ansoft. Please check them out on our online show daily.
The high power transistor guys were in full effect, with Freescale pushing their LDMOS technology higher in frequency, Integra manning a very busy booth, Eudyna with a large central presence, HVVi and Microsemi all making noteworthy news.
My final thoughts on the show? The BCEC is a wonderful convention center and all exhibitors did a great job showing off their stuff; the weather was lousy (bad news for all those chartered harbor cruises) , but could have been worse; the parties were a blast and I enjoyed catching up with so many people while meeting new friends. With that, my hat's off to Fred Schindler and everyone on the steering commitee. I had a front row seat to what goes into organizing such an event. It is time consuming and it ain't easy. You folks did a great job. Thank you.
Friday, June 12, 2009
IMS 2009 Post Show Impressions
According to IMS2009, the annual conference and exhibition attracted thousands of designers, researchers, developers, academics and executives in the microwave and RF industry to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in Boston. Based on preliminary attendance numbers, more than 9,000 participants attended and 559 companies were represented.“This past week in Boston has been an enormous success in every respect,” said Fred Schindler, General Chair, IMS2009 and Director, RF Micro Devices Boston Design Center. “Our attendance results would be great any year, but given these difficult economic times they are outstanding.” Microwave Journal interviewed Fred on the first day of the show and you can see his interview below:
Based on initial registration data, technical registration was 2,676, an 11 percent increase over 2008 registration and exhibit-only registration numbers indicate 2,131 participants, an 83 percent increase over 2008. IMS2009 attracted 559 exhibiting companies, also an 11 percent increase over the number of exhibitors in 2008. According to preliminary results, the total number of IMS2009 participants, including exhibitor booth staff and guests, was 9,316 attendees, an 11 percent increase over 2008 participation.
Pretty good results and proves that Boston is a great location and venue (of course I am biased living here). Look for our show wrap up in a few days on our Online Show Daily and continued coverage of news and products from the show for the next couple of weeks. See you at IMS2010 which will be held May 23-28 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA.
IMS 2009 Demos
I did numerous formal sponsored video interviews on Tues morning which are now live on our Online Show Daily. But I came across a couple of other interesting demos during the show and took a video of a couple of them with my cheap but convenient Flip video. Below is a Keithley demo showing their new Vector Network Signal analyzer (just turn the volume up).
Another interesting product that is very cool is the laser etching machine from LPKF which can in seconds etch a metal pattern into a substrate like a PCB or ceramic board. It etches the pattern by scoring the surface and then heats the surface to peel away the metal which is removed by an air knife. It can do both prototypes and low volume production so it is versatile.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Old Friends at IMS/MTT-S
IMS/MTT-S is where you run into a lot of old friends and associates. You never know who you might find on the show floor. MWJ editor David Vye and myself ran into retired tech editor, Frank Bashore, who taught me well. We did a quick interview with Frank who gave his approval to the way we doing things so far. Who did you run into at the show?
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