Google TV: Surf while you watch television

April 17th, 2009

How would you like to stay connected to your news and email while enjoying your favourite movie or soap opera on the television? The future is

nearer than you thought.

In what could be one of the most innovative (or maybe the most annoying) value ads to our lives, Motorola will soon start manufacturing set top boxes with the Andriod operating system of the Google fame. In a nutshell, users shall soon have an internet connected cable box – a set top box that can surf the Web.

Android was primarily the operating system designed and developed by Google for mobile devices like the G1. But now it will sit in a set-top box being created by Motorola called au Box.

The device is being made for the Japanese Internet service provider KDDI, and it will be capable of playing DVDs and CDs, transfer music and video to a mobile device, and rip and store files.

The Android-powered box is being pushed along by the Open Embedded Software Foundation, a consortium of Japanese electronics manufacturers that want the Linux-based OS on a variety of devices.

The group plans to show off multiple Android-powered prototype devices including VoIP phones and TVs at the electronic trade show CEATEC this fall.

Posted in Other | 3 Comments »

Fujitsu adds microcontrollers to F2MC-8FX family

April 16th, 2009

Fujitsu Microelectronics Europe has expanded its line-up of low-pin-count (LPC) microcontrollers with three series in its F2MC-8FX family of 8-bit microcontrollers featuring eight, 16 and 20 pins.

The MB95260H, MB95270H and MB95280H series contain embedded dual-operation flash memory and support E2PROM emulation, which allows a reduction in system cost as this does not need to be connected to the microcontroller.

In recent years, there has been rapidly growing demand for LPC 8-bit microcontrollers for use in home appliances such as white goods, water heaters, electric pots, dehumidifiers and hair dryers, according to the company.

In response to these needs, Fujitsu has been providing a line-up of eight-, 16- and 20-pin LPC 8-bit flash microcontrollers in its F2MC-8FX family.

The MB95260H, MB95270H and MB95280H series are pin-compatible with previous MB95200-series products, with the addition of embedded dual-operation flash memory.

This dual-operation flash provides memory for program data, as well as a memory area for data storage, which eliminates the need for external E2PROM and thus reduces total system cost.

In addition to their use as main microcontrollers, the three series can be used as submicrocontrollers.

The three series also employ a single-line on-chip debug that uses only one pin on the microcontroller.

The microcontrollers include Fujitsu’s proprietary embedded dual-operation flash memory, which emulates E2PROM.

The memory contains two regions: one for program storage and another that can be used for data storage, which acts as a substitute for E2PROM.

This allows a reduction in system area and cost, as an external E2PROM is not required.

The microcontrollers incorporate Fujitsu’s high-reliability, high-performance embedded flash memory that can be rewritten 100,000 times and guaranteed to hold data for 20 years.

A flash security function protects customers’ software from being read by unauthorised external programmes.

As the internal CR oscillating circuit and the low-voltage detection circuit are built into the microcontrollers, the need for an external oscillator and reset IC is eliminated, thus contributing to a reduction in overall system costs.

For the timer function in the embedded ‘composite timer’, depending on the program, a channel can be selected from any one of the following: pulse-width modulation (PWM), pulse-width counter (PWC), interval timer or input capture (which measures interval times).

This provides the flexibility to handle customers’ varying system requirements.

A starter kit, MB2146-420A-01-E, which includes the Softune Workbench product development environment, is also available.

Posted in Microcontroller | 2 Comments »

Sixth-generation Windows Embedded CE 6.0

April 16th, 2009

t’s hard to imagine it has been 10 years since Microsoft announced an embedded Windows strategy at the last Las Vegas COMEX. it was not clear at the time what might result from the news and everyone was skeptical of Microsoft, but today the strategy is well established and many embedded applications now use either Embedded Windows or Windows CE. The latest announcement regarding Windows CE 6.0 further establishes Microsoft’s position in the embedded computing industry.

In conjunction with the 10-year anniversary of Windows Embedded, 100 percent of the Windows Embedded CE 6.0 kernel is now available through the Microsoft Shared Source program. By providing access to certain parts of the Windows Embedded CE source code such as the file systems, device drivers, and other core components, embedded developers can choose the code they need, compile it, and build their own unique operating systems, quickly bringing their devices to market.

Windows Embedded CE 6.0 boasts a reengineered kernel with capabilities such as capacity for 32,000 simultaneous processes and 2 GB of virtual memory address space per process while maintaining the software’s real-time capabilities. This enables developers to incorporate more robust applications into more intelligent, complex devices used on the road, at work, and in the home.

Posted in Operating System | No Comments »

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