Engineering Investigations
Brian Bailey
4/9/2013 11:26 AM EDT
While we accept the necessity of IP, everyone seems to have plenty of grips as well. What are your biggest complaints about IP developers or users?
post comment
6 comments
last comment
M_S
I've been using some IP from Altera for a DDR2 SDRAM memory controller. I have not been able to get ...
What were they thinking: no transparency
Brian Bailey
4/5/2013 11:20 AM EDT
I am getting on my soapbox today to complain about the way tickets are sold for large concerts. This may not be true where you are but this is the way it is done in Portland…
post comment
2 comments
last comment
WKetel
In the Detroit area the original problem was that scalpers would purchase all of the good seats at ...
Bill Schweber
3/26/2013 1:54 PM EDT
Thanks to some type of hardware/software glitch, my inexpensive MP3 player just won't shut down.
post comment
13 comments
last comment
MarvA
I've had to use the 7-second rule on the power button on every computer that I've dealt with in the ...
What were they thinking: A clock
Brian Bailey
3/22/2013 11:34 AM EDT
It is amazing what some people consider simple or complex. While time is not the most rational number system and decimal might be easier, this patent has another idea…
post comment
16 comments
last comment
Sparky_Watt
I don't know why he picked 36. 12 is also divisible by 2, 3, and 4. 60 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, ...
Embedded vision: Is your smartphone watching you?
Clive Maxfield
3/18/2013 8:09 AM EDT
The new Galaxy S4 smartphone from Samsung will be able to use its camera to watch you watching it.
post comment
11 comments
last comment
OmegaMan
Harrison Ford is playing Colonel Graff, the man responsible for Ender's training.
Un-compromising a compromised iPhone?
Clive Maxfield
3/5/2013 4:40 PM EST
My friend has an iPhone, which he believes has been compromised.
post comment
4 comments
last comment
mrmobile
Q: Is there any way to determine if your iPhone has been compromised? A: Not for normal people. The ...
PCBs help take the measure of Mars
Anne-Francoise Pele
3/1/2013 1:19 PM EST
Determining thermal effects on general purpose pc boards is tough, but it’s another story to control PCB reliability in mission critical applications where device failure is not an option.
post comment
1 comment
last comment
DaStargzer
The first thing I noticed in the graph was that the Ground Temperature has a larger swing than the ...
What were they thinking: Can a mouse be used for that
Brian Bailey
3/1/2013 11:08 AM EST
Crazy patents are often the work of a single person who wants to become a mad inventor, but large corporations do it as well…
post comment
3 comments
last comment
GSKrasle
They should put two motion-engines and an ink-jet printhead in the mouse, so that it prints on a ...
What were they thinking: the iWatch is coming
Brian Bailey
2/22/2013 11:10 AM EST
OK, so perhaps that is a little premature, but Apple thinks the idea has enough merit that they have filed a patent about it. At the moment it has not be granted, but it does provide some interesting insights…
post comment
1 comment
last comment
Michael.McManus
A bi-stable spring? I think that's what my daughter would call a "slap bracelet", think of a metal ...
What were they thinking: heated glasses
Brian Bailey
2/15/2013 11:07 AM EST
I love it when something thinks they are being really clever and yet it is also clear that they don’t have a clue. How many ways would this invention not work…
post comment
18 comments
last comment
Steve_B
The key issue in a patent is not the figure or description, which are just examples, but the ...