Articles
TECHNO BUZZ
Siemens & Motorola to develop new chip
Siemens is to collaborate with Motorola in developing new computer chip technology.
The two companies, which are already constructing a semiconductor plant in Virginia, aim to produce chips on 300- millimeter disks instead of the 200-millimeter wafers now used.
They reportedly plan to build a pilot production site in Dresden, where the German electronics giant opened a 2.7 billion mark chip plant in 1995.
The change to 300-millimeter wafers could reduce the cost of making computer memories by as much as 30 percent, according to estimates.
Latest news on the HP front
HP's new $799 model, the Pavilion 3260, is designed around a 200-MHz Intel Pentium Processor with MMX, and 32 megabytes of memory.HP will also introduce more powerful models in its Pavilion home PC family, including a $1,099 model with a 233 MHz Pentium.
HP will also unveil a PC designed around the 266 megahertz Pentium II for an estimated retail price of $1,699.
Other features of the some of the new PCs include software that lets users e-mail photographs, create greeting cards and produce home videos.
CAD & CAE
COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN
In the 60's, CAD was a computer controlled plotting pen. Moreover, CAD required a large mainframe and was so expensive that only the largest manufacturers could consider using CAD and CAE. The advances in CAD and the fall in cost has paralleled the advances in the computer industry. CAD systems are currently available for PCs at a cost of $500plus. This means CAD is now within the reach of all but the smallest manufacturing firm. Moreover, as CAD software advanced, specific programs were created applicable for each industry. (CAD software is industry specific. For example, you would not use a CAD program for mechanical design to design an electric circuit.)
Another important aspect in the advance in CAD is the continual improvement in the graphical representation of object. As computer graphics improved, designs starting with two dimensions `wire-frame' drawings advanced sequentially to three dimensional `wire-frame' drawings, two dimensional solid objects, three dimensional surfaces, to the current three dimension solid objects. In addition, vivid colors and dynamic motion were added. Today the graphic representations are of sufficient quality the CAD can be used for styling as well as design.
Computer assisted design facilitates design because an engineer can create a rough sketch and a computer program will transform the sketch into a complete engineering drawing. In architecture, the program can add standard items such as electric outlets. This transformation of sketch to finished drawing will greatly decrease the demand for draftsmen. Engineers will create their own drawings.
Secondly, CAD facilitates geometric transformations. A three dimensional part can be rotated, cut by cross sections, and examined in detail by zooming in. In designing integrated circuits software programs, silicon compilers, have been created to design the circuits given the specifications.
The digital storage of CAD designs provides two advantages. First, all departments in the firm will have the most current design. Before computer stored designs, each department might have a different version creating opportunities for Murphy's law to occur. Second, in creating multiple models or making a more advanced design, the engineer can start with the existing designs and modify them. Because a substantial percent of the new parts can be obtained through modification of the old parts, great savings of time and engineering effort are obtained. Chrysler's consolidation of their product line reduced the number of parts from 75 to 40 thousand. The use of computers allows for the clustering of similar parts in design and production. Only 20%of new parts require new designs and another 40%can be created by modifications of old designs. This saving is achieved by better organization through computer use.
COMPUTER ASSISTED ENGINEERING
Computer assisted engineering enables engineers to analyze a design through computer programs without having to build a prototype. Given the geometry of a design, the degree of interference or clearance between parts can be observed. If moving parts are present in the design, they can be rotated as a dynamic check. The geometric properties such as volume, weight, center of gravity, moments of inertia, radii of gyration, polar moments, etc of 3-D modes can be readily calculated. An important example is the analysis of stress on a part. The program is called a finite element analysis program. Another example is simulated ( by a computer program) wind tunnel testing on a design to determine the wind resistance or drag.
Computer programs called silicon compilers can lay out the circuitry of a chip. Electrical designs started as sketches can be analyzed. Building designs can be analyzed for wind and earthquake damage. The architectural software will also automatically insert the building code requirements.
CAD and CAE have improved the productivity of design by a factor of 2 in the case of mechanical design such as automobiles to as much as 30 in the case of designing integrated circuits using silicon compilers.
Reference sites:
1.http://www.grupoabstract.com
2.http://www.giganet.net/technol-ace/cad.html
NETWATCH
MOMENTS OF NOSTALGIA
Have you ever wondered what the friends you used to hang out with in your school days, are upto nowadays ? And are you one of those who didn’t get quite enough out of your school reunion ? Well, stop wondering and get through to this site right away, which has a comprehensive listing of all the schools and colleges on this planet. Follow the links to Maharashtra and if your school is listed, rest assured that several of your old pals shall be listed under the appropriate year of passing. I, for once, found out what my old gang was upto. You also can register yourself at this site and add a link if you have your own home page, as have quite a few friends of mine done. So, if I were you, I would instantly rush to the address given below for renewing long lost contacts......
ANAGRAM GENIUS
Ever wondered what our society and it’s council members are really hiding in their names ? Well, guys, try these for a sample ……
Students Forum for Electronics
Fouler monsters if constructed. Fluorescent destruction forms.
Restful freedom constructions. Reconstruct to sinful freedoms.
Zainulabedin Aurangabadwala
Again Nazi wall and a bad bureau.
A bureau and a Nazi, all a windbag.
An arguable wail and a Nazi baud.
Rajesh Iyer
Hairy jeers.
Jersey hair.
He is a jerry.
Sarita Sequeira
It is a square ear.
Air quiets areas.
Quiet as a sierra.
A quit era arises.
Areas quit a rise.
Areas quiet a sir
Equate sir as air.
Sachin Ganu
A snug chain.
Cash in a gun.
Unchain gas.
Gush in a can.
A gun's chain.
Tushar Pai
Put as hair.
A shut pair.
I push a rat.
Ha, USA trip.
Sourja Ray
Oar as jury.
As your jar.
A jury soar.
As your raj.
Ishan Mandrekar
Main rank dasher.
A kinder, rash man.
Shrink damn area.
Hard, insane mark.
Shrink a dear man.
Dark insane harm.
A kind, saner harm.
Aha! man drinkers.
Jayadeep Hoshing
Ha ha! enjoyed pigs.
Ha ha! speeding joy.
Headings heap joy.
Enjoy high sad ape.
Aha! enjoy pig shed.
A dopey, high jeans.
Dayanand Gawade
And wage and a day.
Add age and a yawn.
Add an agenda way.
An aged yawn. A dad.
A dandy age. A dawn.
Well, amused.....then why not access this site and find out about your name, too. It’s simple. Go to
http://www.genius2000.com
and follow the following links.
- Anagram Genius for Windows
- More example anagrams
- Find out what your name reveals
Fill up the form and give a return e-mail address. Your anagrams shall reach you within 5 hours of giving the request. Enjoy........
Tushar Pai
Executive Cell
HOWZZAT
A steamboat covers the distance between town A and town B ( located downstream )
In 5 hours without making any stops. Moving upstream from B to A at the same speed, it covers the same distance in 7 hours ( again making no stops ). How many hours does it take a raft moving with the speed of the river current to get from A to B ?
F A Q CORNER
What is video conferencing ?
Videoconferencing or VC is the combination of dedicated audio,videoand communications networking technology for real-time interaction, and is often used by groups of people who gather in a specific setting (often a conference room) to communicate with other groups of people. The cost of VC is relatively high, due to the requirement of dedicated high-end equipment.
What is DTVC ?
Desktop Videoconferencing (DTVC) combines personal computing with audio, video and communications technologies to provide real-time interaction from a typical personal computer, and the interaction embodies communications between groups of people from singular points (desks with computers). The cost is relatively low and declining, due to the use of typical personal computer technology and added peripherals of a lower cost.
What is data conferencing?
Data conferencing is the connection of two or more computer systems, through which information flows. This information can be in the form of text, graphics, digitized sound, or digitized video. VC may be considered a type of data conferencing. However, sound and video are not necessarily required for data conferencing. Whiteboards or applications which allow multiple computers to add, remove, or edit documents simultaneously, are an example of data conferencing without sound and video.
What is audio conferencing?
Audio conferencing is a discussion between two or more individuals through a sound transmitting device. This device can be a million dollar VC microphone linkup device, or it can be a college student using an old rotary phone to call his mother. Regardless of technology, audio is probably the oldest, but most important form of communication today. It gives personality to the individual behind the computer screen, and is extremely effective in conveying emotion.
What is a CODEC?
VC Standards, also known as CODECS (COmpression and DECompression componentS), are specifications which system developers attempt to conform their products to. They explain in detail, improved formats of data compression and transmission, utilizing the latest developments in technology. By proposing, passing, and utilizing these standards, VC system developers raise the quality of their products and guarantee compatibility between their products.
What are the kind of videoconferencing systems?
Videoconferencing systems call in a multitude of shapes, sizes, colors, and most importantly prices. A "homemade" DTVC setup would look like a usual desktop computer, connected through a CODEC compliant or video capture card to a miniature videocamera. Either onboard the camera, or connected to a system's sound card would be a microphone, through which you can audio conference with another user. There are also pre-packaged DTVC systems, with both camera and microphone embedded within the monitor itself, and video adapters integrated into a system's motherboard.
What should I look for in a VC board?
Note if your VC board is standards-compliant, or proprietary-based. In other words, find out if the board complies with the ITU CODEC standards, especially H.261
What's ISDN?
ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network. It is a high speed, greater bandwidth (ability to transmit data) alternative to phone lines for transferring data. ISDN is especially useful for DTVC systems, which require a great deal of bandwidth to transfer both video and audio between sites.
ISDN cards are like modems, but 5 times faster. They require special telephone lines, which cost a little (or a lot, depending on your phone company) more than normal phone lines. ISDN calls are usually charged by the minute, even for local calls, but this varies from state to state. Businesses seeking fulltime connection are often better served by 56Kb/sec Frame Relay instead of ISDN, because of it's flat rate.
What are other DTVC standards ?
H.320 :H.320 is a narrow-band visual telephone systems and terminal equipment standard .
H.261: The H.261 standard is the video code for audiovisual services at p x 64 kbit/s.
H.323: H.323 is the LAN standard for Ethernet.
H.324: H.324 is the draft standard for PSTN.
H.242: H.242 is a system for reestablishing communication between audiovisual terminals using digital channels up to 2 Mbit/s.
H.221: H.221 is the frame structure for a 64 to 1920 kbit/s channel in audiovisual teleservices. It is the protocol definition for carrying the family of protocols under H.320, across the network.
H.221 sends fixed sized frames of 80 bytes across the network. The first few bytes of an H.221 frame look something like this shortened and oversimplified), for the initial channel:
AADDVVVS
AADDVVVS
AADDVVVS
AADDVVVS
AADDVVVS
AADDVVVS
AADDVVVV
AADDVVVV
AADDVVVV
The A bits are audio data, the D inband data, the V video, and the S are the service channel Each of the first few bytes in the transmitted data contains two bits of audio, two bits of data, three bits of video and one bit of service-channel . The weird thing is the presence of the service channel signal spread out bit-by-bit over a dozen bytes.
Why is this like this?
Well, the signal on an audio link over ISDN (simple telephone audio) without H.221 looks like this, not surprisingly:
AAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAA
When a video call is starting up, the signal emitted by a videophone looks like this (again, shortened).
AAAAAAAS
AAAAAAAS
AAAAAAAS
AAAAAAAS
AAAAAAAS
AAAAAAAS
AAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAA
Notice that the videophone steps on the low order bit of the plain old eight-bit log audio signal for twelve samples out of eighty to transmit the service channel. Guess what? If the videophone connects to a plain-old phone (and the network doesn't lose byte alignment ...a story for another day) they can talk to one another even with the service channel present, with minimal loss of fidelity. Once H.221 acquires framing (when the receiver recognizes the service channel) the videophone endpoints involved in the call negotiate the activation on video and compressed audio, using a protocol with messages exchanged in the service channel. H.221 framing is robust against bit-slips in the network. The receiver of one of these AAAAAAAS can figure out how the bytes are aligned, by searching for a valid service-channel signal in all bit positions.
What are the T.120 series?
The T.120 standards are for audiographic conferencing.
What is the RTP standard?
RTP is the internet standard, prepared by the Audio-Video Transport working group of the IETF (Internet Engeneering Task Force). Although it is still a draft, it is implemented in most Internet products.
What is BOnDInG?
BOnDInG is the Bandwidth On Demand Interoperability Group.
There are lots of good ways of aggregating B channels, and BOnDInG is just one of them. BOnDInG is one good way of aggregating channels for video conferencing. It is commonly used in setups which include both a video codec running at speeds of 168kbps (3x56kbps) or higher. These setups ordinarily include both an H.320 codec box and a BOnDInG inverse-multiplexing box. H.221 channel aggregation can handle up to 6 B channels, but most connections, in North America anyway, over 2B, use BOnDInG.
Did you know.......
Rene Descartes came up with the theory of coordinate geometry by looking at a fly walk across a tiled ceiling.
No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, and purple.
Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them used to burn their houses down - hence the expression "to get fired."
Canada is an Indian word meaning "Big Village".
Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
The original story from Tales of 1001 Arabian Nights begins, "Aladdin was a little Chinese boy."
The international telephone dialing code for Antarctica is 672.
The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.
The little bags of netting for gas lanterns (called 'mantles' ) are radioactive--so much so that they will set of an alarm at a nuclear reactor.
Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) was allergic to carrots
Each unit on the Richter Scale is equivalent to a power factor of about 32. So a 6 is 32 times more powerful than a 5! Though it goes to 10, 9 is estimated to be the point of total tetonic destruction (2 is the smallest that can be felt unaided.)
Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.
The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
Sherlock Holmes never said "Elementary, my dear Watson."
Duelling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.
More people are killed annually by donkeys than die in air crashes.
Armored knights raised their visors to identify themselves when they rode past their king. This custom has become the modern military salute.
The "huddle" in football was formed due a deaf football player who used sign language to communicate and his team didn't want the opposition to see the signals he used and in turn huddled around him.
Goethe couldn't stand the sound of barking dogs and could only write if he had an apple rotting in the drawer of his desk.
If you are locked in a completely sealed room, you will die of carbon dioxide poisoning first before you will die of oxygen
deprivation.
Carnivorous animals will not eat another animal that has been hit by a lightning strike.
Sir Isaac Newton was an ordained priest in the Church of England.
A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.
The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.
Certain frogs can be frozen solid then thawed, and continue living.
Steve Young, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, is the great-great-grandson of Mormon leader Brigham Young.
Money isn't made out of paper, it's made out of linen.
Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie.
If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
Some biblical scholars believe that Aramaic (the language of the ancient Bible) did not contain an easy way to say "many things" and used a term which has come down to us as 40. This means that when the bible -- in many places -- refers to "40 days," they meant many days.
Hershey's Kisses are called that because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.
FUNNY BYTES
Now get this. I was sitting at my desk, when I remembered a phone call I had to make. I found the number and dialed it. A man answered nicely saying, "Hello?" I politely said, "This is Patrick Hanifin and could I please speak to Robin Carter?" Suddenly the phone was slammed down on me! I couldn't believe that anyone could be that rude. I tracked down Robin's correct number and called her. She had transposed the last two digits.
After I hung up with Robin, I spotted the wrong number still lying there on my desk. I decided to call it again. When the same person once more
answered, I yelled "You're a jerk!" and hung up. Next to his phone number I wrote the word "Jerk," and put it in my desk drawer.
Every couple of weeks, when I was paying bills, or had a really bad day,I'd call him up. He'd answer, and then I'd yell, 'You're a jerk!" It would always cheer me up.
Later in the year the phone company introduced caller ID. This was a real disappointment for me, I would have to stop calling the jerk.
Then one day I had an idea. I dialed his number, then heard his voice,"Hello." I made up a name. "Hi. This is Herman with the telephone company and I'm just calling to see if you're familiar with our caller ID program?" He went, "No!" and slammed the phone down. I quickly called him back and said, "That's because you're a jerk!"
The old lady at the mall really took her time pulling out of the parking space. I didn't think she was ever going to leave. Finally her car began to move and she started to very slowly back out of the stall. I backed up a little more to give her plenty of room to pull out. Great, I thought, she's finally leaving.
All of a sudden this black camaro come flying up the parking isle in the wrong direction and pulls into her space. I started honking my horn and yelling, "You can't just do that, Buddy. I was here first!" The guy climbed out of his camaro completely ignoring me. He walked toward the mall as if he didn't even hear me. I thought to myself, this guy's a jerk, there's sure a lot of jerks in this world. I noticed he had a For Sale sign in the back window of his car. I wrote down the number. Then I hunted for another place to park.
A couple of days later, I'm at home sitting at my desk. I had just gotten off the phone after calling Jerk#1 and yelling, "You're a jerk!" (It's really easy to call him now since I have his number on speed dial). I noticed the phone number of the guy with the black camaro lying on my desk and thought I'd better call this guy, too.
After a couple rings someone answered the phone and said, "Hello." I said, "Is this the man with the black camaro for sale?" "Yes it is."
"Can you tell me where I can see it?"
"Yes, I live at 1802 West 34th street. It's a yellow house and the car's parked right out front."
I said, "What's your name?"
"My name is Don Hansen." "When's a good time to catch you, Don?"
"I'm home in the evenings." "Listen Don, can I tell you something?"
"Yes."
"Don, you're a jerk!"
And I slammed the phone down. After I hung up I added Don Hansen's number to my speed dialer.
For a while things seemed to be going better for me. Now when I had a problem I had two jerks to call. Then after several months of calling the jerks and hanging up on them, the whole thing started to seem like an
obligation. It just wasn't as enjoyable as it used to be.
I gave the problem some serious thought and came up with a solution.
First, I had my phone dial Jerk #1. A man answered nicely saying, "Hello."
I yelled "You're a jerk!" But I didn't hang up.
The jerk said, "Are you still there?"
I said, "Yeah.."
He said, "Stop calling me."
I said, "No."
He said, "What's your name, Pal?"
I said, "Don Hansen."
"Where do you live?"
"1802 West 34th Street. It's a yellow house and my black camaro's parked out front."
"I'm coming over right now, Don. You'd better start saying your prayers."
"Yeah, like I'm really scared, Jerk!" and I hung up.
Then I called Jerk #2. He answered, "Hello."
I said, "Hello, Jerk!"
He said, "If I ever find out who you are..."
"You'll what?"
"I'll kill you."
"Well, here's your chance. I'm coming over right now Jerk!" And I hung up.
Then I picked up the phone and called the police. I told them a big gang fight was going down at 1802 West 34th Street. After that I climbed into my car and headed over to 34th Street to watch the whole thing.
I turned onto 34th Street and parked my car under the shade of a tree half a block from Jerk #2's house. There were two guys fighting out front. Suddenly there were about 12 police cars and a helicopter. The police
wrestled the two men to the ground and took them away.
A couple of months go by and I get a call for jury duty. I was picked on to be on a trial of two guys charged with disorderly conduct. As luck would have it, it happened to be the same two guys. I might have influenced the jury, because when they announced the verdict, they said, "We the jury find the defendants to be guilty, and a couple of jerks!"
Dear friends,
The end is hard on everyone. And if its the last issue of the E-Mail its even tough (and emotional too...). Yes friends, I am filling up the last column on the last page of this year's last E-Mail.
And if I end it without giving due credit to those involved I will not be doing justice to you. Kudos to the Ed department, Ishan, Jayadeep and Dayanand for bringing out such excellent editions of the E-Mails and a special word for Tush for hacking around the net for hours and giving us the stuff we've enjoyed so much. But friends the last E-Mail does not mean that SFE does not have anything for you.
Coming up is our annual magazine INT-ELECT for which the articles will come from you. Also the cover page contest is open for all the artists out there. So with the last of the E-Mails out, now is your chance to contribute to the Ed. Next year look forward to another series of intellectually stimulating newsletters (from a new council), till then .............
Really quit pine ? yes / no
yes.
Zainul
President
SFE
