Amelia's Weekly Fish Fry

Cloudy with a Chance of EDA

Fish Fry heads into the cloud this week. We talk with two different CEOs from two different EDA companies about how their forays into the cloud set them apart from the rest of the EDA pack and promise to make our design lives a whole lot easier. With Dr. Raik Brinkmann (CEO - OneSpin Solutions) we discuss OneSpin's formal verification tool suite and how it works in the cloud, and why Raik thinks karate and engineering have a lot in common. We also chat with Harn Ng (CEO - Plunify) about how this Singapore-based EDA company is looking to revolutionize the FPGA design process. Did you know that the Super Hero Pub Crawl and World Record Attempt is taking place in Portland, Oregon this weekend? We'll be checking that out as well, and giving away an Arduino Uno 65PCS Workshop Set courtesy of newark element14.

---------------

Fish Fry Links - July 12, 2013

More Information about OneSpin Solutions

Bryon Moyer's Feature Article: Formal in the Cloud - OneSpin’s New Spin on Cloud Computing

More Information about Plunify

Bryon Moyer's Feature Article - Elephant in the Cloud

More Information about the 3rd Annual SuperHero Pub Crawl and World Record Attempt

Up in ARMs

Fish Fry is physical this week. Yep, we're flexing our SoCs and pulling on our semicodunctor spandex. We may not be running the next design marathon, but we are diving into the world of physical IP. We're talking to Dipesh Patel (ARM) about processor optimization and how ARM is packing a serious punch with their POP IP.  Also this week, we're revealing why you don’t have to choose between strictly analog or digital power supplies.

We're giving away a NXP Development Platform for the DualCore courtesy of newark element14. Click here to enter

Fish Fry Links - July 5, 2013

More Information about ARM's POP IP

New Episode of Chalk Talk^{HD -} Introducing Digitally Enhanced Power Analog

More Information about this week's Nerdy Giveway courtesy of newark element14 - NXP Development Platform for the DualCore

Communications and Authentications

All Aboard! The embedded design train is leaving the station. In this week’s Fish Fry we're getting into some serious embedded design business. We’re talking about the newest in component security and the wonders of near field communications (NFC).  My first guest is Greg Proehl of STMicroelectronics. Greg and I are going to get into the who, what, when, and how of NFC and why you might need it for your next design. Also this week, we’re checking out the newest security algorithms and component authentication with Alex Dean of Atmel. Alex and I chat about the differences between symmetric and asymmetric key algorithms and what elliptic curve cryptography is all about.

Fish Fry Links - June 28, 2013

More Information about STMicroelectronics' NFC Portfolio

New episode of Chalk Talk^{HD -} Enabling New Applications With NFC Connectivity and Energy Harvesting

Atmel Expands CryptoAuthentication Portfolio with Elliptical Curve Asymmetric Key Authentication Solutions

IGLOO2 To You Too

Fish Fry is headed to the land of programmable logic this week. We're talking FPGA design tools, flash-enhanced FPGAs, and ASIC designs that won't break the bank. We're getting the skinny on Microsemi's new IGLOO2 family from Paul Ekas, chatting about FPGA partitioning with Flexras CEO Hayder Mrbet, and also checking out how Triad Semiconductor can cut your mixed signal ASIC design costs down to a reasonable and career-preserving amount.

Fish Fry Links - June 21, 2013

More Information about Microsemi's new IGLOO2 FPGA Family

Feature Article - Building a Bigger Better IGLOO: Microsemi Goes Mainstream

More Information about Flexras

New Episode of Chalk Talk^HD - How to Save 99% on Your Next Mixed Signal ASIC Design

I Spy RTL

Fish Fry is watching you. We know all about that lunch. The one in the break room fridge. The one you thought was yours but wasn’t, and you ate it anyway. We also know that you kinda fudged that last deadline when it came close to crunch time, and let’s not even talk about those cheat codes... OK, no - we're not really watching you but we are talking about a whole other kind of spying in this week's Fish Fry. Yep, we’re talking about spying into your RTL design. My guest this week is none other than Mike Gianfagna (Atrenta) and we’re gonna ask him about RTL sign off, spyglasses, and spicy margaritas.

Let's Get This DAC Party Started

Maybe it was the heat, maybe was the sheer number of processor guys strolling in from the greater Austin area,or maybe it was the BBQ. I’m not exactly sure what it was, but this year’s Design Automation Conference and Expo was livelier and more energetic than we’ve seen in years, and Fish Fry is taking you straight to center of the serious (and not so serious) design automation action. First, we talk about DAC with Tom Anderson (Breker) and ask him about SoC verification and more importantly, what set the Breker booth apart from the rest of the pack on the expo floor this year. Next, we chat with Anupam Bakshi, CEO of Agnisys about cavemen, automatic code generation, and booth babes…or, uh, I mean, temporary technical representatives. Also this week, I unveil my 2013 DAC You May Have Missed List. This is my top ten rundown of the coolest things I saw during the show (that may or may not have anything to do with the actual tools themselves).

(Fish) Fryin' Your Senses

We're attacking your senses this week. Yep, we're coming on like last week's cold and we're taking no prisoners. OK, that's not really true... but this week's Fish Fry is exploring several recent sensory-related technological breakthroughs in the world of electronic design. First, we're talking about one of the newest advances in artificial compound eye technology and explaining how it could kick up the vision performance on your next robot project. Next, we're checking out the newest advances in low-power touchscreen microcontrollers, and finally we are investigating how one perfume company in Japan is looking to add a fourth dimension to our smartphone text notifications. Click Here to enter to win a Freescale i.MX6Q Sabre Lite Board courtesy of newark element14.

Tools, Airplanes, and Smart Watches

In this week’s Fish Fry - we’re talking tools, we’re talking airplanes, and we’re talking watches. First, I’m chatting with Jim McElroy (Vice President of Marketing - LDRA) about where LDRA fits in the embedded tool landscape, what their compliance management system is all about, and how this compliance management system may just help you get your next Mil/Aero design off the ground. Also this week, I’m checking out how Aldec’s new Spec-TRACER tool suite can help you navigate the twists and turns of your next DO-254 design and why you should check out a new Kickstarter campaign that is attempting to launch a brand new smart watch called The Agent.

I’ve got a chipKIT Uno32 Arduino-Compatible Prototyping Platform to give away to one lucky listener courtesy of newark element14 this week! Head on over to element14.com/fishfry to enter to win. Click here to enter to win a chipKIT Uno32 Arduino-Compatible Prototyping Platform courtesy of newark element14

ASIC’s Four Letter Word, Napalm Bats, and The GertBoard

Fish Fry is treading on scary ground this week. Guard your children, hold your RTL close and your soldering gun even closer. We're talking ASIC design costs. I know many of you are cowering in fear at the slight mention of custom chip NRE costs. This week my guest is Reid Wender (Triad Semiconductor) and we're chatting about how you can relinquish your mixed-signal ASIC design cost fears once and for all. Think of it as an NRE exorcism, sorta.

Also this week, we're checking out a special long lost World War II battle battalion and giving away a GertBoard courtesy of newark element14.

(Raspberry) Pi in the Sky

Fish Fry is going raspberry this week, Raspberry Pi that is! My special guest is none other than the co-creator of the Raspberry Pi board Gert Van Loo. Gert and I are chatting about how the Raspberry Pi board was created, how Gert built upon Raspberry Pi to create the Gertboard, and why he thinks IO education is important for the next wave of engineers. Also this week, I'm chatting with Cliff Ortmeyer (newark element14) about the intersection of hackers, makers, and engineers. In keeping with this week's theme, I have a Raspberry Pi Model B to give away to one lucky listener this week courtesy of newark element14. Click here to enter to win a Raspberry Pi Model B courtesy of newark element14