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As it does every Spring, my brain has been answering some primordial call to escape from my skull, swim upstream, and spawn. Although I did manage to herd enough neurons into a formation tight enough to process the Product Reviews for this week’s issue, they immediately rebelled when I attempted to think about a topic for the Editorial. Whenever I tried to contemplate the state of the electronics industry, emerging markets for green technology, or other weighty matters, I found my thoughts drifting to the ride I had planned to take on Felix, my beloved 1986 Honda Helix  motor scooter this weekend. Finally, I gave up and headed to the garage.%IMG_left_full_774%Felix serves as both a workhorse and a pet vehicle for me. Fast enough to handle highways but compact enough to park nearly anywhere, it’s my preferred set of wheels for errands on the congested streets of Princeton and West Windsor as long as the snow isn’t too deep. At 60+ mpg, a $6 fill-up is enough for a long afternoon’s ...

Every time that you see a story about a hacked computer system – customer records, databases, whatever – you have to wonder about the intelligence in the organizations that allowed it to happen.Now an even bigger threat – the potential security of the US – has apparently been revealed. I have to say "apparently" because the source of the story was The Wall Street Journal, and that immediately raises red flags from the fast-declining publication, now that the Murdoch name is on the masthead and any story that is able to knock China about seems to easily slip into print.This particular computer breach was alleged to have been into the Pentagon’s computer system and was reported to be cyber spies, Chinese no less, digging into the most costly weapons program in US history: the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter project.(It is arguable that the $300 billion, so far, radar-evading flight program is a total waste of money, being designed for an enemy that no longer exists...

Cleaning up my workshop is always a chore. My wife tells me it's not because of the minimal physical work involved, but because of my unholy attachment to things. Yes, I admit it. I love stuff.It's hard for me to discard something like a 1983 IBM PC, replete with original keyboard and IBM green monochrome monitor. It resides in a corner of my basement, gathering dust. I'll probably never fire it up again, even though there are some interesting and possibly useful WordStar files on its 10-Mbyte hard disk (if you’re interested in purchasing it, or swapping something for it, drop me an e-mail). %IMG_left_full_781%Somehow I can't seem to garner the energy to trash my 8-inch Seagate 186-kbyte single-sided floppy drives either. Ditto for two Z80 CP/M machines, an ancient Weston Industrial Analyzer VOM resplendent in its polished hardwood case, an equally timeworn HP audio voltmeter, a General Radio 1606 impedance bridge, a Gertsch frequency meter, and myriad other electronic treasures of yore.%IMG_right_full_...

It’s springtime here in Central New Jersey and my walks with Pepper, the dog from the animal rescue shelter who adopted us last year, are now punctuated with sightings of new bulbs that have erupted overnight and the fragrance of my neighbor’s cherry blossoms. In another week or so the air will be filled with the scent of the lilacs that grace my backyard. These luscious sights and smells are a welcome relief from the gray winter months and a reminder that there are some things which are not affected by the economic recession that appears to grip nearly every aspect of our lives. Much like those bulbs, I’m also seeing at least a few tender green shoots of market opportunities within our industry and a number of companies that seem to be smart enough to make the best of these tough times.Make no mistake about it, these are tough times; but I still think that companies that did not fall prey to chasing phantom markets, stock manipulation schemes, and other excesses are in a good position to ri...

In the autumn of 1978 I attended a Motorola Integrated Circuit Division press conference. Back in those heady days it wasn't unusual for semiconductor houses like Moto to hold lavish and extravagant press events, often at far-out venues such as New York City's Windows On The World restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center. Ice sculptures, greetings by long-legged scantily clad models at the door, champagne, and endless platters of seafood delicacies were the rule.%IMG_right_full_772%At this particular conference Motorola rolled out its first 64 kbit dynamic RAM. Robert Dennard's one-transistor, one-capacitor memory cell revolutionized the embryonic microcomputer industry, and Motorola was rejoicing.I still have one of those devices sitting on my desk, encapsulated in clear plastic. The engraving on this memento from Moto reads: "64K Dynamic RAM, First Silicon, November 8, 1978, Austin, Texas."%IMG_left_full_773%Wow, time sure flies, especially when you're having fun, and what Editor covering t...

There is absolutely no need for me to have to tell any reader that times are tough. If you still have a job you are probably being forced to take a certain number of forced vacation days a quarter; you are maybe being told that you just need to stay at home and not get paid for a certain number of days a month. But the workload doesn’t go away, and when you get back to your desk from those forced absences, you are probably working even longer hours than usual just to get your feet back underneath yourself.You are doing this with a strange feeling of gratitude, no doubt, because these management dictates also mean that, for the moment, you get to keep your job, your health benefits, your stock options, and your ability to keep hoping for the future.And things are probably turning the corner. There is an electronic life out there, it seems, with a heart that is beating at least ten percent faster than it was three months ago. My feeling today is that we are going to recognize a real turnaround in our...

What’s the difference between San José and Detroit? San José has better weather, prettier scenery and its economy is about fifty years younger. In other words, unless the city that sits at the heart of Silicon Valley manages to build new foundations for its economy on fresh, emerging industries, it could follow Detroit into presiding over a twenty-first century equivalent of our twentieth-century Rust Belt. Some of these new foundations are already under construction at San José’s so-called Green Vision program, a partnership between the city, its business community and, surprisingly, its environmentalists. Whether or not the alliance manages to achieve its audacious goal of simultaneously helping create 25,000 jobs in new, sustainable industries while cutting the area’s per-capita environmental footprint in half, the group’s coordinated efforts have already helped San José start to move slowly away from its heavy reliance on silicon and software.Green Visio...

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the US electrical grid has been hacked into by operatives of the Chinese and Russian governments, in particular, and by other unnamed countries in general. The whole tale, by anonymous intelligence sources, suggested that foreign interests might have planted software that could be used, in hostile times, to take down the grid.Since the WSJ came under the control of Murdoch’s News Corporation, its content has become increasingly dubious; and, when I read a story like this, I have to doubt that it is true – and it is certainly not verifiable. Is it a coincidence that the in-depth review of security in cyberspace, ordered by President Barack Obama, is due to report by the week of April 20, 2009?The suggestions that some alien government is tracking the grid’s structure, perhaps even threatening to take over nuclear power stations, sewer systems, and other public services seems right at the outset to be a ridiculous notion. How connected do people ...

What’s not to like about smart grids? The interactive, two-way capabilities they will add to our antiquated power distribution networks will make them more efficient, more resilient, and able to work with new, clean distributed generation and storage systems. Besides any environmental benefits they will give us, the economic benefits will be even greater as the new, open power grid becomes as much of a platform for driving innovative energy technologies as the Internet is for computers. But what if the very openness of such a smart grid encourages the same kinds of mischief that is commonplace on the Internet?Don’t get me wrong, I think that smart grids are not only cool, but essential to moving our society towards a sustainable future. It’s just that there are some very real security issues that could arise when you give everything with an electric plug the ability to chat with the electric meter – and maybe even its fellow appliances. I don’t want to wake up one morning to find...

In my northernmost New England state, folks have begun scrutinizing how electrical power is generated and distributed. It started when the biggest power company in the State of Maine decided it needed to build out the grid in order to supply power to energy-starved coastal areas. The idea is to feed power to areas in need from new and refurbished central power stations.As these proposals by Maine's venerable Central Maine Power Company (CMP) unfold, an exciting alternative plan, one that could fundamentally change the way the State purchases electricity, is in the wind (pun intended). Called the Climate and Energy Planning Act of 2009, otherwise known as the Maine Renewable Energy Sources Act, the MRESA legislative proposal is crafted to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, especially imported oil.Here's how it will work – if passed into law. MRESA would empower the State's utility commission to set the rates for renewable, locally-produced, electricity. The rates would be based on what alternative technolo...