So much going on this month! |
Are you all in the middle of the presidential conventions? Don't worry, I'm not going to talk about it. I'm just a little overwhelmed with the Olympics, now the election. And I just vaguely heard that the U.S. Open (tennis) started sometime in the past few days. There really should be some way of spreading all this stuff out. Just like IT does – you know we never get overwhelmed with too many things going on at one time.
It actually seems to be a little slower than it often is. I can tell, because I've not blogged much lately – that means I'm not being hit by a bunch of new things. One thing though, one of the questions in TechCheck can be found in the blog.
Here's the schedule (or you can view the complete Schedule on our website). Note the addition of Wireless.
CSTA Web sessions:
September 10, 11
October 8, 9
November 12, 13
December 10, 11
UITJ (Understanding IT Jobs) Web sessions:
September 11
December 13
Web 2.0 Web session:
October 9
TR Web sessions:
September 24
Keep in touch and keep up with technology!
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Embedded Systems - Still Growing
Embedded systems is simply a program built into a device, and they've been around for decades. We're used to the fact that our microwaves, cars, and entertainment systems have computers in them, and, at least subconsciously, we're aware that our cell phones, our kids' toys, and any electronic device you can think of are all loaded with embedded systems. With all this, the growth of the embedded world is expected to move from $45 billion in 2004 to over $90 billion in 2010. Obviously, we need techies to develop these systems, and will need more as this technology continues to grow.
Embedded programs are called event driven programs. They execute and respond to some action such as a button push (push popcorn on a microwave), liquid hitting a sensor (in your gas tank), reaching a set time on an internal clock (turning an oven on and off). Writing any software means knowledge of programming languages – but the languages are a little different. In corporate applications there are hundreds of development tools including complete development environments – there are very few in embedded development. Typically applications developers need to know very little about hardware – embedded developers must actually program the hardware. Embedded developers use different operating systems, and there are no batch programs. Everything is online. This means when you're talking about embedded systems you're talking about different skills and knowledge.
Languages In order to write event driven systems, developers must know the hardware and program in compiler languages. C is actually the most common language used, although C++, C#, Java, and Ada are also used. In addition, HDLs (Hardware Definition Language) such as Verilog and VHDL (Very High speed integrated circuit Description Language) are used for design, the actual programming, and documentation of embedded systems. And, for fine tuning and the greatest effectiveness, embedded development still uses assembler language.
Development tools For many years, all embedded programming was done in compiler or assembler languages. Now, however, tools referred to as IDEs (Integrated Development Environments), support the entire life cycle and usually include modeling and testing functions. Some of the most popular include:
• Green Hills' MULTI was first introduced in 1990, and version 5.0 was released in 2007.
• Wind River Workbench 2.6 is an Eclipse-based development suite that supports the entire device software development lifecycle from hardware bring-up to manufacturing. It was released in December, 2006.
• QNX's Momentics supports multiple languages and host and target systems and version 6.3 was released in June, 2004.
• Mentor Graphic's EDGE (Embedded Developers Graphical Environment) provides a GUI (Graphic User Interface) and works on multiple systems. Latest release: September, 2007.
These are only some of the tools available, and we can expect still more.
Operating Systems VxWorks and embedded Linux from Wind River, Nucleus from Mentor Graphics, veLOSity and Integrity from Green Hills – are only some of the RTOS (Real Time Operating Systems) used with embedded systems. An RTOS works with real-time programs (embedded programs) and handles the synchronization of events. For example, RTOSs are usually embedded in machinery and control manufacturing steps by, i.e., not proceeding with the assembly of a product until a certain part has been connected. The most common RTOS is now embedded Linux.
Embedded databases Embedded systems often contain databases. Picture the calendar, scheduling, or even the address book functions in a handheld system. They all store information in a database. So do the newer systems, such as those that monitor our security systems and control the lighting and temperature in our homes. These systems also store information in a database – high and low settings, passwords, etc. Some of these embedded databases are relational or object-relational databases, others are simply a collection of files, but all maintain a small footprint (require little memory). Sometimes a database engine that can access the data in external files will be embedded into a device or other software; sometimes it's an entire DBMS (DataBase Management System). Most database vendors offer embedded versions of their products (SQL Server Everywhere Edition, Oracle Database Lite, SQL Anywhere [Sybase], DB2 Everyplace) and other vendors offer their own products (MySQL, Empress, eXtremeDB, RDM).
Some of the products in this article have been around for a while, and some are quite new. All of them require a solid understanding of hardware and developing embedded systems is often more difficult than developing applications for larger systems because of this additional knowledge/skill requirement. This area of technology is growing, so we'll keep updating our coverage.
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1. How fast is Roadrunner?
2. Which of the following does not belong?
a. DaaS
b. FaaS
c. PaaS
d. SaaS
3. Is solid state storage worth the extra money?
4. Is open source software free?
5. How popular is Vista?
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For many years, business people were able to pick up technical knowledge on the job, but those days are gone. Technology has gotten too big, and too dynamic. The expected surge in technology over the next ten years was even mentioned by Mark Warner in a political speech at the Democratic convention! So, how do you get hold of this field in the first place, and then how do you keep up?
CSTA (Computers, Systems, Terms and Acronyms) covers the basics, and it's constantly updated to include the current implementation of these basics. It's presented online every three to four weeks and you can schedule it for work or at home. If you have to miss part of it, you can pick up what you missed in the next session. The other option we want to make sure you're current on is our dedicated training. If you have a group of people, even from different locations, you can schedule your own class. We just finished a session for one company that ran for 75 minutes on five successive days. We've run classes early in the morning, and late into the evening. We've run them on weekends (don't recommend it – the attendees aren't really happy about it). We'll work with your needs and time zones. We will also create customized training for you. The most common addition is to include UITJ (Understanding IT Jobs) in the schedule but we also can include any of our other training offerings. Maybe your company is really into Web 2.0 – you can have that coverage included. And, BTW* group training saves you money!
Once you've got the basics down, stay with us. You received a subscription to TechRef® with your training. This knowledgebase of technical info is updated 24/7 and gives you a quick connection to us if you have questions. When something big (Web 2.0) comes along, we add short sessions to our schedule so you can get this knowledge when you need it.
Our motto – "We keep up so you don't have to!"
* By The Way. I just couldn't resist.
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Macintosh
As use of the Mac keeps on growing in the business world, we think it's time to take a formal look. In next month's issue of TechConnections, we'll talk some about the history of Mac vs PC, and then cover Mac technology .
Boot Camp System software that allows Intel-based Macintosh desktop machines to run Windows XP. The software created a partition for Windows XP and users choose between Windows and Mac OS X at startup. Available as a free download from Apple, and is included in Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard version) released in November, 2007.
iLife Application software for home use. Suite of products which includes:
• iPhoto, import, organize, edit and share up to 250,000 digital photos,
• iMovie HD, create movies using motion titles, new audio tools and video effects, can port to iPod,
• iDVD, author and burn movies, photos and music to widescreen DVD,
• GarageBand, record music and podcasts,
• iWeb, create Websites with photos, movies, music, online photo albums, blogs and podcasts.
Runs on Mac systems. Originally released: January, 2003. iLife '08 released: August, 2007.
iWork General application software suite which includes:
• Keynote, presentation software similar to PowerPoint,
• Pages, a template-based page layout application,
• Numbers, a spreadsheet application.
Runs on Mac systems. Originally released: 2005. iWorks '08 added Numbers and released: August, 2007.
Mac (Macintosh) Computer family which includes both server and individual computers, but most often identified with individual computers, which include desktop, laptop (or notebook), ultraportable, and ultrathin models. Macs are known for good graphics and ease of use and introduced the use of GUIs (Graphic User Interfaces) to IT. They are based on PowerPC (Apple/IBM/Motorola) processors and run Mac OS X operating system. Current individual Macs are built with Intel processors and also run Windows operating systems.
Mac OS X Operating system for Macintosh computers. Unix-based rewrite of Mac OS systems for client, or desktop systems. Stable version, with few crashes or freezes. Pronounced "oh-ess ten." Released: 2001. Jaguar (10.2) version released: 2002. Panther (10.3) released: 2003. Tiger (10.4) released: April, 2005. Version 10.4.7 released: June, 2006. Leopard (10.5) released: October, 2007. Leopard version supports 64-bit systems and includes:
Time Machine provides automatic backups;
Spotlight search tool that can search multiple computers;
Spaces provides virtual desktops;
Quick Look allows users to open files without having to first open an application;
Boot Camp allows users to run Vista or later versions of Windows XP natively on a Mac.
Snow Leopard is the development name of the next release of Mac OS X (which Apple hints will be called OS X) and no details have yet been released.
MobileMe Communications. Online service that provides synchronization and copies personal information, such as contacts and events, between computers and keeps them all up to date. It also provides 20GB (Gigabytes – billions of bytes) of online storage. Replacement for .Mac and .Mac customers are automatically transferred to MobileMe with me.com addresses. Works with Mac OS X Leopard systems. Version 1.1 released: July, 2008.
QuickTime Application development tool. Multimedia system. Integrates sound, video and animation. Allows users to deliver live or pre-recorded video and audio. Components are:
• QuickTime Broadcaster, Used to produce live events for desktops or mobile phones;
• QuickTime Streaming Server, Streams live and on-demand media including QuickTime movies and Internet radio;
• MPEG-2 Playback, transcodes MPEG-2 video streams to other QuickTime formats.
Editions available: QuickTime Player, QuickTime Pro. Originally released for windows: 1992. Version 7.1.5 released: March, 2007.
Safari Communications. Web browser included with Mac OS X operating system. Built with KDE (K Desktop Environment) open source technology. Features include: offline storage, media support, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) animations and Web fonts. Fastest browser available. Runs on Mac OS X and Windows systems. Version 3.1 released: March, 2008.
Time Capsule Time Capsule is a device that looks somewhat like an AirPort Extreme (wireless router) but also contains a hard disk to store the backups. It provides wireless backups for laptops systems and provides the same ease of use as the Time Machine. It was released: January, 2008.
Time Machine System software. Backup tool designed for end users which is very simple to use, with virtually no management or oversight needed. Included in the Leopard version (10.5) of Mac OS X and released: fall, 2007.
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1. I'm sure you've guessed that Roadrunner is something technical. It's IBM's newest supercomputer, and it's fast! It operates in petaflops (1,000 trillion calculations per second). A picture of what this means -According to IBM, the new machine would take a single week to run a calculation that the fastest supercomputer 10 years ago would have needed 20 years to complete.
2. The second, FaaS does not belong. I'm sure, because I made it up. The others all refer to "as a service," or cloud computing. DaaS is the most prolific – it actually stands for any of Database as a Service, Development as a Service, or Desktop as a Service. PaaS is Platform as a Service, while SaaS is mainly Software as a Service, but sometimes Storage as a Service.
3. Kind of a sneaky way of getting in one of the features of solid state storage, put it in the question! Yes solid state storage is more expensive than a magnetic hard disk (and it's also larger), but it's faster and more reliable. It has no moving parts and does not react to such things as vibrations, power fluctuations, and temperature extremes.
4. Sometimes, but it's up to its creators. Open source refers to the publication of the source code. It's available to anyone who wants it – but sometimes you have to pay for it! Not only that, but open source development is a methodology that anyone can use – even to create proprietary software. IBM has done this for years.
5. Okay, this one's not really technical information, but it's interesting. Research from Devil Mountain Software Inc., showed that nearly 35% of the 3,000-plus PCs it examined had been downgraded from Vista to XP. Even the big guns release some bad software!
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