tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42561051492114510422009-07-17T07:54:54.608-07:00A personal mashup of QNX, photography, music, economics, history, and the embedded market.Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-54875971716360481832009-07-13T14:07:00.001-07:002009-07-17T07:54:54.624-07:00

Hey, have you ever noticed how researchers like to give their robots human names? I've written about three QNX-based humanoid robots in this blog, and none of them has a technical-sounding name like RU-138B. Rather, they're called Cog, Kismet, and Hiro.I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it's because humans simply like to name things. Or maybe it's because giving a humanoid robot a personal name

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-89303945846912052332009-07-08T01:00:00.000-07:002009-07-08T07:45:07.139-07:00

Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. But I was. This morning, I woke to hear that Google has unveiled a new operating system — dubbed the Google Chrome OS — for netbooks, desktops, and other consumer-grade computers. Isn't Google the same company that promotes cloud computing? You know, the paradigm that lets you access your applications and data anywhere, anytime, regardless of which operating

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-34639985182915190742009-07-07T01:00:00.000-07:002009-07-09T08:02:32.359-07:00

Quick, what’s 211 feet wide, weighs 3500 pounds, cruises at 45 mph, and runs on 11,000 voltaic cells? Answer: The first solar-powered plane designed to circumnavigate the Earth.I don’t have any details yet, but I've just learned that QNX is the realtime operating system provider for the Solar Impulse project, which intends to fly a solar plane around the world in 2012. Earlier this month, the

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-56344267097632911122009-06-24T12:16:00.000-07:002009-06-29T13:08:06.729-07:00

Houses, boats, bridges, and plants that tweet (thanks Circuit Cellar)A space station that tweetsA Governator that tweetsA QNXator that tweets

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-61680658731948277372009-06-23T18:49:00.000-07:002009-06-25T06:55:42.125-07:00

It was only a matter of time. Earlier this week, Kodak announced that it has finally ceased production of Kodachrome film.Kodachrome's days were numbered, even before the rise of digital cameras. Environmentally, it required a toxic development process. Aesthetically, it had taken a second seat to super-saturated emulsions like Fujichrome Velvia. And forget about getting it processed in an hour.

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-81195659761926119142009-06-22T07:10:00.001-07:002009-06-22T14:41:01.905-07:00

Sorry, couldn't resist. I know I've blogged on similar demos in the past, but this one has a nice sequence where Kroy Zeviar of QNX pulls the plug on an Atom-based board to show that QNX fastboot truly is a cold-boot technology. The system doesn't have to be in any kind of "on" state for fastboot to work. Kroy also briefly discusses how QNX fastboot technology can benefit a variety of

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-28308217439246721812009-06-18T10:13:00.000-07:002009-06-23T14:40:17.540-07:00

Last October, a teardown report revealed that the iPod touch contains a chip that supports both Bluetooth audio and FM reception. At the time, it was up in the air as to whether future firmware updates would switch on either feature.Well, no word on FM yet, but as for Bluetooth, the news is good: The new iPhone 3.0 software update allows iPod touch users to listen to music on Bluetooth stereo

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-86560876393572262192009-06-17T01:00:00.000-07:002009-06-17T08:37:51.056-07:00

QNX didn't take home any prizes from this year's Telematics Awards, except for a "runner up" in the telematics leadership category. And guess what: That's exactly how it should be.Let me explain. All of the products that QNX offers — operating systems, tools, middleware, engineering services — are designed with one goal in mind, to make customers successful. The more customers succeed, the more

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-87024110558518705962009-06-15T08:07:00.000-07:002009-06-15T10:34:47.840-07:00

Pack a projector in your cell phoneTweet from your Commodore 64 (thanks CocoaGeek)Archive your Tweets for posterity (and perhaps a bit longer)

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-19277700043749006582009-06-11T12:44:00.000-07:002009-06-11T13:04:44.835-07:00

If you think an ORC is one of those ugly buggers in the Lord of the Rings, think again. It's actually a highly reliable radio-over-IP (RoIP) system that has brought New Zealand's railway communications into the 21st century.You've heard of applications where failure isn't an option. This is one of them. The ORC transmits all voice communications between rail vehicles and the train control center,

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-41131454808663334372009-05-25T11:13:00.001-07:002009-05-25T13:55:35.953-07:00

Don't know about you, but when I spellcheck a file in Word or PowerPoint, I often click the Ignore All button to tell the spellchecker to skip URLs or technical terms. I was doing exactly that a few minutes ago when, suddenly, I got this warning:Now, does this mean that the spellchecker has hit some kind of internal limit? Or is it telling me that I'm playing too fast and loose with the Ignore

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-70703185371372768332009-05-25T06:49:00.000-07:002009-05-25T07:09:20.387-07:00

Here's an interview with Uli Dumschat, a product manager for Intel Germany, on the Intel C++ Optimizing Compiler for the QNX Neutrino RTOS. Among other things, Uli discusses the compiler's performance boost for Intel Atom processors, and the connection between increased performance and lower power consumption.

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-6947984414183293242009-05-22T09:05:00.000-07:002009-05-22T09:45:37.112-07:00

I was browsing YouTube this morning when I discovered that a colleague had posted a couple of videos on QNX fastboot technology. If you haven't read my previous posts on this topic, QNX fastboot technology allows x86 systems, including those based on the Intel Atom processor, to boot wicked fast. Often a second or less.Here's the first video, which features QNX fastboot on the LiPPERT Embedded

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-56697465851832153702009-05-14T01:00:00.000-07:002009-05-14T19:51:51.574-07:00

Got US $77,000 burning a hole in your pocket? If so, you can now buy your very own QNX-controlled humanoid robot.Or perhaps not. The robot, dubbed HIRO, is designed primarily for research and teaching programs in college and university labs. So chances are, you don’t want to bring this guy home. Unless, of course, programming robots to clean dishes and do the laundry is your thing.Kidding aside,

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-73367679378678472252009-05-13T01:00:00.000-07:002009-05-13T07:20:08.860-07:00

The first tweet from space, sort of (thanks JM)The integrated circuit turns 50Why automakers insist on QNX for digital instrument clusters (thanks BG)QNX-based LCS system helps Shuttle astronauts inspect heat shield

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-62796449932035547602009-05-11T11:58:00.000-07:002009-05-12T07:18:19.756-07:00

Press releases are a great way for a company to tell the world what it's doing, but they only scratch the surface. So I've created a Twitter account to keep everyone informed on interesting developments — new technologies, new source code projects, new customers, etc. — that don't make it into official QNX announcements. This is still a work in progress. If it gains traction, I may eventually

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-70483665869179097052009-05-06T18:34:00.000-07:002009-05-15T13:22:26.111-07:00

Now, this is cool. A few weeks ago, I discussed how a digital instrument cluster can provide visual cues to help drivers avoid speeding. For instance:Well, guess what. Engineers for Chryler's now-defunct Plymouth division came up with this concept years ago — in 1939, to be exact. That's the year Plymouth introduced its "safety speedometer" in the P8 model line. From what I've read, these

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-37753713507930250152009-04-28T18:13:00.000-07:002009-04-29T06:48:32.547-07:00

My dad brings me to a car dealership, where he buys a new 1963 Pontiac Laurentian. On the drive home, I see my sister walking down the street. So I hang out the window and scream, "Hey, look, we got a new car!"My dad, mom, sister, and I pile into the Pontiac for a trip through the Gaspé peninsula. I sit in the front seat, eating a dinner roll, feeling crazy happy.Often, when I walk home from

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-81088717944928349972009-04-22T06:33:00.000-07:002009-04-22T06:48:05.540-07:00

Edible race car, anyone?Twitter on the brainMore than a pretty (inter)face (thanks TF)

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-19245449731185520902009-04-21T01:00:00.000-07:002009-04-21T11:56:33.767-07:00

I must admit, I don't do the iTunes thing. In fact, I've yet to download a single song from any music site. If that makes me a cultural Neanderthal, then so be it. Just keep your paws off my LPs, or I'll whack you with my trusty Mastodon rib. Kidding aside, I do have a formidable CD collection. And the problem with a large CD collection is that it is, well, large. In my case, I have to store the

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-62791299161889608042009-04-16T10:12:00.000-07:002009-04-16T10:35:47.144-07:00

Back in February, I blogged on a fish with a transparent head. Well, if you thought that was weird, check this out: Russian surgeons have discovered a five-centimetre tree growing inside a — wait for it — man's lung. Scientists are baffled, and, as you might suspect, in disagreement as to what is really going on:

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-53736557009325391102009-04-16T08:19:00.000-07:002009-04-16T09:34:01.134-07:00

I guess this dates me, but I remember when the very first Mustangs came out. Loved the look. Still do. My left brain insists that a car should always be reliable, convenient, inexpensive, and "green." But when I see an original Mustang, my right brain reminds me that cars are also about emotion. And sometimes, an automaker gets the emotion right. So why am I waxing on about this? Because tomorrow

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-70950108753569234302009-04-14T07:12:00.000-07:002009-04-14T08:44:49.072-07:00

Late last week, VDC Research handed out its Best of Show awards for ESC Silicon Valley 2009. The results were interesting: The winner, CriticalBlue, took top honors for its multicore analysis tools, and the runner-up, QNX Software Sytems, received an honorable mention for its multicore-enabled secure RTOS.The analysts at VDC follow the embedded market closely, so their choice of two

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-52928920701893338342009-04-08T06:54:00.000-07:002009-04-08T10:59:41.021-07:00

Desperate times make for strange bedfellows. Or perhaps this is a case of honest-to-goodness forward thinking. Either way, the alliance between GM and Segway has piqued my interest. On the one hand, you have a major player looking for new niches to play in. On the other hand, you have a niche player looking for a major breakthrough. Yesterday, the two companies unveiled a prototype PUMA mobility

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256105149211451042.post-32981899708498693162009-04-07T07:12:00.000-07:002009-04-07T19:26:06.580-07:00

Should governments bail out automakers directly, or should they boost automotive sales by giving consumers cash for upgrading to new vehicles? If you've been following my recent posts, you know that I prefer door number 2.Germany, for example, launched a "green" program that pays consumers about $3000 to trade in their old vehicles for new, more fuel-efficient models. Economically, the program

Paul N. Lerouxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04731307090173101793noreply@blogger.com0