For basic programming, you can use the MSP430F1121. They are very simple to use, as well as being the best low power processor out there. The prices for it aren't too bad either. There is a whole range of MSP430's, and depends what level you want to teach at. MSP4301232 is the same as 1121 except it has an ADC, so you can perhaps get students to do a simple temperature sensor.
Either way, there are many around. Atmel micros aren't too bad, I am not a big fan of Motorola's.. In the end, I work on MSP430s all day long, designing hardware and writing C.. so I'd go for them. As a matter of fact, I learned about micros on a 1121.
Going out alone is just plain stupid. If he did run into any sort of life threatening trouble, he would have activated his EPIRB (calling all nearby boats, airplanes.. etc for a rescue operation). That is, if he was conscious to do it.
A friend of mine went out by himself, his engine cut out, battery died (no radio), and there was a storm coming in. He tried calling his wife on the mobile, he had very little reception on his phone, but she wouldn't answer because she thought he was calling to make up a lame excuse about being late. Luckily got picked up by the coast guard before the storm hit...
Those already exist. 5V single supply. Mind you, current consumption is higher. If you do a search for single board computers (SBC) you might find something suitable for a car PC.
That is just ridiculous. Firstly they were telling us the inflation was due to the prices of oil and bananas. Bananas? Come on. And now iPods... where do these people get ideas like this..
well, thats fair enough i guess, see, it takes me 2 trains to get to work, 1.5 hours in the morning and up to 2 hours in the evening, on the way back. Then, I started driving. Cost me about the same, considering it now took me 20 minutes to drive to work in not much traffic. So I'd say the car is pretty necessary for me. I work in engineering, and that requires seeing clients on site when necessary, so the car is a big bonus too. If I worked in the city, it would be different I guess, or like you said, Randwick. But it just depends where you are really.
Aren't your elections coming up soon? And Hillary is eyeing the position? Couldn't be a bad thing... She runs the country, Bill gets back in the White House and gets a few more miscellaneous blowjobs...
That is very true, thank you for the correction. "asses" is easier however because you don't have to hit the "r" key, rather you can tap "s" twice, and in the end it has the same effect:)
but then i could have been talking about donkeys... ?
In America.. doesn't sex get censored on TV, while you can buy guns anywhere?.. that could be a problem.
In Aus.. guns aren't easy to get to, while our TV is innundated by tits and asses... we have less gun problems, and noone wants to get involved in a fabricated war...
Geez.. ultracapacitors.. we had supercapacitors till now.. whats next.. ubercapacitors? ubersuperultracapacitors.. anyhow..
So far, the supercaps i know of are quite expensive, and their performance degrades - i.e. with each charge cycle, the capacity gets smaller and smaller. I am not sure what the lifespan of a supercapacitor is, but it surely isn't terrbily long. I guess for the current applications (flash in cameras for example) its not all that critical - how many times is flash used over the lifetime of the camera.. If the lifespan is really improved, then they may be onto something.
One big issue is: how long will they take to pay themselves off? They aren't cheap. All you have done is pre-paid your electricity for the next 5-10 years (however long they end up paying themselves off over), and that is only on the sunny days. Unless you have energy storage (maybe you can fill the roof with lead acid batteries...), on every bad day you'll be draining juice back from the electricty company, so the time its taking to pay itself off is just getting longer...
In the end, I think the choice is whether you want to help make the world greener, or you just plain don't give a rats.. most people don't give a rats ass, and so solar panel prices will stay up. Maybe the goverment should make it mandatory that new buildings have solar panels installed (does that already exist)? Here in Aus, new buildings have to have solar powered heating and sunlights.. but then again, we live in an oven of a country..
Vista is so delayed, would it hurt to delay it a little more, to fix those high impact issues?? I mean, wouldn't it be great to get a Microsoft OS that works from release, and not having to wait to SPxxx for it to work right? Its been delayed a million and one times already.. whats the friggin difference anymore...
WinXP works well in its current stage, for what I need it to - work stuff, and play at home. Haven't tried any of them on the RCs of Vista because I couldn't install it in the frist place. Seems like Vista did not like my SATA HDD. Talk about lack of hardware drivers.. it was RC and all.. but if XP works on it, shouldn't its successor work too?
If you are keen on learning how to program on microcontrollers and write your own firmware, try the Texas Instruments MSP430. For starters, MSP430F1121 or MSP430F1232 (1232 has an ADC - analog to digital converter - you can get a thermistor and another resistor, and make yourself a digital thermometer that will connect to your PC via a serial port). A slightly more advanced one is the MSP430F149 (more RAM, more ROM). All three of these have some flash memory too. Yahoo has a group dedicated to TI's MSP430.
For development on it, try the open source MSPGCC compiler/debugger.
Once started with that, you can explore some other TI ICs. In my opinion, they have very good documentation, which is absolutely necessary to get things to work. I design electronics for a living, and the MSP430 is always the first choice for a microcontroller. If you browse their website, or even others (ST, National..) you will find a lot of application notes with sample circuits which do one thing or another. (if you want to do some USB stuff, FTDI make very easy to use ICs)
Without saying, the best way to learn about it is to dig in. Datasheets and application notes are your bible, and you will learn a lot from them. As someone already said, all large manufactures will give out samples. Use it, as it will make it a whole lot cheaper.
If the friend in the passenger seat pukes on me while driving, i'm slamming on the brakes myself, and throwing the fuc*er out! (Toyota feature request: ejecting seats for puking passengers)
Since I finished my degree in electrical engineering, I've been working in a consultancy, designing products, while watching my friends dissolve into large companies, moving away from actual engineering work.
To be honest, getting extra qualifications doesn't mean much. You have your qualifications as an electrical engineer, that is enough - what you need is a hands-on design job. So as i said, look for work in consultancies and RnD houses, there would be plenty around. What you get while working for such a company can never be given to you by a masters degree or a PhD. You are working on products for tomorrow, looking for better way to do things. You will learn a lot and gain lots of experience.
Thats my advice anyway - get yourself a job in a consultancy. Where are you from anyway? I could suggest a few.
Slashdot Mirror
For basic programming, you can use the MSP430F1121. They are very simple to use, as well as being the best low power processor out there. The prices for it aren't too bad either. There is a whole range of MSP430's, and depends what level you want to teach at. MSP4301232 is the same as 1121 except it has an ADC, so you can perhaps get students to do a simple temperature sensor.
Either way, there are many around. Atmel micros aren't too bad, I am not a big fan of Motorola's.. In the end, I work on MSP430s all day long, designing hardware and writing C.. so I'd go for them. As a matter of fact, I learned about micros on a 1121.
Going out alone is just plain stupid. If he did run into any sort of life threatening trouble, he would have activated his EPIRB (calling all nearby boats, airplanes.. etc for a rescue operation). That is, if he was conscious to do it.
A friend of mine went out by himself, his engine cut out, battery died (no radio), and there was a storm coming in. He tried calling his wife on the mobile, he had very little reception on his phone, but she wouldn't answer because she thought he was calling to make up a lame excuse about being late. Luckily got picked up by the coast guard before the storm hit...
Those already exist. 5V single supply. Mind you, current consumption is higher. If you do a search for single board computers (SBC) you might find something suitable for a car PC.
That is just ridiculous. Firstly they were telling us the inflation was due to the prices of oil and bananas. Bananas? Come on. And now iPods... where do these people get ideas like this..
well, thats fair enough i guess, see, it takes me 2 trains to get to work, 1.5 hours in the morning and up to 2 hours in the evening, on the way back. Then, I started driving. Cost me about the same, considering it now took me 20 minutes to drive to work in not much traffic. So I'd say the car is pretty necessary for me. I work in engineering, and that requires seeing clients on site when necessary, so the car is a big bonus too. If I worked in the city, it would be different I guess, or like you said, Randwick. But it just depends where you are really.
Where did you live? CBD?
No.. I didnt...
The comforts we have in our lives make us fat. We can order food online, change channels with a remote, we don't even really have to use pens anymore.
The human race has come from lean mean hunting machines(?) to the slobs we are. The more technology we have, the more we turn into slobs.
off bicycles more likely..
this make their computers any better though??
Aren't your elections coming up soon? And Hillary is eyeing the position? Couldn't be a bad thing... She runs the country, Bill gets back in the White House and gets a few more miscellaneous blowjobs...
That is very true, thank you for the correction. "asses" is easier however because you don't have to hit the "r" key, rather you can tap "s" twice, and in the end it has the same effect :)
but then i could have been talking about donkeys... ?
I was wandering what it had to do with batteries... batteries for electric chairs maybe?
:)
Instead of electrocuting, we are ultracapping your ass!
In America.. doesn't sex get censored on TV, while you can buy guns anywhere? .. that could be a problem.
In Aus.. guns aren't easy to get to, while our TV is innundated by tits and asses... we have less gun problems, and noone wants to get involved in a fabricated war...
Geez.. ultracapacitors.. we had supercapacitors till now.. whats next.. ubercapacitors? ubersuperultracapacitors.. anyhow..
So far, the supercaps i know of are quite expensive, and their performance degrades - i.e. with each charge cycle, the capacity gets smaller and smaller. I am not sure what the lifespan of a supercapacitor is, but it surely isn't terrbily long. I guess for the current applications (flash in cameras for example) its not all that critical - how many times is flash used over the lifetime of the camera.. If the lifespan is really improved, then they may be onto something.
You live in Holland?
One big issue is: how long will they take to pay themselves off? They aren't cheap. All you have done is pre-paid your electricity for the next 5-10 years (however long they end up paying themselves off over), and that is only on the sunny days. Unless you have energy storage (maybe you can fill the roof with lead acid batteries...), on every bad day you'll be draining juice back from the electricty company, so the time its taking to pay itself off is just getting longer...
In the end, I think the choice is whether you want to help make the world greener, or you just plain don't give a rats.. most people don't give a rats ass, and so solar panel prices will stay up. Maybe the goverment should make it mandatory that new buildings have solar panels installed (does that already exist)? Here in Aus, new buildings have to have solar powered heating and sunlights.. but then again, we live in an oven of a country..
Vista is so delayed, would it hurt to delay it a little more, to fix those high impact issues?? I mean, wouldn't it be great to get a Microsoft OS that works from release, and not having to wait to SPxxx for it to work right? Its been delayed a million and one times already.. whats the friggin difference anymore...
WinXP works well in its current stage, for what I need it to - work stuff, and play at home. Haven't tried any of them on the RCs of Vista because I couldn't install it in the frist place. Seems like Vista did not like my SATA HDD. Talk about lack of hardware drivers.. it was RC and all.. but if XP works on it, shouldn't its successor work too?
If you are keen on learning how to program on microcontrollers and write your own firmware, try the Texas Instruments MSP430. For starters, MSP430F1121 or MSP430F1232 (1232 has an ADC - analog to digital converter - you can get a thermistor and another resistor, and make yourself a digital thermometer that will connect to your PC via a serial port). A slightly more advanced one is the MSP430F149 (more RAM, more ROM). All three of these have some flash memory too. Yahoo has a group dedicated to TI's MSP430.
For development on it, try the open source MSPGCC compiler/debugger.
Once started with that, you can explore some other TI ICs. In my opinion, they have very good documentation, which is absolutely necessary to get things to work. I design electronics for a living, and the MSP430 is always the first choice for a microcontroller. If you browse their website, or even others (ST, National..) you will find a lot of application notes with sample circuits which do one thing or another. (if you want to do some USB stuff, FTDI make very easy to use ICs)
Without saying, the best way to learn about it is to dig in. Datasheets and application notes are your bible, and you will learn a lot from them. As someone already said, all large manufactures will give out samples. Use it, as it will make it a whole lot cheaper.
how about you log in and repost.. Mr Anonymous Coward
If the friend in the passenger seat pukes on me while driving, i'm slamming on the brakes myself, and throwing the fuc*er out! (Toyota feature request: ejecting seats for puking passengers)
Lol. I saw one of those fliers a few days ago..
Someone throw him in Jail for being an idiot!
Since I finished my degree in electrical engineering, I've been working in a consultancy, designing products, while watching my friends dissolve into large companies, moving away from actual engineering work.
To be honest, getting extra qualifications doesn't mean much. You have your qualifications as an electrical engineer, that is enough - what you need is a hands-on design job. So as i said, look for work in consultancies and RnD houses, there would be plenty around. What you get while working for such a company can never be given to you by a masters degree or a PhD. You are working on products for tomorrow, looking for better way to do things. You will learn a lot and gain lots of experience.
Thats my advice anyway - get yourself a job in a consultancy. Where are you from anyway? I could suggest a few.
Funnily enough, I have all the DVDs up to series 7 - about 50 DVDs all up. And thank you for the correction, they were the landing pads.