Energy consumption is a chief concern for most embedded applications, especially for portable applications where battery life is paramount. In these applications, an accurate understanding of energy consumption is critical to processor selection and to system design. Unfortunately, many obstacles hinder comparisons of processors’ energy consumption.

Not too long ago I received (as I often do) a press release describing a new product from a chip vendor.  I read through the press release, and at the end, I saw this:

Confidentiality Notice.
This message may contain information that is confidential or otherwise protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, disclosure, dissemination, distribution, or copying of this message, or any attachments, is strictly prohibited.

BDTI has released the first independent benchmark results comparing the performance of the Sandbridge “Sandblaster” SB3500 multi-core DSP chip to that of massively parallel chips, high-performance DSP processors, and FPGAs.

“Connected devices” make up much of the buzz in consumer electronics these days.  They are the closest thing to a “killer app” there is—but what exactly are they?  All connected devices provide some sort of connection to the ‘net, many provide multimedia functionality, and more often than not, they’re for mobile use.  But despite these common characteristics, connected devices span a wide range of features and functionality, from netbooks to smartphones.

So I’m sitting at the Las Vegas airport last week, on my way home from CES, trying to get some work done on my laptop—but I can’t. Why? Approximately every eighth word is an expletive.

It reminded me of how, a few weeks ago on a train, I was treated to a loud, slightly slurred, play-by-play account of a young woman’s recent sexual exploits, as she recounted them to a friend via cell phone.

Please, people, I am trying to concentrate here!