Zynq out of the box, in FPGA-based prototyping

Zynq out of the box, in FPGA-based prototyping
by Don Dingee on 12-10-2012 at 11:24 am

Roaming around the hall at ARM TechCon 2012 left me with eight things of note, but one of the larger ideas showing up everywhere is the Xilinx Zynq. Designers are enthralled with the idea of a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 closely coupled with programmable logic.… Read More


Give me a pair of wires, I’ll give you Ethernet in cars

Give me a pair of wires, I’ll give you Ethernet in cars
by Don Dingee on 11-27-2012 at 10:00 pm

A very astute gentleman said to me a few years ago that he’d seen a lot of networking technology come and go – Token Ring, FDDI, Fibre Channel, InfiniBand – but the only one that held up over time was Ethernet.… Read More


Second FPGA to the right, and straight on ‘til it works

Second FPGA to the right, and straight on ‘til it works
by Don Dingee on 11-26-2012 at 6:00 pm

In a fantasy world where there were no coding errors or integration issues, FPGA designs would fly straight through synthesis easily and quickly. Maybe that world does exist somewhere. For the rest of us, who have experienced the agony of running a large FPGA design – again – only to find another error and have to start over, there … Read More


Dear Santa, please bring technology that brings us together

Dear Santa, please bring technology that brings us together
by Don Dingee on 11-23-2012 at 2:12 pm

Dear Santa,
It has been many years since I have written you. I was taught never to ask anyone for anything for myself, that it is a presumptuous and selfish thing to do, so this is not for me. I know you are busy filling the wish lists of children everywhere, but wanted to take a moment to ask for your help for everyone.… Read More


Here to make my stand, with a chipset in my hand

Here to make my stand, with a chipset in my hand
by Don Dingee on 11-16-2012 at 6:13 pm

Yesterday, I clicked “like” on a LinkedIn post with the title “TI Cuts 1,700 Jobs”. Today, I read the analysis and pulled out Social Distortion’s “Still Alive” for inspiration. I’ve been through this more than once. For them it’s not like-worthy, and I feel their sting.

The part of the post I liked was the comment: “This is good for … Read More


The logic of trusting FPGAs through DO-254

The logic of trusting FPGAs through DO-254
by Don Dingee on 11-13-2012 at 8:15 pm

Any doubters of the importance of FPGA technology to the defense/aerospace industry should consider this: each Airbus A380 has over 1000 Microsemi FPGAs on board. That is a staggering figure, especially considering the FAA doesn’t trust FPGAs, or the code that goes into them.… Read More


Embedding 100K probes in FPGA-based prototypes

Embedding 100K probes in FPGA-based prototypes
by Don Dingee on 11-06-2012 at 8:15 pm

As RTL designs in FPGA-based ASIC prototypes get bigger and bigger, the visibility into what is happening inside the IP is dropping at a frightening rate. Where designers once had several hundred observation probes per million gates, those same several hundred probes – or fewer if deeper signal captures are needed – are now spread… Read More


Beneath the Surface lies the first real test

Beneath the Surface lies the first real test
by Don Dingee on 10-31-2012 at 9:00 am

At CES 2011, Steven Sinofsky of Microsoft stepped on the stage and went off the map of proven Windows territory. Announcing the next version of Windows would support the ARM Architecture, including SoCs from Qualcomm, NVIDIA, and TI, set a new course for Microsoft.

But Windows, being the battleship-sized behemoth that it is, would… Read More


SoC emulation syncs up with SuperSpeed USB

SoC emulation syncs up with SuperSpeed USB
by Don Dingee on 10-25-2012 at 9:00 pm

They say what adds value is to take something difficult and make it look simple. USB looks so simple when it is done right, but designers know it can be one of the more tempermental features in an SoC, especially in the latest SuperSpeed incarnation.… Read More