Blog Review: Dec. 24

Jeff Ravencraft, the President and COO of USB-IF, sat down for a video interview with Cadence’s Jacek Duda to discuss the the role of the organization and what’s in the works for USB. Check out the second part, too.

Have all the avenues been exhausted in the search for greater layout productivity? Synopsys’ Graham Etchells sees no revolutionary technology in the area since CALMA, but highlights incremental improvements along the way.

Worst case analysis is often a self-fulfilling prophecy, says Mentor’s Avidan Efody, who provides some techniques to refine fault analysis for ISO 26262.

Worried about icy roads? Ansys’ Justin Nescott may have the answer in his top five picks of the week. And if you’re more concerned about losing your wallet, there’s a Kickstarter for that.

ARM’s Carl Williamson and the Science Museum in London present short videos about people influential in the development of modern technology. This week, check out Jagadis Chandra Bose, Guglielmo Marconi, and Henry Jackson

From psychology to fighter planes to memory, Aharon Etengoff takes a look at Rambus CMO Jerome Nadel’s diverse career.

NXP’s Christoph Zwahlen presents one university’s implementation of contactless ID cards for students and staff.

Mentor’s Nazita Saye witnessed an unexpected and inspiring sight, and ends the year with a reminder to take time to enjoy the wonder and beauty of nature. You’ll never know what you’ll find.

Cadence’s Paul McLellan profiles Chris Rowen, recently elected an IEEE Fellow, and the chain of events that lead to his cofounding of Tensilica.

Synopsys’ Michael Posner takes a look at the challenges of prototyping UPF low power functions with FPGAs.

Plus, check out last week’s featured blogs in the Manufacturing, Design & Test newsletter:

Editor In Chief Ed Sperling contends that what used to be a safe bet in the semiconductor industry isn’t so safe anymore.

Executive Editor Mark LaPedus sits down with Semiconductor Research Corp.’s new CEO to talk about chip R&D and the challenges ahead.

Technical Editor Katherine Derbyshire digs into EUV resists and finds some promising results, with much work still ahead.

Mentor Graphics’ David Abercrombie provides a tutorial about what can go wrong in multi-patterning and how to fix it.

Semico Research’s Joanne Itow examines how a softening market in China could affect global sales and where the biggest impact will be.

SEMI’s Jonathan Davis distills what Entegris’ CEO learned from his first acquisitions.

Imec’s Paul Heremans observes that Moore’s Law is primarily an economic law, but it can be expanded to thin-film electronics.