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These are types of the Chumby Mini Web Computer, it was a Web Widget App System with Touch Interface. Innovative System ahead of its time. It manifested in 2006 before the Touch Screen Tablets.

HandHeld Green Cloud Computing

Success of iGoogle in 2005 with Mini Web Apps and a Free App Store like System. The Desktop widgets of Yahoo, Google Desktop Search who created a Apps Shop or App Vending Store formed the ideas.

iGoogle Widgets and The First App Store

These innovations and rapid Hardware size shrinking, low power chips, flash+, wireless and broadband technology boost have lead to the Tablets you see today,

Chumby Web Computer

Chumby Mini Embedded Computer

I made this post today when many facts feel in place and i came to the conclusion that the Tablets, AppStore manifested from the concepts of touch usability, widgets etc. that came from gadgets like chumby and web services like iGoogle, both are gone today – 2009 to 2012 delabs

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I will give a simple example for the purpose of understanding and assimilation of the concept. Consider the Toaster a Vital Home Appliance, Build a Embedded Internet Interface into the toaster. Then make it Wireless Networking capable. The gadget can also get connected thru Mains Carrier Communication. Digital Timer Page.

Now you build a Webware service, create API’s, Ready Gadgets and Wizards. So he can create-use the API from any Computer or PDA. He can Sub-Lease his custom API Service with Internet capable Gadgets.

When the Javascript of this is linked to the API of the Control Webapp that you created, This gadget can monitor and control the Quality of the Toast from anywhere in the world ;-).

Digital Timer for Internet – Live Widget

But Then, the service should be easy for just anyone to use, the coding is never done by the user of the service. He creates an account, hires the API, creates his own Gadgets and Apps with wizards. Then he gets to download the firmware for the Embedded Internet ASIC you Provide and the Product he manufactures goes with that circuit. See a Screenshot below

programmable-digital-timer

The end customer buys an Internet capable Toaster with a CD demo on how to access his free webservice. With this service, he can get all the web gadgets and tools to control his Home Appliance Arsenal.

Idea – 19:36 25-Feb-08, Nature – Open Source, – Ideas of delabs

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For the past 30 years, National Instruments has been a technology pioneer and leader in virtual instrumentation – a revolutionary concept that has changed the way engineers and scientists in industry, government, and academia approach measurement and automation.

LabVIEW, Data Acquisition, Modular Instruments, PXI, Programmable Automation Controllers.
Here is a page from an old NI Catalog. RS-232 Tutorial of NI. drag-drop image to read.

National Instruments – Test and Measurement

One which is useful for beginners is the LabVIEW Student Edition – LabVIEW easily connects to any device be it hardware or outside applications like Microsoft Excel. You can depend on this seamless development experience as you write your program.

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Clean rooms and Dust free environment is a must for Precision Mechanical Engineering. It is not MEMS or nano sizes, even micron sizes accuracy in parts can be affected by Dust and Humidity.

In Electronics, Timepiece Manufacturing, Medical Equipment and Scientific Apparatus companies. Clan Rooms ensure long term reliability and safety of the products not to forget Precision.

EE Design Library – Electronic Product Design Resource.

Even if a Place is partially Dust free, it is better to have all objects with the least surface area. The way Motors are designed, Interiors of houses even a Machine

Clan Rooms and Electronics

You can enclose objects with many contours and unclean-able surfaces within a Spherical or Cubical Transparent Cover, this is easy for inspection and cleaning.

Dust, Oil, Sand and Humidity makes Grime. Never allow Rodents and Roaches in the Workplace they are larger than 100 microns.

Resources – Electronic Firms and Electronic Projects.

Tools and Equipment must be maintained free of rust/corrosion and exposure to brine or chemical fumes. Metal tools must be cleaned, oiled and stored in dry places when not in use.

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I first saw this practically in the Orthodox Cherokee SMPS. This is where we differentiate from Engineered Products and just Mass Production without following standards. The Cherokee SMPS was a work of art, perfect in all respects.

The Copper Desert or Isolation Land

There is a No Man’s Land in PCB. Any good power electronics designer should/will know. Product Safety and HV Isolation, Quality and Reliability all depend on this.

High Energy Circuits

Power Electronics Design Methods

These things don’t come overnight, it is a culture, learning, experience and integrity of some of these American Firms. Reliability and Product safety are important. Every human values his life very much. A manufacturer too should appreciate this.

Coming back to isolation, Keep in mind creepage distance, High energy circuits and Low voltage circuits should have clear isolation, use the best insulation. Fire and shock hazard. Mains HV transitions, spikes.

Regulated High Voltage Power Supply

Power supply faces all these, even other areas where a Human Life or Property can be endangered.

HV High Voltage Reliability and Safety

Use a Servo Stabilizer or CVT Constant Voltage Transformer or at least an Isolation Transformer. The First Defense form HV Surges, Spikes.

High Voltage Polyester & Polypropylene Metallized Capacitors in Stepdown Supplies should be Fire Retardant & Self Healing with a MOV too.

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A Jpeg browser device like Digital Photo Album. It has a LCD Screen and a FM Radio interface. It costs less that $100 or comes free with 5 yrs subscription to a paper. – The SmartRadio

In the early morning it downloads the media on a built-in locked FM receive only radio.The FM newspaper station just transmits a few minutes of encrypted digital data. This is stored and static jpeg pages generated, which can be easily viewed and read using scroll and zoom using a convenient handheld device.

Cost Effective eNewspaper Delivery Jpeg Radio

XML-HTML FM Radio – FM Radio enhancements

Electronic Engineering Magazines

FM radios consume less power and are affordable, now we should add a small LCD display like you have in cellphones. Xml should be frequency modulated and transmitted by fm stations in adjoining bands.

Read More →

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The wear and tear, fragmentation on HDD can be reduced using a Tripod Hybrid. Access Speed improves too…

Top Layer is RAM Drive with Li-ion Battery. Second layer is Flash. Third is the Spinner HDD.

All active files of user are on RAM drive and backed up on Flash by intelligent Drive (not CPU). The files go into HDD after they have been stable for over an hour. As HDD sizes are increasing. The files and file system can be like svn and maintain 3 versions of all dynamic files. This is useful for user also and HDD too.

Storage Tripod Hybrid for Reliability Speed

Static files like Binaries can be on one area of HDD. Frequently accessed binaries are promoted to flash layer. Extremely frequent to Ram Layer. The HDD now is less stressed and lasts longer and is a stable backup. Power failures immune.

Bare Essentials

A supercap built into a HDD. On Brownout OR Power Fail. The falling ramp is detected beyond an isolating diode. It says to HDD uC … Look there is something funny with power now. The HDD uC at once finishes the work at hand, drawing its juice from the stable supercap, parks its heads and goes to sleep.

Embedded Systems at delabs.org

When power is stable again, it wakes up and the supercap is replenished too. This way damage to HDD is avoided, these happen when .. battery connection problems in laptop or mains power fluctuations or switching power systems carelessly. It makes HDD idiot proof at least electrically.

– delabs 2009

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These are some ideas, comments, feedback and communication that i have had over the past many years online. 2006-11

Photonic Speeds

The real speed can be seen when we switch completely to photons and photonic circuits. No more electrons. Blazing Tera Hertz Transfer Speeds. Just a few decades away. Another smart alec comment i made at the site of a major speed provider.

System-on-Chip – SoC – IP

3D Hologram Newspaper

3D Hologram Newspaper

An Interactive 3D Hologram Newspaper that is Projected by a Small Rechargeable Pendent or Desktop Device. It can be a MultiMedia 3D Book, Magazine or Newspaper. It can be used even when lying down on a bed. It can be used on a Restaurant, the group can read the day’s Paper. (An idea i gave at a website with a Questionnaire, years ago)

Digital Signal Processing – DSP

Rechargable Wireless Peripherals

Buy only those Wireless Peripherals or Even Keyboard / Mouse, that can be recharged & dockable or on a Ferrite / Magnetic, No wire/metal charging base. (Just drumming up an old idea of mine)