CES 2026: Wi-Fi 8 silicon on the horizon with an AI touch
While Wi-Fi 7 adoption is accelerating among enterprises, Wi-Fi 8 routers and mesh systems could arrive as early as summer 2026. It’s important to note that the IEEE 802.11bn standard, widely known as Wi-Fi 8, is expected to be ratified in…
Simple speedy single-slope ADC
Ages ago, humankind crawled out of the primordial analog ooze and began to do digital. They soon noticed and quantified a fundamental need to interconnect their new quantized numerical novelties with the classic continuum of the ancestral engineer’s…
Amazon’s Smart Plug: Getting inside requires more than just a tug
Amazon wisely doesn’t want naïve consumers poking around inside its high-voltage AC-switching devices. This engineer was also thwarted in his exploratory efforts…initially, at least.
Early last month, within a post detailing my forced-by-phaseout…
Compute modules are built for industrial AI
Based on Qualcomm’s Dragonwing IQ-X platform, Advantech’s three edge AI compute boards deliver up to 45 TOPS of AI acceleration for industrial applications. The AOM-6731 AI module, AIMB-293 mini-ITX motherboard, and SOM-6820 COM Express…
PicoScope 7.2 enables smarter waveform analysis
Pico Technology has released a major upgrade to its PicoScope software, improving waveform capture, analysis, and measurement. Version 7.2 adds built-in features like waveform overlays and advanced serial filtering, enabling faster, clearer,…
OWC rolls out 2-meter Thunderbolt 5 cable
Other World Computing (OWC) offers a fully certified 2-meter Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) cable for both Macs and PCs. Engineered with signal amplification, precision shielding, and end-to-end signal integrity, the cable delivers a long-length solution…
Inturai launches quantum-safe ESP32 security
Inturai Ventures, in partnership with cybersecurity firm PQStation, has unveiled quantum-safe encryption for connected devices across the defense, aged care, and home security sectors. Under the agreement, Inturai holds exclusive rights to deploy…
Researchers shrink ferroelectric memory stacks
Researchers in Japan have developed ultrathin ferroelectric capacitors that maintain strong polarization at a stack thickness of just 30 nm, including top and bottom electrodes. Using scandium-doped aluminum nitride films sandwiched between…
An intimidating vacuum tube
Older table-top AC-DC radios used a classic line-up of tubes. Think 12SA7, 12SK7,12SQ7, 35Z5GT, and 50L6GT. As I grew into my teens, I got interested in how these radios worked and soon discovered that their vacuum tubes could get very hot,…
2025: A year in which chaos seemingly thrived
A year back, this engineer titled his 2024 retrospective “interconnected themes galore”. That said, both new and expanded connections can sometimes lead to chaotic results, yes?
As any of you who’ve already seen my precursor “2026 Look…
