Videos: MPLAB ICD 3 In-Circuit Debugger

MPLAB® ICD 3 In-Circuit Debugger System is Microchip's most cost effective high-speed hardware debugger/programmer for Microchip Flash Digital Signal Controller (DSC) and microcontroller (MCU) devices. It debugs and programs PIC® Flash microcontrollers and dsPIC® DSCs with the powerful, yet easy-to-use graphical user interface of MPLAB Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

The MPLAB ICD 3 In-Circuit Debugger probe is connected to the design engineer's PC using a high-speed USB 2.0 interface and is connected to the target with a connector compatible with the MPLAB ICD 2 or MPLAB REAL ICE systems (RJ-11). MPLAB ICD 3 supports all MPLAB ICD 2 headers.

Video: MPLAB IDE Pre- and Post-Build Options

This tip, from one of Microchip's Field Applications Engineers, shows MPLAB IDE users how to set up pre- and post-build batch files for execution as part of the project build process.

Video: Introduction to mTouch Capacitive Touch Sensing

Touch sensing is fast becoming an alternative to traditional pushbutton switch user interfaces, because it requires no mechanical movement, and it enables a completely sealed and modern-looking design. Expanding beyond the consumer market, touch sensing is beginning to take hold in medical, industrial and automotive applications for reasons such as aesthetics, maintenance, cost and cleanliness.
Microchip’s mTouch™ Sensing Solution provides a free and easy method for designers to add touch sensing to applications utilizing PIC® microcontrollers without the cost of fee-based licensing and royalty agreements. Being a source-code solution further helps engineers quickly integrate touch sensing functionality with their existing application code in a single, standard microcontroller, thus reducing the total system cost associated with current solutions.

First trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine on IGN

See the first trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, featuring Hugh Jackman’s return as one of Marvel’s most iconic superheroes.

MicrochipDIRECT.com offering 20% discount on some Microchip Development Tools

Now through December 31, 2008 get 20% OFF some of Microchip's popular development tools and books. For details, visit www.microchipdirect.com.

Use Code YES08 upon checkout on www.microchipDIRECT.com

An example PIC32 assert() function implementation

I wrote a simple assert() implementation that you can customize for your application. This implementation writes the assert message to a simple array for inspection in the watch window. You should be able to easily customize the assertion failure behavior for your application.

#pragma config FPLLODIV = DIV_1, FPLLMUL = MUL_18
#pragma config FPLLIDIV = DIV_2, FWDTEN = OFF
#pragma config FCKSM = CSDCMD, FPBDIV = DIV_8
#pragma config OSCIOFNC = OFF, POSCMOD = HS
#pragma config IESO = OFF, FSOSCEN = OFF, FNOSC = PRIPLL
#pragma config CP = OFF, BWP = OFF, PWP = OFF
#include <p32xxxx.h>
#include <plib.h>
#include <stdarg.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib..h>

#ifndef __DEBUG
#define assert(ignore)  ((void)0)
#else
#undef assert
#undef __myassert
#define assert(expression)  \
((void)((expression) ? 0 : \
(__myassert (#expression, __FILE__, \
__LINE__), 0)))

#define __myassert(expression, file, line)  \
__myassfail("Failed assertion `%s' at line %d of `%s'.", \
  expression, line, file)

static void
__myassfail(const char *format,...)
{
va_list arg;
static char mystderr[0x80];
va_start(arg, format);
(void)vsprintf(&mystderr[0], format, arg);
while(1);
va_end(arg);
}
#endif

int
main (void)
{
SYSTEMConfig(80000000, SYS_CFG_ALL);
int x = 1;
int y = 2;

assert((1+3)==(x+y));
return 0;
}

Comments?

Microchip licenses this software to you solely for use with Microchip products. Microchip and its licensors retain all right, title and interest in and to the software. All rights reserved.

This software and any accompanying information is for suggestion only. It shall not be deemed to modify Microchip’s standard warranty for its products. It is your responsibility to ensure that this software meets your requirements.

SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT WILL MICROCHIP OR ITS LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT OR INDIRECT DAMAGES OR EXPENSES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOST PROFITS OR LOST DATA, COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS, TECHNOLOGY OR SERVICES, OR ANY CLAIMS BY THIRD PARTIES (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY DEFENSE THEREOF), OR OTHER SIMILAR COSTS. The aggregate and cumulative liability of Microchip and its licensors for damages related to the use of the software will in no event exceed the amount you paid Microchip for the software.

MICROCHIP PROVIDES THIS SOFTWARE CONDITIONALLY UPON YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS. If you do not accept these terms, you must remove the software from your system.

What are PIC32 synthesized/macro instructions?

The MPLAB Assembler for PIC32 MCUs also supports a number of synthesized/macro instructions intended to make writing assembly code easier. The LI (load immediate) instruction is an example of a synthetic macro instruction. The assembler generates two machine instructions to load a 32-bit constant value into a register from this single synthetic instruction.
The assembler synthesizes instructions for

• A 32-bit Load Immediate
• A load from a memory location
• A GP-relative load or store
• An extended branch conditional
• A two-operand form of some three-operand instructions
• An unaligned load/store instruction

Assembly directives, such as .set noat, .set nomacro, and .set noreorder, disable these normally helpful features for cases where you require full control over the generated code. See this previous post.

Writing a PIC32 wrapper function for malloc() and other system functions

When debugging your MPLAB C Compiler for PIC32 MCUs project, have you ever wanted to wrap a system library function call in another function? You can with the linker's --wrap option.

--wrap symbol
Use a wrapper function for symbol. Any undefined reference to symbol will be resolved to __wrap_symbol. Any undefined reference to __real_symbol will be resolved to symbol. This can be used to provide a wrapper for a system function. The wrapper function should be called __wrap_symbol. If it wishes to call the system function, it should call __real_symbol.
Here is a trivial example:

#include <stddef.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
extern void *__real_malloc (size_t);
void *
__wrap_malloc (int c)
{
printf ("malloc called with %ld\n", c);
return __real_malloc (c);
}

If you link other code with this file using --wrap malloc, then all calls to malloc will call the function __wrap_malloc instead. The call to __real_malloc in __wrap_malloc will call the real malloc function. You may wish to provide a __real_malloc function as well, so that links without the --wrap option will succeed. If you do this, you should not put the definition of __real_malloc in the same file as __wrap_malloc; if you do, the assembler may resolve the call before the linker has a chance to wrap it to malloc.

Microchip licenses this software to you solely for use with Microchip products. Microchip and its licensors retain all right, title and interest in and to the software. All rights reserved.

This software and any accompanying information is for suggestion only. It shall not be deemed to modify Microchip’s standard warranty for its products. It is your responsibility to ensure that this software meets your requirements.

SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT WILL MICROCHIP OR ITS LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT OR INDIRECT DAMAGES OR EXPENSES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOST PROFITS OR LOST DATA, COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS, TECHNOLOGY OR SERVICES, OR ANY CLAIMS BY THIRD PARTIES (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY DEFENSE THEREOF), OR OTHER SIMILAR COSTS. The aggregate and cumulative liability of Microchip and its licensors for damages related to the use of the software will in no event exceed the amount you paid Microchip for the software.

MICROCHIP PROVIDES THIS SOFTWARE CONDITIONALLY UPON YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS. If you do not accept these terms, you must remove the software from your system.

PIC32 Assembler Directives that Control Code Generation

When inspecting MPLAB Assembler for PIC32 MCUs (pic32-as) source code, you may have noticed some new assembler directives such as .set noat and .set nomacro. These directives are specific to PIC32 MCUs and affect the way that pic32-as assembles your code.

The following excerpt from the upcoming MPLAB Assembler, Linker, and Utilities for PIC32 MCUs User’s Guide describes these new directives.

.set noat

When synthesizing some address formats, pic32-as may require a scratch register. By default, the assembler will quietly use the at ($1) register, which is reserved as an assembler temporary by convention. In some cases, we don't want the compiler to use that register. The .set noat directive prevents the assembler from quietly using the at register.

.set at

Allow the assembler to quietly use the at ($1) register.

.set noautoextend

By default, MIPS16 instructions are automatically extended to 32 bits when necessary. The directive .set noautoextend will turn this off. When .set noautoextend is in effect, any 32-bit instruction must be explicitly extended with the .e modifier (e.g., `li.e $4,1000'). The directive .set autoextend may be used to once again automatically extend instructions when necessary.

.set autoextend

Enable auto-extension of MIPS16 instructions to 32 bits.

.set nomacro

The assembler supports synthesized instructions, an instruction mnemonic that synthesizes into multiple machine instructions. For instance, the sleu instruction assembles into an sltu instruction and an xori instruction. The .set nomacro directive causes the assembler to emit a warming message when an instruction expands into more than one machine instruction.

.set macro

Suppress warnings for synthesized instructions.

.set mips16e

Assemble with the MIPS16e ISA extension.

.set nomips16e

Do not assemble with the MIPS16e ISA extension.

.set noreorder

By default, the assembler attempts to fill a branch or delay slot automatically by reordering the instructions around it. This feature can be very useful.

Occasionally, you'll want to retain precise control over your instruction ordering. Use the .set noreorder directive to tell the assembler to suppress this feature until it encounters a .set reorder directive.

.set reorder

Allow the assembler to reorder instructions to fill a branch or delay slot.

Beta testers wanted for COD removal from MPASM Assembler

For our next MPASM release in late January, one of the new features is the removal of the COD file format.

This feature will affect only those who build and debug with absolute assembly files (not using the MPLINK object linker). Removing the COD file output eliminates the limitations of requiring the project files to be within a 64-character path length and not being able to debug above 0xFFFF locations. This change should be transparent to everyone.

We would like some users of MPASM who are not using the linker to try out this new feature and provide feedback.

If you are willing to try this out, send an e-mail to devtools ‘at’ microchip.com.

Xbox 360 NXE Coming November 19

See all the new features of the 360's new UI as 1UP News Editor Phillip Kollar and GameVideos Associate Producer David Ellis take it for a spin.

Xbox 360 'New Xbox Experience Walkthrough'

Help Us Populate the Source Code Library

Do you have Microchip source code to share with the embedded design community? Why not upload it to the new Embedded.com Source Code Library?

Microchip Enhances Mid-range 8-bit PIC Microcontroller Core

Building upon the success of Microchip's popular Mid-range core, the enhanced core provides numerous technical improvements, including more program and data memory; a deeper/enhanced hardware stack; additional reset methods; 14 additional programming instructions, including "C" efficiency optimizations resulting in code size reductions; increased peripheral support; reduced interrupt latency, and other enhancements.

Recognizing the demand for increased performance and peripherals within the 8-bit MCU market, Microchip continues to invest in its 8-bit PIC(R) MCU line to provide a broad product portfolio that meets the needs of its existing and future customers. The enhanced core builds upon the best elements of the existing Mid-range core and provides additional performance, while maintaining compatibility with existing Mid-range products for true product migration. The enhancements provide users with a boost of performance of up to 50% and code-size reductions of up to 40% for various algorithms and functions. Microchip's Mid-range 8-bit PIC MCUs continue their wide market acceptance and gain further momentum into applications where MCUs have been historically void, thereby enabling designers to differentiate their products in the marketplace.

Read the full press release on MarketWatch.com
More info here

Microsoft previews Windows 7 Taskbar with Peak

One of the biggest UI improvements coming in Windows 7 is the taskbar with its new Peak feature.

[Gizmodo via Lifehacker via NeoWin]

CodeWeavers software free for a day thanks to lower gas prices

CodeWeavers is offering their CrossOver Mac Pro and CrossOver Linux Pro, which lets you run Windows applications on your Mac or Linux PC, for free on Tuesday, October 28. The company's CEO is making good on his promise that the company would give away its software free for a day if any of several goals were met before President Bush left office. We have lower gas prices to thank for this giveaway.

Lower gas prices leads to free software tomorrow [MacUser]
Review: CrossOver Mac Professional 7 [Macworld]

Google Earth comes to iPhone

The Google Earth iPhone app is now available as a free download on the iTunes applications store. The app is very cool and runs surprisingly well on the iPhone. I can't say that its an app that I'll be using very often but it's definitely a cool way to show off the iPhone.

Google Earth Comes to the iPhone [Wired]

Python 3.0 won't be compatible with earlier versions

From SDTimes.com:

Python developers will soon have a tough decision to make: Move to a new Python, or stay forever bound to version 2.5 or earlier. On the Sept. 30, Python 2.6 was released, and it included a multitude of new features and adjustments to help ease users into the dramatic shift that will come with Python 3.0.

Read the full article at SDTimes.com.

Guitar Hero: World Tour Features a Music Studio

Guitar Hero: World Tour will feature a new music studio that lets you create, edit, and share your own songs. It'll even have an online community where you can download and rate other songs from other users.

iPhone Applications

A few weeks ago, I stood in line at the Apple Store here in Chandler, Arizona to get my new iPhone 3G. It took about 2 hours to get my white 16-GB phone.

I've been downloading a bunch of free apps. My favorites so far are Pandora Radio (which, apparently, is on the verge of shutting down), Showtimes, UrbanSpoon, Simplify Media, and Aurora Feint.

• Pandora Radio - Free, streaming Internet radio. This app allows you to create your own radio station based on your personal tastes
• Showtimes - This app finds your locations and shows you nearby movie theaters with movie showtimes
• UrbanSpoon - This app randomly selects a nearby restaurant based on a few parameters that you can lock in. If your work lunch group is anything like mine, you can never agree on a lunch spot. Now, we just let my iPhone decide.
• Simplify Media - This app allows you to stream music from your iTunes library on your PC or Mac to your iPhone. Yep, you no longer need to sync all of your music to the Flash memory on your iPhone; Stream it instead.
• Aurora Feint - This game is a memory hog and has occasionally crashed on me. Yet, somehow, the RPG element has me hooked. I'm addicted to leveling up and buying new challenges.

Nope, no MPLAB IDE for iPhone yet.

IGN Reviews Guitar Hero World Tour's New Gear

Game site IGN reviewed the new hardware for Activision's upcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour video game.

The Guitar
World Tour introduces a new guitar controller that is even more feature-laden than past designs. Before you get in a huff about just buying the Les Paul or X-plorer models from past Guitar Hero games, know that Activision has told us these will still work in World Tour. They just won't have access to all of the new stuff the added features bring to the table. That being said, you're going to want the new axe.

Apparently, there's a new music creator feature that is pretty impressive. I can't wait to check it out when the game releases this fall.

Microchip Technology Announces MiWi Peer-to-Peer Wireless Protocol Stack

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP), a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, today announced the MiWi(TM) Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Wireless Protocol Stack, which is based upon the IEEE 802.15.4(TM) specification. Available as a free download from Microchip's new online Wireless Design Center at www.microchip.com/wireless, the small-footprint, proprietary stack complements the new MRF24J40MA 2.4 GHz FCC-certified transceiver module and is targeted for low-cost, low-power applications, such as sensors, remote control, lighting and metering.

Read the full press release here.

EDN's Q&A with Microchip's CEO Steve Sanghi

Electronic Business recently spoke with Steve Sanghi, president, CEO, and chairman of Microchip Technology Inc, on the economy’s impact on the microcontroller market, the company’s entrance into 32-bit MCUs, and why it still banks on 8- and 16-bit MCUs as a sustainable sales opportunity.

Read the article here.

iPhone 3G is finally official, starts at $199, available July 11th

Apple finally took the wraps off its 3G iPhone. Thinner edges, full plastic back, flush headphone jack, and the iPhone 2.0 firmware. I'm sure you can find more info all over the inter webs, but in case you haven't, check out Engadget's coverage.

Using C32's Multilib when building a project from MPLAB IDE

Hopefully, most MPLAB C Compiler for PIC32 MCUs users know that the toolchain supports multilibs, target libraries built under a permutated set of options. To take advantage of these libraries when building a project under MPLAB IDE, be sure to set the library-selection options under the linker's build options as shown in the MPLAB IDE 8.10 screenshot below.


If you don't set these options, you will get the default unoptimized libraries. In many (if not most) cases, you'll want an optimized version of these libraries.

You can read more about multilibs in the MPLAB C32 User's Guide.

Invoking MADD instruction from C

Generally, C programmers don't have to worry about the assembly instructions that their C compiler generates. We have, however, received a few messages asking if the MPLAB C Compiler for PIC32 (aka MPLAB C32) supports the MADD instruction. Yes, it does. The compiler tries to avoid using the HI/LO registers, but the code below shows a sequence that invokes the MADD instruction (as of C32 1.02).

EDIT1: You'll need to build with at least the -O1 level of optimization.

int dp (int a[], int b[], int n);

int ary1[] = {1,2,3,4,5};
int ary2[] = {6,7,8,9,10};
volatile int testval;

int main(void)
{ 
 testval = dp (ary1, ary2, 5);
 while(1);
}

int dp (int a[], int b[], int n)
{
  /*
   *   move  a3,a0
   */

  int i;
  long long acc = (long long) a[0] * b[0];
  /*    
   *   lw v1,0(a1)
   *   lw a0,0(a0)
   */

  for (i = 1; i < n; i++)
  /*
   *   li t0,1
   *   slt   v0,t0,a2
   *   beqz  v0,9d00005c 
   *   mult  a0,v1
   *   addiu a1,a1,4
   *   addiu a0,a3,4
   *   addiu a2,a2,-1
   */

  acc += (long long) a[i] * b[i];
  /*
   *   lw t1,0(a0)
   *   lw a3,0(a1)
   *   addiu a2,a2,-1
   *   madd  t1,a3        <--- MADD instruction
   *   addiu a0,a0,4
   *   bnez  a2,9d000040 
   *   addiu a1,a1,4
   */

  return (acc >> 31);
  /*
   *   mflo  t3
   *   mfhi  t2
   *   srl   a1,t3,0x1f
   *   sll   a2,t2,0x1
   */
}
  /*
   *   jr ra
   *   or v0,a1,a2
   */

Wired Tipster: iPhone 2 Features Detailed — 3G, GPS, 2xMEM, Thinner, Better Battery and Only $200

The Cult of Mac over on the Wired Blog network is reporting that the upcoming iPhone 2 will be thinner and feature better battery life. Read the details over at their blog.

Microchip Announces Complete Portfolio of 8-, 16- and 32-bit USB Microcontrollers

The PIC18F13K50 and PIC18F14K50 (PIC18F1XK50) are the lowest-cost USB MCUs from Microchip, and build on a broad family of existing USB PIC microcontrollers. They provide a host of features not normally found on inexpensive 8-bit MCUs--enabling the addition of embedded USB into a wide range of applications. The PIC18F1XK50 MCUs include a variety of serial communications interfaces, such as USB 2.0, I2CTM, SPI and USART; enabling them to transfer data between USB and other embedded serial networks.

The 12-member PIC24F USB microcontroller family is the lowest power (2.6 uA standby current) large-memory (up to 256 KB Flash and 16 KB RAM) 16-bit USB microcontroller family in the world. As the only 16-bit microcontroller family with integrated USB 2.0 device, embedded-host, dual-role and OTG functionality, the PIC24F makes it cost effective and easy to add advanced USB features to embedded designs.

The PIC32 microcontroller family members with integrated USB 2.0 OTG functionality bring more performance and memory to embedded designers, while maintaining pin, peripheral and software compatibility with Microchip's 16-bit microcontroller families. With a maximum operating frequency of 80 MHz, up to 512 KB of Flash and 32 KB of RAM, and USB OTG, the PIC32 USB family members enable lower BOM costs and smaller PCB real estate.

Read the full press release here.

Windows 7 to Feature Multi-Touch

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Chairman Bill Gates unveiled and demonstrated Windows 7's all new user interface at the WSJ's sixth annual All Things D conference this evening outside San Diego.

Video: Multi-Touch in Windows 7

Guitar Hero World Tour - Now with Drums

Activision recently released a new video showing off the new drumset that will play a major part of the upcoming game in the Guitar Hero series. I have to say it looks a lot cooler than the Rock Band drumset. It'll be interesting to see how they incorporate the velocity sensitivity into the game.

Phoenix Fast Food Restaurants Second Worst in Nation

HealthInspections.com has a list of the worst fast-food cities in the U.S. for food safety. Guess what? Phoenix ranks second in the nation.

America's big names in fast food have big problems with food safety. A review of nearly 7,000 health inspection reports revealed thousands of violations and plenty of horror stories.

The Cities -- Here's how the cities rank for dirty fast food. Orlando topped the list.

          1. Orlando          7. Manhattan
          2. Phoenix          8. Virginia Beach     
          3. Denver           9. Kansas City
          4. Miami           10. Sacramento
          5. Houston         11. Philadelphia
          6. Raleigh         12. Columbus

Maybe I'll stick to the Microchip cafeteria a little more often... Get all the juicy (yuck) details at HealthInspections.com

EETimes.com Analyzes the 32-bit MCU Market

The landscape is changing in the high-end, 32-bit microcontroller market.

PA Semi is out of the mix. Marvell, Microchip and others are in. And Freescale, Renesas and others are expanding their efforts in the sector.

It's no wonder that the new vendors are jumping into the market. For example, Microchip Technology Inc. is "doing well" with its new entry in the 32-bit MCU market, said Steve Sanghi, chairman, president and chief executive of the chip maker, based in Chandler, Ariz.

Read the full article at eetimes.com

Microchip Again Recognized for Leadership and Innovation

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP), a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, today announced that it has been recognized by the following U.S. and international publications for product and organizational leadership.

"As the worldwide leader in 8-bit microcontrollers and the only company to support all of its 8-, 16- and 32-bit MCUs with a singular integrated development environment, our greatest reward is that design engineers prefer Microchip for their embedded designs," said Steve Sanghi, Microchip's president and CEO. "We are extremely honored to be recognized for the technology and business excellence that our global customer base and long-term investors have come to expect."

Microchip was named a finalist in the "Large Company of the Year" category of EE Times' fourth Annual Creativity in Electronics, or ACE, Awards. Companies are selected by the ACE judges for demonstrating leadership and innovation, and shaping the world in which we live with the electronics industry's most dynamic business practices and breakthrough technologies.

The editors of EDN Magazine selected Microchip's Graphics Software Library--a free application designed for adding graphics displays to embedded designs based on the Company's 16- and 32-bit PIC(R) microcontrollers--as a finalist in the Software category of their 2007 EDN Innovation Awards. Every year EDN Innovation recognizes the most unique, state-of-the-art electronics products.

Portable Design chose the PIC32 as a winner in the "Processors ICs" category for the magazine's "2008 Editor's Choice Awards." With these annual awards, the magazine recognizes innovative electronic components that make possible the design of leading-edge portable products.

"Every year Portable Design singles out for recognition those new products that we consider to be the most innovative, choosing from among the thousands of product releases that cross our desks," said John Donovan, Portable Design's editor-in-chief. "This year has seen an outpouring of highly creative, and some potentially disruptive, products."

Microchip's dsPIC33F digital signal controllers were selected by the editors of the EN-Genius Network as a recipient of their 2007 "Product of the Year" awards in the "Best Value in Embedded DSP" category, from among the hundreds of products they reviewed in 2007. The editors believe that the products selected will make significant bottom-line numbers for the companies involved, because of their strong technical merit, design innovation and marketability.

Microchip also received recent honors from several leading international electronics publications. Germany's E&E Magazine selected the PIC18F97J60 8-bit Ethernet microcontrollers for their "E&E Best Product Guide 2007," in the "Microcontroller & Processors" category. Finalist products were those that received the most clicks from readers on the E&E Web site, from October 2006-September 2007. Following the publication of the top 10 products from each category in a special supplement, winners were selected through reader votes.

Electronic Design & Application World--Nikkei Electronics China honored Microchip with two awards at the recent Green Power Forum in Beijing. The MCP140X MOSFET drivers won the "Best Application Award in Power Components," and Microchip's MCP73811/2 charge-management controllers won the "Best Application Award in Battery."

Finally, Germany's ELEKTRONIK magazine named Microchip's PIC32 32-bit microcontroller family one of its "Best Products of the Year" in the "Active Components" category. The PIC32 was nominated by ELEKTRONIK's editorial staff and elected by its readership, receiving 8,000 reader votes in all.

The original press release is available on InvestorCalendar.com

Apple Adding Tactile Feedback to iPhone? [Rumor]

An anonymous Apple employee says company executives are in talks with Immersion Corporation to license its haptic technology for use in the iPhone, according to a report at Palluxo.

[Via cnet.com]

Yet Another Grand Theft Auto IV Review

This time it's from 1up.com and it scores an A+.

IGN Posts First Web Review of Grand Theft Auto IV, Perfect 10

PIC Microcontrollers on Instructables.com

I just recently read an article about instructables.com. I browsed the site for only a few minutes, but I noticed that they have several PIC Microcontroller related entries. Has anyone from the Microchip web forums contributed projects to the site? I'll have to find some time this weekend to look at some of the projects.

Instructables is a web-based documentation platform where passionate people share what they do and how they do it, and learn from and collaborate with others. The seeds of Instructables germinated at the MIT Media Lab as the future founders of Squid Labs built places to share their projects and help others.

MPLAB C Compiler for PIC32 MCUs v1.02 now available for download

Microchip PIC32 users will be happy to know that version 1.02 of the MPLAB C Compiler for PIC32 MCUs (aka MPLAB C32) is now available for download. There's some new devices supported and a few bug fixes. Read the release notes for further details. Get it while it's hot. http://www.microchip.com/c32

Toyota Matrix Xbox Guitar Hero III All-Nighter

Xbox, Toyota, and Peavey have teamed up to bring you the coolest prizes in the history of Xbox.com for the upcoming All-Nighter: Crafted from a real-wood, life-size Peavey guitar and modified for play with guitar-based music video games, this custom Peavey AG RiffMaster guitar controller features the sleek finish, dimensions and feel of a real Peavey guitar to provide a truly authentic music video game experience. For more details about one-of-a-kind Peavey AG RiffMaster guitar game controllers, check them out online at Peavey.com.

For contest details, visit xbox.com

Microchip Offers Integration's EZLink(TM) Development Kit for Sub-GHz Wireless Networking

Microchip Technology Inc., (NASDAQ:MCHP) a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, today announced the availability of Integration Associates' EZLink(TM) Development Kit (Microchip part # TDKEZ915) for $240 on the www.microchipdirect.com e-commerce Web site. This kit augments the wireless products offered by Microchip, by providing wireless customers an option for easy sub-GHz RF modem development. The EZLink radio module contains an onboard PIC18F2520 8-bit Flash microcontroller and Integration's IA4421 EZRadio(R) transceiver.

The EZLink Development Kit provides a complete, ready-to-use RF module solution through the industry-leading EZRadio technology. A single-chip, low-power solution, the IA4421 is a 434, 868 and 915 MHz multi-channel, Frequency-Shift Keying (FSK) transceiver that is designed to provide the industry's lowest radio BOM by using only one external component -- a crystal. The IA4421 is ideal for low-power, high-performance wireless applications such as toys, consumer electronics, automotive and building security. Additionally, the kit's two EZLink radio modules are populated with Microchip's PIC18F2520 8-bit microcontrollers, providing customers with a high-performance and low-cost whole product wireless solution.

Read the full press release at investorcalendar.com

Reviews of Grand Theft Auto IV starting to come in

The highly anticipated next entry in the Grand Theft Auto video game series is just around the corner. Set to be released on April 29, the game is expected to be the biggest blockbuster of the year. Reviews are just starting to trickle in. According to metacritic.com, Official Xbox Magazine UK gave the game a perfect 100/100. They called it "Utterly stunning in every respect". [May 2008, p.79]

Video and screenshots of Guitar Hero: On Tour for the Nintendo DS

The Bitbag has fresh video and screenshots of the upcoming Nintendo DS version of the wildly popular Guitar Hero game from Activision. Check it out over at The Bitbag.

TechInsights Teams With Microchip Technology and Digi-Key to Launch the Microchip PIC32 Design Challenge

TechInsights announced today the launch of the Microchip PIC32 Design Challenge (http://www.myPIC32.com), a year-long contest and community sponsored by Microchip Technology Inc. and Digi-Key Corporation.

The goal of the design challenge is to foster a social community where designers can build, test and display their embedded 32-bit designs to peers with blogs, videos and forums by using the Microchip's PIC32 Starter Kit, an easy to use, all-in-one, PIC32-based module. The challenge is organized in four phases -- Paper Design, Hardware Design, Software Design and Final Prototype. Each phase has its own deadline and eliminates a certain number of contestants.

The design challenge's interactive community is made up of registered members who rate each of the contestant's designs according to established design criteria. Three industry expert judges as well as member peers will vote each week to see which contestants move to the next phase.

In addition, each week, members will be eligible for prizes that exceed $100,000 based on their community participation and activity. The grand winner will receive a home theater system valued at $8,000, which will be awarded at the Embedded Systems Conference San Jose on April 1, 2009 in Silicon Valley.

"This design challenge is a great opportunity for engineers to show their expertise in 32-bit design. And the social aspect of peers rating, voting and even collaborating on the best designs will make it even more exciting," said Richard Nass, Editor in Chief of Embedded Systems Design and Judge.

Terry West, PIC32 Marketing Manager at Microchip, agrees. "With over $100,000 in prizes, the Microchip PIC32 Design Challenge is more than just a design contest -- it is a unique opportunity for the design community to see some of the world's best engineers push the limits of creativity and skill to participate in leading-edge 32-bit designs using Microchip's new PIC32 microcontroller."

"We are very excited for the opportunity to partner with Microchip and TechInsights as the exclusive distributor on the MyPIC32 Design Contest," added Tony Harris, Vice President of E-Commerce at Digi-Key. "As a provider of the industry's preeminent Website for design engineers, OEMs and purchasers, Digi-Key adds a great solution to the design contest. We look forward to driving traffic for our contest partners, and, as always, efficiently and expeditiously delivering product into the hands of the engineering community."

For contest rules, eligibility requirements and to register, visit http://www.myPIC32.com.

The full press release is here.

Microchip Adds New Low-Cost 32-bit USB On-The-Go PIC32 Microcontroller; Brings Seven to Volume Production

Microchip Technology Inc., a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, today announced that, with the addition of a new low-cost family member with integrated USB 2.0 On-The-Go (OTG) functionality—and by bringing the first seven general-purpose members to volume production—the PIC32 family now provides customers with 12 options to solve their growing requirements for more performance, more memory and advanced USB OTG connectivity. Additionally, Microchip now offers 37 USB PIC® microcontrollers in 8-, 16- and 32-bit varieties, from a 28-pin PIC18 to a 100-pin, 80 MHz PIC32. While the PIC32 family brings more performance and memory to embedded designers, it maintains pin, peripheral and software compatibility with Microchip’s 16-bit microcontroller and DSC families. To further ease migration and protect tool investments, Microchip’s is the only complete portfolio of 8-, 16- and 32-bit devices to be supported by a single Integrated Development Environment—the free MPLAB® IDE.

Read the full press release.

Microchip Technology Debuts World’s Lowest Power Large-memory 16-bit USB Microcontroller Family; Only 16-bit MCU With OTG

Microchip Technology Inc., a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, today announced the 12-member PIC24FJ256GB1 microcontroller (MCU) family, which is the lowest power (100 nA standby current) large-memory (up to 256 KB Flash and 16 KB RAM) 16-bit USB microcontroller family in the world. As the only 16-bit microcontroller family with integrated USB 2.0 device, embedded-host, dual-role and On-the-Go (OTG) functionality, the PIC24FJ256GB1 makes it cost effective and easy to add advanced USB features to embedded designs. Additionally, the integrated Charge Time Measurement Unit (CTMU) peripheral— along with the royalty-free mTouch™ Sensing Solution software development kit—enables designers to add a capacitive-touch user interface without any external components. When combined with Microchip’s free Graphics Software Library, engineers have access to a complete, USB-enabled and cost-effective user interface solution.

Read the full press release.

AotS Reviews Sony OLED Digital TV

Sony's set is tiny and expensive, but OLED is the future of displays.

Microchip Makes Adding Digital Audio to Embedded Designs Easy With New MPLAB Starter Kit for dsPIC DSCs

CHANDLER, Ariz., March 17, 2008 [NASDAQ: MCHP] — Microchip Technology Inc., a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, today announced the MPLAB® Starter Kit for dsPIC DSCs (part # DM330011), which comes with complete development software and hardware for only $59.98, including the USB-powered Digital Signal Controller (DSC) board with integrated debugger and programmer, the MPLAB IDE, and MPLAB C30 C complier software, and sample programs and hardware for demonstrating speech and audio applications. The board is populated with a 40 MIPS dsPIC33FJ256GP506 DSC, which has 256 KB of Flash program memory and 16 KB of RAM, a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and peripherals that support audio pulse-width modulation (PWM). Additionally, the board has 4 Megabits of serial Flash memory to store audio messages and a 16-/24-/32-bit audio CODEC with sampling frequencies up to 48 kHz. The demo board also includes a 100 mW headphone amp, and microphone and line level inputs, along with a sample program for recording custom audio content. All of these features demonstrate the power and potential of dsPIC DSCs, while showing how easy it can be to add high-fidelity audio to embedded designs.

Read the full press release on the Microchip website.

The best part is that the debugger and programmer is integrated on the board. You do not need an MPLAB ICD 2 or MPLAB REAL ICE to debug your application.

iPhone SDK to allow third-party applications

At a recent event, Apple began demonstrating uses of their iPhone Software Development Kit. Third parties will begin releasing everything from games to instant-messaging and business-oriented applications on the iTunes integrated store.

Introduction to the iPhone SDK


EA's Spore on iPhone

Waste some time with Phun Physics

Phun is a fantastic 2D physics playground that is both fun and educational. Phun is a Master of Science Thesis by Computing Science student Emil Ernerfeldt for supervisor Kenneth Bodin at VRLab, Umeå University. Best of all, it's a free download for non-commercial use.

[via Geekologie]

Sony Announces Profile 2.0 Blu-ray Disc Players

With Blu-ray Disc on the winning side of the high-definition war, the format appears to finally be hitting its stride in stabilizing its advanced feature set. Earlier this week, Sony announced two new Blu-ray Disc player models that include new features such as BonusView and BD-Live.

Get the details at DailyTech.

Is Assembly Language Obsolete?

Jack Ganssle has an interesting post on Embedded.com regarding the relevance of assembly-language programming in today's world. It's in response to comments regarding a recent posting on Slashdot about unneeded abilities. Read what he has to say on embedded.com. I take a little offense to his comment about "brain-dead low-end PICs", but I supposed he didn't mean it to be negative.

VR Head Tracking using only a camera

At the Game Developers Conference, Sony was showing off a head-tracking system that uses only the PS3's EyeToy camera. The system definitely has a lot of potential but no games using the technology have yet been announced.

First, here's a look at a more conventional head-tracking technique presented by Johnny Lee.


Now, Sony's camera-only system.

[via Joystiq]

Video Game Technical Demos from GDC

The 2008 Game Developers Conference wrapped up last week. There are some interesting videos of some of a few of the more impressive technical demos floating around in Cyberspace.

Epic Games -- Unreal Engine Tech Demo


LucasArts -- Star Wars: Force Unleashed - Tech Demo


Eden Games -- Alone in the Dark 5 - Real World demo

New and updated PIC32 documentation on microchip.com

In case you haven't noticed, there's an updated PIC32MX Datasheet as well as several new application notes up on the Microchip website. Hop on over to microchip.com/pic32 for the new docs.

BSG Season 3 coming to DVD next month

Battlestar Galactica - Season 3 is coming to DVD on March 18. I'm pretty much addicted to this show and I can't wait to get caught up on season 3. It's the best show on television (or on DVD). My copy is already pre-ordered at amazon.com. If you haven't watched the show, I recommend renting or buying the disc set ASAP. Seriously, it's great.

Microchip's Graphics Software Library Named Finalist in EDN Innovation Awards

You may have read in the February 7 issue of EDN that Microchip's Graphics Software Library has been named a finalist in the 18th Annual EDN Innovation Awards. Congratulations to the Microchip Graphics Software Library team. The polls are now open until February 29 at http://www.edn.com/innovationballot.asp (scroll down to the Software category).

Netflix to Stream Movies to your TV via Xbox Live?

A recent survey on Netflix.com seems to indicate that the company may be considering streaming movies on Xbox Live, Microsoft's online gaming service for the Xbox 360. They already offer both DVD quality and 720p quality movies for rent via their Xbox Live Video Marketplace, but the new streaming movie service could potentially add Netflix's library of over 7,000 of streaming videos to the Xbox Live service.

Go to the survey and tell Netflix that you'd like to see their videos on Xbox Live.

I'm Getting a New Job

I've decided to make the jump from Microchip's Development Tools Test group, where my primary responsibility for the past year has been test engineering for the MPLAB C32 C Compiler for PIC32, over to the Language Tools group. I'll be on the MPLAB C32 development team.

Once my transition period is complete, I imagine that I won't be following all of the version-to-version changes in MPLAB IDE and tools other than the C32 compiler, so I won't be posting to all of the Development Tool forums as much. I'll definitely check the C32 compiler subforum all the time looking for useful suggestions and feedback. (I'll also drop by the PIC32 forum from time to time, but I'm more comfortable contributing to the Development Tools forums.)

Thriller 25 Super Deluxe Edition available from Amazon.com

Amazon.com's MP3 Download store has Michael Jackson's Thriller 25 Super Deluxe Edition available as DRM-free 256 kbps MP3 files. I prefer Amazon.com's MP3 Download store because I don't have to worry about DRM when I move between computers or MP3 players. (I love my iPhone but the iTunes FairPlay DRM is a pain.) Click here to visit Amazon.com's MP3 download store.

Webware offering Hulu Beta Invites

Hulu, the video site started by NBC Universal and News Corp, is offering beta invites to webware.com readers. If the thought of watching episodes of The Simpsons or The Office that you forgot to Tivo excites you, you can watch them on the surprisingly useful and entertaining hulu.com. Who would have thunk that the TV networks could come up with a streaming video site worth using? Last I checked, there were fewer than 1000 invites left, so click the link below and grab one soon. http://www.hulu.com/beta/webware

Behind the Scenes of the Ford F-150 Centrifuge Commercial

During the Super Bowl, you may have seen Ford's commercial promoting their "Built Ford Tough" ethos by showing an F-150 hooked up to a giant centrifuge. The giant contraption spins the truck at six Gs and therefore subjects the looped hooks to six times the truck's weight.

Follow this link for the behind the scenes videos:
http://www.fordvehicles.com/f150behindthescenes/

Emotiv to Unveil Consumer Neurosystem Headset

Emotiv Systems plans to unveil a consumer version of their impressive neurosystem headset at the upcoming Game Developers Conference.

According to the literature, the headset is described as containing "a high fidelity neuro-system that redefines the realm of human-computer interaction", and a special presentation showing its applications in creating "a new horizon for interactive gameplay" is promised.

The company's website also adds that licensed developers will have access to the Emotiv SDK in March 2008, and it consists of The Expressiv suite, which can identify facial expressions in real-time, the Affectiv suite, which measures players' discreet emotional states, and the Cognitiv suite, which detects players' conscious thoughts.

Via [Gamasutra.com]

Fight the New Mexico Video Game Tax

A video game tax has been proposed in New Mexico, that says video games purchased in the state may become subject to an additional tax like cigarettes and alcohol. The tax has been proposed by the Sierra Club of New Mexico who believe that video games should be taxed in order to fund a government campaign to promote outdoor education among kids.

This proposed video game tax not only levies a burden onto to video game enthusiasts and the growing game industry in New Mexico, but if any game tax bill were to pass into law, it would set a very dangerous precedent. The Sierra Club also wants to tax televisions as well, so why limit it to TV and video games, as they could also set their sites on movies and books?

It is unconstitutional to single out video games and video game enthusiasts with a "special tax." Why should they be taxed any differently than other forms of entertainment, like movies, books, and music? By singling out video games, these interest groups and politicians are passing judgment on our preferred form of art and entertainment. Let's leave the parenting to parents, not new government programs which once again unfairly target video games. Help prevent this dangerous precedent from being set, spread the word now.

Spread the word to your Friends and Family in New Mexico!

Hiring a New College Grad in Chandler, Arizona

Title: NCG Software Test Engineer-Chandler
Location: Chandler

Brief:
The primary responsibility will be to perform certification testing of Development Tools and create test suites to support detailed testing of these tools. In addition, the engineer will work closely with the development groups to produce products of high quality. Responsibilities will also include test automation using scripting languages and automated testing software.

Minimum Requirements:
The candidate must be very knowledgeable in 'C', ANSI standards, and assembly languages. They must have knowledge of scripting languages such as Perl, Python, TCL to be used for test generation and automation. The candidate must have excellent communication skills and be able to create clear and effective testing strategies based on technical project requirements. They must be familiar with working in integrated development environments, have good troubleshooting and team-player skills and be technically astute. The candidate must also have a good understanding of electronics and possess good hardware troubleshooting skills.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer and Systems Engineering, Software Engineering, or equivalent experience is required.
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills
• Ability to effectively isolate and identify technical issues.
• Familiarity with use of microcontrollers and embedded applications.

Essential Function:

• Plan, develop, and execute certification and stress tests that will effectively verify the quality of software tools, such as compilers and assemblers.
• Automate testing of hardware through the use of Automation software and scripting languages.
• Support internal and external customers by answering questions and analyzing customer issues.
• Support and maintenance of existing validation test suites.
• Conduct user and peer reviews of test strategy documents.
• Address deficiencies in delivered functionality and effectively communicate issues to development staff.
• Analyze software requirements and develop corresponding testing requirement documents.
• Perform certification testing of new Microchip microcontrollers on Development Tools hardware.

Follow this link for application instructions.

Green Hills Software Announces Software Development Solution for Microchip Technology's PIC24 MCUs and dsPIC DSCs

[Source: Marketwire]

Green Hills Tools Available for Microchip's Entire 16-bit Portfolio

SANTA BARBARA, CA--(Marketwire - January 8, 2008) - Green Hills Software, Inc., the technology leader in device software optimization (DSO) and real-time operating systems (RTOS), and Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP), a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, today announced that Green Hills Software's integrated development environment, MULTI, is now available for Microchip's 16-bit PIC24 microcontroller (MCU) and dsPIC® digital signal controller (DSC) families.

"This expansion of the Green Hills Software toolchain gives engineers an opportunity to take advantage of the advanced features and capabilities of Microchip's dsPIC DSC and PIC24 MCU products, using one of the most recognized and productive environments in the industry. Within the MULTI integrated development environment, users can now easily migrate between Microchip's 16-bit devices and 32-bit PIC32 MCUs," commented Derek Carlson, vice president of Microchip's Development Tools group. "Together, MULTI and the Microchip MPLAB® REAL ICE™ in-circuit emulation system enable embedded software developers to maximize performance and reduce development time."

The Green Hills Software solution for Microchip's PIC24/dsPIC DSC family consists of the following components:

-- MULTI integrated development environment -- providing the most comprehensive DSO tool set for embedded software developers

-- MPLAB C30 C Compiler

-- MPLAB REAL ICE Emulator -- providing reliable and efficient debugging

-- Microchip PIC24 MCU/dsPIC DSC instruction-set simulator

"Green Hills Software and the MULTI integrated development environment offer the kind of features and performance embedded engineers worldwide have come to expect," said David Kleidermacher, chief technology officer, Green Hills Software. "Microchip's dsPIC DSCs and PIC24 MCUs bring high-powered performance and value to the 16-bit market. They are a natural complement to our tools and product line, and we are pleased to make this addition."

Read the full press release on Marketwire.

Can't Wait to see Dark Knight in Imax

Over the holidays, I got a chance to see I Am Legend on an Imax big screen. Prior to the movie, Imax presented the first 10 minutes of the upcoming Dark Knight Batman movie. I have to say it was pretty exciting to see the action on the giant Imax screen. I can't wait to check it out this summer and I'll definitely be driving the extra miles to see it in an Imax theater. There's a trailer and an Imax behind-the-scenes clip embedded below.

Paramount Denies Report It will Drop HD DVD

Early today, The Financial Times reported that Paramount plans to drop Toshiba's HD DVD format and support Sony's Blu-Ray high-definition video-disc format. Paramount can defect because of a clause in its contract with the HD DVD group that allows the studio to switch to Blu-ray if Warner Brothers dropped its support of HD DVD.

However, this afternoon, Bloomberg.com reported that Paramount Pictures is denying the speculation.

Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures denied a newspaper report that the studio is poised to follow Time Warner Inc. in abandoning Toshiba Corp.'s HD DVD technology. "Paramount's current plan is to continue to support the HD DVD format,'' Brenda Ciccone, a spokeswoman for Paramount, said in an e-mail today.

Only time will tell if Paramount will follow Warner's jump to the Blu-ray camp. Either way, the Blu-Ray supporters are finally claiming victory in the high-def video-disc format wars.

McDonald's Blames Childhood Obesity on Videogames

Speaking to The Times Online, Steve Easterbrook, the chief executive of McDonald's UK, blamed video games for childhood obesity.

From the Times Online:

“I don’t know who is to blame,” Mr Easterbrook says. “The issue of obesity is complex and is absolutely one our society is facing, there’s no denial about that, but if you break it down I think there’s an education piece: how can we better communicate to individuals the importance of a balanced diet and taking care of themselves? Then there’s a lifestyle element: there’s fewer green spaces and kids are sat home playing computer games on the TV when in the past they’d have been burning off energy outside.

Surely, Happy Meals can share part of that blame, right?

Warner dumps HD-DVD and goes Blu-Ray exclusive

Read the press release at The Digital Bits.

Warner Home Video will continue to release its titles in standard DVD format and Blu-ray. After a short window following their standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be released in HD DVD until the end of May 2008.

"Warner Bros. has produced in both high-definition formats in an effort to provide consumer choice, foster mainstream adoption and drive down hardware prices," said Jeff Bewkes, President and Chief Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc., the parent company of Warner Bros. Entertainment. "Today's decision by Warner Bros. to distribute in a single format comes at the right time and is the best decision both for consumers and Time Warner."

Also read some commentary over at Cnet's Crave blog.