IWL.ME - I Write Like...

Just tried "I Write Like" http://iwl.me/.
I actually fed in about ten blog entries and work related text.

Snippets make me out to write like -
- Cory Doctorow http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Doctorow
- David Wallace Foster http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Foster_Wallace

I find these very interesting. I wonder if background has something to do with this? I grew up in Canada (like Doctorow), and am interested in his writing and blogging. I spent many years in Ithaca New York (like Wallace), and after reading about Wallace in Wikipedia, find many parallels in viewpoint - though I hope I do not have the depth of depression and pessimism he retained.

Embedded Systems Conference - Boston 2010

Was to ESC (Embedded Systems Conference) Boston 2010 in late September.
http://esc-boston.techinsightsevents.com/

Here are a few highlights:

The platform and OS (operating systems) wars/debates are largely over - so much so that no one even bothers to mention the issue of OS and processor anymore. It is "assumed".

When a generic OS is used, only a few generic interfaces are really supported in all cases - TCP/IP, and serial ports.

For 8bit and similar the continuing players are 8051, Atmel-AtMega and Microchip-PIC architectures. Again this is mostly implied and few speak of it.

Software houses and tool chains vendors are talking about the ways they go beyond simple TCP/IP to get information to "cloud services".

Companies who formerly only sold components or built PC boards are transforming into complete end-to-end design-build companies where they go all the way from design to delivering boxes of the required products ready for you to sell (even with labels and software installed and locked).

Other attendees included trade associations, magazine/book vendors, Flash/SSD providers, tool/environment vendors, logic/JTAG analyzers, emulator vendors and wireless vendors.