Engineering Cyberpage

Welcome to the Design News Cyberpage! Here you'll find some of the hottest Cyberspots of interest to engineers, how to reach Design News on the Internet, and a sampling of reader opinions on technical topics. Have you opened a World Wide Web site? Found another one loaded with useful information? Have a comment about a Design News article? Send us your thoughts!

--Sharon Machlis, Senior Editor

Chip compendium

CERA Research (Newark, CA) has put together an impressive array of Internet resources about microcontrollers and microprocessors. While some of the links may look a little flaky (such as the "unauthorized Intel," billed as information the chipmaker doesn't want you to know), CERA's web page concludes with a full listing of manufacturer sites: AMD, AT&T, Cypress, Cyrix, Dallas Semiconductor, Digital Equipment Corp., Fujitsu, Harris Semiconductor, Hi-tachi, IBM, Intel, LSI Logic, MIPS, Motorola, and more. Adding to the e-directory's usefulness, the CERA site gives several alternative spots--with links, and short explanations of each--for the major companies, saving you time plowing through pages of general corporate information to get where you want to go. Non-corporate sites include an embedded microprocessor summary table, comparing the major embedded chips; and the Semiconductor Subway, listing research sites having to do with semiconductor technology. Find it at http://www.cera.com/micro.asp (there's also a related site on DSPs).

Software source: hardware pages

Looking for software? One place to turn is your favorite hardware sites, since many computer makers are promoting their "solutions partners." At the Silicon Graphics Silicon Works page, billed as a Manufacturing Resource Center, you can choose the Systems, Solutions & Partners option to find links to major vendors such as ANSYS, Alias, Autodesk, Bentley, EDS, Parametric Technology Corp., and SDRC. Find it at http://www.sgi.com/Works/ ...At the Digital Equipment Corp. home page, meanwhile, you can search the company's on-line database by keyword. Find it at http://www.dec.com

Swords and Ploughshares

The Pentagon has come onto the Web, with a site that includes press statements searchable by keyword. Find it at http://www.dtic.dla.mil:80/defenselink/news/ (a URL that reminds us that the Internet was originally a DARPA project, not for surfing civilians). A recent visit to the site found its link to the Technolo- gy Reinvestment Project was a bit outdated. TRI's new spot on the Web is http://www.trp.arpa.mil/trp . Anyone interested in trying to find civilian uses for military techno-logy might want to stop by, as the project is a multi-agency effort to find peace dividends for military R&D.

OEM Directory comes to the Web

This month, the 1996 Design News CD-ROM comes to the WWW, allowing engineers to find a manufacturer by compa-ny name, product, or trade name. The CD also features an extensive listing of trade shows and conferences, index of Design News articles by headline, and information on where to get standards data from organizations like ANSI and IEEE. Find it at http://www.dndir.com .

READER FEEDBACK

Not all GM cars have daytime lights

Your Oct 9 issue ("For 1996: An Emphasis on Value") states GM will have daytime running lights (DRL) in all '96 vehicles. I recently purchased a '96 Olds Cutlass, only to be disappointed after its arrival to learn it did not have DRL.

GM led the way on non-governmental-instituted daytime running lights. Why is it that they don't make the leap and leverage this feature?

--Jim St. Leger, Delphi Automotive Systems, [email protected]

Keep hydrogen where it belongs

The report on hydrogen used for aircraft fuel by the Europeans (Oct. 23, 1995) is very interesting, but not new. Lockheed dredged up this idea more than 10 years ago.

My professional experience with hydrogen is that it is the last thing that should be used on a public aircraft. It is one of most dangerous fuels known, with a flammablilty limit range equal to acetylene. The gas can almost never be sealed off, resulting in continual, chronic leaks. My own experience in the Stirling Engine program years ago was peppered with fires and explosions.

Personally, I will not ride aboard a public aircraft using hydrogen.

--Bill Geary, P.E. [email protected]