A Beginner's Guide to Embedded Systems
I was in my Junior year of college when I first learned about embedded systems. Sure, I’d heard about this mystical world of sensors and IoT, the same way I’d heard about thermonuclear astrophysics; But, the phrase “embedded systems” didn’t really mean anything to me. This, here, is a guide for people like teenage me. We’re going to learn what an embedded system actually is, and why working on embedded software is the coolest thing you could ever do!
What's an embedded...
Five ‘80s Movies that Inspired Me to Become an Engineer
Five ‘80s Movies that Inspired Me to Become an Engineer
Movies and pop culture can incredibly impact society, particularly children. However, we never really know what conversation, demonstration, or movie could inspire someone to become an engineer. Recently in the Beningo house, we ran out of the film to watch for movie night. In desperation, I decided to find great movies from my childhood in the 80s. To my surprise, I realized how influential several of these films inspired me to...
My Guiding Principles As An Engineer
These are my guiding principles as an embedded systems software engineer, forged over 40 years of experience. They shape the way I work and approach problems, and maintain my attitude in the face of adversity.
You may find them useful as well, whether working as a developer, a manager, or an executive, alone or on a team, when things are going well, and when they aren't.
They're a combination of favorite quotes and my own bits of derivative wisdom I've sprinkled...
Advice For High School Students
ContentsYour Career Archive
Clive Maxfield and Adam Taylor recently published a series of blog posts about how to get and keep an engineering job, discussing preparation in high school through early career stages. I've just started a new job, and wanted to add some information on a particular aspect of changing jobs, the employment background check.
Over the past 10 years, I've changed jobs several times. Three of those jobs, including the most recent two, have required background checks as part of...
Review: Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager
Software development projects are notorious for having problems. Late, over budget, not working properly, making people's lives miserable all around. Embedded systems add the further complication of hardware to that.
How many of us have lived through problematic projects? Hopefully some of them have at least been ultimately successful to make all the suffering worth it in the end, but there are plenty that haven't.
I don't consider myself a project manager, or a manager...
The Self-Directed Virtual Internship
A number of my LinkedIn connections are college and university students at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels, from all over the world. The embedded systems community constantly amazes me.
One fallout they're experiencing from COVID19 is cancellation of summer internships. This is very unfortunate, because an internship represents maintaining educational momentum and preparing for launch of a career with a taste of the real working world, along with some financial...
Some Advice For Working From Home
The other day I posted a short video of my WFH setup (and here's a May 1st upgrade). Today I have some general advice for WFH for people who are new to it.
I've been doing it randomly for the past 5 years, usually just one or two days a week here and there. Now it's a full-time thing for the duration of the coronavirus. So some of this wanders afield a bit, settling in for the long haul.
Some of it is based on things I've built up over years. It's unreasonable to expect that...
Review: Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager
Software development projects are notorious for having problems. Late, over budget, not working properly, making people's lives miserable all around. Embedded systems add the further complication of hardware to that.
How many of us have lived through problematic projects? Hopefully some of them have at least been ultimately successful to make all the suffering worth it in the end, but there are plenty that haven't.
I don't consider myself a project manager, or a manager...
The Self-Directed Virtual Internship
A number of my LinkedIn connections are college and university students at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels, from all over the world. The embedded systems community constantly amazes me.
One fallout they're experiencing from COVID19 is cancellation of summer internships. This is very unfortunate, because an internship represents maintaining educational momentum and preparing for launch of a career with a taste of the real working world, along with some financial...
Pay it Forward
A popular car bumper sticker reads, "If you can read this, thank a teacher!" I might say, "If you can read THIS (article on Embedded Related), then you've been blessed with great experiences and/or great educators or volunteers that got you excited about tech and helped you believe that you had a future in this field!" Why not pay it forward by helping other children have those same great experiences? As we enter another season of giving, I hope you consider doing what you can to support the hundreds or thousands of non-profit organizations, educators, and volunteers around the world who are getting kids excited about tech the same way YOU got excited about tech. In this article, I'll share with you a handful of organizations that I know of or donate to that have this mission. How do you like to give back?
Advice For High School Students
ContentsFive ‘80s Movies that Inspired Me to Become an Engineer
Five ‘80s Movies that Inspired Me to Become an Engineer
Movies and pop culture can incredibly impact society, particularly children. However, we never really know what conversation, demonstration, or movie could inspire someone to become an engineer. Recently in the Beningo house, we ran out of the film to watch for movie night. In desperation, I decided to find great movies from my childhood in the 80s. To my surprise, I realized how influential several of these films inspired me to...
Scorchers, Part 1: Tools and Burn Rate
This is a short article about one aspect of purchasing, for engineers.
I had an engineering manager once — I’ll leave his real name out of it, but let’s call him Barney — who had a catchy response to the question “Can I buy XYZ?”, where XYZ was some piece of test equipment, like an oscilloscope or multimeter. Barney said, “Get what you need, need what you get.” We used purchase orders, which when I started in 1996 were these quaint forms on...
A Sneak Peek at the 2024 Embedded Online Conference
The embedded systems industry is evolving at a rapid pace. Just a few years ago, most embedded products were disconnected systems that used bare-metal scheduling techniques. Today, the drive to connect devices and add intelligence at the edge is revolutionizing how we build embedded products. The only way to stay current and not get left behind is to learn and network with colleagues and industry experts continuously.
This year, the 2024 Embedded Online Conference is...
Some Advice For Working From Home
The other day I posted a short video of my WFH setup (and here's a May 1st upgrade). Today I have some general advice for WFH for people who are new to it.
I've been doing it randomly for the past 5 years, usually just one or two days a week here and there. Now it's a full-time thing for the duration of the coronavirus. So some of this wanders afield a bit, settling in for the long haul.
Some of it is based on things I've built up over years. It's unreasonable to expect that...
The Backstreet Consultant
In the uncharted land between Arduino-wielding kids and qualified electronics engineers emerged an entirely new market for embedded work. In this article, based on my personal experience and observations, I will attempt to outline this young market, the forces operating within it, and the kinds of people involved.
A short historyUp until fifteen years ago, give or take, embedded design was done exclusively by trained professionals: not just because of the required technical know-how, but also...
My Guiding Principles As An Engineer
These are my guiding principles as an embedded systems software engineer, forged over 40 years of experience. They shape the way I work and approach problems, and maintain my attitude in the face of adversity.
You may find them useful as well, whether working as a developer, a manager, or an executive, alone or on a team, when things are going well, and when they aren't.
They're a combination of favorite quotes and my own bits of derivative wisdom I've sprinkled...
Five ‘80s Movies that Inspired Me to Become an Engineer
Five ‘80s Movies that Inspired Me to Become an Engineer
Movies and pop culture can incredibly impact society, particularly children. However, we never really know what conversation, demonstration, or movie could inspire someone to become an engineer. Recently in the Beningo house, we ran out of the film to watch for movie night. In desperation, I decided to find great movies from my childhood in the 80s. To my surprise, I realized how influential several of these films inspired me to...
Review: Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager
Software development projects are notorious for having problems. Late, over budget, not working properly, making people's lives miserable all around. Embedded systems add the further complication of hardware to that.
How many of us have lived through problematic projects? Hopefully some of them have at least been ultimately successful to make all the suffering worth it in the end, but there are plenty that haven't.
I don't consider myself a project manager, or a manager...
Some Advice For Working From Home
The other day I posted a short video of my WFH setup (and here's a May 1st upgrade). Today I have some general advice for WFH for people who are new to it.
I've been doing it randomly for the past 5 years, usually just one or two days a week here and there. Now it's a full-time thing for the duration of the coronavirus. So some of this wanders afield a bit, settling in for the long haul.
Some of it is based on things I've built up over years. It's unreasonable to expect that...
My Guiding Principles As An Engineer
These are my guiding principles as an embedded systems software engineer, forged over 40 years of experience. They shape the way I work and approach problems, and maintain my attitude in the face of adversity.
You may find them useful as well, whether working as a developer, a manager, or an executive, alone or on a team, when things are going well, and when they aren't.
They're a combination of favorite quotes and my own bits of derivative wisdom I've sprinkled...
Your Career Archive
Clive Maxfield and Adam Taylor recently published a series of blog posts about how to get and keep an engineering job, discussing preparation in high school through early career stages. I've just started a new job, and wanted to add some information on a particular aspect of changing jobs, the employment background check.
Over the past 10 years, I've changed jobs several times. Three of those jobs, including the most recent two, have required background checks as part of...
In TCL FPGA Wizards Trust
In TCL FPGA wizards trust. The best way to learn TCL is exposure therapy which we will be doing here using two examples: One for creation of a project with synthesis and implementation steps and another for simulation.
Advice For High School Students
ContentsPatents and the little guy working at home
There are pluses and minuses to having patents. As it stands now the patent system is horribly broken and not doing what the founders intended when they set it up.I have some patents through work and it does look nice to see my name on the patent database. It's kinda like wetting yourself in a dark suit - it gives you a warm feeling but nobody notices.Don Lancaster makes a compelling argument that for the little guy it’s best to avoid the whole mess to the degree possible.
Getting smacked by the long tail of poor design habits
In the 80’s I did a fair amount of consulting and enjoyed it greatly.
I would come in, hear what it was the person hiring me wanted; meet with the people that I needed to work with and proceed to toss together a design, parts list, and program. Sometimes I would work with them to get a board into production. I knew my chips and code and could make all kinds of amazing toys.
One of my biggest repeat customers eventually offered a good salary at the same time that my wife was feeling...
What I Learned From Crashing and Burning in Grad School
Have you ever felt so consumed by something that it started to crowd other parts of your life? So obsessed with success in a particular area that you could hardly think about anything else? I found myself in exactly that spot in 2018 when I first started graduate school; I wanted to succeed so badly that I worked myself to the bone and I let even my marriage and my health suffer in service to it. This state of being is, believe it or not, NOT conducive to success, in neither the long-term nor the short-term. But it took two authors and one pivotal book for me to understand that, to see the pit I had dug for myself, and to begin the path back out. In this blog, I want to share with you my journey in the hopes that you can avoid the mistakes I made.
