Posts by Bob the Bastard

Renesas rumours: Semi seeks $1.3bn stimulus, stiffs 12,000

Re: Not surprised...

Faced with the phrase "Please select a product" and a selection box showing "MPU/MCU" followed by a number of other selectors why would I click on a very small link marked "Search for other products". I don't want other products - I want "MPU/MCU". No way it clear that this link will open up a full selection guide.

Microchip - big link "Product selection tools". NXP - select a family, there's a tab marked "Parametric search".

I have an excellent book on web design called "Don't make me think" - the authors first rule. Another of his rules is to make ir clear what someything does. If it's not obvious, you will lose customers.

With apologies to Renesas for not persevering, I rest my case.

Not suprised...

I'm choosing a microcontroller for a new project. Looked at the Renesas website - lousy intercative selector guide. I can't select what serial ports are available (I want CAN), nor if the device has ADC inputs. Gave up as I couldn't be a***d to trawl through the entire range looking for something that matched my requirements. ST, NXP and Microchip all let me see relevant devices within seconds. No wonder Renesas are in trouble.

GCSE, A-level science exams ARE dumbed down - watchdog

I despair of the education system...

I've interviewed four people face to face in the last two weeks, all with an Msc in electronics. Not one could read a circuit diagram or tell me the gain of a simple inverting amplifier op-amp stage. How on earth did they get their FIRST degree? I've also interviewed three people who claim to be profficient in C but not one could tell me what 'void', 'static' or 'const' meant in a simple function prototype. It would have been cruel to ask about constant pointers. And these are the best of about 40 CVs.... Guys, a second degree will not get you a job. Ability will. The lack of skilled staff is costing industry a fortune.

For the record I'm a grumpy old engineer who got a polytechnic degree in the '70s. I'm certain it was harder, we came out much better equiped and the tax payer got their monies worth. Now you just throw away your own money to come out with nothing saleable. Recruiting in the '80s I could get a dozen people in a week who could answer, without hesitation, the questions I'm asking today. Where have they gone?

Anyone want a job in real-time embedded C and/or elctronics design?

As there is nothing funny in this, I didn't bring a coat.

Euro court: eBay etc can be liable in fake tat cases

It's called keyword spamming...

... and has been banned on Ebay ever since I joined 8 years ago. Even using 'not' doesn't make it legal. If you see it, report the listing - they may not do much but sometimes you get a result.

Facebooking juror gets 8 months

Errr...

No its not. What goes on in the jury room is always confidential. The judge makes that clear to you. Or did when I did jury service back in the 70s. It's also why there have been no decent studies on how juries work.

Orange Cash goes live, O2 Money goes to Ireland

They have succeeded, but do have limitations

Prepaid cards are already common in the UK. They have there place for people with a poor credit history, no income, etc. Some are also available for under 18s - I got one each for my kids so they could buy on line without using my card and learn to control their own finances.

The problem is that many games web sites won't accept prepaid cards due to fraudulent use of stolen cards - even though it is the holder that loses, not the web site. Makes the two I got virtually useless but for some people they are a good idea.

Money for nothing – and your (gambling) kicks for free

The key point...

...that no one has mentioned is that the bookies give you credit to place a free bet. You can't take the cash. This is simply a way of converting that free bet into cash. You bet with the free credit in such a way that you can't lose. Now you've used you bet you have (almost) the same amount of credit as you started with - but now it can be withdrawn.

I did this for a while but it got harder and harder to find new offers.