Editorial

 123 results found for Editorial, displaying items 1 - 20

August 2010   [Editorial]
Remembering A Shining Light
Live each day like it’s your last. I remember those words, spoken to me when I was much younger, by an older and wiser friend. He better understood their meaning then, but he was able to teach me at least part of the lesson behind them. The clarity of his wisdom at first captivated me, and later made us friends. And during each trip to California, and visit to his company, then called Hewlett-Packard Co., the ...  — Jack Browne

July 2010   [Editorial]
The Post-IMS Report Card
Over the last couple of years, smart phones have become critical platforms for the use of maps and navigation. Now, those devices are beginning to propel the market for location-based services (LBSs). Currently, for example, Apple’s iPhone already has more than 6000 LBS applications available. With manufacturing costs in China set to rise, however, smart-phone makers will soon be pressured to adapt their manufacturing needs to a changing global economy. According...  — Jack Browne

June/July 2010 Defense Electronics Supplement   [Editorial]
Mixing The Old And The New
In various works of science  fiction and, to the layman, work conducted in military research laboratories is often no diff erent than science  fiction—the history of a species is oft en summarized in two great texts, one called “the old” and one called “the new.” The two categories can also be applied to many military programs and their use of electronics. Military systems rely on proven (old) technologies as much as they do on emerging (new)...  — Jack Browne

June 2010   [Editorial]
The Post-IMS Report Card
June is usually a good time to conduct a midyear assessment, not only of your company’s business but of your personal goals. Returning to work from the annual IEEE Microwave Theory & Techniques Society’s (MTT-S) International Microwave Symposium (IMS) makes it all the easier to evaluate those goals, especially after so many tales of fortune and woe from the IMS exhibition floor. There are many shows of interest to the RF/microwave community, especially in...  — Jack Browne

May 2010   [Editorial]
Stay In The Know At IMS 2010
The microwave industry has continuously produced innovations that changed and enhanced peoples’ lives. Behind this work have been some brilliant individuals with lofty goals. Despite this creative intelligence, however, most individuals are “human” in that they want to stay connected and be “in the know.” Traditionally, the International Microwave Symposium (IMS) exhibition floor is a place where new products are launched, technology innovations are introduced, and new ...  — Nancy Friedrich

April 2010   [Editorial]
Of Technology And Social Need
Communications technology has come a long way in a lifetime. Once telephone calls were on wires, and television signals over the air. Now television is over metal wire, glass wire, and even from space (satellite), and telephone calls are broadcast over the air. Cellular phone companies are also sending television signals over their networks. These changing capabilities are a tribute to advances in wireless, optical, and satellite communications, but they have side...  — Jack Browne

March/April 2010 Defense Electronics Supplement   [Editorial]
An Integrated Look At Military Electronics
Design engineers working in military and aerospace applications are blessed/cursed with an array of choices in electronic components, devices, materials, design software, services, and test equipment. At one time it was easier: simply look for required parts on the Qualified Products List (QPL) to ensure that they were of a grade suitable for use in a military environment. But that was then, and today’s designer must deal with cost pressures on every...  — Jack Browne

March 2010   [Editorial]
Doing More With Passive Components
Improvements in passive components often come slow and hard, but they still come. Amazingly, after all these years of living with well-established passive circuit designs, such as Wilkinson power dividers, one might think that there was no longer room for improvements. But most manufacturers of RF/microwave passive components take great pride in their products, even those that have been in the catalog for a number of years, and most relentlessly pursue ways to...  — Jack Browne

February 2010   [Editorial]
What's In The Package?
At RF and microwave frequencies, the more pertinent question often is, “What is the package?” At higher frequencies, the package can have as much effect on the performance as the circuit it houses and it is better to think of the package and the device as inseparable. Years ago, custom packages were needed to ensure that the performance of microwave circuits was not “thrown away” once in a package. For applications where protecting the circuit was tantamount to...  — Jack Browne

January 2010   [Editorial]
Sniff Out The Best Security Solution
For decades, generations of children have fantasized about what they could do if they had Superman’s x-ray vision. Now, privacy advocates are worried that airline and other screeners will soon have comparable capabilities. The call for the widespread use of full-body scanners in airports is a response to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s attempt to blow up an airliner over Detroit this past December 25. The question is whether such scanners are actually the most effective...  — Nancy Friedrich

December 2009   [Communications]
’Tis The Season To Send Data
This holiday season, iPhones are at the top of many wish lists. People want to be able to take videos or pictures of their kids opening presents, for example, and upload them to Facebook right away. Yet as more smartphones are purchased by consumers, a problem arises: Cellular networks simply are not prepared to handle this amount of data. In the near future and beyond, this need promises headaches for carriers but opportunities for firms with solutions that raise...  — Nancy Friedrich

November 2009   [Editorial]
Flexible Software For Hard Times
Many designs within these pages begin in software. More specifically, high-frequency designers now rely on software simulation tools to predict the performance of a design, or calculate the dimensions of transmission lines in a microstrip matching network, or create a high-quality-factor (Q) notch in a bandreject filter. Their software tools have evolved from home-grown code to more complex software “environments” combining circuit, system, electromagnetic (EM) ...  — Jack Browne

October 2009   [Editorial]
Firms Prepare For The Unthinkable
For those who commute into New York City on a regular basis, thoughts of September 11, 2001 are never far away. The increased ever-present police presence at mass-transit facilities together with signs and announcements about “staying alert” serve as a constant reminder. Lest we forget, new plots are sometimes unearthed and made public. On September 11 of this year, for example, one group was allegedly planning to blow up a variety of NYC buildings. Because of the...  — Nancy Friedrich

September 2009   [Editorial]
Military Vital To RF Industry
Commercial business has accounted for some boom years in this industry. But financial stability tends to come from military markets. A sampling of companies at the recent MTT-S exhibition in Boston revealed the importance of military customers to the RF/microwave industry, since most of the companies enjoying any kind of success this year can thank military electronic markets for their good fortunes. On the other hand, those depending on commercial applications have ...  — Jack Browne

July 2009   [Editorial]
The Changing Ways Of RF Design
Designing circuits to match a transistor to 50 Ohms used to require sheets of paper preprinted with a Smith Chart, and then finding input and output matches. But design is “paperless” now, and the world has gone to using computer-aided-engineering (CAE) software not only for the matching networks but for anything else needed in a circuit or system. High-frequency designers rely on a variety of CAE tools, for linear and nonlinear circuits, electromagnetic ...  — Jack Browne

June 2009   [Editorial]
To Some, Safety Comes At A Hefty Price
When cellular telecom services began rolling out on a wide scale, many microwave companies downplayed their defense heritage as they jockeyed for a position in the expanding commercial market. As the growth in communications dipped and then hit a plateau, however, microwave firms realized how fortunate they were that some of their business remained in military technologies. Following September 11, 2001, the call for military solutions grew while a need for...  — Nancy Friedrich

May 2009   [Conferences]
Comparing Notes At The Boston MTT-S
Each year at this time, the high-frequency industry prepares for the ritual known as the Microwave Theory & Techniques Society (MTT-S) Symposium & Exhibition, this year scheduled for early June in Boston, MA. For most companies, it is not a question of whether to attend, but who to send. For some, it is an opportunity to unveil new products. For others, it is important to be there, among friends and competitors, and to assess the company’s achievements...  — Jack Browne

April 2009   [Editorial]
Customer Service Extends To The Web
Microwave companies are part of a small, closeknit community. Relationships with customers are strong and many customers know about new products before they are formally announced. Many companies are so familiar with their customers’ requirements that they can match new products to those needs. Such closeness lends much charm to this industry. But it also has led to some bad habits concerning customer service. Many companies fail to realize that their web sites are...  — Nancy Friedrich

March 2009   [Editorial]
Be Proactive About Passive Components
Passive components are largely ignored in highfrequency circuits, until they become a problem. They are the fundamental building blocks of electronic circuits and, like bricks and lumber in the building industry, are assumed to perform as advertised. It is not by accident that this issue features a special report on materials by Editor Nancy Friedrich (see p. 28). The focus of that story is on numerous refinements made to composites to increase their...  — Jack Browne

February 2009   [Editorial]
Broadband Stimulus Raises Eyebrows
For the most part, the Microwaves & RF editorial staff believes that political analysis and commentary are best left to the editors and columnists featured in daily newspapers and news magazines. Yet we also realize that we are based in the US and as such are affected by the plans and policies of the nationâ??s president. Take, for example, the stimulus bill that many are hoping will stave off the deepening of this economic crisis. Because part of this bill centers on broadband...  — Nancy Friedrich





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