MontaVista, as you know it is an embedded Linux Company said its latest system is capable for bringing one-second boot for you. Besides, it has released a video in which you can see the vehicle dashboard system that goes from cold boot into a “fully operational” state in that time.
But, this one second booting is not directly translatable to Linux OS based environment. Nevertheless, you have to launch additional drivers and process for a full-fledged OS.

Click to know about Microsoft Web Based MS Office 2010

Normally, you can have the fast booting OS from Intel’s Netbook Linux OS, Moblin. This chipmaker recently has made a collaboration with Phoenix Technologies that brings a fast boot technology dubbed as HyperSpace. This recent software features a stripped down Linux environment with a browser, Wi-Fi software in order to boot your system quick.

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Die Hibernate-Funktionalität lässt sich interaktiv über das “Power Options” Control Panel Applet (powercfg.cpl) ein-/ausschalten.

Die Hibernate-Funktionalität lässt sich folgendermaßen per Kommdozeile  ein-/ausschalten:

powercfg.exe /H ON|OFF

Um die Hibernate-Funktion per Programm (API) ein-/auszuschalten, ist die Win32 API Funktion CallNtPowerInformation mit dem Parameter InformationLevel=10 (SystemReserveHiberFile) zu verwenden. Der Parameter lpInputBuffer muss dazu auf einen bool’schen Wert zeigen, für die Länge von nInputBufferSize genügt 1.

Beispiel:

bool bOnOff = true;
CallNtPowerInformation(10, &bOnOff, sizeof(bOnOff), NULL, 0);

Hinweis: Das kurzzeitige Aus- und wieder Einschalten der Hibernate-Funktion kann verwendet werden, um zu Verhindern, dass Windows nach dem Aufwecken aus dem Hibernate-Zustand nach 5 Minuten wieder schlafen geht wenn keine Benutzereingaben (Maus, Tastatur) erfolgen. Dieses “Feature” ist hier beschrieben.

Ich arbeite seit einiger Zeit mit dem .NET Micro Framework 3.0 SP1 auf einem Embedded Master Development System von GHI Electronics. Dabei musste ich feststellen, dass einige der dokumentierten Methoden des .NET Micro Frameworks entweder gar nicht vorhanden sind, oder nur teilweise funktionieren weil z. B. bestimmte Parameter ignoriert werden. Teilweise gibt es auch undokumentierte Methoden. Das ist insofern besonders ärgerlich, als dass bereits das .NET Micro Framework SDK 3.0 February 2009 Documentation Update installiert ist.

Wohlgemerkt handelt es sich hier um Schwächen des .NETMF, nicht jedoch des Embedded Master Modules. Bei dieser Gelegenheit möchte ich den ausgezeichneten Support von GHI Electronics loben, den sie über ihr Forum leisten.

Folgende Fehler habe ich bisher festgestellt:

1. Die Methode RotateBlt ist nicht (mehr) vorhanden. Es gibt keine alternative Möglichkeit, Bitmaps oder andere Objekte zu drehen.
2. Die Füllfarbe (Brush, Gradienten) wird mit Ausnahme von Rectangles bei allen übrigen Shapes ignoriert. Auch die Methoden DrawEllipse und DrawRectangle ignorieren die Brush. In der Praxis bedeutet das, dass ausgefüllte Formen derzeit ausschließlich über Rechtecke (ohne abgerundete Ecken!) oder Bitmaps dargestellt werden können.
3. Die Füllung mit einem linearen Gradienten funktioniert nur bei Rechtecken. Im Gegensatz zur WPF des “großen” .NET Frameworks beziehen sich dabei die Koordinaten des Gradienten nicht relativ auf die Koordinaten des zu füllenden Rechtecks, sondern absolut auf die linke obere Ecke des Bildschirms und sind somit abhängig von der Position des zu füllenden Rechtecks. Radiale Gradienten sowie GradientStops werden derzeit nicht unterstützt.
4. Die Methode Bitmap.GetBitmap() ist vorhanden, jedoch nicht dokumentiert. Sie wird z. B. zum Setzen eines BootImage’s beim Embedded Master benötigt.

IMAGINE CUP 2009

Imagine Cup is the biggest technology competition for college going students globally. This year its bigger and better than ever before. With a variety of competitions in place, there is a great amount of choice for everyone. Showcase your robots or let you art dazzle everyone, you decide.

One world. Unlimited possibilities.

People are starving.  Diseases ravage communities.  Basic education is out of reach for too many people.  Dangerous shifts in the environment affect millions as countries struggle to develop in sustainable ways.  It seems overwhelming – but we can’t throw up our hands and give up.  The answers are all around us in thousands of ideas that happen every day.  Solutions might be in the next few lines of code, a compelling photo or even a simple video game that can teach the world a lesson.

These small sparks set the world’s imagination on fire and lead to change that really matters.  Technology can be the force that transforms these great ideas into real world solutions.  And that’s the point of the Imagine Cup every year – to use technology to make a difference.
We need everyone – software programmers, hardware developers, artists and dreamers  – to imagine a better world, then make it happen.  The Imagine Cup brings together more than 200,000 students from over 100 countries around the world where they compete to help find the answers.  And no matter who comes up with the best solutions – everybody wins!

The 2009 Worldwide Finals: Egypt

Each year the Finals are held in a different city of the world. Past Worldwide Finals include Paris, France (2008); Seoul, South Korea (2007); Delhi, India (2006); Yokohama, Japan (2005); Sao Paulo, Brazil (2004); and Barcelona, Spain (2003). The 2009 Worldwide Finals will be held in Cairo, Egypt in July 2009.

The world can’t wait!  Register now!

The 2009 Theme: Solve the World’s Toughest Problems

In 2009, the Imagine Cup challenges the world’s most talented students to “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today.” Some might use technology to help a brother or sister get an education. Or find entirely new approaches for medicine.  Or discover ways to counter the inequalities that exist between genders around the world.  These students might ensure the sustainability of our planet or help deliver universal primary education.  Yeah, it’s that important.

The United Nations has identified some of the hardest challenges in the world today in its Millennium Goals. This year the Imagine Cup uses these ambitious challenges as a guiding light to inspire change all over the world. Learn more about the eight Millennium Goals.

Competition Categories

Software Design

We are asking students to create real world software and services applications that use Microsoft tools and technology.  It’s not just about the PC anymore – students need to think about taking advantage of mobile devices as well.  Think big!  The judging requires students to use their creativity and drive if they want to compete on the world stage.  This is where legends are born and lives are changed – where an application starts as an idea and ends up being used all over the world.Visit the Software Design competition page to learn more.

Embedded Development

The object of the Embedded Development Invitational is to unleash students’ creativity in an effort to change the world into a better place. They will develop their own embedded device whose function it is to better us all.  The Embedded Development Invitational challenges students to go beyond the PC desktop and work in both hardware and software to build an embedded solution using Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 and the provided embedded platform.

Visit the Embedded Design competition page to lean more!

Game Development

The object of the Game Development Invitational is to create a new game that uses both Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio 3.0 and Visual Studio. Competitors’ games should illustrate the Imagine Cup theme “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today.” This is a chance for students who’ve always enjoyed playing games to create their own game and at the same time help change the global community. The Game Development Invitational is a great opportunity for learning and advancement towards an important step in their budding careers either as a game developer or as an entrepreneur in the game business. This is the students’ opportunity to build a full game from scratch!

Visit the Game Development competition page to learn more!

Robotics and Algorithm

Robots need more than gears and wires – they require highly sophisticated algorithms to interpret and interact with the world around them. This competition is a mathematical obstacle course where students must navigate a series of brain teasers, code challenges and algorithmic puzzles to demonstrate their ability to understand the potential of robots in our world.  This exciting event takes place in a virtual world as students progress through increasingly difficult rounds.

Visit the Robotics and Algorithm competition page to learn more!

IT Challenge

Students are challenged to develop, deploy, and maintain IT systems that are elegant, functional, robust and secure.  This demanding competition requires students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in the science of networks, databases, and servers. They also need to show their analytical abilities and make tough decisions in IT environments.

Visit the IT Challenge competition page to lean more!

MashUp

The object of the MashUp competition is to create a new and useful Web 2.0 application that is connected to the Imagine Cup theme “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today.” Students will use Microsoft PopFly to leverage current third party data and services available on the internet to create a new and unique tool that is effectively consumed by other internet users as their Imagine Cup entry.

Visit the MashUp competition page to learn more!

Photography

Great photographers know a single image can change the world.  In this competition, students communicate a story that explores a critical issue through a photo essay of inspiring still images. The photos must grab the audience and illustrate the students’ personal insight into these global issues.

Visit the Photography competition page to learn more!

Short Film

We all love to go to the movies but some of us love to make movies! Filmmaking is a technical craft combined with the art of storytelling using moving images. A short film has the difficulty of conveying a message in a brief period of time while also being visually stimulating.  In this competition, students will be challenged to create an original short film and also demonstrate excellence in filmmaking at all levels from concept art to polished editing.

Visit the Short Film competition page to learn more!

Design
The object of the Design Invitational is to create a solution of an innovative design for easier machines and human interactions by inspiring students to use the power of technology as means to manifest their creativeness.  The new, innovative design must bring a real benefit and address the challenges of the 2009 Imagine Cup Theme.

Visit the Design competition page to learn more!

PS: In the registration form, kindly fill srajanmani in the referral code column.

I must admit that, being an old timer, I had considered that software tool with loads of suspicion.

“No coding necessary” probably triggered some nerdish response of mine, a shrug full of contempt, close to “I very much doubt a thing can write code better than I” …

Well, I eventually found out what Express is all about.

Cypress Express is an excellent tool when it comes to blazingly fast prototyping.

It is true that it cannot beat me or any pro in generating optimised and finely hand optimised, tuned code.

However where this exceptional application really shines is testing hardware, with proven projects, in less time you can say 1 2 3 (wait, no, just a little bit longer than that).

I have a friend who, a few weeks ago, kept complaining that he was late, had to work during week ends because of a problem with a I2C bus interface, having forgotten that some bit had changed address from one release of a datasheet and another belonging to newer silicon.

Well, sure as hell he is not using, contrary to my suggestions, Cypress! He is using another vendor which does not provide a confortable and practical API, and tools which make programming I2C a dependable and quick activity.

He has been toiling with that thing for about a month, and my friend ended up becoming even less amiable than he usually is. I had to double check whether a system I am designing talks on I2C bus properly, and I wrote and tested both sides of the communication in less than one hour, and it took me so long because I like to keep a relaxed approach and proceed methodically, with order.

I had prepared a logiscope, ready at hand, and I found out I was not going to need it to debug anything, because everything worked, just fine, at first attempt. I was almost disappointed: gee, this thing is keeping me from getting all the fun! Anyway, I don’t know if it is even worth posting this small, but useful I2C bus monitor on this blog, as the application is so easy that it is trivial:

In Express you just need to place on the canvas the icons of I2C slave interface, a valuator, the icon of a LCD panel. You then fill in properties (I2C address being the most important), edit the transfer function (which is something like “if 1 then Display=I2C_value). You assign pins, and program the unit.

That’s all, finished, presto! Building a radio remote control with PSOC wUSB is not nearly more complex than that: a working prototype is something you can assemble on Cypress evaluation boards in less than 15 minutes, from scratch.