The challenge of designing in-body communications
by Ake Sivard, Peter Bradley, Peter Chadwick, and Henry Higgins
How do you get data out of a human body? This fascinating article describes the power, durability, and RF challenges of designing an embedded system that “users” swallow.

Opto-electrical isolation of the I² C-Bus
by Steve Blozis
The I² C-bus is fabulously popular and successful as a low-cost way to attach chips together in small embedded systems. In some systems, though, these chips need to be opto-isolated to avoid damage from stray electrical current in harsh environments. This hands-on article shows how to isolate I2C devices without giving up the advantages of this popular bus.

The three Ps of value in selecting DSPs
by Gene Frantz and Leon Adams
The demand for DSPs has outstripped the supply of engineers and programmers who are familiar with them. Price, performance, and power are the first three criteria most developers evaluate. This high-level article walks you through the process of weighing and balancing these and other characteristics.

Programming Pointers
Mapping memory efficiently
by Dan Saks
How you define pointers to memory-mapped device registers can have an impact on the efficiency of your device drivers.

Programmer's Toolbox
How can they learn?
by Jack Crenshaw
Part Rube Goldberg, part Tinker Toys, Jack's retro toys are taught the basics of digital logic and computer programming in an unusual way.

Break Points
The middle way
by Jack G. Ganssle
Engineering schedules are notoriously fickle, but Jack shows a proven technique for getting close to the truth.

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Offshore tempest in a teapot
by Jim Turley
Offshoring is nothing new and nothing to be concerned about — unless it hits too close to home.