Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Rapid prototyping
Device designers in the embedded microprocessor industry are finding new ways to speed up development, shorten requirements generation time, and create embedded graphic user interfaces (GUI) by using tools like the Tilcon GUI Builder on the PC for prototyping. Such tools are more powerful on the bottom line than one might at first imagine. Sure, one could say the tool is all about "building the screens" for the end product, but this is a practical world. Productivity and being on time are key goals in the real world of business. Let's talk about prototyping your embedded GUI and what that really means to your business!
Building and running a live, hands-on prototype is just about the best way that a product design team can reach agreement on the interface and reflect on the requirements' completeness and effectiveness. RAPID prototyping is even better! Flying the Embedded GUI on the screen of your PC with full interactive capability at this stage by real users provides valuable input. Requirements that are incomplete are found and corrected, and new requirements for a better Human-Machine Interface (HMI) implementation can be achieved much earlier in the cycle.
Lack of practical user input, when combined with requirements and specifications that are, frankly, not always complete, becomes a major source of delay and reduced functionality in the electronic product design industry. Oh, and, I almost forgot! Once you start in on the project there is a tiny little thing that might go unnoticed called "CHANGE" that occurs to the requirements and specifications... another adversary to the end goal. Rapid GUI prototyping of the changes on the embedded GUI builder is by far the best way to check out the impact or effect of those changes in an "almost live" fashion.
The Tilcon GUI Builder is codeless and fast. On the development PC the product screens can be built quickly with stock "widgets." Attributes can be quickly modified via tables, and actions and reactions can be defined all within the confines of the GUI Builder toolkit. Turning on a simulation mode makes the widgets come alive! Your team can twiddle, tweak and stress-test the interface to their hearts' content. Then they can write the final specification based on what works!
Lastly, prototyping is improved via the recent integration with Adobe Photoshop. The addition of direct import and export of Photoshop layers leverages the capabilities of the prototype phase by allowing a graphic designer to very quickly add imagery, branding and skins to the embedded GUI prototype. When all is said and done these exact screens can be loaded onto the real-time device board by downloading the 'descriptor files' to the development team's actual product board when it arrives and has been outfitted with the Tilcon runtime engine module pre-built for the specific OS that is running on the device board.
So, there we have it: product design professionals should look for ways to quickly develop GUI prototypes iteratively to very early and very quickly nail down specifications. Simultaneously, this approach reduces the need for an overload of "pretty concept pictures" in far too many Powerpoint presentations created by the varied members of the well-meaning team, without the benefit of the "feel" for the screens the prototype provides.
The product development can indeed proceed earlier at both the technical and artistic levels in parallel with little development disruption when this methodology is used. Higher quality, faster turnaround, and stylish branding are all reasons to adopt an early prototyping strategy. It's time to get that product to market!
Joseph Callaghan has over 25 years of experience in the Embedded design and Product Development industry.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
roulette for beginners
If you aren’t a roulette player, but have walked past a busy roulette wheel in a casino, you may have wondered what all the excitement and commotion was. There is definitely something almost magical and mesmerizing about the spinning wheel and sound of the Ivory ball clinking around and finally settling into one of the pockets. Here is an introduction to the game of roulette for new players.
There are two different types of popular roulette wheels. The most common wheel in the United States is a double zero wheel called American roulette. The American roulette wheel contains the numbers 1 through 36, a 0 and a 00. This creates a house edge of over 5%. The wheel that is most common worldwide is a single zero wheel that is usually called a European roulette wheel. They contain a 0 and the numbers 1 through 36. The house edge on a European wheel is about 2.5%.
You can place a wide range of bets on each roulette spin, offering a wide range of payouts. Here are the most common bets and payouts.
Straight / Single number 35 to 1,Split / Two numbers 17 to 1,Street / Three numbers 11 to 1,Square / Four numbers 8 to 1,Line / Five numbers 6 to 1,Line / Six numbers 5 to 1,Column / All 12 numbers 2 to 1,Dozen / ex 1thru 12 2 to 1,Odd Even Black or White 1 to 1,High (19-36) or Low 1 to 1
With the growth of online casino play, more and more people are playing roulette online. One of the biggest drawbacks for the online roulette player is the bonuses offered by most casinos can’t be cleared playing roulette. For a list of casinos that do let you use roulette play to clear a bonus, see http://www.roulettebonuses.com Remember to always read the terms and conditions of any bonus before accepting it.
Wesley Young is an author and runs a wide range of web sites including http://www.roulettebonuses.com He offers a Free Roulette System there as well. (Note to webmasters, you may use and alter this article for SEO purposes as long as you leave my links intact and live.)
There are two different types of popular roulette wheels. The most common wheel in the United States is a double zero wheel called American roulette. The American roulette wheel contains the numbers 1 through 36, a 0 and a 00. This creates a house edge of over 5%. The wheel that is most common worldwide is a single zero wheel that is usually called a European roulette wheel. They contain a 0 and the numbers 1 through 36. The house edge on a European wheel is about 2.5%.
You can place a wide range of bets on each roulette spin, offering a wide range of payouts. Here are the most common bets and payouts.
Straight / Single number 35 to 1,Split / Two numbers 17 to 1,Street / Three numbers 11 to 1,Square / Four numbers 8 to 1,Line / Five numbers 6 to 1,Line / Six numbers 5 to 1,Column / All 12 numbers 2 to 1,Dozen / ex 1thru 12 2 to 1,Odd Even Black or White 1 to 1,High (19-36) or Low 1 to 1
With the growth of online casino play, more and more people are playing roulette online. One of the biggest drawbacks for the online roulette player is the bonuses offered by most casinos can’t be cleared playing roulette. For a list of casinos that do let you use roulette play to clear a bonus, see http://www.roulettebonuses.com Remember to always read the terms and conditions of any bonus before accepting it.
Wesley Young is an author and runs a wide range of web sites including http://www.roulettebonuses.com He offers a Free Roulette System there as well. (Note to webmasters, you may use and alter this article for SEO purposes as long as you leave my links intact and live.)
vegas poker on net
Lots of people flock to Las Vegas each year to take part in the constant celebration that is life on the Las Vegas strip. The environment is very luxurious, exciting and challenging, and this is appealing to a lot of people. However, not everyone lives in Las Vegas or near Las Vegas. For lots of reasons, even though they may have wanted to go at one point or another, many people have never even been to Las Vegas. Many times people will not once in their life get to experience Las Vegas in all its glory. But the internet provides us with a close second. Now, online you can find Las Vegas poker and Las Vegas games to play right from the comfort of your very home.
If you have ever wanted to play poker in a true Las Vegas setting, if you have an internet connection, you can use your computer to play Las Vegas poker twenty four hours a day, seven days a week! Play Las Vegas poker against other people just like you. Poker is a very fun, challenging and stimulating sport, and now from home you can experience this game just like it would feel in Las Vegas. This type of Las Vegas poker is just a lot more feasible for people to get to and doesn’t require any type of traveling for you or your family.
Las Vegas poker offers the same competitive winnings that the casinos themselves offer, and, again, you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home. Nothing could be easier. Have you experiences Las Vegas poker online yet?
If you have ever wanted to play poker in a true Las Vegas setting, if you have an internet connection, you can use your computer to play Las Vegas poker twenty four hours a day, seven days a week! Play Las Vegas poker against other people just like you. Poker is a very fun, challenging and stimulating sport, and now from home you can experience this game just like it would feel in Las Vegas. This type of Las Vegas poker is just a lot more feasible for people to get to and doesn’t require any type of traveling for you or your family.
Las Vegas poker offers the same competitive winnings that the casinos themselves offer, and, again, you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home. Nothing could be easier. Have you experiences Las Vegas poker online yet?
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