Embedded Computing: September 2006 Archives

The cool tech award for the Ryder cup 2006 has to be awarded to the event photography. The event photographers were mingling with the supporters in the Ryder cup bar in the tented village. Their process for taking and distributing photos was simple but elegant.

Before taking a photo of a group of people they would scan a card that had a barcode on it and give it to Joe Public. They would then take a photo of Joe Public, the image was transferred via wi-fi to a printing station in the tented village. All Joe Public had to do was present the card at the printing station and receive their free photo.

I am in sunny Darmstadt attending FDL 06. Looking forward to some interesting presentations and discussions on how modelling languages can assist in the design of system on chip products.

An article in the Sunday Tribune points out that 20 - 30 % of Dell's revenue originates from extended warranties and service contracts. This goes some way to explaining why they advertise a laptop/desktop with a 90 day collect and return policy so as to have a low price, yet when you buy online they seem to automatically change this to a 3 year warranty (this has been my experience).

A 3 year policy for a laptop that you lug around a lot makes sense, it does not make sense for a desktop that sits in a corner however. So the next time you shop online pay attention to what is suggested by the supplier.