Brian's Brain
EDN contributor Brian Dipert exposes, analyzes and opines on diverse topics in technology.
Two steps forward, one step back: a mixed-results service tier upgrade, and backup power compensation for customer service out of whack
- 05.21.2013
A cable Internet service tier upgrade produces mixed results, and the surrounding circumstances expose sub-par customer service. Read More...
Networking woes: design flaws exposed
- 05.15.2013
Why don't all routers and access points "sniff" the spectrum upon initial startup and pick the channels that are least inhabited by other existing transmitters? Read More...
Networking woes: understandable ignorance exposed
- 05.07.2013
Many unnecessary product returns and replacements might occur due to spectrum interference issues like this one. Read More...
Entertainment Experience's Color3: HDMI image processing (and switching) done inexpensively
- 04.30.2013
Programmable logic suppliers have been saying for years that their chips were displacing ASICs from consumer electronics devices. This case study exemplifies the trend. Read More...
Two steps forward, one step back: The WAN tether's now faster, but the router (repeatedly) knocked the LAN out of whack
- 04.23.2013
Bizarrely behaving routers and other similar CE situations drive the average consumer nuts. Back to basics, anyone? Read More...
HBO Go: Alternative and unbundled content access evolutions are moving very slowly
- 04.15.2013
The iTunes music distribution model shows that if you make content access straightforward and reasonably cost-effective, plenty of folks will happily choose the ethical path. Read More...
Flash memory-inclusive drives: ensuring that mass storage will continue to thrive
- 04.11.2013
Plenty of computing and other applications will continue to exist where a HDD is an acceptable storage solution, but flash memory is increasingly starting to show up, specifically in a "hybrid hard drive' augmented fashion. Read More...
Flash memory-inclusive mass storage drives: mainstream implementations have finally arrived
- 04.02.2013
Flash memory's steadily decreasing pricing and increased capacity are transforming the mass storage industry, in both SSD and "hybrid" drive configurations. Read More...
Personal information syncing: 1Password adroitly handles the whole thing
- 03.27.2013
1Password isn't cheap, but it was money well spent, given the service's robustness and feature-richness. Read More...
I've got that syncing feeling … and it's quite appealing
- 03.19.2013
Conventional networking has a few notable shortcomings. That's why it's a good idea to sync a common calendar, contacts, and task list data set across multiple systems and operating systems. Read More...
The Chromebook Pixel: Google must think we're fools
- 03.14.2013
With the Chromebook Pixel, Google has proven that it can make gear with comparable cosmetic polish to Apple's products. Now it needs to figure out how to make gear with functionality and price tags that have equivalent appeal. Read More...
Google Voice: Free (after initial low-cost hardware purchase) VoIP still sounds nice to me
- 03.07.2013
When a $40 one-time hardware investment delivers ongoing gratis and robust domestic telephone service, it's hard to complain. And considering it's a piece of consumer electronics equipment, that's saying a heck of a lot! Read More...
The jailbreak: When playing cat-and-mouse with Apple, it pays not to wait
- 02.28.2013
Is jailbreaking Apple hardware worth it? The answer: probably not as much as it used to be, particularly now that Apple officially supports capabilities that used to only be capable via a jailbreak. But still, the answer is "yes." Read More...
Two displays, one video output: A Matrox workaround works pretty well, but isn't perfect
- 02.26.2013
If only there was some way to convince a single DisplayPort output that two displays were connected to it, instead of pulling a twice-as-wide virtual-single-display trick. With that said, the trick that Matrox plays on the MacBook Pro is pretty convincing. Read More...
Beating the heat: A NAS's CPU requires a critical mass of software in order to compete
- 02.25.2013
Designing inexpensive but insufficiently reliable or otherwise robust products might ensure short-term sales, but it also creates high (and costly) product returns and cultivates customer animosity that does long-term brand harm. Read More...
Beating the heat: Deal with it if you hope to compete
- 02.20.2013
After multiple seemingly heat-related HDD failures, it seems obvious that Linksys' NAS200 was poorly designed in this regard, perhaps in striving to reduce the bill-of-materials cost. Read More...
PCs' stagnancy: More examples, and a resurrection strategy
- 02.13.2013
Increased core counts don't always deliver compelling returns-on-investment, but Moore's Law continues to deliver a reduction in the amount of energy required to complete a given computing task. Performance per watt will be increasingly important, and its effects will be felt in the new system form factors it enables. Read More...
Tablets' ascendancy: due in no small part to PCs' stagnancy
- 02.12.2013
The recent success of tablets at the expense of conventional computers derives in no small part from the upstarts' inherent advantages, but it's also a reflection of the fact that people like to regularly buy things, and conventional computers' evolution has plateaued. Read More...
A smartphone screen shattered, customer service mastered
- 02.06.2013
Great hardware isn't enough to ensure market success. Great hardware combined with great software still isn't enough. Great service and support is the key piece of the puzzle that Apple gets, and so many companies miss. Does your company get it? Read More...
A screen cracked, an upgrade whacked: Verizon's clever (or, depending on your perspective, sacked)
- 02.05.2013
Got an unlimited-data plan on Verizon? In the not-too-distant future, you'll inevitably be forced off it due to the combination of your existing gear's demise and a dearth of LTE-less replacement hardware. You lose. Verizon and its shareholders win. What a country! Read More...
Ultra HDTV: A Complete Waste of Consumers' Money
- 01.30.2013
There have been a lot of comparisons and contrasts between this year's "Ultra HDTV" hype and the "3-D TV" promotion of the not-too-distant past. But "Ultra HDTV” won't mean a darn thing once you get out of the electronics superstore and your nose is no longer pressed up against the display. Read More...
Ensuring bandwidth and QoS: Several unfortunate technology back-steps
- 01.29.2013
Another IEEE 802.11 standard. And another new networking technology. Two more sub-par implementations. This is becoming disappointingly predictable. Read More...
Ensuring QoS: A router transition creates a Wi-Fi (and other, lesser) mess
- 01.25.2013
Why, nearly a decade after the first unveiling of "Pre-N" wireless networking gear, are there vendor-versus-vendor incompatibilities? And what does this say about the prospects of next-generation standards such as 802.11ac? Read More...
Ensuring QoS: A router transition delivers tangible results
- 01.15.2013
A router upgrade finally delivers the QoS capabilities necessary for glitch-free telephony ... but isn't completely trouble-free. Read More...
Form factor and feature set: Slight variations can make a substantial difference
- 01.10.2013
A Christmas gift reminds this engineer of the importance of form factor and function, and of the fundamental differences between techie early adopters and mass market consumers. Read More...
Assessing Newspaper Options: An Online-Always Workaround, And Initial Impressions
- 01.04.2013
There's nothing like the tactile experience of reading a print newspaper. But then again, I'm an “old-timer.” Younger readers will probably be perfectly content with a newspaper's digital edition. And if you're price-conscious, there's always the free content available on the newspaper website. Read More...
Assessing newspaper options: Is print best left forgotten?
- 12.21.2012
Digging into the digital and print format-option details for newspapers hasn't helped determine which candidate (if any) to choose long-term. Read More...
Benchmarking MoCA: Multi-stream testing pushes more TCP data through the connection 'straw'
- 12.18.2012
MoCA, 802.11n, and Gigabit Ethernet deliver even more impressive bandwidth results with a four-simultaneous-stream data set of performance tests ... at least when using TCP. Read More...
Benchmarking MoCA: Single-stream results suggest that HomePlug AV shouldn't worry MoCA one iota
- 12.14.2012
Actiontec's MoCA (multimedia over coax) adapters predictably delivered higher bandwidth, over both TCP and UDP, than HomePlug AV powerline adapter counterparts. The impressive speed of 5 Ghz wide-channel 802.11n Wi-Fi was more surprising. Read More...
Benchmarking MoCA: Does coax meet your bandwidth quota?
- 12.04.2012
This series will document the experiences (and results) benchmarking the Actiontec MoCA adapters against Wi-Fi, GbE Ethernet, and a pair of NETGEAR XAV5001 "500 Mbps" HomePlug AV powerline adapters. Read More...
Wise words from Einstein, Tesla, Spock, and others
10 tips for a successful engineering resume
Lincoln is issued patent, May 22, 1849
Accidental engineering: 10 mistakes turned into innovation
6 famous people you may not know are engineers
The truth about Cloud security
Gears are discovered on the Antikythera mechanism, May 17, 1902
