When you’re speaking to someone face to face, it’s easy to understand what they’re saying. After all, we don’t only speak with our mouths; we actually communicate using our bodies too. When face to face, you can read someone’s hand gestures, body language, tone of voice and facial expressions. All of this makes it very easy to understand what the person is saying. Online it’s […]

I have discovered over the years several types of minds. The “open mind” which catches everything except the truth. The “analytical mind” which organizes everything to the point of sterility. The “closed mind” which you can bounce ideas and they never stick. For every man, there is the “woman’s mind.” Every husband knows if he wants to change his wife’s mind, all he has to […]

Brexit – the decision of the UK to leave the European Union – was supposed to have deeply negative impacts on London’s banking industry. Analysts have long pointed out that the EU is by far the UK’s biggest trade partner, and worried that the country would lose its closest market. In reality, Brexit appears to have had very little effect on the dominance of London […]

As big as my ears are, you would think I would be able to hear everything I am listening to. I like to think I am hearing what I am listening to but I have so many illustrations that prove otherwise. I’m not sure what it is, but I am working on it with the help of the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. It was […]

The failure modes of a mechatronic system include failure modes of mechanical, electrical, computer, and control subsystems, which could be classified as hardware and software failures. The failure analysis of mechatronic systems consists of hardware and software fault detection, identification (diagnosis), isolation, and recovery (immediate or graceful recovery), which requires intelligent control. The hardware fault detection could be facilitated by redundant information on the system […]

Communication without being physically tied-up to wires has always been of interest and mobile and wireless communication networks promise that. The last few years have witnessed unprecedented growth in wireless communication networks. Significant advancements have been made in the technologies that support wireless communication environment and there is much more to come in the future. The devices used for wireless communication require certain features that […]

If you run an online business with a higher risk of chargebacks and want to process credit card transactions, you need a high-risk merchant account. But what is a high-risk merchant account and how do you know you need one? To open a high-risk merchant account you need to find an acquiring bank that will underwrite your business. However, to increase your chances of getting […]

The interface described by IEEE 488 standard, which will be referred to as GPIB in this chapter, is used to connect instruments to test and measurement systems. Examples of such instruments are digital voltmeters, storage oscilloscopes, printers, and plotters. In general, these instruments are called GPIB devices. These devices operate under the coordination of a controller. Most modern systems consist of a cluster of such […]

Nano machines are devices that range in size from the smallest of MEMS devices down to devices assembled from individual molecules. This section briefly introduces energy sources, structural hierarchy, and the projected future of the assembly of nano machines. Built from molecular components performing individual mechanical functions, the candidates for energy sources to actuate nano machines are limited to those that act on a molecular […]

There is no strict border between microprocessors and microcontrollers because certain chips can access external code and/or data memory (microprocessor mode) and are equipped with particular peripheral components. Some microcontrollers have an internal RC oscillator and do not need an external component. However, an external quartz or ceramic resonator or RC network is frequently connected to the built-in, active element of the clock generator. Clock […]