In a comment about leJOS: Java based OS for Lego RCX Karl-Martin has news of his 'cool' application for a TINI system ;-) Brrr!

Doc Searls found embedded Linux in all kinds of stuff at Comdex:

In most cases, the companies didn't even give me reasons why they built their boxes with Linux. It was like I asked why they used a TCP/IP stack or plastic in their cases. Clearly, embedding Linux is getting to be less of a brainer every day.

Colin pitches in with news about a couple of Pentium 4 articles about the latest member of the Intel family. There will no doubt be a plathora of industry comment about the P4 so I'll start to keep a list of links brought to my attention or I've stumbled on myself. Starting with:

• http://www.aceshardware.com/Spades/read.php?article_id=15000196
• http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/00q4/001120/index.html
• http://www.hardocp.com/reviews/cpus/intel/pentiumfour15z/
• http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1360
• http://www.planethardware.com/features/cpu/p4_1500_firstlook/
• http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardware/guides/pentium4/
• http://firingsquad.gamers.com/hardware/p4preview/default.asp
• http://www.hothardware.com/hh_files/CCAM/p4.htm
• http://www.gamersdepot.com/hardware/systems/p4/001.htm
• http://www.dansdata.com/p4.htm
• http://www.jc-news.com/parse.cgi?pc/news/big/200011/18
• http://www.digit-life.com/articles/pentium4/index.html
• http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/3/14840.html
• http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/3/14842.html
• http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/3/14843.html
• http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/3/14846.html - contains a further 24 links to The Register coverage of the P4.
• http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/3/14852.html - a round-up of some of the verdicts that are already in about the P4.

I think that the equivalent of the http://friday.editthispage.com CAD assignment this year will be one comparing the Pentium 4 with A N Other processor.

How Microprocessors Work

This interactive site is based on a real-life exhibit installed in the Intel Museum in Santa Clara, California.

Great Microprocessors of the Past and Present

Recent Processor Architects

via SiT: What Makes a Successful Online Student? (with self-assessment links and other useful info)

Compaq's weekly The Rapidly Changing Face of Computing Technology Journal is worth reading.

I liked the following quote cited in RCFoC for Nov. 13, 2000 - The Changing Faces...

"You'll have at least five jobs after you graduate, four of which haven't been invented yet."

Did I miss a Saturday post? Probably!

[Later] In fact, yes I did. Bummer. Now I have a gap in my calendar for the 18th November.

I would have managed to slip in under the deadline of midnight - since the Conversant server seems to run a minute or so behind my Powerbook's time - but I've noticed that when I have Frontier and/or Radio Userland running in the background my Powerbook becomes unresponsive for 30 seconds or so on the stroke of midnight. So, just as I was about to post the first line of this message as Saturday's contribution midnight struck on my machine and, like Cinderella, it seemed to rush off somewhere else to do someone else's bidding. I guess it's the 24-hour daemon(s) kicking in.

Why I should bother missing a day is an interesting psychological question. Anyhow not much happened today and 11:55pm was the first time I'd logged in - hence the lack of a jotter entry.

The hack furby challenge has been won!

The prize of two hundred and fifty dollars was won by Canadian computer consultant Jeffrey Gibbons, who submitted the winning prototype by Fedex. The design is being published to the public under the terms of the competition, and orders are being taken for a "Hack Furby" kit over the Internet.

"The cash prize is just a token," explained van der Linden, "The real prize is the bragging rights to the accomplishment, and the benefit of sharing it with the world. Computer Science departments can now base their real-time programming courses on this very low-cost equipment."

leJOS: Java based OS for Lego RCX

Like its predecessor (TinyVM), leJOS is a tiny Java (tm) runtime. It functions as replacement firmware for the Lego Mindstorms (tm) RCX, a programmable brick which is part of Lego's Robotics Invention System (tm) (RIS). The RCX contains a Hitachi H8300 processor and 32 Kb of RAM (of which 28 Kb are safe for the firmware to use). We have plans to port leJOS to other small devices.

<muse>Sounds like this would be a cool way to teach embedded systems!</muse>