CMP Media's Annual Embedded Systems Conference Silicon Valley Welcomes 10,000 of the World's Leading Electronics Engineers

Hot new technologies, product advancements and emerging trends highlighted CMP Media's Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) (www.embedded.com/esc/sv), which concluded last week. The conference returned to Silicon Valley this year, and welcomed the world's creators of technology -- the engineers, developers and programmers responsible for the technology advancements of tomorrow. 10,000 electronics engineers, members of the international press, investors and business executives crowded the show floor, while attendees chose from 290 classes, tutorials and design seminars -- the industry's most comprehensive technical program. Other highlights included a keynote address by inventor and technology advocate Dean Kamen, and a number of co-located events, such as the 2006 EE Times ACE Awards, Microprocessor Summit, and DSO World.

"It was great being down in the heart of Silicon Valley this year, and seeing such a strong response from both exhibitors and attendees at ESC," said Paul Miller, senior vice president and group director, CMP Media's Electronics and Software Development Media Groups. "What the ESC attendees gather from our extensive technical training sessions and show floor exhibition, they will go on to use in developing the technologies of the future, including consumer electronics, defense technology, automotive advancements and more. We're already thinking of ways to make the experience even more rich in 2007."

On hand were more than 300 exhibitors, like Intel, Sun Microsystems, Texas Instruments, Microsoft, Xilinx, Wind River, and Freescale Semiconductor, showcasing new products and announcements. For a complete recap of news announced at ESC, visit: http://www.embedded.com/esc/sv/pressinfo/exhibitnews

Jim Turley, program chair of ESC and editor in chief of Embedded Systems Design observed several trends emerging at this year's conference.

Renewed Focus on Multiprocessing

"Though multiprocessing has currently emerged in the spotlight thanks to Intel's Core Duo products, it has been around for a while in embedded systems. This week at ESC we've seen much evidence that embedded developers, not PC makers, are well acquainted with multiprocessing hardware and software. Quite a number of companies announced new or upgraded products for multiprocessing systems."

Converting Software into Hardware

"A few companies were announcing and/or demonstrating new technologies that turn programs into chips -- automatically, illustrating that hardware chips and software programs can be one and the same. As an example, Critical Blue from Edinburgh, Scotland showcased a tool that can read existing programs and automatically generate a chip that makes the program run faster. Other companies such as Altera and CoWare featured similar technologies."

Improved debugging

"Every computer program has bugs, but the question is how best to remove them. Debugging tools ranked very high in importance in the 2006 ESD Embedded Survey, and software and hardware vendors have taken that information to heart. Almost every software company announced new or improved debugging tools to help engineers and programmers find and fix annoying mistakes in their products."

"Down market" Strategy

"Quite a few exhibitors at ESC already dominate certain high-end segments of the embedded market: high-end chips, high-end tools, high-end operating systems, etc. Many are now going down-market by providing low-end products to expand their reach. Green Hills, ARM, and other companies have recently introduced down-market extensions to their product line that appeal to low- cost or first-time customers. It's an interesting strategy that I think we'll see more companies follow."

Throughout the week, ESC also featured a number of co-located events:

The 2006 EE Times ACE Awards were presented at a formal gala with more than 600 people in attendance at the San Jose Fairmont Hotel. The awards honor those leading the way and making positive contributions -- the real innovators of technology, whose technological achievements are critical components in communications, industrial, medical and consumer electronics devices. Winners include Samsung for Company of the Year -- Large for its strides in semiconductor manufacturing, and PortalPlayer for Company of the Year -- Small/Medium for developing solutions that power many of today's leading MP3 players. IBM & Microsoft won the award for Design Team of the Year for their collaboration on the next generation Xbox 360, and Cambrios picked up the award for Most Promising Technology for its innovative work in using biological methods to fabricate electronics. Freescale Semiconductor's CEO Michel Mayer received the Executive of the Year award for his leadership and vision that helped the company achieve six sequential quarters of profitability, tripled their net earnings, and in Q3 2005, posted its best gross margin in 10 years; Freescale's Leo Mathew was also honored with the Innovator of the Year award for his work on extending CMOS processes to the 45-nm node and possibly beyond. Wilf Corrigan received the EE Times ACE Award for Lifetime Achievement for his contributions to the semiconductor industry over nearly five decades. For a complete list of winners, visit: http://www.eetimes.com/ace .

The second annual Microprocessor Summit opened ESC and presented the latest in microcontrollers and processors, setting the stage for major semiconductor companies to discuss future plans. The Summit's New Products Announcements presentation spanned the high- and low-end of the technology spectrum, with Altera unveiling a new technology that allows chips to be automatically designed from their software, while startup Luminary Micro set a new low price point of just $1 for a 32-bit microprocessor. In between, Intelasys showed off its 24-processor multi-core design and AMCC pulled the wraps off a new chip for industrial systems.

DSO World was a three-day event highlighting device software optimization methods, technologies and best practices. Attendees heard from top leaders in the electronics industry on technology solutions and strategies from key vendors, users, and industry experts. Sample topics covered "Profiling for Java," "Leveraging the Open Source Community," and "Deploying Device Software Platforms to Solve Critical Problems in Aerospace and Defense." Ken Kline, President, CEO and chairman of Wind River delivered an industry address, outlining the 12 practical steps developers can follow to transform themselves into the quintessential, indispensable device engineer.

About CMP Media's Electronics Group

The CMP Media Electronics Group is the premier technology and business media brand serving the information needs of the creators of technology worldwide through print, online and conferences.

As the most comprehensive and integrated source of electronics technology information, the CMP Media Electronics Group offers a full suite of products and services to reach electronics systems design professionals throughout the world. With its combination of media properties, the CMP Media Electronics Group focuses on delivering a targeted audience and actionable information to marketers in the electronics technology community.

Each month, CMP Media's Electronics Group delivers more than 1 million copies of its publications in five languages to subscribers in 55 countries. Online visitors from more than 100 countries view more than 7.5 million pages on its Web sites in six languages and in a year, more than 35,000 decision makers from 48 countries attend its conferences in North America, China, Taiwan and Europe.

  CMP Media's Electronics Group properties include:

   *    Print -- EE Times, Embedded Systems Design, Electronics Supply &
        Manufacturing
   *    Online -- EE Times Online, DesignLines, PlanetAnalog.com,
        Embedded.com, my-esm.com, CommsDesign.com, and SupplyLines
   *    Conferences -- Embedded Systems Conferences, Embedded Connect and
        Design Seminars

  About CMP Media (www.cmp.com)

CMP Media is a marketing solutions company serving the technology, healthcare and lifestyles industries. Through its market-leading portfolio of trusted information brands, CMP Media has earned the confidence of more professionals and enthusiasts in these fields than any other media company. As a result, CMP is the premier provider of access, insight and actionable programs designed to connect sellers and buyers in each of these industries in ways that yield superior return on investment. CMP Media is a subsidiary of United Business Media (http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/), a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $3 billion.

   Contact: Julia Konstantinovsky
   Atomic Public Relations for CMP Media
   julia@atomicpr.com
   415-402-0230

SOURCE: CMP Media

CONTACT: Julia Konstantinovsky of Atomic Public Relations,
+1-415-402-0230, or julia@atomicpr.com, for CMP Media

Web site: http://www.cmp.com/
http://www.embedded.com/esc/sv
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