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Electronics Career Game Changers

dougw
  • When the hand-held electronic calculator became available, it was a game changer in reducing design time. 
  • When the PC hit the streets it was an even bigger game changer, with word processing, spreadsheets and CAD.
  • When the Internet took off, it was an even bigger game changer, with search engines and massive information repositories.
  • The advent of affordable low-cost electronics (pioneered by the TI MSP430 for $4.30) made made it feasible for individuals to participate.
  • The Arduino IDE forced the era of low-cost IDEs.
  • The Raspberry Pi maintained the pressure to make electronics affordable, now carried on by Risk V.
  • Element14 changed the game for me, providing much of the instrumentation in my lab, lots of project material and lots of interaction with interesting technical people.
  • When the price of custom PCBs dropped below $1 it totally changed how I do prototyping.
  • The next big game changer is AI. I'm not sure I want to embrace it, but it is a reality.
  • Beyond this, AI and technology will morph into human augmentation. (the cell phone is just a precursor to the "Internet of People")
  • I am not thrilled with cell phones (they were not a game changer in my career) and I am not thrilled about the prospect of human augmentation, even though one vector is longer lifespans.

What events, products and technologies were game changers for you?

Did video games influence your career?

Did Napster blow you away?

Was the open source movement life changing? GitHub?

  • I actually forgot to mention  element14, so I'm going to add it. This forum has definitely changed the game for me, providing a lot of enabling instrumentation and material for free and providing lots of interaction with people who have similar technical interests.

  • in reply to dougw

    I was a bit later in getting here, but element14 truly did make what I was already doing a lot more enjoyable.  I never really got social media, and never understood how it could improve the experience of engineering. But it really has made an impact on me, where the sharing of ideas and experience increases my understanding of electronics and how new technologies are suddenly more exciting when I see someone else excitement take fire. 

  • Liked the phrase "Internet of People."  For me the game changer was when free versions of EDA tools became available.  No matter how hard I try, I can never wire things up nice and tidy.  Sometimes I try and imagine how I would have coped had I started my career 20 years earlier.  The free and accessible EDA tools afforded me a rewarding career so I am grateful for that.  Regarding AI, it's both exciting and scary at the same time.

  • in reply to dougw

    You don't need to buy magazines to read about neat projects, just head to e14.com 

    image

  • in reply to scottiebabe

    I either used PCB Express or Express PCB to make my first PCBs.  Not sure which one.  But, yeah I was able to get a PCB ordered without having to spend thousands of dollars on CAD software.

  • in reply to dang74

    When I discovered it was easy to get PCBs made for less than $1 each, it changed my whole strategy for prototyping.

  • An early game changer for me was switching power supplies.  Back in the late 70's it allowed us to build a COW (computer on wheels).  It was based on a proprietary rack mounted computer with PMOS memory boards and added a CRT display, keyboard, and a couple of 1/4" tape cartridge drives.  An earlier attempt had failed because we weren't able to get the required power density with linear supplies.  Switching power supplies later played an important part of the digital subsystems of our ATE.

  • Here's a very new one (well for me anyway)... ChatGPT (or similar) writing code, offering design solutions

    Others that spring to mind, include:

    Free PCB board design EDA's. I recall Fritzing came onto the scene about the same time as Arduino. This helped make things easier, then KiCAD arrived and a string of others.

    Google Sketchup transformed 3D design software and was free to use. Now a bunch of new software vendors on the market

    3D printing via open source printers (helped by Arduino) - MakerBot etc.

    Wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth and GSM/GPRS Cellular helped kick off M2M

    Robotics got me into computers when the Intel 8086 processor was launched. Little did I realise where we will end up... think Boston Dynamics etc.

  • in reply to dougw

    I have about a dozen Z-Wave devices (mainly switches and plugs, but also thermostats) through BC Hydro's HydroHome Hub, and about a dozen WiFi switches and plugs from a few different vendors, but mainly through SmartLife.

    I also have a few security cameras, mainly Eufy because I like their long battery life, no subscription needed, local hub (avoiding WiFi issues) and local storage. I also have a WiFi Canary camera and 2 Gate WiFi camera-smart-locks because I used to work for them Smiley

    All of it depends on a cloud-based service, and most of the switches and plugs are controllable via Alexa. For example, we can tell Alexa "goodnight" and it turns off all the lights.

    It's one of those things where once you try a few smart devices you get hooked and next thing you know the house is covered in them Laughing

    I've been considering switching over to using Home Assistant for local control, but I don't know if that's worth the effort - I still want to have remote control as well as Alexa control.

    And... with great technology comes great effort to keep things running Sweat smile  - I'm still fighting the technology to get the Telus WiFi-6 mesh system stable. And today I tried to move one of the Gate smart locks to the new Smart Home network, and it won't re-connect. sigh Cry. that's a known issue I hope they can clear up for me soon.

    I wonder if there are many others here on element14 that have smart homes, and may be seeing issues like mine?