Upon arrival in San Jose I headed down to baggage claim to retrieve my suitcase that I was forced to check due to just being on a completely full plane. I then headed outside and was struck with what felt like a heat wave after being in the Midwest for one of our coldest winters. Granted it was only around 60°F, but when I left North Dakota it was around 35°F.
Attending EE Live! in San Jose allowed me to attend numerous sessions and learn about many different technologies and ideas the embedded systems community has been developing. EE Live! offered sessions with topics including but not limited to:
• C++ Tutorial
• Embedded Android
• FPGA Fundamentals
• Embedding TCP/IP
• Debugging Tips and Tricks
• Circuit Board Design
• Multicore Software Development
• Integrating Vision into Embedded Systems
• Real-Time Operating Systems
When not at one of the sessions and able to walk around the expo, I quickly realized that many of the attending companies were more focused on the hardware side of embedded development. As a software engineer it was interesting to learn about the new technologies being integrated into the different hardware platforms, but it would have been nice to see a few more software companies attending the event.
During the expo there was a tech tote giveaway. The giveaways were only a certain number of totes at a specific time. One of the times lined up with when one of the sessions I was attending let out, so I headed over to the booth and was able to make it in time. The tote contained a water bottle, pen, pads of paper and various cards for many of the companies attending the expo. Some of the cards were valid for the retrieval of an item. In the end the tech tote contained headphones or 1GB bracelet from Microchip, an evaluation board from ST Microelectronics, and various coupon codes and other business information. Many of the companies had giveaways trying to draw in a crowd. Some were giving away tablets, gaming consoles, RC helicopters, and others were giving away their own products.
If you are an embedded systems developer either professionally or casually, I recommend attending the next EE Live! Conference.
