hardware.io PCB-RE Book Giveaways

I seldom receive more than three notifications on my Twitter account, simply because I'm quite careful who I follow to prevent being overwhelmed with indiscreet posts. However, today I received 20 post notification from a single thread started by hardwear.io featuring Joe Grand aka 'Kingpin':

Was wondering what's causing the buzz and realized there was a book giveaway promotion featuring my latest work, Manual PCB-RE - The Essentials:

This is certainly one effective way to create interest and draw a following to an event, much like ScanCAD who give out two of my books at their exhibition booth in-country and across Europe, with much fanfare and success in attracting potential customers to link up with their businesses. Another company that give away my books is Teel Technologies which specializes in providing training workshops on Mobile Forensics.

If you're running a seminar, workshop or exhibiting your business at a trade fair, maybe you want to consider this idea as well. Take it from the pros and see your sales improve!

Simply Sensational...!

Well, sort of, considering that many of today's home appliances and electronic gadgets contain a variety of sensors and transducers to make our lives convenient and comfortable. Some people though, tend to get confused over the two, thinking they are the same when there is a difference:

If ever Tony Stark's Iron Man suit get to materialize in real life, you can bet that it will contain all sorts of sensors interfaced to the central processing AI brain called JARVIS.

So we see that sensors and transducers are indispensable, not only in our mundane daily routines but also in the Marvel Comic Universe and possibly the Metaverse in the not too distant future...

Active Discrete - Transistors

If two is company, then three is a crowd——unless it happens to be a transistor. In the early days, this term is almost always associated with the germanium or silicon based maverick that has permeated into every electronic devices since its inception. Today, it's a different story altogether.

The transistor story, however, can be traced as far back to the era of the thermionic valves. I remember well the first lesson I had in my secondary school days was the theory and operation of the venerable triode. Talk about big brother!

Walter Brattain, John Bardeen and William Shockley of the Bell Telephone Laboratories might have been proud of their breakthrough when they came up with the first transistor prototype, but I believe Sir John Ambrose Fleming should be credited with the invention of the thermionic valve which ultimately led to the birth of the transistor four decades later.

Today's engineers certainly walk on the shoulders of these giants of bygone years.

Active Discrete - Diodes

I suppose the most common active discrete components that electronic engineers are familiar with should be the versatile diode:

For a simple two-terminal dual junction semiconductor device with non-linear electrical properties, it may come as a surprise that there are literally a bunch of variants exhibiting different characteristics and used in varied applications.

Considering the fact that the diode had existed since the cold war era as a vacuum tube entity, imagine the progress it has made to arrive at the forms that it is today:

What will the future hold for semiconductor electronics as wafer technology and manufacturing reaches its physical limits? Nobody knows. One thing is for sure——diodes are here to stay for quite a while. As they said, "You've come a long way, baby!"

Nostalgic Fontasy

When I wrote my first engineering book on the PCB-RE subject, I was more focused on the content than the presentation, and took little notice of the font type and style. As a result, some would-be buyers were turned away by the 10-point Calibri typeface which, though not a bad font, is rather uncomfortable to read for those with myopia issue. (To be honest, this fact had been bugging me for quite a while but I just did not have the time to address it and put it to rest.)

Subsequently, when I wrote the sequel and trilogy, I changed the font to a 12-point Franklin Gothic Book typeface which is easier on the eyes for those preferring printed copies. But I still retain the old format for 'The Art' book out of nostalgic sentiments. After all, it is my very first piece of work. Seven years down the road, I decided that a facelift is due so without much fanfare, I did a revamp and changed the font type to Franklin Gothic Book as well. This will ensure consistency for all my PCB-RE series. Here is a side-by-side comparison sample page:

I have also re-done the book cover (front and back):

Those who bought my original edition can take comfort in knowing they now own a 'limited edition' that is no longer in circulation. (Heck, it might become a collector's item in a few years time, who knows?) For those who have yet to get a copy of 'The Art' book, this change might just be the nudge you need.

Now I can finally put this behind me and get back to writing my next engineering book...