06-18-13- Government involvement in industry has waxed and waned over the years, depending on the administration in Washington. Over the past 20 years or so, government policy has been consistent in some areas, such as NSF and federal lab funding, but inconsistent in others. While industry and government have often joined forces for research and development, the connector industry has not been as involved with these opportunities as other sectors of the electronics industry.

Mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, are a disruptive technology that is shaking up the norms of system architecture. Traditional methods of introducing power and managing I/O are undergoing changes that have major implications for traditional connectors.

May 21, 2013 – The reality is there are no guarantees that the actual connector specified by the design engineer will make it through to the finished product. A design engineer may prefer a particular connector and include it in a design, but this doesn’t guarantee the specific component will end up in the final product. Depending upon cost and volume availability, as well as OEM preferences or relationships with particular suppliers, the design engineer’s influence over the parts selection can be severely curtailed in the manufacturing process.

Not Your Father’s Dorm: Smart Students and Their Smart House Juniper Research has valued the smart home market at $60B by 2017 When I started researching this article, I contacted a number of connector companies (10 to be exact) and asked to interview their experts on intelligent home applications. That was a mistake. Each andRead More

April 16, 2013 – What does the landslide of new tablet and smartphone introductions mean for the future of the PC? And how will it affect the connector industry? John MacWilliams looks at the tablet and PC market to find out if reports of the PC’s demise are greatly exaggerated.

April 2, 2013 – Dr. Bob returns with part two of our feature on porosity. He responds to his cohort, Max Peel — is this the moment they will agree on everything?

By Raymond Yuen, Portfolio Director – Commercial at FCI ElectronicsLegacy connectors are dependable, reliable devices that offer design engineers a no-risk solution that has been proven in the field for decades. These interconnect products typically offer the most cost-effective solution, as these commodity devices are standardized and do not involve customized engineering or specialty designs toRead More

Is It The End of the Internet as We Know It? Freedom of speech is a core belief in America, codified in the First Amendment to the Constitution. That universal human principle was designed into the founding architecture of the Internet by DARPA and others in the United States industry, government and academia. The now-freeRead More

December 4, 2012 – The shift from OEM to EMS/ODM has been particularly challenging for the connector industry, but at $300B, it’s no longer just a fad or trend. John MacWilliams takes a closer look at the evolution of the industry, where it is today, and what might happen next. 

Adjusting to the challenging global economy of 2012, many connector manufacturers focused more on filling out existing product offerings to better match immediate system packaging needs and emerging trends rather than introducing groundbreaking new products. Offering connector product lines that feature good, better, and best options provides the ability to deliver the needed performance atRead More

November 20, 2012 – Offshore wind is an important component of global plans to increase the amount of renewable generation and reduce dependence on the use of fossil fuels. Much of the near-term market growth for offshore wind will remain in Europe; however, long-term growth opportunities are projected in Korea, China, and Japan. Jenny Bieksha reports on the pros and cons of the technology, the challenges for implementation in the near future, and how it affects Europe’s 2020 target for renewable energies.

October 9, 2012 – RFID solutions may provide a completely new approach to product lifecycle management and value creation in the cable industry. Alexander Schmoldt of Murata explains the latest innovations and how they can transform cabling infrastructure.