The BestTest Newsletter

The purpose of The BestTest Newsletter is to give you, our readers, the means to quickly wade through the large amount of information published on test and allow you to find the Best as quickly as possible. Our task would be simple if we would decide for you what was Best. We would, however, almost certainly fail to find the Best Test for everyone of our approximately 6,000 readers. There is no one product that would be the Best for everyone. So in order to get you to the Best, we have to give you the rest - but we make it as simple as possible for you to select on your own what qualifies as Best for you.

Each of the issues provides you with hyperlinked titles. We have included here all the news we reported in 2006. You may wish to look back on what happened in test in 2006. If you have an interest in a news item you can click to review a short synopsis, and if you have a greater interest you can go directly to the source of the article.

We are including here all the articles published exclusively in The BestTest Newsletter in 2006. You will find them to be pragmatic solutions to many of your test related problems, and I would like to thank all the experts throughout the test industry who contributed their time and talents.

Looking forward to 2007, we provide you with a linked list of Test Events that are coming up around the world.

As in every issue, we provide a link to our sponsors who make it possible to bring you this time-saving source of information. If your company is a test vendor that is not on that list we could use your help.

So what is the Best of Best Test? We leave that choice to you. We can only tell you how to go about selecting it. Pick the product, service, article, or event that solves YOUR problems. We are providing you in this small space literally tens of thousands of pages - hopefully everything - that can qualify as the Best. We know you can find it, and we are proud of the fact that our efforts have brought it to you -- and as always -- at no charge.

We look forward to your participation in 2007. Please remember that you can also supply information and share it with all your colleagues and be the Best Citizen of the BestTest Community.

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Articles in The BestTest Newsletter in 2006

LXI, the "Next Generation" Replacement for GPIB By: Fred Bode, LXI Consortium Administrator and Executive Director (Retired)

Where is LAN / LXI Best used for Instrument Control? By: Patrick Webb, Instrument Control Product Manager, National Instruments

GPIB (IEEE-488) Offers Advantages in Low-Latency Applications By: Alex McCarthy, GPIB Product Manager, National Instruments

When to Choose PXI Instruments By: Mike Dewey, Marketing Product Manager,
Geotest - Marvin Test Systems, Inc.

Why Customers Choose PXI By: Murali Ravindran, PXI Product Manager, National Instruments

When to Choose VXI Based Instruments By: Tom Sarfi, Business Development Mngr at VXI Technology Inc. and Current VXIbus Consortium President

How to Select a Tool for Testability Analysis and Scan Insertion By: Rick Fisette, Technical Marketing Engineer, Mentor Graphics, Design-For-Test

Selecting a Noise Generator By: Patrick Robbins, Micronetics, Inc. - Enon Microwave and Noise Products Divisions

How to Select USB-based Instruments By: Alan Lowne, Saelig Co. Inc.

How to Select a Logic Analyzer for Under $1,000 By: Alan Lowne, Saelig Co. Inc.

Considerations for Selecting Test Systems Using Flying Probe Access By: Louis Y. Ungar, Editor, The BestTest Newsletter

Boundary Scan Tools for Design Verification and Prototype Debug By: Rick Folea, UniversalScan - Ricreations, Inc.

You've Decided to Get Into Boundary Scan... Now What? By: Ray Dellecker, US Marketing Manager, JTAG Technologies

Alternatives to High Priced IC ATEs By: Louis Y. Ungar, Editor, BestTest.com

How to Select the Right Bus Analyzers and Controllers By: Alan Lowne, President - Saelig Co. Inc.

How to Select a Bus Analyzer By: Bill Schuh, Director of Military Electronic Products, Condor Engineering

Considerations in Selecting a Bus Analyzer By: Nicole Renfro, Marketing Manager at VMETRO, Inc.

Selecting and Purchasing Frequency Synthesizer Products
By: Mike Harris, Director of Business Development, Meret Optical Communications

Finding your way around ESD Standards By: Carl E. Newberg, President, MicroStat Laboratories

Selecting a Systems Diagnostic Design Development Tool By: Craig De Paul, President, DSI International

Selecting the Best Technology For Troubleshooting No Fault Found / Intermittent Conditions By: Brent Sorensen,President, Universal Synaptics

Diagnostic Tools Fit Specific Needs; Success Comes from Best Match-Ups By: Tim Webb, DiagnoSYS Systems, Inc.

Diagnostic Tools using Automatic Probing By: Jim Crosson , Huntron, Inc.

AOI as Part of a Winning Test Strategy By: Don Miller, President of YESTech

The Capability of AOI Systems � More than Just the Sum of their Parts By: Jens Kokott, Team Manager, AOI Systems at G�PEL electronic GmbH

Dynamic Burn-In of High Pin Count Logic Devices with Monitoring Capability
By: Stephen Tsun, Sales Manager, INCAL Technology

Optimize Your Burn-In Design By: Randy Spivey, Randy@ceibis.com, VP Sales & Marketing, CEIBIS

How to Select an OTDR By: Peter Schweiger, Agilent Technologies, Photonics Measurement Division

How to Choose an OTDR to Test and Troubleshoot LAN Infrastructure White Paper By: Harley Lang III, Product Marketing Manager, Fiber Products, Fluke Networks

How to Select an In-Circuit Tester By: Peter Reinhardt, President, REINHARDT System- und Messelectronic GmbH

How to Select the Right Switching Product By: Tee Sheffer, President, Signametrics

Switching Basics in RF Applications By: Bob Stasonis, Sales & Marketing Manager, Pickering Instruments

An Integrated High Power Switching Solution By: Jon Semancik, Marketing Manage, VXI Technology, Inc.

Test News in 2006

Announcements

12/29/2006 Flextronics to lay off 600 in Hungary

12/27/2006 Magma, Synopsys Receive Claims Construction Ruling

12/20/2006 LogicVision Completes $3.2 Million Private Placement

12/14/2006 Azimuth announces funding, CEO transition

12/12/2006 MultiService Forum (MSF) completed Global MSF Interoperability Test

12/12/2006 Semi Industry Bracing for Slowdown

12/12/2006 Teradyne and LogicVision Integrate Silicon Diagnostic Solutions with the IG-XL(TM) Operating System

12/7/2006 Credence Narrows Loss, CEO Steps Down

12/6/2006 Cadence, Advantest Team for Zero-Defect Auto Chip Testing

12/4/2006 Patent Office Looks Again at Patent in Magma/Synopsys Feud

12/4/2006 Rapport Adopts LogicVision Embedded Test Solutions for Next Generation Low-Power Device

12/2/2006 Interstate Electronics set to maintain submarine-launched ballistic missile test systems

12/1/2006 All Test Related Courses and Educational Resources in One Place

12/1/2006 Huntron establishes an Authorized Integrator Business Program

12/1/2006 Mosaid Expands Patent Suit to Mosel Vitelic

12/1/2006 Schaffner's test division gets new name

12/1/2006 Weblog (Blog) is Dedicated to Design for Testability

11/27/2006 ASE Target of Carlyle Group Private Equity Takeover

11/27/2006 Sony Back in Recall Mode

11/23/2006 GOEPEL electronic presents new Partner for Distribution of Automotive Test Solutions in the USA

11/22/2006 SPEA & JTAG Technologies combine to provide comprehensive fixtureless test capability

11/20/2006 Freescale Adopts Synopsys Verification Technology

11/17/2006 Defect clinic solves mysteries at APEX

11/16/2006 Agilent to acquire Acqiris

11/15/2006 Verigy swings to 4Q profit

11/14/2006 Agilent Revenue Up 6%

11/14/2006 Demand for electronics seen slowing

11/13/2006 SMTA Names Board of Directors

11/10/2006 Breaking The Nanometer Barrier In X-ray Microscopy

11/10/2006 NPL to Meet on Measurements of Copper Dissolution in Pb-Free Solder

11/9/2006 Agilent wins 2006 High-Tech Supply Chain Excellence Award

11/9/2006 Universal Instruments cuts workforce day after sale finalized

11/8/2006 Boundary Scan Platform SCANFLEX successfully integrated into Teradyne In-Circuit Tester

11/8/2006 Israel's Orbotech to repurchase up to 1.7 mln shrs

11/7/2006 Dr. Yervant Zorian Wins IEEE's Hans Karlsson Award

11/6/2006 Tektronix to acquire Canada's Minacom

11/6/2006 Test suite streamlines Wi-Fi certification process

11/3/2006 Cray has adopted the SpyGlass DFT platform for its next generation ASIC projects

11/1/2006 Winner named at BestTest.com iPod Drawing at the International Test Conference

10/27/2006 Magma Posts $12.4 million Net Loss

10/27/2006 Prism selects XJTAG to speed debug and test of complex BGA-populated circuits

10/26/2006 Agilent announces organizational changes

10/25/2006 KLA-Tencor Reports Fiscal Q1 Rev Up 9% Year to Year

10/25/2006 Test Systems Strategies Inc. (TSSI) touts Toshiba agreement

10/24/2006 Agilent Technologies offers right-to-use licenses for placing test targets on PCB signal traces

10/24/2006 LogicVision Reports Third Quarter 2006 Financial Results

10/24/2006 Mentor says Summit acquisition makes ESL "real"

10/23/2006 JTAG delivers 1149.6 testing with diagnostics

10/23/2006 LogicVision Announces Expanded Use of Embedded Test Solutions

10/23/2006 Magma and Virage Logic Collaborate on a Complete RTL-to-GDSII Flow

10/23/2006 Semiconductor Test Consortium STC Expands to Entire Test Process

10/23/2006 Synopsys and Virage Logic Collaborate to Deliver Embedded Memory Test

10/20/2006 Apple turns iPod into iWorm that infects Windows PC

10/19/2006 IC firms collaborate with Synopsys to validate new ATPG tech

10/19/2006 LeCroy inks acquisition agreement with Catalyst Enterprises

10/19/2006 Teradyne announces Q3 2006 results

10/18/2006 Bennetts retires, transfers DFT services to CloverTest

10/17/2006 Synopsys serves subpoena to Mentor over PTO request

10/16/2006 HP Appoints New Ethics Chief

10/16/2006 phoenix|x-ray wins Global Technology Award 2006

10/11/2006 Aster Technologies and Temento Systems Announce Strategic Partnership

10/10/2006 Virage Logic Executives Selected to Provide IP Perspective

10/6/2006 KLA Cleared to Buy ADE

10/5/2006 KLA-Tencor to restate due to options

9/29/2006 Intel Starts Layoffs

9/28/2006 XJTAG offers contract manufacturers a free XJRunner

9/26/2006 Synopsys Asks to Subpoena Mentor in Magma Case

9/25/2006 GOEPEL Electronics invites to free Boundary Scan seminars in the US

9/23/2006 Sony investigates notebook fire

9/20/2006 Agilent to buy back $2 billion in shares

9/19/2006 Teradyne Announces LDU 50 For Test Of Next-Generation IP Networks

9/16/2006 Teradyne wins $5.8 million Air Force contract

8/28/2006 TSSI, Toshiba Microelectronics, and ATE Service Corporation Partner for Sales and Support of Next-Generation Design-to-Test Development Flow

8/15/2006 Mentor paid $5.3M for Taiwan EDA tool provider

8/14/2006 Agilent's Third-Quarter Net Income More Than Doubles

8/14/2006 IRS Says Cadence Owes $324M

8/9/2006 JTAG Technologies & Firecron present free 'Boundary-Scan Today' seminars

8/8/2006 NI Blurs Test, Design Lines

7/27/2006 KLA-Tencor Posts Higher Q4 Revs

7/26/2006 New MAQlink brochure

7/24/2006 LogicVision and GDA Technologies Partner

7/20/2006 Teradyne announces Q2 results and authorization of stock repurchase pr