ASCII trick: A is 0x41, a is 0x61. Uppercase and lowercase differ by one bit (0x20), so firmware can flip case with one XOR. Designed that way in 1963. fluidwire.com #EmbeddedSystems #IoT #TechTrivia
@fluidwire.com
@fluidwire.comASCII trick: A is 0x41, a is 0x61. Uppercase and lowercase differ by one bit (0x20), so firmware can flip case with one XOR. Designed that way in 1963. fluidwire.com #EmbeddedSystems #IoT #TechTrivia
@fluidwire.comGray code: Frank Gray (Bell Labs) patented it in 1953 so only ONE bit changes between neighboring values. Rotary encoders use it to avoid glitchy position reads in embedded systems. fluidwire.com #IoT #EmbeddedSystems #TechTrivia
@fluidwire.comWhy is CD audio 44,100 Hz? Videotape. 1970s digital masters were stored as fake video on U-matic tape, and 3 samples per scan line hit exactly 44.1 kHz in BOTH NTSC and PAL. Nyquist sets the floor; hardware sets the number. fluidwire.com #IoT #EmbeddedSystems #TechTrivia
@fluidwire.comA kilobyte is 1,024 bytes, not 1,000. Memory is addressed in powers of two and 2^10 = 1,024, so engineers borrowed the prefix kilo. That is why a 1 TB drive shows 931 GB. fluidwire.com #IoT #EmbeddedSystems #TechTrivia
