The ETX Files

By James Gilbert Pynn

To understand the Embedded Technology eXtended (ETX) board it is necessary to understand the computer-on-module or COM concept. A COM involves a single microprocessor, complete with RAM and input and output controllers. In essence, a COM is the platform for an entire computer. The ETX board allows the COM basics to interface and connect to USB ports, audio ad graphics cards, and Ethernet capabilities.

ETX boards have been equipped with Intel Pentium, Celeron, and Core Duo processors, making them extremely adaptable. They can be customized to a wide range of motherboards and COM platforms. Designed by Kontron, Inc, the costs off this radical new technology have been kept to a minimum, making them cost-effective components that are very scalable and enjoy long lifecycles.

The ETX board has enjoyed a wide variety of industrial applications, especially in the automotive industry. That is, the manufacturing of automobiles, not necessarily in the automobiles. The boards have been integrated into such prototypical amenities as Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Departure Warning systems. They are well adapted at handling high-response, high-speed computations.

The latest generation of ETX boards enjoy the use of LVDS, or Low voltage Differential Signaling technologies. These LVDS make it possible to match the interfaces to any generic processing module. Synchronizing the ETX with the COM chipsets has presented a major challenge to modern computing. As a result, advanced COM platforms have demanded ETX boards to delineate a clear, upgrade-able path to usability.

A COM platform that can accommodate peripherals and such ubiquitous necessities as a video and audio card are essential to modern mainframes and network systems. The ETX board is a highly versatile component that can enhance the usability and performance of any COM platform. Business as we know it would cease to function with COM platforms and ETX boards.

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