Loring Wirbel is a technology analyst with more than 20 years' experience covering semiconductors, communications, embedded software, and any other topics that catch his fancy.  In addition to his Canon work with EDN, Wirbel is editor in chief of the Smartbook Blog, and contributes to several political and cultural journals and web sites.  You can reach him at lwirbel@aol.com or 719-481-1317.