DIESEL DOES IT

Although I am not an automotive engineer, I am certainly quite the car enthusiast. I think the reason that turbo diesel engines have not caught on in the United States is twofold [Forum, May]. First, most Americans have the wrong impression that diesel engines are dirty and produce more smog than a standard engine. Second, the torque curve on most diesel engines makes them more difficult (as well as awkward) to drive if the transmission is not geared perfectly.

Because of this, most auto manufacturers, I would think, do not wish to produce turbo diesels. It would require a different transmission along with the diesel, driving prices up.

Vincent O. Illi

Frederick, Md.

ANOTHER HISTORY

"The Lost History of the Transistor" [May] reflects the beliefs of U.S. engineers. Quite a different story can be documented, one that makes Bardeen's and Brattain's "invention" already 18 years old in 1947.

Germany's AEG patented the first device with transistor properties in 1930. AEG requested the right of priority on this invention in the United States on 11 July 1929.

On 4 November 1938, physicists Rudolf Hilsch and Robert W. Pohl, in Goettingen, Germany, published a paper in Zeitschrift für Physik on "current control by means of three-electrode crystal." Two years later, in 1940, a Russian, A.L. Gorelik, published a paper on his experiments with current-controlled semiconductors in the journal Elektrichestvo.

May I hear other opinions on this subject?

Vlado Ostovic

Weinheim, Germany

CARING AND DARING

I deeply admire Salvador Castro for his courage in speaking out against the design flaw in the infant incubator [Careers, April]. Despite sacrificing his career, he made a statement that was crystal clear–"I'd do it again in a heartbeat." To me, he is not a man who would ask, "What shall I gain?" Instead he cares only about the question, "What is right?"

If one chooses the other course–silence about any abuse that affects society–what would it reflect about the value of one's existence, especially for a professional engineer? We must carry out our duty to testify to truth and justice.

Hong-Lok Li

Vancouver, B.C., Canada

SECURITY HOLES

Clifford Jindra rails against cookies as if these were a Microsoft invention [Forum, March]. They are not. And we read ad nauseam about Microsoft's terrible code, back doors, and so forth. The plain fact is: there is no intrinsically secure operating system software and there probably never will be.

Do users of non-Microsoft systems blithely connect to the Internet without virus scanners and firewalls, secure in the knowledge that without Microsoft software to betray them, they are safe? If so, why do I see security products advertised for Mac, Linux, and Unix systems?

I have been using Microsoft systems for almost 15 years along with virus scanners and a firewall. I have never been infected or hacked. Computer security is everyone's problem, not just Microsoft's.

Garth Klatt

Calgary, Alta., Canada

OFFSHORE VIEW

A software engineer for 25 years, I formed a small company in 2000 with partners in the Republic of Georgia. Turning out several kinds of software, I began doing what is now called offshoring.

I have found that it isn't possible to do offshore engineering successfully without having strong staff in the United States to support and guide it. The U.S engineers must be able to design and track projects, and communicate well about them.

I have seen that riding the offshore wave can move careers along for U.S. engineers who can fulfill contracts overseas. Rather than going overseas directly, U.S. companies will do much better if they deal with an engineer who acts as a liaison and runs things from the United States. The hidden cost of managing and learning to manage overseas resources makes such engineering outfits a real bargain for U.S. companies to deal with.

Brian Hanley

Brian.Hanley@konnectworld.com

PIXEL PRECISION

In "Tomorrow's TV" [April], the statement about laser TV that the "pixels change at 115 kilohertz a second" is not quite correct. The unit "Hz" is itself equivalent to a certain number of occurrences per second. In the above context, something like "115 000 times a second" or "at a rate of 115 kHz" would have made sense. That is the number of times a second the vertical lines change, thus giving an approximate horizontal resolution of 1900 pixels for a 60-Hz frame rate.

Guillaume Rosanis

guillaume.rosanis@club-internet.fr

I find myself in conflict these days, because on the one hand I don't want, and never intended, to take jobs from U.S. citizens. On the other hand, I know that the jobs we create overseas really make a difference. This is underappreciated here, I think.

Second, it isn't possible to offshore engineering successfully without strong staff in the United States to support and guide it. Engineers in the United States are very much needed, even in offshored projects. But they need to be able to design, track projects, and communicate well about them.

A part of me looks at the wave washing from the developed world over to the developing world and worries about where things will go. Another part of me looks at the situation pragmatically and sees that riding that wave is the way to move a career along.

My involvement came quite by accident. But I can say without a doubt that there is plenty of room for U.S. engineers to get contracts and fulfill them overseas. U.S. companies will do much better if they deal with a U.S. engineer who is running things here and acting as the liaison than if they go direct. The hidden cost of managing and learning to manage overseas resources makes such engineering outfits a real bargain for U.S. corporations to deal with.

CORRECTIONS

The "Beat the Heat" article [May] should have stated that the Power Mac G5 chip is an IBM product. Motorola produces the G4 chip.

We regret implying that the speed of light was among the constants recently revised by the U.S. National Institute of Standards [News Briefs, March]. The speed was not altered and remains 299 792 458 meters per second.

–Ed.