Abstract: An irrigation system includes a radio transmitter station that transmits weather prediction information to a geographic region that includes multiple geographic sub-regions. The weather prediction information includes a respective geographic sub-region code for each of the geographic sub-regions for which a weather forecast predicts rain within a predetermined time period. An irrigation apparatus in a particular sub-region activates to water a watering zone at a schedule time. However, if the irrigation apparatus receives the sub-region code for the particular sub-region where the irrigation apparatus is located, the irrigation apparatus does not immediately activate to water the watering zone in one embodiment. The transmitter station may transmit both program content and data content on a common radio frequency signal wherein the data content includes the weather prediction information.

Abstract: One embodiment of a processor includes a fetch stage, decoder stage, execution stage and completion stage. The execution stage includes a primary execution stage for handling low latency instructions and a secondary execution stage for handling higher latency instructions. A detector determines if an instruction is a high latency instruction or a low latency instruction. If the detector also finds that a particular low latency instruction is dependent on, and destructive of, a corresponding high latency instruction, then the secondary execution stage dynamically fuses the execution of the low latency instruction together with the execution of the high latency instruction. Otherwise, the primary execution stage handles the execution of the low latency instruction.

Abstract: A test system or simulator includes an IC test application sampling software program that executes test application software on a semiconductor die IC design model. The test application sampling software includes trace, simulation point, CPI error, clustering and other programs. IC designers utilize the test application sampling software to evaluate the performance characteristics of IC designs with test software applications. The test application sampling software generates basic block vectors (BBVs) and fly-by vectors (FBVs) from instruction trace analysis of test application software. The test application sampling software analyzes microarchitecture dependent information that it uses to generate the FBVs. Test application sampling software generates a reduced representative test application software program from the BBV and FBV data utilizing an instruction budgeting method.

Abstract: An integrated circuit (IC) includes power supply interconnects that couple to a power source. The integrated circuit includes electronic devices that perform desired functions and further includes decoupling capacitor circuits that provide noise reduction throughout the integrated circuit. In one embodiment, each decoupling capacitor circuit includes a decoupling capacitor and a switching circuit. The switching circuit connects the decoupling capacitor to the power supply interconnects during a connect mode when the switching circuit detects no substantial decoupling capacitor leakage. However, the switching circuit effectively disconnects the decoupling capacitor from the power supply interconnects during a disconnect mode when the switching circuit detects substantial decoupling capacitor leakage. The decoupling capacitor circuit self-initializes in the connect mode without external control signals and is thus self-contained.

Abstract: A virtual electronic fuse (VEF) apparatus and methodology are disclosed that permit the state of an electronic fuse to change from an un-blown state to a blown state and then back to a virtual un-blown state. In one embodiment, the electronic fuse may change from the virtual un-blown state back again to a virtual blown state. The fuse apparatus includes multiple VEFs, each VEF exhibiting a respective address. The fuse apparatus also includes an address pool including multiple address pool locations. A fuse programmer stores an address of one of the VEFs in one or more address pool locations to indicate one or more state changes for a particular VEF. The fuse programmer may also store different VEF addresses in different address pool locations to indicate state changes for different VEFs.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a test system tests a device under test (DUT). The DUT includes an internal test controller that executes built-in self-test (BIST programs. Built-in self-test programs include array-based automatic built-in self-test programs, discrete and combinational logic built-in self-test programs, and functional architecture verification programs (AVPs). An external manufacturing system test controller manages the internal test controller within the DUT and determines minimum operating voltage levels for a power supply input voltage that supplies the DUT. A logic simulator provides a modeling capability to further enhance the development of minimum voltage power supply input operational values for the DUT.

Abstract: An information handling system including a divider circuit is disclosed that divides an input clock signal by a non integer value to generate an output clock signal. The resultant output clock signal exhibits a 50/50 duty cycle in one embodiment. The disclosed divider methodology permits the design of advanced circuit functions, such as double data rate memory operations, without the need for additional clock signal sources.

Abstract: A cache memory logically associates a cache line with at least two cache sectors of a cache array wherein different sectors have different output latencies and, for a load hit, selectively enables the cache sectors based on their latency to output the cache line over successive clock cycles. Larger wires having a higher transmission speed are preferably used to output the cache line corresponding to the requested memory block. In the illustrative embodiment the cache is arranged with rows and columns of the cache sectors, and a given cache line is spread across sectors in different columns, with at least one portion of the given cache line being located in a first column having a first latency, and another portion of the given cache line being located in a second column having a second latency greater than the first latency.