In today's "interesting" economy, the new product releases we're seeing are a bizarre mishmash of hardware put out by the optimists, while the pessimists seem to be sitting on their hands waiting for the right time to turn their hardware progeny loose on the world. A case in point is the number of chips we're seeing. All those chips need to be integrated into other gadgets to earn their bacon, but the gadgets themselves seem to be lurking in the shadows somewhere, waiting until we have the cash to buy them. Just an observation, but also an explanation of what you've been seeing in this column lately. But hey, to some of us, chips are interesting, so when they come to light, they'll probably turn up here. I just can't wait to see what folks will use them for. As you might have guessed, here's another chip story. Texas Instruments just announced a new 24-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with on-chip flash memory that the company says is designed for industrial process control, portable instrumentation, and test and measurement applications like weigh scales, temperature measurement, liquid/gas chromatography, smart transmitters, and pressure transducers (woo-hoo!). The ADS1218 features 4K Bytes of on-chip flash memory which is programmable over the entire 2.7V to 5.25V operating range. In this device, the Flash memory gives you more options for customization by letting you configure functions like linearization, serialization, calibration, and data storage (ization). TI says the ADS1218 is optimized for high-performance, low-power systems, and offers 24 bits of "no missing code" performance, an effective resolution of 22 bits, and less than 1mW power consumption. The on-chip voltage reference is accurate to within 0.2 percent and linearity error is guaranteed to be less than +/-0.0015 percent of full-scale. Along with on-chip flash memory, the 24-bit ADS1218 integrates an eight-channel multiplexer, programmable gain amplifier (PGA), input buffer, on-chip temperature sensor, burn-out current sources, dual independent current DACs, on-chip voltage references, external differential reference inputs, selectable data output rate, offset DAC, and eight programmable digital I/O. The ADS1218 is available today in a 48-pin TQFP surface-mount package. Suggested resale pricing starts at $8.75 in 1,000 piece quantities. Bring on the gadgets.