Kunal Kandekar wrote:
"Turned out a 16-bit device would have made life much easier"

Having to use an 8bit micro when a 16 bit would have been easier is great experience for the real world. Since our work is usually converted into money making products, there is more profit in making projects work on less powerful micros.

The differential is made up by our clever brains. :)

Kunal Kandekar wrote:
"What sort of research goes on in embedded systems in Universities anyway? "

To be totally unfair to my fellow professors (I teach now and then), I can't say that much commercial grade embedded stuff happens in university. Its usually fanciful stuff to get publicity (dancing robots) or mundane controls to complement other research projects. Littel concern over market realities is included in the design - you can get total freedom to put in a Cray computer to count turnstyles. After all professors are usually there because they don't like the practicalities of the hard markets.

Its always preferrable to get an instructor that still works in the real world, in my opinion. I'm biased.

duh