Mac DAQ attack

With the release of the latest version of National Instruments NI-DAQmx Base driver software, Linux and Mac OS X users now can develop applications with 80 National Instruments data acquisition (DAQ) devices, including 26 new NI M Series multifunction DAQ devices.

NI-DAQmx Base 1.5 delivers M Series benefits – including improved accuracy, increased sampling rates and more I/O – to engineers and scientists working on Mac OS X operating systems or supported Linux distributions using kernel 2.6.

NI-DAQmx Base, available for free download at www.ni.com, provides a subset of NI-DAQmx functionality to Linux, Mac OS X, Windows and Pocket PC operating systems. Engineers and scientists can take advantage of simple application development using the programming tools for measurement, signal generation, digital I/O and counter/timer operations, while benefiting from integration with the NI LabVIEW graphical development environment.

NI-DAQmx Base 1.5 driver software also includes ready-to-use LabVIEW programs as well as C function examples similar to those offered in the full-featured NI-DAQmx software.

Linux and Mac OS X users can use NI-DAQmx Base to incorporate the technology advancements of M Series multifunction DAQ devices into their applications. M Series devices include the new NI-STC 2 chip that consolidates several discrete chips into a single ASIC for more performance in a smaller space, as well as new NI-PGIA 2 amplifier technology that reduces settling time for accurate measurements at faster scanning rates.

M Series DAQ devices also offer up to 32 18-bit analog input channels, four 16-bit analog outputs, two 32-bit counter/timers and 48 digital I/O lines. These new capabilities are especially useful for industries where Mac OS X and Linux operating systems are common, such as government and academia.

National Instruments built the NI-DAQmx Base driver software using the NI Measurement Hardware DDK and developed the software almost entirely in the multiplatform LabVIEW graphical development environment. Its architecture makes it possible to quickly develop NI-DAQmx Base driver software for additional operating systems and devices.