Embedded software applications are like the mammals of the software industry – while the monolithic dinosaur applications slug it out up in broad daylight, the embedded apps scurry about in the undergrowth doing what they do best, hidden from all but the most observant. While this isn’t an analogy you’d want to push too far, it’s certainly the case that embedded software can be found in the strangest places. Some of the more esoteric examples you gave us in a recent poll were buoys and Bluetooth energy meters, CAT scanners, endoscopes and pulse oximeters, hyperbaric welding systems, web based laundry control systems and our personal favourite – car catapults for crash testing.