SINGAPORE: The mobile handset market is set for a stellar performance in 2010. 3Q-2010 notched up 346.2 million in handset shipments. For the first three quarters of the year, YoY growth has been hovering around 20 percent.
“This is a remarkable feat, irrespective of the rebound effect following the deferred handset purchases during the economic recession,” says Jake Saunders, VP for forecasting at ABI Research. “Layer on ‘smartphone-envy’ and you have a recipe for high handset volumes.”
This rebound is having some interesting consequences:
1) Component manufacturers have never had it so good. Nokia in particular reported a hardware crunch, especially with displays (e.g. AMOLED) and semiconductor components for low-cost handsets. Nokia’s leading market-share in this segment has increased Nokia’s exposure to the component crunch.
2) Vendors that have strong portfolios in smartphones (RIM, Apple, HTC and Motorola) have seen their growth in market-share outperform the market. This effect is likely to continue into 4Q-2010 and 2011.
3) Unless Nokia can resolve its component resourcing challenges, it is likely to be supply-constrained again in 4Q-2010, a quarter that typically equates to 30 percent of annual handset sales. “Nokia’s market-share could well come under further pressure,” adds Kevin Burden, VP and practice director for mobile devices.
4) Handset vendors with greater in-house ability to source their own components (e.g. Samsung and LG) will be able to take advantage of the market opportunity to expand volumes.
5) Typically, a handset boom period is followed by a market softening as customers wait for the next “must have” handset feature innovation to make its way to the market. We should not be unduly worried. There is still considerable room for innovation in the smartphone sector, not just “feature innovation” but also “cost reduction innovation,” which should keep customers keen.
The spotlight has to be put on Apple and RIM: they increased their market-shares to 4.1 percent and 4 percent, respectively. While Samsung did manage to demonstrate quarterly growth (to 20.6 percent), other vendors contracted: Nokia (31.9 percent), LG (8.2 percent), Sony-Ericsson (3 percent), Motorola (2.6 percent).
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Handheld Librarian 4 Online Conference: Call for Program Proposals!
Handheld Librarian 4 Online Conference: Call for Program Proposals!
TAP Information Services and LearningTimes invite librarians, library staff, vendors, graduate students, and developers to submit program proposals related to the topic of mobile library services for the online Handheld Librarian 4 conference to be held February 23 and 24, 2011.
Proposals are due December 1, 2010. Go to http://www.handheldlibrarian.org/proposal-submissions
to submit a proposal
The Handheld Librarian 4 conference will feature interactive, live online sessions and links to recorded events following the conference. We are interested in a broad range of submissions that highlight current, evolving and future issues in mobile library services. This year, we will feature a program track with presentations by graduate library students. These include but are not limited to the following program tracks:
ebooks
location-based social networking
augmented reality
twitter
apps
device and OS trends
QR codes
reference
mobile trend spotting
mobile technologies impacting society
web/app development best practices
Proposal Submissions:
Submit your proposal by completing the webform at http://www.handheldlibrarian.org/submissions-form by December 1, 2010.
Online presentations may be conducted in one of four formats:
a 45-minute live online session (i.e. synchronous webcast)
a 15 minute student presentation ***
a 10 minute live online session or
a pre-recorded presentation (i.e. narrated web tour or slides).
You will be notified by January 15, 2011 if your proposal has been accepted. Conference registration fees are waived for speakers.
Presenters Are Expected To:
-Conduct your session using Adobe Connect (computer, Internet, mic required)
-Provide a digital photo of yourself for the conference website
-Respond to questions from attendees
-Attend an online 30-60 minute training on Adobe Connect prior to the conference
Thank you for considering submitting a proposal. If you have questions, please contact:
Lori Bell, lbell927@gmail.com
Tom Peters, TAP Information Services, tpeters@tapinformation.com
Susan Manning, LearningTimes, susan@ltgreenroom.org
Proposals are due December 1, 2010. Go to http://www.handheldlibrarian.org/submissions-form
to submit a proposal.
TAP Information Services and LearningTimes invite librarians, library staff, vendors, graduate students, and developers to submit program proposals related to the topic of mobile library services for the online Handheld Librarian 4 conference to be held February 23 and 24, 2011.
Proposals are due December 1, 2010. Go to http://www.handheldlibrarian.org/proposal-submissions
to submit a proposal
The Handheld Librarian 4 conference will feature interactive, live online sessions and links to recorded events following the conference. We are interested in a broad range of submissions that highlight current, evolving and future issues in mobile library services. This year, we will feature a program track with presentations by graduate library students. These include but are not limited to the following program tracks:
ebooks
location-based social networking
augmented reality
apps
device and OS trends
QR codes
reference
mobile trend spotting
mobile technologies impacting society
web/app development best practices
Proposal Submissions:
Submit your proposal by completing the webform at http://www.handheldlibrarian.org/submissions-form by December 1, 2010.
Online presentations may be conducted in one of four formats:
a 45-minute live online session (i.e. synchronous webcast)
a 15 minute student presentation ***
a 10 minute live online session or
a pre-recorded presentation (i.e. narrated web tour or slides).
You will be notified by January 15, 2011 if your proposal has been accepted. Conference registration fees are waived for speakers.
Presenters Are Expected To:
-Conduct your session using Adobe Connect (computer, Internet, mic required)
-Provide a digital photo of yourself for the conference website
-Respond to questions from attendees
-Attend an online 30-60 minute training on Adobe Connect prior to the conference
Thank you for considering submitting a proposal. If you have questions, please contact:
Lori Bell, lbell927@gmail.com
Tom Peters, TAP Information Services, tpeters@tapinformation.com
Susan Manning, LearningTimes, susan@ltgreenroom.org
Proposals are due December 1, 2010. Go to http://www.handheldlibrarian.org/submissions-form
to submit a proposal.
Halloween at the International Cryptozoology Museum
Get a free tour, or come as Bigfoot and get a free book! Readers of this blog know that I often ask people to support the ICM. It does not matter what you think of particular "cryptids" or even cryptozoology in general. There is nothing like this museum in the world, and if it were ever to fail, its collection, including thousands of one of the kind items, would be a terrible loss to both the sociology and the science of cryptozoology/zoology.
You know, I have occasionally thought of dressing as Bigfoot and being seen just as an experiment to see what the news coverage looks like (I'm 6'4" and could do a reasonable sasquatch impression.) But I'm not going to do it because Colorado has a huge population of elk/deer/bear/moose hunters who might not be able to resist the temptation to become famous by nailing a legendary ape.
You know, I have occasionally thought of dressing as Bigfoot and being seen just as an experiment to see what the news coverage looks like (I'm 6'4" and could do a reasonable sasquatch impression.) But I'm not going to do it because Colorado has a huge population of elk/deer/bear/moose hunters who might not be able to resist the temptation to become famous by nailing a legendary ape.
Amber holds keys to past
What can amber from India, 50 million years old, tell us about our pasts? Ask Dr. David Grimaldi, who's been finding hundreds of insect species in it. He told NPR's Science Friday:
"Well, we can actually see transitional forms between living and other extinct things. So fossils actually are important for evolutionary research. It tells us a lot about the origins of the Asian fauna. And this particular deposit, I find probably the most interesting aspect of it is that the resin, the amber, was actually formed from a type of tree called dipterocarps. And today, these types of trees are the dominant tree in Southeast Asia. And there had been some controversy about the age of tropical forests. And this is a unique discovery in terms of helping to date the age of tropical forests."
No dinosaur DNA (of course, the amber is too young anyway), but the large lumps of amber being pulled out of a lignite mine are time capsules of evolution.
"Well, we can actually see transitional forms between living and other extinct things. So fossils actually are important for evolutionary research. It tells us a lot about the origins of the Asian fauna. And this particular deposit, I find probably the most interesting aspect of it is that the resin, the amber, was actually formed from a type of tree called dipterocarps. And today, these types of trees are the dominant tree in Southeast Asia. And there had been some controversy about the age of tropical forests. And this is a unique discovery in terms of helping to date the age of tropical forests."
No dinosaur DNA (of course, the amber is too young anyway), but the large lumps of amber being pulled out of a lignite mine are time capsules of evolution.
China to launch space lab by 2020
It's often been suggested that China be added to the partners of the International Space Station, but thechnical and political reasons have kept that from happening. The Chinese aren't going to do a full-blown space station, on the scale of the ISS, but they are planning a human-inhabitaed laboratory by 2020, with a test version to be launched by 2016.
Amazon produces a new species every three days
On average, a new species was described out of the Amazon region every three days for the last ten years, according to the World Widlife Fund. Ecologist Meg Symington: "What we say now, and we're very conservative, is one in 10 known species is found in the Amazon." Discovered in the Amazon from 1999 to 2009 were 637 plants, 257 fish, 216 amphibians, 55 reptiles, 16 birds and 39 mammals.
COMMENT: And some people STILL say cryptozoologists are wasting their time looking for new animals?
COMMENT: And some people STILL say cryptozoologists are wasting their time looking for new animals?
Scientis have fun with Dracula orchids andGoblin spiders
Entomologists and botanists like a cool name as much as anyone. A group of orchids famed for luring fruit flies to pollinate them by looking and smelling like mushrooms (the flies' natural preference) are classified in the genus Dracula. Goblin spiders are a very numerous group of small arachnids. Plenty of new species are being added to the spiders, the orchids have proven attractive to some previously unknown species of flies.
But why Dracula? Lorena Endara of the University of Florida explains, "Carlyle Luer, who later segregated Dracula from Masdevallia, sees these orchids as little bats flying in the forest since the flower faces down and the triangular sepals and the long sepaline tails display parallel to the ground."
Happy Halloween!
But why Dracula? Lorena Endara of the University of Florida explains, "Carlyle Luer, who later segregated Dracula from Masdevallia, sees these orchids as little bats flying in the forest since the flower faces down and the triangular sepals and the long sepaline tails display parallel to the ground."
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween! Keeping with my philosophy of some things being more important than blogging, I'm taking the day off to spend with the ghosts & goblins here in the neighborhood. I'll be back tomorrow with more tech news and more clinical trials. i've got some good things coming up, so keep checking in daily. Now go out there and have some fun! In keeping with the tradition we started about 3 years ago, we'll be making and handing out fresh funnel cakes tomorrow to anyone who stops by. I'm mean, who wouldn't rather have a funnel cake than a candy bar?
Thanks also to FreeFoto.com for the use of the photo above.
Trick or treat!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Bye-bye Palm Pre... Hello Samsung Epic
Well, I finally did it. I'm back with Samsung after a brief second fling with Palm.
I was a Palm user for years, going way back to the good old days of the actual Palm Pilot. I was a loyal user through many variations of the hardware and software... heck I even used to TEACH how to use Palm software before there was even a phone interface for it. However, that's all gone now.
Two years ago, Sprint came out with the Samsung Instinct and I dropped by old Palm Treo for it. I was with the Instinct for about a year and I really liked it, but friends and Sprint employees kept telling me I had to get the Palm Pre. Based on their recommendations, I made the jump. I was happy... for a while. The new OS was nice and I liked the true multi tasking, but the device just didn't sell like anyone was hoping and Palm was purchased by HP. I knew then, my device was doomed. HP was certainly not going to work on fixing legacy hardware and so I was stuck.
Furthermore, the software was buggy, even with the rare fixes that were pushed out. I routinely waited for 60 seconds or so for my calendar or Twitter app to load. Seriously, a calendar on a smart phone that can't load? That's unacceptable.
When the EVO came out from Sprint, I was tempted, but I'd had good luck with Samsung before. The Driod OS has proved itself and I wanted something fast and 4G.
My overall impressions so far? Well, I've had it now for about 15 hours... but I like it. This thing is blazing fast with loading apps. The 4G speeds scream, but I knew that already. It has an interchangeable battery and I bought the spare battery charger so really, I don't care that much about battery life. The slide out keyboard is very nice and easy on the fingers. It also has a memory card slot so I'm not going to bump into a low memory situation. Oh, and the screen is just blow you away impressive. Add to that the great Sprint customer experience I had and this a match made in heaven.
When I was single all those years ago, I had the occasional time when I'd date someone for a second time after a breakup. It didn't take me long to remember why it hadn't worked the first time...
So, Palm... it's not you... it's me, OK... OK???!!!
Aw, never mind the feel good stuff, Palm you gave me a crummy device and I won't get fooled again.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Non-science digression: farewell to Superman, the last hero
OK, I officially hate what DC is doing to Superman. Do these people remaking him as dark and edgy and angsty have no respect whatever for an iconic character? He may be, as Batman once called him, an "overgrown Boy Scout," but the comics world needs at least ONE hero who still believes in right and wrong and isn't a borderline psycho. You know, someone people would actually look up to? Superman was the last of those heroes. The 12-year-old boy in me weeps.
Digi-Key and Energy Micro ink global distribution deal
THIEF RIVER FALLS, USA & OSLO, NORWAY: Electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corp. has announced today a worldwide agreement with Energy Micro for distribution of its ultra low power EFM®32 Gecko microcontroller products.
Energy Micro’s energy friendly product range, comprising 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3 based microcontrollers, energyAware tools and companion development kits, are now available from Digi-Key’s global websites and will appear in future print and on-line catalogs.
Dave Doherty, Digi-Key’s VP of Semiconductor Products said: “We’ve already seen, through our North American agreement with Energy Micro, that there is strong market interest in their low power microcontroller solution. Design engineers around the world are under pressure to extend battery life, and we’re delighted to support them with this global distribution agreement.”
Geir Førre, Energy Micro’s President and CEO said: “Digi-Key has already demonstrated to us its ability to reach design engineers with some very real energy management problems to solve. We now look forward to working together with Digi-Key on a worldwide basis to promote the ideals of true energy-friendly design.”
Suiting a range of energy sensitive applications including metering, alarm/security, portable medical and lifestyle products, the EFM32 microcontroller architecture has been designed to dramatically reduce total system energy consumption. The unique advanced energy monitoring (AEM) facility of the EFM32 development kits provides designers with a graphical energy debugging tool enabling early identification and removal of adverse energy drains.
Energy Micro’s energy friendly product range, comprising 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3 based microcontrollers, energyAware tools and companion development kits, are now available from Digi-Key’s global websites and will appear in future print and on-line catalogs.
Dave Doherty, Digi-Key’s VP of Semiconductor Products said: “We’ve already seen, through our North American agreement with Energy Micro, that there is strong market interest in their low power microcontroller solution. Design engineers around the world are under pressure to extend battery life, and we’re delighted to support them with this global distribution agreement.”
Geir Førre, Energy Micro’s President and CEO said: “Digi-Key has already demonstrated to us its ability to reach design engineers with some very real energy management problems to solve. We now look forward to working together with Digi-Key on a worldwide basis to promote the ideals of true energy-friendly design.”
Suiting a range of energy sensitive applications including metering, alarm/security, portable medical and lifestyle products, the EFM32 microcontroller architecture has been designed to dramatically reduce total system energy consumption. The unique advanced energy monitoring (AEM) facility of the EFM32 development kits provides designers with a graphical energy debugging tool enabling early identification and removal of adverse energy drains.
Advanced charging technologies to top $34 billion in 2015
NEW YORK, USA: Markets for advanced charging technologies (including solar-powered handsets, solar chargers, wireless power units, fuel-cell battery charging products and public charging kiosks), worth about $1.5 billion in 2010, are forecast by ABI Research to grow at a robust CAGR of more than 86 percent to exceed $34 billion in 2015.
As people carry and use increasing numbers of portable electronic devices, they have a growing need to charge their batteries on the go. Today’s road warriors can tell you it’s not always feasible to plug a cellphone handset into a wall outlet or car adapter for a quick charge.
That is why a number of vendors are developing and commercializing advanced charging technologies that can top up batteries wirelessly or using solar or wind power, or which provide for a fast download of electricity while waiting for one’s flight.
Research director Larry Fisher of NextGen, ABI Research’s emerging technologies research incubator, says: “With developers about to release advanced charging products in late 2010 and the first half of 2011, the advanced charging revolution is about to take off.
"In addition, the Wireless Power Consortium’s release of the Qi standard for interoperable wireless charging in 2010 has set the stage for portable electronics manufacturers and infrastructure producers such as Panasonic, Philips Electronics, Samsung, LG Electronics and Nokia to incorporate the technology into their products."
Some of these technologies are particularly applicable to users in developing countries. Parts of the Middle East and Africa, for example, do not have access to stable power, and cellphone users must travel many miles and pay to charge up.
Solar chargers and handsets could make a real difference to the lives of people in such circumstances, even though they’re currently being marketed primarily to the eco-conscious in the developed world.
As people carry and use increasing numbers of portable electronic devices, they have a growing need to charge their batteries on the go. Today’s road warriors can tell you it’s not always feasible to plug a cellphone handset into a wall outlet or car adapter for a quick charge.
That is why a number of vendors are developing and commercializing advanced charging technologies that can top up batteries wirelessly or using solar or wind power, or which provide for a fast download of electricity while waiting for one’s flight.
Research director Larry Fisher of NextGen, ABI Research’s emerging technologies research incubator, says: “With developers about to release advanced charging products in late 2010 and the first half of 2011, the advanced charging revolution is about to take off.
"In addition, the Wireless Power Consortium’s release of the Qi standard for interoperable wireless charging in 2010 has set the stage for portable electronics manufacturers and infrastructure producers such as Panasonic, Philips Electronics, Samsung, LG Electronics and Nokia to incorporate the technology into their products."
Some of these technologies are particularly applicable to users in developing countries. Parts of the Middle East and Africa, for example, do not have access to stable power, and cellphone users must travel many miles and pay to charge up.
Solar chargers and handsets could make a real difference to the lives of people in such circumstances, even though they’re currently being marketed primarily to the eco-conscious in the developed world.
Social Philanthropy - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas
Interesting list and methodology explanation
Social Philanthropy - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "The Top 20 Nonprofit Groups on Twitter
October 27, 2010, 8:01 pm
By Derek Lieu
Which nonprofits wield the most influence on Twitter?
It’s not one of America’s most established or best-known organizations. It’s Charity: Water, a new global-development group that has 1.3 million followers, far more than any other charitable group we could find."
Social Philanthropy - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "The Top 20 Nonprofit Groups on Twitter
October 27, 2010, 8:01 pm
By Derek Lieu
Which nonprofits wield the most influence on Twitter?
It’s not one of America’s most established or best-known organizations. It’s Charity: Water, a new global-development group that has 1.3 million followers, far more than any other charitable group we could find."
Glasspockets – Looking Inside Foundations
Glasspockets – Looking Inside Foundations: "The Foundation Center's Grantsfire RSS Feed
This feed displays real-time, raw data reported by foundations that use the Grantsfire 'hGrant' format. Grantsfire facilitates grant reporting for grantmakers and increases the timeliness and accessibility of this information for everyone. Are you a grantmaker that would like to use Grantsfire to share your grant data? Learn more at the Foundation Center's eGrant Reporting Program page."
This feed displays real-time, raw data reported by foundations that use the Grantsfire 'hGrant' format. Grantsfire facilitates grant reporting for grantmakers and increases the timeliness and accessibility of this information for everyone. Are you a grantmaker that would like to use Grantsfire to share your grant data? Learn more at the Foundation Center's eGrant Reporting Program page."
CFP: EDUCAUSE Southeast Regional Conference 2011
CFP: EDUCAUSE Southeast Regional Conference 2011
URL: http://net.educause.edu/content.asp?SECTION_ID=566&bhcp=1
CFP URL: http://net.educause.edu/Program/1027391
Call for Proposals
Play an active part in a leading higher education IT conference by presenting at the Southeast Regional Conference, June 1–3, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
This year’s conference, "Working Together to Manage Increased Complexity with Finite Resources," will look at concrete ways you can “do more with less” by leveraging the benefits of networking, professional development, and applied understandings of cloud computing and other emerging trends and technologies.
Don't miss the opportunity to contribute your thoughts to this conversation—submit a presentation proposal.
The deadline for submissions is December 15, 2010.
URL: http://net.educause.edu/content.asp?SECTION_ID=566&bhcp=1
CFP URL: http://net.educause.edu/Program/1027391
Call for Proposals
Play an active part in a leading higher education IT conference by presenting at the Southeast Regional Conference, June 1–3, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
This year’s conference, "Working Together to Manage Increased Complexity with Finite Resources," will look at concrete ways you can “do more with less” by leveraging the benefits of networking, professional development, and applied understandings of cloud computing and other emerging trends and technologies.
Don't miss the opportunity to contribute your thoughts to this conversation—submit a presentation proposal.
The deadline for submissions is December 15, 2010.
You can't be a true Geek without a deep rooted love of the Lego brick. Then... pair that with the Nintendo Wii and it's a really rare Geek moment when the stars align in complete tech bliss!
Check out this bad boy of geekdom! This is not an inanimate toy, this is an actual licensed Wii remote that is also licensed by Lego. It allows the owner to design and build their own Wii remote made from Lego bricks.
If you don't want one (and you know you do) you can use the age old excuse that you have to have one for your kids. They are available for $40 from major toy stores such as Toys R Us.
Here is the lowdown from the Toys R Us website:
- Description
Build, play and customize with this fully featured LEGO remote for Wii!
Use your own official LEGO pieces (not included) to build a custom display stand using the Buildable Battery Cover. The remote features internal accelerometers, an internal speaker, rumble effects and larger buttons for enhanced control during game play. Works with most Wii chargers and attachments (using included Standard Battery Cover). Includes Remote, Wrist Strap, 2 Battery Covers, and 31 Mini LEGO tiles with LEGO Tile Separator. Compatible with Wii MotionPlus.
Compatible with Wii MotionPlus.- Build, play and customize with this fully featured LEGO remote for Wii!
- The remote features internal accelerometers, an internal speaker, rumble effects and larger buttons for enhanced control during game play.
- Works with most Wii chargers and attachments (using included Standard Battery Cover) and is compatible with Wii MotionPlus.
- Includes Remote, Wrist Strap, 2 Battery Covers, and 31 Mini LEGO tiles with LEGO Tile Separator.
- Officially licensed LEGO product, developed by POWER A.
- HOW TO GET IT
- This item can be shipped to the entire United States including Alaska, Hawaii, and all U.S. territories including Puerto Rico
- This item can also be shipped to APO/FPO addresses and to P.O. Boxes in all 50 states
- This item may be shipped via Standard Shipping, Expedited Shipping or Express Shipping
- Please Note: Some addresses are eligible for Standard Shipping only (APO/FPO, P.O. Boxes, U.S. Territories and Puerto Rico)
(learn more):- Store Pickup is not offered for this item, but the item is sold in our stores
- Orders placed for Store Pickup will receive online pricing and promotions
- In stock status is approximate and may not reflect recent store sales
- Not all items are carried at all stores. Please click the ''Select a store'' link to check product availability
This item may be shipped in the manufacturer's original packaging, which could reveal the contents of the box
Asus U35JC-A1
Much like the UL30A, Asus U35JC-A1 is slim, angular, and decked in lots of brushed metal in many ways, it comes across as a throwback design, like a DeLorean in laptop form. The very thin upper lid is backed in brushed aluminum, the small centered Asus logo looking more EPCOT-era than ever. Inside, a light gray silver, patterned, glossy plastic surrounds the keyboard deck, while glossy, black plastic surrounds the inset screen. Asus' keyboards are almost universally of the raised Chiclet style kind, but they're not all made equally.
Some Asus laptops have exhibited serious keyboard flex but that isn't the case with Asus U35JC-A1. The very solid feeling keys were great to type on, and aside from our gripe with the awkwardly placed arrow keys and a right hand side of page up or down buttons that needlessly squish the Enter and Shift keys, it makes for an excellent experience. There's just enough palm rest space beneath for good lap typing. Overall, it's nearly as good a keyboard as the MacBook Pro's.A medium size multitouch touchpad lies flush with the keyboard deck around it in the same color to boot but textured with a subtle matte grid that works better than expected. A thin button bar beneath feels too slight, but the whole package gets the job done well and, most importantly, responsively. However, we'd put an asterisk next to "multitouch" the Elan software driving the touchpad allows only for a limited set of gestures, such as two finger scroll and multifinger tap, leaving out obvious ones like pinch to zoom. Two buttons sit atop the keyboard : one to the far left, one to the right.
They look identical, but the right one is the power button, whereas the left boots up the laptop in Asus' Express Gate quick start OS. We're not a fan of quick-start environments, simply because their limited applications, quirky setup, and need to boot up Windows 7 for access to the rest of your PC's features make for an annoying experience. Do yourself a favor and just put your laptop to sleep instead. When Windows 7 is already booted, the left button switches between custom battery saving modes.
The LED-backlit, glossy 13 inch 16:9 screen has a native resolution of 1,366x768 pixels, standard for this size. Viewing angles were tighter than we'd prefer, with color and contrast drifting into a washed out look unless the screen was perfectly centered. For videos, Web browsing, and general everyday use, pictures and videos look fine as long as excessive tilting is avoided. Front firing Altec Lansing stereo speakers situated under the keyboard on the lower front edge of Asus U35JC-A1 are loud enough for movies, Webchat or any other conceivable use, with notable crisp punch during gameplay. They're better than standard laptop speakers at this range, but lack musical depth and powerful bass.
Lenovo IdeaPad Y560d
Lenovo continues to create very nice looking laptops with its IdeaPad line. Lenovo IdeaPad Y560d is about as far from the office ready Lenovo mindset as we've seen, with a funky tribal tattoo design on the back of the lid. Other than that, the color scheme is similar to systems such as the IdeaPad Y460, with a copper accent strip around the outer edge of the lid and an interior mix of not too glossy black plastic and matte black keys. A row of backlit touch sensitive control buttons sit on top of the keyboard.
Running a finger back and forth along them pops up a quick launch bar, with assignable slots for different apps. It's clever looking, but it takes some getting used to. Running your finger along the right part of it can also change the desktop background image, but we never got the hang of pulling that off consistently. The keyboard and touch pad are excellent, even though Lenovo IdeaPad Lenovo IdeaPad Y560d uses a tapered key keyboard (more like the traditional ThinkPad design), rather than the flat topped island style one seen on most other IdeaPad models.
The 15.6 inch wide screen display offers a 1,366x768 pixel native resolution, which is standard for a 16:9 midsize laptop screen. It's great for 720p HD video content, but it can't display 1080p content at full resolution. Hardcore gamers may want higher resolutions, and we were also troubled by the faint horizontal lenticular lines that are sometimes visible, even when not using any 3D applications that's a byproduct of the polarized 3D system. Under the hood, Lenovo IdeaPad Y560d is a very impressive machine.With a 1.6GHz Intel Core i7 720QM CPU, a 500GB 7200rpm hard drive, and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 graphics, it's powerful enough for just about any task. The system holds its own against other high end laptops such as the HP Envy 17 and Toshiba A665-3DV (both also Core i7 systems) in our benchmark tests. But what we're really interested in is the 3D capabilities. We've had experience with the TriDef system before, and found this version to be largely the same.
Lenovo IdeaPad Y560d includes a basic pair of cheap plastic polarized glasses, plus a second pair of clip-ons for those of us who already wear glasses (be warned: it's not a cool look). The screen has to be tilted at just the right angle. For us it was about 120 degrees back, and with us sitting about twice as far from the screen as we normally would. The effect works best with objects that recede into the distance, where we could sometimes get an excellent 3D effect.
Objects that popped out of the screen toward us often got blurry or out of focus, as did some menus rendered in 3D. Keep in mind that it's very important to keep your head still to main just the perfect angle. To get games to play in 3D, they have to be run through the TriDef wrapper app, which is an easy enough process, but one with a lot of processing overhead. Playing Street Fighter IV (which looked very good in 3D), we got an average of 32 frames per second (at the native 1,366x768 pixel resolution) when running the game normally, but that dropped to about 13 frames per second when running it in 3D.
That's especially disappointing given the high powered hardware. On the positive side, the plastic polarized glasses are passive, and don't require batteries or recharging. Also, no external IR emitter dongle is required (as in Nvidia 3D Vision systems), making this a more compact, no extras required setup.
Asus Eee PC Seashell 1015PED-MU17
Like many of Asus' recent Eee PC Netbooks, Asus Eee PC Seashell 1015PED-MU17 has a sleek, teardrop shaped side profile, thicker at the back and tapering down to a sharp point at the nose. It's largely the same tapered/curved design we've seen on most Asus Eee PC's over the last year or so, particularly the 1005PEB, making it hard to muster excitement for a design that's barely distinguishable from others. Smooth matte surfaces on the back lid and keyboard deck guard against fingerprints, but still give off some ambient gloss.
Asus Eee PC Seashell 1015PED-MU17 line comes in red, blue, white, and black our red model had an attractive, coppery, brownish glow. The back lid's rather thick and whole unit feels solid, even a bit dense, but the compact form feels easy to tuck away. Having no protruding batteries or edges other than a slight bump on the rear bottom is a plus. The edge to edge raised chiclet style keyboard features well responding keys and no flex, but the smaller than full size keyboard felt cramped after a while.
In particular, the tiny wrist rests underneath feel too small for easy lap typing. A wide multitouch touchpad is composed of the same comfortable matte smooth lid/palmrest material, and is delineated by thin silver strips on the left and right, a slight change from previous Eee PC models. The touchpad felt wider and nicer than on previous models, though our thumbs tended to land on the pad when typing. A thin plastic button bar beneath is a bit small, but has a solid click.Above the keyboard, a small plastic power button sits to the right and a quick-start button lies side by side with a Wi-Fi on/off button on the left. Asus' Express Gate Cloud quick start OS is a pared down environment with its own browser, photo app, and a few other features. Despite its faster boot time, we doubt many people will be satisfied with its performance and limited options most will opt to simply boot up Windows and keep Asus Eee PC Seashell 1015PED-MU17 in sleep mode between sessions.
The 10.1 inch LED matte screen on Asus Eee PC Seashell 1015PED-MU17 has a maximum pixel resolution of 1,152x864, which is highly nonstandard and produces a squished look. The resolution can be knocked down to 1,024x600 common for Netbooks. We've noticed 1,366x768 10 inch Netbook displays becoming increasingly common, but there's no such luck here. Pictures and videos looked crisp, and viewing angles were reasonable for the size and hinge limitations of Asus Eee PC Seashell 1015PED-MU17' lid, but Web pages feel cramped at this limited resolution.
Stereo speakers, located on the bottom front edge of Asus Eee PC Seashell 1015PED-MU17, offered louder than average audio that actually sounded quite good for video viewing. They're not musically extravagant, but they're definitely good enough for most needs. Asus chose to add a physical lens cover slider to its VGA Webcam, ostensibly to protect people against being unknowingly recorded.
It seems a little silly and is more likely to cause panic by making some people think their Webcam is broken when it's really just covered. Regardless, the picture quality is suitable for basic video chat, but its contrast levels created dark silhouettes. Cyberlink's YouCam software, which can be launched from a pull-down software widget on the desktop, is included on the system and has links to various Asus cloud-storage services and shortcuts.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Make Your Applications More Efficient with Multitasking
Multitasking is the ability to do more than one thing at the same time. As far as Windows applications are concerned, it is one of those concepts that is easy to describe but that, until recently, has been difficult to implement without getting embroiled in the threading mechanism provided by the .NET Framework and the operating system. A good implementation of multitasking achieves two objectives:
- It helps to ensure that an application remains responsive; a desktop application can wait and respond to user input on one thread while another thread performs any processing required.
- It assists in making the application scalable; if the application is deployed to a computer with a multicore processor, it can take advantage of the additional processing power to perform operations concurrently.
In the optimal scenario, an application running on a multicore processor performs as many concurrent tasks as there are processor cores available, keeping each of the cores busy. However, there are many issues you have to consider to implement concurrency, including the following:
- How can you divide an application into a set of concurrent operations?
- How can you arrange for a set of operations to execute concurrently, on multiple processors?
- How can you ensure that you attempt to perform only as many concurrent operations as there are processors available?
- If an operation is blocked (such as while it is waiting for I/O to complete), how can you detect this and arrange for the processor to run a different operation rather than sit idle?
- How can you determine when one or more concurrent operations have completed?
- How can you synchronize access to shared data to ensure that two or more concurrent operations do not inadvertently corrupt each other’s data?
To an application developer, the first question is a matter of application design. The remaining questions depend on the programmatic infrastructure—Microsoft provides the Task Parallel Library (TPL) to help address these issues.
Tasks, Threads, and the ThreadPool
The most important type in the TPL is the Task class in the System.Threading.Tasks namespace. The Task class is an abstraction of a concurrent operation. You create a Task object to run a block of code. You can instantiate multiple Task objects and start them running in parallel if sufficient processor cores are available.
Internally, the TPL implements tasks and schedules them for execution by using Thread objects and the ThreadPool class (in the System.Threading namespace). Multithreading and thread pools have been available with the .NET Framework since version 1.0, and you can use the Thread class directly in your code. However, the TPL provides an additional degree of abstraction that enables you to easily distinguish between the degree of parallelization in an application (the tasks) and the units of parallelization (the threads). On a single-processor computer, these items are usually the same. However, on a computer with multiple processors or with a multicore processor, they are different items. If you design a program based directly on threads, you will find that your application might not scale very well; the program will use the number of threads you explicitly create, and the operating system will schedule only that number of threads. This can lead to overloading and poor response time if the number of threads greatly exceeds the number of available processors, or inefficiency and poor throughput if the number of threads is less than the number of processors.
The TPL optimizes the number of threads required to implement a set of concurrent tasks and schedules them efficiently according to the number of available processors. The TPL uses a set of threads provided by the ThreadPool, and implements a queuing mechanism to distribute the workload across these threads. When a program creates a Task object, the task is added to a global queue. When a thread becomes available, the task is removed from the global queue and is executed by that thread. The ThreadPool implements a number of optimizations and uses a work-stealing algorithm to ensure that threads are scheduled efficiently.
Note: The ThreadPool was available in previous editions of the .NET Framework, but it has been enhanced significantly in the .NET Framework 4.0 to support Tasks.
You should be aware that the number of threads created by the .NET Framework to handle your tasks is not necessarily the same as the number of processors. Depending on the nature of the workload, one or more processors might be busy performing high-priority work for other applications and services. Consequently, the optimal number of threads for your application might be less than the number of processors in the machine. Alternatively, one or more threads in an application might be waiting for long-running memory access, I/O, or a network operation to complete, leaving the corresponding processors free. In this case, the optimal number of threads might be more than the number of available processors. The .NET Framework follows an iterative strategy, known as a hill-climbing algorithm, to dynamically determine the ideal number of threads for the current workload.
The important point is that all you have to do in your code is divide your application into tasks that can be run in parallel. The .NET Framework takes responsibility for creating the appropriate number of threads based on the processor architecture and workload of your computer, associating your tasks with these threads and arranging for them to be run efficiently. It does not matter if you divide your work up into too many tasks as the .NET Framework will only attempt to run as many concurrent threads as is practical; in fact, you are encouraged to "overpartition" your work as this will help to ensure that your application scales if you move it on to a computer that has more processors available.
Creating, Running, and Synchronizing Tasks
You can create Task objects by using the Task constructor. The Task constructor is overloaded, but all versions expect you to provide an Action delegate as a parameter. The task uses this delegate to run the method when it is scheduled. The following example creates a Task object that uses a delegate to run the method called doWork:
Task task = new Task(doWork);
...
private void doWork()
{
// The task runs this code when it is started
...
}
The default Action type references a method that takes no parameters. Other overloads of the Task constructor take an an Action<object> parameter representing a delegate that refers to a method that takes a single object parameter. These overloads enable you to pass data into the method run by the task. The following code shows an example:
Action<object> action;
action = doWorkWithObject;
object parameterData = ...;
Task task = new Task(action, parameterData);
...
private void doWorkWithObject(object o)
{
...
}
After you create a Task object, you can set it running by using the Start method, like this:
Task task = new Task(...);
task.Start();
The Start method is also overloaded, and you can optionally specify a TaskScheduler object to control the degree of concurrency and other scheduling options. It is recommended that you use the default TaskScheduler object built into the .NET Framework, although you can define your own custom TaskScheduler class if you really need to take more control over the way in which tasks are queued and scheduled.
You can use also a TaskFactory object to create and run a task in a single step. The constructor for the TaskFactory class enables you to specify a task scheduler and additional task creation options. The TaskFactory class provides the StartNew method to create and run a Task object. Like the Start method of the Task class, the StartNew method is overloaded, but all overloads expect a reference to a method that the task should run. Even if you do not currently specify any particular task creation options and you use the default task scheduler, you should still consider using a TaskFactory object; it ensures consistency, and you will have less code to modify to ensure that all tasks run in the same manner if you need to customize this process in the future. The Task class exposes the default TaskFactory used by the TPL through the static Factory property. You can use it like this:
Task task = Task.Factory.StartNew(doWork);
When the method run by a task completes, the task finishes, and the thread used to run the task can be recycled to execute another task.
A common requirement of applications that invoke operations in parallel is to synchronize tasks. The Task class provides the Wait method, which implements a simple task coordination method. It enables you to suspend execution of the current thread until the specified task completes, like this:
task.Wait(); // Wait at this point until task completes
You can wait for a set of tasks by using the static WaitAll, and WaitAny methods of the Task class. Both methods take a params array containing a set of Task objects. The WaitAll method waits until all specified tasks have completed, and WaitAny stops until at least one of the specified tasks has finished. You use them like this:
// Wait for both task1 and task2 to complete
Task.WaitAll(task, task2);
// Wait for either of task1 or task2 to complete
Task.WaitAny(task, task2);
In summary, the TPL makes it easy to build multitasking applications without having to be concerned about the details of multithreading. The TPL provides a large number of features beyond those described in this simple overview, such as the Parallel class that implements a concurrent version of some common programming constructs. The TPL also includes a number of collection classes in the System.Collections.Concurrent namespace that support synchronized concurrent access to data shared by multiple tasks.
Moogle Robot Allows Home Owners to do Inspections in Tight Spaces
Whether it happens to be needed in your home or dental office, sometimes you need to be able to see in places where you just can't get a human being to fit.If that's the case for you, help may soon be on the way. Actually, help is already here, but the price tag is a little high for my tastes. This is the Moolge from Daiwa and it is a remote controlled robot that allows for inspection of those aforementioned tight spaces. Current cost is $2500 or you can lease it for $500 per month (only in Japan).
The device uses tractor treads to move, is equipped with a remote control steering system, a laser range finder, and has WiFi. It also has 2 cameras, one to drive and one to inspect.
As the price falls, I can see devices like this available for rent or purchase from retailers like the Home Depot. I mean, if they'll rent you a truck or backhoe, why not a robot to inspect your foundation? I'm sure that future generations will even have tools that can be used to fix a problem once you find it. We've all got little nooks and crannies in our homes that we should probably be checking on occasion, but we just can't do it economically. This may be just the thing in a year or two.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Packaged LED market experiencing tremendous growth with an expected CAGR of 28.2 percent between 2009 and 2015
LYON & PARIS, FRANCE: Yole Développement and EPIC will announce the publication on 15 November 2010 of their new market & technological studies dedicated to LED market and manufacturing technologies:
* Status of the LED industry “SLI 2010”, 2008-2020 analysis.
* LED Manufacturing Technologies “LED ManTech 2010”
This comprehensive survey describes the main market metrics and manufacturing technologies implementing broad adoption of Solid State Lighting.
The packaged LED market is experiencing tremendous growth with an expected CAGR of 28.2 percent between 2009 and 2015. In our base scenario, revenues will reach $8.9 billion in 2010 and grow to $25.7 billion in 2015 and close to $30 billion in 2020.
In terms of volume, LED die surface will increase from 6.3b mm2 to 51b mm2 in 2015, a 41.6 percent CAGR. This will prompt substrate volumes to growth from 12.7M TIE (Two Inch Equivalent) in 2009 to 84.4M TIE in 2015, a 37.1 percent CAGR (smaller than the die surface increase due to significant manufacturing yield improvements). The equipment market will experiment a dramatic growth cycle with demand driving the installation of close to 1400 reactors in the 2010-2012 period.
“Anticipation of future demand and generous subsidies in China will trigger the installation of another 700-1000 reactors in the same period, leading to a short period of oversupply starting in late 2011. However, this oversupply will mostly affect the low end of the market,” explains Tom Pearsall, EPIC.
Growth in general lighting applications will be enabled by significant technology and manufacturing efficiency improvements that will help to lower the cost per lumen of packaged LED to be reduced 10 fold between 2010 and 2020: Economies of scale, LED efficiency improvement, including at high power (droop effect), Improved phosphors, Improved packaging technologies, Significant improvements in LED epitaxy cost of ownership through yield and throughput. However, additional breathoughs are needed; Haitz’s Law is not enough.
* Status of the LED industry “SLI 2010”, 2008-2020 analysis.
* LED Manufacturing Technologies “LED ManTech 2010”
This comprehensive survey describes the main market metrics and manufacturing technologies implementing broad adoption of Solid State Lighting.
The packaged LED market is experiencing tremendous growth with an expected CAGR of 28.2 percent between 2009 and 2015. In our base scenario, revenues will reach $8.9 billion in 2010 and grow to $25.7 billion in 2015 and close to $30 billion in 2020.
In terms of volume, LED die surface will increase from 6.3b mm2 to 51b mm2 in 2015, a 41.6 percent CAGR. This will prompt substrate volumes to growth from 12.7M TIE (Two Inch Equivalent) in 2009 to 84.4M TIE in 2015, a 37.1 percent CAGR (smaller than the die surface increase due to significant manufacturing yield improvements). The equipment market will experiment a dramatic growth cycle with demand driving the installation of close to 1400 reactors in the 2010-2012 period.
“Anticipation of future demand and generous subsidies in China will trigger the installation of another 700-1000 reactors in the same period, leading to a short period of oversupply starting in late 2011. However, this oversupply will mostly affect the low end of the market,” explains Tom Pearsall, EPIC.
Growth in general lighting applications will be enabled by significant technology and manufacturing efficiency improvements that will help to lower the cost per lumen of packaged LED to be reduced 10 fold between 2010 and 2020: Economies of scale, LED efficiency improvement, including at high power (droop effect), Improved phosphors, Improved packaging technologies, Significant improvements in LED epitaxy cost of ownership through yield and throughput. However, additional breathoughs are needed; Haitz’s Law is not enough.
New "sneezing monkey" discovered
Scientists in the jungles of Myanmar have discovered a new primate called the "sneezing monkey" because its nostrils are turned up, so it sneezes out water when it rains. Seriously. I'm trying to figure out the evolution of that trait.
But it's another reminder that we are still finding new species all over the planet, and not just bugs and mice.
But it's another reminder that we are still finding new species all over the planet, and not just bugs and mice.
Tardigrades survive in space
I'm sure I did a post on this once before, but I can't find it, and events today brought it to my mind. Tardigrades are strange little multilegged beasties with the ability to survive dehydration and other extremes by essentially curling into a little ball and shutting down like a robot turning itself off until conditions get better. A surprising entry on the list of "Things that WON'T kill Tardigrades" is exposure to outer space. Vacuum and solar/cosmic radiation should kill anything more complex than a basic microbe (or the Andromeda strain, for you Michael Crichton fans), but tardigrades have survived even those conditions. Oh, and nuclear radiation won't kill them either....
White paper on optimizing LED-based recessed downlight apps
MONTREAL, CANADA: A new white paper providing guidelines for developing high-performance solid state downlights is now available from Future Lighting Solutions.
The paper, titled “Enabling LED-Based Recessed Downlight Applications,” describes the considerations and components for implementing LED-based downlight fixtures that meet market needs as well as ENERGY STAR requirements, including light output, efficacy and longevity benchmarks.
Topics covered in the paper include component selection, how to determine the corrected drive parameters, and the role of optical, thermal and power solutions in producing reliable solid state downlighting.
Examples provided utilize Philips Lumileds LUXEON Rebel LEDs, NXP dimmable IC drivers, and Future Lighting Solutions simpleLED light engines that accelerate time to market by providing LEDs, secondary optics and onboard connectors already mounted on circuit boards.
The simpleLED off-the-shelf assemblies also include UL recognition that eliminates the need for a full in-system LED component investigation to obtain UL Listed status for new luminaires.
The paper provides a road map for implementing a Future-developed 4” and 6” reference design for recessed downlight systems.
The attention to downlight applications reflects the fact that downlighting accounts for up to one-fourth of the lighting energy used. LED-based downlights reduce energy consumption by 45% to 80% over conventional luminaires. They also significantly reduce bulb replacements costs because they have longer hours of operation compared to traditional light sources, provide a green RoHS-compliant, and enable far more flexible designs because of their small form factor.
The paper, titled “Enabling LED-Based Recessed Downlight Applications,” describes the considerations and components for implementing LED-based downlight fixtures that meet market needs as well as ENERGY STAR requirements, including light output, efficacy and longevity benchmarks.
Topics covered in the paper include component selection, how to determine the corrected drive parameters, and the role of optical, thermal and power solutions in producing reliable solid state downlighting.
Examples provided utilize Philips Lumileds LUXEON Rebel LEDs, NXP dimmable IC drivers, and Future Lighting Solutions simpleLED light engines that accelerate time to market by providing LEDs, secondary optics and onboard connectors already mounted on circuit boards.
The simpleLED off-the-shelf assemblies also include UL recognition that eliminates the need for a full in-system LED component investigation to obtain UL Listed status for new luminaires.
The paper provides a road map for implementing a Future-developed 4” and 6” reference design for recessed downlight systems.
The attention to downlight applications reflects the fact that downlighting accounts for up to one-fourth of the lighting energy used. LED-based downlights reduce energy consumption by 45% to 80% over conventional luminaires. They also significantly reduce bulb replacements costs because they have longer hours of operation compared to traditional light sources, provide a green RoHS-compliant, and enable far more flexible designs because of their small form factor.
CFP: Journal of Design History's Archives, Collections and Curatorship Feature
CFP: Journal of Design History's Archives, Collections and Curatorship Feature
The Journal of Design History welcomes contributions that introduce and explore aspects of a design archive, collection, or exhibition as a resource for design historical research. These are published in our Archives, Collections, and Curatorship (AC&C) feature. Some authors may wish to take a critical perspective, i.e. not simply describing the strengths, but also analysing weaknesses of an archive or collection or uncovering institutional biases and historical gaps and suggesting ways of resolving these issues.
Others may wish to reflect on the practice of collecting, archiving, and doing research in archives or collections. Archives and collections can include those held by museums, libraries, businesses, educational institutions, and other organizations. The resources discussed may be accessed on site or via images on the Web. The feature also welcomes essays on the display of design collections within exhibitions. These might take the form of an exhibition review or reflection on the practice of design display and curatorship.
We welcome contributions from archivists, curators, designers, historians, museum professionals, and advanced graduate students. Submissions should be between 2500 and 4500 words in length, with up to eight images in colour or black-and-white, and provide information on how to access the archive, collection, or exhibition. Contributions are subject to a double-blind review process. Further guidance to authors can be found at the Journal’s online portal at http://jdh.oxfordjournals.org/ under Instructions to Authors. (Please disregard the length and abstract instructions for full-length articles.) Submissions should be uploaded through the portal at Submit Now!
Please send questions to Dr Regina Lee Blaszczyk (Reggie.Blaszczyk@gmail.com), editor of the Archives, Collections, and Curatorship feature, Journal of Design History, Oxford University Press.
The Journal of Design History welcomes contributions that introduce and explore aspects of a design archive, collection, or exhibition as a resource for design historical research. These are published in our Archives, Collections, and Curatorship (AC&C) feature. Some authors may wish to take a critical perspective, i.e. not simply describing the strengths, but also analysing weaknesses of an archive or collection or uncovering institutional biases and historical gaps and suggesting ways of resolving these issues.
Others may wish to reflect on the practice of collecting, archiving, and doing research in archives or collections. Archives and collections can include those held by museums, libraries, businesses, educational institutions, and other organizations. The resources discussed may be accessed on site or via images on the Web. The feature also welcomes essays on the display of design collections within exhibitions. These might take the form of an exhibition review or reflection on the practice of design display and curatorship.
We welcome contributions from archivists, curators, designers, historians, museum professionals, and advanced graduate students. Submissions should be between 2500 and 4500 words in length, with up to eight images in colour or black-and-white, and provide information on how to access the archive, collection, or exhibition. Contributions are subject to a double-blind review process. Further guidance to authors can be found at the Journal’s online portal at http://jdh.oxfordjournals.org/ under Instructions to Authors. (Please disregard the length and abstract instructions for full-length articles.) Submissions should be uploaded through the portal at Submit Now!
Please send questions to Dr Regina Lee Blaszczyk (Reggie.Blaszczyk@gmail.com), editor of the Archives, Collections, and Curatorship feature, Journal of Design History, Oxford University Press.
New Nord Keyboards Winter 2010 Catalogue published
The Winter 2010 edition of the Nord Product Catalogue is available for online viewing and download.
Download your .pdf copy here
Or view online here [http://issuu.com/soundtechnology/docs/nord_winter_2010}.
Propellerhead ReBirth named in Sound on Sound's 25 products that changed recording
Sound On Sound celebrates its 25th birthday with a special anniversary edition. Propellerhead ReBirth is named In its "25 products that changed recording" article.
SOS said in 1997: “If you haven’t got a computer, or a TB303/TR808 duo, you might actually come out ahead by buying a new computer and ReBirth, rather than paying the inflated prices demanded for 15- or 20-year old hardware.” The origins of software synthesis go back a surprisingly long way, and most of the plausible candidates for the title of “first software synth” actually pre-date the launch of SOS. However, it was not until 1997 that software synthesis became a useful, practical and affordable option for everyday music production, and it was Swedish developers Propellerhead who made the breakthrough.
Today of course, ReBirth has returned! Propellerhead Software's legendary Techno Micro Composer has been resurrected and made available for the iPhone.
Call for ALA-Midwinter Proposals: ACTS CRS Electronic Resources Interest Group
Call for ALA-Midwinter Proposals: ACTS CRS Electronic Resources Interest Group
The ALCTS Continuing Resources Section, Electronic Resources Interest Group (ERIG) is seeking proposals for presentations at our program at the ALA Mid-Winter meeting in San Diego, CA. The
ALCTS CRS ERIG meeting will be on Saturday, January 8th from 10:30 a.m. - noon.
Electronic Resources Management as a Public Service: Delivering quality content at the right time, in the right places
Consider contributing to a panel discussion on a topic, such as:
*Methods for assessing user experiences with e-resources
*Staffing models and workflows that facilitate prompt trouble-shooting and problem resolution
*Means of providing user support for e-resources
*Sharing user feedback with publishers/providers to improve product functionality
*Interfaces that streamline user access to e-resources
*Tools that embed e-resources and search interfaces in other platforms
*Approaches to spur development of innovative e-resource delivery
Each panelist/group will have approximately 15 minutes for the presentation, and audience questions and discussion will be encouraged after the presentations.
Email proposals by Wednesday, November 17th to Christine Turner, cturner@library.umass.edu. Please include:
*Presentation title
*Brief summary of proposed presentation
*Names and positions of presenter(s)
*Email address(es) of presenter(s)
We look forward to hearing from you!
Thank you,
Christine Turner
Chair, ALCTS CRS ERIG
cturner@library.umass.edu
Liz Babbitt
Vice Chair/Chair-Elect, ALCTS CRS ERIG
elizabeth.babbitt@montana.edu
The ALCTS Continuing Resources Section, Electronic Resources Interest Group (ERIG) is seeking proposals for presentations at our program at the ALA Mid-Winter meeting in San Diego, CA. The
ALCTS CRS ERIG meeting will be on Saturday, January 8th from 10:30 a.m. - noon.
Electronic Resources Management as a Public Service: Delivering quality content at the right time, in the right places
Consider contributing to a panel discussion on a topic, such as:
*Methods for assessing user experiences with e-resources
*Staffing models and workflows that facilitate prompt trouble-shooting and problem resolution
*Means of providing user support for e-resources
*Sharing user feedback with publishers/providers to improve product functionality
*Interfaces that streamline user access to e-resources
*Tools that embed e-resources and search interfaces in other platforms
*Approaches to spur development of innovative e-resource delivery
Each panelist/group will have approximately 15 minutes for the presentation, and audience questions and discussion will be encouraged after the presentations.
Email proposals by Wednesday, November 17th to Christine Turner, cturner@library.umass.edu. Please include:
*Presentation title
*Brief summary of proposed presentation
*Names and positions of presenter(s)
*Email address(es) of presenter(s)
We look forward to hearing from you!
Thank you,
Christine Turner
Chair, ALCTS CRS ERIG
cturner@library.umass.edu
Liz Babbitt
Vice Chair/Chair-Elect, ALCTS CRS ERIG
elizabeth.babbitt@montana.edu
Avnet Memec marks 5th anniversary with nearly 13,000 design wins
PHOENIX, USA: Avnet Memec Americas, a division of Avnet Inc., celebrated its fifth anniversary by logging an impressive 12,757 design registrations since being formed in 2005.
Avnet Memec is a name synonymous with design, built on the Memec legacy. The division was created with the Avnet acquisition of Memec in 2005. Today, with more than 40 dedicated field application engineers (FAEs), Avnet Memec has the technical expertise to rapidly move projects from design to production, helping customers overcome technology challenges in today’s fast-paced, high-tech marketplace.
Phil Sansone, senior vice president of Avnet Memec Americas, said that the company’s continued focus of offering a select number of product lines, combined with the powerful technical knowledge of design-driven experts, has lead to an impressive 30 percent growth in design-win sales over the past five years.
“Our success has largely been attributed to our consistent dedication to true innovation and design,” said Sansone. “We look forward to continued success in the next five years and beyond.”
Avnet Memec is a name synonymous with design, built on the Memec legacy. The division was created with the Avnet acquisition of Memec in 2005. Today, with more than 40 dedicated field application engineers (FAEs), Avnet Memec has the technical expertise to rapidly move projects from design to production, helping customers overcome technology challenges in today’s fast-paced, high-tech marketplace.
Phil Sansone, senior vice president of Avnet Memec Americas, said that the company’s continued focus of offering a select number of product lines, combined with the powerful technical knowledge of design-driven experts, has lead to an impressive 30 percent growth in design-win sales over the past five years.
“Our success has largely been attributed to our consistent dedication to true innovation and design,” said Sansone. “We look forward to continued success in the next five years and beyond.”
Evaluating Exorvision's Newest Monitor
For the last several years, I've been a big fan of Exorvision monitors. The company specializes in monitor technology that is specifically made for the dental environment.All of their monitors are glass sealed and water resistant so they can be disinfected by wiping them down... including the screen! From their website:
Per the National Electrical Code, the dental office is classified as a "Patient Care Area," and since liquid is present, it is also classified as a "Wet Location." The electrical code is stricter for these special conditions. Hygiene is also an OSHA concern in these areas. A regular PC monitor is designed for the office environment where the code requirements are less stringent. The ExorVision LCD monitor, on the other hand, has been designed specifically for the dental office where patient safety and operatory hygiene are central issues.Their latest model is now sitting on my desk as I type this. It is the ET19Hm. This beauty is a 19 inch monitor with inputs for composite video, S-video, VGA, and...DVI!!! That's right, the DVI port on my Mac is connected directly to the ET19HM with no adapter. Needless to say, the image is amazing.
The monitor is also designed for use in health care with serious thought given to the fact that theses will be used to view radiographs and clinical images. The 19 inch monitor has an active matrix TFT LCD panel, .294 (H) and .294(V) pixel pitch, a maximum resolution of 1280 x 1024, and a contrast ration of 1000:1
Overall, this thing is impressive. It's been in use now for about 24 hours and I'm still getting used to the sharpness of the images. If you need a monitor, make sure you check out Exorvision. I'm confident you'll be as amazed as I am.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Last flight of the Discovery
The space shuttle orbiter Discovery has a date set for its final flight. After some minor repairs induced a launch slip, NASA has set 1 November as the date for the STS-133 mission to the International Space Station. Six astronauts will deliver a module for storage and experiments, plus the first human-like robot in space, Robonaut 2. Two EVAs (spacewalks) are planned. Then the orbiter will retire, after 39 successful missions.
Godspeed, Discovery. You've been a great ship.
Godspeed, Discovery. You've been a great ship.
More at risk of extinction, but we know how to help
A new report saying one of every five vertebrates (fish excepted) is at some degree of risk also highlights success stories. The authors of the study, led by the United Nations Environment Programme, estimate 18% more species would be at risk without conservation efforts. Success stories include the whooping crane, Przewalski's horse, the California condor, and humpback whale. The best way to help: habitat conservation. It can be expensive, but it does work. As Ana Rodrigues of France's Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive put it, "Conservation is working, there is just not enough of it. Now is the time to scale up conservation."
RFMD unveils new family of integrated configurable components
GREENSBORO, USA: RF Micro Devices Inc. has announced a new family of integrated configurable components for multiple markets.
The highly integrated components, comprised of the RFFC207x and RFFC507x product families, perform multiple common RF functions in a reduced footprint while delivering the flexibility necessary to develop radio systems that operate over a wide dynamic range and across a broad range of frequencies and channel bandwidths.
The RFFC207x and RFFC507x product families integrate RFMD's world-class fractional-N PLL/VCO combination with RF mixers to provide radio designers an elegant radio partitioning option with very high performance, superior integration and no compromise in flexibility.
The RFFC207x and RFFC507x represent the second generation of RFMD's innovative RF205x family of integrated configurable components, which enables radio designers across industries to shrink circuit board area, reduce risk and shorten product development time – all of which lower the total cost of radio implementation.
The RFFC207x and RFFC507x expand upon the capabilities of the RF205x family by enhancing performance and extending frequency range to serve even more industries and applications. General purpose in nature, RFMD's newest family of integrated configurable components is applicable to fixed and mobile infrastructure, radio repeaters, super-heterodyne radios, diversity receivers, frequency band shifters, CATV, software-defined radios, point-to-point radios, satcom, VHF/UHF radios, military, industrial and other applications.
The product family's wide bandwidth enables use in multiple systems and applications. The RFFC207x series has a local oscillator (LO) range from 85MHz to 2700MHz, with a 30MHz to 2700MHz mixer on-chip. The RFFC507x series has an LO range of 85MHz to 4500MHz with mixer range extending up to 6000MHz.
With industry-leading integrated phase noise of 0.18deg rms at 1GHz, the RFFC207x and RFFC507x improve system performance for radio designers. Additionally, the integrated fractional-N synthesizer features an advanced sigma-delta modulator to achieve ultra-fine step sizes and lower spurious products, while integrated mixers enable a smaller implementation (5mm x 5mm) than competing solutions.
Finally, by integrating the entire LO path on-chip, the RFFC207x and RFFC507x eliminate the need for designers to work with the highly sensitive interface from VCO to mixer, saving valuable design time and improving end product manufacturing yields.
The RFFC207x and RFFC507x series also deliver industry-low power consumption. The components' bandwidth and phase noise specifications are achieved using only 125mA from a 3-volt supply (single-mixer, high linearity setting), and the current can be reduced to 100mA by reducing the programmable mixer linearity setting. Importantly, the 4500MHz components use only 10mA more than the 2700MHz components.
All of the components can be programmed through a simple 3-wire serial interface. They also feature a unique programming mode that allows up to four devices to be controlled from a common serial bus. By eliminating the need for separate chip-select control lines between devices and host controller, this lowers the cost of implementation and the risk of interference between RF and digital lines on the target PCB.
Finally, two frequencies can be loaded into the device when it is initialized, allowing convenient switching between frequencies, and lock detect and general purpose pins are available, enabling control though the serial bus.
RFMD is showcasing its industry-leading integrated configurable components at the Electronica Tradeshow, in Munich, Germany, November 9-12 at booth #A4.135.
The single-mixer, 2700MHz RFFC2072 starts at $7.00 per 10,000 units, and the single-mixer, 5000MHz RFFC5072 starts at $9.00 per 10,000 units. Samples and evaluation boards are available now, and production quantities are expected to be available by the end of the December 2010 quarter.
The highly integrated components, comprised of the RFFC207x and RFFC507x product families, perform multiple common RF functions in a reduced footprint while delivering the flexibility necessary to develop radio systems that operate over a wide dynamic range and across a broad range of frequencies and channel bandwidths.
The RFFC207x and RFFC507x product families integrate RFMD's world-class fractional-N PLL/VCO combination with RF mixers to provide radio designers an elegant radio partitioning option with very high performance, superior integration and no compromise in flexibility.
The RFFC207x and RFFC507x represent the second generation of RFMD's innovative RF205x family of integrated configurable components, which enables radio designers across industries to shrink circuit board area, reduce risk and shorten product development time – all of which lower the total cost of radio implementation.
The RFFC207x and RFFC507x expand upon the capabilities of the RF205x family by enhancing performance and extending frequency range to serve even more industries and applications. General purpose in nature, RFMD's newest family of integrated configurable components is applicable to fixed and mobile infrastructure, radio repeaters, super-heterodyne radios, diversity receivers, frequency band shifters, CATV, software-defined radios, point-to-point radios, satcom, VHF/UHF radios, military, industrial and other applications.
The product family's wide bandwidth enables use in multiple systems and applications. The RFFC207x series has a local oscillator (LO) range from 85MHz to 2700MHz, with a 30MHz to 2700MHz mixer on-chip. The RFFC507x series has an LO range of 85MHz to 4500MHz with mixer range extending up to 6000MHz.
With industry-leading integrated phase noise of 0.18deg rms at 1GHz, the RFFC207x and RFFC507x improve system performance for radio designers. Additionally, the integrated fractional-N synthesizer features an advanced sigma-delta modulator to achieve ultra-fine step sizes and lower spurious products, while integrated mixers enable a smaller implementation (5mm x 5mm) than competing solutions.
Finally, by integrating the entire LO path on-chip, the RFFC207x and RFFC507x eliminate the need for designers to work with the highly sensitive interface from VCO to mixer, saving valuable design time and improving end product manufacturing yields.
The RFFC207x and RFFC507x series also deliver industry-low power consumption. The components' bandwidth and phase noise specifications are achieved using only 125mA from a 3-volt supply (single-mixer, high linearity setting), and the current can be reduced to 100mA by reducing the programmable mixer linearity setting. Importantly, the 4500MHz components use only 10mA more than the 2700MHz components.
All of the components can be programmed through a simple 3-wire serial interface. They also feature a unique programming mode that allows up to four devices to be controlled from a common serial bus. By eliminating the need for separate chip-select control lines between devices and host controller, this lowers the cost of implementation and the risk of interference between RF and digital lines on the target PCB.
Finally, two frequencies can be loaded into the device when it is initialized, allowing convenient switching between frequencies, and lock detect and general purpose pins are available, enabling control though the serial bus.
RFMD is showcasing its industry-leading integrated configurable components at the Electronica Tradeshow, in Munich, Germany, November 9-12 at booth #A4.135.
The single-mixer, 2700MHz RFFC2072 starts at $7.00 per 10,000 units, and the single-mixer, 5000MHz RFFC5072 starts at $9.00 per 10,000 units. Samples and evaluation boards are available now, and production quantities are expected to be available by the end of the December 2010 quarter.
FIST SA publishes new patent landscape on lithium metal phosphate batteries
PARIS, FRANCE: In the current roadmap on emerging battery technologies, LiMPO4 cathodes raises high hope concerning the possibility of efficient energy storage at high charge and discharge rate, thus raising the technical potential of hybrid and plug‐in hybrid electric vehicles as well as wind and solar energy storage.
The patent war has already started in this sector: more than 1100 patents have been filed and a growth rate of 50 percent of new published patent in 2009! This report identifies all protected solutions and provides a comprehensive panorama of the intellectual property landscape in LiMPO4 batteries sector.
Report highlights
* Strong attractiveness of the sector - Very high research and patenting activity in the last years with a strong rise of new entrants as of 2005 (new applicants represent half the number of total applicants in 2008).
* Strategic protection of battery manufacturers but also of institutional laboratories and of end-users companies on their specific applications.
* Map of patent protection and dependency – While a “patent war” has been engaged for a long time concerning the Dr. Goodenough key patent, other actors are building up their portfolio notably in China where this key patent is not extended.
* Segmentation by type of material – Strategic positioning of the actors on LiFePO4 cathodes (60 percent), but also other metal or combinations of metals (Mn, Co, V, Ni, etc.) (20 percent).
* Applicant’s strategy - Analysis of the patent strategy of current major players which are not necessarily the major patent holders (Sony, Toyota, A123 SYSTEMS, Valence). The question can be raised for a few of them of their possibility to evolve rapidly enough to maintain their market position towards better protected competitors.
The patent war has already started in this sector: more than 1100 patents have been filed and a growth rate of 50 percent of new published patent in 2009! This report identifies all protected solutions and provides a comprehensive panorama of the intellectual property landscape in LiMPO4 batteries sector.
Report highlights
* Strong attractiveness of the sector - Very high research and patenting activity in the last years with a strong rise of new entrants as of 2005 (new applicants represent half the number of total applicants in 2008).
* Strategic protection of battery manufacturers but also of institutional laboratories and of end-users companies on their specific applications.
* Map of patent protection and dependency – While a “patent war” has been engaged for a long time concerning the Dr. Goodenough key patent, other actors are building up their portfolio notably in China where this key patent is not extended.
* Segmentation by type of material – Strategic positioning of the actors on LiFePO4 cathodes (60 percent), but also other metal or combinations of metals (Mn, Co, V, Ni, etc.) (20 percent).
* Applicant’s strategy - Analysis of the patent strategy of current major players which are not necessarily the major patent holders (Sony, Toyota, A123 SYSTEMS, Valence). The question can be raised for a few of them of their possibility to evolve rapidly enough to maintain their market position towards better protected competitors.
Epistar places multi-tool order for Veeco MOCVD systems
PLAINVIEW, USA: Veeco Instruments Inc. announced that Epistar Corp., headquartered in Taiwan, has placed a multi-tool order for Veeco’s TurboDisc K465i gallium nitride (GaN) Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) systems for high volume light emitting diode (LED) production.
Dr. M.J. Jou, president of Epistar, commented, “Since we qualified Veeco’s tools for production back in May, we have been extremely satisfied with their performance. Given the systems’ ease-of-use and low cost of ownership, we now plan to include Veeco as an important supplier to Epistar.”
Bill Miller, Ph.D., executive VP, Compound Semiconductor and head of Veeco’s MOCVD Operations commented, “We are excited to continue to establish this strong relationship with Epistar in 2010, and pleased to support their current and future MOCVD requirements.”
With superior wavelength uniformity and excellent run-to-run repeatability, the production-proven K465i extends Veeco’s lead in capital efficiency – the number of good wafers per day for each capital dollar – for high volume LED manufacturers. The K465i provides ease-of-tuning for fast process optimization on wafer sizes up to 8 inches and fast tool recovery time after maintenance.
Dr. M.J. Jou, president of Epistar, commented, “Since we qualified Veeco’s tools for production back in May, we have been extremely satisfied with their performance. Given the systems’ ease-of-use and low cost of ownership, we now plan to include Veeco as an important supplier to Epistar.”
Bill Miller, Ph.D., executive VP, Compound Semiconductor and head of Veeco’s MOCVD Operations commented, “We are excited to continue to establish this strong relationship with Epistar in 2010, and pleased to support their current and future MOCVD requirements.”
With superior wavelength uniformity and excellent run-to-run repeatability, the production-proven K465i extends Veeco’s lead in capital efficiency – the number of good wafers per day for each capital dollar – for high volume LED manufacturers. The K465i provides ease-of-tuning for fast process optimization on wafer sizes up to 8 inches and fast tool recovery time after maintenance.
What Fundraisers Need From Technology Consultants (and Vice Versa) : Page 1 of 2 : FundRaising Success
What Fundraisers Need From Technology Consultants (and Vice Versa) : Page 1 of 2 : FundRaising Success: "So as a fundraiser, don’t accept a consultant that forces a complete overhaul to the way you’ve always done things. Instead, look for someone willing to implement the new technology in a more organic way. Gensemer offers more things for fundraisers to look for when working with a consultant:"
Nord Sound Manager v5.42 Update
The Nord Sound Manager for Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Mac OSX have been updated to version 5.42.
This update includes some cosmetic enhancements and a new feature: The Download Queue. This functionality allows you to add files to a download queue by either dropping them onto the partition window or by using the Sound Download Toolbar short-cut or the Menu option.
Get the new version here.
CFP: Libraries, Archives, Museums and Popular Culture Area PCA/ACA & Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Associations Joint Conference
CFP: Libraries, Archives, Museums and Popular Culture Area PCA/ACA & Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Associations Joint Conference
April 20-23, 2011
San Antonio, TX
http://www.swtxpca.org/
Proposal submission deadline: December 15, 2010
Conference hotel: Marriott Rivercenter San Antonio
101 Bowie Street
San Antonio, Texas 78205 USA
Phone: 1-210-223-1000
The Libraries, Archives, Museums and Popular Culture area solicits paper proposals from librarians, archivists, curators, graduate students, faculty, collectors, writers, and other aficionados (yes! including people who use libraries, archives, and museums!) of popular culture and information settings of all types.
We encourage proposals for slide shows, video presentations, and panels organized around common themes.
Some suggested topics:
Histories and profiles of museums, archives, libraries, and other popular
culture resources
Intellectual freedom or cultural sensitivity issues related to popular culture
resources
Book clubs and reading groups, city- or campus-wide reading programs
Collection building and popular culture resources
Organization and description of popular culture resources
New media formats and popular culture in libraries, archives, or museums
Wikipedia, YouTube, Google books, social networking, EBay, gaming, and
their impact on libraries and popular culture collections
The role of public libraries in natural disasters and post-disaster
community rebuilding
Other topics welcome!!!
Area Co-chairs: Janet Brennan Croft and Rhonda Harris Taylor
Area: Libraries, Archives, Museums and Popular Culture
E-mail: jbcroft@ou.edu
; rtaylor@ou.edu
April 20-23, 2011
San Antonio, TX
http://www.swtxpca.org/
Proposal submission deadline: December 15, 2010
Conference hotel: Marriott Rivercenter San Antonio
101 Bowie Street
San Antonio, Texas 78205 USA
Phone: 1-210-223-1000
The Libraries, Archives, Museums and Popular Culture area solicits paper proposals from librarians, archivists, curators, graduate students, faculty, collectors, writers, and other aficionados (yes! including people who use libraries, archives, and museums!) of popular culture and information settings of all types.
We encourage proposals for slide shows, video presentations, and panels organized around common themes.
Some suggested topics:
Histories and profiles of museums, archives, libraries, and other popular
culture resources
Intellectual freedom or cultural sensitivity issues related to popular culture
resources
Book clubs and reading groups, city- or campus-wide reading programs
Collection building and popular culture resources
Organization and description of popular culture resources
New media formats and popular culture in libraries, archives, or museums
Wikipedia, YouTube, Google books, social networking, EBay, gaming, and
their impact on libraries and popular culture collections
The role of public libraries in natural disasters and post-disaster
community rebuilding
Other topics welcome!!!
Area Co-chairs: Janet Brennan Croft and Rhonda Harris Taylor
Area: Libraries, Archives, Museums and Popular Culture
E-mail: jbcroft@ou.edu
; rtaylor@ou.edu
CFP: International Conference Education for All (Warsaw, Poland)
CFP: International Conference Education for All (Warsaw, Poland)
The 3rd edition of International Conference 'Education for All' will take place in Warsaw, Poland on June 29 – July 1, 2011.
URL: http://www.researchraven.com/conference/2011/6/29/international-conference-education-for-all.aspx
University of Warsaw cordially invites to submit papers for the third International Conference "Education for All” to be held in Warsaw, Poland, from 29.06 to 1.07.2011 (i.e. three days).
The Conference "Education for All” has become a regular event associated with promoting equal opportunities of access to education for persons with disabilities. It constitutes a real chance to meet and share knowledge. The previous, second conference, was attended by 240 representatives from nearly 30 countries from all over the world.
The Third International Conference ‘Education for All’ will be divided into three session tracks:
1. Preparation of teaching staff and organization of support for pupils with disabilities in the framework of inclusive education
2. Implementation of United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – reality or fiction?
3. IT and assistive technologies in higher education
Session Tracks
Conference will be divided into three sessions taking place simultaneously in different rooms of the Old Library building:
1. Preparation of teaching staff and organization of support for pupils with disabilities in the framework of inclusive education
Inclusive education still poses a great challenge, especially in relation to pupils with the most severe disabilities – totally blind, deaf, and pupils with multiple disabilities. The barriers are associated both with preparation of teachers and organization of an effective support system. The goal of this topic series is to share experiences and to present good practices for giving support to pupils with disabilities, their families and general school teachers during the education process in these schools. We would also like to discuss models for effective implementation of inclusive education for basic and medium level education.
The lectures may cover such topics as e.g.:
* preparation of general school teachers for work with disabled pupils,
* providing access to adaptive technologies, special teaching aids and alternative forms of handbooks,
* Training pupils with disabilities in special skills, e.g. using braille, adaptive technologies etc.
* functioning of pupils with disabilities in peer groups,
* external system of support for schools associated with education of pupils with disabilities,
* research on effectiveness of inclusive education implementation,
* systems providing support to general schools and pupils with disabilities in various European and non-European countries.
2. Implementation of United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – reality or fiction?
Despite signing the UN Convention in 2007, Poland has not ratified it yet. Bringing up this topic, we would, therefore, like to discuss experiences resulting from the execution of Convention provisions in the countries which belong to the EU and those who are not its members. All people interested in the execution of Convention provisions are invited to the discussion, especially representatives of non-governmental organizations embracing people with disabilities or those who work for their benefit, parents of children with disabilities as well as politicians and local authorities responsible for the execution of the provisions.
The lectures can concern e.g.:
* experiences of different countries in the implementation of the Convention,
* ratification process and role played by groups of people with disabilities, especially in adaptation of legal acts to Convention requirements,
* real changes in lives of people with disabilities after the implementation of the Convention,
* barriers and difficulties associated with the execution of Convention provisions,
* Convention vs education of persons with disabilities,
* Research on the effectiveness of applying Convention regulations.
3. IT and sssistive technologies in higher education
The role of the Internet becomes more and more important in all aspects of life; it particularly concerns education of persons with disabilities in higher education facilities. This topic will be devoted to various forms of technological support for students with disabilities. It will concern not only the students but also those who are responsible for organization of the support for this group in higher education facilities as well as producers and research institutions which create adaptive technologies and deal with using the Internet for the needs of people with disabilities.
The lectures may be devoted to e.g.:
* e-learning – inclusion or exclusion,
* Digital libraries and digitalization of collections,
* Remote education services for students with disabilities,
* Teaching material adaptation standards, including Daisy,
* Adaptation of websites to the needs of persons with disabilities,
* Newest adaptative technology solutions giving equal opportunity in higher education.
We would like also to invite you to an exhibition of assistive technology and adaptive solutions during which University of Warsaw award for „the Best Educational Product of the Year 2011” and Prize of the Exhibition Public will be granted.
The participants may expect special prices in selected hotels and lower flight costs, thanks to the LOT Polish Airlines, the official carrier of the Conference.
You are kindly requested to distribute this information to anyone interested.
For any questions, contact us.
Organizer: University of Warsaw, Office for Persons with Disabilities
Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28
00-927 Warsaw
http://www.disability.uw.edu.pl/
e-mail: disability@uw.edu.pl
phone: +48 22 55 24 228
fax: +48 22 55 20 224
The 3rd edition of International Conference 'Education for All' will take place in Warsaw, Poland on June 29 – July 1, 2011.
URL: http://www.researchraven.com/conference/2011/6/29/international-conference-education-for-all.aspx
University of Warsaw cordially invites to submit papers for the third International Conference "Education for All” to be held in Warsaw, Poland, from 29.06 to 1.07.2011 (i.e. three days).
The Conference "Education for All” has become a regular event associated with promoting equal opportunities of access to education for persons with disabilities. It constitutes a real chance to meet and share knowledge. The previous, second conference, was attended by 240 representatives from nearly 30 countries from all over the world.
The Third International Conference ‘Education for All’ will be divided into three session tracks:
1. Preparation of teaching staff and organization of support for pupils with disabilities in the framework of inclusive education
2. Implementation of United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – reality or fiction?
3. IT and assistive technologies in higher education
Session Tracks
Conference will be divided into three sessions taking place simultaneously in different rooms of the Old Library building:
1. Preparation of teaching staff and organization of support for pupils with disabilities in the framework of inclusive education
Inclusive education still poses a great challenge, especially in relation to pupils with the most severe disabilities – totally blind, deaf, and pupils with multiple disabilities. The barriers are associated both with preparation of teachers and organization of an effective support system. The goal of this topic series is to share experiences and to present good practices for giving support to pupils with disabilities, their families and general school teachers during the education process in these schools. We would also like to discuss models for effective implementation of inclusive education for basic and medium level education.
The lectures may cover such topics as e.g.:
* preparation of general school teachers for work with disabled pupils,
* providing access to adaptive technologies, special teaching aids and alternative forms of handbooks,
* Training pupils with disabilities in special skills, e.g. using braille, adaptive technologies etc.
* functioning of pupils with disabilities in peer groups,
* external system of support for schools associated with education of pupils with disabilities,
* research on effectiveness of inclusive education implementation,
* systems providing support to general schools and pupils with disabilities in various European and non-European countries.
2. Implementation of United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – reality or fiction?
Despite signing the UN Convention in 2007, Poland has not ratified it yet. Bringing up this topic, we would, therefore, like to discuss experiences resulting from the execution of Convention provisions in the countries which belong to the EU and those who are not its members. All people interested in the execution of Convention provisions are invited to the discussion, especially representatives of non-governmental organizations embracing people with disabilities or those who work for their benefit, parents of children with disabilities as well as politicians and local authorities responsible for the execution of the provisions.
The lectures can concern e.g.:
* experiences of different countries in the implementation of the Convention,
* ratification process and role played by groups of people with disabilities, especially in adaptation of legal acts to Convention requirements,
* real changes in lives of people with disabilities after the implementation of the Convention,
* barriers and difficulties associated with the execution of Convention provisions,
* Convention vs education of persons with disabilities,
* Research on the effectiveness of applying Convention regulations.
3. IT and sssistive technologies in higher education
The role of the Internet becomes more and more important in all aspects of life; it particularly concerns education of persons with disabilities in higher education facilities. This topic will be devoted to various forms of technological support for students with disabilities. It will concern not only the students but also those who are responsible for organization of the support for this group in higher education facilities as well as producers and research institutions which create adaptive technologies and deal with using the Internet for the needs of people with disabilities.
The lectures may be devoted to e.g.:
* e-learning – inclusion or exclusion,
* Digital libraries and digitalization of collections,
* Remote education services for students with disabilities,
* Teaching material adaptation standards, including Daisy,
* Adaptation of websites to the needs of persons with disabilities,
* Newest adaptative technology solutions giving equal opportunity in higher education.
We would like also to invite you to an exhibition of assistive technology and adaptive solutions during which University of Warsaw award for „the Best Educational Product of the Year 2011” and Prize of the Exhibition Public will be granted.
The participants may expect special prices in selected hotels and lower flight costs, thanks to the LOT Polish Airlines, the official carrier of the Conference.
You are kindly requested to distribute this information to anyone interested.
For any questions, contact us.
Organizer: University of Warsaw, Office for Persons with Disabilities
Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28
00-927 Warsaw
http://www.disability.uw.edu.pl/
e-mail: disability@uw.edu.pl
phone: +48 22 55 24 228
fax: +48 22 55 20 224
GuideStar website back under wing of GuideStar International - Civil Society - IT - News - providing news and in-depth coverage of charities, voluntary organisations and not-for-profits
GuideStar website back under wing of GuideStar International - Civil Society - IT - News - providing news and in-depth coverage of charities, voluntary organisations and not-for-profits: "GuideStar website back under wing of GuideStar International
Finance | Tania Mason | 22 Oct 2010
Topics: IT strategy and management | Websites
GuideStar International has taken back ownership of the GuideStar UK website following the Directory of Social Change’s decision to place GuideStar Data Services into administration."
Finance | Tania Mason | 22 Oct 2010
Topics: IT strategy and management | Websites
GuideStar International has taken back ownership of the GuideStar UK website following the Directory of Social Change’s decision to place GuideStar Data Services into administration."
CFP: Archiving 2011 (Extended Deadline)
CFP: Archiving 2011 (Extended Deadline)
In an effort to encourage even more submissions, the deadline for submitting presentation abstracts to Archiving 2011 has been extended until Sunday, November 21, 2010. No extensions will be given after that date.
A PDF of the Call for Papers and the submission site can be found at www.imaging.org/ist/conferences/archiving.
Archiving 2011 will be held May 16-19, 2011 in Salt Lake City, Utah
The IS&T Archiving Conference brings together a unique community of imaging novices and experts from libraries, archives, records management, and information technology institutions to discuss and explore the expanding field of digital archiving and preservation. Attendees from around the world represent industry, academia, governments, and cultural heritage institutions. The conference presents the latest research results on archiving, provides a forum to explore new strategies and policies, and reports on successful projects that can serve as benchmarks in the field. Archiving 2011 is a blend of invited focal papers, keynote talks, and refereed oral and interactive display presentations. Prospective authors are invited to submit oral and interactive presentations by the November 21st deadline.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Best regards,
Diana Gonzalez
IS&T Conference Program Manager
archiving2011@imaging.org
703/642-9090 x 106
In an effort to encourage even more submissions, the deadline for submitting presentation abstracts to Archiving 2011 has been extended until Sunday, November 21, 2010. No extensions will be given after that date.
A PDF of the Call for Papers and the submission site can be found at www.imaging.org/ist/conferences/archiving.
Archiving 2011 will be held May 16-19, 2011 in Salt Lake City, Utah
The IS&T Archiving Conference brings together a unique community of imaging novices and experts from libraries, archives, records management, and information technology institutions to discuss and explore the expanding field of digital archiving and preservation. Attendees from around the world represent industry, academia, governments, and cultural heritage institutions. The conference presents the latest research results on archiving, provides a forum to explore new strategies and policies, and reports on successful projects that can serve as benchmarks in the field. Archiving 2011 is a blend of invited focal papers, keynote talks, and refereed oral and interactive display presentations. Prospective authors are invited to submit oral and interactive presentations by the November 21st deadline.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Best regards,
Diana Gonzalez
IS&T Conference Program Manager
archiving2011@imaging.org
703/642-9090 x 106
CFP: ACRL Programs at 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim
CFP: ACRL Programs at 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim
ACRL invites its committees, sections, interest groups and individual members to consider submitting a program proposal for the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim.
There will be a virtual meeting on December 9, 2010, at 11:00 a.m. CST for ACRL units and members interested in submitting a proposal for a 2012 ALA Annual Conference Program. The purpose of this meeting is to provide potential conference program planners with an understanding of the Annual Conference program planning process, including budgets, timelines, and planning tips. Please note that the Annual Conference program planning process spans twenty months, until Annual 2012.
2012 ALA Annual Conference Program Proposal forms will be due May 2, 2011. The ACRL Annual Conference Programs Committee will review and select 2012 Annual Conference programs, and notifications will be issued before the 2011 ALA Annual Conference.
More details about the Annual Conference program process are online at http://www.acrl.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/events/annualprogramsfaq.cfm.
Interested in participating in the virtual meeting on December 9? Please email Megan Griffin at mgriffin@ala.org. Once log-in instructions are available, you will be notified. These instructions will also be posted in ALA Connect, on the main ACRL page.
If you have any questions about the 2012 program process, please contact Megan Griffin at mgriffin@ala.org.
***
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) is a division of the American Library Association (ALA), representing nearly 13,000 academic and research librarians and interested individuals. ACRL is the only individual membership organization in North America that develops programs, products and services to meet the unique needs of academic and research librarians. Its initiatives enable the higher education community to understand the role that academic libraries play in the teaching, learning and research environments. ACRL is on the Web at http://www.acrl.org/.
ACRL invites its committees, sections, interest groups and individual members to consider submitting a program proposal for the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim.
There will be a virtual meeting on December 9, 2010, at 11:00 a.m. CST for ACRL units and members interested in submitting a proposal for a 2012 ALA Annual Conference Program. The purpose of this meeting is to provide potential conference program planners with an understanding of the Annual Conference program planning process, including budgets, timelines, and planning tips. Please note that the Annual Conference program planning process spans twenty months, until Annual 2012.
2012 ALA Annual Conference Program Proposal forms will be due May 2, 2011. The ACRL Annual Conference Programs Committee will review and select 2012 Annual Conference programs, and notifications will be issued before the 2011 ALA Annual Conference.
More details about the Annual Conference program process are online at http://www.acrl.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/events/annualprogramsfaq.cfm.
Interested in participating in the virtual meeting on December 9? Please email Megan Griffin at mgriffin@ala.org. Once log-in instructions are available, you will be notified. These instructions will also be posted in ALA Connect, on the main ACRL page.
If you have any questions about the 2012 program process, please contact Megan Griffin at mgriffin@ala.org.
***
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) is a division of the American Library Association (ALA), representing nearly 13,000 academic and research librarians and interested individuals. ACRL is the only individual membership organization in North America that develops programs, products and services to meet the unique needs of academic and research librarians. Its initiatives enable the higher education community to understand the role that academic libraries play in the teaching, learning and research environments. ACRL is on the Web at http://www.acrl.org/.
Seeing Things Up Close & Personal with Zeiss
OK, I'll admit it. I'm a magnification junkie. No matter how well I see, I've got to try to see better.It all started many years ago when a good friend of mine convinced me to try using 2.6 mag while I treated patients. I'd always had excellent vision and really had a hard time justifying learning to use them. I finally settled on a pair by Orascoptic and I've been a dedicated Orascoptic fan ever since.
For the last several years, I've worked in my trusty Orascoptic 4.8 TTL surgical telescopes. I've become addicted to them and literally don't see a patient without them. They are one of my very favorite technological investments.
Now, I've entered the next phase. I've begun using a Zeiss operating microscope and I've got to tell you, it's flat out amazing. Today I did my first endo case using it and you just can't believe what you can see.
Like all new procedures, it will take me a while to get my speed up while using the scope, but I don't think the learning curve will be that steep being as I've been working under a fairly high mag for years.
Overall the beginning experience has been a good one. I'm expecting my photo adapter to come in this week so that I can take pictures straight through the scope... that should be fun.
I've also figured out how to run the scope's S-video out through the capture card in the computer. That means that I can show the scope live on the patient monitor. For all those patients who have wanted to see what I'm seeing live, this could be the answer.
I'll be writing more about my experiences as I progress through the learning curve.
New SSL Nucleus offers elegant controller/audio hub for project studios
Advanced DAW Control, versatile USB audio interface, Mic Pre’s, SuperAnalogue™ monitoring & Duende
Sound Technology Ltd and Solid State Logic, the world’s leading manufacturer of professional analogue and digital consoles, are proud to present Nucleus; a unique, high quality DAW Controller and SuperAnalogue™ audio hub for professional project studios. Nucleus is the perfect blend of workstation control and superb audio performance.
Nucleus re-defines the professional project studio with a combination of advanced DAW control, transparent SuperAnalogue™ monitoring, high class analogue mic pres, pro quality USB audio interface and bundled SSL Duende plug-ins. There is no other product available which offers the professional producer/engineer all these elements, with benchmark audio performance and elegant ergonomics. Not only is it unique but Nucleus is also outstanding value; these elements bought separately would cost more and deliver a less elegant solution.
Nucleus is a compact desktop unit that creates a comfortable, efficient, hands on operating environment for DAW based Music and Film/TV Post production. It provides everything you need to record and monitor audio and to control your DAW quickly and efficiently without resorting to your mouse. Nucleus streamlines your workflow and helps you focus on your sound, not your screen.
Key Features;
Advanced DAW Controller;
- HUI & MCU control; compatible with ProTools®, Logic®, Cubase/Nuendo® and all major DAW applications
- Switch between 3 connected DAW’s with a single button press
- Two banks of 8 channel controls plus centre section controls
- Touch sensitive 100mm motorised faders
- Digital Scribble Strips with assignable V-Pots and soft keys
- Completely user customisable DAW & Key Command mapping
- Large heavy duty transport buttons and high quality jog/shuttle wheel
- Standard 1/4” Jack footswitch connection
- Excellent visual feedback via self illuminating buttons, LED’s and DAW Level Metering
- Remote Logictivity Browser for effortless configuration
- SD card for non volatile project storage
- Four USB sockets for use as a 4 port USB hub
Unique audio nerve centre for your project studio;
- Benchmark SuperAnalogue™ quality output to separate +4dBu & -10dBV connections
- High quality USB audio interface stereo record and playback path for your DAW
- Two Combi XLR mic/line/instrument level inputs to audio interface and monitor outputs
- Digital S/PDIF I/O to the AD/DA of the audio interface
- Zero latency Rec monitoring with wet/dry control to balance input and DAW playback
- SSL SuperAnalogue™ Mic Pre’s, identical to those used on SSL Duality and AWS consoles
- Mic inputs have 80Hz High Pass Filters, Phase Reverse and Phantom Power
- Insert send/return connections switched between inputs and DAW playback for mixdown
- Additional ‘external’ SuperAnalogue™ input monitor path for another audio interface
- Two headphone outputs and one iJack monitor input
The Duende Native Essentials Bundle;
Nucleus includes the Duende Native Essentials Bundle of VST/AU/RTAS plug-ins which includes; The SSL Channel EQ & Dynamics plug-in and the Stereo Bus Compressor plug-in.
Nucleus will be available from SSL Resellers Worldwide from Dec 2010 priced at £3000 + VAT.
Windows Small Business Server 7 and Aurora, Microsoft Connect download
Hello
I am downloading
I will test and I will write soon
sAnTos
Monday, October 25, 2010
RS Components to demo comprehensive range of online design resources
electronica 2010, OXFORD, ENGLAND: RS Components will be showcasing its comprehensive range of online design resources for the global electronics design engineering community at Electronica. RS will be in Hall A4, on stand 117, and will be providing visitors with unique access to a range of technical experts and tools during the week.
Launching on DesignSpark this week, visitors to the RS stand at Electronica will have the opportunity to post questions to experts, experience the market-leading 3D CAD model download functionality available from RS, and get exclusive access to free manufacturer software.
Users of DesignSpark PCB, the new free-of-charge PCB design package from RS will be able to attend surgery sessions each day, and book one-to-one seminars with the team of technical experts behind DesignSpark PCB.
Supported by Fresh Networks, RS is giving DesignSpark members the ability to reserve their individual DesignSpark PCB surgery session, and learn more about how RS will link with manufacturers and experts.
Glenn Jarrett, head of Electronics Marketing, RS Components, said, “Engineers have told us how much they value our range of online design resources, and are already debating use and functionality on forums in DesignSpark and elsewhere.”
Launching on DesignSpark this week, visitors to the RS stand at Electronica will have the opportunity to post questions to experts, experience the market-leading 3D CAD model download functionality available from RS, and get exclusive access to free manufacturer software.
Users of DesignSpark PCB, the new free-of-charge PCB design package from RS will be able to attend surgery sessions each day, and book one-to-one seminars with the team of technical experts behind DesignSpark PCB.
Supported by Fresh Networks, RS is giving DesignSpark members the ability to reserve their individual DesignSpark PCB surgery session, and learn more about how RS will link with manufacturers and experts.
Glenn Jarrett, head of Electronics Marketing, RS Components, said, “Engineers have told us how much they value our range of online design resources, and are already debating use and functionality on forums in DesignSpark and elsewhere.”
Microchip's 16V op amps feature low quiescent current (135 microamperes)
CHANDLER, USA: Microchip Technology Inc. has announced the MCP6H01 and MCP6H02 (MCP6H01/2) general-purpose operational amplifiers (op amps) with a gain-bandwidth product of 1.2 MHz and supply voltage from 3.5V to 16V.
These devices also feature low quiescent current of 135 microamperes (typ.), offset voltage of 3.5 mV (max.), Common Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR) of 100 dB (typ.), and Power-Supply Rejection Ratio (PSRR) of 102 dB (typ.).
The MCP6H01/2 is targeted for applications that operate on voltages up to 16V, such as those in the medical (e.g. portable instrumentation, heart- and blood-pressure monitors), automotive (e.g. proximity, temperature or flow sensors), and industrial (e.g. high-side current sensing in power supplies) markets.
These devices also offer high CMRR and PSRR for improved noise performance. Additionally, low current consumption combined with space-saving package offerings make the MCP6H01/2 ideal for portable applications.
“With their low power and wide operating voltage range, the MCP6H01/2 family is a significant addition to Microchip’s linear product portfolio,” said Bryan J. Liddiard, vice president of marketing with Microchip’s Analog and Interface Products Division. “The performance of the MCP6H01/2 family is expected to enable new markets and applications for Microchip.”
These devices also feature low quiescent current of 135 microamperes (typ.), offset voltage of 3.5 mV (max.), Common Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR) of 100 dB (typ.), and Power-Supply Rejection Ratio (PSRR) of 102 dB (typ.).
The MCP6H01/2 is targeted for applications that operate on voltages up to 16V, such as those in the medical (e.g. portable instrumentation, heart- and blood-pressure monitors), automotive (e.g. proximity, temperature or flow sensors), and industrial (e.g. high-side current sensing in power supplies) markets.
These devices also offer high CMRR and PSRR for improved noise performance. Additionally, low current consumption combined with space-saving package offerings make the MCP6H01/2 ideal for portable applications.
“With their low power and wide operating voltage range, the MCP6H01/2 family is a significant addition to Microchip’s linear product portfolio,” said Bryan J. Liddiard, vice president of marketing with Microchip’s Analog and Interface Products Division. “The performance of the MCP6H01/2 family is expected to enable new markets and applications for Microchip.”
Premier Farnell launches new proposition under element14
I wonder how is this going to help Farnell! It has had element14 for so long now. At least, I don't see any newness here! Unless, there are plans to dilute the Farnell brand, which will be strange!
BANGALORE, INDIA: Premier Farnell plc has announced the launch of a new, market leading customer proposition in Asia offering a significantly expanded inventory of products relevant to electronic design engineers, next-day delivery in Asia Pacific and an enhanced range of services, under the name element14.
The unique fusion of commerce and community, signals a new era for component distribution in the region and is based on extensive customer research. element14 offers the best inventory for engineers in Asia, with access to an unrivalled breadth and depth of the latest technology products.
From today, the Group’s businesses located in Australia, China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand will be known as element14 and will offer customers and suppliers a multi-channel, multi-currency, multi-language way to source their product needs, quickly and easily.
In addition to locally based sales and technical teams and state of the art service centres across the region, the newly enhanced eCommerce websites offer speed and ease of search to access the best product offering for engineers and buyers alike.
The transactional websites integrate seamlessly with the Group’s global online community portal (www.element14.com ) - the place where engineers the world over go to collaborate, connect and access the latest production information, tools and services, all backed up by online technical service from our engineering teams 24/5. This latest transformation follows the launch of element14 websites in Thailand, Taiwan and Korea in August 2010.
Named after the 14th element in the periodic table, Silicon – the fundamental building block of modern electronics – the launch of element 14 delivers a first in Asia’s electronic components distribution industry – blending community and commerce into one integrated business operation through the power of the Internet, able to satisfy customer demand again and again through superior inventory and logistics.
Harriet Green, CEO, Premier Farnell plc, said: “The world is changing, and new technology innovation is driving the pace of change - never faster than here in Asia where customers need fast, convenient, and reliable ways to transact their business.
"We’ve doubled our locally held inventory through significant investment, and strengthened our local teams to ensure we offer customers multiple channels to transact their business in local currency and language with 24 hour access to our customer service and technical teams.
"This unique fusion of commerce and community will ensure we continue to lead the way, offering the best support for engineers and purchasing professionals across Asia as we accelerate change and challenge the traditional ways of working, by building a new future as element14.”
Salman Syed, president, Asia Pacific, element14 agreed: "This is an exciting time for the electronics industry in Asia. Our business continues to grow with sales up over 47 percent year-on-year and our supplier partners, including many of the world’s leading manufacturers, are very supportive of the move to element14 and the enhanced service commitments and product availability we’ll now offer our customers as the pre-eminent high service distributor in the region.
"We believe that element14’s unique blend of commerce and community will ensure that at any time, and from anywhere, Asia Pacific’s electronic design engineers can connect with us through multiple channels to source the products and information they need. This is the right time to enhance our total service and support with the one-brand, one-voice and one-experience that is element14."
BANGALORE, INDIA: Premier Farnell plc has announced the launch of a new, market leading customer proposition in Asia offering a significantly expanded inventory of products relevant to electronic design engineers, next-day delivery in Asia Pacific and an enhanced range of services, under the name element14.
The unique fusion of commerce and community, signals a new era for component distribution in the region and is based on extensive customer research. element14 offers the best inventory for engineers in Asia, with access to an unrivalled breadth and depth of the latest technology products.
From today, the Group’s businesses located in Australia, China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand will be known as element14 and will offer customers and suppliers a multi-channel, multi-currency, multi-language way to source their product needs, quickly and easily.
In addition to locally based sales and technical teams and state of the art service centres across the region, the newly enhanced eCommerce websites offer speed and ease of search to access the best product offering for engineers and buyers alike.
The transactional websites integrate seamlessly with the Group’s global online community portal (www.element14.com ) - the place where engineers the world over go to collaborate, connect and access the latest production information, tools and services, all backed up by online technical service from our engineering teams 24/5. This latest transformation follows the launch of element14 websites in Thailand, Taiwan and Korea in August 2010.
Named after the 14th element in the periodic table, Silicon – the fundamental building block of modern electronics – the launch of element 14 delivers a first in Asia’s electronic components distribution industry – blending community and commerce into one integrated business operation through the power of the Internet, able to satisfy customer demand again and again through superior inventory and logistics.
Harriet Green, CEO, Premier Farnell plc, said: “The world is changing, and new technology innovation is driving the pace of change - never faster than here in Asia where customers need fast, convenient, and reliable ways to transact their business.
"We’ve doubled our locally held inventory through significant investment, and strengthened our local teams to ensure we offer customers multiple channels to transact their business in local currency and language with 24 hour access to our customer service and technical teams.
"This unique fusion of commerce and community will ensure we continue to lead the way, offering the best support for engineers and purchasing professionals across Asia as we accelerate change and challenge the traditional ways of working, by building a new future as element14.”
Salman Syed, president, Asia Pacific, element14 agreed: "This is an exciting time for the electronics industry in Asia. Our business continues to grow with sales up over 47 percent year-on-year and our supplier partners, including many of the world’s leading manufacturers, are very supportive of the move to element14 and the enhanced service commitments and product availability we’ll now offer our customers as the pre-eminent high service distributor in the region.
"We believe that element14’s unique blend of commerce and community will ensure that at any time, and from anywhere, Asia Pacific’s electronic design engineers can connect with us through multiple channels to source the products and information they need. This is the right time to enhance our total service and support with the one-brand, one-voice and one-experience that is element14."