Excitement and bidding frenzy, investors asking for more time to make up their minds or get on the phone to ask their partners and principals for instructions or more funds, made for an electric atmosphere as the charged bidding for the exclusive plots started.
'We are pleased. The plots in Business Bay offer one of the best locations in the city of Dubai along Sheikh Zayed Road. All the eight prime plots on offer were auctioned off in a highly intense bidding session that lasted less than four hours,' said Hashim Al Dabal, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Properties.
This was the second auction of real estate organised by Mazad. An exclusive list of property developers and investors were invited to today's auction, which, in keeping with the elite nature of the event, was held at the world's first seven-star super-luxury hotel, The Burj Al Arab. Mazad offered 'The Constellation', a collection of prime plots at Business Bay.
'Another major factor that made these plots so rare from others was that investors can construct buildings as high as they want as these plots come with a pre-approval for mixed-use buildings of unlimited height. Also the investors can have unlimited underground parking and additional podium height,'Al Dabal pointed out. 'This is our way of rewarding investors who have put their trust in us,' he added.
Prime Location'This was an exclusive opportunity to own plots at one of the best locations in Dubai and the investors, knowing the supreme benefits, took full advantage of the opportunity,' Al Dabal pointed out.
'I am pleased that the awareness about Business Bay has spread throughout the region as we had more than 200 investors from GCC countries, UAE, Pakistan and Iran who attended this highly exclusive event,' he added. Al Dabal said eight plots measuring a total of 700,000 square feet were sold for over AED 1 billion in less than 4 hours. The biggest plot was sold for AED 214 million, while the lowest price that a plot fetched was a substantial AED 45 million.
'What indicates the huge response to this once-in-a-lifetime offer was the fact that one of the 8 plots was sold to a pre-bidder even before the event for 20% more than the expected price,' said Al Dabal. He said that the 7 remaining plots were then sold during the event...all went for a price higher than the pre-set reserve price.
'I thank all the investors who attended from all over the region. Their presence and their interest in the Business Bay made us at Dubai Properties and Mazad feel so proud to have created something that people think so highly of and want so much,' Al Dabal added. Dubai Properties sought out John McGrath, recognised as Australasia's finest real estate auctioneer, to conduct the Mazad auction.
In a 23-year real estate career John McGrath has personally auctioned over 5,000 properties including some of Australia's most valuable and important real estate. Dubai Properties has been created by Dubai Holding Group with the express aim of conceiving niche, large-scale development projects and transforming that vision into reality.
www.ameinfo.com
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Orion Technology and Digital Highway Join Forces to Enter Italian Market
Orion Technology, a leading provider of web-GIS software and integration services and Digital Highway an established provider of custom software solutions to public and private enterprises and government agencies throughout Italy, announced today that the two companies have signed a business partnership agreement.
Under terms of the partnership, Digital Highway will offer Orion’s OnPoint Suite of web-GIS software products to the Italian market.Based out of Rende, in Southern Italy, Digital highway provides custom software solutions to public and private enterprises and government agencies throughout the country and prides itself on providing leading edge software and consulting services.
Paolo Spadafora, the founder and CEO of Digital Highway recognized a need in the Italian and European markets for software and technology pioneered by Orion. With expertise in customizing solutions to fit customer needs, the Digital highway alliance with Orion will create unparalleled products and support for the Italian market. “The OnPoint Suite has the scalability and flexibility to serve a multitude of geographic and vertical markets.
Partnering with Digital Highway furthers Orion’s partnership strategy, and provides a unique opportunity to enter the Italian marketplace with a reputable company committed to client satisfaction, as we are at Orion.” commented Faizal Hasham, Director of Sales and Marketing for Orion.OnPoint, Orion’s flagship product, is a fully customizable web-GIS product (using ESRI's ArcIMS) that lets clients post their geographic data on the web fast. It is enjoying growing support in the GIS community, both domestically and internationally, as a standard for providing geographic data through intuitive Internet and Intranet web-based user interfaces.
OnPoint provides out-of-the-box implementation capabilities, powerful administration tools for customizing and managing the web portal, and unparalleled data-integration features. “We can now deliver cutting edge GIS technologies and solutions to the Italian marketplace” stated Paolo Spadafora.About Orion Technology Inc.Orion Technology, based in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, is a technology consulting and services integration company, specializing in web-GIS. Orion's focus is on helping organizations incorporate spatial technology into all facets of their businesses. Orion’s wealth of knowledge in the GIS domain and top-notch GIS software-development expertise has been showcased with its award-winning flagship product OnPoint™.
OnPoint™ is enjoying growing support in the GIS community, both domestically and internationally, as a standard for providing geographic data through intuitive Internet and Intranet web-based user interfaces. OnPoint™ provides out-of-the-box implementation capabilities, powerful administration tools for customizing and managing the web portal, and unparalleled data-integration features. Orion's easy-to-use Web-GIS products and custom application development services have helped Orion achieve phenomenal success in securing and delivering projects for reputable clients worldwide - from small organizations to entire countries.
To find out more about Orion and its products, visit www.orion-gis.com.About Digital Highway Digital Highway is a dynamic company located in southern Italy. Digital Highway provides custom software solutions to public and private enterprises and government agencies and prides itself on providing leading edge software and consulting services. Digital Highway is focused on delivering tailor made products and services in the trademark “made in italy” tradition of custom engineering and design.
Through our modular solution design, we offer high-quality cost-effective products quickly, bringing down costs and time barriers. Our areas of expertise include: Customer Relationship Management, Content Management Systems, B2B and B2C e-commerce, Internet and Intranet Portals, Supply Chain Management, GIS Application Integration, Workflow and Document Management Systems.
www.spatialnews.geocomm.com
Under terms of the partnership, Digital Highway will offer Orion’s OnPoint Suite of web-GIS software products to the Italian market.Based out of Rende, in Southern Italy, Digital highway provides custom software solutions to public and private enterprises and government agencies throughout the country and prides itself on providing leading edge software and consulting services.
Paolo Spadafora, the founder and CEO of Digital Highway recognized a need in the Italian and European markets for software and technology pioneered by Orion. With expertise in customizing solutions to fit customer needs, the Digital highway alliance with Orion will create unparalleled products and support for the Italian market. “The OnPoint Suite has the scalability and flexibility to serve a multitude of geographic and vertical markets.
Partnering with Digital Highway furthers Orion’s partnership strategy, and provides a unique opportunity to enter the Italian marketplace with a reputable company committed to client satisfaction, as we are at Orion.” commented Faizal Hasham, Director of Sales and Marketing for Orion.OnPoint, Orion’s flagship product, is a fully customizable web-GIS product (using ESRI's ArcIMS) that lets clients post their geographic data on the web fast. It is enjoying growing support in the GIS community, both domestically and internationally, as a standard for providing geographic data through intuitive Internet and Intranet web-based user interfaces.
OnPoint provides out-of-the-box implementation capabilities, powerful administration tools for customizing and managing the web portal, and unparalleled data-integration features. “We can now deliver cutting edge GIS technologies and solutions to the Italian marketplace” stated Paolo Spadafora.About Orion Technology Inc.Orion Technology, based in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, is a technology consulting and services integration company, specializing in web-GIS. Orion's focus is on helping organizations incorporate spatial technology into all facets of their businesses. Orion’s wealth of knowledge in the GIS domain and top-notch GIS software-development expertise has been showcased with its award-winning flagship product OnPoint™.
OnPoint™ is enjoying growing support in the GIS community, both domestically and internationally, as a standard for providing geographic data through intuitive Internet and Intranet web-based user interfaces. OnPoint™ provides out-of-the-box implementation capabilities, powerful administration tools for customizing and managing the web portal, and unparalleled data-integration features. Orion's easy-to-use Web-GIS products and custom application development services have helped Orion achieve phenomenal success in securing and delivering projects for reputable clients worldwide - from small organizations to entire countries.
To find out more about Orion and its products, visit www.orion-gis.com.About Digital Highway Digital Highway is a dynamic company located in southern Italy. Digital Highway provides custom software solutions to public and private enterprises and government agencies and prides itself on providing leading edge software and consulting services. Digital Highway is focused on delivering tailor made products and services in the trademark “made in italy” tradition of custom engineering and design.
Through our modular solution design, we offer high-quality cost-effective products quickly, bringing down costs and time barriers. Our areas of expertise include: Customer Relationship Management, Content Management Systems, B2B and B2C e-commerce, Internet and Intranet Portals, Supply Chain Management, GIS Application Integration, Workflow and Document Management Systems.
www.spatialnews.geocomm.com
Modern Technology Corp Announces Positive Quarterly Results and Issues Update
Modern Technology Corp (OTC BB: MOTG), a diversified technology development and acquisition company, announced today quarterly revenues of $1,311,779. The company had a cash balance of $1,161,688, $1,509,498 in trading securities, and total current assets of $4,833,159 as of September 30, 2005.
The company reports $8,327,296 in total Assets and positive Stockholder Equity. The company's expenses have been large due in part to interest expense and the extraordinary initial costs associated with acquisitions. The company's current growth pattern anticipates positive Earnings-Per-Share within the coming year.
Stockholders are reminded the majority of our subsidiary's revenue will be generated in the latter part of 2005 during the busiest sales season. The company's subsidiary Sound City (www.soundcity.com), is doubling its retail footprint and continues to add product lines.
With the opening of this subsidiary's new location, we expect revenue to be in line with expectations.
Anthony Welch, Modern Technology Corp's Chairman, said, "We continue to grow with our acquisitions and targets are being met. We are entering our strong revenue season and expect superb results. We will be issuing more news in the coming days."
The company previously announced acquisitions expected to add an estimated $11 Million in 2005 profitable revenues and a projected additional $13 Million in profitable revenues for 2006.
These new acquisitions will be consolidated in the Company's financials in the next quarter.
The company's current revenue projections for 2005 year-end are expected to be in excess of $20,000,000. This projection does not include other acquisitions under consideration.
It must be noted that we have transactions under consideration that may propel the company beyond $50,000,000 for 2005.
The company expects ongoing synergy-based cost reductions as well as increased revenue growth resulting from the synergies between the subsidiaries.
This guidance is the company's best good faith estimate based on current conditions and numerous assumptions about the company's industry, its access to financing, the competitive and regulatory landscape and its ability to successfully consummate the acquisitions under consideration.
About Modern Technology Corp.
Founded in 1982, Modern Technology Corp is a diversified technology development and acquisition company, building revenues by strategic acquisition and commercialization of nascent commercial technology and by the acquisition of synergistic operating companies. MOTG commercializes technology and provides to its subsidiaries new product lines, operations infrastructure, and significant intellectual capital. The company's mission is to consistently build shareholder value through accretive acquisitions of emerging technology or acquiring operating companies capable of benefiting from technology infrastructure enhancements or new product lines. For more information, visit: http://www.moderntechnologycorp.com.
Safe-Harbor Statement
This press release contains statements (such as projections regarding future performance) that are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
www.marketwire.com
The company reports $8,327,296 in total Assets and positive Stockholder Equity. The company's expenses have been large due in part to interest expense and the extraordinary initial costs associated with acquisitions. The company's current growth pattern anticipates positive Earnings-Per-Share within the coming year.
Stockholders are reminded the majority of our subsidiary's revenue will be generated in the latter part of 2005 during the busiest sales season. The company's subsidiary Sound City (www.soundcity.com), is doubling its retail footprint and continues to add product lines.
With the opening of this subsidiary's new location, we expect revenue to be in line with expectations.
Anthony Welch, Modern Technology Corp's Chairman, said, "We continue to grow with our acquisitions and targets are being met. We are entering our strong revenue season and expect superb results. We will be issuing more news in the coming days."
The company previously announced acquisitions expected to add an estimated $11 Million in 2005 profitable revenues and a projected additional $13 Million in profitable revenues for 2006.
These new acquisitions will be consolidated in the Company's financials in the next quarter.
The company's current revenue projections for 2005 year-end are expected to be in excess of $20,000,000. This projection does not include other acquisitions under consideration.
It must be noted that we have transactions under consideration that may propel the company beyond $50,000,000 for 2005.
The company expects ongoing synergy-based cost reductions as well as increased revenue growth resulting from the synergies between the subsidiaries.
This guidance is the company's best good faith estimate based on current conditions and numerous assumptions about the company's industry, its access to financing, the competitive and regulatory landscape and its ability to successfully consummate the acquisitions under consideration.
About Modern Technology Corp.
Founded in 1982, Modern Technology Corp is a diversified technology development and acquisition company, building revenues by strategic acquisition and commercialization of nascent commercial technology and by the acquisition of synergistic operating companies. MOTG commercializes technology and provides to its subsidiaries new product lines, operations infrastructure, and significant intellectual capital. The company's mission is to consistently build shareholder value through accretive acquisitions of emerging technology or acquiring operating companies capable of benefiting from technology infrastructure enhancements or new product lines. For more information, visit: http://www.moderntechnologycorp.com.
Safe-Harbor Statement
This press release contains statements (such as projections regarding future performance) that are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
www.marketwire.com
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Human health under threat from ecosystem degradation: WHO
Human health is under threat from ecosystem degradation, and threats are particularly acute in poorer countries, according to a report published Friday by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The report, Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Health Synthesis, represents an attempt to describe the complex links between the preservation of healthy and biodiverse natural ecosystems and human health.
"Over the past 50 years, humans have changed natural ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period in human history," said Lee Jong-wook, director-general of WHO.
"This transformation of the planet has contributed to substantial net gains in health, well-being and economic development. But not all regions and groups of people have benefited equally from this process," he said.
According to the report, approximately 60 percent of the benefits that the global ecosystem provides to support life on Earth (such as fresh water, clean air and a relatively stable climate) are being degraded or used unsustainably.
In the report, scientists warn that harmful consequences of this degradation to human health are already being felt and could grow significantly worse over the next 50 years.
"The benefits should be acknowledged," said Carlos Corvalan, WHO 's lead expert on the report. "But these benefits are not enjoyed equally. And the risks we face now from ecosystem degradation, particularly among poor populations directly dependent on natural ecosystems for many basic needs, has to be addressed."
Ecosystem services are absolutely vital to preventing disease and sustaining good health, the Health Synthesis report underlines. Many important human diseases have originated in animals, and so changes in the habitats of animal populations that are disease vectors or reservoirs, may affect human health, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively.
Intensive livestock production, while providing benefits to health in terms of improved nutrition, has also created environments favorable to the emergence of diseases, the report notes.
Trends ranging from forest clearance to climate-induced habitat changes also appear to have impacted on certain populations of mosquitoes, ticks and midges, altering transmission patterns for diseases like malaria and Lyme disease.
Pressures on ecosystems could have unpredictable and potentially severe future impacts on health, the report states. Regions facing the greatest present-day risks, meanwhile, include sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, parts of Latin America, and certain areas in South and Southeast Asia.
One of the most serious problems is nutrition. Degradation of fisheries and agro-ecosystems are factors in the malnutrition of some 800 million people around the world. At least an additional billion people experience chronic micronutrient deficiency.
Safe drinking-water is also serious. Water-associated infectious diseases claim 3.2 million lives, approximately 6 percent of all deaths globally. Over one billion people lack access to safe water supplies, while 2.6 billion lack adequate sanitation, and related problems of water scarcity are increasing, partly due to ecosystem depletion and contamination.
Solid fuel dependency is another problem. About 3 percent of the global burden of disease has been attributed to indoor air pollution, a major cause of respiratory diseases. Most of the world's population uses solid fuels to cook and heat, a factor in deforestation.
The Health Synthesis Report is WHO's contribution to the broader Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a four-year series of studies and reports, involving over 1300 scientists, considering impacts on human well-being, past, present and future.
www.english.people.com.cn
The report, Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Health Synthesis, represents an attempt to describe the complex links between the preservation of healthy and biodiverse natural ecosystems and human health.
"Over the past 50 years, humans have changed natural ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period in human history," said Lee Jong-wook, director-general of WHO.
"This transformation of the planet has contributed to substantial net gains in health, well-being and economic development. But not all regions and groups of people have benefited equally from this process," he said.
According to the report, approximately 60 percent of the benefits that the global ecosystem provides to support life on Earth (such as fresh water, clean air and a relatively stable climate) are being degraded or used unsustainably.
In the report, scientists warn that harmful consequences of this degradation to human health are already being felt and could grow significantly worse over the next 50 years.
"The benefits should be acknowledged," said Carlos Corvalan, WHO 's lead expert on the report. "But these benefits are not enjoyed equally. And the risks we face now from ecosystem degradation, particularly among poor populations directly dependent on natural ecosystems for many basic needs, has to be addressed."
Ecosystem services are absolutely vital to preventing disease and sustaining good health, the Health Synthesis report underlines. Many important human diseases have originated in animals, and so changes in the habitats of animal populations that are disease vectors or reservoirs, may affect human health, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively.
Intensive livestock production, while providing benefits to health in terms of improved nutrition, has also created environments favorable to the emergence of diseases, the report notes.
Trends ranging from forest clearance to climate-induced habitat changes also appear to have impacted on certain populations of mosquitoes, ticks and midges, altering transmission patterns for diseases like malaria and Lyme disease.
Pressures on ecosystems could have unpredictable and potentially severe future impacts on health, the report states. Regions facing the greatest present-day risks, meanwhile, include sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, parts of Latin America, and certain areas in South and Southeast Asia.
One of the most serious problems is nutrition. Degradation of fisheries and agro-ecosystems are factors in the malnutrition of some 800 million people around the world. At least an additional billion people experience chronic micronutrient deficiency.
Safe drinking-water is also serious. Water-associated infectious diseases claim 3.2 million lives, approximately 6 percent of all deaths globally. Over one billion people lack access to safe water supplies, while 2.6 billion lack adequate sanitation, and related problems of water scarcity are increasing, partly due to ecosystem depletion and contamination.
Solid fuel dependency is another problem. About 3 percent of the global burden of disease has been attributed to indoor air pollution, a major cause of respiratory diseases. Most of the world's population uses solid fuels to cook and heat, a factor in deforestation.
The Health Synthesis Report is WHO's contribution to the broader Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a four-year series of studies and reports, involving over 1300 scientists, considering impacts on human well-being, past, present and future.
www.english.people.com.cn
Malaysian PM urges for enhanced regional business linkage
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Saturday called on the East Asian business community to complement initiatives undertaken by their respective governments to enhance business linkages within the region.
Trade and industry associations in the region should also work to further enhance their networking, the prime minister said while opening the East Asia Business Exhibition here.
This could be facilitated through more frequent exchanges of trade and investment delegations as it would contribute to better understanding of the business environment and more frequent sharing of views and information, the prime minister said.
It would serve to "enhance awareness and facilitate closer business cooperation and discussions on issues of common interest as well as provide feedback to the governments," he said.
Last year, the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) together with China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand accounted for 22.7 percent of world trade.
"This is no small achievement because it represents 24.2 percent of world exports and 21.2 percent of world imports," he said.
These countries also accounted for 22.6 percent of the world's gross domestic product in 2004, amounting to 9.2 trillion US dollars, according to the Malaysian prime minister.
Intra-regional trade for these countries has been growing faster than their trade with other regions.
www.news.xinhuanet.com
Trade and industry associations in the region should also work to further enhance their networking, the prime minister said while opening the East Asia Business Exhibition here.
This could be facilitated through more frequent exchanges of trade and investment delegations as it would contribute to better understanding of the business environment and more frequent sharing of views and information, the prime minister said.
It would serve to "enhance awareness and facilitate closer business cooperation and discussions on issues of common interest as well as provide feedback to the governments," he said.
Last year, the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) together with China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand accounted for 22.7 percent of world trade.
"This is no small achievement because it represents 24.2 percent of world exports and 21.2 percent of world imports," he said.
These countries also accounted for 22.6 percent of the world's gross domestic product in 2004, amounting to 9.2 trillion US dollars, according to the Malaysian prime minister.
Intra-regional trade for these countries has been growing faster than their trade with other regions.
www.news.xinhuanet.com
Old technology gets new look in wake of crashes on short-overrun runways
An airplane crash at Little Rock National Airport in June 1999 that killed 11 people started a flurry of discussions over runway safety.
It was then the acronym EMAS entered the aviation lexicon even though it wasn’t a new concept.
Representatives at one Chicago law firm said Friday they believe the crash at Chicago’s Midway Airport, which left a 6-year-old Leroy boy dead, will force a resurrection of the discussion of the value of the Emergency Material Arresting System technology.
EMAS, developed in the 1980s, uses dense material and places it at the ends of airport runways that have less than 1,000 feet of runway safety space. When a plane can’t stop in the length of a runway, or lands short of the runway, the EMAS material crumbles upon impact, causing the aircraft to stop.
But, there’s debate over whether Midway could accommodate such a system.
“I think as a result of this (crash) the FAA has to take some action at Midway,” said Tom Ellis, spokesman for Nolan Law Group. But, they should have been proactive instead of waiting for an accident to prompt change, he said.
“It seems to be the same FAA tombstone-safety mentality,” Ellis said, referring to the Burbank and Little Rock airports which installed an EMAS only after deadly accidents occurred.
The system has proven effective — most recently preventing an accident at New York’s JFK Airport in January — and the FAA has recommended its installation in several airports across the country that don’t meet the FAA standard of 1,000 feet of overrun space.
According to the FAA, approximately 300 airports in the nation, including Midway and Gary/Chicago International Airport, do not meet those regulations. Recommendations are now being made for these airports to either extend their runways or install an EMAS.
But one FAA official said even though Congress suggests a deadline of 2015 for airports to comply, there would still be exceptions for some.
There may be some extenuating circumstances at some airports where EMAS simply wouldn’t be possible, said Tony Molinera, spokesman for the FAA Great Lakes Region. Midway might fit within that exception, he said.
A standard EMAS requires at least 500 feet, Molinera said. The Midway runway that a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 slid off Thursday was only 83 feet from the wall surrounding the airfield, Molinera said.
In addition, the airport, surrounded on all sides by residential streets, houses and businesses, has no space to expand.
Ellis argues a nonstandard EMAS would require much less space. And he says Midway can accommodate such a system.
The Chicago Department of Aviation didn’t return calls for comment on Friday.
Paul Karas, administrator of Gary/Chicago International Airport, said the FAA recommended it consider EMAS as it started a feasibility study on extending its runway.
But in order to accommodate EMAS, the Gary runway would actually have to be shortened. And the system would cost the airport more than $22 million to install and $400,000 per year in maintenance, Karas said.
The end of Gary’s Runway 30, Karas said, is about 250 feet from a railroad bed. Since an EMAS would require at least 400 feet, the runway would have to be shortened in order to accommodate it. The airport is instead proposing the removal of the railroad bed in order to extend the runway.
“They (FAA) haven’t made their final decision, but they recognize installing EMAS poses other difficulties for Gary Airport,” Karas said.
Ellis said Midway’s runways are capable of accommodating planes as large as the 737-700. But the design needs to account for any possible emergency scenario, and it doesn’t, he said.
If that safety can’t be ensured, Ellis said, “Maybe they should take those flights to O’Hare.”
www.post-trib.com
It was then the acronym EMAS entered the aviation lexicon even though it wasn’t a new concept.
Representatives at one Chicago law firm said Friday they believe the crash at Chicago’s Midway Airport, which left a 6-year-old Leroy boy dead, will force a resurrection of the discussion of the value of the Emergency Material Arresting System technology.
EMAS, developed in the 1980s, uses dense material and places it at the ends of airport runways that have less than 1,000 feet of runway safety space. When a plane can’t stop in the length of a runway, or lands short of the runway, the EMAS material crumbles upon impact, causing the aircraft to stop.
But, there’s debate over whether Midway could accommodate such a system.
“I think as a result of this (crash) the FAA has to take some action at Midway,” said Tom Ellis, spokesman for Nolan Law Group. But, they should have been proactive instead of waiting for an accident to prompt change, he said.
“It seems to be the same FAA tombstone-safety mentality,” Ellis said, referring to the Burbank and Little Rock airports which installed an EMAS only after deadly accidents occurred.
The system has proven effective — most recently preventing an accident at New York’s JFK Airport in January — and the FAA has recommended its installation in several airports across the country that don’t meet the FAA standard of 1,000 feet of overrun space.
According to the FAA, approximately 300 airports in the nation, including Midway and Gary/Chicago International Airport, do not meet those regulations. Recommendations are now being made for these airports to either extend their runways or install an EMAS.
But one FAA official said even though Congress suggests a deadline of 2015 for airports to comply, there would still be exceptions for some.
There may be some extenuating circumstances at some airports where EMAS simply wouldn’t be possible, said Tony Molinera, spokesman for the FAA Great Lakes Region. Midway might fit within that exception, he said.
A standard EMAS requires at least 500 feet, Molinera said. The Midway runway that a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 slid off Thursday was only 83 feet from the wall surrounding the airfield, Molinera said.
In addition, the airport, surrounded on all sides by residential streets, houses and businesses, has no space to expand.
Ellis argues a nonstandard EMAS would require much less space. And he says Midway can accommodate such a system.
The Chicago Department of Aviation didn’t return calls for comment on Friday.
Paul Karas, administrator of Gary/Chicago International Airport, said the FAA recommended it consider EMAS as it started a feasibility study on extending its runway.
But in order to accommodate EMAS, the Gary runway would actually have to be shortened. And the system would cost the airport more than $22 million to install and $400,000 per year in maintenance, Karas said.
The end of Gary’s Runway 30, Karas said, is about 250 feet from a railroad bed. Since an EMAS would require at least 400 feet, the runway would have to be shortened in order to accommodate it. The airport is instead proposing the removal of the railroad bed in order to extend the runway.
“They (FAA) haven’t made their final decision, but they recognize installing EMAS poses other difficulties for Gary Airport,” Karas said.
Ellis said Midway’s runways are capable of accommodating planes as large as the 737-700. But the design needs to account for any possible emergency scenario, and it doesn’t, he said.
If that safety can’t be ensured, Ellis said, “Maybe they should take those flights to O’Hare.”
www.post-trib.com
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Many Colon Cancer Patients Lack Therapy
More than a decade after new treatment guidelines for the disease were
issued, many patients with advanced colon cancer are not getting
chemotherapy after surgery, despite clear-cut evidence it boosts
survival, a study found.
Blacks, women and elderly patients were found to be less likely to get
chemo, even though such treatment was shown to improve survival in all
groups.
About two-thirds of the patients who received chemotherapy in
addition to surgery were alive after five years, compared with about
half of those who had surgery alone, according to the study in
Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association. On average,
chemotherapy improved the five-year survival rate by about 16 percent.
"It gives you quite a lot of edge," said study co-author Dr. J.
Milburn Jessup of the National Cancer Institute and Georgetown
University Medical Center.
The National Institutes of Health published guidelines in 1990
recommending chemotherapy after surgery for stage III colon cancer, in
which the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes of the abdomen. Colon
cancer is the second deadliest cancer for Americans after lung cancer.
The researchers analyzed data from nearly 86,000 patients at 560 U.S.
hospitals who were entered into a national cancer database, and found
that the share of those who received surgery plus chemo went from 39
percent in 1991 to 64 percent in 2002.
Similarly, studies presented at an American Society of Clinical
Oncology meeting in May showed significant variation in the treatment
given to patients with cancer of the breast or stomach.
The disparity found in the JAMA study narrowed for blacks over the
decade, until it was no longer significant in 2002. But the gap
remained wide for women and even wider for elderly patients. Jessup
would not speculate about the reason for the disparities.
"A lot of patients still don't get treated despite very promising
data," said Dr. Wells Messersmith at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer
Center, who was not involved in the research. He said nearly all his
stage III patients receive chemotherapy after surgery.
Some patients fear chemotherapy and do not realize new medications can
lessen its side effects, he said. And some doctors do not have the
means to provide the best treatment or do not keep up with the
research, Messersmith said.
Dr. Mark Zalupski of the University of Michigan, who was not involved
in the research, said colon cancer patients in their 80s are more
likely to have other health problems that might make chemotherapy
after surgery less practical.
Elderly patients also sometimes refuse chemotherapy, he said.
"In my own practice, I've seen older patients who don't want to be
bothered with the burdens of therapy. They've lived their lives and
will sort of take their chances," Zalupski said.
www.sun-sentinel.com
Gabriel Technologies Announces Upcoming Launch of Trace Location Services; Asset Tracking Technology Integrates a-GPS, Wireless and Internet
Gabriel Technologies Corp. (OTCBB:GWLK), a homeland security company
focused on serving the transportation industry, announced today that
it will formally launch its Trace location services in late January
2006.
Trace provides a flexible, rapidly deployable assisted-GPS
location-based service that enables a wide array of customizable
applications. The technology locates and/or tracks assets or people.
Trace owns a license to use Qualcomm SnapTrack's a-GPS software for
devices using the ReFlex wireless paging network.
CEO Keith Feilmeier said, "This launch represents an important new
milestone for our company. We have spent considerable time and
resources developing Trace in the last 18 months, and we are excited
to bring the product to market.
Trace's proprietary two-way paging-over-wireless network software and
web services interface are going to revolutionize how and where GPS
can be applied. Trace's staff and partners are recognized experts in
two-way paging, wireless networking, nuclear applications, government
contracting and financial management of technology and entrepreneurial
ventures."
Gabriel is initially targeting areas that have good ReFlex coverage,
which is optimal for the Trace technology. Potential uses include:
-- Emergency responder coordination and tracking
-- Airline asset tracking at airports
-- Manage movable assets and people
-- Transportation and vehicular tracking
-- Alzheimer patient tracking
-- Postal shipment tracking
-- Security for high-value cargo
-- Tracking of assets and people on large campuses or highly congested areas
Trace intends to sell its services primarily through its network of
licensed value-added resellers (VARs). The VARs will manage marketing,
Tier 1 support, ongoing customer billing and sales of the bundled
airtime, service and devices. The VARs will pay Trace monthly for
service based on locates and number of devices as well as an
activation and deactivation fee. Trace also will receive royalties on
all devices sold.
About Trace Technologies
Trace Technologies, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gabriel
Technologies Corporation. Trace location tracking provides enhanced
location services to devices supporting Qualcomm's SnapTrack(TM)
assisted-GPS technology. Subscribers and licensees pay a fee to access
the Trace SnapTrack-based location information to determine the
precise location of enabled devices, such as the Trace Asset Tag.
The company works with a number of value-added resellers and
distribution partners to give the technology a greater reach of the
tracking services market. Trace Technologies' mission is to provide
the highest quality security solutions available by creating
innovation, proven technologies that can be implemented on a realistic
basis. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Neb., with satellite
offices in Seattle, Wash., and Dallas, Texas. For more information,
visit http://www.trace-tech.net.
About Gabriel Technologies
Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Gabriel Technologies, LLC of
Omaha, Neb., Gabriel Technologies Corp. develops, manufactures and
sells a series of physical locking systems for the transportation and
shipping industries collectively known as the WAR-LOK(TM) Security
System. Security has evolved substantially in recent years due to
increased risks from theft and terrorism. With the implementation of
the award-winning WAR-LOK, Gabriel Technologies provides
cost-efficient security measures to prevent national and global theft
and homeland security issues.
Gabriel Technologies' mission is to provide the highest quality
security products available to the transportation and shipping
industries by creating innovative, proven technologies that can be
implemented on a realistic basis. Gabriel Technologies Corp. is also
the parent company of the next-generation-assisted GPS company,
Trace Technologies, LLC, http://www.trace-tech.net. For more
information about Gabriel, contact Dan Chicoine at (402) 614-0258 or
visit http://www.gabrieltechnologies.com.
A profile on the business can be found at
http://www.hawkassociates.com/gabriel/profile.htm.
Investors may contact Frank Hawkins or Julie Marshall, Hawk
Associates, at (305) 451-1888, e-mail: info@hawkassociates.com. An
online investor relations kit containing Gabriel Technologies' press
releases, SEC filings, current Level II price quotes, interactive Java
stock charts and other useful information for investors can be found
at http://www.hawkassociates.com and http://www.americanmicrocaps.com.
Forward-Looking Statements: Investors are cautioned that certain
statements contained in this document are "Forward-Looking Statements"
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995.
Forward-looking statements include statements which are predictive in
nature, which depend upon or refer to future events or conditions,
which include words such as "believes," "anticipates," "intends,"
"plans," "expects" and similar expressions. In addition, any
statements concerning future financial performance (including future
revenues, earnings or growth rates), ongoing business strategies or
prospects, and possible future Gabriel actions, which may be provided
by management, are also forward-looking statements as defined by the
act. These statements are not guarantees of future performance.
home.businesswire.com
Online software, services taking new look at how we manage time
Benjamin Franklin said that more than 200 years ago, yet we still lose
much time in the modern world from everyday inefficiency and
confusion.
Personal computers and the Internet were supposed to have helped solve
those problems, following a burst of enthusiasm for online calendars
and scheduling programs in the late 1990s.
But that first generation of products didn't work particularly well
and were too difficult to use. While electronic calendars,
particularly the one in Microsoft Outlook, are widely used within some
big corporations, most people still keep track of their lives on
paper.
Silicon Valley is now revisiting the difficult question of time
management, with a new crop of online software and services from
companies big and small.
Their ideas were on display Tuesday at ``When 2.0,'' a one-day
conference held at Stanford University.
``I'm just excited the topic is coming up again,'' said Ray Ozzie,
chief technology officer of Microsoft and inventor of the Lotus Notes
software for organizing work group activity.
Ozzie sat on a panel that included Lotus co-founder Mitch Kapor,
moderated by technology doyenne Esther Dyson.
``There's much more pain around calendars than there is around
e-mail,'' Kapor told an audience of 165.
Kapor is an advocate for open-source software, where new programs are
created collaboratively and shared freely. He's backing an open-source
project called Chandler that will offer advanced tools for selectively
sharing your personal calendar entries with others.
Chandler is based on iCalendar, an open-source standard for sharing
calendar entries among different programs. Microsoft hasn't fully
supported iCalendar, greatly reducing its value, but it is swinging
fully into the iCalendar camp with the next version of Outlook, due in
2006.
Microsoft and the open-source community have yet to come to terms on
several other important technical standards. Kapor said he would sit
down with Ozzie immediately after the panel to start ironing out these
wrinkles, and the two men did spend time together at a picnic table
outside the hall.
Of course, you can't have a conference in Silicon Valley without
everyone wondering what Google will do.
There were rumors that at the conference Mountain View-based Google
would announce a free online calendar service, to compete with the
online calendars already offered by Yahoo and Microsoft.
Carl Sjogreen, a Google product manager, announced during the
question-and-answer period that Google would make no announcement.
But something is more than likely on the horizon. When I asked
Sjogreen what product he managed, he declined to answer -- leaving me
to wonder if he's the product manager for a Google calendar project
that's still in development.
Of the several start-ups presenting at When 2.0, my favorite was Renkoo.
The Palo Alto company plans to launch an online service early next
year that will provide a shared space for small groups to plan events.
If you want to invite a list of friends to a party with a fixed time
and place, it's easy to use the existing Evite service. But Evite
doesn't work well when you're not sure what you want to do, or what
your friends prefer.
With Renkoo, you can send a query by e-mail, instant message or
cell-phone text message, perhaps asking, ``Who wants to go for a hike
this weekend? What's the best time for you, and where do you want
go?''
Your friends then reply with their preferences, and the group goes
back and forth -- with the dialogue recorded on a single Web page --
until there's a consensus.
Renkoo, named for a form of Japanese poetry called renku or renga
where people take turns writing verses, will be free to users and
hopes to make money through ads and sponsorships.
Adam Rifkin, Renkoo's co-founder and chief executive officer, said he
aims to solve a basic problem: ``You can never get enough information
on what your friends are doing.''
While it's much too soon to know whether Renkoo or any of the other
bold proposals at When 2.0 will succeed, the vision at least is clear.
In a few years, we'll effortlessly manage our time by entering
appointments on whatever Internet-connected electronic device is at
hand -- a computer or a cell phone or a personal digital assistant --
and those appointments will instantly appear on the calendars of
others we designate.
If we change the time of an appointment, it will instantly update the
calendars of others.
Public and group events we want to track, from upcoming rock concerts
and professional hockey games to our children's soccer team schedules,
will automatically pop into our calendars.
There are lots of technical, security and privacy issues yet to
resolve, but the benefits are big enough that families may ultimately
be freed from running their lives through scraps of paper stuck to
refrigerator doors.
www.myrtlebeachonline.com/
State To Issue Long-Awaited Report Cards On Hospitals
A Web site tracking surgical procedures and other treatments at hospitals across New York will be launched next month by the state Health Department, almost a decade after a law was passed requiring the state to do so.
Some of the measures tracked will include treatment of heart attacks and pneumonia and the prevention of surgical infections, said Health Department spokesman Rob Kenny.
Kenny declined to elaborate about the site, which has been in the works for more than a year, until its launch is finalized and officially announced early next month.
The Web site is in response to a 1996 law that required the state to issue report cards tracking hospitals procedures. Kenny said the delay was partly because such medical reports are complex and must take into account various factors.
"They've had 10 years to work on it, so it'll be interesting to see how they approach it. We're waiting with bated breath," said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group, which lobbied for the law a decade ago.
The department now only tracks three types of common cardiac procedures.
Citing studies that show public scrutiny improves the quality of care, critics have long said the Health Department should expand its reporting of hospital procedures.
A report card released by the Health Department this year showed that in 2003, the mortality rate for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery was 1.61 percent, compared to 3.52 percent in 1989.
Few people are aware of the state report card, however, Horner said.
"It's a buried treasure," he said.
Additionally, the reports are based on information that is usually at least two years old, he said.
News of the department's Web site launch comes just a week after an independent group health care plans and providers issued a report card on 28 measures and procedures in hospitals statewide.
The Niagara Health Quality Coalition tracked 28 procedures and treatments in its third annual report card.
A single comprehensive report would make it easiest for consumers, said Matt Cox, spokesman for the Healthcare Association of New York State, which represents about 500 health care facilities statewide.
Before seeing the state's Web site, however, Cox declined to say which site would be more useful to consumers.
"If they're just going to duplicate what we have, it's probably not that helpful," said Bruce Boissonnault, president of NHQC.
Horner, meanwhile, pointed out the state, unlike NHQC, can mandate that providers alert consumers to the report cards, whether by requiring them to tell patrons or by sending out notifications through voter information forms or DMV mailings.
"It's better for the government to do it because they have the regulatory clout," he said. "It's good that they're finally getting something out the door."
www.wnbc.com
Some of the measures tracked will include treatment of heart attacks and pneumonia and the prevention of surgical infections, said Health Department spokesman Rob Kenny.
Kenny declined to elaborate about the site, which has been in the works for more than a year, until its launch is finalized and officially announced early next month.
The Web site is in response to a 1996 law that required the state to issue report cards tracking hospitals procedures. Kenny said the delay was partly because such medical reports are complex and must take into account various factors.
"They've had 10 years to work on it, so it'll be interesting to see how they approach it. We're waiting with bated breath," said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group, which lobbied for the law a decade ago.
The department now only tracks three types of common cardiac procedures.
Citing studies that show public scrutiny improves the quality of care, critics have long said the Health Department should expand its reporting of hospital procedures.
A report card released by the Health Department this year showed that in 2003, the mortality rate for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery was 1.61 percent, compared to 3.52 percent in 1989.
Few people are aware of the state report card, however, Horner said.
"It's a buried treasure," he said.
Additionally, the reports are based on information that is usually at least two years old, he said.
News of the department's Web site launch comes just a week after an independent group health care plans and providers issued a report card on 28 measures and procedures in hospitals statewide.
The Niagara Health Quality Coalition tracked 28 procedures and treatments in its third annual report card.
A single comprehensive report would make it easiest for consumers, said Matt Cox, spokesman for the Healthcare Association of New York State, which represents about 500 health care facilities statewide.
Before seeing the state's Web site, however, Cox declined to say which site would be more useful to consumers.
"If they're just going to duplicate what we have, it's probably not that helpful," said Bruce Boissonnault, president of NHQC.
Horner, meanwhile, pointed out the state, unlike NHQC, can mandate that providers alert consumers to the report cards, whether by requiring them to tell patrons or by sending out notifications through voter information forms or DMV mailings.
"It's better for the government to do it because they have the regulatory clout," he said. "It's good that they're finally getting something out the door."
www.wnbc.com
What bloggers think about your business
The blogosphere is a vast, unruly, and totally tantalizing mother lode of unvarnished consumer opinion on every product and service in the capitalist universe. But to know what the masses are saying about your product, you would have to dig through 350,000 daily postings on a staggering 20 million blogs worldwide.
Enter Umbria, a market research firm in Boulder that designs software to find useful consumer intelligence on the Internet. "The blogosphere is overflowing with brutally honest opinion," says Howard Kaushansky, Umbria's 47-year-old CEO.
"Our goal is to track those opinions down."
Every few hours Umbria sends an application called a spider out over the web to scour the blogosphere for postings about the firm's clients, most of which are big consumer companies, such as Electronic Arts, SAP and Sprint. By analyzing keywords in blogs on behalf of Sprint, for example, Umbria's software can tell whether a blogger is talking about customer service, the company's advertisements, or a particular calling plan.
To figure out whether an opinion is strong or tepid, the applications knows that "awesome" is a stronger endorsement than "pretty cool," and that "shoddy" is less damning than "abominable," thanks to several employees with Ph.D.s in linguistics and artificial intelligence.
Kaushansky claims his software can even identify sarcasm, a useful skill in the prickly blogosphere. It can also estimate the author's age and gender. Elongated spellings ("soooooooo"), multiple exclamation marks (!!!) suggest a teenage female. The blogger is probably a teenage boy if a posting is rife with hip-hop terminology such as "aight" (translation: "all right") and "true dat" ("I agree!").
The twenty- and thirty-somethings are more likely to use complete sentences. These men tend to favor vivid adjectives such as "sordid" and "hilarious," while the women favor elaborately emotive turns of phrase, such as "wishing I could just crawl out of my skin" (a real example). Male baby-boomers, on the other hand, tend to favor stale hip-hop-isms such as "jiggy" and "bling." They also pepper their blogs with terms such as "prostate" and "IRA."
Umbria's service is fast -- spidering through 20 million blogs in under a minute. Running linguistic algorithms takes another few minutes. Then out spits an "Umbria Buzz Report" that tells clients how they are being portrayed in the blogosphere. The reports cover the overall brand experience, along with consumer reactions to specific products and even specific features of those products. Umbria also classifies all the comments by estimated age and gender, and its reports always reproduce a few of the juiciest blog postings verbatim.
Bloggers are often early adopters of products and services, and they tend to be more fervent and expansive in their opinions than the general population. Clients say Umbria's service helps them discern attitudes that may not show up for months using traditional market-research tools such as surveys and focus groups.
Buzz Reports are also useful for gathering intelligence on competitors. Izze Beverage, a 45-employee Boulder company that makes sparkling fruit juices, recently engaged Umbria to track what bloggers were saying about rival brands. When a blogger had a bad fruit juice experience with one of his competitors, the result was often a profane online rant. "We want to make sure that never happens to us," says Izze CEO Todd Woloson. The company recently hired a customer relations specialist that it hopes will soothe angry consumers before they take to their blogs.
Kaushansky, a former lawyer who worked at several small data-mining companies, founded Umbria in 2004. He has raised $6.75 million for the company, mostly from venture capitalists. Kaushansky projects that Umbria will generate $2 million in revenue this year and will turn a profit in 2006.
Umbria is a relatively small player in the $20 million blog research market, with a 10 percent share. Principal rivals include Cincinnati-based Intelliseek, which controls about a third of the market, and BuzzMetrics in New York, which does not disclose revenues. Unlike Umbria, the latter two companies also meet with clients to interpret the data and suggest strategic responses. "We rely on both technology and humans for analysis," says Max Kalehoff, marketing director for BuzzMetrics. "Umbria takes an extremely automated approach."
But automation keeps Umbria's services affordable. Its clients pay roughly $60,000 a year, while the fee for one of its rivals can easily run into the seven figures. Kaushansky intends to maintain Umbria's low-cost and no-consultants strategy. The company's next frontier: algorithms that will classify bloggers by ethnicity, location, income, social class and level of education. As a white, female, middle-class, college freshman living in Akron might say, that would be soooooo cool!!!!!!!
www.money.cnn.com
Enter Umbria, a market research firm in Boulder that designs software to find useful consumer intelligence on the Internet. "The blogosphere is overflowing with brutally honest opinion," says Howard Kaushansky, Umbria's 47-year-old CEO.
"Our goal is to track those opinions down."
Every few hours Umbria sends an application called a spider out over the web to scour the blogosphere for postings about the firm's clients, most of which are big consumer companies, such as Electronic Arts, SAP and Sprint. By analyzing keywords in blogs on behalf of Sprint, for example, Umbria's software can tell whether a blogger is talking about customer service, the company's advertisements, or a particular calling plan.
To figure out whether an opinion is strong or tepid, the applications knows that "awesome" is a stronger endorsement than "pretty cool," and that "shoddy" is less damning than "abominable," thanks to several employees with Ph.D.s in linguistics and artificial intelligence.
Kaushansky claims his software can even identify sarcasm, a useful skill in the prickly blogosphere. It can also estimate the author's age and gender. Elongated spellings ("soooooooo"), multiple exclamation marks (!!!) suggest a teenage female. The blogger is probably a teenage boy if a posting is rife with hip-hop terminology such as "aight" (translation: "all right") and "true dat" ("I agree!").
The twenty- and thirty-somethings are more likely to use complete sentences. These men tend to favor vivid adjectives such as "sordid" and "hilarious," while the women favor elaborately emotive turns of phrase, such as "wishing I could just crawl out of my skin" (a real example). Male baby-boomers, on the other hand, tend to favor stale hip-hop-isms such as "jiggy" and "bling." They also pepper their blogs with terms such as "prostate" and "IRA."
Umbria's service is fast -- spidering through 20 million blogs in under a minute. Running linguistic algorithms takes another few minutes. Then out spits an "Umbria Buzz Report" that tells clients how they are being portrayed in the blogosphere. The reports cover the overall brand experience, along with consumer reactions to specific products and even specific features of those products. Umbria also classifies all the comments by estimated age and gender, and its reports always reproduce a few of the juiciest blog postings verbatim.
Bloggers are often early adopters of products and services, and they tend to be more fervent and expansive in their opinions than the general population. Clients say Umbria's service helps them discern attitudes that may not show up for months using traditional market-research tools such as surveys and focus groups.
Buzz Reports are also useful for gathering intelligence on competitors. Izze Beverage, a 45-employee Boulder company that makes sparkling fruit juices, recently engaged Umbria to track what bloggers were saying about rival brands. When a blogger had a bad fruit juice experience with one of his competitors, the result was often a profane online rant. "We want to make sure that never happens to us," says Izze CEO Todd Woloson. The company recently hired a customer relations specialist that it hopes will soothe angry consumers before they take to their blogs.
Kaushansky, a former lawyer who worked at several small data-mining companies, founded Umbria in 2004. He has raised $6.75 million for the company, mostly from venture capitalists. Kaushansky projects that Umbria will generate $2 million in revenue this year and will turn a profit in 2006.
Umbria is a relatively small player in the $20 million blog research market, with a 10 percent share. Principal rivals include Cincinnati-based Intelliseek, which controls about a third of the market, and BuzzMetrics in New York, which does not disclose revenues. Unlike Umbria, the latter two companies also meet with clients to interpret the data and suggest strategic responses. "We rely on both technology and humans for analysis," says Max Kalehoff, marketing director for BuzzMetrics. "Umbria takes an extremely automated approach."
But automation keeps Umbria's services affordable. Its clients pay roughly $60,000 a year, while the fee for one of its rivals can easily run into the seven figures. Kaushansky intends to maintain Umbria's low-cost and no-consultants strategy. The company's next frontier: algorithms that will classify bloggers by ethnicity, location, income, social class and level of education. As a white, female, middle-class, college freshman living in Akron might say, that would be soooooo cool!!!!!!!
www.money.cnn.com
China transforming through technology innovation and commitment to education
Intel Corporation Chairman Craig Barrett applauded leaders in China for progress made in technology innovation and their commitment to education.
"China's focus on science and technology education has advanced the nation's competitiveness and attracted Intel's investment in world-class microprocessor assembly and test facilities in Chengdu and Shanghai," said Barrett. "A skilled and talented local workforce is a solid foundation on which to build businesses and develop new economic opportunities."
Barrett and local community leaders took part in the opening ceremony of Intel's first assembly and test plant in Chengdu, located in western China's Sichuan Province.
"The opening of this facility brings new manufacturing capabilities to China and further strengthens the country's ability to deliver products to the worldwide market," said Barrett. "Intel's commitment to China's technology industry has a 20-year history. The Chengdu facility significantly expands our 5,000-person employee base in China."
This first US$200 million Chengdu facility begins production, with a second advanced assembly and test facility scheduled to start production in 2007.
With its increased presence Intel also announced a program supporting local communities. Intel is extending the Intel Volunteer Matching Grant Program to China. For every 20 hours an Intel employee volunteers in a school, US$75 will be donated to the school by the Intel Foundation.
Funded solely through donations from Intel, the Intel Foundation works to strengthen engineering and computer science education, and increase participation in these fields by women and under-represented minorities, improve mathematics and science education for elementary and secondary students, and foster the effective use of computer technology in education.
"Intel employees in communities across the globe take a special interest in their children's schools," said Barrett.
"Through this matching grant program, employees are able to work with and mentor young people while at the same time raising funds that can help schools acquire new educational tools."
In addition to the matching grant program, Intel supports education development through a variety of programs. Marking the five-year anniversary of the Intel Teach to the Future program in China, Intel has trained nearly 600,000 teachers in 31 provinces to integrate technology into classrooms.
Intel has also provided after-school, community-based Intel Learn programs for almost 63,000 children to help them learn technological literacy, problem solving and collaboration skills and built an after-school technology learning center in Chengdu called the Intel Computer Clubhouse.
www.emsnow.com
"China's focus on science and technology education has advanced the nation's competitiveness and attracted Intel's investment in world-class microprocessor assembly and test facilities in Chengdu and Shanghai," said Barrett. "A skilled and talented local workforce is a solid foundation on which to build businesses and develop new economic opportunities."
Barrett and local community leaders took part in the opening ceremony of Intel's first assembly and test plant in Chengdu, located in western China's Sichuan Province.
"The opening of this facility brings new manufacturing capabilities to China and further strengthens the country's ability to deliver products to the worldwide market," said Barrett. "Intel's commitment to China's technology industry has a 20-year history. The Chengdu facility significantly expands our 5,000-person employee base in China."
This first US$200 million Chengdu facility begins production, with a second advanced assembly and test facility scheduled to start production in 2007.
With its increased presence Intel also announced a program supporting local communities. Intel is extending the Intel Volunteer Matching Grant Program to China. For every 20 hours an Intel employee volunteers in a school, US$75 will be donated to the school by the Intel Foundation.
Funded solely through donations from Intel, the Intel Foundation works to strengthen engineering and computer science education, and increase participation in these fields by women and under-represented minorities, improve mathematics and science education for elementary and secondary students, and foster the effective use of computer technology in education.
"Intel employees in communities across the globe take a special interest in their children's schools," said Barrett.
"Through this matching grant program, employees are able to work with and mentor young people while at the same time raising funds that can help schools acquire new educational tools."
In addition to the matching grant program, Intel supports education development through a variety of programs. Marking the five-year anniversary of the Intel Teach to the Future program in China, Intel has trained nearly 600,000 teachers in 31 provinces to integrate technology into classrooms.
Intel has also provided after-school, community-based Intel Learn programs for almost 63,000 children to help them learn technological literacy, problem solving and collaboration skills and built an after-school technology learning center in Chengdu called the Intel Computer Clubhouse.
www.emsnow.com
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Health agency refuses to hire any more smokers
The World Health Organisation has stopped employing smokers as part of its drive to curb tobacco use. All vacancy notices now state the UN health agency does not promote tobacco use or recruit smokers, a spokesman said.
Job applicants will be asked if they smoke or use other tobacco products. If they reply "yes", they will be shown the door.
There will be no penalties for existing staff who smoke. Asked whether WHO would soon stop hiring obese people or those drinking alcohol, spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said the agency needs to align its employment practices with its principles.
www.guardian.co.uk
Job applicants will be asked if they smoke or use other tobacco products. If they reply "yes", they will be shown the door.
There will be no penalties for existing staff who smoke. Asked whether WHO would soon stop hiring obese people or those drinking alcohol, spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said the agency needs to align its employment practices with its principles.
www.guardian.co.uk
'Medicare for All' would cure health care crisis
Where were we? Oh, yes. I was saying last week that it's about time we joined the rest of the civilized and industrialized world in providing publicly financed, universal health care for the American people and their families. But I didn't say why or how.After all, the United States has some of the finest, most modern medical facilities in the world. I ought to know; Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Medical Center saved my life.
Nearby, the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health, outside Washington, D.C., set the standards for American research. And patients come from abroad seeking help from many U.S. hospitals.
If you don't have a life-threatening illness, you won't have to wait weeks, as you might in Canada or Britain, for elective surgery on those cataracts or to repair a hernia - if you have the right insurance.Ah, there's the rub for nearly 46 million Americans (including 9 million children) who have no insurance. For a hacking cough bordering on pneumonia, they wait in crowded clinics or go without care. Caring for a child burning up with fever can be frightening enough, with insurance; being uninsured can end up killing that child.
A Florida study found that children who enter a hospital without insurance are more than twice as likely to die as children with insurance. Another study reported that 18,000 Americans die each year because they are uninsured.Millions more Americans are underinsured or find that their insurance doesn't cover what they thought. In the United States, administrative costs amount to 25 percent of health care spending, or $300 billion a year, says economics columnist Paul Krugman, partly because the huge bureaucracy is engaged in denying care to those who most need it.
The rest of those costs are profits.According to The New York Times, many of the non-Medicare insured go broke trying to keep up with co-pays for chronic illness or the bills from hospitals, for the room, surgeons, labs, anesthetists, drugs and any other white coat that drops in. A third of American patients spend more than $1,000 a year out of pocket, and 68 percent of those who declared bankruptcy because of medical bills had insurance.
The Washington Post reported weeks ago that the Blue Shield HMO in California, to save money for the company and patients, is sending members from the San Diego area to Mexico for nonemergency care because services are less expensive than in the United States.A doctor, who performs laser eye surgery on both sides of the border, told the Post he charges in Mexico a third of what he charges in San Diego. A hysterectomy that averages $2,025 in the United States costs $810 in Mexico. Blue Shield said the services on both sides of the border are comparable.
And in Mexico the doctors' parking lots are filled with California cars.The United States spends more than any nation on health: $5,600 for every American, or 14.6 percent of national income, compared with Germany, 10.9 percent; Canada, 9.6 percent; New Zealand, 8.5 percent; and Britain, 7.7 percent.
Yet a recent study for the private, nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund, which surveyed 7,000 of the sickest patients in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Britain and the United States, found that American medicine has the highest error rates, the most fragmented and disorganized care and highest costs.Are we getting our money's worth?Infant mortality - the number of deaths of children under one year, probably the best measure of the level of health of any country - actually increased from 6.6 to 7 per thousand live U.S. births.
That's higher than 41 nations, including Italy (6.07), Canada (4.82), Germany (4.2) and Japan, which has the lowest rate in the world at 3.28. The percentage of live births classified as low birth weight, an indication of the mother's health and prenatal care, is 7.8 percent for the United States, behind Canada (5.6), the Netherlands (4.7), Australia (6.2) and all of Europe.
The United States boasts a life expectancy for men of 77.3 years, but we're behind 34 other nations, including New Zealand (79), Germany (79), Britain (79), Canada (80), Australia (81) and Japan (82). Need I add that all these countries provide universal health care - the ability to walk into a doctor's office without worrying about cost? What are we waiting for?Polls indicate most Americans (75 percent) would support universal health care.
And leading newspapers, commentators, economists, lawmakers, 13,000 doctors, former surgeons general, businessmen and a few conservatives have come to the same, obvious conclusion: If we were to pay in taxes just a fraction of what health care now costs us, we could afford it.But universal health care is much easier said than done.
How to deal with the entrenched insurance-medical-hospital complex? How to make the transition relatively painless for medical professionals and patients?The answer is also obvious: Medicare for every American, or what I proposed years ago, "Medicare for All."
A distinguished panel of health care experts, Democrats, Republicans, financiers, insurance executives and academics concluded in an open letter to the journal Health Affairs, that Medicare must be empowered as the vehicle "to make pay-for-performance a national strategy for better quality."
Lawmakers, medical journals, a couple of former surgeons general and 13,000 doctors have proposed phasing in "Medicare for All."And if this administration doesn't trash the rest of Medicare before it leaves the scene, it remains the most obvious, affordable and doable way to providing universal coverage.
www.newsday.com
Nearby, the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health, outside Washington, D.C., set the standards for American research. And patients come from abroad seeking help from many U.S. hospitals.
If you don't have a life-threatening illness, you won't have to wait weeks, as you might in Canada or Britain, for elective surgery on those cataracts or to repair a hernia - if you have the right insurance.Ah, there's the rub for nearly 46 million Americans (including 9 million children) who have no insurance. For a hacking cough bordering on pneumonia, they wait in crowded clinics or go without care. Caring for a child burning up with fever can be frightening enough, with insurance; being uninsured can end up killing that child.
A Florida study found that children who enter a hospital without insurance are more than twice as likely to die as children with insurance. Another study reported that 18,000 Americans die each year because they are uninsured.Millions more Americans are underinsured or find that their insurance doesn't cover what they thought. In the United States, administrative costs amount to 25 percent of health care spending, or $300 billion a year, says economics columnist Paul Krugman, partly because the huge bureaucracy is engaged in denying care to those who most need it.
The rest of those costs are profits.According to The New York Times, many of the non-Medicare insured go broke trying to keep up with co-pays for chronic illness or the bills from hospitals, for the room, surgeons, labs, anesthetists, drugs and any other white coat that drops in. A third of American patients spend more than $1,000 a year out of pocket, and 68 percent of those who declared bankruptcy because of medical bills had insurance.
The Washington Post reported weeks ago that the Blue Shield HMO in California, to save money for the company and patients, is sending members from the San Diego area to Mexico for nonemergency care because services are less expensive than in the United States.A doctor, who performs laser eye surgery on both sides of the border, told the Post he charges in Mexico a third of what he charges in San Diego. A hysterectomy that averages $2,025 in the United States costs $810 in Mexico. Blue Shield said the services on both sides of the border are comparable.
And in Mexico the doctors' parking lots are filled with California cars.The United States spends more than any nation on health: $5,600 for every American, or 14.6 percent of national income, compared with Germany, 10.9 percent; Canada, 9.6 percent; New Zealand, 8.5 percent; and Britain, 7.7 percent.
Yet a recent study for the private, nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund, which surveyed 7,000 of the sickest patients in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Britain and the United States, found that American medicine has the highest error rates, the most fragmented and disorganized care and highest costs.Are we getting our money's worth?Infant mortality - the number of deaths of children under one year, probably the best measure of the level of health of any country - actually increased from 6.6 to 7 per thousand live U.S. births.
That's higher than 41 nations, including Italy (6.07), Canada (4.82), Germany (4.2) and Japan, which has the lowest rate in the world at 3.28. The percentage of live births classified as low birth weight, an indication of the mother's health and prenatal care, is 7.8 percent for the United States, behind Canada (5.6), the Netherlands (4.7), Australia (6.2) and all of Europe.
The United States boasts a life expectancy for men of 77.3 years, but we're behind 34 other nations, including New Zealand (79), Germany (79), Britain (79), Canada (80), Australia (81) and Japan (82). Need I add that all these countries provide universal health care - the ability to walk into a doctor's office without worrying about cost? What are we waiting for?Polls indicate most Americans (75 percent) would support universal health care.
And leading newspapers, commentators, economists, lawmakers, 13,000 doctors, former surgeons general, businessmen and a few conservatives have come to the same, obvious conclusion: If we were to pay in taxes just a fraction of what health care now costs us, we could afford it.But universal health care is much easier said than done.
How to deal with the entrenched insurance-medical-hospital complex? How to make the transition relatively painless for medical professionals and patients?The answer is also obvious: Medicare for every American, or what I proposed years ago, "Medicare for All."
A distinguished panel of health care experts, Democrats, Republicans, financiers, insurance executives and academics concluded in an open letter to the journal Health Affairs, that Medicare must be empowered as the vehicle "to make pay-for-performance a national strategy for better quality."
Lawmakers, medical journals, a couple of former surgeons general and 13,000 doctors have proposed phasing in "Medicare for All."And if this administration doesn't trash the rest of Medicare before it leaves the scene, it remains the most obvious, affordable and doable way to providing universal coverage.
www.newsday.com
Newly released records question business links of late lottery chief
The first director of the Minnesota State Lottery enthusiastically supported a bass fishing tournament, giving it additional state money and other assistance even though lottery staff members doubted its promotional value, according to court papers released Friday.
George Andersen's unusual role as lottery director and booster of the now-defunct Minnesota Pro/Am Bass Tour is described by a state investigator in papers filed to obtain search warrants. Andersen committed suicide in 2004 after state auditors criticized lottery promotional deals.
The search warrants, issued in June 2004, have remained sealed until now while the state Public Safety Department's Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division investigated Andersen's business relationship with a St. Paul company that owned the bass tour.
Doug Forsman, the lead agent on the investigation, said Friday the case has been turned over to the Ramsey County attorney's office for consideration of possible criminal charges.
The bass tour, last held in 2003, was a summer-long series of fishing contests in which anglers competed on several lakes to catch bass for prize money and merchandise.
As one of the sponsors, the lottery's name appeared on signs, on television and on promotional materials.
Andersen, an avid fisherman, participated in the contests, but his interest in the event went deeper, though he had no financial stake in it, according to a search warrant affidavit written by Forsman.
It said there was probable cause to believe that Andersen used his lottery position to "influence and conspire" with two principals of a St. Paul public relations company to gain control of the event.
Michael Lange, a lottery marketing manager, told investigators that he and other lottery employees were directly involved in soliciting lottery partners to sponsor the bass tour, including the Star Tribune, Treasure Island Casino, Anheuser-Busch and four professional sports teams.
Lottery workers also helped stage the bass tour because its owners "did not have the expertise to run the event," Lange told investigators.
Andersen subverted the lottery's normal approval process by directing $27,300 in "supplemental cash sponsorships" to the event in 2002 and again in 2003, Lange told investigators.
Lottery staff members concluded the tour's cost exceeded its promotional value, the court papers said. Dale McDonnell, in-house legal counsel for the lottery, told investigators that he told Andersen that the lottery should not be involved in running a bass tournament, "but Andersen did not want to be told what to do."
Instead, Andersen progressively increased the lottery's sponsorship of the fishing tournament because it was losing money, Lange told investigators.
The bass tour was owned by a company closely linked to Media Rare, a St. Paul public relations firm that had several lucrative promotional contracts with the lottery. Neither company still operates.
Jeff Denney, the last owner of Media Rare, said Friday that the supplemental payments to the bass tour in 2002 and 2003 were for work ordered by the lottery.
He described the county attorney's review for possible criminal charges as a "formality." Asked if he fears being charged with a crime, he said, "No, absolutely not."
Denney folded the bass tour when audit questions led to the lottery's withdrawal as a sponsor, the affidavit said.
Andersen was 53 when he was found dead outside his Hugo home on Jan. 27, 2004. The previous day he had met with state auditors who criticized the lottery's backing of the bass tour and no-compete contracts with Media Rare worth more than $1 million a year.
The investigation by the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division started soon after Andersen's death. Using the search warrants, investigators seized records of Media Rare, related companies and its former owner.
Michael Priesnitz, who founded Media Rare and became a fishing buddy of Andersen, attempted suicide one week after Andersen, the affidavit said. In April 2005, Priesnitz died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in International Falls.
A 2004 report by the legislative auditor's office said that the bass tour wasn't well known among fisherman but that the lottery had clung to its sponsorship even while withdrawing as sponsor of major sports and other events.
One lottery employee, promotions director John Mellein, told investigators that Media Rare and the bass tour were considered "untouchable" interests of Andersen.
"Mellein stated there was no one in the lottery that felt they could challenge George Andersen," the affidavit said.
Andersen's enthusiasm for the tournament was evident in a memo found by investigators after his death. According to the investigator's affidavit, the lottery director twice tried to persuade the Ontario Lottery Commission to jointly sponsor an international bass tournament with Minnesota.
In correspondence with Ontario officials in 2001, Andersen wrote that they should sponsor a fishing tournament that allowed amateurs so that he could fish in it, the affidavit said.
"We have all the equipment, expertise and experience needed to put on the entire event," according to an excerpt from Andersen's correspondence. "So, what do you think? Should we work on it? Do you have lots of cash to spend? Let's discuss. It will be an enormous amount of fun."
http://www.startribune.com/
George Andersen's unusual role as lottery director and booster of the now-defunct Minnesota Pro/Am Bass Tour is described by a state investigator in papers filed to obtain search warrants. Andersen committed suicide in 2004 after state auditors criticized lottery promotional deals.
The search warrants, issued in June 2004, have remained sealed until now while the state Public Safety Department's Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division investigated Andersen's business relationship with a St. Paul company that owned the bass tour.
Doug Forsman, the lead agent on the investigation, said Friday the case has been turned over to the Ramsey County attorney's office for consideration of possible criminal charges.
The bass tour, last held in 2003, was a summer-long series of fishing contests in which anglers competed on several lakes to catch bass for prize money and merchandise.
As one of the sponsors, the lottery's name appeared on signs, on television and on promotional materials.
Andersen, an avid fisherman, participated in the contests, but his interest in the event went deeper, though he had no financial stake in it, according to a search warrant affidavit written by Forsman.
It said there was probable cause to believe that Andersen used his lottery position to "influence and conspire" with two principals of a St. Paul public relations company to gain control of the event.
Michael Lange, a lottery marketing manager, told investigators that he and other lottery employees were directly involved in soliciting lottery partners to sponsor the bass tour, including the Star Tribune, Treasure Island Casino, Anheuser-Busch and four professional sports teams.
Lottery workers also helped stage the bass tour because its owners "did not have the expertise to run the event," Lange told investigators.
Andersen subverted the lottery's normal approval process by directing $27,300 in "supplemental cash sponsorships" to the event in 2002 and again in 2003, Lange told investigators.
Lottery staff members concluded the tour's cost exceeded its promotional value, the court papers said. Dale McDonnell, in-house legal counsel for the lottery, told investigators that he told Andersen that the lottery should not be involved in running a bass tournament, "but Andersen did not want to be told what to do."
Instead, Andersen progressively increased the lottery's sponsorship of the fishing tournament because it was losing money, Lange told investigators.
The bass tour was owned by a company closely linked to Media Rare, a St. Paul public relations firm that had several lucrative promotional contracts with the lottery. Neither company still operates.
Jeff Denney, the last owner of Media Rare, said Friday that the supplemental payments to the bass tour in 2002 and 2003 were for work ordered by the lottery.
He described the county attorney's review for possible criminal charges as a "formality." Asked if he fears being charged with a crime, he said, "No, absolutely not."
Denney folded the bass tour when audit questions led to the lottery's withdrawal as a sponsor, the affidavit said.
Andersen was 53 when he was found dead outside his Hugo home on Jan. 27, 2004. The previous day he had met with state auditors who criticized the lottery's backing of the bass tour and no-compete contracts with Media Rare worth more than $1 million a year.
The investigation by the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division started soon after Andersen's death. Using the search warrants, investigators seized records of Media Rare, related companies and its former owner.
Michael Priesnitz, who founded Media Rare and became a fishing buddy of Andersen, attempted suicide one week after Andersen, the affidavit said. In April 2005, Priesnitz died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in International Falls.
A 2004 report by the legislative auditor's office said that the bass tour wasn't well known among fisherman but that the lottery had clung to its sponsorship even while withdrawing as sponsor of major sports and other events.
One lottery employee, promotions director John Mellein, told investigators that Media Rare and the bass tour were considered "untouchable" interests of Andersen.
"Mellein stated there was no one in the lottery that felt they could challenge George Andersen," the affidavit said.
Andersen's enthusiasm for the tournament was evident in a memo found by investigators after his death. According to the investigator's affidavit, the lottery director twice tried to persuade the Ontario Lottery Commission to jointly sponsor an international bass tournament with Minnesota.
In correspondence with Ontario officials in 2001, Andersen wrote that they should sponsor a fishing tournament that allowed amateurs so that he could fish in it, the affidavit said.
"We have all the equipment, expertise and experience needed to put on the entire event," according to an excerpt from Andersen's correspondence. "So, what do you think? Should we work on it? Do you have lots of cash to spend? Let's discuss. It will be an enormous amount of fun."
http://www.startribune.com/
Nokia 9300i: Smartphone for Business Users
Nokia’s 9xxx series has been one of the best smartphone product lines in the market. It’s truly a smartphone and not just one of the regular Java based phones with an IQ lower than their battery life. Even though it might be a tad bulky, the functionality is more or less adequate.
With the 9300i, Nokia has just made the smartphone smarter, or so they say.
The phone features a wide (640x200) 65k color screen, various e-mail solutions (BlackBerry Connect, Nokia Business Center, IBM WebSphere, Oracle Collaboration Suite, Seven Always-On Mail and Visto Mobile) and an attachment viewer. Blackberry is a useful addition as it negates the necessity to carry a separate blackberry enabled/compatible device.
The most interesting thing about this phone, however, is that it’s now Wi-Fi (802.11g) capable, but there’s nothing new about the feature, since earlier O2 phones such as the XDA IIs have had it for quite some time now. This feature means, that for most of your tasks, you will not need to use your notebook, which could prove to be useful in certain scenarios. We also suspect that synching would be comparatively simpler by making a straightforward adhoc connection.
Apart from WLAN, the phone supports EDGE, GPRS, Bluetooth and IrDA communication protocols. The Nokia 9300i will come with 80MB of onboard memory, but you will be able to upgrade this to a maximum of 2GB via the MMC route.
The 9300i will come in a single Triband version, which will be most suited for GSM networks in Asia and Europe. And it will obviously be compatible with GSM networks in North America.
The phone is expected to be available sometime in Q1 ’06.
Initial Thoughts: To be honest, the features listed here are nothing spectacular and other phones have had them for ages. But if nothing else, Nokia’s 9300i has class that just might come in handy for Nokia in the market.
www.cooltechzone.com
With the 9300i, Nokia has just made the smartphone smarter, or so they say.
The phone features a wide (640x200) 65k color screen, various e-mail solutions (BlackBerry Connect, Nokia Business Center, IBM WebSphere, Oracle Collaboration Suite, Seven Always-On Mail and Visto Mobile) and an attachment viewer. Blackberry is a useful addition as it negates the necessity to carry a separate blackberry enabled/compatible device.
The most interesting thing about this phone, however, is that it’s now Wi-Fi (802.11g) capable, but there’s nothing new about the feature, since earlier O2 phones such as the XDA IIs have had it for quite some time now. This feature means, that for most of your tasks, you will not need to use your notebook, which could prove to be useful in certain scenarios. We also suspect that synching would be comparatively simpler by making a straightforward adhoc connection.
Apart from WLAN, the phone supports EDGE, GPRS, Bluetooth and IrDA communication protocols. The Nokia 9300i will come with 80MB of onboard memory, but you will be able to upgrade this to a maximum of 2GB via the MMC route.
The 9300i will come in a single Triband version, which will be most suited for GSM networks in Asia and Europe. And it will obviously be compatible with GSM networks in North America.
The phone is expected to be available sometime in Q1 ’06.
Initial Thoughts: To be honest, the features listed here are nothing spectacular and other phones have had them for ages. But if nothing else, Nokia’s 9300i has class that just might come in handy for Nokia in the market.
www.cooltechzone.com
Invest Northern Ireland opens business office in Shanghai
Enterprise Minister Angela Smith has officially opened Invest Northern Ireland's new investment and trade office in Shanghai.
The office which was launched Wednesday will promote and facilitate technology, investment and trade exchanges between Northern Ireland and China, the world's fastest growing economy.
The Minister is currently traveling with an Invest NI delegation to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing that includes representatives from 35 Northern Ireland companies and the University of Ulster.
Speaking at a reception for Chinese business leaders in Shanghai, the minister said: "Opening this office in Shanghai will increase awareness in China of what Northern Ireland has to offer in terms of technology, quality products, expert services and the substantial benefits of Northern Ireland a location in which to dobusiness within Europe."
"There are immense opportunities for Northern Ireland from a closer engagement with a nation that has been experiencing annual growth rates of around 9 percent over the past decade. As well as a developing demand for products and services across a broad rangeof business sectors, Chinese companies are increasingly seeking an effective base from which to explore opportunities in the European marketplace," she said.
"Our aim is to position Northern Ireland as the very best solution for Chinese industrial investors seeking a location that offers them easy access to Europe in terms of advanced telecommunications and transport and the skilled people to help them in achieving their business objectives," Smith said.
The Shanghai office is part of a global network of Invest NI technology, investment and trade centers. It will market Northern Ireland to Chinese businesses and provide advice and information to local companies and organizations, such as the universities, seeking to develop opportunities in China.
Earlier this year, Invest NI opened an office in New York. The organisation currently has technology, trade and investment offices in London, Boston, Denver, San Jose, Brussels, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Dubai, Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei.
www.news.xinhuanet.com
The office which was launched Wednesday will promote and facilitate technology, investment and trade exchanges between Northern Ireland and China, the world's fastest growing economy.
The Minister is currently traveling with an Invest NI delegation to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing that includes representatives from 35 Northern Ireland companies and the University of Ulster.
Speaking at a reception for Chinese business leaders in Shanghai, the minister said: "Opening this office in Shanghai will increase awareness in China of what Northern Ireland has to offer in terms of technology, quality products, expert services and the substantial benefits of Northern Ireland a location in which to dobusiness within Europe."
"There are immense opportunities for Northern Ireland from a closer engagement with a nation that has been experiencing annual growth rates of around 9 percent over the past decade. As well as a developing demand for products and services across a broad rangeof business sectors, Chinese companies are increasingly seeking an effective base from which to explore opportunities in the European marketplace," she said.
"Our aim is to position Northern Ireland as the very best solution for Chinese industrial investors seeking a location that offers them easy access to Europe in terms of advanced telecommunications and transport and the skilled people to help them in achieving their business objectives," Smith said.
The Shanghai office is part of a global network of Invest NI technology, investment and trade centers. It will market Northern Ireland to Chinese businesses and provide advice and information to local companies and organizations, such as the universities, seeking to develop opportunities in China.
Earlier this year, Invest NI opened an office in New York. The organisation currently has technology, trade and investment offices in London, Boston, Denver, San Jose, Brussels, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Dubai, Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei.
www.news.xinhuanet.com
AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY: Car-parts supplier Bosch commits to the state
The building will allow Bosch to consolidate workers from several rented locations to a company-owned technical center and provide room for further expansion.
A Single Business Tax credit valued at $20.8 million over 17 years helped convince Bosch to build in Michigan.
Bosch's commitment is the latest in a growing cadre of automotive-related technology companies that are locating to or expanding in Michigan. They come here to be close to the state's auto manufacturers and to tap into an abundance of skilled professionals produced by the state's engineering schools and employed at automakers and suppliers.
"Michigan continues to provide an ideal location for Bosch's operations, offering a close proximity to customers and an atmosphere that fosters growth for the future," Kurt Liedtke, chairman, president and CEO of Robert Bosch Corp., said at the groundbreaking.
"R&D is the sweet spot of what we're trying to grow, attract and retain in Michigan," said James Epolito, CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., which recruits companies to Michigan and retains and supports the ones that are here. "We have to work from our strengths, and automotive clearly is one of our strengths."
Among the technologies that are expected to be engineered at the tech center:
Occupancy sensors for air bags.
Adaptive cruise control.
Predictive safety systems such as lane-departure sensors.
Other driver-assistance technologies.
Stuttgart, Germany-based Bosch has had a presence in Michigan since 1918. Its North American automotive headquarters in Farmington Hills was established in 1983 and employs about 1,500 people.
Between the Farmington Hills facilities and the new tech center, Bosch said it could accommodate as many as 3,400 employees.
www.freep.com
A Single Business Tax credit valued at $20.8 million over 17 years helped convince Bosch to build in Michigan.
Bosch's commitment is the latest in a growing cadre of automotive-related technology companies that are locating to or expanding in Michigan. They come here to be close to the state's auto manufacturers and to tap into an abundance of skilled professionals produced by the state's engineering schools and employed at automakers and suppliers.
"Michigan continues to provide an ideal location for Bosch's operations, offering a close proximity to customers and an atmosphere that fosters growth for the future," Kurt Liedtke, chairman, president and CEO of Robert Bosch Corp., said at the groundbreaking.
"R&D is the sweet spot of what we're trying to grow, attract and retain in Michigan," said James Epolito, CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., which recruits companies to Michigan and retains and supports the ones that are here. "We have to work from our strengths, and automotive clearly is one of our strengths."
Among the technologies that are expected to be engineered at the tech center:
Occupancy sensors for air bags.
Adaptive cruise control.
Predictive safety systems such as lane-departure sensors.
Other driver-assistance technologies.
Stuttgart, Germany-based Bosch has had a presence in Michigan since 1918. Its North American automotive headquarters in Farmington Hills was established in 1983 and employs about 1,500 people.
Between the Farmington Hills facilities and the new tech center, Bosch said it could accommodate as many as 3,400 employees.
www.freep.com
Using IT Asset Management Technology to Ease the Transition to IPv6
IPv6 is the next generation of network addressing and will replace the current IPv4 standard, creating a need for a full transition from one technology to the next. It is designed to operate on both high performance and low bandwidth networks and provides a platform for new internet functionality.
The IPv6 transition anticipates that user host systems can be upgraded to IPv6, and that network operators can deploy IPv6 in routers, with nominal coordination between the two. However, one critical task that must be addressed in either case is accurately discovering, identifying and inventorying all the devices across the network that will need to be upgraded or replaced as a result of the IPv6 implementation.
An automated system that can provide critical configuration information, along with the address of each device on the network, will be an essential tool to effect a successful transition. Eracent’s Network Probe can provide management and technical personnel with the critical information they will need to budget and implement a seamless transition from IPv4 to IPv6. Network Probe as a Transition Tool The need for a smooth transition was recognized very early in the planning stages of the IPv6 protocol.
Clearly, one critical aspect of implementing a successful transition is discovering and inventorying all of the various network components that would be impacted by changing IP protocols. Eracent’s Network Probe discovers and interrogates networked devices using a multi-variant approach that yields extremely accurate inventory results.
Each device on a network has identifiable characteristics, although not necessarily the same characteristics, that the Network Probe uses to perform its inventory and discovery functions. By utilizing a variety of data sets captured from the devices the Eracent technology can provide the IT manager with detailed information on previously unknown or partially identifiable devices.
Using the Identification Management Technology, Eracent’s Network Probe can precisely identify unique devices built into a network infrastructure more accurately than systems that rely exclusively on MIB and/or OID data. Network Probe, using Eracent’s agentless technology, collects complete configuration information for each discovered device.
Hardware is inventoried at the component level and software down at the hot fix level. Using an interactive reporting system, users can select those characteristics of devices that would need to be replaced or upgraded to support IPv6. Using that information, report network and IT managers can easily develop a transition budget and schedule. Devices that require new software or operating systems, devices that can be upgraded to be IPv6 compliant and those that need to be replaced can be specifically identified.
Budgets can be built, and expenses minimized, through use of this key information. Moreover, the entire process can be accomplished in a matter of days from a central location, making the entire process more efficient. The move to IPv6 is inevitable, but tools are available to network and IT professionals that will help speed the process and support a successful implementation. Eracent’s Network Probe, along with its other IT asset management solutions, can provide the information that can make the difference between an efficient and cumbersome transition.
www.it.moldova.org
The IPv6 transition anticipates that user host systems can be upgraded to IPv6, and that network operators can deploy IPv6 in routers, with nominal coordination between the two. However, one critical task that must be addressed in either case is accurately discovering, identifying and inventorying all the devices across the network that will need to be upgraded or replaced as a result of the IPv6 implementation.
An automated system that can provide critical configuration information, along with the address of each device on the network, will be an essential tool to effect a successful transition. Eracent’s Network Probe can provide management and technical personnel with the critical information they will need to budget and implement a seamless transition from IPv4 to IPv6. Network Probe as a Transition Tool The need for a smooth transition was recognized very early in the planning stages of the IPv6 protocol.
Clearly, one critical aspect of implementing a successful transition is discovering and inventorying all of the various network components that would be impacted by changing IP protocols. Eracent’s Network Probe discovers and interrogates networked devices using a multi-variant approach that yields extremely accurate inventory results.
Each device on a network has identifiable characteristics, although not necessarily the same characteristics, that the Network Probe uses to perform its inventory and discovery functions. By utilizing a variety of data sets captured from the devices the Eracent technology can provide the IT manager with detailed information on previously unknown or partially identifiable devices.
Using the Identification Management Technology, Eracent’s Network Probe can precisely identify unique devices built into a network infrastructure more accurately than systems that rely exclusively on MIB and/or OID data. Network Probe, using Eracent’s agentless technology, collects complete configuration information for each discovered device.
Hardware is inventoried at the component level and software down at the hot fix level. Using an interactive reporting system, users can select those characteristics of devices that would need to be replaced or upgraded to support IPv6. Using that information, report network and IT managers can easily develop a transition budget and schedule. Devices that require new software or operating systems, devices that can be upgraded to be IPv6 compliant and those that need to be replaced can be specifically identified.
Budgets can be built, and expenses minimized, through use of this key information. Moreover, the entire process can be accomplished in a matter of days from a central location, making the entire process more efficient. The move to IPv6 is inevitable, but tools are available to network and IT professionals that will help speed the process and support a successful implementation. Eracent’s Network Probe, along with its other IT asset management solutions, can provide the information that can make the difference between an efficient and cumbersome transition.
www.it.moldova.org
Friday, December 02, 2005
Health chiefs act to cure 'running sore' of hospital parking
HEALTH chiefs have set up a group to tackle parking charges and poor transport links to its hospitals.
NHS Lothian chairman Brian Cavanagh said the health board was "very anxious" about car parking charges and action would be taken to tackle them.
The transport group has pledged to unveil a series of new initiatives to tackle transport and parking issues within the next three months.
The move comes amid continuing anger from the public and health workers about parking charges of up to £10-a-day at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
Concern has also been raised about a lack of parking spaces at the Western General and patients from Edinburgh having to travel long distances to St John's Hospital in Livingston after a shake-up of health services saw some clinics moved to West Lothian.
And some staff at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh also vowed to quit their jobs unless they become exempt from new parking charges set to be introduced by the city council on surrounding streets.
Health board chiefs have pledged to report their findings by March - a year after Consort, the company which runs facilities at the ERI including parking, said it would review charges.
The plan was revealed after bosses came under fire about the issue from a concerned member of the public at NHS Lothian's annual general meeting yesterday.
In response, board chairman Brian Cavanagh said: "It's no secret that the board is very anxious about the huge burden of car parking charges.
"We are currently in negotiations over the contract and we are of a view, of the unanimous view, that the car parking charges are too high and part of the discussion with Consort is a to renegotiate the contract.
"This is a matter that's gone on too long as far as I am concerned but I do assure you we do need to address the car parking issue.
"It's a running sore and a cause of anxiety to a range of people who use the Royal Infirmary."
Despite pledging back in March to tackle the parking charges, which Mr Cavanagh described as "unacceptable", NHS Lothian is still in negotiations with Consort about the issue.
The health board's facilities director, John Jack, told the meeting at Murrayfield Stadium that the expert group would report its findings in March. He said the transport group, which also consists of representatives from local councils and the ambulance service, was also considering new shuttle bus services.
An initiative in which valets are employed to park patients' cars was also on the table.
Mr Jack said: "We are very conscious of the increasing transport demands, both for our patients and staff at NHS Lothian.
A Consort spokeswoman said: "We are part of ongoing discussions with the health board and parking will be part of those."
www.news.scotsman.com
NHS Lothian chairman Brian Cavanagh said the health board was "very anxious" about car parking charges and action would be taken to tackle them.
The transport group has pledged to unveil a series of new initiatives to tackle transport and parking issues within the next three months.
The move comes amid continuing anger from the public and health workers about parking charges of up to £10-a-day at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
Concern has also been raised about a lack of parking spaces at the Western General and patients from Edinburgh having to travel long distances to St John's Hospital in Livingston after a shake-up of health services saw some clinics moved to West Lothian.
And some staff at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh also vowed to quit their jobs unless they become exempt from new parking charges set to be introduced by the city council on surrounding streets.
Health board chiefs have pledged to report their findings by March - a year after Consort, the company which runs facilities at the ERI including parking, said it would review charges.
The plan was revealed after bosses came under fire about the issue from a concerned member of the public at NHS Lothian's annual general meeting yesterday.
In response, board chairman Brian Cavanagh said: "It's no secret that the board is very anxious about the huge burden of car parking charges.
"We are currently in negotiations over the contract and we are of a view, of the unanimous view, that the car parking charges are too high and part of the discussion with Consort is a to renegotiate the contract.
"This is a matter that's gone on too long as far as I am concerned but I do assure you we do need to address the car parking issue.
"It's a running sore and a cause of anxiety to a range of people who use the Royal Infirmary."
Despite pledging back in March to tackle the parking charges, which Mr Cavanagh described as "unacceptable", NHS Lothian is still in negotiations with Consort about the issue.
The health board's facilities director, John Jack, told the meeting at Murrayfield Stadium that the expert group would report its findings in March. He said the transport group, which also consists of representatives from local councils and the ambulance service, was also considering new shuttle bus services.
An initiative in which valets are employed to park patients' cars was also on the table.
Mr Jack said: "We are very conscious of the increasing transport demands, both for our patients and staff at NHS Lothian.
A Consort spokeswoman said: "We are part of ongoing discussions with the health board and parking will be part of those."
www.news.scotsman.com
U.N. health agency turns up heat on its smokersBy Andy Sullivan
The World Health Organisation (WHO), which is spearheading a global campaign against tobacco consumption, said it would no longer hire smokers.
"Smokers and other tobacco users will not be recruited by WHO as and from Dec. 1, 2005," the U.N. health agency said in a letter circulated to staff.
The agency, which employs some 2,400 people at its Geneva headquarters, said the new policy would not affect those already working for it.
But new recruits would be asked whether they were smokers, and if they were, whether they would be prepared to give up a habit which WHO says kills nearly 5 million people around the world each year.
"WHO is at the forefront of the global campaign to curb the tobacco epidemic ... the organisation has a responsibility to ensure that this is reflected in all its work," said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
There was no immediate reaction from the WHO staff association to the anti-smoking move.
On Wednesday, several hundred WHO staff halted work for an hour in an unprecedented protest against job cuts.
www.thestar.com.my
"Smokers and other tobacco users will not be recruited by WHO as and from Dec. 1, 2005," the U.N. health agency said in a letter circulated to staff.
The agency, which employs some 2,400 people at its Geneva headquarters, said the new policy would not affect those already working for it.
But new recruits would be asked whether they were smokers, and if they were, whether they would be prepared to give up a habit which WHO says kills nearly 5 million people around the world each year.
"WHO is at the forefront of the global campaign to curb the tobacco epidemic ... the organisation has a responsibility to ensure that this is reflected in all its work," said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
There was no immediate reaction from the WHO staff association to the anti-smoking move.
On Wednesday, several hundred WHO staff halted work for an hour in an unprecedented protest against job cuts.
www.thestar.com.my
Review condemns Canty mental health services
An Auckland man has died and a Christchurch man was treated in hospital after violent incidents this week involving mental health patients, one carrying a knife, the other an axe.
The father of a man wounded in the Auckland attack has joined public calls for mental health patients to be kept in hospital, accusing health chiefs of closing hospital beds to save money.
In a damning review of Canterbury mental health services, the Mental Health Commission has found inpatient services are overcrowded and its community services under-developed. Commission advice to Health Minister Pete Hodgson has warned that mental health problems are on the rise, yet services remained patchy.
"If access to services does not improve and people experiencing mental ill health are denied essential services, the result will be longer and more severe experiences of mental illness, greater likelihood of relapse, more severe life disruptions, impacts on employment and family relationships, self-harm and suicide," the advice paper says.
"Delivering good services when they are needed encourages less demand for high-cost mental health services less often, for shorter periods and more often on a voluntary basis."
In 2003, the commission, which monitors district health boards (DHBs), said overcrowding at Hillmorton Hospital's inpatient unit was "a critical issue" for the Canterbury DHB.
Two years on, commissioner Ruth Harrison has visited Canterbury to find its inpatient services still overcrowded and its community services under-developed.
In a letter, released to The Press under the Official Information Act, Harrison called for "significant investment" in community services.
"The overcrowding is a symptom of the lack of other services available in the community and this needs to be addressed with significant investment and with the development of more or new services in order to make any difference."
The Press has highlighted the crisis at Hillmorton's acute inpatient unit, Te Awakura, where staff are regularly forced to care for more patients than they have beds. Patients must then be moved at the end of each day for sleepovers in other units, sometimes travelling as far as Timaru.
Debate has raged over whether Te Awakura needs more beds or whether users need better support in the community. Half of all its female patients are readmitted within a month of being discharged.
Psychiatric Consumer Trust manager Colin Slade said no matter how many hospital beds there were "they would always be filled. The logical place to tackle the problem is at the community end."
Hospitals could be quite distressing for people in a crisis. "When you need hospital care, you need peace and quiet and good support and relaxation, and, especially when there's overcrowding, it's not like that."
Home support did not necessarily require highly skilled, highly trained people, said Slade.
"Somebody that could come in and cook a meal and maybe sit with somebody through a long evening ... it does make a significant difference."
CDHB mental health services general manager Vince Barry said there were no plans to reduce hospital bed numbers in Canterbury's acute or specialist units.
An announcement would be made before Christmas on new funding for more community-based crisis respite.
www.stuff.co.nz
The father of a man wounded in the Auckland attack has joined public calls for mental health patients to be kept in hospital, accusing health chiefs of closing hospital beds to save money.
In a damning review of Canterbury mental health services, the Mental Health Commission has found inpatient services are overcrowded and its community services under-developed. Commission advice to Health Minister Pete Hodgson has warned that mental health problems are on the rise, yet services remained patchy.
"If access to services does not improve and people experiencing mental ill health are denied essential services, the result will be longer and more severe experiences of mental illness, greater likelihood of relapse, more severe life disruptions, impacts on employment and family relationships, self-harm and suicide," the advice paper says.
"Delivering good services when they are needed encourages less demand for high-cost mental health services less often, for shorter periods and more often on a voluntary basis."
In 2003, the commission, which monitors district health boards (DHBs), said overcrowding at Hillmorton Hospital's inpatient unit was "a critical issue" for the Canterbury DHB.
Two years on, commissioner Ruth Harrison has visited Canterbury to find its inpatient services still overcrowded and its community services under-developed.
In a letter, released to The Press under the Official Information Act, Harrison called for "significant investment" in community services.
"The overcrowding is a symptom of the lack of other services available in the community and this needs to be addressed with significant investment and with the development of more or new services in order to make any difference."
The Press has highlighted the crisis at Hillmorton's acute inpatient unit, Te Awakura, where staff are regularly forced to care for more patients than they have beds. Patients must then be moved at the end of each day for sleepovers in other units, sometimes travelling as far as Timaru.
Debate has raged over whether Te Awakura needs more beds or whether users need better support in the community. Half of all its female patients are readmitted within a month of being discharged.
Psychiatric Consumer Trust manager Colin Slade said no matter how many hospital beds there were "they would always be filled. The logical place to tackle the problem is at the community end."
Hospitals could be quite distressing for people in a crisis. "When you need hospital care, you need peace and quiet and good support and relaxation, and, especially when there's overcrowding, it's not like that."
Home support did not necessarily require highly skilled, highly trained people, said Slade.
"Somebody that could come in and cook a meal and maybe sit with somebody through a long evening ... it does make a significant difference."
CDHB mental health services general manager Vince Barry said there were no plans to reduce hospital bed numbers in Canterbury's acute or specialist units.
An announcement would be made before Christmas on new funding for more community-based crisis respite.
www.stuff.co.nz
Lloyds boosts Scots business banking service
BANKING group Lloyds TSB Scotland has unveiled a number of new measures aimed at beefing up its business banking offering to Scotland's small businesses.
Lloyds said it is more than doubling the number of locally-based business banking managers at branches across Scotland. Also, it is putting more business banking managers into high street branches and establishing business development teams in five Scottish centres - including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Paisley and Stirling - to support the growth in this sector.
And later this month, the bank's Scottish headquarters in Edinburgh will also see a banking lounge opened, allowing corporate clients a central location to conduct business either with the bank or with their own clients.
Lloyd is aiming to enable every SME customer to see a business banker locally, face-to-face and free of charge. Andrew Stark, head of business banking, Lloyds TSB Scotland, said: "We've listened to our customers and built a new service to deliver the one-to-one contact they value."
www.business.scotsman.com
Lloyds said it is more than doubling the number of locally-based business banking managers at branches across Scotland. Also, it is putting more business banking managers into high street branches and establishing business development teams in five Scottish centres - including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Paisley and Stirling - to support the growth in this sector.
And later this month, the bank's Scottish headquarters in Edinburgh will also see a banking lounge opened, allowing corporate clients a central location to conduct business either with the bank or with their own clients.
Lloyd is aiming to enable every SME customer to see a business banker locally, face-to-face and free of charge. Andrew Stark, head of business banking, Lloyds TSB Scotland, said: "We've listened to our customers and built a new service to deliver the one-to-one contact they value."
www.business.scotsman.com
SFBC Says Bed Removal Won't Hurt Business Since Not All Filled
SFBC International Inc., which operates the largest private clinical trials center in North America, said removing 325 of the center's 675 beds in an agreement with local officials won't harm its business because 66 percent of the beds were unoccupied.
SFBC's agreed to remove the beds after building code enforcement officials said the five-story building was unsafe. The company will move 120 beds to another Miami building and use available space as necessary at a center in Fort Myers, Miami- based SFBC said today in a statement on Business Wire.
``SFBC is confident that its ability to win new contracts and fulfill existing contracts will not be impacted by the current capacity of 350 beds at its principal Miami facility,'' the statement said.
The company's shares rose $2.55, or 16 percent, to $18.19 at 10:12 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. The shares have dropped 60 percent this year through yesterday.
A plan announced last month for the company to buy back up to one million shares has been changed to cover repurchases totaling $30 million, with 100,000 shares already purchased at $31, the statement also said. SFBC said its credit line was amended to permit the purchases.
``We believe that at current levels a stock repurchase program is an appropriate use of our cash and borrowing power under our credit facility,'' said SFBC Chief Executive Officer Arnold Hantman in the statement.
www.quote.bloomberg.com
SFBC's agreed to remove the beds after building code enforcement officials said the five-story building was unsafe. The company will move 120 beds to another Miami building and use available space as necessary at a center in Fort Myers, Miami- based SFBC said today in a statement on Business Wire.
``SFBC is confident that its ability to win new contracts and fulfill existing contracts will not be impacted by the current capacity of 350 beds at its principal Miami facility,'' the statement said.
The company's shares rose $2.55, or 16 percent, to $18.19 at 10:12 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. The shares have dropped 60 percent this year through yesterday.
A plan announced last month for the company to buy back up to one million shares has been changed to cover repurchases totaling $30 million, with 100,000 shares already purchased at $31, the statement also said. SFBC said its credit line was amended to permit the purchases.
``We believe that at current levels a stock repurchase program is an appropriate use of our cash and borrowing power under our credit facility,'' said SFBC Chief Executive Officer Arnold Hantman in the statement.
www.quote.bloomberg.com
Montgomerie back in business in Hong Kong
Briton Colin Montgomerie sounded a warning after he shot a second round four-under-par 66 to move into contention at the halfway stage of the Hong Kong Open on Friday.
Montgomerie totalled five-under-par 135 to be four shots behind leader Rick Gibson of Canada. Happy with his bogey-free round, Montgomerie said he was well-placed and looking forward to challenging for the title at the $1.2 million event which is co-sanctioned by the European Tour and the Asian Tour.
"Being on the leaderboard does send out a warning to the rest provided I get off to a good start tomorrow," the Scot said.
"If I can be two under after four or five and get to seven under for the tournament and start pressing, then it counts. There is no point doing this today and then backing off tomorrow."
Gibson added a 66 to his first round total of 65 to take the lead at nine-under-par 131. Based in the Philippines for the past 16 years, Gibson, an Asian Tour veteran, said an enforced holiday recently had resulted in him playing his best golf in a long time.
"I spent three weeks at home before coming here. I practised a lot, something I haven't done for a long time. It seems to be working," Gibson said.
In second place, one shot adrift of Gibson was American Edward Loar who shot 64 to go to eight-under 132. Swede Martin Erlandsson was one shot further adrift on 133.
Overnight leader Kang Wook-soon of South Korea and Briton Andrew Butterfield were lying in fourth place, on 134. Montgomerie, Europe's number one in the 2005 season, could have gone even lower, but he failed to take his chances missing a handful of birdie putts.
"It should have been a very, very low round if I had taken the putts. This is probably the shortest course we play throughout the year and although it is quite tricky, if you do the right things, a low score is possible," he said.
Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain was four-under-par 136, five shots off the pace.
England's Ryder Cup player Paul Casey failed to make the cut. Winner of last week's China Open, Casey had a poor first round of 74 and then made a two-under 68 in the second round. But that was not enough to save him from being eliminated.
www.today.reuters.co.uk
Montgomerie totalled five-under-par 135 to be four shots behind leader Rick Gibson of Canada. Happy with his bogey-free round, Montgomerie said he was well-placed and looking forward to challenging for the title at the $1.2 million event which is co-sanctioned by the European Tour and the Asian Tour.
"Being on the leaderboard does send out a warning to the rest provided I get off to a good start tomorrow," the Scot said.
"If I can be two under after four or five and get to seven under for the tournament and start pressing, then it counts. There is no point doing this today and then backing off tomorrow."
Gibson added a 66 to his first round total of 65 to take the lead at nine-under-par 131. Based in the Philippines for the past 16 years, Gibson, an Asian Tour veteran, said an enforced holiday recently had resulted in him playing his best golf in a long time.
"I spent three weeks at home before coming here. I practised a lot, something I haven't done for a long time. It seems to be working," Gibson said.
In second place, one shot adrift of Gibson was American Edward Loar who shot 64 to go to eight-under 132. Swede Martin Erlandsson was one shot further adrift on 133.
Overnight leader Kang Wook-soon of South Korea and Briton Andrew Butterfield were lying in fourth place, on 134. Montgomerie, Europe's number one in the 2005 season, could have gone even lower, but he failed to take his chances missing a handful of birdie putts.
"It should have been a very, very low round if I had taken the putts. This is probably the shortest course we play throughout the year and although it is quite tricky, if you do the right things, a low score is possible," he said.
Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain was four-under-par 136, five shots off the pace.
England's Ryder Cup player Paul Casey failed to make the cut. Winner of last week's China Open, Casey had a poor first round of 74 and then made a two-under 68 in the second round. But that was not enough to save him from being eliminated.
www.today.reuters.co.uk
DP Technology Releases ESPRIT 2006 for Machine Tools
CAMARILLO, California, December 2, 2005 - Built upon the success of its previous product releases, DP Technology Corp. is proud to announce the immediate availability of its latest CAM software, ESPRIT 2006. Featuring functionality that emphasizes higher cutting speeds, longer tool life and suitability to increasingly complex geometry, ESPRIT 2006 is comprehensive in its ability to handle today’s most advanced machine tools and demanding machining applications.
ESPRIT is described as a high-performance computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) system for a full range of machine tool applications. ESPRIT delivers powerful full-spectrum programming for 2–5 axis milling, 2–22 axis turning, 2–5 axis wire EDM, multitasking mill-turn machining, and B-axis machine tools.
Each year, through events such as ESPRIT World Conference, DP connects with its end-users and resellers to assure ESPRIT product development is focused on the needs of ESPRIT customers and markets. As a result DP is convinced this release will be well accepted by users, far exceed any competitive products, and push ESPRIT into a new and higher category of excellence in CAM software.
“The enhancements made for 2006 significantly increase the performance of ESPRIT,” says Chuck Mathews, vice president of DP Technology. “CNC Programmers will find ESPRIT meets their needs better than ever with all the new features designed and added as a result of direct customer involvement in the development process. ESPRIT 2006 is another demonstration of DP’s passion for excellence and commitment to provide CNC programmers with the most powerful CAM software ever.”
The new developments for ESPRIT 2006 are highlighted in a 150 page manual entitled, What’s New in 2006. This new manual will be shipped to all North American customers when they update to this latest version. The following features identify a few of the more notable developments for ESPRIT 2006:
Enhanced Wire EDM machining cycles
For 2006 ESPRIT offers enhanced feature recognition and machining cycles for EDM customers. These enhancements are one step along the road for DP to meet its vision for EDM programming; no prints, no dimensions, just a solid model with automated programming. The 2006 version now offers new path optimization and operation sorting, enhanced retract moves for 2-axis and 4-axis contouring, expanded strategies for 2-axis contouring and new cut off options for 2-axis contouring.
New Turning cycles
The latest developments within ESPRIT 2006 include new grooving cycles which have been added to support advances in cutting tool geometry and machine tool design, including machines capable of turning while utilizing a B-axis. These new grooving cycles offer the following key functionalities: any-tool orientation utilizing a B-axis, new pre-finish options, expanded finish pass control—enhanced for NC compensation, optimized step-over calculations, additional roughing patterns, and support for casting stock.
New Rotary Milling Cycles
ESPRIT 2006 includes a new 4-axis wrap pocketing machining cycle which allows users to easily machine in 4-axis directly from a 3D solid model. This new capability supplements the wrap-contouring cycle introduced in ESPRIT 2005. Both of these machining cycles provide the programmer with the choice of working with flat 2D or 3D representations of the work piece. Roughing, semi-finishing and finishing, including dedicated wall-finish passes and floor-finish passes, can now be combined in a single operation, and each type of pass allows the selection of a different cutting tool. Tool path can be produced on the OD or the ID of cylindrical stock, utilizing one or two rotary axes, and all tool paths are displayed in 3D for greater clarity.
Expanded Traditional Milling
Higher cutting speeds and longer tool life are the result of the expanded capabilities for traditional milling with ESPRIT 2006. This version includes new tool path options, which maintain constant material removal rates throughout the entire machining process. The new machining options are available for roughing (pocketing), semi-finishing and finishing (contouring). Other milling additions include expanded options for open pockets and bottom-up machining for operations such as back-boring.
New Report Generator
ESPRIT’s new Report Generator creates machining reports in both HTML and PDF format that provide complete shop floor information for milling, turning, and wire EDM machining processes. Reports contain information about the machine, the tools, the part, operations, and the NC program. In addition, each page in the report displays a full-color image showing how the part should look at each stage of the machining process. Report creation is based on HTML and XML templates which are fully customizable to suit each individual shop’s preferences.
New NC Editor
The ESPRIT NC editor was rebuilt from the ground up for 2006. This new NC Editor has a friendly interface and includes a tabbed file manager for a better view. The NC Editor opens automatically when NC code is generated to give users an immediate view of the code after it is processed. The new tabbed view makes it easy to navigate and view several NC files at once. An asterisk symbol next to a file name makes it easy to see which files have been changed, but not saved.
Automated 3D Milling
For the 3D programmer ESPRIT 2006 offers a new automated approach to defining machining boundaries thereby reducing part programming time. New slope machining options have been added to ESPRIT 3D milling cycles that let users optimize finishing passes by part or by area without defining additional boundaries. ESPRIT can now calculate areas to machine based on a user-defined slope angle and automatically create boundaries to restrict the tool path.
Enhanced 3D Free-Form Machining Cycles
FreeForm 3D machining with ESPRIT 2006 now benefits from an enhanced Z-level finish cycle for quicker programming, short cycle time and increased part quality. Programmers now benefit from the power to combine multiple types of machining strategies into a single operation for the best possible surface finish on complex surfaces. Users have the option to machine the entire part or selectively machine vertical or horizontal areas with an expanded number of options for tool motion pattern that are now available for horizontal surfaces.
About DP Technology
DP Technology is a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software market leader with a mission to provide CNC programmers with the most powerful CAM software ever. DP Technology’s flagship product, ESPRIT, captures the company’s vision of technology’s potential and its passion for excellence. DP Technology maintains its worldwide headquarters and product development team in Camarillo, California, with sales and support operations in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. For additional information about DP Technology and ESPRIT, call +1-805-388-6000, send an email to esprit@dptechnology.com, or visit the company web site at www.dptechnology.com.
www.tenlinks.com
ESPRIT is described as a high-performance computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) system for a full range of machine tool applications. ESPRIT delivers powerful full-spectrum programming for 2–5 axis milling, 2–22 axis turning, 2–5 axis wire EDM, multitasking mill-turn machining, and B-axis machine tools.
Each year, through events such as ESPRIT World Conference, DP connects with its end-users and resellers to assure ESPRIT product development is focused on the needs of ESPRIT customers and markets. As a result DP is convinced this release will be well accepted by users, far exceed any competitive products, and push ESPRIT into a new and higher category of excellence in CAM software.
“The enhancements made for 2006 significantly increase the performance of ESPRIT,” says Chuck Mathews, vice president of DP Technology. “CNC Programmers will find ESPRIT meets their needs better than ever with all the new features designed and added as a result of direct customer involvement in the development process. ESPRIT 2006 is another demonstration of DP’s passion for excellence and commitment to provide CNC programmers with the most powerful CAM software ever.”
The new developments for ESPRIT 2006 are highlighted in a 150 page manual entitled, What’s New in 2006. This new manual will be shipped to all North American customers when they update to this latest version. The following features identify a few of the more notable developments for ESPRIT 2006:
Enhanced Wire EDM machining cycles
For 2006 ESPRIT offers enhanced feature recognition and machining cycles for EDM customers. These enhancements are one step along the road for DP to meet its vision for EDM programming; no prints, no dimensions, just a solid model with automated programming. The 2006 version now offers new path optimization and operation sorting, enhanced retract moves for 2-axis and 4-axis contouring, expanded strategies for 2-axis contouring and new cut off options for 2-axis contouring.
New Turning cycles
The latest developments within ESPRIT 2006 include new grooving cycles which have been added to support advances in cutting tool geometry and machine tool design, including machines capable of turning while utilizing a B-axis. These new grooving cycles offer the following key functionalities: any-tool orientation utilizing a B-axis, new pre-finish options, expanded finish pass control—enhanced for NC compensation, optimized step-over calculations, additional roughing patterns, and support for casting stock.
New Rotary Milling Cycles
ESPRIT 2006 includes a new 4-axis wrap pocketing machining cycle which allows users to easily machine in 4-axis directly from a 3D solid model. This new capability supplements the wrap-contouring cycle introduced in ESPRIT 2005. Both of these machining cycles provide the programmer with the choice of working with flat 2D or 3D representations of the work piece. Roughing, semi-finishing and finishing, including dedicated wall-finish passes and floor-finish passes, can now be combined in a single operation, and each type of pass allows the selection of a different cutting tool. Tool path can be produced on the OD or the ID of cylindrical stock, utilizing one or two rotary axes, and all tool paths are displayed in 3D for greater clarity.
Expanded Traditional Milling
Higher cutting speeds and longer tool life are the result of the expanded capabilities for traditional milling with ESPRIT 2006. This version includes new tool path options, which maintain constant material removal rates throughout the entire machining process. The new machining options are available for roughing (pocketing), semi-finishing and finishing (contouring). Other milling additions include expanded options for open pockets and bottom-up machining for operations such as back-boring.
New Report Generator
ESPRIT’s new Report Generator creates machining reports in both HTML and PDF format that provide complete shop floor information for milling, turning, and wire EDM machining processes. Reports contain information about the machine, the tools, the part, operations, and the NC program. In addition, each page in the report displays a full-color image showing how the part should look at each stage of the machining process. Report creation is based on HTML and XML templates which are fully customizable to suit each individual shop’s preferences.
New NC Editor
The ESPRIT NC editor was rebuilt from the ground up for 2006. This new NC Editor has a friendly interface and includes a tabbed file manager for a better view. The NC Editor opens automatically when NC code is generated to give users an immediate view of the code after it is processed. The new tabbed view makes it easy to navigate and view several NC files at once. An asterisk symbol next to a file name makes it easy to see which files have been changed, but not saved.
Automated 3D Milling
For the 3D programmer ESPRIT 2006 offers a new automated approach to defining machining boundaries thereby reducing part programming time. New slope machining options have been added to ESPRIT 3D milling cycles that let users optimize finishing passes by part or by area without defining additional boundaries. ESPRIT can now calculate areas to machine based on a user-defined slope angle and automatically create boundaries to restrict the tool path.
Enhanced 3D Free-Form Machining Cycles
FreeForm 3D machining with ESPRIT 2006 now benefits from an enhanced Z-level finish cycle for quicker programming, short cycle time and increased part quality. Programmers now benefit from the power to combine multiple types of machining strategies into a single operation for the best possible surface finish on complex surfaces. Users have the option to machine the entire part or selectively machine vertical or horizontal areas with an expanded number of options for tool motion pattern that are now available for horizontal surfaces.
About DP Technology
DP Technology is a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software market leader with a mission to provide CNC programmers with the most powerful CAM software ever. DP Technology’s flagship product, ESPRIT, captures the company’s vision of technology’s potential and its passion for excellence. DP Technology maintains its worldwide headquarters and product development team in Camarillo, California, with sales and support operations in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. For additional information about DP Technology and ESPRIT, call +1-805-388-6000, send an email to esprit@dptechnology.com, or visit the company web site at www.dptechnology.com.
www.tenlinks.com
Electronic Sensor Technology's zNose(R) Deployed by China Heilongjiang Environmental
Electronic Sensor Technology (OTCBB: ESNR), a leading provider of innovative Homeland Security solutions, announced today that its zNose(R) has been deployed by China's Heilongjiang Environmental Protection Agency (HEPA) to test the contaminated water in northeastern China caused by a recent chemical plant explosion.
The zNose(R), which is an electronic sensor device that can capture and analyze nearly any odor, fragrance or chemical vapor within ten seconds, is the only portable detector capable of measuring the polluted water containing benzene, aniline and nitro-benzene to low parts per billion sensitivity in a near real-time speed of less than 10 seconds. Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang, suffered a five-day water shutdown after a blast at a PetroChina plant upstream released 100 tons of chemicals into the Songhua River, which provides most of the city's drinking water.
Beijing R&D Technology, which recently signed a distribution agreement with Electronic Sensor Technology for the zNose(R), is providing technical assistance to officials of HEPA. As a result of successful testing to date, HEPA has elected to expand the use of the zNose(R) to further test water that may be affected in cities and areas surrounding the Songhua River, in conjunction with local EPA engineers.
"In addition to playing a key role in security and defense applications, the zNose(R) has proven to be a highly useful tool in environmental disasters such as this one," said Matthew S. Collier, President and CEO of Electronic Sensor. "Through our solid relationship with Beijing R&D, along with the successful use of the zNose(R) in this and other applications in the region, the Chinese market represents a highly lucrative opportunity for the Company in the future." A translated video news clip that appeared recently on Chinese television news station, HLJ News, is available at the link provided below.
The video news clip features Wen Chao, Chief of the Heilongjiang EPA, explaining the use of the zNose(R) in support of the cleanup operation on the Songhua River. A link will be available at www.znose.com on the Home Page after 12pm eastern time today. About Electronic Sensor Technology: Founded in 1995, Electronic Sensor Technology has developed and patented a very unique chemical vapor analysis process.
We believe that the Company's product line is positioned to provide a solution to key vulnerabilities in the homeland security and environmental applications. SEC Filings and Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward looking statements, including the Company's expectations regarding its ability to develop and access capital markets and its ability to achieve expected results in the chemical detection and analysis industry. The forward looking statements are identified through use of the words "potential," "anticipate," "expect," "planned" and other words of similar meaning.
These forward-looking statements may be affected by the risks and uncertainties inherent in the chemical detection and analysis industry and in the Company's business. The Company cautions readers that certain important factors may have affected and could in the future affect the Company's beliefs and expectations and could cause the actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement made by or on behalf of the Company.
For a discussion of these factors, please refer to our recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent report on form 10-KSB. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.
www.tmcnet.com
The zNose(R), which is an electronic sensor device that can capture and analyze nearly any odor, fragrance or chemical vapor within ten seconds, is the only portable detector capable of measuring the polluted water containing benzene, aniline and nitro-benzene to low parts per billion sensitivity in a near real-time speed of less than 10 seconds. Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang, suffered a five-day water shutdown after a blast at a PetroChina plant upstream released 100 tons of chemicals into the Songhua River, which provides most of the city's drinking water.
Beijing R&D Technology, which recently signed a distribution agreement with Electronic Sensor Technology for the zNose(R), is providing technical assistance to officials of HEPA. As a result of successful testing to date, HEPA has elected to expand the use of the zNose(R) to further test water that may be affected in cities and areas surrounding the Songhua River, in conjunction with local EPA engineers.
"In addition to playing a key role in security and defense applications, the zNose(R) has proven to be a highly useful tool in environmental disasters such as this one," said Matthew S. Collier, President and CEO of Electronic Sensor. "Through our solid relationship with Beijing R&D, along with the successful use of the zNose(R) in this and other applications in the region, the Chinese market represents a highly lucrative opportunity for the Company in the future." A translated video news clip that appeared recently on Chinese television news station, HLJ News, is available at the link provided below.
The video news clip features Wen Chao, Chief of the Heilongjiang EPA, explaining the use of the zNose(R) in support of the cleanup operation on the Songhua River. A link will be available at www.znose.com on the Home Page after 12pm eastern time today. About Electronic Sensor Technology: Founded in 1995, Electronic Sensor Technology has developed and patented a very unique chemical vapor analysis process.
We believe that the Company's product line is positioned to provide a solution to key vulnerabilities in the homeland security and environmental applications. SEC Filings and Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward looking statements, including the Company's expectations regarding its ability to develop and access capital markets and its ability to achieve expected results in the chemical detection and analysis industry. The forward looking statements are identified through use of the words "potential," "anticipate," "expect," "planned" and other words of similar meaning.
These forward-looking statements may be affected by the risks and uncertainties inherent in the chemical detection and analysis industry and in the Company's business. The Company cautions readers that certain important factors may have affected and could in the future affect the Company's beliefs and expectations and could cause the actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement made by or on behalf of the Company.
For a discussion of these factors, please refer to our recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent report on form 10-KSB. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.
www.tmcnet.com
The week in technology: Microsoft gets classified
And unlike Google, which has played down its ambitions for Base despite many excited bloggers attributing grand ambitions to the new database, Microsoft made no bones about its intention to become a major force in online classified advertising.
Microsoft said its service, code-named Fremont after a Seattle market, is similar to the popular Craigslist.org classified service. On Craigslist, anyone can post items for sale or available jobs, apartments, or houses, as well as other services and events they’d like to broadcast to the public. In turn, users can search these product listings and connect with the sellers, companies, or organizers directly through the service.
The service has reportedly been available in test form to Microsoft employees since last week, and is expected to be unveiled in a couple of weeks from now.
Unsurprisingly, the move drew ire from bloggers, with many accusing the company they love to hate of copycat-ism - although Microsoft insisted that it had been working on the idea since early this year.
“We started this before anyone knew about Google Base. Having seen what Google Base is doing, I don’t think they were aiming for a classifieds service. They don’t have a taxonomy of listings like we do. They see it as an open database,” said Garry Wiseman, MSN product unit manager.
For those not talking Microspeak, one blogger has been kind enough to provide a definition of taxonomy.
Mr Wiseman hopes to release a test version of Windows Live Classifieds to the public in the next month, with the full service going live in the first half of next year.
Not all bloggers came out against the service. Some noted that Fremont offered a degree of user control over the content posted on the service that could make it a more attractive prospect than Base, or even Craiglist.
The key difference is that Fremont will be integrated with other MSN services, such as its instant messaging service. This will allow the poster to control who sees their listings, from everyone to just a select group of people on the MSN Messenger buddy list. So if you’d rather give your friends first dibs at some hot concert tickets rather than flog them to strangers, the service lets you.
Blogger Charlene Li said use of buddly lists would give Fremont an additional “social” element with users, for example, organising second-hand clothes swaps.
She also said Microsoft’s classifieds interface was familiar and easy to use - resembling Craigslist in many respects - but was unsure whether everyone would be able to grasp it.
“Don’t get me wrong - I love Google Base because of the audacious potential it represents in terms of creating new content for the web. But in terms of a classifieds service, it will take a lot of application development to get it to the point where the average Joe will be able to use it.”
Another blogger concurred: “I can’t see my mum being able to figure out how it works.”
Only time will tell which of the services internet users will take to their hearts.
Browser wars stoked by new Firefox
A new version of web browser Firefox sparked an ecstatic reception from internet geeks who have been singing its praises ever since the free service was launched by non-profit Mozilla Corporation last year.
“Good show, mozilla.com! It’s just awesome, TOTALLY AWESOME!!!,” one enthusiast exclaimed.
Firefox 1.5 - download free-of-charge here - boasts faster browsing, quicker updates and better blocking of pop-up advertising. It also offers improved security - checking daily for patches, downloading them automatically and prompting users to install them - and makes it easier to sign up for RSS feeds. Click here for the new version’s full specifications.
Firefox has grown in popularity thanks to a clean, uncluttered interface, its distinctive tabbed pages accessible via a single mouse click and faster web page navigation on the back of fewer nuisance ads.
Firefox 1.0 has been downloaded 100m times and won almost 10 per cent of the browser market, dominated by Microsoft’s Internet Explorer - a new version of which, IE7, is expected next year.
Being an open source program, the new version of Firefox was developed and tested with the help of thousands of volunteer programmers since a beta version was released at the beginning of November. Mozilla is now planning a regular release schedule with 2.0 and 3.0 versions expected in 2006 and 2007 respectively.
In his review of 1.5, Paul Taylor, the FT technology columnist, described it as “very solid and reliable - even when it encounters a website optimised specifically for IE”. He went on to bemoan the “powerful force” of inertia which ties so many users to Explorer.
Firefox users were almost universally favourable towards the new version, although a few party poopers warned that IE7 would incorporate Firefox’s most popular features like tabbed browsing.
“You may not like the might of Microsoft, but when they release something, you should fear the userbase outreach of the Microsoft coverage worldwide. Firefox will lose a lot of home users with IE7,” one CNET reader said.
But another replied that Explorer still had a long way to go to catch up.
“IE’s biggest handicap has always been the fact that it’s code is integrated into the operating system. Firefox sits on top of the OS lessening the opportunities for code hacks, worm, trojan or virus attacks.”
When Microsoft releases a new Explorer we may be in for the most heated browser wars since the Microsoft/Netscape battle of the 90s.
www.news.ft.com
Microsoft said its service, code-named Fremont after a Seattle market, is similar to the popular Craigslist.org classified service. On Craigslist, anyone can post items for sale or available jobs, apartments, or houses, as well as other services and events they’d like to broadcast to the public. In turn, users can search these product listings and connect with the sellers, companies, or organizers directly through the service.
The service has reportedly been available in test form to Microsoft employees since last week, and is expected to be unveiled in a couple of weeks from now.
Unsurprisingly, the move drew ire from bloggers, with many accusing the company they love to hate of copycat-ism - although Microsoft insisted that it had been working on the idea since early this year.
“We started this before anyone knew about Google Base. Having seen what Google Base is doing, I don’t think they were aiming for a classifieds service. They don’t have a taxonomy of listings like we do. They see it as an open database,” said Garry Wiseman, MSN product unit manager.
For those not talking Microspeak, one blogger has been kind enough to provide a definition of taxonomy.
Mr Wiseman hopes to release a test version of Windows Live Classifieds to the public in the next month, with the full service going live in the first half of next year.
Not all bloggers came out against the service. Some noted that Fremont offered a degree of user control over the content posted on the service that could make it a more attractive prospect than Base, or even Craiglist.
The key difference is that Fremont will be integrated with other MSN services, such as its instant messaging service. This will allow the poster to control who sees their listings, from everyone to just a select group of people on the MSN Messenger buddy list. So if you’d rather give your friends first dibs at some hot concert tickets rather than flog them to strangers, the service lets you.
Blogger Charlene Li said use of buddly lists would give Fremont an additional “social” element with users, for example, organising second-hand clothes swaps.
She also said Microsoft’s classifieds interface was familiar and easy to use - resembling Craigslist in many respects - but was unsure whether everyone would be able to grasp it.
“Don’t get me wrong - I love Google Base because of the audacious potential it represents in terms of creating new content for the web. But in terms of a classifieds service, it will take a lot of application development to get it to the point where the average Joe will be able to use it.”
Another blogger concurred: “I can’t see my mum being able to figure out how it works.”
Only time will tell which of the services internet users will take to their hearts.
Browser wars stoked by new Firefox
A new version of web browser Firefox sparked an ecstatic reception from internet geeks who have been singing its praises ever since the free service was launched by non-profit Mozilla Corporation last year.
“Good show, mozilla.com! It’s just awesome, TOTALLY AWESOME!!!,” one enthusiast exclaimed.
Firefox 1.5 - download free-of-charge here - boasts faster browsing, quicker updates and better blocking of pop-up advertising. It also offers improved security - checking daily for patches, downloading them automatically and prompting users to install them - and makes it easier to sign up for RSS feeds. Click here for the new version’s full specifications.
Firefox has grown in popularity thanks to a clean, uncluttered interface, its distinctive tabbed pages accessible via a single mouse click and faster web page navigation on the back of fewer nuisance ads.
Firefox 1.0 has been downloaded 100m times and won almost 10 per cent of the browser market, dominated by Microsoft’s Internet Explorer - a new version of which, IE7, is expected next year.
Being an open source program, the new version of Firefox was developed and tested with the help of thousands of volunteer programmers since a beta version was released at the beginning of November. Mozilla is now planning a regular release schedule with 2.0 and 3.0 versions expected in 2006 and 2007 respectively.
In his review of 1.5, Paul Taylor, the FT technology columnist, described it as “very solid and reliable - even when it encounters a website optimised specifically for IE”. He went on to bemoan the “powerful force” of inertia which ties so many users to Explorer.
Firefox users were almost universally favourable towards the new version, although a few party poopers warned that IE7 would incorporate Firefox’s most popular features like tabbed browsing.
“You may not like the might of Microsoft, but when they release something, you should fear the userbase outreach of the Microsoft coverage worldwide. Firefox will lose a lot of home users with IE7,” one CNET reader said.
But another replied that Explorer still had a long way to go to catch up.
“IE’s biggest handicap has always been the fact that it’s code is integrated into the operating system. Firefox sits on top of the OS lessening the opportunities for code hacks, worm, trojan or virus attacks.”
When Microsoft releases a new Explorer we may be in for the most heated browser wars since the Microsoft/Netscape battle of the 90s.
www.news.ft.com
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