sadeblogum

HAMANN AG assures

2011-01-10T12:39:00.000-08:00

      The Spare Part Division of HAMANN AG assures, that all customers around the globe will be
      supplied with spare parts for their HAMANN Plants, even if the plant was delivered many years ago.

      All orders will be processed immediately and will be delivered with the highest priority without any delay.

      Virtually every spare part is available on stock.

Finance

2011-01-10T05:34:00.000-08:00

- Industrial Machinery : Since 1936 -
For 73 years Industrial Machinery has provided sales and service for New and Pre-owned machine tools to our manufacturing community throughout North America.

Available money is always the #1 ingredient in every Machine Tool purchase.

FINANCING SERVICES GROUP
This is an In House Service provided by Industrial Machinery.
LEASE-TO-OWN Advantages

Preserves your Credit Lines
Conserves Cash Flow
Speed and Flexibility
100% Financing
Affordable Monthly Payments
Eliminate Credit Card Transactions

We can help your company secure Credit for
Immediate and Future Purchases!
Ask for: Larry Frazier
(614) 464-4376

Lease/Finance Manager

NOTE: Financial Services are also available for business purchases beyond machine tools ... such as Trucks, Cranes, Forklifts, Office Equipment, etc. Industrial Machinery Finance offers a VARIETY of FINANCING and LEASE-TO-OWN Programs that will meet most every need!

Have You Considered: "Re-Financing" Your Equipment Assets?

How "RE-FINANCING" Works:

IMCO Appraises Your Equipment At Today's Market Value :
- Example: You Own (5) Machines With A Market Value Of
- $ 75,000.00 -

IMCO Charges a Fee of 10% ... and "Sets-up" with it's Financial Services Division a (60) Month Lease for:

- $ 82,500.00 - ($ 75,000.00 + $ 7,500.00)

Upon Execution of Lease Documents ... IMCO Funds your Company $ 75,000.00

(30) Days Later ... you begin making your Monthly Payments

NOTE: At end of Lease ... Your Company owns the Machinery

ADVANTAGES OF A "RE-FINANCE" PLAN

Pay Off Irritating Bills
"Buy-Out" Your Partner
Settle a "Pending" Divorce Settlement
Increase your Material Inventory for "New' Business Received

For Details / Quotation - Please call:
Larry Frazier (614) 464-4376

CNC Education

2011-01-10T05:30:00.000-08:00

The Center for CNC Education and Industrial Machinery have Joined Together to bring you LIVE, Weekend CNC Training Classes!!

CNC Education Division
Industrial Machinery Sold our first CNC Lathe back in 1974, a 50 HP Model ST-10 from SMT of Sweden. It was a great machine for its time and SMT had a very good System of CNC Education. Our Director of CNC Education, Heinz R. Putz was the Original SMT Teacher of CNC Machining and is still going strong today. Fanuc is now his specialty. He has worked for Fanuc as a CNC Education Consultant in Developing their CNC Curriculum and has taught Shops Nationwide for the last twenty eight years. Our CNC courses follow the method he Developed and Perfected. Heinz's Fanuc CNC Videos are the basis of the course outlines.
To insure that you achieve a High and Efficient Level of CNC Productivity, we offer the following courses:
   - In-house training on your machine, Includes backup phone service
   - Individualized weekend programming courses at Industrial machinery
   - Learning on your own from the "Fanuc CNC Videos"

CNC Training Classes
Classes to be taught by Heinz R. Putz, a 30 year Veteran in the Machine Tool Industry. Heinz earned his well known reputation starting as a young German Apprentice in a Precision Machine Shop. Later Heinz worked for SMT (Swedish Machine Tool), Fanuc, and many U.S. Toolmakers. Heinz has trained 100’s of CNC Shops over the Years and is currently holding monthly workshops at Industrial Machinery in Columbus, Ohio.
Your Instructor:  Heinz R. Putz. - Heinz might be called "The Original" CNC Instructor in the U.S.
Heinz' background includes a Machining Apprenticeship in Germany and many years of Machine Shop Work in the years prior to CNC. He was a Fulltime CNC Instructor for SMT( Swedish Machine Tool) back in 1974, long before the first Fanuc Control showed up in the U.S. on a Mori-Seiki Lathe. Heinz soon determined that the future in CNC was with the Fanuc Control. He began learning the Fanuc method in Great Detail. After what seemed a really long time and many headaches, Heinz became so Proficient that Fanuc hired him as a Consultant to Teach Classes and to Re-Write CNC Manuals to Include Practical Machining Examples.

Heinz also Taught Classes for Yasnac and Many other Importers and Dealers. He has taught CNC to Many Hundreds of Machine Shops since then and his Goal has always been to make them as Proficient as possible, but also to learn something from every shop he worked with.

His CNC DVDs and CNC Classes pass on the Wealth of CNC Information he has gained over these Many Years to anyone that wants to be really good at CNC Programming & Manufacturing.
As everyone in our Industry knows, Fanuc has been and is the Leader in CNC Controls sold around the World. All of the content of our CNC Training Classes will be based on the Fanuc method of CNC Programming, which is compatible to most CNC Controls Built.

eLocity A7 Tegra 2 Mobile Tablet now Shipping with Android 2.2 Froyo

2011-01-10T05:07:00.000-08:00

Available for purchase this week for $369.99 and now shipping to those who have pre-ordered, the eLocity A7 Internet tablet runs Google's Android 2.2 Froyo operating system and it supports Adobe Flash. At just over one pound in weight, the eLocity A7 tablet features a seven-inch capacitive and multi-touch screen, and the device measures 8.2 inches by 4.8 inches. This Android tablet is also powered by NVIDIA's Tegra T-250 dual core processor, making the slate device ready for 3D gaming. The eLocity A7 is also equipped with 4GB of high speed internal flash memory, a micro SD card slot for up to 32GB of added storage, a USB port supporting up to 64GB of added storage, and a 1080p HDMI output.

Humidity sensors with CMOSens

2011-01-10T02:06:00.001-08:00

Capacitive humidity sensor principle
In addition to the resistive method, the capacitive measurement principle, above all, established and proved itself as a standard in the past. For this principle, the sensor element is built out of a capacitor. The dielectric is a polymer which absorbs or releases water proportional to the relative environmental humidity, and thus changes the capacitance of the capacitor. This change in capacitance can be measured by an electronic circuit. This allows the relative air humidity to be determined
For humidity sensors with CMOSens® technology, a “micro-machined” finger electrode system with different protective and polymer cover layers forms the capacitance for the sensor chip, and, in addition to providing the sensor property, simultaneously protects the sensor from interference in ways previously not achieved.
Humidity, temperature and dewpoint
The temperature sensor and the humidity sensor together form a single unit. This also enables an accurate and point-precise determination of the dew point, without incurring errors due to temperature gradients between the humidity and the temperature sensors. Through the unique linkage of these sensor elements with the signal amplifier unit, the analog-to-digital converter, the calibration data memory, as well as the digital, bus-ready interface, all on a surface area of a few square millimeters.
Highest stability and performance
Total coverage with condensation or even immersion in liquid present no problems whatsoever. Over two years of hardness tests have already shown this result.
The signal amplification near the sensor allows the polymer layers to be optimized not for the signal strengths, but rather for long-term stability, which is significant for numerous applications. The analog-to-digital conversion, which is also performed “in place,” makes the signal extremely insensitive to noise. A checksum generated by the chip itself is used for additional reliability. Last but not least, the calibration data loaded on the sensor chip guarantees that Sensirion humidity sensors have identical specifications and thus they can be replaced 100%. Other obvious advantages are the very short response times (4 sec at 1/e), high precision (±2% to ±5% according to configuration), as well as very low power consumption (< 3mA standby).
Digital Interface
Humidity and temperature sensors with CMOSens® technology can be connected directly to any microprocessor system by means of the digital 2-wire interface, which minimizes the system development times, saves costs, and leads to a s

Hotel Hilton Vilamoura - Algarve, Portugal

2011-01-09T04:04:00.000-08:00

Treat yourself to an unforgattable Passover stay in the idyllic setting of the 5 star Hilton Vilamoura Hotel.
The Hilton Vilamoura Hotel is situated in Algarve, Portugal. Located at the extreme south of Portugal, the Algarve enjoys an exceptional climate and let you admire the scenery. The region offers many options for both leisure and relaxation, has a charming atmosphere and marvelous entertainment choices.
Two themed buffets with and without kitniot
• Two synagogues - Sefarad and Ashkenaz
• Shabbat lifts
• All kinds of sporting or leisure will be offered. Quote to the attention of the golfing world that the region has the most famous courses in Europe.
• Children can enjoy the Kid's Club which is specifically reserved. A play area of 3,000 sqm. has been designed for them. It has an outdoor pool, a hut, a football field and many other amenities.

world fasteners

2011-01-08T06:56:00.000-08:00

When you stop to think about it, fasteners are really pretty important little items. Without them, almost everything we use in day to day living would literally fall apart at the seams.

With over 100 years of employee experience in fasteners, we have placed all of our emphasis on maintaining reliability for service, quality, and value (at competitive prices, of course). We maintain an immense inventory of over 195 million fasteners in stock. And if you can't find what you need in our stock, we can manufacture it to your particular specifications and requirements, in any finish or material necessary. Call our technical support hotline.

We understand the urgency, exactness and precision required in adhering to your specifications on every order. This tends to make things a whole lot easier for you. At World Fasteners, our service is just as important as our products.

*Note: If the slideshow on the left does not play, you may need to install

Configure It

2011-01-08T04:33:00.000-08:00

Several levels lead you directly to the correct instrument. Configure It is a most reliable and easiest instrument. The implemented logic excludes non-relevant choices, the resulting instrument is accurately configured for your needs. The expert system considers all factors, and you can experience how this intelligent system thinks for you. After only a few questions, Configure It will present the right instrument for your needs.

Basic information of infrared sauna

2011-01-05T09:52:00.001-08:00

Saunas have been used for so many years and recently a new type of sauna, infrared sauna was invented called. Some people do not know what it is exactly. Get information about the infrared sauna. You see the good results when using the infrared sauna regularly. Saunas you can manage the conditions of depression, such as allergies, arthritis, and much more. Even those who have no health problem can benefit from therapy sauna. They detoxify the body through perspiration and elimination of toxic chemicals. He pores clear and weight management, increase blood circulation, relieves stress and relaxes muscles.
Conventional saunas work by heating air in the room, which in turn warms the people. These saunas are sometimes called steam sauna because the user dump hot water on the coals, just a little moisture in the air and increase air temperature in the room. Hot air causes occupants to sweat and get rid of body toxins and other excess materials. They warm the body without the air between you and the warm heat source. Thin carbon plates or panels, the heating elements which are necessary in an infrared sauna. The result is that the infrared emitters to operate at surface temperatures are much lower and more efficient.
As the body heats up more evenly and create heat that penetrates deep into the skin. The concept is the same as traditional saunas, infrared sauna, but it is best to make it more effective and safe. Neither oxygen molecules nor nitrogen can easily to this type of infrared radiation through the air and works very directly to its purpose. The lower air temperature in an infrared sauna is that infrared saunas are more convenient for people to sit for an extended period of time. Traditional saunas are now pretty stuffy after a very short period of time.

The Asus tablet strategy

2011-01-05T07:34:00.001-08:00

Asus CEO Jonney Shih presents the Eee Pad Transformer, one of the company's newest tablets. Photograph: Julie Jacobson/AP

Asus EeePad Slider. For when you can't quite bear not to have a tablet that isn't a laptop? 14:38: Next up: the EeePad Slider, "a unique hybrid of tablet and portable PC.. so you've got a keyboard all the time." Already I'm starting to think that Asus doesn't itself know what people want, and is throwing designs at the world in the hope that one of them will prove popular. Is this a good idea? True, there's a risk in only offering one design: you might pick the wrong horse.
But having four different designs? A 7" Android tablet, a 12" Windows tablet, a sometimes-tablet, a never-quite-a-tablet? OK, Shih said that he wants to offer the combination of innovation and choice, but this feels a bit scattered. Offering all of those products, with the different combinations of SKUs (product models) - different RAM, different storage - is the sort of thing that drives supply chain managers up the wall because they can't forecast who'll want what, which inevitably leads to oversupply in some places and shortages (you hope) in others. This is why multiple products that do roughly the same thing is a bad idea: because it leaves you with excess inventory which either has to be sold off or sent to landfill, and either way wrecks your financials.
The Slider will, apparently, run on Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" - really? That's fascinating, because this is the first sighting of Honeycomb anywhere to my knowledge - 10" screen, Nvidia Tegra 2 processors, dual cameras, HDMI, USB, card reader.
14:40: Gary the Texan is back to show it off. "I feel like I'm living up here," he says from the stage. Can't quite express how monotone his monotone is. Supremely underwhelming showing of what ought to be amazing: Honeycomb? In the wild? But we're shown nothing that suggests this is really Honeycomb on the machine. It could be Android 2.2. We'd be none the wiser from the demo.
We've come along to Asus's press conference, the first of CES. Let's get this ball rolling! Times are as it happened in PST, so not contemporary to this moment.

14:43: Shih is talking about something vague to do with the cloud and web 2.0 under the title "Triple-Play Digit-Net" (that's what it says on the slide). I don't honestly know what his point is here. It's like when Bill Gates tried to explain the cloud with the worst slide in the world. "Together with the silicon brain, together with the human brain, that's the best of Web 2.0," says Shih. To utter silence.

14:46: "We can put the silicon brain into things.. but their aim is always to serve PEOPLE!" I'm not quite following. "Where are your friends, where is the parking space... I think this is the real concept of web 2.0." Really, Mr Shih?
"And here I'd like to introduce another concept... through the concept of the interface make the whole of the family .. I think each home may need a home CIO." Oh dear - isn't that what good user interface design is meant to make redundant? "Including videoconferencing.. where you go outside and create a video.." I'm going to stop typing for a bit until he rejoins the planet.
14:51: Ah. We're back. Short film. "IRIS: Inspirational Research for Immersive Space... what if the device adapts to your work space?" Yes, it's the home of the future - just like that thing you've been seeing for, ooh, the past 50 years. It seems to involve a wristwatch that has a detachable screen that can be blown up into a tablet the size of an iPad. That's not far away at all, is it?
14:53: And he's gone, and we're done. We're perplexed as hell, and we haven't even been given the chance to ask questions. Nor, indeed, to get hands-on. (Ignore any Google results that say "hands-on" relating to this presentation: nobody except the Asus execs got their hands on these products.)
All the devices are being hurried off the stage. We later learn that every single device was taken straight out of the building immediately the talk had concluded - meaning there's no danger just yet of anyone getting their hands on them. Just as good: the electronic press kit handed out at the end includes a picture of the "Transformer", but it's a zero-byte file.

Overall? A strategy without a strategy. Asus doesn't control enough of the supply chain: it isn't improving Android, it can't write software worth a damn, and it's at the mercy of both Microsoft and Google in trying to advance its fortunes. Then again, the hardware-only business isn't that great: its Q3 2010 results suggest a profit margin of about 5% after tax (which is about half of what you'd aim for as a rule of thumb). Asus is stuck between a rock (Windows) and a hard place (Android); all it can hope for is that others will find it even harder.

OK, well - the rest of CES can surely improve on this.

Ask Tom: live travel -hareketli seyahat

2011-01-05T07:21:00.000-08:00

Travel into 2011 ... where will you holiday in the year ahead? Photograph: Jeremy Horner/Corbis

Want to know where's hot for your 2011 holiday? Or do you have a general travel question? Tom Hall will be live on Guardian Travel from 1-2pm offering expert advice. Post questions below in advance or on the day. Tom will get to as many as he can in an hour.

Due to the volume of questions, Tom may not be able to answer any emailed questions in the live blog, but these will be considered for future Ask Tom blog posts.

Government spending by department,

2011-01-05T07:16:00.000-08:00

Government spending by department. Click image for full graphic. Illustration: Jenny Ridley for the Guardian

Public spending by government departments is a mystery. It shouldn't be: HM Treasury publishes a guide to public spending every year. But if you want a really detailed set of figures of exactly what each department spends its money on, you have to go to the source.

And, as George Osborne sets out public spending plans this week in the Comprehensive Spending Review, this is how those figures stack up.

So, if it was you standing at the dispatch box on Wednesday, which of these would you cut? This is the most comprehensive atlas of public spending available, put together by us with the help of the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

Each year every government department publishes an annual report which includes detailed breakdowns of spending. Of course these are published as PDFs - which seems particularly obtuse as the tables themselves were probably put together in excel in the first place. And this year, it's all got a little harder: instead of annual reports we get 'resource accounts', which are more confusing and more similar to the sort of documents that accountants can pore over.

[If you want to do it yourself, there's a little guide to how to find it at the bottom of this article.]

ARIA Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada USA

2011-01-03T07:02:00.000-08:00

Aria Hotel is a 4004-room five-star luxury resort hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Located in the heart of Las Vegas Hotel Aria offers easy access to some of the world's best shopping and restaurants. With spectacular views of the skyline of Las Vegas or the mountains brodering the city, Aria Hotel and Casino with comfort, relaxation, shopping and play in mind.The rooms are deluxe and Deluxe City View type and offers double queen or king-size bed configurastions and an average of elegant a spacious 520 square meters and stylish appointments, hi-tech room automation that allow the temperature, lighting and control and music in space.

Winged luxury submarines 'fly' underwater

2011-01-03T06:56:00.001-08:00

The Deep Flight Super Falcon made its maiden voyage in San Francisco Bay in September.

Hawkes has been in the business of building underwater craft for more than a decade. In the early days, his company, Hawkes Ocean Technologies, built vehicles for researchers and moviemakers.
But in the past few years, the ultrarich have increasingly looked for cool playthings for their ocean adventures.

What better toy to have on the end of your 200-foot yacht than a submarine capable of diving to 1,500 feet below the sea's surface?

Whoops. Did we say submarine? It's a submersible that can "fly" underwater.

The Deep Flight Super Falcon looks like a fighter jet, with its thin body, two seats, two sets of wings and two tail fins.

"We just had to tear up everything we knew about submersibles and start again on winged subs -- underwater flying machines," Hawkes said.

He said Deep Flight submersibles are designed to be more agile than any creature living in the ocean -- with the exception of dolphins. The company says that because of the wings, the Super Falcon can go barrel-rolling with dolphins while traveling at speeds much faster than other private submarines.

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The craft can stay underwater for up to five hours and travel at speeds up to 6 knots, the company says on its Web site.

The first client for the Super Falcon was venture capitalist Tom Perkins, who wanted a toy to keep on his mega-yacht, the Maltese Falcon. The base price: $1.3 million. Another model, which has open cockpits and cannot dive as deep as the Super Falcon, sells for $350,000.

Perkins, writing in Boating International magazine, said he joined the project to take the Super Falcon from prototype to a fully functional craft.

"Like some of my other projects, we didn't finish on time, but also like some of the others, the end result exceeded all our expectations," he said.

The second machine is being built for Hawkes' personal use.

A submarine driver wouldn't recognize the cockpit of the Super Falcon.

"There are no valves, there are no gauges," Hawkes said. "You just power up the thrusters, start your take-off run, put the joystick forward, then the nose goes down. The wings literally pull it down."

That's very different from conventional submarines, which basically dive by changing the ballast of the ship to make it sink.

"It's not just that they look like airplanes, they actually are," Hawkes said. "The machines we build underwater should look like airplanes, not submarines. Airplanes don't look like balloons."

He won't take credit for the idea, saying the idea of a submarine with fins and wings has been thought of before. The 1972 French comic book, "Tintin and the Lake of Sharks," included a shark-like submarine with dorsal fins and a tail. Hawkes said that although the idea of wings may have been obvious, "The prize goes to he that does."

On one of the submersible's first test voyages, Hawkes' team encountered a group of hammerhead sharks. The sharks were curious and swam around the watercraft. One engaged the sub in a game of chicken, only to veer off at the last minute. It was a great reward, Hawkes said.

The craft is powered by batteries and the turbines that drive the ship were made with special care to be incredibly quiet. The maneuverability also lets it navigate in strong currents that stifle other underwater craft, the creators said.

The business plan for Deep Flight includes schools for underwater pilots to fly future versions of the Super Falcon. The next school is scheduled for this summer in the Turks and Caicos, said Karen Hawkes, the company's manager of marketing and communications, in an e-mail.

The three-day course costs $17,000. There is also a half-day, ride-along dive that costs $5,500. Karen Hawkes said the company enrolls 10 to 15 people per course and had open spots for this summer's courses.

She also wrote that while "there really isn't something akin to the FAA governing submersible operations," her company thinks sub manufacturers should offer pilot training to the owners of machine.

Then the owner can load his or her new toy onto their yacht and discover the underwater portion of this planet that most people never see, Hawkes said.

"Do you want to stalk a shark?" he asked. "Do you want to go to a Great White and go woo-hoo? Do you want to do a barrel roll with a whale?
"Shall we go and find some territories that humans have never seen before? ... Get in one of these machines, get below 150 feet -- the deepest that divers go -- and you are the first human eyes to look at that piece of the planet."

L’Infrastructure Technologique Full-web Enablon Operations

2011-01-01T01:03:00.000-08:00

Technologie

Conçues sur des standards reconnus du marché, les solutions Enablon s’appuient sur l’infrastructure technologique full-web brevetée Enablon Operations et un environnement associé de développement Enablon Application Builder.

Les solutions Enablon sont reconnues pour leur robustesse, souplesse et rapidité de mise en œuvre. Elles disposent de connecteurs facilitant l’intégration au sein du système informatique.

Particulièrement fiables et optimisées, elles peuvent être déployées sous forme de services « on demand » ou en mode logiciel, auprès de dizaines de milliers d’utilisateurs sur plusieurs milliers de sites. Bénéficiant d’une grande souplesse, les solutions Enablon sont mises en œuvre en quelques semaines et s’adaptent à l’organisation et aux processus spécifiques de chaque entreprise.

Enablon est le premier éditeur mondial de solutions logicielles de reporting et pilotage du Développement Durable.

Les plus grandes entreprises mondiales utilisent les solutions Développement Durable de la Suite Enablon CSR pour améliorer leurs performances environnementales et sociales.

La Suite Enablon CSR propose une offre logicielle complète avec des solutions pour : le management de la performance développement durable, le reporting social, l’évaluation des fournisseurs et de leur performance éthique, la gestion des initiatives solidaires et la lutte contre la corruption.

Google Pac-Man eats 4.8 million hours

2010-12-31T11:12:00.000-08:00

Championship Pac-Man

A productivity blog figured out that we wasted (some would say, enjoyed) over 4.8 million hours of time on Friday playing the Pac-Man game on Google.
The game was the search site's featured logo over the weekend to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the popular arcade game. The logo was actually playable and would continue for 256 levels of chomping.
The RescueTime blog did the math to figure out how much extra time people spent on Google on Friday, and how much did that time cost.
Typically, users spend an average of 11 seconds per each Google page view. RescueTime found the average user spent 36 second more on Pac-Man Friday. With 504.7 million unique visitors on May 23, that totals up to an additional 4,819,352 hours spent on Google.
Armed with that number, the blog then wanted to figure out how much productivity was lost. Assuming the average Google user has a salary of $25 per hour, the total bill comes to $120,483,800.
The game would start if the user hit the "Insert Coin" button or if the site sat idle on the Google home page for about 10 seconds. Google left it up on their homepage throughout the weekend, but gave it a permanent home to be enjoyed whenever you like.

The future of brain-controlled devices

2010-12-31T11:04:00.000-08:00

(CNN) -- In the shimmering fantasy realm of the hit movie "Avatar," a paraplegic Marine leaves his wheelchair behind and finds his feet in a new virtual world thanks to "the link," a sophisticated chamber that connects his brain to a surrogate alien, via computer.
This type of interface is a classic tool in gee-whiz science fiction. But the hard science behind it is even more wow-inducing.
Researchers are already using brain-computer interfaces to aid the disabled, treat diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, and provide therapy for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Work is under way on devices that may eventually let you communicate with friends telepathically, give you superhuman hearing and vision or even let you download data directly into your brain, a la "The Matrix."
Researchers are practically giddy over the prospects. "We don't know what the limits are yet," says Melody Moore Jackson, director of Georgia Tech University's BrainLab.
Adds Emory University neuroscience professor Michael Crutcher, "Anything can happen."
At the root of all this technology is the 3-pound generator we all carry in our head. It produces electricity at the microvolt level. But the signals are strong enough to move robots, wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs -- with the help of an external processor.
Harnessing that power "opens up a whole new paradigm for us as human beings," says neuroscientist Rajesh Rao of the University of Washington.
Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) come in two varieties. Noninvasive techniques use electrodes placed on the scalp to measure electrical activity. Invasive procedures implant electrodes directly into the brain. In both cases, the devices interact with a computer to produce a wide variety of applications, ranging from medical breakthroughs and military-tech advances to futuristic video games and toys.
Much of the research focuses on neuroprosthetics, which offer a way for the brain to compensate for injuries and illness. Jackson helped develop an intelligent wheelchair called the Aware Chair, which can be guided by neural activity.
She is also working on communication programs for people who have been paralyzed by strokes or spinal-cord injuries. Implanted electrodes allow "locked in" patients to spell out messages by manipulating a computer cursor with their thoughts alone.
Rao is tapping into that same concept to help paralyzed people manipulate robots to fetch items or move things around the house. With cameras to provide visual feedback, the patients and robots don't even need to be in the same room, or the same city. Rao says the technology "frees the mind from the constraints of the body."
Cochlear implants are the most common neuroprosthetic. They help the brain interpret sounds and are sometimes called "bionic ears" for the deaf. Other researchers are looking for similar ways to help blind people see. Neurobiologist Ed Boyden of MIT says miniature optical devices can be implanted to convert photoreceptors into workable cameras for the brain.
None of this comes cheap. Most research is funded by deep pockets such as the National Institutes of Health, the defense department and NASA.
But every breakthrough brings the most advanced BCI technologies closer to the mass market. Jackson says she foresees a day when people with disabilities can spend a few hundred dollars instead of $20,000 on a workable system.
Mainstreaming the technology raises some troubling issues for Crutcher, who teaches a course at Emory in neuro-ethics. He fears that expensive eye and ear implants could produce a computer-enhanced elite.
"If only the rich can afford it, it puts everyone else at a disadvantage," says Crutcher, who believes many aspects of BCI are ripe for abuse. Just the idea of mucking about with a person's brain "raises questions about safety and efficacy," he says.
One of the more controversial uses under development is telepathy. It would require at least two people to be implanted with electrodes that send and receive signals back and forth.
DARPA, the Pentagon's technology research division, is currently working on an initiative called "Silent Talk," which would let soldiers on secret missions communicate with their thoughts alone. This stealth component is attractive, but naysayers fear that such soldiers could become manipulated for evil means.
Telepathy implants won't replace Facebook and Twitter anytime soon, but that possibility is problematic as well.
"You can imagine communicating with your friends through the devices, and that opens up a lot of ethical issues," Rao says. Would you want your friends and family to know everything you are thinking? Would little white lies become obsolete?
These questions of morality and liability are not a huge factor for the toy makers and video game developers who are already bringing the most basic BCI technology to consumers.
Games like Mindflex and the Star Wars Force Trainer use headsets with simple electrodes to monitor levels of concentration and relaxation. The signals trigger a fan that can move a ball up or down, depending on how hard you're thinking. Jackson calls it a "fascinating application of a very sophisticated technology in a very cheap package."
The headsets used in both games were designed by the California company Neurosky. Its corporate partners are working on games that help Alzheimer's patients improve memory techniques, teach concentration skills to kids with ADHD and let stressed- out CEOs work on relaxing.
Software entrepreneurs and executives are streaming into Boyden's neuro-ventures class at MIT, looking for ways to capitalize on the array of potential uses for brain-computer interfaces.
Some ventures are already up and running. NeuroVigil in California is working on iBrain, designed, in part, to help provide instant feedback to drivers who start falling asleep at the wheel. Eos Neuroscience is developing light-sensitive protein-based sensors that can treat blindness.
Numerous companies are developing video games based on direct brain-computer interfacing. Neurosky sells a wireless headset that connects to any computer for a series of brain-training games. NeuroBoy lets you set targets on fire just by concentrating on them. Relax, and your character levitates. Another application lets you see a colorful visualization of your brain-wave activity.
Boyden expects to see many more such products hitting shelves sooner rather than later. He says the possibilities are endless if just a "fraction of the business leaders" taking his class start "bringing the technology into the world."

Jackson, of Georgia Tech, agrees: "Nothing is out of the realm of possibility."

Winter weather near you

2010-12-31T10:59:00.000-08:00

Are trees bare, the mercury sinking and snow falling over ice-coated branches where you live?

We want to see how the weather and wind chill are affecting you. Send us your photos and video of ice, snow, storms and sleet, and let us know how the conditions are impacting your travel plans.

Weather can be unpredictable, so please use caution during severe conditions.

Marketing Consultants,II4SEE Retail Solutions

2010-12-29T07:27:00.000-08:00

We are Sales & Marketing Consultants, specializing in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector. We understand Shopper & Consumer Needs and we are able to turn Insights into Actions that will grow your Brand and the respective Category for the Retailer.

We are a small, dynamic team based in central London (Southbank, behind the Tate Modem) and we are working on local, regional and global Shopper Marketing projects with both FMCG Companies and Retailers.

We thrive on challenges, problem solving and motivating teams in order to deliver long- and short-term results.

Michail Psaltakis, our Managing Director has a clear record of successfully implementing business transformation, change management and profit enhancement in more than 20 countries across Europe (Western and Eastern), SE Asia and Latin America during a 15-year international Sales & Marketing career at Unilever.

We are offering 3 'Retail' & 2 'Cat Man' Solutions aiming to improve a Brand’s Visibility & Availability in-store while growing profitably the respective Category for the Retailer.
Click on the product logos on the left and right side menus (Growth Accelerator, Trade Motivator, Price Calculator, Store Connector and Shelf Attractor) to learn more.
We are also offering 2 'Design' Solutions (Promo Activator and Brand Communicator) for delivering Activation Platforms, Point-of-Sales Material creation, Multimedia Presentations and Below the Line Digital/Print Communication.

VSEP teknoloji

2010-12-27T12:02:00.001-08:00

VSEP Membrane Cleaners In addition to filtration systems, New Logic manufactures a complete line of chemical cleaners designed to maintain maximum flow rates in all VSEP applications.Years of exhaustive research and development by New Logic engineers have resulted in seven chemical cleaners formulated to attack the most stubborn foulants across a wide range of membranes and feed streams.While designed for VSEP membrane filtration systems, these advanced formulas are perfect for cleaning any membrane.To learn more about VSEP Advanced Cleaning Solutions, please choose a link below to visit our sister site

While membrane-based separations of liquids from solids have enjoyed increasing popularity over the last 20 years, the technology has an inherent Achilles heel that affects all membrane devices: fouling. This long-term loss in throughput capacity is due primarily to the formation of a boundary layer that builds up naturally on the membranes surface during the filtration process.In addition to cutting down on the flux performance of the membrane, this boundary or gel layer acts as a secondary membrane reducing the native design selectivity of the membrane in use.EMERYVILLE, Calif. and IPSWICH, Australia, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- New Logic Research, Inc., the maker of VSEP, the vibrating membrane filtration system, announced today its participation in the official commissioning ceremony for the Australian Hardboards Water Recycling Plant in Queensland, Australia.

On hand for the ceremony were members of the Australian Hardboards and New Logic executive team, as well as numerous business leaders and local officials, including Cr. Paul Pisasale, the mayor of Ipswich.

The wastewater treatment and recovery system, which combines seven i84 VSEP nanofiltration membrane modules, recovers wastewater for reuse within the plant. The system, which is capable of processing approximately 200,000 gallons per day, runs continuously automated by a programmable logic controller (PLC).

According to New Logic CEO Greg Johnson, "VSEP is fast becoming accepted as the best available technology for tough wastewater treatment applications in Australia. The Australian Hardboards installation represents our second Australian installation in as many months; still more will be coming online within the next year. We were honored to be a part of the ceremony, and to show our commitment to helping to solve the Australian water shortage problem."

New Logic International Sales Manager Melysa Reiss adds, "The paradox of Australia's decreasing water resources and increasing industrial demand requires innovative technologies to bridge the gap. We are proud to have the opportunity to do just that for Australian Hardboards and other firms throughout the continent."

Water shortage caused by drought and increased populations has created a crisis in many parts of Australia. Water supply levels have fallen to 30% of normal, and continue to drop. Local water districts have implemented severe water restrictions to try to stop the drop in supply levels. Brisbane is currently at a Level 4 water restriction that requires mandatory conservation. By recycling its wastewater and reducing its fresh water intake using the VSEP system, AHL has conserved the equivalent of 2000 homes worth of water supply per year. This example of water conservation is being used as a showpiece for other industries to follow.

About New Logic Research, Inc.

Headquartered in Emeryville, California, New Logic Research is the leading provider of high-performance membrane filtration systems used in a wide variety of applications from pure water and wastewater treatment to chemical process clarifications. Founded in 1987, New Logic has grown to meet the needs of its ever-expanding customer base, which includes major corporations from around the World. Today, New Logic provides a breadth of products and services for pure water and wastewater treatment, industrial and chemical processing, power, pulp and paper, oil and gas production and processing, paint and pigments and electronics industries. For more information

Snow tears through roof of Schalke's stadium after heavy snowfall

2010-12-27T11:59:00.000-08:00

(CNN) -- Heavy snowfall in Germany has caused part of the roof to collapse at the Veltins Arena, which hosts Bundesliga soccer team Schalke 04.
The stadium, in Gelsenkirchen, stages all Schalke's home games and was also due to hold the annual biathlon World Team Challenge later this week.
But the event has been cancelled after a deluge of snow over Christmas created a hole measuring 1,000 square meters in the roof. Three fibre glass strips that hold the roof in place were destroyed.
"The holes are not going to be closed in time,'' Schalke's chairman Peter Peters said of the biathlon on the club's official website. "The safety of the spectators is the utmost priority.''

FC Schalke 04
Bundesliga
World Cup Soccer
Germany

The Bundesliga is currently on its winter break with Schalke not scheduled to play at the Veltins Arena until January 15 when they host Hamburg.
But that match is not thought to be in danger, as it can be played with the roof open.
Peters added: "I am optimistic that we will be able to start the second half of the season according to schedule."
Staff had cleared an earlier downfall prior to Christmas but were unable to get onto the roof after that due to harsh weather conditions.

The stadium was opened in 2001 and can hold 61,482 spectators. It played host to the 2004 UEFA Champions League final and staged five games in the World Cup of 2006

Facebook world: What's missing from this picture?

2010-12-27T11:55:00.001-08:00

A map showing global connections with Facebook friends draws an accurate rendering of the world – with one glaring exception.

Hong Kong, China (CNN) – There is something plainly fascinating about Paul Butler's map of the world. The Facebook intern used data from the social networking site to create a map of people's friendships across the globe and to see how they related to geographical and political boundaries. After experimenting with different techniques, he ended up using arced, weighted lines to connect cities based on the volume of the Facebook friendships between them.
In Butler's words, the result is "a surprisingly detailed map of the world. Not only were continents visible, certain international borders were apparent as well. What really struck me, though, was knowing that the lines didn't represent coasts or rivers or political borders, but real human relationships."
The lines also map out, to a large extent, Facebook's global penetration. One is struck by the fluorescent clusters in the United States and Europe, where Facebook is widely used; the clear contours of Indonesia, home of the most Facebook users in Asia; and the giant hole where China should be.

Blocked by the Great Firewall, Facebook can boast few active users in China. Local social networks like Renren, Xiaonei and Kaixin001 dominate the market. Instead of connecting through Facebook Chat, millions upon millions of users chat away their work days on Tencent's QQ and MSN Messenger.
The absence of China on Facebook's Visualizing Friends Map did not go unnoticed among China's microbloggers, as Wang Xiaojie and Jo Ling Kent from CNN's Beijing bureau found when they combed the Chinese web.
"At first sight I wonder why China is not on the map; but after seeing the Facebook logo at the bottom, I know why," says one user.
Another asks: "When can China shine on this map that includes 500 million other people?"
One savvy netizen even spots an additional reason for China's absence from the map. Chinese users who circumvent the country's internet restrictions by using a VPN server appear as users in foreign cities. "So even if we use Facebook in China, we still can not be seen on the map. Haha!, " he writes.
Also under discussion online: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's first visit to China. It may be a personal vacation, but he appears to be making the rounds at the country's top Internet companies. He toured Baidu headquarters with Robin Li, founder of China's dominant search engine, and has since been reportedly spotted at the offices of leading web portal Sina.com.
Employees at the Chinese companies have been snapping pictures of Zuckerberg and posting them online. It's the closest they'll get to the Internet Wunderkind.
After all, they can't friend him on Facebook.

Our budget one bedroom ocean view

2010-12-27T11:38:00.000-08:00

Hilton Head Island Beach & Tennis Resort is an Oceanfront Resort. This oceanfront resort is one of our

most popular, economical ways for a couple to vacation on Hilton Head.
Nestled between Port Royal and Palmetto Dunes Plantations, it is situated along a beautiful wide stretch of ivory sand beach. This resort features two pools, one of which is the largest outdoor pool on the island, plus a children's pool. Also located right at the beach is a pool side seasonal restaurant. The resort also features 10 lighted tennis courts. Guests receive 2 hours per stay of Free Tennis. Night-time tennis is done through the purchase of tokens. A Fitness Center has been created and guests may join on a daily or weekly basis. Both the Fitness Center usage and Tennis Court Time are scheduled through the Pro-Shop. High Speed Internet is available through Hilton Head Beach and Tennis at an additional charge. Please check at their front desk for charges and installation. Bikes may be rented on site for an incredible ride along our twelve miles of beach and miles of bike paths.
Other resort amenities include coin operated washers and dryers throughout the resort, BBQ grills, children's playground, a fishing lagoon, and even a convenience store. Choose Hilton Head Beach & Tennis Resort for a fun-filled value-packed golf vacation.

Luxury villas for 2 couples

2010-12-27T11:35:00.000-08:00

Our deluxe 2 bedroom ocean view Villamare villas located in Palmetto Dunes are perfect for 2 couples. The villa's offer one king in the master and at least one queen in the second bedroom. Some villas have 2 queens in the 2nd. bedroom. All of the villas have 2 bathrooms, fully complete kitchens, living rooms and of course beautiful ocean veiws from your balcony. Also a plus is your own washer & dryer. Within easy walking distance are two hotels for dining and entertainment, as well as tennis, bike and canoe rentals. Please note all Villamare villas are not furnished the same, so all units will vary.

The 3 night 2 rounds of golf per person is a nice long weekend getaway. The 5 night 3 round package is great if you are looking for excellent golf and some relaxation. If you want to enjoy more golf then the 7 night 5 round package is for your foursome.
With 16 different Hilton Head golf courses you can choose from included in the price and deluxe accommodations, this package has been ideal for 2 couples. If you want to add more rounds of golf please just let us know.

All of the prices listed to your left are for each golfer (based on 4 golfers) and include : Your lodging, green & cart fees at any of courses listed in Section A to your left. We will also set up your guaranteed preferred tee times on the days you want to play. You can play the courses in Section B however they do require a surcharge. Click on the course to view the surcharge price. Please note: Rates are going to be slightly higher on holiday weeks so please call for rates.

Bu balı sakın yemeyin!

2010-12-27T07:36:00.001-08:00

Sadece bu yıl 128 kişiyi zehirleyen balla ilgili uzmanlardan hayati bir uyarı geldi...

Zonguldak İl Sağlık Müdürü Rüstem Albayrak, kentte bu yıl 128 kişinin zehirlenmesine yol açan acı balın tüketilmemesi gerektiğini bildirdi.

Albayrak, yazılı açıklamasında, özellikle Devrek, Alaplı ve Ereğli ilçelerinde olmak üzere acı bal zehirlenmelerinde artış yaşandığını, il genelinde 128 vakaya rastlanıldığını belirtti. Acı bal zehirlenmesinin halk arasında "dağ gülü" olarak bilinen "rhododendron" familyası bitkilerinden beslenen arıların ürettiği balın tüketilmesiyle ortaya çıktığını anlatan Albayrak, şunları kaydetti:

"Rhododendron ailesi üyelerindeki bitkinin tüm parçaları zehirlidir. Karadeniz Bölgesi'nde yetişen bu çiçeklerde bulunan 'grayanotoksin' adlı madde arılar tarafından alınmasıyla zehir bala karışır. Balda zehrin bulunup bulunmadığı ancak analizlerle mümkün olabilmektedir.

Halk arasında 'deli bal' olarak da bilinen balın yenilmesinden bir iki saat sonra belirtiler ortaya çıkar ve zehirlenme ciddi değilse 12-24 saat içinde düzelir. Ancak hayatı tehdit eden zehirlenmeler de olabilir.

Balı yiyen kişide uyuşma, karıncalanma, yanma hissi, ağız etrafından uyuşma, burunda kaşınma, deride ve gözlerde kızarıklık, baş dönmesi gibi bulgular, koma hatta ölümle bile sonuçlanabilmektedir. Kentte bu yıl 128 kişinin zehirlenmesine yol açan acı bal tüketilmemeli."