In this exhibition, ALONG introduced one of its innovative core games, "Code of Life" (or "COL"). As one multiplayer online casual game in China, COL contains several innovative features. COL is designed to be a friend-making WAP game on a massive scale, with powerful community functions that enable users to form personal relationships through role-playing. This game will also facilitate forming friendships via cell phone by integrating the powerful functions of a mobile phone terminal, with satellite positioning based on GPRS and individualized photo uploads.
Mr. Li Jianwei, CEO of ALONG, commented, "The vast market of over 400 million mobile phone users in China is creating the opportunity to develop the next wave of mobile phone network games. 'Code of Life' is designed to take advantage of easy operations and community while meeting the taste of modern consumers pursuing a simple, fast-paced and interactive life style. An exciting game will accelerate the bloom of the mobile phone network game market."
As one of the top three digital interactive entertainment conferences in the world, ChinaJoy attracts top-tier game developers, operators and hardware providers from all over the world.
Mobile phone games, a new force in the ChinaJoy Show, have developed at an extremely rapid pace in the last two years. With ALONG's presence at ChinaJoy 2007, it will further accelerate the development of the mobile phone game industry.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
United Technologies' Net Income Rises on Aerospace
By Rachel Layne
July 18 (Bloomberg) -- United Technologies Corp., the maker of Otis elevators, said second-quarter profit rose 4.1 percent on higher overseas sales to airlines, governments and building developers. The company boosted its 2007 sales and profit forecasts.
Net income increased to $1.15 billion, or $1.16 a share, from $1.1 billion, or $1.09, a year earlier, exceeding analysts' estimates. Revenue climbed 13 percent to $13.9 billion on gains in all six business segments, the Hartford, Connecticut-based company said today in a statement.
United Technologies, which gets more than 60 percent of sales overseas, benefited from orders for electrical systems at Hamilton Sundstrand and aircraft at Sikorsky. Pratt & Whitney spare jet engine parts and service contracts increased. Otis and Carrier air conditioning sold more equipment for high-rise buildings in fast-growing Asian economies including China.
``These were solid results and we are pleased with the improved performance at Carrier despite the weaker North American residential market,'' wrote Nicole Parent, a New York- based analyst at Credit Suisse. She has an ``outperform'' rating on the stock.
Shares of United Technologies fell $1.17 to $75.67 at 10:13 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Before today, they had climbed 33 percent in the past year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 26 percent. The stock had added 6.6 percent from July 10 through yesterday.
No Surprise
``We wouldn't be surprised to see the stock take a breather today despite the good results,'' wrote Myles Walton, an analyst at CIBC World Markets in Boston, in a note to clients today.
Chief Executive Officer George David raised the annual per- share profit forecast to $4.15 to $4.25 a share, up from $4.05 to $4.20, the statement said. The company also increased its revenue forecast to $53 billion from $51 billion. Analysts, on average, estimated $4.17 in earnings and $52.4 billion in sales.
Sales from businesses the company has owned more than a year, or ``organic'' revenue growth, should continue to rise, adding to a four-year pattern and prompting the forecast increase, David said. Such sales increased 10 percent in the quarter.
``Solid markets worldwide in commercial aviation and commercial construction, coupled with the successes of a wide range of new UTC products, are doing this,'' David said in the statement. ``We see these conditions continuing over the balance of the year and into 2008.''
Fire and Safety
United Technologies, which also owns UTC Fire and Security, used a 7-cent tax-related gain in the year-earlier second- quarter to help pay for cost reductions. Excluding that gain, profit would have climbed 12 percent in the just-ended quarter. The current quarter includes 2 cents a share in restructuring costs, the company said.
Otis, the world's biggest elevator and escalator maker, increased profit 13 percent to $532 million on a 13 percent sales gain to $2.86 billion. Profit at Carrier, the world's biggest air-conditioner maker, rose 19 percent to $489 million as revenue grew 8.1 percent to $4.06 billion.
Income at Pratt & Whitney declined 2.4 percent to $522 million as revenue rose 14 percent to $3.11 billion. Excluding a gain in the year-earlier period and restructuring costs, profit would have climbed 15 percent, United Technologies spokesman John Moran said.
Sikorsky sales climbed 56 percent, driving a more than doubling of profit to $87 million. Hamilton Sundstrand profit gained 16 percent to $246 million on a 9.6 percent sales rise.
The average estimate was for profit of $1.15 a share from 15 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
In 2006, the company cut its workforce by 3,800 positions and closed 500,000 square feet of factory and office space, according to its annual report filed with U.S. regulators.
July 18 (Bloomberg) -- United Technologies Corp., the maker of Otis elevators, said second-quarter profit rose 4.1 percent on higher overseas sales to airlines, governments and building developers. The company boosted its 2007 sales and profit forecasts.
Net income increased to $1.15 billion, or $1.16 a share, from $1.1 billion, or $1.09, a year earlier, exceeding analysts' estimates. Revenue climbed 13 percent to $13.9 billion on gains in all six business segments, the Hartford, Connecticut-based company said today in a statement.
United Technologies, which gets more than 60 percent of sales overseas, benefited from orders for electrical systems at Hamilton Sundstrand and aircraft at Sikorsky. Pratt & Whitney spare jet engine parts and service contracts increased. Otis and Carrier air conditioning sold more equipment for high-rise buildings in fast-growing Asian economies including China.
``These were solid results and we are pleased with the improved performance at Carrier despite the weaker North American residential market,'' wrote Nicole Parent, a New York- based analyst at Credit Suisse. She has an ``outperform'' rating on the stock.
Shares of United Technologies fell $1.17 to $75.67 at 10:13 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Before today, they had climbed 33 percent in the past year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 26 percent. The stock had added 6.6 percent from July 10 through yesterday.
No Surprise
``We wouldn't be surprised to see the stock take a breather today despite the good results,'' wrote Myles Walton, an analyst at CIBC World Markets in Boston, in a note to clients today.
Chief Executive Officer George David raised the annual per- share profit forecast to $4.15 to $4.25 a share, up from $4.05 to $4.20, the statement said. The company also increased its revenue forecast to $53 billion from $51 billion. Analysts, on average, estimated $4.17 in earnings and $52.4 billion in sales.
Sales from businesses the company has owned more than a year, or ``organic'' revenue growth, should continue to rise, adding to a four-year pattern and prompting the forecast increase, David said. Such sales increased 10 percent in the quarter.
``Solid markets worldwide in commercial aviation and commercial construction, coupled with the successes of a wide range of new UTC products, are doing this,'' David said in the statement. ``We see these conditions continuing over the balance of the year and into 2008.''
Fire and Safety
United Technologies, which also owns UTC Fire and Security, used a 7-cent tax-related gain in the year-earlier second- quarter to help pay for cost reductions. Excluding that gain, profit would have climbed 12 percent in the just-ended quarter. The current quarter includes 2 cents a share in restructuring costs, the company said.
Otis, the world's biggest elevator and escalator maker, increased profit 13 percent to $532 million on a 13 percent sales gain to $2.86 billion. Profit at Carrier, the world's biggest air-conditioner maker, rose 19 percent to $489 million as revenue grew 8.1 percent to $4.06 billion.
Income at Pratt & Whitney declined 2.4 percent to $522 million as revenue rose 14 percent to $3.11 billion. Excluding a gain in the year-earlier period and restructuring costs, profit would have climbed 15 percent, United Technologies spokesman John Moran said.
Sikorsky sales climbed 56 percent, driving a more than doubling of profit to $87 million. Hamilton Sundstrand profit gained 16 percent to $246 million on a 9.6 percent sales rise.
The average estimate was for profit of $1.15 a share from 15 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
In 2006, the company cut its workforce by 3,800 positions and closed 500,000 square feet of factory and office space, according to its annual report filed with U.S. regulators.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
New technologies for food industries
Rob Cockerill, Tuesday July 10th 2007 (Source: gasworld.com)
Consolidated Industrial Gases Inc. (CIGI) and Southern Industrial Gas (SIG) will introduce new technologies aimed at enhancing the capabilities of the food processing and packaging industry.
After gaining new ground with the government's focus on agribusiness, the industry will set in motion initiatives to expand the agricultural and fishery product mix through high value crops, while also adding value through innovative packaging and agro-processing.
CIGI and SIG have gained access to global technologies in food freezing and cooling since becoming part of The Linde Group in 2006. These technologies include the design and supply of tunnel and spiral freezers, refrigerants like liquid nitrogen and carbon dioxide, food grade gases, pipeline systems, gas mixing panels and other such equipment.
The newest addition to the range is the Cryoline tunnel freezer, a multi-purpose, cryogenic freezer that combines state-of-the-art technology with a high quality hygienic design. It is flexible and easy to use with optimized application of cryogenic gases this can be used for meat patties and pieces, whole fish and fillets, various kinds of seafood and many other food products.
The two companies are bringing these technologies closer to the end-users by participating in International Food Exhibitions like the recently held Food Processing and Packaging Technology Exhibit in Davao and the upcoming World Food Exhibit in Manila.
Consolidated Industrial Gases Inc. (CIGI) and Southern Industrial Gas (SIG) will introduce new technologies aimed at enhancing the capabilities of the food processing and packaging industry.
After gaining new ground with the government's focus on agribusiness, the industry will set in motion initiatives to expand the agricultural and fishery product mix through high value crops, while also adding value through innovative packaging and agro-processing.
CIGI and SIG have gained access to global technologies in food freezing and cooling since becoming part of The Linde Group in 2006. These technologies include the design and supply of tunnel and spiral freezers, refrigerants like liquid nitrogen and carbon dioxide, food grade gases, pipeline systems, gas mixing panels and other such equipment.
The newest addition to the range is the Cryoline tunnel freezer, a multi-purpose, cryogenic freezer that combines state-of-the-art technology with a high quality hygienic design. It is flexible and easy to use with optimized application of cryogenic gases this can be used for meat patties and pieces, whole fish and fillets, various kinds of seafood and many other food products.
The two companies are bringing these technologies closer to the end-users by participating in International Food Exhibitions like the recently held Food Processing and Packaging Technology Exhibit in Davao and the upcoming World Food Exhibit in Manila.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
NEW DISPLAY TECHNOLOGIES TO MAKE LCDS OBSOLETE
LCD displays were hailed the best technology in displays, however they have their own inherent problems. One is it is bulky ofcourse. Second is it is expensive and thirdly after a long use, the displays get permanently marked. However a new technology promises to lessen this problem. A new generation of super-thin, power saving displays are making their debut in the market that not only save battery lives, but also makes images sharper and crisper.
LCDs are commonly used in mobilephones, games, and MP3 players, however they require backlighting that consumes a lot of battery power. New technologies such as OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) and bi-stable are now being developed that glow on their own, consuming less power as well as making displays thinner.
However displays based on OLED and bi-stable technologies are still years away.
LCDs are commonly used in mobilephones, games, and MP3 players, however they require backlighting that consumes a lot of battery power. New technologies such as OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) and bi-stable are now being developed that glow on their own, consuming less power as well as making displays thinner.
However displays based on OLED and bi-stable technologies are still years away.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
NTC plans to auction new 3G wireless licences in October
KOMSAN TORTERMVASANA
New third-generation wireless licences will be auctioned starting in October, according to Gen Choochart Promprasit, the chairman of the National Telecommunications Commission.
A final framework on the new licences, which include frequency allocations in the five-gigahertz band, would be completed by September, he said.
Telecom and IT network providers have been pressing the regulatory body to clarify its position on third-generation mobile and wireless technologies such as WiMax. Analysts said Thailand has been slow to implement new technologies offering broadband transmission speeds direct to mobile handsets
Gen Choochart said four 3G licences could be offered, but declined to comment on the method of allocation.
Existing mobile operators, who use 2.5G technologies such as Edge, have argued that they should be given priority in bidding for new licences. Authorities could choose to hold a straight auction, with the winning licences offered to the highest bidder, or hold a ''beauty contest'' in which the bidders' qualifications, experience and technological platforms are also used to evaluate winners.
Gen Choochart said the Council of State has already ruled the NTC could award new telecommunications licences without waiting for the creation of the National Broadcasting Commission.
The process of awarding new 3G licences has been stalled for years over legal questions on whether the NBC, which has been delayed due to political infighting, was required before new frequency spectrum was awarded for use. ''We will try to have all the issues finalised by September, to allow the industry to move forward starting this October. We see four 3G licences being awarded altogether,'' Gen Choochart said.
New third-generation wireless licences will be auctioned starting in October, according to Gen Choochart Promprasit, the chairman of the National Telecommunications Commission.
A final framework on the new licences, which include frequency allocations in the five-gigahertz band, would be completed by September, he said.
Telecom and IT network providers have been pressing the regulatory body to clarify its position on third-generation mobile and wireless technologies such as WiMax. Analysts said Thailand has been slow to implement new technologies offering broadband transmission speeds direct to mobile handsets
Gen Choochart said four 3G licences could be offered, but declined to comment on the method of allocation.
Existing mobile operators, who use 2.5G technologies such as Edge, have argued that they should be given priority in bidding for new licences. Authorities could choose to hold a straight auction, with the winning licences offered to the highest bidder, or hold a ''beauty contest'' in which the bidders' qualifications, experience and technological platforms are also used to evaluate winners.
Gen Choochart said the Council of State has already ruled the NTC could award new telecommunications licences without waiting for the creation of the National Broadcasting Commission.
The process of awarding new 3G licences has been stalled for years over legal questions on whether the NBC, which has been delayed due to political infighting, was required before new frequency spectrum was awarded for use. ''We will try to have all the issues finalised by September, to allow the industry to move forward starting this October. We see four 3G licences being awarded altogether,'' Gen Choochart said.
Monday, July 2, 2007
TotalView Technologies Announces Totalview 8.2
DRESDEN, Germany, june. 2007 -- TotalView Technologies, the world's leading provider of scaleable debugging and analysis software solutions for the multi-core age, today announced the availability of TotalView Debugger 8.2. This updated version of TotalView provides new features and support for important new platforms, allowing a greater range of users to benefit from the product's capabilities.
TotalView is a comprehensive source code and optional memory debugging solution that dramatically enhances developer productivity by simplifying the process of debugging data-intensive, multi-process, multi-threaded, or network-distributed applications.
Built to handle the complexities of the world's most demanding applications, TotalView is capable of scaling from one to thousands of processes or threads with applications distributed over multiple machines or processors.
TotalView Debugger is the only product on the market that supports mixed environments including mixed parallel paradigms (Open MP and MPI) and mixed languages (Fortran 90 and C++, for example) in one debugging session, and mixed versions of compilers in one session.
TotalView supports over 2,500 compiler variations and countless combinations of parallel programming paradigms and compilers. TotalView is robust and easy to use, with an intuitive GUI that enables users to quickly isolate and identify the root cause of problems.
TotalView is a comprehensive source code and optional memory debugging solution that dramatically enhances developer productivity by simplifying the process of debugging data-intensive, multi-process, multi-threaded, or network-distributed applications.
Built to handle the complexities of the world's most demanding applications, TotalView is capable of scaling from one to thousands of processes or threads with applications distributed over multiple machines or processors.
TotalView Debugger is the only product on the market that supports mixed environments including mixed parallel paradigms (Open MP and MPI) and mixed languages (Fortran 90 and C++, for example) in one debugging session, and mixed versions of compilers in one session.
TotalView supports over 2,500 compiler variations and countless combinations of parallel programming paradigms and compilers. TotalView is robust and easy to use, with an intuitive GUI that enables users to quickly isolate and identify the root cause of problems.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
SAMSUNG Showcases The Latest Mobile Technologies At CommunicAsia 2007
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a leading provider of mobile phones and telecom systems, today showcased a total of 53 mobile phones and its latest mobile technologies at CommunicAsia 2007.
Key highlights were the Ultra Edition II 12.1 (U700), the slimmest and elegantly designed HSDPA slider, the Ultra Edition II 10.9 (U600) 2.5G slider, and an exciting fashion phone lineup including the SGH-E950, E840, and J600. Samsung also introduced the Mobile WiMAX U-RAS Hub System (HS) and Convergence System (CS) for the first time in the world today.
Samsung’s diverse, innovative and market-leading handsets and technologies, including its brand new Ultra Edition II range and Mobile WiMAX technology, reinforces Samsung’s position as a design-led, forward-thinking company that heavily invests in research and development to advance the market and fuel consumer demand for innovative new technologies.
Mr. Geesung Choi, President of Samsung’s Telecommunications Network Business, said :
“The introduction of Samsung’s new Ultra Edition II range is testament to our strategic focus on the premium segment. In addition, Samsung’s vision for the future of mobile technology is increasingly becoming a reality with our successful Mobile WiMAX demonstration, underlining the converged mobile device as the future hub of all communications. With our increased focus on the Southeast Asian market, we will continue to provide a wide variety of mobile phones customized for local needs.”
Key highlights from Samsung at CommunicAsia 2007 include :
ULTRA EDITION II
Building on the runway success of Samsung’s Ultra Edition range, launched in July 2006, the Samsung Ultra Edition II embodies the best of advanced technology, revolutionary mobile designs and must-have business and consumer multimedia functions with four of the slimmest, most powerful and best looking handsets in each form factor. The Ultra Edition II range consists of two stylish and functional sliders, the Ultra Edition 10.9 (U600) and the Ultra Edition 12.1 (U700), a metallic clamshell, the Ultra Edition 9.6 (U300), and a candy bar handset, the Ultra Edition 5.9 (U100). Each of these designs offer advanced features such as a 3-megapixel camera and camcorder, high-speed internet connectivity, as well as extensive multimedia and audio capabilities.
Proving that Samsung truly is at the heart of the consumer’s needs, each of these handsets incorporates innovative consumer-driven design elements to improve the user experience, including external multimedia navigation keys for ease of use and a jewel-inspired casing.
FASHION PHONE LINE UP
For design- and style-focused customers, Samsung unveiled three fashion phones reflecting the latest design trends and cutting-edge multimedia features. The SGH-E950 is a powerful 3-megapixel camera phone equipped with an improved, unique touch navigation user interface, while the SGH-E840, with its minimalist and futuristic design, boasts a super slim frame at just 10.6mm and a glossy, mirror-like surface. The SGH-J600 comes with an affordable 1.3-megapixel camera in a variety of vivid, lively colours.
Key highlights were the Ultra Edition II 12.1 (U700), the slimmest and elegantly designed HSDPA slider, the Ultra Edition II 10.9 (U600) 2.5G slider, and an exciting fashion phone lineup including the SGH-E950, E840, and J600. Samsung also introduced the Mobile WiMAX U-RAS Hub System (HS) and Convergence System (CS) for the first time in the world today.
Samsung’s diverse, innovative and market-leading handsets and technologies, including its brand new Ultra Edition II range and Mobile WiMAX technology, reinforces Samsung’s position as a design-led, forward-thinking company that heavily invests in research and development to advance the market and fuel consumer demand for innovative new technologies.
Mr. Geesung Choi, President of Samsung’s Telecommunications Network Business, said :
“The introduction of Samsung’s new Ultra Edition II range is testament to our strategic focus on the premium segment. In addition, Samsung’s vision for the future of mobile technology is increasingly becoming a reality with our successful Mobile WiMAX demonstration, underlining the converged mobile device as the future hub of all communications. With our increased focus on the Southeast Asian market, we will continue to provide a wide variety of mobile phones customized for local needs.”
Key highlights from Samsung at CommunicAsia 2007 include :
ULTRA EDITION II
Building on the runway success of Samsung’s Ultra Edition range, launched in July 2006, the Samsung Ultra Edition II embodies the best of advanced technology, revolutionary mobile designs and must-have business and consumer multimedia functions with four of the slimmest, most powerful and best looking handsets in each form factor. The Ultra Edition II range consists of two stylish and functional sliders, the Ultra Edition 10.9 (U600) and the Ultra Edition 12.1 (U700), a metallic clamshell, the Ultra Edition 9.6 (U300), and a candy bar handset, the Ultra Edition 5.9 (U100). Each of these designs offer advanced features such as a 3-megapixel camera and camcorder, high-speed internet connectivity, as well as extensive multimedia and audio capabilities.
Proving that Samsung truly is at the heart of the consumer’s needs, each of these handsets incorporates innovative consumer-driven design elements to improve the user experience, including external multimedia navigation keys for ease of use and a jewel-inspired casing.
FASHION PHONE LINE UP
For design- and style-focused customers, Samsung unveiled three fashion phones reflecting the latest design trends and cutting-edge multimedia features. The SGH-E950 is a powerful 3-megapixel camera phone equipped with an improved, unique touch navigation user interface, while the SGH-E840, with its minimalist and futuristic design, boasts a super slim frame at just 10.6mm and a glossy, mirror-like surface. The SGH-J600 comes with an affordable 1.3-megapixel camera in a variety of vivid, lively colours.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Secure Computing Enhances URL Filtering Solution with Next-Gen Reputation System
Enterprise gateway security company Secure Computing Corporation announced Friday a newly enhanced version of its URL filtering solution, SmartFilter 4.2 with TrustedSource.
The new version is set to provide granular protection against today's Web 2.0 threats, allowing companies to leverage Web 2.0 technologies without compromising corporate policy.
TrustedSource is the company's global reputation system and SmartFilter 4.2 marks the fourth Secure Computing product integrated with this technology. More Asian organizations today are embracing Web 2.0 technologies, such as wikis, tagging and social networks to increased corporate efficiency through digital collaboration.
While these new technologies provide organizations with new means to improve stakeholder relationships with user driven content, Web 2.0 technologies also present a different set of security issues such as data leakages, phishing, malware and spam.
"With Internet use a requirement in today's world, organizations -- from financial institutions to education systems -- must implement sound strategies to protect their networks against Web 2.0 threats," said Benjamin Low, Managing Director for Southeast Asia and India, Secure Computing.
"SmartFilter 4.2 provides the security protection needed in the Web 2.0 world while allowing users to access information on the web safely.
"As part of Secure Computing's vision to provide companies of all sizes with comprehensive security at the web gateway, SmartFilter now incorporates global intelligence from the company's industry-leading reputation system, TrustedSource.
Like a credit agency provides credit scores to enable reliable commerce, TrustedSource provides source-based reputation scores for URLs, domains and IP addresses as well as content-based reputation scores for web page content, messages, attachments and images.
Using this real-time scoring, SmartFilter 4.2 allows organizations to detect and prevent web security threats such as spyware, phishing and other malware.
The new version is set to provide granular protection against today's Web 2.0 threats, allowing companies to leverage Web 2.0 technologies without compromising corporate policy.
TrustedSource is the company's global reputation system and SmartFilter 4.2 marks the fourth Secure Computing product integrated with this technology. More Asian organizations today are embracing Web 2.0 technologies, such as wikis, tagging and social networks to increased corporate efficiency through digital collaboration.
While these new technologies provide organizations with new means to improve stakeholder relationships with user driven content, Web 2.0 technologies also present a different set of security issues such as data leakages, phishing, malware and spam.
"With Internet use a requirement in today's world, organizations -- from financial institutions to education systems -- must implement sound strategies to protect their networks against Web 2.0 threats," said Benjamin Low, Managing Director for Southeast Asia and India, Secure Computing.
"SmartFilter 4.2 provides the security protection needed in the Web 2.0 world while allowing users to access information on the web safely.
"As part of Secure Computing's vision to provide companies of all sizes with comprehensive security at the web gateway, SmartFilter now incorporates global intelligence from the company's industry-leading reputation system, TrustedSource.
Like a credit agency provides credit scores to enable reliable commerce, TrustedSource provides source-based reputation scores for URLs, domains and IP addresses as well as content-based reputation scores for web page content, messages, attachments and images.
Using this real-time scoring, SmartFilter 4.2 allows organizations to detect and prevent web security threats such as spyware, phishing and other malware.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
SAMSUNG Showcases The Latest Mobile Technologies At CommunicAsia 2007
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a leading provider of mobile phones and telecom systems, today showcased a total of 53 mobile phones and its latest mobile technologies at CommunicAsia 2007. Key highlights were the Ultra Edition II 12.1 (U700), the slimmest and elegantly designed HSDPA slider, the Ultra Edition II 10.9 (U600) 2.5G slider, and an exciting fashion phone lineup including the SGH-E950, E840, and J600. Samsung also introduced the Mobile WiMAX U-RAS Hub System (HS) and Convergence System (CS) for the first time in the world today.
Samsung’s diverse, innovative and market-leading handsets and technologies, including its brand new Ultra Edition II range and Mobile WiMAX technology, reinforces Samsung’s position as a design-led, forward-thinking company that heavily invests in research and development to advance the market and fuel consumer demand for innovative new technologies.
Mr. Geesung Choi, President of Samsung’s Telecommunications Network Business, said :
“The introduction of Samsung’s new Ultra Edition II range is testament to our strategic focus on the premium segment. In addition, Samsung’s vision for the future of mobile technology is increasingly becoming a reality with our successful Mobile WiMAX demonstration, underlining the converged mobile device as the future hub of all communications. With our increased focus on the Southeast Asian market, we will continue to provide a wide variety of mobile phones customized for local needs.”
Key highlights from Samsung at CommunicAsia 2007 include :
ULTRA EDITION II
Building on the runway success of Samsung’s Ultra Edition range, launched in July 2006, the Samsung Ultra Edition II embodies the best of advanced technology, revolutionary mobile designs and must-have business and consumer multimedia functions with four of the slimmest, most powerful and best looking handsets in each form factor. The Ultra Edition II range consists of two stylish and functional sliders, the Ultra Edition 10.9 (U600) and the Ultra Edition 12.1 (U700), a metallic clamshell, the Ultra Edition 9.6 (U300), and a candy bar handset, the Ultra Edition 5.9 (U100). Each of these designs offer advanced features such as a 3-megapixel camera and camcorder, high-speed internet connectivity, as well as extensive multimedia and audio capabilities.
Proving that Samsung truly is at the heart of the consumer’s needs, each of these handsets incorporates innovative consumer-driven design elements to improve the user experience, including external multimedia navigation keys for ease of use and a jewel-inspired casing.
FASHION PHONE LINE UP
For design- and style-focused customers, Samsung unveiled three fashion phones reflecting the latest design trends and cutting-edge multimedia features. The SGH-E950 is a powerful 3-megapixel camera phone equipped with an improved, unique touch navigation user interface, while the SGH-E840, with its minimalist and futuristic design, boasts a super slim frame at just 10.6mm and a glossy, mirror-like surface. The SGH-J600 comes with an affordable 1.3-megapixel camera in a variety of vivid, lively colours.
MOBILE WIMAX
Samsung today also unveiled the latest mobile convergence devices ready for Mobile WiMAX technology. Samsung conducted live demonstrations of Mobile WiMAX, including various applications such as push-to-all, IP TV, and more. At this year’s CommunicAsia, Samsung proudly showcased the newly developed U-RAS Hybrid System (HS) and Converged System (CS), which offer more cost-effective system installation and maintenance by reducing the size of Mobile WiMAX Base Stations (U-RAS) and enlarging the coverage of Base Stations (U-RAS).
Samsung’s diverse, innovative and market-leading handsets and technologies, including its brand new Ultra Edition II range and Mobile WiMAX technology, reinforces Samsung’s position as a design-led, forward-thinking company that heavily invests in research and development to advance the market and fuel consumer demand for innovative new technologies.
Mr. Geesung Choi, President of Samsung’s Telecommunications Network Business, said :
“The introduction of Samsung’s new Ultra Edition II range is testament to our strategic focus on the premium segment. In addition, Samsung’s vision for the future of mobile technology is increasingly becoming a reality with our successful Mobile WiMAX demonstration, underlining the converged mobile device as the future hub of all communications. With our increased focus on the Southeast Asian market, we will continue to provide a wide variety of mobile phones customized for local needs.”
Key highlights from Samsung at CommunicAsia 2007 include :
ULTRA EDITION II
Building on the runway success of Samsung’s Ultra Edition range, launched in July 2006, the Samsung Ultra Edition II embodies the best of advanced technology, revolutionary mobile designs and must-have business and consumer multimedia functions with four of the slimmest, most powerful and best looking handsets in each form factor. The Ultra Edition II range consists of two stylish and functional sliders, the Ultra Edition 10.9 (U600) and the Ultra Edition 12.1 (U700), a metallic clamshell, the Ultra Edition 9.6 (U300), and a candy bar handset, the Ultra Edition 5.9 (U100). Each of these designs offer advanced features such as a 3-megapixel camera and camcorder, high-speed internet connectivity, as well as extensive multimedia and audio capabilities.
Proving that Samsung truly is at the heart of the consumer’s needs, each of these handsets incorporates innovative consumer-driven design elements to improve the user experience, including external multimedia navigation keys for ease of use and a jewel-inspired casing.
FASHION PHONE LINE UP
For design- and style-focused customers, Samsung unveiled three fashion phones reflecting the latest design trends and cutting-edge multimedia features. The SGH-E950 is a powerful 3-megapixel camera phone equipped with an improved, unique touch navigation user interface, while the SGH-E840, with its minimalist and futuristic design, boasts a super slim frame at just 10.6mm and a glossy, mirror-like surface. The SGH-J600 comes with an affordable 1.3-megapixel camera in a variety of vivid, lively colours.
MOBILE WIMAX
Samsung today also unveiled the latest mobile convergence devices ready for Mobile WiMAX technology. Samsung conducted live demonstrations of Mobile WiMAX, including various applications such as push-to-all, IP TV, and more. At this year’s CommunicAsia, Samsung proudly showcased the newly developed U-RAS Hybrid System (HS) and Converged System (CS), which offer more cost-effective system installation and maintenance by reducing the size of Mobile WiMAX Base Stations (U-RAS) and enlarging the coverage of Base Stations (U-RAS).
Thursday, May 31, 2007
New Digital Screens Transform Outdoor Ads
by Erik Sass, Wednesday, May 30, 2007 7:45 AM ET
SOMETIMES IT'S GOOD TO BE two-dimensional. Take the new generation of technologies that are shrinking video screens to the width of a vinyl poster--or even thinner. In the coming decades, these new displays promise to revolutionize a variety of media beyond television, including outdoor advertising.
The newest entrants to the field came from rivals Sony and LG Philips, which both demonstrated flexible, paper-thin video screens at the Society for Information Display industry expo in California last week. Although the companies only gave attendees a glimpse of the technology in operation, their new video screens appear to function even while being bent into non-linear shapes--far exceeding the current capabilities of both liquid crystal and plasma screen displays.
Of course, the new technologies are also attracting the interest of outdoor advertisers. In general, digital displays offer the possibility of multiple message displays, allowing billboard owners to charge more for high-traffic day-parts--and to modify or remove ad copy quickly and cheaply, as required for client objectives.
According to Stephen Freitas, the chief marketing officer of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, the industry is keen on new display possibilities--but is also taking its time in considering all available options. "Right now, the most mature technology is still the LED displays," Freitas said, "but we're looking at all the new technologies currently in development."
Indeed, the new technologies may cut the legs out from under LED displays. In a 2006 interview, Clear Channel Outdoor boss Paul Meyer said the company was experimenting with a new kind of digital sign technology called MagInk that could drastically reduce the cost of digital billboards.
MagInk billboards use plastic tiles coated with helix-shaped molecules one micron long to produce ultra-thin images, which can be changed up to 70 times a second, holding out the possibility of video-like animation. Once it appears, each new image does not require a continuous power supply to be visible; it will remain until another electrical charge substitutes a new image.
A 10-foot by 20-foot MagInk display currently costs around $50,000 to install--about five times the cost of a conventional display, but far less than the $500,000 price tag of an equivalent LED screen. And once the display is up, it obviates further expenditure on paper, printing and labor costs--yielding huge savings for advertisers and the proprietors of signage infrastructure. Because their power consumption is low, the MagInk billboards also save costs on cooling systems.
The new OLED technologies from Sony and Philips, the electroluminescent displays, emit their own light without the need for extra power. Most of their power consumption goes to animating the displays. Japanese cell phone manufacturers have incorporated ultra-thin, flexible video displays into a new generation of mobile handsets. It's not hard to imagine potential applications for consumer electronics, including televisions that double as wallpaper or pull down from the ceiling like movie screens. Sony's first ultra-thin TVs are said to be ready for commercialization in Japan. In Taiwan, researchers may use the technology in personal-identification cards.
The OLED also has some things in common with MagInk, including ultra-thin displays and relatively low power consumption. However, MagInk probably has a leg up for outdoor advertising, as it has already been commercialized for use in billboards in Europe. What's more, the OLED displays are also still quite small--measuring just a few inches on a side, although it's not clear how long it will take to scale them up enough in size (and down in cost) to make them viable for use in poster or billboard-sized displays.
But what if the outdoor advertising category grew to include, say... clothing? Sony's reps at the California expo speculated about incorporating OLED video displays into clothing, which would effectively make wearers into walking video platforms. It's not farfetched in a world where consumers gladly advertise brands on clothing already. Here, the flexibility of the new OLED technology would be crucial for the comfort of the displays, er, people.
SOMETIMES IT'S GOOD TO BE two-dimensional. Take the new generation of technologies that are shrinking video screens to the width of a vinyl poster--or even thinner. In the coming decades, these new displays promise to revolutionize a variety of media beyond television, including outdoor advertising.
The newest entrants to the field came from rivals Sony and LG Philips, which both demonstrated flexible, paper-thin video screens at the Society for Information Display industry expo in California last week. Although the companies only gave attendees a glimpse of the technology in operation, their new video screens appear to function even while being bent into non-linear shapes--far exceeding the current capabilities of both liquid crystal and plasma screen displays.
Of course, the new technologies are also attracting the interest of outdoor advertisers. In general, digital displays offer the possibility of multiple message displays, allowing billboard owners to charge more for high-traffic day-parts--and to modify or remove ad copy quickly and cheaply, as required for client objectives.
According to Stephen Freitas, the chief marketing officer of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, the industry is keen on new display possibilities--but is also taking its time in considering all available options. "Right now, the most mature technology is still the LED displays," Freitas said, "but we're looking at all the new technologies currently in development."
Indeed, the new technologies may cut the legs out from under LED displays. In a 2006 interview, Clear Channel Outdoor boss Paul Meyer said the company was experimenting with a new kind of digital sign technology called MagInk that could drastically reduce the cost of digital billboards.
MagInk billboards use plastic tiles coated with helix-shaped molecules one micron long to produce ultra-thin images, which can be changed up to 70 times a second, holding out the possibility of video-like animation. Once it appears, each new image does not require a continuous power supply to be visible; it will remain until another electrical charge substitutes a new image.
A 10-foot by 20-foot MagInk display currently costs around $50,000 to install--about five times the cost of a conventional display, but far less than the $500,000 price tag of an equivalent LED screen. And once the display is up, it obviates further expenditure on paper, printing and labor costs--yielding huge savings for advertisers and the proprietors of signage infrastructure. Because their power consumption is low, the MagInk billboards also save costs on cooling systems.
The new OLED technologies from Sony and Philips, the electroluminescent displays, emit their own light without the need for extra power. Most of their power consumption goes to animating the displays. Japanese cell phone manufacturers have incorporated ultra-thin, flexible video displays into a new generation of mobile handsets. It's not hard to imagine potential applications for consumer electronics, including televisions that double as wallpaper or pull down from the ceiling like movie screens. Sony's first ultra-thin TVs are said to be ready for commercialization in Japan. In Taiwan, researchers may use the technology in personal-identification cards.
The OLED also has some things in common with MagInk, including ultra-thin displays and relatively low power consumption. However, MagInk probably has a leg up for outdoor advertising, as it has already been commercialized for use in billboards in Europe. What's more, the OLED displays are also still quite small--measuring just a few inches on a side, although it's not clear how long it will take to scale them up enough in size (and down in cost) to make them viable for use in poster or billboard-sized displays.
But what if the outdoor advertising category grew to include, say... clothing? Sony's reps at the California expo speculated about incorporating OLED video displays into clothing, which would effectively make wearers into walking video platforms. It's not farfetched in a world where consumers gladly advertise brands on clothing already. Here, the flexibility of the new OLED technology would be crucial for the comfort of the displays, er, people.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
New technologies may help in the early detection of glaucoma
PARIS — New functional and structural tests can allow an earlier and more accurate diagnosis of glaucoma, helping prevent the silent progression of undetected glaucomatous damage, according to a specialist speaking here at the French Society of Ophthalmology annual meeting.
"We can now go beyond the limitations of standard automated perimetry and use more sensitive, sophisticated technologies," said E. Bluwol, MD, of the Hôpital Saint-Antoine, Paris.
Dr. Bluwol and colleagues conducted a prospective study including 84 patients with ocular hypertension and 51 patients with preperimetric glaucoma. In all cases, investigators performed Humphrey Matrix frequency doubling technology perimetry (Carl Zeiss Meditec), blue-yellow perimetry and retinal nerve fibers analysis with GDx VCC scanning laser perimetry (Carl Zeiss Meditec).
"Blue-yellow perimetry and FDT Matrix allowed an early differentiation between ocular hypertension and preperimetric glaucoma. The association with GDx VCC increased their diagnostic sensitivity. On the other hand, the association of FDT Matrix and GDx seemed to be the most effective in the early diagnosis of ocular hypertension," Dr. Bluwol said.
Measuring corneal hysteresis using the Reichert Ocular Response Analyzer can also provide useful diagnostic data for the early detection of glaucoma, according to a study presented by N. Fayol, MD, of the Fondation Rothschild, Paris.
"We have compared the corneal hysteresis and corneal pachymetry data of 192 normal eyes, 43 ocular hypertension eyes and 119 glaucoma eyes," he said. "We have found that corneal hysteresis was significantly different in the three groups. It was lower in the eyes with ocular hypertension and even [lower] in glaucomatous eyes than in normal eyes. Pachymetry data were not equally significant in discriminating between the three groups."
"We can now go beyond the limitations of standard automated perimetry and use more sensitive, sophisticated technologies," said E. Bluwol, MD, of the Hôpital Saint-Antoine, Paris.
Dr. Bluwol and colleagues conducted a prospective study including 84 patients with ocular hypertension and 51 patients with preperimetric glaucoma. In all cases, investigators performed Humphrey Matrix frequency doubling technology perimetry (Carl Zeiss Meditec), blue-yellow perimetry and retinal nerve fibers analysis with GDx VCC scanning laser perimetry (Carl Zeiss Meditec).
"Blue-yellow perimetry and FDT Matrix allowed an early differentiation between ocular hypertension and preperimetric glaucoma. The association with GDx VCC increased their diagnostic sensitivity. On the other hand, the association of FDT Matrix and GDx seemed to be the most effective in the early diagnosis of ocular hypertension," Dr. Bluwol said.
Measuring corneal hysteresis using the Reichert Ocular Response Analyzer can also provide useful diagnostic data for the early detection of glaucoma, according to a study presented by N. Fayol, MD, of the Fondation Rothschild, Paris.
"We have compared the corneal hysteresis and corneal pachymetry data of 192 normal eyes, 43 ocular hypertension eyes and 119 glaucoma eyes," he said. "We have found that corneal hysteresis was significantly different in the three groups. It was lower in the eyes with ocular hypertension and even [lower] in glaucomatous eyes than in normal eyes. Pachymetry data were not equally significant in discriminating between the three groups."
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Motorola Showcases New Technologies At The Cable Show
In addition to the technology displays, five Motorola executives will join four panel sessions to share insights on how to deliver a more engaging, interactive and enjoyable experience.
Monday, May 07, 2007: Motorola, Inc. is demonstrating new technologies that enable media mobility for cable customers at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association’s The Cable Show in Las Vegas this week. The company will showcase solutions that enable cable operators to maximise bandwidth, resolve network issues and extend unique and innovation services to the customer’s living room.
In an on-demand world, ubiquitous, immediate access to entertainment is an essential component of any consumer service offering,” said Dan Moloney, president, connected home solutions, Motorola Inc. “Motorola’s strong heritage in innovation and industry-leading expertise in home entertainment and mobile communications enables us to bring media mobility solutions to the broadband cable operator.”
Motorola will also demonstrate the DCH series of digital cable receivers. Introduced earlier this year, Motorola’s set-tops deliver high-definition video, surround-sound audio, a hard drive for time-shifting of TV shows and storage of customer-created media, and advanced processing.
The DCH receivers also enable the Motorola Follow Me TV experience, which lets consumers place-shift video, pictures, music and more throughout the home and to compatible mobile devices.
The products support CableCARD technology, Motorola’s Linux-Java software platform and the Open Cable Application Platform (OCAP) initiative.Another attraction will be the first application on its Seamless Mobility Applications Server (SMAS) – Caller ID, which allows users to view incoming caller ID notifications and call logs on their television screens.
The Motorola SMAS enables seamless delivery of applications and services regardless of access type, network or device through a modular, scalable architecture.
Monday, May 07, 2007: Motorola, Inc. is demonstrating new technologies that enable media mobility for cable customers at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association’s The Cable Show in Las Vegas this week. The company will showcase solutions that enable cable operators to maximise bandwidth, resolve network issues and extend unique and innovation services to the customer’s living room.
In an on-demand world, ubiquitous, immediate access to entertainment is an essential component of any consumer service offering,” said Dan Moloney, president, connected home solutions, Motorola Inc. “Motorola’s strong heritage in innovation and industry-leading expertise in home entertainment and mobile communications enables us to bring media mobility solutions to the broadband cable operator.”
Motorola will also demonstrate the DCH series of digital cable receivers. Introduced earlier this year, Motorola’s set-tops deliver high-definition video, surround-sound audio, a hard drive for time-shifting of TV shows and storage of customer-created media, and advanced processing.
The DCH receivers also enable the Motorola Follow Me TV experience, which lets consumers place-shift video, pictures, music and more throughout the home and to compatible mobile devices.
The products support CableCARD technology, Motorola’s Linux-Java software platform and the Open Cable Application Platform (OCAP) initiative.Another attraction will be the first application on its Seamless Mobility Applications Server (SMAS) – Caller ID, which allows users to view incoming caller ID notifications and call logs on their television screens.
The Motorola SMAS enables seamless delivery of applications and services regardless of access type, network or device through a modular, scalable architecture.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Tech’s Black Hole
Pew report shows almost half of Americans are slow to the web.
May 7, 2007
By Leah Messinger
A Pew Internet & American Life Project report released today said 49 percent of American adults never or only occasionally use computers, gadgets, and cell phones, a sobering assessment that suggests many technology industry forecasts pointing to huge revenue growth may be far too rosy.
The report comes at a time when it seems almost everyone is connecting to the Internet or carrying around a cell phone. But it suggests that technology developers and marketers have yet to break through to a huge swathe of Amercian adults, who remain light users or are simply not interested in experimenting with new systems and devices.
About 30 percent of American adults interviewed for the survey were characterized as “light but satisfied” users or “off the network” adults. This group includes many women over 50 who are not likely to go online each day and are among the most likely to watch TV. Some in this group have neither cell phones nor Internet connectivity.
The study described 20 percent of those surveyed as “middle-of-the-road tech users” who are avid cell phone users, but infrequent Internet surfers. Many in this group find themselves overwhelmed by the huge quantity of information available online.
As many as 31 percent of Americans belong in the “elite tech user” category, which means they are rabid Internet users and carry feature-packed cell phones. These people likely form the bulk of the estimated 19 million people that research group IDC says go online each day to research products.
Analysts recognize that time alone will eventually bring many late adopters online, but they say that engineers and product designers still have a lot of work to do to overcome the poor design and functionality common in the industry. Designers need to “think about it from the user out, rather from the device in,” said Outsell analyst Ken Doctor.
In other words, product developers must consider how a user will approach a new technology from the moment he sits down at a desk or picks up a new gadget. “I don’t want to read a 400-page manual,” said Mr. Doctor. He added that Americans, in general, “want the simplicity of a radio and a television: when you turn it on, it works.”
Bill Moggridge, co-founder of Palo Alto, California design firm IDEO said designers can take a lesson from game developers who have mastered the art of making their products easy and fast to learn. “If it’s not five seconds, don’t bother with it,” Mr. Moggridge said.
The art of creating simple interfaces is especially important to attract the “light but satisfied” and “off the network” consumers. But the ubiquity of high-speed Internet connections will likely force marginal users to adapt to more sophisticated technologies. “Over time, it’s going to be difficult to get dial-up,” said John Horrigan, Pew Internet project associate director and the report’s lead author.
Mr. Horrigan added that there is not always a direct relationship between those who adopt high-level technologies and those who have good experiences with it. He said high-tech users aren’t always excited about fast connections, business social networking requirements, and having Internet access both at work and at home. For many hi-tech users, “It just kind of bugs them to be so available to people,” said Mr. Horrigan.
May 7, 2007
By Leah Messinger
A Pew Internet & American Life Project report released today said 49 percent of American adults never or only occasionally use computers, gadgets, and cell phones, a sobering assessment that suggests many technology industry forecasts pointing to huge revenue growth may be far too rosy.
The report comes at a time when it seems almost everyone is connecting to the Internet or carrying around a cell phone. But it suggests that technology developers and marketers have yet to break through to a huge swathe of Amercian adults, who remain light users or are simply not interested in experimenting with new systems and devices.
About 30 percent of American adults interviewed for the survey were characterized as “light but satisfied” users or “off the network” adults. This group includes many women over 50 who are not likely to go online each day and are among the most likely to watch TV. Some in this group have neither cell phones nor Internet connectivity.
The study described 20 percent of those surveyed as “middle-of-the-road tech users” who are avid cell phone users, but infrequent Internet surfers. Many in this group find themselves overwhelmed by the huge quantity of information available online.
As many as 31 percent of Americans belong in the “elite tech user” category, which means they are rabid Internet users and carry feature-packed cell phones. These people likely form the bulk of the estimated 19 million people that research group IDC says go online each day to research products.
Analysts recognize that time alone will eventually bring many late adopters online, but they say that engineers and product designers still have a lot of work to do to overcome the poor design and functionality common in the industry. Designers need to “think about it from the user out, rather from the device in,” said Outsell analyst Ken Doctor.
In other words, product developers must consider how a user will approach a new technology from the moment he sits down at a desk or picks up a new gadget. “I don’t want to read a 400-page manual,” said Mr. Doctor. He added that Americans, in general, “want the simplicity of a radio and a television: when you turn it on, it works.”
Bill Moggridge, co-founder of Palo Alto, California design firm IDEO said designers can take a lesson from game developers who have mastered the art of making their products easy and fast to learn. “If it’s not five seconds, don’t bother with it,” Mr. Moggridge said.
The art of creating simple interfaces is especially important to attract the “light but satisfied” and “off the network” consumers. But the ubiquity of high-speed Internet connections will likely force marginal users to adapt to more sophisticated technologies. “Over time, it’s going to be difficult to get dial-up,” said John Horrigan, Pew Internet project associate director and the report’s lead author.
Mr. Horrigan added that there is not always a direct relationship between those who adopt high-level technologies and those who have good experiences with it. He said high-tech users aren’t always excited about fast connections, business social networking requirements, and having Internet access both at work and at home. For many hi-tech users, “It just kind of bugs them to be so available to people,” said Mr. Horrigan.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Dundee joins £9.5M stem cell research collaboration programme
News release from ITI Life Sciences
ITI Life Sciences is very pleased to announce that it has reached its first technical milestone in its Stem Cell Technologies (SCT) R&D programme, and as a result Dundee University has joined the £9.5 million programme, which started in January 2007.
Dundee University will join the programme’s other research providers, Swedish biotech firm Cellartis AB and the University of Glasgow, in a collaborative effort to develop technologies that will enable automated processes to produce high volumes of high quality human stem cells. This capability does not exist anywhere in the world and its development will put Scotland at the forefront of stem cell research as well as bringing closer the use of stem cells as therapeutics.
The initial phase of the programme has focused on developing optimal conditions under which human embryonic stem (hES) cells can be tested (screened) for their ability to differentiate into specific cells. Having achieved this crucial step, ITI Life Sciences is now in a position to bring in Dundee University’s complementary screening expertise, which will be instrumental in developing additional technologies towards the programme’s ultimate objectives.
Dr Eleanor Mitchell, ITI Life Sciences’ acting CEO, said: “We are extremely pleased to have reached this milestone in our Stem Cell Technologies programme so quickly. This technical advance allows us to progress our programme quicker than expected and to bring in an additional excellent research provider in the form of Dundee University.
“Stem cell research offers huge potential for the life sciences sector in Scotland. Scottish academic studies in this field, as well as the location of a growing number of international stem cell players here means it is viewed as one of the country’s major strengths. The ITI programme aims to accelerate Scottish research and reinforce its prominence and reputation in this important area.”
Professor Julie Frearson, University of Dundee, said: “Novel technologies, such as these under development within the ITI programme, require expertise across a range of disciplines. The ITI programme provides a great opportunity for groups with such complementary skills to collaborate effectively in a situation that otherwise could not exist in any single emerging company or university.”
Professor Graeme Milligan from Glasgow University said: “We are delighted that progress on the Stem Cell Technologies programme has been rapid. This new phase means we can now begin detailed interactions with our new partner university in what is a very exciting project.”
Mr Mats Lundwall, CEO Cellartis AB, said: “We are delighted that the programme is proceeding to plan and welcome the addition of Dundee University to what is a very exciting programme.”
ITI programme
The ITI programme will use pre-existing hES cell lines (meaning that no new hES cells will need to be collected). This phase of the programme will be deemed a success if it results in a robust and standardised procedure for generating multiple human cell lines of interest to the pharmaceutical industry from undifferentiated hES cells.
Such cells will be extremely valuable tools for pharmaceutical companies, enabling them to test new drug candidates for activity (efficacy) and toxicity in biologically and disease-relevant human cells. For example, human heart cells may be used to test drug candidates designed for treating heart diseases, or human liver cells may be used to assess drug toxicity. ITI Life Sciences will own all intellectual property generated by the programme.
The market for cell-based tools within the pharmaceutical industry is large and rapidly growing: according to ITI Life Sciences’ foresighting analysis, it was worth US$1.4 billion in 2001 and has grown at a considerable rate ever since. Rapid growth is expected to continue in the future and stem cell based tools are forecast to capture a significant share of this market.
ITI Life Sciences
ITI Life Sciences is a unique and entrepreneurial organisation contributing to Scotland’s economic growth in life sciences; it aims to leverage Scotland's research excellence to develop new technologies targeting future market needs.
Publicly funded, but commercially driven, ITI Life Sciences funds and manages early stage technology research and development programmes in the life sciences arena. It selects programmes based on assessing future market needs, identifying technology opportunities, and responding to ideas, initiatives and proposals from the research and business communities. ITI Life Sciences works in collaboration with partners from industry, academia and the financial community.
ITI Life Sciences is one of three Intermediary Technology Institutes (ITIs) focused on important areas where Scotland has strong economic and business potential; the other areas are Techmedia and Energy.
ITI Life Sciences commenced full operations in April 2004. It plays a key part of Smart Successful Scotland, the Scottish Executive’s strategy for economic growth. ITI Life Sciences is based in Dundee, Scotland.
Dundee University
The University of Dundee has powered its way to an internationally recognised position of excellence in life sciences and medical research with particular expertise in cancer, diabetes and tropical diseases. The University has both a 5* rated medical school and School of Life Sciences, with research expanding from “the cell to the clinic to the community”. It was voted in 2004 and 2005 as the best scientific workplace in Europe in an international poll by Scientist magazine, and is home to 1% of the world's most cited scientists. Since the completion of the £21m Centre for Inter-Disicplinary Research, the University has a larger medical research complex than the National Institute for Medical Research in London.
Cellartis
Cellartis AB is a Swedish biotechnology company focused on human embryonic stem (hES) cells for drug discovery, toxicity testing and regenerative medicine with the main objective to develop hepatocytes and cardiomyocytes from these cells. The company is the world’s largest single source of defined hES cell lines, and has developed more than 30 well documented cell lines. Two cell lines are listed on the NIH Stem Cell Registry and 20 in the UK Stem Cell Bank. In addition, Cellartis has successfully established and characterised the first truly xeno-free hES cell line, an important step towards the clinical use of hES cells. The company’s strategy is to accelerate product development by working in partnership with academia and industry. Cellartis focuses on quality and scale-up cell production, which are crucial factors for future growth. The company was founded in 2001, has 41 employees and is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden.
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is one of the UK's leading universities with an international reputation for its research and teaching and an important role in the cultural and commercial life of the country. The Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences (IBLS) is an internationally recognised centre for research and teaching in the biological sciences. With 140 permanent academic staff, 200 contract workers and almost 300 research students, IBLS is one of the largest centres for biological research in Europe.
With almost 800 staff, the Faculty of Medicine is among the largest in the UK and is at the forefront of leading-edge clinical interventions and discovery.
ITI Life Sciences is very pleased to announce that it has reached its first technical milestone in its Stem Cell Technologies (SCT) R&D programme, and as a result Dundee University has joined the £9.5 million programme, which started in January 2007.
Dundee University will join the programme’s other research providers, Swedish biotech firm Cellartis AB and the University of Glasgow, in a collaborative effort to develop technologies that will enable automated processes to produce high volumes of high quality human stem cells. This capability does not exist anywhere in the world and its development will put Scotland at the forefront of stem cell research as well as bringing closer the use of stem cells as therapeutics.
The initial phase of the programme has focused on developing optimal conditions under which human embryonic stem (hES) cells can be tested (screened) for their ability to differentiate into specific cells. Having achieved this crucial step, ITI Life Sciences is now in a position to bring in Dundee University’s complementary screening expertise, which will be instrumental in developing additional technologies towards the programme’s ultimate objectives.
Dr Eleanor Mitchell, ITI Life Sciences’ acting CEO, said: “We are extremely pleased to have reached this milestone in our Stem Cell Technologies programme so quickly. This technical advance allows us to progress our programme quicker than expected and to bring in an additional excellent research provider in the form of Dundee University.
“Stem cell research offers huge potential for the life sciences sector in Scotland. Scottish academic studies in this field, as well as the location of a growing number of international stem cell players here means it is viewed as one of the country’s major strengths. The ITI programme aims to accelerate Scottish research and reinforce its prominence and reputation in this important area.”
Professor Julie Frearson, University of Dundee, said: “Novel technologies, such as these under development within the ITI programme, require expertise across a range of disciplines. The ITI programme provides a great opportunity for groups with such complementary skills to collaborate effectively in a situation that otherwise could not exist in any single emerging company or university.”
Professor Graeme Milligan from Glasgow University said: “We are delighted that progress on the Stem Cell Technologies programme has been rapid. This new phase means we can now begin detailed interactions with our new partner university in what is a very exciting project.”
Mr Mats Lundwall, CEO Cellartis AB, said: “We are delighted that the programme is proceeding to plan and welcome the addition of Dundee University to what is a very exciting programme.”
ITI programme
The ITI programme will use pre-existing hES cell lines (meaning that no new hES cells will need to be collected). This phase of the programme will be deemed a success if it results in a robust and standardised procedure for generating multiple human cell lines of interest to the pharmaceutical industry from undifferentiated hES cells.
Such cells will be extremely valuable tools for pharmaceutical companies, enabling them to test new drug candidates for activity (efficacy) and toxicity in biologically and disease-relevant human cells. For example, human heart cells may be used to test drug candidates designed for treating heart diseases, or human liver cells may be used to assess drug toxicity. ITI Life Sciences will own all intellectual property generated by the programme.
The market for cell-based tools within the pharmaceutical industry is large and rapidly growing: according to ITI Life Sciences’ foresighting analysis, it was worth US$1.4 billion in 2001 and has grown at a considerable rate ever since. Rapid growth is expected to continue in the future and stem cell based tools are forecast to capture a significant share of this market.
ITI Life Sciences
ITI Life Sciences is a unique and entrepreneurial organisation contributing to Scotland’s economic growth in life sciences; it aims to leverage Scotland's research excellence to develop new technologies targeting future market needs.
Publicly funded, but commercially driven, ITI Life Sciences funds and manages early stage technology research and development programmes in the life sciences arena. It selects programmes based on assessing future market needs, identifying technology opportunities, and responding to ideas, initiatives and proposals from the research and business communities. ITI Life Sciences works in collaboration with partners from industry, academia and the financial community.
ITI Life Sciences is one of three Intermediary Technology Institutes (ITIs) focused on important areas where Scotland has strong economic and business potential; the other areas are Techmedia and Energy.
ITI Life Sciences commenced full operations in April 2004. It plays a key part of Smart Successful Scotland, the Scottish Executive’s strategy for economic growth. ITI Life Sciences is based in Dundee, Scotland.
Dundee University
The University of Dundee has powered its way to an internationally recognised position of excellence in life sciences and medical research with particular expertise in cancer, diabetes and tropical diseases. The University has both a 5* rated medical school and School of Life Sciences, with research expanding from “the cell to the clinic to the community”. It was voted in 2004 and 2005 as the best scientific workplace in Europe in an international poll by Scientist magazine, and is home to 1% of the world's most cited scientists. Since the completion of the £21m Centre for Inter-Disicplinary Research, the University has a larger medical research complex than the National Institute for Medical Research in London.
Cellartis
Cellartis AB is a Swedish biotechnology company focused on human embryonic stem (hES) cells for drug discovery, toxicity testing and regenerative medicine with the main objective to develop hepatocytes and cardiomyocytes from these cells. The company is the world’s largest single source of defined hES cell lines, and has developed more than 30 well documented cell lines. Two cell lines are listed on the NIH Stem Cell Registry and 20 in the UK Stem Cell Bank. In addition, Cellartis has successfully established and characterised the first truly xeno-free hES cell line, an important step towards the clinical use of hES cells. The company’s strategy is to accelerate product development by working in partnership with academia and industry. Cellartis focuses on quality and scale-up cell production, which are crucial factors for future growth. The company was founded in 2001, has 41 employees and is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden.
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is one of the UK's leading universities with an international reputation for its research and teaching and an important role in the cultural and commercial life of the country. The Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences (IBLS) is an internationally recognised centre for research and teaching in the biological sciences. With 140 permanent academic staff, 200 contract workers and almost 300 research students, IBLS is one of the largest centres for biological research in Europe.
With almost 800 staff, the Faculty of Medicine is among the largest in the UK and is at the forefront of leading-edge clinical interventions and discovery.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Sandia Computer Simulation Monitors Traffic In Contraband Nuclear Material
Science Daily — A Sandia National Laboratories researcher has developed a new technology, a simulation program designed to track the illicit trade in fissile and nonfissile radiological material well enough to predict who is building the next nuclear weapon and where they are doing it.
By using a cluster analysis algorithm coded into a program, this new technology," says Sandia researcher David York. "I evaluated those traffic patterns and routes in which thefts, seizures, and destinations of materials were reported. Data from these examinations were enough to allow me to retrospectively depict the A. Q. Kahn network before it was uncovered."
Kahn is a Pakistani scientist linked to the illicit proliferation of nuclear technical knowledge. Cluster analyses link data of common place, time, or material. Testing a computer simulation on a known past event is one accepted means of establishing the program's validity.
Sandia is a National Nuclear Security Administration laboratory.
In the Kahn analysis, York generated an analysis of networked routes indicative of a nuclear trafficking scheme between countries. In several verified incidents, inspectors seized uranium enriched to 80 percent, as well as dual-use items indicative of small-scale development of crude nuclear devices.
In the study, York collected and collated data from 800 open-source incidents from 1992 to the present, along with the movement of dual-use items like beryllium and zirconium. He plotted the incidents on a global information system (GIS) software platform. He came up with a network of countries and routes between countries indicative of an illicit nuclear and radiological trafficking scheme.
"The number of incidents and the quantity and quality of material seized is disturbing," York says, "particularly because this may represent a small percentage of the actual amount of material being trafficked."
The situation may be worse than it appears because much information about nuclear material traffic is classified, York says, to prevent embarrassment to countries through which a nuclear weapon or the materials to fabricate a weapon may have passed.
York presented his results in October at the International Safeguards Conference sponsored by the United Nation's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria. He has also been invited to present his methods and conclusions to the European Union's Illicit Trafficking Working Group at the June meeting of the IAEA.
How does the method work? "One begins by conducting cluster analyses on the GIS platform for material or activity similar to the incident in question. This gives the analyst an idea of corridors used by potential smugglers. It also indicates where the material might have come from and where it is," says York. "If the trafficker has only a certain amount of time to reach a destination and you have that information, one can ask what is the shortest route from point A to point B, or find major highways needed to accommodate a large shipment."
For the tool to be effective, "Enough information must be collected under a cooperative international framework," York says. "Then info must be analyzed to separate patterns from noise, essentially creating intelligence."
Nation-states that reuse nuclear fuel through reprocessing can create and ship dangerous materials that previously were confined to the more industrialized world.
"We're trying to develop a market niche for this kind of tracking program," says Sandia manager Gary Rochau, "and I think we're ahead of everyone's headlights."
The method can be used to track other materials, such as drugs. "We have a lot of interest from a lot of agencies," says Rochau.
Trafficking may be engaged in by amateur smugglers trying to feed their families in a post-Soviet era. It may also be practiced by those involved in organized crime who find a lucrative market in moving illicit materials, and by terrorists interested in the potential devastation and psychological effects of the use of nuclear materials.
York developed the program as part of his master's thesis while a student intern at Sandia.
By using a cluster analysis algorithm coded into a program, this new technology," says Sandia researcher David York. "I evaluated those traffic patterns and routes in which thefts, seizures, and destinations of materials were reported. Data from these examinations were enough to allow me to retrospectively depict the A. Q. Kahn network before it was uncovered."
Kahn is a Pakistani scientist linked to the illicit proliferation of nuclear technical knowledge. Cluster analyses link data of common place, time, or material. Testing a computer simulation on a known past event is one accepted means of establishing the program's validity.
Sandia is a National Nuclear Security Administration laboratory.
In the Kahn analysis, York generated an analysis of networked routes indicative of a nuclear trafficking scheme between countries. In several verified incidents, inspectors seized uranium enriched to 80 percent, as well as dual-use items indicative of small-scale development of crude nuclear devices.
In the study, York collected and collated data from 800 open-source incidents from 1992 to the present, along with the movement of dual-use items like beryllium and zirconium. He plotted the incidents on a global information system (GIS) software platform. He came up with a network of countries and routes between countries indicative of an illicit nuclear and radiological trafficking scheme.
"The number of incidents and the quantity and quality of material seized is disturbing," York says, "particularly because this may represent a small percentage of the actual amount of material being trafficked."
The situation may be worse than it appears because much information about nuclear material traffic is classified, York says, to prevent embarrassment to countries through which a nuclear weapon or the materials to fabricate a weapon may have passed.
York presented his results in October at the International Safeguards Conference sponsored by the United Nation's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria. He has also been invited to present his methods and conclusions to the European Union's Illicit Trafficking Working Group at the June meeting of the IAEA.
How does the method work? "One begins by conducting cluster analyses on the GIS platform for material or activity similar to the incident in question. This gives the analyst an idea of corridors used by potential smugglers. It also indicates where the material might have come from and where it is," says York. "If the trafficker has only a certain amount of time to reach a destination and you have that information, one can ask what is the shortest route from point A to point B, or find major highways needed to accommodate a large shipment."
For the tool to be effective, "Enough information must be collected under a cooperative international framework," York says. "Then info must be analyzed to separate patterns from noise, essentially creating intelligence."
Nation-states that reuse nuclear fuel through reprocessing can create and ship dangerous materials that previously were confined to the more industrialized world.
"We're trying to develop a market niche for this kind of tracking program," says Sandia manager Gary Rochau, "and I think we're ahead of everyone's headlights."
The method can be used to track other materials, such as drugs. "We have a lot of interest from a lot of agencies," says Rochau.
Trafficking may be engaged in by amateur smugglers trying to feed their families in a post-Soviet era. It may also be practiced by those involved in organized crime who find a lucrative market in moving illicit materials, and by terrorists interested in the potential devastation and psychological effects of the use of nuclear materials.
York developed the program as part of his master's thesis while a student intern at Sandia.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Electric Car Pioneer ZAP Prepares to Move to Next Level with Lotus Engineering
SANTA ROSA, Calif., April 30 PRNewswire-FirstCall — Alternative transportation pioneer ZAP (OTC Bulletin Board: ZAAP) held automotive talks over the weekend at its headquarters in Santa Rosa with the management team of Lotus Engineering, including CEO Albert Lam, Project Manager Steven Woolley, and West Coast Operations Manager Rexford Park.
Lotus Engineering came to Santa Rosa to explore the next steps in the development of a new generation of electric vehicles with ZAP. The team of ZAP and Lotus Engineering has targeted new technologies and technology suppliers with the goal to create the most advanced electric cars in history. Representatives from these other companies were invited to the meeting and ZAP CEO Steve Schneider expects to announce more developments soon.
"This was an important meeting because ZAP and Lotus Engineering are working to bring new technologies to bear that could change the auto industry forever," said Schneider. "With Lotus Engineering's capabilities, and ZAP's vision and entrepreneurship, we are building a world-class team to tackle this important endeavor."
Lotus Engineering has been behind the design and construction of some of the most successful cars in history and is one of the world's premier automotive consultancies with engineering centers in Asia, North America and Europe. CEO Albert Lam said the venture with ZAP is a "fantastic" opportunity for Lotus Engineering to be a leader for green automotive technologies.
"The venture with ZAP is a dream come true because we are creating the most advanced electric vehicles in history," said Lam. "Lotus Engineering is very happy to be associated with ZAP in bringing this vehicle to market. The technology is ready for electric vehicles so they don't have to be slow, they can have a long range, and they can be exciting to look at."
ZAP automotive dealers, who were in Santa Rosa on Friday for electric car service training, received an exclusive presentation from Lotus Engineering on ZAP's future projects. Lotus Engineering also toured ZAP's manufacturing and distribution facilities for the XEBRA electric car and truck.
Earlier this year, ZAP and Lotus Engineering entered into a feasibility study to explore the development of innovative electric vehicle designs, including a crossover electric SUV called ZAP-X, based on Lotus Engineering's award-winning APX aluminum chassis technology. In the past few months, officials from ZAP and Lotus Engineering have held meetings in Norwich, England and Santa Rosa, California, "to take the venture to the next level," said Schneider.
About ZAP
ZAP has been a leader in advanced transportation technologies since 1994, delivering over 90,000 vehicles to consumers in more than 75 countries. At the forefront of fuel-efficient transportation with new technologies including energy efficient gas systems, hydrogen, electric, fuel cell, ethanol, hybrid and other innovative power systems, ZAP is developing a high-performance crossover SUV electric car concept called ZAP-X engineered by Lotus Engineering. The Company recently launched a new portable energy technology that manages power for mobile electronics, like cell phones and laptops. For more product, dealer and investor information, visit http://www.zapworld.com.
Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, continued acceptance of the Company's products, increased levels of competition for the Company, new products and technological changes, the Company's dependence upon third-party suppliers, intellectual property rights, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE ZAP
Lotus Engineering came to Santa Rosa to explore the next steps in the development of a new generation of electric vehicles with ZAP. The team of ZAP and Lotus Engineering has targeted new technologies and technology suppliers with the goal to create the most advanced electric cars in history. Representatives from these other companies were invited to the meeting and ZAP CEO Steve Schneider expects to announce more developments soon.
"This was an important meeting because ZAP and Lotus Engineering are working to bring new technologies to bear that could change the auto industry forever," said Schneider. "With Lotus Engineering's capabilities, and ZAP's vision and entrepreneurship, we are building a world-class team to tackle this important endeavor."
Lotus Engineering has been behind the design and construction of some of the most successful cars in history and is one of the world's premier automotive consultancies with engineering centers in Asia, North America and Europe. CEO Albert Lam said the venture with ZAP is a "fantastic" opportunity for Lotus Engineering to be a leader for green automotive technologies.
"The venture with ZAP is a dream come true because we are creating the most advanced electric vehicles in history," said Lam. "Lotus Engineering is very happy to be associated with ZAP in bringing this vehicle to market. The technology is ready for electric vehicles so they don't have to be slow, they can have a long range, and they can be exciting to look at."
ZAP automotive dealers, who were in Santa Rosa on Friday for electric car service training, received an exclusive presentation from Lotus Engineering on ZAP's future projects. Lotus Engineering also toured ZAP's manufacturing and distribution facilities for the XEBRA electric car and truck.
Earlier this year, ZAP and Lotus Engineering entered into a feasibility study to explore the development of innovative electric vehicle designs, including a crossover electric SUV called ZAP-X, based on Lotus Engineering's award-winning APX aluminum chassis technology. In the past few months, officials from ZAP and Lotus Engineering have held meetings in Norwich, England and Santa Rosa, California, "to take the venture to the next level," said Schneider.
About ZAP
ZAP has been a leader in advanced transportation technologies since 1994, delivering over 90,000 vehicles to consumers in more than 75 countries. At the forefront of fuel-efficient transportation with new technologies including energy efficient gas systems, hydrogen, electric, fuel cell, ethanol, hybrid and other innovative power systems, ZAP is developing a high-performance crossover SUV electric car concept called ZAP-X engineered by Lotus Engineering. The Company recently launched a new portable energy technology that manages power for mobile electronics, like cell phones and laptops. For more product, dealer and investor information, visit http://www.zapworld.com.
Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, continued acceptance of the Company's products, increased levels of competition for the Company, new products and technological changes, the Company's dependence upon third-party suppliers, intellectual property rights, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE ZAP
Thursday, April 26, 2007
New technologies bringing persons with disabilities into mainstream, UN forum told
2007 – A “dazzling array” of technologies is bringing persons with disabilities into the workforce and integrating them further into society, an expert on assistive technologies said today at a forum at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Technology helps employers to bring work to persons with disabilities, said the expert, Irene Morris-Sambur, Chief Executive Officer of Coraworks. “Assistive technologies currently exist,” she said. “They have to be brought to workers with disabilities, instead of trying to bring these workers to the workplace.”
At the first Global Forum of the UN Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), accessibility experts and executives of corporations such as IBM, Yahoo, Internet Speech, Deque Systems, NiiT Ventures and e-ISOTIS showcased new products – from video-descriptions to screen readers – and mapped out a field that is seeing a “significant beginning of venture capital investment,” according to to Barry Fingerhut of Synconium.
Government regulations are helping to fuel this development, said Larry Goldberg of the National Center for Accessible Media. Canada now requires that 90 per cent of TV programmes be captioned, and in the United Kingdom up to 5 per cent of TV programmes show a sign language translator. Japan, Mexico and Australia are preparing similar legislation to make TV more accessible.
However, industry vendors should incorporate accessibility features from the start of the product development, said Alex Leblois, Executive Director of the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICT. “A number of ICT vendors are well-intended, but tackle the issue of accessibility too late in the product life cycle,” at a higher cost.
Legislations and regulations should aim at creating unified markets for accessible products, he said, so as to encourage mass production at low cost. “The reason why people can make calls through a cell phone that costs very little is because the same telephone is being used in the United States, Kenya and Latin America. The same dynamics of mass production, standardization and harmonization can be achieved for assistive technologies, and for inclusive ICT products in general.”
Accessibility had multiple business values, said K. Anne-River Forcke of the IBM Worldwide Human Ability and Accessibility Center, such as “the value businesses organizations can realize as employers by adopting accessibility, and the value that organizations can realize when they address their constituents and their customers”.
“We have learned a tremendous amount from employing people with disabilities,” she said, “and we incorporate that into the software, the hardware and the business systems that we use internally at IBM today. We have learned that there are a number of best practices for the development of software, for hardware, and as we are learning more about the services science, we are learning how to ensure accessibility in the delivery of services.”
“The Web has the ability to be even more accessible than other parts of society,” said Judy Brewer, Director of the Web Accessibility Initiative at the World Wide Web Consortium, the leading technology standard organization for Web technology. Adaptable policy frameworks should be developed, she said, “because the technology continues to advance all the time, and it is important to keep the policy frameworks up to date with the technology.”
Solutions that were developed in a particular industry or standards organization should not be automatically made available in a country. “It is very important to partner with disability organizations within every country and try to make sure that those solutions are relevant locally,” she said. “That really yields the best solutions in the end.”
Hendrietta Ipeleng Bogopane-Zulu, a Member of South Africa's Parliament, recalled the “digital divide that still exists between people with disabilities and those who are non-disabled”, and said that beyond access to the Web, the problem for many developing countries was basically affordability. “Everything is imported,” she said, “and getting the technical assistance when a computer breaks or something happens is a nightmare. The problem is not only the access, it is also affordability, support systems and training.”
Some 200 representatives of industry, government, academia and civil society attended the Forum, which was organized by the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development and the Boston-based Wireless Internet Institute in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Technology helps employers to bring work to persons with disabilities, said the expert, Irene Morris-Sambur, Chief Executive Officer of Coraworks. “Assistive technologies currently exist,” she said. “They have to be brought to workers with disabilities, instead of trying to bring these workers to the workplace.”
At the first Global Forum of the UN Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), accessibility experts and executives of corporations such as IBM, Yahoo, Internet Speech, Deque Systems, NiiT Ventures and e-ISOTIS showcased new products – from video-descriptions to screen readers – and mapped out a field that is seeing a “significant beginning of venture capital investment,” according to to Barry Fingerhut of Synconium.
Government regulations are helping to fuel this development, said Larry Goldberg of the National Center for Accessible Media. Canada now requires that 90 per cent of TV programmes be captioned, and in the United Kingdom up to 5 per cent of TV programmes show a sign language translator. Japan, Mexico and Australia are preparing similar legislation to make TV more accessible.
However, industry vendors should incorporate accessibility features from the start of the product development, said Alex Leblois, Executive Director of the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICT. “A number of ICT vendors are well-intended, but tackle the issue of accessibility too late in the product life cycle,” at a higher cost.
Legislations and regulations should aim at creating unified markets for accessible products, he said, so as to encourage mass production at low cost. “The reason why people can make calls through a cell phone that costs very little is because the same telephone is being used in the United States, Kenya and Latin America. The same dynamics of mass production, standardization and harmonization can be achieved for assistive technologies, and for inclusive ICT products in general.”
Accessibility had multiple business values, said K. Anne-River Forcke of the IBM Worldwide Human Ability and Accessibility Center, such as “the value businesses organizations can realize as employers by adopting accessibility, and the value that organizations can realize when they address their constituents and their customers”.
“We have learned a tremendous amount from employing people with disabilities,” she said, “and we incorporate that into the software, the hardware and the business systems that we use internally at IBM today. We have learned that there are a number of best practices for the development of software, for hardware, and as we are learning more about the services science, we are learning how to ensure accessibility in the delivery of services.”
“The Web has the ability to be even more accessible than other parts of society,” said Judy Brewer, Director of the Web Accessibility Initiative at the World Wide Web Consortium, the leading technology standard organization for Web technology. Adaptable policy frameworks should be developed, she said, “because the technology continues to advance all the time, and it is important to keep the policy frameworks up to date with the technology.”
Solutions that were developed in a particular industry or standards organization should not be automatically made available in a country. “It is very important to partner with disability organizations within every country and try to make sure that those solutions are relevant locally,” she said. “That really yields the best solutions in the end.”
Hendrietta Ipeleng Bogopane-Zulu, a Member of South Africa's Parliament, recalled the “digital divide that still exists between people with disabilities and those who are non-disabled”, and said that beyond access to the Web, the problem for many developing countries was basically affordability. “Everything is imported,” she said, “and getting the technical assistance when a computer breaks or something happens is a nightmare. The problem is not only the access, it is also affordability, support systems and training.”
Some 200 representatives of industry, government, academia and civil society attended the Forum, which was organized by the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development and the Boston-based Wireless Internet Institute in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Yoga, new technologies offer hope to Parkinson’s patients
Deepa Suryanarayan
Andheri resident Anubhav Mehta (name changed), 65, an engineer, was on the verge of retirement when the first symptom struck. “It was my son who first observed that I was having trouble with my right hand,” said Mehta. A battery of tests later, the neurologist gave the diagnosis. It was Parkinson’s disease (PD), a degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system.
Now, four years later, Mehta leads a relatively normal life. “The disease has not been crippling, as it has only affected my right hand and made my reflexes slower. But it was a blow as I have been a sportsperson all my life,” he said.
Today, Mehta continues to drive his car, goes swimming and even practices yoga. “Though it is difficult to accept the fact that you don’t have complete control over your movement, being diagnosed with PD doesn’t mean the end of one’s life,” he explained.
Mehta will be of 350 members of the Parkinson Disease and Movement Disorder Society (PMDS) who will participate in a yoga session on Wednesday, to observe World Parkinson’s Day on Wednesday.
The session will be conducted by Yogacharya BKS Iyengar, whose institute has carried out a scientific study to determine the efficacy of yoga in influencing the quality of life in patients with PD. The results showed that there was a significant improvement in patients’ movements and quality of life.
“PMDS, founded in 2002, aims at spreading awareness about the ailment and improving the quality of life,” said Dr Maria Barretto, coordinator of PMDS, adding that, “PD requires a multi-disciplinary approach. The focus right now is too much on medical treatment.”
On the medical front, Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a new technique that offers hope to PD patients, say neurologists. A surgically-implanted, battery-operated medical device called a neurostimulator, similar to a pacemaker, delivers electrical stimulation to areas in the brain that control movement, blocking abnormal nerve signals that cause tremors.
The functional neurological centre at Jaslok Hospital, headed by Dr Paresh Doshi, has completed over 100 DBS surgeries — the highest in Asia. And Hinduja Hospital, has acquired new technology that enables this procedure to be performed with no risks whatsoever to the patient.
“We are the only hospital here with Stealth Neuronavigation system — a new software which allows the procedure to be done flawlessly,” said Dr Milind Sankhe of Hinduja Hospital.
Andheri resident Anubhav Mehta (name changed), 65, an engineer, was on the verge of retirement when the first symptom struck. “It was my son who first observed that I was having trouble with my right hand,” said Mehta. A battery of tests later, the neurologist gave the diagnosis. It was Parkinson’s disease (PD), a degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system.
Now, four years later, Mehta leads a relatively normal life. “The disease has not been crippling, as it has only affected my right hand and made my reflexes slower. But it was a blow as I have been a sportsperson all my life,” he said.
Today, Mehta continues to drive his car, goes swimming and even practices yoga. “Though it is difficult to accept the fact that you don’t have complete control over your movement, being diagnosed with PD doesn’t mean the end of one’s life,” he explained.
Mehta will be of 350 members of the Parkinson Disease and Movement Disorder Society (PMDS) who will participate in a yoga session on Wednesday, to observe World Parkinson’s Day on Wednesday.
The session will be conducted by Yogacharya BKS Iyengar, whose institute has carried out a scientific study to determine the efficacy of yoga in influencing the quality of life in patients with PD. The results showed that there was a significant improvement in patients’ movements and quality of life.
“PMDS, founded in 2002, aims at spreading awareness about the ailment and improving the quality of life,” said Dr Maria Barretto, coordinator of PMDS, adding that, “PD requires a multi-disciplinary approach. The focus right now is too much on medical treatment.”
On the medical front, Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a new technique that offers hope to PD patients, say neurologists. A surgically-implanted, battery-operated medical device called a neurostimulator, similar to a pacemaker, delivers electrical stimulation to areas in the brain that control movement, blocking abnormal nerve signals that cause tremors.
The functional neurological centre at Jaslok Hospital, headed by Dr Paresh Doshi, has completed over 100 DBS surgeries — the highest in Asia. And Hinduja Hospital, has acquired new technology that enables this procedure to be performed with no risks whatsoever to the patient.
“We are the only hospital here with Stealth Neuronavigation system — a new software which allows the procedure to be done flawlessly,” said Dr Milind Sankhe of Hinduja Hospital.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Better Than X-Ray Vision
New technologies provide brain and heart surgeons with a much clearer view
By Josh Fischman
There are some worries surgeons don't share with patients before an operation. That they are going in blind, while carrying a sharp knife, is one of them. "It's kind of like a labyrinth. You can only see right in front of you, but not around the next bend," says Alexandra Golby, a neurosurgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Adds Christopher Moir, a pediatric surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., "You hope the structures look like what you've seen before, but you really don't know."
How can this be, in an era when technologies like computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging give unprecedented views of the inner body? Because, surgeons say, the scans omit crucial information. MRI and CT images that show the shape of body parts, for instance, don't capture electrical activity there; the section of a heart causing a dangerous rhythm can look just like normal muscle. And because most scans are done before surgery, they don't provide the real-time detail that would allow Golby, say, to shift an incision left or right by a millimeter or two-and safely remove a brain tumor without stealing a patient's speech.
Now, however, imaging is rapidly gaining new powers. Muscular computer programs meld images of anatomy with vibrant views of the structures in action, making "a lot of impossible things possible," says Richard Robb, head of Mayo's biomedical imaging lab. Robb has developed scans that reveal abnormal spots of electrical activity in the brain causing epileptic seizures, allowing surgeons to remove them from patients for whom, previously, surgery would have posed too great a risk. In experiments, combining multiple scans into one image has pinpointed deadly, rapid heart rhythms, too-and may turn a dangerous six-hour repair procedure, much of it spent poking around, into a relatively simple one-to-two-hour job.
Doctors have also moved magnetic resonance imaging to the surgical table, where scanning during the operation is already making brain surgery and prostate cancer surgery more precise. "This really is the dawn of a new surgical era," says Michael Schulder, a neurosurgeon at New Jersey Medical School University Hospital in Newark, who uses MRI during tumor surgery. "We're taking a lot of the guesswork away."
AN EPILEPTIC'S STORY
Michael Hutton certainly hoped for better than guesswork when his surgeons began cutting in 2004. "I told the doctors that I didn't have a lot of extra brain," says the insulation installer from Chippewa Falls, Wis. "So I couldn't afford for them to take out the wrong spot." He couldn't afford to skip surgery, either. Hutton, 45, was having 70 epileptic seizures a year, sometimes four in a day, and medications weren't helping.
But finding the exact spot to cut out was a challenge. A scalp electroencephalogram often isn't powerful enough to pinpoint misfires deep in the brain, says Elson So, a neurologist and epilepsy specialist at Mayo. Instead, Hutton benefited from an imaging technique pioneered by So and Robb in which an injected radioactive ink gloms on to blood flowing to an active seizure region. A scan sensitive to this ink, called SPECT for "single photon emission computed tomography,"
showed a big clump in Hutton's right temporal lobe. Once a computer program laid this image over an MRI of Hutton's brain anatomy, the surgeons were able to open a small hole in his skull and remove an area "smaller than the tip of my thumb," Hutton recalls. Today, he is seizure free on a low dose of medication. "I even got back into my favorite hobby," he says. "Sky diving."
By Josh Fischman
There are some worries surgeons don't share with patients before an operation. That they are going in blind, while carrying a sharp knife, is one of them. "It's kind of like a labyrinth. You can only see right in front of you, but not around the next bend," says Alexandra Golby, a neurosurgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Adds Christopher Moir, a pediatric surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., "You hope the structures look like what you've seen before, but you really don't know."
How can this be, in an era when technologies like computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging give unprecedented views of the inner body? Because, surgeons say, the scans omit crucial information. MRI and CT images that show the shape of body parts, for instance, don't capture electrical activity there; the section of a heart causing a dangerous rhythm can look just like normal muscle. And because most scans are done before surgery, they don't provide the real-time detail that would allow Golby, say, to shift an incision left or right by a millimeter or two-and safely remove a brain tumor without stealing a patient's speech.
Now, however, imaging is rapidly gaining new powers. Muscular computer programs meld images of anatomy with vibrant views of the structures in action, making "a lot of impossible things possible," says Richard Robb, head of Mayo's biomedical imaging lab. Robb has developed scans that reveal abnormal spots of electrical activity in the brain causing epileptic seizures, allowing surgeons to remove them from patients for whom, previously, surgery would have posed too great a risk. In experiments, combining multiple scans into one image has pinpointed deadly, rapid heart rhythms, too-and may turn a dangerous six-hour repair procedure, much of it spent poking around, into a relatively simple one-to-two-hour job.
Doctors have also moved magnetic resonance imaging to the surgical table, where scanning during the operation is already making brain surgery and prostate cancer surgery more precise. "This really is the dawn of a new surgical era," says Michael Schulder, a neurosurgeon at New Jersey Medical School University Hospital in Newark, who uses MRI during tumor surgery. "We're taking a lot of the guesswork away."
AN EPILEPTIC'S STORY
Michael Hutton certainly hoped for better than guesswork when his surgeons began cutting in 2004. "I told the doctors that I didn't have a lot of extra brain," says the insulation installer from Chippewa Falls, Wis. "So I couldn't afford for them to take out the wrong spot." He couldn't afford to skip surgery, either. Hutton, 45, was having 70 epileptic seizures a year, sometimes four in a day, and medications weren't helping.
But finding the exact spot to cut out was a challenge. A scalp electroencephalogram often isn't powerful enough to pinpoint misfires deep in the brain, says Elson So, a neurologist and epilepsy specialist at Mayo. Instead, Hutton benefited from an imaging technique pioneered by So and Robb in which an injected radioactive ink gloms on to blood flowing to an active seizure region. A scan sensitive to this ink, called SPECT for "single photon emission computed tomography,"
showed a big clump in Hutton's right temporal lobe. Once a computer program laid this image over an MRI of Hutton's brain anatomy, the surgeons were able to open a small hole in his skull and remove an area "smaller than the tip of my thumb," Hutton recalls. Today, he is seizure free on a low dose of medication. "I even got back into my favorite hobby," he says. "Sky diving."
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Visual-cortex simulator sees animals as humans do
April 2007
NewScientist.com news service
Celeste Biever
The human brain can tell the difference between a tiger and a moving branch in less than 20 milliseconds, an ability that can be crucial to survival. Now, a software model of the visual cortex is shining light on how we do it.
As well as offering an explanation for how we make such snap decisions, the software may also provide new ways to build intelligent vision software for robots and security cameras.
The human brain shows evidence of distinguishing between animals and non-animals and faces and non-faces even before a person is are aware of having seen anything. In 1989, Simon Thorpe, now at CNRS in Toulouse, France, first suggested that this extraordinary ability might be the result of an initial "sweep" of neuronal activity occurring before "feedback loops" inside the brain have time to kick in.
Now Tomaso Poggio and colleagues at MIT in the US have built a computer model that appears to support this description of how humans achieve rapid visual recognition. "I am very excited about this," says Thorpe, who was not involved with the work. "It confirms the hypothesis that I made in 1989."
The model contains a simulation of groups of neurons found in the human visual cortex and mimics the response of these neurons to visual features. Signals are passed from one group of neuron to the next in the same hierarchical fashion as in the brain.
Lines and edges
The process starts with neurons associated with basic feature recognition and moves up to ones that perform more sophisticated recognition tasks. The first set of neurons identifies lines and edges, while the next identifies different ways in which lines and edges intersect. This escalation in complexity continues through to neurons that fire when a particular category of objects – such as animals – is recognised.
Crucially, unlike the human brain, the model does not have the ability to do "back projections", where a signal higher up the neuronal chain is fed backwards to an earlier neuron group for more detailed analysis.
Nonetheless, when shown 150 animal images, and 150 non-animal pictures, the software classified them with the similar accuracy as human subjects. While the human brain performs this task in just 20 milliseconds, according to brainscans, the software takes much longer.
The fact that the software can assign the images without performing "back projections" suggests that humans rely on the same trick, as Thorpe originally suggested. "It confirms the conjecture that these very rapid categorisation tasks are done without the need for feedback," says Poggio.
Similar mistakes
The software even incorrectly classified the same images as human participants, strengthening evidence that the computer model is doing rapid visual recognition in the same way, says team member Thomas Serre: "It's not proof, but it's very strong evidence."
The next stage of the project is to teach the software how to perform back projections, to probe how humans recognise objects over longer periods.
"Poggio's work is really outstanding," says Luis von Ahn, a computer vision expert at Carnegie Mellon University in the UK, "both in terms of advancing our understanding how our brains work, and attempting to write a computer program that can see as well as we can."
The model may have practical applications. In a separate study published in February 2007 (IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (vol 20, p 411), the team showed that such a model can efficiently recognise objects in street scenes.
Other computer vision systems do not closely mimic the neurons in the brain, so this offers a new direction for vision software. "This is the first time I have seen neuroscience able to teach something to computer science," Poggio says.
NewScientist.com news service
Celeste Biever
The human brain can tell the difference between a tiger and a moving branch in less than 20 milliseconds, an ability that can be crucial to survival. Now, a software model of the visual cortex is shining light on how we do it.
As well as offering an explanation for how we make such snap decisions, the software may also provide new ways to build intelligent vision software for robots and security cameras.
The human brain shows evidence of distinguishing between animals and non-animals and faces and non-faces even before a person is are aware of having seen anything. In 1989, Simon Thorpe, now at CNRS in Toulouse, France, first suggested that this extraordinary ability might be the result of an initial "sweep" of neuronal activity occurring before "feedback loops" inside the brain have time to kick in.
Now Tomaso Poggio and colleagues at MIT in the US have built a computer model that appears to support this description of how humans achieve rapid visual recognition. "I am very excited about this," says Thorpe, who was not involved with the work. "It confirms the hypothesis that I made in 1989."
The model contains a simulation of groups of neurons found in the human visual cortex and mimics the response of these neurons to visual features. Signals are passed from one group of neuron to the next in the same hierarchical fashion as in the brain.
Lines and edges
The process starts with neurons associated with basic feature recognition and moves up to ones that perform more sophisticated recognition tasks. The first set of neurons identifies lines and edges, while the next identifies different ways in which lines and edges intersect. This escalation in complexity continues through to neurons that fire when a particular category of objects – such as animals – is recognised.
Crucially, unlike the human brain, the model does not have the ability to do "back projections", where a signal higher up the neuronal chain is fed backwards to an earlier neuron group for more detailed analysis.
Nonetheless, when shown 150 animal images, and 150 non-animal pictures, the software classified them with the similar accuracy as human subjects. While the human brain performs this task in just 20 milliseconds, according to brainscans, the software takes much longer.
The fact that the software can assign the images without performing "back projections" suggests that humans rely on the same trick, as Thorpe originally suggested. "It confirms the conjecture that these very rapid categorisation tasks are done without the need for feedback," says Poggio.
Similar mistakes
The software even incorrectly classified the same images as human participants, strengthening evidence that the computer model is doing rapid visual recognition in the same way, says team member Thomas Serre: "It's not proof, but it's very strong evidence."
The next stage of the project is to teach the software how to perform back projections, to probe how humans recognise objects over longer periods.
"Poggio's work is really outstanding," says Luis von Ahn, a computer vision expert at Carnegie Mellon University in the UK, "both in terms of advancing our understanding how our brains work, and attempting to write a computer program that can see as well as we can."
The model may have practical applications. In a separate study published in February 2007 (IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (vol 20, p 411), the team showed that such a model can efficiently recognise objects in street scenes.
Other computer vision systems do not closely mimic the neurons in the brain, so this offers a new direction for vision software. "This is the first time I have seen neuroscience able to teach something to computer science," Poggio says.
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