Author: Serkadis

Back in December, we wrote about a submission from someone talking about the new Sherlock Holmes movie, and how it was possible because of the public domain. The truth turned out to be more complicated, but perhaps a better (and more accurate) example of the same point is the new Alice in Wonderland film. There have been a bunch of different movies based on the famous Lewis Carroll book, which has been in the public domain for quite some time.

Michael Weinberg does an excellent job highlighting how the various Alices demonstrate that those of us who support a stronger public domain aren’t doing so because we think everything “must be free” or, to quote RIAA boss Mitch Bainwol’s insulting falsehood, that we’re “against those who actually create the intellectual property.” Instead, as the various Alices show, the public domain has freed up tremendous creativity, while still allowing content creators to make plenty of money:

Each of these versions are inspired by the original Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Each was made with commercial motives in mind, not some urge to set information free (and generally made a lot of money for their creators to boot). Each, at least according to the descriptions in the Times, is bizarre. However what is most striking is that each is bizarre in a way that was probably unanticipated by Alice’s original author.

Even though they are strikingly different in almost every imaginable way, we can understand them to be related through that original story. Beyond that, they are stronger works because we understand them in the context of a shared cultural touchstone. They aren’t all just freaky movies about some girl and a rabbit. They are Alice in Wonderland stories. That changes how we watch them, think about them, and talk about them.

One of the reasons that the creators of these many versions (who, again, didn’t do it for free — they made the movies to make money) felt free to be as strange as they wanted was because they did not need permission to create their version of Alice. They could take the original story, freak it up however they wanted, and create something new. Creators are better off because they had a way to link a new story to something that people understood (and probably made more money in the process). The public is better off because they can choose between a number of freaky Alice in Wonderlands, or even make their own. Even Alice is better off because she lives on as a cartoon, a little girl, a warrior princess, and whatever else people can dream up for her.

And, of course, this is the original story behind so many classic Disney films as well — but, Disney has too often focused on then locking up the content that it copied from the public domain.

But the point raised here is an important one. No one is saying that everything must be free and open, and that content creators shouldn’t make money. Obviously (to most, but not all, apparently) we’ve been talking about ways to better make money while also encouraging more widespread access and creativity. Getting away from strict copyright protections is not anti-content creator at all. It’s very much pro-creativity. And, as we can see from all the new versions of movies about Alice in Wonderland, even Hollywood knows that the public domain doesn’t mean no one makes money.

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Review: 2010 Lexus LS460 Sport could’a been a contenda

2010 Lexus LS460 Sport – Click above for high-res image gallery With Lexus having carefully cultivated a reputation for isolating drivers from all of the undignified sensations normally…

How a Corvette C6.R comes to life: Autoblog tours Pratt & Miller shop

Autoblog tours Pratt & Miller shop – Click above for high-res image gallery Racing improves the breed. How many times have you heard some automaker PR flack spout that line in order to…

Spy Shots: 2011 BMW M5 shows off more of its new skin

BMW M5 spy shots – Click above for high-res image gallery It seems that the 2011 BMW M5 is nearing production-ready status, and while the new supersedan may still be wearing a bit of swirly…

Also of interest:

• Report: Toyota ‘secretive’ about black box data
• Final three World Car of the Year finalists announced
• Hope on the horizon? General Motors reportedly to reinstate more than 580 dealers
• Video: All the nooks and crannies of the Koenigsegg Agera
• Toyota FT-86 concept gets a family-style welcome

Browse our archive of Daily U-Turn posts or subscribe to the RSS feed

Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 3.5.10 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I just happened to be taking a test the other day — something I do for fun every now and then, say every 10 years or so — and I came across this question (slightly condensed/changed to protect the innocent):

Man with history of IDU admitted with fever, has bacteremia due to MRSA (MIC 2 mcg/mL confirmed by E-test). Found to have mycotic aneurysm of superficial femoral artery.  Aneurysm is resected surgically on hospital day 3. On vancomycin 1 gm IV q12 hours, vancomycin trough is 15 μg/mL.  Blood cultures drawn on hospital day 4 turn positive the next day; patient is subjectively improved but still febrile. WBC has declined from 16k to 11K.

What is the best next step?

1. Continue current rx
2. Increase vancomycin dose to achieve trough of 20 mcg/mL
3. Change vancomycin to daptomycin
4. Change vancomycin to linezolid

So what’s the answer?

Does anyone really know what the best thing to do here is?  For the record, I got it “wrong.”

Apple’s lawsuit against HTC made one thing clear: Steve. Jobs. Will. Cut You. And with all the patents they’ve got? Nobody’s safe. Here’s who’s next on the subpoena warpath:

Patent #8,567,301: A Process to Cryogenically Microbead Pasteurized Dairy
Defendant: Dippin’ Dots

Patent #5,475,939: Inexpensive Self-Assembled Home Furnishings With Names That Sound Like Lesser Norse Gods
Defendant: Ikea

Patent #6,374,752: Constructing an Opulent Hyper-Futuristic City Without Having the Resources to Maintain It
Defendant: Dubai

Patent #3,405,356: Music Composition Utilizing Three Chords In Sequence and Repetitive Anti-Establishment Lyrics
Defendants: Joey Ramone; Iggy Pop; Johnny Rotten; et al

Patent #2,366,291: How a Bill Becomes a Law
Defendants: Congressional and Executive Branches of US Government; “School House Rock”

Patent #4,769,002: Placing “I” Before “E” (Excepting Those Occasions In Which Preceded By “C” Or When Phonetically Comparable to “A”)
Defendants: Strunk and White; My Third Grade Homeroom Teacher; the English Language

Patent #9,753,482: Achieving Fame Despite Lack of Discernable Talent or Drive
Defendants: Paris Hilton, Spencer Pratt, the Cast of “Tool Academy,” et al

Patent #1,749,682: Dogs
Defendants: Dogs

Back in 2008, we wrote about a lawsuit between rival sandwich shop chains Subway and Quiznos over a viral ad campaign. Quiznos had set up a contest to get fans to create and upload commercials for its stores, and Subway claimed that many of the ads made false claims about Subway. To Subway, this made Quiznos guilty of false advertising. Quiznos used Section 230 to claim that it wasn’t responsible for the content of the ads, since it hadn’t actually created them. However, with Subway saying that Quiznos was actively involved in some aspects of the ad creation, the judge wouldn’t grant a summary judgment on Section 230, and wanted the case brought to a jury to consider. Not surprisingly, at this point, Quiznos folded faster than one of its toasted sandwiches, and the two sides settled the case.

While you can understand why this happened, it still leaves us without a ruling — meaning that there will likely be more lawsuits of this nature coming down the road. With so many “user-generated content” contests out there, the question of liability for the content could become a pretty big issue… and I’d guess that most companies trying out these contests haven’t given it much thought at all.

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On March 5, 2010, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals reversed Jodey Waldrop’s conviction and death sentence, ruling that his jury improperly was allowed to consider highly prejudicial prior conviction evidence.

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Woo hoo! Now we know when we get to buy the iPad. However, we haven’t been told where we get to buy it. Of course the Apple Stores (both online and off) will carry it, but the end of the press release has a cryptic statement that the iPad will be sold at select (emphasis added) Apple Authorized Resellers.

That probably means not every place that can sell Apple products will be allowed to sell iPads. This is a curious position for Apple and its distribution strategy. Which model does it choose?

Let’s take the iPhone. It’s very limited in distribution. Apple and AT&T controlled sales at the beginning and then eventually allowed places such as Wal-Mart and BestBuy to carry it. Apple COO Tim Cook confirmed BestBuy would sell the iPad but didn’t say who else would have that capability. Logically, anywhere you can buy an iPhone you should be able to buy an iPad, right?

What about any place you can buy an iMac? Only time will tell, but here is what I think will happen. Cue the special effects.

First to get the iPad will be campus bookstores. Education is a key market and I’m sure many parents want to give iPads to their kids before they go off to college. Traditionally in the fall Apple has promotions for education consumers that give away a free iPod when you buy a Mac. That might fall by the wayside to be replaced with a discount deal on an iPad. Most likely the iPad 3G won’t be sold there because campuses already have wireless and campus bookstores won’t have the staff to deal with the nuances of selling AT&T wireless service.

AT&T stores will obviously carry the iPad 3G, but probably not the iPad Wi-Fi. Space is at a premium at AT&T stores and the margins on the iPad are going to be relatively low. I’m going to conjecture it will allow you to buy the iPad without buying a data plan, but will do a hard sell for it. I don’t think AT&T will discount the iPad if you buy a data plan however.

Apple Specialists, who according to Apple “are independent Apple Dealers and Service Providers with a strong commitment to the Mac platform” have also been unofficially slated to sell the iPad Wi-Fi. The Specialist I spoke with could neither confirm nor deny the rumor, but simply smiled at me, which is a good sign. I doubt they’ll get the iPad 3G. Many Specialists often have retail locations that could compete with sales at AT&T locations. Apple will want to protect the AT&T stores as much as possible.

Traditional catalog retailers will also get the iPad Wi-Fi. These places already sell the entire Apple product line except for the iPhone. Unlike the other channels, I think Apple will experiment with allowing these resellers to sell the 3G versions. Catalog companies often sell mobile phones so they have the support to deal with this type of sale. Apple will want to directly compete with the other netbook offerings from these resellers and will want the iPad 3G sales from these vendors.

Left up in the air are the places you can buy an iPod and iPod touch, but not a Mac, such as department stores and even vending machines. These retailers probably won’t be invited to the iPad party. To keep Apple’s brand image going strong, Apple will want some degree of exclusivity as to who gets to sell the iPad. Too many returns and salespeople who aren’t properly trained could sour people on the Apple brand. iPads won’t be sold in vending machines like iPod nanos.

Not mentioned in the press release is the role of the highly profitable AppleCare for these devices. Anyone who sells AppleCare will be able to sell AppleCare for the iPad, but pricing will likely be more expensive than for an iPod or iPhone.

Where do you think you’ll be able to buy an iPad?

Related Research from GigaOM Pro:

• Web Tablet Survey: Apple’s iPad Hits the Right Notes
• How AT&T Will Deal with iPad Data Traffic
• 5 Tips for Developers Targeting the iPad
• With the iPad, Apple Take Google to the Mat

Maserati is likely to develop a hybrid powertrain option for its next-generation vehicles, in part of a bid to improve the brand’s fuel-consumption and CO2 emissions of its cars. Maserati will most likely take some advice from Ferrari in the process, which has plans to offer hybrid versions across its entire lineup within the next three to four years.

While Maserati and Ferrari are no longer part of the same business unit within the Fiat Group, both brands are still a part of Fiat and the brands are still close to each other in terms of hardware.

Also to improve fuel-economy, Maserati will continue to reduce the weight of its vehicles.

Ferrari unveiled its new 599 GTB HY-KERS Concept at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Inside Line

Filed under: Chrysler, Dodge, GM, Jeep

Just about every automaker posted February sales gains compared to the same month in 2009, and industry-wide sales were up 13 percent for the month. Even Chrysler posted its first year over year gain for the first time in 25 months, albeit by a mere 399 units. So is everybody at the company’s Auburn Hills, MI headquarters celebrating? We’re guessing the answer is no… due to the fact that a knee-wobbling 58 percent of those sales came to fleet customers.

Automotive News is reporting that only 35,832 of those 84,449 sales were made to retail customers. That’s not good, folks. In better times, Toyota would be disappointed if it only sold 35,000 Carmry sedans to retail customers. When AN asked Chrysler about its low sales for the month, a spokeswoman reportedly said, “Fleet sales were very strong this month, and our company sales reflect that.” Big fleet sales will reportedly be temporary, though, as the company still eventually plans to allocate only 25 percent of its sales to fleets.

But while that’s bad news for Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealers, the company is likely at least happy that fleet customers are buying again. When the economy hit the skids in the fall of 2008, the fleet market went from a sales oasis for domestic automakers to a discount desert. Chrysler isn’t the only automaker to rely on fleet sales in February, either. General Motors allocated 45,000 of its 144,000 vehicles to fleets, about 31 percent of its total sales.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req’d]

Report: Chrysler ends 25-month sales skid by sending 58% of new vehicles to fleets originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Thursday, the Apollo Alliance and Center for American Progress (CAP) co-sponsored a conference in Washington, D.C. that brought together leading policymakers, academics, business and labor leaders, and other experts to discuss what policies will support the United States in becoming not only a consumer of clean-energy technologies but also a leading producer of them.

The conference, Picking a Winner: How to Make the U.S. a Leader in the Clean Energy Economy, was held amid growing concerns about clean-energy jobs—particularly manufacturing jobs—going overseas rather than being located in the United States. It covered the diversity of policies—trade, energy, industrial, innovation and workforce policies, to name a few—that will need to be implemented for the U.S. to regain its competitiveness in the global clean energy economy.

 “We’re here today because America is in trouble,” said Apollo Chairman Phil Angelides during his opening remarks at the conference. “We are quickly losing the chance to be a leader in what will be the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century: the global clean energy economy. While other countries are making massive investments in clean energy infrastructure and production—and creating tens of thousands of new jobs as a result—the United States doesn’t even have the capacity to meet its own demand for renewable energy components.”

Conference speakers included Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA); Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI); John Podesta, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress; Thea Lee, deputy chief of staff of the AFL-CIO; Kathleen McGinty, former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; and William Spriggs, assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Labor; among others. Jared Bernstein (pictured above), chief economist and economic policy advisor to Vice President Joseph Biden, closed the conference by emphasizing the Obama administration’s commitment to strengthening the U.S. manufacturing sector—especially through supports for the domestic manufacture of clean energy technologies—because of the high quality of manufacturing jobs and their importance to having a thriving U.S. middle class.

Apollo and CAP also both released new reports about the clean energy economy on Thursday. The Apollo report, co-authored with Good Jobs First, analyzes the United States’ competitive position in the global race for clean-energy manufacturing jobs. The report, Winning the Race: How America Can Lead the Global Clean Energy Economy, finds that under current policies, the U.S. stands to lose an estimated 100,000 clean-energy manufacturing jobs to foreign competitors between now and 2015, and potentially a quarter million manufacturing jobs by 2030. The report also finds that many U.S. and foreign-based clean-energy manufacturing firms are investing money and creating jobs in low-wage countries such as China that are key competitors in the clean-energy race. To read the report, visit www.ApolloAlliance.org.

The CAP report is called Out of the Running? How Germany, Spain, and China Are Seizing the Energy Opportunity and Why the United States Risks Getting Left Behind. According to the report, these three countries have vastly different political economies, but are alike in that each one is implementing clean-energy policies across three critical areas: markets, financing and infrastructure. As a result, these countries are pulling far ahead of the United States in clean-energy production, installation, and export—and increasingly in clean-energy innovation as well. In fact, when clean-energy technology product sales were expressed as a proportion of respective gross domestic product, the United States ranked 19th on the list. Click here to read the report.

Transportation Manufacturing Action Plan Task Force Holds Initial Meeting

The Apollo Alliance held another important meeting in Washington, D.C. this week. On Wednesday, Apollo hosted the first meeting of the Transportation Manufacturing Action Plan (TMAP) Task Force, a group of high-level business, labor and environmental leaders, and transportation and manufacturing policy experts who will work together throughout 2010 to develop recommendations for a clean energy transportation policy that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and U.S. dependence on foreign oil while simultaneously creating good American manufacturing jobs.

The U.S. transportation sector accounts for nearly 30 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions and represents 70 percent of domestic oil consumption, most of which is imported. Apollo’s New Apollo Program advocates for a more forward-thinking U.S. transportation policy that results in a 21st century transit system and rebuilds our nation’s deteriorating transportation infrastructure, but the issue has taken on a new urgency because the current national transportation authorization bill has expired, and the next transportation bill will likely be passed during the next year.

The TMAP Task Force will focus on how to ensure that the next transportation bill leverages future investments in stronger transit into new, high-quality jobs in the manufacture of advanced rail vehicles, alternative fuel buses and clean trucks, as well as these vehicles’ component parts. In addition to working with the Task Force to develop its recommendations, Apollo is partnering with researchers from Northeastern and Duke Universities, and the Worldwatch Institute, who will be conducting analyses of urban mass transit systems such as subways, light rail, streetcars, buses and inter-city rail (including high-speed rail) to better inform the development of strong domestic transit manufacturing policy proposals.

Wednesday’s TMAP meeting in Washington included presentations by former Massachusetts Governor and Northeastern University Distinguished Professor of Political Science Michael Dukakis; Apollo Alliance Senior Advisor and Center for American Progress Vice President of Energy Policy Kate Gordon; and Transportation for America Campaign Director James Corless.  All spoke of the importance of a new approach to transportation as a key component of the transition to a clean energy, good jobs economy.

The TMAP project is modeled on the Apollo Alliance’s successful Green Manufacturing Action Plan. Stay tuned for more updates as the TMAP project develops.

Via Jamie Love we learn that at an EU trade policy meeting, EU member states have agreed to push for more transparency with ACTA, including releasing the draft negotiation documents as soon as possible. Apparently, this position was driven by Sweden, who we already noted was unhappy with where ACTA was heading. Since this apparently includes all EU member states, does this mean that Denmark has backed down from its hardline position against transparency? And if this is the case, who is left arguing that the documents need to be kept secret? As far as I can tell from the earlier list, we’re now down to Singapore, South Korea and the US. That’s odd, because Singapore, South Korea and the US already have trade agreements of this nature. In fact, much of ACTA is actually based on the agreement between the US and South Korea — which is already proving problematic for those in South Korea.

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As was expected, the Senate has released its latest attempt at patent reform, and it’s basically more of the same. It has plenty of holdover ideas from the last few (failed) attempts at patent reform, and a few minor changes that (for the most part) aren’t going to make those who oppose the bill any happier. If they couldn’t get previous patent reform bills passed, it seems unlikely that this one is going anywhere. Just like last year, there’s some good and some bad in the bill, and it’s difficult to say on the whole if the good and the bad cancel each other out. But, the “reforms” in the bill won’t do much to solve the real problems of the patent system.

It still tries to switch the US to a “first to file” system, rather than “first to invent” — which just encourages more patents being filed faster, rather than better patents being filed. It has the same (controversial) damages setup as last year, which would be useful in limiting damages from infringement, but which many special interests hate. It does allow for third parties to get involved during the patent review process (good) and also establishes a process for post-grant review (good), but greatly limits how that post-grant review will work (bad). Tragically, it still includes the “pilot program” to let patent lawsuits be handed to “interested judges” to build “judicial expertise in patent litigation.” We already know this is a bad idea, because we’ve already seen what happens when all patent cases at the appeals court level go to a single court, based on the same idea: that the single court would have more judicial expertise. In practice, that’s meant that the court and its key rulings have been dominated by former patent attorneys, who tend to like more patents. Why replicate that disaster at the lower courts as well?

Among the new stuff, as mentioned, it limits the plans for post-grant review (bad) and raises the bar to get a willful (treble damages) infringement award (very, very good), such that just having seen the patent no longer counts as willful infringement. Of course, it also would require lower patent filing fees for smaller companies — again encouraging greater patent filing at a time when it’s pretty clear we need fewer patents, not more.

All in all, still a really mixed bag of good and bad, with the likelihood of it actually going anywhere being pretty minimal. Wake us when Congress realizes that we need real patent reform.

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MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact: Phil Kloer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 404-679-7125; [email protected]

Who: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What: Restoration project receives funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Where: Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, near Folkston, Ga.

When: Construction scheduled to begin in June

Details: Renovation of the Suwannee River Sill and new road construction at the refuge will provide the public with safer, year-round access to the Suwannee River, improve passage for small boats, canoes and kayaks, and restore the natural flow of the Suwannee River.

The Service has provided the Federal Highway Administration with $1 million in stimulus funds to upgrade an existing gravel road to an asphalt surface and build a new boat ramp, access lane, and parking lot for the public. USFWS will separately award additional stimulus contracts to private companies for related improvements at the refuge.

“Now that part of the Sill is coming out and the water is flowing more freely, there is the potential for real habitat restoration. It will also benefit hunters and anglers, as well as all the people who like to canoe and kayak through this beautiful area,” said Jerry McCollum, president and CEO of Georgia Wildlife Federation, a non-profit organization that supports the project.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 gave $3 billion to the Department of the Interior. The ARRA funds represent an important component of the President’s plan to jumpstart the economy and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so the country can thrive in the 21st century. The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov and http://www.fws.gov/southeast.

3 Tournaments, 1 weekend: Savoonga 2A 3/3-6, Brevig Mission 1A Boys 3/4-6, Teller 1A Girls 3/5-6.  March Madness BSSD style!  Go to www.bssd.org for all the brackets and schedules for all three tournaments.

BB Scores ending 2-27

Swype – Actually pretty awesome.

The onslaught of touch-only Androids hitting the market has created a bit of dilemma for me. You see unfortunately, I was blessed with fingers that may as well be physically allergic to on-screen keyboards. I’d literally take a T9 keypad over those ridiculous on-screen “mock ups” of the real thing… So for now, I’ve been patiently waiting with my T-Mobile G1 for an awesome new Android packing a full QWERTY. It’s felt like an eternity already…

While time will tell if I’ll ever get my new phone-of-my-dreams, a new app has been released in beta that I’ve been lucky enough to have a few weeks to try out, and I must say, that while it’s not perfect, almost would make me consider a touch-only device.

Swype is an app that replaces the stock on-screen keyboard with a new gesture-based way of typing. It’s a novel concept that, surprisingly, works pretty well! Let’s say for example you wanted to type “Hi android.” All you have to do is touch down on H, then slide your finger to the i and release. After you lift your finger, touch back down on the a to begin typing android, and continue the same way you did hi, but sliding from the a to the n, the d, r, o, i and finally d. The spaces are automatically added every time you start another word. Most common words are automatically guessed and used. If it’s not 100% sure of what you wanted to type, an on-screen predictive text type box comes up with some suggestions of what you might have meant. If your word isn’t in there, you hit an x and just touch type your word the old fashion way, adding it to your message and to the predictive database. It’s really simple and intuitive. There are a lot of little hints and tricks on the official website for Swype (www.swype.com), but I’m just going to recommend you start trying it out for yourself to see all that it can do.

Swype is still in beta at the moment, but it’s already proving itself to be a truly unique and worthwhile alternative to typing. It has regular touch screen typing beat by a long shot, and while I’m still not ready to let go of my beloved physical QWERTY’s, I’d at least consider a touch-only phone if I could use Swype on it.

Might We Suggest…

• Beta Test This: Swype!
  Swype, the gesture-based virtual keyboard that to date has only been legitimately available to OEMs, just sent beta testing invitations out to Android users who’d previously provided their email addre…

Salt Lake City, Utah. 24 February 2010. QSI Corporation, designer and manufacturer of rugged human machine interface and mobile data terminals, announce their wireless handheld QTERM®-G58 is selected by ATA Defense Industries, an industry leader in automated targeting systems for military and commercial use. ATA Defense uses the wireless QTERM-G58 to remotely control target systems for military training.

The QTERM-G58 is used to remotely control up to 1000 targets simultaneously at distances up to 4 miles away. Other functions include programming multiple scenarios for live-fire training, remotely detonating battle effects simulators, activating motion detection devices and displaying scores from the target systems. The backlit keypad and bright color display also allow for use in night operations or in low-visibility scenarios.

“All of our equipment has to be ruggedized, able to withstand every climate, and must perform flawlessly in order to support the training efforts of our military,” said Labe Ezell, Director of Training and Sales at ATA Defense. “The QTERM-G58 holds up to the abuse our systems take. It definitely has been well-received by all of our end-users that were previously stuck with our old controllers.”

Visit www.qsiindustrial.com for more information.

About QSI Corporation
Established in 1983, QSI Corporation is a leading manufacturer of rugged operator interface and mobile data terminals (TREQ®) for industrial OEMs and commercial vehicle systems integrators. QSI’s human machine interface and mobile data terminal products include character and graphic terminals that are programmable, customizable, CE Certified and NEMA 4/12/13 rated. QSI excels at building custom and semi-custom terminals able to withstand extreme environments. For more information, contact QSI Corporation at 801-466-8770 or visit www.qsicorp.com.

About ATA Defense Industries
Since 1959, ATA Defense Industries has provided automated target systems to all branches of the U.S. military and to many law enforcement and Homeland Security agencies throughout the United States and overseas. Located in Camden, Tennessee, ATA Defense Industries’ targeting mechanisms are used widely throughout the 50 states found mainly on military installations as well as foreign U.S. bases such as Kuwait, Qatar, and Korea. Several installations are also found in other ally countries such as Canada and England. For more information, call 800-282-4487 or visit www.atadefense.com.

– Highly Accurate Patriot™ Mix/Meter Technology
– Powered and Operated Solely Through Pneumatics
– Increased Efficiency
– Unique Innovator Control Panel with PLC and RFID Capability
– Easy to Operate
– Recirculation Control

The M.V.P. Patriot™ Megaject Innovator Injection System delivers power, versatility, automation and unprecedented precision to the composites production process.

The Patriot™ Megaject Innovator Injection System was designed for injecting polyester, vinylester and methacrylate resins and catalyst at controlled pressures. The AutoHead mixes on demand at the injection head, and the catalyst ratio can be adjusted from 0.75% to 2.5%.

The fully pneumatic automated controls, controlling the number of strokes during injections, recirculation, and more makes the process easier and more efficient.

Included features of this system include: Mould Pressure Guard (MPG), Recirculation Package, Gun/TurboAutosprue on/off, and the flush controls. It is also designed to include the optional Pneumatic PV Sensor, Pneumatic AutoCatch and Heater Control.
Why Patriot? The secret to Patriot’s unprecedented precision is the unique pumping system. Patriot™ is a versatile pumping system that addresses many of the problems experienced in composites material application.

Recent tests conducted by M.V.P. against two competitive systems showed those systems had flow variances as high as 25%, and catalyst-to-resin variance ratios as high as 30%. Patriot™ came in at under 1% variance across the board.

Both the Fluid Section and Catalyst Pump on Patriot™ feature the new “self-healing” seal that has the lowest coefficients of friction available today. This seal does not require packing adjustments, and greatly reduces the problems associated with heat buildup and wear.

The extremely low variance rate offered by the Patriot™ Megaject Innovator Injection System makes this system ideal for closed mould processes. The closed moulding process requires a higher level of precision with every cycle, and the testing has shown that Patriot™ delivers the most efficient and consistent level of precision for this process. If the injection system is inconsistent, the quality of the product will be inconsistent.

JEC Composites Show in Paris: the biggest composites exhibition in Europe!

2010 April 13-15, 2010
Paris Expo Center, Paris, France – Booth #T32

Tech-Etch can photoetch flow field bi-polar plates used in PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) Fuel Cells. Bi-polar plates, or separator plates, are conductive plates in a fuel cell stack that act as an anode for one cell and a cathode for adjacent cells.

The plates contain flow channels for the fluid feeds and may contain conduits for heat transfer.

Tech-Etch can produce plates with interlacing front and back side channels to produce a corrugated effect for cooling purposes. See the blow-up below.

In addition, photoetching can be combined with machining to produce cross-over channels. Tolerances up to .0005 inches can be achieved in typical materials such as Titanium and Stainless Steel for these anode and cathode plates. These production processes are extremely desirable in the design and prototype stage of fuel cell development. Tech-Etch manufactures their fuel cell plates to customer specifications. To learn more about their capability,

Certificate and tests

EMI/EMS : CE, FCC (Class B)

RoHS compliant

Dust test : IEC/EN60529 IP5X (5sides)
. Temperature 20~28°C
. Humidity 35~75%RH

Splashing test : IEC/EN60529 IPx4 (5sides)
. Time of complete oscillation 12sec.
. Duration of test 10min.
. Mean flow rate 0.07 liter/min
. Total water flow : 1.8 liter/min
. Tube radius 400mm

Free Drop test : IEC60068-2-32
. Equipment : Yoshida DT-100D
. Drop Height : 76cm
. Test on : 3 corners, 3 edges, 6 faces

Thermal test : Chamber 60°C , Duration 15h 20m

Vibration
. 3 axis, Non-Operating : 5-17Hz, double amplitude
. Displacement : 17-640Hz, 1.5G acceleration peak to peak

Shock
. 3 axis, Operating : 3G(1/2 sine, 11msec)
. Non operating : 10G (1/2sine, 11msec)