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Would you prefer more choice regarding air travel costs or that Washington dictate what fees are fair? Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) opts for the latter. He called on airlines to promise not to charge fees for carry-on luggage. American, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, US Airways and JetBlue did so this week. This move is in response to Spirit announcing that it would begin charging fliers for luggage they store in the overhead compartment earlier this month. While many consumers likely have an adverse gut reaction to such apparent nickel-and-diming, is Schumer really looking to help travelers here or score some political points?

In fact, travelers may be better off through Spirit’s approach. Carry-on fees should result in more discretion on consumer spending for flights, lower fares, and a smoother airport experience. Yet Schumer proposes a tax to punish airlines that charge fliers who bring their luggage into the cabin. It’s hard to understand why this distinction matters.

Currently, many airlines charge fliers to check their baggage, but allow them to carry-on luggage at no additional charge. This results in customers trying to squeeze as much as possible in their suitcases intended for the overhead compartment. Longer security lines, lengthier boarding times, and delays follow. Yet similar treatment for both types of baggage would eliminate the carry-on incentive. So shouldn’t Schumer and others in Washington be indifferent to how luggage is transported? Customers would certainly be better off in such a world.

Instead of just eliminating consumer choice, lawmakers might consider some real reforms to the luggage dilemma — and could still score political points with fliers.

Better Disclosure

A politician should be troubled if constituents are being tricked into paying unanticipated fees by airlines. Reducing choice, by forcing all airlines to include luggage fees in ticket prices, is not the solution. A better alternative would be to require airlines to disclose all fees upfront. For example, for tickets sold online, airlines could be required to allow consumers to view a screen that shows all the fees they could be subject to and ask them to agree to those terms before purchase. That way, if travelers don’t like the fees, they can choose another airline.

Fees by weight

Washington could also require airlines to be indifferent as to how passengers fly with their luggage. Rather than fees distinguish by carry-on versus checking, wouldn’t it be more sensible to discriminate by weight? After all, weight matters most. Heavier suitcases lead to more fuel spent. That leads to higher costs for airlines, additional natural resources consumed and more pollution emitted. Universal weight-based fees would encourage fliers to pack lighter and shield them from any unanticipated fee disparities from airline to airline.

Justin Bieber’s bangs are getting under the skin of a few hundred thousand social networkers. A new Anti-Biebs Movement is gaining momentum thanks to a Facebook group called “We Only Need 5,000,000 Guys To Join To Vote Justin Bieber Out Of Our Gender.”

Guess Bieber Fever isn’t as far-reaching as we thought.

The hateful group — which aims to emasculate 16-year-old crooner of smash hits like “Baby” and “One Less Lonely Girl” — already boasts 300,000 members.

Earlier this week we reported Adobe Flash 10.1 for Android had been delayed till the second half of 2010, but we were wrong. Adobe platform evangelist Serge Jespers was quick to point out that Flash 10.1 is still on track for 1H 2010 and users should be able to download it in the next couple of months.

The confusion came from an interview with Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen who said we should expect Flash for Android in the second half of the year. He was referring to new devices that would have Flash 10.1 preinstalled, but the plugin will actually be available sooner for those with supported devices.

Even though Flash 10.1 is right around the corner, Adobe is unsure on the exact distribution method. It could be available in the Android Market, on their website, or via an OTA update of the OS.

Android fans who want to participate in the public beta, should sign up now to be notified of its release. Keep in mind that Flash 10.1 requires an ARM Cortex-A8 based processor or greater so all first gen Android phones are ruled out.

If I was a guessing man, I would say to expect Flash 10.1 (and possibly Android 2.2) right around May 19th.

Related Posts

• Adobe responds to leaked ROMs and Flash 10.1 battery concerns
• Adobe Flash 10.1 to require Android 2.0
• Adobe details Flash 10.1 installations
• No Flash 10.1 for 1st gen Android phones
• Why do we need Flash on Android? FarmVille.

Posted by Hal Dardick at 1:07 p.m.

Mayor Richard Daley today said he will ask city vendors to renegotiate their contracts, with a goal of cutting Chicago’s costs by 10 percent.

Daley said the move is just the latest of the city’s cost-cutting moves, including unpaid furlough days for employees, to cope with a tough economy that has slowed down revenue. He also said he understood the frustration expressed last week by tea party activists who rallied at Daley Plaza, saying other governments haven’t made the sacrifices that Chicago has.



“We’re doing everything here, and the state and federal government are not doing that,” Daley said, adding he wasn’t pointing fingers at specific politicians. “It does get you upset. You figure why are they immune from the economy — that people are suffering. And I’m not talking about any individual. I’m not talking specifically about (President Barack) Obama or (Gov. Pat) Quinn.”

He added: “There isn’t one state or federal employee taking any time off. You wonder why. Why not? Don’t they realize that this is a national recession. Don’t they realize that people are suffering. And that’s where the disgruntled attitude is, that they don’t get it.



"They don’t understand that this is a national recession. They are living in — they call it the Washington or Springfield bubble.”



That, he said, is what tea party members are upset about. “It has nothing to do with Democrats or Republicans,” he said. “If they had a Republican administration in Washington, it would be the same thing.”



Daley said that last year he asked vendors to cut costs by 2 percent. About 30 percent took him up on the offer, saving nearly $4 million, he said.



“You’re not going to threaten them,” Daley said when asked how he would get the vendors to come to the renegotiating table. “This is a good thing. This is a good concept. We’re trying to keep government going.”



Daley said revenues so far are meeting projections in this year’s budget plan, but he’s nevertheless taking additional steps to save money.



That includes locking in natural gas cost savings of $8 million, issuing low cost Build America Bonds and Recovery Zone Bonds that reduced city debt-service costs by more than $2.8 million and the return of 32 rented vehicles that would have cost $1.7 million through the rest of the year.



Daley last week announced that an audit would be conducted of the city’s health benefit records to purge ineligible employees and dependents.

EarthTalk is a Q&A column from E/The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: How effective have plastic bag bans and restrictions been on reducing plastic litter and other problems associated with their proliferation? And is it really better to use paper bags, which will just lead to more deforestation?–Peter Lindsey, New Canaan, CT

Plastic bags, first introduced in the 1950s as a convenient way to store food, have since developed into a global scourge, littering roadsides, clogging sewer drains and landfills and getting ingested by animals and marine life. And in recent years we’ve discovered how they are so prolific that they now comprise a significant portion of the plastic and other garbage that has collected in huge ocean gyres (like the great Pacific garbage patch) far from land.

A few countries around the world—Bangladesh, China, India, Australia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Israel, South Africa and Taiwan, among others—have taken stands against plastic bags through taxing their usage or banning them outright. The environmental think tank Worldwatch Institute reports that China’s decision to ban free plastic bags in 2008 has cut demand by some 40 billion bags, reduced plastic bag usage there by 66%, and saved some 1.6 million tons of petroleum.

In March 2007, San Francisco became the first (and is still the only) major U.S. city to implement an across-the-board ban on plastic bags. Large supermarkets and pharmacies there had to ditch plastic shopping bags by early 2008 in favor of paper bags or those made from all-natural biodegradable cornstarch-based plastic. Environmentalists are particularly fond of the latter option for those who don’t bring their own grocery bags, as these cornstarch bags offer the biodegradability of paper without the deforestation as well as the convenience of plastic without the damage to ecosystems. San Francisco officials had originally tried to work with retailers on reducing plastic bag use voluntarily. But after a few years of little or no cooperation, they decided to just institute the ban on anything but biodegradable bags. The result has been a 50% drop in plastic bag litter on the streets since the ban took effect.

Los Angeles followed suit and its city council voted in 2008 to ban plastic bags beginning in July 2010—but the ban will only take effect if the state of California doesn’t follow through on a statewide plan to impose a fee on shoppers who request plastic bags. City council members in L.A. hope the ban will spur consumers to carry their own reusable bags and thus reduce the amount of plastic washing into the city’s storm drains and into the Pacific Ocean. Several other U.S. cities, including New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, have considered outright bans like San Francisco’s, but each settled instead on plastic bag recycling programs in the face of pressure from the plastics industry and retail commercial interests.

While increased demand for paper bags in the wake of plastic bag bans could lead to more deforestation, most paper grocery bags in use today are made from recycled content, not virgin wood. Also, an added benefit of paper over petroleum-based plastic is its biodegradability.

Americans go through some 92 billion disposable plastic bags each year, and only five billion paper ones. If the nation banned plastic bags it is likely that paper varieties would only make up a small part of the difference, in light of the proliferation of reusable canvas shopping bags as well as the availability of biodegradable cornstarch plastic.

GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it here or via e-mail. Read past columns here and check out the recent book Earthtalk: Expert Answers to Everyday Questions about the Environment

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Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc

by Jen Harper

OK, so you couldn’t tell a lie, Georgie boy, but apparently
you made no bones about stealing a couple of library books and not paying your
fines. Gasp! That’s right, Pres. George Washington was just as big a fan of the library as Ask Umbra (woot for reusing, Mr. Prez); however, according
to an old ledger book (and Boing
Boing), Washington checked out two books from the New York
Society Library in October 1789—one on international law and one a transcript
of debates in the British House of Commons—and never returned them. His
inflation-adjusted fines are now more than $100,000.

“We’re not actively pursuing the overdue fines,”
said head librarian Mark Bartlett, “but we would be very happy if we were
able to get the books back.”

That’s quite the different tune than Jerry Seinfeld got from
library investigations officer Mr. Bookman for not returning Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer in 1971:

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Related Links:

Ask Umbra on food dehydrators, cage-free and free-range poultry, and e-readers

Climate change denier Lord Monckton tries on a new conspiracy theory

From tobacco to climate change, ‘merchants of doubt’ undermined the science

It’s not bad enough that fast food is blamed for everything from obesity to heart disease and hypertension. Now we find out it might be messing with our minds as well. New research from scientists in Canada suggests that people who are shown fast-food logos become increasingly impatient and are less inclined to save money, preferring immediate gratification over greater future return. The Toronto University study (PDF link here) looked at the behavior of 57 volunteers, some of whom were shown logos from fast-food chains like McDonald’s and KFC. In one test, the speed at which participants read a passage was measured before and after looking at the logos, with readers speeding up after an eyeful of the Golden Arches. Another experiment asked participants if they wanted a small amount of cash immediately or a larger sum in a week’s time. Those who saw the logos opted for the smaller amount served up immediately. If the mere sight of a logo creates such results, I’m not sure I even want to know what effect all those new espresso-based drinks at McDonald’s are having on customer behavior.

—Posted by Noreen O’Leary

Introduction and Summary

26 Letters and 99 Cents is a great introductory book for students regarding money. It goes through multiple ways of making different amounts of cents, such as 6 cents (6 pennies, or 1 nickel and 1 penny).  Each example shows the number next to the examples, which show actual coins so students start understanding the coins’ values.  Examples go up to 99 cents. This is a great way to introduce the concept of money to students and help them understand its value.

Curriculum Connections

26 Letters and 99 Cents can be used to go with SOL K.7, where students begin to recognize that money is what people use to buy goods and is an important things to understand. This book is a good resource and can be used in teaching introduction to economics or even in mathematics.

Additional Resources

Scholastic had this great extension activity to do with the book once the students have read it. 

Here is a lesson plan called Number Cents where students get to work with real nickels and pennies like they saw in the book. 

Lastly, this is a lesson plan where the book can even be utilized while teaching second graders. 

General Information

Book:  26 Letters and 99 Cents

Author:  Tana Hoban

Illustrator:  none

Publisher: Mulberry Books

Publication Date: 1987

Pages: Grade Range: K-1

ISBN: 0-688=06361-6

Ever gone out for an afternoon jog and wondered “Exactly how far was that?”. Have you been running in the park while your friend is on the couch eating chips and just wanted to brag how far you ran? Developers Color Monkey and Whiletrue have created the free application runstar FREE to satisfy all your running needs.

runstar contains a very simple interface, just select “free run” and you’re off. runstar will track your time and distance, with a choice of either miles or kilometers. Included in the app are music controls with options including the choice of playing a playlist or shuffle all music, as well as the inclusion of a “power up” song which can be triggered to provide a little extra motivation.

Once the run is completed, a summary displays all kinds of information that runstar tracked. There are charts showing the time of the run, the distance, the pace and even a chart showing the changes in speed compared to the changes in elevation. runstar allows this data to be easily shared with friends by any social network feature you have installed on your phone, including SMS, Twitter and Facebook. The route taken is also plotted using Google Maps, with flags positioned at each mile displaying the time to that mile marker. Finally there is a section when you can create a monthly goal and track how close you are to accomplishing that goal. The developers say they are working on the ability to have the results uploaded to an online account and access them from a computer, which is good because that is the only drawback I had regarding this app.

Pros:

• Clean, easy to use interface.
• Built in music controls.
• Tracks run time and distance and plots route in Google Maps.
• Run data can be shared immediately via a number of social networks.

Needs Improvement:

• You can only access data from the phone, right now there is no option to upload results to a website.
• No weight loss information tracking like calories burned or heart rate.
• There is no ability to add a run after the fact if no GPS signal is found.

Final Verdict:

runstar FREE is a free app that will do almost everything an avid runner wants. It tracks the time you ran as well as how far you went and in the end that is all some people will need. I enjoyed my time with runstar and will certainly continue to use it to track all my runs.

What is next?: The version of runstar currently in the Android Market is only the small free version. Updates to this version will include support for both QVGA and WVGA screen support, updated graphics and the ability to upload workouts to the web. Color Monkey and Whiletrue are also working on an enhanced version of runstar with more run options and results options.

Note: This review was submitted by Pat Dameron as part of our app review contest.

Version tested: 0.8.0
Reviewed on: HTC Droid ERIS running 2.1

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Introduction and Summary
Estela’s Swap written by Alexis O’Neill and illustrated by Enrique O. Sanchez,is about a young girl from Santa Ana named Estela. She is selling her music box at the Swap Meet for ten dollars so that she could pay for folk-dancing lessons that Estela has beein saving for all year. Estela learns how to bargain as she walks the meet with her father:

“As the seller, you name a price that’s a little more than what you are willing to take. That way you have room to bargain.”

Estela encounters a old woman across the street who enjoys listening to the music box while sewing a skirt. As Estela begins bargaining with customers, a strong wind blows through the Swap Meet. Estela runs to help the old woman across the street who is selling paper flowers as they all blow away. As Estela grabs the tent, her music box falls to the ground. Estela  ignores her music box as she attempts to collect the flowers for the old woman. The woman gives Estela back her music box which is relatively unharmed from the wind. Estela decides to give the woman her box so that she can listen to music while she makes more flowers for the next Swap Meet. At the end of the Swap Meet, the old woman gives Estela the skirt she had been working on. Estela is very excited about her first swap and looks forward to next time to learn how to sell.

Curriculum Connections
This is a great book to introduce concepts of economics to young elementary students.  Key vocabulary could include goods, buyer, seller, money, savings, and barter . The book explores concepts of bargaining as well as selling to gain money in order to buy something else (SOL K.7b, 1.7, 2.8). Estela decides to sell her music box because she wants lessons, so she gives up something in exchange for something else (SOL 1.8). Students will enjoy learning about saving money for a specific item (SOL 1.9). A civics lesson is also incorporated into the story as Estela helps the old woman with her flowers even though she puts her own sale of the music box at risk (SOL 1.10a, K.8e)

Additional Resources

• Estela’s Swap: Comprehension questions about Estela’s Swap
  
• Publisher’s Lesson Plans : Very thorough lesson plan of Estela’s Swap from the publisher Lee and Low
• Saving and Earning: a website about how a child can save or earn money

Book: Estela’s Swap
Author: Alexis O’Neill
Illustrator: Enrique O. Sanchez
Publisher: Lee and Low Books
Publication Date: 2002
Pages:  29 pages
Grade Range: Kindergarten-2nd grade
ISBN: 1584300442

According to a Kia source, the Korean automaker is planning to do an estate version of the 2011 Kia Optima for the European market.

When asked about a station wagon version of the 2011 Optima, Kia’s design chief Peter Schreyer said: “I would love to do station wagon and coupe versions of the car. The station wagon would only really work for Europe but the coupe would work in the US.”

Heck, we’d love the coupe but we’d love to see a station wagon version of the Optima in the U.S. just as much.

The 2011 Kia Optima sedan made its debut at the 2010 New York Auto Show earlier this month. It will go on sale in the fall of 2010 with three engine choices including a 200-hp 2.4L GDI 4-cylinder, a 274-hp 2.0L GDI 4-cylinder turbo and a 2.4L hybrid variant due out in early 2011.

2011 Kia Optima:

– By: Kap Shah

Source: AutoCar

Filed under: Concept Cars, Europe, Work, Hatchback, Volkswagen, Misc. Auto Shows, Electric

Volkswagen is unveiling a new compact battery-powered taxi concept called the Milano at the Hanover Trade Show in Germany this week. The styling draws heavily on the Space Up! Blue concept that debuted at the 2007 LA Auto Show. One big difference, however, is that VW designers have eliminated the rear door on the driver’s side so that passengers can only get in and out at the curb. The curb-side portal has likewise been expanded with a large forward-sliding door and the front passenger seat has given way to luggage space. The Milano Taxi concept also features a similar touch screen monitor setup to those already being used in some New York City cabs.

Like the production electric vehicles that Volkswagen will start building from 2013, the Milano Taxi uses lithium ion batteries. A 45 kilowatt-hour pack is mounted in the floor and provides a claimed 186-mile driving range on the EU driving cycle. The Milano Taxi is purely a concept at this point, but since it appears to be based on Volkswagen’s “New Small Family” of low- and zero-emissions vehicles, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the German automaker put a similar vehicle into production as an easy way to get more electric vehicles into the field a few years from now. High-res shots below, press release after the jump.

[Source: Volkswagen]

Continue reading Volkswagen unveils electric Milano Taxi concept in Hanover

Volkswagen unveils electric Milano Taxi concept in Hanover originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As the ash stream diminishes, airlines are preparing to resume service this week; even easterly bits of Britain will allegedly put planes into the air by late tomorrow.  Airlines may require some financial assistance from their respective governments (and as I understand it, this, in turn, will require some special dispensation from the EU).  But after a massive loss this quarter, most of them will probably survive.

Here’s my question, though:  what if it blows again?

As far as I can tell, there’s no guarantee that there won’t be another eruption, and in fact, another one may be more likely than not–quite possibly from a companion volcano that’s bigger and more active than the one that just blew.

If there’s another eruption, I’d expect, at minimum, several airline bankruptcies, and not just because of the interruption in service.  The uncertainty will make people reluctant to plan major events that rely on air travel–whether it’s that special vacation, or important conferences.  It also has implications for the just-in-time production systems that more and more manufacturers use.

Especially in a time of rising fuel prices, airlines need to run their planes relatively full in order to break even.  They also have massive fixed costs for things like planes, and hard-to-fire employees.  If people stop wanting to place the airlines at the center of critical plans, those fixed costs will pull them under.

That doesn’t mean that every European airline will go bankrupt–but it will be a real danger for a lot of them.

Sorry to break up the “welcome Mr. Cash” party…

When we were over at the other place that we don’t talk about anymore, we brought you the unfortunate news that 2010 Ohio State Signee Jamel Turner had left Fork Union Academy and returned to Youngstown.

This was concerning for Buckeye fans due to the fact that his tenure at Fork Union had been instigated by some off the field issues while at home.  From the reports we had, he was excited to be at the military academy, had turned things around, and was thankful for Coach Tressel and the staff sticking with him.

Now comes word that Mr. Turner was involved in a shooting, and was struck in the ankle and hip by unknown assailants. As the investigation continues, it has been revealed that there were two handguns and a bag that was believe to have contained marijuana in the car that he was riding in.

We’ll keep you updated as this situation continues.

Clients’ ever-growing interest for “higher efficiency solutions in the production line” has been the driving factor that led SMI to develop the new “HS” series of SK shrinkwrappers.
SK HS: not only “High Speed”
The new series of “HS” high-speed automatic shrinkwrappers allows to pack a large variety of different size containers into various packaging configurations, at the maximum speed of 450 ppm (according to the format and the dimensions of the product).

High reliability
The innovative technology used for the new SK 1200/1202 HS shrinkwrappers, together with a fluid and continuous motion packaging system (a common feature of the whole SK range), ensures:
– high reliability and quality of the final pack;
– low operational costs;
– low energy consumptions;
– easy maintenance.

High performances
At the machine infeed, the loose product pressure is efficiently controlled by means of a conveyor belt composed of two 2-metre long modules, each one provided with its own motorization.
Furthermore, SK 1200/1202 HS packaging machines feature, as a standard supply, the automatic changeover device. As an optional device, an automatic changeover device on the infeed conveyor is available as well; by this latter solution, the machine operator’s duties are tremendously simplified and his manual activity to adjust the product guides of the inlet conveyor is dramatically reduced.

Ergonomic design and easy maintenance
The ergonomic and functional design of the SK HS series ensures an easier machine operation and maintenance, keeping at the same time high level of security.
The “pit-style cardboard magazine” is an example of the machine’s ergonomic structure, that ensures:
– user-friendly blank loading;
– a fluid and linear blank feeding (less pressures);
– possibility to load blanks by means of a robot (Optional);
– possibility to apply additional modules, in order to increase the magazine’s overall capacity (Optional).

Low energy consumptions
The SK 1200 HS is equipped with a newly conceived shrinking tunnel, which uses an innovative system to manage air flows; this new device lets hot air evenly distribute on all sides of the pack.
This system allows getting superior quality packages from the aesthetic point of view and reducing energy consumptions.

CEF is among the precursors and the main French industrial producer of technical rubber parts rubber to metal and polyurethane for severe dynamic stresses.

CEF to a long history and expertise since 1961 because the family business has developed with its customers numerous innovative solutions.

CEF offers a comprehensive supply of parts molded elastomers:

*Vibration Isolators
*Machine Stands
*Silentblocs
*Shock Absorbers
*Filling of cylinders
*Compression springs Polyurethane
*Elements Upgrade
*Rollers
*Semi-products

The FemtoTools grippers are designed to handle sub-mm sized objects ranging from 0.001mm-0.1mm. The opening of the gripper arms can be controlled with nano-meter precision.

Features
Handle sub-mm objects with nanometer precision High resolution electrostatic actuation High resolution gripping force measurement.

Air, liquid and SEM compatible No performance degradation over more than 100 million load cycles Sensors are individually calibrated.

Easily interfaced with your PC through USB and the FT-C01 control system
Seamless integration with SmarAct’s positioning system Tungstene tips or micropipettes as end-effectors available.

CARMET® II from Carl Zeiss was developed specifically for suppliers and manufacturers in the automotive industry. This new horizontal-arm measuring machine is available in four sizes up to a measuring range of X = 7 m, Y = 1.6 m and Z = 2.5 m. It comes standard with the RDS-C stepping articulating probe holder featuring CAA (Computer Aided Accuracy). The FI (foam insulation) technology successfully introduced with the new ACCURA® is also used for CARMET II. CARMET II features an attractive price/performance ratio and low lifecycle costs. This measuring machine provides proven and reliable technology with the quality expected of ZEISS.

Compared to similar measuring machines, CARMET II has a considerably smaller footprint. This is the result of the onboard controller on the machine. Sensitive machine components are enclosed in a special high-tech material, thus providing CARMET II with high temperature stability. Availability is increased through the shortened maintenance time. All maintenance-relevant parts are easily accessible.

Robust and flexible
The horizontal-arm design makes it easy to load the measuring machine – even with the complex components that are commonly found in car body measuring. The design also facilitates access to the measuring location.

CARMET II is not only robust, but also flexible: numerous angular positions of the stylus system provide maximum flexibility. Thanks to RDS and CAA, users of touch-trigger sensors achieve shorter calibration times and thus increase their productivity. Hard-to-reach areas, such as in the wheel arch of a car body, can be easily accessed with different tough-trigger sensors and extensions up to 350 mm.

Infolytica Corporation announced today the latest release of MagNet version 7 is now available. The update includes several new features and general improvements to the company’s electromagnetic field simulation software. These include additional support for multicore processors and modeling nonlinear surface impedances. The company has previously announced the updated MagNet v7 will include new capabilities for simulating the magnetization of a permanent magnet.

Further improvements to Multicore Processing

MagNet v7 introduced new parallel computing 3D solvers which are optimized to take full advantage of multicore processors. For computational intensive design problems, the simulation time is reduced significantly due to better management of the cores. The new release expands on the software’s support for multicore processing:

•Parallel computing 2D solvers (static, AC, transient and transient fields with moving components)
•Automatic Meshing and Re-meshing in 2D
•Running concurrent sessions of MagNet solvers in 2D or 3D

Engineering Efficiency

With this new feature, users can control the number of cores dedicated to a particular 2D or 3D solve, increasing the number for more computational demanding problems, or distribute the multicore processing to run several concurrent sessions of MagNet. For larger core machines, several concurrent sessions of multicore solves can be taking place.

Magnetization

MagNet v7.1 allows users to simulate the magnetization process; specifically the magnetic field strength inside the permanent magnet component will be determined by the magnetization pattern and source current in the magnetizing coils. The result will be a permanent magnet for which each point inside will have a different recoil loop depending on the flux density that it has reached during the magnetization process.

Modeling and simulation of a Halbach cylinder BLDC Servo Motor To demonstrate the potential of this new feature, a detailed example on simulating a Halbach cylinder for use in a BLDC servo motor has been published on the company’s web site and can be viewed at http://www.infolytica.com/en/applications/ex0176/.

Pricing and Availability

MagNet v7.1 is now available for PC’s running Microsoft Windows XP, Vista and 7. For information regarding pricing or to request an evaluation, please contact an Infolytica Corporation representative nearest you.

Maintained clients can visit support.infolytica.com to download this update.