June 30, 2008
News, Stuff, Technology
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Martian soil appears to contain sufficient nutrients to support life - or, at least, asparagus - Nasa scientists believe.
Preliminary analysis by the $420m (£210m) Phoenix Mars Lander mission on the planet’s soil found it to be much more alkaline than expected.
Scientists working on the spacecraft project said they were “flabbergasted” by the discovery.
The find has raised hopes conditions on Mars may be favourable for life.
“We basically have found what appears to be the requirements, the nutrients, to support life, whether past, present or future,” said Sam Kounaves, the project’s lead chemist, from the University of Arizona.
Exciting data
Although he said further tests would have to be conducted, Mr Kounaves said the soil seemed “very friendly… there is nothing about it that is toxic,” he said.
As well as being far less acidic than anticipated, the soil was also found to contain traces of magnesium, sodium, potassium and other elements.
“We were all flabbergasted at the data we got back,” said Mr Kounaves. “It is very exciting for us.”
The analysis is based on a cubic centimetre of soil scooped from 2.5cm (one inch) below Mars’ surface by the lander’s robotic arm.
The sample was then tested using the “wet chemistry” technique, which involves mixing the soil with water brought from Earth and heating the sample in one of the lander’s eight ovens.
June 29, 2008
News, Technology
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Kyocera Wireless Corp., a leading global manufacturer of wireless handsets, devices and embedded machine-to-machine modules, has been honored with M2M Magazine’s prestigious gold Value Chain Award for its role in a first-of-its-kind agricultural application of wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) technology at Dritz Farms in Lincoln County, Minn. Working with a team of technology partners including Leica Geosystems, Aeris Communications, Resolute Information Technology, Digi International and NovAtel Inc., Kyocera Wireless was recognized for enabling an innovative M2M technology solution that improved agricultural processes and productivity. The gold honor marks the fourth consecutive year Kyocera has received a Value Chain Award.
The groundbreaking Dritz Farms application uses wireless communication and GPS technology to improve farming productivity and efficiency, ultimately improving precious crop yields. Using GPS location information powered by Digi International, the Leica mojoRTK auto-steer platform guides field cultivating equipment with accuracy inside of 2 inches. At the same time, Leica’s Virtual Wrench solution uses a Kyocera M2M module and the Aeris CDMA network for real-time communications. Via the Virtual Wrench Web-based portal, designed by Resolute IT, Leica-approved technicians perform remote diagnostics to help farmers fine-tune equipment and fix problems while field work is underway. An antenna from NovAtel Inc. boosts the CDMA signal so the system operates in even the most remote fields. According to Tim Dritz, owner of Dritz Farms, the entire implementation paid for itself in less than a year.
“Small equipment adjustments can have a large effect on crop yield and even a small deviation can have devastating effects,” said Dritz. “With mojoRTK and Virtual Wrench a tractor is able to steer itself, which allows the operator to closely watch and monitor equipment performance. Without the system in place, it is very easy to deviate and steer farming equipment slightly off planted rows.”
“The power of wireless communication extends far beyond the corporate enterprise, and agriculture is yet another example of an industry where this technology can enhance productivity and deliver bottom-line results,” said Dean Fledderjohn, general manager of the M2M product line at Kyocera Wireless Corp. “This Value Chain award highlights Kyocera’s leadership in the M2M marketplace and demonstrates a growing portfolio of innovative Kyocera-enabled solutions that are flexible and easy to integrate with other leading technology providers.”
Value Chain Awards honor the most successful adopters of M2M technology along with the team of solution suppliers and providers that made their success possible. The awards highlight the process of combining multiple technologies – including device-connectivity hardware, radio modules, network services and application software – and showcase how all elements of the M2M value chain work together to create winning solutions for customers.
“We chose Dritz Farms for a Value Chain Award because it implemented a sophisticated M2M solution that demonstrates how the cooperation of multiple technology providers enables creative solutions that increase performance and in this case, crop yield, while containing costs,” said Peggy Smedley, editorial director and publisher of M2M Magazine. “The M2M market is thriving because teams of technology providers are working collaboratively, for the good of all, to combine telemetry and next-generation wireless applications that increase business value as well as drive M2M adoption.”
The M2M solution implemented by Dritz Farms offers the agricultural industry a compelling new tool to stay profitable in today’s challenging economic environment. In an industry well known for tight margins, the costs of inputs such as seed, fertilizer and fuel have skyrocketed in the last several years while commodity sales have remained relatively flat until recently. Today’s farmers are hard pressed to find new ways to maximize crop yield while reducing production costs. The Leica mojoRTK and Virtual Wrench solution, connected to the Aeris CDMA network by Kyocera’s M2M module, gives farmers that competitive advantage.
“The new mojoRTK product platform is built around Leica’s new ‘MObile Job Console’ and Leica Geosystems’ proven dual-frequency RTK technology,” said Darren Herstedt, Virtual Wrench service and support manager for Leica Geosystems. “Combined with our Virtual Wrench remote service and diagnostics system, we can truly provide outstanding field application performance and unparalleled field support.”
For spec sheets and more information on Kyocera modules, developer kits and case studies, please visit www.kyocera-wireless.com/m2m-business. For more information on Leica Geosystems agricultural solutions, please visit www.leica-geosystems.com. For more information about Aeris, please visit www.aeris.net.
June 29, 2008
Internet, News, Technology
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One Voice Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:ONEV) Chairman and CEO Dean Weber, today issued the following corporate update:
“We are pleased to provide our shareholders with the following corporate update:
In the telecom sector our carrier customer in Mexico has indicated their desire to launch MobileVoice services nationally and we are currently defining business models, features and pricing. We are very confident a national launch will happen given several factors including the large revenue opportunities for our customer, the competitive nature of the service offering and as a powerful customer retention tool given number portability beginning July 2008 throughout Mexico. In India, One Voice has installed MobileVoice in our customer’s data center and we are waiting for Internet and telephone lines to be installed and connected to our platform, after which our customer will begin their testing and subsequent launch. We see tremendous opportunities in both Mexico and India with these national carriers.
In the retail sector One Voice just delivered several thousand copies of Media Center Communicator for national distribution in OfficeMax stores throughout the U.S. Next week One Voice will launch beta versions of our new Say2Play and MobileVoice StreetDeck software for download. We look forward to consumer feedback during our beta period to help One Voice continue to deliver quality products and to continue to grow our retail offerings. Visitwww.onev.com/products for product information and beta availability coming next week.
In the embedded sector One Voice is working closely with a large OEM for including voice control on their Mobile Internet Device (MID). Voice control has been stated as the top priority for their MID and One Voice has been selected as their partner.
One Voice is currently securing additional funding to grow our company to meet the demands for our products and technology. Voice control is a rapidly growing sector and One Voice is well positioned to capture market share with powerful products and patented technology.
As always, I appreciate your ongoing support and look forward to a very successful 2008.”
About One Voice Technologies, Inc.
One Voice Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:ONEV) is the world’s first developer of 4th Generation voice solutions for the Telecom and Interactive Multimedia markets. Our Intelligent Voice solutions employ revolutionary, patented technology that allows people to send messages (E-mail, SMS, Instant Messaging and paging), purchase products, get information and control devices - all by using their voice. The company is headquartered in La Jolla, California. For more information, please visit www.onev.com
June 29, 2008
Technology
1 Comment
Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) new hypervisor-based server virtualization software, Hyper-V, is now available for download, and it’s several weeks ahead of “schedule” — though it’s also months late. Microsoft previously wanted to deliver Hyper-V with Windows Server 2008. In any event, Hyper-V is here, and it’s real.
Hyper-V is a feature of some versions of Windows Server 2008, and while it’s available for download now, it will hit Microsoft’s Windows Update on July 8. It will also be available as a standalone solution that will sell for about US$28 later this year.
Virtualization software lets organizations that are running multiple, separate physical servers combine those servers virtually onto a single physical machine. By running several virtual servers on a single hardware system, organizations typically increase energy efficiency, reduce hardware footprints in crowded data centers, and save on administration and maintenance costs.
The current market leader for x86-based virtualization solutions isVMware with its ESX Server and related lineup of solutions.
Microsoft reported that more than 250 customers participated in its early adopter program, including firms such as Land O’Lakes, HotSchedules and The Scooter Store, though more than 1 million downloaded the solution during beta testing.
“By virtualizing everything, we have been able to increase our server utilization by a factor of 10, providing dramatic opportunities in consolidation and power savings,” noted Ray Pawlikowski of HotSchedules, an Austin, Texas-based company that provides online labor scheduling and handles 4 million logins per month.
In terms of competing with VMware and other Xen-based hypervisors on the market, Microsoft is betting that some customers will use it because of its integration with Windows Server 2008.
“It’s been designed as a Windows feature, which our customers know, so those with Windows Server certification will be familiar with it — the people who have all the in-house skills on Windows Server will know how to use it,” noted Bill Hilf, general manager of Windows Server marketing and platform strategy at Microsoft.
That integration, it turns out, may lead to widespread adoption.
June 28, 2008
Internet, News, Stuff, Technology, Videos
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Terri Rossman considers herself a visual learner. So when the 52-year-old marketing professional wanted to learn a new knitting stitch, she turned to the Web.
“I searched for ‘knit bobble stitch’ on Google and I found a video of someone doing it,” said Rossman, who lives in the Detroit area. “It was perfect for me.”
The Web has become the place where people go to learn new tricks. Traffic to sites likeeHow.com and WikiHow.com have doubled over the past year, according to figures from ComScore Networks, while start-ups such as Howcast.com and Findhow.com, a search engine to find “how-to” content, are entering the field.
Want to learn how to count cards at a blackjack table? Go to eHow. Interested in dating a flight attendant? Howcast has a video with some advice. Want to create the cat-eye look favored by singer Amy Winehouse? Several videos on YouTube can help.
“I saw with Google and then YouTube that people are really searching for this stuff,” said Jason Liebman, cofounder and chief executive of Howcast, which has been in development for a year and recently opened for visitors. “But no one was showing you to flirt with a girl or swaddle a baby.”
Liebman, who worked at Google Video and then YouTube, has raised US$9 million in funding for Howcast. The site produces its own videos and also pays people to create videos. Like other sites of its kind, it plans to generate revenue through.
The variety and quality of how-to content can vary across the Web. Howcast offers only videos, while WikiHow, a site where anyone can contribute, largely offers text-based guides. At eHow, which encourages community through its social networking tools, the content is a mix of professionally produced material and user-created items.
