Three Pioneering Projects Win Coveted

Vodafone And Mhealth Alliance Wireless Innovation Awards

 

$650,000 Competition Recognizes Projects with Most Potential to Solve Critical Global Challenges

 

The Vodafone Americas Foundation and mHealth Alliance today announced the winners of the third annual Vodafone Americas Foundation Wireless Innovation Project™ and second annual mHealth Alliance Award. The winning projects include a device to diagnose eye disorders, a wireless system that identifies high-risk pregnancies, and a solar-powered apparatus to monitor patients’ medication and relay the information to their local health workers.  The projects will be awarded $650,000 in cash and prizes to further develop their projects for implementation and adoption. Team members from the winning projects will accept their awards together at the Global Philanthropy Forum conference in Redwood City, CA on April 14, 2011.

 

The 2011 Vodafone Americas Foundation Wireless Innovation Project™ and the mHealth Alliance Award winners are:

 

First Place Vodafone Americas Foundation Wireless Innovation Project™:

NETRA ($300,000)

From the MIT Media Lab, NETRA is an inexpensive mobile visual testing tool, which is a clip-on eyepiece for mobile phones that can instantly screen for eye conditions and transmit data to an optometrist, allowing for early treatment of common refractive eye disorders and cataracts. The device exploits emerging high-resolution screens of mobile devices and a software that analyzes the patient interaction. It will lead the way to addressing the most common, treatable visual impairments that, because of a lack of access to technology, disable more than half a billion people worldwide. (More at http://eyenetra.com) 

 

Second Place Vodafone Americas Foundation Wireless Innovation Project™ and

Additional mHealth Alliance Award Winner:

Smart Diaphragm ($200,000 plus $50,000 in mHealth Alliance Award benefits)

From University of California, San Francisco, the Smart Diaphragm is a wireless monitoring and early warning system for high-risk pregnancies that can be cheaply and easily administered by a patient. Around the world, one in ten babies are born prematurely – leading to death and lifelong disabilities, however, pre-term labor is often preventable or can be delayed with early detection and treatment. The Smart Diaphragm detects decreasing levels of collagen in the cervix – an indicator of impending pre-term labor – with results transmitted to a cloud database monitored by physicians.

 

In addition to the Vodafone Americas Foundation Wireless Innovation Project™ prize, as the winner of the mHealth Alliance Award, Smart Diaphragm also will receive prizes worth $50,000, including strategic and networking assistance from the mHealth Alliance. 

 

Third Place Vodafone Americas Foundation Wireless Innovation Project™:

CoolComply ($100,000)

This inter-disciplinary collaboration involves the Massachusetts General Hospital, Innovations in International Health at MIT, and an international NGO, the Global Health Committee. CoolComply is a solar-powered wireless detection system that monitors the doses and the temperature of the medication, relaying readings via wireless to the local healthcare workers to track treatment and intervene when necessary. CoolComply provides patients undergoing treatment for Multiple Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and their caregivers with the proper monitoring to ensure they are meeting the standards for their treatment.  The number of MDR-TB cases is growing and, while curable, the treatment is extensive – 18 to 24 months – and complex, involving temperature and time sensitive doses of medicine.   

 

 “It is heartening to see that the caliber of entries continues to grow for the Wireless Innovation Project,” said Peter Barry, President, Vodafone Americas Foundation.  “The entries for this year’s competition were very inspiring and extremely competitive.”

This year, nearly 100 Wireless Innovation Project™ applications were received with the potential to help solve critical social issues across a variety of fields including healthcare, education, access, economic development, environment, connectivity and disaster relief.  Due to the growing collaboration between Vodafone and the mHealth Alliance, there was a significant increase in mHealth applications compared to last year. 

 “Our goal with the mHealth Alliance Award is to spur wireless innovation to solve global health challenges, especially in developing countries,” said Kathy Calvin, CEO, United Nations Foundation, which hosts the mHealth Alliance.  “Cutting edge technologies like the Smart Diaphragm will be critical if we are to succeed at reducing maternal and child deaths and help meet the Millennium Development Goals.”

Eight finalists representing the fields of education, environment, healthcare, transportation and Internet access were selected from a large and diverse applicant pool to travel to San Francisco to personally present their projects in front of the judges.  The other finalists were:

Cellphone-Enabled Tricorder – A compact wireless device to monitor subjects with sleep apnea and infants at risk of SIDS.

 

mobileVision – A community healthcare worker-centric hardware and software mobile platform to perform low-cost eye exams and check-ups and transmit the results to a remote ophthalmologist or optometrist.

 

PocketSchool - Enabling and tracking highly interactive learning and training instances through a hybrid (i.e., cellular & wi-fi) ad-hoc mobile learning network designed for the neediest and most remote corners of the world.

 

TUBE-ing Over Digital Divide – A software system that computes and delivers congestion dependent pricing for mobile Internet access, enabling an extremely affordable wireless data plan where users can leverage low-congestion and low-price time slots. 

 

Wireless Green Patch – A low cost wireless device to monitor the integrity of civil and transportation structures as well as energy efficiency in buildings.

 

The awards for the Wireless Innovation Project™ and mHealth Alliance Award will be presented at the annual Global Philanthropy Forum conference.  The Global Philanthropy Forum, with a mission that complements the goals of both the Vodafone Americas Foundation and the mHealth Alliance, is building a community of donors and social investors committed to international causes and aims to inform, enable and enhance the strategic nature of their work.  The Global Philanthropy Forum conference provides an ideal venue for the Wireless Innovation Project winners to receive their awards, providing the opportunity for them to meet people in similar fields and to develop international partnerships and collaborations.

 

Through its foundations, Vodafone has long recognized that wireless technology has the potential to make the significant impacts in the world – particularly in developing countries.  Vodafone Americas Foundation™ launched the Wireless Innovation Project™ (http://project.vodafone-us.com/) in 2008 to foster creativity and fund the most promising innovations with the potential to solve pressing issues around the globe. In addition to the Wireless Innovation Project™, Vodafone and its global network of 27 foundations are helping hundreds of thousands of people around the world lead better, fuller lives through more than $60,000,000 in grants and contributions.

 

Open to NGOs, universities, nonprofit and mHealth organizations, each year, the Wireless Innovation Project fosters three winners to advance their projects through the next stages of development. Vodafone provides additional – and invaluable – support by integrating the winning projects with the foundation’s vast network of social entrepreneurs, NGO’s and international agencies.  Previous award-winning projects have already begun to show impressive results. Last year’s second place winner, FrontlineSMS: Credit, is building an application to enable easy enterprise use of mobile payment systems to bring financial services to the entrepreneurial poor, and will be beta testing software in East Africa this spring.

 

The expert judges for the competition represent a mix of expertise and backgrounds in the fields of wireless telecommunications, health research, and advocacy.  Each judge is a recognized leader in business, government, academia or international development.

The 2011 panel of Judges includes:

 

Dr. James Kahn, Professor of Medicine at University of California, San Francisco

Richard J. Lynch, Executive Vice President, Verizon

Peters Suh, CEO, Wholesale Applications Community (WAC)

Katrin Verclas, Co-Founder and Editor, MobileActive.org

Jody Ranck, DrPH, Director of Thought Leadership, Policy and Advocacy at the mHealth Alliance/UN Foundation

 

About the Vodafone Americas Foundation™

Vodafone Americas Foundation™ is part of Vodafone’s global network of foundations. We are affiliated with Vodafone Group Plc, the world's leading mobile telecommunications company, with ownership interests in 30 countries and Partner Markets in more than 40 countries. As of March 2010, Vodafone had approximately 341.1 million proportionate customers worldwide. In the U.S., our foundation directs its philanthropic activities towards the San Francisco Bay and the Metro Denver Areas where most of our employees live and work, and where we strive to make a positive and enduring impact on our communities. The Foundation is driven by a passion for the world around us. We make grants that help people in our communities and around the world lead fuller lives.

 

About the mHealth Alliance
The mHealth Alliance (mHA) mobilizes innovation to deliver quality health at the furthest reaches of wireless networks and mobile devices.  Working with diverse partners, the mHA advances mHealth through research, advocacy, and support for the development of interoperable solutions and sustainable deployment models.  The mHA sponsors innovation challenges and conferences, leads cross-sector mHealth initiatives, and hosts HUB (Health UnBound), a global online community for resource sharing and collaborative solution generation. Hosted by the United Nations Foundation, and founded by the UN, Rockefeller, and Vodafone Foundations, the mHA now also includes PEPFAR, HP, and the GSM Association among its founding partners. For more information, visit www.mhealthalliance.org. 

 

 

/PRNewswire/ - Haitian wireless operator Voila, a subsidiary of Seattle-based Trilogy International Partners, and UNIBANK, Haiti's premier bank, have launched T-Cash, Haiti's first mobile money solution. A groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind service in Haiti, hundreds of thousands of the country's 'unbanked' population and Haitians in regions unreached by traditional financial service providers will now have access to a full suite of banking and m-commerce services through their Voila mobile phone. By leveraging UNIBANK's nationwide network of merchants and tapping into Voila's base of over 1 million subscribers, this partnership creates a valuable financial ecosystem with the potential to impact millions of Haitians throughout the country. In partnership with applications service provider MoreMagic, Voila and UNIBANK have delivered their mobile payment solutions in a secure, hosted, and fully managed environment. "We're very excited to bring the latest in mobile technology to Haiti where the acute needs of the Haitian people require fast action and mobility," said Brad Horwitz, President& CEO of Trilogy International Partners. "Voila has been operating in Haiti for over a decade, and is well positioned to bring and expand its mobile money service to the entire Haitian population safely, securely and efficiently." Whereas there are very few bank branches per capita; over 85% of Haitian households have access to a mobile phone. With T-Cash, Voila subscribers throughout Haiti now have the ability to complete domestic peer-to-peer money transfers, bill pay, payroll services, and expanded mobile commerce capabilities. An initial and unique feature of the T-Cash service will be a 'mini wallet.' The mini wallet allows Voila subscribers to immediately activate the T-Cash service and store up to 2500HTG ($62.50 USD) by entering *700# on their Voila mobile phone. This easy to use, mini wallet feature will allow for rapid, widespread adoption and access nationwide. Voila and UNIBANK are gearing up to establish over a thousand affiliated merchants and cash in/cash out locations throughout the country by January, 2011. "UNIBANK is proud to participate with its technological partner, Voila, in the launch of the first electronic wallet service in Haiti," said F. Carl Braun, Chairman of UNIBANK. "In doing so, UNIBANK perpetuates its tradition of technological leadership in the financial sector. The T-Cash service will be critical for the extension of banking services beyond traditional branches and the inclusion of the non-banked population particularly in rural areas. With the electronic wallet, financial services will be instantly available throughout the country," Braun said. The wide-scale commercial launch of T-Cash comes after an extensive nine month pilot program with global relief and development agency Mercy Corps. Mercy Corps' pioneering efforts to use T-Cash in their humanitarian cash programs opened the door for Haiti's rural poor and micro-businesses to gain access to financial services. The program provided an opportunity to test the new service, gauge user reactions, and incorporate feedback into training procedures and future service offerings. Customers' response to T-Cash has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic, showing that Haitians are ready to embrace mobile money as a safe and reliable option to meet their transactional needs. "It's not the first time that I've had a phone, but this time it is different," said Pierre Louis Jacques, a 43 year old Haitian father who participated in one of the pilot programs. "I wait for my payment eagerly and without worry. With my money, I'm going to buy food and pay for school for my children. I like this way of paying - the process is easy to learn and there's less risk involved," said Jacques. Voila has already been instrumental in providing local and international communications service to over one million Haitian customers, thousands of relief workers, a variety of international NGOs, and U.S. government agencies working in Haiti. Since the earthquake struck, wireless has been at the center of first responders' efforts to identify and rescue survivors, spread critical information on vaccinations and food distributions, and provide health services. UNIBANK has been actively involved in providing critical payment solutions for numerous NGOs enabling them to stimulate the economy through job creation programs, and provide lifelines to hundreds of thousands left destitute by the earthquake. The bank's ability to open its doors to the public shortly after the events of January 12th was key to maintaining confidence in the banking system and provided the peace of mind its many clients needed to start the rebuilding process. The T-Cash platform is available to relief organizations, NGOs and government agencies throughout the country. Any organization interested in deploying mobile money solutions in Haiti can send inquiries directly to tcash@Voila.ht or marketing@unibankhaiti.com. Voila and UNIBANK will hold a press conference at 10:30 AM on Monday, December 6, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where attendees can see live demonstrations of the technology in action and learn how mobile money services are contributing to the reconstruction of Haiti and revolutionizing the country's banking services. To RSVP, please contact Emmanuel Jean-Francois at ejeanfrancois@Voila.ht. Journalists or individuals seeking more information on the expansion of mobile money technology in Haiti can view a documentary produced by the Sundance Institute and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at http://www.sundance.org/videos/gates/making-money-mobile/. About Voila Voila is a leading mobile telecommunications operator in Haiti, providing high-quality, affordable wireless service to well over a million subscribers. Since its inception over 10 years ago, it has invested over US$200 million in Haiti. Voila employs over 500 local staff and provides indirect employment to more than 25,000 Haitians through a micro-enterprise venture whereby local entrepreneurs sell time and minute recharges on a customized cell phone. Voila is a subsidiary of Trilogy International Partners LLC, a privately-held company based in Bellevue, WA. In December 2009 Voila received the US Department of State's prestigious Award for Corporate Excellence from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. In early 2009 Voila was selected as one of ten (10) finalists by the Organization of American States for its corporate citizenship in the Americas. For more information on Voila, please see its website: www.voila.ht. About Trilogy International Partners, LLC Trilogy International Partners, LLC (Trilogy) is a privately-held company based in Bellevue, WA. Trilogy invests in wireless telecommunication operations in international markets that exhibit strong opportunities for significant growth. Trilogy and its businesses owns wireless communications systems in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, and New Zealand, holding licenses to provide wireless services to over 31 million people. For more information on Trilogy, please see its website: www.trilogy-international.com. About Unibank Since its inception in July 1993, UNIBANK has emerged as Haiti's fastest-growing bank and has transformed itself into Haiti's leading financial institution, striking the imagination, providing innovation and constantly introducing new products and services. UNIBANK is Haiti's largest bank, with assets exceeding USD 1 billion. UNIBANK is the flagship company of Groupe Financier National (GFN)® a conglomerate of 15 enterprises located in Haiti and abroad, with 850,000 customers in Haiti and 270,000 Haitian customers living abroad. The Group has 1,828 employees and 568 points of services comprising 45 UNIBANK branches and 20 additional offices specializing in Micro finance, credit card services, investment banking, retail consumer credit, and financial and economic consulting. UNITRANSFER, the remittance company of the Group, has 186 offices and remittance paying-agents throughout Haiti and 317 International offices and agents in the United States, Canada and various countries in the Caribbean. For more information on UNIBANK, see its website: www.unibankhaiti.com.

I have been remiss in posting the Flat Classroom events and times for the Global Education conference but Julie Lindsay has collected all of the remaining live events for Thursday and Friday.  Thanks Julie! If you want to hear from students or just a few of our teachers (many have already presented) please do!

All times listed below are GMT http://www.globaleducationconference.com/schedule-gmt.html
but you can set your own timezone VERY easily by going to http://www.globaleducationconference.com/schedule.html

Have a great conference day!
Julie Lindsay
Educator Advisory Board Chair
Global Education Conference

The following are teachers and supporters of Flat Classroom and we encourage you to attend their sessions!
Thursday November 18 and Friday November 19!!

Wednesday 9pm GMT - (ok, this is on right now! Make sure you listen to the recording!!)
"TITLE: ANSER Got Rights PRESENTER: Jackie Gerstein, ANSER Charter School (USA) ELLUMINATE SESSION ROOM (open one hour before session): https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=gec2010&password=D.3D169A3ACEB579B1F02A2663A80AC6 FORMAT: Panel LANGUAGE: English SHORT DESCRIPTION: The ANSER Junior High Students will present the Human Rights celebration we held. Groups of students studied and presented individual rights from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We connected the rights with the real world, our community, and ended with a Human Rights celebration at a local park. Our work and media from our performance can be found at http://anser.weebly.com/index.html . We will review these during our presentation. WEBSITE: http://anser.weebly.com/index.html TRACK: Student"

Thursday 1am GMTTITLE: ProjectGI - Peace Education & Technology PRESENTER: A.J. Juliani, Wissahickon High School and Project: Global Inform (USA) ELLUMINATE SESSION ROOM (open one hour before session): https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=gec2010&password=D.886DB8156F18EA5417AA9B921FC8CD FORMAT: Presentation LANGUAGE: English SHORT DESCRIPTION: Project: Global Inform (PGI) is an in-school project where students use technology and social media to spread awareness about human rights violations. PGI came out of the idea that we too often “teach” our students about genocide and human rights violations, but never “do” anything about it. This project’s main objective is to create awareness about current human rights violations in our schools, communities, and abroad. PGI was piloted at Wissahickon High School in 2009 and 2010, and is currently expanding to a global project this year. This presentation will take you through the process from start to finish! WEBSITE: http://project-inform.org/ TRACK: Global Issues"

Thursday 12 midday GMT
TITLE: Inside ITGS: Cyber-Students Share their Connected Learning PRESENTER: Julie Lindsay, Beijing (BISS) International School (China) CO-PRESENTER(S): Madeleine Brookes / Students from China ELLUMINATE SESSION ROOM (open one hour before session): https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=gec2010&password=D.363ECFBB6A8B7916D058A55F05F499 FORMAT: Presentation LANGUAGE: English SHORT DESCRIPTION: Inside ITGS is a collaboration that started between two schools in China. The aim of Inside ITGS is to join students together in a flattened virtual learning environment thereby providing enhanced opportunities for cultural awareness and global collaboration as well as explore and evaluate IT tools and systems in an authentic and social context. Join Grade 11 Information Technology in a Global Society students from Beijing (BISS) International School and Western Academy Beijing as they present and discuss about what it means to be a connected and collaborative online learner with the ‘Inside ITGS’ community. Topics covered include best tools to support online learning, global digital citizenship perspectives, and challenges to connected learning in a global sense. WEBSITE: http://insideitgs.net http://inside itgs.ning.com http://insideitgs.wikispaces.com SPONSORING PARTNER: Flat Classroom Project TRACK: Student"

Thursday 1pm GMT
TITLE: Constructing Knowledge and Solving Problems for a Global Education. PRESENTER: Kevin Crouch, The American School of Bombay (India) ELLUMINATE SESSION ROOM (open one hour before session): https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=gec2010&password=D.A9E2ECF67939F27439FBB91EE8E84B FORMAT: Presentation LANGUAGE: English SHORT DESCRIPTION: This presentation will focus on how collaborative productivity tools such as Google Apps in conjunction with social-constructivist tools such as Voicethread can be used together to provide a convenient center of learning for activities supporting a global education. Students can plan inquiry, collect data, discuss results, and present findings collaboratively and asynchronously from any part of the world. Furthermore, all the activities can be embedded and monitored in a central location. TRACK: Teacher"

Thursday 3pm GMT
TITLE: Flat Classroom Project Student Summit PRESENTER: Honor Moorman, The International School of the Americas (USA) CO-PRESENTER(S): Cassie Allen / ""21st-Century Global Leadership"" students ELLUMINATE SESSION ROOM (open one hour before session): https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=gec2010&password=D.616EBAB340DECDBA972DC1EEE5B1A1 FORMAT: Presentation LANGUAGE: English SHORT DESCRIPTION: Secondary students from The International School of the Americas in San Antonio, Texas, USA are participating in the Flat Classroom Project as an integral part of their ""21st-Century Global Leadership"" class. In this session, they will share what they've learned about the technology trends described by Thomas Friedman as ""flatteners"" in his book, The World is Flat. Students will also reflect on what they've learned about collaboration and communication through their participation in this global project. The students are leading the way; join us to hear what they have to say about global education! WEBSITE: http://21globalleadership.wikispaces.com/ SPONSORING PARTNER: Flat Classroom Project TRACK: Student"

Thursday 7pm GMT
TITLE: Global Issues Project PRESENTER: Ray Jones, Qatar Academy, Doha, Qatar (State of Qatar) ELLUMINATE SESSION ROOM (open one hour before session): https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=gec2010&password=D.0CA5AEB5339630F888FC96A3B86999 FORMAT: Presentation LANGUAGE: English SHORT DESCRIPTION: Workshop Title: Global Issues Project: Creating a Community of Connected and Collaborative Learners. Targeted Audience: Middle Grades/High School. Description: For this online workshop, educators will be given an overview of the online project and how they can apply concepts of creating a community of connected and collaborative learners in their classroom and beyond. Various Web 2.0 applications will be explored among them wikis, Ning, etherpad and Google apps. Current action research, school collaborations, NETS standards, IB MYP curriculum connections will also be highlighted. This workshop will be immersive, interactive and educators will come away with an action plan, as well as learn how to become part of the Global Issues Project. WEBSITE: 20globalissues.wikispaces.com TRACK: Teacher"

Thursday 9pm GMT
"KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Vicki Davis ORGANIZATION: Flat Classroom Project™ (http://www.flatclassroomproject.net/) ELLUMINATE SESSION ROOM: https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=gec2010&password=D.649349FB46AF2BA93D6B248D5BAD49 PRESENTATION: Flatten Your Classroom: Move to Global Collaboration One Step at a Time. Global collaboration can seem daunting to many Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay, co founders of the Flat Classroom projects (including Flat Classroom, Digiteen, NetGenEd, and Eracism projects) have created a series of steps for connecting and flattening the classroom on a global basis providing a simple progression for teachers and schools to globalize their work. Join Vicki for a lively conversation about the steps to globalize and share your own experience in the backchannel. TRACK: Teacher BIO: Vicki Davis is a teacher and the IT director at Westwood Schools in Camilla, Georgia. Vicki co-created four award winning international wiki-centric projects, the Flat Classroom™ project, the NetGenEd™ Project, the Eracism Project™, the Horizon project, and Digiteen™ with teacher Julie Lindsay, currently in Bejing. She is cofounder of the Flat Classroom Conference to be held in Beijing, China in February 2010. These projects have linked more than 2800 students from both public and private schools in such countries as Austria, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Qatar, Pakistan, Romania, and the USA. These collaborative projects harnessing the most powerful Web 2.0 tools available including plns, wikis, blogs, digital storytelling, podcasts, social bookmarking, OpenSim Virtual worlds and more. Vicki has been featured in various media including Thomas Friedman's book, The World is Flat, Don Tapscott's Grown Up Digital, the Wall Street Journal, and the Boston Globe and more. Vicki blogs at the Cool Cat Teacher blog which won the 2008 Edublog Award for Best Teacher Blog and other awards. She was named a pioneer in Open Source Virtual World Technology in October 2009. Vicki is a Google Certified Teacher and Discovery S.T.A.R. Educator. Vicki is also a writer and conference presenter. She lives in Camilla, Georgia where she is a full time high school teacher, wife, and mother of three."

Friday 1am GMT
TITLE: 21st Century Literacy and Global Competence Flourish in the Flat Classroom™ Project PRESENTER: Honor Moorman, The International School of the Americas (U.S.A.) CO-PRESENTER(S): Catherine M, Edward M, Emily J, and Scott B ELLUMINATE SESSION ROOM (open one hour before session): https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=gec2010&password=D.38B4E258EAFFD9D9787327D1F355B6 FORMAT: Presentation LANGUAGE: English SHORT DESCRIPTION: This presentation will translate theory into practice by demonstrating how the Flat Classroom™ Project helps students develop 21st century literacies and global competencies. Student presenters will facilitate a guided tour of their digital footprints to showcase the knowledge and skills they gained by participating in the project. This student work will bring to life three key frameworks: the National Council of Teachers of English Definition of 21st Century Literacies, the Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning’s description of global competence, and the Flat Classroom™ Project seven steps pedagogy. Participants will learn about effective teaching strategies and tools for helping students communicate, collaborate, and co-create with international peers. WEBSITE: http://21globalleadership.wikispaces.com/ SPONSORING PARTNER: Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning and Flat Classroom™ Project TRACK: Curriculum"

New release of flagship standard provides blueprint for entire back-office

MANAGEMENT WORLD AMERICAS, ORLANDO, FL, NOVEMBER 9, 2010—TM Forum today announced the release of Frameworx 10, the latest version of the Forum's suite of industry standards that enables service providers and suppliers to reduce risk, lower integration costs, and speed time-to-market. Already adopted by 18 of the world's top 20 service providers, Frameworx is fast becoming the industry standard for enterprise IT and process architecture.

Frameworx serves as a blueprint for a service provider's entire operational back-office, defining the standard process and information models required to run a service providers' business. Today's announcement marks the first in a series of releases along a newly established roadmap for the Frameworx standards, based on service provider needs and priorities.

This latest release of Frameworx is fully aligned with other key IT industry standards such as ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) and Services Oriented Architecture (SOA). It expands and integrates the Forum's NGOSS standard, combining the Business Process (eTOM), Information (SID), and Application (TAM) Frameworks into a full enterprise IT and process architecture.

Developed through TM Forum's unique collaborative R&D methodology, Frameworx 10 is the result of extensive collaboration between the Forum's 750-strong corporate members. This new version is comprised of:

• Information Framework (SID) version 9.0

• Application Framework (TAM) version 4.0

• Business Process Framework (eTOM) version 9.0

• Integration Framework version 1.0

2011 will see the next release of Frameworx which is already in development and includes enhancements to the Application and Business Process frameworks to support cyber security management requirements for complex networks and a suite of additional features.

Key Facts

• Frameworx has been widely adopted worldwide and has been built for the industry, by the industry.

• Frameworx drives business agility and re-use, essential in today's market where operators need to rapidly deliver new products and services and increase revenues in the face of changing value chains and markets, network rationalization, more demanding customers, and all IP technologies.

• It provides end-to-end service management by integrating common business processes, enterprise information, and the applications into one unified solution.

• Service Oriented Architecture rationalizes the business and IT architecture across the supporting components to reduce and simplify operational processes and costs.

• Frameworx comprises an integrated set of Frameworks defining common business processes, information, and applications.

• Frameworx allows you to realize ITIL compliant implementations through the Business Process Framework (eTOM), which is now fully mapped to ITIL.

• Through Frameworx' reusable, standard, and consistent end-to-end process flows, solutions, and interfaces, service providers, systems integrators, and suppliers can reduce integration time and product costs.

• TM Forum's Frameworx Conformance Certification program enables service providers and suppliers to gain an independent assessment of their conformance to Frameworx by making use of standards-based information definitions that drive ease of integration and data consistency.

Supporting Services
Frameworx 10 is supported by

• Frameworx Conformance Certification

• Frameworx Solution Library

• Business Services developed from business, information, and application framework mappings

• Certified product, training, and support services

Quotes:
"Today's release marks a key milestone in TM Forum's mission to continually simplify the complex business of IT for service providers and suppliers. Frameworx 10 provides pragmatic and standardized business process, information, and integration models developed by the industry, for the industry. As service providers face falling traditional revenues and the need to rapidly deploy new, customer-centric services, Frameworx 10 gives our members a comprehensive platform to be the next generation of competitive service provider. - Martin Creaner, president & COO, TM Forum

Frameworx - More Information

• Find conformant vendor solutions or learn how to participate in the Conformance Certification Program

• Take a Frameworx training course

• Visit the Frameworx web site at http://www.tmforum.org/Frameworx

• Participate in the Frameworx on-line communities

• Learn more about Frameworx and implementation case studies in Forumville and in conference sessions at Management World Americas 2010, November 9-11, 2010 (Orlando, FL)

• Get a Frameworx poster in Forumville at Management World Americas 2010

• Find conformant vendor solutions at Conformance Certification Program

• Listen to the Cyber Security across Cyber Security across Complex Networks: Protecting your Systems with TM Forum Frameworx recorded webinar

• Listen to the Introduction to Interface Development Tooling and Pattern Libraries recorded webinar

• Press and analysts desiring a briefing to learn more about Frameworx should contact Geoff Devlin

• Subscribe to TM Forum's press release RSS feed and newsletters

TM Forum Standards and Services
Further information on TM Forum standards and services is available at:

• TM Forum

• TM Forum Frameworx

• Frameworx Case Studies

• Frameworx Training

• Frameworx Conformance Certification Program

• Business Metrics

• Business Benchmarking

About TM Forum:
With more than 700 corporate members in 195 countries, TM Forum is the world's leading industry association focused on enabling best-in-class IT for service providers in the communications, media and cloud service markets. The Forum provides business-critical industry standards and expertise to enable the creation, delivery and monetization of digital services.

TM Forum brings together the world's largest communications, technology and media companies, providing an innovative, industry-leading approach to collaborative R&D, along with wide range of support services including benchmarking, training and certification. The Forum produces the renowned international Management World conference series, as well as thought-leading industry research and publications.

Global TM Forum Media Contact
Geoff Devlin PR Director
gdevlin@tmforum.org
+44 (0)7894 300 280

United States Media Contact
March Communications
Nate Hubbell
tmforum@marchpr.com
+1 617 960 9875

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Telvent has an immediate opening for an experienced Administrative Manager to join our team. This position will manage the day to day office operations and will report directly to the Company’s President. This individual will also support other senior managers within the organization.

Responsibilities:
•Oversee all administrative policies and procedures
•Manage calendars for multiple executives and managers
•Manage building facilities
•Coordinate schedules and communications with internal staff
•Schedule and coordinate meetings and conference calls
•Manage and coordinate travel arrangements, including international travel
•Process invoices and expense reports; follow up on invoices as needed
•Draft and send out e-mails, letters and other business correspondence
•Coordinate schedules and communications with external vendors and contractors
•Organize and maintain corporate files, documents and records that contain sensitive information
•Produce various reports using data, narrative and graphic outputs and Excel spreadsheets
•Create PowerPoint presentations
•Assist in planning and executing special events

Requirements
•BA/BS preferred, High School Diploma required
•Minimum 3 years experience supporting executive level management in a corporate environment
•Minimum 3 years of office management experience in a professional office setting
•Proficient in Microsoft Office programs (Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook)
•Strong oral and written communication skills
•Ability to communicate positively and professionally with others at all levels in the organization
•Ability to multitask while working in a fast-paced company
•Detail oriented with strong organizational and time management skills
•Experience operating standard office equipment
•Ability to prioritize assignments/duties and work with limited supervision
•Ability to meet deadlines under pressure

Telvent offers excellent benefits and competitive salaries!

Visit us online at www.telvent.com

About Telvent:
Telvent delivers Information Technology for a sustainable and secure world. We specialize in solutions with high added value in four specific industrial sectors (Oil & Gas, Electricity, Traffic, and Environment) in the Americas, Europe and China. With over 40 years experience in industrial control and business process management systems, Telvent executes projects and provides technical services in the field of mission-critical, real time control and information management. With a comprehensive portfolio of outsourcing and consulting services, Telvent manages IT and telecommunications infrastructure for an extensive international client base. At the source of Telvent’s success are its people.

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(London: August 18 2010) - iBAHN, the worldwide leader in digital entertainment and Internet solutions for the hospitality and meeting industries, today announces that it is to complete a digital entertainment and High Speed Internet Access (HSIA) installation at the Hilton Zurich Airport in Switzerland.

The hotel will be equipped with a state-of-the-art IPTV solution and HSIA over fibre-optic networks offering guests the ability to confidently access the internet, with a high quality of service and 24/7 technical support in local languages. iBAHN's digital services combine digital TV entertainment with superb HD picture quality, which is vastly superior to analogue systems, and secure high-speed internet services.

Using these services, the Hilton Zurich Airport will be able to totally integrate guest services with entertainment packages, offering multiple revenue streams and improved guest satisfaction from the ease of use of the system and greater choice of high quality entertainment.

The hotel is located in North Zurich's business district, 5 minutes from Zurich Kloten Airport and 15 minutes from downtown Zurich. It offers 25 meeting rooms for 2-250 people and a complimentary shuttle bus runs from the airport to the hotel regularly. This makes it a favourite for business travellers, who will now benefit from iBAHN's wired HSIA in guest and conference rooms, business centre PCs and laptop connect services.

Bettina Schütt, General Manager, Hilton Zurich Airport, comments: "Thanks to our combined airport and city location, business travellers tend to be one of our most frequent occupants. Therefore it is vitally important that the Hilton Zurich Airport caters for their every need. iBAHN is not only a trusted Hilton partner, but a respected name that our business guests know and actively seek out. In addition, iBAHN's flexibility, high levels of service and extra revenue opportunities make them difficult to match in the connectivity and digital entertainment sector."

Graeme Powell, Managing Director EMEA, iBAHN, comments: "Hilton Zurich Airport offers superb facilities and location for business travellers in Switzerland. We have delivered the very best infrastructure platform that will provide fast, secure and trouble-free internet connectivity, as well as help to evolve the hotel's digital offering with the next generation of IPTV and entertainment packages."

Ends

About iBAHN
The company is the only global provider of digital information/entertainment and Internet solutions for the hospitality and meeting industries. Monthly, more than 1.8 million travellers and meeting attendees rely on iBAHN to increase productivity with secure high-speed Internet access options in nearly 3,000 hotels, conference centres and meeting spaces in 41 countries worldwide. iBAHN's digital entertainment and information services feature leading programming in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia and India. Operating one of the largest MPLS networks in the industry, the company provides technology solutions to more than 50,000 events annually, ranging from small group meetings to major industry conferences, while serving more than 40% of Fortune 100 corporations. For more information, please visit www.ibahn.com.

iBAHN press contacts:

Lloyd Gofton - 07919 353484 / lloyd@liberatemedia.com

Tim Greenhalgh - 07798 927795 / tim@liberatemedia.com

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Identive Group Announces Second Quarter 2010 Results

93% Revenue Growth to $21.2 Million and Cost Reductions Drive Positive Adjusted EBITDA of $0.7 million

PR Newswire — August 16, 2010

SANTA ANA, Calif. and ISMANING, Germany, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Identive Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: INVE; Frankfurt Stock Exchange: INV), a provider of products, services and solutions for the security, identification and RFID industries, today announced results for the second quarter (Q2) of fiscal 2010, ended June 30, 2010. The Company also announced plans to move its German stock listing to the Entry Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

“Identive made good progress towards establishing a profitable business model in Q2, as strong sales growth was supported by significant reductions in our overhead cost structure, allowing us to reach profitability on the adjusted EBITDA line. We are also pleased that RockWest Technology Group, Inc., our latest acquisition, contributed favorably to our growth during its first quarter as part of the Group,” said Ayman S. Ashour, chief executive officer and chairman of Identive Group. “A strong order book position at the end of Q2 is a reflection of the increased demand for our products, systems and solutions to address emerging identity management applications such as Citizen ID cards, ePayment schemes and the convergence of logical and physical access control in employee ID and security applications.”

Q2 2010 Results

Identive’s Q2 2010 results include the operating results of acquired companies since the dates of their respective acquisition. These include Hirsch Electronics Corporation, acquired April 30, 2009; Bluehill ID AG, acquired January 4, 2010; and RockWest Technology Group, Inc., acquired April 14, 2010. All figures are reported in U.S. GAAP, except as noted. A discussion of non-GAAP measures and reconciliation to the applicable GAAP measures is included below.

Revenue in Q2 2010 was $21.2 million, up 93% from $11.0 million in Q2 2009 and up 39% from $15.3 million in the first quarter (Q1) of 2010. The year over year increase primarily was due to the inclusion of additional revenue from the acquired Hirsch, Bluehill ID and RockWest businesses, while sequential growth was driven by strong sales levels within the Company’s Identity Management Solutions & Services segment and the addition of RockWest.

Sales in the Americas accounted for 66%, sales in EMEA accounted for 24% and sales in the Asia/Pacific region accounted for 10% of total Q2 2010 revenue. Sales in EMEA are mostly denominated in euro and the relative weakness of this currency in Q2 impacted the geographic mix, as did strong sales to the U.S. government and the addition of RockWest to Americas revenue.

Highlights in Q2 2010 included more than $4.0 million in U.S. government agency orders for Hirsch security systems, which reflect the continued high activity of government agencies to enhance their security systems as mandated under programs such as Homeland Security Presidential Directives 5 and 12. Sales from the Company’s Multicard business remained stable overall in the second quarter, and Multicard Germany received a large order for products and services to support the German electronic ID program, for which delivery is expected to begin in November 2010 and continue over a twelve-month period. The Company’s SCM Microsystems business will also participate in this program as the original design architect and manufacturer of the RFID based contactless card readers. SCM’s U.S. government business remained stable in Q2 2010, although semiconductor shortages constrained sales of SCM readers in Asia. Sales of RFID inlays within the Company’s TagStar business showed good improvement in Q2 and orders activity was strong. Identive’s most recent acquisition, RockWest, performed as expected, generating approx $2.1 million in sales, and experienced increased integration activity in the state and local government and education markets during the quarter.

Non-GAAP gross profit margin, excluding overhead allocation, amortization and equity-based compensation expense, was 51% in Q2 2010 compared with 57% in Q2 2009 and 49% in Q1 2010. Strong and stable margins at Hirsch and improved margins at SCM were partially offset by low margins due to unfavorable product mix in the Company’s Multicard and TagStar businesses.

Non-GAAP overhead costs (operating expenses before amortization, depreciation, overhead allocation, equity-based compensation, acquisition, transition and integration costs), were $10.1 million in Q2 2010, up 40% from $7.2 million in Q2 2009 and basically flat with $10.0 million in Q1 2010. The increase in overhead costs in Q2 2010 compared with the previous year is due to the inclusion of the incremental expenses from the acquired businesses, offset by cost reductions initiated in the previous quarter. The cost reduction measures implemented in Q1 2010 included facility consolidations, streamlining of the Company’s existing and acquired organizations in Germany and India, and reductions in headcount, executive salaries and Board of Director fees. Additionally, during Q2 2010 Identive began consolidating administrative services and programs including payroll, banking and health benefits across all employees in the U.S., which the Company expects will yield incremental savings going forward. All together, the Company expects its cost reduction programs will result in savings of approximately $6.0 million per year, of which approximately $4.5 million will be realized in 2010. Benefits from the cost savings measures were limited in Q1, more fully realized in Q2 and expected to be fully realized in the second half of 2010. Savings in overhead costs in Q2 were offset by the additional overheads associated with RockWest.

Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA (EBITDA before equity-based compensation, acquisition, transition and integration costs) was $0.7 million in Q2 2010, compared with a loss of $(1.0) million in Q2 2009 and a loss of $(2.5) million in Q1 2010.

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of Q2 2010 were $4.6 million, down from $6.8 million at the end of the previous quarter, reflecting limited changes in working capital and funding of the acquisition, transition and integration costs.

On a GAAP basis, gross profit margin in Q2 2010 was 46%, compared with 53% in Q2 2009 and 44% in Q1 2010. Total GAAP operating expenses in Q2 2010 were $11.5 million, compared with $7.6 million in Q2 2009 and $12.2 million in Q1 2010.

GAAP operating loss was $(1.7) million in Q2 2010, compared with $(1.9) million in Q2 2009 and $(5.5) million in Q1 2010.

GAAP loss from continuing operations attributable to Identive Group, Inc, in Q2 2010 was $(0.9) million, or $(0.02) per share, compared with $(0.6) million, or $(0.03) per share in Q2 2009 and $(6.0) million, or $(0.15) per share in Q1 2010.

Move to Entry Standard Listing on Frankfurt Stock Exchange

Identive has decided to apply to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange to move its German stock listing from the regulated market/Prime Standard to the Entry Standard market of the German Stock Exchange. The process is expected to take approximately four months from the date of application, which has not yet occurred. The Group expects to retain the same symbol, ‘INV’, and anticipates normal trading on the German exchanges during the application and transition process.

“We aim to execute several transactions a year under our buy, build and grow strategy, and the regulations of the Prime Standard market require us to issue a new prospectus whenever we register new shares for most acquisitions, as well as on an annual basis, as it is less common for a company to use its own shares as an acquisition currency in Germany. Moving to the Entry Standard market is expected to save us hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in legal, banking and audit costs,” explained Mr. Ashour. “Identive Group is fully committed to its European investors and to providing them with the highest level of disclosure and transparency. Under our continued principal listing on the NASDAQ Global Market, we are already subject to strict regulations and registration requirements that go beyond what even the Prime Standard requires. We believe that moving our listing will benefit both our shareholders and the Company.”

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Identive Group will host a conference call and webcast today at 8:00 AM Eastern Time, which can be accessed by dialing 866.356.4279 (toll free within the U.S.) or +1 617.597.5394 (outside the U.S.) and using pass code 71119309. A webcast of the call that includes presentation slides can be accessed by visiting the investor page of the Company’s website at www.identive-group.com, where it also will be archived for those unable to listen to the live webcast.

About Identive Group

Identive Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: INVE; Frankfurt Stock Exchange: INV) is an international technology company focused on building the world’s signature group in secure identification-based technologies. The businesses within Identive Group have deep industry expertise and are well-known global brands in their individual markets, providing leading-edge products and solutions in the areas of physical and logical access control, identity management and RFID systems to governments, commercial and industrial enterprises and consumers. Identive’s growth model is based on a combination of strong technology-driven organic growth from the businesses within the group and disciplined acquisitive development. For additional info visit: www.identive-group.com.

NOTE: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “plans,” “will,” intends, “expects,” and similar references to the future. Examples of such statements include, without limitation,statements we make about our expectations that our cost reduction measures will result in future savings and that such savings will be recognized in 2010, and the expected benefits and cost savings of our proposed change to Entry Standard listing. These statementsare based on current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events thatare subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated herein.Our financial results may not meet expectations, our cost savings may not be in the amounts or the time frames we expect; and we may not be successful in our strategy of pursuing both organic and acquisitive growth. Readers should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of future performance and are subject to a number ofrisks and uncertainties, many of which are outside our control,that could cause our actual business and operating results to differ. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements includeour ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses into ours; our ability to effect significant reductions in our expense base; our ability to reduce the transaction costs associated with mergers and acquisitions; our ability to grow the Company based on a strategy of providing products, components and services for the identification systems value chain; our ability to grow market share and revenues based on participation in early stage markets for contactless products; our ability to successfully develop and introduce new products that satisfy the evolving and increasingly complex requirements of customers; the markets in which we participate or target may not grow, converge or standardize at anticipated rates or at all, including the identification and identity markets that we are targeting; we may not be able to acquire the components we need to build our own products; and we may not successfully compete in the markets in which we participate or target. For a discussion of further risks and uncertainties related to our business, please refer to our public company reports, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009and subsequent reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

All trade names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

– FINANCIALS FOLLOW -

IDENTIVE GROUP, INC. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (In thousands, except per share data) (unaudited)

National Instruments Reports Record Q2 Revenue and Operating Income

Strong Gross Margins Drive Operating Leverage and Strategic Investments

Q2 2010 Highlights

- Record second quarter revenue of $212 million, up 39 percent year-over-year

- Record second quarter operating income

- GAAP gross margin of 77.0 percent and non-GAAP gross margin of 77.6 percent

- Fully diluted GAAP EPS of $0.31 and non-GAAP fully diluted EPS of $0.36, both including a net foreign exchange loss of $0.02 per share

- Record cash and short-term investments of $316 million as of June 30, 2010

- Deferred revenue increased by $3.5 million in Q2 to $64.5 million

PR Newswire — July 27, 2010

AUSTIN, Texas, July 27, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — National Instruments (Nasdaq: NATI) reported quarterly revenue for Q2 2010 of $212 million, representing a 39 percent year-over-year increase and an 11 percent sequential increase. For the first half of 2010, the company reported a 30 percent increase in revenue and a 15 percent increase in non-GAAP operating expenses, compared to the first half of 2009. GAAP operating expenses grew by 14 percent in the first half of 2010, compared to the first half of 2009. Growing non-GAAP expenses at half the rate of revenue delivers on the goal expressed by the company at the 2009 NIWeek Investor Conference.

Net income for Q2 2010 was $24.6 million, with GAAP fully diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.31. Non-GAAP net income was $28.3 million, with non-GAAP fully diluted EPS of $0.36. Operating income set a record for a second quarter, and operating margins improved significantlyover last year. Included in both GAAP and non-GAAP earnings for Q2 is a net loss on foreign exchange of $2.2 million, or $0.02 per share, as a result of the dramatic weakening of European currencies in May and June. The company had not anticipated this loss when giving guidance in April. The company’s non-GAAP results exclude the impact of both stock-based compensation and the amortization of acquisition-related intangibles. Reconciliations of the company’s GAAP and non-GAAP results are included as part of this news release.

In Q2, GAAP gross margin increased 3.6 percentage points year-over-year to 77.0 percent. Non-GAAP gross margin increased by 3.4 percentage points year-over-year to 77.6 percent.

“While the economy remains uncertain, our outstanding performance in the first half of the year and our strong Q3 guidance give us confidence that we will be able to deliver record annual revenue and record annual profitability in 2010,” said Dr. James Truchard, co-founder, president, and CEO. “We plan to maintain a disciplined approach to expense management as we increase our investments to drive long-term profitable growth through strategic R&D and sales initiatives.”

NI virtual instrumentation and graphical system design product sales were up 38 percent year-over-year. NI instrument control product sales were up 54 percent year-over-year but remain 17 percent below Q2 2008 levels. Product revenue was $195 million, up 39 percent from Q2 2009, and software maintenance revenue was $17 million, up 37 percent year-over-year. Geographically, revenue in U.S. dollar terms for Q2 2010 compared to Q2 2009 was up 32 percent in the Americas, up 28 percent in Europe and up 66 percent in Asia. In local currency terms, revenue was up 19 percent in Europe and up 52 percent in Asia.

As of June 30, NI had a record $316 million in net cash and short-term investments, up $21 million from March 31, 2010. During Q2 2010, the company paid $10 million in dividends. National Instruments announced that its board of directors declared a dividend of $0.13 per share on its common stock payable on Aug. 30, 2010, to shareholders of record on Aug. 9, 2010.

Outlook

The trends of the global Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) continued to be strong in Q2, averaging 56.7 for the quarter, but it appears likely that the global PMI reached its peak for this cycle in Q2. The profit and investment plans the company laid out at the 2009 NIWeek Investor Conference anticipated this strong recovery by the global PMI followed by the necessary moderation toward its historical mean. The company’s discipline in growing non-GAAP expenses at half the rate of revenue has resulted in a dramatic rebound in profitability with non-GAAP operating margins increasing from 4 percent in the first half of 2009 to 15 percent in the first half of 2010.

“At our 2009 NIWeek Investor Conference we set the goal of increasing expenses at 50 percent of revenue growth, until we returned record revenue,” said Alex Davern, CFO. “Given that we are back to record revenue and profitability, we will be presenting a more balanced investment plan at our investor conference next week. Going forward we will be increasing our strategic investments and plan to increase expenses at a rate closer to that of revenue growth, while continuing to drive towards our long-term operating profit goal.”

NI expects strong Q3 year-over-year revenue growth, with revenue expected to be between $206 million and $220 million. The company expects fully diluted EPS between $0.27 and $0.37, with non-GAAP fully diluted EPS expected to be between $0.32 and $0.42.

Non-GAAP Presentation

In addition to disclosing results determined in accordance with GAAP, NI discloses certain non-GAAP operating results and non-GAAP information that exclude certain charges. In this news release, the company has presented its gross profit, operating expenses, operating income, net income, provision for taxes and EPS for the three and six month periods ending June 30, 2010 and 2009, on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis. When presenting non-GAAP information, the company includes a reconciliation of the non-GAAP results to the GAAP results.

Management believes that including the non-GAAP results assists investors in assessing the company’s operational performance and its performance relative to its competitors. The company presents these non-GAAP results as a complement to results provided in accordance with GAAP, and these results should not be regarded as a substitute for GAAP. Management uses these non-GAAP measures to manage and assess the profitability and performance of its business and does not consider stock-based compensation expense or amortization of acquired intangibles that are non-cash charges in managing its operations. Specifically, management uses non-GAAP measures to plan and forecast future periods, to establish operational goals, to compare with its business plan and individual operating budgets, to measure management performance for purposes of executive compensation including payments to be made under bonus plans, to assist the public in measuring the company’s performance relative to the company’s long-term public performance goals, to allocate resources and, relative to the company’s historical financial performance, to enable comparability between periods. Management also considers such non-GAAP results to be an important supplemental measure of its performance.

This news release also discloses NI earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and EBITDA diluted EPS for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2010 and 2009. Management also believes that including the EBITDA results assists investors in assessing the company’s operational performance relative to its competitors. A reconciliation of EBITDA and EBITDA diluted EPS to GAAP net income and GAAP diluted EPS is included with this news release.

Conference Call Information

Interested parties can listen to the Q2 2010 conference call today, July 27, beginning at 4:00 p.m. CDT, at www.ni.com/call. Replay information is available by calling (888) 203-1112, confirmation code # 9955054, from July 27 at 7:00 p.m. CDT through Aug. 3 at midnight CDT.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains “forward-looking statements,” including statements related to delivering record annual revenue and record annual profitability in 2010, driving long-term profitable growth through strategic R&D and sales initiatives focused at new large opportunity areas, plan to maintain a disciplined approach to expense management, likely that the global PMI peaked for this cycle, maintaining tight budget discipline, expenses increasing at a rate closer to revenue growth, continuing to improve the company’s profitability and outlook for Q3 revenue and Q3 GAAP and non-GAAP EPS. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the risk of further adverse changes or fluctuations in the global economy, disruption of European logistics, component shortages, delays in the release of new products, fluctuations in customer demand for NI products, the company’s ability to continue to control its operating expenses, manufacturing inefficiencies and foreign exchange fluctuations. Actual results may differ materially from the expected results. The company directs readers to its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2009, its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, and the other documents it files with the SEC for other risks associated with the company’s future performance.

About National Instruments

National Instruments (www.ni.com) is transforming the way engineers and scientists design, prototype and deploy systems for measurement, automation and embedded applications. NI empowers customers with off-the-shelf software such as NI LabVIEW and modular cost-effective hardware, and sells to a broad base of more than 30,000 different companies worldwide, with no one customer representing more than 3 percent of revenue and no one industry representing more than 15 percent of revenue. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 5,000 employees and direct operations in more than 40 countries. For the past 11 years, FORTUNE magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America. Readers can obtain investment information from the company’s investor relations department by calling (512) 683-5090, e-mailing nati@ni.com or visiting www.ni.com/nati. (NATI-F)

LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, ni.com and NIWeek are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

Contact: Veronica Garza Investor Relations (512) 683-6873

National Instruments Consolidated Balance Sheets (in thousands)

June December 30, 31, 2010 2009 (unaudited)

Labelexpo Americas is no longer just about labels. Mike Fairley provides an analysis of some of the new opportunities to be found at the 2010 show in Chicago

The label industry has always grown through innovation and new ideas. It’s been quick to encompass materials, technology or products that create new opportunities and added value applications, and has been good at solving problems for potential new customers and markets.

After the past few years of global financial crisis, difficult trading conditions and a still somewhat uncertain recovery, it is probably even more important for the label converter to now be looking at even newer opportunities – both within labels and beyond − and to consider entering new niche markets, becoming more flexible in their production, driving costs down, and increasing profitability.

Perhaps as good a place to start in this quest is by attending the forthcoming Labelexpo Americas show in Chicago. With some 400 exhibitors, 23 conference sessions, a masterclass and a series of technology workshops, there are bound to be a multitude of possibilities for growth that the converter should be studying – which this year are expected to include unsupported film, flexible packaging and sleeve label applications, cartons, digital sheet-fed printing of wet-glue labels, RFID insertion, medical applications and booklet finishing.

Indeed, there is an area of the show in Hall C which will be solely dedicated to the print and packaging processes beyond labels and which are opportunities for converters. In this area, called ‘Beyond labels – new opportunities for the converter’, exhibitors will demonstrate combined packaging solutions and different product and market applications.

It is already clear from advance information that there will be some exciting new converting opportunities on show this year; opportunities that any serious converter should be evaluating in their ongoing quest for growth and profitability.

Delta Industrial, for example, will show two converting systems for multiple processes at Labelexpo Americas. One application being demonstrated, which will certainly attract converter interest, is a medical process converting line – which comes complete with in-line heatseal packaging. It will also show a complete digital print finishing line, as will companies such as AB Graphic.

Meanwhile, among a number of machines that Nilpeter will be debuting at the show, the FA-6 is particularly aimed at the growing number of converters that wish to offer a comprehensive ‘one-stop’ label and packaging service to brand owners and packaging contractors. This 8-color, 22 inch wide press is equipped with both UV curing units and hot air dryers for producing a variety of film packaging, labels and carton board.

Likewise, Mark Andy is another exhibitor setting out to aid converters looking for new opportunities outside of self-adhesive labels, by showing a number of advanced label and non-label applications, such as the latest in RFID insertion, or machines for the printing of unsupported label and packaging films and the production of light cartons.

Or what about booklet labels? Converters interested in production of multi-page labels for agrochemical, food or pharmaceutical markets should visit the Prati booth, where equipment for applying a booklet label onto a base label for automatic application − and then adding variable data information as well if required – will be on display.

Durst Photechnik will show a digital varnishing module, Diva, for the Rotoworx modular finishing system. This module has the ability to produce different gloss levels – high gloss, semi-gloss, satin, matte, etc – in just one single pass and with a single varnishing fluid.

Believed to be unique in the label industry, the module also enables converters to produce special effects, such as textures and tactile elements – and even vary the top finish from label to label.

And what about those converters, industry suppliers or label users looking to understand more about digital printing technologies, their market applications and opportunities, or looking to invest in a digital press for the first time? They would do well to attend the digital label printing masterclass being run on the third morning of the show. An intensive three-hour session being presented by some of the leading experts in this sector, the masterclass is an ideal introduction to this fast-growing technology.

A whole range of interesting conference sessions during the show will also provide new ideas and opportunities for converters. Sessions this year include printed electronics, brand protection and anti-counterfeiting, SnapTag technology that can enhance a brand, opportunities in flexible packaging, as well as range of special management and technical topics – including color management, automation and integration of digital technology throughout the production chain, and the development of a sustainable supply chain.

Labelexpo Americas now offers converters opportunities that extend beyond self-adhesive labels into sleeve labels, heat transfer decoration, flexible packaging, cartons and much more; opportunities that can add value and enhance profitability, products that can provide a total packaging and label service to customers, solutions to aid brand owners in track and trace, counterfeit deterrence and marketing.

Click here for more stories about Labelexpo Americas on L&L.com.  

By John Addison

GE Smart Charging Stations for Electric Cars

General Electric intends to be the leader in smart grid charging of electric vehicles. GE’s Watt Station EV Charger was personally unveiled today by CEO Jeff Immelt. Globally, GE already helps thousands of electric utilities be more efficient in generating power and in distributing power. With a growing family of smart grid solutions including smart charging of vehicles, GE will help utilities lead in the intelligent generation, management, distribution, and use of energy. Mr. Immelt refers to this as Digital Energy.

After attending the presentation by Jeff Immelt and other luminaries, I was able to talk with Michael Mahan, GE’s Global Product Manager of EVSE.

The GE Watt Station is the first in a family of vehicle smart charging products and services from GE. It will be piloted this year at commercial sites and universities such as Purdue and the University of California San Diego. Within a couple of months we will see the announcement of a GE home plug-in car charger. These products will be made available commercially in 2011 simultaneously in all markets including the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Although GE’s press release positioned the Watt Station as having a faster charging rate than some competitive offerings, this Level 2 220 volt / 32 amp smart charger delivers electrons at the same speed as other Level 2 chargers such as Coulomb Technologies, Aerovironment, and Ecotality. These competitors have the early lead in installing 15,000 charging stations in the United States. GE is taking a fast-follower strategy with the intent of being the market leader.
The Watt Station complies with J1772 smart charging standards. Its attractive design will appeal to consumers, with a simply friendly interface and retractable cord protected inside the supporting pole. The Watt Station is modular and upgradeable. It can be purchased with an optional credit card reader, or that can be added later. Watt Stations also have optional smart suite communications to utilize smart metering and wireless AMI.

Where GE does have competitive advantage is in its long-term relationship with utilities, its family of end-to-end system solutions, its partnerships, and its financial prowess. Communities littered with last decades charging stations, some no longer working from bankrupt companies will find comfort in the GE brand.

GE Provides Digital Energy End-to-End

As global electric utilities modernize and embrace the added opportunity of transportation that depends less of petroleum and inefficient engines, and more on electricity and efficient electric drive systems, GE can be a major partner. Electric vehicles can be smart charged with GE charging stations, managed with GE software services. Areas with high concentration of electric vehicles can turn to GE for new substations and distribution equipment. Power plants can be upgraded with the latest GE turbines, and supplemented with GE wind turbines, solar power, and grid storage. With a digital energy demand can be shaped off-peak.

GE Unveils Nucleus™ and Brillion Home Energy Management

GE also unveiled Nucleus™, an affordable, innovative communication and data storage device that provides consumers with secure information about their household electricity use and costs so they can make more informed choices about how and when to use power. Nucleus is expected to be available for consumer purchase in early 2011 at an estimated retail price of $149-$199.
GE’s Nucleus brings the promise of the smart grid into consumers’ homes. As utilities deploy smart meters, the Nucleus will collect and store a consumer’s household electricity use and cost data for up to three years and present it to consumers in real-time using simple, intuitive PC and smart phone applications, helping consumers monitor and control their energy use.
Nucleus is the first product in GE’s Brillion™ suite of smart home energy management solutions that will help consumers control their energy use and costs. In addition to Nucleus, GE’s Brillion suite will include a programmable thermostat, in-home display, a smart phone application and smart appliances for the entire home.

By 2012, US utilities are expected to install more than 40 million smart meters. These digital meters enable utilities to charge “time-of-use” rates for electricity throughout the day. When demand is low, electricity will cost less, and when demand is at its “peak,” utilities will charge more to encourage off-peak consumption.

Future Brillion options will also include alerts to assist consumers with daily tasks, such as when to change the refrigerator’s water filter or when the dryer cycle ends. Software upgrades will further enable Nucleus to monitor water, natural gas, and renewable energy sources, as well as plug-in electric vehicle charging.

$10 Billion Ecomagination R&D

GE is driving a global energy transformation with a focus on innovation and R&D investment to accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy technology. Since its inception in 2005, 92 ecomagination products have been brought to market with revenues reaching $18 billion in 2009. With $5 billion invested in R&D its first five years, GE committed to doubling its ecomagination investment and collaborate with partners to accelerate a new era of energy innovation. The company will invest $10 billion in R&D over five years and double operational energy efficiency while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption.
CEO Immelt expects over 30 new ecoimagination product announcements in the next 24 months, including the GE Watt Station EV charger.

Electric Car Charging and Smart Grid Reports

By John Addison. Publisher of the Clean Fleet Report and conference speaker.

(London June 10 2010) - iBAHN, the worldwide leader in digital entertainment and Internet solutions for the hospitality and meeting industries, today announces that it is to complete a full digital entertainment and High Speed Internet Access (HSIA) installation at the new JW Marriott Hotel Tripoli in Libya.

The hotel will be equipped with a state-of-the-art IPTV solution and HSIA over fibre-optic networks offering guests the ability to confidently access the internet, with a high quality of service and 24/7 technical support in local languages. iBAHN's ETVi delivers digital services that combine digital TV entertainment with superb HD picture quality, which is vastly superior to analogue systems, and secure high-speed internet services.

Using ETVi, the JW Marriott Hotel Tripoli will be able to totally integrate guest services with entertainment packages, offering multiple revenue streams and improved guest satisfaction from the ease of use of the system and greater choice of high quality entertainment.

iBAHN will work closely with Symon Dacon on digital signage as part of the installation. Symon Dacon is a provider of intelligent visual communications solutions for the hotel industry including digital signage, door displays, wayfinders and interactive kiosks.

When it opens, in early 2011, the JW Marriott Hotel Tripoli will be Marriott International's first hotel in Libya and features 370-rooms over the 36-storey property including an 80-room executive level and lounge, all located in Tripoli's new central business district a in the northern section of the city, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Graeme Powell, Managing Director EMEA, iBAHN, comments: "Partnering on JW Marriott's first property in Libya is an important step for our Middle East Africa team. We've worked hard to establish iBAHN's presence in the region and the raft of recent iBAHN announcements in the territory is a reflection of our unrivalled on-the-ground service and support operations throughout EMEA."

Ends

About iBAHN
The company is the only global provider of digital information/entertainment and Internet solutions for the hospitality and meeting industries. Monthly, more than 1.8 million travellers and meeting attendees rely on iBAHN to increase productivity with secure high-speed Internet access options in nearly 3,000 hotels, conference centres and meeting spaces in 41 countries worldwide. iBAHN's digital entertainment and information services feature leading programming in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia and India. Operating one of the largest MPLS networks in the industry, the company provides technology solutions to more than 50,000 events annually, ranging from small group meetings to major industry conferences, while serving more than 40% of Fortune 100 corporations. For more information, please visit www.ibahn.com.

About JW Marriott
JW Marriott is part of Marriott International's luxury portfolio and consists of beautiful properties in gateway cities and distinctive resort locations around the world. These elegant hotels cater to today's sophisticated, self-assured travelers, offering them the quiet luxury they seek in a warmly authentic, relaxed atmosphere lacking in pretense. JW Marriott properties artfully provide highly crafted, anticipatory experiences that are reflective of their locale so that their guests have the time to focus on what is most important to them. Currently, there 45 JW Marriott hotels in 19 countries; by 2013 the portfolio will encompass 73 properties in 28 countries.

About Symon Dacon
Symon Dacon is a specialist provider of digital signage solutions for the Hospitality industry. The Symon solution enables hotels to communicate key information in real-time across a broad array of stylish display options, including flat-panel HD displays, in-room television, interactive wayfinding kiosks and small-format displays. Symon's Smartphone mobility application also allows hotels to provide guests with in-venue location specific content. The Symon solution allows hotels to centrally manage dynamic content across multiple displays within a single property or across multiple sites simultaneously, empowering hotels to manage their entire visual communications infrastructure from a single solution. Symon Dacon provides a complete turn-key solution from pre-sales consultation and creative content services to full training and installation.

iBAHN press contacts:
Lloyd Gofton - 07919 353484 / lloyd@liberatemedia.com
Tim Greenhalgh - 07798 927795 / tim@liberatemedia.com

read more

PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Olin Reams
Email: oreams@csodessa.com
Phone: +1 (408) 441-1150 x 205

CS Odessa Announces Update to ConceptDraw MindWave, a No-Cost Mind Mapping Gadget for Google Wave

San Jose, California, June 2, 2010 – CS Odessa has released an updated version of its popular mind mapping tool, ConceptDraw MindWave for Google Wave. This is a no charge Google Wave add-in, which enables users to rapidly collaborate with any amount of people, from 2 to 2000.

ConceptDraw MindWave provides teams the opportunity to interactively collaborate on a mind map while building a map structure that represents the focus of collaboration. The mind map can then take full advantage of Google Wave playback, or be downloaded to one’s desktop for further development using ConceptDraw MINDMAP.

Improved Functionality of ConceptDraw MindWave 2:

· Getting Started mind map on first launch to introduce new users to functionality.

· Horizontal scroll bar for more versatile navigation.

· Automatic hyper linking of URL topic text.

· Added help and privacy resources to gadget

· New shortcuts and many usability improvements

Olin Reams, General Manager for the Americas at CS Odessa, observes, “We demonstrated ConceptDraw MindWave, at the recent Google I/O Developers Conference. ConceptDraw MindWave was presented in the Sandbox and was a huge success.”

“Many of the developers and spectators in attendance were able to immediately see the great potential in being able to build and store a mind map whose access can be embedded anywhere HTML appropriate, such as a web page or enterprise portal. Participants are then free to discover and interact with the wave mind map, join the conversation, and add or edit information. The end result is a great collaborative productivity tool.”

ConceptDraw MindWave is a no cost gadget for Google Wave. To install ConceptDraw MindWave, please visit: http://www.conceptdraw.com/mindwave.

ABOUT CS ODESSA

Founded in 1993, Computer Systems Odessa supplies cross-platform productivity tools and graphics technologies to professional and corporate users around the world. With headquarters in Odessa, Ukraine and an office in California, CS Odessa sells products internationally through resellers in over 25 countries. The ConceptDraw Productivity Line of products has won numerous awards and is used by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world.

www.conceptdraw.com

About the Smart Card Alliance

Google TV, according to those invested in the project, is going to bring you the next generation of TV. Basically, that means it’s going to be bigger than big. Some might even say huge. And with partners like these, we imagine that Google may be right in their assumption. Of course, we’ve detailed Google TV for you already, but it never hurts to bring you the full press release, now does it?

As you already know, Google TV is a way that brings your TV, and your Web, together in one, logical place, running on Android 2.1. With intuitive navigation, both with a remote and keyboard, you’re able to utilize Google’s Quick Search Bar to find whatever it is your looking for swiftly, and quickly access the content you want on the fly. And if you’ve got a DVR hooked up to the rig, you’ll be able to easily program a show to record, right from the Quick Search.

Partnering with Sony, DISH Network, Logitech, Intel, and Best Buy means that Google has every base covered with their Google TV introduction. The whole set up is supposed to be ready to go this Fall. Yes, in 2010, with full open source code ready for developers by the Summer of 2011. Being able to search the Web while you watch TV, and in a way that’s not necessarily obtrusive to your viewing pleasure, means that many people out there are going to integrate their devices for the best possible experience. With the TV, satellite box, and down to the very processor powering the whole ordeal streamlined to make that experience better, we look forward to seeing Google TV in action, in our living room.

Press Release:

Google, Intel, Logitech and Sony Join Together to Deliver Google TV Platform

DISH Network, Best Buy, Adobe to Support Bringing Devices to Market
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (May 20, 2010) – Today at the Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco, leading industry players announced the development of Google TV – an open platform that adds the power of the web to the television viewing experience, ushering in a new category of devices for the living room. Intel, Sony, and Logitech, together with Best Buy, DISH Network and Adobe, joined Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) on stage to announce their support for Google TV.

Over the past decade, the Internet has created unprecedented opportunity for innovation and development across the world, but so far the web has largely been absent from living rooms. With Google TV, consumers will now be able to search and watch an expanded universe of content available from a variety of sources including TV providers, the web, their personal content libraries, and mobile applications.

Search across TV, Web, and Apps

Google TV is based on the Android platform and runs the Google Chrome web browser. Users can access all of their usual TV channels as well as a world of Internet and cloud-based information and applications, including rich Adobe® Flash based content – all from the comfort of their own living room and with the same simplicity as browsing the web. When coupled with the Intel® Atom™ processor CE4100, Intel’s latest system-on-a-chip designed specifically for consumer electronics, the new platform will offer home theatre quality A/V performance. Sony and Logitech said they would be delivering products based on the new Intel Atom processor and running Google TV later this year. While Google TV is designed to work with any TV operator, at launch the user experience will be fully optimized when paired with DISH Network.

Google TV expands video choice from the hundreds of channels available today through a pay TV provider to the vast storehouse of video content available through the web and streaming videos. The Google TV experience is complemented by the ability to watch streaming video from leading content platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, and YouTube. Google TV will also have the capability to run apps from the Android Market.

To navigate the array of content that will now be available through a single device and on a single screen, Google TV introduces an integrated search experience to help viewers easily find relevant content across over-the-air and pay-TV channel listings, DVR, and the Internet, as well as a picture-in-picture layout to access multiple windows simultaneously. Google TV also features an innovative home screen to help viewers quickly organize their favorite content and personalize their TV viewing experience. Some of these features are only available with advanced integration from DISH Network.

Broad Alliance of Industry Leaders

Eric Schmidt, Google Chairman and CEO said, “We are very proud to be working with this distinguished set of partners, all of whom have decades of experience in hardware, design and retail.”

Sony announced plans to introduce “Sony Internet TV,” the World’s first TV lineup incorporating the Google TV platform. The first models are planned to be introduced in the U.S. market in the Fall of 2010 with the lineup featuring both a standalone TV model and set top box-type unit incorporating a Blu-ray Disc drive.

Howard Stringer, Chairman, President and CEO, Sony Corporation said, “I am delighted to announce the unique alignment of Google’s rapidly growing, open source Android platform with Sony’s unparalleled expertise in the field of TV design and technology. The addition of ‘Sony Internet TV’ will further bolster Sony’s comprehensive TV lineup and will fuse new levels of enjoyment and interactivity into the TV experience.”

Logitech will introduce a companion box that brings Google TV to existing HDTV home entertainment systems, easily integrating with any brand of HDTV and set-top box. The companion box will incorporate Logitech’s Harmony® remote control technology, and will include a controller that combines keyboard and remote control capabilities. The company also has plans to introduce an HDTV camera and video chat for Google TV, along with additional choices for navigation and control, including apps to turn a smart phone into an advanced controller for Google TV and home-entertainment systems.

Gerald Quindlen, President and CEO, Logitech said, “We committed to Google TV early on because it aligns with our strategy to support open platforms that enable new immersive experiences in the digital living room. While Google TV enables seamless discovery of all your content, Logitech enables seamless control over how you experience that content. We look forward to continued collaboration with Google and the developer community to create new Google TV experiences that have yet to be imagined.”

The Intel Atom CE4100 processor will power both the Logitech and Sony devices. Paul Otellini, Intel President and CEO praised the collaborative effort and said TV as we know it was being “reinvented.” “Today marks the next step in the evolution of TV to Smart TV. TV’s are becoming smarter as a result of the microprocessor and the Internet. Traditional TV programming will be merged seamlessly with the infinite amount of content on the Internet to enable every viewer to determine what they want to watch, when they want it. This is Moore’s Law transforming television, powered by the performance of Intel microprocessors.”

DISH Network has been a key partner with Google on advanced integration development for Google TV. The two partners began a joint trial over a year ago with more than 400 DISH Network and Google beta users. Based on the continuous feedback from the trial, Google and DISH Network have built the optimized Google TV experience that seamlessly integrates traditional TV, DVR and web content.

Charlie Ergen, Chairman, President and CEO of DISH Network, said, “Google TV marks the next evolution in television, and we are excited to be the first to partner with Google to bring this experience to our customers. Only DISH Network Google TV customers will be able to enjoy a unified search across TV, DVR and web; easily find related content; and manage their entire TV viewing experience. Additionally, the advanced integration will allow developers to create new and exciting applications to enrich the TV viewing experience.”

Best Buy will bring their retail experience and consumer expertise to the project, with Google TV devices being sold at Best Buy locations nationwide later this year. “Every day, our 180,000 Blue Shirt store employees and Geek Squad Agents work with our customers to get them the best home theater experience possible”, said Brian Dunn, CEO Best Buy, “We are thrilled about the new and exciting experiences smart TVs, like Google TV, provide to our customers – and we are looking forward to showcasing those experiences in our store and ensuring customers get connected to all the products and services that bring those experiences to life.”

Finally, Adobe Flash Player 10.1 will be integrated directly into the Google Chrome browser on Google TV, enabling viewers to experience tens of millions of web pages with rich Flash content including games, animations, applications, videos, audio and more. Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO, Adobe said, “An open web ecosystem offers endless opportunities for creativity and innovation. Flash Player 10.1 extends the advantages of full web browsing and consistent, rich experiences to smartphones, tablets, netbooks and Internet-connected TVs. We’re thrilled to be part of the Google TV initiative with other industry leaders who share a common vision of enabling access to the best web experiences possible.”

Opportunity for Developers

The demonstration at I/O highlighted the unique opportunity developers have to help shape the future of Google TV. Today Google announced that they would soon release a set of TV specific APIs for web applications, encouraging web developers to begin building unique web applications for use on television sets. Later this year Google will also release an updated Android SDK, which will support applications built for Google TV.

Google also plans to open source the Google TV platform to help spur innovation in the industry and so that other developers can benefit from the project. The long term goal is to collaborate with the entire developer community to help drive entertainment in the living room forward and to introduce the next generation of TV-watching experience.

For more information about the project visit google.com/tv.

About Google
Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.

About Intel

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.

About Logitech

Logitech is a world leader in products that connect people to the digital experiences they care about. Spanning multiple computing, communication and entertainment platforms, Logitech’s combined hardware and software enable or enhance digital navigation, music and video entertainment, gaming, social networking, audio and video communication over the Internet, video security and home-entertainment control. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).

About Sony

Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, game, communications, key device and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, computer entertainment and on-line businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to be the leading electronics and entertainment company in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $78 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010. Sony Global Web Site: http://www.sony.net/

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SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) announced today that it is joining the Sustainability Consortium as the organization's first global technology steering committee member. The Sustainability Consortium is an independent organization of diverse global participants working collaboratively to build a scientific foundation that drives innovation to improve the sustainability of consumer products. As the world's leading provider of enterprise software with expertise in more than 25 industries, SAP has the experience and global scale required to speed development and adoption of technology that will support the Sustainability Consortium's goal of developing open standards and transparent solutions to drive a new generation of products and supply networks that address environmental, social and economic imperatives. "We're excited to have SAP supporting the Sustainability Consortium's work as our first information technology steering committee member," said Jeff Rice, director of IT Systems and Strategy for the Sustainability Consortium. "SAP brings in-depth experience and knowledge in enterprise systems and has a significant installed presence in organizations throughout consumer goods supply chains." SAP takes a business approach to holistically addressing sustainability in its own operations and for its customers. Addressing sustainable consumption and resource productivity are clear priorities. By working collaboratively with members of the Consortium, SAP can help retailers and consumer products goods companies increase their profitability by improving their sustainability performance. SAP is committed to developing and enhancing products and services, such as the life-cycle assessment capabilities in the SAP® Carbon Impact on-demand solution, which help companies achieve greater levels of operational efficiency and address the growing demands of consumers and other stakeholders for safe, sustainable products. In 2009 SAP announced an increased strategic focus on sustainability, which includes both managing internal operations in a sustainable way and delivering solutions that support customers' sustainable business practices. "With a global outlook and market leadership in the retail and consumer products industries, and their respective supply chains, SAP is a natural fit to help drive the technology and contribute to standards that will support the Sustainability Consortium's mission," said Glenn Wada, vice president, Sustainability, SAP Americas. "Our goal in working with the Sustainability Consortium is to streamline and accelerate the way trading partners exchange information across supply chains, providing true transparency and strategic insight to drive tangible operational gains. Enabling sustainability is an integral part of our commitment to helping our customers become best-run businesses." In addition to leading the software sector of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, SAP has also been included in the Corporate Knights Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations list every year since its inception in 2005 and has been recognized for its sustainable business practices by the FTSE4Good index. SAP has also been named to the Global Challenges Index, which recognizes sustainability performance, and the NASDAQ OMX CRD Global Sustainability 50 Index. Together with its partners, SAP offers a comprehensive portfolio of sustainability solutions, including SAP Carbon Impact, the SAP® BusinessObjects™ Sustainability Performance Management application, the SAP® Environment, Health, and Safety Management application and SAP® Best Practices packages for sustainability. Visit the sustainability solutions area on SAP.com for more details. Follow SAP sustainability news on Twitter @sustainableSAP. About the Sustainability Consortium The Sustainability Consortium is an independent organization of diverse global participants - academics, governments, NGOs and businesses - that work collaboratively to build a scientific foundation that drives innovation to improve consumer product sustainability. It develops transparent methodologies, tools and strategies to drive a new generation of products and supply networks that address environmental, social and economic imperatives. The Sustainability Consortium advocates for a transparent process and system, not individuals or organizations. The Sustainability Consortium is jointly administered by Arizona State University and the University of Arkansas. Learn more at http://www.sustainabilityconsortium.org/. Next Major Event: SAPPHIRE® NOW Conference With SAPPHIRE® NOW, SAP marks the next evolution of its SAPPHIRE customer conference and networking events, offering SAP customers, partners and prospects even more opportunities to engage in dialogue with peers, participants and thought leaders around the globe. Being held simultaneously in Orlando, Florida, and Frankfurt, Germany, May 17-19, 2010, this enhanced, real-time event will connect attendees on site with global participants through state-of-the-art broadcast studios and a newly designed online experience that incorporates the latest social media and community functionality. Whether onsite or online, participants can gain insight on how innovative business solutions from SAP are enabling long-term, profitable, business growth. For more information about the Orlando show, visit www.sapandasug.com; for the Frankfurt event, visit www.sap.com/sapphire/emea. Join the conversation via Twitter at @SAPPHIRENOW, and visit the SAPPHIRE NOW Social Newsroom at sapphirenow.blogs-sap.com. About SAP SAP is the world's leading provider of business software(*), offering applications and services that enable companies of all sizes and in more than 25 industries to become best-run businesses. With more than 97,000 customers in over 120 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE, under the symbol "SAP." For more information, visit www.sap.com. (*) SAP defines business software as comprising enterprise resource planning, business intelligence, and related applications. Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. Copyright © 2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. SAP, R/3, mySAP, mySAP.com, xApps, xApp, SAP NetWeaver and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries all over the world. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Data contained in this document serve informational purposes only. National product specifications may vary. Note to editors: To preview and download broadcast-standard stock footage and press photos digitally, please visit www.sap.com/photos. On this platform, you can find high resolution material for your media channels. To view video stories on diverse topics, visit www.sap-tv.com. From this site, you can embed videos into your own Web pages, share video via e-mail links and subscribe to RSS feeds from SAP TV. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews. For customers interested in learning more about SAP products: Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24 United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727)

Hitachi America, Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT/TSE: 6501) located in Tarrytown, NY and Pace University's Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship are co-sponsoring a free, full-morning education program aimed at sharing expertise and best practices with professionals from the county's nonprofit organizations. The program, "Philanthropy in the New Decade" will take place at Pace University's campus in White Plains, NY and will run from 8:30 am – 11:30 am on Thursday, March 25, 2010. The campus is located at 1 Martine Avenue. Guest speakers for the program are:

• Mark Popovich, Senior Program Officer, The Hitachi Foundation (www.hitachifoundation.org)
• Jay Frost, Principal, Frost on Fundraising (www.frostonfundraising.com)
• Betsy Hills Bush, Program Officer, Westchester Community Foundation and Adjunct Professor, Pace University (www.wcf-ny.org)

The program is free, but advance registration is required and seating is limited. Attendance is limited to members of nonprofit organizations. Registration can be done on line at: http://www.hitachi-america.us/about/community_relations/events_conferences/index.html The goal of the forum is to offer nonprofit leaders content-rich sessions that provide actionable steps to help their organizations weather today's difficult economic climate. This is the second year that Hitachi America, Ltd. has spearheaded this program and the first year that Pace University's Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship is serving as a co-sponsor. The Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship was created in 2005 to serve the nonprofit community and Pace University. The Center provides scholarly research, academic programs, advisory services and roundtable discussions to encourage excellence and enhance managerial leadership skills of professionals within the nonprofit sector. "Given the Wilson Center's mission and interest in providing education for those who work in nonprofit organizations, it is a pleasure for us to co-sponsor this program with Hitachi America," said Rebecca Tekula, PhD, Executive Director, Wilson Center. "We are excited to be putting on this educational program for our nonprofit colleagues," said Lauren Garvey, Director of Community Relations, Hitachi America, Ltd. "We believe that it is critically important to help the county's nonprofit organizations weather the current financial crisis. One of the best ways we can do that is by sharing our expertise and organizing programs like this one. I am excited that Pace University has joined us in putting on this program." About Hitachi America Hitachi America, Ltd., headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., and its subsidiary companies offer a broad range of electronics, power and industrial equipment and services, automotive products and consumer electronics with operations throughout the Americas. For more information, visit www.hitachi-america.us. For information on other Hitachi Group companies in the United States, please visit www.hitachi.us. Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501) is a leading global technology and industrial company with total revenues of ¥10,000 billion ($102.0 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2009. Hitachi's business is highly diversified, encompassing operations in the following seven segments: Information & Telecommunication Systems; Electronic Devices; Power & Industrial Systems; Digital Media & Consumer Products; High Functional Materials & Components; Logistics, Services & Others; and Financial Services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit Hitachi's website at http://www.hitachi.com. About Pace University For 104 years Pace University has produced thinking professionals by providing high quality education for the professions on a firm base of liberal learning amid the advantages of the New York metropolitan area. A private university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, Pace enrolls nearly 13,000 students in bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs in its Lubin School of Business, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lienhard School of Nursing, School of Education, School of Law, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. www.pace.edu. Visit us on the web: Pace.edu | Facebook | Twitter | Flickr | YouTube Follow Pace students on Twitter: NYC | PLV

Mexico Oil Politics Keeps Riches Just Out of Reach

VENUSTIANO CARRANZA, Mexico — To the Mexican people, one of the great achievements in their history was the day their president kicked out foreign oil companies in 1938. Thus, they celebrate March 18 as a civic holiday.

Yet today, that 72-year-old act has put Mexico in a straitjacket, one that threatens both the welfare of the country and the oil supply of the United States.

The national oil company created after the 1938 seizure, Pemex, is entering a period of turmoil. Oil production in its aging fields is sagging so rapidly that Mexico, long one of the world’s top oil-exporting countries, could begin importing oil within the decade.

Mexico is among the three leading foreign suppliers of oil to the United States, along with Canada and Saudi Arabia. Mexican barrels can be replaced, but at a cost. It means greater American dependence on unfriendly countries like Venezuela, unstable countries like Nigeria and Iraq, and on the oil sands of Canada, an environmentally destructive form of oil production.

“As you lose Mexican oil, you lose a critical supply,” said Jeremy M. Martin, director of the energy program at the Institute of the Americas at the University of California, San Diego. “It’s not just about energy security but national security, because our neighbor’s economic and political well-being is largely linked to its capacity to produce and export oil.”

Oil drops below $81 after monthlong rally

Oil prices dropped sharply to below $81 a barrel Tuesday, due to a stronger dollar and profit taking on a monthlong run fueled by growing investor optimism about global economic growth.

Gasoline prices at high for the year

Motorists are well down the road to higher pump prices as warmer weather and the driving season approach.

Average retail gasoline prices, continuing a surge that started last month, have now matched their 2010 high on the way to prices that many analysts believe will top $3 per gallon this spring.

Exxon Lowers Bar, Buys Assets Previously Deemed Unattractive

(Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp., BP Plc and Total SA are investing in assets that previously weren’t worth their time or money after oil-rich nations reduced access to reserves and exploration drilling faltered.

Efforts to find new sources of crude and natural gas are failing more often, with San Ramon, California-based Chevron Corp.’s exploration failure rate jumping to 35 percent last year from 10 percent in 2008. Countries such as Venezuela are making it more expensive for companies to develop their resources, if they’re allowed in at all. And previously developed fields are drying up, reducing oil companies’ future supplies, or reserves.

Samsung Heavy Wins Order From Shell for Floating LNG

(Bloomberg) -- Samsung Heavy Industries Co. won an order to build a floating natural-gas facility for Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the first deal between the two under a 15-year supply contract signed last year.

INTERVIEW - Algeria sees global LNG recovery in 2-3 years

ALGIERS (Reuters) - The global slump in demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is temporary and demand will recover within the next two to three years, Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil said in an interview on Monday.

"If we look at the long term, definitely from the environmental point of view and from the point of view of satisfying global demand, there is going to be a big need for natural gas," Khelil told Reuters.

A conventional fuel, an unconventional future

The recent announcement that Korea Gas Corp. would invest $1.1-billion to participate in the development of EnCana's huge gas shale holdings in northeastern British Columbia is another signal that Canada's natural gas industry has entered a profoundly important new stage that, at earlier times, government policies made impossible.

Shell’s Arrow Bid May Spur Coal-Bed Gas Takeovers

(Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc and PetroChina Co.’s A$3.3 billion ($3 billion) bid for Arrow Energy Ltd. may spur more takeovers of Australian producers of coal-bed gas, a growing source of supply for Asian energy importers.

Sasol may abandon fuel liquids plant if no govt funding - paper

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Petrochemical group Sasol (SOLJ.J) may abandon its planned 80,000 barrel-a-day South African coal-to-liquid Mafutha plant if the government does not help finance it, the Business Day newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The paper quoted Sasol Chief Executive Officer Pat Davies as saying the world's top maker of motor fuel from coal would let the government determine its funding component for the project, while the company proceeds with its preparatory works currently in feasibility stage.

Mitsui Said to Consider Returning to Singapore Oil Trading

(Bloomberg) -- Mitsui & Co., the Japanese trading group that earns half its profit from energy, may restart oil product trading in Singapore after withdrawing from the city- state in 2007, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The Tokyo-based company pulled out from Asia’s biggest oil- trading center when it shut its Singapore unit Mitsui Oil (Asia) Pte in 2007 after losing $81 million from naphtha transactions hidden by a trader. The cover-up resulted in the imprisonment of three former employees by Singapore courts last year.

Time for ‘bold action’ to reduce oil use in Greater Sudbury

Canada’s economy is highly dependent on oil. Many Canadians believe western Canada’s oil sands deposits will be our salvation. The oil sands, however, are a major atmospheric carbon emitter, which will exacerbate global climate change significantly, while also fouling the region’s water supply.

Should we all be driving hybrids to prepare for the impending high oil prices and volatility? Perhaps, but the report asserts, “There is real danger that the focus on technological advances in cars is making consumers and governments complacent.”

EPA probes whether shale gas drilling contaminates water supplies

The top U.S. environmental regulator said she was "very concerned" about fluids blamed by some for polluting water supplies near sites where drillers use them to extract natural gas from shale deposits. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa Jackson said she hopes her agency will launch a study this year into the nature of fluids used in the hydraulic fracturing process of natural gas drilling.

Fracking Fluids Part I: A controversy coming to an energy investment near you

The controversy surrounding fracking fluids is getting louder. Websites and media savvy organizations are getting more press on this issue, using a very simple and powerful pitch – are the chemicals used in fracking fluids in oil and gas wells contaminating our drinking water?

North American investors have not been directly hit by this issue yet, meaning that a company’s stock hasn’t plummeted because they had to stop drilling over these concerns – yet.

Challenging conventional wisdom on renewable energy's limits

In making the case for a rapid conversion away from heavily polluting energy sources like coal and nuclear power to cleaner generation, renewable energy advocates often confront the argument that their scheme is impossible due to the intermittent nature of sun and wind.

But a groundbreaking study out of North Carolina challenges that conventional wisdom: It suggests that backup generation requirements would be modest for a system based largely on solar and wind power, combined with efficiency, hydroelectric power, and other renewable sources like landfill gas.

Tuning the energy innovation engine at MIT

BOSTON--The MIT Energy Conference here on Saturday covered a little bit of everything--"China speed," climate change, financing gaps, government policy, nuclear and natural gas, and, of course, science experiments--as entrepreneurs, business people, and academics tried to get their arms around big-picture energy challenges.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has become a hotbed for clean-energy innovation over the past four years, attracting students and faculty to the field, some of whom have spun out promising companies.

I.B.M. Opens Energy Lab in Beijing

In another sign of China’s emergence as an epicenter of green technology, I.B.M. has opened a lab in Beijing to develop smart grid software for the global market.

IEA: safety, non-proliferation key premises for nuclear development

Safety and non-proliferation are two key premises for global expansion of nuclear power and countries seeking nuclear use must adhere to these principles, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Nobuo Tanaka stressed here Monday.

UAE believes in responsible use of nuclear power

The United Arab Emirates’ interest in developing nuclear energy is motivated by the need to develop additional sources of electricity.

This is to meet future demand projections and to ensure the continued rapid development of the country's economy, UAE Foreign Minister H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan affirmed here today.

Israel 'to unveil plans to build nuclear power plant'

Israel is expected to unveil plans this week to build a nuclear power plant, reports say.

They say an announcement will be made by Israeli Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau at an energy forum in Paris.

Israel is facing a crisis over electricity supplies, but environmental objections have blocked efforts to build a new coal-fired plant.

Don't buy Obama's greenwashing of nuclear power

Last month, inspectors found dangerous chemicals in the groundwater near the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor. The situation demonstrates that from the mining of uranium ore to the storage of radioactive waste, nuclear reactors remain as dirty, risky, and as costly as they ever were. If President Obama's recent enthusiasm for nuclear reactors has led you to believe otherwise, you've bought in to the administration's greenwashing of nuclear.

Solar Industry Learns Lessons in Spanish Sun

Farmers sold land for solar plants. Boutiques opened. And people from all over the world, seeing business opportunities, moved to the city, which had suffered from 20 percent unemployment and a population exodus.

But as low-quality, poorly designed solar plants sprang up on Spain’s plateaus, Spanish officials came to realize that they would have to subsidize many of them indefinitely, and that the industry they had created might never produce efficient green energy on its own.

Lending Scheme to Bring Solar to Cambodia’s Poor

With access to solar-powered energy products for Cambodia’s rural poor extremely limited, the solar energy company Kamworks and the Cambodia Mutual Savings and Credit Network are partnering to provide low-interest loans to customers hoping to outfit their homes with solar panels, while Kamworks will provide and install the equipment.

Ethanol Making Comeback as Valero Sees Profit Where Gates Lost

(Bloomberg) -- Ethanol, the commodity that cost Bill Gates more than $44 million the last time prices collapsed, is poised to rally as much as 20 percent as the fastest drop since 2008 spurs demand.

Falling corn prices and record ethanol supplies have driven the price down 17 percent in three months to $1.634 a gallon, its worst run since 2008’s fourth quarter. It will average $1.96 a gallon at the peak of the U.S. summer driving season as refiners from Valero Energy Corp. to Sunoco Inc. mix more into gasoline made from increasingly pricey oil, according to the median of 10 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

European Activists Sue Over Biofuels Studies

Environmental lawyers and activists on Monday sued the European Commission for failing to release studies investigating the impact of biofuels on the environment.

Whetting Singapore's thirst for rice

"To produce one bowl of rice it takes about 500 liters of water," said Dr. Bouman.

"For a city like Singapore, the question is whether the 688 billion liters of water needed to produce the country's rice will remain available."

Worldwide, water for agriculture is becoming increasingly scarce as groundwater reserves drop, water quality declines because of pollution, irrigation systems malfunction, and competition from urban and industrial users increases.

Climate change will also reduce water availability in large parts of the world. And, by 2025, 15-20 million hectares of irrigated rice will suffer some degree of water scarcity.

Cool it on efforts against new rules, EPA chief asks

WASHINGTON — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday pushed back against lawmakers' attempts to halt the EPA's regulation of greenhouse gases from power plants, refiners and other industrial facilities.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said the agency's proposed new rules, which would take effect next year, could help ignite new demand for clean energy technology.

Instead of trying to block new rules, lawmakers should spend their energy focusing on “new legislation to do something” about climate change, Jackson told reporters after a speech at the National Press Club.

Asking “what would nature do?” leads to a way to break down a greenhouse gas

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A recent discovery in understanding how to chemically break down the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into a useful form opens the doors for scientists to wonder what organism is out there – or could be created – to accomplish the task.

University of Michigan biological chemist Steve Ragsdale, along with research assistant Elizabeth Pierce and scientists led by Fraser Armstrong from the University of Oxford in the U.K., have figured out a way to efficiently turn carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide using visible light, like sunlight.

California to amend 'cool cars' rule

The state, which gave initial approval of the new rules in June, aims to sharply reduce solar energy in vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The California Air Resources Board is working to finalize the regulations in the coming weeks. The final rules must be in place by May 7.

But the California Police Chiefs Association, California State Sheriffs Association, Crime Victims United of California and other groups warn that the new standards, requiring window glazing to keep car interiors cool, could degrade signals from cell phones, and from ankle monitoring bracelets worn by felons.

Fidel Castro warns of dangers threatening humanity

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro warned of many dangers currently threatening the planet and the humanity such as mass destructive weapons and climate change.

"For the first time, the human species, in a globalized world full of contradictions, have created the ability to destroy themselves," Castro said in an article released on Monday.

How does America end up with such terrible national security strategies?

Last month I wrote a blog post on the appallingly, monumentally bad Quadrennial Defence Review (QDR) of 2010 — the document the US Defence Department is required to produce as a basis for developing the military force structure and strategic requirements for the next four years. This document, meant to analyse the threats to the United States, failed to mention radical Islam as a threat in its over 100 pages. It also passed over the threat of Iranian nuclear weapons with only a one-sentence mention. Yet the top officials of the Defence Department did not fail to notice the REAL threat facing the United States. The QDR devoted several pages to the serious threat inherent in… climate change.

Monbiot: The trouble with trusting complex science

There is no simple way to battle public hostility to climate research. As the psychologists show, facts barely sway us anyway.

Wild relatives of crops seen aiding climate fight

(Reuters) - Farm experts plan to track down wild relatives of crops such as rice or wheat with traits that make them able to resist global warming in a project costing perhaps $50 million, a leading expert said on Tuesday.

"The wild relatives of cultivated crops ... are largely uncollected or conserved in gene banks," said Cary Fowler, head of the Rome-based Global Crop Diversity Trust which co-manages a "doomsday" seed vault on an Arctic island north of Norway.

Move to train truckers to be greener

The UK government has launched a new proposal to encourage more lorry drivers to take eco-driver training in a move to save up to 3m tonnes of carbon emissions.

Over five years, a saving of around £300m in fuel costs could be achieved, according to transport minister Paul Clark.

India backs Copenhagen climate deal: minister

NEW DELHI (AFP) – India has decided to formally back a climate change accord struck in Copenhagen last year that includes non-binding limits on global warming, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said Tuesday.

Climate forest deal in sight: Indonesia

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Wealthy and developing nations should be able to seal an agreement this year on deforestation, unlocking a key part of the next treaty on global warming, Indonesian negotiators said Monday.

Should Scientists Fight Heat or Stick to Data?

You want to know why Al Gore and his movie have proven to be such an abject failure? (And yes, failure is the right word — polling shows no net increase in public concern about global warming in the years following the movie — for two decades its been roughly a third of the public who are seriously worried about global warming.) It’s for this very reason. A very dull and dispassionate voice was chosen to deliver a supposedly dire and passionate message. It was one of the worst cases of bad casting in history. Gore is ultimately “a scientist” when it comes to communication instincts. You can see it played out in his movie and two books as he’s slowly come to the realization that you need something more than information to reach the masses. Duh.

Post Carbon

Contrary to popular belief, young people are not more politically engaged on the issue of climate change than older Americans, according to a new climate poll conducted by researchers at American, Yale and George Mason universities.

The researchers found "adults under the age of 35 are significantly less likely than their elders to say that they had thought about global warming before today, with nearly a quarter (22 percent) of under-35s saying they had never thought about the issue previously. Only 38 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 34 say that they had previously thought about global warming either 'a lot' (10 percent) or 'some' (28 percent), compared to 51 percent of those 35-59 and 44 percent of those 60 and older.

When the Water Rises

It’s easy to imagine an apocalyptically soggy future for New York—high waves soaking the hem of Lady Liberty’s robes, flash floods roaring through subway tunnels, kayakers paddling down Wall Street—and just as easy to dismiss it all as another end-of-days Hollywood fantasy. Global warming may be powerful and real, but so is denial, and the urge to postpone thinking about that particular item on the world’s to-do list is almost irresistible. Coastal cities, however, don’t have that luxury. For centuries, New York has been steadily expanding into its harbor; when the steroidal storms of the not-too-distant future start pummeling our shores, the waters will push back.

So Barry Bergdoll, the head of the Museum of Modern Art’s architecture and design department, divvied New York Harbor among five teams of designers and challenged them to figure out how a low-lying metropolis might deal with rising sea levels and violent storm surges. Their answers will appear (starting March 24) in the MoMA exhibit “Rising Currents: Projects for New York’s Waterfront,” and they vary from spongy streets to reefs made of glass or oysters to apartment buildings dangling above the brine.

Developed countries outsource emissions: study

Developed countries are "outsourcing" more than a third of their carbon emissions associated with products and services to other countries, researchers say.

A study of trade data found that some countries in Western Europe have more than half of their total carbon dioxide emissions occurring elsewhere, especially in developing countries such as China.

Cambridge University Press seeks a bright, dependable, energetic and motivated Marketing Assistant to join our ESL Marketing department, to provide administrative support to the Marketing Manger and the entire marketing team in the promotion of ESL and Education textbooks.

Primary responsibilities include:
• Designing web and print publicity including flyers, invitations, emails, and order forms
• Proofreading marketing collateral including brochures, catalogs, websites and email blasts
• Coordinating e-mail campaigns and postal mailings
• Collecting copy and graphics for publicity in development
• Making content updates to our websites as appropriate
• Working with our CRM system including running reports and entering data
• Providing sales meeting, conference and event support including signage, handouts, binders, etc.
• Sending review copies of new books and tracking industry media coverage of our titles

Required:
• Bachelor’s degree with a total of one year of professional work or internship experience
• Proficiency in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Design experience in at least one of the following: Photoshop, Acrobat Professional, and/or InDesign
• Familiarity with databases; Ability to quickly learn new graphics software and Cambridge-specific systems; Demonstrated aptitude with computers and electronic image management
• Strong proofreading and writing skills
• Basic knowledge of web development including Dreamweaver or HTML a plus
• A background in marketing, publishing, or ESL education a plus but not required

The ideal candidate must have excellent organizational and project management skills with strong attention to detail, and the ability to prioritize tasks in a fast-paced environment.
Cambridge offers rewarding career opportunities with competitive salaries and excellent benefits in a stable and supportive environment. For further information about the Press, please visit our website at www.cambridge.org/us. For consideration, send cover letter with salary requirements and resume to newyorkjobs@cambridge.org, or mail to: Human Resources; Cambridge University Press; 32 Avenue of the Americas; New York, NY 10013.

Samples of design work are helpful.

Account Specialist - CHICAGO

The Account Specialist acts as the customer’s advocate within IAS to promote a superior customer experience with all IAS services. This role leads the deployment of IAS’ services to the Intermodal community – ocean carriers, railroads, motor carriers and equipment lessors and intermodal depots - and supports them on an on-going basis post-deployment.
Reports to: Manager, Client Services - Americas

International Asset Systems (IAS) is the world’s leading provider of Software-as-a-Service applications that delivers extraordinary value to participants in the intermodal transport chain through a vast and ever-growing pool of equipment and shipment information. IAS’s customers achieve high levels of financial returns with every equipment transaction, creating immediate bottom-line results. Our products and services link participants and their customers through a single connection, including ocean carriers, stack train operators, logistics providers, lessors, and trucking companies, delivering real-time data that enables them to track, interchange, repair, manage and street-turn equipment on demand. The result is greater asset utilization, reduced operating costs and more responsive customer service. IAS is privately held with headquarters in Oakland, California, and additional offices in Chicago, Illinois; Hong Kong; and London, UK. www.interasset.com

Partners with: Sales, Client Services, Product Management, and Service Delivery

Location: Oakbrook, IL (Chicago suburb)
Responsibilities:
The position manages customer relationships and customer support of existing IAS global customers using our solutions and services (Interchange, InterBox, Equipment Repair, Event Manager, Dispatch Manager and others as assigned.) The main activities and responsibilities for this position include:

IAS Application/Solution Troubleshooting and Support – 60%
§ Pro-actively monitor solutions performance in order to anticipate potential customer impact
§ First point-of-contact for customer support matters such as system/service failures, user administration, requests for enhancements and deployment of new systems releases

Global Deployment of IAS Services - 20%
§ Use deployment plan to implement IAS solutions quickly and accurately domestically and abroad
§ Lead assigned tasks to timely completion and meeting quality standards
§ Provide required reporting and communication both internally and externally on progress and project status

Account Management – 20%
§ Take complete ownership of assigned customer relationships with IAS
§ Develops a thorough understanding of the account base by profiling accounts and analyzing the existing processes to identify business opportunities
§ Proactively reach out to customers to understand their needs and capture their specific service requirements
§ Lead regular customer review sessions in person or via web-conference both domestically and internationally
§ Engage key intermodal stakeholders in order to constantly assess current and future customer needs
§ Clearly communicate and follow up diligently customer’s feedback and requirements to internal stakeholders
§ Work jointly with the Sales organization to ensure customers’ expectation are met or exceeded

Skills and Qualifications:
§ 1-3 years of customer support or service experience or relevant education / exposure preferred, recent college graduates welcome
§ Interpersonal and communication skills, both internally and externally, both verbal and written
§ Natural ability to initiate, develop and maintain relationships with stakeholders and customers
§ Ability to establish a positive rapport with clients in order to develop and maintain long-term relationships
§ Keen ability to clearly understand client’s business needs, objectives and service expectations.
§ Proven ability to complete assigned tasks as per project plan in a multi-task environment
§ Detail and quality minded with proven ability to deliver consistent high performance
§ Able to take on full responsibility for corrective action related to customer issue resolution.
§ Demonstrated ability to work under minimal supervision and exercise sound judgment when making decisions and interacting with internal and external stakeholders.
§ Strong attraction to working in a collaborative environment and leveraging internal and external resources to deploy solutions that satisfy customers’ needs
§ Ability to learn quickly and desire to be developed
§ Proficiency in one or more foreign language is preferred
§ Proficient in the use of MS applications (MS Office, Outlook) and web-based applications such as SalesForce.com or similar applications


Travel:

Some limited local and national travel is required; occasional travel to IAS Oakland corporate office.

Education:

§ BS degree or equivalent experience.

IAS offers highly competitive pay and benefits including medical, dental, and vision benefits at no cost to employees or their eligible dependents. As well, we offer 401(k), life insurance, LTD with very generous vacation and sick programs. EOE.

BOSTON, Dec. 15 -- Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS), an international communications and information technology company, announced its Unity XG-100 Full-Spectrum Multiband Radio has received the SDR Forum Technology of the Year Award. The radio provides federal, state and local agencies with a portable "one-for-all" solution - delivering true interoperability to first responders and public safety professionals.

"By voting the Harris Unity XG-100 as our Technology of the Year, our membership has recognized numerous innovative technologies inherent in this breakthrough product," said Lee Pucker, SDR Forum chief executive officer. "Products such as this one are important in showing the advanced capabilities of SDR technologies in deployment and advancing the field of next-generation radio technologies."

The Unity XG-100 supports digital APCO P25 secure and analog FM communications across VHF, UHF, 700 MHz and 800 MHz public safety bands in a single portable radio. Its capabilities enable first responders to use a single radio to communicate with multiple jurisdictions and agencies operating on different frequencies and systems.

The SDR Forum Technology of the Year Award is presented to an individual or organization for a breakthrough product or technology in the field of software-defined or cognitive radio, as selected by the Forum's membership. The award was presented to Harris at the SDR'09 Technical Conference and Product Exposition this month in Washington, D.C.

"We're extremely pleased the Unity XG-100 was recognized by The SDR Forum, especially because the award is selected by its members," said Dana Mehnert, group president, RF Communications Division, Harris Corporation. "Our goal was to drive technology forward and provide a full-spectrum radio to meet the needs of a wide variety of users."

The Unity XG-100's built-in, advanced capabilities include:

-- Multiband operation such as cross-band scanning.

-- Superior ambient noise suppression.

-- Integrated GPS with a large, full-color display for situational

awareness.

-- Secure Bluetooth(r) technology for wireless audio accessories and

wireless data support.

The Unity XG-100 is built to military standards for ruggedness and immersibility. It is designed to be intrinsically safe and features a true software-defined radio architecture that allows flexibility for future growth, including a software-only upgrade to the APCO P25 phase 2 TDMA standards.

Harris Public Safety and Professional Communications is a leading supplier of assured communications(r) systems and equipment for public safety, federal, utility, commercial and transportation markets - with products ranging from the most advanced IP voice and data networks, to industry leading multiband, multimode radios, to public safety-grade broadband video and data solutions. With more than 80 years of experience, Harris supports over 500 systems around the world.

About the SDR Forum

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Established in 1996, The SDR Forum(TM) is a non-profit international industry association with a 100+ strong membership comprised of world-class technical, business and government organizations from EMEA, Asia and the Americas who are passionate about creating a revolution in wireless communications based on reconfigurable radio. The SDR Forum is the only organization in the world dedicated to serving the industry's needs through advocacy, opportunity development, commercialization and education. For more information, please visit www.sdrforum.org.

About Harris Corporation

Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has approximately $5 billion of annual revenue and more than 15,000 employees - including nearly 7,000 engineers and scientists. Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured communications(r) products, systems, and services. Additional information about Harris Corporation is available at www.harris.com <www.harris.com/> .

Media Contact: Steve Frackleton, Public Safety & Professional Communications, Stephen.Frackleton@harris.com, +1-434-455-9501; or Jim Burke, Corporate Headquarters, Jim.Burke@harris.com, +1-321-727-9131

International Asset Systems (IAS) is the world’s leading provider of Software-as-a-Service applications that delivers extraordinary value to participants in the intermodal transport chain through a vast and ever-growing pool of equipment and shipment information. IAS’s customers achieve high levels of financial returns with every equipment transaction, creating immediate bottom-line results. Our products and services link participants and their customers through a single connection, including ocean carriers, stack train operators, logistics providers, lessors, and trucking companies, delivering real-time data that enables them to track, interchange, repair, manage and street-turn equipment on demand. The result is greater asset utilization, reduced operating costs and more responsive customer service. IAS is privately held with headquarters in Oakland, California, and additional offices in Chicago, Illinois; Hong Kong; and London, UK. www.interasset.com

Account Specialist - CHICAGO

The Customer Service Advisor acts as the customer’s advocate within IAS to promote a superior customer experience with all IAS services. This role leads the deployment of IAS’ services to the Intermodal community – ocean carriers, railroads, motor carriers and equipment lessors and intermodal depots - and supports them on an on-going basis post-deployment.
Reports to: Manager, Client Services - Americas

Partners with: Sales, Client Services, Product Management, and Service Delivery

Location: Oakbrook, IL (Chicago suburb)
Responsibilities:
The position manages customer relationships and customer support of existing IAS global customers using our solutions and services (Interchange, InterBox, Equipment Repair, Event Manager, Dispatch Manager and others as assigned.) The main activities and responsibilities for this position include:

IAS Application/Solution Troubleshooting and Support – 60%
§ Pro-actively monitor solutions performance in order to anticipate potential customer impact
§ First point-of-contact for customer support matters such as system/service failures, user administration, requests for enhancements and deployment of new systems releases

Global Deployment of IAS Services - 20%
§ Use deployment plan to implement IAS solutions quickly and accurately domestically and abroad
§ Lead assigned tasks to timely completion and meeting quality standards
§ Provide required reporting and communication both internally and externally on progress and project status

Account Management – 20%
§ Take complete ownership of assigned customer relationships with IAS
§ Develops a thorough understanding of the account base by profiling accounts and analyzing the existing processes to identify business opportunities
§ Proactively reach out to customers to understand their needs and capture their specific service requirements
§ Lead regular customer review sessions in person or via web-conference both domestically and internationally
§ Engage key intermodal stakeholders in order to constantly assess current and future customer needs
§ Clearly communicate and follow up diligently customer’s feedback and requirements to internal stakeholders
§ Work jointly with the Sales organization to ensure customers’ expectation are met or exceeded

Skills and Qualifications:
§ 3-5 years of customer support or service experience or relevant education / exposure
§ Interpersonal and communication skills, both internally and externally, both verbal and written
§ Natural ability to initiate, develop and maintain relationships with stakeholders and customers
§ Ability to establish a positive rapport with clients in order to develop and maintain long-term relationships
§ Keen ability to clearly understand client’s business needs, objectives and service expectations.
§ Proven ability to complete assigned tasks as per project plan in a multi-task environment
§ Detail and quality minded with proven ability to deliver consistent high performance
§ Able to take on full responsibility for corrective action related to customer issue resolution.
§ Demonstrated ability to work under minimal supervision and exercise sound judgment when making decisions and interacting with internal and external stakeholders.
§ Strong attraction to working in a collaborative environment and leveraging internal and external resources to deploy solutions that satisfy customers’ needs
§ Ability to learn quickly and desire to be developed
§ Proficiency in one or more foreign language is preferred
§ Proficient in the use of MS applications (MS Office, Outlook) and web-based applications such as SalesForce.com or similar applications


Travel:
Some limited local and national travel is required; occasional travel to IAS Oakland corporate office.

Education:
§ BS degree or equivalent experience.

IAS offers highly competitive pay and benefits including medical, dental, and vision benefits at no cost to employees or their eligible dependents. As well, we offer 401(k), life insurance, LTD with very generous vacation and sick programs. EOE.