RFID and Near Field Communication

The innovation train to Oulu will start January 13, 2010 at 6h30 am from Helsinki.

We could visit VTT or Nokia to learn more about RFID and NFC.

The train returns to Helsinki before midnight.

Close to fifty participants are talking and documenting open innovation.

We could also pay a visit to Idesco or Buscom but there is a time limit. Details will be decided in early January 2010.

Lappset Playground

A few years ago, Lappset Group was the third largest producer of playground equipment and park furnishings in Europe.

At that time, the company had a turnover of 33 million euros, and employees, together with affiliates, about 200 people.

• Founded 1967
• Founder Antero Ikäheimo
• Ikäheimo's daughters are running the company now
• Active in 30 countries

I was talking about the present Lappset Oy today over Qaiku. Here is a comment in Finnish language.

@visualradio kyllähän niihinkin vaikuttaa kuntien pienentyneet investoinnit. Nykyisin niillä tosin on uusia moderneja tuotesarjoja, jotka saivat hyvin pullautettua tuotekehitysputkesta ulos ennen tätä taloudellista ahdinkoa, joten tuotekehitysosastolta pistettiin hyvä osa jengistä pihalle. Eipä paluuta entiseen ole toimarin puheiden perusteella tulossa, vaan tuotekehitys ulkoistetaan.

Tämä on varmasti Link designin kaltaisille tuotekehityspalveluita myyville firmoille ihan lottovoitto, mutta tiijänpä vaan ettei tällaiset ulkoistamisetkaan tapahdu ihan kivuitta... Onneksi Lappsetilla on tuoteportfolio nyt kuitenkin ihan hyvällä mallilla.

Sony Introduces the VAIO X "Lightest Notebook Ever" | InventorSpot

This is a FriendFeed catch.

Sony Introduces the VAIO X "Lightest Notebook Ever" | InventorSpot: "Sony is claiming that its new VAIO X is the lightest notebook ever. The sleek, netbook/notebook crossover is a mere 1.6 lbs. of computing and uses carbon fiber casing to help maintain its impressive weight. Using a slimmer, cooler Atom chip, the notebook is also able to maintain an ultra-slim .55-inch thickness across its entire length.

Enough gushing about the slim factor--the VAIO X features an 11-inch, 16:9 display with LED backlighting and comes with Windows 7. The trackpad includes multi-touch capability for actions such as pinching and rotating, and the X ships with a second battery pack that will combine with the standard battery to offer 14 hours of run time. Other notable features include built-in Verizon 3G compatibility and built-in GPS that works
independently of internet connection.

The VAIO X will begin at $1,300, which buys a model with a 2GHz Atom processor, 2GB of RAM and a 64GB solid-state drive. Preorders are available now and the VAIO X is scheduled to ship in November."

eComm2008: Emerging Communications Conference

Tracked on Facebook. The "trillion dollar telecommunications industry..."

eComm2008: Emerging Communications Conference: "The trillion dollar telecommunications industry has already started down the path that the homebrew computer took three decades ago. Democratized computation gave birth to the computer industry. eComm tracks, highlights and promotes both the people and the technologies driving the democratization of communications.

Helge: We're going to get more advanced smart phones -> the almost microcomputers

eComm™ brings out the visionaries, bleeding-edge technologies, real-world startups, cutting-edge academic projects, views from the incumbent telecom players; garage based hacks and stirs required policy debates to create the only telecommunications forum to embrace and promote the radical change."

Secretary of state taps social media in blog, other efforts | StatesmanJournal.com | Statesman Journal

Government 2.0 in the making.

Secretary of state taps social media in blog, other efforts | StatesmanJournal.com | Statesman Journal: "Secretary of state taps social media in blog, other efforts | October 4, 2009

Secretary of State Kate Brown has begun a blog and revised her agency's Web site in an attempt to tap new social media.

There will be Facebook and Twitter portals.

The blog will offer an insider's take on the work of the agency's four program divisions: Archives, Audits, Corporations and Elections. Among the contents will be news, frequently asked questions, reports, and an occasional question-and-answer format with staff. There is also a section for public comments.

'I believe that social networking and media present a tremendous opportunity for government and the public to have a truly interactive discussion about the state and how it is run,' Brown said.

Blog: www.oregonsosblog.us. Web site: www.sos.state.or.us.

— Peter Wong"

Apple Tablet May Have Two-Handed Multitouch Input - Apple touch keyboard patent - Gizmodo

More news about Apple innovations. They are moving ahead with new inventions for touch-screens. I start thinking about the talking walls and the possibilities of touching virtual realities in a store.

Apple Tablet May Have Two-Handed Multitouch Input - Apple touch keyboard patent - Gizmodo: "Apple's latest patent filing revolves around dual-handed touchscreen detection for typing, gesturing, controlling a 3D interface and handwriting. But it this intended for the fabled Apple Tablet, or something entirely different?

Apple Insider says this multitouch interface is designed to recognize specific user hands touching the device (personalized profiles!), and could differentiate between actions such as typing, or hands just resting on the surface. There's also talk of scrollwheel elements for basic OS X control and tactile feedback that wouldn't disrupt movement across the device surface."

Cisco CEO Optimistic About the Economy - Digits - WSJ

Cisco CEO Optimistic About the Economy - Digits - WSJ: "By Ben Worthen | Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers was one of the first tech executives to predict that the recession — then limited to the financial sector — would spread to the rest of the economy. Now he’s among the first to say it’s on the way back.

Helge: Are we going to see a V or W shaped recovery?

The economy has started a “gradual recovery,” Chambers said Wednesday during a meeting with Wall Street Journal reporters and editors, echoing optimism he expressed when discussing Cisco’s fourth-quarter results in August. Chambers said that he bases his assessment of the economy on several factors, including the stock market, conversations with customers and the rate at which Cisco receives orders. Based on these criteria, he believes that the U.S. is coming out of the recession. He added that Asia seems to be picking up as well, but that he expects Europe to lag behind.

Helge: What about Europe?

Chambers said he expects that the Obama administration’s stimulus package will help the recovery. It’s also had another effect: Tech companies like Cisco are investing in the areas the government is targeting, such as health care and upgrading the electricity network.

Helge: Health care! Are we ready to invest?

He didn’t agree with the government’s decision not to grant a tax holiday that would allow companies to repatriate cash from overseas. Cisco, which makes networking gear such as routers and switches, has approximately $29 billion overseas, he said. Now Cisco will be forced to spend more outside the U.S. than it would otherwise like.

In general, Chambers said that neither the government nor the private sector can turn the economy around on their own. “You’re not going to have a recovery without the government and business working together,” he said."

Helge: Governement and Business united!

Netbooks Sales Still Climbing - www.wi-fiplanet.com

Netbooks Sales Still Climbing - www.wi-fiplanet.com: "Netbooks Sales Still Climbing | By Andy Patrizio | September 3, 2009

Netbooks are beginning to really eat away at the notebook market and are showing their greatest strength outside the U.S., according to a new report by market researcher DisplaySearch, a subsidiary of NPD Group.

In its new Quarterly Notebook PC Shipment and Forecast Report, DisplaySearch found netbook sales had surged to 38 million units during second quarter, with 40 percent quarterly sequential growth--better than the 22 percent sequential growth for notebooks.

Of course, notebooks are a mature market while netbooks are still finding their footing. Plus, netbooks have been positioned as a second or third computer, ideal for someone who already owns a laptop, but wants something smaller and lighter to more easily carry with them.

Netbooks' share of the market has soared from 5.6 percent in the second quarter of 2008 to 22.2 percent last quarter. There has also been a corresponding loss for notebooks, from 94.4 percent of the market in 2008 to 77.8 percent in 2009.

Small world

Equally notable is where netbooks are growing. When the product category first emerged on the market, experts widely assumed they would take root in emerging and poorer countries. Instead, the opposite happened: They initially took off in the U.S. and Europe."


Helge: What will Nokia's and Apple's plans to enter the market accomplish?

More people centric blogging

I've a Seesmic account but I've not used it. Wanted to use it with my E71 but there is not a mobile interface so I continue to use Qik and Bambuser.

Haven't yet posted videos to my Flickr account either. Nokia's OVI doesn't pay an important role in my life yet. I feel OVI is complicated. Flickr isn't.

My blog postings could become little works of art and I work hard to personalize them.

The English language is certainly a challenge. It's very demanding to get into the flow. I've to struggle with the words. But life isn't easy either. I try to learn new ways of expression every single day.

I seldom hit people with products on my blogs but I've been inspired by buildings, nature, street pictures etc.

I would like to write more interviews about people but time is a limiting factor. Interviewing takes time.

This social media stuff is what we breath on a daily basis. My social media usage isn't expanding but I try to focus on the channels I've - which means a lot.

First step was blogging but the most interesting events take place in microblogs. I'm happier with the use of Facebook now.

With social media I can follow thousands of conversations on an annual basis. It could be used as sales funnel as well but I still concentrate more on socializing and expressing ideas.

My interest isn't in multilevel marketing. Social media is probably at best the most important learning environment I happen to have. Great ideas can be turned it into conversations and sharing ideas means very often that they become better when they are touched and commented by others..

Maybe I can tell someone else about things that are on my mind with all the pictures I take and have taken over the years. Drawings, cartoons, and old memos contain great and weird ideas. I've been posting a part from a huge archive.

A great way of communication happens with pictures transmitted to Brightkite and Qaiku. Flickr and Brightkite transport them to Friendfeed, Twitter, and Facebook where they get a second life. Or at least an extension.

Twitter has been low on my list lately and Friendfeed could certainly get more attention.

Flickr and KK-Net's Gallery, on the other hand aren't just my or KK-Net's family photo albums but a part of my / our personal exposure. My followers can see on a continuous basis what I'm involved in.

Old and new pictures have credibility and they can underline important historical events in my and KK-Net's life.

Schneider provides electrical distribution and building controls in Antarctica - Building Automation Portal: Products, News, Articles, Application Stories, Training, Events & Resources on Automation.com

Schneider provides electrical distribution and building controls in Antarctica - Building Automation Portal: Products, News, Articles, Application Stories, Training, Events & Resources on Automation.com:

Schnider is active in Finland through its factory in Stromfors.

"Brussels, September 7, 2007 – In Brussels, Schneider Electric and the International Polar Foundation (IPF) present Princess Elisabeth, the first “Zero Emission” scientific research station, before its installation in the Antarctic

In an unprecedented initiative, the station will exclusively use renewable energy: solar – via photovoltaic panels – and wind power. This process avoids all emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases.

Schneider Electric's offer of energy services, solutions and products actively help to reduce CO2 emissions. In this way, 50,000 metric tons of CO2 are economised every year in the framework of contracts managed by the Building Automation Business Unit.

“For Schneider Electric, participating in the extraordinary adventure of the Princess Elisabeth Antartica research station is a highly significant action. Alongside the International Polar Foundation, we share the same values – environmental responsibility, concern for the planet and the absolute need to reduce CO2 emissions. Finally, this is the first time that our products will encounter such extreme conditions, with temperatures of -40°C and under remote control for four months of the year,” explains Jean-Pascal Tricoire, President and CEO of Schneider Electric.

“It is also a tremendous scientific adventure and learning process,” adds Gilles Vermot-Desroches, Schneider Electric’s Senior Vice-President Sustainable Development. “Alain Hubert, the founder of the IPF, will be working with us, alongside a team of scientists and experts, to raise awareness in all of Schneider Electric’s employees of the history of the climate and its changes, because the poles are where the world’s climate is constructed.”

Schneider Electric and the IPF: a special partnership for a responsible, high-performance research station, economical in its use of energy.

Schneider Electric provides not only the electrical power supply, but also all of the building’s technical management and its remote control process.

1) The electrical power supply and distribution:

• Prisma+ cabinets and switchboards will ensure electrical distribution. They are entirely fitted with modular multi 9 switchgear. All this equipment is standard, as, right from the start, it is capable of functioning in extreme conditions.

2) Remote management:

• a SCADA system enables maintained optimum operating conditions by limiting over-consumption. Information is captured and TeSys contactors enable load shedding functions, for example, when necessary.

3) Supervision and command control:

• programmable Quantum automation units are installed in redundancy in order to ensure command control of water treatment and automatic switch-over from wind power to photovoltaic power in the event of violent wind conditions.
  
  
• the HVAC system is completely autonomous. It enables control and management of the station’s temperature, ventilation and hygrometry level.

About Schneider Electric
The world leader in electrical distribution and automation & control, Schneider Electric develops a global offer of products and services for the residential, buildings, industry, energy and infrastructures markets. In 2006, the 112,000 employees of Schneider Electric generated sales of €13.7 billion through 15,000 sales outlets in 190 countries."