Spies in the sky

Warfare
Spies in the sky
Mar 25th 2009
From Economist.com

Blimps equipped with remote-sensing electronics are cheaper than drones

Aerostar International

SPYING is supposed to be a sophisticated operation. But that can make it expensive. Gathering military intelligence using unmanned aircraft can be prohibitively so. Predator and Global Hawk, two types of American drone frequently flown in Afghanistan and Iraq, cost, respectively, about $5,000 and $26,500 an hour to operate. The aircraft themselves each come in at between $4.5m and $35m, and the remote-sensing equipment they carry can more than double the price. Which is why less elegant but far cheaper balloons are now being used instead.

Such blimps can keep surveillance and ordnance-guiding equipment aloft for a few hundred dollars an hour. They cost hundreds of thousands, not millions, of dollars. And they can stay aloft for more than a week, whereas most drones fly for no more than 30 hours at a time. They are also easy to deploy. No airfield is needed. A blimp can be stored in the back of a jeep, driven to a suitable location, launched in a couple hours and winched down even faster.

Unlike other aircraft, blimps do not need to form a precise aerodynamic shape. This means they can lift improbable objects into the sky, such as a dozen metres of dangling radar equipment. At altitudes of just a few hundred metres, a blimp carrying 20kg of remote-sensing electronics (including radar and infrared thermal-imaging cameras) can seek out, track and provide images of combatants dozens of kilometres away—day or night. It can also help commanders to aim the lasers that guide their missiles.

Blimps often operate beyond the range of machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Even if they are hit, though, they do not explode because the helium that keeps them lighter-than-air is not inflammable. (Engineers abandoned the use of hydrogen in 1937 after the Hindenburg, a German airship, was consumed by flames in less than a minute.) Moreover, they usually stay aloft even when punctured: the pressure of the helium inside a blimp is about the same as that of the air outside it, so the gas does not rush out. Indeed, towards the end of 2004, when a blimp broke its tether north of Baghdad and started to drift towards Iran, the American air force had some difficulty in shooting it down.


At least 20 countries use blimps—both global military powers, such as America, Britain and France, and smaller regional ones, including Ireland, Pakistan, Poland and the United Arab Emirates. Many are employed in Iraq. In November 2008 Aerostar International of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, began filling a $1.8m order for 36 blimps to be deployed by American forces in Iraq. But Afghanistan may prove a bigger market. That is because it is difficult to pick satellite signals up directly in the valleys of that mountainous country.

This message will self-destruct, part 2

I have been writing some time ago on this very subject, but it is very intriguing, thus I dare to follow on. A new way of keeping private correspondence private

AP (the Economist) WHEN Barack Obama became American president, one of his first tussles with White House lawyers was over whether he could keep his beloved BlackBerry. (Yes, he did.) The reason why the lawyers were wary was that e-mail cannot be destroyed. People do not know where the information they are sending is being stored and when, if ever, it is deleted. Such unknowns make it possible for seemingly long-gone data to turn up in a court under the order of a subpoena, or worse, in the hands of a hacker. On August 13th, though, a team of computer scientists led by Roxana Geambasu of the University of Washington, Seattle will unveil to the 18th USENIX Security Symposium in Montreal an e-communications system that destroys messages soon after they have been sent.

http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/tm/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14162535

Mercedes introduces its new safety idea the Braking Bag

At the International Show in Stuttgart, Mercedes presented its ESF2009 model featuring vast improvements in car safety. One of the novel ways to do that is so called Braking Bag. Once a car decelerates just before crash the Bag located between front wheels is released and raises front end and by the same time increases its friction with road surface increasing car deceleration by up to 20m/s2. Action increases tension on safety belts reducing potential for injuries. The systems works already from min. speed of 50km/h it is not known when Mercedes is going to introduce this technology into series models.

Embedded Systems at Defense Shows in London and in Kielce

Executives from Acromag EMEA, lead by its Managing Director, Dr. Stefan Baginski have visited two defense conferences this month. The biggest was taking place in London last week, and it is the biggest in the industry. The DSEi 2009is the premier defense show, with over 1300 companies exhibiting on +32,000 m² with expected 26,000 visitors. The news were several and interesting to Embedded Systems: VOIP Radio Transceiver, Combined Navigation and C2, Fast Marine Target Drone and several UAV`s in various applications. For more please click here>>
Another show, smaller but with many major players (like US companies) present and flying afterwards directly to London was in Poland. The host country was for a number of years and the leading buyer of US made equipment, and even now made it to the biggest 5 countries upgrading its technology and capabilities from Washington.
The show featured some 400 exhibitors and Defender Prizes were given to PIT, for IFF solutions, WB Electronics for its mobile PC solution for polish tanks T-72 and TP-91 by Bumar (another Polish contractor known on markets from Brazil to Indonesia) . This solution was spotted promptly by US based Harris, who bought license and world-wide distribution rights for it. For more click here>>
The DSEi was presenting united upbeat posture, expecting more visitors than last year. There was a however a talk among industry insiders about “Cocooning” another word for mothballing the company to survive till better times.

Company Sunlux a leading embedded system vendor has introduced its newest Protocol Converters. Protocon is a protocol translator or converter that enables communication between devices supporting dissimilar communication protocols. A typical situation is when a Modbus TCP based SCADA System must communicate with a device supporting Modbus RTU.
This product marketed by IMU Group Swiss a company specializing in business development in EMEA and in North America, with offices in Germany, France, Italy, Canada and the US. For information please contact Mrs. Jenny Ann below:

This newsletter is included in the S. Baginski Embedded Europe b log, and can be twitted accordingly. Dr. Baginski can be reached at s.baginski@bluewin.ch

Jenny Ann
Marketing Manager
IMU Group Swiss
+41 62 758 3222
+41 62 758 3223 fax
www.imugroup.eu
jenny.ann@bluewin.ch


http://www.sunlux-india.com/_borders/sunlux-logo-small.jpg
http://www.acromag.com/Graphics/1a.jpg
http://www.imugroup.eu/assets/images/imuswiss230709_35_cropped02.jpg
http://www.sunlux-india.com/ProtocolConverters.htm

Jim gives us next part of his power blogging secrets

In part 1 of this series, I discussed the many ways to add value to your blog and cement your brand to your readers — essentially your customers and prospects. In part 2, I get a bit personal, offering some tips I’ve used to build my personal direct marketing blog and others.
As a direct marketing consultant, blogging has been a powerful tool for me as part of my overall networking strategy. While I do plenty of in-person networking, I much prefer the newfangled way of using my blog and social media to drive lead generation and ultimately customers my way.
So here, follow these steps. And shhh, don’t tell anybody about this, OK?
1. Figure LinkedIn prominently in your strategy. Link your blog to your LinkedIn profile page. This is very easy to do via the blog publishing platform WordPress and LinkedIn’s Blog Link application.
2. Join as many LinkedIn groups as you can. Try joining groups that complement your skills. I belong to many direct marketing groups. But graphic design agencies can recommend my services as well, so I belong to some graphic design groups, too. Get the picture? Once you join the groups, use LinkedIn’s news feature to add your blog posts. The maximum number of groups an individual can join is 50, according to LinkedIn.
3. Use the LinkedIn discussions feature. This feature, which enables you to comment on other posts in the LinkedIn groups to which you belong, adds value to your groups. When posting a comment, always add your blog’s URL. Make sure your answers are relevant and not spammy.
4. Use LinkedIn’s Q&A feature. When I started my blog, I used the Q&A function to ask people to check out my blog and tell me what they thought. You’d be surprised how many people did. Ask people to do the same for your blog, as well as critique it and offer advice on design, content and marketing. Also, answer questions that you have a good feel for, always add your blog URL and be relevant.
5. Add the appropriate links to your LinkedIn profile page. You can add up to three links, according to LinkedIn. I have links to my blog, Twitter feed and (eM+C sister publication) All About ROI magazine column.
6. Make sure your blog has RSS, and it’s in a prominent position on all pages. People will subscribe to your blog.
7. Use Twitter to tweet your blog posts. I also use FriendFeed, Biznik and Plaxo to do this. These social networking services allow you to join groups and use similar tactics to LinkedIn.
8. Use LinkedIn’s status feature. This enables you to update people on your blog posts.
9. Send your blog posts to your Facebook connections. Join Facebook groups, and push out there, too.
10. Use feeds such as Technorati and Delicious. This blog search engine (Technorati) and social bookmarking web service (Delicious) will help you distribute your blog to the masses.
Wow, I gave away the farm here. A final thought: Blogging and promoting your blog is a “give-to-get” experience. The more you give, the more you get back.
Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Blogging Primer – WHAT to blog for success
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THE POWER ELITE AND THE SECRET NAZI PLAN PARTS 1-4
Filed under: direct marketing | Tagged: blog tips, blogging, business communications, catalog marketing, direct mail, direct marketing, direct marketing management, e-commerce marketing, Gilbert Direct Marketing, Jim Gilbert, linkedin, mail order management, multichannel marketing, Social media, web 2.0
« Want to learn more about direct marketing? Are you already a quality focused direct marketing pro? 5 Pointers for Out-of-Work Direct Marketers (or ones who just want to hedge their bets) »
4 Responses
Lori Boyce, on August 24th, 2009 at 5:14 pm Said:
great advice, Jim. Thanks for the great tips.
00Rate This
Reply
madrozie, on August 24th, 2009 at 8:32 pm Said:
Pretty cool post. I just came by your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your posts.
Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon!
00Rate This
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Eric Peterson, on August 25th, 2009 at 7:38 am Said:
Thanks Jim. Not only is it nice to see these valuable tips summarized in one post, but it’s also nice to know they are actually working for you. Our company blog has been neglected and we’re about to perform resuscitation. Parts 1 and 2 are excellent references.

Clean Energy Industry Feasting on Stimulus Pie: Pending Legislation Ultra-Critical

As the U.S. is muddled down in the healthcare debate, the bills in Congress dealing with revolutionary energy policy hang in the balance and hesitancy resides in the renewable energy industry over the ultimate future market size for cleantech. Even though the Recovery Act and subsequent stimulus funding has initiated future clean energy plans, the cleantech community is curiously awaiting a decision on key legislation such as the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) or Cap-and-Trade bill and a national renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS), which will both be the game-changing bills, which will set the future course of how the country utilizes energy.
Stimulus grants are designed to offer an approximate maximum five years of funding, while the cap-and-trade and RPS policies would essentially be permanent. Furthermore, many states are also awaiting the decision on a national RPS, not to over-commit themselves to a higher clean energy target or state RPS than what may be required nationwide. However, it is possible that some states may lose out on the opportunity to attract relevant supply chains and green job growth in-state and be required to purchase geothermal power, for instance, from a neighboring state’s utility provider or other resource, until they are able to develop more renewable resources.

Nonetheless, the Recovery Act is helping lessen the blow of an industry-wide solar cell supply glut and creating new agreements that are leading to new orders by customers. The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced a Stimulus program to award $2.3 billion in tax credits, which are available for two years or until the funds have been exhausted, for manufacturers of advanced clean energy equipment. This Clean Energy Industry Feasting on Stimulus Pie: Pending Legislation Ultra-Critical August 20, 2009 program applies to but is not limited to wind, solar, biomass, geothermal , electric vehicle,
advanced power grid systems, energy conservation, and greenhouse gas emissions
technology companies. The Recovery Act has enabled a new tax credit program by
authorizing the Treasury Department to offer developers with an investment tax credit of 30% for facilities that manufacture energy equipment of this nature. Companies whom receive grants are expected to receive payments within 180 days of filing for the credit. For more information on the program and application, an Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit site has been posted.

Similarly, the Treasury and DOE announced in July the availability of a payment in lieu of tax credits for facilities that produce renewable energy- a program that is hoped will result in more than $3 billion of stimulus for energy development in rural and urban communities.

In the state of Arizona, a related solar process equipment tax incentive bill denoted as SB 1403 was passed this summer, but the state lacks a significant driving force for the conversion to clean energy sources or energy efficiency, since it possesses one of the least aggressive RPS of only 15% by 2025 from both a percentage and time frame perspective, as observed at this DOE reference site. Currently, Arizona, having one of the highest solar power potentials nationwide, derives nearly half of its power from coal.

The state of North Carolina is taking its state-mandated RPS seriously and getting ahead of the curve in preparation for a potential more aggressive national RPS. At this time, the state requires the utilities to satisfy 12.5% of its customers’ power needs with renewables or energy efficiency by 2021. Moreover, the law requires incremental increases in the amount of solar energy implemented, starting at 0.02% of the electricity sold by 2010 and rising to 0.2% by 2018. This policy has prompted Charlotte, N.C- based Duke Energy, one of the largest power companies in the U.S., serving about 4 million customers, to take matters into their own hands
and develop a large-scale solar portfolio.

Clean Energy Industry Feasting on Stimulus Pie: Pending Legislation Ultra-Critical
August 20, 2009 Similarly, more than 800 megawatts (MW) of solar power plants announced across the country in 2009, according to GTM analyst Daniel Englander, emphasizes the increasing trend of power utility providers to own and operate their own solar assets. These companies are deciding to own and operate the projects due to the financial uncertainty surrounding many solar companies during the inventory glut and because they can obtain better finance offers, due to their more consistent revenue streams, allowing them to reduce their cost of capital.

In the case of Duke Energy, the utility received approval in May from the North Carolina Utilities Commission to move forward with a $50 million agreement to install 10MW worth of solar energy systems in the state, which is equivalent to the power target for approximately 1,300 homes. These solar systems will be installed starting later this year on the roofs and grounds of homes, schools, business parks, shopping malls, and even industrial plants. It is expected that the installations will range from about 2.5 kilowatts on residential rooftops to more than 1MW on open land or attached to industrial facilities. The power will be fed into the electrical grid and participants will be paid for use of their roofs or land, according to the size of
the installation and amount of power generated at the site. It is definitely an interesting business model compared to feed-in tariffs, which are prevalent in Europe.

The typical model of sporadic solar residential installations across the U.S., where surplus power created is returned for a credit, does not generate a significant strain on the current power grid system. However, high concentrations in one area could lead to imbalances on a circuit. By analyzing the data from the 10MW project, Duke Energy is poised to gauge the limits of its electricity network and avoid potential disruptions in the case of larger scale endeavors. The strategic placement
of solar installations closer to the demand or customer actually contrasts with the agenda elsewhere of constructing massive solar farms for harnessing electricity and taking advantage of economies of scale that way. Perhaps, this is a way of simplifying grid dynamics and reducing complications with adjusting power levels as needed at solar or wind farms based on
the less consistent stream of power from renewable energy sources. Furthermore, this model of meeting a RPS will receive serious consideration in the development of
smart grid technology.

Duke Energy has ruled out using concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) plants, which are becoming the preferred option for solar farms. The company is considering both silicon and thin-film solar modules and is still determining options for various installations. Thus, any localized solar power source initiative will have deleterious effects on companies such as Phoenix- based Stirling Energy Systems or Abengoa Solar, who are building plants in Arizona. In addition, many companies such as Oerlikon Solar and Applied Materials are counting on an increased

Clean Energy Industry Feasting on Stimulus Pie: Pending Legislation Ultra-Critical
August 20, 2009 trend toward solar farms and have designed their business model around offering turn-key solar power plants including all the necessary process equipment.

In comparison to historical data across the industry, Navigant Consulting released its annual report Analysis of Worldwide PV Markets and Five-Year Application Forecast 2008-2009. This report noted that grid-connected solar applications, as opposed to stand-alone signs on roads, etc. are the largest and fastest growing of all of the solar market segments, with an 80% share of global volume in 2004, an 82% share in 2005, an 86% share of total volume in 2006, and a 94% share of total volume in 2008. Furthermore, the fastest growing sub-set was the commercial sector of primarily investor-owned (>1MW) operations on fields and roof-tops.

The coupling of government legislation, maturation of industry trends, and the urgency of demand will determine the face of the solar power and overall clean energy industry in the U.S. and other countries, as they pursue a green revolution.

In order to receive email alerts on future Green technology and business articles, please subscribe on my homepage and/or follow me on Twitter.

Representative image of Stimulus pie (media.point2.com).

Source  reprinted from solarfeeds.com

Mighty Scope a little tool to inspect PCB`s

http://www.schmartboard.com/index.asp?page=mighty_scope

Have you ever wanted to get a closeup look at a PCB, solder joint, or anything else? Magnifying glasses may work...but not always. Have you ever needed to photograph a circuit to send to a coullege. We have the solution for you. We loved this so much and found so much value internally that we decided to make it available to our customers. I am talking about the Aven Digital Mighty Scope. This is a 10X to 200X digital scope that allows you to take snapshots or video in a 1280 x 1024 resolution. It is a very nice product for only $199.99

Posted by Neal Greenberg