BizAims

The US space agency (Nasa) will attempt to launch its latest Sun probe on Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The Solar Dynamics Observatory will acquire detailed images of our star to try to get a keener understanding of why it behaves the way it does.

When the Sun throws billions of tonnes of charged particles towards the Earth, it can disrupt communications, satellite and power systems.

Scientists want to see if they can forecast this "space weather" better.

SDO will assist this drive by investigating the physics at work inside, on the surface and in the atmosphere of the Sun.

Its instruments will return images with a resolution 10 times better than the average high-definition television camera, and those pictures will come back at a rapid rate, every three-quarters of a second.

Google's threat to quit China this month over hacking and U.S. criticism of China's Internet censorship has irritated ties between the two economic giants, already hurt by disagreements over currency exchange, trade and U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

In soothing words for investors, a Chinese official said Beijing would not seek to stand in the way of Google's Android mobile phone platform in the Chinese market.

The spokesman for China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Zhu Hongren, was responding to a question about whether use of the Android application in China would be affected by the Internet giant's complaints against China.

Amazon has announced that it will open up the Kindle e-reader to third party developers, allowing applications, or what Amazon calls “active content”, to run on the device.

What kind of apps could run in the low-fi Kindle? Well, you won’t be getting Monkey Ball, but interactive books, travel guides with locations data, RSS readers and anything that brings text to the device would be a good candidate. This could even include magazine and newspaper subscriptions.

The key is the revenue split. Right now Amazon takes a big chunk of the selling price of Kindle e-books. The terms of the new Kindle Development Kit (KDK) specify a 70:30 split, with the large part going to the developer. This is the same as the iTunes App Store, which is surely no coincidence — with an expected e-reading Apple tablet announcement next week, Amazon may be showing its hand now to pre-empt Apple.

Zenith Data Systems manufactured many computers during the 1980s and '90s, some of which are still in use today. They are best remembered for the still somewhat-common SuperSport and Z-series laptop computers, but also produced desktop models and computer accessories.

An article on answers.com indicates that Zenith Data Systems was founded in 1979, and successfully sold computer systems on college campuses during the 1980s, as well as producing the first portable computer featuring a display with a backlight. It also indicates that Zenith had the best sales of laptop computers in 1988 of any U.S.  brand, and entered into contracts to manufacture computers for the government.

Some of the more advanced computers made by Zenith include the Z-Lite (a lightweight compact laptop with a built-in trackball), the Z-Station GT (a Pentium desktop model), and the Z-Noteflex laptop.

The VA Tech Elin EBG came out from the 1892 created F. Pichler works and existed since 1908 as ELIN corporation for electrical industry, since 1959 as ELIN UNION AG for electrical industry and is since 1997 the infrastructure section of the Austrian technology enterprise VA Tech. With its assumption by Siemens in the year 2005 it is now a component of the Siemens company, whereby the section for building of hydro-electric power plants, which had to be separated VA Tech hydraulic, from trust-legal reasons, and in the spring 2006 to the Austrian and-cut AG one sold.

History

Until 1918

In the year 1892 that created at that time engineer Franz Pichler in the steirischen Weiz the F. Pichler of works. Electrical machines were produced, under it also already nickel plating direct current generators and direct current shunt link direct current generators in the first workshop in the Birkfelderstrasse.

History

Verizon Wireless began life as Bell Atlantic-NYNEX Mobile, a merger between Bell Atlantic Mobile and NYNEX Mobile Communications in 1995. In 1997 their namesake Baby Bell parents followed suit to form the new Bell Atlantic and their wireless subsidiary was renamed Bell Atlantic Mobile.

Bell Atlantic Mobile and NYNEX Mobile Communications were created from Advanced Mobile Phone Service, Inc., which was a subsidiary of AT&T created in 1978 to provide cellular service nationwide. AMPS, Inc. was divided among the RBOCs (Regional Bell Operating Companies) as part of the Bell System Divestiture.

In June 1999, AirTouch Communications of San Francisco, California merged with UK-based Vodafone Group Plc, forming Vodafone AirTouch Plc. A $90-billion joint venture with Bell Atlantic Corp. to be called Verizon Wireless was announced in September 1999 by Vodafone AirTouch. The venture would be comprised of the companies' U.S. wireless assets: Bell Atlantic Mobile and AirTouch Paging. It took 6 months to receive regulatory approval for the new joint venture and operations began on April 4, 2000.

GTE Wireless was added to the mix on June 30, 2000 in connection with the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE to form Verizon Communications. This made Verizon Wireless the largest wireless communications provider at the time.

With the goal of introducing a million green cars by 2015, the United States also looks forward to invest in a high-speed rail network. To get the work started the U.S. gives away $8 billion. At the same time the fastest developing economy in the world, i.e. China, looks forward to invest about $300 billion in its project to develop a high-speed rail network by 2020, and thus to create the most developed train system in the world. According to the plan, People's Republic of China hopes to create 16,000 miles of new rail track in 11 years. It would need 117 million tons of concrete only to be able to build the buttresses that would hold the tracks. The train traveling from Beijing to Shanghai will reach an average speed of 220 miles an hour, which would decrease the travel time by four hours. In 2009 the goal of China Railway Company is to hire 20,000 young specialists to start working on the project.

Huge Goals

Up till now the project to build a high-speed rail track between Beijing and Shanghai employed around 110,000 workers. It is worth mentioning that Chinese government will spend most of its stimulus money on this project.

September, 1994           Foundation of Gupta Japan K.K.

                       February, 1995   SQL Windows Ver.5 - Starts shipping the Japanese versionSQL BaseVer.5 - Starts shipping the       Japanese version

June, 1996        Centura Team Developer - Started shipping Company name changed to Centura Japan

January, 1998    Starts providing the CRM Consulting services

April, 2000         Company name changed to e-System Corporation

                       April, 2001         Head office moved from Kawasaki to Chiyoda, Tokyo Starts providing "QuickAccess Services" - a direct web access service via cellular phones - with Kyocera Communication Systems and KDDI

                       September, 2001           Epiphany Solutions, Ltd. and e-System Corporation announced strategic partnership to bring comprehensive CRM.

                       October, 2001    e-System Corporation has been listed company of Nasdaq Japan Standard Market(renamed to Nippon New Market -"Hercules" on December 16,2002)

November, 2001 SAP Japan and e-System Corporation announced strategic partnership to bring comprehensive Customer Relationship Management

Electric cars are constantly increasing their popularity across the world, especially in Japan. Those willing to buy a Toyota, for example, are considering purchasing the Prius model. For many years the Japanese drivers were somewhat indifferent towards hybrid vehicles, but today they are all willing to buy Toyota Prius, Honda Insight or other models that are powered by gasoline and electricity. Hybrid vehicles continue to gain popularity partly because new cars are arriving in showrooms. The third generation of the Prius model from Toyota was launched in May and in June the car already became one of the best selling vehicles across Japan, pushing aside the Insight model from Honda, which still managed to register a record high number of hybrid cars sold each month - 10,000 cars, twice the amount forecasted by the company.

"Ordinarily, small cars don't have much status, but people don't care about changing from a bigger vehicle to a smaller vehicle if it's a Prius these days. Suddenly, everyone wants the car as soon as possible," said Toshiyuki Yokoyama, the general manager at Kanagawa Toyota Motor Sales that can boast 50 dealerships in and around Yokohama.

IDX Systems Corporation is a leading healthcare information technology company that offers software, hardware, and related services to the likes of academic medical centers, hospitals, clinics, and management service organizations. The company's products include electronic medical record software and information systems that address functions like billing, scheduling, and patient registration. According to IDX, some 138,000 physicians use the company's practice management software to provide more efficient care to their patients. In addition to its headquarters in Burlington, Vermont, IDX has regional offices in Arlington, Virginia; Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Deerfield Beach, Florida; Louisville, Kentucky; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; and London.

Establishing a Foothold: 1969–79

Robert Hoehl and Richard E. Tarrant founded IDX on June 2, 1969 in Burlington, Vermont. Then known as Burlington Data Processing Inc. (BDP), the company initially managed accounting, billing, and payroll for other firms. Hoehl and Tarrant, who both played basketball for Saint Michael's College in Vermont and then went to work for IBM as marketing representatives, used $12,500 to start their own enterprise.

BDP quickly became involved in the healthcare industry. In its June 1998 issue, Business Digest revisited a 1985 article about Hoehl and Tarrant that included comments from Dr. Henry Tufo, one of BDP's first customers. Tufo recalled how Hoehl and Tarrant outbid a number of national firms to build an information system for the new University Health Center during the 1970s. At the time, the field of medicine was evolving from a so-called cottage industry into one characterized by physician groups.

From a continuous spray pump in California's orchards in the 1880s to some of the world's most sophisticated technology and equipment for the oilfield service, FMC Technologies and its predecessor companies have a long history of technical innovation. FMC Technologies traces its roots to 1884 when inventor John Bean developed a new type of spray pump to combat San Jose scale in California's orchards. When neighbors clamored for the device, Bean Spray Pump Company was born.

At first, the company made agricultural equipment, but mergers in the late 1920s with makers of food processing equipment and cannery machinery for vegetables, created a larger company requiring a new name - Food Machinery Corporation.

By the mid-1930s, FMC was the world's largest manufacturer of machinery and equipment for handling fruits, vegetables, milk, fish and meat products.

GFI Informatique SA is one of the fastest-rising information technology (IT) services companies in France, with its sights set on becoming one of the top companies in the European IT services market. GFI concentrates on the information systems sector and operates in four key areas--Consulting; IT Systems Engineering and Integration; Enterprise Software Development and Implementation; and Outsourcing, including operational services and maintenance--enabling it to bill itself as a total solutions partner. The company has long focused on such core IT areas as intranet, Internet, and the fast-developing telecommunications sector, particularly mobile communications networks. Systems integration, the company's historic core, remains its largest revenue source, at nearly 60 percent of revenues. The company has been making inroads in stepping up its Outsourcing operations, a growing market offering the added attraction of medium- and long-term contracts, and that division accounted for 18 percent of the company's 2001 sales of EUR 600 million. At the turn of the century, GFI has been transforming itself from a focus on the French market to a truly international company, with operations throughout western Europe, as well as bridgeheads in Africa and North America. France remains the company's single largest market, however, at 58 percent of sales; the rest of Europe accounts for 41 percent of the company's sales. GFI has long grown through acquisitions, and in June 2002, the company made its most significant acquisition yet when it agreed to buy up the Thales IS information systems subsidiary of Thales. The newly merged company claimed the number four spot in the French IT market, and one of the top spots in all of Europe, with combined revenues of more than EUR 1 billion. GFI, led by Chairman and CEO Jacques Tordjman, expects to double and even triple its revenues by 2005.

French IT Pioneer in the 1970s

ESS Technology, Inc. manufactures highly integrated mixed signal semiconductor multimedia solutions, including software, for the personal computer and consumer electronics markets worldwide. The company is a world leader in single-chip audio solutions technology for sale to multimedia desktop and notebook computer manufacturers, a major supplier of digital video chips, and an emerging supplier of high-speed communications chipsets. The company was incorporated in California in 1984. President, CEO and Chairman Fred S. L. Chan was hired in November 1985 and elected a director in January 1986. Chan was founder and former president and CEO of AC Design Inc., a VLSI chip design center providing CAD, engineering, and design services, and cofounder, president, and CEO of CADCAM Technology Inc., a company in the business of CAE systems development.

Headquartered in Fremont, California, the company lists among its principal competitors C-Cube, Cirrus Logic, Creative Technology, Hyundai, LSI Logic, Lucent, Oak Technology, OPTi, Rockwell, SGS Thompson, Texas Instruments, Winbond, and Yamaha. Major customers have included PC manufacturers such as AST, AT&T, Acer, BTC, Compaq, Dell, Digital Equipment Corporation, Eastbase, ECS, FIC, Fujitsu, Gateway 2000, GVC, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, IBM, ICL, Inventec, JK Micro, Labway, Matsushita, Mitac, NEC, Quanta, Samsung, Seiko-Epson, Sony, Texas Instruments, Toshiba, Trigem, Universe Electron Corporation, Western Publishing, and Xirlink.

Leading the Way in PC Audio Technology, the 1990s

In 1918 Konosuke Matsushita set up a company that he called Matsushita. At first he traded from the upstairs rooms of his two storey house where he manufactured electric products. Many years later the products were branded Panasonic.

It wasn’t long before Panasonic outgrew the upstairs of his house and it needed to move to a large workshop in 1920 which allowed them to make additional products. Virtually from the beginning Panasonics products were innovative, well designed, high quality and at affordable prices. One of the initial products that Panasonic made was a double adaptor which made it possible to connect two light bulbs into a single socket. The growth of Panasonic continued until 1922 when it was necessary to move to yet a bigger building.

Panasonic created another successful product during 1923 which was a bicycle lamp that was in a bullet shape with a battery that had a life that was ten times longer than comparable products on the market.

This was followed by Panasonics first electric iron which was produced at an affordable price in 1927.

By 1931 Panasonic began to manufacture a product that they are more known for today. They designed and manufactured an award winning radio that had 3 tubes, the R31. Panasonic patented part of its design and then allowed other manufacturers to use their innovative design to encourage the expansion of the radio industry.

In 1952 Panasonic had designed a rectangular cathode ray tube (CRT) which was an industry first. Up to this point television tubes had been round but they soon all became rectangular. They incorporated their rectangular tube in to an affordable black and white television. Throughout the 1950s Panasonic also researched ways of recording video.

Until the 1990s the government-controlled public company known since May 1988 as Telefónica de España, S.A. (Telefónica), was the dominant player in the Spanish telecommunications industry. Like many of its international counterparts, however, Telefónica was fully privatized in 1997 and became known as Telefónica S.A. the following year when basic telephony in Spain was deregulated. By 2001, Telefónica S.A. operated as the leading telecommunications concern in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions of the globe. Acting as a parent company for ten major subsidiary companies, including the likes of Telefónica de España, Telefónica Latinoamericana, Telefónica Móviles S.A., Terra Lycos S.A., Telefónica DataCorp S.A., Atento, and Admira, the company had business interests in fixed telephony, mobile telephony, Internet content and services, audiovisual media content, and various other telecommunications and e-commerce-related services.

Early History: Late 1800s through the 1920s