GSA Technology Council

Last week, Clemson University and others announced the first class of their NextStart Entrepreneurial Intensive and we are going to have the companies with us at Tech After Five tonight.

NextStart is a highly competitive, summer immersion entrepreneur development program to attract promising entrepreneurs to the upstate Carolina region. This public - private partnership involves mentors, investors, public programming, and of course outstanding start-up companies.

Come meet, network with and see if you can help the NextStart teams tonight.

The four companies and teams are listed below:

The Classical Connection web-based service allows musicians to create profiles showcasing their talents, find performance opportunities, and compose and record music online. Classical Connection will also serve as a recruiting venue for universities, conservatories, and other musical organizations seeking talented musicians.

The founding entrepreneurs:

• Grady Ashby: BA, Music Theory, University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music; MBA, Charleston Southern University
• Kristen Miller: BA, Music, University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music
• Brent Baker: BS, Computer Engineering , Clemson University

Context Aware Solutions is bringing venue-specific information to the mobile devices of the venue’s patrons. The end user can use their services for navigation, social networking and e-commerce, thus allowing the venue to provide better customer service while simultaneously marketing its products and services.

The founding entrepreneurs:

• James Massett: MBA candidate, Clemson University
• Will Pressly: PhD Candidate, School of Computing, Clemson University
• Dr. James Martin: Associate Professor, Computer Science, Clemson University

The Parkinsor cost-effective comprehensive diagnostic tool assists physicians in diagnosing and treating Parkinson’s disease patients. This tool will help to streamline and standardize the data collection process for physicians, resulting in consistent disease ratings for patients that will facilitate optimal treatment regimens.

The founding entrepreneurs:

• Rahul Mitchell Jairaj: MS candidate, Electrical Engineering, Clemson University
• Sravya Durugu: MS candidate, Bioengineering, Clemson University
• George Thomas: MS candidate, Electrical Engineering, Clemson University

Student Retention Solutions is enabling universities to objectively accept students who are most likely to fit in and succeed at their institution by comparing personality traits of prospective students to those of existing students. This technology will equip universities with the tools to recruit highly qualified candidates who will remain at their institution.

The founding entrepreneurs:

• Jennifer Roberdeau: MBA candidate, Clemson University
• John-David McKee: MS candidate, Marketing, Clemson University
• Sebastian Forkmann: MS candidate, Marketing, Clemson University
• Robert Blank: MS candidate, Computer Science, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany

RSVP for Tech After Five

The GSP Developers Guild meets Tuesday for a double header presentation. The presenters will cover the following topics:

1. An Introduction to Winforms User Controls by Seth Spearman

What are Winforms User Controls? How do you make them? test them? Debug them?

Seth Spearman founded SpearSoft LLC and has been a self-employed contract developer for 10+ years. Most of that time he was developing professional/commercial grade Microsoft Access applications and has been doing .NET development for approximately 3 years. Much of his .NET experience has been spent writing CSLA business objects.

2. Domain Driven Development by Rick Casebere

Rick is going to cover the basics of Domain Driven Development. After explaining what Domain Driven Development is and why you would use it, he is going to show how you can use ECO (Enterprise Core Objects), a tool by Capable Objects, to create a .NET application directly from your Domain Model.

Meetings begin at 6 PM on the Greenville Tech Campus. For more information, to RSVP, or get a parking permit for the event, visit the GSP Developers Guild website.

via: http://www.gspdevelopers.org/

Kevin Kelly is coming in early today and we ended up with a hole in the schedule that I thought you might want to fill with something fun. We’re going to go hang out for coffee at Spill The Beans on Main Street in Greenville. There is no program, it’s completely informal. Come talk with him, us, or whoever else shows up and maybe take a look at some new stuff we’re working on.

What: Coffee with Kevin Kelly of Amazon.com
Where: Spill The Beans, 610A South Main Street
When: 3PM - 4PM or later

Think this is cool or fun? Come join us and post it for your friends.

ps: Don’t forget tomorrow’s lunch!

Frank Zdanowski, a frequent attendee and volunteer at the GSA Technology Council meetings passed away on Monday, June 1. There is a memorial service today at 3 pm at Woodlawn.

The following notice appeared in the Greenville News.

Frank George Zdanowski, 56, of Greenville, died Monday, June 1, 2009.

Born in Chicago, Ill., he was the son of Stella Holubecki Zdanowski who resides in Lacon, Illinois, and predeceased by his father, the late Felix Zdanowski.

He found solace in his journey to finding God by attending the Monday Night Men’s Bible study, Christ Episcopal Church of Greenville.

Along with his mother, he is survived by three brothers and sisters-in-law, Chet and Vicki Zdanowski of Greer, S.C., John and Marge Zdanowski of Morton, Ill., and Ed and Chris Zdanowski of Lansing, Ill. Frank is also survived by six nieces that he adored, and many other relatives.

A Memorial Service will be held Sunday, June 7, 2009, at 3 p.m. in the Chapel of Woodlawn Funeral Home, with visitation prior to the service from 2 to 3 p.m. at the funeral home. A private service will be held in Illinois at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to Christ Episcopal Church, 10 N. Church Street, Greenville, SC 29601.

Joan Schnyder Technology is offering an Information Technology for Human Resource Professionals seminar on June 4th. Topics of the session include: Automating the HR Cycle from an Employee Application to Retirement/Separation, HRIS Systems with and without Payroll, Choosing Vendors, Security-In House and with Hosted Applications, Planning and Managing the System Change and Implementation, Archiving and Storing Employee History, System Integration—Establishing a System of Record, and more.

IT for HR June 4 Seminar
Date: Thursday, June 04, 2009 from 7:30 AM - 12:00 PM (ET)
Location: Greenville Commerce Club

more info at IT for HR Seminar

via: Joan Schnyder Technology

Right now on WEPR 90.1 FM (and others) (and the web)

Teaching and learning in the digital age. Dr. Bob Becker, director of the Strom Thurmond Institute on Government and Public Affairs talks with Dr. Vernon Burton, the Burroughs Distinguished Chair of Southern History and Culture at Coastal Carolina University and the author of The Age of Lincoln.

The Relio R9 delivers RISC computing power in a compact, rugged package. Packed with a wealth of I/O features and using the latest embedded software environment, the system is based on the Atmel AT91SAM9263™ processor boasting a 32-bit ARM instruction set for maximum performance. The Relio R9 is the perfect platform for embedded applications requiring small size, wide operating temperature range,
and flexible I/O connectivity.

Available with up to 256MB RAM and 256MB Flash memory, the unmatched I/O features of the Relio R9 extend the possible uses beyond traditional ARM applications. Standard I/O includes Ethernet, serial,
USB, CAN Bus, digital and analog interface. For local or remote I/O expansion, the Relio R9 connects to Sealevel SeaI/O modules via the dedicated RS-485 expansion port and communicates via RS-485 Modbus
RTU.

To provide the fastest time to market, the Windows CE 6.0 BSP binary and low-level drivers for system I/O are included. Additionally, the R9 software package is equipped with the Sealevel Talos I/O Framework,
which offers a high-level object-oriented .NET Compact Framework (CF) device interface. This interface provides an I/O point abstraction layer with built-in support for the specific needs of analog and
digital I/O such as gain control and debouncing.

The Relio R9 is housed in a rugged, small enclosure suitable for mounting almost anywhere and is rated for a full -40°C – +85°C operating temperature range. The Relio R9 is priced from $599.00, and a QuickStart Development Kit is available.  For applications with specialized hardware requirements, system designers can use the Relio R9 as a platform for application development while a customized target system is designed for specific application requirements.

via Sealevel

North Carolina based Superlattice Power, Inc. has completed the acquisition of equipment from a major USA company to achieve final development of advanced lithium-ion batteries and its electrode materials.

The advanced equipment will be employed to optimize manufacturing process variables for commercial production. Superlattice Power, Inc. has previously announced that the company has developed and manufactured electrode materials which have the potential to deliver more energy in electronic devices and UPS systems. Advanced cathodes have been designed by the Superlattice Power scientists to be less expensive and comprised of environmentally friendly manganese.

New equipment will be performing electrochemical analysis and cell manufacturing. Because of the vast potential of new electrode materials developed for portable rechargeable systems, Superlattice Power has committed to deliver prototype cells to Fortune 500 companies. Portable Lithium-ion battery prototypes will be manufactured at Superlattice Power’s facility in Mooresville and will be supplied for their evaluation.

via: Superlattice Power

I got a note from someone saying that they would like to have a SharePoint group get together to discuss the trials and tribulations and hopefully, triumphs of your SharePoint implementations. If you’d like to know more about that, drop me an email and I’ll see if we can get this group going.

Said allowed it sounds like:
phil dot yanov at gsatc dot org.

A joint venture led by Gordon Brothers Brands, LLC (”GBB”) and Hilco Consumer Capital, L.P. (”HCC”), which includes private equity fund Knight’s Bridge Capital Partners and other institutional investors, announced today the Federal Bankruptcy court for the district of Minnesota approved its acquisition of substantially all the assets of Polaroid(R), including the Polaroid brand, intellectual property, inventory and other assets. Jeffrey Hecktman, Chairman and CEO of The Hilco Organization, and Michael Frieze, CEO of Gordon Brothers Group, are proud to have Polaroid associated with their organizations and as a leading brand in their distinguished portfolios.

The joint venture partners, who recently acquired The Sharper Image(R), Linens ‘N Things(R) and Bombay(R) brands, plan to develop a full-scale global licensing and marketing strategy for wholesale, direct-to-retail (DTR) and e-commerce businesses to leverage Polaroid’s innovative and pioneering heritage.

Stephen Miller, Co-President, Gordon Brothers Retail Group stated, “Polaroid is an iconic brand known globally for their technical innovation and high-quality products that deliver on its reputation of ease-of-use. As a Boston-based company, it’s a privilege to keep Polaroid’s roots in America while expanding the brand internationally.”

“The Polaroid brand has immense global appeal that translates into almost all categories,” commented Jamie Salter, CEO of Hilco Consumer Capital. “This is a terrific opportunity to unlock Polaroid’s brand value and transform its multi-channel platform of diverse and unique consumer products using leading technologies and trend-setting innovations.”

During its 72-year history, Polaroid has developed one of the world’s most widely recognized consumer brands. The joint venture recognizes that Polaroid’s unique “innovation-made-simple” brand platform has global appeal across a wide demographic and can be expanded to numerous product categories. The Polaroid brand began with polarized sunglasses, evolved into instant film, camera and camera accessories, and expanded well beyond into flat panel televisions, portable DVD players, digital photo frames, digital HD camcorders, waterproof digital cameras and more.

Always on the cutting edge of the latest “instant” technologies, Polaroid is also responsible for the world’s very first ZINK(TM) (Zero Ink(TM) Printing Technology) enabled printing device. The Polaroid PoGo(TM) Instant Mobile Printer offers the capability to print and share 2″x3″ borderless, color images from a camera cell phone or digital camera in under a minute. In 2009, Polaroid unveiled a digital camera with the same printing capabilities, the palm-sized PoGo Instant Digital Camera.

The flexibility of the Polaroid brand offers limitless potential to embark on additional product opportunities, ranging from consumer electronics to commercial imaging. The joint venture intends to partner with a number of global institutions in the ongoing development of the Polaroid brand.