GSA Technology Council

South Carolina officials have reported that ProTerra, a Colorado based maker of electric buses, batteries, and charging stations will today announce it is relocating to the CU-ICAR campus in Greenville.

The company has created a zero emission, electric battery powered bus that reports to deliver an equivalent fuel economy in excess of 17.5 miles per gallon (equivalent) of Diesel fuel.

The company deploys buses that use a fast charge system that reports to be able to fully charge the vehicle in under ten minutes using in route charging systems that will allow the vehicles to be in essentially continuous service.

Other features of recently deployed vehicles include:

- Flexible ProDrive™ and vehicle control system that can operate in battery-electric mode or with any small auxiliary power unit (APU) to extend vehicle range when needed;

- Regenerative braking system, allowing the recapture over 90% of the vehicle’s kinetic energy available during braking;

- Light-weight composite body resulting in 25% reduction in weight, significantly lower maintenance costs and 40% longer life than traditional diesel buses.

According to Clemson press contacts, a live video stream of the event will be made available to the public.

Tuesday Feb 2, 2010

6pm – 8:30pm SQL Server Innovators Guild

At the February meeting the group will cover SQL Server Reporting Services. SSRS is a powerful reporting system, yet some things are not has intuitive and straight forward as report designers would like them to be. The group will specifically discuss four SSRS report design challenges.

• Drill Through for a Multi-Level Matrix Report
• How to create Sparklines with SSRS 2008
• Creating a Calendar Report
• Updating Data Within a Report

The SQL Server Innovators Guild is a Microsoft SQL Users group serving SQL Server developers, project managers, DBAs and network administrators. The Guild strives to educate, inform and inspire their members to use SQL Server more effectively to overcome business and other information challenges.

Apple® has introduced iPad, a revolutionary device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading e-books and much more. iPad’s responsive high-resolution Multi-Touch™ display lets users physically interact with applications and content. iPad is just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds— thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook. iPad includes 12 new innovative apps designed especially for the iPad, and will run almost all of the over 140,000 apps in the App Store. iPad will be available in late March starting at the breakthrough price of just $499.

“iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”

iPad features 12 next-generation Multi-Touch applications. Every app works in both portrait and landscape, automatically animating between views as the user rotates iPad in any direction. The precise Multi-Touch interface makes surfing the web on iPad an entirely new experience, dramatically more interactive and intimate than on a computer. Reading and sending email is fun and easy on iPad’s large screen and almost full-size “soft” keyboard. Import photos from a Mac®, PC or digital camera, see them organized as albums, and enjoy and share them using iPad’s elegant slideshows. Watch movies, TV shows and YouTube, all in HD or flip through pages of an e-book you downloaded from Apple’s new iBookstore while listening to your music collection.

iPad runs almost all of the over 140,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone® or iPod touch®. The iTunes® Store gives you access to the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 11 million songs, over 50,000 TV episodes and over 8,000 films including over 2,000 in stunning high definition video. Apple also announced the new iBooks app for iPad, which includes Apple’s new iBookstore, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device. The iBookstore will feature books from major and independent publishers.

Apple also introduced a new version of iWork® for iPad, the first desktop-class productivity suite designed specifically for Multi-Touch. With Pages®, Keynote® and Numbers® you can create beautifully formatted documents, stunning presentations with animations and transitions, and spreadsheets with charts, functions and formulas. The three apps will be available separately through the App Store for $9.99 each.

iPad syncs with iTunes just like the iPhone and iPod touch, using the standard Apple 30-pin to USB cable, so you can sync all of your contacts, photos, music, movies, TV shows, applications and more from your Mac or PC. All the apps and content you download on iPad from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore will be automatically synced to your iTunes library the next time you connect with your computer.

iPad’s brilliant 9.7-inch, LED-backlit display features IPS technology to deliver crisp, clear images and consistent color with an ultra-wide 178 degree viewing angle. The highly precise, capacitive Multi-Touch display is amazingly accurate and responsive whether scrolling web pages or playing games. The intelligent soft keyboard pioneered on iPhone takes advantage of iPad’s larger display to offer an almost full-size soft keyboard. iPad also connects to the new iPad Keyboard Dock with a full-size traditional keyboard.

iPad is powered by A4, Apple’s next-generation system-on-a-chip. Designed by Apple, the new A4 chip provides exceptional processor and graphics performance along with long battery life of up to 10 hours.* Apple’s advanced chemistry and Adaptive Charging technology deliver up to 1,000 charge cycles without a significant decrease in battery capacity over a typical five year lifespan.**

iPad comes in two versions—one with Wi-Fi and the other with both Wi-Fi and 3G. iPad includes the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi, and the 3G versions support speeds up to 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA networks. Apple and AT&T announced breakthrough 3G pre-paid data plans for iPad with easy, on-device activation and management.

Continuing Apple’s dedication to designing and creating environmentally responsible products, each iPad enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy-efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. iPad contains no brominated flame retardants and is completely PVC-free.

Apple today released a new Software Development Kit (SDK) for iPad, so developers can create amazing new applications designed to take advantage of iPad’s capabilities. The SDK includes a simulator that lets developers test and debug their iPad apps on a Mac, and also lets developers create Universal Applications that run on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

via Apple Inc.

The Spiro Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership is hosting an evening with two successful Clemson alumni entrepreneurs who will share their experiences and offer advice in a lively panel discussion. Clemson students and faculty, local entrepreneurs, and members of the business community are all invited to enjoy this presentation and meet the panelists during the reception.

Honoree Panelists for this year’s event:

Leighton Cubbage
Clemson University (1977), Political Science

Leighton Cubbage, a 1977 Clemson graduate in political science, is currently with Serrus Partners, a prominent investment fund built to leverage cash in the current real estate market. During his career, he was part of the team that founded multiple companies including New South, NuVox, Upstate Automotive, Ionosphere, Greenville Journal, E.C. Transportation, and Greenville First Bank.

Following his graduation from Clemson, Cubbage attended the Advanced Management Program at U.N.C. Chapel Hill. In 1993, as a result of his numerous entrepreneurial endeavors, he was named South Carolina’s Entrepreneur of the Year. His impressive resume also includes serving as Chairman of the Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center for two terms.

Andy Monin
Clemson University (1994), Political Science

Andy Monin, a 1994 Clemson graduate in political science, is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Vendormate, a market leader in providing vendor credentialing and compliance monitoring services to over 800 hospitals and banks across the US. In 2008, Vendormate was ranked one of the fastest growing companies in Atlanta by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Previously, Monin co-founded BroadSource, a telecommunications expense management software and solutions company. During his tenure, the organization was selected as one of Georgia’s Top 40 Most Innovative Companies in 2005. In addition, Mr. Monin has played a critical role in raising over $12m of venture capital and private placement for his 2 companies.

Event Details

Date: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Time: 5:30 – 7:45
Where: The Madren Conference Center at Clemson University

No Charge, but registration is required.
Contact: Kathy Glenn, 864-656-2433 or spiro@clemson.edu

Register online

via: Spiro Institute

For the third consecutive year, Verizon Wireless collected more than 1 million no-longer-used wireless phones through its HopeLine® phone recycling and reuse program, keeping them out of landfills and turning them into support for domestic violence survivors.

Throughout 2009, HopeLine collected nearly 1.1 million old cell phones from consumers and businesses that donated phones, batteries and accessories at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores; by mail using the online postage-paid label; or at phone drives nationwide held by law enforcement partners, entertainment venues and corporations. These donations enabled HopeLine to distribute nearly 23,000 phones with 69 million free minutes of service to almost 600 shelters nationwide for use by clients and award $1.6 million in cash grants to domestic violence prevention and awareness programs.

“Thanks to everyone who gave their old cell phones to HopeLine in 2009. Your actions not only helped us make an impact on the environment, but they also enabled us to fund cash grants to more than 400 non-profit organizations nationwide,” said Dan Mead, chief operating officer of Verizon Wireless. “As HopeLine enters its 15th year, Verizon Wireless remains committed to continuing the momentum we have built to assist those in need and raise consciousness that healthy relationships are important.

via: Verizon Wireless

Tuesday Jan 26, 2010

6pm PMI Study Group
The Project Management Institute, offers a study group for those preparing to sit for the PMP exam. The group is a free service to those who are members of PMI.

Wednesday Jan 27, 2010

11:30am – South Carolina IT Leadership Council
The South Carolina IT Leadership Council is a monthly peer forum for senior ranking IT professionals. The group meets the fourth Wednesday of every month January through October with attendance limited to forum members. If your organization’s VP of Technology, Chief Information Officer, or top level IT professional are interested in participating, please contact us for an invitation.

Thursday Jan 28, 2010

12:00 noon – Upstate Women in Technology
“Ergonomics in the Workplace” Is your workstation ergonomically correct? Are you working in an optimum environment or are things just not positioned right for you? Join us as we talk about how to make your work environment the best it can be.

6:30pm – Jump Start Your Business
Offered by the Small Business Development Center, this workshop will explore the basics of what it takes to get into business. Topics include how to set-up a business, forms of business organization, an overview of financial statements, general legal requirements, the elements of an effective business plan, financing options, and how to improve the odds of success.

According to a recent survey commissioned by Avanade, a business technology services provider, companies are embracing the use of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for the most critical applications that they consider differentiators for their businesses. The majority of respondents said they are deploying SaaS for customer relationship management (52 percent) and business intelligence (47 percent), ranking these the highest areas of SaaS use among several areas including enterprise resource planning, collaboration software, and financial systems.

Separately, the majority of respondents reported that these applications were considered differentiators and strategic weapons for their businesses versus the competition. More than 40 percent of respondents named customer relationship management and more than 37 percent named business intelligence as crucial differentiators.

“Software-as-a-Service is quickly gaining acceptance in the enterprise,” said Aziz Virani, executive vice president of Global Technologies and Solutions at Avanade. “This online services model is beginning to fundamentally change how IT is consumed and provisioned in large organizations.”

The survey, conducted by Kelton Research, also illustrates a clear disconnect between respondents’ perceptions and their actual experience with SaaS technologies. Key findings show:

• While more than 90 percent report their SaaS deployments as successful, more than half (54 percent) would have done a more rigorous analysis of costs and business benefits before deploying SaaS-based applications. • Still, of those currently using SaaS, 65 percent say they have generated a reasonable return on investment from their SaaS deployment. • And, more than 62 percent of respondents report plans to increase their SaaS use in the next year.

“In today’s technology market, companies have constrained capital budgets and IT resources, a strong desire for rapid deployment, and the need to reduce operational overhead. It is clear that companies see SaaS solutions as a viable way to meet these needs,” said Virani. “By outsourcing both critical and non- critical applications, companies can lower overall risk, reduce costs and realize value from the application faster.”

Other key results echoed in the October 2009 survey findings release shows:

• While SaaS is making major inroads, nearly one third (30 percent) reported more than a day of business had been lost due to a service outage. Despite that issue, SaaS is seen as a resounding success globally – 93 percent of companies view their experience as successful. • The majority of respondents say they have been using SaaS for a year or less (60 percent). • Globally, there is a 2:1 ratio of respondents who prefer SaaS delivered internally (or as private services) versus from third party service providers.

*And, although the technology may be new to most users, one-third report using three or more SaaS providers.

via: Avanade

ScanSource Communications, a leading value-added distributor of communications products and a sales unit of ScanSource Inc., announced today at IBM’s Lotusphere conference that it will be offering an integrated unified communications (UC) solution from IBM Lotus Foundations Reach and ShoreTel.

“We’re excited to work with two pioneers in the IT and communications industry. Their innovation and leadership in developing high-quality solutions will enable our resellers to deliver comprehensive UC solutions to their end-user customers”

Through this agreement, ScanSource Communications plans to offer the total UC solution, named ShoreTel for IBM Lotus Foundations, to its reseller partners. The solution includes the IBM Lotus Foundations Reach, an appliance designed for small to medium businesses (SMBs) that customizes and extends IBM Lotus Sametime’s UC and collaboration capabilities, as well as the ShoreTel UC products. What’s more, ScanSource Communications has the ability to integrate the entire UC solution for resellers looking to offer an all-in-one IT, communication and collaboration service to their end-user customers. By implementing this UC solution in the workplace, end users can better access people and information, improving productivity and efficiency.

“We’re excited to work with two pioneers in the IT and communications industry. Their innovation and leadership in developing high-quality solutions will enable our resellers to deliver comprehensive UC solutions to their end-user customers,” said Buck Baker, president, ScanSource Communications.

“ShoreTel for IBM Lotus Foundations offers SMBs a world where IT and business communication come together in a brilliantly simple, affordable and feature-rich solution. This solution is fully integrated and serviced by world-class partners,” said Mark Arman, vice president of business development for ShoreTel. “ShoreTel is delighted to have ScanSource Communications join our ecosystem of partners enabling the delivery of this solution to the market. With ScanSource Communications’ unique breadth of expertise and international presence, we have untangled business complexity. Solution resellers will have the opportunity to obtain all the components of our innovative solution from a single source.”

via: Scansource

GE Lighting, a unit of GE Appliances & Lighting, continues a reshaping effort designed to better serve customers and enable profitable growth with the establishment of GE Lighting Solutions, a combination of its light-emitting diode (LED) systems operation, Lumination, based at GE Lighting’s world headquarters in Cleveland, and its commercial and industrial fixture group, GE Lighting Systems in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

“This change reflects our strategy to serve as an industry-leading solutions provider for the rapidly growing indoor and outdoor lighting fixture segments that use LED systems and other energy-efficient lighting technologies.”

“We’re building on the investment GE has made in our business and the reshaping that’s been underway for a period of years,” says Michael B. Petras, Jr., president and CEO of GE Lighting. “This change reflects our strategy to serve as an industry-leading solutions provider for the rapidly growing indoor and outdoor lighting fixture segments that use LED systems and other energy-efficient lighting technologies.”

David Elien, previously president and CEO of Lumination, now serves as president and CEO of GE Lighting Solutions, while Paul Morse, formerly president of GE Lighting Systems, leads commercial efforts as vice president of sales and Hendersonville site leader. Elien has more than 10 years of strategic business development experience and has grown GE’s LED business by more than 30 percent over the past five years. Morse has more than 20 years of commercial lighting experience, including management of GE’s development of LED-based outdoor lighting fixtures. The full integration of the businesses will be completed in the first half of 2010.

“The value of energy-efficient lighting solutions has never been more apparent to businesses and consumers,” adds Petras. “Through GE Lighting and our new GE Lighting Solutions unit, we’ll continue to provide innovative GE-quality solutions for customers who want to optimize energy efficiency and pursue energy cost savings, while having less of an impact on the environment.”

Combination capitalizes on competitive advantages

Lumination began as a GE joint venture called GELcore in 1999. Its experience is in LED system development and applications such as signals, signage, architectural, display and general lighting. GE Lighting Systems, which traces its roots to late 19th century Lynn, Massachusetts, has maintained its headquarters, manufacturing and warehouse facilities in Hendersonville, North Carolina since 1955. Its commercial channels, sales representative network and infrastructure will be invaluable to GE Lighting Solutions as it responds to customer demand for energy-efficient outdoor LED lighting.

“We like how GE Lighting Solutions positions us to do even more for customers right out of the gate,” notes Petras. “We have a head start in these market segments because we’re combining our specialized LED application expertise and our penchant for quality with our outdoor fixture heritage and established distribution.”

via: GE

Sealevel’s Relio R5200 embedded computer offers a wealth of I/O features with the benefits of solid-state operation with no fans or other moving parts. The computer is powered by a 2.2GHz Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU that is designed to run fanless up to 45°C. The compact chassis has expansion slots for one PCI Express X16 and one full-height PCI card. The system supports up to 4GB of DDR2 667MHz RAM and is ideal for harsh, industrial environments.

An optional 2.5” solid-state SATA hard drive – perfect for optional solid-state hard drives – can be integrated and preloaded with Microsoft Windows or Windows Embedded operating systems. Linux is also supported. Operating from solid-state hard drive, the fanless design offers the ultimate in reliability — no moving parts.

The R5200 offers a wealth of standard I/O features including dual Gigabit Ethernet, six USB 2.0 ports, four serial ports, and VGA video. The system includes an external power supply and US power cord that accepts 100-240V AC input and outputs 24VDC @ 120W. The metal enclosure allows for versatile mounting to walls, under counters, and on tabletops.

The 2GB Relio R5200 (Item# R5220) is available from $1,499.00 while the 4GB version (Item# R5240) is available from $1,599.00.

Sealevel Systems, founded in 1986, provides industrial computing solutions in addition to a variety of communications and I/O products including PCI Bus cards, Ethernet serial servers, USB serial adapters, PCMCIA cards, and PC/104 modules. The product line includes multi-port RS-232, RS-422/485, RS-232/422/485 multi-interface high-speed sync/async, and digital/relay I/O. For more information, visit www.sealevel.com or call 864-843-4343.

via: Sealevel