IT for Manufacturing Executives
Personal Robotics Has A Bright Future
October 19, 2010 9:48 am | Videos | CommentsFull disclosure: This video is best described at being a source of unintentional comedy, as opposed to being a source of valuable or thought-provoking information. The folks at the Center for Healthcare Robotics at Georgia Tech decided to bring their PR2 pill-delivering robot, which was actually manufactured by California-based Willow Garage, to the CNN set for a visit with ever-enthusiastic news anchor Ali Velshi.
Apple's Net Income Soars 70 Percent
October 19, 2010 4:34 am | News | CommentsCUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple Inc. said Monday that net income for the most recent quarter soared 70 percent on strong sales of iPhones. Apple sold 14.1 million iPhones from July through September, more than the 12 million or so analysts were looking for. Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said in an interview that had the company been able to make more iPhones, that number would have been even higher.
Boeing Pares Employee Benefit Plan, Cites 'Cost Pressures'
October 19, 2010 4:32 am | News | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — The big aircraft maker Boeing Co. says "cost pressures" from the new health care law are part of the reason it's asking employees to pay more for their medical benefits next year. In a letter mailed to employees late last week, Boeing said deductibles and copayments are going up significantly for some 90,000 nonunion workers.
GE To Invest $432M In Energy Efficient Appliance Line
October 19, 2010 4:30 am | News | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — GE plans to spend $432 million to establish four U.S.-based refrigeration design and manufacturing centers that will be the focus for its new energy efficient line of refrigerators and other appliances. General Electric Co. said Monday the move will create 500 new jobs by 2014 and help preserve another 1,166 existing positions.
Bill Gates' Successor Decides To Leave Microsoft
October 19, 2010 4:29 am | by Rachel Metz, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Bill Gates' successor as Microsoft's Chief Software Architect, Ray Ozzie, is leaving the company after five years. In an e-mail sent to Microsoft Corp. employees Monday, CEO Steve Ballmer announced the change, saying Ozzie will stay with Microsoft for an undefined transition period.
Industrial Production Sees Slight Decline In September
October 19, 2010 4:27 am | by Daniel Wagner, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — Sluggish spending by businesses and consumers is causing factories to cool their production after they helped lift the U.S. economy out of recession. Companies have slowed their rebuilding of stockpiles and replacement of worn-out equipment. And consumers are cautiously spending at a time of 9.
GM's Opel Unit To Shut Down, Costing 1,200 Jobs
October 19, 2010 4:26 am | News | CommentsBERLIN (AP) — General Motors Co.'s Opel unit says it hasn't found an investor to save its plant in Antwerp, Belgium, and confirms that it will shut down at the end of the year. Opel said two weeks ago that the Antwerp plant would close by year-end, costing 1,200 jobs. It said it hadn't been able to find investors to keep the plant going but remained open for new proposals.
Making Safety The New Toilet Paper
October 18, 2010 11:12 am | by Anna Wells, Executive Editor, Manufacturing Business Technology | Articles | CommentsWe’ve worked for years to move past the era of dangerous manufacturing work; let’s not blow it in a short period of fiscal caution. I am writing this on an airplane... One of those sinus-frustrating sojourns from the west coast, seemingly airborne for days... The business that jetted me across the skies was in San Diego, attending the National Safety Congress & Expo, in order to get the first glance at new technologies relating to the safety arena (I also saw a ten foot tall robot on the show floor, but I digress.
Idea Competitions Just Got More Fun
October 18, 2010 11:09 am | Articles | CommentsWhile most inventors are still providing computer designs, rapid prototyping may make it easier to supply actual working models. Competitions have been around for a long time now. Originally, people who submitted to them would produce drawings, a short write-up, and perhaps some background research.
Share And Manage Data
October 18, 2010 10:16 am | Product Releases | CommentsT&D Corporation (Saratoga Springs, NY) now offers the RTR-500NW, an Ethernet LAN connected data collector for wireless data loggers. The product is designed to automatically record data from the remote units. It does this via a 900MHz wireless link and transmit the data via e-mail or to an FTP server, without the use of a personal computer.
Can The Windows 7 Platform Compete?
October 18, 2010 9:34 am | Videos | CommentsConsidering the success of Apple's iPhone smart phone and Google's Android platform, one has to wonder how well Microsoft's upcoming Windows 7 platform will be greeted by tech consumers. According to Techland's Doug Aamoth, it may be able to find a nice little nitch in the smart phone market. Here are a few examples of devices that feature the much-ballyhooed Windows 7 platform.
Despite Ban Rumors, RIM Sees Market Potential In UAE
October 18, 2010 4:28 am | News | CommentsADAM SCHRECK,AP Business Writer DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The company that makes the BlackBerry sees vast high-tech opportunities in the United Arab Emirates after a brush with regulators who sought to ban some key features of the smart phone, a top executive said Monday. The upbeat assessments by Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd.
Hitachi And Johnson Controls To Make Batteries For Green Vehicles
October 18, 2010 4:26 am | by Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsTOKYO (AP) — Japanese electronics company Hitachi is tying up with a U.S. battery-maker in developing and making batteries for green vehicles, both sides said Monday. The deal, signed last month with Johnson Controls Inc., based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, centers around lithium-ion batteries — already widely used in laptops and other gadgets but starting to take off in auto technology such as hybrids and electric vehicles.
Decline In Equipment Sales Leads To 18% Profit Drop For GE
October 18, 2010 4:24 am | News | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — General Electric's return to its roots as an industrial company continues to proceed unevenly. The industrial and financial giant said Friday that sales of industrial equipment - everything from wind turbines to jet engines to locomotives - lagged in the third quarter.
U.S. Holds Off On Currency Showdown With China
October 18, 2010 4:22 am | by Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer | News | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration announced Friday it will delay a scheduled report on whether China is manipulating its currency to gain trade advantages until after an upcoming meeting of the world's major economies next month. The Treasury Department said the administration will wait until after President Barack Obama meets with other leaders of the Group of 20 nations in Seoul in early November.
