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The WAVE Report on Digital Media 3D --- Media Creation --- Shared Space ---Published by 4th Wave, Inc.--- Issue #0608------------------2/24/06 |
The WAVE Report is Searchable on
http://www.3dlinks.com
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0608.1 Hazardous Waste Management
0608.2 Web Search Engines
0608.3 Inexpensive Notebooks
Wal-Mart to Market Notebook Computer that Restricts the Use of Hazardous Substances
0608.4 Olympic Support
Lenovo PC Solution Delivers Top Performance at Olympic Winter Games
0608.5 Interoperability Specifications
Years of Interoperability Work Form Basis of New OIF Routing Interface
0608.6 Future Workplaces
Expect Workplaces to Become Brand Showcases, ''Home Bases'' for Increasingly Mobile Employees
0608.7 Plasma TV Statistics
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0608.1 Hazardous Waste Management
***MHF Logistical Solutions To Offer Live Demonstrations of Remote Tracking, Monitoring of New Smart Railcars
PITTSBURGH
Feb. 22
MHF Logistical Solutions Inc. has announced that it will offer live, real-time demonstrations of its new remote tracking and cargo monitoring service at the Waste Management Conference meeting in Tucson, Arizona, next week (February 26 - March 2).
The company said it will also showcase the most recent additions to its extensive line of packaging products for radioactive waste and other types of hazardous and non-hazardous waste and materials.
The annual Waste Management Conference is the nuclear waste management industry's premier event. MHF-LS has long been a financial and program supporter of the conference.
The new remote railcar tracking and cargo monitoring service incorporates MHF-LS-operated railcars equipped with long-life, battery-operated wireless devices and monitoring equipment. The service enables MHF-LS and its clients to track exact locations and operating status of railcars in use across North America, as well as the condition of their contents. The wireless devices incorporate global positioning satellite (GPS) technology linked to MHF-LS' systems.
Participants at the Waste Management Conference will be able to watch actual deployment of the remote tracking and diagnostic systems.
MHF-LS' packaging unit, meanwhile, will be exhibiting new packaging and container options now available for low-level radioactive materials.
One new product to be displayed is a 20-foot, IP-1 heavy-duty, side-loading container designed for facilities without cranes or loading ramps. The container -- now in use at a Department of Energy facility in the Southwest to load and ship TRU-characteristic waste stored in drums -- can be easily loaded by a small forklift. It can be modified to accommodate various blocking and bracing systems, as well as various engineered hold-down or lock-down systems. MHF-LS manufactures lining systems to fit the new container.
Another packaging product for exhibition in Tucson is MHF-LS' new HexPack packaging product. It is UN/USDOT approved, 4G packaging available in five gallon to 55 gallon capacities, and designed for use in laboratories or medical facilities where small quantities of hazardous materials must be prepared for removal and disposal.
***Are They Just More of the Same or Are They Unique? Outsell, Inc. Outlines Key Differences Among Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft MSN, From Revenue Models to Vulnerabilities
BURLINGAME, Calif.
Feb. 21, 2006
The three most influential and highest revenue generating search engines -- Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft's MSN -- are powerful and disruptive enough to be considered an entity of their own, earning the moniker "GYM." However, their blow-by-blow exchanges announcing developments as if they were all directly competitive can be misleading. Each brings different strengths and orientations to the table.
Outsell, Inc.'s latest HotTopics report, Bulking Up at the GYM: How Publishers and Information Providers Can Work with Google, Yahoo! and MSN, will arm other information, media and publishing companies to achieve detente with GYM, and benefit by their presence. The report provides a side-by-side comparison of the GYM players' key differences in business and revenue models, missions and cultures, trends in customer usage, challenges and vulnerabilities, and overall marketplace positioning. It is part of the firm's ongoing coverage of search and its role in the expanding information and publishing industry.
KEY DIFFERENTIATORS AMONG "GYM":
Unique market approaches, based largely on unique roots and culture.
-- Google is, at heart, a search and technology company; hence its evolution is largely marked by a broad range of technology tools and initiatives. Google's other defining characteristic is its almost 100 percent reliance on advertising as a revenue source, via AdWords and AdSense.
-- Yahoo! has its roots in human-generated directories and portals, so its initiatives and acquisitions reflect a more "humanistic" approach to providing users with information and tools. Its revenue model is more balanced than Google's, using search advertising, banner ads, and content sales to fuel growth.
-- Microsoft, owing to its software roots, continues to seek ways to expand its virtual monopoly on the desktop. The lion's share of Microsoft's revenue comes from software, while MSN generates added revenue via everything from Internet access to content purchases.
While Google and Yahoo! are in a veritable horse race, as measured by revenue numbers, MSN is out to pasture with low single-digit growth. In the race for 2004-2005 growth, Google hit the finish line first, with an estimated growth rate of 92.5 percent. Yahoo! took the silver medal with an estimated growth rate of 47.1 percent, and MSN barely captured the bronze at just 2.6 percent.
ESSENTIAL ACTIONS:
The report also provides advice and essential actions for publishers, media and information companies that want to leverage the revenue opportunities that "GYM" provides, and achieve a competitive advantage by "filling in their gaps."
http://content.outsellinc.com/coms2/summary_0245-2902_ITM
***Wal-Mart to Market Notebook Computer that Restricts the Use of Hazardous Substances
BENTONVILLE, Ark.
Feb. 22
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has partnered with Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., to develop the first RoHS (Restriction on Hazardous Substance) laptop available in the U.S. retail channel. In 2005, Wal-Mart announced a corporate goal of taking a leadership role in business sustainability, with a focus on climate, waste, and the products it sells.
RoHS (Restriction on Hazardous Substance) is an environmental directive adopted by the European Parliament that will become effective on July 1, 2006 in European markets. The directive restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. Although there is no requirement in the United States for manufacturers to achieve the RoHS standard, Wal-Mart has taken the proactive stance of encouraging computer suppliers to restrict the quantities of hazardous substances in their products, including lead, cadmium, mercury and other substances identified by the RoHS directive. The Toshiba laptop is the first of such efforts. All personal computers sold at Wal-Mart will meet the RoHS standard by July 2006.
According to Green Star, a non-profit organization that encourages businesses to practice waste reduction, energy conservation and pollution prevention, each computer or television that is discarded contains 4 to 8 pounds of lead. Due to this, consumer electronics constitute 40% of the lead found in landfills.
The Satellite A55-S1064 includes a 1.60-GHz Intel Celeron M Processor 380, 512 MB DDR2 memory, 40 GB hard drive, a 15-inch TruBrite-enhanced display, a CD-RW/DVD-ROM optical drive and built-in Atheros 802.11 b/g wireless LAN. In addition, the Satellite A55 comes with a one-year standard limited warranty. It will be priced in most markets at less than $700. For more information on this product please see
***Lenovo PC Solution Delivers Top Performance at Olympic Winter Games; World-Class Hardware Supports Smooth Execution of Competition Events
TORINO, Italy
16 February 2006
The Main Technology Center is the headquarters of the information technology infrastructure of the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games. Filled with Lenovo desktop PCs, flat-panel displays and notebook PCs, the MTC is the site where Lenovo's top technical leadership works in collaboration with other technology partners on the Olympic Winter Games. Lenovo, the computing equipment sponsor of the XX Olympic Winter Games in Torino, has announced that its personal computing solution has delivered error-free support for all competition events completed to-date.
Lenovo has provided more than 5,000 desktop personal computers, 350 servers and 800 notebook PCs for the Olympic Winter Games. The hardware is used in nearly every aspect of the Torino information technology infrastructure, working together with applications and software from other technology sponsors for accurate and fast collection, distribution and storage of competition results and related information. In addition, through the Lenovo PC solution in Torino:
- Hundreds of events have been conducted with consistent and reliable hardware support.
- Broadcasters from throughout the world are using almost 1,000 Lenovo desktop PCs and touch-screen flat panel displays to access the Commentator Information System, which includes athlete biographies, news and statistics.
- Seven on-site Lenovo Internet "i.lounges" equipped with 165 ThinkPad notebooks and Lenovo desktops, are keeping athletes, coaches and trainers connected with their families and supporters back home.
- Since opening, the Lenovo i.lounges in the Torino Olympic Village are supporting approximately 200 athletes from more than 40 countries per day. The Lenovo i.lounges in Torino are most popular with Russian, American, Canadian and Italian athletes.
- Traffic in the Sestriere Olympic Village i.lounges also is averaging more than 200 people per day, including athletes from more than 35 countries. The Lenovo i.lounges in Sestriere are most popular with athletes from Latvia, Slovakia and Romania.
In addition to hardware provided to help support the Games IT infrastructure, Lenovo is working with several worldwide Olympic Games sponsors to carry out their operations in Torino. As the personal computing supplier to NBC television for the Olympic Games, Lenovo has provided more than 1,000 ThinkPad notebooks and Lenovo desktops to help produce hundreds of hours of coverage for NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Bravo and Telemundo.
Lenovo also is working with Visa International to provide all 23 runner-up national winners of the "Visa Championships - Torino 2006" online video game new ThinkPad Z60m wide-screen notebook PCs. The sponsors also worked together to design and stage the contest finals in Torino, with competition taking place on Lenovo desktop PCs.
Bank of America's Hometown Hopeful Program and the United States Olympic Committee have both deployed Lenovo PC technologies in specially designed i.lounges to support their activities during the Games.
0608.5 Interoperability Specifications
***Years of Interoperability Work Form Basis of New OIF Routing Interface; Forum Will Apply Lessons Learned On Spec Targeted For Carrier Networks
FREMONT, Calif.
Feb. 16, 2006
The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) will galvanize three years' worth of work into a new External Network-Network-Interface (E-NNI) Routing project approved at the group's January meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. The Forum's Architecture & Signaling Working Group will lead the project to define information to be shared by ASON network elements and allow paths to be calculated for a connection through multiple network domains of optical switching equipment. The new specification, titled E-NNI 1.0 Routing Implementation Agreement (IA), will be based on the provisional routing protocol used by the OIF in interoperability tests performed in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
The OIF plans to submit the completed E-NNI Routing IA to the IETF and other standards development organizations such as ITU-T after its ratification by the Forum's members anticipated for later this year.
Industry Cooperation, Leadership Addition
The OIF announced that it has established a liaison relationship with the IPv6 Forum and joined the Mountain View Alliance bringing the Forum's total number of such industry contacts to 15.
About the OIF
Launched in April of 1998, the OIF is a non-profit organization with a unique and diverse member base, including many of the world's leading carriers, component manufacturers and system vendors. As the only industry group uniting representatives from data and optical networks, the OIF helps advance the standards and methods of optical networks. The purpose of the OIF is to accelerate the deployment of interoperable, cost-effective and robust optical networks and their associated technologies. The OIF actively supports and extends the work of national and international standards bodies with the goal of promoting worldwide compatibility of optical internetworking products. Working relationships or formal liaisons have been established with the MFA Forum, IEEE 802.3, IETF, ITU-T Study Group 13, ITU-T Study Group 15, MEF, NPF, OPTXS, Rapid I/O, TMF MTNM group, TMOC, UXPi and the XFP MSA Group.
***Expect Workplaces to Become Brand Showcases, ''Home Bases'' for Increasingly Mobile Employees
BALTIMORE
Feb. 15, 2006
Faced with a tech-savvy and increasingly mobile workforce, today's companies are searching for ways to stay competitive and attract the best and brightest by investing in workplaces that both express their missions and serve employees' needs. What's next for the way we work? Architecture and interior design firm RTKL offers the following predictions for 2006.
The iPod Worker: Today's workplace is no longer a 9-to-5 proposition; instead it's a place for workers to come and go as they please--to still get their work done but do so without constant monitoring. This has less to do with work-life balance, and more to do with a growing acknowledgment that workflow is unique to each person. Tomorrow's leading companies will recognize this shift, embracing their employees' passions (whether they are money-driven, activism-driven or even health-driven), and creating workplaces that serve as "home bases" for strategies that extend beyond the office walls.
Building the Brand: More and more, companies are leveraging their workplaces by making them showcases for their brands. Through a series of well-orchestrated touchpoints, these brand-rich environments help employees to better understand the company's core values; they boost investor confidence; and they give customers and clients a more interactive experience with the brand. Expect to see different types of companies--from law firms to lobbyists, manufacturers to distributors--look for ways to better express through their workplaces who they are and why they're different.
The Open-Source Workplace: The CEO is no longer the oldest, most powerful guy in the room. In this age of open-source communication, ideas can come from anywhere, so even the mail clerk has a say in the way a company does business. Corporate leaders are no longer dismissing this trend as a recipe for chaos but welcoming the input. The upheaval of hierarchy can be a path to greater productivity. Expect the new workplace to acknowledge this transparency of power and embrace the free flow of information and a flattened corporate structure.
Swimming in the Blogosphere: As the definition of "conversation" changes to reflect the digital age, face-to-face communication is becoming obsolete. More and more CEOs are turning to blogs for internal mission statements and messages, and workers are relying on digital media to communicate--even with employees who sit a desk away. As people become increasingly tied to their computers, and become slaves to their PDAs, companies will re-evaluate the ways in which they use their space to engender effective face-to-face interaction and reflect the corporate mission.
***DisplaySearch Reports Global Plasma TV Shipments Continue to Exceed Expectations - Q4'05 Shipments Rise 109%
AUSTIN, TEXAS
February 22
DisplaySearch has released Q4'05 shipments and revenues for plasma TVs by brand, region, size and resolution. Shipments for 33 different plasma TV brands as well as numerous sub-brands are included in the latest report.
Worldwide plasma TV shipments rose 44% Q/Q and 109% Y/Y in Q4'05 to a record 2.7M units. Shipments exceeded expectations by 11% as PDP module suppliers stretched their capacity to meet demand in seasonally strong Q4. Despite stretching their capacity and exceeding expectations, plasma TVs actually lost share relative to Q3'05 at 40"-44" to LCD TVs which enjoyed over 300% Q/Q growth and at 50"-54" to microdisplay RPTVs on supply constraints. For the year, plasma TVs rose 109% to 5.9M units.
Despite tight supply, blended plasma TV prices continued to fall, dropping 9% Q/Q and 32% Y/Y to $2296 on growing competition with other technologies. Rapid unit growth offset lower prices resulting in an impressive 31% Q/Q and 41% Y/Y increase in revenues to $5.2B.
Regionally, record results were achieved in all regions.
* Europe gained share for the 3rd consecutive quarter, growing from 36% to 41% of the plasma TV market on a unit basis on 64% Q/Q and 144% Y/Y growth. Its Q4'05 share was its highest share to date. 42" enhanced definition (ED) plasma TVs dominate in Europe with more than a 50% share, but high definition (HD) plasma TVs did gain share rising from 33% to 36% of Europe's plasma TV shipments.
* Japan also gained share on over 100% growth following a slow Q3'05. Japan's share grew to 9.4% in Q4'05. 100% of Japan's plasma TVs are HD with 37" HD the single most popular plasma TV. In all other regions, 42" was the single most popular size.
* North American plasma TV shipments rose 35% Q/Q and 85% Y/Y, but still lost share falling from 30% to 28% of the global plasma TV market. 42"-43" HD plasma TVs maintained the highest share of the North American plasma TV market although the total HD share fell from 66% to 65% as price sensitive holiday demand boosted the 42" ED market. North America was also the only region where PDPs gained share at 40"-44" in Q4'05.
* China's plasma TV shipments were slower than expected in Q4'05 causing the region to lose share for the third consecutive quarter. China's share of the plasma TV market fell from 10% to 8% despite 15% Q/Q and 73% Y/Y growth as 40"-42" LCD TVs took significant share in China. 42" ED was the single most popular plasma TV type in China with a 75% share.
By size and resolution worldwide, 42" ED remained the single most popular plasma TV, but fell from a 50% to a 48% share with 42"/43" HD rising from 28.5% to 30%. The 50"+ share remained flat at 13% with the less than 40" share rising from 8% to 9% driven by Japan. The worldwide HD share rose from 47% to 50%.
By brand:
* The top 6 brands dominate the plasma TV market accounting for an 83% share in Q4'05. Five of these six companies produce the plasma display modules internally or through sister divisions/companies.
* Panasonic continued to dominate the plasma TV market, earning a 26% share as shown in Table 1. It remained #1 in Japan, China and North America but slipped behind Philips for the top position in Europe. Due to supply constraints, it lost share to the #2 - #6 suppliers. By size and resolution, it remained #1 at 42" HD and 50", but fellbehind LGE at 42" ED. It was also #1 at 37" ED and HD and 60"+.
* The #2 - #6 suppliers maintained their positions with Pioneer and Philips enjoying the fastest growth.
* LGE remained #1 in rest of world (ROW) and overtook Panasonic at 42" ED.
http://www.displaysearch.com/usfpd2006
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