Westermo Industrial ADSL modem for remote site connectivity

Industrial ADSL modem The Westermo DR-250 is based on the new ADSL2/2+ platform, supporting the fast broadband speeds available.

ADSL2 offers considerable performance benefits over standard ADSL, including improved range and data rate. The Westermo DR-250 has an integral four port ethernet switch and a 25 pin RS-232 serial interface for local connectivity.

The Westermo DR-250 router has an integrated stateful inspection firewall and can support 20 IPSEC VPN (Virtual Private Network) terminations which can be secured using optional DES, 3DES, AES encryption and MD5 or SHA1 key exchange protocols.

These features ensure that the remote sites can use the new security technology to resist denial of service and hacking attacks.

The VPN’s can be used as a way of increasing security and to create secure tunnels, running between sites.

The VPNs can also be used to interconnect sites effectively replacing the requirement for dedicated leased lines.

A VPN tunnel can be established between any of the DR or MR series routers. Alternatively VPN’s can be created between the DR-250 and a third party router.
Source: ferret.com.au

SA nearing 1 Million broadband connections

South Africa is closing in on the one million broadband connection mark, mainly due to fast wireless broadband growth.

Telkom’s ADSL service is still the leading broadband service in South Africa with around 400 000 subscribers.

Vodacom’s 3G/HSDPA service is fast catching up to ADSL with 350 000 subscribers, and with a strong focus on broadband from Vodacom’s new Vodacom Business division 2008 may be the year where Vodacom surpasses Telkom in broadband subscribers.

MTN’s has not released any 3G/HSDPA subscriber numbers recently, but it is estimated that the mobile provider has around 70 000 subscribers.

iBurst continues to show good growth with 60 000 subscribers while Sentech has only a few thousand MyWireless subscribers left.

Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) – typically using WiFi as a last mile access technology - account for 45 000 broadband subscribers.

This brings the total number of broadband connections in South Africa to 930 000. It is expected that the 1 Million broadband subscriber mark will be reached before the middle of 2008.

Source: mybroadband.co.za

High-speed broadband for Gloucester

Gloucester could soon be enjoying the benefits of high-speed broadband after Telstra upgraded the local exchange with ADSL 2+ broadband technology.
“For the first time, many families and businesses in Gloucester can get access to much higher broadband speeds from BigPond – opening up new opportunities for health, education, productivity improvements and entertainment,” Telstra spokesman Michael Sharpe said.

“This is an important step forward for telecommunications in the Gloucester region”.

The exchange servicing Gloucester was switched on after the Federal Government made clear that it does not consider there is a compelling case to regulate third party access to this service at this point and that, if there were an attempt to regulate the service in future, the existence of other competing broadband platforms would be highly relevant.

“ADSL 2+ provides the bandwidth families need so they can simultaneously use several devices at home – one parent can download work files, another can plan the family holiday online, while the kids are also online researching for school projects.

High-speed ADSL2+ broadband can provide network speeds of up to 20 Megabits per second (Mbps) depending on factors including the distance of a user from the exchange.
Source: yourguide.com.au

Ikanos chips away at bulky residential gateways

Ikanos, pursuing service provider demand to consolidate ADSL and VDSL functionality into single devices, has introduced a single-chip integrated front end (IFE) product to provide “true multimode support” of ADSL, ADSL2, ADSL2+, VDSL and VDSL2 while delivering VDSL2+ performance and conforming to DSL forum ADSL and ADSL2 performance specifications.

The sixth generation IFE incorporates the xDSL line driver into the unit to reduce external components and cut power consumption, said Peter Ahimovic, senior director of strategic marketing at Ikanos.

Consolidating all these functions within a single piece of consumer premises equipment is not overkill, he said, because “operators want to be able to ship just one CPE.”

The single-chip unit residential product reduces inventory management and “as access infrastructure changes (operators) can move from ADSL to VDSL quite easily,” he said. The unit also has the ability to interface with fiber-to-the- home applications by providing “one gateway with one wired interface for DSL and another separate gigabit Ethernet interface to attach to an ONT.”

All the bells and whistles needn’t be activated at once, Ahimovic noted.

“Some operators might just ship out units with features that aren’t enabled. Maybe somebody doesn’t sign up for voice service but they keep the voice ports in there and remotely they can turn them on.”

The concept of a multi-mode CPE isn’t new; the amount of consolidation within the single unit is, Ahimovic said.

“There are multi-mode CPE solutions in the market but the problem is they’re two solutions put next to each other. Today’s multi-mode is an ADSL gateway solution with a VDSL2 solution next to it and typically feeding into that ADSL gateway processor,” he said. “It’s much larger than it needs to be; there are a lot more bill of materials around it because you’re doubling a lot of different things; and the number of chips involved could be as high as five or six.”
Source: telecommagazine.com

Wired network routers and networking products from HSDPA

HSDPA is a leading mobile communication company that specialises in providing expert solutions to industrial communication needs. A variety of products related to communication networking and wireless and wired routing are offered by HSDPA. The company also offers integrated solutions to numerous industries combining the latest in broadband and wireless technologies.

As distributor for the Sairan range of products in Australia and New Zealand, HSDPA offers products that are reliable and effective in the global technological scenario. The wired products from HSDPA include ISDN terminal adaptors, ISDN routers, ISDN multiplexers, ADSL routers, PSTN backups and multiplexers with optional PSTN or GPRS.

The range of wired routers offered by HSDPA provide reliable and effective communication over PST, ISDN and ADSL networks with additional security of Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology. In addition, to provide dependable service level agreement, they also have automatic backup systems that allow vital communications like EPOS transactions to continue in the event of broadband failure.

TCP/IP routers for both entry level and sophisticated level of usage are offered by HSDPA. They can also be operated as serial terminal adaptors. HSDPA also offers multiplexers with optional PSTN or GPRS that give ultimate flexibility for mission critical applications.

Source: ferret.com.au

Qimonda Announces Technology Breakthrough with DRAM Roadmap to 30nm Generation

Qimonda AG (NYSE:QI), a leading global memory supplier, today announced its technology roadmap down to the 30nm generation and featuring cell sizes of 4F(2). Qimonda's innovative Buried Wordline DRAM technology combines high performance, low power consumption and small chip sizes to further advance the company's diversified product portfolio. Qimonda is introducing this leading edge technology now in 65nm and plans to begin production of a 1 Gbit DDR2 in the second half of calendar 2008.

"This new technology has the potential to deliver improvements in our productivity and cost per bit that are unprecedented in our company's history," said Kin Wah Loh, President and CEO of Qimonda AG. "We are the first in the industry to unveil a DRAM technology roadmap down to the 30nm generation, enabling cell sizes as small as 4F(2). The introduction is the result of our continuous innovation as a leader in the development of memory products. This step also opens up further partnering opportunities."

Qimonda targets to start mass production of 46nm Buried Wordline DRAM technology in the second half of 2009. This node will offer more than twice the bits per wafer over the company's 58nm trench technology. The company expects an additional one-time investment of approximately Euro 100 million in total during financial years 2009 and 2010 to convert its existing in-house trench capacities to the Buried Wordline technology, which it expects to finance from its cash flows. This relatively low level of additional investment is possible by leveraging a combination of Qimonda's Buried Wordline and lean manufacturing process with a mainstream stack capacitor.

Conference Call

The company will host a conference call today at 5:00pm EST, 2:00pm PST, 10:00pm GMT, and 11:00pm CET. The web cast and slide presentation will be available at www.qimonda.com. A webcast replay will be available for a limited time on the company's web site. An audio replay of the conference call will also be available at phone number +1 719 457 0820 (US), pass code: 7140634#, until February 28, 2008.
Source: foxbusiness.com

Atlantis Technology Group Announces Notice to Shareholders

Atlantis Technology Group (OTCBB: ATNO) announces a complete reorganization and accepts the resignation of former CEO Tim Deherrera and previous officers / board members of subsidiary Global Online Television Corporation (GOTV), www.globalonlinetelevision.com, after a failed takeover attempt by Mr. Tim Deherrera, Richard A Luthman, and Daniel J Lupo.

The board of directors met on February 22nd, 2008 to discuss the future of Atlantis Technology Group and Global Online Television Corporation (GOTV). It was decided unanimously the direction of the company will be to focus on the development and deployment of the revolutionary GOTV box.

CEO, Christopher M Dubeau stated, "This reorganization going on within Atlantis Technology Group and subsidiary Global Online Television Corporation (GOTV) will bring value back to the company and shareholders," and went on to state, "It is unfortunate the current market is showing large short positions and thereby creating fear to all current shareholders."

Director, Frederick Ganem stated, "CEO Christopher M Dubeau, once appointed returned of over 150 million shares back to company treasury along with his own seven million five hundred thousand shares s8 stock."

The Board of Directors has also retained new counsel to pursue proper action to obtain the return of additional shares to the company treasury.
Source: foxbusiness.com

Iraqi Government Selects Net1's UEPS Technology

Net1 UEPS Technologies, Inc. ("Net1" or the "Company") today announced that it has signed a contract with a consortium comprising the Iraqi government and local Iraqi banks for the use of Net1's UEPS technology in Iraq. Under the contract, Net1 will provide a customized UEPS banking and payment system to the consortium.

The consortium, International Smart Card LLC, selected Net1 as its partner to assist with the challenges currently encountered with the payment and distribution of cash disbursements in Iraq. It is expected that the UEPS technology will also be utilized by Iraqi citizens living abroad, via bank branches in other countries.

The deployment of the UEPS will provide a ubiquitous platform for retail payment transactions in Iraq by providing interoperability between automatic teller machines, point of sale devices and bank branches. The UEPS technology will provide offline and online transaction processing solutions to enable affordable products and services to be offered to Iraqi citizens irrespective of where they reside. Projects identified include the payment of social grants to war victims, employee salary/wage payments, banking products and financial services. The first project will pilot the solution for the distribution of social grant payments to war victims.

"This contract is further proof of the versatility and strength of our UEPS technological offering," said Dr. Serge C.P. Belamant, chairman and CEO of Net1. "Our solutions will allow the Iraqi government to provide a national payment system that can deliver secure, flexible and affordable financial services to the Iraqi people. We look forward to working with our partners to assist with the upliftment of the Iraqi citizens' lives"

Net1 expects to commence this project in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 and expects to generate revenue from this contract in the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Under the agreement, Net1 will receive ongoing transaction and license fees, as well as payments for the provision of outsourcing services and the sale of hardware.

Brenda Stewart, Net1's Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing, added, "Net1 is extremely proud to provide Iraq with its technology, which will prove beneficial to all participants including financial institutions, government departments, the private sector and, most importantly, the citizens of Iraq."

Source: earthtimes.org

AMD Forges Ahead in New Chip Technology

Advanced Micro Devices(AMD) may not know where its chips will be manufactured in the future, but the company is making strides in developing technology for factories to produce ever faster microprocessors.

On Tuesday, the Sunnyvale, Calif., company announced details of a working test chip it claims lays the groundwork for next-generation microprocessors featuring smaller transistors.

AMD produced the test chip in partnership with IBM using Extreme Ultra-Violet lithography, a type of lithography that uses a shorter wavelength of light than today's standard lithographic tools. The shorter wavelength means the circuits on a silicon wafer can be etched at a smaller size.

"This important demonstration of EUV lithography's potential to be used in semiconductor manufacturing in the coming years is encouraging to all of us in the industry that benefit from chip feature sizes shrinking over time," said AMD's Bruno La Fontaine, who presented details of the chip at the SPIE Advanced Lithography conference in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday.

Chip companies continually seek to shrink the size of transistors in order to boost performance and reduce costs -- a phenomenon known as Moore's Law.

AMD said the test chip features 45-nanometer transistors. But EUV's real promise involves future generations of microprocessors with transistors measuring 22-nanometers and below, dimensions at which today's optical lithography tools are no longer expected to be viable.

According to AMD, the chip industry is expected to begin producing 22-nanometer chips in 2016.

Various companies are experimenting with EUV lithography, including Intel.

AMD and IBM have demonstrated an important step in showing the promise of EUV, says Len Jelinek, an analyst at iSuppli who covers semiconductor manufacturing.

"I think it bodes well for the teams as a potential solution," says Jelinek.

But he notes that AMD and IBM still have a ways to go in terms of demonstrating the technology's viability for manufacturing chips in large volumes.

AMD's use of EUV lithography on the test chip involved only the metal interconnects that link the various transistors. The next step, said AMD, will be to use EUV lithography not just for the metal interconnects, but for all of the microprocessor's critical layers.

Shares of AMD were up 1.9%, or 13 cents, at $7.10 in midday trading Tuesday.

The news comes at a time when AMD is exploring alternative manufacturing strategies. AMD currently has two chip fabrication facilities in Germany, as well as a partnership with contract manufacturer Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing.

But the massive capital spending required to expand and upgrade microprocessor manufacturing facilities has prompted AMD to consider shifting more of the company's chip manufacturing to third parties.

According to iSuppli's Jelinek, the time and effort that AMD has devoted to innovating with EUV will not be wasted if the company ultimately hands-off most of its chip production to a third-party.

"The knowledge gained by these R&D groups will transition along with however the company reorganizes itself within industry," he says.
Source: thestreet.com

Welsh language-technology gets global recognition

TECHNOLOGY aimed at helping businesses use the Welsh language has been so successful it is being copied as far afield as China and Sri Lanka.

A small team at Canolfan Bedwyr, a unit at Bangor University, has for several years been creating Welsh-language computer spell-checkers, screen readers and synthetic voices.

The unit – which brings together linguists and IT experts – also creates generic computer tools that can be adapted for use in other languages.

The centre’s model for standardising technical terms was borrowed recently by the Chinese government when it introduced new legislation.

“We were at a conference in the United States and the message came to us: ‘The Chinese are looking for the Welsh’,” said Delyth Prys, head of the Language technologies unit at Canolfan Bedwyr.

“China are standardising their terminology and the basis they’ve used is something we prepared for the Welsh Language Board.”

The unit has also adapted some of its speech-recognition technology for languages in Sri Lanka and India, where it is being used to help blind people communicate.

Tunisia is also considering following China’s example and using Bangor’s terminology standardisation model, and the unit is also exploring a joint project with a US university to help native American speakers.

Some overseas language centres had merely used a computer code published on the internet by Bangor, and adapted it for their own needs with no direct contact at all, Ms Prys said.

The overseas uses of the technology “gives a new perspective on globalisation issues”, she added.

“The Welsh experience is being used by other countries and increasingly people are turning to us for advice.”

Ironically the unit was denied funding by a government body in 2006 for a project to help Manx and Cornish speakers.

Despite a revival in the teaching of Cornish in the county’s primary schools, Canolfan Bedwyr were told their plan for Cornish and Manx software was “of no commercial or industrial value”.

In a memo for the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, which is conducting a wide-ranging investigation into globalisation, Canolfan Bedwyr said that despite their successes, funding and developing the sector remained a problem.

“Despite the opportunities presented to Welsh industry by the emergent SALT (Speech and Language Technologies) sector, the academic knowledge base which should sustain and nurture it is itself perilously fragile. The relatively small number of organisations and fragile research base is surprising given the global importance of speech and language technology.”

The memo refers to a report on the sector in Wales, due to be published next month, which found that only three organisations were working on speech and language technology.

As well as the eight staff in Bangor, there is a team at the University of Lampeter maintaining an online Welsh-English dictionary, and one full-time academic working on speaker recognition and biometrics at Swansea University.

Ms Prys told MPs on the Welsh Affairs Select Committee that, on a like-for-like basis, Exeter University was receiving four times the funding level of Bangor for economically-beneficent projects, meaning keeping up with booming demand from Welsh businesses was proving difficult.

She said, “It’s therefore no wonder we are struggling in Wales to provide the sort of economic services to industry.

“Obviously it will affect our ability to engage with industry and with SMEs, where the main call for our help comes from at the moment.”

The UK Government and WAG should see research into technologies for minority languages as a priority, said Ms Prys.

Plaid Cymru MP Hywel Williams, a committee member, said, “This is a very striking development, which shows that technical innovation arising from the Welsh language can be of great commercial value all around the world.”

Source: icnetwork.co.uk

Sharing Huge Files in Seconds

IBM Unveils a Prototype Green Optical Network Technology for Sharing Huge Files in Seconds

Sending High-Definition Medical Images, Movies and Other Data Is Going Green

IBM (NYSE: IBM) Researchers today unveiled a prototype technology that could bring massive amounts of bandwidth in an energy efficient way to all kinds of machines -- from supercomputers to cell phones -- that could revolutionize the way people access, use and share information across many different applications.

The new technology uses light instead of wires to send information and could allow, for example, the transmission of 8 trillion bits (terabits) per second of information -- equivalent to about 5,000 high-definition video streams -- using the power of a single 100-watt lightbulb.

This kind of bandwidth can drive energy efficiencies inside of datacenters and speed the sharing of large datasets, whether it's scientists crunching data to discover new drugs and forecast the weather, people sharing high-definition movies between devices and friends, doctors sending high-definition medical images to a specialist in seconds for diagnoses while patient is in office, or bringing the power of high-definition to mobile phones.

Consistent with green computing initiatives, the new optical technology could save massive amounts of power in supercomputers. For a typical 100 meter long link, the power consumed by the optical technology is 100 times less than today's electrical interconnects, and offers a power savings of 10 times over current commercial optical modules.

This prototype "green optical link" is designed to meet the bandwidth requirements for peta- and exa-flop supercomputing, marking a significant leap from related work unveiled by the same research team a year ago. The new technology puts optical chips and optical data buses in a single package with standard components.

"Last year we unveiled an optical transceiver chip-set that could transmit a high-definition movie in under a second using highly customized optical components and processes," said IBM Researcher Clint Schow, part of the team that built the prototype. "Just a year later, we've now connected those high speed chips through printed circuit boards with dense integrated optical 'wiring.' Now we have built an even faster transceiver and have moved the optical components away from custom devices to more standard parts procured from a volume manufacturer, taking an important step toward commercializing the technology."

The applications for this technology range from cell phones to supercomputers and span industries from consumer electronics to healthcare, including:


-- High-definition content everywhere: As high-definition video becomes
more widespread, this technology will enable widespread HD video sharing
and video on-demand by dramatically increasing the bandwidth of video
servers. Web-serving sites that host videos could use the technology to
access libraries with millions of high-definition movies and video clips in
seconds, speeding up access for users. By incorporating an optical data
port in laptops, HD video recorders, personal mp3 and video players, cell
phones, or PDAs, HD video content could be stored and displayed on high-
resolution external screens.
-- Patient Care: Physicians and researchers could send high-definition
images such as MRIs, heart scans which are huge files, for real-time
analysis and 3-D visualization.
-- Consumer electronics: "Scaled-down" versions of the optical
interconnect technology may find applications in a range of consumer
products. For example, in cell phones, one chip could sit in the base of
the phone and the other could sit in the display, allowing for very large
files, even high-definition content move from one to the other. The
advantage is that by using optics instead of wires, the display can be
flipped up and down or moved from side-to-side without being impeded by
electrical wires.
-- Massive Bandwidth for Supercomputing: The improved bandwidth of data
interconnects will enable massively parallel supercomputers to have a
profound impact in many fields: offering improved molecular dynamics
calculations, accelerating drug discoveries, providing accurate
weather/climate modeling, as well advancing our understanding of sub-
nuclear physics such as quantum chromodynamics.


The prototype that the IBM scientists revealed today is the world's fastest and most integrated optical data bus that could lead to connecting an unprecedented number of high-performance computers to work as a single system.

TECH SPECS BEHIND IBM's GREEN OPTICAL NETWORK TECHNOLOGY

The optically-enabled circuit boards, or "Optocards," employ an array of low-loss polymer optical waveguides to conduct light between transmitters and receivers. The complete databus constructed with these Optocards not only incorporates a large number of high-speed channels, but also closely packs them to achieve unprecedented density: each waveguide channel is smaller in size than a human hair. The packaging approach for the complete system is unique in that it utilizes hybrid chip integration to produce a highly integrated optical module, or "Optochip."

The Optochip is a multi-component 3-D assembly, that is constructed with conventional surface mount solder processes similar to those currently used in the mass-production of electrical chips. The 10 Gb/channel databus is the first ever demonstration of an integrated module-to-module, 32-channel optical datalink on a printed circuit board. The need for high-bandwidth photonic communications between chips or modules has been discussed in technical literature for more than a decade, and various small pieces of the technology have been shown. IBM has assembled a fully functional and integrated solution, significantly advancing the field of chip-level optical interconnects. By proving the viability of high-density parallel optics, IBM has accelerated the prospect of real-world deployment of practical, high-capacity interconnects between chips.

In addition to the optical data bus, IBM also has developed a parallel optical transceiver module with a higher number of channels and an increased speed of operation: 24 transmitters and 24 receivers that each operate at 12.5 Gb/s. The resulting total bi-directional data transfer rate is an unprecedented 300 Gb/s, nearly doubling the performance of the earlier generation. Compared to current commercial optical modules the transceiver provides 10x greater bandwidth in 1/10 the volume while consuming comparable power. To enable low-cost volume production, the new transceiver uses standard 850-nm vertical-cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs), high-speed versions of the inexpensive devices found in many computer mice. By focusing on innovative packaging of low-cost and low-power technologies such as VCSELs and CMOS chips, IBM Research is paving the way to the widespread adoption of optical communications.

IBM has a long history of research into high-bandwidth parallel optics, and the current breakthroughs were achieved as part of a DARPA-funded program, launched in 2003, to demonstrate high-bandwidth chip-to-chip interconnects through polymer waveguides integrated on a printed circuit board. Further details of this work will be provided through two presentations at the 2008 Optical Fiber Communications Conference in San Diego, CA. Clint Schow will present "300-Gb/s, 24-Channel Full-Duplex, 850-nm, CMOS-Based Optical Transceivers," on Feb 25th and Fuad Doany will present "Chip-to-Chip Board-Level Optical Data Buses," on Feb. 28th. The team that developed the optical data bus and transceiver technology spans the worldwide IBM research labs, and the collective author list for these presentations includes : J. Kash, C. Baks, D. Kuchta, P. Pepeljugoski, C. Tsang, C. Patel, N. Ruiz, R. Horton, J. Knickerbocker, R. Budd, F. Libsch, R. Dangel, F. Horst, and B. Offrein.
Source: money.cnn.com

DivX Appoints Markus Moenig as Chief Technology Officer

DivX, Inc., a digital media company (NASDAQ: DIVX), today announced the appointment of Markus Moenig as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Moenig will lead global engineering operations, where he will be responsible for the development of technologies designed to enable consumers to enjoy high-quality digital video across any device or platform. Chris Russell, who has served as DivX CTO since 2006, will continue to assist the Company in a consulting role focused on building relationships with premium content providers.

Mr. Moenig, who brings over 20 years of experience in the consumer and professional video markets to his new role, joined DivX in November 2007 with the Company's acquisition of MainConcept. Mr. Moenig founded MainConcept in 1993 at the age of 23 and grew the company into one of the leading worldwide suppliers of video technology with an award-winning implementation of H.264, the next-generation video codec widely adopted across the media industry. In his new role, Mr. Moenig will run the global DivX engineering organization and oversee the development of the DivX(R) technology platform, strategy and system architecture.

"Markus brings a broad and deep understanding of cutting-edge video technology coupled with a strong focus on organizational efficiency and execution, and we're very pleased that he will be joining our executive team in San Diego," said Kevin Hell, CEO of DivX, Inc. "I'd like to thank Chris Russell for his years of valuable service building a world-class engineering organization that has established DivX as a global standard for high-quality digital video on any device or platform."

"DivX has led the way to creating a seamless and powerful digital video experience for consumers with its respected products," said Markus Moenig, Senior Vice President and CTO of DivX, Inc. "I'm very pleased to move into the role of CTO and look forward to working closely with the excellent DivX engineering team to continue to develop and deploy innovative next-generation video technologies that further bridge the gap between the PC, the living room and versatile mobile environments. I believe we are well-positioned to build on the vast technology assets we have in place."

For more information about DivX, visit www.divx.com.

Source: foxbusiness.com

Sikorsky Aircraft Unveils X2 Technology(TM) Demonstrator

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. today unveiled its X2 Technology(TM) Demonstrator at the George R. Brown Convention Center at Heli-Expo 2008. Sikorsky Aircraft is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX)

The X2 Technology Demonstrator is designed to demonstrate how a helicopter can cruise comfortably at 250 knots, while retaining desirable helicopter attributes, including excellent low speed handling, efficient hovering and autorotation safety, and a seamless and simple transition to high speed.

"The X2 Technology Demonstrator is an integrated suite of technologies intended to advance the state-of-the-art, counter-rotating coaxial rotor helicopter. As we continue to work to prove out and mature the technologies that will allow the X2 Technology Demonstrator to become a viable product, we are focused on testing its limits and finding out where this technology will take us," said Jeffrey P. Pino, Sikorsky President.

"This could be a 'game changer' in the industry. We are diligently pursuing this as a research project. We are testing the limits and pioneering this exciting innovation."

Among the innovative technologies the X2 Technology Demonstrator employs are:

-- Fly-by-wire flight controls
-- Counter-rotating rigid rotor blades
-- Hub drag reduction
-- Active vibration control
-- Integrated auxiliary propulsion systemPeter Grant, Sikorsky Senior Manager of Advanced Programs, noted that the X2 Technology Demonstrator has continued to make progress toward first flight. "Throughout 2007, the aircraft made excellent additional build and subsystem test progress, re-entering vehicle ground testing in November 2007. Extensive test instrumentation is also being installed as preparation for its first flight," Grant said.

Sikorsky Aircraft first announced the initiative to develop an integrated suite of technologies called X2 Technology in June 2005. The X2 Technology Demonstrator is built as a rapid prototyping collaboration effort with Sikorsky subsidiary Schweizer Aircraft. The project is solely funded by Sikorsky Aircraft.

Learn more about X2 Technology(TM) by visiting Sikorsky Aircraft's newly transformed company Web site at www.sikorsky.com.

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., based in Stratford, Conn., is a world leader in helicopter design, manufacture, and service. The company's long commitment to safety and innovation is reflected in its mission statement: "We pioneer flight solutions that bring people home everywhere...every time(TM)." United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Conn., provides a broad range of high- technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries.

SOURCE Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.

http://www.sikorsky.com
Copyright © 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

New technology is revolutionising benefit fraud investigations

A TOP benefit fraud investigator has told how new technology is helping them catch more cheats than ever before.

Tal Davies, investigations manager for Swansea council, was speaking after Robert Minns, of Townhill, Swansea, was jailed for a year after falsely claiming nearly £39,296.81 of public cash.

The 58-year-old must serve at least six months of a year-long sentence after he admitted two charges of cheating the authorities out of income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit.

Minns claimed incapacity benefit because he alleged he was unfit to work. But after a tip-off from a member of the public, investigators staked out his home and followed him as he went out on handyman jobs.

Minns was the fourth benefit cheat to be jailed since April last year with the amount of recoverable overpayments in Wales reaching £6.3 million pounds.

Between April and January this year 252 people have been prosecuted for working while claiming benefit.

During that time 28 suspended sentences have been given out, three community orders and five supervision orders. Another 760 people have accepted cautions and a further 184 have accepted administrative penalties.

Mr Davies, who oversaw the team gathering evidence for the Minns case, said fraudsters were having to devise increasingly elaborate plots to cover their tracks.

“With the technology we have available to us, we have the powers to request information from banks, mortgage companies, utility companies and even student loans,” he said.

“Some people know that so they try to keep a step ahead, but we do the same and try to keep a step ahead of them.

“Hopefully cases like this send out the message to those who have committed benefit fraud that it is a crime and they will be caught.

“These people are taking money from the public purse and we will do our upmost to bring them to book.

“Their actions give a bad name to the vast majority of people, who are legitimate claimants. Benefits are for the needy, not the greedy.”

Speaking about the Minns case, Kevin McGrath, South Wales’ unit fraud manager for the Department of Work and Pensions, said the evidence had been difficult to gather because Minns was self-employed – forcing investigators to stalk him.

He said: “Our surveillance would normally involve waiting outside his house and following him to his place of work.”

In his mitigation at Swansea Crown Court, Minns claimed he needed the swindled money to pay for hire cars to visit his sick grandson in Bristol.

But the false benefit claims began at least two years before the youngster fell ill and continued for five years, until a member of the public tipped off the authorities in October 2006.

After a six-month undercover investigation, Minns was approached by investigators and interviewed under caution. His admission was full and frank.

Mr McGrath said: “Minns himself said it was easy to do and that was why he carried on doing it for five years.

“There was no expression of remorse. I don’t think the judge looked on that very favourably.”

Minns case is just one of a string of high-profile benefit fraud cases which have come to light over the last few months. They have co-incided with an advertising campaign headlined “No Buts”.

In November Glenda Askew, of Clase, Swansea, was jailed for four months after she falsely claimed benefits totalling £11,000 by pretending her husband was dead.

The situation came to light after she tried to dodge a speeding fine by pretending she had also died.

Also in November, Yvonne Lesley Butler, of Penlan, Swansea, was given a nine-month suspended jail term after falsely collecting nearly £20,000 in benefits by claiming she had left her husband because she was gay. She failed to tell the authorities that her husband had later moved back in.

The DWP are appealing for anyone with information about benefit cheats to call them on 0800 854440.

Source: icnetwork.com