September 28, 2012

New Stuff 09/28/12

Anritsu Company cut the ribbon on its 6,000-sq.-ft. Microwave Technology Center (MTC Fab) that provides thin-film-fabrication services to help companies optimize device performance and bring products from first prototypes through manufacturing volume quickly and cost effectively. Combining more than 20 years of operation with advanced technology, Anritsu says its MTC Fab can manufacture circuits for microwave applications, multi-layer systems (MCM-D); thin film sensors; resistor networks; attenuator circuits; hybrid circuits; and power hybrids used in telecommunications, defense, automotive, civil aviation and space, biotechnology, medical, and calibration designs. Devices can be fabricated on a variety of form factors, including 5-, 4-, 3.25-, 2- and 1-inch square and round substrates, with thicknesses to 125 mil. Devices can be made with various materials, including alumina, fused silica, silicon, glass and titanium…Really Simple Software Inc. began shipping its Simple.TV solution yesterday to Kickstarter and to pre-order customers in the United States; it also is available from the Simple.TV store at www.simple.tv. The Simple.TV DVR brings live and recorded broadcast television to the living room and connected devices inside and outside the home using the iPhone, iPad, Roku box or Web browser as a TV tuner and DVR accessible anywhere. The Simple.TV DVR ($149) consists of a high-def TV tuner that converts broadcast television into streaming MPEG-4. With the addition of a USB 2.0 hard drive, Simple.TV users can store thousands of hours of their favorite TV shows and HDTV videos to watch any time, anywhere…The launch of dishNET, a high-speed Internet service via satellite nationwide from DISH, is set for Monday, offers customers the convenience of one bill, one installation, one customer service number and a $10 monthly discount when bundled with DISH's most programming packages. Targeting rural areas, dishNET offers 4G-level speeds it says are 50-percent faster than the typical residential broadband connections in American homes, with subscription fees starting at $39.99/month for 5 Mbps download/1 Mbps upload speeds and data plans of 10 GB when part of a bundle...Graybar, a provider of supply-chain management-and-logistics services, says its newly constructed Tucson facility is LEED Gold certified. The LEED rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), reportedly is the top program for buildings, homes and communities designed, constructed, maintained and operated for improved environmental and human-health performance. Graybar achieved LEED’s second-highest certification for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions aimed at achieving high performance in: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. The 55,000-sq.-foot facility features many of the green technologies Graybar distributes to its customers, including solar panels, energy-efficient lighting and electric vehicle charging stations. The facility also has plumbing fixtures that reduce water consumption, sustainable and recycled building materials and furniture as well as a building-wide recycling program…Comcast launched free Wi-Fi in California for Xfinity Internet residential subs and Comcast Business Class Internet customers. Xfinity WiFi will offer access via hotspots in cities throughout the state. The company has installed and activated a few thousand hotspot and will continue to install more throughout the year.