Saturday, August 22, 2009

Storm 2 will have Haptic Feedback

from blackberryOS.com:

>>Wink Storm 2 will have Haptic Feedback


It's been kept quite for a while but, now it's finally out.

Here's the link:

http://www.theblackberryzone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=666

Also, check out these articles from TBZ:

Immersion Corporation - Immersion Unveils User Experience Breakthrough Innovation with Touch Feedback for Laptops and Portable Devices

Nokia perfects the clicky tactile touchscreen – iPhone gnashes teeth, swears revenge*-*The Red Ferret Journal

The S2's Technology


Here's something that was posted on CB I thought I would share w/ you.

Surreal's Statement:

"Storm1 uses technology where there is one physical button, you press the entire screen down onto the button which in turn produces a 'click'."

"The difference between the Storm1 and the Storm2 is that there is no physical button on the Storm2. You do not physically click, even though it might feel like you are. The click is done by the 'new technology', the user simply touches the screen and by the amount of force and type of action that is being selected the screen clicks on its own. This drastically improves. the 'clicking speed', and in turn typing speed. This is the main difference in my opinion. Also, this introduces the concept of multi-touch points, being able to 'click' multiple keys at once."

"We won't know anything until this thing hits the market. Of course this is speculation."

CrackBerry podcasters guess piezo haptics in Storm 2

from the IV MB, by cellodude:

>>CrackBerry podcasters guess piezo haptics in Storm 2

As we hoped and suspected. If only I had more ammo...

I pose a question. How would you describe localized haptics if you had no idea about the underlying technology, especially a very quick effect?

Timestamp - 22:20 - "Now the other interesting thing of course is, when the unit is powered off, the screen is fixed, it doesn't have any click, it's just a rigid glass. And when you power it on, I mean the glass is still rigid, but then you get that just tiny bit of movement like, in and out, like you feel... you know you push on it and you feel it move. I don't know if you'd call that a haptic response [yes you would!], I don't think so, like it still kind of feels like you're pushing a fixed piece of glass down it's not like shooting something up you know, electro mini-vibrations or anything like that, but there's definitely something going on. And, umm... can you guess the word I'm going to throw out there? This word is gonna' rock everybody's world. OK, I think it's it's using some kind of piezo technology." (Piezo discussion continues). "I think there's magic in there somewhere."

Full discussion about Storm 1 plunger, comparison to multi-touch Storm 2 etc. starts at timestamp - 20:48

http://crackberry.com/podcast-episode-040-best-crackberry-podcast-ever-0

Florida Medicare provider won't cut cancer treatment (CK)

from the IV MB, by yyy60:

>>Florida Medicare provider won't cut cancer treatment (CK)


http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090821/ARTICLES/908211009/1002?Title=Florida-Medicare-provider-won-t-cut-cancer-treatment

The Gainesville Sun

Cyberknife robotic surgery will be OK'd on case-by-case basis.

By Diane Chun
Published: Friday, August 21, 2009 at 6:01 a.m.


Medicare patients in North Central Florida who are looking for the most appropriate treatment for prostate cancer will continue to have Cyberknife robotic radiosurgery among their options.

First Coast Service Options, the Medicare administrator for Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, announced Thursday it will consider covering the high-tech radiotherapy "on an individual, case-by-case basis." The therapy has been in use in Florida since 2004.

Application of Robotic Stereotactic Radiotherapy to Peripheral Stage I Non-small Cell Lung Cancer with Curative Intent

from the IV MB, by yyy60:

>>Application of Robotic Stereotactic Radiotherapy to Peripheral Stage I Non-small Cell Lung Cancer with Curative Intent

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/pubmed/19682875?dopt=Abstract

Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol). 2009 Aug 12. [Epub ahead of print]

Brown WT, Wu X, Fayad F, Fowler JF, García S, Monterroso MI, de la Zerda A, Schwade JG.

CyberKnife Center of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA; Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA.


AIMS: To determine the effectiveness of robotic stereotactic radiotherapy with image guidance and real-time respiratory tracking against early stage peripheral lung cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We treated patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with CyberKnife((R)) and analysed their clinical characteristics and outcomes. All patients had co-morbid conditions that precluded lobectomy. The clinical target volume (CTV) included the gross tumour volume (GTV) and a 6mm margin in all directions to account for microscopic extension. The planning target volume (PTV) equalled CTV+2mm in all directions for uncertainty. Tumour motion was tracked using a combination of Synchrony((R)) and Xsight((R)) Spine tracking methods with the aid of a single gold marker implanted in the centre of the tumour, or using the newer Xsight((R)) Lung method without markers for selected tumours. A 60-67.5Gy dose was prescribed to the 60-80% isodose line (median 65%) and given in three to five fractions. Patients were followed every 3 months for a median of 27.5 months (range 24-53 months).

RESULTS: Of the 67 patients with NSCLC stage IA or IB treated between January 2004 and December 2008, we report the results of a cohort of 31 with peripheral stage I tumours of 0.6-71cm(3) volume treated between January 2004 and December 2007 with total doses between 60 and 67.5Gy in three to five fractions. The median D(max) was 88.2Gy and the median V(95) of the PTV was 99.6% or 27.9cm(3). No grade 3 or above toxicity was encountered. Four cases of radiation pneumonitis and one case of oesophagitis were observed. In those patients whose pre- and post-treatment results were available, no change in pulmonary function tests was observed. Actuarial local control was 93.2% for 1 year and 85.8% for up to 4.5 years. One-year overall survival was 93.6% and 83.5% for up to 4.5 years, as projected by Kaplan-Meier analyses.

CONCLUSIONS: In this small cohort of patients with stage I peripheral NSCLC, robotic stereotactic radiotherapy seems to be a safe and obviously superior alternative to conventionally fractionated radiotherapy, with results that may be approaching those obtained with lobectomy without the associated morbidity.

PMID: 19682875 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Friday, August 21, 2009

Equinix Paris Facility Hit by Cooling Outage

more info on the Equinix outage in Paris by Data Center Knowledge:

>>Equinix Paris Facility Hit by Cooling Outage

The problems began late Wednesday afternoon as temperatures in Paris rose into the upper 90s. “Multiple chillers that support the second floor failed, and the standby chiller system did not start in time to absorb the load,” Michel Brignano, General Manager of Equinix France, wrote in an incident report which was posted to the FrNOG list.

“This impacted temperatures on the second floor and had indirect effect on the ground floor as well,” Brignano continued. “The specific causes of the failures are still under investigation but there appear to have been component/subsystem failures in at least two of the three primary chiller systems supporting the second floor. At this time, we can not say definitively whether the failures were related or not.”

Salesforce

from their conference call (transcripts by Seeking Alpha):

>>During the quarter we also continued to make important investments in the Force.com Cloud infrastructure. First, I am thrilled to announce that our Singapore data center is now online and fully operational. Together, with our two data centers here in the United States, we now have three global production data centers with complete data mirroring.

SG2: Equinix's biggest data center in the APAC

from Express computer (India):

>>SG2: Equinix's biggest data center in the APAC

Equinix Inc. opened its second data center, SG2, in Singapore.

By Renuka Vembu

Equinix Inc., a data center service provider, opened its second data center, called SG2, in Singapore. This took the total count of its data centers around the world to 43. The company's biggest center in the APAC, spread over 110,000 square feet with an investment of $80 mn, SG2 will be functional in two phases. Phase 1, with the initial investment of $45 mn, will have 700 cabinets, and will be operational from August, while Phase 2 will possess an additional capacity of 1,000 cabinets.

...

It is looking to foray into the Indian market but it's plans are in a nascent stage. Its aim is to target countries with higher GDP, economic growth and a larger presence of MNCs. Clement Goh, Managing Director, Equinix Singapore, added that it is ready to counter the challenges that the Indian market is likely to throw up in the form of government regulations, availability of appropriate partners, synergizing the same vision, stability of critical infrastructure like power, water supply, etc.


From left to right: Clement Goh, Managing Director, Equinix Singapore; Keith D Taylor, Chief Financial Officer, Equinix; Leo Yip, Chairman of Singapore Economic Development Board; Stephen Smith, President and CEO, Equinix; Samuel Lee, President, Equinix Asia Pacific, at the launch of Equinix's second data center, named SG2, in Singapore

Thursday, August 20, 2009

incident datacenter - résolu

Suite à un problème sur le système de climatisation d'une de nos salles machines, nous sommes dans l'obligation d'éteindre une partie des serveurs utilisés sur notre plateforme d'hébergement (serveurs et blogs). Une intervention est en cours, nous vous donnerons une estimation du temps de rétablissement d'ici quelques minutes.

23:40:: le prestataire en charge de ce datacenter est en train de passer sur le système de climatisation de secours.

00:40: la température commence a redescendre, nous allons progressivement rallumer une partie des machines, le prestataire travaille toujours sur le système de climatisation (pas encore de temps de rétablissement complet à donner). Env 25% de nos clients sont touchés mais ce chiffre devrait significativement baisser dans les prochaines minutes.

00:48: information du gestionnaire: système de secours défaillant lui aussi, pas encore de temps de remise en service disponible. Nous continuons à rallumer des machines tant que la température se maintient.

01:30: la température ne baisse plus, nous allons éteindre des services non-critiques pour permettre de servir un maximum de serveur. Toujours pas de news du gestionnaire du datacenter :(

07:00: la température dans la deuxième salle impactée par la panne de climatisation est redescendu. Nous sommes en train de remonter des services dans cette salle. Quelques services restent en mode dégradé.

07:45: Quasiment tous les services sont maintenant disponibles

08:15: Incident résolu. Merci de contacter notre service client en indiquant que votre serveur est bloqué sur notre formulaire si vous avez le moindre problème lié au problème de cette nuit.

Nouvel incident chez Equinix à Paris

Le revendeur d'espace informatique a mis plusieurs heures avant de pouvoir redémarrer la climatisation de son centre de données situé à Saint-Denis, en banlieue parisienne.

C’est l’été, et les centres de données sont toujours autant sollicités.

Après une première panne début Juillet lié à une erreur humaine, c’est cette fois un incident mettant en cause l’infrastructure de refroidissement qui est survenu hier, dans le centre Equinix à Saint-Denis.

La panne aurait débuté vers 16h et a provoqué plusieurs ralentissements chez quelques clients d’Equinix en raison de l’arrêt de matériels (serveurs, routeurs).

Il aura fallu attendre le début de matinée, ce Jeudi 20 Août, pour que la situation revienne à la normale.

4G Roaming, Pathfinder and IP eXchange

some interesting news about the GPRS Roaming Exchange (GRX) - from 4gtrends.com:

>>Beginning in 2000 the GSMA developed the GPRS Roaming Exchange (GRX) which acts as a hub for GPRS connections between roaming users, eliminating the need for dedicated links between GPRS mobile operators. A GRX is typically based on a private or public IP backbone using GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP), and each GRX service provider has a network of routers and links connecting to GPRS operator networks. For operators this allows quicker implementation of roaming partners, faster time to market for new operators and lower capital expenditures.

The first full-service, scalable GRX Peering Exchange (GPE) was established in 2001 at the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX), the world’s largest single metro-area Internet exchange. More than 20 GRX operators and hundreds of mobile network operators currently exchange GPRS roaming traffic with each other at one or more of the four AMS-IX GRX peering locations in Amsterdam. In 2008, the AMS-IX GRX peering exchange was co-located in the AM1 Internet Business Exchange (IBX) data center, which was acquired and developed by Equinix, a leading global provider of network-neutral data centers and Internet exchange services. The result was the first global multi-party peering point which facilitates mobile data roaming as a core component in enabling a truly global mobile Internet. Since 2008, GSMA selected Equinix to establish two additional peering exchange points in its Singapore and Washington, DC IBX centers for the interconnection of GRX operators seeking to expand their coverage for mobile operator customers in the United States and Asia. There are now three common neutral peering points for GRX service providers that wish to exchange mobile Internet traffic with their peers of choice. GRX peering is a fully-managed Ethernet switching infrastructure that facilitates the exchange of “mobile Internet” traffic and the GPE switching platform has a redundant architecture designed to improve resiliency and increase port density.

Photos: Inside the Equinix Sydney2 data centr

a very nice series of pictures of the new Sydney (Australia) data center, and some info about it:

>>Equinix has taken the wraps off its $32 million Sydney2 facility in Sydney's south, boasting a more efficient design and double the standard rack density of Sydney1.

...

The new centre increases the standard density from 1.9 kilowatts up to 3.5 kilowatts per rack, although higher configurations in both facilities are possible.

"Even though 3.5 kilowatts is the standard [in Sydney2], we can obviously cater for customers that need six or eight kilowatts in certain racks, using the base cooling," Mann said.

"We have one customer in Sydney1 with 27 racks capable of 12 kilowatts each. In that case, we worked with the customer to design and procure a supplementary cooling system to achieve an outcome that was right for their business and ours."

Sensor lights illuminate the path to customer cages.
Sensor lights illuminate the path to customer cages. Another view of the chiller plant room. All plant is N+1 for redundancy.
Another view of the chiller plant room. All plant is N+1 for redundancy. Photo: Ry Crozier

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Samsung's TL220 and TL225 cameras add a LCD in front to help with your self-portraits

from engadget.com:



Video: Samsung's TL220 and TL225 cameras add a LCD in front to help with your self-portraits


Cameras with projectors? That's old tricks by now. Samsung wants you to know the new, hip differentiator in the point and shoot market is two LCDs -- one in the back like usual, and a 1.5-inch LCD in the front, right next to the lens, such as what you see with the new TL220 and TL225 (also known as ST500 / ST550, respectively). That should be good for making sure your self-portraits are just right, or alternatively, it can play "cute animations to capture kids' attention." We also think it might also be useful for capturing the exact moment of horror from a coulrophobist. Both 12.2 megapixel cameras sport a 4.6x optical zoom, image stabilization, 720p video capabilities in H.264 format, and a touchscreen rear LCD with haptic feedback. The TL220 has a 3-inch display in the back, while the TL225 (pictured) features a 3.5-inch display that's also much, much sharper. Price is $299.90 / $349.99 for TL220 and TL225, respectively, and both are due out in September. Full presser -- and video -- after the break.

Update: The video (after the break) is now live.

Samsung Haptic AMOLED

Samsung Haptic AMOLED sold 200,000 units in its first month after launch - source: Olednet.com

amBX and Immersion join forces to create an SDK standard

Games developers will benefit from a ‘one-stop’ solution to immersive effects

Monday, August 17, 2009 – Redhill, UK – amBX UK Ltd. today announced an agreement with Immersion to standardise the creation of immersive effects across a range of platforms. Games developers and publishers will be able to add full immersive effects to their games using a single software development kit.

This ‘one stop’ solution and standardised toolset will combine Immersion’s haptic technology and amBX’s immersive effects controls, providing a complete solution for games developers to add force feedback, touch sense, rumble, lighting effects and even wind effects to games and deliver a true immersive gaming experience.

amBX’s SDK programme was launched earlier this year. Immersion and amBX will now develop a joint SDK which will be freely available to games developers and which will provide new and easier ways to include exciting effects in their games. Initially available for PC, the SDK will soon be followed by versions for other gaming hardware platforms.

"amBX has become a standard for delivering immersive effects for content creators and hardware manufacturers. Working with Immersion and adding their haptic technology we intend to offer the games industry the best toolset yet for adding immersive effects to games," says Neil MacDonald, CEO amBX. “amBX is committed to making the process of providing new experiences for gaming as simple and efficient as possible for all our partners."

"For years gamers have enjoyed touch feedback from Immersion," said Craig Vachon, senior vice president and general manager of Immersion's Touch line of business. “amBX’s innovations in ambient effects and our haptic technology are completely complementary; a seamless combination will help developers design more immersive and engaging multi-sensory experiences more quickly and cost effectively."

amBX has already licensed its technology to many content developers and publishers in the PC gaming sector, and holds a PLAYSTATION® 3 tools and middleware licence from SCEI.

Non-gaming applications which produce amBX effects include iTunes, Media Player Classic, MediaPortal, QuickTime, VLC, WMC and Zoom Player.

amBX UK Ltd also provides specialist hardware to the professional lighting market to use amBX technology to control RGB LED lights in entertainment venues – see http://pro.ambx.com for more details.

Outage Highlights Battery Maintenance - Internap Boston

Data Center Knowledge has more about the outage in Boston (Internap data centers). We reported some customers' info about it:

>>On August 5 some customers at an Internap Network Services (INAP) data center in Boston lost connectivity for 1 hour, 20 minutes due to a battery failure in a DC power plant.

“The DC plant was responsible for powering network equipment for both Internap and other carriers,” Internap said in a statement. “In some cases this network equipment was used by our customers for IP connectivity."

Local patients see good results with Cyberknife

from the IV MB, by yyy60:

>>Local patients see good results with Cyberknife

http://www.pantagraph.com/app/customerservice/about.php

Pantagraph, Bloomington, Illinois

By Paul Swiech | pswiech@pantagraph.com
Tue, August 18, 2009 12:00 am


NORMAL -- The 10 prostate cancer patients treated last year with Cyberknife in the Community Cancer Center's own study have achieved good results, cancer center nurses and doctors said.

-----

>>Local cancer center joins national study of Cyberknife treatment

http://www.pantagraph.com/lifestyles/article_0c3fc9d8-89b7-11de-8dd2-001cc4c03286.html

Pantagraph, Bloomington, Illinois

By Paul Swiech | pswiech@pantagraph.com
Tue, August 18, 2009 12:00 am


NORMAL - The Community Cancer Center has been accepted into a national study to determine whether high-dose radiation treatments over a short time are as effective at fighting prostate cancer -- but with fewer side effects -- as longer-term conventional radiation treatments.

The cancer center joins 16 institutions, including Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., as part of the Cyberknife study.

"This brings to our community what appears to be a very promising treatment," said Barb Nathan, cancer center executive director.

Internap peering - Europe

Equinix Paris and PaNAP in France:

Company Name Internap
Also Known As Internap Network Services
Company Website http://www.internap.com/
Primary ASN 22212
IRR Record AS-INTERNAP
Network Type NSP
Approx Prefixes 5000
Traffic Levels 50-100 Gbps
Traffic Ratios Balanced
Geographic Scope Global
Looking Glass URL
Route Server URL
Notes Internap, AS 22212, is expanding in Europe and the U.S. and is actively seeking peers. Please contact us to discuss peering if our locations overlap.

Public Peering Exchange Points
Exchange Point Name ASN IP Address Mbit/sec
PaNAP 22212 62.35.254.158 1000
Equinix Paris 22212 195.42.144.28 1000

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Internap data centers

Sometimes getting confused with simple questions: how many partner sites at Internap?

Sites

Internap® Data Center locations are strategically located throughout the world, with nearly 60 domestic and international locations in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia. Our extensive network of owned and partner facilities offer access to millions of square feet of colocation and rich media storage space.

Click on the map or on the city links below for specific information about each location.

map_tn


58 locations. Their own words. Osaka and Mumbai are missing from the list.

From the latest 10Q, however:

Data Center Services

We use a combination of facilities that we manage and facilities managed by third parties, referred to as partner sites. We offer a comprehensive solution at 48 service points, including nine locations that we manage and 39 locations managed by third parties.

From the latest 10K (click to enlarge):

Mumbai and Osaka mentioned.

from the latest supplementary data:


More Viewpoints On What’s Next for CDNs

I’d like to add my comments to Rob’s article “So the recession is indeed punishing CDNs.” After all these companies, both pure plays and telecoms, reported 2Q results and issued weak guidance for Q3, it’s quite clear that the sector is experiencing little to no revenue growth and expecting this trend to last in the close future.

Dan Rayburn is taking a longer time frame approach in his article: “The Future of the CDN Market”, to see what this can mean for the whole sector:

As we look to what the CDN market will be like 12 months from now, it’s clear that many vendors won’t be able to sustain themselves. The fact is, the CDN industry has been through this cycle before. In 2000, about 50 CDNs of all shapes and sizes existed. Two years later, in 2002, there were only about a dozen CDNs; in 2004, that number was only five or six.

link to the article available at Telecom Rumblings...

Monday, August 17, 2009

New Research Shows Effectiveness of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Spinal Tumors

from the IV MB, by yyy60:

>>New Research Shows Effectiveness of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Spinal Tumors

http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-17-2009/0005078629&EDATE=

MIAMI, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is a highly effective alternative treatment for some cancer patients with spinal metastases, reported in new research from The University of Texas in Houston, according to James G. Schwade, M.D. Executive Director of the CyberKnife Centers of Miami and Palm Beach.

(www.cyberknifemiami.com)

"This data confirms the established method of cancer treatment used on spinal tumors and other hard to reach areas of the body, due to the precisely targeted radiation dose and non-invasive nature of radiosurgery," said Dr. Schwade.

The study was presented at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons annual meeting in San Diego.

"SBRT offers patients a minimally invasive treatment option they previously did not have," said Dr. Eric L. Chang. "We are also able to offer patients a degree of pain control and to decrease their pain medications, minimizing the side effects from those medications."

In the study, researchers evaluated 121 cancer patients with metastases to the spine who underwent intensity-modulated, near simultaneous, CT image-guided SBRT, said Dr. Chang.

Researchers used a stereotactic body frame system consisting of a whole-body vacuum cushion and plastic fixation sheet used to immobilize patients for the treatment period, which lasts approximately one hour.

The team performed MR imaging of the spine within 30 days of patient enrollment, every three months for the first year and every six months after that. Patients also evaluated their own pain and other discomfort using instruments including the validated Brief Pain Inventory and the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory.

The CyberKnife Centers of Miami and Palm Beach serve the Palm Beach, Broward and Miami Dade County areas with outpatient facilities treating cancer patients with stereotactic radiosurgery utilizing the CyberKnife. For more information please visit http://www.morsecyberknife.com or http://www.ca123.com.

Peter M. Evans

Peter M. Evans

Sr. Vice President of Marketing

pevans

Peter M. Evans leads the Company's Marketing activities. He has extensive experience in product marketing, international product launches, corporate re-positioning, channel/alliances, marketing communications, general management and investor relations.

Prior to joining Internap, Mr. Evans served as Director of Technology and Market Strategy for IBM's Internet Security Systems Division, Chief Technology Office. Mr. Evans was the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Internet Security Systems (ISS) prior to it being acquired by IBM for $1.3 billion. His leadership role there -- turning ISS into a more market-driven organization -- was a key part of the company's evolution and substantial growth.

He also has experience building sales, customer support and product mix strategies aimed at addressing emerging market opportunities. While with Nortel Networks, he led the startup of the long distance voice switching and Voice over IP (VoIP) switching business, the data sales organization in the southeast, as well as the launch of several other major networking data products. Mr. Evans has also held senior positions with AirDefense, Optovation Corp. and ONI Systems (acquired by Ciena Corp. for $1.1B).

Mr. Evans holds undergraduate degrees in applied mathematics and computer sciences from Queen's University, Ontario, Canada, and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from York University, Toronto.


Sunday, August 16, 2009

new cyberknife center open in Flushing NY on Aug 15

from the IV MB, by yyy60:

>>new cyberknife center open in Flushing NY on Aug 15

** Ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Aug 15 for the new Cyberknife Center in Flushing NY. This is the 5th CK in NY. Another new CK center -The Cyberknife of Long Island (the 6th in NY) will open in Sep. **

Flushing CK Center

http://www.flushingros.com/index.cfm

http://174.132.121.114:82/gate/big5/www.sinovision.net/index.php?module=news&act=details&col_id=498&news_id=98257


Long Island CK Center

http://www.cancer-radiation.com/index.php/cyberknife

under-the-radar players in the touchscreen revolution


http://www.rethink-wireless.com/?article_id=1776