Dear Friends,
We hope this newsletter finds you
well and employed!
Mike is becoming a popular columnist
for Product Design and Development
magazine. Recently, he was asked to
share his perspective on the annual
Consumer Electronics show. We think
you'll enjoy his musings.
We've added a new Technology Forum
to this newsletter, and we'd like to
hear your thoughts and get ideas for
topics.
Finally, PCDworks is proud to
announce a new hire - a PhD in
mechanical engineering with special
skills in materials science.
Thanks for letting us into your
lives each month!
Donna Rainone |
 What
Happened in Vegas and What Does the
Future Hold?
|
 I
attended the Consumer Electronics
Show (CES)
under duress. I knew that I was set
to comment on the state of consumer
electronics in this issue so, as
much as I love to hate Las Vegas, I
decided to pack my bags and get a
look at the latest product
offerings...
I still see myself as an aging geek.
I live for the neat new
stuff you come across at CES, but I
was anticipating the same generation
gap I remembered from 10 years ago.
You know, the one with the
same condescending tone you hear
from the twenty-something in your
office when he demonstrates a
feature on your cell phone that has
left
you clueless? It's the kind of
experience that suggests you are so
old,
you may as well crawl into the
casket and pull down the lid.
Obviously, I approached CES with
great trepidation. I landed in
Vegas and expected two things:
confirmation that I was on edge of
obsolescence, and evidence of the
creeping decline of innovation. I
couldn't have been more wrong.
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TECHNOLOGY
FORUM:
Swarm Logic in Electronic Devices
|
 We
thought we'd use this newsletter as
a forum for discussion on tips,
trends, and new technology related
to the world of innovation. This
month, we want to talk about one of
our favorite "tools" and something
we frequently apply in the new
products we design - swarm
computing.
Rather than the conventional
approach, where every device in a
network communicates and gets
instructions from a central server,
swarm logic empowers individual
devices to both think for themselves
and communicate with each other.
The benefits of this approach are
greater efficiency, power savings,
and increased system reliability.
The product pictured is a swarm of
individual boxes which control
various appliances in commercial
buildings. These boxes allow the
individual appliances to "talk" to
each other and minimize the overall
power usage by adjusting each
individual appliance's power
consumption. Read more on this
technology at
Technology Review.
Keep an eye out for opportunities to
take advantage of mesh networking's
ability to revolutionize products.
This game changing technology will
make some big waves over the next 10
years.
Let us know what you'd like to
talk about next!
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Welcome,
Kenneth! |
PCDworks is proud to announce a new
addition to our team: Dr. Ke nneth
Wilson, Ph.D, Mechanical
Engineering.
Kenneth brings a great depth of
materials knowledge and design to
our growingly numerous
materials-based projects. His
experience in nanoscale engineering,
induction heating, analytical
modeling, and materials design will
be put to great use over the coming
years, as we continue to bring in
new and unusual problems.
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About PCDworks |
Founded by Mike and Donna Rainone in
1997, PCDworks is a full-service
technology development company
specializing in breakthrough product
innovation for a broad range of
consumer, medical and military
clients. Located on a 25-acre wooded
campus outside Tyler, Texas,
PCDworks houses testing labs,
engineering shops, sleeping
accommodations and meeting
facilities. Client services include
technology problem solving, product
ideation, research, engineering,
prototype manufacturing and product
testing. The company is closely
networked with research and
production facilities in the region,
including UT Tyler and East Texas
Medical Center.
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Want
a Lively and Thought-Provoking
Speaker?
Start your new year out right.
Book a lively and
thought-provoking speaker
who can challenge, motivate and
inspire your management or
engineering team.
Mike Rainone is a highly
regarded expert on emerging
technologies and breakthrough
product creation, and a sought
after speaker for companies
looking to light a fire under
their research and development
efforts.
Whether it's a hands-on look at
emerging technologies and their
applications, or a lesson in
rapid and effective product
development, Mike offers a
unique perspective designed to
both inform and challenge his
audience.
Choose from a
list of topics, or
contact Mike to create your
own agenda for a session that is
guaranteed to be inspirational
and though provoking. |
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Be a Guest Contributor
Do you have some interesting
technology news to share? We welcome
guest contributions to our
newsletter, so if you come across
breakthrough technology or weird
science, send an email to
Mike Rainone. We'll make sure to
attribute it to you. |
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