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From One Techie to Another:
What's up with all the awards?
Featured Article:
Local Technology Selection: To VAR or Not to VAR
Product Announcements:
Rosemount E-series mag flowmeters; World-Beam Q12 photosensors; OPCcalc and EDICTvb.Net for Vista; RJ11 overmolded connector cordsets; Marking and Labeling lease program; and much more
Resources & Literature:
Industrial Ethernet Tutorial Site; Online connector catalog; UEI controller catalog; and more
Events, Seminars & Training:
Honeywell 2007 Users Group Symposium; LONMARK Seminars; SCADA Seminars; Siemens Automation Summit; and more
| Sponsor: Moxa | |
From One Techie to Another | |||||||
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What's up with all the awards? The engineer in me is a skeptic. If something doesn't make logical sense, then I have a tendency to discount it. This philosophy can, of course, get me in trouble at times. Occasionally, we get a flurry of press releases from suppliers about an award they received from either a trade publication or market analyst. We have a hard time publishing these releases because we feel that the awards are not based on any meaningful research but are, instead, a promotional device that the magazines and research companies use to reward advertisers (clients) and sell reprints. Some publications ask their large circulation lists (80,000) to vote on vendor-supplied descriptions of products, whether or not they have used the products. Dozens of subsequent awards are based on responses from only a few hundred readers. Other awards are based on editor's choices, who don't actually use the products either. It would be a lot different if they gave out a single award. We might believe there is some validity to such an award. You tell me. Do these awards have value to you, the user? Take our short survey and let us know what you think about the awards. We'll use your feedback to determine if we should continue publishing these "award" press releases. Our industry is full of extremely competent, advanced, high-technology, leading-edge products from small companies that don’t have enough money to market themselves like the big companies. These companies struggle to get their names in front of you, but they can’t get any publicity from the print magazines because they don’t advertise. Don't get me wrong, we have a number of advertisers that use our site to promote their products and services (that's how we pay the bills). We do tend to be a little more "friendly" with those advertising companies. There. I said it. The secret is out. The difference is, we publish every automation-relevant release we receive, advertiser or not. In the good old days, product tabloids were the best way small companies could get free publicity and buy inexpensive ads. But the tabloids are disappearing, thanks to the Internet and sites like ours. Times are tough in the print magazine business. The print books publish fewer and fewer new product items because their ad revenues are down. When they do publish new products, more likely than not they only publish products from advertisers. Wouldn’t you, if you were a magazine publisher? This means that the only place you can find out about new, advanced products from big or small companies is right here. Search product releases. Like the old tabloids, we also offer small companies an inexpensive way to advertise. Instead of spending $10,000 a page to reach 80,000 readers in a print magazine, a small company can advertise here at a fraction of the price and reach 250,000 people. In the last year, we had 3.5 million page views of product and news releases published on our site. The top viewed releases in the last year were...
Please note that each of these were only highlighted once on our site and included in one issue of our e-newsletter. We’ve become the new product tabloid of the automation industry, and our web stats prove it. So we’ll keep all the automation news and products coming to you on a regular basis. Tell us what you think about the awards and whether we should continue to publish them. Enjoy the rest of this eNews! Rick Zabel |
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Local Technology Selection: To VAR or Not to VAR
Among the thousands of software firms selling their goods, there is a wide divide based on those which utilize VARs (value added resellers) and those with “corporation-only” salesforces. There are pros and cons to each management scenario. Those companies which avoid the VAR methodology argue that inconsistency in quality among VAR consultancies, lack of product knowledge and expertise, and lost margins negate the advantages of using these “outsiders.”
Read full article by Thomas R. Cutler.
More articles by Thomas Cutler
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Emerson introduces Rosemount E-Series mag flowmeters - 5/1/07 E-series magnetic flowmeters have intelligent diagnostics that can be accessed through the Local Operator Interface (LOI), the 375 Field Communicator or AMS software. |
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Banner releases World-Beam Q12 photosensors - 4/30/07 WORLD-BEAM Q12 Series photoelectric sensors with liquid-tight PFA jackets can be used in wet and corrosive industrial environments. |
| Exele enhances OPCcalc and EDICTvb.Net for Vista - 4/30/07 Industrial 802.11 products now provide Device Server functionality with Modbus Master capability for both Modbus TCP and serial Modbus RTU. |
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ASI announces Marking and Labeling lease program - 4/30/07 The EZ Mark plotter system, Genius and Rolly 1000 high speed thermal print systems, and DIN rail cutters can be leased starting at $51 per month. |
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TURCK introduces RJ11 overmolded connector cordsets - 4/25/07 Connector cordsets for industrial phone connections have a tough polyurethane body that provides strain relief and tab protection for industrial environments. |
Other Product Announcements
- Hirschmann introduces EAGLE mGuard Firewall 5/1/07
- Intermec introduces IF61 Enterprise RFID Reader 5/1/07
- Green Hills enhances INTEGRITY Workstation 5/1/07
- Transpara and SmartSignal combine monitoring software 5/1/07
- ServoSoft adds resistors to servo sizing database 4/30/07
- Phrontier Technologies releases PHIRE-S camera adapter 4/30/07
- Misumi introduces rolled ball screws 4/30/07
- Elobau introduces heavy-duty joysticks 4/30/07
- Axiomtek announces CEM830 Core2 Duo COM Express Module 4/30/07
- ABB announces PAT solution for Life Sciences 4/27/07
- B&B Electronics releases Zlinx Radio Modems 4/27/07
- Pepperl+Fuchs releases GRIP barcode reader handles 4/27/07
- COPALP enhances STRATON CANOpen Software 4/27/07
- Misumi offers linear ball bushings for automation 4/27/07
- Ethernet Direct releases Falcon outdoor wireless products 4/26/07
- Weidmuller introduces Z-Compact mini terminal block 4/25/07
- Canfield releases 5950 Drivers for fluid solenoid valves 4/25/07
- Alpha announces alphira planetary gearheads 4/25/07
- Sharp introduces LQ043T1DG01 4.3-in. Display 4/25/07
- Infor enhances ERP Adage software 4/25/07
- Agilent Launches Medalist x6000 X-Ray Inspection for PCBs 4/25/07
Product & Supplier Search
- Featured Products for May
- Search Products by keyword, category, manufacturer or release date
- Search Suppliers by keyword or product category
Featured Resource: Industrial Ethernet Tutorial Site
Ethernet Direct offers this comprehensive technical Reference Library of information specifically oriented to Industrial Ethernet, with topics like Ethernet Terms and how they relate to Industrial applications, Network Architectures and recommendations, Industrial Ethernet Software Tools and their value, Common issues that are happening on the plant floor, Important Organizations and their function, sections to cover applications of EtherNet/IP, PROFInet, Foundation Field bus HSE, and Modbus TCP, Security on the Plant and with over hundreds of diagrams. Simplifying the terms and geared for control engineers, Ethernet Direct explains the technology required for the plant floor and industrial applications.
More information
Other Resources:
Honeywell 2007 Users Group Symposium
June 10-14, 2007 - Phoenix, Arizona
Featuring hands-on demonstrations of the latest technology, one-to-one interaction with products experts and group discussions with other Honeywell users, this robust technical conference provides invaluable education and insight that can positively impact your bottom line. Attendees consistently report that this cutting-edge symposium helps optimize technology and management decisions for maximum productivity and profit.
More information
Other Upcoming Events & Training
- LONMARK Educational Seminar Tour: May - October, 2007
- Matrikon Summit 2007: May 7-10, 2007
- Oil and Gas Industry Symposium in 13 cities: Starting May 8, 2007
- NI Automated Test Summit on Web: May 8, 2007
- SMMA Spring Management Conference: May 9-11, 2007
- RoboBusiness Conference and Expo: May 15-16, 2007
- Total Processing & Packaging 2007: May 15-17, 2007
- Deacom User Conference: May 16-17, 2007
- PTO Free PROFINET 2007 Developer Workshops: Starting May 21, 2007
- ASi-tech 2007: May 22, 2007
- M2M Forum 2007: May 22-23, 2007
- BuilConn: May 22-24, 2007
- Cyco's Americas User & Reseller Conference: June 3-5, 2007
- SCADA Seminars for Municipal Water & Wastewater Management Professionals: June 5 & June 28, 2007
- Fugitive Emissions-LDAR Symposium: June 5-7, 2007
- Automation Technology Expo (ATX) East: June 6-8, 2007
- 2007 Honeywell Users Group Americas Symposium: June 10-15, 2007
- ISA POWID Division Symposium: June 10-15, 2007
- Sensors Expo & Conference Conference: June 11-13, 2007
- The Managing Automation Progressive Manufacturing Summit: June 12-14, 2007
- East Coast's Advanced Manufacturing Event: June 12-14, 2007
- 2007 International Robots & Vision Show: June 12-14, 2007
- ATX - Automation Technology Expo East: June 12-14, 2007
- Process Improvement Training - DOE Workshop: June 12-15, 2007
- Siemens 2007 Automation Summit: June 12-15, 2007
- Understanding and Applying Instrumentation in Hazardous Locations (ES10): June 20-21, 2007
- Assembly Technology 2007: June 22-24, 2007
Here are the latest company and application news headlines for your review...use the following links to read the full article. Check out our Daily News Headlines page frequently to stay up-to-date on the industry events.
Company & Organization News:
- Opto 22 wins magazine award 5/1/07
- TURCK builds Kübler encoders in the U.S. 5/1/07
- Bison Gear starts Skilled Workforce training 5/1/07
- Moxa receives magazine award 4/30/07
- National Instruments Reports Q1 earnings up 51% 4/27/07
- ABB Announces income up 163% in Q1 4/27/07
- Wilcoxon appoints Renard Klubnik Application Engineer 4/27/07
Application News:
- Empire Magnetics keeps Cirque du Soleil splashing 5/1/07
- Siemens supplies drive for gas compressor in UK 5/1/07
- Siemens supplies drives for Chinese steel factory 5/1/07
- Emerson provides IR analyzers to Roplex to monitor vapor recovery units 4/30/07
- ATI supplies dissolved ozone monitor to Bristol Water 4/30/07
- RTI supplies Messaging Middleware for MRI and NMR 4/30/07
- Matrikon supplies ProcessMORe to Australian coal-fired plant 4/26/07
- Zigbee connects to mobile phones 4/26/07
- Infor installs EAM asset management system at Chinese coal mine 4/25/07
Here's a list of new jobs posted on Automation.com:
- Industrial Controls Specialist: AutomationDirect - Cumming, GA 4/27/2007
- PLC-HMI Sales Specialist: Rexel - Denver, CO 4/27/2007
- AEI Specialist II: Cargill, Inc. - Blair, NE 4/27/2007
- Account Manager: GE Fanuc Automation - TX, MO, WI, USA 4/25/2007
To view other recent job postings, please use our Job Search Function.
I hope you enjoyed this Automation Weekly update. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding the content in this e-newsletter or on Automation.com, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Rick Zabel
Vice President, Publisher
Automation.com
For editorial and advertising inquiries, please contact Rick Zabel or see our Media Kit.
For recruiting and contract staffing services, please visit www.automationtechies.com.