Brazil passes information access law

Posted on 18th May 2012 in Hands free access

A freedom of information law has taken effect in Brazil, challenging an embedded culture of secrecy and bureaucracy.

Proponents, including President Dilma Rousseff, said the measure is nothing short of a revolution for a system that has kept tight control over information for decades.

But even as the president hailed the potential of the law that went into effect Wednesday, experts cautioned that it will take more than a piece of paper and political goodwill at the top to change attitudes about the flow of information. Most citizens, even journalists, are unfamiliar with the concept of free access to public information.

Experts say a lack of transparency has allowed corruption, inefficiency and wastefulness to go unchecked in the public realm. Last year, five of Rousseff’s ministers were sacked or stepped down following public allegations of corruption and misuse of public money.

“From now on, transparency is obligatory, under law, and will function as an efficient inhibitor of all the bad uses of public money, and of violations of human rights,” Rousseff said on Wednesday, a day that also marked the inauguration of a truth commission that will investigate human rights abuses committed during the military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985.

The president, who as a leftist guerrilla was imprisoned and tortured in the early 1970s under a military regime, acknowledged that both developments are the result of decades of work toward democratic ideals.

Brazil’s 1988 constitution enshrined the right to access information, but the new measure gives citizens a legal tool to enforce that right in a court. Its scope is broad: Unlike the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, which applies to the executive branch at the federal level, Brazil’s law covers all branches of government at all levels. However, there is still no set of regulations detailing how citizens can ask for data, and what municipal, state or federal officials must do to comply.

The sweep of the measure poses a significant challenge to the country, said Brazil-based researcher Greg Michener, who specializes in transparency and freedom of information laws. If civilians and the media demand compliance, the law could be a real force for positive change, he said. But Brazilians might also just throw up their hands at the enormity of the job, and abandon the idea. This is a country where some laws simply “don’t take,” he said, and there is a danger this one could fall by the wayside if Brazilians don’t push for compliance.

“These laws are sophisticated instruments, and depend on an informed populace,” he said. “You’d think the media would be most interested, that they’d want better information. But there isn’t really an awareness of what the law is in the Brazilian press.”

Michener compared Brazil to Mexico, which passed its own information access law in 2002. It was implemented a year later at the federal level, but it took five years to include it in the constitution, extending it to other levels and branches of government, where it is still being implemented. Mexico also created an autonomous institution to govern the law’s application. The Brazilian law allowed six months for preparation, and will be overseen by an existing government oversight body which also has other responsibilities, said Michener.

Groups that pushed for the bill say they are trying to ensure it doesn’t end up on the dustbin of well-intentioned laws that never took hold. The nonprofit watchdog group Contas Abertas, “Open Accounts,” celebrated the law’s enactment by shooting out 100 requests for information all over the country, to all branches of government. Brazil’s federal comptroller’s office said there were just over 700 requests in total on the law’s first day.

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Downtown Berlin Hotel Takes Catering to New Heights

Posted on 17th May 2012 in Hands free access

Berlin hotels has based its new range of catering packages on the four elements.

Going past the needs of its own Berlin, Germany conference venues and creating a new “place to be” with each outside event, the dynamic catering operations of the Berlin Marriott Hotel caters to guests at more than one unusual location in and around the city.

“And when the waiter takes flight or the cook takes to water, it starts to get interesting” says head of catering Sandra Eibisch. “We love the extra kick that an original catering location offers and our clients like our unusual ideas.”

Creative Element Catering packages go far past the usual ballroom gala or downtown Berlin wedding reception to create spectacular special events.

Earth Down to earth festivities. Construction site catering that includes everything from appropriately dressed personnel in work overalls to finger food arranged on spades and cocktails served from a cement mixer. Appetizing favorites such as veal meat balls with marinated potatoes or bruschetta with smoked eel are served as canaps. Beer from the keg and pork steaks from the barbeque are essential. Alternatively, colorful party packs may be handed round. The blue ones contain beer, bread rolls with sausage and potato salad, while the pink ones contain Prosecco in tins, fruit salad and cream cheese bread rolls.

Fire The heat is on! When guests choose fire as the central element, the catering team goes far past the comfort of Berlin hotel rooms and creates a hip metropolitan beach with a bonfire or delves into the depths of a bunker. Or, guests may be invited to discover the secret places in the ruins of a palace in Berlin-Mitte. Then the party ignites and the atmosphere heats up — for example with a traditional Feuerzangenbowle, flambd dishes, a fiery dance band or a flame thrower.

Water Cast off and relax. For parties under the sign of this element, Catering by Marriott may take its guests, onto an old boat house in Oberschoneweide. This place is neither a trend location nor a party ship; it is a real discovery. Guests arrive, cast off, enjoy and relax, taking in the atmospheric wharf surrounded by old boats and historic buildings. On the barbecue is fresh fish, antipasti and meat skewers accompanied by fresh and fruity cocktails. For friends of the liquid element, Catering by Marriott also offers this package in the Aquarium, a closed down swimming baths or at the hotel’s own pool.

Air A heavenly or fast-paced event. A light and airy, transparent place such as the Tiergarten Eins house with its 50s design, roof terrace and spectacular lounge is the location of this “heavenly” package — on request, for example, with an airplane too. In Tiergarten Eins, lunch boxes stand ready for a stroll in the garden. At the bar await exquisite delicacies and drinks; and at dusk, torches and candles are lit to create a paradisiacal atmosphere. For those who think of wind and speed when the subject of air comes up, Catering by Marriott sets up the largest and most modern traffic safety center at the edge of Berlin for the party. On the spectacular racing track, guests can experience the thrill and speed of a racing car and test their skills in demanding safety training or off-roading. Air acrobats display their skills and the culinary element of the event takes off with a flying buffet. In the evening the 25 hectares are floodlighted promising a high-flying conclusion to the event.

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Quebec students, riot police set for possible showdown

Posted on 16th May 2012 in Hands free access

A confrontation appeared possible Tuesday morning between student protesters blocking the entrance to a college north of Montreal and the Quebec provincial police’s riot squad.

Student protesters at the CEGEP campus of College Lionel Groulx were told by police Tuesday morning that “all necessary force” would be used to ensure classes at the facility resumed.

Members of the riot squad were apparently positioning themselves Tuesday morning, as a police helicopter hovered over the campus.

The potential confrontation loomed just one day after Quebec education minister Beauchamp resigned amid mass protests over proposed tuition and fee hikes for the province’s students. In the wake of her resignation, Treasury Board President Michelle Courchesne was sworn in as the new education minister and deputy premier.

Early Tuesday morning, police intercepted a school bus believed to be heading for the college.

About 20 people, apparently protesters, who had been aboard were detained and were being questioned, said Sgt. Benoit Richard said. “There have been no arrests,” he said.

In a separate student protest, Montreal police said they had arrested 19 people after rush-hour traffic across the Jacques Cartier Bridge was briefly blocked about 8 a.m., on the inbound-to-Montreal side of the crossing.

About 100 student protesters had already gathered at College Lionel Groulx by 7:30 a.m., said Const. Martin Charron of the local police force, adding that “our mandate is to maintain order and peace.”

Those protesters, many of them masked, were apparently preparing to again block entry for 53 students at the school.

Last week, those students had obtained a court injunction ordering that their classes resume.

On Monday, the school administration had planned a resumption of classes, then called that off and said it had formally asked the local force to ensure the classes would be able to resume Tuesday.

Quebec’s new education minister is expected to face the same demand for a freeze on the province’s tuition fees, which are already low by Canadian standards.

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V&A First Tourist Destination To Get Green Credentials

Posted on 15th May 2012 in Hands free access

Cape Town’s iconic V&A Waterfront, one of South Africa’s most visited and recognised tourist destinations is the first of its kind in Africa to be independently audited and certified for its environmental compliance – the Heritage Environmental Management Company (Heritage) announced today.

The V&A Waterfront, which attracts more than 23 million visitors annually, was awarded the Heritage Sliver classification after a recent bench-mark audit by Heritage.

“The V&A Waterfront has always been known as a world-class waterfront property and as Cape Town’s premier destination to live, work, eat, sleep and play.  We take our reputation and green credentials very seriously and are committed to ensuring our environmental and sustainability measures and initiatives are at the forefront of all our business practices and deliver world-class standards and practices,” says Colin Devenish, Executive Manager of Operations of the V&A Waterfront.

Management at the V&A Waterfront aims to achieve Heritage’s Gold status within the next year through increased awareness generation and the implementation of more sustainable practices across all its operations.

“We believe greening our operations is the right and responsible way to operate as one of South Africa’s leading tourist destinations and the City of Cape Town’s largest and most diverse property offerings.  We also realise the efficiencies and cost savings that greening our operations provide,” Devenish says.

One example of the efforts that have already been made to meet their objective is in the area of waste management.  The precinct currently recycles around 40% of its waste or 120 tonnes a month which translates into savings of over R876 000 per year, and the company has recycled more than 4000 tons of waste since it started recycling in October 2009.  The V&A Management is aware of the considerable burden of waste management to the City of Cape Town and that landfill sites are already overloaded.  The V&A encourages its visitors to participate in its green conscious ethics by making use of the recycling bins located throughout the property.

In addition to the cost-saving benefits of greening its operations, caring for the environment also improves staff morale and attracts and retains blue-chip tenants.

“We are very proud to be part of the Heritage Programme and we value independent verification,” Devenish adds.

Echoing this belief is the redevelopment of the Clock Tower Precinct at the V&A Waterfront – and in particular the construction of No 1 Silo – which is guided by the strictest global requirements for environmentally sustainable construction, as governed by the Green Building Council of South Africa.

“We have adopted a comprehensive green construction and sustainable solutions imperative as a critical part of the overall V&A Waterfront development strategy,” says David Green, Chief Executive Officer of the V&A Waterfront.  Upon completion, this new office building will adhere to the strictest global environmentally sustainable building requirements. The building has been registered as a Green Star SA Office Design, and is aiming for at least a four star Green Star SA rating. The Green Star rating was established by the Green Building Council of South Africa in 2008, with the aim to evaluate the potential environmental performance of buildings, based on criteria such as energy and water efficiency, quality of indoor environments and resource conservation.  One of the key differentiators of this building will be its energy efficiency due to its unique positioning to the ocean and ability to benefit from a sophisticated seawater cooling system,” Green says.

“The energy performance of a typical No.1 Silo office floor has been compared against a similar typical floor with system and material properties set as the minimum required by the building energy use standard SANS 204. The analysis shows that a saving of roughly 50% electricity consumption and CO2 emissions over a ‘normal’ building is predicted,” he explains.

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Control what makes it onto your network

Posted on 14th May 2012 in Hands free access

The Web-based service, available at openDNS.com, offers users a free way to protect against certain types of network attacks by filtering out malicious content before it ever gets to the computer. The company also says the service can make browsing faster and more reliable.

The Domain Name System, or DNS, allows networks to interpret easy-to-remember Web addresses like newsobserver.com into their corresponding Internet Protocol addresses – the numerical location of the server containing the content you’re looking to browse. DNS services, which actually do the translating, are in most cases handled by your Internet service provider. But by handing the job over to OpenDNS, users can get more control over what their networks access from a service that specializes in the task.

“Because they only do DNS, they have one whale of a network,” Rosenberg said. “They’re just better at it.”

After signing up for a free account, OpenDNS provides step-by-step instructions for switching to the service using your router or your computer (from start to finish, it took me about five minutes to set up on my own system). You can then add your network, track statistics and choose security options – all without having to download any extra applications or run anything in the background.

“All the security, all the content filtering happens on the OpenDNS side before it gets to you,” Rosenberg said. “There’s zero impact on the network or computers.”

In addition to faster domain name resolution (which cuts down on page load times), OpenDNS allows users to filter the content coming into the network by choosing a filter level. Setting it to high, for example, blocks adult content as well as pages like social networking sites and “general time-wasters.” Custom options also allow filtering based on a number of broad categories like adult themes and academic fraud.

These options are what initially led Rosenberg to OpenDNS after clients asked him repeatedly for a quality content filtering service.

“The answer was always, ‘I’m not entirely sure.’ A lot of the products you see out there are geared not just to content filtering, but to content logging, keystroke logging and monitoring. A lot of my customers – and myself included – don’t want to know everything their kid types on the computer,” Rosenberg said. “I just want to know that he’s not going to be able to view pornography. That’s really what it boils down to.”

Because security is tied into the domain name resolution, OpenDNS can also help guard against phishing sites, which are designed to trick users into providing personal information by mimicking the look and feel of legitimate Web pages. By tapping into its database of known phishing sites, it blocks access to these pages altogether, and can redirect users to a custom page. OpenDNS even provides protection from malware that can exploit vulnerabilities in Web browsers.

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Monmouth puts its fate in Drazin’s hands

Posted on 11th May 2012 in Hands free access

Dennis Drazin spent his honeymoon in Hawaii talking about Monmouth Park. This was during the first three weeks of January, and he was needed 5,000 miles and six time zones away.

“Some of my conference calls were 3:30 in the morning, my time,” said Drazin, 60, whose marriage to Nona Balaban on New Year’s Eve was his first. “My wife had to put up with my being on the phone almost daily, trying to put this deal together.”

This deal was for the future of racing in New Jersey. For the third consecutive season, uncertainty and apprehension cloud Monmouth as it prepares to open a 65-day meeting Saturday. An earlier deal collapsed over the winter, leaving Monmouth without an operator. Enter Drazin, the quintessential backroom dealer who has been called upon to save the track.

Drazin is probably unfamiliar to Monmouth railbirds, and if the name registers at all it might be from local television commercials for his personal-injury law firm Drazin & Warshaw. But in Garden State politics and horse racing he is on the speed dial of so many legislators, officials, powerbrokers. He has bred and owned horses for more than 30 years and for the last decade worked on behalf of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association as either its general counsel or president.

Now Drazin is about to take the starring role, the director moving out from behind the camera to take his own acting cues. The track’s fate will rise or fall on his ideas, his work, his political connections. The state, Monmouth’s owner since 1985, wants out of this racing business.

On Dec. 1, after negotiations for a lease between casino and real-estate mogul Morris Bailey and the state finally came apart, the governor’s office asked Drazin to resign as the chairman of the New Jersey Racing Commission. He was asked to step into Bailey’s shoes as an adviser to the horsemen’s association. On Feb. 2, the horsemen submitted their lease proposal; by the end of that month, Monmouth Park was theirs.

“I felt the best advice I could give to the horsemen is to control their own destiny,” Drazin said. “And even though it’s a large undertaking, I’ve guided the industry for many years now, and they trust me. I think that with my advice and counsel they can put this all together.”

How did this historic track become so unloved? For most of its 67 years in Oceanport, Monmouth’s by-the-sea rhythms were as regular as the tides. But then two years ago there was the experimental “Elite Meet,” where purses more than doubled and the calendar was halved, and then last year, as the state fled for the exit, Bailey’s takeover was supposed to be right around the corner.

The horsemen are in control now – their lease could run as long as 35 years – and this is groundbreaking in its own right. Nobody can recall horsemen running their own racetrack. The racing world will be watching closely. As one racetrack owner cynically put it: “It is giving the keys to the asylum to the horsemen.”

Drazin counters with an optimistic tone. “We have a vision and the adequate wherewithal to make it happen,” he said.

This vision is to turn Monmouth Park into a year-round resort destination. Without slot machines, it is one of the few avenues for finding alternative revenue streams. Under discussion are a water park, hotel, two-screen movie theater, retail and commercial space, 36-hole miniature golf course, restaurants, and boardwalk. The horsemen also gain control of the Woodbridge Off-Track Wagering (OTW) facility and plan to add two more within 24 months.

The merger of horsemen and management, often at odds in racing, makes Drazin the most powerful person in New Jersey racing. He was influential in Monmouth’s Breeders’ Cup bid in 2007 and the “Elite Meet,” to name the most prominent cases. This task, however, to turn a profit at a racetrack surrounded by ones that double as casinos, dwarfs those challenges. The horsemen’s association has placed in him its unflinching trust.

“He’s a natural leader, and we’re getting behind him,” said Tim Hills, the veteran trainer and member of the association’s board. He called Drazin a “pitbull” in his negotiating on behalf of the horsemen. “He’s relentless but in a smooth way. Thankfully he’s on our side.”

This year’s schedule is like the last two years – 65 days, mostly three-day weeks, and average daily purses of $400,000, with one notable addition: four cards on Thursdays in August, with first post at 4 p.m. and a large concert following the final race at 7 p.m.

Drazin heads the new management company, Elite Equine Consulting LLC, that will oversee the operation of Monmouth. Drazin is its chairman and general counsel, and Bob Kulina, previously Monmouth’s longtime general manager, is its president. Drazin’s brothers and law partners, Ronald and Brian, will oversee the development of property surrounding Monmouth. Morris Bailey will most likely have a hand in these real-estate deals.

Racegoers will see few visible changes this meet, besides four new video boards and a switch from concessions provider Aramark to a company called Gourmet Dining, with much of the rollout coming sometime in the fall of 2012. That is going at breakneck speed, and Monmouth’s survival depends on it.

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Sandpoint’s Answer to Reality TV

Posted on 10th May 2012 in Hands free access

Sandpoint’s War Memorial Field, located on Lakeview Blvd. on the south end of town and nestled up against the Pend Oreille River, is no stranger to cameras. Between Sandpoint Bulldog Football, Babe Ruth baseball, and the annual Festival at Sandpoint with its star-studded line-up of music under the August sky, cameras are a given.

And the ospreys who call War Memorial Field home are no strangers to cameras—or people—either. In fact, there are many who have observed the birds as they go about their day who would insist these raptors actually ‘pose’ for photographs.

An ongoing renovation of the field resulted in the installation of new light poles, a favored nesting spot for the osprey. The pole on which the osprey cam is mounted was installed last summer, and an existing osprey nest was moved to a platform at its top in August. This location is one of two active nests on the field.

“The opportunity to place a web cam on the Memorial Field nest arose when the city undertook replacement of the aging light poles at the field in Autumn 2011,” explains the crew at Sandpoint Online. “Two of the old poles held osprey nests, and their replacement poles were built with nesting platforms above the light arrays. The new light standards soar 90 feet above the field, and placing the web cam was a project unto itself.” The complete story of how the project came about is available on the website.

Ospreys are raptors—the most widespread raptor in the world, in fact—reaching up to two feet in height and with a wingspan that can spread six feet. Just a few decades ago the osprey, whose population had been decimated by the widespread use of DDT, were on the Endangered Species List. Today, they are a testament to recovery, and the osprey who live at War Memorial Field are an integral part of the Sandpoint experience for many.

Ospreys tend to mate for life, and male and female share in the raising of their young. Their diet consists almost completely of fish, which is why they find this spot next to the river so attractive. They are a diurnal bird, mostly active during daylight hours, though as night begins to fall they can often be observed in their nests, keeping a close eye on life in South Sandpoint. Although ospreys are noted for their apparent tolerance for life in proximity to humans, the ospreys at War Memorial Field seem especially adapted, their elaborate airborne ‘dance’ often triggering applause from those on the field attending an event.

Jane Fink, executive director of Birds of Prey Northwest, is a consulting biologist for the Sandpoint Osprey Cam and will be providing commentary and answering questions about our local birds in the blog that goes along with the osprey cam. She has prepared an extensive Q&A about the birds that is also available online, and includes information such as expected nesting behavior, and how to distinguish between the male and female bird.

Ospreys migrate during the winter to South America, returning in the spring to our area, and Jane writes the raptors, “have a high nest-site fidelity and return to previously existing nest structures each year. You are likely seeing the same pair if you observe two birds early in the season at this nest site.”

Although there was only minimal nesting material on the nest site as the birds returned from their travels, a pair has already made great progress in crafting a new nest atop the light pole in front of the camera.

Jane’s observations of the recent osprey behavior led her to remark: “The female osprey is spending increasing time at the nest and the male has been bringing fish to her regularly.” She goes on to explain more of the process the birds are undertaking as they prepare their nest to receive eggs, which all hope will hatch into the next generation of osprey on the field. Once the female lays eggs, Jane writes, “Some 35-37 days or so will pass and she will begin to incubate after the first egg is laid. She will be relieved of her parental duties by the male daily, as he takes his turn at keeping the eggs warm.”

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Second location of specialty olive oil store and tasting bar opened by former Dell employee

Posted on 9th May 2012 in Hands free access

The famed Greek poet Homer once famously referred to olive oil as “liquid gold.” Throughout time, the aromatic, silky, verdant oil has become more than just a vital and popular means of nourishment. For Jeff Conarko, owner of Con’ Olio Oils & Vinegars, the green oil was the driving force behind a much-desired change in his life.

Twelve years of working in the corporate technology world of Dell had left Conarko eager to traverse a new career path. Though Conarko and his wife Tabatha worked tirelessly day in and day out at Dell, they were able to occasionally venture off on European trips where they would sip Italian wines, eat delicious pizzas and pastas and taste specialty olive oil and aged balsamic vinegars.

It was in Italy specifically where Jeff cultivated a deep interest in and passion for olive oil. “We’ve always been big fans of great olive oil, but [Tabatha and I] could never find anything decent in the U.S.,” Conarko says. “We could find high-quality olive oil in Europe, but we always had to smuggle it back in our luggage if we wanted to have it here. We decided we wanted to bring that concept back home [to Austin].”

In his personal readings and studies of olive oil, Conarko discovered that much of America’s olive oil, especially extra virgin, is often not even real olive oil, and even if it is, it is usually rancid before it is sold on store shelves.

“Europeans only eat their olive oil during the year it’s harvested, and at the end of that year, they either throw it out or sell it to the Americans because we don’t know the difference,” he explains.

Conarko says the book Extra Virginity helped him better understand the workings of America’s availability and distribution of olive oil compared to Europe’s. “What you see on grocery store shelves in most cases isn’t even olive oil; it’s often things like sunflower oil or soybean oil,” he says. “[In fact,] you can slap extra virgin on anything and it doesn’t even have to come from olives.”

When Conarko took the leap and left his job at Dell to open his specialty olive oil store and tasting bar, Con’ Olio Oils & Vinegars, in 2009, he knew it was a risky decision — especially since the economy was at its lowest point in the recession. Yet he saw a void in the food scene and wanted to fill it, so he decided to sell fresh olive oil that was cultivated during each year’s harvest, similar to Europe’s concept.

“We made a big gamble because there were lots of local businesses going under because of the economy,” Conarko admits. “But we recognized that places like Uchi and Uchiko were here and that the food scene was ready for this.” In fact, Conarko believed his store would not only survive – he believed it would be able to expand.

“Austin is a great foodie town, and we thought it was time that people could really appreciate the differences between high-quality olive oil and [generic] olive oil,” he says. “We have so many people thanking us for bringing this concept here.”

When he first opened the store’s doors, Conarko would stand outside handing out tasting samples of the oils to get people to taste the difference between store-bought and gourmet olive oil. He also hosted private events and store classes to teach customers more about the products.

“Once people tried it, they said they’d never back to the olive oil on grocery store shelves. We’re not blowing smoke or hiding our product by sealing it. You can always taste the difference,” he says.

In a few short years, Conarko has grown his store to include 50 products ranging from mild to robust olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars. His product has grown in such high demand and popularity that he and his wife decided to open a downtown store location on Lavaca Street, which opens May 10.

The store will also include 20 additional oils and vinegars. “It was time to expand,” he says.” We want to grow this concept and eventually take it to other cities. My dream is to have a store in Europe one day.”

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Smarter Cars Offer Glimpse of Future for Autos, Marketing

Posted on 8th May 2012 in Hands free access

Swooning over a landscape of sensuous sheet-metal, most visitors to the recent New York International Auto Show most likely passed by a discreet display at the Infiniti stand that showed a glimpse of how man, in the future, will interact with machine — specifically, his automobile.

Meet the concept Infiniti LE, the automobile as gadget. The key components of its elaborate electronics system — navigation, movies, gesture recognition, pupil tracking, fingerprint ignition “keys” — don’t come from a conventional automotive supplier, but from Intel, the folks who brought you the personal computer.

Did we mention cloud-computing access? Video vehicle surveillance? A “Personal Assistant” 24/7 electronic concierge? Intel and Nissan, Infiniti’s parent company, said that many of these technologies will be in place and on the road next year. It’s a long way from the AM radio.

Styling and sex appeal might be the love-at-first-sight factors that sell a fair number of cars, but the fact of automotive marketing life in 2012 is that what’s inside the cockpit — and, in many cases, invisible to its occupants — is crucial, especially in targeting a younger, tech-savvy buyers whose life revolves around their digital devices. Or rather, an affluent, younger tech-savvy buyer, since prices for existing systems are often upward of $2,500.

Global revenue from automotive infotainment components is projected to hit $33.5 billion in 2012, up 3% from 2011, according to a market-tracking report from IHS iSuppli. One auto exec likened the competition in this space to “an arms race … customers are expecting and anticipating this stuff.” Brake assist, lane-departure warning and parking-assist cameras are already offered by several manufacturers, and a cockpit camera in the Mercedes Benz S Class can alert the driver if he appears drowsy.

Intel is also working with BMW and Toyota. “This is really the starting point of us becoming a significant player in the automotive market,” said Tom Steenman, VP for Intel’s intelligent-systems group. “The car is becoming the next big connected mobile device.” To that end, the company recently established a $100 million venture-capital fund to explore advanced uses for its chips.

Cadillac is taking a same-but-different tack from Infiniti with its new CUE. The Cadillac User Experience appropriately premiered not at an auto show, but at the CTIA Wireless Association’s telecommunications show in San Diego.

CUE uses a stunning 8-inch screen that, as with a smartphone, users can swipe, pinch or flick to control navigation, radio, heating and cooling functions. It also has now-obligatory natural-language voice recognition. CUE will sync with up to 10 devices, including your phone. The instruments’ screens are customizable, and the driver will be able to speak the name of a song — “Play ‘I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead’ “– and CUE will find it if it’s stored in the system.

“CUE will be a big part of the way we market the XTS,” a Cadillac sedan arriving next month, said David Caldwell, brand communications manager for the company. It will be standard in the XTS and, eventually will migrate to other models as an option that will probably cost about $2,000. Working with Fallon, Minneapolis, on creative, “visually, we’ll try to get across, if you love the tablet and the smartphone, you’ll like the CUE,” Mr. Caldwell said. TV spots are expected to begin next month, he added.

As far as adding on utilities that would allow drivers to hook up to Facebook, Twitter or other assorted applications, most are sensitive to the specter of distracted-driving issues. CUE, for instance, is preloaded with just a single smartphone-based app to keep the focus on basic navigation, hands-free phone use and some information displays, Mr. Caldwell said.

Fast-forward from these advancements, and you’d presume that the autonomous car can’t be far behind. In fact, Google has tested a fleet of driver-less Toyota Priuses in Nevada that can accelerate, steer and brake automatically using a combination of radar, sonar and laser-detecting devices.

The company said last month that it is in talks with some major automakers. “The most important thing computers can do in the next 10 years is drive a car,” Google Project Manager Anthony Levandowski told a panel at an engineering conference in Detroit.

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Location of Park St. Fire in Stoughton Presents Ironic Twist

Posted on 4th May 2012 in Hands free access

A repairman fixing a basement furnace notices a problem and calls 911.  The fire department arrives on scene within minutes and pulls up to see large amounts of dark smoke pouring out of the roof.

The fire, which was not even visible at the time of the call, has spread from the basement to the third floor of the multi-unit home in a matter of moments.

Some Stoughton Firefighters who fought this blaze, the “34 Park Street Fire,” admit to making mistakes.

In fact, there is one, Lieutenant Jay McNamara, who is actually glad he made mistakes at that fire.

That’s because the fire they battled took place in a trailer and was computer simulated.

The “sim-trailer” at the Massachusetts Fire Academy in Stow is, as Captain Don Jasmin calls it, “the place to make mistakes.”

Ironically, on May 1, the training tool for more than 2,000 firefighters statewide, 34/36 Park Street, did erupt in flames, displacing 17 people, although thankfully there were no injuries or fatalities.

This time, instead of a furnace problem, it was an alarm call to which the department responded.

The cause of this real-life fire was electrical and it started in the ceiling between the 2nd and 3rd floors, according to the State Fire Marshal’s office.

McNamara, who was one of the first firefighters on scene May 1, described the parallels between the two fires saying, “It went from a minimal amount of smoke to a visible fire within 6 minutes…the spread of the fire was basically the same in both scenarios.”

The fact that many firefighters already trained in fighting a fire at this residential building aided their response to the real-life blaze at 34/36 Park St. on May 1.

Sometimes people question the effectiveness of computer-based trainings, but McNamara attests, “Being involved in the [Officer Training] class and having the house in the simulation made me more conscientious of that building and construction.”

Captain Doug Campbell explains the benefits of firefighters, like McNamara, taking the officer training: “The information he conveyed to me was a direct result of him having used the simulator.”

Greg Bourget, a fire investigator with the SFD (who has also trained on 34 Park Street in the simulator) spoke to the building being a “perfect example of a single family [structure] converted into a multi-family home.”

“[A converted home] makes our job harder because what you think is a door isn’t always,” he said.

“The balloon-frame construction is typical for its time,” Captain James Bertram said of the building, which dates back to the late 1800s/early 1900s.

He said that the prevalence and length of lumber at that time was such that one beam would run up an entire wall, therefore allowing the fire to do the same.

“We would have realized it [the balloon frame construction], based on the fire behavior; it just would have taken a little bit longer,” McNamara said.

“We size up every situation we are involved in…the outcome would have probably been the same [but] because of the simulator it gave me an extra minute or two to be aware and convey it to my superior.”

Jasmin, expressed the good fortune of the academy that the 34/36 Park St. building owner gave permission for his colleague, Billy Miller, to take pictures of the entire house for use in the simulator.

“Because we had permission from the property owners at the time to utilize it as a training tool, it made the people on scene more cognizant of what was going on within the structure,” Jasmin said.

Stressing the importance of the 34 Park Street training Jasmin stated, “It covers hundreds of buildings within town based on the timeframe they were built.”

The actual May 1 34/36 Park Street fire demonstrated that not only does the simulator train on how to fight the fire itself, but as Jasmin says, “it lets us know when we have to leave because if we don’t it would be more catastrophic.

Because of the firefighters’ familiarity with the building, Jasmin said, “there was no loss of life or injuries.”

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