This time, it is against something critical to running our businesses, not a strictly automation related patent. NTP, the world's largest patent troll, has won again in its share-the-wealth case against Research In Motion, the inventors of the Blackberry. I've got one, everybody darn near that works for Honeywell, and other big companies are issued one, and my Blackberry makes … [Read more...] about The Patent Trolls Strike Again…
A Very Important Web Seminar
If you are looking beyond the plant floor, you have to have been paying attention to Microsoft, SAP and Oracle's announced intention to support S95 as the enterprise integration standard. Now that the eleventy-million pound gorillas have lined up in ISA's backcourt, we can expect to see a real integration standard take shape. ISA is offering a very important web seminar on … [Read more...] about A Very Important Web Seminar
The PR Wall of Shame
I've decided that it is time to stop pillorying PR firms for sending me really bad press releases. Instead, I'm going to try to teach you all (and in your hearts of hearts, you know who you are) how to do it properly. This will benefit your clients, the automation vendors. But more importantly, it will benefit my readers, the automation system end users and integrators. If I … [Read more...] about The PR Wall of Shame
Rich Merritt on Schneider–
From Senior Technical Editor Rich Merritt: I have a soft spot in my heart for Square D. Back in the 1980s, in another lifetime, in another career, I was the PR account exec for Square D's PR agency. We had replaced Square D's long-time agency, and it was our assignment to beef up Square D's image, improve market share, and obtain sales leads. We did all that in spades, more or … [Read more...] about Rich Merritt on Schneider–
Where, oh where, has Modicon gone?
Not content with losing nearly all of Modicon's North American market share to Allen-Bradley, Schneider appears bent on destroying the second-best known brand of PLC in the world. The brand, that is. Schneider is careful to say that they will continue to be manufacturing Modicon as a brand of Telemechanique PLC. The Modicon website is dead. What IS it with automation vendors … [Read more...] about Where, oh where, has Modicon gone?
