ECN Magazine News

Rice unveils method for tailoring optical processors

mbarnes — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:10:30 +0000

Arranging nanoparticles in geometric patterns allows for control of light with light

Mouser Electronics’ President and CEO Glenn Smith celebrates 40 years of service

Jason Lomberg — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:16:06 +0000

Mouser Electronics announced the 40th company anniversary milestone of Glenn Smith, Mouser’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

In 1973, Pong was cutting edge in the world of video games, music came on eight-track tapes, TV viewing was limited to three networks, and Glenn Smith was a college kid who went to work part-time in the warehouse of what was little more than a mom and pop electronics catalog start-up in San Diego. Smith was one of just 12 employees.

New technique may open up an era of atomic-scale semiconductor devices

mbarnes — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:03:41 +0000

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for creating high-quality semiconductor thin films at the atomic scale – meaning the films are only one atom thick. The technique can be used to create these thin films on a large scale, sufficient to coat wafers that are two inches wide, or larger.

Internet cable from Cuba to Jamaica comes online

mbarnes — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:55:44 +0000

HAVANA (AP) — A new branch of the Venezuela-to-Cuba undersea fiber-optic cable has reportedly come online, linking the island to nearby Jamaica, increasing Cuba's potential international communications bandwidth and providing a backup for the main line.

Doug Madory of Internet analysis firm Renesys told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he detected new traffic between Cuban state telecom monopoly Etecsa and Cable & Wireless Jamaica beginning May 13.

With high-tech guns, users could disable remotely

mbarnes — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:51:50 +0000

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A high-tech startup is wading into the gun control debate with a wireless controller that would allow gun owners to know when their weapon is being moved — and disable it remotely.

The technology, but not an actual gun, was demonstrated Tuesday at a wireless technology conference in Las Vegas and was shown to The Associated Press in advance. It comes at a time when lawmakers around the U.S. are considering contentious smart gun laws that would require new guns to include high-tech devices that limit who can fire them.

First Look: New Xbox elegant, but much unknown

mbarnes — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:47:56 +0000

Sony mulls hedge fund's entertainment sale idea

mbarnes — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:42:16 +0000

TOKYO (AP) — Sony's CEO Kazuo Hirai says the electronics giant's board will discuss a proposal by U.S.

Solar plane departs Phoenix on 2nd leg of US trip

mbarnes — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:36:13 +0000

PHOENIX (AP) — A solar-powered plane is flying from Arizona to Texas on the second leg of a trip across the United States.

The Solar Impulse is making the first attempt by a solar airplane capable of flying day and night without fuel to fly across the U.S.

The plane took off from Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport at 4:47 a.m. local time Wednesday and is scheduled to arrive in Dallas early Thursday morning.

Pilot Andre Borschebrg is one of the plane's creators along with Bertrand Piccard.

Median CEO pay rises to $9.7 million in 2012

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:43:23 +0000

CEO pay has been going one direction for the past three years: up.

The head of a typical large public company made $9.7 million in 2012, a 6.5 percent increase from a year earlier that was aided by a rising stock market, according to an analysis by The Associated Press using data from Equilar, an executive pay research firm.

CEO pay, which fell two years straight during the Great Recession but rose 24 percent in 2010 and 6 percent in 2011, has never been higher.

EU leaders discuss fight against tax evasion

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:32:43 +0000

European Union leaders on Wednesday sought to advance their fight against tax fraud and close the loopholes for large corporations' tax avoidance schemes.

European officials say tax fraud costs the 27-nation bloc an estimated 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) a year at a time when much of the bloc is in recession and governments are forced to tighten their budgets despite record unemployment.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said the EU has to be sure "that companies pay taxes and that means international collaboration, sharing of tax information."