Mediaboss Marketing

Eases Use of Fully Integrated Ambient Light and Proximity Sensors in Devices Running Android 4.0.1 or Higher

MALVERN, Pa. Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (NYSE: VSH) today announced the availability of free Android software designed to simplify the use of the company's VCNL4020 and VCNL3020 integrated proximity and ambient light sensors in any mobile device running Android 4.0.1 software or higher. The VCNLx020 Android software significantly reduces the time needed to program an Android device for use with the VCNL4020 and VCNL3020, eliminating the need for debugging and simplifying the overall adoption of Vishay's digital IC-enabled optical sensors.

In devices such as smartphones, ambient light sensors optimize the visibility of the LCD display by allowing the backlight to adjust its brightness automatically based on surrounding light levels. The proximity sensor is used to turn off the backlight of the display and disable the touch functionality when the phone is brought next to the user's ear, preventing his or her cheek from ending a call accidentally. Both types of sensors are designed to reduce power consumption and extend battery life in mobile electronics. For these devices, the Vishay Semiconductors VCNL4020 and VCNL3020 are fully integrated solutions, containing an infrared emitter and photo detector for proximity sensing, an ambient light sensor (VCNL4020), and signal processing, all in a single surface-mount package.

The VCNLx020 Android software package includes the documentation, source code, and patch files required to allow an Android-based platform to communicate with the VCNL4020 or VCNL3020. This communication follows the standard Android sensors framework. The supplied Android VCNL4020 driver consists of two parts: the kernel module responsible for the data control and acquisition from the VCNL4020 and the subsequent HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) module to link the kernel to the main Android framework, allowing the information supplied by the sensor to be used by Android applications. To demonstrate this, a demo Android app is included (VCNL40x0-DemoApp.apk), along with its associated source code, which can serve as a base for building user-specific Android applications.

The VCNLx020 Android software package can be downloaded for free, after registration on Vishay's website, by clicking on the Android robot at http://www.vishay.com/optical-sensors/.

Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., a Fortune 1,000 Company listed on the NYSE (VSH), is one of the world's largest manufacturers of discrete semiconductors (diodes, MOSFETs, and infrared optoelectronics) and passive electronic components (resistors, inductors, and capacitors). These components are used in virtually all types of electronic devices and equipment, in the industrial, computing, automotive, consumer, telecommunications, military, aerospace, power supplies, and medical markets. Vishay's product innovations, successful acquisition strategy, and "one-stop shop" service have made it a global industry leader. Vishay can be found on the Internet at http://www.vishay.com.

Android is a trademark of Google Inc.

http://twitter.com/vishayindust http://www.facebook.com/VishayIntertechnology

Editorial Contact: Bob Decker Redpines Telephone: 1 415 409 0233 Fax: 1 650 618 1512 Email: bob.decker@redpinesgroup.com

Originally posted here:
Vishay Intertechnology's Free Android(TM) Software Simplifies Adoption of VCNL4020 and ...

NYLUG Presents: Stefano Zacchiroli on Debian: 20 Years and Counting (March 20, 2013)
The slides for this talk are available here: http://upsilon.cc/~zack/talks/2013/20130320-nylug.pdf) Debian is one of the eldest Free and Open Source Softwar...

By: NYLUG

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NYLUG Presents: Stefano Zacchiroli on Debian: 20 Years and Counting (March 20, 2013) - Video

By J. Daniel Pearson For the News-Gazette

After last weeks heavy rains caused a two-day postponement of his teams 7A-2 regional quarterfinal game with St. Cloud, Osceola High baseball coach Scott Birchler was worried about his teams focus when the game finally was played Saturday afternoon.

I could not be prouder of our kids," Birchler said. We had to postpone this thing twice and this time of year is tough because kids are thinking about prom, graduation, the end of school and about a million other things. I was hoping they would put that aside and come out focused and thats what happened.

After pitcher Jake Grenus retired St. Cloud in the top of the first on just six pitches, Osceola wasted little time in grabbing a 5-0 lead. Hadrian Cortes and Armen Calilao led off the inning with back-to-back doubles. Edwin Bonilla brought home the first run of the game with a groundout before Bay McIntosh scored Calilao with a double. Omar Colon then hit a massive three-run homer to deep left center.

Big innings in your first at-bat really can build some momentum, Birchler added. After Omars home run, everything seemed to snowball from there.

The Bulldogs, 16-13, did fight back. Chris Caballeros solo home run in the second made it 5-1. In the top of the third, St. Cloud managed to scratch out another run as Chase Ritters two-out, bloop single to center scored Sean Anderson.

But in the bottom of the third, it was some sloppy play by the Bulldogs and a little luck by the Kowboys that quickly squashed any momentum St. Cloud was building. Osceola added two runs without hitting the ball hard. A hit batter, a throwing error on a bunt attempt, a walk and a two-run single by Cortes that barely found the outfield grass made it a 7-2 game.

Osceolas big bats provided the final margin in the bottom of the fourth. Bonilla opened the inning with a double and came around to score on McIntoshs second double of the game. Tony Lima made it 9-2 with a sharp single and after Rod Weismore walked, freshman Frank Toro hammered a home run to dead center field to make it 12-2.

Grenus retired the side in order in the fifth to pick up a complete game win. For the contest, Grenus allowed just two runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out four. Jake really didnt have his best stuff today, Birchler said. But he had a nice rhythm on the mound and worked through it.

For the Kowboys, 19-5, Cortes led the way with three hits and an RBI. St. Cloud ace Abel Del Valle took the loss, giving up nine runs (seven earned), on eight hits, three walks and five strikeouts in three and a third innings of work.

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OHS rolls into baseball semifinal round

One of the things Buffett consistently refers to when evaluating the quality of a business is the amount of cash it produces relative to the amount of cash it needs to maintain the business. Buffett calls this cash flow that is produced "owner earnings", which is basically free cash flow. Buffett defines owner earnings as the cash flow a business produces less the capital expenditures a business has for maintaining the business (he excludes growth capex).

Free cash flow is the easiest way to approximate Buffett's "owner earnings" definition, and in some ways it's more conservative because it typically includes both maintenance and growth capex.

For weeks, I've noticed that Check Point Software (CHKP) has been at the top of the list in Value Line's weekly "Biggest Free Flow Cash Generators" screen. CHKP has generated an astounding 71 times more cash than it has needed to invest back into the business (more than two times the ratio of the next highest stock). That is an incredible cash flow machine.

Check Point is a leading provider of software that protects computer networks from malicious attacks. I haven't done any detailed research on the business itself, and it's not extremely cheap, but from an EV/FCF basis, it looks somewhat attractive, especially given the incredible growth the company has experienced. In the last 10 years, here are the average annual growth rates:

Here are some of the key metrics:

Free Cash Flow

Look at the incredible amount of operating cash flow relative to the capital spending, which of course leads to significant free cash flow. The company is currently priced at around 9 times free cash flow (using EV/FCF), which is excellent in and of itself. But it has grown its free cash flow at an average rate of 16.7% per year over the last 10 years.

This FCF has allowed the company to buy back about 20% of it's shares over the past decade, a trend that will likely continue. The company pays no dividend, but given the extremely high internal returns it generates, that is actually a positive for shareholders. Better to keep the money in the business to continue compounding.

Margins

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Check Point Software (CHKP) is a Free Cash Flow Machine

Twine, easy-to-use free software, brings interactive-fiction game development to the people.

These days, regular folks across the world are using free software to easily create homespun music, Webisodes, and movies, so why not interactive fiction? A little program called Twine (download for Windows or Mac) that brings a DIY ethos to text-based Web games has slowly emerged as a huge player in the indie-game scene. If you're new to Twine, it's freeware that lets users develop their own interactive stories and games. It enables players to determine their own adventures by clicking on hyperlinks scattered throughout the text.

Originally developed by Chris Klimas, Twine has been used by myriad storytellers to great effect. A directory site called TwineHub lets users upload their completed stories and games for the enjoyment of others, and it is packed to the gills with submissions. From the teeming mass of Twine games, I've selected a few of the best or most interesting:

Howling Dogs (by Porpentine)

Opening scene from Howling Dogs

Bklyn Trash King (by Ben Esposito)

Opening scene from Bklyn Trash King

Hypnagogue (by Mitch Alexander)

Opening scene from Hypnagogue

If any of the above stories inspire you to create your own Twine game, then download the freeware and follow these simple directions:

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Choose your Twine adventure