USAF testing new transparent armor – Transparent Aluminium
Posted in Other Stuff on October 18, 2005 BY editor
Engineers at the Wright-Patterson Air Base, Ohio (AFPN) are testing a new kind of transparent armor — stronger and lighter than traditional materials — that could stop armor-piercing weapons from penetrating vehicle windows. The Air Force Research Laboratory’s materials and manufacturing directorate is testing aluminum oxynitride — ALONtm — as a replacement for the traditional multi-layered glass transparencies now used in existing ground and air armored vehicles. The test is being done in conjunction with the Army Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., and University of Dayton Research Institute, Ohio.
“The substance itself is light years ahead of glass,” he said, adding that it offers “higher performance and lighter weight.”
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Nokia announced today that its Networks business group has completed a data call as part of its WiMAX (802.16e) development program. The error free call was made between computing and baseband modules at Nokia’s research and development facility in Germany according to Nokia’s WiMAX development timetable, and was conducted on a high-speed pre-product test platform. Nokia will be expanding to WiMAX trials during 2006. The WiMAX e-version will offer nomadic and portable mobility, providing fast data connections for consumers and business users. Nokia sees the WiMAX e-version as a complement to 3GPP technology, or deployed as a stand-alone data network.
Panasonic today announced four new D-snap Audio digital audio players and two micro stereo systems that offer ubiquity and usability of the SD Memory Card. The new SD stereo systems are the world’s first CD and FM/AM radio players featuring a large-capacity built-in hard disk drive (HDD) with an SD Memory Card slot. Without using a computer, users can load up to 40,000 songs on the HDD and copy favorite tunes on SD Memory Cards instantly and enjoy them with the D-snap Audio player wherever and whenever they like. All the new SD audio products will be released to the Japanese market on November 19. The new D-snap Audio players, the SV-SD750V, SV-SD700, SV-SD350V and SV-SD300, offer clear and dynamic sound thanks to Panasonic’s D.sound Engine LSI that incorporates digital amplifier, re-master and personal surround sound functions as well as four equalizers on a single chip. The LSI enables reproducing sound as close to the original as possible. The SD750V and SD700 come with double-drive in-ear earphones that employ two separate drivers for low-range and mid- and high-range frequencies to deliver balanced, high-quality sound.
The wireless head phone “HP-W80” from JVC uses analog infrared ray transmission and consists of head phone and the transmitter section. The head phone section weighs 105gms (including the battery) it the lightest wireless headset available in the market. The open air type headphone unit with 30mm diameter uses high magnetic force neodymium magnet and CCAW voice coil adoption for quality playback. The playback frequency is in between 20Hz – 24 kHz and the headphone range is 7 meters. When the headphone is out of range the “automatic muting function” Cuts of the noise. The headphone is charged via the transmitter. Also you can use a single A4 size alkaline cell. It takes roughly 24 hours for a full charge which lasts for approximately 30 hours. The A4 Alkaline cell can be used up to 50 hours. The transmitter weighs approximately 150 grams. The HP-W80 will be available from November 1st for 5,000 Yen ($ 45)
Olympus has introduced its first flash memory type music players in the m:robe series. The new m:robe MR-F10, m:robe MR-F20 and m:robe MR-F30 features organic electroluminescent colour displays for vivid colour reproduction, wide viewing angle, fast response and excellent LCD visibility. The players are equipped with WOW sound enhancement technology which enables users to enjoy 3D audio experience with impressive bass, and rich, clear sound reproduction. The drag-and-drop support enables files to be transferred to players without the installation of additional software. There is a direct encoding function for easy recording from CD and MD players. The m:robe MR-F10 and m:robe MR-F20 comes with a 65,000-colour organic electroluminescent display, while the m:robe MR-F30 comes with a 260,000-colour organic electroluminescent display that offers vivid colour reproduction. Compact m:robe MR-F20 (32 grams) and m:robe MR-F30 (40 grams) allow users to download JPEG images from a personal computer and view them while listening to music. In addition, they have a built-in FM tuner with an aircheck function for recording radio broadcasts.
Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology (TMDisplay) recently announced mass production of an 11.1-inch wide-format low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) TFT LCD panel using a new LED backlighting system for use in notebook PC applications. This approach results in a module with a thickness of just 2.75mm (at the thickest part), which is about one-half the thickness of existing notebook panel modules that use cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) backlighting. This new LCD can fully display DVD movies and TV program and motion picture content with high image quality, the company stated. TMDisplay is planning to complete a lineup of extremely thin, lightweight, and low power displays especially designed to support the performance requirements of mobile PC applications.
Konica Minolta introduced the bizhub C450P. With print speeds of 35 pages-per-minute (ppm) color and 45 ppm B&W, the bizhub C450P is the fastest full-color printer with 12″ x 18″ print size capability (305 x 449 mm image area). The bizhub C450P is ideal for color-oriented offices that are interested in a high speed, high quality printer with advanced finishing capabilities, including saddle-stitch booklet making, folding, and two- and three-hole punching. The bizhub C450P is available through Konica Minolta’s North American direct sales, authorized dealer and value-added reseller channels. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) for the bizhub C450P is $11,995.
Maxtor has 
Motorola, Inc. is entering into the commercial off-the-shelf rugged handheld mobile computing market with the HC700-L. The first in a series, the HC700-L is designed to meet the demands of mobile workforces in a variety of industries including utility, transportation, logistics, public works, public services and manufacturing. Part of Motorola’s new HC700 family of rugged mobile computers, the HC700-L handheld features an Intel Bulverde Xscale processor running at 416MHz, a color touch-screen display, an omni-directional area imager for ID/2D barcode imaging, both Wi-Fi (wireless LAN) and Bluetooth communications capabilities and it operates on the Microsoft Windows Mobile platform or Windows CE .Net.