Nuance Hit By Shift To 'On Demand' Services [View article]
Just this once, I won't mention the 'G' word.
I've been doing some research into 'patent trolls' and happened across an old article in the New York Times about how Nuance used patents and size to pressure Vlingo into selling themselves cheap. The article missed out some facts like Vlingo buying patents to sue Nuance with, but I think the basic argument stands. While that's grounds for saying Nuance aren't very nice, you probably couldn't accuse them of overpaying. Vlingo had tech for personal assistants.
I'm bringing this up because sometimes Nuance get criticized for too much acquisition. I hope I've got everything right because I'm relying on my unreliable memory and don't have time to check.
BTW I'd love to speak to ads, if I could tell them to go away.
More on MEMC: The Nikkei reports MEMC's SunEdison unit and Toshiba (TOSBF.PK) have landed deals to build Japanese solar plants, with SunEdison selling the power generated by the facilities. Toshiba is said to be in talks to build 4 or 5 "megasolar" plants. The Japanese government launched an aggressive solar subsidy program last year. [View news story]
"Hours of sunshine range between 4.4 hours per day in October and 6.6 hours per day in August."
There Is A Lot To Like About Celldex Therapeutics [View article]
Thanks for the article. I'm trying to avoid cash-burners, but I'm tempted.
CDX-1401 looks similar to the tech of a small UK company called Scancell. They don't actually say the treatment they're trialling is 'in vivo', but they say:
"Several groups have demonstrated successful vaccination by growing dendritic cells ex vivo..."
IPG Photonics: A Disruptive Innovator [View article]
Hi Rochelle
Sorry I'm late, I wrote a long blog about IPG http://bit.ly/Y8QfhE (probably unread) during which I got behind with my email, and have only just worked back to the alert for this article.
I don't consider fiber lasers to be disruptive. They weren't the classic case, as competitors did not retreat up-market, or go bust. Fiber lasers aren't as different from other lasers as cellphones are from landlines, or autos are from horses. That's just my opinion, and you probably know more about Christenson's theories than I do. Anyway, IPG have made a lot from their first mover advantage, helped by competitors' doubts about the technology. Competitors are now catching up in fiber, but while Trumpf claim to be vertically integrated, they don't seem to have achieved this so far in fiber.
Time will tell if newer laser technology gets the 'disruptive innovation' label (apart from the companies touting it). I'm thinking of recent developments in beam combining (which is old). They're mentioned in my blog, and can be found by searching in it for 'TeraDiode'. Alternatively look into TeraDiode, DirectPhotonics, BRIDLE project and apodized combiner.
Curing Parkinson's: The Alternative Approach - Is There Money To Be Made? [View article]
SORRY! I got that completely wrong, ReNeuron's treatment is for strokes, not Parkinson's disease. Their ReN004 therapy for Parkinson's disease had candidate stem cell lines in 2007 but I can't find any current activity regarding it, on their website or elsewhere.
Curing Parkinson's: The Alternative Approach - Is There Money To Be Made? [View article]
I don't know if anyone's interested, but there's a tiny UK company with a stem cell treatment for Parkinsons, currently applying for multi-site stage 2 clinical trials.
then skip down to 'Regulatory', stories near the top include:
"Dosing completed in ReNeuron's Phase I clinical trial in stroke" 27 March 2013
"ReNeuron and Cell Therapy Catapult in landmark collaboration on new cell manufacturing technologies" 28 March 2013
(Catapult is a government funding scheme.)
I'd advise much caution about buying any UK listed cash-burners, especially small ones, and especially if they're listed on AIM or anything other than the London Stock Exchange main market.
Neonode Officially, Yet Subtly, Proclaims Windows 8 Compliance [View article]
I just bought some. I made a right mess of it because I got bored with watching the price, and I got my math wrong (I'm UK based and have to do some math for US shares). I didn't want to buy much but I ended up getting even less. BTW it opened with a huge spread, nearly $1. I checked it was the same on Yahoo but it was a while before I though of doing that.
Neonode Officially, Yet Subtly, Proclaims Windows 8 Compliance [View article]
No problem clifk. I can't be sure the MultiSensing tech is similar, unless someone can confirm it.
zForce is based on rows and columns, and when one finger touches, it's unambiguous where the touch is, because it's where the rows and columns intersect. If you touch at two spots, and they aren't in the same row or same column, it's ambiguous where the screen is touched. If that's not clear I can explain using coordinates. The ambiguity can be resolved by tracking, so the controller remembers where the first touch occurred. I don't know if intelligent tracking can handle ten touches using just rows and columns. One possibility is that diagonal lines are used (with a set of LEDs shining diagonally into photoreceptors). That should make it easier to resolve which spots are touched, but I don't know if that's feasable or necessary, it's just my wild guess.
Here's another wild guess. They mention proximity sensing, but I don't know if it's anything to do with MultiSensing. But maybe the MultiSensing has a proximity detector, and the LEDs (and as much circuitry as possible) get switched on when a finger is near, to save power. However the only proximity sensor I know of works on capacitance, which I think won't work with all materials, which would limit what a stylus could be made from. I'm not an engineer and these guesses could be way out. It would be great if anyone can post how it really works.
Neonode Officially, Yet Subtly, Proclaims Windows 8 Compliance [View article]
Does the cost actually depend on the perimeter? It looks like that's the case for their zForce which has LEDs and photoreceptors around the edge. (The diagram I found for zForce on touchscreenstoday http://bit.ly/10gaCdL has comments dated 2010).
2 Major Catalysts For Nuance: Carl Icahn And Voice Ads [View article]
I agree about the acquisition strategy, but I wish I was clever enough to figure out the general synergies and economies of scale. The trend for more sophisticated learning means more data is needed for it, and that needs to be factored in somehow. There's so much I don't know, but at least I know I don't know it.
If they have to invest to keep up, you can argue that the required investment reduces the amount they're really earning, but that ignores the payoff if they manage to stay in front in a growing market.
Does anyone know if WiMAX is a serious threat? From twenty minutes of browsing it looks like there's interest in third world and emerging-economy countries, and a small company called ClearWire which was supposed to make money from WiMAX probably hasn't as the share price dived.
Intel's New Atom Represents 'Thermonuclear War' On Samsung [View article]
I've checked my new table and can't find an Intel processor anywhere :)
Nuance Hit By Shift To 'On Demand' Services [View article]
I've been doing some research into 'patent trolls' and happened across an old article in the New York Times about how Nuance used patents and size to pressure Vlingo into selling themselves cheap. The article missed out some facts like Vlingo buying patents to sue Nuance with, but I think the basic argument stands. While that's grounds for saying Nuance aren't very nice, you probably couldn't accuse them of overpaying. Vlingo had tech for personal assistants.
I'm bringing this up because sometimes Nuance get criticized for too much acquisition. I hope I've got everything right because I'm relying on my unreliable memory and don't have time to check.
BTW I'd love to speak to ads, if I could tell them to go away.
More on MEMC: The Nikkei reports MEMC's SunEdison unit and Toshiba (TOSBF.PK) have landed deals to build Japanese solar plants, with SunEdison selling the power generated by the facilities. Toshiba is said to be in talks to build 4 or 5 "megasolar" plants. The Japanese government launched an aggressive solar subsidy program last year. [View news story]
japan.climatemps http://bit.ly/17veM2y
There Is A Lot To Like About Celldex Therapeutics [View article]
CDX-1401 looks similar to the tech of a small UK company called Scancell. They don't actually say the treatment they're trialling is 'in vivo', but they say:
"Several groups have demonstrated successful vaccination by growing dendritic cells ex vivo..."
then say they've overcome present limitations.
http://bit.ly/Z57ZfQ
I don't know much about cancer treatment, so can anyone tell me if Scancell's tech is like CDX-1401, and if so, is one better than the other?
IPG Photonics: A Disruptive Innovator [View article]
Sorry I'm late, I wrote a long blog about IPG http://bit.ly/Y8QfhE (probably unread) during which I got behind with my email, and have only just worked back to the alert for this article.
I don't consider fiber lasers to be disruptive. They weren't the classic case, as competitors did not retreat up-market, or go bust. Fiber lasers aren't as different from other lasers as cellphones are from landlines, or autos are from horses. That's just my opinion, and you probably know more about Christenson's theories than I do. Anyway, IPG have made a lot from their first mover advantage, helped by competitors' doubts about the technology. Competitors are now catching up in fiber, but while Trumpf claim to be vertically integrated, they don't seem to have achieved this so far in fiber.
Time will tell if newer laser technology gets the 'disruptive innovation' label (apart from the companies touting it). I'm thinking of recent developments in beam combining (which is old). They're mentioned in my blog, and can be found by searching in it for 'TeraDiode'. Alternatively look into TeraDiode, DirectPhotonics, BRIDLE project and apodized combiner.
Thanks for helping to get some interest in IPG.
Curing Parkinson's: The Alternative Approach - Is There Money To Be Made? [View article]
Curing Parkinson's: The Alternative Approach - Is There Money To Be Made? [View article]
If you go here: http://bit.ly/YC5Mbx
then skip down to 'Regulatory', stories near the top include:
"Dosing completed in ReNeuron's Phase I clinical trial in stroke" 27 March 2013
"ReNeuron and Cell Therapy Catapult in landmark collaboration on new cell manufacturing technologies" 28 March 2013
(Catapult is a government funding scheme.)
I'd advise much caution about buying any UK listed cash-burners, especially small ones, and especially if they're listed on AIM or anything other than the London Stock Exchange main market.
Neonode Officially, Yet Subtly, Proclaims Windows 8 Compliance [View article]
Neonode Officially, Yet Subtly, Proclaims Windows 8 Compliance [View article]
zForce is based on rows and columns, and when one finger touches, it's unambiguous where the touch is, because it's where the rows and columns intersect. If you touch at two spots, and they aren't in the same row or same column, it's ambiguous where the screen is touched. If that's not clear I can explain using coordinates. The ambiguity can be resolved by tracking, so the controller remembers where the first touch occurred. I don't know if intelligent tracking can handle ten touches using just rows and columns. One possibility is that diagonal lines are used (with a set of LEDs shining diagonally into photoreceptors). That should make it easier to resolve which spots are touched, but I don't know if that's feasable or necessary, it's just my wild guess.
Here's another wild guess. They mention proximity sensing, but I don't know if it's anything to do with MultiSensing. But maybe the MultiSensing has a proximity detector, and the LEDs (and as much circuitry as possible) get switched on when a finger is near, to save power. However the only proximity sensor I know of works on capacitance, which I think won't work with all materials, which would limit what a stylus could be made from. I'm not an engineer and these guesses could be way out. It would be great if anyone can post how it really works.
Neonode Officially, Yet Subtly, Proclaims Windows 8 Compliance [View article]
2 Major Catalysts For Nuance: Carl Icahn And Voice Ads [View article]
If they have to invest to keep up, you can argue that the required investment reduces the amount they're really earning, but that ignores the payoff if they manage to stay in front in a growing market.
Caveat Emptor Beckons [View article]
Long Atmel and Carclo.
Is Vodafone Worth $245 Billion? AT&T And Verizon May Think So [View article]
http://bit.ly/Z2dIzp
Does anyone know if WiMAX is a serious threat? From twenty minutes of browsing it looks like there's interest in third world and emerging-economy countries, and a small company called ClearWire which was supposed to make money from WiMAX probably hasn't as the share price dived.
I'm long Vodafone.
Icahn's Play For Nuance Is Anything But Subtle [View article]
2 Major Catalysts For Nuance: Carl Icahn And Voice Ads [View article]
"The Era Of Intelligent Voice Technology - An Opportune Time To Invest In Nuance" Mar 4 2013 http://bit.ly/10prOgI
I'm long Nuance.