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CeBIT 2008 – Hannover, 4-9 March
Product pirates who ‘board’ companies with the intention of looting their know-how really do know all the tricks of their trade. However, thanks to innovative new research, they could soon find themselves left completely high and dry. At CeBIT 2008 in Hannover, WIBU-SYSTEMS AG, developer of the Codemeter protection technology, is presenting the Pro-Protect research project. The project is supported by industry association Bitkom and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the “Innovation against Product Piracy” program.
WIBU-SYSTEMS AG coordinates Homag, ZSK Stickmaschinen, GIS and the Karlsruhe Research Center for Information Technology in the search for effective protection for complete supply chains. As part of this project, Codemeter is set to stop product pirates in their tracks. Codemeter can both store production data, service records and documents and control different machine configurations.
WIBU-SYSTEMS AG
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Computer chips deliver a massive amount of computing power, but they also output a significant amount of power in the form of heat, i.e. energy that has so far simply gone to waste. In fact, as computers must be cooled to avoid overheating, the end result is that even more power is consumed.
At CeBIT 2008, researchers from the IBM Research Laboratory are unveiling a pioneering model for an emission-free data center that aims to put an end to this energy wastage. They intend to achieve this using an intelligent energy and cooling cycle based on a sophisticated new water cooling system implemented directly in the chip.
Water-cooling delivers significant energy savings in comparison to conventional air-cooling systems, as water is able to dissipate considerably more heat. However, this “eco-data center” has a further energy-saving string to its bow. It feeds the unused heat energy generated during operation into a district-heating distribution system. At present, this process is able to reclaim three-quarters of the energy necessary to operate the data center. In future, the system should be able to reclaim and reuse all the energy produced, allowing the data center to operate emission-free.
IBM Deutschland GmbH
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At CeBIT 2008, computer scientists from the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg) are transforming conventional cell phones and smartphones into video conferencing devices. They are using the world’s first software solution that can encode video streams in the leading H.264/SVC format in real time. The standard software enables people on the move to make video calls at any time without needing special hardware or having to sign up to a specific provider.
What makes this solution truly innovative is the fact that, until now, cell phones have only been able to play back films. This is done using video compression, i.e. reducing the data volume. However, on mobile devices with low computing power, this is a time-consuming and laborious process that results in inconvenient delays when it comes to video phoning. In contrast, the special video encoding featured in this new software enables compression to be carried out in real time. This cuts costs and also allows flexible use of this new innovation in standard devices.
Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften Hamburg
The sleek and streamlined ranks of Formula 1 racers have been swelled by a new companion – at CeBIT 2008, Acer is revealing a new product that is pure dynamite. The Ferrari 1100 notebook has some truly impressive technology under the hood, including a 12 inch screen, Dolby surround sound via loudspeakers and a Radeon X1250 graphics card from Ati. With all this first-class equipment, virtual racing will really give you that pole position buzz!
The bodywork is also worthy of a trophy. As you would expect from a Ferrari, the laptop casing is made of carbon fibre and embossed with the famous horse logo. What’s more, this machine really can brighten up your life even in the dark – the display uses backlight technology to deliver even more brilliant colour.
Acer Computer GmbH
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If you have a DSL connection for fast Internet access and a FRITZ! box for your wireless home network, then the new FRITZ! Mini from AVM could be just what you’re looking for. At CeBIT 2008, you can see and hear how this handy little wonder of communication technology uses WLAN to the full.
The FRITZ! Mini is first and foremost a cordless telephone for landline or Internet telephony. However, when you try this, you may be surprised by just how convenient and comfortable Internet telephony can be. Whether you want to utilize call holding, call forwarding or three-party calling, it’s no problem with VoiP and the FRITZ! Mini. This Internet telephony solution delivers voice quality equal to that of a landline thanks to a high-quality 16 kHz broadband codec.
The FRITZ! Mini is also ideal if you’re one of those people who prefer to listen rather than chat. It can play back anything from a PC or the Internet and you can listen to podcasts and your MP3 collection using either headphones or your stereo system. And if you’re someone who finds silence is golden, you can simply use the FRITZ! Mini as an e-mail inbox that you can access without even switching the PC on.
AVM Computersysteme Vertriebs GmbH
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There are so many things that people with asthma have to consider in everyday life. One of these is keeping a diary of any breathing difficulties they may experience as this is the only way doctors can ensure treatment is tailored specifically to the needs of the patient. At CeBIT 2008, the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits is displaying an extraordinary T-shirt that could save patients the trouble of keeping a written diary by delivering the relevant data directly to their doctor.
The T-shirt is fitted with the newly developed RespiSENS measurement system that can monitor the speed and strength of the wearer’s breathing. The system operates using respiration straps, conductors integrated into the T-shirt in a zig-zag pattern across the wearer’s chest and stomach. Each time the rib cage expands, the straps emit an electrical signal. The raw data is then transmitted to a small module that processes the information before transferring it to a PDA. This acts as a “digital assistant” to the patient. The doctor is able to check the data collected by the PDA to build up a clear picture of how the patient’s health is progressing and, if necessary, adjust his or her medication.
Fraunhofer-Institut für Integrierte Schaltungen IIS
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Are my finances in good order? These days, this is a key question for many of us. Scientists at Saarland University can now help you find the answer at CeBIT 2008 using their new Life Charts software.
Life Charts is complex software developed specifically for personal financial planning. The program carries out a personal finance check to create a snapshot of a private household’s current financial situation. It then determines how to establish a secure financial basis and organize appropriate provision for the future. This process includes the analysis of various issues such as taxes, accumulation of assets and portfolio optimization.
The next step involves monitoring whether this plan is subsequently put into practice. Any account activity is imported automatically while current interest rates and data from savings banks and insurance companies, for example, can also be included in the analysis online.
Each user can stipulate his or her personal financial planning goals. Someone who is prepared to take certain risks will manage their capital very differently from a family man who is focused on financial security, for example. Various specialist modules for personal financial planning are available as software components – topics include recommendations for dealing with securities and comparisons of financial products. Life Charts can then simulate and analyze the impact an individual’s decisions will have on their financial situation.
At CeBIT 2008, Q-Soft is showcasing Q/M/S TV, a system that can provide top-quality digital television and radio programs to all computers connected to a local network.
The system consists of an appliance, server software and client software and delivers a high-quality picture that is indistinguishable from that of a conventional TV. It receives several hundred TV programs from across the globe and provides all the functions of a television set, including integrated teletext, electronic program guide and digital video recorder. And if you want to access and enjoy the wide range of applications this system has to offer, an existing data network is all you need.
Q/M/S TV receives the digital signal either via cable, DVB-T (terrestrial) or satellite before simply transmitting it to an unlimited number of computers via the local area network (LAN). The Q/M/S TV system was originally developed for use in media centers, hotels, hospitals, care and residential homes, public institutions and educational establishments.
Q-SOFT GmbH
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Your sales are really taking off, your customer base is expanding and your product portfolio is growing rapidly – with all this going on, you may well find that your conventional financial management system is struggling to cope. The expandable controlling software Summa One Version 5.0 – on show at CeBIT 2008 in Hannover – allows you to easily import monthly performance data from all current financial management systems.
According to manufacturer LucaNet AG, the ideal introduction to controlling is now available at just the touch of a button. The software is so simple to use and so intuitive that even less experienced managers will soon feel at ease with it. Summa One boasts excellent user guidance thanks primarily to the system’s modified user interface. Summa One creates corporate planning using pre-created forms, while a constant target/performance comparison clearly shows any action that must be taken. The integrated cash flow statement helps to prevent financial shortfalls. In addition to all this, data from different sources such as Datev or SAP can also be processed in a joint allocation table.
And there’s good news for controlling enthusiasts in francophone countries as well – the latest Version 5.0 can also speak French, making entrepreneurial laissez-faire decidedly passé!
LucaNet AG
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Doctors and lawyers can now get a real taste of what’s it’s like to be Captain Kirk – instead of using a keyboard and mouse, they can simply tell their computer what they want!
Language technology expert Linguatec is unveiling specialist solutions for the Voice Pro 11 speech recognition program at CeBIT 2008 in Hannover. This program – whose predecessor came top in tests conducted by German consumer magazine Stiftung Warentest – builds on the new IBM Via Voice technology. It is able to recognize the spoken word with amazing accuracy.
The medical and legal editions of the software can even cope with medical and legal jargon, so doctors and lawyers need despair no longer when they have to dictate their notes to the PC. The Voice Pro 11 speech recognition program comes complete with a top-quality digital USB headset from Sennheiser.
Linguatec Sprachtechnologien GmbH
