Category: TRA360 Blog

GE Says ZigBee is Better Than Wi-Fi

Posted on by Valentina Rosa

Greentech Media reported in an article entitled “GE Says ZigBee is Better Than Wi-Fi” that “General Electric argues that ZigBee is superior to Wi-Fi on all fronts.” This is according to a white paper released on Thursday by GE. ZigBee is the “only standards-based wireless technology designed to address the unique needs of low-cost, low-power wireless sensor and control networks.” (1)

The GE Appliance and Lighting Division white paper says that ZigBee could save consumers “in the range of hundreds of millions to several billion dollars over the next 20 years”  and “Given the potential application of smart technology to millions of appliances and devices that will be connected to the smart grid, the difference in continuous power consumption will result in a significant change at the aggregated national level.” (2)

As consumers look for alternative technologies for home area networks, smart appliances, and smart-enabled devices, the conclusions in this white paper are huge for the ZigBee Alliance and hardware/software vendors that develop technology solutions based on ZigBee standards.

Notes

(1) ZigBee Alliance, http://zigbee.org/About/AboutTechnology/ZigBeeTechnology.aspx

(2) “Energy Efficiency Comparisons of Wireless Communication Technology Options for Smart Grid Enabled Devices,” http://www.brymercreative.com/geal_2010/images/120910_zigbee.pdf, p. 9.

New FDA Guidance on INDs: What You Need To Know

Posted on by Valentina Rosa

The FDA typically issues a new guidance when the agency is seeing errors in submissions and a lack of understanding in industry and academia. Most recently, the agency observed these trends regarding when and why the academic research community and industry must prepare an Investigational New Drug (IND) application before studies of a drug or biologic can begin in human subjects. In response, FDA released a new guidance document in October 2010 entitled “Investigational New Drug Applications – Determining Whether Human Research Studies Can Be Conducted without an IND.” The document totals just 19 pages.

Clients in our regulatory consulting & writing practice have told us that the new guidance provides an understanding of:

  • Three characteristics of research studies that create an IND requirement
  • Six criteria that must be met for a clinical investigation to be IND-exempt
  • When and if studies on healthy volunteers or studies using only a few subjects require an IND
  • When studies conducted outside the U.S. require an IND

Our clients also found the “Frequently Asked Questions” at the end of the guidance extremely valuable.

After reading the new guidance you should be able to create a checklist and determine whether your study requires an IND. Spend the time, read the guidance, and make a plan.

The Power of LinkedIn Answers

Posted on by Valentina Rosa

I recently needed to merge two accounts in LinkedIn. Unfortunately, LinkedIn doesn’t allow you to merge accounts. They recommend transferring all your profile information and contacts to one account and closing the other. But closing an account causes you to lose all of the information in that account including profile information, connections, and recommendations. Sounds like a painful and tedious process to me.

So, what did I do next? Rather than wasting a lot more time with How-Tos in the LinkedIn knowledgebase, I decided to use LinkedIn Answers. Using LinkedIn Answers is simple. Go to the website, log into your LinkedIn account, and ask your business question by completing the fields. Hint: I deselected “Only share this question with connections I select” to get the most replies.

What happened? Ten minutes after posting my question, I got a detailed reply with two procedures for closing one of my accounts and migrating my information. When I followed the first set of steps, I got an error from LinkedIn. I sent a follow-up email and she provided further instructions…in minutes! I did what she said and 20 minutes later everything was working perfectly (even though LinkedIn said it might take 24-48 hours). I was thrilled to have my problems solved so efficiently!

Footnote: Two hours after completing my merge task, I had four additional replies in my LinkedIn Inbox. None was as detailed as the first one but all were helpful.

Is Facebook the Next Google?

Posted on by Valentina Rosa

David Yelles wrote an article entitled “Mark Zuckerberg Uses the Word “Social” a Lot: Facebook’s grand plan for the future” that was posted in Slate Magazine on Sunday. Regardless of where you stand on Facebook (and there are many debates with heated opinions), take the time to read Yelles’ article. It’s a long piece, coming in at more than 4,000 words, so don’t expect to breeze through it. The comments are also worth reading; they don’t pull any punches.

Yelles isn’t an impartial observer of Facebook or Mark Zuckerberg. He tells us that he’s been interviewing “Zuck” for two years. Yelles seems to bask in the glow of Facebook Deals, a new service from the parent of social networks. He proudly mentions that “Facebook now has more than 500 million active users, is expected to take in at least $1.5bn in revenue this year, mostly from advertising, and becoming a part of ever more daily services on the Web.” (1)

While these facts are impressive for a six-year-0ld company, Yelles doesn’t give much copy space to address some of the significant controversies Facebook has encountered in the last 18 months or so, specifically in the areas of privacy and security. In fact, the word “privacy” only appears six times in the article and “security” doesn’t appear at all. I, for one, wish he had. But don’t fear; the reader comments deal with both of these issues head on.

So, read Yelles’ article and let me know what you think.

Notes

(1) Mark Zuckerberg Uses the Word “Social” a Lot: Facebook’s Grand Plan for the Future, http://www.slate.com/id/2276807/pagenum/all/.