Catapult Public Relations

SparkFun Electronics Goes to POSSCON to Present Ideas for Open Source Business and Technology

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:40:21 +0000

Lindsay Levkoff and Christopher Clark explain what it means to be an open source business and how to improve the adoption of open source technology into classrooms

BOULDER, Colo. March 23, 2012 -- SparkFun Electronics (http://www.sparkfun.com), provider of parts, knowledge and passion for electronics creation, today announced its participation at the 2012 Palmetto Open Source Software Conference (POSSCON) in Columbia, S.C. POSSCON continues to bring together innovators in the open source space (technologists and managers) and provides affordable access to quality information regarding the open source movement. Two of SparkFunâ��s Directors, Lindsay Levkoff (Education) and Christopher Clark (IT), will be presenting at the event. SparkFun Electronics is a rapidly growing provider of open source hardware that has prospered from a dorm room setting into a multi-million dollar company with no outside investment. â��An early reliance on open source technologies enabled this growth and has now developed into an undercurrent that permeates the culture here at SparkFun,â�� explained Christopher Clark, director of information technology at SparkFun. Now, with an infrastructure rich in open source technology and a custom-built ERP system being gradually opened for public use, SparkFun is facing the challenge of pushing further into open source technology while mitigating risk and pressing innovation. During Clarkâ��s presentation, he will elaborate on SparkFunâ��s open source business model and how the company will use open source technologies and practices to continue to innovate at many levels. â��The open source community continues to grow and it doesnâ��t show any signs of abating,â�� explains Lindsay Levkoff, director of education at SparkFun. â��Not only are we proud to support the open source community through events like POSSCON, but we are excited to see this movement gain momentum in other communities, such as education.â�� As an educator, Levkoff wants to improve the adoption of open source technology into the classroom. This is because the open source model allows educators to bring relevant and engaging technology into the classroom, despite budget and resource restrictions. Levkoffâ��s presentation will include a discussion of what the Department of Education at SparkFun Electronics learned during its first year with early adopters, students, parents, educators and administrations, and how the company plans to increase the affordability and accessibility of technology for all students across multiple geographical areas. â��We're leaders in the open source hardware movement,â�� continued Clark. â��It applies to our products as much as our software and even applies to how we interface with our community.â�� POSSCON is held at the Columbia Convention Center in downtown Columbia, S.C. from March 28-29, 2012. To learn more about Clark, Levkoff and their presentation topics at POSSCON 2012, please visit: (http://www.posscon.org/speaker/chris-clark/) and (http://www.posscon.org/speaker/lindsay-levkoff/). If you would like to learn more about SparkFun Electronics, please visit: (http://www.sparkfun.com). About SparkFun Electronics Founded in 2003, SparkFun shares its passion by providing parts, knowledge, and innovation for those looking to explore the world of embedded electronics. It helps anyone discover their inner inventor and enables individuals to create their own electronics projects. SparkFun currently offers more than 1,800 products, ranging from simple components, like capacitors and resistors, to GPS units and Bluetooth modules. The company employs 140 people and is based in Boulder, Colorado. Find SparkFun on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/SparkFun), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/SparkFun), Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/SparkFun), YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/SparkFun), Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/SparkFun), and Google+ (https://plus.google.com/106084846822083498483/posts)

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Media Contact: Jeremy Douglas Catapult PR-IR 303-581-7760 jdouglas@catapultpr-ir.com

REGISTRATION OPENS FOR 2012 COLLABORATION & INTEROPERABILITY CONGRESS

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:30:21 +0000

Early registration discounts now available

LOVELAND, Colo., February 6, 2012 â�� Longview Advisors (www.longviewadvisors.com), organizers of the annual Collaboration & Interoperability Congress (CIC), today announced that registration is open for the 2012 event to be held May 21 to 23 in Denver, Colorado. Design, engineering, manufacturing and IT professionals are welcome to register at (www.3dcic.com). Interested attendees are encouraged to register soon as time-limited discounts currently apply. Now in its ninth year, the annual Collaboration & Interoperability Congress (CIC) brings together experts and executives from a wide range of discrete manufacturing industries, as well as representatives from government and defense communities. The conference addresses strategies, opportunities and solutions for improving innovation in such areas as global product development, manufacturing, logistics and support through improvements in collaboration and interoperability. The CIC event has rapidly grown into an essential forum for executives, managers, senior engineers and IT vendors. This yearâ��s agenda includes featured general session speakers and information-packed breakout tracks, along with highly-interactive roundtable discussions with expert panelists, covering such topics as:

Building collaborative PLM into the global supply chain, including such topics as change order management, intellectual property security and management
Digital product data deployment beyond engineering
Integration of the supply chain into PLM processes
Leveraging social media within corporate environments and with suppliers
Design-analysis/simulation or design-manufacturing interoperability
PLM migration and legacy data management
Collaboration & interoperability technology and implementation

Longview Advisors also is pleased to provide free access to presentations and audio from prior events, now available at (www.3dcic.com). Longview Advisors Inc. provides consulting services in the business, technology and application of 3D software in product lifecycle management. For more information, please visit: (www.longviewadvisors.com).

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Press Contact: Terri Douglas Catapult PR-IR 303-581-7760, ext. 18

TASKTOP’S MIK KERSTEN TO PRESENT WITH HP’S VICTORIA VOINIGESCU AT AGILE 2011 CONFERENCE

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:22:31 +0000

Kersten and Voinigescu to explain why continuous delivery loop fails to take into account the need for bi-directional communication with quality assurance

WHO: Mik Kersten

CEO of Tasktop Technologies

Creator of the open source Eclipse Mylyn project

Tasktop Technologies

(www.tasktop.com)

Victoria Voinigescu

Product Manager

HP Software

(www.hp.com)

WHAT: "Solving the 1-10-100 Problem: Extending Continuous Delivery to QA and Ops"

In many medium and large organizations, friction between Agile application development, quality assurance, and operation teams kills productivity. During their presentation, Kersten and Voinigescu will discuss how the typical continuous delivery loop fails to take into account the need for bi-directional communication with QA. The growing role of IT operations in the application lifecycle means it needs to be connected to the same continuous delivery loop, and be linked directly into the Agile planning processes. The presenters will explore how extending the collaboration loop to operations potentially flattens the exponential 1-10-100 cost curve into a linear one.

WHEN: Wed., Aug., 10, 2011

3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Mountain

WHERE: Agile 2011

(http://agile2011.agilealliance.org/)

Grand America Hotel

555 South Main Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Stage: Testing and Quality Assurance

Venue: LA: Idaho Room

CONTACT: For more information or to set up an interview with Mik Kersten, please contact Christie Denniston at Catapult PR-IR 303-581-7760, ext. 13 or (cdenniston@catapultpr-ir.com).

THOUGHTWORKS TO SHARE TECHNOLOGY VISION AND CONNECT WITH NORTHWEST TECH COMMUNITY IN VANCOUVER AND CALGARY

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:35:02 +0000

Leader in enterprise Agile development services to host two informational networking and recruitment events

CHICAGO, June 27, 2011 - ThoughtWorks, Inc. (www.thoughtworks.com), the global leader in enterprise Agile development services, today announced it will host two events in Canada that will connect local technology professionals with ThoughtWorks through an executive overview of technical trends and networking for possible employment with the company. ThoughtWorks has a strong and growing customer base in the Pacific Northwest and is exploring opening an office in the region to help support its growth. Interested candidates can email (work@thoughtworks.com) for employment opportunities or visit (http://www.thoughtworks.com/apply-online-form).

Titled "The View from Here - What's on the Horizon in Technology and Consulting," these open ThoughtWorks events will assess the trends and developments in technology and its impact on ThoughtWorks, its clients and the IT industry at large. The events are scheduled for Calgary on Wed., June 29 at the Hyatt Regency and Vancouver on Thurs., June 30 at the Coast Coal Harbour Hotel. Both events are free and start at 5:30 p.m. (Pacific). For more information please visit (http://www.thoughtworks.com/events/view-here).

"Vancouver feels like an ideal location for a potential new ThoughtWorks office as it has an extremely active and growing technology community that will provide outstanding talent and business growth opportunities," said Craig Gorsline, managing director for ThoughtWorks. "We have a growing customer base within Western Canada (including Calgary) and the Pacific Northwest and these events will further our connection with the local technology community and provide software professionals an opportunity to get to know our company better."

As a global leader in helping organizations adopt and leverage Agile development to transform IT and business operations, ThoughtWorks is recognized for both its business success and contributions to the larger IT community. Company employees are active in developing and sharing best practices that help shape the industry. ThoughtWorks has also developed some of the earliest free, open source Agile tools (Selenium and Cruise Control) that were integral in helping Agile become the mainstream practice it is today. In addition, ThoughtWorks contributes countless hours of support for non-profit causes.

"Part of our growth strategy is to establish offices in thriving tech communities where we can hire the best and the brightest, and contribute to the overall health of the community," said Patty Carlin, market principal for Western Canada. "These events offer an excellent opportunity for ThoughtWorks to expand its reach and possibly add outstanding talent to our company."

About ThoughtWorks

ThoughtWorks, Inc. is a global IT consultancy providing Agile-based systems development, consulting and transformation services to Global 1000 companies. It has pioneered many of the most advanced and successful Agile methods of software development and best practices used in the industry today. At its core, ThoughtWorks helps its clients maximize investment and performance across a portfolio of complex, business-critical applications, while reducing time and risk. Its products division, ThoughtWorks Studios, offers tools to manage the entire Agile development lifecycle through its Adaptive ALM^TM suite, comprised of Mingle^®, Go^TM and Twist^®. ThoughtWorks employs 1,700 professionals to serve clients from offices in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, the United Kingdom and the United States. For more information please visit: (www.thoughtworks.com).

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Media Contact:

Christie Denniston

Catapult PR-IR

Office: 303-581-7760, ext. 13

Mobile: 303-827-5164

cdenniston@catapultpr-ir.com