IEEE 1394 Helps NASCAR Teams Shave Precious Seconds from Every Race
RPM-Richard Petty Motorsports’ Crews Use FireWire to Move Videos of Pit Stops to Rugged New SIMATIC® Panel PC from Siemens
FireWire has become a popular interface in plenty of vital instrumentation, computer and consumer applications that need fast speeds and high bandwidth.  continued

New Version of Linux1394 Delivers Significant Design Benefits and Advantages for Industrial, Instrumentation, Camera Applications
Revisions and enhancements to Linux1394 will provide significant advantages to developers of industrial and security cameras, vision systems, and other innovative applications based on 1394b, also known as FireWire800. continued

Fujitsu Microelectronics Presents Update on 1394 Automotive at ATI in Yokohama
Fujitsu Microelectronics, which has led the development effort for 1394 Automotive silicon, reported on the latest 1394 Automotive products and standards at the Automotive Technology International, held on July 15-17 at Yokohama. continued

1394b Delivers the Performance and Features Required for Advanced PET Imaging System
Data Acquisition System Designed by University of Washington Scientists Minimizes Development Time, Support Requirements
When a team of scientists at the University of Washington decided to develop a data acquisition system for the micro crystal elements system (MiCES) small animal positron emissions tomography (PET) scanner, one of their top priorities was a fast, high bandwidth, reliable interface technology. continued

1394 TA Establishes New VersaPHY Working Group
The 1394 Trade Association has formed a new working group that will focus on the development and marketing of VersaPHY^TM technology.    continued

1394 Trade Association Announces New Sets of 1394-Compliant Products from Leading Companies Worldwide
An impressive set of new products has been certified as 1394-compliant by the Trade Association since late spring. continued

1394 Interoperability Workshop Set for Q4 Meeting in Taipei
The Trade Association will hold interoperability sessions at the end of the fourth quarter general meeting in Taipei. continued

Despite the challenges of the economy, the 1394 Trade Association has endured and enjoyed some significant successes thus far in 2009 and we expect more as the global economic situation improves.  We are moving apace with the delivery of 1394-based technology and solutions for infotainment, security and safety systems in the vehicle, with major companies globally reviewing all the benefits of 1394 for the automobile.  In the computer markets, we see strong support for 1394b in the Linux community (see accompanying article) along – of course -- with the anticipated support for 1394b coming from Microsoft and its development partners when Windows 7 officially launches in October.  Of course, the decision by Apple to incorporate FireWire 800 into the MacBook Pro was another very positive development of this year.

Also, we are now working with the members of HANA on a MOU (memorandum of understanding)  that will bring the technology and development established within that organization under the auspices of the 1394 Trade Association sometime before the end of this year. 

We are headed to Taipei for the fourth quarter general meetings, which will feature an interoperability workshop with Allion and meetings with the Taipei media.  Hope to see you there!

-- Max Bassler, Chairman