GAO sleuths say counterfeit military electronics easily purchased online

Fierce Government IT is reporting that investigators for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) had no problem procuring counterfeit mil-spec components online via private sector Internet buying websites. All counterfeit parts purchased came from 13 vendors located in China, states a recent GAO report.

How did this happen? As explained by the government IT news site's David Perera:

"At the request of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the GAO set up a fake company that was able to obtain membership in two online electronic parts Internet commerce platforms. From there, they solicited bids for 16 parts, seven of which were obsolete or rare, five of which investigators stipulated should have date codes after the last date the part was manufactured, and four of which investigators called for different specifications than those listed in a valid part number.

After selecting a vendor based on the lowest-price bid, investigators had a third party laboratory examine the parts they received. The lab concluded that all parts were counterfeit--or in the case of the parts with the modified specifications, bogus."

Based on the sleuthing conducted by the GAO, government officials wouldn't say definitively whether counterfeit parts have entered the DoD supply chain via online purchasing, but this is suspected to be the case. Some greater degree of vigilance is no doubt required.

Link: Counterfeit milspec electronics easily bought online (fiercegovernmentit.com)

Engineering video: Chevy Volt teardown

Over a recent 3-day span, a team of automotive engineers conscripted by EE Times took apart a Chevy Volt enhanced range vehicle, in an effort to find out more about the engineering that went into the electric vehicle's design, and the technology and systems involved. A series of videos documents the engineering team's teardown activities, while gauging their impressions over the course of the vehicle's disassembly. You can watch the videos here.

More from Interconnection World:

Smart Grid adds SAE electric vehicle standards to interoperability catalog

Source: Thunderbolt to become standard PC interface by 2013

As the Intel-Apple technology bloc shifts the Thunderbolt technology from copper wire to optical cabling before the end of 2012, adoption of the technology is expected to increase sharply, and Thunderbolt "is likely to become a standard connection specification for PCs and related products" by 2013, according to sources at Taiwan PC manufacturers cited by the Taipei-based technology news site Digitimes. According to the sources, Lenovo, Asustek and a number of other Taiwan-based motherboard makers are preparing to launch products based on Intel's upcoming Ivy Bridge platform, which will incorporate Thunderbolt ports that utilize optical cables.

Source: Thunderbolt may become standard for PCs in 2013 (digitimes.com)

Intel says watch for Thunderbolt optical cables

Intel has reportedly confirmed an IDG News / PC World report saying that it will release its Thunderbolt optical cables later this year. Co-developed by Apple and first introduced in 2009, the Thunderbolt technology was originally posited as a speedier, fiber-optics based alternative to USB 3.0 for data transfer speeds up to 10 Gbps. Current Thunderbolt implementations are copper-based, but optical cables will provide more bandwidth and longer cable runs for a wider swath of applications, said a spokesman for Intel.

Check out the Thunderbolt Technology Community, which has compiled quite an extensive list of recent articles on the technology.

Links: Intel Says Thunderbolt Optical Cables Coming This Year (tomshardware.com)

Intel: Optical Cables for Thunderbolt Coming This Year (pcworld.com)

Foxconn implements production line X-ray inspections

As the industry prepares for the launch of Apple's iPad 3, CNET is reporting that the company's main contract supplier, Foxconn, has now installed inline X-ray machines at some of its assembly facilities, the better to weed out faulty solder joints and/or printed circuit boards from finished products -- defects that can be easily missed by human eyes. Foxconn expects move to improve efficiency and reduce product defects -- as well as labor costs, in the form of worker headcounts. As has been widely reported, the OEM giant has for some time been under increased scrutiny for working conditions at some of its plants.

Link: iPad maker Foxconn turns to X-ray inspections to cut defects (news.cnet.com)

Taiwan connector makers foresee increased orders on PC ultrabook demand

Taiwan-based makers of electronic connectors are reportedly expecting a surge in orders based on an uptick in global demand for ultrabook PCs, which is expected to significantly grow following the launch of Intel's Ivy Bridge processor. With the release of the Ivy Bridge chips now reportedly delayed till the second half of 2012, sources reporting to Taipei-based Digitimes believe that demand for ultrabooks will start rising after Q3 -- with some makers even expecting the demand "to help the 2012 PC market to return to a shipment proportion of 4:6 for the first and second halves of the year." Some real competition for the ascendant tablet PC market? We shall see.

Cornhusker State bets on data center incentives

State senators in Nebraska have decided that data centers could and should be a potential economic boon for small communities in rural parts of the state. State Senator Galen Hadley recently told Omaha's ABC television news affiliate that he and others in the legislature are hopeful that new government incentives will sweeten the deal for facility builders and operators.

Hadley said in a Nebraska.TV (NTV/ABC) report, "There are five cities that have pad-ready sites, so I hope we have five projects that come to Nebraska that come to five cities." Hadley made the data center incentive bill his priority for the legislature's 2012 session; the bill could reportedly soon go before the state's governor. Nebraska cities with tech parks include Kearney, Aurora, Fremont, and South Sioux City.

Additionally, the Omaha World-Herald is currently reporting that despite Omaha's dark horse stature the running for the huge and mysterious "Project Edge" data center, state commerce officials are seeking to amend the bill for the big data center to provide more generous tax incentives for smaller projects that would be more likely to locate in the Omaha metro area.

"This makes Nebraska more competitive," said Joseph Young of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. "We don't want to lose a project to Iowa."

Project Edge is reportedly considering eyeing Kearney, Neb., and a site in Iowa for a project that state officials said is difficult to comprehend due to its size, according to Omaha.com. The new project is said to be the biggest private investment ever sought by the State of Nebraska. The proposed facility is projected to be of a scale 10x larger than Yahoo's La Vista data center constructed in 2010. It would reportedly also become the state's single largest user of electricity.

More from ICW: OFC/NFOEC expands to address fiber-optic datacom trends

Links: Legislature Advances Data Center Incentives (nebraska.tv)

Omaha in race for data centers (omaha.com)

Bad fiber connectivity tanks physicists' faster-than-light particles theory

One the most thrilling physics discoveries of the past century has been called into question by a faulty fiber-optic connection. As reported by the BBC, in September 2011, a team of researchers from the UK's OPERA [Oscillation Project with Emulsion-Racking Apparatus] experiment officially claimed to have seen subatomic, EMF-resistant neutrino particles apparently travelling faster than the speed of light. But the researchers say they have now found two problems that may have affected their testing in opposing ways: one in their particle accelerator's timing gear, and one in an optical fiber connection.

A problem in the experiment's oscillator increased the measured time of the neutrinos' flight, calling into question previous faster-than-light effects. At the same time, a flawed fiber-optic connection linking the experiment's GPS signal and the particle accelerator's main clock had the effect of indicating a false increase in the neutrinos' apparent speed.

From Wikipedia:

Neutrinos do not carry electric charge, which means that they are not affected by the electromagnetic forces that act on charged particles such as electrons and protons. Neutrinos are affected only by the weak sub-atomic force, of much shorter range than electromagnetism, and gravity, which is relatively weak on the subatomic scale. They are therefore able to travel great distances through matter without being affected by it.

MINOS is the concurrent U.S. particle physics experiment that is trying repeat the faster than light neutrino speed measurements.

Link: Faster-than-light neutrinos could be down to bad wiring (bbc.co.uk)

More from Interconnection World: Incapable connectors shut down Large Hadron Collider

Town moves to ease Amphenol's floodwater ills

The municipal government of Sidney, NY has been working diligently to ensure that Amphenol can rebuild its manufacturing facility in the area after last September's flood. Sidney's village board has reportedly approved a resolution that would allow the Delaware County Electric Cooperative to build and maintain an electrical distribution plant and provide service in the area; officials say the plant will provide Amphenol with cheaper electricity.

"This is one of the services provided to them that can allow [Amphenol] to operate more efficiently and keep them in our area," said Sidney Mayor Andy Matviak, quoted in a report found at the website of the TV network WBNG Binghamton. Town officials added that designs for the power distribution plant will likely take months to be finalized. Amphenol's Sidney facility accounts for about 1,000 jobs in the town.

More News from Interconnection World: Amphenol Aerospace miniaturizes MIL-DTL-38999 connectors while increasing power, durability

BMW unleashes 'fully realized' all-electric luxury vehicle

As reported by Popular Science's Popsci.com website, BMW has now come out with its ActiveE sedan, the automaker's first foray into the advanced all-electric luxury vehicle realm. The ActiveE is designed as a ‘beta’ version of the forthcoming (super-deluxe) i3 model luxury car; both vehicles are based on BMW's 1 Series Coupe. The Active E and i3 use similar drive train and battery technologies, but in degrees of more and less lavish packaging. BMW says the Active E represents the second part of a three-phase electric vehicle development plan, to culminate in the series production of the BMW i3 electric vehicle in 2013.

The Active E's energy storage module, wiring, electric motor, power electronics and transmission are 100% proprietary. The 170-horsepower, 125-kW electric motor is powered by a 32-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. Popsci.com says concludes that, with both new all-electric car models, "BMW took what they learned from the MINI E and created, for the first time, what feels like a fully realized electric car."

Link: The All-Electric BMW Active E (popsci.com)

More from Interconnection World: BMW recalls 120K diesel vehicles on faulty plug connector

View On-Demand Webcast by Mentor Graphics: Software Support for Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Design

What's going on with inventory at Molex?

Is the current inventory situation at Molex (NASDAQ: MOLX) out of line? Motley Fool analyst Seth Jayson recently examined the connector giant's inventory using one "simple rule of thumb". To wit: "Inventory increases ought to roughly parallel revenue increases. If inventory bloats more quickly than sales grow, this might be a sign that expected sales haven't materialized."

Is this the current situation at Molex? To determine, Jayson charts the company's inventory growth as compared to sales growth for both quarterly and 12-month periods. And over the recent sequential quarterly period, the analysis suggests that "the trend looks worrisome."

Link: Is This a Glimpse of Molex's Future? (The Motley Fool)

Nokia design chief wants a connector-free smartphone

The Guardian (UK) recently sat down with Nokia design chief Marko Ahtisaari for an interview where the executive reveals that new versions of the company's Lumia phones, introduced to showcase Windows Phone in November 2011, will remove the flip-up plastic tab that presently covers the unit's micro-USB charger – one of just two moving parts on the Lumia 800 phone.

"If you can take away a moving part and make it [the phone] more beautiful in the placement of the components, we'll do it, so that's something where we can certainly keep improving," Ahtisaari told the Guardian. "Take it to the extreme, and why are there any connectors?"

The Lumia phone's incorporation of Near field communication (NFC) technology already tilts it heavily toward advanced wireless technologies. Even as a tongue-in-cheek remark, the suggested removal of the USB connector altogether would imply the use of wireless charging – a system that has already been demonstrated by competitor products such as HP's TouchPad, which employs such a system.

A Nokia spokesman told The Guardian that the company declined to comment on future product features.

Link: Nokia design chief hints at Lumia phones with NFC and wireless charging (guardian.co.uk)

Electronic contract manufacturer revenues to fall in 2012?

The UK's TechEye.net is on board with a prediction that electronics contract manufacturers such as Foxconn "are in for a tough year, with revenues decreasing due to global economic uncertainty and increasing wage demands." The main reason for this? Lingering problems and lack of solutions to the problem of the eurozone financial crisis, and the growth-halting effect it has had on already tenous global economic stability. And, according to IHS analysts cited by TechEye, there's not much that can be done by contract manufacturers to forestall the negative outcome, other than to hope that price increases, and gains in Asia, can continue to help keep profits up through the looming lean period.

Link: Electronic contract manufacturer revenues decline in 2012 (news.techeye.net)

Motley Fool hints of 'blowout' quarter for Apple

Earnings figures are starting to come in for Apple's supply chain companies, and the numbers so far indicate that Apple is about to rebound heavily by posting a "blowout quarter," as reported by the financial industry investment mavens at The Motley Fool. Meanwhile, while you weren't looking, the world's largest technology company has been busy re-inventing both the textbook, AND what to do when your homework's all done.

Top 10 connector electronics innovations defined

Bishop and Associates' John MacWilliams recently outlined the longtime interconnect industry analyst firm's "top 10 recent innovations in the electronics and connectors industries." According to MacWilliams, the most visible recent industry developments have occurred in "triple C" markets of Consumer, Computer, and Communications, fueled by numerous "game changing" developments, modifications, and suddenly essential new devices in several categories. End-use hardware devices mentioned in the list include those for WiFi, GPS, iPhone/iPad type designs, HDTV, IC advances, environmental electronics, alternative energy products, military drones, and expanded Ethernet technologies.

The entire list, a must-view for connector industry observes to be sure, can be found here.