Lamps

The Universal Scientific Industrial Co., Ltd. (USI), a major EMS provider in Taiwan, has won orders for its several automotive-electronic products, including voltage regulator, tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS), and high-bright LED module products from different automakers and tier-one auto-parts brands, including Nissan of Japan.

Sheng further stressed that USI's voltage regulators for automotive alternators have commanded a market share of over 30% in Europe, the U.S., and mainland China, while the firm's LED auto-lamp modules and engine management system (EMS) products would enjoy high-speed sales rowth this year.

Lost in the Groupware Forest? Light a LAMP

Ever since the dawn of computing, us poor oppressed users have been asking for just one thing. It seems such a small thing: a shared calendar and contacts manager. Oh I know, a plain text file set to mode 0666 was good enough for grandma, but these days it's OK to want more. Just a simple way for us to easily share calendars and addresses with our simple, humble friends and co-workers.

But what did we get? We did not get our simple shared calendar and contacts, oh no. We were punished for our effrontery for even asking with awful punishments like Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange, and Novell GroupWise, which were larded with so many Features and Productivity Thingies they couldn't get out of their own way. But we were not silenced, and continued to politely clamor for what we really really wanted.

Lady of the lamp

She may not have had the powers of the genie in Aladdin's lamp, but the "dancing" lady in Elizabeth Gerner's hanging lamp was certainly magical to Gerner's grandson. When he was 5, the boy would sit mesmerized as oil flowed through thin tubes surrounding the lady in the lamp to give the impression that she was dancing. Gerner's grandson, now 19, may no longer carry a torch for the lady, but the lamp is still a fixture in her Albertson living room. Gerner, 78 and a retired elementary school secretary, recently shed some light on the lamp with Newsday writer Daniel Bubbeo:

How did the lady dance?

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Treasure Hunt: Pump up the volume

I didn't care that much when my faithful turntable first began to slow down. Hey, Jane Fonda and I appreciated taking it down a notch to "feel the burn." I didn't even mind when John actually started to sound like a walrus on "I Am The Walrus." But one of my saddest moments was when my old turntable puffed and wheezed through its final vinyl spin. Play it againThat's why I was so excited when Bob (Jeanne's husband) and I wandered into Blaine Street Downtown Antiques Marketplace, 818 Blaine St., Caldwell. It's filled with antiques and collectibles, the big main room lined with closet-sized rooms stuffed with stuff. I was meandering around, looking at the antique toys when I heard these words that stopped me dead in my tracks:"Oh my word — look at this!" I whipped around the corner to see. Bonnie Butler of Middleton had lifted the top of what looked like a case of some sort and was peering into a — what? — could it really be? — a 1960s Zenith Stereophonic record player!I leaped over the 15 feet or so separating us nearly in one bound and began drooling over it immediately.

Crews busy repairing storm damage

The sound of hauling and grinding trees echoed across the Triangle on Tuesday as homeowners, local governments and power companies worked to recover from Monday's high winds.Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of trees were toppled across the region, weakened by heavy rains then pushed by winds that topped 50 mph.Tuesday's lighter winds and sunny skies warmed those removing debris, restoring power and clearing roads.David Waggener said his subdivision near Crabtree Valley Mall was transformed into a disaster zone by the winds and rain. But the sound of heavy machinery pulling a tree from a neighbor's screened-in patio Tuesday signaled a return to normalcy."It was just like carnage out there," said Waggener, who went 27 hours without electricity before Progress Energy restored it Tuesday afternoon.