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January 3, 2002
Quake Global Inc. has introduced a new modem for remote monitoring and control of fixed site applications.
The Q1200 modem was created to provide global coverage and communications in remote locations, using high performance two-way satellite communications.
"Priced under $200, the Q1200 is the most affordable satellite modem on the market today and is a strategic new product for Quake," says Ray Calhoun, president and CEO of Quake Global. "Our engineers have done a great job developing this new product, significantly reducing the cost while maintaining the Quake performance reputation. We believe the product's attractive pricing will greatly increase the volume of applications that can economically take advantage of the data transmission capabilities of the Orbcomm satellite system."
The Q1200 modem operates over the Orbcomm two-way satellite communications network, and is therefore not limited by cellular coverage boundaries.
The company says low power consumption modes offer additional flexibility for remote applications.
Quake says the Q1200 was developed to address frequent industry requests for a low cost, fixed site modem for applications such as pipeline monitoring, tank level reporting, environmental reporting, utility usage, and other sensor monitoring.
Founded in 1998, Quake designs and manufactures advanced wireless methods of asset tracking and monitoring through satellite, cellular and other developing technologies. From its headquarters office in San Diego and through a network of international distribution representatives, the company provides products and design services to the heavy equipment, automotive, and trucking industries, as well as for utility, gas and oil, maritime, and rail applications. For more, click on www.quakeglobal.com.
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Ann Arbor-based Borders Books and Music will open a 33,000-square-foot store on the southwest corner of Sixth Avenue and G Street in San Diego this spring.
The bi-level store will be located in the Gaslamp Quarter and is expected to attract tourists in addition to local shoppers.
The store will stock more than 200,000 book, music, DVD and periodical titles.
"Borders takes great pride in fostering strong relationships with the communities we serve," says Tammy Sanchez, district manager for the new San Diego location. "One way we do this is by holding a number of free events such as lectures, author signings, musical performances, children's activities and 'Benefit Days' that support local charities."
Borders says it selected the Gaslamp location based on a variety of factors including demographics, traffic patterns, the availability of parking and the attractiveness of the site.
As a retailer, Borders tailors its title base to the demographics of each store’s location. Just 50 percent of Borders' title base is common to all stores, while the other half is customized to the location by experienced buyers using the company’s sophisticated computerized inventory system.
In addition to books, music and movies, the Borders will include Cafe Espresso. In the San Diego store, customers of the cafe can choose from a variety of gourmet coffees, teas and beverages and enjoy desserts and light lunch items.
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Cayenta, a Titan Corp. subsidiary, has signed agreements worth more than $8 million to provide software and services for utilities in North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia.
Selecting Cayenta’s UtilityManager as their new customer service and billing software were the Prince William County Service Authority, Va.; the city of High Point, N.C.; the city of Albemarle, N.C.; and Snapping Shoals Electric Membership Corp., a consumer-owned cooperative located in Covington, Ga.
UtilityManager is a billing, customer information and eCommerce product for municipal, cooperative and privately owned utilities in both regulated and deregulated markets.
"The Prince William County Service Authority's existing software lacks many of the features and capabilities that are becoming necessary in the utility billing marketplace today," says Leslie Griffith, the county’s director of finance. "The Cayenta solution provides the best fit for our current business processes and required the least number of modifications. It was important to us that Cayenta has considerable experience in water and sewer installations, providing us with a proven solution. We also liked the fact that Cayenta UtilityManager is highly configurable and easy to navigate," Griffith concluded.
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Paradise Valley Hospital has hired nurse recruiter Linda Chan-Llaguno to address the national nursing shortage here in San Diego County.
The hospital says Chan-Llaguno’s position will aid its efforts to help maintain and secure nursing professionals.
To recruit new staff, Chan-Llaguno will attend various health and job fairs to represent PVH, as well as coordinate recruitment advertising with the human resources and marketing and communications departments.
Chan-Llaguno also plans to build on existing relationships with the local nursing schools to help direct new graduates towards a career at PVH. Additionally, Chan-Llaguno will work to standardize the incentive program to recruit nurses.
“One of the biggest tools we have in nurse recruitment are the staff we have now,” says Chan-Llaguno. “Health care industry workers tend to know other people in the health care industry. If we can get current staff to convince their nurse friends to come to PVH, that can become an effective way to bring in qualified candidates.”
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Mike Anderson, the former business editor at the San Diego Union-Tribune, has joined TheStreet.com Inc. as co-executive editor.
Most recently, Anderson served as money and investing editor at The Wall Street Journal Online.
"Mike has distinguished himself as an editor and writer of the highest caliber, after more than six years at Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal," says David Morrow, editor-in-chief of TheStreet.com. "We are confident that his deep track record covering markets news will help TheStreet.com remain at the forefront of providing high-quality proprietary financial content."
Anderson will be responsible for the daily operation of the newsroom, TheStreet.com and RealMoney.com Web sites, as well as overseeing the company’s new product offerings.
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Southwest Community Bank says that its majority-owned subsidiary, Financial Data Solutions Inc. has signed an agreement with San Diego-based Mission Federal Credit Union for image item processing and lock box services.
“We selected FDSI to replace our previous vendor because their state-of-the-art service is designed on a flexible platform that enables us to customize the service to fit the unique needs of the credit union and its members,” says Bob Harmer, executive v.p. of the $1.3 billion asset Mission Federal Credit Union. “FDSI's management is personally involved in all aspects of service delivery. Their expertise in image item processing and attention to detail make Mission FCU staff feel like we have entered into more of a partnership than a vendor/client relationship."
Mission FCU is San Diego’s largest locally based credit union and serves the county's educational community with 23 full service branches.
FDSI provides services to financial institutions throughout Southern California.
San Diego based Southwest Community is a full service bank with branches in Encinitas, San Diego, Escondido, El Cajon and Carlsbad. The bank's stock is traded on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "SWCT." For more information, visit www.swcbank.com.
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Mad Catz Interactive Inc., a San Diego-based manufacturer of video game accessories, says that its license agreement with Sony Computer Entertainment America for its 8-megabyte memory card for the PlayStation 2 computer system in North America has expired.
A separate license with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe allows Mad Catz to continue to manufacture and sell a licensed memory card throughout Europe and in the PAL territories, including Australia, New Zealand, the Russian Federation, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and numerous other countries.
"While our existing license for the North American market has expired," says Darren Richardson, president of Mad Catz, "we continue to negotiate with SCEA for a renewal of the license and are hopeful that we will obtain a new agreement in the first quarter of calendar 2002."
Other game system contracts are helping fill the gap.
"Due to the sale of products for the newly launched systems, Xbox and GameCube, exceeding expectations, coupled with the continued strength of PlayStation 2, we expect that we are still on target to achieve our previously announced sales estimate of $80 million for FY 2002," says Richardson.
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