Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 2013 Annual Meeting of Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. We’re pleased to have you in attendance and to have this opportunity to update you on the company’s operations. At this time, in accordance with our notice of meeting, the 2013 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will please come to order. I am Marc Zandman, Executive Chairman of the Board, Chief Business Development Officer and President of Vishay Israel, and I will act as the Chairman of this meeting.

I would like to introduce the other directors of the company who are in attendance today: Dr. Gerald Paul, Mrs. Ruta Zandman, Mr. Frank Maier, Mr. Wayne Rogers, Mr. Ronald Ruzic, Mr. Ziv Shoshani, Mr. Tom Wertheimer. And Dr. Abraham Ludomirski is present by telephone. In addition, Mr. Timothy V. Talbert, a new director nominee, is also in attendance. Further, representatives of Ernst & Young, the company’s external auditor; and Pepper Hamilton, the company’s counsel, are present. We also have with us today Mr. Charles Purser [ph] from Broadridge Financial, our inspector of election.

via Vishay Intertechnology Inc. – Shareholder/Analyst Call – Seeking Alpha.

via Dover (DOV) will spin off certain of its… – Seeking Alpha.

That’s according to a new survey from Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) that shows nearly half of all respondents prefer BYOD over corporate devices. Additionally, those BYOD-ers back up their mindsets with cash, spending on average $965 purchasing devices for work, and an additional $734 annually on mobile voice and data plans.

But BYOD is also a factor in job selection. The survey finds that the average BYOD-er would require a $2,200 signing bonus to jump to a company that doesn’t support BYOD.

And college students and young professionals? Nearly half would accept a lower-paying job if the company had flexibility on device choice, social media access and mobility.

It’s something of particular relevance to the Triangle workforce, which, in addition to being young professional-heavy, houses companies such as Red Hat. Red Hat’s CIO Lee Congdon has written previously about how the BYOD movement is encouraging collaboration in the Triangle and beyond.

Lauren Ohnesorge covers technology, biotechnology and Durham County.

via Cisco survey: BYOD movement gains popularity – Triangle Business Journal.

But Baxter’s ability to work side by side with human counterparts has many people worried.  What if he and his robotic buddies stop dancing and take over all the manufacturing jobs?  What if people – and the wonderful human qualities they bring to manufacturing – become passé?

In last fall’s MIT Technology Review[1] Rodney Brooks, the CEO of Rethink Robotics and Baxter’s “father”, said he believes that the advent of sophisticated manufacturing automation will serve  humans by making them more efficient, not replace them.

There are over one million robots engaged in work around the world, says the International Federation of Robotics, and approximately 80 percent of car manufacturing is now conducted through automation.  And both small and large manufacturers can take advantage of automation, using machines that cost as little as $1,000 for a 3D printer, or sophisticated machines like Baxter that cost much more (Baxter costs $22,000).

via Manufacturing Gangnam Style.

At the recent Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), where 100,000 attendees from 2,728 companies gathered, the increasingly important role of technology in exploration and production (E&P) surfaced repeatedly in discussions, presentations, and displays.

The ability to improve site testing, provide well intervention, and perform down-hole sensing and monitoring presents big challenges, particularly in remote areas where pressure, temperature, and vibration are critical factors. Meeting demands for data gathering, transmission, and multisite collaboration requires significant support from traditional energy production supply chain along with the latest technology and electronics suppliers.

The four-day conference provided many options to improve or extend the capabilities of tools, systems, and various data collection opportunities, particularly for deepwater and multisite, remote projects.

Addressing subsea challenges has long been a hallmark of the conference’s solution spotlights, and this year’s 2013 Spotlight Award winners focused on safer means for deepsea drilling by using new types of pressurized equipment and designs that lessen both cost and risk of failure. Notable solutions included some of the latest ruggedized technology that provided new seismic guided drilling, four-dimensional (4D) data visualizations of seismic data, and improved pressure monitoring and refinement ahead of the drill-bit.

The ability to improve the economics, safetyClass X capacitors are used in “across-the-line” applications where their failure would not lead to electric shock. Class X safety caps are used between the “live” wires carrying the incoming AC current. In this position, a capacitor failure should not cause any electrical shock hazards, rather, a capacitor failure “between-the-lines” would usually cause a fuse or circuit breaker to open., and effectiveness of drilling events is central to developing E&P strategies, particularly as global demand spikes for energy are pushing companies to more quickly and successfully locate, extract, and maintain productive well-sites, often in extremely remote and deep sea locations. The complexities of multisite, remote drilling locations are being met by the on-board electronic advances that are meeting the new, extreme conditions and massive data collection, transfer, and analysis needs.

via EBN – Mark Bollinger – Tech Fuels Search for Energy.

As previously discussed in Part 1 and Part 2 of this three-part series, counterfeit methods are widely known, and education is half the battle in stopping them. Beyond this, however, the purchasing agent’s best line of defense is to establish a relationship with and only purchase from authorized, manufacturer-direct suppliers.

Authorized distributors with guaranteed product traceability back to the manufacturer are filling a gap in the supply chain stemming from the inherent mismatch between product and components lifecycles. Because component lifecycles are generally decreasing, manufacturers are continually switching components manufacturing to newer and more profitable lines.

This leaves buyers in a bind, as they often need to seek out obsolete or end-of-life components from a source that is not the original manufacturer. Furthermore, component shortages or long lead times for fulfilling orders may arise due to unforeseen circumstances that drive urgent demand.

In these cases it is tempting, for reasons of cost or expediency, to turn to an independent broker or less than reputable source for a sought-after component, exposing one’s organization to counterfeits. An authorized distributor with guaranteed traceability back to manufacturer is as good as purchasing from the manufacturer itself. These suppliers will in some cases even pass through to the buyer the warranty on a component to reinforce guarantees of quality and authenticity.

via EBN – Steve Martin – Safeguards Fight Counterfeit Components.

Initially offering 1200 individual line items across the VK20, VK21 and VK30 series MLCCs, the online store provides real-time inventory and same-day shipment of ex-stock items ordered before 3.00pm Monday to Friday. Full CECC or BS documentation is included for all release MLCCs at no additional chargeThe amount of electricity present upon the capacitor's plates. Also, the act of forcing of electrons onto the capacitor's plates. See CoulombA coulomb is the unit of electric charge. It is named after Charles-Augustin de Coulomb.1 coulomb is the amount of electric charge transported by a current of 1 ampere in 1 second. It can also be defined in terms of capacitance and voltage, where one coulomb is defined as one farad of capacitance times one volt of electric potential difference...

An online Part Builder enables buyers and engineers to search using a partial part number, or by selecting individual parameters to enable cross-referencing to other manufacturers’ devices. Live Help is available via an online chat with a Charcroft technical specialist. The store also includes a My Account option which enables registered users to see the status of current orders and view historical orders.

The VK series of cased radial MLCCs are available in commercial-grade versions or released to CECC30601-009 or BS9075N0023/F0002 in the NPO dielectricThe insulating material between the plates of the capacitor. The material is chosen for its ability to permit electrostatic attraction and repulsion to take place across it. The material will have the property that energy required to establish an electric field is recoverable in whole or in part, as electric energy. In other words, a good dielectric material is a poor conductor of electricity while being an effective supporter of electrostatic fields.; and CECC30701-007 or BS9075N0024/F0002 in the X7RThe main differences between ceramic dielectricThe insulating material between the plates of the capacitor. The material is chosen for its ability to permit electrostatic attraction and repulsion to take place across it. The material will have the property that energy required to establish an electric field is recoverable in whole or in part, as electric energy. In other words, a good dielectric material is a poor conductor of electricity while being an effective supporter of electrostatic fields. types are the temperature coefficient of capacitanceThat property of a system of conductors and dielectrics which permits the storage of electricity when potential difference exists between the conductors. Its value is expressed as the ratio of a quantity of electricity to a potential difference. A capacitance value is always positive., and the dielectricThe insulating material between the plates of the capacitor. The material is chosen for its ability to permit electrostatic attraction and repulsion to take place across it. The material will have the property that energy required to establish an electric field is recoverable in whole or in part, as electric energy. In other words, a good dielectric material is a poor conductor of electricity while being an effective supporter of electrostatic fields. loss.Ceramic capacitors tend to have low inductance because of their small size. dielectricThe insulating material between the plates of the capacitor. The material is chosen for its ability to permit electrostatic attraction and repulsion to take place across it. The material will have the property that energy required to establish an electric field is recoverable in whole or in part, as electric energy. In other words, a good dielectric material is a poor conductor of electricity while being an effective supporter of electrostatic fields.. With a capacitanceThat property of a system of conductors and dielectrics which permits the storage of electricity when potential difference exists between the conductors. Its value is expressed as the ratio of a quantity of electricity to a potential difference. A capacitance value is always positive. range of 1 picofarad to 1 microfarad, the VK series are available in standard B, C or D case sizes and with voltage ratings of 50V, 63V, 100V or 200V. Custom versions, with a higher voltage rating or non-standard capacitanceThat property of a system of conductors and dielectrics which permits the storage of electricity when potential difference exists between the conductors. Its value is expressed as the ratio of a quantity of electricity to a potential difference. A capacitance value is always positive. values can also be ordered online.

via Charcroft Electronics Opens Online Capacitor Shop | Electronics Distribution News.

via Dennis Zogbi: Methodologies For Achieving Financial Stability In Adverse Market Conditions: FY 2014.

Cook talked about location during his Senate committee appearance yesterday, according to All Things D. A Mac line will be built in Texas — though a more specific location was not disclosed — with components made in Illinois and Florida, using equipment made in Kentucky and Michigan.

In December 2012, Cook said Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) planned to spend $100 million this year to shift some manufacturing of Mac computers to the U.S.

Apple, which employs thousands of people in Austin, is in the process of expanding its local campus. Here’s a rendering we obtained in February.

via Apple to build U.S.-made Macs in Texas – Austin Business Journal.