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Recently Bosch has introduced 2 new circular saw blades specifically designed for cutting fiber cement siding and backerboard. The CB704FC & CB706FC blades are specifically designed for cutting through this tough material and also to keep dust to a minimum. One of the most common problems working with fiber cement products is the large amount of dust produced when making cuts. To combat the problem other companies have actually produced saws with vacuum attachments. This is a good solution but pricy and you end up with more tools on the job.

The new Bosch Fiber Cement Blades are much more cost effective and do a significantly better job at reducing dust when compared to traditional blades. The new blades feature less contact points and deep gullets to divert the dust. You can see in the video below the dust in a well ventilated area is kept to a minimum.       

CB704FC - $50.40
4 Diamond Impregnated Carbide Teeth
Extra Long Life

CB706FC - $11.65
6 C4 Carbide Teeth
Long Life

“Professionals who cut single sheets have been looking for a cost-effective blade that can meet the rigorous demands of cutting these dense materials affordably and productively,” states Jon Howell, Product Manager, Bosch Power Tools and Accessories. “Almost everyone has a circular saw so users don’t have to buy any new equipment.”

       

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Cable TV provider Cox Communications Inc. is set to announce Monday that it plans to have its own cellular network up and running next year, a move that intensifies cable's competition with phone companies.

Tagi: cable tv provider, cable co, cellular network, compas, phe, cox

Things were neat and tidy before the breakup of AT&T in 1984, but after the 7-way split things got a little out of control as you will see in the Telecommunication Company Family Tree compiled by the folks at Neatorama. By their own admission, the tree is "woefully incomplete and grossly oversimplified" given the omission of minor subsidiaries, independent local phone companies and the like. However, the bare bones tree is still fairly complex—and it gives you a decent overall picture of how much things have changed over the last 24 years. Hit the link to see a detailed version of the tree. [Neatorama]

Tagi: minor subsidiaries, neatorama, telecommunication company, omsi, mdash, comex, compas, phe, 24 years, family tree, telecommunications

I was with a customer last week, who leads technology and operations for one of the world's largest companies. We were talking through his priorities for the upcoming year, and on a page filled with various traditional priorities (consolidation, energy management, disaster recovery, regulatory compliance) were two interesting words.

"Open Source."

I asked what that meant, why it was there. He said they'd done an audit of the firm's development activities, and found an overwhelming number ("hundreds") of open source projects that had been completed behind the scenes, beyond management's oversight. The projects were designed to solve problems deemed too expensive or difficult to solve with proprietary technologies - from meeting a tough budget, to automating a new process. And rather than fight the trend, they figured it was delivering real benefit, something to explore more fully. And they were asking for Sun's help.

I'm seeing this with nearly every customer I meet, the invisible hand of open source - communities of individuals equally devoted to their employers, and to personal and peer productivity. These communities, within companies as well as across industries, are solving problems without having to involve procurement (while religiously adhering to policies surrounding privacy, intellectual property protection and software licensing). They're delivering unquestionable value.

Now, is unprescribed technology usage all that unusual in the workplace? I don't think so - it's similar to choosing your favorite search engine or social network, choices we all make (even CIO's) without purchase orders, that definitely bear on workplace productivity. Most progressive CIO's are trying to embrace this trend rather than fight it, figuring out how they can mandate as little as possible, not as much as possible - selecting only the most critical policies and standards to drive efficiency or compliance.

The invisible hand of open source adoption is definitely changing IT, and it's changing Sun's market opportunity - in software, servers and storage systems. Before Sun acquired them, MySQL had already established themselves among the world's open source communities, and invisibly penetrated an enormous breadth of companies across the world. From where I sit, the acquisition changed MySQL's standing not so much among developers, but among traditional technology decision makers - by bridging the divide that separated them. A well adopted product became a safe choice for enterprise deployment. The acquisition opened new doors and business dialog - we've seen a substantive increase in sales and download activity since it was announced. We've also seen a fair number of CIO's, as above, asking their teams - "where are we using MySQL?" The answers are always interesting.

As those conversations transition to sales cycles for MySQL Enterprise subscriptions (for those seeking mission crtiical support, eg), the number one question I get asked by traditional customers has become... "...but does MySQL scale?"

And there's no better way of putting that question to rest than citing the global businesses powered by MySQL - at least one of which is often used by the very individual asking the question: LinkedIn. Click here to read how Sun and LinkedIn are working together to serve one of the world's largest, most valuable, and fastest growing social networks - at truly global scale.

At the pace LinkedIn is growing, they will be managing services to far more accounts than most of the world's banks... and building exceptional value along the way. (And if you haven't signed up yet, you really ought to...)

Tagi: open source projects, network choices, open source communities, interesting words, technology usage, proprietary technologies, overwhelming number, s market, compas, market opportunity, energy management, solving problems, software licensing, oversight, p

If you had a chance to watch any TV over the busy holiday weekend, hopefully you caught some of the Cool Tools Holiday Blitz Marathon that ran all day long Thursday thru Sunday. If you missed it, not to worry there will be a full hour of Cool Tools on each night at 8:00 pm est all December long.

In addition to being a great show to pick up some gift ideas for the holidays, Cool Tools would also like to put a lot of cash in someone’s stocking. Register on DIYnetwork.com for free and you could win $15,000 cash. To increase your chances you can register once per day through December 29^th.

         

Tagi: gift ideas for the holidays, nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp, marath, diy network, somee, busy holiday, rsquo, cool tools, holiday weekend, december 29, stocking, blitz