To address a concerning increase of piracy in the gaming industry, the major players of the industry have come together to form a Gaming Industry Piracy Alliance (GIPA), providing a structure through which members can jointly participate in the enforcement of intellectual property rights and other anti-piracy activities and initiatives.

Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd, WMS Gaming Inc, International Game Technology, Austrian Gaming Industries GmbH a 100% subsidiary of Novomatic AG, Bally Technologies Inc, Konami Gaming Inc, SPIELO Manufacturing ULC, Progressive Gaming International Corporation and ATRONIC International have now joined forces to carry out investigative and other operations targeting piracy on an international scale.

 The regions that this group’s anti piracy efforts are targeting include North America, South America, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE Countries) and the Middle East.

”GIPA members expend significant resources in creating intellectual property.  The formation of GIPA demonstrates the importance we place on protecting those valuable assets” commented Orrin Edidin, President of WMS Gaming Inc. 

Over the last two years, members of the alliance have successfully commenced criminal and civil proceedings in various countries worldwide against persons known or suspected of product piracy and intellectual property theft.

These proceedings have resulted in court orders and raids that have permanently shut down a number of international pirate operations.

With the formation of this anti piracy alliance, the global gaming industry will be able to aggressively act against offenders.

MEI has expanded its offering to casinos with the introduction of EASITRAX Soft Count.  The integrated software/hardware solution places information collected in the CASHFLOW SC bill validator into a database that can be networked to multiple locations and be accessed to analyze slot floor performance.

“This is a natural evolution for MEI,” said Tom Nugent, executive vice president - Gaming.  “Our core business is security and acceptance.  The CASHFLOW SC bill validator’s success illustrates MEI’s leadership in those areas and their importance to the industry.  EASITRAX Soft Count extends the application of our knowledge – enabling casinos to make their cash management process more efficient.”

RFID technology is used to connect slot machine asset numbers and bill validator operational information to a specific cashbox.  Accessing data has never been faster – allowing operators to base decisions on several instant reports programmed within the accompanying software:

•Acceptance rate of what is in the cashbox

•Currency report documents how many bills are in each Cashbox and the percentage of collected denominations over a period of time

•Drop status manages the daily collection of the money and cashboxes

•Jams reports, if they occur, identifying potential problems

•Rejection types defines one of seven categories as to why the bill was rejected

•Version report ensures each bill validator has up-to-date software.

“EASITRAX Soft Count is another example of how MEI technology is finding more uses within the Gaming industry,” said Tom Shuren, MEI chief technology officer.  “The result is the same – tools that increase operators’ profitability.  Whereas CASHFLOW reduces jams and increases acceptance rates, EASITRAX provides data to optimize machine placement, advance troubleshooting, make drop schedules more efficient and eliminate unnecessary jurisdictional fines.” 

The EASITRAX Soft Count system has been designed to be easily retrofitted to the CASHFLOW SC bill validator.  Building a comprehensive cash management solution is as simple as applying these basic components:

•Placing an antenna board to the CASHFLOW SC interface board

•Applying RFID tags into the cashbox to allow information to be transmitted

•Tying EASITRAX reader bases (up to four) into a soft count room system that includes a USB hub and a computer

•Installing software that creates a SQL database and loads available reports.

EASITRAX-enabled bill validators and cashboxes can be ordered directly from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).  MEI has also made all of these components available in retrofit package kits to simplify the ordering process.  The system has been configured to be compatible with sorter/counter equipment produced by Cummins, G&D, Glory and Toshiba – further illustrating the ease in which it can be incorporated into an existing operation.  EASITRAX can be implemented with minimal capital (using existing components reduces system costs) and with the hardware each operation has specified for its particular needs.

“We have been able to apply our knowledge of the Gaming industry into an existing product developed and implemented in our Vending division,” said Mr. Nugent.  “The result is an ideal solution – launching a new product with proven technology that targets a specific industry need.  EASITRAX Soft Count allows the CASHFLOW SC to redefine what a bill validator can offer operations and, in so doing, enhance the value that MEI can offer our industry partners.”

Display Technology Ltd is proud to announce that it has completed the purchase of Apollo Display Technologies Ltd from Apollo Corporation USA for an undisclosed sum, creating one of the largest TFT display specialists in the UK.  Display Technology specializes in Industrial, Gaming, Digital Signage, retail, kiosk and complete custom Display solutions including software and its own proprietary hardware for the retail and Digital Signage markets, including full custom solutions.

Display Technology Managing Director, Chris Bartram, commented “This was a natural move for us to compliment our rapid organic growth and offers great benefits and opportunities not only for our Group, Suppliers & Employees, but most importantly for our customers who have reacted very positively to this development”.

Kontron today announced its embedded computing technology will again be integrated into another one of Bombardier’s rail system designs being developed to answer transportation needs throughout China. This is the latest development in an ongoing long-term design relationship between Kontron and Bombardier, the number one designer and manufacturer of innovative transportation solutions including regional aircraft, business jets, bus and rail transportation equipment. Bombardier has used embedded computing technology from Kontron since 1996 for the development of numerous high-profile transportation and rail control systems, including automated train cars and wayside rail projects in Dallas, Texas; Madrid; London; Singapore; Taipei and most recently, Miami, Florida.

“Kontron is Bombardier’s clear choice for embedded computing – providing reliable technology for safety critical applications that must perform flawlessly. Kontron has answered these needs expertly, quickly developing custom variations of standard COTS products to meet the changing requirements of our rail system applications,” said Gary Krivijanski, Manager, Vehicle / Signaling Procurement at Bombardier. “This is a competitive advantage and strength that continues to cement our relationship today, and enables our innovative people mover trains found throughout the world.”

Kontron delivers extensive experience in the engineering, development, certification and manufacture of real-time embedded systems for the public transportation market, customizing COTS products to meet stringent customer requirements and reduce time to market.
 
“Kontron provides effective computing systems to Bombardier by taking a system-level approach to their very specific customer requirements,” said Joe Eicher, Executive Director of VME Products at Kontron. “By customizing COTS solutions to provide critical safety and performance, Kontron has developed proven and highly reliable systems that meet the computing demands of Bombardier’s advanced railway engineering. We greatly value our long-term relationship with Bombardier and will continue to pioneer embedded technology to meet the demands of their advanced automated trains and wayside rail projects.”

Bombardier’s people mover installations are typically elevated single-track loops serving small areas such as airports or theme parks and using either automated or wayside train cars. The trains rely on two sets of computing systems for redundant operation and to allow calculations performed in parallel.  These advanced rail systems require a tremendous amount of communication I/O, but must be economical to meet both the performance and cost constraints of the transportation industry.

Kontron and Bombardier engineering teams have worked closely since the inception of the working relationship, with Kontron placing an engineer onsite to train Bombardier’s technical lead engineer on the development environment. Kontron initially provided Bombardier with the Intelligent Serial I/O (ISO) VME card, customized to meet Bombardier’s specific needs, including serial communications and cross-checking of redundant systems. The Kontron standard CPU440 and CPU540 VME processor cards were also integrated for on-board control and positive train separation in Bombardier’s automated train car system applications.

Bombardier ultimately commissioned Kontron to develop the customized CPU541 VME card integrating dual processors to manage its critical safety applications and allow more passenger throughput. Kontron later optimized its VCE405 processor card, creating a 400 MHz variant for Bombardier to replace the CPU541 with added mission specific hardware and capabilities required by real-time transportation applications. Today Bombardier uses a third VCE405 to replace the ISIO VME card for communications.

Intel Corporation signs agreement to sell assets from its carrier-grade rackmount and IP network server products to Kontron.

Kontron, a leading global provider of embedded computing and open modular solutions, has reached an agreement with Intel Corporation to acquire its Communication Rackmount Server operation of 1U, 2U carrier-grade rackmount and IP network security server products. The transaction, subject to regulatory review and standard closing conditions, is expected to close shortly.

The Intel carrier-grade rackmount and network server team mainly centered in Columbia, South Carolina, and Penang, Malaysia, which include various employees engaged in engineering, product development, product marketing, technical support and operations. Kontron’s Management expects for 2009 revenue from this new acquisition of more than USD 40 million. This acquisition is considered a strategic opportunity and is expected to close shortly. This intact group in Intel, with around 70 employees, has many years of expertise in world-class server technology, including high-density mechanical and electronic design, thermal and vibration analysis, and implementation of high-standards of secure and uninterruptible operations. To help ensure a continuous supply of products and a high-quality of support and services to Intel customers, both Intel and Kontron will work jointly in the transition period to provide a smooth and seamless hand-over of products, projects, and customer and distributor relationships. Customers will also be backed by Kontron’s strong global presence, flexible supply chain capabilities; including a high-volume manufacturing services facility in Penang, Malaysia, and engineering and technical support services.

“The benefits for customers are tremendous,” said Kontron CEO Ulrich Gehrmann. “customers will continue to receive the latest technology in computing platforms while being able to choose from a single source. Both the existing Intel products and any future Intel Architecture multi-core server designs will firmly establish Kontron the leading provider of multi-core carrier-grade server platforms. After many years of working closely with Intel, we fully anticipate strong favorable long-term growth.”

“Intel is pleased to reach this agreement with Kontron, an Intel Embedded Communications Alliance Premier member and one of the world’s leading embedded computer companies. We will work closely with them to transition support for customers of these products”, said Doug Davis, Vice President of the Digital Enterprise Group and General Manager of the Embedded and Communications Group at Intel.

The addition of Intel communication servers will be an excellent complement to the Kontron family of AdvancedTCA and MicroTCA communication platforms and industrial rackmount servers. It will enable Kontron to further address the needs of tier 1 and tier 2 telecom and network equipment providers who need to deliver compelling solutions for the growing communications market. The Intel line of carrier-grade servers provide a choice of Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors based on Intel's latest 45nm technology for industry-leading performance-per-watt processing. These 1U and 2U servers are NEBS-3 and ETSI-compliant and are an excellent choice for demanding central office environments and the limited space of highly available data centers. They support a diverse set of applications that include: unified messaging, S(service)oIP, call control, media and signaling gateways, and operational system support.

The Intel family of IP network security servers comprised of 1U, 2U servers are ideally suited for enterprise application acceleration and content caching, as well as for running Telco SoIP, such as IMS, IPTV, video on demand (VoD), SIP application servers, IP-PBX, and IP-PSTN gateways.