By Rick Pedraza, Digital Managing Editor
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO WITH THE FLOW
New to ControlGlobal.com this month is the highly anticipated Flowmeter Knowledge Center, a one-stop, educational shop for industrial manufacturing professionals, control technicians, engineering students, and researchers working and training in the process industries. This nifty resource helps you find anything and everything you need to know about flowmeters without having to endlessly surf the web.
The Flowmeter Knowledge Center not only offers useful descriptions, explanations, and general information for all flowmeter technologies used in process control and automation applications, but also allows visitors to download intelligence reports and whitepapers on all things related to flow and the instruments that control and measure it.
Click on the numerous deep links this page provides, and youll find a wealth of constructive online articles, product descriptions, technical book abstracts, and other useful information pertaining to flowmeters.
>> Check it out at ControlGlobal.com/flowmeter.html.
HOW DEEP DOES INTERFACE STANDARDIZATION GO?
Where does one cross the line from a general interface specification thats open, interoperable, and flexible without sacrificing usability to one thats specialized, rigidly defined, and highly integrated? Find out from resident OPC expert Eric Murphy in this newest installment of OPC Connection.
In the article, Murphy addresses the limitations and perceived shortcomings of OPC technology, and writes that with the recent release of OPC Unified Architecture (UA) standard, theres a lot of speculation about whether it actually solves existing OPC issues. He tackles complaints that the specifications dont go far enough in their scope of standardization, along with criticisms that OPC doesnt do enough to mandate security, configuration, and defined item mapping.
>> Read his online article, and follow all the latest trends and discussions about OPC technology, at ControlGlobal.com/OPC.
SUPPLIERS ARE FROM MARS, SYSTEM INTEGRATORS ARE FROM VENUS
In this exclusive audiocast for the Process Automation Radio Network, National Instruments Jack Barber talks about the relationship between suppliers and system integrators with Walt Boyes, Controls editor-in-chief. They discuss the development and progress of NIs Alliance Partner Program, what it means for suppliers to work with system integrators, and how both can benefit from the relationship.
As the Alliance programs manager, Barber is delivering a conference segment on how to establish a supplier/system integrator alliance, Channel Marketing: Making Partnerships Work, this month at the ISA Sales and Marketing Summit in Austin, Tex.
>> If you cant make it down to the Lone Star State, do the next best thing, and listen in on the conversation between Barber and Boyes that serves as grist for the presentation at ControlGlobal.com/alliance.html.
FEATURED WHITE PAPERS
>> For more White Papers, go to ControlGlobal.com/whitepapers
SPECIAL TO THE WEB
- The Federation: To Boldly Go!
Batch Dispatch contributor Maurice Wilkins says it doesnt take a rocket scientist to guess which organizations could and should become members of the newly formed Automation Federation.
- The Six Myths of Process Performance
Plant personnel can see exactly where to focus their efforts with this series of online training videos that explode the myths of plant performance. This month:
PRODUCTS & VENDORS
ControlDesign.com offers three easy options for finding product information online:
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