Technology « Thurles Information

International Space Station Passes Over Tipperary

International Space Station

The International Space Station (ISS) is making several passes over Tipperary over the Christmas period. The previous flyovers of The ISS have been spectacular and well worth going out in the evening and observing them.

If you want to catch the ISS flying overhead Tipperary this Christmas you can check this list below;

Friday 23rd Dec 2011
The ISS will rise at 6:19:56 PM from the WSW. Max elevation will be 58° and will have a magnitude of -3.6 (very bright)

Saturday 24th Dec 2011
The ISS will rise at 5:23:47 PM from the WSW. Max elevation will be 43° and will have a magnitude of -3.0 (very bright)
The ISS will also rise at 6:59:43 PM from the West. Max elevation will be 46° and will have a magnitude of -3.2 (very bright)

Sunday 25th Dec 2011 – Christmas Day
The ISS will rise at 6:03:23 PM from the West. Max elevation will be 70° and will have a magnitude of -3.8 (very bright)

Monday 26th Dec 2011 – St Stephens Day
The ISS will rise at 5:07:04 PM from the WSW. Max elevation will be 57° and will have a magnitude of -3.6 (very bright)
The ISS will rise again at 6:43:08 PM from the West. Max elevation will be 72° and will have a magnitude of -3.9 (very bright)

Tuesday 27th Dec 2011
The ISS will rise at 5:46:43 PM from the West. Max elevation will be 75° and will have a magnitude of -3.9 (very bright)
The ISS will rise again at 7:22:55 PM from the West. Max elevation will be 26° and will have a magnitude of -1.9 (very bright)

Wednesday 28th Dec 2011
The ISS will rise at 4:50:16 PM from the West. Max elevation will be 69° and will have a magnitude of -3.8 (very bright)
The ISS will rise again at 6:26:25 PM from the West. Max elevation will be 63° and will have a magnitude of -3.7 (very bright)

We’ve been lucky with the weather this Christmas so far so hopefully we will have some clear skies over the next few days.

100 New Jobs With Analog Devices Inc

Analog Devices Inc.

Deputy Noel Coonan has welcomed the news that Analog Devices Inc, a global leader in high-performance semi-conductors for signal processing applications and the world leader in data conversion technology, has today announced that it will embark on a 50 million euro R&D investment programme at its campus in Raheen, Co. Limerick. The local Fine Gael TD said this investment is “good news for the Mid West and will hopefully benefit the people of North Tipperary with 100 jobs being created over five years.”

The local Fine Gael TD said the investment programme focuses on the expansion of ADI’s robust R&D capabilities in Limerick and is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland. Over the next five years, the programme is expected to result in the creation of approximately 100 high-skilled jobs, such as positions in integrated circuit design and applications engineering. “These are jobs that are badly needed and it is very positive to see the multinational invest further in the Mid West. It showcase the potential that resides there and it will also boost revenue to the area,” said Deputy Coonan.

A 140,000-square-foot R&D centre, including specialized laboratory space, will be constructed as part of this investment. Today’s announcement builds on the €23million investment in Ireland made by ADI in June 2010 as part of a manufacturing expansion programme.

ADI has been operating in Ireland for 35 years and currently employs over 1,000 people in Limerick, which is home to ADI’s European-based semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility and R&D for analog technologies, including industry-leading data converters, as well as mixed-signal and RF (radio frequency) integrated circuits.

ADI’s operation in Ireland has a well-established record for engineering innovation and discovery, as evidenced by the 287 U.S. patents granted to ADI inventors based in Ireland, which is nearly 20% of the total U.S. patents held by the company.

International Space Station Over Thurles Tonight

ISS Front View

The International Space Station (ISS) is making yet another pass over Thurles tonight. The last passes over Ireland mentioned on thurles.info have been quite spectacular and tonight should be no different, showing a magnitude of -3.0 (Very Bright).

With our sky presently showing broken cloud, it looks like the ISS will be easily spotted for about 3 minutes, as it moves at high speed across our air space.

The station will come into view from a westerly direction at a maximum elevation of 42° South over Thurles at 10.20pm precisely and will be gone from view by 10.23pm travelling eastward.

If the sky remains clear, you will have no problem picking out this space station which appears as a very bright star moving very fast from west to east, as you look directly south.

To keep track of the ISS and other satellite flyovers click Here.

Rural Broadband – Apply Now Says Noel Coonan

Deputy Noel Coonan TD

North Tipperary TD Noel Coonan is urging North Tipperary constituents to apply under the new Rural Broadband Scheme.

The Deputy is urging all North Tipperary constituents, who are without a broadband service to apply under the new Rural Broadband Scheme which aims to identify the remaining individual premises in rural Ireland that are unable to obtain a broadband service and to provide a service to those premises, where requested.

The local Fine Gael TD stated:

“This is a most welcome initiative that will help numerous constituents who are still without broadband and left in the digital dark, despite the passing of the Celtic Tiger era. The previous Government failed to attract investment to the constituency with one of the most significant barrier to job creation being the lack of a high-speed broadband system. Hopefully this new incentive will overcome that barrier. Under our new Government, people who are unable to procure a broadband service are been given the opportunity to lodge an application through a public consultation process taking place over the next three months. If an existing service provider cannot be identified, the Department will seek to procure such a service. The combination of private and public sector programmes in the broadband market will ensure that Ireland reaches the EU target of ubiquitous basic broadband access, ahead of the 2013 deadline.”

Deputy Coonan said the Department has a dedicated line for Rural Broadband Scheme applications on lo-call 1850 678100 or 01 6782020.

The scheme, which was announced recently by the Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte, will operate in a number of phases, with applications being accepted over an initial three month period. This will be followed by a process of verification with Internet Service Providers to assess whether any of the applicants can be served by the market without Government intervention. Some applicants may obtain a service during this phase of the Scheme and it is expected that the process will take about six months.

The Scheme will be carried out in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food under the Rural Development Programme, co-funded by the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development.

This announcement will be particularly welcome to rural businesses in Tipperary.

Indian PC Scam Strikes Thurles Again

Tipperary Unplugged

We’ve received a number of calls from people today about the Indian PC scam which seems to be targeting the Thurles area again. Several people have reported to us that they have received a phone call from a person claiming to represent a ‘computer support company’. We recently did a post about this PC scam and take this opportunity to warn people again to NEVER even engage with these scammers.

The scam usually involves them claiming to fix an imaginary problem with your computer. They usually try to scam you for €90 first, and then later request that you sign up to their ‘long-term’ deal costing about €200 per year!

If you receive such a call, DO NOT switch on your computer, DO NOT engage with these people, instead ask them for their contact details and hang up, promising to return their call later. They usually hang up when asked for contact details.

Have you received any of these type of calls lately?