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E-Notes from Captain's Log aboard Automationdirect.com
Volume 2 Issue 9

Welcome to our semi-regular e-mail update of what's new and happening at Automationdirect.com. You are receiving this e-news because you subscribed to the Automationdirect.com newsletter. Just go to http://notify.automationdirect.com/newsletter if you wish to unsubscribe.

As the year draws to a close, we'd like to take a moment to thank you, our subscribers, for your continuing interest in the company and its products. We have plenty in store for next year, so don't go away. We'll be encouraging more feedback, and aim to make reading the newsletter an even more beneficial pastime for you in some fun and exciting ways. Thanks again and happy holidays!

Think & Do Studio offers OPC, productivity tools and VISIO support

The latest evolution in our PC control software is Think & Do Studio. Set for release later this month, it will replace the original Think & Do and Think & Do Live! as the premier product for PC control. Priced at $1,895, Studio offers control, HMI, productivity analysis tools and enterprise connectivity in one package. The software is built on Microsoft Visio 2000 technology, an industry standard drawing technology for logic and HMI development. Studio uses captured data for the productivity analysis tools to report and analyze process downtime, production capacity and cycle time. OPC 2.0 client and server capabilities simplify the import of live data into manufacturing and office applications. For more information on Studio, click here.

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EZTouch operator interfaces - our next generation of touch panels

Our new EZTouch touch panels will be available in 6", 8" and 10" sizes, and priced from $399 to $1,699. The EZTouch panels connect serially to many PLC brands, including Allen-Bradley, GE Fanuc and Automationdirect.com. Color panels feature 128 colors and monochrome units offer 16 shades of gray. The configuration software for the EZTouch panels ($109) offers online editing for fast configuration and debugging. The software also contains a library of 2,000 bitmapped graphical images, and high-speed vector-based objects that can be scaled to almost any size without distortion. Please check the Web site for availability. For more information on the EZTouch product line, click here.

PC control bundle to jump-start your project

Check out our new PC control bundle. It includesThink & Do loaded on our DL470 Industrial PC and our new Industrial 15" LCD Touch Screen Monitor (EZ-Monitor). At $5,345, this bundle will make starting your first (or installing your hundredth!) PC control system a plug-and-play operation. For more information on PC control and the bundle, check our web site.

To check all the latest product news, go to http://www.automationdirect.com/adc/Overview/Catalog/What-s-s_New

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Automatic login option for registered users

We recently added a new feature to the store that many of our customers have requested. We now give you the option during store Log In and Registration to set a flag saying "Remember Me". If this flag is set, we will write an encrypted cookie to your computer. On subsequent visits, we access this cookie and automatically log you into our store. You can turn off this feature at any time by accessing your Registration screen and turning off the "Remember Me" flag. This will delete the encrypted cookie we wrote to your hard disk.

For more information on how we use cookies on our site, go to http://www.automationdirect.com and click Shopping Help > Safe Shopping Policy.

And don't forget our Free shipping and handling for online orders. See bottom of newsletter for terms and conditions.

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D4-450 now supports 16-bit PID and auto-tuning

The new firmware version for the D4-450 CPU supports 16-bit PID and the auto tune function (the same functionality as in the D2-250 CPU). The firmware versions V1.90/V1.446 and V1.90/V2.446 are available for download from the Web site. Check the D4-450 update instructions on the download page to determine which version you need. The new firmware works in combination with DirectSOFT Version 3.0, Build 58, also available for upgrade on the site.

To download the latest D4-450 firmware, click here

To download the latest DirectSOFT version, click here

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Johnny held off Boris Said to pick up his first career victory in the BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series at the San Diego Grand Prix on November 5th. Everyone here at ADC had their fingers crossed the last several laps, and were ecstatic to see Johnny cross the finish line first. Miller, who started the afternoon third on the grid, ran a close second behind Simo for the first 46 laps of the race. Midway through lap 47, Miller managed to pass Simo and held onto the lead for the final 14 laps to take the win.

With the win, Miller made his third podium appearance this season and his 11th career podium finish. "The first win is as much a relief as it is exciting," said Miller. "To not have won the race today would not have justified the year. To finally win is a very big thing, it couldn't get any better than this. It's been a very long year. I thought that the first win would happen several times. But today, it finally happened. Boris pushed me hard at the end and I had to get around a lot of traffic, but all in all it was a very clean race."

The win helped Johnny finish 8th in the TransAm series for 2000. Next year promises to up the ante, with TV coverage on a major network station and more participation from his loyal sponsors.

For all the latest racing news, click here.

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