The following is a wrap-up of news of interest during
the months of September to October 1996.HP Announces SAP Certification for ChemLMS
LIMS Interface to SAP's R/3 Quality Module
Hewlett-Packard (HP) (Palo Alto, CA) has announced SAP certification for
its HP ChemLMS LIMS interface to the R/3 Quality Module (QM) module. "SAP
certification ensures that our customers get ready-to-use, functional interfaces
that will operate correctly with SAP installations by means of a thorough
and conscientious certification program," said Mike Rank, HP LIMS manager.
Based on the QM-IDI interface, the ChemLMS LIMS interface to QM provides
seamless transfer of laboratory testing requests from QM to LIMS and seamless
return of valid laboratory test results to QM. The solution integrates laboratory
information into the enterprise, improving productivity, responsiveness
and decision-making. For details, contact HP (102) Chemical Analysis Group,
1763, P.O. Box 9000, San Fernando, CA 91341 or on the web at http://www.hp.com.
Accelerated Technology Laboratories Widens
their Distribution Network
Accelerated Technology Laboratories (ATL) has added C-Lab Chemievermittlung
GmbH, Germany, to their list of distributors for their Sample Master family
of LIMS. Sample Master is based on Microsoft Access and includes powerful,
easy to use functions to automate the laboratory, including scanning directories
for importing and automatically printing reports and invoices for completed
samples. In addition, the company recently posted a web site at http://www.ATLab.com,
and Joerg Baier has signed on as the organization's new Director of Sales
& Marketing. For additional information, contact ATL at 800-565-LIMS
or +1 415-594-9370. C-Lab can be reached at +49 08092-83367.
New LIMS Aids Small Laboratories
A new LIMS vendor, Mountain States Consulting, has announced the release
of a low-cost LIMS for small laboratories. Targeted for laboratories burdened
with paper-based records management systems, MSC-LIMS helps prevent lost
or expired samples; provides efficient report, chart and statistics generation;
and assists labs with limited personnel that are experiencing increased
sample processing volume. For details, check out the listing for Mountain
States Consulting in the LIMSource products pages.
Labtronics Announces New Software and Automated
System
Virtually any RS232 instrument can now be automated with Control, a new
Windows 95 software program from Labtronics, Inc. Control allows the user
to automate control of essentially any RS232 instrument, such as samplers,
detectors, pumps, valves, diluters, etc. The software can conduct experiments
and collect data in real-time, as well as perform calculations and transfer
results to LIMSLink, Excel and other programs.
A new fully automated system for the simultaneous measurement of pH, conductivity
and alkalinity is also available. The new system consists of Ion Magic software,
a robotic sampler, a multi-parameter meter and accessory hardware. Tests
can be performed directly in standard beakers or transferred to a special
reaction chamber. Limits can be set for standards and QC samples to control
the system and monitor electrode performance. The system follows GLP and
ISO 9000 standards, and provides password protection and autit trail control.
For details on either of these products, contact Labtronics at +1 519-767-1061
or fax +1 519-836-4431.
TAL Technologies Announces New Serial Data
Acquisition and Control Capability for SoftwareWedge
Tal Technologies' SoftwareWedge -- which enables users to input serial data
from any instrument into Excel, Lotus, LIMS or other software running Windows,
DOS, NT or Windows 95 applications -- now comes with WinWedge 32 for Windows
95 and NT. WinWedge 32 provides higher speed data acquisition and instrument
control with native 32-bit processing power for use with Windows 95 and
NT applications. It includes all the features of its predecessor, WinWedge
Pro v3.0 plus numerous other features, such as support for up to 100 serial
ports simultaneously; 15-20% faster DDE data transfers; programmable hot
key control; fully pre-emptive multitasking; etc. WinWedge 32 is priced
at $495, while upgrades from WinWedge Pro v3.0 cost $159. German and French
versions of WinWedge Pro v3.0 are also now available for $395. For details
contact TAL Technologies at (800) 722-6004 or +1 215-763-7900 or by fax
at +1 215-763-9711. In addition, TAL
Technologies now has a web site online; check out their listing in the
LIMSource products pages.
National Instruments Announces Partnership
with Apple Computer
Apple has officially stated that technical markets -- science, engineering
and design -- constitute one of their key market areas, and will pioneer
new technology to address this arena. To this end, National Instruments
will participate in the design of the next generation of Power Macs. National's
goal is to release future PCI and PC Card products with both Mac OS and
Windows drivers simultaneously. Currently, their PCI and PC Card products,
including data acquisition (DAQ) boards, are compatible with the Macintosh
and Mas OS compatible computers, including the new high-speed dual-processor
Power Macintish 9500. For details, contact National at +1 512-794-0100 or
visit Apple's special web page at http://www.technical.apple.com.
Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Announces
Several New Services and Products
New products and services from CAS include:
- FirstSearch CA Student Edition, a new information product customized to
serve the chemical information needs of undergraduate students.
- Derwent's World Drug Alerts Information, this popular database is now
available through CAS' SciFinder for desktop research.
- Eastman Kodak and CAS have signed an agreement to develop an in-house
application that will link Kodak's in-house proprietary databases with CAS
databases using new technology built around SciFinder.
For additional details, contact CAS at +1 614-447-3847 or visit their web
page at http://www.cas.org
New Publications of Interest
Several new publications have hit the streets that may be of interest to
LIMS users. The following synopsis should have something to tweak your interest:
- Taratec Development Corporation has published the summer issue of Protocol,
their quarterly newsletter for the validation industry. This 4-page newsletter
contains articles entitled "Your Computer Validation Strategy: A Reality
Check"; "Straight Talk: Where Do You Start?"; "The Seven
Habits of Highly Effective Validation Consultants"; and "LIMS
Validation - Lessons Learned". For a copy, contact Taratec at +1 908-725-8090.
- An on-line Directory entitled Dictionary of PC Hardware and Data Communications
Terms is now available. This online version of the printed book from
publisher O'Reilly is free on the web and provides a convenient way to look
up definitions on the fly. Each of the more than 900 terms has its own URL
and the web site includes a search engine so users can quickly and easily
access the term they seek. Check it out at http://www.ora.com/reference/dictionary.
- Analytical Chemistry has published their annual 1996-1997 LabGuide.
This definitive softbound buyer's guide lists products and vendors for chromatography,
software, spectroscopy, instruments and labaoratory supplies, and more.
It is also available on the web at http://pubs.acs.org.