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-------------------------Monitor------------------------
The Newsletter for PC-Based Data Acquisition and Control
Issue 131          www.windmill.co.uk          June 2009
--------------------ISSN 1472-0221----------------------

Welcome to Monitor, the data acquisition newsletter.  I 
hope you find it useful, but should you wish to remove 
yourself from our mailing list please go to 
http://www.windmill.co.uk/newsletter.html 

CONTENTS
========
* Windmill News: New People Counting Resource
* Excel Corner: Quickly Switching between References
* DAQ News Roundup
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

Windmill News: New People Counting Resource
________________________________________________________

The company "T & RVT" are using Windmill software in 
their video people counting systems. 

CCTV cameras are mounted above doorways, corridors or 
streets and Windmill's intelligent people detection 
software counts the number of people passing underneath.  
Counts are regularly saved to disk or displayed in 
occupancy meters. 

Find out more at the new T & RVT web site at
http://www.tandrvt.com/
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

Excel Corner: 
Quickly Switching between Absolute and Relative References
________________________________________________________

When writing an Excel formula, there are two ways you 
can reference a cell: absolutely and relatively.  

For example, in cell B1 you may write =A1. The value in 
cell A1 will then be shown in cell B1.  This is a 
relative reference.  If you copy the contents of B1 to 
B2, the formula will now read =A2.  The reference is 
based on the relative position of the cell that contains 
the formula and the cell to which the reference refers.  
In our case, one cell to the left. 

An absolute cell reference always refers to a cell in 
a specific location.  If you copy the formula to a new 
cell, the absolute reference remains the same.  An 
absolute reference is written =$A$1.

You can mix references, for example $A1. In this case the 
column is absolute and fixed, but the row is relative. 

You can quickly switch between types of reference with 
the F4 key. 
1. Select the cell containing the formula.
2. In the formula bar (labelled fx at the top of the 
   spreadsheet), highlight the references to be changed.
3. Press the F4 key. It will change the reference type. Keep 
   pressing and it will switch from one option to another.

You have to highlight the formula otherwise pressing F4 
will just repeat whatever action you last took, just 
like Ctrl Y does.

For more on using Excel for data acquisition see
http://www.windmill.co.uk/excel.html
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

DAQ News Roundup
________________________________________________________

Welcome to our roundup of the data acquisition and 
control news.  If you would like to receive more 
timely DAQ news updates then grab our RSS newsfeed 
at http://www.windmillsoft.com/monitor.xml.  Read 
http://www.windmill.co.uk/newsfeed.html for notes
on how to display the news on your own web site, 
read it via e-mail, mobile phone or in your browser.
	
10 scientific objects that changed the world
   To mark its centenary, the Science Museum in London 
   had its curators select the ten objects in its 
   collection that made the biggest mark on history. 
   Cast your vote in the public poll to decide the most 
   significant of all.
   Source: New Scientist
   http://www.newscientist.com/

Texting Hyaenas
   Text messages sent from hyaenas could help wildlife 
   experts better understand their behaviour and 
   movements.  A study being carried out by a team at 
   Nottingham Trent University is aiming to fit brown 
   hyaenas with devices that transmit their location 
   using mobile phone network text messages, whilst radio 
   transmitters will help them to pin point their exact 
   location and record their movements and behaviour.
   Source: Nottingham Trent University
   http://www.ntu.ac.uk/apps/news/85693-15/

Industrial Controls Shipments plunge
   US association NEMA's Primary Industrial Controls Index   
   experienced its largest quarter-to-quarter decline on  
   record, contracting more than 23 percent in the first  
   quarter of 2009 versus the fourth quarter of 2008.
   Source: NEMA
   http://www.nema.org/media/pr/20090512b.cfm

Sensors check air conditioners' refrigerant
   Engineers at Purdue University have developed a 
   technique that saves energy and servicing costs by 
   indicating when air conditioners are low on refrigerant, 
   preventing the units from working overtime. 
   Source: Purdue University
   http://news.uns.purdue.edu/hp/BraunAirCondition.html

Lack of frequent data collection impacts sustainability strategies
   IBM survey shows that companies are collecting data 
   infrequently, and not engaging enough with customers 
   and suppliers to attain stated corporate goals.  For 
   example, only 19% are collecting data on CO2 emissions 
   weekly or more frequently.  Respondents who reported 
   outperforming competitors are doing all those things 
   better - collecting and analyzing the right data 
   frequently to make better decisions
   Source: Control Engineering
   http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6662980.html
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

* Copyright Windmill Software Ltd
* Reprinting permitted with this notice included
* For more articles see http://www.windmill.co.uk

We are happy for you to copy and distribute this 
newsletter, and use extracts from it on your own web site 
or publication, providing the above notice is 
included and a link back to our website is in place.

An archive of previous issues is at 
http://www.windmill.co.uk/newsletter.html

Windmill Software Ltd, PO Box 58, North District Office,
Manchester, M8 8QR, UK
Telephone: +44 (0)161 833 2782
Facsimile: +44 (0)161 833 2190
E-mail: monitor@windmill.co.uk
http://www.windmill.co.uk/
http://www.windmillsoft.com/

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