HARMAN, the premium global audio and infotainment group (NYSE:HAR), announced today an expansion of the company’s infotainment portfolio with the new HARMAN connected radio platform. Targeted at the mainstream entry-level segment, the new HARMAN platform delivers a value solution to OEMs including leading-edge mobile content integration features as well as a seamless radio experience for consumers.
“The pervasiveness of today’s mobile devices and connected experiences is fueling greater consumer demand for easy and safe access to information, entertainment and personalized content in cars,” said Dinesh Paliwal, HARMAN Chairman, President, and CEO. “We are making it possible for more consumers to enjoy a high-quality infotainment experience as well as making it even simpler and safer to use, thanks to features such as hands-free operation and integration with the user’s own smartphone.”
The unit offers clear benefits to automakers: with the same cost of basic radio, OEMs can add smartphone connectivity with HARMAN’s AHA radio, turn-by-turn navigation and voice prompts into their vehicles, as well as meet fast development cycles and delivery.
The HARMAN connected radio supports a range of external user devices, including USB, SD, MP3 players including iPod, and a wide range of smart phones. Using the same NFC technology employed in HARMAN’s high-end infotainment products, consumers can easily connect their smartphones with the head unit in-vehicle. The head unit then uses the driver’s preferred navigation app straight from the Smartphone.
The care and pride taken as they acted as chefs, shop assistants, postmen, bank workers and as they filled their pretend cars up with petrol, made their old mum swell with pride.
But that’s what the Eureka! Children’s Museum in Halifax is all about, learning through playing. The aim of the national curriculum in nurseries is just the same and its great that like minded people are working hard to make sure our investment for tomorrow is well looked after.
The museum celebrated its 20th year in 2012 and has hundreds of interactive and hands-on exhibits to keep children aged 0 to 11 interested. And it runs a Helping Hands Project which allows free Saturday and Holiday Club access to disabled children and their families from nearby areas.
But it is not resting on its laurels, for the museum is due to unveil a new look Me and My Body Gallery in spring this year.
In the meantime there is plenty to keep everyone occupied. Eureka! is easy to find, being right next door to Halifax Railway Station and there’s an on-site car park for the drivers.
Adults and over three’s pay ￡9.95, with one to two year olds charged ￡3.45 and under one’s free of charge. And the fee covers not just one visit, but as many as you want within the year if you upgrade your ticket (free of charge) to an annual pass.
And an annual pass is what’s needed if my two are anything to go by. We visited during the holidays, which meant it was pretty full. But that did not stop Ruaridh and Flora having fun. They spent nearly five hours and never once complained they were bored.
For Ruaridh it was the Mr Maker workshop which caught his eye. While Flora played with the imaginary fish, Ruaridh painstakingly chose his art materials and spent an hour creating his masterpiece. Flora liked the interaction of the make believe Marks and Spencer and kitchen, while Ruaridh had a ball in the garage and pretending to be a bank manager and gas engineer!
The Sound Spacewas a big hit with both Ruaridh and Flora who had great fun trying out the strange sounds and the highlight, adding make up to a photograph of themselves!
As well as the usual displays, Eureka! always has something special on and our visit co-incided with the Interstellar Cinderella pantomime which was a twist of the usual story taking the audience into outer space.
This month sees Glasgow Science Museum on tour at Halifax with a Body Vision workshop and to celebrate Burns Night, a McEureka! Event including a hunt to find the Loch Ness Monster.
Pulliam Trustee Kent E. Agness said that today’s announced grants of more than $1.5 million to four animal welfare organizations more than double the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust’s commitment to an animal welfare cause its founder and namesake held dear.
“Nina Mason Pulliam, our founder, was a great animal lover,” said Agness. “Her homes in Indianapolis and Phoenix were havens for creatures great and small. Over the years, the funds she entrusted to us have supported many community improvements and animal welfare is one key area.”
“The timing is right,” said Michael Twyman, the Pulliam Trust’s director of Indiana program grants. “A true consortium of interested animal organizations is now operating effectively after three years of organizing. Because of that strong alliance, we are confident that this community-wide campaign will result in a significant reduction in the number of homeless or unwanted cats and dogs in Indianapolis, and increases in animal adoptions.”
Mayor Greg Ballard hailed the privately funded, nonprofit-managed initiative as a model of public/private cooperation.
“It always is our intent to reduce the number of animals coming into our shelters. This generous funding from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, Lilly Endowment and Tony Stewart Foundation will greatly enable our all-hands-on-deck approach to educate the public about spay-neuter services and responsible pet ownership,” said Mayor Ballard. “It is our goal that this partnership lowers the number of stray cats and dogs in our community and finds more of them adopted into loving homes.”
The Pulliam Trust also announced that it has awarded three other grants to Alliance members and partners for related initiatives.
FACE (Foundation Against Companion-Animal Euthanasia) will receive a $170,300 grant to double the number of cats neutered from 3,000 to 6,000. The money also will facilitate a merger between FACE and IndyFeral, to more effectively decrease growth in the feral cat population in Indianapolis neighborhoods.
The Southside Animal Shelter will receive an $85,000 grant for two years of project support to develop the Silver Tails program to rescue, rehabilitate and find homes for at least 120 senior and special-needs dogs. The program will focus on increasing animal adoptions from the shelter, and trust funding will primarily cover medical costs, such as vaccines and spay/neuter surgeries of the dogs.
Cat’s Haven will receive a $25,000 grant to provide a free-roaming sanctuary for more than 100 sick, homeless or feral cats daily, or about 300 per year. Trust funding will cover veterinarian expenses, food and shelter supplies, outreach programs for local community residents, spay/neuter education for low-income pet owners, and community awareness through participation in citywide events.
“All of us in the animal welfare community are overwhelmed by the generosity and foresight of these grantmakers,” said Humane Society of Indianapolis CEO John Aleshire. “This investment of more than $2 million represents the largest consolidated investment we’ve ever seen for this cause in this community. We’ll truly be able to put this issue on the public agenda, enhance the services we’re able to provide, and make a far more concerted effort to increase the number of adoptions and decrease the number of strays on our streets and in our neighborhoods.”
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