Our ‘Smiling for Smiddy: Journey of Friends’ documentary had its premier screening in Brisbane this week, playing to a packed house of over 300 people, receiving a fantastic reaction.

The documentary, a longer directors-cut of the version that went to air on Win TV before Christmas, tells the story to the 2009 Smiling for Smiddy Challenge, a gruelling 8-day bicycle ride from Brisbane to Home Hill, near Townsville, to raise money for cancer research in memory of Adam Smiddy who died from an aggressive melanoma. This year the riders raised over half a million dollars. View the promo below.

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/8054311[/vimeo]

To find out more about and support this worthy charity please visit www.smiddy.org.au.

Just nine months after it was launched Jentla, a suite of Joomla Enterprise Layer software, has been adopted by the sixth largest education institution in the US and its creator has been recognised by the Financial Review MIS Magazine as a rising star.
Jentla, developed by Brisbane internet-based software design company, Zac-Ware, is a new enterprise grade content management extension for Joomla web developers.
Zac-Ware CEO Damian Hickey said Jentla, which had already been adopted by Prime Television and Queensland Health, had been very successful and they were thrilled to be recognised by MIS.
“We are now extending into the US market with its adoption by Florida State College at Jacksonville. At 90,000 students, they have some serious web requirements. The recognition by MIS is additional vindication of the approach we have taken over the last several years – to build a solution around open source software,” he said.
Mr Hickey said Jentla provided a suite of extensions for web developers that would enable them to dramatically increase the number of websites they could manage.
“We are extending the Joomla CMS solution that is largely built in Australia and is being used by over 10 million websites so it can be applied to even the most diverse enterprises.”
Jentla can support up to 1000 sites, whether micro or fully fledged and large scale, and allows content to be implemented network wide while also allowing content to be customised to suit the different target markets at which the sites are directed.
Zac-Ware, which operates from The University of Queensland owned i.lab incubator at Toowong, said as a small business they recognised the need for a system that had made Joomla more accessible for enterprises while also simplifying and reducing the time investment needed to run a large number of sites for web developers.
“Jentla is based on an open-source solution, which allows us to draw on the enthusiasm and creativity of thousands of developers,” he said.
“We then combine that energy and productivity with a clear enterprise architectural focus.”
Mr Hickey said Zac-Ware was a three-year-old start-up company that moved to the i.lab incubator almost a year ago.
“We had the know how in our industry but basing ourselves at this unique technology business incubator has allowed us to take advantage of the business mentoring facilities and helps us develop and grow markets for our products,” he said.
For more information about Jentla and ZacWare, please visit www.zac-ware.com.

Children’s performance group the Silly Billies will be jumping around and making some noise about solar power and sustainability at two free concerts at Sunshine Plaza this Saturday 23 January.

The concerts at the Riverwalk Stage at 11am and 1pm, will give children one more chance to have fun before heading back to school and be in the running to win some great prizes, while also learning more about how solar power works.

Silly Billies member Jumping John is really excited about the concerts and helping more families to learn more about how easy it is to be more sustainable.

“We had our Auzion system installed about nine months ago because we wanted to help look after the environment,” John said.

“The results have been amazing so I am really looking forward to jumping around and helping to spread the word about sustainable energy.

He said the Silly Billies believed using sustainable energy was really important and that it was important for everyone to do what they could.

“We love our solar energy system but what got us really excited was when we started getting money back instead of an electricity bill,” he said.

“We only got the smallest system available installed and still we are saving hundreds of dollars each quarter.

Auzion managing director Mark Leckenby said with the support of Sunshine Plaza, they were delighted to be presenting the concerts.

“Teaching children about sustainability is really important and our customers tell us it’s often the kids that get them thinking about sustainable energy,” he said.

Mark said the concerts were the beginning of a series of promotions Auzion and the Silly Billies were planning for Queensland, adding the concerts were also a celebration of the success the Sunshine Coast company had experienced since it launched about 18 months ago.

“Already hundreds of families have installed Auzion solar grid connect energy systems, and AuziMax energy management monitors, taking advantage of the solar credits available from the Federal Government.

“Families are fast adopters of new sustainable technology so we see this as a great way to say thank you to them for their support while also continuing to spread the word about the importance of sustainability and the impact we can all have.”

At the concerts there will be thousands of dollars in prizes to be won including Silly Billies merchandise and a solar grid connect system valued at $7000 (*a $1500+gst installation cost applies and installation must be completed through Auzion).

There will also great specials on solar systems available from Auzion on Saturday and throughout the following week at the Auzion stand in the Sunshine Plaza near Terry White Chemist and the Nut Shack, from Monday 25 to Sunday 31 January, where staff on hand to answer questions and demonstrate how the systems work.

“We look forward to seeing everyone there so come along and enjoy all the fun,” Jumping John said.

Thanks to Sunshine Plaza for providing the venue and to the Silly Billies for donating their time to make this event possible.

For more information about Auzion’s solar energy systems, mega solar bundle and the AUZiMAX, visit www.auzion.com.

Food Matters, a documentary about nutrition, health and wellbeing, produced by Sunshine Coast couple James Colquhourn and Laurentine ten Bosch, has just cracked 100,000 sales and is now airing in more than 30 countries worldwide.
The film, which was launched just 18 months ago, has been shown on Canal+, a French broadcaster who dubbed the film in French and broadcast the title through 27 countries, as well as Noga from Israel. It will premier on the Rialto Channel in New Zealand in February and has also been included in the in-flight entertainment on Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand.

Food Matters, which operates from the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Innovation Centre, is now also partnering with other filmmakers, distributing other nutrition, wellbeing and sustainable living films because of the demand for information in this area.

Producer and Director James Colquhourn said they developed the documentary after watching his father struggle with Chronic Fatigue, Depression and Anxiety.
“It was clear that the conventional ‘drug based’ approach was not working for him, as it doesn’t for many people, and he needed a different angle of attack. We studied all that we could and encouraged him to read many books but it just wasn’t getting through,” James said.
“That was when we decided to create a film that offered a multi-media learning approach and delivered everything in a quick and concise fashion. After watching the footage he starting implementing healthier lifestyle changes straight away, and his health rebounded completely and he withdrew from all his other medications without any side effects,” he said.

“What we learned throughout this journey was so astounding that we wanted to share it with others, so Food Matters was born.”

Producer and Director Laurentine ten Bosch said the success of the film had been fantastic but that they had a busy year ahead with the film recently launched into the North American retail market.

“The film is now available in the US through Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, Borders, Blockbuster and NetFlix and we are excited that the film has made such a large impact in North America and Canada as it had been one of our goals to see the film do well over there,” Laurentine said.
Innovation Centre entrepreneur-in-residence Nigel Hall said the success James and Laurentine and Food Matters had experienced could be just the beginning for them.

“They saw a need, learned new skills and created a product for which there is a strong demand,” Nigel said.
“Now through careful business planning, they are further developing that niche and branching out into the distribution of other similar products. This is just the type of entrepreneurial enterprises we encourage at the Innovation Centre.’’

James said as first-time filmmakers making the documentary had been challenging. “It took 12 months from start to finish and far more money than expected,” he said.

“We were lucky to partner with the amazing Enzo Tedeschi, our co-producer and editor. Enzo filled the gaps in our experience with regards to the technical aspects of the post production while we provided the direction and held on for the ride!”
James said since releasing Food Maters interest in the film had continued to snowball.

“Just recently we had over 95,000 people visit our website in just one month, with more and more people subscribing to our free fortnightly newsletter, which offers all the latest news and tips on nutrition and natural healing.”
To find out more about Food Matters visit www.foodmatters.tv. For more information about the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast visit www.innovation-centre.com.au.

Australian publishing mogul and bestselling relationship author Allan Pease has fulfilled a life-long dream on a massive scale – building a state-of-the-art, luxury, recording studio on his 54-acre Buderim property in Queensland.

Heliport Recording Studios, named because it sits above Allan and Barbara Pease’s private helipad, is the newest and largest recording studio on the Sunshine Coast.

Costing over a million dollars to build and fit out, the studio is also unique in Australia having the first commercially available Solid State Logic (SSL) Duality deck in Australia, which means the studio can be used to record on any scale right up to full broadcast music recordings and 5.1 movie soundtracks.

But why a recording studio – that’s where Allan’s lifelong dream comes in.  When Allan, now 58, was a teenager it wasn’t publishing and public speaking he dreamed of – he wanted to be a rock star.

“I’ve always played blues music and I was in a band and really wanted to be a rock star but the dream was rudely interrupted by life when I met my wife and had six children,” he laughed.

“I booked my ticket to Woodstock in 1969 and was ready to go when my girlfriend announced she was pregnant. I had to sell my ticket and Les Paul guitar to by carpet and a cot.”

Allan said he kept the dream alive for over 30 years and while he and wife Barbara built their lives, becoming Australia’s most successful publishing team writing 15 Top 10 Bestsellers.  But he continued to play Rock N Roll and Blues and taught himself to play piano.

“Now I can play the keyboards, bass, rythmn and lead guitars and drums as well as do vocals and harmonies.  Now I want to record my own album where I play every part,” he said.

“ I am lucky to be able to afford to fulfil my dream on a grand scale including building the studio but because I had my dream I also want to help others with their dreams too and use the studio to find and help new talent.  Angus Woodhead is the resident sound engineer at Heliport and he’s highly experienced and well-known in the recording business.”

The studio is in an architecturally designed building amid the Pease’s rainforest property overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the Sunshine Coast so in addition to having state-of-the-art facilities it also has an environment that fosters creativity.  And if the view isn’t inspiring enough there is also a tennis court and clubhouse complete with a media room, kitchen and other facilities.

“It’s the perfect destination recording studio where artists can work and also relate as they create their music,” Allan said.

He said he had three New Years resolutions to work on in 2010: recording his album; learning to play the saxophone; and climbing 4600m to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Anyone wanting to find out about using the facility can call Pease International on 07 5445 5600 or email info@heliportstudios.com.

Sunshine Coast entrepreneur and scientist Dr Geoff Edwards has just returned from EnviroAsia 2009, the fourth International Environmental Technologies Exhibition and Conference where he advised world experts about the future of nanotechnology in the
Clean Technology industry.

Dr Edwards, managing director of Nano-Nouvelle, was one of several experts from around the world invited to speak at the Sustainable Energy Conference at EnviroAsia 2009 in Singapore.

He told the conference that there was great potential for the use of nanotechnology in the clean energy sector, where it had already made a significant impact with solar cells and batteries.

“For clean energy to be widely adopted it is vital that it be affordable and nanotechnology developments and further research is key to achieving this.”

Dr Edwards said there had been significant development of manufacturing methods in the semi-conductor industry, which together with academic research had greatly expanded the range of nano-scale features that could be created, the range of materials they could be created in, and the number of legitimate large-scale production methods that could be used.

“This is exciting news for the clean energy industry. Nanotechnology can potentially have an impact in any area of clean energy where the performance of a material is significant,” he said.

He said just a few of the applications that could benefit in the future included thermoelectric materials, solar cells and hydrogen storage as well as air and water treatment.

Nano-Nouvelle, which is a client of the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast, is developing a nano-structured semiconductor, in the form of a thin film, to efficiently convert various forms of energy into electricity.

Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast Entrepreneur-in-Residence Nigel Hall said Dr Edward’s presentation in Singapore was evidence of his expertise in the area, and testament to the technology he was developing, which had great potential across a range of applications.

Dr Edwards said while their development was at an early stage, potential applications in clean energy were very large.

“The key to widespread use of clean energy,” as he told the conference, “is provision of that energy at a price that is competitive with fossil fuels. Our technology aims to assist this”.

“The recent explosion in nanotechnology is exciting as it is providing new ways to manipulate the structure of materials at the nanometre scale (one nanometer is one millionth of a millimeter) and at a time when sustainable energy is crucial, the clean energy sector can benefit from this,” he said.

Mr Hall said as a University of the Sunshine Coast company, dedicated to the development of the region’s economy, the Innovation Centre was proud to be playing a part in Nano-Nouvelle’s development.

“Developing this kind of new technology locally shows the depth of talent in the region, talent that drives the development of sectors such as Clean Technology, Digital and Creative Industries,” Mr Hall said.

Dr Edwards said the use of nanotechnology in the clean energy sector had to be part of a well-planned, focused strategy for development and manufacturing of the whole product.

“The costbenefit ratio is critical and manufacturing scale-up is a major issue for nanotechnology in achieving favourable ratios.

“Industry must be prepared to fund and undertake serious research and development in order to realise the potential that exists in this field,” he said.

Opengear (www.opengear.com.au), today announced that the Tatts Group, a global provider of highly secure technical systems and networks for electronic gaming machines, has acquired more than
12,000 Opengear SD4000 series device servers.

The SD4000 series will be used by MaxGaming, a subsidiary of Tatts Group, to provide secure remote control, monitoring and data acquisition on electronic gaming machines in the UK and in Australia. MaxGaming will use the SD4000 device servers to communicate with MaxGaming monitoring system software; provide
statistics on wins, turnover, jackpots, loyalty cards, cashbox, credit and games played; and provide process automation and detailed auditing.

“We evaluated systems from a variety of vendors,” said Darryl Green, Technical Specialist – Gaming Technology at MaxGaming, a subsidiary of Tatts Group. “We chose Opengear because it provided our engineers a customizable open sourcebased architecture, highly secure OpenSSL connections, proven reliability and lowest cost.”

Information about Opengear’s SD4000 Series
The Opengear SD4000 device server enables users to securely connect, manage and control RS232/422/485 serial devices from anywhere over ethernet or the internet. The SD4000 provides fast, secure and reliable local and remote connectivity to serial ports on meters, scanners, access control, sensors, PLC’s and SCADA equipment. The compact size of the SD4000 makes it the ideal choice for connecting RS232/422/485 serial devices to the network or to each other with its serial tunneling capabilities. The SD4000 series offers highly secure transactions over TCP/IP (SSL/SSH) with code integrity checks.

New ACM5000 Product Line Helps Gaming Operators
In November, 2009, Opengear launched the ACM5000 series. This family of products expands beyond the functionality of the SD4000 device servers, offering gaming operators a flexible commercial off-the-shelf platform for monitoring, control and supervision of thousands of distributed gaming machines.

The ACM5000 adds an Internal V.92 modem, cellular wireless connectivity, as well as having Ethernet, Wi-Fi and serial connectivity. With power and environmental management coupled with digital input sensors and a local flash disk, Opengear expects industry demand from the ACM5000 in the gaming industry.
“The gaming industry is looking for ways to cut costs. That’s why a move to open source-based device servers makes so much sense,” said Bob Waldie, founder and chairman of Opengear. “We provide the highest level of security and ability to customize – at a much lower cost than proprietary alternatives.”

About Opengear
Opengear (www.opengear.com.au) designs and manufactures next-generation console server, power management and kvm over ip solutions for secure remote access and control of infrastructure. Opengear console servers are installed in more than 10,000 locations around the world. Opengear’s open source platform gives network managers and system integrators the most flexible, extensible, console server solution on the market today for serial console ports, service processors, power solutions and environmental monitoring.

Fumunda Marine is working with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries to reduce the number of migrating whales caught in shark nets along the east coast of Australia.

Fumunda Director James Turner said he was very excited that the Queensland DPI&F had commissioned Fumunda to improve existing acoustic alarm devices, or pingers as they are known, which alert whales to the presence of nets used in shark control programs.

Mr Turner said that Fumunda, which has successfully developed pingers to alert porpoises and dolphins to the presence of fishing nets, was well into the design and engineering phase of the new improved whale pingers.

“Pingers emit a low?frequency signal that alert porpoises, dolphins and whales to the presence of commercial fishing equipment, thereby helping to ensure that interactions between the set fishing gear and marine mammals are avoided,” he said.

“We are passionate about working with stakeholders such as government and fishermen to find a solution that works for everyone,” he said.

Mr Turner said that in addition to the Queensland DPI&F commission, the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries had made enquiries with a view to ordering the new Pingers.

“Whales are wonderful creatures and it’s great to see their numbers increasing, so we are delighted to be working with both New South Wales and Queensland Governments to achieve this,” he said.

The new pingers have been designed to operate at a very low frequency known to be audible to whales.  The new pingers will be significantly more powerful than the existing models.

The new Fumunda low frequency pinger will be significantly smaller and lighter than the existing pinger technology, making handling and fitting to the nets much easier.  They will be made using high quality internal components and long-lasting replaceable batteries, ensuring reliable performance.

Mr. Trevor Long, Director of Marine Sciences at Sea World, has also thrown his support behind the improvement of existing acoustic technology.

“We need to be more proactive in the protection of our marine life from the danger that shark nets present.  New technology such as the Fumunda ‘pingers’ are certainly an advancement in the right direction, Trevor said.

“Fewer whale entanglements in shark nets in the future, is something we all want to see”, he said.
Mr Turner said he was very pleased to be working on this project to help protect marine mammals, which have always held a fascination for him.

“Whales and dolphins are such intelligent and unique creatures, and we have a responsibility to protect them,” he said.

“Approximately 12,000 whales travel up and down the east coast of Australia each year, and the team at Fumunda, like the New South Wales and Queensland Departments of Primary Industries want to reduce the number of incidental entanglements.

He said to help achieve this the Queensland DPI&F would also increase the number of whale pingers deployed to further enhance whales ability to detect them.

“Our whale pinger technology has applications globally and we hope to work with other stakeholders to further protect these wonderful marine mammals.”

Mr Turner said; for example, on the coast of Western Australia more than 17,000 Humpback whales make the migration to the warmer northern waters for breeding, having to navigate through thousands of lobster pots which are set everyday.

“Our whale pingers could very easily be deployed in clusters of lobster pots to reduce the risk,” he said.

“I am very keen to talk with the West Australian authorities about this opportunity.”

The new whale pingers are expected to go into production later this year, and will be deployed up the east coast of Australia well in advance of the northern whale migration, which starts around the beginning of May.

Tickets are still available for the Bloomhill Melbourne Cup Lunch, which will be a fabulous showcase of Sunshine Coast fashion and food.

The luncheon, held looking out over the beautiful beach at Mooloolaba Surf Club on Tuesday 3^rd November, will highlight all the Sunshine Coast has to offer.

“Bloomhill Cancer Help is a truly local Sunshine Coast charity helping people with cancer throughout the region and we want to highlight all there is on offer here,” Bloomhill fundraising coordinator, Terry Bailey said.

“Leading Mooloolaba fashion boutique The Lily Room will be putting on a great fashion parade for us and everyone will enjoy a lovely three course lunch.”

The Bloomhill fundraising committee, who are organising the luncheon, includes approximately 20 dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers, focused on organising fundraising events to raise much needed funds to help people with cancer and their families.

“Since its founding in 1997, Bloomhill Cancer Help has run various events to assist people in need and each one is an opportunity for people to come together and have a great time – all for a good cause,” Mr Bailey said.

“It is fabulous to be able to put on this fundraising event and we are very grateful to the Mooloolaba Surf Club and the Lily Room for their strong support.”

The event will kick off at 11am, and is sure to be an exciting day for all those attending, with door prizes, raffles and sweeps providing a great chance to walk away with a prize on the day.

Tickets to the Cup Lunch are $70, including a three-course meal, and all profits will go to Bloomhill Cancer Help, with the Mooloolaba Surf Club also generously donating the use of the room.

“Cancer affects everybody who comes in contact with it. We all know somebody who has cancer or that knows someone who does, this is an opportunity to make a difference in their lives,” Mr Bailey said.

Bloomhill op shops can be located in Buderim, Maroochydore, Mooloolaba, Nambour, Noosa and Caloundra, and donations are always welcome.

Tickets for the Melbourne Cup Lunch are available at Maroochydore Surf Club on 5444 1300. Bookings are essential.

Sunshine Coast technology company, Schoolzine, is taking solving school communication problems nationwide with its innovative communications system developed specially for their unique challenges.

In just two and a half years, more than 85 Australian private and public schools have signed up for the system to send newsletters, emails and SMSs to parents and now, Schoolzine is taking its service national.

Schoolzine Managing Director Phil Reardon said while Schoolzine began as a solution to help schools manage and distribute e-newsletters, it had now developed into being a complete communications system.

“Schools can use our system to send newsletters and other notices via email, or to send SMSs to advise of cancelled activities or other urgent messages,” Mr Reardon said.

He said in fact demand for the system had accelerated since the Swine Flu epidemic during which schools needed to communicate quickly and efficiently with parents in relation to school closures and other safety precautions.

“This is where the system really comes into its own for schools, they can simply type in the text message they need to send and then send it simultaneously to all the parents they need to reach,” Mr Reardon said.

“This is effective for emergency situations but also just when they need to advice parents of cancelled activities and the like.”

Based at the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast, a University of the Sunshine Coast company, Schoolzine takes a school’s videos, photos and text and turns it into an e-newsletter and hardcopy within a single business day, which once approved is sent to everyone in the school’s database.

“It is environmentally friendly because it eliminates the printing and paper needed with traditional newsletters and it saves time for the school’s administration staff and the need for postage as a result it is more cost effective,” Mr Reardon said.

“It also means that messages that were previously sent home with students reached parents in a timely fashion.”

He said by seeking sponsors Schoolzine is able to subsidise the cost of the system and also give a percentage of the sponsorship to the schools, allowing them to generate an income from a previously very expensive process and to communicate better with their community.

Innovation Centre Entrepreneur-In-Residence Nigel Hall said Schoolzine was a great example of the innovative companies developing locally.

“Schoolzine has developed a great solution to a common problem and they are now taking that solution around the country,” Mr Hall said.

“The Sunshine Coast is emerging as one of Australia’s innovation hotspots and at the Innovation Centre we are dedicated to supporting that development”.

The Innovation Centre offers competitive, state-of-the-art offices, with a great location close to the University of the Sunshine Coast and to the Business and Technology Precinct to be developed across the road.

“Not only can companies access students from the university, they can locate themselves at what is becoming the ICT, Clean Tech, and Creative hub of the Sunshine Coast,” Mr Hall said.

The Innovation Centre is already home to 28 businesses, mainly in ICT, Clean Tech and Creative Industry sectors and also offers business development and networking opportunities for businesses throughout the region at the Centre and also via its redeveloped website at www.innovation- centre.com.au including the ‘Zero to Hero’ program which allows people at any stage of business development access to expert advice.

For more information on Schoolzine visit www.schoolzine.com.au. For more information about the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast visit www.innovation-centre.com.au.