This summer saw Andy Gagola join the team at AND.

An experienced project/test engineer, Andy brings with him a proven track record in quality/test engineering, optics & satellite technology knowledge.

Having gained a BSc (Hons.) in Physics Andy went on to obtain an MSc in Applied Optics at Reading University. Working for 3 years as a Research Assistant in Elctro-Optics at York University Andy joined Raytheon Corp. as a graduate apprentice. Working his way up through the company to become a Senior Engineer, Andy then went onto become a Principle Test Engineer & subsequently a Principle Project Engineer at e2v technologies plc.

Married with two young children, Andy is a keen computer hobbyist as well as an amateur photographer.

On Andy's appointment Steven Kear Programmes Director at AND commented "…these are exciting times for AND, I have no doubt that Andy's appointment to our diverse & skilled engineering team will be a major factor in helping us achieve the goals of our new company direction & aiding in our future success.". Andy said "I'm excited about the challenges ahead & am already thoroughly enjoying my new role".

Indeed Andy has already been hard at work, playing a significant role in a project with one of ANDs automotive customers in addition to playing a lead role in a new Zigbee-based entertainment system project AND has embarked on for a client…we'll keep you updated on his progress. All the staff at AND welcome Andy & wish him much success in his new role.

AND appoints two new Directors
THEYDON BOIS, UK – 06th June 2008

"The technology industry is an exciting place to be right now & I can see a lot of opportunity for us" said Steven Kear of AND Technology Research Ltd on his appointment to the board.

Steven's appointment together with that of Chris Thorn, son of the two founders is seen as a natural step by CEO Valerie Thorn who says, "We want to build on our 30 year history whilst maintaining the family sprit. Steven and Chris both have great strengths and are keen to take the company forward with exciting expansion plans"

"Steven joined the company in 2002", commented CTO John Thorn, "and his new role as Programmes Director will use his sound engineering skills together with experience in sales and marketing. Chris," he continues "brings a fresh and strong analytical mind to the board with plans in both applied technologies and business strategies"

Chris explained: "I have plans in the short term to improve efficiency to ensure our competitiveness in the market place. Longer term I am looking to build a product portfolio based on some key technologies in which AND have already established a strong skill base."

Steven commented: "This is a unique role with broad remit & I am excited about the challenges ahead. I have been privileged to work & be tutored by some exceptional engineers & recently enjoyed building relations & working closely with many of our interesting customers. With the guidance of Valerie & John & the ambition of both myself and Chris, I feel we are well equipped for the next 30 years".

­New website - launch of our new 2007 site
THEYDON BOIS, UK – 05th Nove­mber 2007­­­­

CSS, Apache, PHP, HTML, JavaScript, MySQL…sounds like it could be the line-up­ for next Saturday's X-Factor TV show, but it is in fact the list of ingredients that went into developing our new website.
­
2002 saw the last significant update to the company's website when JavaScript, & HTML tables were used to bring a more professional, informative & dynamic look-&-feel to our customers online. The latest release builds upon that following what has now become the web standard of separating website content from formatting but also pushes this technology forwards offering customers enhanced user experience, services & information.

One of the key changes to the site is the new content management system, driven by a MySQL database, PHP & an online HTML editor. Where traditionally, content for the website would be passed to our web team who would do something magical to it for a couple of weeks then all of a sudden announce it was up online, now authorised staff members can individually log in & update content on the site at any time. Staff do not require any knowledge of web languages, all they are simply required to do is provide a username & password when requested & then they can add/edit content on the andtr.com website via a simple word processor-style interface. Behind the scenes, any changes are automatically translated into the various HTML, PHP & CSS languages powering the site & then updated on the database, ready for webpage generation when the staff member or user requests the site or specific webpage. The advantage that this will bring to our customers is that more up-to-date information can be easily & efficiency posted online allowing us to provide improved resources, support & services online.

Playpen, from conception in 2002, has always been a popular feature of our online services to customers. Basically a secure, designated area of our website for customers to "play" in (hence the name); software releases, data, documents, virtual prototypes, etc., from throughout a specific product's development lifecycle are available to the customer to securely access online. The only drawback with this service has been the way in which it was always AND-side controller - customers were unable to upload data & information themselves. With the launch of the new 2007 website, this has all changed. Now both authorised staff at AND, working on a particular project with sufficient confidentiality clearance & customers can easily upload, via the click of a 'Browse' button, relevant files & info into a dedicated area of the website which now offers enhanced online security over the previous version. The area not only provides an online work space for everyone involved in the project, which in modern day electronic & software product development can consist of a number of companies working on many different aspects, but also is a useful tool from traditional email attachments that can be difficult to track, unsecured, subject to file size restrictions & require that everyone involved in the project is always added to the Cc or To box (a challenging task often in itself). In the near future we also hope to offer current development status information, which would allow customers to not only access project resources but also view online the current status of their project.

Another new part of the 2007 site is the ANDtrWiki. Built on MediaWiki technology, that powers Wikipedia & many other Wikis, the ANDtrWiki offers a collaborative, project specific website that can be used to share & document the various important discussions & points that get raised during the development of any project. Viewing & editing is restricted to the community involved in the project (the customer deciding who is privy to the information), each member is able to document discussions, views & meeting points raised; to everyone in the community, with each entry easily & efficiently being logged & tracked. At any one time users can view current information about the project, check various agreed discussion & action points have been carried out & view the entire history of discussion without the need of trawling through hundreds of emails.

This is just a brief glimpse of some of the new features you can find on the andtr.com 2007 website, be sure to take a look for yourself - & check back regularly for new features we hope to role out in 2008.

­Useful links­
MediaWiki [www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki]­­