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What's new with ILDA and the website
 

This page has news from 2010. For older news, click to get news from 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006.

In addition to the news items listed below, you may also want to check out the following webpages for news from ILDA Members:

     Laser shows and projects page
     New products and services page
     Press releases page
 

December 2010

The ILDA and laserist family is sad to note that Martin Canavan, of ILDA Member YLS Entertainment Inc., passed away on Christmas Eve. Brian Bohan spoke for many when he wrote: "He was one of the nicest, talented, grounded people you could wish to meet, he was generous in every respect. The laser business will be greatly diminished and less bright for his passing." Jim Martin wrote: "He was a true gentleman, both in competition and in collaboration."
     His son Marty replied on the Laserist List: "I can only hope that all the good from my father rubbed off on me and hope to continue doing the best shows I can.. Again thank you everyone for your good wishes and support." Our thoughts and sympathy go out to Martin's family and many friends.

ILDA Member William Benner has co-written a new book that is now on the Amazon best-seller list in three categories, including #1 in Direct Marketing. The book, "GameChangers: The World’s Leading Entrepreneurs – How They’re Changing The Game & You Can Too!", features anecdotes, business strategies and real-life solutions to many of the challenges faced by small and large businesses. Benner authored a chapter in the book titled, “From Idea…To Product…To Market.” More information is on ILDA's Press Releases page.

The deadline for the 2011 ILDA Awards has been changed. It is now 28 February 2011. Members interested in the Awards should now be documenting their shows (e.g., videotaping) in preparation for entering. Preliminary rules for the Awards are on the 2011 ILDA Awards entry page. Since these are subject to change, they should be used as a general guideline to categories and rules. When the final 2011 ILDA Award Rules and Entry Forms are ready, we will announce this here at the website and on the ILDA List.

LOBO has installed a new laser/multimedia tourist attraction in Hamedan, Iran (Persia). It features fountains, ultra-bright "sparks" lasers, and video projections onto a 100-meter-wide central fountain. In the photo below, LOBO's Alex Hennig is working on the installation of the show's LACON-5 programming. (Yes, that is a jet on pylons in the background.) More information is on ILDA's Press Releases page.

AixiZ announces the availability of blue laser modules designed for projectors and professional installation. They are based on 445 nm diodes sourced from Casio data projectors. There are three versions: 12VDC TTL, 12VDC analog and a new 90-240VAC analog. More information is on ILDA's New Products page.

AixiZ also announces they are now approved vendors to the U.S. federal government, on the GSA schedule. According to Chuck Maricle, Ph.D., president of AixiZ, the company appears to be "the only pure laser component supplier" on the GSA schedule. More information is on the ILDA Press Releases page.

ILDA is holding a drawing for a powerful handheld laser, the Wicked Lasers Spyder III Arctic. We are encouraging Members to renew before their memberships expire for this year on Dec. 31.
     To enter the drawing, simply renew or join ILDA by December 31. If you have any problems with the ILDA Online Store, write or call ILDA and we'll be happy to help.
     Once you have renewed or joined, you will be automatically entered in the drawing. You'll have the same number of chances as you have ILDA votes. The drawing will take place early in January. Complete rules for the drawing are here, or click on the large blue laser currently at the top of most ILDA pages. Good luck!
 

November 2010

ILDA Members can receive the LIA discounted registration rate for the 2011 International Laser Safety Conference, next March 14-17 in San Jose, California. This is the world's leading laser safety meeting. ILDA and its Members have presented papers at past ILSCs, on subjects including audience scanning and lasers and aviation safety. ILDA will be presenting in March as well. ILDA is proud to be a Cooperating Society with ILSC.

Added reasons to hire ILDA Professional and ILDA Members, to various directory pages. Linked these to a new page with detailed reasons to hire ILDA-related companies. Updated the website menu to give this more prominence.

Added a press release from LOBO, about use of their "sparks" lasers with BMW's new eco sports car, at a press unveiling attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Below is a photo from the event:

ILDA's Board of Directors held its first video board meeting on November 11. This used Skype's new version 5.0 software which allows group calling. Four participants were on computer webcam, with two others via standard phone. The video participants agreed that being able to see each other was almost like having an in-person board meeting.

Top: Alex Hennig, Patrick Murphy (in smaller box), Paul Berthot (voice only).
Bottom: Christine Jenkin, Hayden Hale (voice only), Tim Walsh
 

October 2010

Updated various webpages here at www.laserist.org and at the ILDA Member Management website & Online Store. Reorganized the Online Store. Added certification to the Member Management database. Improved instructions and navigation. Developed a chart showing the three main ILDA websites with password requirements.

ILDA Members Lightwave International and Arctos Lasertechnik demonstrated a 66 Watt full-color RGB laser projector at the 2010 LDI trade fair in Las Vegas. More information on this monster laser (pictured at right) is on the New Products page.

As a public service, we have added information for persons who feel they are being attacked or harassed by laser beams. This was done in response to some letters ILDA has received, asking for help. We can now direct these inquiries to this webpage, which addresses the writers' concerns.

Reorganized the ILDA website menu (which is located in the left column of most pages) to make it easier for clients, laserists and Members to find information applicable to them.

A list of local laser laws and regulations is now available in the Members-Only section. This first version is compiled based on emails from a recent thread about local laws in the U.S. We invite additional submissions, from all countries, to help make this more comprehensive.

The ILDA Ethics Committee has formally issued a statement warning laserists against piracy. It discusses a program that is able to illegally capture laser data via OpenGL and turn it into an ILDA-format file. Use without valid permission from the laser artware owner would be an ILDA Ethics violation. It could also lead to civil action. The statement is signed by over 75 lasershow companies and individuals.

Photos from the September ILDA Conference, taken by Todd Rogers, are now online. There are four galleries: Awards Presentation, Lasers, General Activities and Groups.

ILDA Award winners, past and present, can now conveniently order copies of their ILDA Award trophies, by going to the ILDA Online Store. Select the "ILDA Award - duplicate copy" item. Use the form to select the type of trophy: 1st, 2nd, 3rd or Honorable Mention. Enter the information on the award: year, category, entry name, winner name. We will order a copy, using our current award trophy style, and ship it anywhere in the world.
 

September 2010

The first two ILDA Accredited Professional Lasershow Companies received their ILDA Pro trophies at the Sept. 9 Awards Presentation. LaserNet and Laser Spectacles are the first companies to have completed the "ILDA Pro" application and review process.
     Other lasershow companies are invited to apply for this distinction; details are here.

Congratulations to Tom Harman, Horacio Pugliese, Todd Rogers, Tim Walsh, and Glenn Wright. They passed the first ILDA Laser Safety Officer Course, taught by Greg Makhov, and have received their official Certificates of Completion.

Elections were held during the annual ILDA Business Meeting. Alex Hennig of LOBO was newly elected to the Board of Directors, and Hayden Hale and Christine Jenkin were re-elected. Tim Walsh was elected as President of the Board.
     Additional news about the Business Meeting and the many 2010 ILDA Conference events is in Tim Walsh's diary.

Congratulations to the 2010 ILDA Award winners, including Career Achievement Award recipient Lothar Bopp of LOBO. ILDA has a PDF booklet available with information about all those who were honored at the Awards Presentation, September 9 on board the Carnival Destiny.

Warning against laser artware piracy: ILDA has been informed about a program that is able to illegally capture laser data and turn it into an ILDA-format file. Use of any such program without valid permission from the laser artware owner would be theft. Additional information is at ILDA's intellectual property page (see Case 4, Stealing laser artwork via technical means).
 

August 2010

ILDA has lost a Charter Member, and the laserist community has lost a pioneer. On August 9, Daniel Cohn of Technological Artisans in Pleasantville NY passed away. Daniel had been involved with lasers since the 1970s. In 1981 he founded Technological Artisans, which did hardware, software and shows. He signed up for ILDA in its first year (1986) and at the time of his passing was Technical Committee chair. He had been ill for the past few years and yet still continued working on his company and on the Technical Committee. ILDA extends our sympathy to his family, many friends and co-workers.

ILDA Members are reminded of the upcoming Board of Directors election and ILDA Business Meeting, to be held September 7 during the ILDA Conference on board the Carnival Destiny. All Members are eligible to vote, whether in person at the Meeting or by "proxy" if you cannot attend the Meeting.
     This year, three of the five Board of Directors terms expire. Anyone may run for these seats on the Board. Board service is for two years. If you are interested, details of directors' activities, duties and responsibilities is here.
      For more information on how to run for the Board of Directors, and how Members can vote in person or by proxy at the Business Meeting, see the page Information for candidates and for voters.
 

July 2010

ILDA is now taking applications for the ILDA Professional program. Applicants are listed on the new IAPLC directory page.
    Any company -- not just ILDA Members -- that is interested in applying can read more about the purpose and requirements of this program, and can download the Accreditation Form spreadsheet.

All 2010 ILDA Award winners -- Artistic, Technical and Career Achievement -- have now been notified. If you did not receive a notification, but think you should have, contact ILDA.

The ILDA-cosponsored website LaserPointerSafety.com was called a "gold mine of laser safety information specific to aviation and tailored to pilots and laser pointer users" by the Flight Safety Foundation, in a favorable review published in the April 2010 issue of their magazine AeroSafetyWorld. (The review came to ILDA's attention in July.) LaserPointerSafety.com is co-sponsored by ILDA and Dr. Chuck Maricle of ILDA Member Aixiz.

ILDA will be holding a Laser Safety Officer course, during the Sept. 6-11 cruise and ILDA Conference. Since this is our first time offering this, the price is just $395 for Members. To sign up, contact ILDA directly.

You can still attend the ILDA Conference, September 6-11 on the Carnival Destiny. Although July 7 was the cut-off for guaranteed rooms at ILDA's rate, there still are cabins available. Check Carnival's website for availability. Be sure to register using Booking Method 1 on this page, where you reserve by phone at 866-721-3225 or 305-599-2600 ext 70204 and you MUST give ILDA's Group Booking Number 77P1Q2.

June 2010

The New York State Class B Mobile Laser License fee rose from $60 to $150, according to a report from John "Ivan" Borcherding. He also notes that the new license requires that a photo be taken at an official New York State Department of Motor Vehicles office: "This can make renewal a little more difficult for laserists who live out of the state."

ILDA is very sorry to report about a light airplane crash on June 16 near Rochester, Minnesota that claimed three lives. The pilot, Christopher Livingston, had a laser light show company "Fascination Laser" (ex-ILDA member) and had worked for Orlando's well-known laser company AVI. His girlfriend, Heather Nichols, and their friend and Lasertainment employee Dan Lauritsen ("laserboy") also died in the crash. Our deep condolences go to the many friends and relatives of Chris, Dan, and Heather.

ILDA supported testimony to the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health made by ILDA Member company X-Laser. In its statement, ILDA noted that "we support the CDRH's regulatory authority, but our U.S. members are extremely frustrated with CDRH's slowness in issuing variances, and lack of enforcement against rogue manufacturers, importers and laser show operators." ILDA supported X-Laser's statement "in order to improve public safety and fairness for responsible laser users."

ILDA has been working with interested parties on laser safety aspects of laser diodes and handheld devices in the 1-watt range, which have recently been introduced at affordable prices. These have been used to make the first Class 4 handheld laser sold to consumers. ILDA has long been involved with laser safety, through work by persons such as Safety Committee chair Greg Makhov with ANSI, IEC and especially the SAE G-10T aviation safety group. The work on laser pointers, while not directly affecting light shows, has the goal of keeping a positive public attitude towards lasers in general, and being a way to give back via public service to society and government.
    More information is at the "June 2010 alert" page at LaserPointerSafety.com.
 

May 2010

ILDA Members may now vote for the Career Achievement Award recipient; votes are due via email sent to ILDA, on or before Tuesday, 8 June 2010. The nominees for this year are (in alphabetical order): Lothar Bopp, Steve Heminover, Olesya Kazantseva, Cory Simpson, Bernd Steinert, and John Tilp. Full voting instructions and nominee biographies are on the 2010 ILDA Career Achievement Award nominees page.

Added suggested judging criteria for the ILDA Artistic Awards. These criteria were first developed by Malcolm Hignett at Thames Valley University.

Updated the "Places to see ongoing laser shows" page to add a new summer show at Dixie Landin' amusement park in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Qualifications for Board of Director candidates have been added to the ILDA Bylaws. In addition, Article VIII, Section 9 details additional requirements for Board Members. These changes were voted on by the Board at their May 11 2010 monthly meeting. ILDA Members must ratify the changes at the next annual Business Meeting, which will take place 7 Sept. 2010 during the ILDA Conference on board the Carnival Destiny. The changes have been highlighted in yellow on the Bylaws, to make them easy to spot.
     The Bylaws are available here as a webpage in the Members Only section. Note that you must have a username and password in order to access this section. If you do not know the current username and password, please read the "Password help" information first.

Results of the March poll about ILDA voting were sent via email to Members on May 10. The online poll asked questions about proxy voting, quorum requirements, and online voting. Twenty-seven Members responded to the poll. By a significant majority, the respondents wanted to keep these voting procedures unchanged. Many respondents also added comments. All Members were sent the final spreadsheet including all comments.
    Based in part on the poll results, the ILDA Board decided to make no changes in voting procedures. The Board did note and appreciate the comments, and is keeping these in mind for any possible future proposals.
     The proxy poll is here, and the results are here, as webpages in the Members Only section. Note that you must have a username and password in order to access this section. If you do not know the current username and password, please read the "Password help" information first.

This is the best month to reserve your cabin, and register for the 2010 ILDA Conference, to be held 6-11 Sept. on the Carnival Destiny, sailing from Miami.
     Early registration rates are lowest during May. Rates go up to regular price in June; late registration beginning in July will be even higher, so book in May if at all possible. There are two booking methods to get a cabin. You can book directly with Carnival (preferred), or you can pay ILDA online and we will book for you. In addition, you can register for the ILDA Conference events online. If you want to exhibit at the Tabletop Tradeshow, you can also do this online.

Enter your designs in the 2010 ILDA Conference t-shirt logo contest. The winner receives $125 off of ILDA products (dues, registration, etc.) plus a t-shirt. Since this is the 50th anniversary of the laser, we suggest this as a design element or theme. Entry guidelines and rules are here.

We have finalized the schedule of events for the 2010 ILDA Conference. Details are here.

April 2010

Laser Artist Co. of Moscow has joined the ILDA Member Discount Program. ILDA Members receive a 10 to 40% discount on custom laser show creation (showware) and artwork for Lasergraph DSP. The discount varies depending on the work complexity. They have an Express Show Service to create laser shows in three days or less, and an Express Logo Service to do logos in 24 hours or less. Examples of works (portfolio) are at: www.laserartist.ru/portfolio2.html

148 lasers were used for an artistic installation in London, created by United Visual Artists with technical support by ILDA Member ER Productions. ER not only supplied lasers and assistance, but also developed an infra-red curtain. It prevents access to the beams, without barriers or staff, by shutting the laser down within 20 milliseconds of being breached. More information on the art exhibition "Speed of Light", created for Virgin Media, is on the Laser shows and projects page.

New statistics and recommendations for audience scanning are in an updated version of a paper first presented in March 2009 at the International Laser Safety Conference. The revision notes that over the past 30 years, about 109,500,000 persons have been exposed to audience scanning, receiving an estimated 10,950,000,000 pulses in their eyes. Yet despite these large numbers, there has been only a handful of injury reports from deliberate audience scanning using continuous-wave lasers. ILDA recommends allowing powers up to 10 times the Maximum Permissible Exposure for audience scanning shows that have certain additional safety features. In the updated version, ILDA additionally recommends that such "10x" shows be videotaped for safety and legal compliance reasons.

March 2010

We are asking for volunteer Corporate Members to help test the application form for ILDA Accredited Professional Lasershow Company status. We want to work with just a few companies at the start, to ensure that our process goes smoothly. If you are interested, please review the certification page and application form, then email us to confirm your participation. Note that you must have access to Microsoft Excel 2003 or later in order to fill out the application form. (There is no fee during the form-testing phase but if you wish to go ahead and get Accreditation, there will be a fee. The exact amount has not yet been set.)

ILDA emailed a poll to all Members, asking for their views regarding proxy voting rules, quorum requirements, and online voting. The poll is also available at this page in the Members-Only area. Deadline for Members returning the poll is Wed., March 31.

Updated the laser safety links and articles page with new and improved links, to better help Members and the general public find information.

ILDA Award entries are now coming in and are being listed as they arrive, on the 2010 ILDA Awards page. Entries are logged in every few days, so if you do not see your entry listed right away, wait a few days. Note that the deadline to mail your entries is 31 March 2010.

LaserAnimation Sollinger was recently honored by Coherent, for being the first company to sell more than 200 Taipan high-power (>3W) laser modules. This was achieved just four months after reaching the 100-unit mark. More information is on the press releases page.

Lasers featured prominently in the February 7 Super Bowl halftime show, where The Who was backed by 400 watts of power from sixteen lasers. We now have details about what went into creating the Super Bowl halftime laser show, produced by Laser Design Productions of Markham, Ontario and Las Vegas. The information includes a press release from LDP, plus a larger version of the photo at right. (Photo credit: Touchdown Entertainment Inc./Brad Duns)

February 2010

Added a list of places to see laser shows. (This is intended for ongoing shows, not one-time special events.) If you want to have a site or venue added, please contact us.

ILDA's annual conference has been set for September 6-11, 2010. Join laserists from around the world, aboard the Carnival Destiny. This is an Eastern Caribbean cruise, leaving from Miami Florida. ILDA has reserved cabins as low as $359 per person double-occupancy, making this a very affordable work-and-play vacation. For details:

• Cruise and Conference overview
• Cruise reservations and details
• Registration for the ILDA Conference

It's renewal time for ILDA Members. We are using a new automated system this year. Renewal instructions are here. Thanks very much to all Members who are renewing!

January 2010

ILDA took a poll of Members, on behalf of U.S. laser regulators. The FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health had contacted ILDA looking for data about the operating systems used by laserists. The information would help them plan updates for their "CeSub eSubmission" forms-filing software.
     ILDA's poll results showed that for most respondents, it would not be a problem if the software was available only for Windows computers. However, comments about the CeSub software were uniformly negative. Respondents said it was "inefficient", "complicated", "convoluted", "cumbersome" and "tedious". Two Members suggested it be replaced with a web-based form that could be filled out by any browser.
     The results were sent to CDRH for their further use.

Added another ILDA Member-discount on lasershow services. LaserTech Canada provides a 10% discount on their Logo Express service. They will convert logos or other drawings into laser format, usually in 24 hours or less. This is ideal for laserists who don't have the time or interest in painstaking digitization to make professional-quality laser logos.
    For a complete list of participating merchants, visit the Member Discount Program webpage.

Added a press release about ILDA Member and 2005 Career Achievement Award recipient L. Michael Roberts. Back in October, he received recognition for an article he wrote on magnetic induction lighting, in the expert-only Google Knol online encyclopedia.

Rules and entry forms for the ILDA Awards are now available. To find out more about how to enter the Artistic, Technical and Career Achievement Awards, visit the 2010 ILDA Awards page. This page also lists changes to the 2010 Artistic awards categories and rules.

Revamped the ILDA Directory system, to make it easier for prospective clients to find Members. In addition to the new database (which has the master information for ILDA), added two older-style single-page directory listings:

• ILDA Membership Directory, listed by membership type (Corporate, Nonprofit, etc.)

• ILDA Membership Directory, listed geographically by country

     Because these listings are updated manually, the database will always have the latest information. However, it is easier to skim and scan the two new directory pages.

ILDA is re-introducing the "ILDA Accredited Professional Lasershow Company" program. Experienced lasershow companies, organizations and individuals can be accredited by ILDA, and thus be certified as "professional". This is an important way that companies can differentiate and market their experience. It also will help improve the laser display industry since clients will be able to identify and select companies with more professional experience.
     You can now download the draft Accreditation Form. This is an Excel spreadsheet which lists all required information, and automates the process of collecting points in various activity areas. ILDA is asking Members and other interested companies to "try out" the draft form, and contact us with suggestions on the points, activity areas, and other aspects of the program.
     ILDA hopes to add more certification programs, in areas such as laser show equipment. Click here for an overview of ILDA certification and accreditation programs.

Dues renewal time is here! 2009 ILDA Members, you can renew your membership anytime up through January 31 2010. You can pay online by credit card or PayPal, or you can request an invoice to be sent to you. The quick and easy renewal process starts here.

The Board is working on future ILDA Conference locations. For 2010, we are looking at a Miami cruise in the August-September timeframe. For 2011, we have tentative offers for Hamburg, Munich and Moscow. In 2012, Laser Spectacles will host in San Antonio, Texas. And in 2013, LOBO will host at their location in Aachen, Germany.