A lifelong resident of New Castle, Nipp joined the New Castle Fire Department in 1969 and was promoted to Chief in 1986, a position his father once held. Nipp also continued the family business of sign painting, which included hand-lettering signs for numerous area schools, businesses and vehicles. Nipp served as the city's Fire Chief until his retirement in 1994; he then served for ten years as a supervisor in the Office of the State Fire Marshall. Nipp was twice elected to the at-large seat on the New Castle City Council, serving from 1996 until his mayoral term began in 2004. Nipp defeated three-term incumbent Democratic mayor Sherman Boles in the May 2003 primary election; he was defeated by Boles in the 2007 Democrat primary.
Takat is a two-player abstract strategy game invented by William Wragg in late 90's. This was a finalist in the 2002 Unequal Forces Game Design Competition and this is the most important fact in short Takat history.
Board
The board is made up of 7 circles arranged in a hexagonal grid making up a large hexagon. Every other circle on the outer ring is coloured red:
_/RED\_/ \
\_/
/RED\_/ \_/
Although the board can be made up of Hexagons instead.
Pieces
* White - 6 flat light discs (Backgammon or Draughts pieces)
* Black - 15 flat dark discs (Backgammon or Draughts pieces)
Start
One player picks white and the other black. White makes the first move. All pieces start off the board.
Goals
The white player must get 1 stack of six:
A stack can be made up from any combination
of pieces.
White Black
---------------------------
The stack can be made up of black pieces as well as white pieces, or can be made up of just one colour. Even if the black player makes the stack, it still counts.
If white immobilises black, then white wins.
Black must immobilise white.
Moves
Each turn a player may enter a piece of their colour onto the board or move a piece of either colour which is already on the board.
A player may enter a piece of their colour onto the board on any empty circle, except for the very central one. Black must not have less pieces on the board than white, if they do then they must enter a piece onto the board, if they can't then they are allowed to move instead.
A player may move any single piece of either colour (except for safe pieces - see later). The piece being moved must be from the top of a stack or be a single piece on its own. No piece from inside a stack may be moved, and only one piece may be moved per turn. A player may not move a piece just moved or entered by the opponent.
The moves which the piece may make are as follows:
_ which is on the same level
/ \ as it.
/ _\/
------------------- -------------------
which is one level up.
/ \
/ _\/
/
------------------- -------------------
(c) \
/
------------------- ------------------- A piece can be moved to an
adjacent stack or empty
circle without moving up or
down a level.
\
/
------------------- -------------------
(d)
A piece can be moved from the top of a
/ \/ \ stack to the top of any adjacent lower
/ \ stack, or an empty circle.
/ \
/ _\/
\/_
---------------------------
Safe Pieces
There are two kinds of safe pieces: temporarily safe pieces, and permanently safe pieces.
Temporarily Safe Pieces
Any two pieces of the same colour stacked directly on top of one another are safe, and the top piece can only be moved by the player whose coloured pieces they are. The opponent can still place additional pieces on top of the safe pieces.
The top piece can only be moved
by white.
----------- -----------
The top piece can only be moved
by black. If the second stack is
on a red circle then neither black
or white can move the top piece
----------- ----------- (see permanently safe pieces).
The top piece can be moved by
either player.
----------- -----------
Permanently Safe Pieces
Three pieces of the same colour stacked directly on top of one another are permanently safe when on a red circle, and the top piece cannot be moved by either player. Additional pieces can still be placed on top of the safe pieces. The examples below all assume that the stacks are on red circles:
The top piece can be moved by
neither player.
----------- -----------
The top piece can be moved by
neither player.
----------- -----------
The top piece can be moved by
either player.
----------- -----------
Two stacks of four or more, with the same coloured safe pieces as their cap (either temporary or permanent) cannot be adjacent to one another.
__
/ \ The move shown in the diagram is not
/ _\/ allowed, as there would be a stack of
/ five next to stack of four, both with
the same coloured safe pieces capping
them.
---------------------------
_
/ \
/ \ The move shown in the diagram is not
/ allowed, as there would be a stack of
\/_ four next to stack of four, both with
the same coloured safe pieces capping
them.
---------------------------
Board
The board is made up of 7 circles arranged in a hexagonal grid making up a large hexagon. Every other circle on the outer ring is coloured red:
_/RED\_/ \
\_/
/RED\_/ \_/
Although the board can be made up of Hexagons instead.
Pieces
* White - 6 flat light discs (Backgammon or Draughts pieces)
* Black - 15 flat dark discs (Backgammon or Draughts pieces)
Start
One player picks white and the other black. White makes the first move. All pieces start off the board.
Goals
The white player must get 1 stack of six:
A stack can be made up from any combination
of pieces.
White Black
---------------------------
The stack can be made up of black pieces as well as white pieces, or can be made up of just one colour. Even if the black player makes the stack, it still counts.
If white immobilises black, then white wins.
Black must immobilise white.
Moves
Each turn a player may enter a piece of their colour onto the board or move a piece of either colour which is already on the board.
A player may enter a piece of their colour onto the board on any empty circle, except for the very central one. Black must not have less pieces on the board than white, if they do then they must enter a piece onto the board, if they can't then they are allowed to move instead.
A player may move any single piece of either colour (except for safe pieces - see later). The piece being moved must be from the top of a stack or be a single piece on its own. No piece from inside a stack may be moved, and only one piece may be moved per turn. A player may not move a piece just moved or entered by the opponent.
The moves which the piece may make are as follows:
_ which is on the same level
/ \ as it.
/ _\/
------------------- -------------------
which is one level up.
/ \
/ _\/
/
------------------- -------------------
(c) \
/
------------------- ------------------- A piece can be moved to an
adjacent stack or empty
circle without moving up or
down a level.
\
/
------------------- -------------------
(d)
A piece can be moved from the top of a
/ \/ \ stack to the top of any adjacent lower
/ \ stack, or an empty circle.
/ \
/ _\/
\/_
---------------------------
Safe Pieces
There are two kinds of safe pieces: temporarily safe pieces, and permanently safe pieces.
Temporarily Safe Pieces
Any two pieces of the same colour stacked directly on top of one another are safe, and the top piece can only be moved by the player whose coloured pieces they are. The opponent can still place additional pieces on top of the safe pieces.
The top piece can only be moved
by white.
----------- -----------
The top piece can only be moved
by black. If the second stack is
on a red circle then neither black
or white can move the top piece
----------- ----------- (see permanently safe pieces).
The top piece can be moved by
either player.
----------- -----------
Permanently Safe Pieces
Three pieces of the same colour stacked directly on top of one another are permanently safe when on a red circle, and the top piece cannot be moved by either player. Additional pieces can still be placed on top of the safe pieces. The examples below all assume that the stacks are on red circles:
The top piece can be moved by
neither player.
----------- -----------
The top piece can be moved by
neither player.
----------- -----------
The top piece can be moved by
either player.
----------- -----------
Two stacks of four or more, with the same coloured safe pieces as their cap (either temporary or permanent) cannot be adjacent to one another.
__
/ \ The move shown in the diagram is not
/ _\/ allowed, as there would be a stack of
/ five next to stack of four, both with
the same coloured safe pieces capping
them.
---------------------------
_
/ \
/ \ The move shown in the diagram is not
/ allowed, as there would be a stack of
\/_ four next to stack of four, both with
the same coloured safe pieces capping
them.
---------------------------
Noesis Innovative Technologies, or often just Noesis IT, is a greek newly established company focused on the development of Innovative Technologies. The primary goal of the company is to deal with novel ideas and bring them into reality so as to benefit from the resulted added value. The research interests include a variety of fields from computer vision and medical imaging to mobile applications and next generation services. There are many on going projects that will lead to functional prototypes soon, so as to undergo a testing phase and finaly be released to the market.
History
Noesis IT was established in 2007 by Kyriakos Athanasiou and Demetris Gerogiannis. It is located in the city of Ioannina, Northwestern Greece, and in particular near the Campus of the University of Ioannina, having thus the opportunity of direct access to state-of-the-art technologies and high educated stuff. Both these factors can improve not only the R&D goals of the company but also the quality of the provided services.
Main Activities
The main activities of the company are the following:
Products
Thyamis Platform
Thyamis Platform is an integrated system that allows direct automatic communication between citizens and public sector while improving the transparency and efficiency of the function of a public authority leading to better services provided to citizens.
vWEB2.0
vWEB2.0 is the company's solution for a WYSIWYG HTML editor. In particular the company tried to integrate the experience of a visual developing tool into their editor. The tool is based on AJAX technologies. It is free and it can be embedded in every webpage. A demo version of this product can be found here.
vMap
vMAP is the company's solution for a visual editing tool. Based on the AJAX technologies, it utilizes the google maps api to provide a user friendly environment for creating maplets. A demo version of this product can be found here.
History
Noesis IT was established in 2007 by Kyriakos Athanasiou and Demetris Gerogiannis. It is located in the city of Ioannina, Northwestern Greece, and in particular near the Campus of the University of Ioannina, having thus the opportunity of direct access to state-of-the-art technologies and high educated stuff. Both these factors can improve not only the R&D goals of the company but also the quality of the provided services.
Main Activities
The main activities of the company are the following:
- Computer Vision Image registration and segmentation which could lead to integrated systems for automated medical diagnosis
- e-Government The company is developing an integrated system that allows direct automatic communication between citizens and public sector while improving the transparency and efficiency of the function of a public authority leading to better services provided to citizens (project THYAMIS)
- Web Application Creation of tools that will improve the development of WEB2.0 applications
- e-health Developing an information healthcare system that will provide the basic health services to citizens of isolated areas.
- Digital Entertainment Video On Demand services (including the utilization of a patent granted to Noesis IT by the Greek Patent Office, OBI). Also developing an integrated personal entertainment system that among others will improve the quality of the Video On Demand services (xCube).
- Navigation Services Developing a platform using the GPS Technology that will benefit social isolated groups of people
Products
Thyamis Platform
Thyamis Platform is an integrated system that allows direct automatic communication between citizens and public sector while improving the transparency and efficiency of the function of a public authority leading to better services provided to citizens.
vWEB2.0
vWEB2.0 is the company's solution for a WYSIWYG HTML editor. In particular the company tried to integrate the experience of a visual developing tool into their editor. The tool is based on AJAX technologies. It is free and it can be embedded in every webpage. A demo version of this product can be found here.
vMap
vMAP is the company's solution for a visual editing tool. Based on the AJAX technologies, it utilizes the google maps api to provide a user friendly environment for creating maplets. A demo version of this product can be found here.
TestShell
TestShell is a suite of integrated software applications used for automating functional testing of software, hardware and system and manage them throughout the entire product lifecycle.
TestShell is an ERP like system for the quality world and provides a standardized platform for developing and running tests.
The TestShell suit consists of 8 integrated applications:
TestShell enables "code free" test development, meaning that you don't have to use any computer programming languages to develop tests. It is designed to allow for a separation between test and sequence authoring, and between communication with the actual device, meaning that it can be used to create reusable test scenarios that can be used to test any UUT using any test equipment.
History of TestShell
TestShell was first developed in 2004 by Nibea Ltd. Nibea subsequently changed its name to QualiSystems after successfully securing a large investment funding in 2007. QualiSystems R&D team are based in Israel and the company has offices throughout the world. The TestShell suite is currently used by product manufacturers from different fields including Aerospace, Medical Devices, Consumer Electronics, Embedded Systems, Cellular, Networking and Semiconductors.
TestShell is a suite of integrated software applications used for automating functional testing of software, hardware and system and manage them throughout the entire product lifecycle.
TestShell is an ERP like system for the quality world and provides a standardized platform for developing and running tests.
The TestShell suit consists of 8 integrated applications:
- TestShell Builder - used to create test scenarios
- TestShell Runner - a fully automated test runner
- TestShell Controller - automatically manages test running across multiple test stations
- TestShell FRACAS - the TestShell Failure, Reporting, Analysis and Corrective Action System
- TestShell InSight - an online business intelligence tool
- TestShell Libraries - ready-made test scenarios that comply with international standards
- TestShell Planner - a tool that allows engineers to build tests for products that are still in the design stage
- TestShell Foundation - the TestShell central database server that underpins the entire suite
TestShell enables "code free" test development, meaning that you don't have to use any computer programming languages to develop tests. It is designed to allow for a separation between test and sequence authoring, and between communication with the actual device, meaning that it can be used to create reusable test scenarios that can be used to test any UUT using any test equipment.
History of TestShell
TestShell was first developed in 2004 by Nibea Ltd. Nibea subsequently changed its name to QualiSystems after successfully securing a large investment funding in 2007. QualiSystems R&D team are based in Israel and the company has offices throughout the world. The TestShell suite is currently used by product manufacturers from different fields including Aerospace, Medical Devices, Consumer Electronics, Embedded Systems, Cellular, Networking and Semiconductors.