element14 Sponsors Open Hardware Summit 2010 in Support of Open Source Movement

Open Source Arduino-Compatible Boards and Support Available at Popular Engineering Community and Store

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- element14, the first online global design engineering community and US electronics technology store, announces it is one of the sponsors of the first Open Hardware Summit on Sept. 23 at the World Fair Grounds in Queens. The Summit is the first conference of its kind, focused on bringing together individuals, organizations and companies like element14, who are playing a role in defining, leading and coordinating the Open Source movement.

Arduino, an Open Source electronics prototyping platform based on Atmel AVRs has been one of the most popular results of the movement. High quality Arduino-compatible boards are available at the element14 store under the Multicomp brand and can be used for stand-alone projects. Alternatively, users can build their own board, which element14 supports with free downloadable EAGLE PCB software and an Arduino discussion group on its community. Hardware reference designs are available under an Open Source license and adaptable to individual projects.

“We are proud to play a role in the Open Source movement, which is having a huge influence in the electronics community,” comments Alisha Mowbray, SVP, Marketing Innovation, element14. “As both a community and store, element14 can offer the boards, software and support enthusiasts need to utilize this exciting technology.”

Summit attendees are invited to visit the element14 booth at the World Maker Faire, which will be held on Sept. 24 and 25 at the New York Hall of Science in Queens, NY. Popular internet personality and console modder Ben Heckendorn (aka “Ben Heck”) will be at the booth to demonstrate how to modify one of his signature Microsoft® Xbox 360 controllers. “The Ben Heck Show,” his new online TV series sponsored exclusively by element14, can be seen at www.element14.com/tbhs.

About element14

element14 (www.element-14.com) is the first website of its kind for electronic design engineers, offering rich, technical data, a collaborative web 2.0 global community and an electronics technology store for US customers. With these capabilities, the site can seamlessly support engineers through every stage of the design process, from concept to the creation of a next-generation product prototype. Users can access global legislation that impacts their design, download free design tools, query a panel of industry experts, collaborate and share information openly or privately with engineers around the globe, using web 2.0 functionality and the site’s built-in translation tool. At the electronics technology store, US engineers can purchase many of the innovative products being discussed within the community. Products are in stock and available for same day shipping within the US at flat freight fees that start as low as $5 per order.

element14 is another innovative offering from Premier Farnell plc (LSE:PFL), FTSE 250, a leader in multi-channel distribution and specialty services for electronic design engineers. Globally, it offers a stocked range of 450,000+ products, and access to 4,000,000 items from 3,500 top suppliers including suppliers of emerging technologies. More than 4,100 Premier Farnell employees work in 28 countries, and the Group hosts 29 local language websites, which receive more than 32.5 million monthly page views. Group sales in 2010 were £795.3 million.