Dear Debt Adviser, I'm 37 years old, married with three kids, and I have about $15,000 in college debt from my MBA expenses. Should I withdraw retirement savings from my 401(k) or Roth individual retirement account to pay off the debt? I'm sick of having this debt and want to be done with it now. Can I avoid penalties if the retirement money is used to pay off student loans? -- Randy

Dear Randy, With three kids, I would have expected you to have developed more patience by now. Still, 37 is young in the scheme of things. Here's some advice from someone who has been patience-challenged for decades longer than you and comes from a family whose patriarch thought impatience was the most beautiful flower.

I have a three-part answer to your question.

You are responsible for a spouse and three children. Though it may be argued that she is equally responsible for you and the kids, we are talking about you -- and you are most certainly on the hook.

In my experience as a father and husband, I can tell you there is a very good chance in the next five to 10 years the $15,000 you are considering withdrawing may be needed for something more important than retiring an education debt you are "sick of having." Life has a way of sending the unexpected our way at the least convenient time, and often the unanticipated event(s) comes with a high price tag attached. It is hoped you have an emergency savings account of six to 12 months' of living expenses put aside to help fund life's financial curveballs, but you may find additional funds are required.

Also, the $15,000 you remove from retirement funds now could, if left where it is, be worth in the neighborhood of $80,000 by the time you're 67. Even when you take into consideration inflation, you could be missing out on the equivalent of $40,000 if you remove the $15,000 now. As an MBA, you'll no doubt appreciate the time value of money.

Let me suggest that a better idea may be to develop a plan to pay down your college debt more quickly.

Let's do some math. If we assume you have another 10 years to pay on your loan and your interest rate is 6%, your monthly payment is approximately $167 per month. If you were to add an additional $500 to each payment, for a total of $667 each month, your debt would be paid off in two short years. To pay off the debt in one year, you would need to boost your monthly payment by $1,125.

Whether you pay off your student loans sooner or later, my guess is once you know this debt is heading for the door, you won't feel the need to incur a penalty to send it on its way immediately.

Should you decide to withdraw retirement savings from your IRA, I would recommend you consult with a tax-planning professional to assure that you follow all the proper procedures. You do not want to complicate an already bad financial move with a problem with the Internal Revenue Service.

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Pay Student Loans With Retirement Savings?

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The youngest of Generation X will celebrate their 30th birthdays this year, pushing this key demographic into their prime income earning years and establishing them as the benchmark for new retirement saving trends. Gen X showed this past year they are not only saving for their retirement, but they arent wasting any more time.

Drastically more Gen Xers (born 1967 to 1982, ages 29 to 44) reported this year than last that they started saving for retirement between the ages of 25 and 34, according to Scottrade, Inc.s sixth annual American Retirement Study. This year, 51 percent reported starting their retirement savings in this age range, compared to 39 percent last year. This generation demonstrated they are learning from their elders to save earlier. Just 30 percent of Baby Boomers and 21 percent of Seniors started saving for retirement at 25 to 34 years of age.

The study also found the percentage of Gen Xers who reported having less than $25,000 saved for retirement continued its downward trend (53 percent in 2010, 45 percent in 2011 and 44 percent in 2012), while the number reporting retirement savings of $25,001 to $100,000 maintained upward momentum. In 2012, 20 percent said they have between $25,001 and $100,000 saved, compared to 17 percent in 2011 and 14 percent in 2010.

To aid their retirement savings goals, notably more Gen Xers hold a tax-deferred account today than a year ago and the majority, at 71 percent, reported saving some portion of their 2011 income for retirement. Even more, at 85 percent, plan to save some portion of this years earnings for retirement.

With a retirement horizon spanning into the 2050s, Gen Xers have decades of income-earning years ahead of them, said Derrick Brooks, Scottrades director of online investor solutions. They are recognizing the need to save now and seizing the opportunity.

To help them reach their retirement goals, Scottrade is committed to developing solutions so they can research, trade and monitor their investments in real-time, Brooks said. Scottrade understands that self-directed investors and traders have their own investment strategies and utilize the tools we offer in individual ways, and we work hard to continue to be an ally for them.

Through our branch office network, our online trading community, social media channels and usability testing, we are able to listen to our clients, gather their suggestions and continue to expand upon the features and functionalities of our online investing and trading tools, Brooks said. By developing new tools such as our mobile trading app and offering customizable account pages, clients can access the information they want when they need it to make informed trading decisions.

Last week alone Scottrade rolled out two new updates to its trading website: a Quick Trade bar that enables clients to place trades as they navigate from page to page; and a Ratings and Reports tab, which is an at-a-glance view of research items, including S&P Rankings, Reuters Ratings and MarketEdge Opinion.

The company also continues to enhance its offering of investment vehicles beyond its trademark $7 online stock trades to include a variety of IRA types, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds to meet diverse investing strategies. In 2011, Scottrade rolled out a suite of retail banking products, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and money market accounts affording the ability to easily move money and manage finances between banking and brokerage accounts accessed with a single login.

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Scottrade Research Findings: Gen X Motivated to Save, Takes Action to Plan Retirement

SHANGHAI,Chinaand HOUSTON, March 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc. (NYSE: KRA - News), a leading global producer of styrenic block copolymers or "SBCs," is advancing its Asian expansion strategy to support the needs of new and existing customers. Kraton continues to offer a strong presence in the Asia Pacific region through its technology and investment in additional resources to support tremendous growth in the region.

"We are committed to our customers in China and the Asia Pacific region," said Kevin M. Fogarty, President & CEO, Kraton Performance Polymers. "Kraton will continue to expand its technology and service offerings as we work with our customers to meet their needs and help them grow," he added.

Kraton is fully engaged in the formation of a 50/50 joint venture with Formosa Petrochemical Corporation to construct and operate a 30-kiloton hydrogenated styrenic block copolymer ("HSBC") plant in Mailiao, Taiwan. The plant will employ state-of-the-art technology and support global demand for Kraton's differentiated HSBCs. It will also provide significant, additional supply capability, and will set a new global standard for efficiency and product quality for HSBCs. Plant operation is expected in the first half of 2014.

In 2011, Kraton expanded its Cariflex isoprene rubber (IR) latex capacity to support the continued growth in demand for Cariflex products. The company has also executed a contract with its manufacturing provider in Japan, which will result in a doubling of Cariflex latex manufacturing capacity in Japan by mid-2013.

To further support Kraton's customers and the expansions listed above, the company recently opened a new innovation center in Shanghai, China. The facility is three times larger than the previous facility and better accommodates its technical staff, which has doubled over the past eighteen months. The new, state-of-the-art laboratory builds upon Kraton's capabilities including wet chemistry, flame testing and rubber processing. These advances will enhance Kraton's ability to serve existing and new customers in all segments of SBCs as well as Cariflex IR and IR latex.

For additional information about Kraton's investments in Asia Pacific, please contact H. Gene Shiels at gene.shiels@kraton.com or 281-504-4886.

About Kraton Polymers

Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc., through its operating subsidiary Kraton Polymers LLC and its subsidiaries, is a leading global producer of engineered polymers and styrenic block copolymers ("SBCs"), a family of products whose chemistry was pioneered by us almost fifty years ago. SBCs are highly-engineered thermoplastic elastomers, which enhance the performance of numerous products by delivering a variety of attributes, including greater flexibility, resilience, strength, durability and processability. Our polymers are used in a wide range of applications, including adhesives, coatings, consumer and personal care products, sealants and lubricants, and medical, packaging, automotive, paving, roofing and footwear products. We currently offer approximately 800 products to more than 700 customers in over 60 countries worldwide, and are the only SBC producer with manufacturing and service capabilities on four continents. We manufacture products at five plants globally, including our flagship plant in Belpre, Ohio, as well as plants in Germany, France and Brazil, and a joint venture plant operated in Japan.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain "forward-looking statements," which are statements other than statements of historical fact and are often characterized by the use of words such as "believes," "expects," "estimates," "projects," "may," "will," "intends," "plans" or "anticipates," or by discussions of strategy, anticipated performance, plans or intentions. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made based on management's current expectations and estimates, which involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are more fully described in "Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors" contained in our Annual Report on 10-K, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and as subsequently updated in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We hereby make reference to all such filings for all purposes. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update such information.

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Kraton Performance Polymers Continues Asian Expansion Strategy

By John Rosemond, McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS Monday, March 26, 2012 Last updated: 3:18 pm

Question: I recently heard you speak in San Diego and need some clarification. While I understand that researchers have found that high self-esteem is not what it was cracked up to be, I want my kids to approach the challenges of life with confidence in their abilities. There's got to be a reconciliation point here. What is it?

Answer: Excellent question. First, researchers have found that high self-esteem doesn't live up to its hype. In fact, it's not a desirable characteristic. The general finding has been that people with high regard for themselves have equally low regard for others. Yes, they feel really good about themselves (the sales pitch), but they tend to be seriously lacking in sensitivity to anyone else.

The desirable attribute is humility. That was known thousands of years ago, proving once again that there is nothing new under the sun. Humble people pay attention to others, look for opportunities to serve, and are modest when it comes to their accomplishments. People with high self-esteem want attention, expect others to do things for them, and tend to crow about their achievements.

Where confidence is concerned, there is no evidence to suggest that humble and confident are incompatible. By all accounts, George Washington was a humble man who was more than a tad uncomfortable in the spotlight he'd been thrust into. Yet, without the unwavering confidence he brought to his mission, the United States of America might not exist.

Researchers have discovered that people with high self-esteem tend to overestimate their abilities. If anything, they are over-confident. As a result, they don't cope well when life deals them a bad hand or their performance doesn't live up to their self-expectations. For those reasons, they are prone to depression. Because they believe anything they do is deserving of reward, they also tend to underperform. Ironic, because high self-esteem was promoted as the key to happiness and academic success.

As has been known for millennia, the key to a sense of personal satisfaction (not the same as happiness, by the way) and the feeling that one has made and is making an important contribution (not the same as the contemporary concept of success, by the way) is hard work and a solid platform of good values -- the centerpiece of which is high regard for others. Note that the primary beneficiary in that equation is one's fellow traveler, not oneself. In short, the key to the good life is putting others first. Call that the Good Neighbor Principle.

Society is strengthened and culture is moved forward by the efforts of people who think of others before they think of themselves, not by people who think they are the cat's meow. In that regard, one of the most foreboding things about contemporary American culture is that today's young people regard the narcissistic, self-promoting celebrity as more of a role model than George Washington or Abraham Lincoln.

That, in fact, might be our ultimate undoing.

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Good values pave the way to personal satisfaction

According to a press release by Fox, the 9 remaining American Idol hopeful, and that includes MexiPinay Jessica Sanchez will be singing a song from their personal idol come performance night this Wednesday, March 28 and they will be mentored by singer-songwriter and musician Stevie Nicks.

Next week, on Wednesday, March 28 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed), the Top Nine DeAndre Brackensick, Hollie Cavanagh, Colton Dixon, Heejun Han, Skylar Laine, Joshua Ledet, Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez and Elise Testone return to the IDOL stage to sings songs from their own Idols.

Tune in the following night, Thursday, March 29 (8:00-9:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) to the live results show to find out which of the Top Nine finalists is sent home. In addition, Nicki Minaj will take the stage and perform her megahit "Starships" and Season 10 IDOL winner and platinum-selling country artist Scotty McCreery will return to perform his newest single, "Water Tower Town."

Become a fan of AMERICAN IDOL on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AmericanIdol. Follow the series on Twitter @AmericanIdol and join the discussion at #Idol. Also, follow host Ryan Seacrest at @RyanSeacrest, and follow the judges: @yo_randyjackson; @JLo; and @iamstevent.

AMERICAN IDOL is produced by 19 Entertainment, a division of CKX, Inc. and FremantleMedia North America, Inc. The series is created and executive-produced by Simon Fuller, CEO, XIX Entertainment, and executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; Ken Warwick, Executive Producer, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; and Nigel Lythgoe, CEO, Nigel Lythgoe Productions.

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Jessica Sanchez and Other 8 Idol Hopefuls to Sing Personal Idol’s song in Top 9 Performance Night

By Maxwell Fisher - March 26, 2012 | Tickers: HPQ, LXK, XRX | 0 Comments

Maxwell is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited.

Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series, got his start with Xerox (NYSE: XRX) back when the company was exploding. The battalion of Xerox salesmen pounding the pavement, knocking down business doors, will draw chuckles and sighs from many a battle-scarred veteran of that particular army. To jog the memory, just as Googling has become English slang today, back then copying a document was called Xeroxing. They were not just a leader, they were THE leader in office document management.

So what happened and where did they go? With such passion and drive from its sales force, it is a mystery that one so far ahead could fall so far behind. I submit that the failure of leadership led to this once great companys decline and paved the way for others such as Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Lexmark (NYSE: LXK) to dominate the industry.

What Has Happened

Xerox began as a photographic paper company in 1906. It wasnt until 1958 the company changed its name to Xerox and its focus to plain paper copiers, primarily for business use. It has since grown into a global document management corporation that produces and sells an array of printers, photo copiers, and related supplies.

During the early years, Xerox literally had to wait while the market caught up to its vision. The personal computer was almost 20 years away, much less personal printing. To compensate, the company focused on providing businesses with its products and services. This strategy was critical to the companys survival at the beginning, and later became the growth mechanism throughout the 70s and 80s. Unfortunately, leadership became stuck in this focus and stagnated the company due to its inability to see beyond it.

In the mid 70s, Xerox was on the cutting edge of the personal computing industry. In fact, for a hefty $1 million investment, Steve Jobs was able to take a look at its work on the WIMP (Window, Icon, Menu, and Pointing device) system later to be called the mouse. It was his vision that directed the commerciality of the technology by means of the Apple Computer. Jobs is quoted as saying, "They just had no idea what they had."

Sadly, that statement was and has remained prophecy for the late great Xerox.

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Why I Am Bearish On Xerox

Here are three youngsters who have won the district level young scientist competition.

Inquisitiveness, innovation and improvisation in the field of science and technology have led to many astonishing discoveries across the world.

Making a mark

The students, who were chosen for the Young Scientists district level award in Kodagu recently, do not want to make a mark for themselves but also garner glory for the nation.

P. Achutananda, who won the first prize for his project, J. Abraham, who won the second prize, both from St. Anne's High School in Virajpet and M.D. Machaiah, the third prize winner from the Sarvadaivata English Medium School, Aruvatoklu, were thrilled to receive the honour from the elected representatives of the Zilla Panchayat and its officials in Madikeri recently.

The Young Scientist awards were given to the students who involved themselves in creative scientific activities in schools and came up with impressive projects, the secretary of the Kodagu District Vijnana Parishat, T.G. Premkumar, said. The president of the ZP, Ravi Kushalappa, gave away the prizes and cash awards of Rs. 3,000, Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 1,000 to the first three winners respectively. The awards are instituted by the Department of Karnataka Science and Technology. The awardees are now qualify for the State level awards coming up next.

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Success in the field of Science

Employer:

OpenField Consulting

Updated: Mar262012

Job posting bookmarked!

Overall Job Responsibilities The Business Development Manager builds market position by locating, developing, defining, negotiating, and closing business relationships.In this role, the business will be introduced to new clients in the offshore and Oil and Gas industry.New relationships will be forged with EPC firms and other design firms.With a strong personal network and brand, the Business Development Manager will successfully leverage their industry network into developing profitable business opportunities with new customers.This person will have strong closing skills, motivation for sales, prospecting skills, and sales planning experience.This role has significant job growth and career development opportunity.

Capable of creating and maintaining winning relationships!

Duties and Responsibilities Identify target opportunities before they reach the bid stage by researching industry and related events, publications, and announcements; tracking individual companies and their capital projects plans. Locate or propose potential business opportunities by contacting potential partners; discovering and exploring opportunities. Screen potential business deals by analyzing market strategies, deal requirements, potential, and financials; evaluating options; resolving internal priorities; recommending innovative win strategies such as equity investments. Develop negotiating strategies and positions by studying integration client and company strategies and operations; examining risks and potentials; estimating partners' needs and goals. Close new business deals by coordinating requirements; developing and negotiating contracts; integrating contract requirements with business operations. Protect organization's value by keeping information confidential. Update job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations. Enhance organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.

Basic Qualifications EDUCATION/LICENSURE: BD Experience- at least 7 years with a demonstrated ability to close large projects. Degree in Engineering, Construction Management or a similar technical field

Preferred Qualifications The ideal candidate will meet basic and preferred qualifications. Preferred qualifications include:

Successfully developed a strong personal brand within the construction / oil and gas / fabrication industry Passion for articulating the Company's value proposition outside of the traditional customer base Demonstrated experience in negotiating and closing construction projects with a value of at least $20 million Ideally performed successfully in a construction project management role. Strong oral and written communications skills Ability to follow work processes, maintain close attention to detail, and meet schedules under deadline Possess solid electronic file management skills and understanding of various electronic data retrieval systems Be able to assist with development of compliance matrix, project descriptions, resumes and schedules Available to travel - 50% Have strong attention to detail and accuracy Ability to work with minimal supervision; self-motivated Superior customer service skills Ability to communicate clearly and concisely Ability to work in a team environment.

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Construction BD Manager

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire -03/26/12)- MMRGlobal, Inc. (OTC.BB: MMRF.OB - News) ("MMR"), a leading provider of Personal Health Records (PHRs), MyEsafeDepositBox storage solutions and electronic document management and imaging systems for healthcare professionals, today announced that it has filed 186 Provisional Patent Applications covering its health information technology (HIT) portfolio of products and services. The Company's intellectual property portfolio includes biotech assets acquired from its merger with Favrille, Inc. in January 2009 and its portfolio of health IT patents as a result of MyMedicalRecords, Inc.'s patent filings starting in 2005.

MMR's intellectual property includes a comprehensive portfolio of biotech and health information technology patents issued, pending, and applied for. The Company spent more than $140 million in development of the biotech assets which is comprised of patents, patient samples and other IP relating to anti-CD20 antibodies and results from the Company's FavId/Specifid idiotype vaccine trials. The Company offers these assets for license and other strategic partnerships to universities, other biotech companies, institutional investors and others.

The portfolio also includes issued patents on its MyMedicalRecords.com, MyEsafeDepositBox.com and MMRPro document imaging and management systems as well as the pending provisional patents and utility applications in the U.S. and numerous other countries around the world. According to a recent analyst report, the issued patents could be worth in excess of $300 million. The HIT portion of the IP alone has been valued at more than twenty times the Company's market cap, or which could be more than fifty cents per share not including the value of the additional provisional patent filings listed above (http://michaelbass.com/PDF/JAN20MMRF.pdf).

The Company believes that many of the 186 provisional claims could be allowed this year including both health IT and non-health IT/medical applications. These patent claims include 23 claims under 11/690,996, 35 claims under 12/204,474, 30 claims under 12/204,498, 19 claims under 13/352,045, 20 claims under 13/352,068, 15 claims under 13/352,026, and 14 claims under 13/041,809, which address the telecommunications platform, and 18 claims directed toward Electronic Health Records in Clinical Trials under 13/082,896 and 12 claims for Universal Patient Record Conversion Tool under 13/246,948.

During the time of the MMR and Favrille merger, former Favrille management had represented to MMR that its biotech assets were practically worthless; however, after reviewing thousands of files, the Company discovered this was not necessarily the case and began to perfect dozens of biotech patent applications around the world. As a result, the Company has entered into licensing agreements worth at least $13 million, of which the Company continues to receive payments, one as recently as last week, and has recovered patient samples and other assets which it believes are worth many millions more. More recently, as part of the recovery process, the Company discovered thousands of vials of patient samples and other materials at Sanford-Burnham from which the Company identified a significant collection of materials from the Company's biotech IP that includes additional patient samples, samples of the vaccine and other materials. As a result of this find, and just announced, the Company further uncovered a collection of insect cells used in the manufacture of the Company's FavId/Specifid products. These were a particular insect cell that were believed to be susceptible to a particular baculovirus infection providing unique utility including Trichoplusia ni (Hi-5) and Spodoptera Frugiperda (Sf9) cells which are important to the Company and a material element in its issued patents numbers 6,911,204, 8,114,404 and 8,133,486 as well as pending patent applications. This is valuable to MMRGlobal if it is successful with recommencement of research and development into its FavId/Specifid vaccine for treatment of B-Cell lymphomas.

On November 28, 2011, the Company announced it was granted a patent protecting methods of making compositions for B-Cell vaccines and expects to have Notice of Allowance for another U.S. patent protecting "methods of treating a patient with a B-cell lymphoma." The patent covers the methods of making compositions for B-Cell vaccines used in the fight against lymphoma and potentially other forms of cancer.

MMR is focusing on separating its biotech intellectual property from its operating Health IT/PHR business in an effort to maximize the value of the Company's stock for its shareholders. The structure will make it easier to value MMRGlobal in the event of a merger or other transaction given the Company's low share price at this time. MMR, in transaction discussions recently, found that potential acquirers had a difficult time valuing the Company, considering its biotech and HIT patent portfolios. MMR therefore is focusing on further separating its intellectual property from its operating PHR and Health IT businesses to make it easier for other companies in biotech or health IT to make cogent valuation decisions. For example, in a recent transaction, the biotech assets would have been converted to a preferred instrument for the benefit of shareholders of record at closing which the Company believes would not have been in the best interest of shareholders going forward.

According to Robert H. Lorsch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MMRGlobal, "Based on our ability to license our biotech and health IT assets, we believe that the value of our intellectual property is far from accurately reflected in MMRGlobal's current valuation. Potential partners interested in our MyMedicalRecords Personal Health Record and document imaging and management business, and who are interested in investment or other strategic relationships with MMR, find it complicated to deal with the biotech component of our business when valuing a transaction. Separating the two distinct business opportunities allows us to maximize the potential of both."

About MMRGlobal, Inc.

MMRGlobal, Inc., through its wholly-owned operating subsidiary, MyMedicalRecords, Inc. ("MMR"), provides secure and easy-to-use online Personal Health Records ("PHRs") and electronic safe deposit box storage solutions, serving consumers, healthcare professionals, employers, insurance companies, financial institutions, and professional organizations and affinity groups. The MyMedicalRecords PHR enables individuals and families to access their medical records and other important documents, such as birth certificates, passports, insurance policies and wills, anytime from anywhere using the Internet. MyMedicalRecords is built on proprietary, patented technologies to allow documents, images and voicemail messages to be transmitted and stored in the system using a variety of methods, including fax, phone, or file upload without relying on any specific electronic medical record platform to populate a user's account. The Company's professional offering, MMRPro, is designed to give physicians' offices an easy and cost-effective solution to digitizing paper-based medical records and sharing them with patients in real time through an integrated patient portal. MMR is an Independent Software Vendor Partner with Kodak to deliver an integrated turnkey EMR solution for healthcare professionals. Through its merger with Favrille, Inc. in January 2009, the Company acquired intellectual property biotech assets that include anti-CD20 antibodies and data and samples from its FavId/Specifid vaccine clinical trials for the treatment of B-Cell Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. To learn more about MMRGlobal, Inc. visit http://www.mmrglobal.com. View demos and video tutorials of the Company's products and services at http://www.mmrtheater.com.

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MMRGlobal Announces Filing of Additional 186 HIT Provisional Patent Applications

OXFORD, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

NEPHRON+, an EU research project, has recently selected Open Virtual Platforms (OVP) tools for its software and test development environment. Key factors in its decision were ease of use and flexibility of OVP, as well as the availability of ARM processor models chosen for the electronics system.

The NEPHRON+ project is developing a wearable artificial kidney and personal renal care system. According to Frank Poppen of OFFIS - Institute for Information Technology of Germany, the lead institution in the consortium for the embedded software development, OVP was selected because of the ease with which models are built and the flexibility in interfacing to other tools. He continued, The availability of the ARM processor model we needed, and the open source nature of the OVP models, were also important factors.

One of OFFISs development milestones was to interface the OVP simulator, OVPsim, to the Simulink system simulator. This was done to enable testing of the target software, running directly on the processor in the virtual platform, with the full system environment. Due to the open nature of the OVP technology, OFFIS was able to write its own interface model, which is now available on the OFFIS website (http://system-synthesis.org/offissimlink).

OVP is addressing key issues in software development for embedded systems, said Noel Hurley, VP Business Development, ARM. By supporting the creation of virtual platforms, OVP is enabling early software development and helping expand the ARM user community.

OVP processor models are instruction accurate, and very fast. They enable the early creation of software development environments for embedded software developers looking to create hardware-dependent software such as firmware and bare metal applications. OVP processor models employ a state of the art just-in-time code morphing engine to accelerate simulation speeds. Virtual platforms utilizing these OVP processor models can be created with the OVP peripheral and platform models. The processor models can also be integrated into SystemC/TLM2 based virtual platforms using the native TLM2 interface available with all OVP models. The native TLM2 interface enables multiple instantiations of the processor models in a single virtual platform, just as any other component would be instantiated. The OVP simulator can also be encapsulated within the Eclipse IDE, enabling easy use for software developers.

The OVP library of Fast Processor Models includes the complete families of the ARMv4, ARMv5, and ARMv6 architecture-based processors, as well as models of most of the processors in the ARM Cortex-M series and Cortex-A series processors. In addition to working with the OVP simulator, these models work with the Imperas Multiprocessor/Multicore Software Development Kit, M*SDK, which includes advanced tools for multicore software verification, analysis and debug, including key tools for software development on virtual platforms such as OS and CPU-aware tracing, profiling and code analysis.

ARM users recognize the importance of virtual platforms to accelerate the development of software for embedded systems, said Simon Davidmann, Imperas CEO, and OVP founding director. Compatibility and quality of models is essential when using virtual platforms to develop software, and having validated processor models available for free from OVP means developers can get higher quality software developed faster. Validated models really help to close the Software Gap.

Available OVP Fast Processor Models of ARM cores

The following specific models are available as open source from OVP:

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Open Virtual Platforms Selected by NEPHRON+ EU Research Project for Software Development Environment