Networking and building partnerships is key to the success of Adel and our community. Continuing with our speaking lineup, we were one of only five startups to speak at Fintech (r)evolution, an innovator conference hosted by the Media House of Economia and sponsored by Czech National Bank. This opportunity was thanks to our partnership with Deloitte.
Gabriel Dusil, co-founder & board member, Adel
Abstract
? Networking and building partnerships is key to the success of Adel and the community. Continuing its speaking lineup, Adel is one of only five startups to speak at Fintech (r)evolution, an innovator conference hosted by the Media House of e.conomia and sponsored by Czech National Bank. Adel’s Co-Founder Gabriel Dusil was chosen out of 140 startups reviewed by Deloitte, a pitch at the Fintech (R)evolution Conference. Each startup had only six minutes to pitch their company and four minutes to answer questions from hundreds of senior executives from Central European’s finance and banking sector.
This corporate server is the main workstation for Euro Tech Startups s.r.o. It’s mainly used to render client projects for 3D Motion Graphics. All data is completely mirrored, to ensure high -availability, and uses the motherboard’s RAID controller for improved data throughput performance. This computer is also used in photo restoration services. Restored photos are saved in uncompressed TIFF, and the process is recorded with video capture software.
• Build
The first day was focused mainly on preparing the workspace. Then I cut the side panels and fill the router grooves from a previous HiFi project. Next was routing grooves (6mm) needed for the rails that would hold the 20x 1TB hard drives.
The second day focused on drilling dowel holes, sanding the case, beveling the edges, and oiling the case. A Dremel was used to carve my signature into the front panel.
The third day was spent mounting the components, tie wrapping the cables, and general fixes. For example, I had mistakenly mounted the power supply upside down. So that needed to be fixed. Then the PC was booted for the first time.
• Snags
The first attempt at booting the case ran into a macro panic attack. As I turned on the power there was a spark and a zap from the motherboard! A seminal WTF moment for an IT geek! Dread set-in as a burning plastic filled the air, and I watched as a hint of smoke left my motherboard. Sweat ran down, “WTF did I do wrong?!” I wasn’t sure what had burnt-out, but I had seen the general location of the spark around the PCI-e slots. In any case, the PC still booted successfully. But over a series of future boots the PC would POST, but it wouldn’t make it past the Windows 10 spinning dots in the OS boot process. I tried countless restore points as well as switching my operating system SSD with my backup. Nothing worked. After six hours of no success I was exhausted and decided to call it a night.
As many PC geeks know too well – we hate going to bed when our PC’s aren’t working. But I thought maybe some rest may clear my mind and give me some new ideas. That night I actually dreamt of a few solutions; strip the whole PC to it’s bare components; buy a new video card; or start all over again and buy a new motherboard, CPU and RAM. That last option I was hoping to avoid since it meant scrapping a perfectly good Intel 4770 processor and 32GB of Corsair RAM, unless I could source a similar Z87 motherboard.
As I woke the next day I had the sinking realization of unfinished business with my PC broken. Rather than going through the arduous effort of striping the whole computer, I decided to start with the easiest step: the video card. The Asus Z87 Deluxe has built in video, so I removed the nVidia card and booted the machine using it’s onboard video. Success -Wow! I then closely examined the PCI-e 90 degree 16x 2U Riser and finally saw the culprit – a burnt capacitor! In the end a $3 component was my problem. The boot process was getting stuck because it couldn’t communicate with the video card successfully, when it was trying to draw more data as it entered a higher graphics state.
• Inventory
1x Motherboard • Asus Z87 Deluxe
2x RAM • 8GB Corsair Vengeance
2x RAM • 8GB Corsair Dominator
1x CPU • Intel i7-4770K processor
1x CPU closed-loop water cooler • Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H100i GTX
1x PCI-x 16x Riser • 90? 2U (to turn the graphics card 90° degrees, so that it is oriented flat against the case)
1x Power Supply • Corsair HX1000i
4x SATA controllers • HighPoint Rocket 620
20x Hard Drive fans • Scythe Ita Kaze
1x Hard Drive • Samsung 1TB 850 Evo SSD (for the operating system)
1x Hard Drive • Western Digital Green WD60EZRX, 6TB, 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s, 3.5″, 7200 RPM (for 3D motion graphics)
19x Hard Drive • Seagate 1TB, 3.5″ Internal SATA Hard Drive, 6.0Gb/s, 64MB Cache, 7200 RPM. These are refurbished drives to keep the price low and to test the overall concept of the multi-drive design goal (used for client projects, mirrored backups, and personal files)
2x Wood Panels • 50cm x 50cm x 4cm Oak
5x Wood Brackets • 42mm diameter x 18cm Indonesian Tamarind
160x brass spacers • 6mm diameter x 10mm (for spacing the hard drives between the wooden panels)
80x brass washers • 15mm diameter (between the brass spacers)
Oak Case Mod™
If you missed the first part of this project, you can find the link here:
• For years I struggled with integrating traditional PC cases. I never had enough room at the back to plug my devices. Under my desk the tower was cramped, and every time I needed to service a component my heart sank, contemplating going back there. I usually couldn’t move the PC because of the abundance of cables prevented any rotating or tilting. I hated plugging in SATA drives or USB devices when I couldn’t see the port and I needed to guess it’s orientation.
• Design • Function
• A compact design was important. In consumer and industrial PC cases it’s rare to find a case that holds more than 8 hard drives. This case needed to hold 20 hard drives within the confines of a standard PC tower. Also, the case would only accommodate modern components. So no need for a DVD or BluRay drive.
• No screws were used in the core construction of the Oak Case Mod™. The main structural dowels are hidden from view, and the only hole necessary is for routing cables. I was inspired by the design principles of wood craftsmen that built their art such that the structure holds together by the design itself. In this way it could easily be taken apart without an tools.
• All ports needed to be easily accessible, including USB, SATA, Ethernet, audio cables, power, and internal cabling, hard drives, and motherboard. For this reason, the entire motherboard orientation is rotated 180? from traditional case designs, so that all ports face the front.
• Design • Quiet
• The case design needed to be silent and cool. With a measured room temperature of 22°C all component temperatures are continually measured using Corsair Link:
Hard drive • This open concept allows all components to ‘breath’. Each hard drive has their own fan – a Scythe Ita Kaze, spinning at 1,000rpm (rated at 14.5 dBA). Temperatures range between 30°C – 44°C.
Graphics Processor Unit (GPU) • a Gigabyte Windforce GTX 770 video card is used, with fans spinning at 700 rpm to 800 rpm and maintaining a GPU temperature of 28°C – 40°C. During Cinema 4D rendering, the GPU fan spins at 1,200rpm to 1,400rpm with temperatures between 50°C – 52°C.
Power supply • a Corsair HX1000i is the PSU, and it’s completely silent. The fan does not spin under standard working conditions,. Nor does it spin when the CPU is running at 100% utilization, when encoding 3D motion graphics or videos.
Motherboard • Temperatures range between 26°C – 40°C. Under 100% load the motherboard ranges between 28°C – 60°C
CPU cooling • This design accommodates a double length 280mm long CPU closed-loop water cooling radiator, ensuring that CPU cooling is maximized (without venturing into custom water-cooling territory). The Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H100i GTX is a CPU water cooler with its fans spinning between 1,000rpm and 1,300rpm. They maintain a CPU temperature between 36°C – 40°C (between all 4 cores) under normal working conditions. Under 100% load, CPU load temperatures range between 58°C and 64°C with the Hydro fan speeds from 1,100rpm to 2,000rpm.
• Design • Beautiful
• The reason for choosing Oak as a base material was inspired by my new company Euro Tech Startups where our motto is Creatively Inspiring Technology. I wanted to combine beauty and technological excellence in this Oak Case Mod™. The case also aesthetically matches my office desk, built out of 4cm thick solid walnut, and follows the same design principles. It’s all about merging art and technology.
Oak Case Mod™
If you missed the first part of this project, you can find the link here:
I’ve been building custom PC’s for over twenty years. This iteration began back in 2003 as a Home Theatre PC (HTPC) project, and has evolved significantly. It’s now my work computer, home PC, and entertainment center. Over the years all components have been upgraded again and again. Last year I decided to do away with the computer case completely, and layout all components in an open concept. It was mainly to help with accessibility to all components, and to keep them as cool as possible. I found that the constraints of a standard PC tower tended to act as a convection oven, regardless of how well I tweaked the fans. In an open concept the hard drives and motherboard had easy access to the natural flow of ambient air.
But it quickly turned into a mess. Cables were everywhere and it was embarrassing to look at. Friends and family would visit and basically ask, “What is that monstrosity?” So I began to look around the Internet for a suitable PC case. One approach was an industrial or rack mount solution. But that added new complications in space, noise and aesthetics. There was nothing practical that accommodated a design that supported at least 20 hard drives – that was my gating factor. So I decided to build one instead. I wanted to demonstrate how far a standard PC and motherboard could go – The ability to accommodate an enterprise level storage system in the size of a desktop tower. Even though I use 1TB hard drives, it was important in this experiment to prove that storage scalability can be built at a consumer level, and still look pretty.
• Production
This is the first part in a pair of blog posts that outline my design goals, and the entire process leading to the final product. I hope it inspires other builders with new and innovative designs. Enjoy!
In this motion graphic we animated the end-to-end production of the Oak Case Mod™. It demonstrates how motion graphics can not only be used for precision photo realistic 3D modelling, but all elements of the creative process can also be animated in a wicked video.
• Contact Us
Do you want a 3D model of your new idea to test your design and validate your specifications?
Are you interested in a sensational 3D video to showcase your products?
Would you like to use 3D motion graphics to animate the unique design of your product?
If you are interested in creating your own 3D product animation, contact us today for a quote: g@eurostartups.tech.
If you like this post, please leave a comment below.
Oak Case Mod™
If you missed the first part of this project, you can find the link here:
This is our second promo video for our brand new escape game company. Check out our website at aip.rocks. We specialize in beta testing escape games. If you want an external opinion to your new escape game, contact us at gabi@aip.rocks.
Promotional Video Production
Need to inject some creativityinto your company’s marketing materials?
Interested 3D and animated graphics to spiceup your videos?
How about an artistic intro video for your social media channels?
If you’re interested in creating your own company promotional video, contact us today for a quote: g@eurostartups.tech.
Additional Projects
Here are quick links to some of our other motion graphic projects:
This is our new magazine promo video for Outdoor Lifestyle Magazine. This video is a visual example of showcasing a soon-to-be-released publication. This takes print to the web by utilizing various web and social media channels to generate excitement for the next issue. It also opens new revenue opportunities, since the video can contain different content from the print publication, to promote premium paying advertisers. Enjoy, and feel free to comment below, if you like it!
Customization options in this production include the following:
Video could be used in place of the images. For example, a video could stop on the static page, and reveal the featured article.
All text elements, images and sidebar can be animated. For example, page elements can be built progressively, as if being designed by a Desktop Publisher (DTP).
Customization also includes changing the a) number of pages, b) theme colors, or c) changing the music. We’re happy to discuss any special requests as well.
Contact us Today
This type of video could be used as a “Year in Review” into the past 12 magazine issues, or a future “Special Edition”.
Publishers could generate advertising dollars by charging suppliers for ad placements in these videos, different than the print version. This could further highlight premium advertisers featured in these videos.
The Cost per impression (CPM) could be correlated and your outreach can be accurately measured through social media likes, Google statistics, YouTube data, blog views, and your own website.
If you are interested in creating your own magazine promotional videos, contact us today for a quote: g@eurostartups.tech.
Additional Projects
Here are quick links to some of our other videos and motion graphics projects:
Welcome to our latest motion graphics initiative. This service expands our portfolio into an exciting and creative direction. Here is a taste of what we are working on in promotional video production. We hope you like it!
This video was created to promote our new escape game website. We’re a team of gaming enthusiasts that evaluate Escape Games at the alpha, beta and final stages of production. We’re called Alphas in Pajamas, and you can check us out at aip.rocks.
Promotional Video Production
Do you want new and exciting visuals that catch the attention of your audience?
Are you interested in a breathtaking promo video to launch a new company, service or product?
Do you want engaging content for your website, exhibitions, or sales presentations?
If you’re interested in creating your own company promotional video, contact us today for a quote: g@eurostartups.tech.
Input • Items To Get You Started
If you are interested in your own logo reveal video, then here are a few things to consider:
Logo • We suggest starting by sending us a vector image of your logo in .ai adobe illustrator, .eps Encapsulated PostScript, or .svg Scalable Vector Graphics. A high resolution bitmap file (.jpg, .tif, .png, or .bmp) is also fine.
Images • Send us any photos or videos that you would like to include in the video.
Taglines • Does your company use a tagline or slogan that sums up your company’s vision and mission? We could use that in your promo video, if you want.
Location • Do you want to include your website or headquarter address in your video? Send us those details and we add them in.
Contact • Is there any other contact information you would like us to include such as contact names, job titles, email addresses, or phone numbers?
Tags • Do you use any tags (aka. metadata) to promote your company? This is important for Search Engine Optimization (aka. SEO), so that potential clients can find you on the internet. We also offer SEO services as part of our consultation. Let us know if you need help in this area.
Hashtags • Do you use any popular #hashtags to promote your web site and your services over social media? We also offer this as part of our service.
Output • What We’ll Deliver to You
Theme • Would you like a retro, modern, earthy, technological, animated, abstract, space, romantic, wedding, birthday, new years, movie, night club, or seasonal theme, etc.? You decide.
Type • 2D or 3D video? Looping or non-looping version (meaning that the beginning of the video and the end will match perfectly).
Length • A logo video is typically 8-20 seconds. But you can decide how long it should be.
Format • Do you want an .mp4, .mkv, or .avi container? lossless, H.265, H.264, MPEG4, or MPEG2? Too technical? Don’t worry, we’ll let you know which formats are best, depending on how you will use your video. We can even deliver the video with an alpha channel (meaning that the background is made transparent)?
Resolution • Do you want 4K UHD (3840×2160 pixels), HD (1920×1080 or 1280×720). We can even support legacy formats such as PAL (European analog TV standard) or NTSC (the American analog TV standard)? Or you can have all of them, if you wish.
Audio • Do you want background music? The tempo and mood would typically match with the theme you have chosen above. You choose.
Delivery • Depending on size, the video will be sent by email, or via Dropbox. But if you have a preferred method, then let us know.
Turnaround • This depends on the project workload, complexity, and our available resources at the time of your request. Typically we can deliver a logo video to you in four to ten working days.
Contact us Today
Interested in your own company promo video to spice up your website?
Need a compelling video that can loop continuously at an exhibition, conference, or speaking event?
Want to catch the attention of new clients using jaw dropping video effects, while staying within your budget?
If you are interested in creating your own company promotional videos, contact us today for a quote: g@eurotechstartups.com.
Additional Projects
Here are quick links to some of our other videos and motion graphics projects:
Many information technology companies (IT) struggle with creating exciting and engaging presentations. They have content and ideas, but don’t have the internal expertise or time to create a polished visual product. Many sales and marketing departments continue to rely on tried and tested tools such as PowerPoint. Unfortunately, in the corporate world, such presentations carry a negative stigma of overuse. “Death by PowerPoint” has become a go-to comment.
Why not start on a new canvas? It’s time to take corporate presentations to the next level:
Reinvigorate your presentations and make them exciting to watch.
Catapult your marketing and sales visuals to include animation, motion graphics, and special effects.
Communicate your ideas with captivating videos
Differentiate from your competitors, with Hollywood quality video that still fits within your corporate budget.
Promotional Video Production
In this is corporate promo video* we bring Hollywood quality to corporate marketing. The purpose for this video is to accelerate their sales efforts with a punchy and exciting promo. In marketing it is often said that, content is the cake. That would make the presentation its icing. It’s the delivery of the presentation that grabs the audience’s attention. With solid content the audience can be wowed with a backdrop of exciting imagery.
Sometimes the icing is the best part.
A Heads Up Display (aka. HUD) theme was used as the overall theme for this cyber security company’s messaging. It’s a suitable canvas that conveys the highest standard of excellence of their cyber security portfolio. All of the messaging, story-boarding, and elements were agreed with the owner and founder of the company.
*The actual name our client has been changed, to protect their confidentiality.
Contact us Today
Do your clients struggle to understand the technical complexities of your products or services?
Does your marketing department need help to present your ideas using modern animation and graphics?
Do your sales teams need visuals that communicate your services more effectively?
We understand technology. We’ll create stunning visuals so that business decision makers will sign on your bottom line. Contact us today and we will help you translate your portfolio into breathtaking visuals: g@eurostartups.tech.
Additional Projects
Here are quick links to some of our other videos and motion graphics projects:
