As we move into the frenzy of the holiday shopping season, most of us will have encounters with shopping center store personnel and restaurant staff.

(Joint Commission: Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois) -- According to a recent report, Joint Commission-accredited hospitals in the United States have steadily improved the quality of patient care during a six-year period, saving lives and improving the health of thousands of patients.

(ANSI: Washington) -- December is Safe Toys and Gifts Month, and many people have started to prepare for the holiday season by purchasing toys for the children in their lives.

(Leica Geosystems: Miamisburg, Ohio) -- Leica Geosystems, a Hexagon company, has announced that field measurement results have culminated in the highest-distance accuracies of any Leica laser tracker in the company’s history.

(InnovMetric Software Inc.: Quebec City, Canada) -- InnovMetric Software Inc., a leading supplier of 3-D metrology solutions for engineering and manufacturing, demonstrated a pre-release version of PolyWorks V11 at EuroMold 2008, a trade fair held from December 3–6 in Frankfurt, Germany.

(Geomagic: Research Triangle Park, North Carolina) -- Geomagic announces a new version of Geomagic Studio software that adds powerful new surface manipulation capabilities to its award-winning Fashion module while improving performance for point- and polygon-processing tools.

(Geodetic Systems Inc.: Melbourne, Florida) -- GSI will host its 2009 user group  meeting from January 21–23, 2009 at the completely refurbished Crowne Plaza Oceanfront Resort and Spa Hotel in Melbourne, Florida.

(Delcam International Inc.: Windsor, Ontario, Canada) -- Inspection with PowerINSPECT is helping J.P.