Nonprofit group pushes for distributed power generation at schools An Escanaba nonprofit group called Michigan GREEN, an acronym for Group for a Renewable, Energy Efficient Nation, is pushing a petition to offer schools incentives to install renewable energy systems on school grounds and use the power to save taxpayer money. Both Michigan GREEN founder Bryan Zaplitny, owner of Brighton-based MTI Energy Management / Lighting Specialists Inc., and Michigan GREEN board president Kevin B Cook pushed the idea in e-mails last week. They said it would help bring financial relief to schools, add jobs to Michigan, and provide learning opportunities to schools. More.
Kettering gets $225k for entrepreneurship education Flint's Kettering University announced Wednesday it will receive $225,000 to encourage the development of a nationally innovative program focused on teaching entrepreneurship studies across the curriculum. Kettering joins the Illinois Institute of Technology as the only two grant winners to enter the next phase of a program founded and supported by the Kern Family Foundation of Waukesha, Wis. Kettering President Stan Liberty said the grant will support “Entrepreneurship Across the Curriculum” to infuse engineering and science disciplines at Kettering with the concepts of both entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. More.
DTE biomass project hits early milestone A landfill gas-to-energy subsidiary of Detroit's DTE Energy is about to produce its 10,000th megawatt hour of electricity, DTE Biomass Energy officials said today. The plant began operating at the Iredell County Landfill in Statesville, N.C. only in August. DTE Biomass Energy, the parent company of Iredell Transmission, has nearly 25 projects across the United States that convert landfill gas into some form of useable energy. At the Iredell landfill, two Caterpillar engines are used to generate enough electricity to power more than 3,000 homes. The electricity generated at the site is sold to EnergyUnited for distribution to its customers. More.
New battery powers tire measurement technology for Troy company
Troy-based TireStamp last week announced the incorporation of a new battery technology into its trailer tire monitoring product, TireVigil InTow, which drastically increases operation life while at the same time improves safety. The new battery uses a revolutionary chemistry that provides longer operation life, faster charging without risk of reducing operation life, extended operation range, and improved safety due to its lower risk of fire or explosion. More.
Troy software firm to debut new version in Germany The Troy-based industrial design and styling software developer solidThinking said it will introduce the latest version of its software, version 7.6, at EuroMold 2008, a trade show Dec. 3-6 in Frankfurt, Germany. The global rollout of version 7.6 follows the recent acquisition of the company’s assets by Troy-based Altair Engineering Inc. More than 61,000 designers and engineers in attendance, representing more than 85 nations will have the opportunity to participate in live demonstrations of solidThinking 7.6 at booth B118, Halle 6.0, and experience firsthand the software’s features, which are created to better allow product designers to capture, explore and visualize their ideas. More.
The Week Ahead: Shake off the tryptophan and get back at it
I'm coming off four thoroughly enjoyable days off, rested and recharged and ready for a few more weeks of the real world before next holiday lull -- and I hope you had just as much fun over the long weekend.
There are a relatively light nine events this week on the Michigan IT Calendar, the state's most comprehensive tech event calendar. So you should be able to meet work expectations, fold in some holiday shopping -- online or off -- and have time for one or two networking opportunities outside the office.
Like which? Well, Tuesday, it's a recruiting event for startups in Ann Arbor. Wednesday's actually quite busy, with a Society of Automotive Engineers vehicle networks seminar in Troy, an online learning symposium at Michigan Virtual University in East Lansing, a session on applying for federal research grants in Battle Creek, the Mid-Michigan Innovation Center wrapping up its 2008 speaker series in Midland.
Also Wednesday night are a couple of really fun sounding holiday parties that I'm going to try to get to -- ConnecTech Detroit at the MGM Grand Casino, and the Engineering Society of Detroit at Joe Louis Arena.
The week wraps up with a talk by health technology pros about the end user experience Thursday.
After that, another fairly busy week -- and then slim pickin's. The last listed event of 2008 so far is Dec. 15, then the calendar is empty until Jan. 15. So don't start the holiday slackitude early, OK? It will come soon enough, and until then, Michigan needs us all out there working hard!
For information on how you can sponsor content in the Blue Box, contact Jeff Lasser at (248) 455-7319 or jeff.lasser@cbsradio.com.
CBS Radio Web sites offer up holiday content, other cool stuff A-self-serving reminder-coming-out-of-a-slow-news-holiday-weekend-so-give-me-a-break: CBS Radio Detroit has launched an initiative for the holiday season called www.HolidaysinDetroit.com. There's all kinds of content on the site, including videos, recipes, games for kids, shopping tips, and a $500,000 Holiday Auction. And even Santa has gotten into the act. CBS Radio Detroit can now offer our listeners the ability to sign up and have their child receive a video message from Santa. Check it out at this link. Also online is a Holiday Decorating Contest, where listeners can upload photos of their exterior decorations for a chance to win tickets to see White Christmas at the Fox Theatre. Elsewhere, on WWJ.com, a couple of cool recent additions.
Visteon rolls out new flexible, scalable in-vehicle entertainment Van Buren Township-based Visteon Corp. has rolled out its next generation of in-car entertainment systems, which it says offers vehicle manufacturers a fast and flexible route to introduce the latest consumer technology in their vehicles. Designed to offer a gateway for consumer electronics into the automotive environment, Visteon's family entertainment systems provide vehicle manufacturers with an opportunity to offer new and differentiating features that deliver value. More.
Even with bright long-term future, analyst cuts ECD estimate Auburn Hills-based Energy Conversion Devices Inc. was mentioned over the weekend in a Barron's magazine blog on solar energy and solar stocks. The good news is that the firms are still expected to prosper long term, but the bad is that short term, price targets and earnings estimates are being cut. More.
THE WORLD IN TECH
Fuel cell-powered devices getting closer Laptop, cell phone and iPod owners tired of having their devices run out of charge after a few hours have been patiently waiting for the next portable power source to arrive. Tiny fuel cells, powered by combustible liquids or gases, have long been touted as the eventual solution. Potentially, they could power a laptop for days between refills. But fuel cells have perennially remained a year or two away from reaching the market as companies have worked on making them small, cheap and long-lasting, while making sure they don't overheat. (Memo to the Associated Press: Your company list omitted Ann Arbor's Adaptive Materials Inc. Not surprising, since nobody seems to think there is any innovation in Michigan...grumble gripe fulminate.) More.
Black Friday traffic takes down Sears.com
Sears.com was inaccessible to U.S. shoppers for two hours on Friday in what was the most notable Web hiccup of the holiday gift-buying season's official start. Other sites, including Amazon.com Inc., experienced minor slowdowns, according to Shawn White, director of external operations at Keynote Systems Inc., a San Mateo, Calif.-based research group. Keynote's list includes Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Macy's Inc., Circuit City and others; the system takes measurements every 15 minutes from computers in 10 major U.S. cities. Sears' site started to crawl at around 9:30 a.m. Eastern time on Friday, when loading a page on the site topped one minute. From about 10:30 to 12:30, Sears posted a message asking shoppers to try again in a few minutes. White said Sears was among the retailers that stumbled last year on Black Friday. But while Sears' problems returned this year, others including Neiman Marcus seem to have resolved past issues. More.
Shoppers cautious with gadget buys on Black Friday
Consumer electronics have long been among the most popular holiday gifts, with fierce competition among shoppers for day-after-Thanksgiving deals on flat-screen TVs and laptop computers. This year, everyone expects the economic crisis to dampen the appetite for gadgets. But how much? Compared to buying a car or a house, electronics are cheap, and those who scrimp on big purchases may still treat themselves or their children to an iPod. Earlier in the week, ABI Research analyst Michael Wolf said he expected the usual lines of shoppers outside stores proffering special Black Friday deals, as consumers are more price-conscious than they have been in the past and the deals are the best to be had all year. But he thinks the day could end with consumers spending less than usual. More.
Online retailers ramp up deals to capture dollars Online retailers are ramping up heavy-duty deals to turn skittish shoppers into buyers during the crucial Thanksgiving weekend and "Cyber Monday" - but even so, online sales are expected to be fairly flat after years of strong growth. Free shipping is virtually a given, and many are offering financing options such as no payments for 90 days and deals like $10 off purchases of $50 or more, along with traditional discounts on products. "Cyber Monday," a term coined by the trade group National Retail Federation in 2005 to describe the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday, is the unofficial kickoff for the busy online retail season. However, this year, consumer spending has dropped dramatically - down 1 percent in October, the largest amount since the 2001 terrorist attacks - as consumers grapple with a shaky economy, mounting job losses and a prolonged housing slump. More.
Stocks: Blue chips rise as techs sag
U.S. stocks ended higher Friday, leaving the market with monthly losses but with large gains for a holiday-shortened week that saw investors increasingly confident that much of a dire economic outlook already has been priced in. The market gained on so-called Black Friday, marking its fifth-straight session of gains, with grim prospects for retailers failing to dent optimism at the traditional start of the U.S. holiday-shopping season. "With the market (having its) fifth day of gains in a row, there's a bit of confidence returning," said Peter Cardillo, market economist at Avalon Partners. "This market has discounted a lot of negative news." General Motors Corp. gained 9 percent after Bloomberg News reported the automaker is studying whether to cut its Saab, Saturn and Pontiac brands. The move could be part of the company's pitch to the U.S. government for funds from a potential $25 billion loan package for the U.S. auto industry. However, tech stocks lagged -- the Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) rose 3.47 points or 0.2 percent to 1,535.57, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) fell 3.06 points or 1.5 percent to close at 198.24 and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) fell 1.6 points or 0.5 percent to 331.51. The Dow industrials ($INDU) rose 102.43 points or 1.2 percent to 8,829.04. The The Amex Pharmaceutical Index ($DRG) rose 3.67 points or 1.5 percent to 254.95, while the Amex Biotech Index (BTK) rose 5.09 points or 0.9 percent, to 595.98. Finally, the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) rose 8.56 points or 1 percent to close at 896.24. Friday's gains were led by the financial sector, which rose 2.2 percent. U.S. markets were closed Thursday for Thanksgiving. On Wednesday, stocks rose as investors focused on dealmaking in the technology sector and shrugged off gloomy economic data and downcast corporate earnings reports.
First, someplace you need to go if you care about the future of America as a world power -- a Web site called The Engine of Democracy, going live on Monday, for supporters of the Big 3 to show support and write Congress. Check it out here.
Next, a tiny little smidge of local extras to go with that leftover turkey and pumpkin pie: The Detroit Free Press reports that the University of Michigan is moving to leadership in green computing; a Troy security firm's article backs data encryption; the Detroit Economic Club will hear from DuPont's CEO with a sobering message about economics and technology; and a Wayne State nanotech seminar will tackle biomedical applications. Elsewhere in Techland: Clearwire and Sprint unit close their WiMax merger; Carl Icahn raises his stake in Yahoo; Sling.com is like the video site Hulu, but with a twist; Guyana closes Web cafes that offer cheap calls; an ad watchdog group disputes Verizon's ad claiming that its FiOS video service made for a brighter picture; Microsoft and Yahoo are said to be in talks on a search deal; a Dutch software dealer files an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft; get your customized Twitter background with TwitBacks; Joost gets back on the radar with an iPhone app; how Microsoft plans to make its mark in CRM; HairTry lets you try out virtual toupees -- in 3D; a look at 'Buy Nothing Day,' back again this year; the Food Network launches a mobile app; the Department of Defense commissions a 'serious game' to get ready for the next pandemic; Intel rethinking Netbooks -- 'It's fine for an hour, but...'; the VOIP provider Fring cuts staff by 20 percent; Europe's Yahoo chief is among the exodus; in round numbers, there are now 10,000 iPhone apps; Nokia is pulling out of the Japanese market; the Thanksgiving parade in New York got a real, live 'Rickroll'; social sites provide the first rough draft of history in the Mumbai terror attacks; some Sony films return to the Netflix-Xbox service; five big things Microsoft got right; retailers adopt renewable energy; Geezeo adds ratings of online brokerage firms; spam is increasing again after the shutdown of a major hosting company; and an Internet worm exploits a Windows vulnerability.
All contents copyright 2008 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS Radio & Eye logo trademarked and copyright 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. Written and edited by Matt Roush, Technology Editor, WWJ Newsradio 950, Detroit. GLITR contains material from the Associated Press, Reuters and MarketWatch.com, used by permission. For coverage comments or news tips, e-mail Matt Roush at mnroush@cbs.com or call (248) 455-7380. For marketing and advertising queries, contact Georgeann Herbert at gherbert@cbs.com or (248) 455-7299. To subscribe, e-mail Nancy Ho at nancy.ho@cbsradio.com. For questions or concerns, please email Pete Kowalski, WWJ's Station Manager.
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The Week Ahead: Shake off the tryptophan and get back at it
