New computer aided engineering software from Altair Troy-based Altair Engineering Inc. Monday announced the release of Altair HyperWorks 9.0, the next generation of its integrated suite of computer-aided engineering software applications. HyperWorks is an enterprise simulation platform to support product lifecycle management processes. It is the leading simulation-driven design system for product development across the world's top corporations. Altair says the system offers deeply embedded grid computing capabilities, an improved interface, and a wide variety of other improvements. More.
Beaumont can test for heart-attack-prone plaques
Heart doctors at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak are first in the world with a laser imaging device that identifies the makeup of plaque deposits on artery walls. As these plaque deposits accumulate, they reduce blood flow to the heart, possibly causing intermittent chest pain called angina, and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack. This happens if one of the deposits is filled with fat and ruptures, cutting off blood and oxygen to the heart. Standard testing using an angiogram identifies narrowings but cannot identify fatty plaques. “If doctors can identify these fatty plaques, we can recommend better treatment options to patients,” says Simon Dixon, director of the cardiac catheterization laboratories and co-director of cardiac research at Beaumont, Royal Oak. “This information tells us immediately what length of stent to use and where to place it in patients with severe narrowings. Based on further research, this novel device may help determine which type of stent – bare metal or drug-eluting – is best for the patient.” More.
Comcast adds service in Arabic
Comcast Corp. Monday opened its first bilingual customer service center with services in Arabic Monday at 5070 Schaefer Ave. in Dearborn. The new 3,360-square-foot center will serve customers from throughout Southeast Michigan and is capable of handling requests and facilitating product demonstrations for customers, in person, preferring assistance in both Arabic and English. More.
Chrysler rewards top tech teachers The Chrysler Foundation last week recognized 47 teachers from 30 schools with its Walter P. Chrysler "Closing the Technology Gap in Education" awards. The program, held at the Detroit Science Center, recognizes Michigan public school teachers who have taken extra steps to stimulate students in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. Of the 250 applications submitted, 10 winning schools were selected in the elementary, middle and high school categories for a total of 30 winning schools and the sum of all 30 financial awards totaled $87,000. First, second and third-prize winners received $15,000, $7,500 and $3,000, respectively. Winners who placed fourth through tenth place received $500 grants. More.
Whirlpool adds charger to fridge-front tech center
Benton Harbor-based Whirlpool Corp. announced another partner for its Centralpark plug-and-play refrigerator door docking station for consumer electronics devices. IGo, a brand owned by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Mobility Electronics Inc. is the newest device partner to join the Centralpark Connection lineup. IGo, the market leader in gadget and notebook charging, will offer a compatible recharging station that is compatible with the Centralpark connection. The station will charge cell phones, MP3 players and virtually every other type of gadget, helping consumers keep their counters clear of charger and cable clutter. More.
Central Data fixes up hardware chain's IT
Russell Hardware Co., a retailer with locations in Bloomfield Hills, Troy and Petoskey, has successfully completed an installation of SX.enterprise, distribution software developed by Infor Global Solutions and marketed, implemented and supported by Central Data Systems of Farmington HIlls. SX.enterprise is being used by hundreds of distributors nationwide to enhance customer service, optimize inventory levels, increase productivity and improve profitability. More.
Amanda Christides is president of Plymouth Technology Inc. in Rochester Hills. The company provides boiler cooling, wastewater and reverse osmosis treatment chemicals, equipment, and services to manufacturing plants. Recently, the company moved its headquarters to the Rochester Hills SmartZone in a 10,000-square-foot building to accommodate growth and a new testing laboratory. The firm was founded by her father, Geary Parke, in 1991 as a boiler and cooling water treatment company. Christides started in field sales and engineering, moved up through the ranks, and became president after her father’s passing in 2005. Christides recognized the need for pollution control systems in the industrial marketplace and worked to develop a team to pursue this market niche and product line. Read more.
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GM boosting power of small engines with turbo
General Motors Corp. will introduce two new turbocharged four-cylinder engines -- one running on gasoline and the other using compressed natural gas -- over the next two years, AutoTech Daily reported. The powerplants are part of GM’s strategy, and an overall trend in the industry, to use smaller turbocharged powerplants to boost fuel economy without sacrificing power. More.
ProQuest archive adds Kissenger's phone calls
Ann Arbor-based database publishers ProQuest Co. said Monday that it is adding The Kissinger Telephone Conversations to its growing Digital National Security Archive. Upon completion, DNSA’s newest collection will comprise 50 audio recordings and more than 15,000 transcripts of U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's telephone conversations with top officials in the Nixon and Ford administrations. The Kissinger Telephone Conversations is the 30th collection in the DNSA’s research arsenal, which provides online access to documents, many formerly secret or top secret, underlying 60 years of U.S. foreign policy, from the Cold War conflict over Berlin to the war on terror. More.
Connected Vehicle group begins work on in-car Web access
Dallas-based ATX Group, the world's largest independent telematics services provider to the automotive industry, Monday announced an initiative with the Detroit-based Connected Vehicle Trade Association to convene an international work group to address how to safely access Internet content through embedded and nomadic devices in vehicles.
ATX, as the convener of the working group, and CVTA will launch an immediate effort to invite automobile manufacturers and interested parties in the automotive electronics value chain to participate in an open discussion and process for setting requirements for in-vehicle Web browsing. An industry forum on the proposal will follow when the industry meets in Detroit Oct. 20-22.
ATX also is proposing a generic top-level domain -- .car, similar to .com -- that would enable Web sites to be specifically designed to meet the challenging safety and consumer requirements for delivering Web content into the vehicle.
In addition to Web content, it is envisioned that .car Web sites could also use such telematics-centric, real-time data as vehicle performance and maintenance diagnostics data, as well as vehicle location data. Also proposed is a telematics firewall process specifically designed to ensure the total protection of the vehicle from content that is delivered over the air to the in-vehicle browser for the entire life cycle of the automobile.
As envisioned, the initial users will be automobile manufacturers and their technology and communications partners and suppliers. This group would need to define requirements in regards to the expected user experience. While the primary vision of the .car domain is to give motorists the ability to surf the World Wide Web and experience customized Web browsing, automobile manufacturers would benefit from the process by ensuring flexibility to adapt the embedded user interface for the life of the vehicle; dramatically reducing lead time to market compared to the current embedded software design process; achieving the capability to customize according to vehicle model, country and motorist; facilitating easy customer access to content and updates; and meeting customer expectations of Web browsing while keeping a safe and convenient driving experience.
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THE WORLD IN TECH
38 charged in international phishing scheme
Thirty-eight people were charged Monday with stealing names, Social Security numbers, credit card data and other personal information from unsuspecting Internet users as part of a global crime ring. The Romanian-based phishing scams sought to rip off thousands of consumers and hundreds of financial institutions, according to indictments unsealed in Los Angeles and New Haven, Conn. The two related cases marked the latest example of what the Justice Department describes as a growing worldwide threat posed by organized crime. More.
Eight ex-AOL Time Warner execs charged
Federal regulators on Monday said eight former executives of AOL Time Warner Inc. fraudulently inflated the company's online advertising revenues by more than $1 billion between 2000 and 2002. Four of the executives have agreed to settle the civil charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission by paying a total of roughly $8 million in fines and returning allegedly ill-gotten gains. They are David Colburn, Eric Keller, Jay Rappaport and James MacGuidwin, who was controller of the media company. The other three were in its business affairs unit. The SEC charges are pending against the other four: John Michael Kelly, former AOL Time Warner chief financial officer; Joseph Ripp, ex-chief financial officer of the AOL division; Steven Rindner, a former senior executive in the business affairs unit, and Mark Wovsaniker, former head of accounting policy. The world's largest media company by revenue, it is now called Time Warner Inc. More.
Microsoft, Yahoo talks driven by specter of Icahn, Google
Just two weeks after breaking off merger talks, Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. have been pulled back to the bargaining table by their fears about what might happen if they don't work out a deal. For now, Microsoft and Yahoo are still dancing around the edges as they explore possible business arrangements without melding the two companies. The notion of a half-baked deal didn't excite investors Monday as they got their first chance to react to Sunday's news that Microsoft and Yahoo are talking again. Yahoo shares rose a scant 0.7 percent, or 2 cents, to close at $27.68 on Monday, while Microsoft shares fell 1.8 percent, or 53 cents, to close at $29.46. But most analysts remain convinced the preliminary talks will culminate in Microsoft buying Yahoo for somewhere between $33 to $37 per share, a price that translates to $47.5 billion to $53 billion. More.
Comcast invests in P2P video delivery startup
Comcast Corp., which is under federal investigation for blocking some file-sharing traffic, is investing in a startup that delivers high-definition video using file-sharing techniques. Seattle-based GridNetworks on Monday said that Comcast would make an unspecified investment in the company and collaborate on developing so-called peer-to-peer file-sharing techniques that are "friendly" to Internet service providers. Comcast, the country's second largest Internet service provider, hampers some file-sharing traffic by its subscribers in an attempt to keep the traffic from slowing down Web surfing by other subscribers. Complaints by consumer groups and legal scholars that the company is discriminating against particular software have led to an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission. More.
Stocks: Research in Motion leads sector higher
Technology stocks turned south in late trading Monday, with most bellwether issues closing in the red following talk about a possible new deal involving Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. By the close, the Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPQ) fell 12.76 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 2,516.09. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) fell 2.1 points or 0.3 percent to 612.7, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) fell 3.32 points or 0.8 percent to 418.35. The Amex Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) added 1.62 points or 0.5 percent to 303.51, while the Amex Biotechnology Index (BTK) fell 0.92 points or 0.1 percent to 752.17. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) added 41.36 points or 0.3 percent to 13,028.16 as investors welcomed signs that the economy may avoid recession, but worries remain about oil prices. The S&P 500 ($SPX) added 1.28 points or 0.1 percent to 1,426.63.
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