Detroit Public Library opening up high-tech haven for teens The original 1923 children's reading room of the Detroit Public Library has been transformed into a high-tech haven for teens. The new HYPE Center -- the name stands for Helping Young People Excel -- is 3,884 square feet of video game consoles, big-screen TVs, performance spaces, quiet study areas, CDs, DVDs, free Wi-Fi -- and oh yes, books. Lots and lots of books. Use of the center is restricted to those with a Detroit Public Library card who are between the ages of 13 and 18. According to Steven Teeri, the Detroit Public Library customer support representative who will run the center, its design, game collection, music collection, video collection and books were selected with input from the library's teen advisory board. More.
'Creative economy' firms, including Web, can get state tax breaks
Michigan's creative business community will get a boost as a result of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's signature on a series of bills that would make creative businesses eligible for state MEGA tax credits. State officials say the bill, sponsored by State Sen. Jud Gilbert (R-Algonac), will have a significant impact on Southeast Michigan's efforts to develop creative economy jobs by broadening the definition of businesses eligible for MEGA credits to include those in the creative sector. Digital media including Internet publishing and broadcasting, video gaming, Web development, entertainment technology. More.
Trubiquity moves auto software to SaaS model
Rochester Hills Trubiquity, formerly known as Autoweb, said Monday it had launched a new software-as-a-service architecture. Trubiquity provides software-based business process automation and data management systems for the automotive, aerospace and consumer goods industries. Trubiquity says the new software architecture, named TRUcore, improves communications among global business teams, from an original equipment manufacturer level down through a company’s global supply chain. More.
HealthMedia continues explosive growth
Ann Arbor-based HealthMedia Inc. said its rapid growth in providing online behavior change programs continued in the first quarter. Health care license revenues increased 60 percent and revenue from partnerships with strategic vendors increased 100 percent from first quarter 2007. One new program contributing to this growth was launched in January and serves a large Medicare population. Industry embracement of HealthMedia’s Overcoming Insomnia program is also contributing to company growth, with three of the nation’s top 10 health plans and several large employer groups rolling out the program to more than 14 million covered lives. To serve its growing customer base and help customers better meet their goals of improving the health of their populations, HealthMedia also announced several new enhancements to its product offerings. More.
New service from ForeSee Results
Ann Arbor-based ForeSee Results, which offers online customer satisfaction measurement and management, Monday unveiled an enhanced online customer satisfaction analytics service called CS SiteManager 3.0. Introduced at the 2008 eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit in San Francisco, CS SiteManager 3.0 has multiple upgrades and enhanced capabilities to measure satisfaction and identify user-centric site improvements that will have the greatest impact on future sales, positive word of mouth recommendations, brand engagement and other key metrics. More.
Marquette's Pioneer to demonstrate novel approach to back surgery
The European subsidiary of Marquette-based Pioneer Surgical Technology will present the latest clinical results of its NuBac Disc Arthroplasty System at the Spine Arthroplasty Society meeting in Miami, Fla. The NuBac is the flagship of this innovative platform of motion preserving spinal implants. It's not yet available for use in the United States but is available in Europe. A poster and oral presentation will present new clinical data that show the NuBac is a viable alternative to fusion and total disc replacement surgery. More.
Dennis Callewaert is founder and president of Oxford Biomedical Research in Oxford. A professor of chemistry and the former director of the Center for Biomedical Research at Oakland University, Callewaert founded the company in 1994, one of four biotechnology companies he has started. Oxford Biomedical Research has licensed several key technologies and performs research and development through grants and contracts from the National Institutes of Health. Callewaert’s work has appeared in more than 70 research publications, and he hold several patents. Prior to Oxford, Callewaert was the co-founder of the Michigan Biotechnology Association (now MichBio), a consultant in the clinical pathology department at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, and president of Proteins International in Rochester Hills. Read more.
Do you know a business, professional or community leader whom you think deserves being honored as a Leader and Innovator? Click here to nominate them.
Swartz Creek pharmacy launches high-tech disease management
Swartz Creek-based Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy Monday announced that its proprietary and exclusive Electronic Navigator patient care system is now live and being used to manage the treatment of multiple sclerosis patients. The company plans to use eNav as a disease management tool for all disease states including HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, oncology, rheumatoid arthritis, dermatology, Crohn's disease and chronic kidney disease. More.
New jail, inmate management software from CrimeCog
Ann Arbor-based CrimeCog Technologies Inc. Monday announced an enhanced version of its jail booking and management system software. Added functions will allow customers to automate and better manage inmate accounts and costs, as well as more effectively manage inmates themselves. Part of the CrimeCog E-Justice Systems public safety software suite, the jail management system helps corrections personnel manage and track all aspects of incarceration, from inmate risk levels to biometric identification, movement tracking to court appearances to probation and parole management. More.
Assay Designs collaborates with Medical College of South Carolina
Ann Arbor-based Assay Designs Inc., a provider of immunoassay kits, antibodies, and reagents to the life sciences and translational research markets, Monday announced a collaboration on a joint antibody research project with the Medical University of South Carolina and Dr. Jennifer Isaacs' laboratory.
Under the terms of this agreement, Assay Designs will provide anti-Heat shock protein 90 antibody for both cell-based and animal-based work. This collaboration agreement will allow Isaacs to move forward with research investigating the role of Hsp90 in the progression of many cancers.
"I am excited about the prospect of utilizing this antibody to target the Hsp90 chaperone and to potentially curtail the metastatic properties of some cancers," Isaacs said. "Moreover, we now have a new tool to explore the role of cell surface localized Hsp90 protein in cancer progression. Since this antibody is well-tolerated in animals, this approach paves the way for a promising therapeutic strategy."
Said Dan Calvo, Assay Designs president and CEO: "As the leader in heat shock proteins and chaperones, collaborations such as this provide valuable insight for our new product development efforts. Supporting the validation of new and novel test protocols enhances the value and flexibility of our broad HSP product portfolio."
Assay Designs markets its products under the "Assay Designs" and "Stressgen" brand names. Researchers use Assay Designs products to detect and quantify molecules that are important biomarkers of inflammation, heat shock, cell signaling, and oxidative stress.
Note: For information on how you can sponsor content in the Blue Box, contact Dan Keelan at (248) 455-7380 or dkeelan@cbs.com.
THE WORLD IN TECH
Qwest drops Sprint in favor of Verizon Wireless
Qwest Communications International Inc. will stop reselling Sprint Nextel Corp.'s wireless service and move its subscribers to Verizon Wireless' network, Qwest said Monday. The move means Sprint, which is already struggling with a dwindling customer base, will lose more subscribers. Qwest contributed 824,000 to Sprint's rolls of 53.8 million subscribers at the end of last year. The news was released after the close of the stock market, on the same day as reports emerged that Deutsche Telekom AG, the parent of T-Mobile USA, was mulling a bid for Sprint and Sprint was considering spinning off Nextel. More.
Yahoo stock slips but doesn't crater; Google the winner?
Yahoo Inc.'s stock took a beating Monday after Microsoft Corp. withdrew its $47.5 billion takeover bid, but the punishment wasn't as severe as many analysts anticipated because investors suspect the rivals eventually will renew their mating dance. Although Microsoft has publicly indicated it will focus on measures besides buying Yahoo in its effort to make its Internet division profitable, several analysts predicted the software maker will revive its offer in the summer or fall if Yahoo can't snap out of a two-year funk that exposed it to an unwanted takeover in the first place. More.
US, EU asked to relax biofuel rules as food prices rise
The U.S. and European Union should reconsider a shift to biofuels that has helped increase food prices worldwide by turning agricultural land over to energy crops, American economist Jeffrey Sachs said Monday. Targets to produce more fuels that release less carbon dioxide when burned "do not make sense now in a global food scarcity condition," Sachs, a special adviser to the United Nations, told reporters before he spoke to EU lawmakers at the European Parliament. "In the United States, as much as one-third of the maize crop this year will go to the gas tank and this is a huge blow to the world food supply, so these programs should be cut back significantly," he said. More.
WTO gives Japan until September to change chip import rules
The World Trade Organization is giving Japan until Sept. 1 to change its punitive charges on imports of South Korean computer memory chips. A WTO arbitrator said this gives Japan a reasonable period of time to reshape its tariffs to conform with global trade rules. Seoul complained to the WTO about a 27.2 percent charge Tokyo levies on imports of dynamic random access memory made by South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc. DRAM chips are used in computers and other high-tech products. More.
Stocks: Yahoo's slump turns tech sector to the red
Losses from Yahoo Inc. highlighted tech-sector trading Monday as the company's shares fell 15 percent in the wake of Microsoft Corp. backing away from its offer to acquire the Internet giant for more than $44 billion. By the close, the Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPQ) had fallen 12.87 points or 0.5 percent to 2,464.12. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) fell 5.6 points or 0.9 percent to 586.38, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) fell 2.99 points or 0.7 percent to 396.86. The Amex Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) fell 1.78 points or 0.6 percent to 305.11, while the Amex Biotechnology Index (BTK) rose 1.91 points or 0.3 percent to 756.91. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) slid 88.66 points, or 0.7 percent, to 12,969.54, with 26 of its 30 components settling in the red. General Motors Corp. led blue-chip declines, with its stock down 3.6 percent. The S&P 500 ($SPX) shed 6.41 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,407.49, with financials leading the decline among S&P component sectors with a 1.5 percent drop, followed by consumer discretionary, off 1.4 percent.
Advancing sectors on the S&P included energy, up 1.5 percent, and materials, up 0.8 percent.
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 Dan Keelan at dkeelan@cbs.com or (248) 455-7252. To subscribe, e-mail Nancy Ho at nancy.ho@cbsradio.com. For questions or concerns, please email Pete Kowalski, WWJ's Station Manager.
LEGAL NOTICE: This email may be considered an advertising or promotional message. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email from this station, please reply to this email by sending a reply email by clicking on the "reply" button at the top of this page or by sending an e-mail to Nancy Ho at nancy.ho@cbsradio.com. Or you can change your subscriber profile: Click here to unsubscribe or change your subscriber profile.
You must use this method to notify GLITR and WWJ of your opt-out request, as we cannot guarantee that other methods of notification will be effective. Please be aware that we may continue to contact you via email for administrative or informational purposes, including follow-up messages regarding contests you have entered or other transactions you have undertaken. By law, such messages are not considered to be commercial e-mail.
Note: The Great Lakes IT Report is sent in HTML format only. Please make sure you have given us permission to send you an HTML message. If you have any questions, drop an e-mail to Nancy Ho or Matt Roush.
The original 1923 children's reading room of the Detroit Public Library has been transformed into a high-tech haven for teens. The new HYPE Center -- the name stands for Helping Young People Excel -- is 3,884 square feet of video game consoles, big-screen TVs, performance spaces, quiet study areas, CDs, DVDs, free Wi-Fi -- and oh yes, books. Lots and lots of books. Use of the center is restricted to those with a Detroit Public Library card who are between the ages of 13 and 18. According to Steven Teeri, the Detroit Public Library customer support representative who will run the center, its design, game collection, music collection, video collection and books were selected with input from the library's teen advisory board. 
