Greetings from Chicago -- the 2008 Fall Tech Tour is under way! Your humble narrator is now comfortably ensconced at the super cool Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago, awaiting the start of the WiMax World conference Wednesday and Thursday as the Great Lakes IT Report's Fall Tech Tour 2008 gets under way. The event will feature news on what many people think is the future of Internet service -- Wi-Fi broadcast from a tower, like a TV or FM radio station, with a range of 40 miles or so. Sprint is in the midst of rolling out the first such service as we speak. Then there's this year's TechTour-mobile -- the brand-new 2009 Dodge Durango Hybrid. What a truck! More.
Study: offshore wind turbines could pack a punch in Michigan If Michigan allowed close to 100,000 wind turbines to be plopped along the shore of the Great Lakes, it would produce enough energy to power the entire Upper Midwest, according to a Michigan State University Land Policy Institute study set to be released today, according to the MIRS News Service. While acknowledging that such a scenario is absurd, the study "Michigan's Offshore Wind Potential" produced the calculations to show the state what is possible if wind turbines were moved next to and into the Great Lakes. For example, to use offshore wind energy to satisfy all of Michigan's power demands, the state would need to plop 11,469 wind turbines 10 kilometers offshore at a depth of 60 meters, according to the study, authored by Charles McKeown and Soji Adelaja. More.
Gentex lowers guidance
Gentex Corp., the maker of electronic automatic-dimming rear-view mirrors, has reduced its revenue estimate for the quarter that ends today, citing lower auto production, AutoBeat Daily reported. The Zeeland-based company now expects a 5 percent decline from the $163 million in sales it generated a year ago. In July, Gentex had predicted a 10 percent increase. More.
Hennessey Capital places $4.8 million in new biz capital
Hennessey Capital LLC, a Huntington Woods-based specialty finance company delivering specialized working capital solutions, announces completion of $4.8 million of new financings for 11 small and mid-sized businesses, including six Michigan-based companies. More.
GeneGo gets grant to study effects of nutrients on cancer
St. Joseph-based GeneGo Inc. announced Tuesday that it has won a Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Cancer Institute for the development of a platform for understanding the influence of nutrients on the origins of cancer and cancer prevention. The company wouldn't release the amount of the one-year grant, but most Phase 1 federal SBIR grants are for about $100,000. More.
CareerBuilder CEO tells Detroit how to attract millennials
The Detroit Economic Club Tuesday hosted Matt Ferguson, CEO of Chicago-based CareerBuilder.com, who addressed the career needs of so-called Millennials -- the children of Baby Boomers -- who have different expectations about work than previous generations.
To be successful with this new work force, Ferguson said companies must adapt to their employees’ work styles and world views. He highlighted two issues that are critical to the ability of U.S. companies to remain competitive: the state of secondary education, and the ability to attract, motivate and retain the Millennial generation. Ferguson said policy shifts are needed in education.
“This country was built on taking the best and the brightest from around the world and putting them to work here making us more economically viable," Ferguson said."Today, we don’t allow that. I would immediately allow a student here studying from abroad, who graduates in math and science or a hard-to-find skill, who has a job from a U.S. company -- I would allow them to stay. Because right now a lot of them are going home, and I don’t think that makes sense for us. Also, we’re not allowing a lot of people who are skilled to come here today as we used to, and I think that is a mistake for our economy, not just in Michigan and Detroit, but around the United States. And so we’ve got to fund education. We’ve got to stop pointing fingers between the teachers to the legislature to the parents. We’ve got to get on the same page, and we’ve got to be willing to do some things that in the past we haven’t been willing to do but are going to be more important in the future.”
Ferguson also said increased access to communication technologies is going to be an important factor in attracting and retaining Millenial workers.
“I would allow them to communicate broadly in technology that you’re probably not comfortable allowing them to," Ferguson said. "Does your company have a blog? Probably not. We didn’t. We do now. Does your company have an internal networking site? We didn’t; we’re developing one right now. I mean, these are things that they want to use and have and feel like that makes their work more enjoyable, that in a competitive environment for this kind of talent are going to be important.”
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Security firm launches new backup software Troy-based Encryption Security Solutions and Pure Entropy Technologies Inc. Tuesday announced the availability of encryptO.B.E., an encrypted software hard drive backup system for commercial enterprises. Company CEO Kevin B. Lasser said the software -- an acronym for Open Backup Express -- is "designed for small to mid size commercial enterprises that are looking for a solution that is easy to use, and more importantly implement in the event of disaster." Lasser said that "while there are many adequate backup hard drive software packages available," his company's research indicated that even with those packages it takes 24 to 72 hours for users to recover their data. The average recovery time for encryptO.B.E., in contrast, is under an hour. More.
New computer training center in New Boston
The training firm Upfront Technologies LLC Tuesday announced the opening of a new computer training center at 17901 Huron River Drive in New Boston. Upfront offers computer training for a wide range of users, from individuals to business professionals. The company also creates customized training programs. More.
Dow Corning offers high-tech grease to cool computer chips Apparently even grease can go high-tech. Midland-based Dow Corning Corp. Tuesday announced the availability of its TC-5026 Thermally Conductive Compound for automotive industry use. Although originally developed primarily for use in computer-industry semiconductor components, extensive customer testing has now established that the unique performance characteristics of TC-5026 also make it well-suited for use in demanding, high-temperature automotive applications. This high-performance thermal grease offers up to 30 percent lower thermal resistance than competing products, helping to keep chips cooler and operating efficiently. More.
THE WORLD IN TECH
Tech stocks lose safe harbor status, slip in third quarter Technology stocks, which had been a safe harbor as the economy teetered in the first part of the year, shared the pain of other industries in the third quarter. Shares of the sector's steadiest performers were dragged down by fears that businesses and consumers will soon spend less. One of the hardest-hit companies was Internet search leader Google Inc., whose shares have endured their toughest year since the company went public in 2004. Recently investors have punished Google on worries that shriveling advertising budgets will hurt Google's ability to keep up its rapid growth. Google's stock fell 24 percent for the July-September period. That makes it the second-toughest quarter for Google's stock after the January-March period of this year. So far this calendar year, Google's stock is down 42 percent. More.
Hollywood aims to block RealNetworks' DVD software
Hollywood's six major movie studios on Tuesday sued RealNetworks Inc. to prevent it from distributing DVD copying software that they said would allow consumers to "rent, rip and return" movies or even copy friends' DVD collections outright. The studios stand to lose key revenue from the sale of DVDs, estimated by Adams Media Research at $15 billion in the U.S. this year, if consumers stop buying DVDs and instead copy rental discs from outlets like Netflix and Blockbuster. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleges RealNetworks' RealDVD program, which launched Tuesday, illegally bypasses the copyright protection built into DVDs. More.
AT&T chairman says credit woes crimping operations
The tightening of the global credit markets is crimping the world's largest telecommunications company. AT&T Inc. Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson said Tuesday that his company was unable to sell any commercial paper last week for terms longer than overnight. Commercial paper, which helps lubricate the flow of business operations, is a short-term IOU available to corporations that banks usually know are good for the money. It's not that short-term borrowing is unreasonably expensive, Stephenson said. A shortage of buyers for the debt means such borrowing is not as readily available as it had been even three weeks ago, he said. More.
NY regulators get tough on grounding of Verizon FIOS installs New York regulators have raised the possibility of banning Verizon Communications Inc. from installing its fiber-optic FiOS service in New York City until the company makes sure it's doing enough to provide electrical grounding for its equipment in homes. Poorly grounded equipment or cables could give electrical shocks or start fires, but there have been no reports of FiOS equipment causing harm to people or property, Verizon said. The New York State Public Service Commission, which regulates telecommunications, has been dogging Verizon on the electrical issue since 2006, and the staff concluded in a report to the commission last week that the company's remedies don't go far enough. More.
Stocks: Nasdaq climbs 5 percent as tech shares bounce back
Nasdaq Composite Index rose 5 percent Tuesday with technology stocks recouping some of the prior session's bruising losses that resulted from the U.S. House of Representatives rejecting the $700 billion financial-services bailout package. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) jumped 98.6 points or 5 percent to 2,082.33. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) rose 485.21 points or 4.7 percent to 10,850.66. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) rose 13.58 points or 4.6 percent to 306.89 and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) rose 22.75 points or 5 percent to 473.94. The Amex Pharmaceutical Index ($DRG) rose 9.54 points or 3.4 percent to 292.48, while the Amex Biotech Index (BTK) rose 18.261 points or 2.4 percent to 784.16. The S&P 500 (SPX) rose 58.35 points, or 5.3 percent, to 1,164.74. "Maybe the sky isn't falling," said Frederic Ruffy, options strategist at WhatsTrading.com. The indexes extended their gains in afternoon trades, with some investors betting "the fourth quarter might turn out a little more bullish than the third," added Ruffy, who also chalked up the advance to "hope for a new bailout package" as well as end-of-quarter squaring of positions and the day's economic data. A report showed a steep decline in home prices, but a gauge of business activity in the Chicago region reported an expansion at a healthy pace in September. Separately, the Conference Board reported U.S. consumer confidence climbed in September for a third consecutive month, but the level remained relatively low.
First, a heads-up: The city of Southfield is looking for volunteers to work with fourth graders on its "Science in the City Day" Friday, Oct. 10. Students will participate in a variety of lab experiments, and volunteers are needed to help with student movement from one lab station to another. Teaching experience or training is not needed. Two sessions are scheduled during the day. If you are able to help, e-mail Tene Rowland or call (248) 746-4331. Next, a ton of local extras, up to and beyond GLITR's daily 15-story structural limit: Cymphonix software saves Mercy High School the cost of a T1 line; the latest winner of the Michigan Venture Capital Association Entrepreneur-in-Residence program is named; Compuware helps AAA Michigan spot application performance problems; Plexus Systems offers a new study on ERP in the middle market; a leasing company says 'Hey! We've still got money to lend!'; and AT&T brings a better DVR to Michigan. Elsewhere in Techland: Nokia to buy Canada's Oz Communications; Norway will be a key search center for Microsoft; an even worse plunge in Google stock turns out to be an error; Skype 4.0 beta 2 gives you more say; Broadcom to use Wi-Fi positioning tech in chips; a new bill would limit Homeland Security laptop searches; AT&T reorganizes at the top; an ex-Microsoft exec gets a big bonus after joining Juniper; the CNET News daily podcast covers what the financial crisis means to tech startups; space tourist Simonyi signs up for another ride; AOL brings AIM for Mac back from the dead; MySpace may be about to lose out to Facebook in the United States; a new bill calls for HD-compatible satellite radio; NASA's Mars lander detects falling snow in the atmosphere; and the U.S. House is limiting inbound citizen e-mail to prevent its servers from crashing over the opposition it's getting to the Wall Street bailout bill. (Hmm. Back to pitchforks and torches?)
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Your humble narrator is now comfortably ensconced at the super cool Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago, awaiting the start of the WiMax World conference Wednesday and Thursday as the Great Lakes IT Report's Fall Tech Tour 2008 gets under way. The event will feature news on what many people think is the future of Internet service -- Wi-Fi broadcast from a tower, like a TV or FM radio station, with a range of 40 miles or so. Sprint is in the midst of rolling out the first such service as we speak. Then there's this year's TechTour-mobile -- the brand-new 2009 Dodge Durango Hybrid. What a truck! 
CareerBuilder CEO tells Detroit how to attract millennials
