Tech Tour Day Ten: MSU's Magnificent It's tough to visit a huge school like Michigan State University in just one day. With a sponsored research budget approaching $400 million, there are literally hundreds of really interesting projects for a reporter like me, on the Great Lakes IT Report Fall Tech Tour 2008, to look at. Well, I want to thank Russ "Green And" White, MSU media communications manager, and his wife Lynda, communications manager for the MSU College of Engineering, for the agenda they put together for my visit Thursday -- it was wide ranging and uniformly fascinating. More.
Brighton's Lowry gets military RFID contract Brighton-based Lowry Computer Products Inc. said Thursday that it has been selected as a vendor to provide passive radio frequency identification electronic product code hardware, software and professional services to the military. Included will be the United States Department of Defense, the U.S. Coat Guard, North Atlantic Treaty Organization partners and other foreign military. The contract, which was awarded to Lowry Computer Products by the Army Contracting Agency Information Technology, E-Commerce, and Commercial Contracting Center (ITEC4), has a potential value in excess of $75 million based on this multiple award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract. More.
BC Unlimited invests in homeland security fund
Battle Creek Unlimited, a business development and funding group, announced today that it will become the initial investor in support of the Michigan Homeland Security Resource Fund. The amount of the investment wasn't immediately disclosed. The fund also launched a Web site at www.hlsrf.com to take applications from Michigan-based entrepreneurs in need of investment. More.
New software from dSpace
DSpace, the German software company with its United States headquarters in Wixom, announced the availability of version 2.2 of its AutomationDesk software, the newest version of dSpace's test automation software. More.
Toyota opens new engineering center near Ann Arbor
Toyota Technical Center celebrated the grand opening of its new engineering and safety testing facilities in Ann Arbor Thursday with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and United States Congressman John Dingell, as well as several hundred government officials, community leaders, suppliers and Toyota team members. TTC, a division of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, already has a site in Ann Arbor. With the expansion in York Township, TTC is adding 400 new jobs and will boost its employment to 1,100 by 2010. More.
East Lansing IT company celebrates 30 years in business
PTD Technology, a mid-Michigan IT provider, is celebrating its 30th anniversary in business. Athena Award Winner and founder of PTD Technology, Virginia Hilbert, began the company in 1978 as a home-based business, with the vision of training local business people to use technology. Today the company has a corporate headquarters in East Lansing.
“In our current economy, we are grateful that we are continuing to grow and branch out in our industry,” said Karl Meier, president of PTD Technology.
The expansion has been evident in their services as well as their client base. Beyond training, PTD technology offers software development, technical writing, network design and installation, and hardware sales and support, to list a few. Also growing are PTD Technology’s boundaries, as they have gone beyond Michigan, to serve clients throughout the United States.
The company credits client loyalty for their longstanding success.
“We strongly believe that we are partners in our clients’ achievements, and I think they can see that we are in it for the long haul,” Meier said.
Note: For information on how you can sponsor content in the Blue Box, contact Jeff Lasser at (248) 455-7200 or jeff.lasser@cbsradio.com.
New critical shipment partner for Detroit's NLM The Detroit-based third party logistics provider NLM said Thursday it had expanded its relationship with Express-1, a premium shipment provider. Express-1 has already served as part of NLM’s carrier network for a number of years. The company was recently recognized as one of NLM’s 2007 Coverage Support Award winners for consistently providing a wide range of viable shipment options for customers where equipment capacity constraints exist. More.
Saranac launches retail drive for 'conception kit'
In a move designed to provide the more than seven million Americans struggling with infertility a more affordable at-home option, Conceivex Inc. Thursday announced that the company has launched a retail distribution program with DesignRxclusive LLC (www.designrx.net) that will enable people to purchase the Conception Kit, which was formerly only available online, at participating pharmacies throughout the United States. The kit costs $299.95. More.
WSU prof gets grant to study gold formation, prospecting It’s been avidly studied by geologists for centuries, but one Wayne State University researcher is proving there is still much to learn about the formation and discovery of gold. Edmond van Hees, assistant professor in the Department of Geology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at WSU, received a $106,503 grant from West Timmins Mining Inc. to conduct research that could give geologists a completely new understanding of how the highly sought-after metal forms, as well as provide new methods of locating gold deposits. More.
THE WORLD IN TECH
Microsoft tries for a slice of Japanese game market Microsoft Corp. will be releasing games developed by top Japanese designers for its Xbox 360 console, a senior executive said Thursday, the latest effort by the U.S. software maker to make inroads in a market where it has long struggled. John Schappert, Microsoft corporate vice president of interactive entertainment LIVE, software and services business, was also trying to woo more Japanese game designers while in town for the annual Tokyo Game Show. More.
Despite IBM profits, a tech gloom still looms
Even after IBM Corp. surprised Wall Street with a healthy profit in the third quarter and a reaffirmation of its earnings outlook for the rest of the year, the broader technology sector dived again Thursday. There's just not enough of what lifted IBM to go around. Tech stocks were pummeled Thursday, and IBM ended the day down as well. Analysts expressed fears that Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM could see trouble in the fourth quarter and into 2009 if the lending and spending climate worsens as expected. More.
Micron to shed 15 percent of work force
Micron Technology Inc. will cut about 15 percent of its global work force as part of a restructuring of its computer memory chip operations, the company said Thursday. The bulk of the job losses will be in Boise, where the semiconductor company is headquartered. A company statement said the cuts were a result of declining customer demand and product oversupply, which has driven the selling price for NAND flash memory below manufacturing costs. Micron will shut down the NAND flash memory plant in Boise it operates as part of a joint venture with Intel Corp., it said. More.
Sony, Microsoft virtual communities to start Video game rivals Sony and Microsoft are going head-to-head in virtual worlds for their home consoles later this year. Both companies announced their services, which use graphic images that represent players called "avatars," Thursday at the Tokyo Game Show. Sony Corp.'s twice delayed online "Home" virtual world for the PlayStation 3 console will be available sometime later this year, while U.S. software maker Microsoft Corp., which competes with its Xbox 360, is starting "New Xbox Experience" worldwide Nov. 19. Microsoft's service will be adapted to various nations, but people will be able to communicate with other Xbox 360 users around the world, according to the Redmond, Washington-based company. More.
Stocks: IBM, Internet shares lead broad tech plunge at close Tech stocks plunged in the last hour of trading Thursday, with the Nasdaq falling more than 5% to below 1,700 as early gains led by IBM Corp. couldn't hold and falling shares of Internet leaders Google, Yahoo and Amazon led a rout of the technology sector amid more panic on Wall Street. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) fell 95.21 points or 5.5 percent to 1,645.12. Plunging sharply near the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) fell 678.91 points or 7.3 percent to 8,579.19. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) fell 7.74 points or 3 percent to 248.43. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) fell 15.49 points or 4 percent to 368.23. The Amex Pharmaceutical Index ($DRG) fell 20.68 points or 7.8 percent to 243.69, while the Amex Biotech Index (BTK) fell 27.02 points or 4 percent to 641.14. The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 75.02 points or 7.6 percent to 909.92.
Just a smidge of local extras: In the Economics Dept., a survey from a Farmington Hills firm shows consumers are responding to the market meltdown by dialing back spending; and a partner of Farmington Hills-based InfoTronics hits its 80th birthday. Elsewhere in Techland: IBM sells $3.9 billion in bonds, a sign corporate stalwarts are still finding lenders; an AP review finds tiny Flash drives are improving their security; AOL is steering its Journals bloggers to Google service; Microsoft will issue 11 security patches on Tuesday; the CNET Daily Podcast covers how Web 2.0 will weather the current market meltdown; Google Maps gets search-related text ads; Parity provides free online identity management; Microsoft Live Labs launches a political meme tracker; the guinea pigs squeal over the Yahoo home page test; Amazon has made the price of cloud computing a little lower; Photobucket gets a photo organizer, album themes; a battery start-up looks to extend battery life; Symantec eyes pay-per-use software; a social application builds a possible electoral map; tapping Twitter to monitor broadband outages; NASA's Messenger sends home its first full fly-by image of Mercury; a skeptical look at those claims of lost jobs due to piracy; a bicycle that purifies water as you pedal; a look at how McCain and Obama differ on Net neutrality; and a way to put giant telescopes on the Moon.
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It's tough to visit a huge school like Michigan State University in just one day. With a sponsored research budget approaching $400 million, there are literally hundreds of really interesting projects for a reporter like me, on the Great Lakes IT Report Fall Tech Tour 2008, to look at. Well, I want to thank Russ "Green And" White, MSU media communications manager, and his wife Lynda, communications manager for the MSU College of Engineering, for the agenda they put together for my visit Thursday -- it was wide ranging and uniformly fascinating. 
East Lansing IT company celebrates 30 years in business
