GLITR Thursday, November 12, 2009

Your report for Thursday, November 12, 2009

Grant to boost Michigan science, math teachers
Liquid Web Inc., the largest Web hosting company in Michigan with more than 20,000 clients in more than 120 countries, Wednesday opened its new cloud computing data center and world headquarters, boosting the company’s hosting capabilities to 35,000 servers at three data centers. The $80 million, 90,000-square-foot facility in southwest Lansing will employ 600 highly skilled workers to support Liquid Web’s move into the “cloud hosting” computer market. Liquid Web now has 145 employees in two other Lansing-area data centers, which will remain open. More.

Rapid Repair's rapid growth means new headquarters
Rapid Repair, the national online repair service for consumer electronics, announced Wednesday that the company has moved to a new headquarters building in Portage. The company, formerly headquartered in Kalamazoo, now enjoys a 40 percent increase in space to 4,300 square feet, an expanded retail area for local customers, and a customized physical layout that enhances the company’s ability to service global customers seeking iPod, iPhone, Zune and game console repair. More.

TC company's study shows health care firms not ready for new regs
A recent survey of health care organizations found that 94 percent believe they are not ready to comply with the privacy and security provision of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The new provisions take effect in February. The survey of 77 U.S. healthcare organizations was conducted by the Traverse City research organization Ponemon Institute and sponsored by the Indianapolis public accounting firm Crowe Horwath LLP. More.

New movie seats move with the picture
Longueuil, Quebec-based D-Box Technologies Inc. Wednesday announced that Emagine Entertainment of Troy will install its D-Box motion-enhanced movie seats in one row of its Canton Township location. The company says the seats offer a more immersive experience for movie motion effects. Movie titles are encoded frame by frame by D-Box motion designers so that sensations occur in perfect sync with the action taking place onscreen. More.

Ford wheat-straw-reinforced plastic debuts in 2010 Flex
Ford Motor Co., working with academic researchers and supplier A. Schulman, has become the first automaker to develop and use wheat straw-reinforced plastic in its vehicles. This world-first application, which is on the third-row storage bins of the 2010 Ford Flex, reduces petroleum usage by some 20,000 pounds per year and reduces CO2 emissions by 30,000 pounds per year. More.

ITC Holdings offers info on America's Thanksgiving Parade

Editor's Note: Today’s GLITR Blue Box is sponsored by Novi-based ITC Holdings Corp. The electric grid owner and manager has turned over the space to Detroit’s Parade Co. for this rundown on America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

America’s Thanksgiving Parade 2009

Grandstand seats offer you a prime location in downtown Detroit, with the ability to see, live and up close, more than 60 units of your favorite floats, balloons, marching bands, specialty acts and celebrity guests. Enjoy the convenience and comfort with the best views along the Parade route.

Grandstand tickets are easy to order and you can choose from three different options:

* General Admission seating is located at step-off (Mack and Woodward Avenue), Foxtown and Grand Circus Park; these tickets are priced at $20 each.

* TV Zone Grandstand seating is located in the Merchants Row area where the lights shine as the Parade is broadcast live to millions. TV Zone Grandstand tickets are priced at $25 each and include viewing of WDIV Local 4’s one hour pre-show.

* VIP Grandstand seating includes access to The Parade Company’s VIP pre-Parade breakfast. Locations include the Hard Rock Café on Monroe Street and Cheli’s Chili Bar on E. Adams Avenue. VIP Grandstand seating is located in Grand Circus Park, Campus Martius and the Merchant’s Row area. VIP Grandstand tickets are priced at $40 each.

To order tickets, visit http://theparade.org/store/.

The Parade Company is pleased to announce Art Van Elslander and WJR’s Paul W. Smith as co-Grand Marshals for the 83rd America’s Thanksgiving Parade, one of the country’s largest and longest-running parades. Van Elslander and Smith, who have longtime connections with the Parade, will be joined by celebrities who have entertained millions across the country. On Thursday, Nov. 26 they will all be a part of creating memories for the nearly one million people who line Woodward Avenue -- and the millions who will view the Parade during the national broadcast.

The impressive celebrity line-up known for their inspirational performances, unique personalities, incredible dancing or vocal styling, includes:

* Bethenny Frankel, celebrity chef and from Bravo’s hit series, Real Housewives of New York
* Miss Michigan 2009, Nicole Blaszczyk
* Celebrity dancer Cheryl Burke being brought to Detroit by Hoover to choreograph the T-Series Cha Cha
* Day 26, the male R&B/ hip-hop music group handpicked at the end of MTV's Making the Band 4
* Danny Gokey, American Idol season 8 contestant
* Josh Gracin, American Idol season 2 contestant, country music singer and Westland native
* The Biggest Loser season 7 winner and Sterling Heights resident Helen Philips

Note: Today's Blue Box was sponsored by ITC Holdings Corp. For information on how you can sponsor content in the Blue Box, contact Jeff Lasser at (248) 455-7319 or jeff.lasser@cbsradio.com.

Wayne State, partners lead wireless broadband drive
As part of the Community Telecommunications Network, Wayne State University is providing the technical, strategic and systems support to provide Internet access for residents in two low-income Detroit neighborhoods. The initiative is supported by one of several Knight Foundation grants totaling more than $5 million; these grants are intended to transform the city’s economy by creating jobs and extending digital access to community centers and underserved citizens. More.

X-Rite loss declines despite lower sales
Kentwood-based X-Rite inc. Wednesday announced a smaller loss despite lower revenue for the third fiscal quarter ended Oct. 3. The company's net loss was $9 million, an improvement from $15.5 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Much of the improvement stemmed from taxes -- the company still had to pay $4.3 million in income tax last year, while it had a $2.1 million tax benefit this year. Third quarter sales were $45.6 million, down from $61.3 million in the same quarter a year earlier. More.

Compuware delivers quickly on Vantage-Gomez integration
Detroit-based Compuware Corp. Wednesday announced the first integration between its Compuware Vantage application performance management software and its newly acquired Gomez Web performance management software. Available immediately for customers of both Vantage and Gomez, this is the industry’s first solution to power visibility across the entire application delivery chain -- from internal systems behind the firewall to the Web browsers of users around the globe. Through unified dashboards, the system accelerates the investigation and resolution of application performance issues impacting customers and critical business services. This empowers IT and business executives to deliver optimal application performance to drive brand image, customer loyalty and revenue. More.

THE WORLD IN TECH

Microsoft brings more Web data to Bing results
Microsoft's Bing search service will pull more information and tools from other Web sites as the company tries to distinguish itself as part of its challenge to market leader Google. Traditionally, search engines from Google Inc. and others respond to users' queries by offering links to other sites that Web surfers can go to for information. Microsoft Corp., whose search engine ranks third behind those from Google and Yahoo Inc., introduced several changes Wednesday aimed at answering people's questions without sending them to an outside page. More.

Hewlett-Packard to buy 3Com for $2.7 billion, ups guidance
Hewlett-Packard Co. said Wednesday it is buying the 3Com Corp. networking company for $2.7 billion, the latest move by the world's No. 1 personal computer maker to expand into more profitable areas than PCs. HP also raised its 2010 guidance and reported preliminary quarterly earnings that topped Wall Street's forecasts. The company didn't provide specific reasons for its better outlook, other than a statement from CEO Mark Hurd that "significant growth in China" and "solid execution" helped HP in the quarter. HP's stock slipped 35 cents to $49.65 while 3Com's shares leaped $1.96, or 34 percent, to $7.65 in extended trading after the announcements. 3Com is a former Silicon Valley high-flyer whose fortunes faded after the dot-com meltdown a decade ago. Its proposed sale to a private equity firm and a Chinese partner fell apart last year over national security concerns. More.

Review: BlackBerry Storm improves on original
The first touch-screen BlackBerry phone, the Storm, got a few things right, but generally it was a chore to use. Good thing a lot can change in a year. Though not without flaws, the latest version of the device, the BlackBerry Storm2, is the phone Research In Motion Ltd. should have released last year: It's faster, smarter and more fun to use. More.

Drug industry presses FDA to allow more online ads
As federal regulators take their first tentative steps toward policing the wild west of medical information online, pharmaceutical companies are pressing their case to market drugs via Google, Twitter and other Web sites. The Food and Drug Administration will convene a two-day meeting beginning Thursday to hear the drug industry's position on Internet marketing. The agency has agreed to consider developing rules for online advertising after companies complained that the current guidelines for traditional media -- which require a detailed list of possible side effects -- have left them hamstrung on the Web. More.

Stocks: Markets edge higher as dollar continues to weaken
More signs that interest rates will remain low and upbeat economic news from China gave investors new reason to keep buying stocks Wednesday. Federal Reserve officials signaled in speeches late Tuesday that a recovery in the economy is likely to be weak. Investors took that as another sign that policymakers will hold interest rates low to help resuscitate growth. Expectations of low rates weighed on the dollar and gave a boost to commodities. Oil and gold held their advances even after the dollar pulled off of a 15-month low. Investors also drew encouragement from a 16.1 percent jump in industrial production in China. That fanned expectations that a broader global recovery is gaining steam. A jump in orders at luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc. added to hopes that the U.S. economy was also improving. More. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) rose 15.82 points or 0.7 percent to 2,166.9. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) rose 44.29 points or 0.4 percent to 10,291.26. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) rose 4.24 points or 1.4 percent to 315.76. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) rose 3.51 points or 0.6 percent to 550.62. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) fell 0.39 points or 0.1 percent to 297.27. The NYSE Arca Biotech Index (BTK) rose 3.64 points or 0.4 percent to 903.49. Finally, the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) rose 5.5 points or 0.5 percent to 1,098.51.

All contents copyright 2009 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS Radio & Eye logo trademarked and copyright 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. Written and edited by Matt Roush, Technology Editor, WWJ Newsradio 950, Detroit. GLITR may contain material from the Associated Press, CNET, News.com, MarketWatch.com or Reuters, 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, or with general questions or concerns, contact Pete Kowalski, WWJ's station manager, at prkowalski@cbs.com. To subscribe, e-mail Matt Roush or Georgeann Herbert at gherbert@cbs.com.

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