GLITR Thursday, July 23, 2009

Your report for Thursday, July 23, 2009

Energy Conversion Devices buys LA customer
Rochester Hills-based Energy Conversion Devices Inc. Wednesday announced the $16.3 million acquisition of Solar Integrated Technologies Inc. SIT builds and installs building-integrated photovoltaic roofing systems. Under the terms of the agreement, ECD will pay 11 cents cash for each share of SIT, a total of about $11.2 million. Including the assumption of SIT's net debt obligations, the purchase price will be approximately $16.3 million. ECD plans to finance the acquisition from existing corporate funds. More.

Liberty Center One touts 100% data center uptime -- for 15 months
Liberty Center One in Royal Oak is celebrating 100 percent uptime for the 15th consecutive month. Liberty Center One's uptime record is possible due to the investment in multiple redundancies for critical power and networking systems. The Center boasts two new Kohler-Cummins 750 kVA diesel generators, a dual A/B UPS system, multiple fiber providers with diverse peering, diverse path and diverse entry and a robust, hardened network infrastructure that protects all Liberty customers from unwanted and harmful network attacks. More.

Music is the engine of new UM lab-on-a-chip
Music, rather than electromechanical valves, can drive experimental samples through a lab-on-a-chip in a new system developed at the University of Michigan. This development could significantly simplify the process of conducting experiments in microfluidic devices. A paper on the research will be published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of July 20. It's hoped the advance could lead to instant home tests for illnesses, food contaminants and toxic gases, among other advances. More.

Innovation consulting firm offers new flat rate
Dana Clarke, CEO of West Bloomfield Township-based Applied Innovation Alliance LLC Wednesday announced he is challenging companies in southeast Michigan to push harder to grow their business and boost employment despite reduced staffing levels. Effectively immediately and valid through Aug. 31, AIA will slash their normal tactical level consulting fees on a total of three projects. The projects will be completed successfully within 30 working hours at a flat rate of $6,850 and offer a money-back guarantee on solving the technical problem submitted regardless of dollar value, degree of difficulty or geographic location. AIA's team of world-renowned, technical problem solvers has a 97 percent implementation rate. More.

DNA Software gets $2.5 million from feds
Ann Arbor-based DNA Software Inc. has been awarded three Fast Track SBIR grants from the National Institutes of Health to develop original technologies to predict the three-dimensional structures of nucleic acids, which is critical understanding for progress in pharmaceuticals. The company successfully completed its milestones for Phase I of each project and recently began work on Phase II. Nucleic acids, commonly known as DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (Ribonucleic acid), are the molecular building blocks of life, form the basis of genetic blueprints, and direct activities in living organisms. DNA Software’s tools help scientists to quickly and accurately develop new medical solutions from this nucleic acid information. More.

Regional colleges, tech firms partner to train RFID technicians

St. Clair County Community College and Mott Community College have announced that they have developed Radio Frequency Identification technology labs and curriculum with Dynamic Computer Corp. and Stratum Global.

The RFID certificate program was created as a part of a three-year, $2 million Community-Based Job Training Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. The RFID program will be offered starting fall 2009 at St. Clair County Community College and during winter 2010 at Mott Community College.

"Both labs and curricula will have significant impact within the colleges, the community and the business world," said Stratum Global COO Bill Hood. "Graduates can pursue RFID as a career, and those returning for continuing education will increase their marketability. Corporate training will provide RFID certification for existing technology professionals as well."

Chicago-based Stratum Global and Farmington Hills-based Dynamic Computer partnered with SC4's Workforce Training Institute and Project Manager Dennis Valade to develop the 30-credit-hour program to teach RFID from the basics to full-scale project implementation. The course will prepare students to sit for the CompTIA RFID Plus Certification test.

Farida Ali, Dynamic's President & CEO, said that this exemplifies a larger trend in high-tech training at local colleges.

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Servant Systems software helps Molly Maid franchisees clean up
Servant Systems, the Ann Arbor franchise software development specialist, has released its latest franchise management software for the Molly Maid residential home cleaning service. Created under agreement with Service Brands International, Molly Maid’s parent company, this new version of the Customer Care System has received much praise from Molly Maid’s franchisees. More.

Technology Solutions helps local businesses go green
The Livonia unified communications provider Technology Solutions LLC Wednesday announced a program to help businesses in their efforts to go “green.” The latest advancements in communications technology have enabled companies to dramatically reduce their carbon footprint, while at the same time enhance employee productivity and increase operational efficiency. More.

Azure Dynamics partners with Turtle Top
The Oak Park hybrid truck drivetrain developer Azure Dynamics Corp. Wednesday announced a partnership with Turtle Top, a body manufacturer specializing in small to mid-sized buses and specialty vehicles. The agreement provides Turtle Top customers and dealers the opportunity to select Azure's Balance Hybrid Electric drivetrain system on the Ford E-450 chassis. More.

THE WORLD IN TECH

BlackBerry maker: UAE partner's update was spyware
BlackBerry users in the Mideast business centers of Dubai and Abu Dhabi who were directed by their service provider to upgrade their phones were actually installing spy software that could allow outsiders to peer inside, according to the device's maker. While many questions about the breach remain unanswered, including who ordered it sent and why, analysts say the disclosure highlights the risks posed by increasingly popular smart phones like the BlackBerry. More.

Amazon in $850 million deal for shoe site Zappos
One can never have too many shoes. Amazon.com Inc. is putting that shopper's mantra to the test. The Web retailer said Wednesday it has agreed to buy Zappos.com Inc., a privately held online shoe store, in a deal worth about $850 million. The deal, Amazon's biggest acquisition yet, calls for Amazon to pay for the shoe, apparel and accessories company with about 10 million shares of stock. Amazon values that at roughly $807 million, based on its average closing price in the 45 days that ended July 17. Amazon said it will also pay $40 million in cash and stock to Zappos employees. The deal is expected to close this fall. Zappos, founded in 1999, offers free shipping in four or five business days on all its orders. Zappos foots the bill for return shipping, too, and gives customers a year to send back purchases for a refund. More.

Microsoft says Windows 7 is ready for PC makers
Microsoft Corp. says Windows 7 is complete. The software maker sent the final code for its next computer operating system to manufacturers Wednesday, and said it's still on track for an Oct. 22 launch. Mike Angiulo, a general manager in the Windows group, said in an interview that getting up and running on a Windows computer will be "a lot smoother" than it was when Windows Vista launched in 2007. At the time, Microsoft boasted about the number of programs and devices that would work with Vista, but many PC users found their existing software, printers, scanners, cameras and other hardware didn't function after the switch. Microsoft said one reason Windows 7 should be an easier launch is that at its core, the new version is a lot like Vista. If a company updated a product to work with Vista in the last few years, it should also work with Windows 7. More.

A bright idea: Philips lets flat lights out of the labs
Someday, our ceilings and walls might radiate light, illuminating indoor spaces as brightly and evenly as natural daylight. Though that possibility remains years off, the Dutch electronics company Philips is letting people tinker with the technology that would enable it. The world's biggest lighting maker has begun selling do-it-yourself kits with little glowing wafers called "Lumiblades." They come in red, white, blue or green for anyone who wants to pay nearly $100 per square inch. It's one of the first chances people outside research labs have had to get their hands on lights made from organic light emitting diodes, or OLEDs. More.

Stocks: Mixed earnings put brakes on blue-chip rally; techs still up
Investors aren't giving up on the stock market's rally, but they're not making big bets either. Stocks ended a quiet day mixed Wednesday as traders were hesitant to commit more money to the market after a weeklong surge. The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped, while the Nasdaq composite index rose. A mix of earnings reports drove trading. Apple Inc. and Starbucks Inc. jumped on their results, but chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and big bank Wells Fargo & Co. slid. More. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) did manage a gain of 10.18 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,926.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) fell 34.68 points or 0.4 percent, to 8,881.26. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) rose 7.8 points or 2.7 percent to 301.77. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) rose 3.49 points or 0.7 percent to 480.64. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) fell 0.56 points or 0.2 percent to 272.99. The NYSE Arca Biotech Index (BTK) fell 3.34 points or 0.4 percent to 810.69. Finally, the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) fell 0.51 points or 0.1 percent to 954.07.

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