GLITR Monday, August 3, 2009

Your report for Monday, August 3, 2009

Michigan duo creates nifty new iPhone app
If you'd like a nifty iPhone application that will help you figure out where to meet friends and colleagues at the midpoint between your home or office, I've got a recommendation: MeetMe (www.aboutmeetme.com). And best of all, it's Michigan made. Gregg Hammerman in Ann Arbor and an Oakland County friend, Adam Finkel, dreamed up the application earlier this year. "Things like this happen to me every day," Hammerman said. "I live in Ann Arbor, I work in Bloomfield Hills, I have friends in downtown Detroit, I want to meet someone in Southfield. I'm always looking for places to meet in the middle." This application, for $1.99, will make a bunch of recommendations of various types of places in the middle, taking its recommendations from a popular restaurant, nightclub and hotel rating Web site. More.

This year's TC auto conference focused on climate change, MPG
Fuel economy and climate change policies are in the spotlight at the automotive industry's traditional summer gathering, the CAR Management Briefing Seminars this week in Traverse City. The event is hosted by the Center for Automotive Research, a nonprofit research organization in Ann Arbor. More.

Dow Corning profit, revenue fall
Midland-based Dow Corning Corp. reported Friday that net income was $115.4 million in the second quarter ended June 30, down 38.5 percent from $187.7 million in the second quarter of 2008. Revenue was $1.19 billion, down 14 percent from $1.38 billion a year earlier. For the first half, net income was $124.8 million, down 64.2 percent from $348.8 million in the first half of 2008. Revenue was $2.22 billion, down 17 percent from $2.66 billion in the first half of 2008. More.

Bonal swings to loss on U.S. sales plunge
Royal Oak-based Bonal International Inc. Friday announced results from the first quarter of its fiscal year, which ended June 30. The company posted a loss of $40,852 or 2 cents a share, vs. net income of $63,336 or 4 cents a share in the first quarter of the prior fiscal year. Sales fell 42 percent to $351,827 from $601,951. More.

In the boonies, you never know what might disrupt Web service
When you're providing Internet access from places where there isn't even electricity, you never know what might happen. In the case of Charlie Hopper and his Pasty.net, the Web went down for a while in one of his service areas because somebody left the toilet running. More.

Ann Arbor gets electrical industry training event for 1st time

The National Training Institute of the nation's electrical industry will celebrate 20 years of training excellence when it meets at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor from today through Friday.

More than 2,000 people annually attend the NTI, which is presented by the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, a joint effort of the National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

It's the first time the event has ever been held in Michigan after 19 straight years at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

The week-long trade show and conference is expected to pump up to $5 million into the Ann Arbor economy.

"We are ready to roll out the red carpet for this world class training event," said Mary Kerr, president of the Ann Arbor Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Michael Callanan, executive director of the NJATC, said that "the University of Michigan has provided a venue which will enable us to grow, to have a campus like experience for all our training and meetings. Secondly, equally important, is coming to a campus that works with us. They employ our members and our contractors in all of the work that they do on campus, and it's great to come to a community that really has respect for working men and women and their families and the right to belong to a union."

Callanan and Gary Polulak, training director for the Detroit JATC, said the event will feature professional education of JATC instructors -- teaching them how to be better teachers.

It will also feature training on new and emerging electrical technologies. These days, Callanan said, that means "a renewed emphasis on green and renewable energy technologies."

That's particularly important for the 12 JATCs in Michigan, Polulak said. "Our growth has been in the auto industry, and while we believe that work will still be around it will be in a diminished role," he said. "We're now pursuing green energy. Solar panels, wind turbines -- our journeymen and apprentices know how to do that work, and all the contractors certified in that kind of work."

Callanan said more and more of the training will also focus on the future of the smart electrical grid.

All told, the nation's 300 JATC program have 40,000 electrical apprentices in training -- the people who, in large part, will determine how we make and use electricity.

The NJATC was created more than 68 years ago and has developed into what is the largest apprenticeship and training program of its kind. Local programs affiliated with the NJATC have trained more than 350,000 apprentices to journeyman at no cost to taxpayers.

The conference actually kicked off Saturday, Aug. 1 with the opening of the trade show, and programs began with remarks from Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) Sunday, Aug. 2.

For more information, visit www.njatc.org or www.poweringmichigansfuture.com.

Note: For information on how you can sponsor content in the Blue Box, contact Jeff Lasser at (248) 455-7319 or jeff.lasser@cbsradio.com

UM adds energy class to mark 80th birthday of Wyoming ranch 'campus'
An abandoned ranch in a sheltered Wyoming valley with mountain vistas and clear streams seemed an ideal spot for the University of Michigan's summer surveying camp back in 1929, when it became necessary to relocate the facility from northern Michigan. The university's regents approved the purchase of 120 acres for $2,500, crude cabins were erected, and the Camp Davis Rocky Mountain Field Station was born. This summer the camp -- now a teaching and research center offering courses in geology, ecology, renewable energy and the humanities -- celebrates its 80th anniversary with the grand opening of a block of new cabins, the first major construction since the camp was built. More.

Charter hands out prizes
Charter Communications Inc. passed out several sweet prizes around Michigan last week as part of its "Live It With Charter" sweepstakes. John Goodnough of Howell was a grand prize winner, taking home an Apple iTouch Video 32GB iPod, a Bose SoundDock portable music system and a $200 iTunes gift card. More.

Credit union adds high-tech teller machines
Personalized service and the latest conveniences of technology have merged into a progressive new way for members to complete transactions at Community Choice Credit Union -- the first time the technology is being used in Michigan. The Personal Teller Machine is the advanced financial services equipment now available exclusively to members of Community Choice. The first PTM was installed at the newly opened Farmington Hills headquarters branch in May. This month, two more machines were installed at the Milford office providing even more members with the opportunity to use this cutting-edge technology. The PTM is a fully functional remote unit allowing members to transact business, such as cash and check deposits, cash and coin withdrawals, and account inquiries or transfers. At right, Community Choice Credit union staffer Maria Palimino makes a withdrawal from the new personal teller. More.

THE WORLD IN TECH

Apple says it's fixed iPhone SMS vulnerability
Apple Inc. says it has fixed an iPhone vulnerability that lets hackers knock people offline - and possibly take over the phones - by sending them specially crafted text messages. Apple says it issued a software fix Friday after the vulnerability was exposed this week at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. More.

Hackers expose weakness in visiting trusted sites
A powerful new type of Internet attack works like a telephone tap, except operates between computers and Web sites they trust. Hackers at the Black Hat and DefCon security conferences have revealed a serious flaw in the way Web browsers weed out untrustworthy sites and block anybody from seeing them. If a criminal infiltrates a network, he can set up a secret eavesdropping post and capture credit card numbers, passwords and other sensitive data flowing between computers on that network and sites their browsers have deemed safe. In an even more nefarious plot, an attacker could hijack the auto-update feature on a victim's computer, and trick it into automatically installing malware pulled in from a hacker's Web site. The computer would think it's an update coming from the software manufacturer. More.

Security researchers urge caution on smart grid
The race to build a "smarter" electrical grid could have a dark side. Security experts are starting to show the dangers of equipping homes and businesses with new meters that enable two-way communication with utilities. The risks are similar to what happens when computers are linked over the Internet. By exploiting weaknesses in the way computers talk to each other, hackers can seize control of innocent people's machines. In the case of the power grid, better communication between utilities and the meters at individual homes and businesses raises the possibility that someone could control the power supply for a single building, an entire neighborhood, or worse. More.

More ads coming to TV -- even in prior havens
Coming soon to your TV: More advertising, in places you might not expect. The ads are showing up where people used to enjoy a break from advertising, such as video on demand and on-screen channel guides. Even TiVo, which became popular for its technology that lets people skip TV commercials, is developing new ways to show ads. As a result, you won't necessarily see more traditional, 30-second commercials. Instead, many of the new TV ads will resemble online ads - interactive and often shaped for individual members of the audience. They'll also be harder to ignore. Typically, you can't opt out of seeing them. More.

Stocks: Shares slip as fears remain about pace of recovery
The stock market's best July in 20 years is giving investors reason for hope about the economy. Investors are placing big bets that the ability of companies to squeeze out surprise profits means the longest recession since World War II is finally easing its grip. But even as earnings and some economic reports suggest the economy is strengthening, the stock rally means investors will pay a bigger price if they are wrong. The Dow surged 8.6 percent for the month, with most of the gains arriving in bursts in the final 15 days. The extraordinary run shaped July into the best month for the blue chips since October 2002 and the best July since 1989. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index, a benchmark for many mutual funds, also ran at a strong pace and July was its best performance since 1997. Even with the gains, the S&P is still down 37 percent from its peak in October 2007. More. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) fell 5.8 points or 0.3 percent to 1,978.5. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) rose 17.15 points or 0.2 percent, to 9,171.62. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) rose 0.69 points or 0.2 percent to 301.74. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) rose 0.98 points or 0.2 percent to 493.1. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) fell 1.37 points or 0.5 percent to 278.82. The NYSE Arca Biotech Index (BTK) fell 7.93 points or 0.9 percent to 870.25. Finally, the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) rose 0.73 points or 0.1 percent to 987.48.

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