GLITR Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Your report for Tuesday, August 4, 2009

New company formed for document management
ImageSoft Inc., a Southfield-based IT consulting company, announced Monday that, in conjunction with Total Solutions of Brighton, it has launched ProcessPoint LLC, a subsidiary to provide cost effective, on-demand alternatives to premises-based document processing. “Most organizations have document processing needs, but not all can support or afford on-site document processing solutions, and even for those that can, it sometimes makes better sense economically to process documents off site on a project-by-project basis,” said Scott Bade, ImageSoft president. “ProcessPoint provides that option and, in doing so, saves customers time and money.” More.

New firm offers electronic patient records to psychologists
An Ann Arbor company called TherapyCharts is introducing its electronic health record system tailored to the specific needs of individual and small clinic psychologists, clinical social workers and mental health counselors. TherapyCharts was designed, from the ground up, with the needs of these specific individuals in mind: security, ease of use, convenience, and affordability. The introduction is coming at the American Psychological Association's 117th annual convention Aug. 6-9 in Toronto, Ontario. More.

New Web site markets Lansing for atom-smasher employees
Community partners leading the effort to market the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams being constructed at Michigan State University have debuted a new multi-media Web site to assist in marketing the region to prospective FRIB employees and their families. The Web site, www.greaterlansinglife.com/frib/ is intended to serve as a one-stop shopping destination for people interested in learning about the attributes of the Greater Lansing region. “This Web site sends a clear message throughout the world that the Greater Lansing region is one of the most livable, affordable, culturally diverse and exciting regions anywhere,” said Tim Daman, president and CEO of the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce. More.

Students develop cane with e-tags to guide blind
A cane equipped with the technology that retailers use to tag merchandise could help blind people avoid obstacles. An engineering professor and five students at Central Michigan University have created a "Smart Cane" to read electronic navigational tags installed between buildings to aid the blind in reaching their destinations more easily. "This project started as a way for me to teach students to see and understand the ways that engineering can be used for the greater good," said Kumar Yelamarthi, the professor and project leader. "We wanted to do something that would help people and make our campus more accessible." During the spring term, Yelamarthi and five senior engineering students tested the cane, which is equipped with Radio Frequency Identification technology, similar to what retailers put on products to keep them from being stolen. More.

GR PR firm buying counterpart in Troy
Hands are stretching across Michigan in a public relations deal. Grand Rapids-based Lambert Edwards & Associates is acquiring Troy-based John Bailey & Associates. The combination results in offices in the top three metro markets in Michigan – Detroit, Grand Rapids and Lansing – and a client roster of more than 110 publicly traded and privately held clients based in 20 states and five countries. LE&A and JB&A will continue to operate under their current brands with a combined staff of 40 and revenues exceeding $6 million. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Both firms have had significant technology industry practices in recent years, and John Bailey was formerly the agency of record for Automation Alley. More.

MSU study links kids' blood pressure to screen time
There may be a perfectly valid reason for yelling at the kids to turn off the computer and go outside and play. Sedentary behaviors such as TV viewing and “screen time” involving computers and video games are linked with elevated blood pressure in children regardless of whether they are overweight or obese, according to research published this month in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. The findings suggest the trend in America of increased media exposure for children may be having a much more dire effect than previously thought, according to co-author Joe Eisenmann, a professor in Michigan State University’s Department of Kinesiology. More.

AT&T Michigan makes it permanent with its interim CEO
Dallas-based AT&T Inc. announced Monday that James A. Murray has been named president of AT&T Michigan. Murray had served as vice-president of government relations for AT&T Michigan since 2005. In that role, he was responsible for working with the state legislature and administration on a wide range of telecommunications and other issues. More.

Fulton works with GR design school on wireless power applications
Ada-based Fulton Innovation said Monday that it has partnered with Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids to familiarize the next generation of design engineers with Fulton's eCoupled wireless power transmission technology. Industrial design students at Kendall, part of Ferris State University, are working to develop multiple product concepts utilizing eCoupled wireless power technology in a variety of environments including automotive, air transport, education, and residential. Applications of the technology included both infrastructure and devices with concepts ranging from airline tray tables and push carts to an interactive globe, gadget backpack, and battery-powered scooter. More.

Lansing Community College beefs up IT curriculum

Lansing Community College is adding IT courses in a wide variety of industry specialties, all with the aim of making its graduates more employable.

The college is a veteran when it comes to tech training -- it offered its first course in data processing in 1963, and its faculty members have decades of experience in hands-on tech jobs outside the academic world.

And LCC's programs reflect that hands-on mentality that goes far beyond test-based industry certifications (although LCC will get you those too). "There are a lot of white boxes here for people to take apart and put back together," said Jonathan Pulling, a laboratory technician and adjunct instructor with 22 years at LCC.

LCC's one-year certificates and two-year associate's degrees in computer information technology, or CIT, are subdivided into five areas -- networking, support, programming, Web and database.

The networking degree is further broken down after 20 credits into four specialty areas -- security, network administration, convergence technologies and infrastructure (like voice over Internet Protocol or video-on-demand), and preparation for the Cisco Certified Network Administrator designation. Karl Dietrich, a professor at LCC, said that specialization was prompted by input from the college's business advisory council.

LCC is also beginning to offer one-year IT training programs that are free to laid-off workers under the state's No Worker Left Behind act. The first year's five classes of 20 students each filled up in less than two months. The school is also seeking funding from other state and federal sources to get displaced workers free training in IT to offer them new careers.

Said Cameron Dean, a professor at LCC for six years: "We are now a Cisco Networking Academy, so our Cisco classes are now official for the CCNA. So a student can actually get their CCNA and a college degree at the same time, and with an internship they can get practical experience too."

Also, LCC's information security program is certified by the National Security Agency.

The school is adding new courses this fall in computer forensics, convergence technologies, wireless networking, VOIP, and a Cisco class on securing networks.

And it encourages its students to go on to four-year degrees with matriculation agreements with Northwood University, Lawrence Technological University, Davenport University and Eastern Michigan University.

Overall, Dean said, "We have internships, apprenticeships and education, so students can go out with half a dozen certifications."

The college offers virtually all of its IT programs online.

For more information, visit http://www.lcc.edu/mait/cit/, call (800) 644-4522 ext. 1880 or e-mail online_info@lcc.edu.

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

THE WORLD IN TECH

Google CEO leaves Apple board to avoid conflicts
Google Inc. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt has resigned from Apple Inc.'s board because of the companies' conflicting interests as competition between the one-time allies heats up. The split announced Monday comes just a few weeks after Google unveiled plans for a personal computer operating system that could siphon sales from Apple's Mac line and just a few days after the Federal Communications Commission contacted the companies about Apple's decision to block a Google application from its popular iPhones. Regulators from the Federal Trade Commission had already been looking into whether Schmidt's dual role on the boards of Google and Apple would make it easier for the technology trailblazers to collude in ways that would diminish competition. More.

N.J. man is first to be charged with Web name theft
A northern New Jersey man is charged with stealing a prime piece of Internet real estate and reselling it to basketball player Mark Madsen in one of the nation's first prosecutions of a suspected domain name thief. Daniel Goncalves, 25, of Union, hacked into an online account belonging to one of the owners of the P2P.com domain name, New Jersey State Police said Monday. He allegedly shifted ownership to himself and resold the Web site address on eBay to Madsen, a Los Angeles Clippers forward who did not know the name was stolen. Goncalves, who works for an online research firm, was arrested Thursday on felony charges of theft by unlawful taking or deception, identity theft and computer theft. Julian Castellanos, a state police spokesman, said each of the three counts carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. Goncalves, who did not respond to a reporter's phone calls, is free after posting a $60,000 cash bail. More.

Microsoft sees size as search answer in Yahoo deal
Microsoft is hoping that a long-term partnership with rival Yahoo will give it the size and insight it needs to bring in more traffic, more advertisers and ultimately more revenue. By handling Yahoo Inc.'s searches along with its own, Microsoft Corp. can learn more quickly what works and what doesn't. A smarter search engine might draw more Internet users, and more advertisers could follow, driving up prices. Size, though, may wind up being far from the magic bullet that Microsoft is counting on in forging a 10-year partnership to power all Yahoo searches. Search leader Google Inc. has had a head start in technical development, and Microsoft already has had plenty of search queries to analyze -- yet it remains stuck at No. 3. Adding more data might not make a difference. More.

Google launches a rare ad campaign to sell more apps
Google Inc. is so well known that it has become a synonym for search, making advertising unnecessary. Getting businesses to buy Google's online suite of office applications requires a little more elbow grease and marketing muscle. In a rare commercial campaign, Google is leasing billboards along major highways in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Boston this month to promote a bundle of business applications that sells for $50 per worker annually. A different message will be displayed each weekday through August, starting with Monday morning's commute. Google has been peddling its "apps" package since 2007, but only recently realized it needed a more aggressive sales pitch. More.

Stocks: S&P tops 1,000 as manufacturing, construction data point to recovery
The Standard & Poor's 500 index is four digits again now that the stock market's rally has blown into August. The widely followed stock market measure broke above 1,000 on Monday for the first time in nine months as reports on manufacturing, construction and banking sent investors more signals that the economy is gathering strength. The S&P is used as a benchmark by professional investors, and it's also the foundation for mutual funds in many individual 401(k) accounts. Wall Street's big indexes all rose more than 1 percent. The market extended its summer rally on the type of news that might have seemed unthinkable when stocks cratered to 12-year lows in early March. A trade group predicted U.S. manufacturing activity will grow next month, the government said construction spending rose in June and Ford Motor Co. said its sales rose last month for the first time in nearly two years. More. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) rose 30.08 points or 1.5 percent to 2,008.61. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) rose 114.95 points or 1.3 percent to 9,286.56. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) rose 5.28 points or 1.8 percent to 307.02. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) rose 7.56 points or 1.5 percent to 500.65. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) rose 2.56 points or 0.9 percent to 281.38. The NYSE Arca Biotech Index (BTK) rose 7.14 points or 0.8 percent to 877.5. Finally, the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) rose 15.15 points or 1.5 percent to 1,002.63.

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