Engineering projects, partnerships to boost economy
Cleaner energy and safer bridges are among the research goals the University of Michigan's College of Engineering can pursue in more depth thanks to federal stimulus funding and other grants -- part of the university's growing, coordinated effort to accelerate economic recovery.U.S. Rep. John Dingell visited campus recently to highlight these projects and underscore their potential to help transform the region. The projects include: a $19.5-million center where researchers will develop improved materials for solar energy; a $19-million endeavor to create smart bridges that can monitor their own structural integrity; and a $1.2-million partnership with the city of Ann Arbor to build a wind turbine for energy generation and research. More.
Goal: 1,200 new Detroit-area businesses in 3 years
The Kansas City, Mo.-based Kauffman Foundation has launched a $9.25 million initiative to find 800 Detroit-area people this year with the ideas, talent and drive to start businesses that could help the nation's struggling auto capital develop a new economic base. A ''cattle call'' for hopefuls is set for Aug. 18. It's the third and final session in the first year of Detroit's FastTrac to the Future program. More.
Selfridge air show takes "green" to new heights This year's Selfridge Air Show at Selfridge Air National Guard base will have a major focus on technology and the environment. Selfridge officials say NASA is bringing a major technology display as part of the show, to be held Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 22 and 23. Also, one of the show's civilian aerobatic pilots, Greg Poe, will burn clean American E85 ethanol in his high-powered Fagen MX2 high performance aerobatic airplane. More.
Midland gets $$ boost for battery plant The Midland Daily News reported last week that Midland's economy is getting a much-needed boost from a new high-tech automotive battery manufacturing facility that will employ about 800 people. The Dow Chemical Co. and its partner, Townsend Kokam LLC, has received a federal grant that will allow them to build the 800,000-square-foot lithium polymer battery manufacturing facility at Dow's Michigan Operations site. More.
TechSmith Corp. to release Camtasia for Mac Okemos-based TechSmith Corp. said Friday that Camtasia for Mac will be available Aug. 25 for download and purchase. With Camtasia for Mac, customers can create professional and engaging presentations, demonstrations, screencasts, training and marketing videos in HD quality to reach audiences online, on Apple portable media devices, and on popular video sharing sites like YouTube. To celebrate the release of Camtasia for Mac, TechSmith will be offering a reduced introductory price and a full-featured 30-day free trial. More.
Facebook acquires FriendFeed TechCrunch reported the news on Monday that Facebook had acquired social-network aggregator FriendFeed, a matter of minutes before Facebook confirmed the acquisition. "Facebook and FriendFeed share a common vision of giving people tools to share and connect with their friends," FriendFeed co-founder Bret Taylor said in a release. "We can't wait to join the team and bring many of the innovations we've developed at FriendFeed to Facebook's 250 million users around the world." More.
Military weighs public outcry on Twitter As the Pentagon warns of the security risks posed by social networking sites, newly released government documents show the military also uses these Internet tools to monitor and react to coverage of high-profile events. The Air Force tracked online messaging service Twitter, video-sharing site YouTube and various blogs to assess the huge public backlash to the Air Force One flyover of the Statue of Liberty this spring, according to the documents. And while the attempts at damage control failed — "No positive spin is possible," one PowerPoint chart reads. More.
Windows 7: 64-bit to go prime time Consumers have had the option of 64-bit Windows computing since the release of Windows XP Professional x64 Edition in May 2005, four years after the release of Windows XP 32-bit. At the end of 2006, Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit versions were released simultaneously. Yet chances are you're currently using a machine that runs the 32-bit version of Windows. This is about to change. More.
Please note: While Matt Roush is on vacation, this is "GLITR Lite." Matt will return, along with your complete IT Report, on Monday, August 17.
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