Lake Superior
State research turns grass seed into fuel Lake
Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie is the site of a new research
project for alternative fuel sources. The
multi-phase project, led by LSSU biology department head Gregory Zimmerman
with help from Justin Wilson (at left), the project's student volunteer,
is studying the potential of reed canary grass pellets as an environmentally
friendly and economical heating fuel, as well as a possible economic
stimulant for the Eastern Upper Peninsula. Reed canary grass is an abundant
but weedy species in the Eastern UP. It's considered a problem plant
by many due to its aggressive growth. The first phase of the study wanted
to prove the grass's practicality as a pellet fuel. The recently completed
second phase demonstrated how the grass could be made into small pellets
as fuel for heating spaces such as a house. More.
Afid
Therapeutics expanding into aerospace Lansing-based Afid Therapeutics Inc. said Wednesday that it
had received the third of three anticipated orders from leading aerospace
companies for a new high purity reactant that it prepares from plant
materials using its large repertoire of carbohydrate-based chemistry.
More.
TC's
Appia sets expansion into Houston, Philadelphia Fresh off its third straight listing on the Inc. 5000, Appia
Communications today announced expansion plans in Houston, Texas and
Philadelphia, Pa., formally opening a recruiting period for channel
partners in both markets. Appia provides managed IT and telecom services
to small and midsize organizations. Houston and Philadelphia will augment
Appia's established operations in Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Los
Angeles, New York and St. Louis. More.
Franklin
Wind Energy announces new Michigan distributor Franklin-based Franklin Wind Energy has
signed an agreement with Power Distribution Center Inc. to handle distribution
of its wind turbine products. Power
Distribution Center is a Brighton-based provider of renewable energy
products throughout Michigan and is quickly expanding. More.
Broadstripe
rolls out lifetime price guarantee for cable, phone, Web
Chesterfield, Mo.-based Broadstripe has introduced "Broadstripe
Forever," a permanent price guarantee of $130 a month for cable
TV, high-speed Internet service and phone service. Broadstripe serves
suburban communities in Michigan, Oregon, Maryland and Washington. More.
Detroiter writes iPhone app to show off your golf scores
A metro Detroiter has developed another cool little iPhone application.
Fresh from the mind of Henry Balanon and his Bickbot.com comes Strokes,
a golf scorecard keeper that
lets you enter and store your golf scores -- and share them, if you
wish, via e-mail, Facebook or Twitter.
Balanon grew up in Warren and is a 2003 computer science graduate of
Michigan State University. He worked
for in Washington, D.C. and Detroit as a developer for Lockheed Martin
and Cynergy Systems for a few years
before the entrepreneurial bug bit.
Balanon
called his time with Cynergy "being an entrepreneur on training
wheels -- you don't have anybody
looking over your shoulder, but if you're having an off day you're still
getting paid. But entrepreneurship was
something I always wanted to try."
Balanon said he created Strokes after trying out a few other golf scorecard
apps that he said "felt like Excel
spreadsheets. The weather apps on the iPhone are so beautiful -- everything
is, even when it doesn't have to be, and that's what I wanted."
Balanon said he intentionally kept the app simple -- no GPS offering
distance to the pin, no club recommendations -- because he wanted Strokes
"to do one thing well, with a great user experience." It's
written in the Objective C language, and the version that forwards pictures
of scorecards to Twitter's TwitPic was just introduced last week.
Check it out for all of $1.99 in the iPhone App Store.
Balanon said he's also working on a battery management app to maximize
the iPhone's battery life and is in the early stages of developing a
game.
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
Compuware
gives hospital better IT, quick ROI Detroit-based Compuware Corp. Wednesday
announced that Compuware Vantage, a key component of Compuware's Business
Service Delivery approach, has helped New Hanover Regional Medical Center
improve the performance and availability of its critical hospital systems.
With real-time visibility
into the end-user experience of clinicians, New Hanover achieved 100
percent ROI in less than 18 months and continues to build confidence
in the IT organization's ability to identify and resolve issues before
they impact patient care. More.
Michigan
Tech hires 7 new faculty in computational research
Ann Arbor-based Servant Systems Inc. has completed
an entirely new version of Toolbox, a comprehensive software application
for scheduling Mr. Handyman franchise system technicians for home or
business maintenance and repair projects. Mr.
Handyman, a Service Brands International franchise system, has released
the new application to many of its franchisees and to its call centers
in California and Florida. The new software provides a complete franchise
management system with features that include customer relationship management,
scheduling, customer invoicing, management analysis, tracking of technician
work progress and technician payroll hours. More.
NxGen
gets $2.5 million equity line of credit Saranac-based NXGen Holdings Inc. announced
Wednesday it had signed an investment banking agreement with Delaney
Equity Group, LLC. Delaney
Equity Group is facilitating a $2.5 million equity line of credit with
a private group of investors, which will enable the NXGen subsidiary
Green Bridge Industries Inc. to immediately begin the full manufacturing
and production of the Zap and other licensed and private-labeled stain
remover pens. As part of its fee, Delaney Equity Group will receive
warrants at five and ten cents per share. The equity purchased, through
the equity line, will not be registered and will have a minimum hold
period of one year, with NXGen Holdings Inc., having the option to purchase
the stock back at any time within the hold period. More.
THE WORLD IN TECH
Vonage makes
free international calls standard Unlimited domestic phone calls are nearly
standard feature for landline plans these days. Now, Vonage Holdings
Corp., which helped pioneer that feature with its Internet phone service,
is expanding it to most international calls as well. CEO
Marc Lefar said Wednesday that Vonage will include unlimited calls to
more than 60 countries in a new standard plan that costs $25 per month,
replacing a plan of the same price that included unlimited calls to
just six countries. The new Vonage World plan also replaces various
step-up plans that included expanded international calling, like an
"Enhanced World" plan that gave unlimited calls to 58 countries
for $40 per month. More.
CBS
to embed video ad in Entertainment Weekly print magazine An
upcoming issue of Entertainment Weekly's print edition will be embedded
with a video player that will run ads for CBS shows and Pepsi. The ad
comes in a heavy-paper package resembling the kind of novelty greeting
cards that make noises. A roughly two-inch screen starts playing automatically
as the page flips open. A speaker is embedded below it. CBS Corp. and
Time Warner Inc.'s Entertainment Weekly billed the video advertisement
as the first ever to appear in a print magazine. CBS says the video
player insert, made by a Los Angeles company called Americhip Inc.,
will be able to withstand the binding processes and mail delivery. More.
Afghan
warfare gets wired in effort to spare civilian lives Sgt. 1st Class Gregory
Henson goes out on patrol with a computer on his back and a joystick
in his holster. He also carries a rifle, but the military is hoping
he'll soon have less need for it. A wired generation of U.S. soldiers
is about to battle-test a high-tech weapon calculated to reduce civilian
casualties in Afghanistan. A key component is the "Dragon Egg,"
a softball-sized robotic camera that can be thrown over a hill or into
a building without endangering troops. It rights itself like a Weeble
Wobble toy and delivers a 360-degree view through its four tiny cameras.
If any innocents are in the area, the soldier can mark the spot using
his backpack computer to ward off an air strike. The idea is to bring
down the Afghan civilian death rate, which is stoking public anger and
draws denunciations from President Hamid Karzai after each incident.
More.
Alaska
sets e-mail policy for state workers The
Alaska Department of Administration has announced this week that state
employees are to use state e-mail "whenever feasible" for
state business. The policy follows controversies and a court fight over
former Gov. Sarah Palin's practice of using private accounts. Palin
communicated by BlackBerry and had at least two Yahoo e-mail accounts.
More.
Stocks:
Markets turn higher on jump in energy demand The stock market extended a streak of erratic
trading Wednesday, rebounding from early losses and rising moderately
after a drop in oil inventories lifted hopes for an economic recovery.
The day began with a sharp
slide driven by a plunge in China's biggest stock market and followed
a trading pattern seen in markets around the world this week. Stocks
have alternately advanced and retreated as investors shuttle between
worries about the economy's challenges, namely consumer spending and
high unemployment, and nascent signs of healing. While the surprising
decline in crude inventories was reassuring, there is still plenty of
caution among investors. Even as stocks recovered, Treasury prices held
on to most of their gains. Government debt is a safe-haven investment
in a struggling economy. More.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP)
rose 13.32 points or 0.7 percent to 1,969.24. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average ($INDU)
rose 61.22 points or 0.7 percent, to 9,279.16. The Philadelphia Semiconductor
Index ($SOX)
rose 1.75 points or 0.6 percent to 293.42. The Morgan Stanley High Tech
35 Index (MSH)
rose 1.58 points or 0.3 percent to 492.02. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical
Index (DRG)
rose 3.85 points or 1.4 percent to 280.34. The NYSE Arca Biotech Index
(BTK)
rose 18.46 points or 2.2 percent to 859.95. Finally, the Standard &
Poor's 500 (SPX)
rose 6.79 points or 0.7 percent to 996.46.
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Lake
Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie is the site of a new research
project for alternative fuel sources. The
multi-phase project, led by LSSU biology department head Gregory Zimmerman
with help from Justin Wilson (at left), the project's student volunteer,
is studying the potential of reed canary grass pellets as an environmentally
friendly and economical heating fuel, as well as a possible economic
stimulant for the Eastern Upper Peninsula. Reed canary grass is an abundant
but weedy species in the Eastern UP. It's considered a problem plant
by many due to its aggressive growth. The first phase of the study wanted
to prove the grass's practicality as a pellet fuel. The recently completed
second phase demonstrated how the grass could be made into small pellets
as fuel for heating spaces such as a house. .gif)
Detroiter writes iPhone app to show off your golf scores
