DTE expands
advanced metering to Bloomfield Township
DTE Energy Thursday announced it
will expand its advanced metering program to provide electric customers
in a section of Bloomfield Township. The new meters offer technology
that provides more accurate information about customers energy usage
and a system for recognizing power outages without customer input. The
program incorporates technology that will allow the electric meters
to be read remotely and provide a wide range of benefits to customers,
as well as operational savings through increased efficiencies to DTE
Energy. The program will serve as a platform to eliminate manual meter
reading, provide remote monitoring of the electric distribution system
and enable customers to manage their bills by tracking their consumption
and demand via the DTE Energy Web site. More.
UM
scientists find gene that keeps mice thin even if they eat fatty diet University of Michigan researchers
have identified a gene that acts as a master switch to control obesity
in mice. When the switch is turned off, even high-fat-diet mice remain
thin. Deleting the gene, called IKKE, also appears to protect mice against
conditions that, in humans, lead to Type 2 diabetes, which is associated
with obesity and is on the rise among Americans, including children
and adolescents. If follow-up studies show that IKKE is tied to obesity
in humans, the gene and the protein it makes will be prime targets for
the development of drugs to treat obesity, diabetes and complications
associated with those disorders, said Alan Saltiel, the Mary Sue Coleman
Director of the UM Life Sciences Institute. (Unsolicited Opinion Dept.:
O happy happy happy happy day.) More.
Novi's
Lotus Bank to finance TV show Novi-based Lotus Bank said
this week that it has become the first Michigan-based bank to participate
in and finance the State of Michigan’s Film Production Incentive,
which is designed to attract movie producers to produce their feature
films and television programs in Michigan in order to create jobs and
generate business for Michigan companies. The first project that Lotus
Bank is funding is “The Wannabes,” a television comedy aimed
at tweens and teens, being produced by Savvy Productions of Howell.
In the first phase of filming the production is spending millions of
dollars in Michigan, including the hiring of 100 Michiganders serving
as both cast and crew members. More.
'Father
of Asian Electric Vehicles' visiting southeast Michigan The man known as the 'father
of Asian electric vehicles' is visiting Southeast Michigan this week
and next. Professor C.C. Chan of the University of Hong Kong is at Kettering
University in Flint this week, and next week will appear in Dearborn
at a major conference on advanced automotive propulsion. More.
When
your customers ask you to go green, SME can help
Going green has gone from the feel-good movement of the moment to something
that is becoming largely demanded within industry. According to a recent
IndustryWeek article, larger OEMs and retail giants like Wal-Mart are
requiring that their suppliers and their supply chains get greener.
And a recent survey of manufacturers by the Society of Manufacturing
Engineers reveals that nearly 20 percent have been asked to provide
"environmental footprint" information to their OEM. The alarming
discovery of the SME survey of 1,046 manufacturing professionals, however,
is that 16 percent are not even sure what the term "environmental
footprint" means. More.
Former Pittsburgh mayor to keynote E2 Detroit conference
Officials
at Wayne State University announced today that Tom Murphy, former mayor
of Pittsburgh will be the keynote speaker at the fifth
annual E2 Detroit conference on Thursday, Oct. 15.
This event, co-sponsored by WSU, TechTown and WWJ
Newsradio 950, and emceed by WWJ’s technology editor, Matt Roush,
brings entrepreneurs together with business leaders, authors, investors
and others for a program that both educates and inspires.
Detroit faces many of the same wrenching issues
that Pittsburgh faced in the early 1980s -- severe changes in major
industry, a sad state of city finances, tarnished and neglected city
neighborhoods and high unemployment rates. Through Murphy’s visionary
revitalization efforts and by working with others, he directed new investment
into Pittsburgh that refurbished neighborhoods and built world-class
facilities, turned deficits into surpluses and boosted the economy by
transitioning the city from heavy industrial to high technology and
life sciences.
“While the story of Pittsburgh transformation
is still being written, the lessons, both the successes and failures,
start with the community and political will to change from managing
decline to embracing change," Murphy said.
"There is no one better to speak at
E2 Detroit than Tom Murphy,” said Judy Johncox, senior director
of WSU’s technology commercialization office. “As Detroit
struggles with a transitioning economy, Mr. Murphy can share his insights
on what can be done to succeed. His knowledge and experience in turning
a city around during hard times by focusing on entrepreneurial initiatives
that can lead us to new economies are important messages for local leaders
and entrepreneurs to hear.”
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
Merit says
all members now connected to Internet2 As of Sept. 1, schools,
libraries, higher education institutions, museums, and government agencies
across Michigan that connect to Merit Network Inc.'s network are now
connected to the nation's high-performance network, Internet2. As part
of a collaborative effort by Merit Network and Internet2, all organizations
that are eligible for Sponsored Education Group Participant connectivity
in Michigan can now use the Internet2 Network for high-bandwidth applications,
innovative educational programs, and connectivity to other Internet2-connected
organizations across the United States. More.
TiE Detroit
seeks nominees for industry leader awards
The Detroit chapter of TiE,
also known as Talent, Ideas, Enterprise, is announcing its inaugural
TiE Midwest 20 Industry Awards at its TiECon Midwest annual conference
to be held at Ritz-Carlton Dearborn, Oct. 23 and 24. TiE is seeking
inventions or products demonstrating innovation, commercialization,
success, and be a value to society, for nominations to the elite TiE
Midwest 20 Industry Awards. The deadline for nominations is Monday,
Sept. 21. More.
Auburn
Hills' BorgWarner in hybrid, electric drivetrain deal Frederick, Colo-based UQM
Technologies Inc., a developer of alternative energy technologies, announced
Thursday that it is collaborating with Auburn Hills-based BorgWarner
on electric powertrain products for all-electric and hybrid-electric
passenger automobiles. Initially, the companies are working together
to integrate UQM Technologies’ PowerPhase electric propulsion
system with BorgWarner’s 31-03 eGearDrive transmission for the
all-electric CODA front-wheel drive five-passenger sedan, scheduled
for introduction in California in mid-2010. More.
THE WORLD
IN TECH
EU delays
Oracle-Sun deal, probing database market Oracle Corp. figured its
$7.4 billion buyout for Sun Microsystems Inc. could skate through antitrust
scrutiny, folding Sun into a technology powerhouse when Sun badly needs
the lifeline. Both companies will have to wait. European Union regulators
applied the brakes Thursday, launching a formal antitrust probe that
shatters Oracle's goal of completing the acquisition this summer. The
U.S. Department of Justice has already approved the deal. The investigation
is focused on whether Oracle will gain too much power in the market
for database software, which underpins most things people do in business
or on the Web. More.
Judge
extends deadline to debate Google book deal The
final assault on a class-action settlement that would expand Google
Inc.'s already vast digital library has been delayed until next week.
U.S. District Judge Denny Chin extended the deadline until 10 a.m. Tuesday
for protesting or supporting the landmark deal that revolves around
Google converting millions of copyrighted books so they can be read
on computers and other electronic devices. Ironically, Chin moved the
deadline from Friday -- a date set in April -- because the computers
running his court's electronic filing system went down for maintenance
Thursday and will remain unavailable through the Labor Day weekend.
The 11th-hour change gives the settlement's growing number of opponents
more time to hone their arguments against a proposal that would empower
Google to make digital copies of millions of copyrighted books now gathering
dust on library book shelves. More.
Internet
addiction center opens in suburban Seattle Ben
Alexander spent nearly every waking minute playing the video game "World
of Warcraft." As a result, he flunked out of the University of
Iowa. Alexander, 19, needed help to break an addiction he calls as destructive
as alcohol or drugs. He found it in a suburb of high-tech Seattle, where
what claims to be the first residential treatment center for Internet
addiction in the United States just opened its doors. More.
Marketing
company sells clients Facebook friends On
Facebook, most people make friends the old-fashioned way - by sending
a request to be added to someone's posse of pals. Now, an Australian
marketing company hopes to save you time and energy by simply buying
you a few thousand buddies. The service from uSocial is mostly meant
for businesses, celebrities and other individuals looking to expand
on the social network, and Facebook isn't happy about it. Under the
service, which launched this week, 1,000 new Facebook friends cost less
than $200. For 5,000 Facebook friends -- the maximum allowed by that
site -- uSocial charges $727, though through mid-September, the promotional
rate is $654.30. More.
Stocks:
Wall Street breaks four-day slide ahead of jobs report Investors moved back into
stocks after a four-day slide on hopes that a key government report
on unemployment will confirm that the economy is gaining strength. Stocks
held to a tight range for much of the day in light trading as some investors
squeezed in late-summer vacations. Those remaining braced for the August
jobs report, which is due before the opening bell Friday. The biggest
gains came in the final half-hour, with the Dow doubling its advance,
as some traders looked to buy ahead of the jobs data. Economists expect
the unemployment rate to edge up to 9.5 percent from 9.4 percent, while
the number of layoffs is expected to slow to 225,000 from 247,000. The
latest snapshot on employment Thursday offered investors little to go
on ahead of Friday's report. The Labor Department said the number of
people filing for unemployment claims fell last week by 4,000 to 570,000
while the number of people receiving benefits rose. Economists had been
expecting a bigger drop, and the report served as a reminder of how
difficult a recovery in employment will be. More.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP)
rose 16.13 points or 0.8 percent to 1,983.2. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average ($INDU)
rose 63.94 points or 0.7 percent to 9,344.61. The Philadelphia Semiconductor
Index ($SOX)
rose 4.25 points or 1.4 percent to 301.65. The Morgan Stanley High Tech
35 Index (MSH)
rose 4.44 points or 0.9 percent to 500.43. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical
Index (DRG)
fell 1.79 points or 0.6 percent to 277.04. The NYSE Arca Biotech Index
(BTK)
rose 12.66 points or 1.4 percent to 902.04. Finally, the Standard &
Poor's 500 (SPX)
rose 8.49 points or 0.9 percent to 1,003.24.
All contents copyright 2009 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS Radio & Eye logo trademarked and copyright 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. Written and edited
by Matt Roush, Technology Editor, WWJ Newsradio 950, Detroit. GLITR may contain material from the Associated Press, CNET, News.com, MarketWatch.com or Reuters, used by permission. For coverage comments or news tips, e-mail Matt Roush at
mnroush@cbs.com or call (248) 455-7380. For marketing and advertising queries, or with general questions or concerns, contact Pete Kowalski, WWJ's station manager, at
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Former Pittsburgh mayor to keynote E2 Detroit conference
The
final assault on a class-action settlement that would expand Google
Inc.'s already vast digital library has been delayed until next week.
U.S. District Judge Denny Chin extended the deadline until 10 a.m. Tuesday
for protesting or supporting the landmark deal that revolves around
Google converting millions of copyrighted books so they can be read
on computers and other electronic devices. Ironically, Chin moved the
deadline from Friday -- a date set in April -- because the computers
running his court's electronic filing system went down for maintenance
Thursday and will remain unavailable through the Labor Day weekend.
The 11th-hour change gives the settlement's growing number of opponents
more time to hone their arguments against a proposal that would empower
Google to make digital copies of millions of copyrighted books now gathering
dust on library book shelves. 
Ben
Alexander spent nearly every waking minute playing the video game "World
of Warcraft." As a result, he flunked out of the University of
Iowa. Alexander, 19, needed help to break an addiction he calls as destructive
as alcohol or drugs. He found it in a suburb of high-tech Seattle, where
what claims to be the first residential treatment center for Internet
addiction in the United States just opened its doors. 
