GLITR Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Your report for Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Five EDS veterans form new consultancy
Five veterans of Electronic Data Systems have formed a new IT consulting company. Milford-based AMERIT IT Consulting LLC will concentrate on showing small and mid-sized businesses and organizations best practices in IT. They'll concentrate on ITIL, the IT Infrastructure Library. ITIL is considered the best practice framework for IT service management. It is comprised of a series of books and information which provide guidance on the quality provision of IT services. More.

Aastrom shakes up management
Timothy Mayleben, a member of the board of Ann Arbor-based Aastrom Biosciences Inc. since 2005, has become the company's latest CEO. He succeeds George Dunbar, who will become chairman of the board. Both changes are to become effective after Aastrom's shareholder meeting, currently set for Dec. 14. Dunbar had been president, CEO, CFO and a director. As board chairman, Dunbar will continue to advise the company on financial and strategic development initiatives. Aastrom's proprietary Tissue Repair Cell technology involves the use of a patient's own cells to manufacture products to treat a range of chronic diseases and serious injuries. The company has long been in development stage and has little revenue. More.

Economics Dept.: Job seekers' prospects remain bleak, Manpower says
They say job creation is the last thing to come back after a recession. The temporary help firm Manpower Inc.'s quarterly employment forecast for the fourth quarter is bearing that out. Jobhunters will continue to have a tough time of it in most Michigan job markets in the fourth quarter, Manpower predicted. More.

Wayne State, Karmanos get more money to study cancer disparities
Wayne State University, the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, the Institute of Gerontology and the Center for Urban and African American Health has received another $200,000 for a research program that aims to address minority cancer disparities. More.

Comcast boosts HD to 100+ channels in Western Wayne
Comcast customers in Plymouth, Plymouth Township, Northville, Northville Township and Canton Township now have access to more than 100 High Definition channels, the company announced last week. This major milestone of massive HD expansion was reached with the addition 42 new HD networks to the lineup as part of the company’s recent digital network enhancement. As part of its “World of More” digital network enhancement, Comcast has digitized channels 29 through 72 on the local lineup in these five communities to clear the way for additional HD programming, more On Demand programming, faster Internet speeds and other benefits. More.

The Week Ahead: Holiday shortened, but what a schedule

Labor Day. Even though it's been a long time since I was in school, there's a certain ring to it.

A bit of melancholy -- lazy summer days, long hours of daylight, picnics, swimming at the lake or pool, camping, vacations, all that's coming to an end soon.

Yet there are compensations. And not just the start of football season (and hey, hockey's just around the corner too!). Psychologically, to me, late summer and early fall always feel like it's time for a new start -- new intellectual pursuits, new ideas, a time to get a little more serious about what we all do (which is build Michigan's technology economy, naturally). It's the grown up version of the sound of school bells and the smell of chalkboards and erasers.

And even though this first week of 'back to school' is shortened by a day, boy, you wouldn't believe all the cool stuff on the Michigan IT Calendar, the state's most comprehensive IT calendar, at this link.

Even as we speak, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' fifth Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference is getting under way at the Fairlane Center, University of Michigan-Dearborn. Starting tomorrow are two conferences: The Engineering Society of Detroit on sustainable construction, and Trade North America. In Grand Rapids, Trivalent Group offers the Electronic Health Expo Wednesday, and on Thursday the calendar offers five tech-related events. To end the week, check out the networking at TechTown's First Friday.

See you out there!

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Sterling Heights firm creates live picture of Michigan's defense sector
GeoTech Solutions has contracted with the United States Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center in Warren to provide a spatial analysis of available technology and capabilities of both ground vehicle suppliers in the southeastern Michigan region, as well as a current Michigan university partners, with the ultimate goal of growing the defense industry in the region. GeoTech provides a three-dimensional Google Earth based economic development platform, called Envision, which helps planners and others visualize their community with rich, interactive overlays of regional demographic, industry and infrastructure data, as well as critical real estate information. More.

MSU unveils first large animal MRI at U.S. university
Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine is now armed with the first large-animal MRI ever at an academic institution, a move that will allow veterinarians to tackle research questions and greatly impact both animal and human health. The magnetic resonance imaging machine, which recently became fully operational and has a 70-centimeter (27.6-inch) opening that is nearly 50 percent larger than the standard MRI, will allow doctors and researchers at the college to analyze larger animals such as horses and cows. More.

Plymouth company builds 3D guide to Woodward Avenue
Plymouth-based Luna Tech Designs has partnered with the Woodward Avenue Action Association (WA3) to provide an online three-dimensional virtual globe application, using Google Earth, to help promote development, existing businesses and amenities along the entire 21 mile stretch of Woodward Avenue from Detroit to Pontiac. The virtual globe application, or LunaGlobe, will take visitors on the WA3 Web site along a 3-D virtual tour of Woodward Avenue, giving them interactive opportunities to explore the rich heritage of this designated National Scenic Byway, as well as locate shops and restaurants along the way. More.

THE WORLD IN TECH

Apple telegraphs iPods; fans see Beatles, tablets
Once again, it's time to peer into Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs' cup and try to read the tea leaves. Apple, as usual, has said almost nothing about the new products it plans to unveil at an invitation-only affair Wednesday in San Francisco. Playing their part, bloggers and Apple fans have filled the vacuum with "leaks," rumors and wish-list items that, while often far-fetched, can't completely be ignored. In recent years, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company has used its September event to unveil new iPods, which have grown smaller, sleeker and more powerful with each new generation. This year's event is along the same lines, if Apple's e-mail to reporters is any indication. More.

Congress weighs landmark change in Web ad privacy
The Web sites we visit, the online links we click, the search queries we conduct, the products we put in virtual shopping carts, the personal details we reveal on social networking pages -- all of this can give companies insight into what Internet ads we might be interested in seeing. But privacy watchdogs warn that too many people have no idea that Internet marketers are tracking their online habits and then mining that data to serve up targeted pitches. So Congress could be stepping in. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, is drafting a bill that would impose broad new rules on Web sites and advertisers. His goal: to ensure that consumers know what information is being collected about them on the Web and how it is being used, and to give them control over that information. More. And here's a look at the bill at a glance.

Google China confident despite loss of Lee
The new managers of Google Inc.'s China arm expressed confidence Monday the business can grow despite the departure of the high-profile executive credited with expanding its share of the competitive Chinese market. Kai-Fu Lee, who led Google China for four years, announced his resignation last week to launch a venture to finance Chinese tech startups. His departure had prompted questions about how Google will fare in a market dominated by local rival Baidu Corp. More.

Christians find ways to stay faithful in online relationships
Lance Maggiacomo was out of work, bored and lonely when he started hiding his online relationships from his wife. There was no affair, only chatting through e-mail, yet it felt like cheating just the same. A few years later, a reformed Maggiacomo has an in-house check on his impulses. He and his wife Lori, like other Christian couples around the country, share one e-mail account as a safeguard against the ever-expanding temptations of the Internet. "There's not a Gestapo, KGB quality to it, like I have to check in with mother before I do anything," said Lance Maggiacomo, a 40-year-old surgical nurse from Beverly, Mass. "It's what we believe as Christians: We are our brothers' keepers. It's about biblical accountability." More.

Stocks: Shares jump as jobs report provides a little hope
Stocks jumped in light trading Friday after the Labor Department said employers cut fewer workers last month. However, the report also showed that the ranks of the unemployed swelled to 9.7 percent, the highest level since June 1983. Analysts had been expecting the rate to increase to 9.5 percent after unexpectedly dipping in July. The increase initially spooked the market, but stocks later recovered their losses and moved higher. Many economists expect the rate to top 10 percent by early next year. Employers cut 216,000 jobs last month, fewer than the 276,000 lost in July and better than the 225,000 figure analysts had been expecting. Traders said it was an encouraging sign that the labor market could righting itself. "The overall picture is things are getting better," said Ryan Larson, senior equity trader at Voyageur Asset Management. More. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) rose 35.58 points or 1.8 percent to 2,018.78. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) rose 95.91 points or 1 percent to 9,441.27. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) rose 8.09 points or 2.7 percent to 309.74. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) rose 8.88 points or 1.8 percent to 509.31. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) rose 3.07 points or 1.1 percent to 280.11. The NYSE Arca Biotech Index (BTK) rose 22.68 points or 2.5 percent to 924.72. Finally, the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) rose 13.16 points or 1.3 percent to 1,016.4.

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