GLITR Thursday, September 10, 2009

Your report for Thursday, September 10, 2009

Farmington Hills VC wins UK government money for new fund
Beringea, an international venture capital firm based in Farmington Hills, has been awarded United Kingdom government backing to establish and manage a new Enterprise Capital Fund called Beringea Digital Ventures. The new ECF will receive $33 million (£20 million) of government funding, along with a further $16.5 million (£10 million) from private investors, which will be used to invest in growing UK companies that use digital platforms and technologies. The award was for one of two new ECFs announced by government officials on Monday. ECFs have been established to increase the availability of growth capital for small- and medium-sized businesses affected by “equity gaps.” Beringea Digital Ventures will focus on the growing digital sector. More.

Michigan Tech researchers find genes involved in Lou Gehrig's disease
Michigan Technological University researchers have linked three genes to the most common type of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, generally known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Professor Shuanglin Zhang leads the team of mathematicians that isolated the genes from the many thousands scattered throughout human DNA. He notes that their discovery does not mean an end to ALS, but it could provide scientists with valuable clues as they search for a cure. Any advance can't come too soon for Zhang, who started showing symptoms of the disease himself four years ago. He now breathes with support from a respirator and works at home with the aid of a research assistant and his wife, Qiuying Sha, an assistant professor and member of his research team. More.

Southfield voice, data provider launches subsidiary
After more than a decade providing telecommunication services to small and medium sized businesses through established wholesale providers, Southfield-based 123Net sees continued growth since launching its subsidiary, Prime Circuits. Building on the successful wholesale model of its parent company, Prime Circuits sells voice and data systems through a retail network of trusted business associates. More.

Stardock unveils Impulse Phase IV
Plymouth software developers Stardock Wednesday revealed the fourth phase of its popular digital distribution platform, Impulse. The platform enables users to quickly purchase, download, install and update any of thousands of available games, applications, and utilities to their machine. Once purchased, the program becomes associated with their account. If a user purchases a new PC or reformats an existing PC, a user can install Impulse, log in with their account and instantly re-download all their programs. More.

Three companies get Michigan pre-seed funding
Three companies have been awarded a combined total of $137,500 in micro loan funding through the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, a collaborative effort of Michigan’s SmartZones to support start-up growth throughout the state. Advanced Battery Concepts of Midland, FreeStride, an Ann Arbor veterinary pharmaceuticals company, and RealBio, a Kalamazoo life sciences research firm, will use the funding to further the commercialization efforts of their technologies. More.

Ford, Granholm to unveil energy park plans today in Wixom

Today's the day that Ford Motor Co.'s former Wixom Assembly Plant will be reborn as a renewable energy manufacturing park.

Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, and the CEOs from Xtreme Power, Clairvoyant Energy and Oerlikon Solar will provide details of the redevelopment project for the Ford Wixom Assembly Plant.

The project will give new life to an idled automotive manufacturing facility, create new “green” jobs for the state and build on efforts to secure an environmentally sound energy future for Michigan.

The event will take place at 2 p.m. at the plant, 28801 S. Wixom Road.

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Plex moves into food, beverage, life sciences industries
Auburn Hills-based Plex Systems Inc. Wednesday announced a strategic alliance with Birmingham, Ala.-based EnteGreat Inc. Plex officials said the relationship is intended to leverage Plex System’s ERP expertise and EnteGreat’s knowledge of the food, beverage and life sciences industries. Plex provides the No. 1-rated ERP shop floor management software system for manufacturers. The alliance will introduce Plex Online to manufacturers in the food, beverage, and life sciences industries. More.

Automation Alley welcomes 20 new members in August
Automation Alley, Southeast Michigan’s largest technology business association, announced Wednesday that 20 new members joined the organization in August. Manufacturing companies led the membership drive with six new members, followed by IT companies with four and renewable energy companies with three. More.

Online Tech gets new partner
Ann Arbor-based Online Tech, Michigan’s largest managed data center operator, and Dataspace, an Ann Arbor-based business intelligence software and consulting firm, Wednesday announced a partnership to benefit their respective clients. “Many of our current and prospective clients are interested in implementing our advanced reporting, analytic and predictive technologies yet don’t have the desire to manage the associated software and infrastructure, so we’ve begun packaging our offerings into Software-as-a-Service models," said Dataspace CEO Ben Taub. "Our choice of Online Tech as our hosting provider allows us to operate as a tightly integrated team, so we can focus on the business solution, and know that the underlying infrastructure will be reliable and cost-effective.” More.

THE WORLD IN TECH

Palm to release cheaper sibling of Pre smart phone
Palm Inc., which revitalized its product line with the Pre smart phone launch in June, is hoping to keep momentum going with the release of a lighter, cheaper handset called the Pixi. The company said Wednesday that the Pixi will be available during the holiday season through Sprint Nextel Corp., currently the Pre's exclusive wireless carrier. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Palm would not divulge the Pixi's price tag, but confirmed it will be less than that of its big brother. Sprint shaved $50 off the Pre's price to $150 on Wednesday, including two rebates and a two-year service contract. More.

Apple CEO Jobs on stage, discusses transplant
Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs returned Wednesday to the showman role that has helped define his company leadership, taking the stage for the first time since his medical leave to announce such new products as an iPod Nano that records video. Jobs, who had a liver transplant this spring from a young adult who died in a car accident, got a vigorous standing ovation from many in the audience. Looking thin and speaking quietly and with a scratchy voice, the 54-year-old CEO urged everyone to become organ donors. "I wouldn't be here without such generosity," Jobs said. Jobs had not appeared at such a product launch event since last October. He bowed out of his usual keynote at the year's largest Mac trade show in January and went on leave shortly thereafter for nearly six months. At an event for journalists, bloggers and software partners, Jobs announced updates to Apple's iTunes and iPhone software and unveiled a new iPod Nano with a built-in video camera. More. (Here are highlights of the announcements.)

Beatlemania returns with release of remastered CDs and video game
Beatlemania is back with the rollout Wednesday of the Fab Four's remastered CDs and first-ever video game, reaching out to a whole new generation decades after their parents -- and even grandparents -- first succumbed. It's been nearly 40 years since John, Paul, George and Ringo announced their breakup, but the new game and discs caused a worldwide buzz as the Beatles returned to the top of the charts in Britain, the land where it all began. Fans flocked to get their hands on the long-awaited sonic masterpieces, with lines snaking outside record stores in London and Liverpool. Some die-hards jammed the streets outside Abbey Road, the landmark studio where the Beatles recorded many of their groundbreaking albums. More.

AT&T to double wireless data speeds in six cities (but not Detroit)
Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and Charlotte, N.C., will be the first cities to see the benefits of AT&T's plans to double the data download speeds on its wireless network. The six cities will be upgraded before the end of the year, the carrier said Wednesday. The iPhone 3GS is the only phone on the market now that will be able to take advantage of the speed increase. But AT&T pointed to five other "smart" phones and some USB dongles, which let laptops go online, that will go on sale before the end of the year. Those devices also will be able to take advantage of the new technology, known as HSPA, or High-Speed Packet Access. More.

Stocks: Shares gain on rising commodities, takeover news
The stock market extended its gains to a fourth day as the Federal Reserve said the economy was stabilizing. The Standard & Poor's 500 index, which is the basis for many mutual funds, reached an 11-month high Wednesday as industrial stocks rallied. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 50 points to its second-highest close of the year. The market stumbled briefly following the release of the Fed's report on regional economies, which also found that consumer spending would rise but only because of car purchases linked to the government's brief Cash for Clunkers program. The report also said the job market remains weak. More. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) rose 22.62 points or 1.1 percent to 2,060.39. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) rose 49.88 points or 0.5 percent to 9,547.22. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) rose 3.41 points or 1.1 percent to 320.13. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) rose 5.59 points or 1.1 percent to 521.14. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) rose 1.6 points or 0.6 percent to 282.44. The NYSE Arca Biotech Index (BTK) rose 12.32 points or 1.3 percent to 936.61. Finally, the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) rose 7.98 points or 0.8 percent to 1,033.37.

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