GLITR Monday, October 12, 2009

Your report for Monday, October 12, 2009

Ford, Auburn U explore how GPS could help prevent accidents
Joint advanced research by Ford Motor Co. and Auburn University shows that global positioning system satellites could potentially monitor a vehicle’s motion and communicate with in-car safety systems to help prevent accidents. Virtual reality tests show that GPS satellites can precisely monitor a vehicle’s motion, which could improve the speed and effectiveness of electronic stability control systems. The joint research is now moving into the prototype phase. The research team will present initial research findings at this week's Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics in San Antonio, Texas, an event that runs through Wednesday. More.

Want to make a Mercedes payment? There's an app for that
Farmington Hills-based Mercedes-Benz Financial last week became the first auto financial services company to launch personalized and convenient account management over the iPhone. The free download, now available on the Apple App Store, allows customers to make payments, view their account summary and request payoff information on existing accounts on the iPhone and iPod Touch. The Mercedes-Benz Financial App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/. Account holders must first register online at Mercedes-BenzFinancial.com to access the account management features of the app. Detailed instructions are available at www.Mercedes-BenzFinancial.com/iPhone. More.

Port Lansing Web site debuts as regional portal to global biz
The debut last week of Port Lansing’s Web site, www.portlansing.com, means that regional businesses seeking to expand into global markets now have a portal to the international marketplace. The site was intentionally designed to educate newcomers to international markets and at the same time meet the needs of organizations that desire more advanced services to grow their global market share. More.

Ford names new technology innovation partners
Ford Motor Co. said last week that it had expanded its Joint Technology Framework with the addition of two new companies, Piston Automotive LLC of Redford Township and Saturn Electronics & Engineering of Rochester Hills. JTF is part of Ford's commitment to develop minority- and women-owned suppliers and improve their technical expertise. More.

General Dynamics gets contract for more Stryker vehicles
The United States Army Tank-Automotive Command's Lifecycle Management Command in Warren has awarded General Dynamics Land Systems a $647 million contract for 352 Stryker vehicles. Work will be performed in Anniston, Ala.; Sterling Heights; Lima, Ohio; and London, Ontario, Canada. Vehicle deliveries will begin in July 2010. More.

The Week Ahead: October schedule gets ridiculous

As someone who actually pays attention to all the technology related events around here, I've long known something: Nobody wants to meet for anything much in our heartbreakingly brief Michigan summers. Nobody wants to meet for anything much around the November and December holidays. And nobody wants to meet for anything much in midwinter, when a blizzard or ice storm could wipe out your attendance.

So what does that leave us? A bazillion meetings shoehorn-jammed into September, October, April and May.

Next week is a perfect example. A really cool convention on technology at the community college level is under way right now at Cobo Center. (Check out http://www.league.org/2009cit/.) Over at Merit Network in Ann Arbor, there's a cool Linux security event today through Wednesday. Tuesday, Walsh College is starting a series on social media for jobseekers. The University of Michigan hosts its annual 'Celebrate Invention' event Wednesday, at the same time Automation Alley and the Michigan International Chamber both offer cool information on networking, and Kalamazoo Valley Community College offers tips on wind turbine installations.

Thursday, it's Wayne State University's terrific E2 Detroit entrepreneurship event -- AND a bunch of evening meetings, from DetroitNet.org to the Spark and the Ann Arbor New Enterprise Forum and a fascinatin' sounding open house at Wayne State's mortuary science department.

Friday, the Great Lakes Bioneers conference returns for the green crowd. And on Saturday, WWJ Newsradio 950's big energy savings event.

And next week's just as packed! Computer network operators from all over North America! A major plug-in vehicle conference! Michigan's SUMIT_09 security conference! A physician IT summit in Kalamazoo! The TieCon Midwest conference! Sheesh! I'd seek to clone myself but my wife has troubles enough already. So I'll just say, 'see you out there,' although not everywhere.

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.

Comcast bringing digital cable to Holland
Comcast Corp. last week recommended that its cable customers in Holland pick up digital equipment for up to three TVs at no additional cost. As part of Comcast’s digital network enhancement, analog cable channels 31 through 74 will be digitized in two separate phases in October, meaning that Comcast customers who don’t already have digital equipment on all their TVs will likely need to obtain it in order to continue watching these channels. More.

Green Bridge to test vapor engine technology
Linden-based Green Bridge Technologies International Inc. said Tuesday that it will begin in-house testing of its vapor technology. Green Bridge recently purchased the cutting edge vapor technology that allows engines to operate more efficiently, resulting in increased fuel efficiency and reduced fossil fuel consumption. Optimal utilization of vapor technology in diesel and hybrid engine systems allows a leaner air-fuel mixture not possible with today's typical fuel injection systems. More.

TiE Detroit announces keynoters, finalists for business awards
TiE Detroit has announced the top 50 finalists for the prestigious TiE20 Midwest Industry Awards for 2009, which will be presented at next week's TiECon Midwest conference. TiE20 Midwest Industry Awards received an overwhelming response for nominations from more than 1,000 companies. An expert panel of judges selected the Top 50 companies who are now eligible for the final public polling. TiE Detroit encourages the public to vote for their favorite now at http://tiecon-midwest.zingalu.com/nominationpoll.php. TiE also announced that Josh Linkner and Subhendu Guha will be keynote speakers at the event. More.

THE WORLD IN TECH

Comcast tries pop-up alerts to warn of infections
Comcast Corp. wants to enlist its customers in a fight against a huge problem for Internet providers -- the armies of infected personal computers, known as "botnets," that suck up bandwidth by sending spam and facilitating cybercrime. The country's largest provider of high-speed Internet to homes started testing a service this week in Denver in which Comcast sends customers a pop-up message in their Web browsers if their computers seem to have been co-opted by a botnet. One botnet can have tens of thousands or even millions of PCs. More.

Tough choices for feds giving broadband money -- maybe to Detroit
The federal government will soon start handing out the first $4 billion from a pot of stimulus funds intended to spread high-speed Internet connections to more rural communities, poor neighborhoods and other pockets of the country clamoring for better access. The challenge is that the government has received $28 billion in requests. So the reviewers at the Commerce and Agriculture Departments who will award the broadband money must make hard choices. The 2,200 applications each envision something different -- more fiber-optic lines, for example, or computer labs or municipal wireless networks. But they all promise that their proposals will create jobs and bring new economic opportunities. See snapshots of four proposals here, including a proposal for Detroit.

FCC launches probe of Google Voice service
Federal regulators will look into complaints by AT&T Inc. that Google Inc.'s free messaging and calling service, Google Voice, blocks calls to rural communities where local phone companies charge high connection fees. The Federal Communications Commission on Friday sent a letter to Google requesting information about its Voice service, which lets people sign up for one number that can route incoming calls to cell, office or home phones. The service also lets users place calls, including international calls, at low rates. As part of a broader quarrel with Google, AT&T has complained that Google Voice blocks calls to phone numbers in some rural communities to reduce the access charges it must pay. So-called "common carrier" regulations prevent AT&T and other big phone companies from blocking those same calls. More.

Zappos-inspired startup is all about men's pants
Brian Spaly's quest for the perfect pair of pants led him and former roommate Andy Dunn to start a Web-only clothing company that wants to sell men's trousers that fit-- without the need for fitting rooms. Business is good for their company, Bonobos Inc., though it's too early to tell whether the startup can achieve the heights of another online apparel store with a remarkably similar beginning. More.

Stocks: Dow hits 2009 closing high on earnings momentum
U.S. stocks climbed on Friday, with the Dow hitting a closing high for 2009, as investors anticipated positive news from next week's key earnings reports and bullish broker comments boosted tech shares. U.S. stocks achieved their best weekly gains since July and snapped a two-week losing streak. The five-day rally pushed the Dow Jones industrial average up 4 percent for the week, while the Standard & Poor's 500 advanced 4.5 percent and the Nasdaq gained 4.5 percent. In Friday's session, International Business Machines Corp rose 3 percent to $125.93 and led the Dow higher after Barclays Capital raised its price target to $140 from $119, and upgraded the information technology hardware sector to "positive" from "neutral." Separately, Deutsche Bank predicted late Thursday that semiconductor companies would report upside surprises in their earnings for the past three months. More. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) rose 15.35 points or 0.7 percent to 2,139.28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) rose 78.07 points or 0.8 percent to 9,864.94. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) rose 10.38 points or 3.3 percent to 326.44. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) rose 5.04 points or 0.9 percent to 541.83. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) rose 1.6 points or 0.6 percent to 290.48. The NYSE Arca Biotech Index (BTK) rose 12.87 points or 1.4 percent to 914.06. Finally, the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) rose 6.01 points or 0.6 percent to 1,071.49.

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