6:00 PM
http://urgentcomm.com/networks_and_systems/news/persistent-uav-20100629/
Next-generation of programmable matter has been created with self-folding sheets that operate like origami. The video at the link shows the programmable sheet self-folding into a boat and then a plane:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-06/hu-ssa062810.php
Swarms of tiny flying robots are being designed with an innovative perching mechanism that allows them to fly head-first into an object, such as a tree, without being destroyed and attach to almost any type of surface. These robots may be used to fly into forest fires, cling to undamaged trees, and deploy crucial sensors and tools to help firefighters track the fire:
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/video/flying-robots-could-monitor-forest-fire-effects/1003198.article
Consortium led by biologists at UC-SD have been awarded $12 million for a 3-year research effort to conduct basic research that towards biofuels made from algae:
http://www.rdmag.com/News/2010/06/Environment-Biofuels-DOE-Awards-UC-San-Diego-With-9-Million-For-Algal-Biofuels-Research/
Lawrence Livermore physicists created a computer simulation that shows how nuclear bombs could be used to save the Earth if a massive asteroid was coming towards Earth. The drawbacks are that the debris field created by the explosion could still hit the Earth if the asteroid was too close to Earth at the time of the explosion:
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/diverting-asteroids-nuclear-explosives-100625.html
Research consortium is created a chip that can help doctors wire computer applications and sensors to the brain, providing deep brain stimulation precisely where and when it is needed. This "pacemaker for the brain" could alleviate the effects of disorders such as depression or Parkinson's disease...but they have to precisely control the amount of brain stimulation so that the therapeutic benefits do now degrade over time:
http://www.aftau.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=12445
Google has realized that Google Buzz is less than adequate (I'm trying to be kind here) and is created a create a social networking system call Google Me. Google apparently had assumed that Facebook's growth would slow as it grew, and that Facebook wouldn't have this much leverage over them, but now Google is scared of Facebook's power. Facebook has felt for years that Google is the biggest threat to them, even when other social networking sites were launched to try to compete with Facebook:
http://www.insidefacebook.com/2010/06/28/former-facebook-executive-adam-dangelo-confirms-new-google-social-networking-effort/
Cisco has created an Android-based tablet that gives access to Cisco collaboration applications anywhere the employee might be:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6789/ps7290/ps11156/solution_overview_c22-608594.html
Sacramento-based law firm has begun soliciting clients for a possible class-action lawsuit against Apple for the reception problems caused by the way people hold the iPhone 4:
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/06/29/lawyers-seek-iphone-death-grip-victims/
Verizon Wireless launched a new brand promotion called "Rule the Air" and created a new website and TV ad campaign to push that new slogan. I don't see the point of "Rule the Air"...but I don't like AT&T's new slogan "Rethink Possible" either so I must not be the target audience for these ads:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/verizon-seeks-rule-air-new-branding-campaign/2010-06-29
Verizon cut the price of its two Microsoft Kin phones...cutting the prices a month after release seems to indicate that Microsoft's latest attempt to regain smartphone market share isn't going too well:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-28/verizon-cuts-price-of-microsoft-kin-after-first-month.html
The specs for the BlackBerry Storm 3 include the news that it will be Verizon's first or second LTE smartphone! Verizon said they might be unveiling up to 5 LTE phones in January...the list of companies working on those phones make me think that there will be 4 Android phones and the BlackBerry Storm 3 all racing to see who can be released first:
http://www.salomondrin.net/2010/06/27/storm-3-early-specs/
Sprint's CEO denied the speculation that they might by Clearwire within a year. Sprint owns 56% of Clearwire now and says that their current setup, with cable companies being part owners and using Clearwire for their own services, has advantages for Sprint and Clearwire:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprint-happy-clearwires-current-structure/2010-06-29
Best Buy is launching a mobile broadband service using Sprint's 3G (no WiMAX) network. Gobi-enabled laptops and netbooks will be able to get 3G service for $30 per month for 250 MB of data up to $60 per month for 5 GB of data...that doesn't seem very attractively priced to me!
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/best-buy-launching-mobile-broadband-service-through-sprint/2010-06-29
Chase (one of the biggest financial institutions in the world) is changing its browser support because it says that people need to update their browsers in order to keep financial transactions secure. However, the FAQ that mentions the need to update browsers for security purposes includes the information that they are dropping support for Google Chrome (which has excellent security) and will still support IE 6 (a browser Microsoft says that people should stop using because it is not secure)!
http://www.infoworld.com/t/browsers/chase-embraces-dated-ie6-shuns-chrome-672?source=IFWNLE_nlt_blogs_2010-06-29