5:18 PM
The DOE suddenly revised its FutureGen project, with the $1.2 billion project now going to test a new type of clean coal power plant to reduce greenhouse gas emission from coal-based power plants. They say that they changed clean coal technologies because the technology they had planned to use is already being tested in 3-4 other commercial facilities and this new technology (oxy-combustion) hasn't been tested yet:
http://www.rdmag.com/News/2010/08/energy-us-energy-dept-alters-futuregen-plans-in-illinois/
General Dynamics has an Android-based wrist- or chest-mounted military smartphone that includes real-time QPS and tactical radio connections. It is ruggedized and has a screen that is supposed to be readable in sunlight:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/09/general-dynamics-gd300-is-the-pip-boy-that-runs-android/
People with type 1 diabetes must prick their fingers several times a day to draw blood for testing, but MIT researchers are working on a way to test blood glucose levels using light instead of needing blood. With diabetes such a huge problem in the US, it would be great to avoid time and inconvenience of constantly needing to get blood out of fingers:
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/glucose-monitor-0809.html
China has been building up its military and civilian infrastructure on its side of the Indian border in the past decade, and now India is racing to match China along their border. India started a massive 5-year project to make a 5-mile tunnel through mountains in Tibet and several other tunnels to enable all-weather access to Ladakh. Analysts say that the India-China border is even more unstable than the India-Pakistan border, especially since their 2,521 border is disputed or undefined:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/world/asia/01pass.html?_r=1&ref=world&src=me&pagewanted=all
Honda is recalling more than 428,000 cars in the US and Canada because of a defect that could cause them to roll away if they are parked incorrectly. The recall covers 2003 and 2004 Accord, Civic, and Element models:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6783RN20100809
The Sharpie Liquid Pencil uses liquid graphite to write like a pen and erase like a pencil! You can erase it when you write, but after 24 hours the ink dries like a permanent marker:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/09/sharpie-liquid-pencil-writes-and-erases-like-a-pencil-dries-lik/
Article about how the new health care reform law requires all employers to provide unpaid break time and private space for nursing mothers to pump breast milk at work:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-07-28-breastpumping28_ST_N.htm
Ruckus Wireless announced it was selected by 15 new healthcare facilities, hospitals and clinics as part of a major transition by the healthcare industry to adopt faster, more robust wireless technology. Ruckus uses 11n APs with dynamic beamforming to support hospitals' increasing use of electronic medical records and other wireless needs. Ruckus uses smart antenna beamforming to enable WiFi operation in the interference-filled healthcare environments:
http://investor.wedbush.com/wedbush/news/read?GUID=14206196
HP's CEO was accused of harassment by a former reality TV contestant but ended up being suddenly fired by allegedly falsifying expense reports to conceal a "close personal relationship" with his accuser. Analysts say that HP's choice for his replacement could signal what direction their company plans to go...I hope that Palm's webOS isn't buried by their new CEO:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE67809Y20100809
This columnist doesn't feel sorry for HP's CEO since he got to run HP for 5 years, wine and dine a private contractor for 2 years at HP's expense, and he'll walk away with an exit package that includes $12 million in cash and health benefits. HP's investigation concluded that the contractor received pay from HP that wasn't business-related:
http://www.infoworld.com/d/adventures-in-it/hps-sex-scandal-obscene-and-not-hurd-242
Now I actually think that Bloomberg and Techcrunch's reports about Verizon getting the iPhone might actually happen...AT&T's filing they just made with regulators says that they do not expect to be hurt by the end of their exclusivity agreement with Apple for the iPhone. The more that Apple argues that position (and the more they make a big push behind the new BlackBerry smartphone that they have an exclusive with), the more it seems credible that Verizon will get the iPhone soon. If AT&T was going to still have the iPhone exclusively, would they be saying that losing exclusivity wouldn't hurt them?
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/t-losing-iphone-wont-wireless-dent-earnings/2010-08-09
Interesting article on how the Apple senior VP (the person in charge of the iPhone 4). It is also interesting to note that the decisions that led to Antennagate were made *before* he joined Apple...so, is he the fall guy for Antennagate?
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/08/09/iphone-4-executive-lost-steve-jobs-confidence-months-ago/
Agreement between RIM and Saudi Arabia will avert a BlackBerry ban and give the Saudi government the ability to monitor messages. Saudi surveillance will be able to read e-mails even though RIM encrypts them. RIM has similar deals with Russia and China and RIM seems to be setting a worldwide precedent for tech companies and governments now:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/07/MNAI1EQPJR.DTL
New Jersey school district has eliminated "D" grades...students can only get A/B/C/F grades now:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/education/08grades.html?_r=1&ref=winnie_hu
Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson says that trying out for Survivor (he was rejected twice before getting on this season) might have saved his life:
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b194237_jimmy_johnson_survivor_saved_my_life.html
http://www.rdmag.com/News/2010/08/energy-us-energy-dept-alters-futuregen-plans-in-illinois/
General Dynamics has an Android-based wrist- or chest-mounted military smartphone that includes real-time QPS and tactical radio connections. It is ruggedized and has a screen that is supposed to be readable in sunlight:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/09/general-dynamics-gd300-is-the-pip-boy-that-runs-android/
People with type 1 diabetes must prick their fingers several times a day to draw blood for testing, but MIT researchers are working on a way to test blood glucose levels using light instead of needing blood. With diabetes such a huge problem in the US, it would be great to avoid time and inconvenience of constantly needing to get blood out of fingers:
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/glucose-monitor-0809.html
China has been building up its military and civilian infrastructure on its side of the Indian border in the past decade, and now India is racing to match China along their border. India started a massive 5-year project to make a 5-mile tunnel through mountains in Tibet and several other tunnels to enable all-weather access to Ladakh. Analysts say that the India-China border is even more unstable than the India-Pakistan border, especially since their 2,521 border is disputed or undefined:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/world/asia/01pass.html?_r=1&ref=world&src=me&pagewanted=all
Honda is recalling more than 428,000 cars in the US and Canada because of a defect that could cause them to roll away if they are parked incorrectly. The recall covers 2003 and 2004 Accord, Civic, and Element models:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6783RN20100809
The Sharpie Liquid Pencil uses liquid graphite to write like a pen and erase like a pencil! You can erase it when you write, but after 24 hours the ink dries like a permanent marker:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/09/sharpie-liquid-pencil-writes-and-erases-like-a-pencil-dries-lik/
Article about how the new health care reform law requires all employers to provide unpaid break time and private space for nursing mothers to pump breast milk at work:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-07-28-breastpumping28_ST_N.htm
Ruckus Wireless announced it was selected by 15 new healthcare facilities, hospitals and clinics as part of a major transition by the healthcare industry to adopt faster, more robust wireless technology. Ruckus uses 11n APs with dynamic beamforming to support hospitals' increasing use of electronic medical records and other wireless needs. Ruckus uses smart antenna beamforming to enable WiFi operation in the interference-filled healthcare environments:
http://investor.wedbush.com/wedbush/news/read?GUID=14206196
HP's CEO was accused of harassment by a former reality TV contestant but ended up being suddenly fired by allegedly falsifying expense reports to conceal a "close personal relationship" with his accuser. Analysts say that HP's choice for his replacement could signal what direction their company plans to go...I hope that Palm's webOS isn't buried by their new CEO:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE67809Y20100809
This columnist doesn't feel sorry for HP's CEO since he got to run HP for 5 years, wine and dine a private contractor for 2 years at HP's expense, and he'll walk away with an exit package that includes $12 million in cash and health benefits. HP's investigation concluded that the contractor received pay from HP that wasn't business-related:
http://www.infoworld.com/d/adventures-in-it/hps-sex-scandal-obscene-and-not-hurd-242
Now I actually think that Bloomberg and Techcrunch's reports about Verizon getting the iPhone might actually happen...AT&T's filing they just made with regulators says that they do not expect to be hurt by the end of their exclusivity agreement with Apple for the iPhone. The more that Apple argues that position (and the more they make a big push behind the new BlackBerry smartphone that they have an exclusive with), the more it seems credible that Verizon will get the iPhone soon. If AT&T was going to still have the iPhone exclusively, would they be saying that losing exclusivity wouldn't hurt them?
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/t-losing-iphone-wont-wireless-dent-earnings/2010-08-09
Interesting article on how the Apple senior VP (the person in charge of the iPhone 4). It is also interesting to note that the decisions that led to Antennagate were made *before* he joined Apple...so, is he the fall guy for Antennagate?
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/08/09/iphone-4-executive-lost-steve-jobs-confidence-months-ago/
Agreement between RIM and Saudi Arabia will avert a BlackBerry ban and give the Saudi government the ability to monitor messages. Saudi surveillance will be able to read e-mails even though RIM encrypts them. RIM has similar deals with Russia and China and RIM seems to be setting a worldwide precedent for tech companies and governments now:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/07/MNAI1EQPJR.DTL
New Jersey school district has eliminated "D" grades...students can only get A/B/C/F grades now:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/education/08grades.html?_r=1&ref=winnie_hu
Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson says that trying out for Survivor (he was rejected twice before getting on this season) might have saved his life:
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b194237_jimmy_johnson_survivor_saved_my_life.html