5:23 PM
Illinois researchers hope to economically provide for energy security for the U.S. by getting surgarcane and sorghum to make oil. Both of those plants already have the genetic apparatus to make oils and could become high-yielding, col-tolerant crops that can produce biodiesel and jet fuel. One they are matured, sugarcane and sorghum spend much of their energy making and storing sugars, but the researchers propose to subvert that mechanism so that instead of making sugar they use the products of photosynthesis to make oils:
http://news.illinois.edu/news/12/0301biofuels_StephenLong.html
Electric-powered bike usage has increased about 20% per year, with current trends expecting electric-powered bikes to pass motobikes in 2015. The electric-bike market in China is growing rapidly, with China expecting to produce 75 million units per year by 2020, with 500 mil electric bikes on the road--one third of China's population will use electric bikes for daily commuting instead of needing mass transport, with 150 mil worker hours each days saved already due to the reduced transportation time to/from work:
http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/03/electric-bike-production-could-catch-up.html
Apple is reportedly planning to launch its own pay TV service later this year, negotiating with content providers. Apple either wants to bundle multiple app channels to basically sell its own cable TV packages (eliminating the need for cable/satellite subscription TV) or may be looking to sell individual channels to its subscribers:
http://www.macrumors.com/2012/03/01/apple-pushing-ahead-with-plans-for-subscription-tv-service-by-christmas/
Verizon is offering free smartphones to its customers in the south region of the US...including the $299 Galaxy Nexus for free with a 2-year contract. Those who qualify receive the offer in the mail...I wish San Diego was in their South Region or that they would move this promo to the West Region because they say that I qualify for a new phone even though I got my Droid X just 19 months ago:
http://www.droid-life.com/2012/02/25/verizon-offering-significant-discount-to-loyal-customers/
AT&T has 17 million customers on "unlimited" data plans, most of them with iPhones. Those are the customers that AT&T is seeking to limit data usage from with their new throttling policy:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/03/01/technology/AP-US-TEC-ATT-Data-Slowdown.html?_r=4&hpw
Auto-correct function changed "Gunna" to "gunman" on a text message, resulting in a middle school and high school being closed and put on lockdown:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57388187-71/blown-text-auto-correct-locks-down-school/
41-year-old High School teacher in Modesto, CA has resigned to move in with one of his high school students. he left his wife and kids for the student--who is 18 and left her parent's home to move in with him. The man has a daughter that is a junior at the same high school! The teacher made $110,537 in 2009, the latest salary figure available from the school district, which is a huge amount of money in Modesto. The teacher and student exchanged 8,000 text messages going back to last summer, texting each other starting at 6am:
http://www.modbee.com/2012/02/28/2090490/enochs-high-teacher-resigns-after.html