Lights out for incandescent lights?

The incandescent electric light was one of the paradigm-shifting inventions of the last 125 years, transforming the way people live, work and play. But the era of the incandescent light bulb may be drawing to a close.

Though more expensive up front, compact flourescent light bulbs are far more efficient -- and environmentally friendly -- than incandescent bulbs, using less electricity and lasting longer while providing the same amount of light. For that reason, local and state governments have been encouraging the adoption of compact flourescent bulbs, largely through subsidizing their cost. However, Australia is moving toward banning incandescent bulbs altogether by 2010. By enforcing minimum energy performance standards, selling incandescent bulbs would effectively be illegal. In the US, California is considering a similar measure that would outlaw sales of incandescent lights by 2012. The measure is significant because, as the nation's most populous state, California is a trendsetter in environmental and health legislation. Indeed, state governments in Connecticut and New Jersey (ironically, where Edison developed his light) are considering similar bans on incandescent lights.

The private sector is also jumping on the compact flourescent bandwagon. Retailers plan to increase shares of the bulbs substantially, and light bulb manufacturer Philips will stop manufacturing incandescent bulbs by 2016.

By switching to compact flourescent bulbs on a national level, Australia could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by four tons per year.

Source: International Herald Tribune

Cellphone Calls from 29,000 feet

Can You Hold On Honey? I Have to Climb This Mountain Real Quick.

For all you cell phone users out there planning on climbing Mt. Everest, you can breathe a little easier now. Earlier this week Nepal Telecom, Nepal's largest telecom company, announced that they plan to build a cell phone tower that will provide coverage for up to 3,000 calls at a time. One can only assume that limit will never be reached.

Nepal Telecom has a base of 2.8 million customers, about a tenth of all people from Nepal, and 60% of all cell phone users in the country. The company has installed seven satellite antennas around the mountain, and will be providing coverage as early as June this year. The Nepali company hopes to provide an alternative to those who have rely on satellite telephones when taking the climb.

Let's hope we never hear about an avalanche caused by a chatty climber.

Gavin Nachbar is a freelance writing cell phone talker who he, himself, never plans on climbing Mt. Everest.

Cellphone Calls from 29,000 feet

Can You Hold On Honey? I Have to Climb This Mountain Real Quick.

For all you cell phone users out there planning on climbing Mt. Everest, you can breathe a little easier now. Earlier this week Nepal Telecom, Nepal's largest telecom company, announced that they plan to build a cell phone tower that will provide coverage for up to 3,000 calls at a time. One can only assume that limit will never be reached.

Nepal Telecom has a base of 2.8 million customers, about a tenth of all people from Nepal, and 60% of all cell phone users in the country. The company has installed seven satellite antennas around the mountain, and will be providing coverage as early as June this year. The Nepali company hopes to provide an alternative to those who have rely on satellite telephones when taking the climb.

Let's hope we never hear about an avalanche caused by a chatty climber.

Gavin Nachbar is a freelance writing cell phone talker who he, himself, never plans on climbing Mt. Everest.

Mossberg Reviews the Palm Pre

Walt Mossberg does a great review of the Palm Pre today. If you're considering the device or just curious, you should read it here.

Couple highlights:

'But on June 6, Apple will get a powerful competitor in this category. It's a beautiful, innovative and versatile hand-held computer that's fully in the iPhone's class. It's called the Pre, and it comes from Palm, the company that pioneered the hand-held computer in the 1990s. I've been testing the Pre for a couple of weeks, and I like it a lot, despite some important drawbacks that will have to be remedied.'

'All in all, I believe the Pre is a smart, sophisticated product that will have particular appeal for those who want a physical keyboard. It is thoughtfully designed, works well and could give the iPhone and BlackBerry strong competition -- but only if it fixes its app store and can attract third-party developers.'

Sutures from Bacteria

Sounds icky, but it's true -- the FDA has approved a polymer suture made from modified bacteria using recombinant DNA technology.

The material in Tepha Medical Devices' TephaFLEX Absorbable Suture breaks down in the body as a deep wound or surgical incision heals, improving the healing process and preventing infection. Recombinant DNA allows the manufacture of materials from organisms that would be difficult if not impossible to produce otherwise.

Self-Healing Plastic

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have developed a nanotechnology polymer that can 'heal' itself by filling in cracks and tears automatically. Although self-healing plastic is not an entirely new concept, the UIUC material is different because it can repair itself multiple times without any intervention.

The material could have important uses where making repairs is difficult, where materials are under enormous stress and/or where material failure would be catastrophic -- such as in implanted medical devices, airplane and spacecraft components, and microprocessors. The UIUC researchers emphasize, however, that practical applications are years away, and that initial products will be highly expensive.

Source: MIT Technology Review

Stem-Cell Treatment Cures Type 1 Diabetes

A clinical trial involving patients with type 1 diabetes (aka: juvenile diabetes) and stem cell therapy has shown that treatment with stem cells can help such patients produce their own insulin.

The stem cells, created from the patients' own blood, proved effective in 13 of 15 subjects in the trial, who no longer need daily insulin injections. However, more studies are needed to verify the findings and learn more about exactly how the therapy works. Experts believe that a widely-available stem cell treatment for type 1 diabetes is at least five years away. The research, furthermore, does not address type 2 diabetes.

The findings were published in the most recent edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Source: London Times

AT&T Leads in Smartphone Users

Citing independent market research, AT&T announced its customer base now boasts twice as many smartphone users as any other U.S. mobile operator, reporting that close to 32% of its postpaid subscribers now use an integrated device. According to AT&T, more new and existing customers activated integrated devices in Q1 than the carrier added in new postpaid subscribers. AT&T credits the smartphone user growth to its 3G network and nearly 20,000 U.S. WiFi hotspots.

"AT&T made a big push to be the mobile broadband and smartphone leader many years ago and it's clearly paying off in a big way for us and our customers," said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "We've taken integrated devices mainstream and nearly a third of our postpaid customers use one. Our industry-leading 3G and Wi-Fi networks make mobile data accessible to everyone—from road warriors with advanced smartphones to texting teens with quick messaging phones. We offer something for everyone."

This is an impressive statistic as smartphone users outspend non-smartphone users considerably and are generally more profitable as well.

DIY Mobile Networks

Ever dreamed of having your own mobile phone network? If so, Sonopia offers customizable, 'virtual' mobile networks for small businesses and nonprofit groups. Partnering with Verizon, Sonopia has offered networks to churches, rock bands, sports teams, and the National Wildlife Fund. Nonprofits can offers as an incentive to prospective customers a donation of profits to charitable causes.

Sonopia charges no setup fees, so even the smallest groups -- and even individuals -- can establish their own mobile networks.

Source: Springwise

Bird Population Falls Over Past 40 Years

A recent study by the National Audubon Society has found that bird populations -- even those of common, robust species such as grackles -- have fallen drastically over the past 40 years. The populations of whiporwills and bobwhites have fallen by well over 80 percent, a drop so great that these once-common birds are now seldom seen or heard in the eastern US. Deforestation is partly to blame, as well as global warming, which appears to be affecting arctic birds especially hard. Because cold-climate birds must migrate farther north each year to reach their shrinking habitat, they rarely migrate below the northernmost regions of the US.

'These are not rare or exotic birds we're talking about -- these are the birds that visit our feeders and congregate at nearby lakes and seashores and yet they are disappearing day by day,' said Carol Browner, Audubon board chairperson and former Environmental Protection Agency administrator in the Clinton administration. 'Their decline tells us we have serious work to do, from protecting local habitats to addressing the huge threats from global warming.'

Source: Boston Globe

Outsourced Journalism

Add writing and reporting to the list of jobs that are now being outsourced. Although native foreign correspondents have been around for decades, news sources such as one in Pasadena, California, have begun outsourcing its local news coverage to reporters in India:

James Macpherson, editor and publisher of the Pasadena Now website, hired two reporters last weekend to cover the Pasadena City Council. One lives in Mumbai and will be paid $12,000 a year. The other will work in Bangalore for $7,200. The council broadcasts its meetings on the Web. From nearly 9,000 miles away, the outsourced journalists plan to watch, then write their stories while their boss sleeps — India is 12.5 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time.

"A lot of the routine stuff we do can be done by really talented people in another time zone at much lower wages," said Macpherson, 51, who used to run a clothing
business with manufacturing help from Vietnam and India.

Although this might be an isolated case, it could catch on if publishers perceive a real cost savings. Or not, if they sense a loss of a connection to the communities they are covering.

Source: unmediated

Cell Phone Gaming Taking Off

According to a new consumer study conducted by research firm Information Solutions Group on behalf of casual games publisher PopCap Games, 57% of AT&T wireless subscribers play mobile games.

The advent of the iPhone and its App Store have made the download and usage of mobile games easier than ever, and the mobile gaming industry is expected to grow more than 10% per year to hit $6.3 billion in user spending by 2011, according to a report from Gartner.

52% of gamers cited 'distraction from daily life issues' as the top benefit derived from mobile gaming, followed by 'relaxation and stress relief' (40%) and 'improved mood' (12%)--in addition, 52% of gamers said they play mobile titles during work hours, and 14% selected 'during my work day, when I need a short break' as the time when they most often play games on their phone.

60% of all mobile gamers cited 'while waiting for an appointment' as a time when they play mobile games, with 'during the day on weekdays' selected by 34% of respondents and 'when traveling on vacation' and 'on the weekend' tying for third at 25% each.

The Information Solutions Group study reports that 59% of AT&T gamers play games on their phone at least once a month, and 40% said they play weekly or more often--41% said they played less than once per month. 91% of mobile gaming sessions last fewer than 30 minutes, and 62% extend fewer than 15 minutes. In all, 71% of mobile gamers play games on their phone for less than an hour per week, although 52% of those who play daily said they play for three or more hours per week.

Asked to name 'games you enjoy playing on your cell phone,' 20% of AT&T gamers cited Tetris, followed by Bejeweled at 18% and Solitaire at 17%. Puzzle games topped popular genres at 66%, followed by card/casino titles at 51%--board games earned 15% of the vote, with action/adventure trailing at 11%.

86% of mobile gamers also play video games on one or more other devices, with 76% of gamers playing on computers, 41% on consoles and 24% on handheld game devices.

17% of mobile gamers consider their mobile handset their primary gaming device.

Lights out for incandescent lights?

The incandescent electric light was one of the paradigm-shifting inventions of the last 125 years, transforming the way people live, work and play. But the era of the incandescent light bulb may be drawing to a close.

Though more expensive up front, compact flourescent light bulbs are far more efficient -- and environmentally friendly -- than incandescent bulbs, using less electricity and lasting longer while providing the same amount of light. For that reason, local and state governments have been encouraging the adoption of compact flourescent bulbs, largely through subsidizing their cost. However, Australia is moving toward banning incandescent bulbs altogether by 2010. By enforcing minimum energy performance standards, selling incandescent bulbs would effectively be illegal. In the US, California is considering a similar measure that would outlaw sales of incandescent lights by 2012. The measure is significant because, as the nation's most populous state, California is a trendsetter in environmental and health legislation. Indeed, state governments in Connecticut and New Jersey (ironically, where Edison developed his light) are considering similar bans on incandescent lights.

The private sector is also jumping on the compact flourescent bandwagon. Retailers plan to increase shares of the bulbs substantially, and light bulb manufacturer Philips will stop manufacturing incandescent bulbs by 2016.

By switching to compact flourescent bulbs on a national level, Australia could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by four tons per year.

Source: International Herald Tribune

Marketers Have to Take Mobile Seriously Now

Interesting article on Mobile Advertising in BusinessWeek that is worth a read.

The article talks about Pandora - a nine-year-old, free online service that lets users design 'radio stations' based on their musical preferences. Pandora has become a very popular mobile app as well and advertisers like Best Buy, Dockers, Target, and Nike have started to buy ads on Pandora to experiment with what remains a cheap advertising medium.

'We've reached a tipping point,' says Domino's Pizza advertising executive Rob Weisberg. 'Marketers, especially consumer brands, have to take mobile seriously now. You have to be where your customer works, lives, and plays.'

Pandora mobile advertisers are seeing pretty solid response rates to their ads which bodes well for the medium.

EA and Glu Report Mobile Game Sales Results

Two of the biggest mobile game developers in the world, Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Glu Mobile (NASDAQ: GLUU) announced quarterly results this week.

While EA's overall business continues to struggle, mobile was a bright spot with the company reporting that their mobile revenues were up 24% year-over-year to $189 million. For the fiscal fourth quarter, EA Mobile recorded $48 million in revenues, up 14% year-over-year.

Glu reported revenues of $20.8 million, compared to $20.6 million in the first quarter of 2008 which represents less than a 1% increase year over year.

If I was a Glu shareholder I'd be pretty disappointed with Glu's results. Although EA is a bigger company , the mobile games business is growing fairly rapidly (see post coming soon) and Glu should be growing at a similar pace to EA.

If you read Glu's full release and if you've been following the company over the last year, a lot of their lack of growth is due to the fact that Glu was very late to the iPhone party. They've started to ramp up lately with a number of high quality releases on that platform including the very fun Glyder title, but it's clear that they've still got a lot of work to do to get their business to take off further.

EA, on the other hand, was early to the iPhone an their games have done very well. Just in the past couple weeks, EA announced five new iPhone titles and executives said they expect to introduce 30 games for the iPhone this year.

Is True Global Democracy the Next Great Political Movement?

A near-universal disillusionment with traditional forms of government is driving new expressions of democracy around the world, underscored by a growing awareness of global issues and Internet-based connectivity. Paul Hawken of Orion magazine describes how many of the networking trends evident over the last decade are coalescing to create new ways for socially- and politically-minded groups to organize and make a difference:

This is the first time in history that a large social movement is not bound together by an 'ism.' What binds it together is ideas, not ideologies. This unnamed movement's big contribution is the absence of one big idea; in its stead it offers thousands of practical and useful ideas. In place of isms are processes, concerns, and compassion. The movement demonstrates a pliable, resonant, and generous side of humanity...

The promise of this unnamed movement is to offer solutions to what appear to be insoluble dilemmas: poverty, global climate change, terrorism, ecological degradation, polarization of income, loss of culture. It is not burdened with a syndrome of trying to save the world; it is trying to remake the world.

Source: AlterNet

Unintended Consequences of Biofuels

Biofuels, particluarly those derived from ethanol, have been heralded as an ideal way to wean us off of polluting and increasingly expensive fossil fuels. While we may have no choice but to rely on biofuels in the future, some futurists are sounding the alarm about the unintended consequences of biofuel reliance. In July, the futurist think tank Global Business Network noted that crop growth for biofuels could come at the expense of the world food supply. Others are citing the phenomenon of 'agflation,' or the increased price of all things agricultural, from produce to dairy products to real estate in rural areas. Indeed, manufacturers of all types are beginning to notice higher prices for animal by-products used in products such as soaps.

While market forces may eventually correct agflation-driven price increases, the time is now to understand that energy solutions such as biofuel are not 'magic bullets' without impact in other areas, and to mitigate those impacts.

Source: Techdirt

iPhone Game Review - Parachute Panic

I was poking around the iTunes AppStore this week and took a $.99 chance on a recently launched game from FDG Entertainment called Parachute Panic.

This fun casual game requires you to successfully land a host of parachutists into passing boats while trying to avoid obstacles such as helicopters, U.F.O´s, sharks and thunder clouds.

The game play is reminiscent of the vintage Nintendo Game & Watch handheld parachute game that I used to love to play back in the early 80's.

The game has very cool hand drawn graphics, smooth animations, catchy music and awesome sound effects. The game has been getting good reviews in the App Store and I have to agree - it is very well done and lots of fun.

Check out a video of the game here.

The only slightly negative comment I will make is that this game is not easy. It takes a little while to get used to the controls and even after mastering the techniques, the action picks up fast and furious. My 7 year old lost interest pretty quickly as it was too hard, but personally, I love the game, and for a buck it's well worth it. Click here to get it now.

AT&T Leads in Smartphone Users

Citing independent market research, AT&T announced its customer base now boasts twice as many smartphone users as any other U.S. mobile operator, reporting that close to 32% of its postpaid subscribers now use an integrated device. According to AT&T, more new and existing customers activated integrated devices in Q1 than the carrier added in new postpaid subscribers. AT&T credits the smartphone user growth to its 3G network and nearly 20,000 U.S. WiFi hotspots.

"AT&T made a big push to be the mobile broadband and smartphone leader many years ago and it's clearly paying off in a big way for us and our customers," said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "We've taken integrated devices mainstream and nearly a third of our postpaid customers use one. Our industry-leading 3G and Wi-Fi networks make mobile data accessible to everyone—from road warriors with advanced smartphones to texting teens with quick messaging phones. We offer something for everyone."

This is an impressive statistic as smartphone users outspend non-smartphone users considerably and are generally more profitable as well.

Mossberg Reviews the Palm Pre

Walt Mossberg does a great review of the Palm Pre today. If you're considering the device or just curious, you should read it here.

Couple highlights:

'But on June 6, Apple will get a powerful competitor in this category. It's a beautiful, innovative and versatile hand-held computer that's fully in the iPhone's class. It's called the Pre, and it comes from Palm, the company that pioneered the hand-held computer in the 1990s. I've been testing the Pre for a couple of weeks, and I like it a lot, despite some important drawbacks that will have to be remedied.'

'All in all, I believe the Pre is a smart, sophisticated product that will have particular appeal for those who want a physical keyboard. It is thoughtfully designed, works well and could give the iPhone and BlackBerry strong competition -- but only if it fixes its app store and can attract third-party developers.'