Saturday, January 26, 2013

Stories I Found Of Interest (weekly)

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Stories I Found Of Interest (weekly)

    • eliminates the need for delicate optical components and expensive detectors by using a “virtual” light-emitting diode (LED) source and inexpensive photodiode detectors
    • the current supplied to the LEDs is varied through a sequence of steps to vary the frequency of the light produced by the emitter
    • one prototype source incorporates 34 emitters that are fired through 25 current steps in a sequence that is repeated four times; in effect, a single less-than-one-second scan paints 34 × 25 × 4 = 3400 flashes of light onto the sample
    • Recent testing on plastic sample bags containing a variety of similar-looking white powders demonstrated that the SPM ChromaID method was able to distinguish between flea powder, household cleaner, ground Tums, Splenda, baby powder, and cornstarch, to name a few
    • The Internet of Things is really an Internet of Sensors. It was Kevin Ashton of RFID fame who first popularized the phrase Internet of Things. But the way he and others explored the idea made it clear that the key element of this Internet of Things was that things were going to be individually addressable on the network.
    • With enough of the right sensors in my life, the sensors can flexibly identify the things in my environment and provide a very efficient means of addressing them
    • the acquisition was a natural extension of its approach to tobacco harm reduction
    • our goal is to provide those adult smokers who are seeking safer alternatives to cigarettes with a range of reduced-risk products
    • added that the takeover by BAT was a 'game-changer' for the company

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Stories I Found Of Interest (weekly)

    • The “Internet of Things,” for those of you who aren’t too familiar with it, basically refers to the growing trend of uniquely identifiable, Internet-connected electronic devices.
    • I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more of this in coming months. Why? The reasons are not that complex actually. Typically the tech giants buy startups (loosely speaking) in order to acquire talent and in very rare cases, technology (like Apple buying Siri). But for the most part, the motive behind Internet giants’ buying frenzy is mostly about finding the right people to keep competing with their rivals.
    • Today it might not seem obvious, but a year or two from now, companies big and small are going to realize that emergence of mobile and other newer technologies are going to redefine the a business experience.
    • The company has announced that all non-management positions will have their hours reduced to 28 a week. Gary Burdette, Vice President of Operations for the local franchise, says the cuts are coming because the new Affordable Health Care Act requires employers to offer health insurance to employees working 32-38 hours a week

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Saturday, January 05, 2013

Stories I Found Of Interest (weekly)

    • Historically, economists saw electricity use as an accurate measure of growth, but now that everyday products are increasingly energy efficient and the manufacturing economy is streamlined, growth and electricity use have become decoupled. This is another sign that in our new information age growth is green. Declinists and pessimists, take note; growth in the American economy is less and less about producing widgets and more about style, design, services and ideas. It’s likely that the faster we grow the more rapidly the transition to a cleaner and greener economy will go.
    • In response to falling profits, electricity companies are balancing the books by cutting investment in low-emission options like nuclear power plants (which many greens will not mourn) and especially in renewable energy projects. Falling demand for electricity plus rising supplies of cheap and reliable domestic fuels like natural gas makes subsidies for green generation more expensive and less likely to succeed.
    • The allowed claims of Patent Application No. 12/305,483, entitled, NUCLEIC   ACID ENCODING N-METHYLPUTRESCINE OXIDASE AND USES THEREOF, cover   nucleic acids encoding MPO, methods for producing tobacco plants with   either reduced or increased nicotine levels, and tobacco cells and   tobacco plants produced by the foregoing.
    • Scientists have attempted to clone the MPO gene for   decades
    • The MPO gene technology is one of several 22nd Century patent   families representing our second-generation gene technology for   modifying the content of nicotine and other nicotinic alkaloids in the   tobacco plant. Our second-generation technology has significant   advantages over our first generation technology
    • mainly   related to all of the key nicotine biosynthesis genes and potential   modified risk tobacco products produced therefrom
    • As a party and as conservatives we need to do a better job explaining to people why free enterprise and limited government is better for them than big government is," he added. "That's true for all Americans, including Cuban-Americans.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.