Author: Neil Savage

Daily TIPs: Heat Power, Browsing for Dollars, Wading Off Shore, & More

New Material Could Turn Waste Heat to Power Researchers at Ohio State University have created a new alloy with double the ability of previous materials to turn waste heat from power plants or car engines into electricity. Technology Review reports that the researchers added trace amounts of thallium to lead telluride, changing the material’s electrical … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Heat Power, Browsing for Dollars, Wading Off Shore, & More”

Daily TIPs: Cow Patties and Corncobs, Insecure Banking, Google Drives Green, & More

Companies Developing Wireless HD Standard As wireless high-definition video emerges, various groups within the industry are competing to create a standard on which wireless HD devices will operate. Ars Technica says that Hitachi, Motorola, Samsung, Sharp, and Sony have come together to support a standard being developed by Israeli startup Amimon. The company says its … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Cow Patties and Corncobs, Insecure Banking, Google Drives Green, & More”

Daily TIPs: Where to Stick Carbon, Bandwidth Trading, 100 Miles per Gallon, & More

Concrete Solution Would Lock Up Carbon Making all the concrete that goes into buildings and sidewalks accounts for more than 5 percent of annual carbon dioxide emissions, because of the intense heat that needs to be generated during the production of cement. But Technology Review tells us of one company that has a plan to … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Where to Stick Carbon, Bandwidth Trading, 100 Miles per Gallon, & More”

Daily TIPs: Open Net, Mapping Soil, Socket to Me, & More

ISPs Should Not Control Net Traffic, FCC Hears Internet users don’t want broadband providers to slow down peer-to-peer traffic or track what users are doing online, people speaking at a public hearing in Pittsburgh told the Federal Communications Commission. PC World reports that speakers at the hearing want the FCC to take action against providers … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Open Net, Mapping Soil, Socket to Me, & More”

Daily TIPs: Broadband Head Fake?, Hackable Passports, Windy Texas, & More

World Needs Environmental New Deal, Group Says The world needs a clean energy version of Franklin Roosevelt, says “A New Green Deal,” a report issued by the New Economics Foundation. Reuters reports that the foundation is calling for world leaders to emulate “the scale, boldness, and vision” of Roosevelt’s response to the Great Depression. The … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Broadband Head Fake?, Hackable Passports, Windy Texas, & More”

Daily TIPs: Hydrogen an Airy Dream, Is Al Gore Nuts?, Google Bad for Science, & More

Study Predicts Few Hydrogen Cars Before 2023 It will be at least 15 years until hydrogen becomes a competitive fuel, and then only with substantial government and private investment, says a study from the National Research Council. According to Science News, the study found that cars driven by hydrogen fuel cells could be commercially available … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Hydrogen an Airy Dream, Is Al Gore Nuts?, Google Bad for Science, & More”

Daily TIPs: Bartering Goes High-Tech, Obama Touts Cyber Czar, Global Warming Questioned, & More

Government Considers X Prizes for Nanotech Big prizes for technological innovation are becoming all the rage in Washington. Ars Technica tells us that Republican Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine and Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon have introduced a bill to fund prizes for advancements in nanotechnology. They’re hoping the fund will attract money from … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Bartering Goes High-Tech, Obama Touts Cyber Czar, Global Warming Questioned, & More”

Daily TIPs, Cyber-Sopranos, Republican Spiders, Broadband Goes Nuclear, & More

Online Crime Gets More Organized Cybercrime, once the province of unaffiliated hackers, is coalescing into to a more organized structure that resembles the Mafia, according to a report from the web security company Finjan, of San Jose, CA. As described by Ars Technica, Finjan found that cybercriminals are often organized into a system with a … Continue reading “Daily TIPs, Cyber-Sopranos, Republican Spiders, Broadband Goes Nuclear, & More”

Daily TIPs: Stones and Rocks and Carbon, Saltwater Farming, Cell Phone Traffic Cop, & More

EBay Case Shows Flaws in Internet Law A ruling this week that eBay isn’t responsible for ensuring that goods are not counterfeit disappointed Tiffany’s, which brought the suit, but cheered the online auction site. But as a piece in the Wall Street Journal points out, the U.S. judge’s decision comes just two weeks after a … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Stones and Rocks and Carbon, Saltwater Farming, Cell Phone Traffic Cop, & More”

Daily TIPs: Electric Sports Cars, Parking By Cell Phone, Throttling Throttlers, & More

Should Hybrid Cars Have Solar Roofs? Japanese news reports last week said Toyota is designing a plug-in version of its hybrid Prius that would have solar cells mounted on the body to charge the batteries. Technology Review says engineers are testing car-mounted solar arrays as electricity sources for vehicles. Unfortunately, the systems may be too … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Electric Sports Cars, Parking By Cell Phone, Throttling Throttlers, & More”

Daily TIPs: Fins to Wind, Artificial Photosynthesis, Republicans on Facebook, & More

FDA Approves Intel Health Guide Microprocessor-maker Intel is getting into the high-tech health business: its Health Guide has won approval from the Food and Drug Administration. The device records vital signs and allows for videoconferencing with doctors or nurses in remote locations. Daily Tech says Intel is marketing the device to nursing homes and care … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Fins to Wind, Artificial Photosynthesis, Republicans on Facebook, & More”

Daily TIPs: Spam Survives, Where’s Windy, Reduced Voltage, & More

Little Headway Gained Against Spam and Malware A report from Commtouch, a maker of antimalware, says the amount of spam on the Internet remains fairly constant, despite the efforts of companies to counter it. Botnets, in which viruses infect computers and allow them to be used to dispatch spam, continue unabated, says Ars Technica, with … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Spam Survives, Where’s Windy, Reduced Voltage, & More”

Daily TIPs: Bad Biofuels, Chatty Hospital Machines, Hot LEDs, A Wind-Loving Oilman, & More

Hospitals Want Machines to Talk to One Another Hospitals are taking on a vast array of new high-tech medical devices, but because the machines can’t interface, an opportunity to improve patient care is being lost. Now, Technology Review tells us, the Medical Device Interoperability Program at Massachusetts General Hospital is looking at ways devices can … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Bad Biofuels, Chatty Hospital Machines, Hot LEDs, A Wind-Loving Oilman, & More”

Daily TIPs: Polluting TVs, Zeppelins Redux, Paging Dr. Bacon, & More

FCC Considers How to Save Birds from Cell Towers No one is quite sure how many migrating birds are killed when they slam into cell phone towers at night, but the number could be in the millions. So five conservation groups attended a mini-conference sponsored by the Federal Communications Commission to urge the FCC to … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Polluting TVs, Zeppelins Redux, Paging Dr. Bacon, & More”

Daily TIPs; Green Car Competition, Questions for Candidates, What You Watched on YouTube, & More

Japan Challenges Detroit on Green Cars General Motors is working hard at putting its electric car, the Volt, on the streets by 2010. But Business Week wonders if Detroit will be able to catch up to Japan’s lead on green cars. Toyota, for instance, is planning to double its sale of hybrids in the early … Continue reading “Daily TIPs; Green Car Competition, Questions for Candidates, What You Watched on YouTube, & More”

Daily TIPs: Wireless Autos, Capturing Carbon, Solar Energy Freeze, & More

Wireless Goes Mobile as Vehicles Tie into the Internet A recent announcement by Chrysler that it will begin installing wireless connections in all Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge models signals that the Web is truly going worldwide, argues the Christian Science Monitor. Meahwhile, several airlines hope to make money by providing wireless access on flights, and … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Wireless Autos, Capturing Carbon, Solar Energy Freeze, & More”

Daily TIPs: Bandwidth Trading, LED Standards, Curbing Cows, & More

Call Out for Next-Generation Web Standards The OpenAjax Alliance, an industry group trying to promote standards for the future of the Internet, is asking its members to vote for their favorite Web features and suggest ways of encouraging their spread. Ars Technica has its own suggestions of “things that need fixing” to secure the Web’s … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Bandwidth Trading, LED Standards, Curbing Cows, & More”

Daily TIPs: Ethanol Policy, Data Security, Mercury Mop-Up, & More

Is Ethanol Policy Counterproductive? Citing a pair of wire stories, Salon asks whether current policies to promote the production of ethanol amount to bad economics. Federal ethanol mandates are driving up the price of corn, which makes it hard to make a profit by selling ethanol. High corn prices have driven about a dozen biofuel … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Ethanol Policy, Data Security, Mercury Mop-Up, & More”

Daily TIPs: Tech Czar, Nanoparticles, Hackers, & More

Who Should Be Obama’s Tech Czar? Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has proposed creating a Cabinet-level position for a chief technology officer. Washingtonian.com finds the idea intriguing, and reviews some of the names being kicked around among techies. Should the czar be Google’s Vint Cerf, Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, or someone else. Foreign … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Tech Czar, Nanoparticles, Hackers, & More”

Daily TIPs: Universal Gigabit, Better Batteries, Kill Switches, & More

Everyone Needs a Gigabit by 2015 The government must take steps to push the availability of broadband Internet access if the U.S. is to remain competitive, a telecom law firm is recommending. The Baller Herbst Law Group, in a report to a North Carolina agency, calls for 100 megabits per second of affordable access for … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Universal Gigabit, Better Batteries, Kill Switches, & More”

Daily TIPS: Tech Policy Poll, Open-Source Healthcare, Tropical Disease, & More

Science Debate Needed, Tech Advisor Says Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama ought to have a debate focusing on science and technology policy, a former White House technology advisor says. Mike Nelson, who worked in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under Bill Clinton, tells Wired‘s Threat Level blog that the … Continue reading “Daily TIPS: Tech Policy Poll, Open-Source Healthcare, Tropical Disease, & More”

Daily TIPs: Policing The Web, Geo-Engineering, Politics Online, & More

Conference Looks at Web’s Effect on Politics A two-day conference in New York this week is looking at the interaction of the Web and the political process, reports Ars Technica. At the Personal Democracy Forum’s confab, researchers presented tools for mapping and modeling the blogosphere. One speaker suggested that online fundraising is not as important … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Policing The Web, Geo-Engineering, Politics Online, & More”

Daily TIPs: Cleantech Boom, Ambulance Efficiency, Plant Fuel for Jets, Oil-Free Nations, & More

Study Finds Scientific Fraud The National Institutes of Health may have to start policing their grants better, after a study found that as many as 1000 incidents of scientific misconduct may go unreported each year. The study, by the NIH’s Office of Research Integrity, surveyed 2,212 scientists who receive NIH grants and found that researchers … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Cleantech Boom, Ambulance Efficiency, Plant Fuel for Jets, Oil-Free Nations, & More”

Daily TIPs: Electric Cars, Just Say No to MPG, Climate Plan for Business, DARPA A-OK, and More

Electrics Cars Coming to America Think, a Norwegian company that makes cars that run only on electricity, has opened a North American division and hopes to start-selling its autos in the U.S. in 2009, Business Week reports. The Think Ox is about the size of a Prius, runs for 125-155 miles per charge on rechargeable … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Electric Cars, Just Say No to MPG, Climate Plan for Business, DARPA A-OK, and More”

Daily TIPs: Texting Privacy, Energy Spending, Electronic Medical Records, DARPA Cutbacks, & More

Court Finds Text Messages Are Private You can now text your BFF to your heart’s content and not worry about somebody reading the transcript, thanks to a federal court ruling. CNET News reports that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the government must get a user’s consent before getting a service provider … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Texting Privacy, Energy Spending, Electronic Medical Records, DARPA Cutbacks, & More”

Daily TIPs: Genomic Testing, Entertainment Tech Growth, Virtual Companies, VoIP 911, & More

Should the Law Limit Gene Tests? Personal genomic testing is all the rage among people seeking to trace their ancestry or identify their risk of certain diseases, but last week the California Department of Public Health sent cease-and-desist letters to 13 gene-testing companies, ordering them to halt the practice because it violates state rules. The … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Genomic Testing, Entertainment Tech Growth, Virtual Companies, VoIP 911, & More”

Ikonisys’s Automated Cell Assay System Could Open the Door to New Diagnostic Tests

Lots of the people I know who went into science and technology journalism did so after spending a year or two working in a lab. Personally, I never experienced what I hear is the tedium of running gels or refilling test tubes. But imagine you’re a lab tech doing medical diagnostics, having to sit in … Continue reading “Ikonisys’s Automated Cell Assay System Could Open the Door to New Diagnostic Tests”

UMass Doles out $240,000 to Turn Research Ideas into Commercial Products

Need a better AIDS drug? Want to turn plants into gasoline without going through that whole millions-of-years-buried-in-the-ground thing? The University of Massachusetts is hoping its researchers have figured out how to achieve such feats, and is awarding them grants to help the research along, possibly create new companies, and bring in licensing revenue to fund … Continue reading “UMass Doles out $240,000 to Turn Research Ideas into Commercial Products”

MIT Spinoff Aims to Make Solar Power Cheaper Than Coal

Solar cells have been around for 30 years, but have never made huge inroads into the energy market because they’ve always been more expensive than other ways of producing electricity. Now an MIT spinoff claims it’s going to make solar power cheaper than coal, not through any dramatic change in the technology but with a … Continue reading “MIT Spinoff Aims to Make Solar Power Cheaper Than Coal”

Nanocomp Wins Air Force Grant to Make Carbon-Nanotube Wiring for Aircraft

You may remember a few weeks back, when Nanocomp Technologies of Concord, NH, announced that it was able to make what it called the world’s largest sheets of carbon nanotubes. Well, it seems like the folks at Slashdot weren’t the only ones intrigued by the technology. The Air Force has awarded the company a Small … Continue reading “Nanocomp Wins Air Force Grant to Make Carbon-Nanotube Wiring for Aircraft”

Allied Minds Aims to Forge Early Alliances with University Researchers

Anybody who reads this blog is familiar with the large number of venture capital companies ready to fund developing businesses, and there always seem to be more climbing aboard in Series B and C rounds as a particular business starts to look more likely to succeed. But one local company, Allied Minds, hopes to make … Continue reading “Allied Minds Aims to Forge Early Alliances with University Researchers”

Highland Capital Partners Leads $12 Million Funding Round for CafeMom

So, yes, I have my Facebook page, my Friendster page, Myspace, LinkedIn, and possibly a couple of others I signed up for and forgot about. One site I’m not on is CafeMom, and the folks there are just fine with that. The social networking site for mothers just received $12 million in funding, on top … Continue reading “Highland Capital Partners Leads $12 Million Funding Round for CafeMom”

EyeGate Pharma Sees a New Way of Delivering Drugs to the Eye

I have had doctors stick needles in my eyes, so trust me when I tell you this: Not Fun. Eyeball injections are sometimes necessary to get drugs into hard-to-reach parts of the eye, but things can go wrong. Touch an eyelash on the way in, for instance, and you could inject bacteria as well; point … Continue reading “EyeGate Pharma Sees a New Way of Delivering Drugs to the Eye”

Febit Aims to Automate Genomics Research

A German company that has come to the Boston area looking for capital and genomics expertise is hoping its technology will help speed up discoveries based on DNA science—leading to new disease treatments and perhaps one day to personalized medicine, in which doctors tailor therapies to a patient’s genetic makeup. Febit, of Heidelberg and Medford, … Continue reading “Febit Aims to Automate Genomics Research”

Web 2.0 Investments Up in 2007 But Likely Close to Peak—New England Second to Silicon Valley

Turn your attention for a moment from the Bear Stearns debacle to the Web 2.0 world, where the news isn’t quite as depressing, but where investment may be peaking, according to a new report by Dow Jones VentureSource. The company bases this assessment on the fact that there was only a 25 percent increase in … Continue reading “Web 2.0 Investments Up in 2007 But Likely Close to Peak—New England Second to Silicon Valley”

Nantero’s Carbon-Nanotube-Based Chips Could Outdo Other Types of Computer Memory

Instant-on computers. Laptops that eat up less battery power. Cell phones that store a selection of movies. Those are the benefits Nantero hopes to bring to consumers by creating a new type of computer memory that combines the speed and density of SRAM and DRAM chips with the permanent storage capacity of flash memory. The … Continue reading “Nantero’s Carbon-Nanotube-Based Chips Could Outdo Other Types of Computer Memory”

Conceived as a Telecom Company, OmniGuide is Now Bringing Laser Scalpels into Endoscopic Surgery

Yoel Fink started off our phone call by apologizing for being late. He’d been tied up, he said, talking to potential investors as he worked on a Series E round of funding for OmniGuide, a medical device company in Cambridge that grew out of his materials science lab at MIT. The company’s raised close to … Continue reading “Conceived as a Telecom Company, OmniGuide is Now Bringing Laser Scalpels into Endoscopic Surgery”

Allegro Diagnostics Raises $4 Million in Series A; Funding Will Support Trials of Lung Cancer Test

A company developing a method for detecting lung cancer earlier, when it’s more treatable, has closed a Series A financing round of $4 million. Allegro Diagnostics, of Boston, raised the money from Kodiak Venture Partners, Catalyst Health Ventures, and Boston University, where the technology was developed. The money will go toward a second clinical study … Continue reading “Allegro Diagnostics Raises $4 Million in Series A; Funding Will Support Trials of Lung Cancer Test”

NoblePeak Collects $12 Million for Night Vision System That Exploits “Nightglow”

A Wakefield, MA, company that’s developed a new type of night-vision chip hopes to break into the security and surveillance market with a higher resolution camera that can see further into the infrared spectrum than current systems—and do it for only a fraction of the price. NoblePeak Vision makes a camera sensor than can see … Continue reading “NoblePeak Collects $12 Million for Night Vision System That Exploits “Nightglow””

A123 Thinks Big about Electric Cars from Norway

Local battery powerhouse A123Systems is delving further into the automotive market, thanks to a three-way deal involving itself, Norwegian electric car company Think, and General Electric. A123 has signed a deal to put its lithium-ion rechargeable batteries into Think’s vehicles. Think is making an electric car, the City, that has a top speed of 60 … Continue reading “A123 Thinks Big about Electric Cars from Norway”

Boston Companies Grab Headlines at Game Developers Conference

The Game Developers Conference 2008 attracted video game designers from all over the world to San Francisco this past week to discuss the business and technology of gaming—and no doubt to revel in a few days of pure, Klingon-speaking geekiness. Boston-area game developers were well represented, both among the nominees for top games of 2007 … Continue reading “Boston Companies Grab Headlines at Game Developers Conference”

New Hampshire Startup Makes World’s Largest Sheets of Carbon Nanotubes

Ever since scientists first figured out how to make carbon nanotubes—tiny cylinders of carbon with diameters of a few tens of nanometers—they’ve been touted as the material of the future: as strong as steel but far lighter, with the ability to conduct electricity in useful ways. The problem is that because they’re so small, it’s … Continue reading “New Hampshire Startup Makes World’s Largest Sheets of Carbon Nanotubes”

Luminus Deal Brightens Future for LED Lighting

If you’re not crazy about the compact fluorescent lights being touted as the future of home lighting, but you want something more environmentally conscious than Thomas Edison’s old incandescent bulb, Luminus Devices of Billerica, MA, may soon have just the thing for you. Luminus makes very bright LEDs, and has been doing a nice business … Continue reading “Luminus Deal Brightens Future for LED Lighting”

Methuen Company’s Motors Power MRI Surgery Robot

Combine the folks who brought you the giant robot arm on the space shuttle with a company that makes miniature ceramic motors and what do you get? A brain surgery robot that works inside an MRI machine, of course. Researchers at the University of Calgary in Alberta, with help from MacDonald, Dettwiler, and Associates (MDA), … Continue reading “Methuen Company’s Motors Power MRI Surgery Robot”

Startup Profile: Harvard Patents in Hand, Nano-Terra is Driving Industrial Applications of Nanotech

Nano-Terra, a start-up founded by legendary Harvard chemistry professor George Whitesides, might be dealing on the small scale, working with materials measured in nanometers and microns, but the company is imagining a big future. That’s not surprising, given that Whitesides has founded a number of successful companies, notably Genzyme, the biotech giant now worth more … Continue reading “Startup Profile: Harvard Patents in Hand, Nano-Terra is Driving Industrial Applications of Nanotech”