Author Archives: Guest Post

Cloud Computing: Making Rain From Blue-Sky Thinking

By Guest PostMarch 4, 2011Technologyalgorithms, businessweek, city of miami, cloud computing, cloud portfolio, computer desktop, computing power, economic gains, federal agencies, garbage collection, it management, james osteen, jim graham, Microsoft, microsoft cloud solutions, minnesota 3m, software code, terry collier, tim o’brien, vas, visual attention service, windows azure

*Microsoft cloud solutions help customers cut costs, generate new revenue streams and provide added services to end users*

REDMOND, Wash. — March 3, 2011 — This week’s edition of Businessweek includes a story about the shift taking place in the development and deployment of applications and services by using cloud computing to cut costs, streamline IT management and respond more quickly to changes in end-user demand. Microsoft is cited as one of the companies taking the lead in this area and in moving organizations from their existing operations and services to the cloud and taking advantage of increased efficiency and new opportunities along the way.

To be sure, the economic gains that are possible through cloud computing are significant – one customer saw a reduction in IT management costs by three-quarters, in part from moving to Windows Azure. But cloud computing has the potential to expand beyond the realm of budget line items to that of lines of software code, creating new tools and services that lead to new computing experiences, expanded business opportunities, better services for customers, and, ultimately, new jobs and economic growth. (more…)

Emerging Auto Insurance and Aggregator Sites Attracting Meaningful Share of Online Auto Insurance Market

By Guest PostMarch 4, 20112 commentsTechnologyall web leads, american family, amica, Comscore, farmers, geico, insurance policies, mercury insurance, online auto insurance benchmarker, online market, susan kleinman, usaa, usinsuranceonline

*comScore Releases Expanded Online Auto Insurance Benchmarker Covering More Insurers and Aggregator Sites*

RESTON, VA, March 4, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today announced the availability of an expanded competitive set of insurers and aggregator sites for its online auto insurance benchmarker. In Q4 2010, these additional sites accounted for 724,000 submitted quotes, making up 8 percent of quotes submitted online.

“The online auto insurance market has been dominated by only a handful of insurers over the past few years, with GEICO and Progressive comprising over 50 percent of all quotes submitted online,” said comScore director Susan Kleinman. “But as more consumers look to the Internet to shop for insurance policies, there is an opportunity for more insurers to break into the online market.” (more…)

Earth’s Sixth Mass Extinction: Is It Almost Here?

By Guest PostMarch 4, 2011Environment, Scienceanimal species, anthony barnosky, big five, biodiversity, biodiversity baseline, disease, earth, extinction, extinction rate for mammals, fossil record, global warming, habitat fragmentation, hazard of climate change, human activities, invasive species, mammals, mass extinction, richard lane, road to extinction, species, storm of threats

*Steep decline of many animal species warns that Earth is on the brink*

With the steep decline in populations of many animal species, scientists have warned that Earth is on the brink of a mass extinction like those that have occurred just five times during the past 540 million years.

Each of these “Big Five” saw three-quarters or more of all animal species go extinct.

In results of a study published in this week’s issue of journal Nature, researchers report on an assessment of where mammals and other species stand today in terms of possible extinction compared with the past 540 million years.

They find cause for hope–and alarm. (more…)

For Alcoholics, New Help in Abstaining—Without Thinking About It

By Guest PostMarch 4, 2011Health, Scienceaddiction, alcoholism, approach bias, carolin eberl, cbm, cognitive behavior therapy, cognitive bias modification, drinking, dutch, german, heavy drinkers, johannes lindenmeyer, mike rinck, psychological scientists, reinout wiers, should i take a drink, strongly confident

Alcoholism is a tough addiction to kick. Eventually, most people return to drinking. But some Dutch and German psychological scientists have tested a short-term regime that promises to help alcoholics stay sober. Their study is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association of Psychological Science.

Heavy drinkers tend to behave impulsively in response to temptation. Meanwhile, their “reflective,” or controlled, responses—the thoughts that would help them resist drinking—are often weak. Most therapies, including Cognitive Behavior Therapy, primarily address the reflective responses. “They deal with the reasons and strategies” for sobriety, said University of Amsterdam experimental psychologist Reinout W. Wiers, the study’s lead author. To boost treatment success, his team developed cognitive-bias modification, or CBM, which, for the first time, “tries to turn around those impulsive responses.” (more…)

Online Banking on the Rise in Southeast Asia

By Guest PostMarch 4, 2011Technologybank mandiri, citigroup, Comscore, Europe, global banking brands, hong kong, internet growth, joe nguyen, malaysia, North America, southeast asia, vietcombank, Vietnam

*Brands with Strong Local Presence Top List as Most-Visited Online Banking Destinations*

*comScore Presents ‘The State of the Internet Southeast Asia’ *

Singapore, March 4, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the latest results from a study of Internet usage in Southeast Asia. The report found that an increasing number of consumers across the region turned to online banking throughout 2010. In each of the six markets included in the study (Malaysia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines), visitation to the online banking category grew by double-digits percentages, outpacing overall Internet growth by a factor of two in most cases. These results will be presented along with other key online trends via a complimentary, live webinar The State of the Internet Southeast Asia on Wednesday, March 9. For more information and to register, please visit: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/302171344 (more…)

UF Pine lsland Pollen Study Leads to Revision of State’s Ancient Geography

By Guest PostMarch 3, 2011Scienceavon park formation, calusa indian village, david jarzen, deep injection well, early eocene, evolution of mammals, florida, flowering plants, fort myers, fossils, fredrick rich, geologic history, gray lignitic clay, jonathan bloch, limestone, marine environments, oligocene epoch, paleontologist, phytoplankton, pine island, pollen, sea level

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A new University of Florida study of 45-million-year-old pollen from Pine Island west of Fort Myers has led to a new understanding of the state’s geologic history, showing Florida could be 10 million to 15 million years older than previously believed.

The discovery of land in Florida during the early Eocene opens the possibility for researchers to explore the existence of land animals at that time, including their adaptation, evolution and dispersal until the present. (more…)

Century Payments Chooses Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Over Salesforce.com

By Guest PostMarch 3, 2011Technology500 fastest growing companies, automation enabled forms, built in feature, century payments, electronic payments, Microsoft, microsoft dynamics, microsoft dynamics crm, scott harlow, workflows

*Company saves more than $300,000 and increases overall productivity*

REDMOND, Wash. — March 3, 2011 — Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq “MSFT”) today highlighted how Century Payments Inc., an emerging leader in the electronic payments industry and recently ranked 11th on the Inc. 500 Fastest-Growing Companies list, has saved more than $300,000 and counting since switching from Salesforce.com to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online in 2009. Century Payments also helped increase end-user adoption and overall company productivity as a result of the switch.

“Given our exponential growth, we needed a solution flexible enough to both provide immediate short-term results and adapt to our growing business needs without the high licensing or development costs,” said Scott Harlow, vice president of information technologies and security at Century Payments. “We got that with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. We now have the freedom to change aspects of our solution quickly and on the fly, without the added time and expense of external developers and resources.” (more…)

Drier Conditions Projected to Accelerate Dust Storms in the Southwest

By Guest PostMarch 3, 2011Environmentagricultural productivity, arches, arid landscapes, biological soil crusts, canyonlands national parks, climate change, cyanobacteria, drier conditions, drought conditions, dust storm, grasslands, magnitude of runoff, perennial vegetation cover, rates of dust emission, sediment transport, semiarid and arid environments, seth munson, shrublands, southeastern utah, southwest, wind erosion

MOAB, Utah — Drier conditions projected to result from climate change in the Southwest will likely reduce perennial vegetation cover and result in increased dust storm activity in the future, according to a new study by scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of California, Los Angeles.

The research team examined climate, vegetation and soil measurements collected over a 20-year period in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in southeastern Utah. Long-term data indicated that perennial vegetation in grasslands and some shrublands declined with temperature increases. The study then used these soil and vegetation measurements in a model to project future wind erosion. (more…)