Low-cost coating would disrupt the building retrofit market and potentially save billions in electricity.
It’s estimated that 10 percent of all the energy used in buildings in the U.S. can be attributed to window performance, costing building owners about $50 billion annually, yet the high cost of replacing windows or retrofitting them with an energy efficient coating is a major deterrent. U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) researchers are seeking to address this problem with creative chemistry—a polymer heat-reflective coating that can be painted on at one-tenth the cost.(more…)
White House Applauds Citizen Science, Big Data Initiative
CAMBRIDGE, MA – 24 Jun 2013: The search for more versatile and less expensive materials for solar energy received a boost today as Harvard launched a free database that catalogues the suitability of 2.3 million organic, carbon compounds for converting sunlight into electricity.
Harvard’s Clean Energy project — which screened the molecules using World Community Grid, an IBM-managed virtual supercomputer that harnesses the surplus computer power donated by volunteers — is believed to be the most extensive investigation of quantum chemicals ever performed. (more…)
New software and services enable businesses to create and enhance mobile strategies
ARMONK, N.Y. – 09 Nov 2012: IBM today unveiled a suite of new software and services that enables global organizations to build a comprehensive mobile computing strategy – from securing and managing devices, to creating mobile applications and analyzing data. These new offerings are part of a move by IBM to capitalize on the growing market opportunity for mobile that is expected to drive $130B in revenue for the IT industry by 2015, according to a recent study.[i]
As organizations increasingly view mobile computing as the next platform to conduct business, the market is evolving beyond just the device. Business leaders including the chief information officers (CIOs) and increasingly chief marketing officers (CMOs) of global organizations such as airlines, retailers, governments and healthcare providers are among the businesses turning to IBM to ensure mobile services and solutions are readily available to constituents and in full compliance with IT strategies. They need solutions that can be applied across any mobile environment and device — whether a laptop, smartphone or tablet — and can provide an underlying IT infrastructure that is always available, secure, effectively manages data, and integrates both front and back-end systems. (more…)
Young technologists are looking to take the world by storm this weekend at the Imagine Cup 2012 Worldwide Finals in Sydney, Australia.
SYDNEY – Wrapped in the flags of their countries, the competitors climb onto the podium, beaming with joy as the cameras flash. They are young, passionate, business-savvy ambassadors of their field.
These aren’t soccer players or high jumpers, but they are no less competitors than the athletes seeking gold medals at the 2012 Summer Games in London. They are the planet’s premiere young technologists. And, to slightly alter an infamous movie line, they’ve come to change the world and chew bubblegum – and they’re all out of bubblegum. (more…)
Microsoft-made hardware to be available starting with release of Windows 8 and Windows RT.
LOS ANGELES — June 18, 2012 — Today at an event in Hollywood, Microsoft unveiled Surface: PCs built to be the ultimate stage for Windows. Company executives showed two Windows tablets and accessories that feature significant advances in industrial design and attention to detail. Surface is designed to seamlessly transition between consumption and creation, without compromise. It delivers the power of amazing software with Windows and the feel of premium hardware in one exciting experience.
Advances in Industrial Design
Conceived, designed and engineered entirely by Microsoft employees, and building on the company’s 30-year history manufacturing hardware, Surface represents a unique vision for the seamless expression of entertainment and creativity. Extensive investment in industrial design and real user experience includes the following highlights: (more…)
A North Carolina State University invention has significant potential to improve the efficiency of solar cells and other technologies that derive energy from light.
Dr. Ahmed El-Shafei’s research group invented a new “sensitizer,” or dye, that harvests more ambient and solar light than any dyes currently on the market for use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). (more…)
*Windows and Southwest Airlines team up to offer free holiday photos at select airports and shopping malls across the country.*
REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 12, 2011 — The holiday rush can be overwhelming. With shopping, traveling and holiday parties galore, people run around like crazy and still don’t have enough time to do everything they’d like with friends and family.
But with a little help from Santa, Windows and Southwest Airlines are hoping to relieve that stress and bring families some holiday cheer this season. With A Picture Perfect Holiday, Microsoft and Southwest Airlines are partnering to offer free holiday photos in convenient locations for the second year in a row. (more…)
*Every day more than half a million people visit Microsoft Answers to get their burning Microsoft product questions answered. The company’s recently refreshed question-and-answer forum brings together consumers, experts and technical enthusiasts into a single online community.*
REDMOND, Wash. – April 4, 2011 – Ever since he retired in 2005, Ronnie Vernon’s time has been his own. The former heavy equipment instructor gets to spend his days doing exactly what he likes to do. So each morning he fires up his computer, heads to the Microsoft Answers site, and settles in for a long day answering questions about Windows.
Vernon can’t quite explain why he spends up to 12 hours a day offering strangers tech support. “Over the years I’ve tried to figure out why people do what they do with volunteering, but I never came up with a good explanation,” said Vernon, a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) community leader recognized by Microsoft for actively sharing his real world technical expertise with consumers. “Basically, you have some knowledge, you see some people who have problems, and you just like to help.” (more…)
