Thoughts

Microreactor for biodiesel production

From Gizmag: “April 21, 2006 — Another wondrous enabling technology has been announced – a microreactor, about half the size of a credit card that produces biodiesel by combining alcohol and vegetable oil directly, greatly speeding and simplifying production compared to traditional methods. By stacking many of these microreactors in parallel, a device the size of a small suitcase could produce hundreds of thousands of gallons per year of biodiesel — enough to power several farms. The device could significantly reduce farmer dependence on mass-produced petroleum. ‘This is all about producing energy in such a way that it liberates people,’ said inventor and OSU Professor Goran Jovanovic. ‘Most people think large-scale, central production of energy is cheaper, because we’ve been raised with that paradigm. But distributed energy production means you can use local resources – farmers can produce all the energy they need from what they grow on their own farms.’ Jovanovic is seeking to partner in order to commercialize the technology…” Here is the link.

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Mozes: secure your keyword

From TechCrunch:

“Mozes is a Palo Alto based startup founded by Dorrian Porter that is tapping into the U.S. SMS (phone text) market.

It allows you to do all sorts of things via sms. Hear a song on the radio that you like and want to bookmark? Text the radio station (ie, KROQ) to 66937 (which translates to “Mozes”). Mozes will note the time and station name and bookmark the song title in your Mozes page (and sms you the song information). Meet someone who has a Mozes keyword? SMS their Mozes keyword to 66937 and store whatever personal information they’ve elected to share. And online advertisers can use a Mozes keyword to give you more information on the product…”

This promises to be pretty cool! Here is the link.

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Google Calendar is live!

Google Calendar has officially launched, and TechCrunch has a nice review. Just used it myself, it really is fast, like Gmail. Nice sharing features, ability to have private/public calendar, good stuff! See link for details.

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clearTXT: text messaging for online learning systems

clearTXT is a really cool product that works in conjunction with online learning systems like Blackboard, or by itself, and allows for permission-based text messaging to those who want to get up to date information right away on their cellphones. I’ve used it in conjunction with Blackboard, and it’s a great product! The sign-up is easy: students pick their mobile provider, enter their number, choose what level of messages they want to receive (announcements, course-level alerts/news, special vendor offers/coupons) and they’re done!

For Schools: clearTXT delivers important school and class information such as announcements, schedule changes, emergency alerts, campus news, and grades directly to student and instructor cell phones and email addresses. Plus, schools can generate revenue from messages by striking ad deals with local vendors.

For Marketers: when working together with schools, can send marketing information, coupons, and discounts to college students interested in their products and services for just pennies per message.

For Government Agencies: allows people to select the types of information they want from a particular agency and have it delivered right to their mobile phones.

They’ve even got a completely free product called alphaTXT, that enables schools to deliver time-sensitive notifications, emergency alerts, and other important information directly to the mobile phones of teachers and students.

Cool stuff!

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Wireless PC Lock

This USB Wireless PC Lock from Think Geek is pretty innovative. It’s made of two pieces, a USB dongle which attaches to your PC and a battery-powered keychain transmitter. As soon as the transmitter is more than 2 meters away from the PC, the PC is automatically locked. Once you get back within 2 meters, it’s unlocked. Available at Think Geek for $29.99.

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