Starting late next week, early iPhone 4 owners can go to Apple’s website to sign up for a free case. Since the company cannot make enough of its $29 “Bumper” cases, it will allow users to choose from a selection of different case styles.

Ever since the latest iPhone model’s release in the US three weeks ago, many users have complained that they would lose their wireless network coverage when they happen to cover a certain spot on the smartphone with their bare hand. Critics say this is due to a faulty antenna. While the company denied the iPhone 4 has an antenna problem that needs fixing and attributed the problem to a software glitch, Steve Jobs apologized to the people who are less than satisfied with their new phones.

Apple Inc. is a company known for its high regard for customer satisfaction. It has been shown that having a protective case can effectively prevent the occurrence of any reception problems. The company will also release a software update that will allow the device to more accurately display signal strength in an area. In addition, if users are still not happy with their iPhone, they can bring it back and receive a full refund within the next 30 days. There will be no restocking fee.

In a time like this, what stands out most is that the company is taking excellent steps to resolve its issues. For a giant such as Apple to act fast and provide immediate solutions, Steve Jobs and his company are worthy of praise.

So far, in various studies, robots have been able to teach children a variety of things. At the University of Southern California, a robot has been programmed to mimic its playmate’s behavior and teach him how to respond by maintaining eye contact when it notices the child withdrawing. At a day care center in Japan, researchers have proven this mimicry to be a very effective way to get even very fearful children with autism to respond and become engaged.

Marek Michalowski of Carnegie Mellon University points out how it is possible to help children open up with simple synchronous behavior. He also adds that once the child does open up, it becomes possible to teach them other social behaviors through this interaction such as making eye contact, joint attention, turn taking and other things that children may have difficulty learning.

Although it takes very precise programming to make this happen, as delayed responses from the robot would throw off the interaction, this mimicry builds trust and sociability in children. In time, simple imitation turns into interaction and eventually into learning.

The potential for this technology is beneficial for both robotics and child psychology. Researchers specializing in child psychology stand to learn much as well, taking note of what makes these robots effective teachers for young children, especially for those with difficulty learning. The benefits of this research, then, are two-fold. Together, the fields of study can revolutionize the way that children learn.

Chen suggests that single-screen interfaces like the one on the iPad and the Google Android OS allow for a deeper and more natural way of learning. Although there have not yet been studies done specifically on the iPad yet, Chen refers to the research done by Muhammet Demirbilek on the effects of computer interfaces on learning.

In 2004, Demirbilek, an assistant professor of educational technology at Suleyman Demirel University, conducted an experiment at the University of Florida that compared a tiled-windows interface, and an overlapping-windows interface.

He was able to conclude that “Students using the tiled-windows interface were able to learn considerably better than those working with overlapping windows.” They were, “able to find specific information more easily and engage with it more deeply.”

From here, Chen and Demirbliek both inferred that iPad-style user interfaces can help to improve orientation and learning. Soon, other tablets and mobile devices will catch on to the trend of single-screen user interfaces and, in turn, web developers will design more websites that cater to this style of browsing, which is less cluttered, uses bigger icons, and is more focused on the information being provided.

Although I don’t think the iPad can yet be considered as a laptop killer, it does provide a completely different experience for interacting with information on the Internet. I would compare it to an image-based ad versus a copy-heavy ad. They both ultimately have the same goal but each serves a different purpose. One is more focused while the other gives a more comprehensive view.

“There has been no delay with the project, which is running on schedule, and no recent issues have emerged that affect its delivery,” a spokesman for the Department of Education said. Fewer than 30 of the estimated 2400 schools and Technical and Further Education sites left to be connected to the network.

The project will be a good complement to the $158m Connected Classrooms program, which is part of the Building the Educational Revolution (BER). BER is a national program sanctioned by the Australian government and administered by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations that is projected to cost AUD16.1 billion. BER is part of an economic stimulus package meant to address the recent financial crisis, which largely entails the refurbishing of school facilities and the funding of other environmental programs.

According to The Australian, NSW is already experimenting with virtual classrooms with students in the state’s central and western regions. NSW Education is also looking into other interactive learning methods involving electronic whiteboards and video-conferencing, a technology that Telstra will get to showcase as a part of the Connected Classrooms program. Even blogging is being considered as a potential tool for online collaboration that could be capitalized upon thanks to the new fiber optic network.

In the larger scheme of things, Telstra also agreed to decommission its old copper and HFC broadband networks and transfer all customers to the National Broadband Network for AUD11 billion.

The improvement of infrastructure is usually the solution in dealing with problems that plague the entire nation, even as a part of a global economic slowdown. I think this was a smart move by the Australian government, and now that the world is in recovery, they have only to reap the benefits.

Adding to locations in Japan and Israel that are also developing or experimenting with charging stations, Berlin-Adlershof has recently been upgraded with a Yana Docking station, currently the world’s largest stand-alone solar charging station, where all kinds of EVs can be charged.

The station features a biaxial photovoltaic generator, which follows the direction of light coming from the sun and is able to generate up to 40 percent more electricity as a result. When the sun is not being cooperative, or at night, the power comes from a long-life vanadium redox flow battery. The battery stores 100 kWh, provides 10 kW, and allows for up to eight EVs to be charged at the same time.

Berlin-Adlershof, known as the “City of Science, Technology and Media,” is the home of Younicos AG. The area has been under heavy development for almost 20 years. It is now home to the Centre for Information and Media Technology, the Centre for Environmental, Bio and Energy Technology, and the Centre for Materials and Microsystems Technology, among others.

Now that the problems of affordability and speed have been resolved, relative mobility seems to be the only thing that’s keeping the EV from spreading like wildfire. This also creates a CO2 free solution for charging EVs. With recharging stations like these, EV doubters may run out of things to complain about and we can finally do what Younicos AG’s motto says and “Let the fossils Rest in Peace.”

A program by Tel Aviv-based Soluto targets a widespread source of frustration – computer boot-up time – and earned a TechCrunch Disrupt award in the process. “We are working to solve one of the biggest problems in modern life – the frustration users feel every time they switch on their PC and wait for it to load,” shares Soluto Chief Product Officer Roee Adler. “And when you’re talking about 1.5 billion people, you can appreciate and understand how we won TechCrunch.”

Representing the firm’s lead product, Soluto’s program is a software download that examines a PC’s boot problems and suggests ways to make the boot-up process work more smoothly. Adler elaborates, “Our software analyzes the interactivity between applications and processes, delving deep into the Windows kernel, and informs you of what’s going on behind the scenes. You can determine which processes or applications are slowing you down, and take the appropriate action.”

The results are highly encouraging – informal tests show that Soluto’s software may be able to cut boot time by as much as half of the norm.

Soluto was founded in 2007, and to date has about $8 million in financing from investors like Proxima Investments, Giza Venture Capital and Bessemer Investments, among others. It is, however, interesting to note that the company won over some very strong competitors. This illustrates just how high the need for something like Soluto’s program really is.

At the end of it all, technology is meant to improve peoples’ quality of life. Annoyance at boot times that may reach a minute or more is definitely not a boon that technology brings. Soluto’s award-winning program once again shows that if a startup thinks out of the box and looks at issues at ground level, success is practically sure to follow.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about Startups.

This desalination plant, operating in the northern city of Hadera, is being celebrated as the largest reverse osmosis facility of its kind in the world. The plant was built by Israeli company IDE Technologies, and joins two other desalination plants on the country’s Mediterranean coastline.

The Hadera plant was built with assistance from the Housing and Construction Group, a real estate development company owned by the Arison Group. It costs around half a billion dollars, and is slated to produce approximately 127 million cubic meters of water a year – an amount seen to meet the needs of one in every six Israelis. And lest anyone think that IDE lacks experience in making water desalination facilities that work, the company has already built around 400 such plants in 40 countries to date, with processes and mechanisms that are proprietary and can truly be considered revolutionary.

The methods used by IDE for desalination involve the removal of salt from seawater using Reverse Osmosis (RO). This is one of the two main ways to desalinate water, the other being electrodialysis. In the case of RO, a water-permeable membrane separates the water from salt and other mineral compounds when placed under high pressure.

The Israeli government is also playing a big part in this push for a more stable water supply. The Hadera plant will join similar structures in Ashkelon and Palmahim in producing water priced at a little over 50 cents per cubic meter, according to a 25-year deal.

While different environmental groups vary on their stands on water desalination, the fact of the matter is that it offers cheap and clean drinking water for millions of Israelis, with a lower ecological impact than that inflicted by over-draining rivers and lakes. From the perspective of improving people’s quality of life, this is a completely winning situation.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about Israel.

A new Israeli company called Linum Systems has come up with ways to both cool and heat the home using traditional methods, combined with new technology. Linum, which was founded in 2009 by entrepreneurs Yuval Berson and Amir Hirshfeld, holds the patent for a solar cooling technology that will hit the commercial market in 2012.
As the term implies, solar cooling uses the sun to power air conditioners. The system, which will use a solar thermal collector, as opposed to photovoltaic cells, has yet to have a prototype out, but representatives from Linum Systems say that it could yield a return on investment (ROI) in a 3,000 square foot home in Texas or Arizona, for example, within three years.

One other major effect is that it will relieve power companies of much of the strain that they experience during peak temperatures in the summer. More than half of the electricity used in an average American home goes to heating and cooling. “In California as much as a recent 30 or 40% rise in electricity use is solely air conditioning oriented, and it’s a major issue for utilities to solve,” says Berson. The blackouts caused by such surges in power usage can cripple local economies and cause expensive damage to the power grid.

The climate control system developed by Linum will cater to houses ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 square feet. The consumer would decide how many solar thermal collectors to install. In an optimum setting, the company says its air conditioner can cut the cooling, heating and water-heating electricity bills by as much as 85%.

This Linum Systems is definitely one company to keep an eye on. It has already been identified by the non-profit California Israel Chamber of Commerce as one of the top companies from Israel worth meeting.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about Israel.

Volunteering in remote places around the world is mutually beneficial for these organizations and their volunteers. On one hand, the organizations are able to receive much needed extra pairs of hands for free while volunteers actually get to see where their donations go, and get a unique view of a foreign city or countryside in the process.

First-timers will often enlist the help of an organization like Friends of Asia or Volunteer in Africa (volunteerinafrica.org) in order to ensure their safety and to learn more about what they’re getting into before taking the plunge. Others will go directly to the hospitals, refugee camps, fishing villages and other places that they want to volunteer for, in order to cut out the middle man, and to find more unique experiences. In this case, however, it’s always best to contact and coordinate with the community or organization in advance.

Whatever the case, people needed to understand that volunteers did not get special treatment, says Catherine Riley-Bryan, a nurse and teacher, who runs a school in Thailand. People need to immerse themselves in the day-to-day lives of the people that they’ll be staying with.

Volunteers can’t expect to do good work on their terms alone. Instead, they may need to go to bed at 6pm and wake up at 5am every day, become vegetarians for the duration of their stay, and work for seven days a week. But in the end, the sacrifices are bound to be rewarding.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about Philanthropy.

This new laser technology actually works opposite from the way that most traditional lasers work. Instead of shooting beams of light, it shoots beams of “night” or darkness. The new laser, which creates “dark pulses,” was created by scientists at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology and JILA, a joint institute of NIST and the University of Colorado.

The logic behind the new technology is that light degrades and fades over great distances. In fiber optics, light even bleeds together. This creates noise and errors that could be avoided using dark pulses instead.

The lasers being used for fiber optics today are ones that pulse, oscillating between and on and off stage. Though the light never really turns off, its intensity is greatly reduced by around 70 percent during the “off” stage. In other words, the pulse laser works with low light intensities, with the occasional brilliant pulses of high intensity light.

The new laser works exactly opposite of light pulse lasers with occasional bursts of dark pulses. These dark pulses last for only about a nanosecond each. Dark pulses don’t fade, degrade or bleed nearly as much as traditional light pulses do, and this causes less noise and fewer errors. The dark pulses have also been found to transmit signals faster and with less noise than light pulses through certain fiber optic cables.

However, developers and investors in fiber optic technology are not likely going to abandon the extensive research, infrastructure and development that are already in place for traditional laser optics. The world will have to wait a little longer to take advantage of this technology.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about Technology.