80 percent of today’s personal computers are branded with an Intel processor. However, despite its rapidly growing popularity, the company opted to stay away from mobile technology. One reason is that Intel has focused too much on the creation of powerful chips, which while effective on PCs, tend to drain batteries quickly – something smart phone makers and their consumers have little use for.

With the purchase of Infineon Technologies’ mobile chip division, Intel can finally join the mobile technology bandwagon without a hitch. The technology gained through the deal would be incorporated in Intel Core processor-based laptops, as well as Intel Aton processor-based devices such as smart phones, netbooks and tablets. With Infineon Technologies, Intel stands to become the fifth biggest suppliers of mobile phone processors.

Intel plans to further expand its influence within the mobile market by purchasing more established enterprises. It had already bought mobile software maker, Wind River Systems last summer for $884 million. Its first project is the development of Mobin software, an open-source program designed to run on mobile devices that use Intel chips.

With the rising popularity of mobile technologies comes the looming threat of mobile hackers. Intel is already thinking ahead, as it also plans to purchase anti-virus software company McAfee. With this acquisition, Intel would be able to integrate security with its chips.

Intel used to have a division that created chips for smart phones, but it was sold off several years ago to cut costs and redirect efforts toward its core business. Now that Internet use on mobile phones has boomed, and with so many companies already lunging at the opportunities it has opened up, it is high time that Intel catch up.

Buckyballs are carbon molecules known for their distinct soccer ball shape. According to astronomer Jan Cami, the fullerenes are the largest molecules to be observed in space. The discovery has roused a lot of excitement among researchers as the substance possesses unique properties that may shed more light on the physical and chemical processes going on in space. In particular, the existence of this substance in space may explain the occurrence of diffuse interstellar bonds, chemical signatures first observed by researchers in 1922.

Fullerenes (C60 and C70) are the third form of carbon after graphite and diamond. Their spherical, soccer ball-like structures make them incredibly stable, making them highly suited to survive the harsh conditions of planetary nebulae. Many scientists have tried to search for their existence in outer space to no avail, until July of this year.

Cami and his team were not even looking for buckyballs when they found them last month. They were simply observing a planetary nebula named Tc 1, which, at the time, was acting in a very interesting manner. Planetary nebulas are the remnants of stars, like the sun, consisting of glowing clouds of ionized gas and dust shed during the star’s later years. The fullerenes were found in these clouds, creating vibrations that either absorb or generate infrared light. It was by chance that the telescope was able to detect the distinct spectral signatures emanated by the vibrating carbon molecules. A century from now, the buckyballs might be too cool to be detected.

The discovery of fullerenes in space raises the potential for the existence of other elements or chemical reactions, hitherto unobserved. The discovery and exploration of such materials could lead to technological discoveries with immeasurable new applications in various industries that are constantly looking for the latest development.

The news couldn’t have been timelier as, over the last weekend, Rome celebrated the 400th anniversary of Caravaggio’s death. Attributed as one of the forefathers of the Baroque school of painting, only 80 of his works have supposedly survived into the 21st century. News of discovering a lost Caravaggio painting is hardly far-fetched. During his lifetime, he was well sought after for his distinctly emotive style of painting. It was a notorious reputation and lack of an established workshop for protégées that caused his legacy to wane almost immediately after his death. It was only in the 20th century that his significance in the development of Western art was rediscovered.

The newly discovered painting, entitled ‘The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence,’ was recently found among the possessions of the Jesuits in Rome. It depicts an almost naked man leaning over flames, one hand stretched out and carrying an expression of apparent desperation.

Further analyses and in-depth, critical examination are still needed to verify the authenticity of the artwork. What is certain, however, is that the painting is stylistically impeccable. It appears to have all the characteristics of a Caravaggio painting, including stark contrasts and dramatic lighting effects.

Earlier this year, Italy started marking the artist’s anniversary with a variety of events. This weekend, several churches and an art gallery were kept open all night to showcase some of Caravaggio’s greatest masterpieces. Major art exhibitions have also been held to honor the influential artist. The kick-off event, which was held at the Scuderie Del Quirinale in Rome, drew more than half a million people from around the world to view his paintings.

This is an extremely important discovery for Italian art. It’s almost giving new life to an artist who is long gone. The crowd that it attracted just goes to show that great art and their artists can achieve a timeless appeal.

Consider the fact that monsoons in India usually bring about sudden and unpredictable floods, which cause damage to countless homes, commercial establishments, motor vehicles and public property. Remember also that flooding often results in spread of diseases like cholera and typhoid fever and you may wonder why citizens of Kerala cheered at the sight of heavy rains in late May.

These rains marked the end of a year-long drought – the worst one since 1972.

Had the rain not arrived, CNN reported that commercial establishments were threatening to raise the prices of commodities dependent on crops of wheat, rice and other grains. India is already experiencing an inflation rate of up to 18 percent for such commodities.

For now, it looks like weather forecasts are promising, but India’s trade ministry had already begun to consider opening up their markets to big box retailers like Wal-Mart as a contingency if crops don’t begin to grow soon. Such retailers are quick to point out that they would be able to lower prices on commodities using their vast distribution networks, but India has traditionally been protective of its retail sector.

I’m hopeful that the rains will continue to irrigate the crops in India. At the same, this provides an excellent opportunity for people in the country to learn from their experience, and be better prepared for the year to come. India has made leaps and bounds in other industries such as renewable energy and waste disposal, and they have the capacity to overcome the adversity that comes with drought.

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.

A one-year demonstration and validation program will be conducted by the USPS in Washington, DC. The design, chosen from among a small group of bidders, will be based on the Grumman Long Life Vehicle (LLV), which was designed for and is currently being used by the US Postal Service and Canada Post. The vehicle was also sold to Mexico and many other countries for delivery purposes. Success in Washington could mean electrification of the 178,000-strong LLV segment of the postal delivery fleet, and could set the trend for other delivery services throughout the world.

The original lifespan of the vehicle, which first began service in 1987, was specified by the US Postal Service as 24 years. In 2009, this became 30 years, which makes now an ideal time to start replacing the vehicles without having the classic models go to waste.

Quantum will integrate its Quantum Quiet high efficiency battery electric drive system into a Grumman LLV, which is currently produced by Grumman. The chassis of this vehicle is in turn made by General Motors. The Quiet electric drive system will incorporate advanced features to maximize the efficiency of the electric drive system while operating as a typical postal delivery vehicle should, with 500-700 stops per day.

Since the LLV will be produced locally, its widespread use will not only help lower emissions of greenhouse gases throughout the country, but it will also support the local electric vehicle industry.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about clean energy.

Doctor and author Michael Crichton is best known for his fictional novels, many of which have been turned into blockbuster hits like Jurassic Park and Congo. He also wrote a novel and screenplay that was eventually adapted for television in the popular series ER, which had tied with Cheers (1982) for being the most Emmy-nominated show ever with 117 nominations, in 2007.

Crichton began accumulating his little known post-war contemporary art collection in the 1970s when he moved to Los Angeles to direct movies. According to Ken Tyler, who founded the print shop Gemini G.E.L. and worked with artists like Lichtenstein, Rauschenberg and Johns, Crichton and the aforementioned painters had something in common: A fascination with the way things work.

Crichton befriended the artists whose works he purchased. He often dropped by the Gemini G.E.L. print shop while the artists were there. Michael Crichton and Jasper Johns got along particularly well. Johns had been famous for his pop-art American flag paintings, the most famous of which Crichton bought and placed in his bedroom in Beverly Hills. It was last shown to the public 18 years ago when it was lent for an exhibition in London.

The author often hired art handlers to move the pieces to different parts of his house. They say he moved them around to keep them fresh in his mind.

His death was a result of a battle with throat cancer which was kept hidden from the public eye.

Michael Crichton’s art collection took most of four decades to accumulate and only a weekend to auction off.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about the Arts.

Last year, U.S. clean tech investments dropped to a five year low, from 72 percent of the worldwide total in 2008 to 62 percent, while Europe and Israel’s percent of the global clean tech market climbed to an all-time high of nearly 30 percent.

According to the CleanTech Group, an investment advisory service provider, despite the solar sector being the largest recipient of clean tech funding, concentrated solar thermal investment declined 90 percent.

In the absence of funding, utilities continued to bring capital and access to credit to the clean tech sector and are playing a fundamental role in getting more projects off the ground.

“North America still attracts the largest percentage of clean tech venture capital, but the fact that it is slightly down is worth noting,” says Dallas Kachan, a managing director at CleanTech Group, a consultancy that pioneered the word clean tech and owns it as a registered trademark. “It underscores that clean tech innovation continues to globalize.”

“As for overall growth in private capital, we believe we’ll actually see a recovery and record year in 2010 for cleantech fundraising,” says Kachan. “Not necessarily in actual venture investments in 2010, but we expect to see record funds raised aimed at clean technologies.

In the absence of a mandatory national cap-and-trade scheme, will voluntary carbon markets bear enough influence to generate greater price alignment between fossil fuels and renewable energy?

I personally don’t think so. While voluntary efforts will continue on a small scale, it will take government intervention in the form of creating and cap and trade market or implementing carbon emissions-related taxation to actually get the business environment to change.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about environmental legislation

Hu visited scientific research bases, industrial parks, and workshops of enterprises during the four day tour, investigating the mode of economic growth and work to promote sound economic and social development.

During his visit to the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd., Hu said that the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee had made a strategic decision to develop large passenger aircraft. He expressed hopes that the community stick to independent innovation and succeed at an early date.

At the Spreadtrum Communication, Inc., a high-tech company founded by returned overseas students, Hu said independent innovation is the lifeline of a company. He parted with these words to the company staff: “I hope you make further breakthroughs in core technologies, so as to boost China’s communication industry.”

At the end of the inspection tour, Hu heard the work report by the CPC Shanghai municipal committee and the Shanghai government. He said he greatly appreciated the work done in Shanghai in recent years. He called on the cadres and people in Shanghai to stage a “successful, brilliant, and memorable” World Expo.

Hu said China should take the international financial crisis as an opportunity to restructure the industry and enhance independent innovation, so as to shift the pattern of economic growth. He also urged to promote energy conservation, emission reduction and eco-protection, as well as to improve people’s livelihood, so that the shift of the economic growth pattern could benefit the general public.

I applaud President Jintao for promoting independent innovation and making breakthroughs in core technologies. Such breakthroughs are sure to provide strong support for the transformation of the mode of economic growth in China and elsewhere.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about international markets

While it’s fair to say that things are not exactly rosy for the company, it looks like the New Year has gotten off on the right foot. On Monday, ACT announced that it has established its first-ever endowment – the result of a five-year effort, called The Next Generation Campaign, that has raised almost $31 million to date.

Prior to creating the endowment, ACT relied solely on income from ticket sales, tuition, and contributions to sustain its season programming and actor training. It said it can now use interest from the endowment, as well.

ACT said it raised $30,939,236 by midnight on December 31, but not all of that money is going into the newly created endowment. The company said that in order to avoid deeper budgetary cuts, leaders chose last fall to broaden the scope of the campaign to include donations for operational support. Of the nearly $31 million raised, approximately $3 million will go toward operating expenses.

ACT said that the money raised also includes $1.5 million in future gifts, parts of which the company won’t see for months or years. Currently, ACT has an annual operating budget of $18.4 million and a staff of 150 people.

The 44-year-old company boasts several prominent alumni, including Annette Bening, who served as chair of the Campaign Artistic Advisory Committee. The Oscar-nominated actress’ photographs were featured on literature and promotional material used during the campaign, according to the company.

I believe this endowment will allow the American Conservatory Theater to commit to long-term artistic programming, take important creative risks and sustain the artists, students, and staff who make ACT such a unique and vital institution.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about arts and culture