Contrary to what people might think, the iHome is not an original Apple product. It was invented by a small company who capitalized on an opportunity created by the popularity of the iPod. Keeping itself up to date with the latest Apple offerings, SDI has churned out its first iPad-compatible alarm clock. Despite warnings about Apple competitors, the company is not worried. “The iPad, iPhone and iPod are recession-proof,” says Ezra S. Ashkenazi, SDI’s president.

Back in the 1950s and 1960s, Realtone Electronics made a killing by manufacturing and selling transistor radios, then a must-have gadget for the era’s tech savvy. As the 1970s rolled in, however, the trend met its end and the electronics company survived the next two decades making cheap clocks that sold in drugstores. It also took an affinity toward creatively combining different devices into one. The company was the first to create a cassette tape player-clock radio, as well as the telephone-clock radio.

It was this affinity that would lead the company, now called SDI Technologies, to newfound success. In 2005, the company was grappling ideas as to how to bring itself forward into the digital age. Ashkenazi, son of one of Realtone’s founders, suggested that they could make a clock radio with an iPod dock. To increase the likelihood of generating sales, the company designed its earliest Apple accessories in the brand’s distinct sleek aesthetic. The resulting product revived the company, starting a new golden age for its business.

In keeping up with the times, the company has done it again by extending its products to become compatible with Apple’s iPad. This innovation was uniquely inspired by both something old and something new. They took the old idea of combining two gadgets with a brand new technology that they had faith in. It probably won’t be long until the next hotel you go to will have an iPad-compatible dock.

For this project, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman announced an award of up to $122 million over five years for the team to establish an Energy Innovation Hub aimed towards the development of artificial photosynthesis. By finding a way to harness this innovative method of generating fuel, it may be possible to cut down dependence on oil and enhance energy security.

According to Senator Feinstein, the award for California’s top scientists would help them along the way to producing a fuel that can be put into cars without further processing, and thus make use of the excessive carbon dioxide in the atmosphere while at the same time, eliminating dependence on oil. This same project also hopes to generate an innovative industry in the heart of California, a state on the cutting edge of the clean energy movement.

Aside from the Fuels from Sunlight Energy Innovation Hub, there will also be two other hubs that will receive funding for the Fiscal Year 2010. One would be a hub dedicated to the modeling and simulation of nuclear reactors, established by a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The other would be announced over the coming months.

“Finding a cost-effective way to produce fuels as plants do — combining sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide — would be a game changer, reducing our dependence on oil and enhancing energy security. This Energy Innovation Hub will enable our scientists to combine their talents to tackle this bold and highly promising challenge,” said Poneman.

This is not just a push for investments in science and finding breakthrough discoveries, it’s a way to turn theoretical science into practical technology by bringing together great minds from different industries. It’s a catalyst of change.

Based on a study of sector-based training programs in three cities, the report found that participants were able to earn an average of 29 percent more than a control group in the year after they began training. They also were better able to work longer hours and gain a job that offered better benefits in comparison with those from the control group.

But of course, not just any sector-based training program can ensure the same results. The study from where the report was based on reveals five common elements that may have contributed to the success of each program. Among these are adaptability, a strong link to employers and a rigorous screening process for participants.

The study tracked three different sector-based training programs in different cities. The Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership, an association of employers and unions in Milwaukee provided short-term training for construction, health care and manufacturing with a focus on African-American men and women. The Jewish Vocational Service of Greater Boston provided diverse participants from a variety of backgrounds with training in accounting and medical billing. And finally, Per Scholas, a charity in New York, offered training for computer equipment and network maintenance for a group of mostly foreign-born men.

This report emphasizes on the importance of focused sector-based training which, I believe, is a better alternative to programs that merely provide people with loans and scholarships. Creating more programs with a focus on employer needs like the ones covered in the study can help to empower more people in the workforce, creating a win-win situation for employers and employees.

Although plants and animals are very different from each other, Yalovsky points out that both organisms share a surprising number of biological mechanisms. In plants, this fat molecule governs a group of proteins called ROPs that are responsible for cell growth.

Apparently, there is a counterpart for these cell-growth mechanisms in humans: proteins similar to plants’ ROPs that are involved in the healing of wounds, the development of nerve cells in the brain, and providing the chemical signals to tell cancer when to metastasize. As for a counterpart of the switch, Yalovsky points to a mechanism in humans responsible for regulating the immune response to pathogen invaders in the human body.

In laboratory experiments, Yalovsky, together with his research collaborators, Prof. Yoav Henis and Dr. Joel Hirsch of TAU’s Departments of Neurobiology and Biochemistry have been able to reshape plants, grow new tissues and respond to bacterial and viral invaders through the manipulation of this switch mechanism. With knowledge of how these proteins are manipulated, researchers believe they are getting closer to knowing how to turn off the ROP-like switch in humans, which may prevent the growth of tumors.

Discoveries like these that relate the workings of the human body with those of plants can open up a whole new avenue of ideas. Working more closely with what the body already has is an excellent alternative to the removal of tumors through surgery, and the irradiation of cancer cells with chemo therapy, which actually poisons the body.

This line of thought was taken up by Universal, the largest of four major record companies. They believe that perhaps there is room in the Western audiences’ auditory palate for more of the spice of South Asian music. Teaming with Desi Hits!, a New York-based company promoting South Asian entertainment on its website DesiHits.com, Universal plans to create a label for musicians with South Asian roots. Through this label, the record company’s ultimate goal is to give South Asian music and its artists global exposure.

“It’s far from a vanity project for us,” said David Joseph, chief executive of Universal Music U.K. For him, South Asian pop music holds great potential as a relatively untapped art, presenting a huge amount of opportunity.

The new label, called Desi Hits! Universal, would give the music genre a “home,” a way for the music to be shared with Western audiences. According to Anjula Acharia-Bath, chief executive of Desi Hits!, after the success of the 2008 hit, “everyone saw that with some resources some of these songs really popped.”

Although mainstream western acts and Indian music have shown some mingling, the success of Desi Hits! Universal could be an excellent untapped resource for those looking for the next new sound. And, modernizing some of the more traditional South Asian music with elements from pop music can bring it to a wider audience, even within its country of origin. “Jai Ho” showed the ability of good music to transcend cultural affinities. I look forward to more endeavors that get the music of a rich culture reach out to more of the world.

“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.

I-GATE was submitted to the state by the city of Livermore in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories/California (Program Lead), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and several others. Its mission is to maximize the economic impact of green transportation and clean energy technologies through expedited technology transfer, entrepreneurial assistance, collaboration opportunities, academic alliances, and a technology incubator for the development of high-growth green businesses.

The i-GATE initiative is designed to drive the Livermore Valley as the core of an energy resource cluster that would expand to benefit the regional economy and the state of California, create jobs, mitigate climate change, increase energy security, and form an interlocking innovation web.

The i-GATE hub will be leveraged by LVOC, a joint venture between Sandia and LLNL that will promote greater collaboration between the scientists at those laboratories and their partners in industry and academia. According to Energy Secretary Steven Chu in a press release last year, the LVOC will maximize the return on the nation’s investment in nuclear security. Chu stated, “By leveraging the groundbreaking research of our nuclear security labs through private sector collaborations, we will bring breakthroughs to the market faster and find new solutions to the energy problem.”

I think these developments represent an exciting opportunity to both advance technology in the transportation arena and to increase partnerships with the city of Livermore and local businesses.

“Respected companies aren’t going to fall as far in the bad times, and they come back better,” says David Hartzell of Cornell Capital Management, a participant in the survey that helped produce Barron’s list.

In 2009’s roller coaster market, the top-ranked stocks generally experienced lower volatility and outperformed during the bear leg. And now, even after the market’s rally, the value of respect is still understood: For the most part, shares of the most respected companies are either above or not much below their bankruptcy levels, and have beaten the market since that crisis erupted. Indeed, Apple, which topped Barron’s list, is above its pre-crisis stock price.

It’s not uncommon to see a few changes at the top of the list’s annual rankings, and this year is no different. Johnson & Johnson, a perennial leader, slipped from No. 1 to No. 2, and Berkshire Hathaway dropped to fifth place from second. The ever-steady Procter & Gamble remained at No. 3, while IBM jumped 10 notches to fourth place.

Survey participants say respected companies have strong management, good governance, valuable products and services, and strong stock returns. They act ethically and treat their shareholders, customers, and employees well. And while some money managers name respect as the first cut in their investment process, others say respect is more often the result of a sound investment process.

For my part, respect answers the question ‘Is management going to be a good steward of the clients’ money?’ In my experience, I have seen that respect takes a long time to build and can quickly be destroyed.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about innovation in business

• U.S. women’s hockey team captain Angela Ruggiero visited troops in Afghanistan as part of a Goodwill tour. She is also an ambassador for Right to Play, the athlete-driven organization that has used 350 athletes from 40 countries to provide educational teams, sports equipment, and medical supplies to impoverished areas in 20 countries.

• U.S. figure skater Rachel Flatt is a spokesperson for Reading is Fundamental, and has volunteered as a reader in local schools.

• Half pipe Olympian Hannah Teter began selling maple syrup called Hannah’s Gold, tapped from trees near the Teter family home in Vermont, in an effort to raise money for underprivileged children around the world. All proceeds benefit World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to tackling the causes of poverty.

• U.S. biathlete Haley Johnson has adopted a fourth-grade class in her hometown of Lake Placid, N.Y., and is teaching them about recycling and climate change.

• U.S. hockey player Molly Schaus regularly corresponds to kids through her Save the Children fund. Her teammate, Caitlin Cahow, serves as a coach and G.M. for a girls team that raises money for cancer awareness through its tournament participation.

• American Kelly Clark, the 2002 gold medalist in the half pipe, has established a foundation to enable young skiers with financial needs to attend mountain academies such as Mount Snow Academy, which propelled her career.

• Last year, U.S. distance runners Ryan and Sara Hall established the Hall Steps Foundation, funding programs to help youth in poverty throughout the country.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about philanthropy

The country currently has the highest density of startups in the world (3,850, or one startup for every 1,844 Israelis). Over the last few decades, Israel’s high-tech innovations have spread on a global scale.

Dan Senor, author of ‘Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle,’ wants to make sure people know this. Senor will speak about his book and the Israeli economy 8 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center in San Francisco.

“People find it refreshing to have a discussion about Israel that is not conflict-centric,” said Senor. “While so much of the debate is about the threats and the moral obligation that the world has to Israel, there’s another part of the narrative: what the world can learn from Israel. That’s what we focus on.”

Senor and co-author Saul Singer learned certain conditions unique to Israel have contributed to the country’s mega-million-dollar success. Among the contributing factors: Israel’s pervasive military culture, which fosters independence and quick-minded individuality; that Israel is forced by regional conflicts to export to the world; and Israelis’ ability to innovate on the fly.

Those innovations include everything from PC anti-virus software to the AOL instant messenger and the Intel Pentium microprocessor chip. Israelis also created medical devices such as radiation-free breast cancer diagnostics and the “Gut Cam,” an ingestible video pill camera that diagnoses abnormalities.

I believe the period between 2000 and 2006, during which the second intifada took place, is especially significant in explaining Israel’s economic expansion. Israel’s share of the global venture-capital pie doubled. The country managed to persuade investors to decouple the security threat from the economic situation.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about innovation in Israel