Author: Ben Debski

Biofuel planes set to take off?

Posted on by Ben Debski

Dutch airline KLM has carried out the world’s longest flight powered by biofuel. The flight, which travelled 5,900 miles from Amsterdam to Rio, was made by KLM’s KL705 jet. It offers hope that this relatively sustainable alternative to traditional fuel could revolutionise the airline industry.

The flight was part of an effort to show the Rio+ summit, the UN’s Conference on Sustainable Development, that the aviation industry is serious about tackling their high contribution to climate change. Partly using cooking oil, supplied by sustainable kerosene manufacturer SkyNRG, to power the Boeing 777-220 jets, the  flights did not require alterations to the plane’s engines. It will also allow for cuts of fuel emissions by almost 40 percent.

A spokesman for WWF in the Netherlands praised KLM’s efforts: “Aviation is on the threshold of a small revolution. And at times like these it is best to lead from the front, like KLM. Those who take the pressure off nature today, are the winners of tomorrow. The rapid development of alternative, reliable biofuels is vital.”

KLM has been testing biofuels since 2009, and is a number of airlines that are looking at ways to cut fuel emissions. In the US, organisations including United Airlines and Boeing have announced the Midwest Aviation Sustainable Biofuels Initiative, as a push to advance aviation biofuel use in 12 states. American Airlines and Alaska Airlines are also pushing ahead with their own biofuel plans. In Europe, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, and Iberia are also leading the way with development of biofuel systems.

With a disappointing agreement on sustainability targets set to be reached at the Rio+ Summit, it is encouraging to see the airline industry making an effort to improve on their fuel emissions.

African banks offer opportunities

Posted on by Ben Debski

Because African nations tend to have a large population of ‘un-banked’ and ‘under-banked’ people, the rise in popularity of electronic and mobile payment methods offers the possibility of transforming many economies.

The banking needs of those in African nations differ quite markedly from those in more developed economies. Rather than check bank account balances, which most people in these regions do not have, mobiles for Africans are more frequently used for cash services such as retail micro-transactions, bill payment, peer-to-peer money transfers and airtime top-ups.

Using these low or no-cost services, the un-banked can still transact business without using the still-cumbersome banking industry in their particular country. They are also very often creating business that did not exist before. Buying airtime, purchasing small services through their phone and paying bills are all transactions that move money around their country and thus contribute to the national economy. One reason mobile transactions are gaining ground in Africa is that many people had not established other banking or money-transfer habits that had to be changed or broken. For many Africans and almost all rural Africans, this is their first exposure to banking or money transfer options.

Nigeria, for example, has become the world’s tenth largest mobile market. Fortis Microfinance Bank, established in Nigeria in 2007, has already opened a mobile offshoot, Fortis Mobile Money, which it is setting up to serve its new customers across the country. Nigeria is also working to reduce the amount of paper and coins in circulation, which should strengthen mobile banking’s footprint there.

According to Bloomberg, South Africa’s economy expanded 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011; however, unemployment remains high at approximately 25 percent. The country’s middle class continues to grow though and opportunities abound for more traditional stores, as well as online companies. As the economy continues to expand, more and more people will need some sort of banking service.

In many African countries, banking services are rudimentary at best. Banks are open for only short periods of time and have extremely limited geographic scopes. In addition, ATMS, if they are available at all, service long queues of people often waiting in line for hours. Mobile technology has the capability to completely transform the banking industry in these countries. Companies that can position themselves correctly will promote trade and industry, influence economic activity and help balance the economic growth of different regions within the country. Mobile companies in African nations may well be poised to become the new storehouses of their country’s wealth, as well as facilitators of cash flow. Investment, trade and new production may be in the hands of mobile companies rather than the more traditional banks, which will promote rapid movement of money throughout the economy.

China driving forward with cleantech

Posted on by Ben Debski

China is leading the way in clean technology investment, according to a report by the WWF.

Sales of $71.2bn have seen China surpass the EU to become the world’s leading manufacturer of clean technology, caused by heavy investment in R&D and low labour costs.

The figures are encouraging, particularly as the US is failing to take the initiative with driving the market, instead preferring to focus more on traditional energy sources. The US does have a strong presence in biofuels, but are not investing much in other areas of clean energy. Despite sales of $46.5bn, they are far behind the Chinese and even the EU, who have $59.2bn of cleantech sales.

Samantha Smith, the WWF’s global climate and energy policy leader, praised the Chinese government for their commitment in the sector: “Political will is what separates winners from losers in the clean economy of the future, and that’s what the rankings show. Their governments invested, and now the winners are getting the sales, jobs and technology.”

Smith added that it’s important for countries to be forward thinking in their energy policy in order to see the long-term benefits. “The countries that are capturing global markets have all realised that cleantech is an important part of their energy policy, economic policy and industrial policy. These countries are supporting the clean energy technology industry, and have stable, long-term policies generating green investments. They incentivise the right areas, and now they’re reaping the rewards.”

With a need to push cleantech into a mainstream energy sector, a major economy needs to take the reins and drive growth. With the US reluctant to do so, China is seizing the opportunity.

US reclaims supercomputer crown from Japan

Posted on by Ben Debski

A supercomputer designed by IBM has become the most powerful computer in the world, overtaking one currently installed in Japan.

Sequoia, which is being used by the US Department of Energy to carry out nuclear weapon simulations, is able to calculate information in one hour what would take 6.7bn people with calculators 320 years, according to IBM.

The hope is that the computer will allow simulations to be carried of nuclear weapons, providing a safer system than the current underground tests. It will also cause aging nuclear weapons to have their lives extended.

US National Security Advisor Thomas D’Agostino said: “While Sequoia may be the fastest, the underlying computing capabilities it provides give us increased confidence in the nation’s nuclear deterrent. Sequoia also represents continued American leadership in high performance computing.”

A spokesman for the programme added: “Sequoia will provide a more complete understanding of weapons performance, notably hydrodynamics and properties of materials at extreme pressures and temperatures.

“In particular, the system will enable suites of highly resolved uncertainty quantification calculations to support the effort to extend the life of aging weapons systems; what we call a life extension program (LEP).”

It is seen as a boon for US tech innovators, who saw the crown of most powerful computer go to China in 2010, before Japanese maker Fujitsu designed the K Computer last year.

Of the top ten list of supercomputers, Sequoia is one of the most energy efficient, using 4.7 megawatts less power than the K Computer.

With increased innovation in supercomputers occurring with Asian manufacturers, the US will be eager to retain the top spot, after only two other US firms reached the top ten list.

Amazon to match Apple’s musical cloud

Posted on by Ben Debski

Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, is rumoured to be close to an agreement to launch a cloud music service that is similar to Apple’s iTunes Match offering.

According to tech blog CNET, the company has been negotiating with major record labels Universal, EMI and Sony, and is on the verge of an agreement with Warner Music Group.

If the deals are confirmed, Amazon will join Apple in having persuaded the traditionally difficult labels to allow online mirroring of a users’ music collection.

Currently, Amazon offers cloud storage to US-based users, with their Cloud Player enabling music playback. However the process of uploading an entire music collection can be longwinded and complicated. Apple’s iTunes Match scans a music collection and then offers mirrored copies from their own catalogue, saving a great deal of time and bandwidth. Amazon is expected to offer something similar to this.

Alternative services like Spotify and Rdio allow streaming from a wide catalogue of music, but are reliant on a subscription and this does not mean ownership of that music for the user.

Labels have been reluctant to offer up licenses for online music services as they don’t see the similar returns that physical sales have provided. Google has been unable to strike a deal with the labels for their music service, and Apple took years to settle on a deal that provided the labels with a satisfactory return.

Eventually Apple persuaded the labels that by offering a subscription service that scanned people’s existing record collections, it allowed labels to retrieve some money that they may have lost through the pirating of that music. Presumably, Amazon is set to offer labels a  similar revenue stream.

The question now is if Amazon’s move into the market will turn people away from streaming services like Spotify, and give people’s mp3 collections a second life online.

Say goodbye to the .coms

Posted on by Ben Debski

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has announced the company’s seeking to own new domain names after the rules for web addresses were relaxed.

Instead of an address ending in .com or.net , for example, companies can apply to own more specific domains. Google has applied for .google and .youtube and Amazon has applied for .amazon.

More generic names, such as .music, have seen a number of companies, Google, Apple and Amazon included, fighting for ownership. Similar conflicts have occurred, with US drug manufacturer Merck & Co joining German competitor in bidding for .merck.

ICANN has received 1,930 requests and hopes to release the first round of 500 by March 2013.

The bidding process will cost applicants $185,000, with the winners then having to pay $25,000 annually just to keep the name.

The rule changes are part of a way to drive innovation on the internet, and to make it easier for people to find the specific websites they’re looking for.

Some companies, however, including Ford, Dell, Coca-Cola and Nestle, have complained that the process will give an unfair advantage to the winners of the first batch of new names and want the process to be handed over to the UN.

ICANN have defended the auction, telling the BBC: “The plan we have delivered is solid and fair. It is our fundamental obligation to increase innovation and consumer choice.”

It remains to be seen if users will take to the name changes, and whether there is really much point in trying to force them.

Kodak patents up for grabs

Posted on by Ben Debski

Filing a motion this week to auction off a series of digital patents, the US photography company is attempting to refocus its business towards printing equipment.

In January, the company filed for Chapter 1 Bankruptcy Protection after a steady decline in sales, partly caused by a failure to capitalise on the trend for digital photography that other manufactures, mostly smartphone makers like Apple, RIM and Nokia, had been developing.

Kodak hopes to raise money from the sale of 1,100 patents that cover image capture, transmission technologies, image manipulation, processing, and network-based services.

They hope that these valuable patents will attract considerable bids from companies including Google, Samsung and Apple, who continue to dominate the consumer digital camera market.

The value of the patents is up for debate. Kodak says it thinks the patents coiuld be worth up to $2.6bn.

However, just last month a ruling by the US International Trade Commission declared one of Kodak’s patents invalid due to “obviousness”, which could significantly harm the price Kodak could expect to get for other patents.

Whether they receive the bids they expect, Kodak will press ahead with restructuring the business after posting a $366m loss in the first quarter of this year.

What the future holds for the camera industry could rest on which manufacturers secure the 133 year old companies intellectual property. One thing is certain, the days of the “Kodak moment” are long gone.

Apple to organise your wallet, replacing credit cards next?

Posted on by Ben Debski

On Monday Apple held its annual World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco and announced a raft of updates to both its software and developer products.
Alongside the usual updated notebook and desktop computers, Apple previewed its new mobile operating system iOS 6 for iPhones and iPads.

A new feature the company showed off was an application called PassBook, which Apple hope will replace users’ wallets. The application allows users to store digital versions of flight passes, concert tickets, cinema tickets and retail loyalty cards on their phones.

It works by scanning a barcode into the phone and storing the information, which can then be updated by the service provider. For example, new flight information will show up on the phone if a flight has been delayed.

Launch partners include United Airlines, Starbucks, Target, and MLB.com, but once launched it’s hoped many other companies will join in.

With Apple set to launch a new iPhone in September, some believe they will introduce a Near Field Communication (NFC) payment system, allowing users to pay for services with the swipe of their iPhones.

However, it is possible that the PassBook app will mean this is unnecessary. Apple already has millions of users bank details through the iTunes Store accounts. It could be possible for Apple to enable some sort of payment scheme with these accounts via the PassBook digital wallet.

Twitter hopes you’ll pay to be trendy

Posted on by Ben Debski

Twitter has launched its first series of television adverts that highlight the use of new hashtag pages that people can use to discuss specific topics.

The advert, broadcast during this weekend’s Pocono 400 NASCAR race, alerts users to new pages called Twitter Events. The sponsored pages look similar to standard Twitter profiles but will showcase live tweets, photos and information from selected users.

Twitter hopes the new pages will tie in with television broadcasts of live events, allowing people to follow other people’s discussions on what they’re watching on screen.  With sports events like NASCAR, users will be able to see photos and messages uploaded by drivers and race officials.

Announcing the partnership with NASCAR, Omar Ashtari, Twitter head of Sports & Entertainment, said, “During the Pocono 400, Twitter will give fans an all-access pass to all of the excitement happening at Pocono Raceway. The raceway’s creative Twitter campaign offers fans at the race a new way to connect with each other and get even closer to the action of race day.”

The use of hashtags on Twitter has been a key part of how the service works, enabling topics to trend as more users add their thoughts to a particular hashtag.

However, they have often been confusing to new users, who can be overwhelmed by the volume of tweets from random users when a topic is particularly popular.

Twitter has also been struggling to find ways to make money out of their service, with advertisers unsure of how best to attract new customers through the social network.

With many broadcasters trumpeting hashtags around their programmes in the hope of harnessing the snowballing effect they can have with promotion when trending, Twitter believe the cleaner interface and sponsored pages will be more attractive to new users.

Indian infrastructure set for a shot in the arm

Posted on by Ben Debski

India’s infrastructure has long been considered an area of massive potential for investors, but one that never quite seems to bear the promised fruits. Due to the bureaucratic spider web that exists throughout Indian decision-making, major projects often sit on the drawing board for years without any sign of concrete progress.

On Wednesday, however, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was eager to kick-start a new round of infrastructure investment, announcing at a meeting in New Delhi his intention to fast-track the commissioning of new airports, highways, railways and ports.

The meeting, which included the top officials and ministers from the transport, construction and energy ministries, resulted in an initial announcement of PPP for a minimum of 20 new airports, 9,500km of new highways, a Rs 20,000 crore investment in Mumbai’s rail corridor, investment of Rs 35,000 crore in sea ports, as well as two new large east coast ports.

India has seen growth slow considerably in the last year, with GDP dropping to 5.3 percent for the first three months of 2012, its lowest level in nine years.

Singh is determined to get India back on track, declaring, “”We as a government are committed to taking the necessary measures to reverse the present situation and revive and revitalise India’s growth story.”

He sees infrastructure as an important catalyst for this, “In the short term, development of infrastructure will boost investment rates across the economy.  In the long run, it will remove the supply constraints that affect economic activity in agriculture, industry and trade.”

Whether investors believe the bureaucratic troubles of the past are gone remains to be seen.

Google Map monopoly put to the test

Posted on by Ben Debski

For years the go to place for online mapping services, Google Maps has seen its dominance challenged by the emergence of rivals such as Microsoft’s Bing and a rumoured new service from Apple.

In order to ward off the competition, Google yesterday announced a number of major upgrades to Maps, stealing a march on Apple’s announcement next Tuesday.

They plan to add new 3D imaging to the service, as well as offline maps for mobile devices using their Android operating system.

Google claims to have 75 percent of the online mapping market, with approximately a billion users, many of which are from mobile devices, including Apple’s iPhone.

Searches on Maps provide Google with useful information about users preferences, allowing them to offer paid advertisements from local businesses.

However, Apple is widely expected to announce its own service next week, replacing Google as the default map application on all its iOS devices after five years of partnership.
This follows their acquisition of rival service Placebase in 2009, which is believed to drive the underlying technology of the new application.

Apple’s service is expected to include similar 3D mapping, as well as smoother integration with their iOS operating system.

In order to differentiate their offerings, it is thought that Google might restrict some of their updates to iOS devices, potentially driving users to their Android platform.

Speaking at the launch event in San Francisco on Wednesday, Google Maps Vice President Brian McClendon maintained that they will continue to offer Maps on Apple devices, and were “working very hard” to bring offline Maps to iOS devices.

Europe’s photonics industry gathers pace

Posted on by Ben Debski

The aim is to create new jobs and to help Europe recover from its biggest economic recession in decades. This was the bottom line at a panel discussion during the recent annual conference of the pan-European photonics association, Photonics 21.

Member of the European Parliament and panel speaker Malcolm Harbour promised his support for a Photonics partnership. He stated that photonics was widely regarded as a vital technology for a technologically advanced, modern Europe.

“The proposed €7bn partnership between Photonics21 and the European Commission would have a substantial impact on future growth and job creation, and significantly assist the EU’s continued economic recovery.” It will, he continued, “be a vital factor to drive innovation on the continent.”

The outgoing President of Photonics21, Martin Goetzeler, said that Photonics 21 welcomed the very positive Horizon 2020 proposition by the European Commission with its strategy for true creativity driven funding with vital benefits for job creation and competition and where PPPs will produce long term financial security for private partners.

Panel members were in agreement that the photonics industry’s true potential, as was the case with numerous other sectors, is at present restricted by the so-called “Valley of Death” in the development/end product chain. The term describes the challenging stage between product research and development and attaining a financially viable market position.

Goetzeler warned that Photonics development in Europe currently tended to get bogged down in the phase between successful research and preliminary scale commercial deployments, the latter being the phase during which job opportunities can start being generated.

He went on to say that in order to bolster Europe’s development capacity and seize all the benefits of Europe’s industrial base, the errors of the past needed to be avoided and an environment had to be created that stimulated innovation and which covered the whole value chain, from leading-edge research to product development.

Dr  Zoran Stančič from the European Commission stressed during the panel discussions that the continent needed to confront the difficulties of a growing world economy. The photonics sector, he said, could release enormous economic possibilities and assist in delivering what he referred to as the Digital Agenda for Europe. He concluded by saying that European Union policies that benefited research, testing and practical application were vital for improving the continent’s competitiveness.

These are ambitious plans. Whether Europe can convert them remains to be seen. The chairman of Cube Optics, Giorgio Anania, warned those present that China was not successful because it had lower prices, but because it had the ability to act quickly. He also stressed the importance of creating a market for photonic products, without which all the research and development would eventually grind to a halt.