Pepsi Refresh Project to finance local Do Good initiatives.

Last month, Pepsi-Cola started a campaign called Pepsi Refresh Project complete with the supporting Website refresheverything.com, aimed at encouraging ordinary people to submit ideas they think may benefit others in their communities and receive financing through the company if their ideas receive the most votes in their categories. There are six areas ranging from education, health, arts and culture, foods and shelter, neighborhoods and the environment.
For each area, there are different levels of financing available starting at 5,000 and going all the way to $250,000.
Here how it works: each month, participants submit new ideas for the public to vote with voting ending the following month. The projects with the most votes in each area, will win the prize. The number of winners per category depends on the amount of money involved; the lower the amount, the more winners, the highest the amount, fewer winners.
There is also a category reserved for celebrities. In total, Pepsi is devoting $20 million to the project through the end of the year.


For more, see NYTimes.com

Pogoplug.com is a combination of onsite and cloud storage.

As trends go in the technology world, it is hard right now to find one hotter than the term "cloud computing." The terms describe the phenomenon of accessing information from anywhere with an Internet connection and storing back the information in far away servers. The key with cloud computer is that instead of storing data on their own devices, users rely on a third party storage servers. Nowadays almost every day activity involves some form of cloud computing, from social networks, photos sharing sites, online e-mail programs etc.
With those services, the decision to house the data in the clouds is not the user's, but the provider's. But today, any individual can take the initiative to have his or her data stored in the clouds with different providers. Most providers package their services starting with some level of free storage for a limited data; after that, the amount paid varies with the amount of data and the payments can be monthly or yearly. For instance, ZumoDrive.com offers 2 gigabytes of storage free and charge annual fees ranging from $30 for 10 gigabytes to $800 fir 500 gigabytes, according to the Wall Street Journal. SugarSync.com, another cloud storage service offers a free 2 gigabyte program and charges from $50 to $250 a year for 30 to 250 gigabytes, still according to the Wall Street Journal.
But despite all these offerings and the many options that they offer, cloud storage has not took off with consumers worried about having their data stored in someone else servers hundred or thousand of miles away. That's where a new product called Pogoplug comes to play.
Pogoplug available at Pogoplug.com was reviewed by the Wall Street Journal earlier this year and is from a San Francisco based company called Cloud Engines Inc. It is a combination of an onsite storage and a cloud storage.
The system involves the Pogoplug device which the company sells for $129 and a storage device of the user's choice. Three cables attached to the Pogoplug are to be plugged to the electric outlet, a router and the chosen storage device respectively. From there, "the Pogoplug runs as a mini computer with its own processor that sends files out to the cloud for streaming whenever you want to see them" said the Journal.
The Pogoplug device acts like a projector, streaming to the company own website, any data stored in it. It allows data sharing with others it you choose so, and more importantly, sharing between computers using a button at the bottom of the device. The device works with both PC and Mac computers and some mobile apps for iPhone, Palm Pre and Google's Android phones are available.
One of the Popoplug most appealing characteristics is that beside the initial investment in the hardware, there is no more fees associated with the use of the device, the Journal reports.

For more, see WSJ.com

DynamicBooks to allow texbooks to be rewrote by instructors.

In a page borrowed to Wikipedia, Mcmillan, one of the five largest publishers of trade books and textbooks, has announced plans to introduce a software called DynamicBooks that will allow college instructors to edit digital editions of textbooks and customize them for their individual classes, according to the New York Times.
Quoting the paper, "professors will be able to reorganize or delete chapters, upload course syllabuses, notes, videos, pictures and graphs," and most interestingly, "rewrite or delete individual paragraphs, equation or illustrations."
The way the software is set up, instructors will have the power to go online, log on to the authoring tool and make whatever change they want without even the need for prior authorization.
The program is set to start in August when 100 titles will be available for sale through DynamicBooks.
One of the advantage of the DynamicBooks edition is that the titles offered will sell for much less than the the price of other ebooks because of their personalized character.

For more, see NYTimes.com

Google to built its own super fast Internet network.

Frustrasted by the state of broadband in the U.S., Google announced earlier this month its plan to built its own super fast Internet network as a way to showcase all the possibilities that such high-speed network have to offer.
To be clear, Google is not trying to be an Internet service provider but just a catalhyst looking to force the hands of the players in that field, mainly cable and telephone companies and the lawmakers. As a testimony of its good intentions, Google said it will open the network to other service providers.
According to Google's plan, the new network dubbed Google Fiber for Communities, could top speed of a gigabyte or about 100 times the speed of today's main broadband connections. In concrete terms, the new network could for instance allow the live streaming of 3-D medical images or the downloading of a full-length movie in a minutes, the company said.
According to the company, the new service will be tested in different communities and could reach as many as 500,000 with the hope to have it deployed by year end in some areas.
Google is now encouraging communities and individuals or groups to submit applications for why their communities should be chosen to be part of the test.
The deadline to apply is March 26 2010 and the request forms can be downloaded at the special section in Google own Web site. Here is the link: http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/public/options.

For more, see Computerworld.com

OkCupid offers a diiferent approach to Online dating.

With the ever rising popularity of Online dating and the multitude of sites catering to that trend, for people looking for love, it has became imperative to know which site offers the best chances for finding a perfect match.
In that environment and faced with formidable competitors like Match.com, eHarmony.com and PlentyOfFish.com, a dating site called OkCupid.com is trying a new approach which basically consists of numbers crunching.
To be more exact, the free site founded in 2004, analyzed more than 7000 users' profile pictures in terms of the reactions they have generated. That information was organized in a rational way so to show what type of profile picture generate the most enthusiastic reactions.
In conclusion, the one finding by the site is that more than just look, the sure way to generate favorable messages in your in-box, is you being perceived as conversation-worthy based on your profile picture deemed intriguing enough.

For more, see NYTimes.com

Skype internet calling is coming to Verizon Wireless soon.

Verizon Wireless has announced last week that beginning in March, it will offer free Internet -calling service on some of its smart phones. But the offer comes with a catch as the users will need to subscribe to a Verizon data and voice plan. If users decide to settle with Verizon cheapest data and voice plan, it will cost them a minimum of $70 a month ($40 for 450 voice minutes and $30 for a data plan.)
The Skype app will made available in late March to nine smart phones on the Verizon network, including Blackberry models and Google's Android models, according to the Wall Street Journal.

For more, see WSJ.com

Weather Underground offers an excellent mobile forecast tool.

With the latest winter snow storms, it is not a bad idea to have a reliable weather forecaster tool right on your cell phone. But with the plethora of weather apps available, it can be confusing to decide which one is right for you.
Two weeks ago, the New York Times reviewed and gave high marks to the mobile Web page of a weather site called Weather Underground, generally refered to as Weather Underground Lite.
According to the Times, this is not technically an app, but can be made to one thanks to the shortcut features on today's phones.
The site is accessible at m.wund.com from a cell phone and it delivers an easy to read weather report and forecast. Still according to the New York Times, you can link to more sophisticated features like an animated radar map. But one downsize is that weather Underground works better with some phones than others. Google's Android phones do not make it unto the former list. On the other hand, the Weather Underground version for iPhone called i.wund .com, contains extra links and features.

For more, see NYTimes.com