Monthly Archives: April 2005

IT Outsourcing Sprouts Up in Rural America

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Julia King:

Aelera Corp. CEO Dustin Crane traveled to China, India and Armenia in a quest to buy or start up an offshore IT services company. After six months of searching, he returned to the U.S. and set up operations in the coastal city of Savannah and the smaller town of Fitzgerald, Ga., population 8,758.
McKesson Corp. CIO Cheryl T. Smith estimates that the $8 billion pharmaceutical distributor is saving $10 million annually in salary costs?a percentage of which is reinvested in IT innovation?after relocating its primary data center and about 75 IT jobs from San Francisco to Dubuque, Iowa.

Two fantastic examples of what’s possible. Unfortunatetly, it seems Wisconsin’s political leaders aren’t interested in laying the groundwork for the true high speed networks necessary for these type of opportunities to land here…..

United Replaces Some Air Wisconsin Routes

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PR Newswire:

These 30 aircraft will fly on some routes previously operated for United by Air Wisconsin Airlines. As the company indicated in an announcement to employees late last month, United also is considering reductions in the United Express fleet to further reduce spending on U.S. domestic capacity, given high fuel prices and the current fare levels.

Air Wisconsin is based in Appleton and recently invested in US Airways as part of a deal to redeploy aircraft.

Hybrid Cars: Plug Them in Overnight?

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Danny Hakim

Ron Gremban and Felix Kramer have modified a Toyota Prius so it can be plugged into a wall outlet.
This does not make Toyota happy. The company has spent millions of dollars persuading people that hybrid electric cars like the Prius never need to be plugged in and work just like normal cars. So has Honda, which even ran a commercial that showed a guy wandering around his Civic hybrid fruitlessly searching for a plug.
But the idea of making hybrid cars that have the option of being plugged in is supported by a diverse group of interests, from neoconservatives who support greater fuel efficiency to utilities salivating at the chance to supplant oil with electricity. If you were able to plug a hybrid in overnight, you could potentially use a lot less gas by cruising for long stretches on battery power only. But unlike purely electric cars, which take hours to charge and need frequent recharging, you would not have to plug in if you did not want to.

Orion Energy Systems

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Thomas Content:

Lights made by Orion generate less heat and consume 50% less power than standard industrial lighting. Even more significant: Orion lights require fewer fixtures, and while factories and warehouses that use them are brighter, they use less electricity. That’s a big deal for manufacturers always looking to cut costs to stay competitive.

1000 Yard Stare

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David Hackworth:

Guess what, folks? As you were checking out the Easter bonnets, our warriors were still paying the ultimate price in Iraq. Yes, America, the war in Iraq is still on the boil. We?re approaching 1,600 dead plus approximately 15,000 battle-wounded, along with thousands upon thousands of nonbattle casualties ? a deeply guarded Pentagon secret ? from accidents, sickness or stress disorders.
Lest we forget the sacrifices young men and women are making daily on our nation?s behalf, here’s one e-mail from the barrage we and Soldiers for the Truth (SFTT.org) receive weekly, a father sharing a letter from his son ?who is helping run the port in Kuwait where young heroes arrive in the war zone and depart from months later.? As Dad puts it, ?If this doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, nothing will.?
So haul out your hankies and read on for some serious ?ber-reality:

Politics on Wheels

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John Tieney:

By analyzing new-car sales, surveying car owners and keeping count of political bumper stickers, they are identifying the differences between Democratic cars and Republican ones.
Among their findings: buyers of American cars tend to be Republican – except, for some reason, those who buy Pontiacs, who tend to be Democrats. Foreign-brand compact cars are usually bought by Democrats – but not Mini Coopers, which are bought by almost equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans. And Volvos may not actually represent quite what you think.