FOX6 shows us how patients recovering from spinal injuries are getting help from the Nintendo Wii. Doctors have found that using the video game system helps patients recover more quickly.
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Tag: AlabamaAs an avid Florida State football fan living in the beautiful state of Alabama, it is now my official football fan duty to tease my Bama friends a little.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham has acquired an IBM Blue Gene/L supercomputer for biological research, tripling its computing power. The new supercomputer will allow the university to enhance its capabilities in computational biology and molecular simulations.
“Blue Gene will help our researchers make breakthrough simulations of biological processes such as blood flow in arteries and capillaries around tumors,†said Dr. Richard Marchase, vice president for research and economic development at UAB. “A computing facility anchored by Blue Gene will also give the university an advantage in recruiting top faculty and researchers. It also builds a foundation for a world-class computational biology center at the university.â€
The new Blue Gene/L system is capable of performing 5.6 trillion calculations every second. It will be used to help study, simulate and find ways to impede or halt biological activity in human tissue that leads to tumors and other life-threatening diseases. This supercomputer proves to be the most promising for extending the length of simulations to the microsecond scale and beyond.
“Blue Gene has proven itself an essential instrument of discovery for scientists around the globe,†said Dave Turek, VP of deep computing for IBM. “Now researchers at UAB will be able to simulate critical processes that occur in microseconds, allowing for slow-motion study of previously invisible systems.†continue reading…
Experts with Microsoft Across America are parking their demonstration truck at Birmingham’s New Horizons June 15 to showcase new technology and answer questions for small and midsized companies.
The Microsoft truck will be at New Horizons, 601 Beacon Parkway West in Birmingham, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The 42-foot long truck offers an interactive environment with Microsoft’s latest technology. Demonstrations will be offered.
The truck is equipped with technology from Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Microsoft.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Momentum, a division of Momentum Telecom, today announced a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) initiative for new master planned communities via a comprehensive digital community platform (CDCP). Through partnerships with real estate developers, Momentum is providing customers in master planned communities with complete digitally- equipped homes and businesses. Without the hassle of installation after moving, the homes will feature move-in ready access to advanced services, including video, voice, data and security services, as well as dedicated local community intranet sites.
Momentum works in conjunction with residential and mixed-use real estate developers of new master planned communities to readily equip all homes and businesses with the infrastructure necessary for advanced fiber services, giving developers a key competitive advantage while offering consumers a move- in ready, cost-effective communication suite. Momentum’s first FTTP partnership is with the Creekside of Auburn community, marking the Alabama city’s first FTTP buildout.
“FTTP is going to be a key technology that will allow consumers to take full advantage of advanced services, including HDTV,†said Vince Vittore, senior analyst at Yankee Group. “While many large-scale projects by incumbents are focused on building out fiber to existing homes in their coverage areas, there is a tremendous opportunity for CLECs to tap into the new planned community market.â€
Momentum is initially targeting new communities with at least 2,000 homes in the Southeast for its FTTP offering. Because the company is working hand- in-hand with developers on communities still in the construction phase, Momentum’s pure fiber buildouts have minimal effect on home and neighborhood development projects. In addition to added services, customers may also see a $4,000-8,000 increase in property values due to the built-in nature of fiber being directly connected to their future-ready homes. continue reading…
Several online sources (TUAW, ifoAppleStore) are reporting that the new Apple Store at The Summit – Birmingham will finally open its doors during a Grand Opening this Saturday, April 14.
There haven’t been any reports by local news outlets here in Birmingham about the grand opening. I definitely plan on being there. I wonder if they will do t-shirts for the first X number of shoppers?
The leading national collection of free WiFi hotspots lists Alabama in the TOP TEN on their list of states alongside Ohio and Oregon. The dynamic list, published by AnchorFree in Silicon Valley, puts the state at #8 as of press time for this newsletter.
While the City of Birmingham now sits at #12 nationally, it has also consistently ranked in the top 15 nationally as long as we have tracked the index. Cities with a similar number of hotspots include San Diego and Indianapolis. Birmingham ranks ahead of Los Angeles and San Jose, both in California. The City sits at the top of AnchorFree’s list statewide with Hoover, Homewood, Mobile, and Huntsville making up the top five. Birmingham also shows a higher per capita installation of Free WiFi than the City of Atlanta with 2.88 for every 10,000 residents vs. 2.71 for our neighbors to the east.
Meanwhile, the local list of ALL public WiFi hotspots surpassed 300 late last year. It currently sits at 328, up from a start of only 40 back in November 2004. Visit BhamWIFI.com to see the whole list and let us know of any additions. The website is hosted by IPSA, the Internet Professionals Society of Alabama, in partnership with TechBirmingham.
Sharpen your coding skills, oh budding high-school programmers. Visit the UAB CIS department’s announcement page about the UAB High School Programming Contest (HSPC). If you’re already out of high school, then find someone who is an let them know about this exciting one-day intensive event. Download the PDF brochure here. Of course, there’s a deadline to register… this Friday, March 23rd.
The following is an excerpt from the main information page. Be sure to follow the link at the bottom for full details!
The UAB High School Programming Contest (HSPC) brings talented students from high schools throughout Alabama to the UAB campus to participate in an organized competition. Students individually compete to demonstrate their programming skills and problem solving abilities by attempting to solve six programming problems within a three hour period. Schools that have more than three contestants are also eligible for team awards. continue reading…
About 1,000 people a year from around the country are expected attend a new law enforcement training center in Hoover to learn how technology is increasingly used by criminals.
Top officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Secret Service, as well as state and local leaders, will announce the one-of-a-kind National Computer Forensic Institute on Friday.
“Any kind of crime you can think of, people are using digital devices not necessarily to commit them but to help further them,” said Randall Hillman, executive director of the Alabama District Attorneys Association.
Whether it’s a sophisticated hacking of a computer network to obtain personal financial information or a murderer luring his victim with a text message, law enforcement officials routinely have to know the intricacies of high-tech devices to catch and prosecute suspects, Hillman said.
The center, to be situated at the Hoover Public Safety Center on Valleydale Road near U.S. 31, will offer a curriculum for police officers, sheriffs, prosecutors, judges, federal marshals and others in local, state and federal judicial systems. Some classes will also be open to private information security specialists. The institute is scheduled to open in January, but some classes could start sooner. continue reading…