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Today's Topics:
1. UK: BT threatens Goonhilly satellite dishes (George Antunes)
2. iPod fans shun iTunes says report (George Antunes)
3. UK: The legendary satellite dishes of Goonhilly (George Antunes)
4. [CA] Gov. to Sign Hang-Up-and-Drive Bill (Monty Solomon)
5. GW Micro contributes to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
(Duane Whittingham)
6. Pimping Your Ride for IPod (George Antunes)
7. Hurricane Victims Can Evacuate in Style (George Antunes)
8. High-Tech Shopping Carts Face Hurdles (George Antunes)
9. Nuclear Renaissance Prompts Uranium Boom (George Antunes)
10. Uranium Boom Challenges Older Companies (George Antunes)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 01:00:45 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] UK: BT threatens Goonhilly satellite dishes
To: medianews@twiar.org
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed;
x-avg-checked=avg-ok-1B56351A
[These are REALLY BIG dishes. The largest is 105ft in diameter.]
Goonhilly satellite dishes threat
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/cornwall/5338622.stm
Published: 2006/09/12 15:49:58 GMT
Three-quarters of staff at the largest satellite communications station in
the world could lose their jobs after BT said it planned to scale down the
site.
Ninety of the 120 workers at Goonhilly, in Cornwall, could lose their jobs
or be redeployed, as satellite operations are moved to Madley, in
Herefordshire.
An internal BT report says the move would help the firm centralise and
remain competitive, the BBC can reveal.
Only one of the station's 61 dishes, Arthur, would remain under the plan.
Sub-sea cable operations will continue at the site, which covers 65
hectares (160 acres) of The Lizard peninsula in south Cornwall and is the
largest station in the world in terms of land area and the number of antennas.
Goonhilly's first dish, Arthur, was built to receive the first live
transatlantic television broadcasts from the United States via the
satellite Telstar in 1962.
It is now a Grade II listed structure and is therefore protected.
Goonhilly currently handles about 10 million telephone calls a week as well
as computer data from the Atlantic and Indian Ocean areas, but its TV
operations have been wound down over the years.
The move out of Goonhilly was recommended following a three-month review by BT.
A decision is expected to be confirmed by BT executives later this year,
with satellite communications ending by 2008.
Kelvin Ball, head of radio, subsea and satellite communications for BT,
said: "The view of the BT committee which considered this matter is that it
is no longer commercially viable for satellite communications to continue
at both Goonhilly and Madley.
"These recommendations have not been taken lightly. We need to reduce our
running costs if we are to remain competitive in this fiercely competitive
marketplace.
"Having considered all aspects, it was clear that the Madley site, in
Herefordshire, was best suited to continue, primarily because of its more
central location in BT's UK network.
"Other activities carried out at Goonhilly, such as the sub-sea cable
operations, project management and health and safety, will continue."
Staff were told the news at a meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
Mr Ball said they were "completely shocked" at the move, but BT wanted to
avoid any compulsory redundancies through redeployment and retraining.
The future of the visitors centre, which attracts 80,000 people a year, was
being reviewed "with a view to it hopefully continuing".
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 01:10:55 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] iPod fans shun iTunes says report
To: medianews@twiar.org
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED],
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed;
x-avg-checked=avg-ok-1B56351A
iPod fans shun iTunes says report
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology/5350258.stm
Published: 2006/09/16 01:10:27 GMT
Despite the success of Apple iTunes, few people stock their iPod with
tracks from the online store, reports a study.
The Jupiter Research report reveals that, on average, only 20 of the tracks
on a iPod will be from the iTunes shop.
Far more important to iPod owners, said the study, was free music ripped
from CDs someone already owned or acquired from file-sharing sites.
The report's authors claimed their findings had profound implications for
the future of the online music market.
Ripped disks
They estimate that during 2006 Europeans will spend more than 385m euros
(?260m) on digital music - the majority of this spending will be on tracks
from Apple's iTunes store.
However, the report into the habits of iPod users reveals that 83% of iPod
owners do not buy digital music regularly. The minority, 17%, buy and
download music, usually single tracks, at least once per month.
On average, the study reports, only 5% of the music on an iPod will be
bought from online music stores. The rest will be from CDs the owner of an
MP3 player already has or tracks they have downloaded from file-sharing sites.
The report warned against simple characterisations of the music-buying
public that divide people into those that pay and those that pirate.
"It is not instructive to think of portable media player owners, nor iPod
owners specifically, as homogenous groups," warned the report.
It said: "Digital music buyers do not necessarily stop file-sharing upon
buying legally."
The importance of "free" to digital music fans should not be
underestimated, warned the report, and should be a factor for newer digital
music firms, such as Spiral Frog, which use an ad-supported model.
Perhaps the only salient characteristic shared by all owners of portable
music players was that they were more likely to buy more music - especially
CDs.
"Digital music purchasing has not yet fundamentally changed the way in
which digital music customers buy music," read the report.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 12:50:56 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] UK: The legendary satellite dishes of Goonhilly
To: medianews@twiar.org
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED],
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed;
x-avg-checked=avg-ok-1B56351A
Goodbye Goonhilly?
Silicon.com visited Goonhilly last month. Click here for a photo story
featuring its biggest dishes.
http://www.silicon.com/retailandleisure/0,3800011842,39161692-1,00.htm
Click here for the Goonhilly FAQ
http://www.goonhilly.bt.com/discover_goonhilly/faq.html
Goodbye Goonhilly: Satellite service to be shuttered
Dishing out the bad news
By Steve Ranger
Silicon.com
Published: Thursday 14 September 2006
http://networks.silicon.com/mobile/0,39024870,39162437,00.htm
BT has revealed plans to move its satellite communications business away
from Goonhilly in Cornwall.
The site is the largest satellite Earth station in the world, with 61 dishes.
But a BT spokesman said it was no longer "commercially viable" for the
company to operate two satellite Earth stations, and so all of Goonhilly's
satellite communications would be shifted to BT's other satellite station -
Madley in Herefordshire - within the next two years.
Around 90 jobs are affected but BT said it will try to redeploy staff.
The oldest dish on the site - Arthur - is likely to remain in place because
it is a grade II listed building. Arthur, which was built to track the
Telstar satellite, received the first live transatlantic television
broadcasts from the US in 1962.
The site will continue to act as a landing point for undersea cables and
the visitors' centre - which attracts around 80,000 tourists each year - is
likely to remain.
The site currently handles around 10 million telephone calls per week as
well as data, fax, videoconferencing and telex communications from the
Atlantic and Indian Ocean areas, as well as some television broadcasts.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 13:44:11 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] [CA] Gov. to Sign Hang-Up-and-Drive Bill
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Gov. to Sign Hang-Up-and-Drive Bill
Legislation banning the use of hand-held cellphones while driving
goes into effect in 2008.
By Nancy Vogel, Times Staff Writer
September 15, 2006
SACRAMENTO - California will become the fourth state in the country
to ban motorists from holding cellphones while driving under
legislation Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he will sign into
law today.
The governor's office said Thursday that the signing will take place
in Oakland, ending a five-year campaign by Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo
Alto) to outlaw one of the most common distractions of California
drivers.
Under the law, which will take effect in July 2008, Californians risk
a minimum $20 fine for driving while yakking into a phone - unless
they are using a headset, speaker phone, ear bud or some other
technology that frees both hands while they talk. Drivers in
emergency situations would be exempt.
...
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-me-cell15sep15,0,1147619.story
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 13:21:24 -0500
From: Duane Whittingham <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] GW Micro contributes to Extreme Makeover: Home
Edition
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: Medianews@twiar.org
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
(Kinda cool, good for them PR wise and for the family, the show airs
this Sunday 9/17)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Dan Weirich
GW Micro, Inc.
725 Airport North Office Park
Fort Wayne, IN 46825
Phone: 260-489-3671
www.gwmicro.com
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
GW Micro Donates Advanced Assistive Technology to ABC Extreme Makeover to
Help Disabled Family
Fort Wayne, IN -- September 12, 2006 -- GW Micro, Inc., a leader in
assistive technology for blind and visually impaired consumers is pleased
to
announce a cooperative effort with ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."
ABC's national television show, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" helps
families around the country who have been hindered by hardships and
recently
they selected a family in Bergenfield, New Jersey. The family, originally
from the Philippines consists of both parents, two daughters, one son, and
paternal grandmother. The father, two daughters and grandmother suffer
from
a degenerative genetic eye disease, which causes blindness, the son is
deaf
and the mother was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
To improve the quality of life, GW Micro has graciously donated several
assistive technology products, including Window-Eyes, a screen reader that
reads all information on a computer screen and the Small-Talk Ultra: the
world's smallest, accessible computer for blind and visually impaired
people
(www.gwmicro.com/smalltalk). The Small-Talk Ultra uses Window-Eyes
(www.gwmicro.com/windoweyes) to speak everything on the screen to the
blind
family members. Jeremy Curry, Training Specialist for GW Micro,
hand-delivered the technology to the worksite. "It was quite an
experience," said Curry. "It was remarkable how everyone came together to
help out this very deserving family, and make this one of the most
technologically advanced homes in the world."
"The Small-Talk Ultra with the power of Window-Eyes is the first,
hand-held,
Windows XP computer that is completely accessible to people that are blind
or visually impaired," said Dan Weirich, Vice President Sales and
Marketing
for GW Micro. "Our goal as a company has always been to help people, and
this was just one small way that we could help."
The family can use these talking computers wherever they go, whether in
the
house, in class or riding the subway. Since the son is deaf, the
Small-Talk
Ultra can also be used as a communication device between the blind members
of the family and the son, since Window-Eyes speaks everything on the
screen
and the Small-Talk Ultra includes a visual display. "GW Micro is not only
making the world accessible for visually impaired people, but we are
bridging the communication gap between people with various types of
disabilities," said Weirich. "Advanced assistive technology devices like
ours are opening up a whole new world for people with disabilities and GW
Micro is at the forefront; pioneering innovative technologies."
GW Micro has been producing adaptive technology solutions since 1990,
enabling blind and visually impaired consumers to lead productive lives at
home, work and school.
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is produced by Endemol USA, a division of
Endemol Holding. David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA. The
series
is executive-produced by Tom Forman and co-executive produced by Denise
Cramsey. This episode airs Sunday, September 17, 2006 (8:00-10:00 p.m.
EST),
on the ABC Television Network.
For more information, contact:
GW Micro, Inc.
Dan Weirich, Vice President of Marketing and Engineering
725 Airport North Office Park
Fort Wayne, IN 46825
Phone (260) 489-3671
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.gwmicro.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Duane Whittingham (N9SSN) - Producer
Tom and Darryl Radio Shows
Heard on C-Band Analog Satellite (W0KIE) - Telstar 6 (IA6) Ch 1 6.2/6.8 mHz
Also on WTND-LP Macomb 106.3 FM, WQNA 88.3 FM, WBCQ 7415 kHz & the Internet.
Heard Fridays 9pm ET, Sundays 12am ET and Tues 2am ET (Folk)
An Independent Freeform Eclectic Radio Show.
http://www.tomanddarryl.org
http://www.wtnd.us
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 19:25:58 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Pimping Your Ride for IPod
To: medianews@twiar.org
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED],
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed;
x-avg-checked=avg-ok-1B56351A
Pimping Your Ride for IPod
By John Gartner
Wired News
02:00 AM Sep, 15, 2006
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/mac/0,71787-0.html?tw=wn_index_3
Apple's updates to the iPod give consumers more choices for mobile music,
but they still must navigate a bumpy road to hear iTunes in their cars.
Automakers, who often take years to incorporate new technologies, are
slowly integrating the iPod experience into their product lines, perhaps
fueled by the knowledge that consumers are willing to pay more to connect
in the car. According to a survey published by J.D. Power and Associates in
August, 60 percent of iPod owners are willing to pony up $150 for the
privilege. Here is a rundown of the current and future choices for turning
vehicles into iPod players.
Today's iPod-friendly standard equipment on vehicles is limited to
auxiliary audio input jacks that enable iTunes to be played through the car
speakers but with no ability to control the player. For example, Toyota
includes audio inputs that work with other MP3 players on the latest Prius,
Camry, Sienna, Yaris and 4Runner models. Connecting an iPod requires a
cable with 3.5-mm connector on one end and an RCA interface to plug into
the dashboard or CD player.
Apple announced in August that General Motors would offer an iPod
connectivity option for its entire line of vehicles, and Apple estimates
that 70 percent of 2007 model year cars will feature iPod connectivity. In
addition to GM, Ford and Mazda will also offer optional car stereo/CD
players (also known as head units) that enable iPod owners to select songs
and browse folders, with the first products due at the end of this year.
Nearly 20 other automakers either currently or will soon offer
dealer-installed upgrade kits. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volvo, Honda and Toyota
offer upgrade kits where iPods are stored and connect in the glove box and
cost upwards of $500 with installation. For example, Toyota has a $260 iPod
kit for its three Scion models (the xA, xB, and tC), while the Mercedes kit
is $299.
There is "not a lot of differentiation" in the functionality provided by
iPod connectivity kits offered by auto manufacturers, according to Brian
Moody, the road test editor of automotive analyst Edmunds. He said that
iPod connectivity is becoming an expected feature in new vehicles.
Connecting to iPods "is a very important thing for us; it can make or break
(the) buying decision," said Ford spokesman Nick Twork.
Ford will include auxiliary audio input jacks in half of its 2007 models,
and next year the company will offer the Ford TripTunes Advanced system for
controlling iPods, according to Twork. The dealer-installed option will
recharge the iPod when it is plugged in, and will offer improved sound over
its current upgrade kit, he said.
If you haven't purchased a vehicle in the past few years, or if your car
company has been slow to embrace iPods, there are low-cost adapters or more
elegant alternatives from third-party stereo companies.
The path of least resistance for sending iTunes to the car speakers is an
inexpensive cassette adapter or an adapter kit that uses an FM transmitter
to relay the music. The sound quality on these devices from companies such
as Belkin, Ten Technology or Crutchfield isn't as good as a direct
connection, and the iPod's battery also drains while it is in use (unless
you also buy a power adapter for the cigarette lighter).
Car audio companies Alpine and Pioneer Electronics offer head unit upgrades
with either basic iPod connectivity or near-full control of the players
that offer near CD-quality sound.
Jaed Arzadon, Pioneer's manager of corporate communications, said the
company has added the ability to control iPods to most of its CD players.
Older models provide iPod connectivity only, while newer models can
navigate the iPod folders through the CD-IB100II, a $50 iPod adapter.
Vehicles with road navigation systems and touch screens from Pioneer offer
better interaction with iPods, Arzadon said. The LCD display panels show
more detailed track and artist information, and the touch screens provide a
graphic interface for navigating music folders.
Alpine first offered basic iPod connectivity four years ago, and now has
many models that can control iPods, according to Scott Neill, a spokesman
with Alpine. Since finding a particular track amongst the thousands of
songs stored on an iPod can be time consuming (and even more so on the new
80-GB model), Neill said Alpine created head units that automatically
divide music libraries. Launched earlier this year, the CDA-9857 uses the
six radio preset buttons to divide the library from top to bottom into
equal parts to speedup finding tracks, Neill said.
Faster (and safer) alternatives to pressing buttons or screens to control a
music library are voice response systems. Alpine offers the NVE-N872A unit
that includes a road navigation and real-time traffic system for $1,700 and
can control an iPod if an Alpine CD player unit is also purchased,
according to Neill.
Voice response company VoiceBox is working with Johnson Controls to develop
units that enable people to ask for tracks by album, artist, genre or
playlist, according to VoiceBox co-founder Tom Freeman. He said the first
aftermarket products will be out early in 2007, and factory-installed
equipment should be available for the 2009 model year.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 19:29:22 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Hurricane Victims Can Evacuate in Style
To: medianews@twiar.org
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED],
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed;
x-avg-checked=avg-ok-1B56351A
Hurricane Victims Can Evacuate in Style
By MATT SEDENSKY
The Associated Press
Saturday, September 16, 2006; 12:38 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/16/AR2006091600246_pf.html
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- There are the hurricane evacuation images everyone
has come to conjure _ stranded victims, snaking traffic and helicopters
dispatched to rooftops. And then there is HelpJet.
The new service from West Palm Beach-based Galaxy Aviation guarantees its
well-heeled members a seat on a chartered jet out of the hurricane zone,
reserves five-star hotel rooms and limousine transfers and rolls out a red
carpet _ literally.
"We call it evacuation in style," said Brian Rems, who came up with the
HelpJet concept.
Rems moved to South Florida from New Jersey and began work at Galaxy
Aviation a few weeks before Hurricane Wilma struck last year. He noticed
all the calls pouring into the office as the storm loomed at sea.
And when Wilma's arrival was imminent, Rems tried to book commercial
flights for him, his wife and three children, but found nothing available.
When they piled in the car to head inland, they realized they were getting
nowhere and turned around.
They braved the storm at home, and an idea for a business was born.
"I said 'There's got to be a better way,'" Rems said.
HelpJet _ which charges adults a $500 annual membership fee _ subcontracts
flights on 30-passenger Dornier 328 turboprop planes. The service updates
members as a storm nears and flights typically can continue running until
the day it hits. Flights go to Atlanta, Charlotte and Nashville and HelpJet
arranges accommodations, other transportation and anything else the member
may request.
The flights _ from West Palm Beach, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and four other
Florida cities _ cost about $1,850 to $1,950 per person roundtrip and small
pets can be brought aboard free. Rems calls it a relative bargain, given
the scarcity of available commercial airline seats as a storm looms and the
cost of chartering one's own plane.
HelpJet certainly isn't the first to capitalize on the threat of hurricanes.
Atlanta-based Boyken International, which represents major developers,
introduced a program this year guaranteeing priority construction service
to get a business back up and running fast. In New Orleans, Drew Harrington
started a company called Hurricane Guy, which will board up a house, empty
the refrigerator and otherwise ready customers for an evacuation. And
another new West Palm Beach company, Power to Go, guarantees
generator-produced electricity and fuel for businesses that must keep
running after a storm.
So far, only about two dozen people have signed up for HelpJet, though the
company has not yet begun its marketing push, which will include mass
mailings and possibly radio ads.
A stack of sleek brochures are set on a table in Rems' office, asking the
reader to "imagine turning a disaster into a holiday." He says he's gotten
wide interest as word of the service spreads and he ultimately hopes to
sign up 1,000 people.
HelpJet has partnered with Starwood Hotels & Resorts to offer rooms to
evacuees, from modest under-$100 choices to luxury suites for those, as
Rems says, who choose to "turn a nightmare into a vacation."
If all of this talk of comfort for some as death and destruction could be
happening elsewhere makes someone squeamish, Rems offers notes this:
HelpJet travelers will vacate commercial airline seats, which could make it
easier for an average evacuee to snag one, and the service will offer free
or discounted flights for utility workers, the media, doctors and others
integral to post-storm operations.
"It's not for everyone," Rems concedes. "It's for someone who typically
would be a first-class passenger."
Sarena Morello, a Delray Beach psychotherapist, was the first to write a
check to HelpJet for her and her 24-year-old daughter. After 28 years in
South Florida, she felt she couldn't weather another hurricane, and had
made plans to spend the entire season in Austin. When she heard about
HelpJet on the local news she was overcome with excitement.
"That was the solution I've been praying for," she said. "To me it was an
investment in peace of mind."
Now, instead of leaving the state for hurricane season, Morello says she
feels safe to stay. She's ready to board a flight to Atlanta if a serious
storm is in sight, to bring her cat aboard, and to take along important
documents, photo albums and family heirlooms she fears could be destroyed.
Morello said the price of the service was not inconsequential to her, but
that she didn't think twice about joining.
"I never wrote a check with such freedom," she said.
___
On the Net:
http://www.helpjet.us/
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 19:47:08 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] High-Tech Shopping Carts Face Hurdles
To: medianews@twiar.org
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed;
x-avg-checked=avg-ok-1B56351A
High-Tech Shopping Carts Face Hurdles
By GREG BLUESTEIN
The Associated Press
Saturday, September 16, 2006; 12:27 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/16/AR2006091600262_pf.html
ALPHARETTA, Ga. -- It took a grocer's offer of a cookie to finally tear
4-year-old Trey Malcom away from the small TV screen in his shopping cart.
Even then, his eyes shot back to the monitor the moment he accepted the
sprinkled treat from the Publix grocery store clerk. "He's in his own
world," said his mother, Amy Malcom, who was for once at peace as she
filled her cart with veggies and snacks.
To parents, the TV Kart and its "Bob the Builder" and "Barney" videos allow
a few precious moments while they check off their grocery lists. But to
reluctant grocers, it could be nothing more than another expense with
little payoff in the notoriously low-margin grocery business.
Over the years, high-tech shopping carts in one form or another have been
hyped as ways to keep people in stores longer and to spend more money, only
to fall short of expectations. Some blurted out recipe tips or displayed
video ads. Others spit out coupons while they rolled down the aisles.
Each idea might have improved the stores' hip factor, but each also had
little immediate effect on bottom lines. And if grocers don't see a bump in
sales, high-tech carts quickly become expendable, said Dave Hogan, the
chief information officer of the Washington-based National Retail Federation.
"There has to be a business rationale," Hogan said. "A customer might think
it's kind of cool, but there's got to be a payback. And they're not proving
their payback yet."
Still, companies are trying where others have failed, banking on
technological advances.
The Personal Shopping Assistant, developed by IBM Corp. and Cuesol Inc.,
allows customers to fill out a grocery list on their home computers, then
log into the system at the store to organize their trip.
A small screen mounted on a cart shows a running tally of what customers
buy and also can show where items on the list are located. The system costs
between $60,000 and $120,000 per store, and they're being used in more than
two dozen supermarkets, mostly in New England.
"I don't know that grocers are ready yet. But I believe they are. And I
think they are because guys like us have finally found out what makes
sense," said Mike Grimes, Cuesol's vice president of sales and business
development. "In the next 12 months, we should know whether this thing will
catch fire or not."
A competing device called Concierge, which is made by Toronto-based
Springboard Retail Networks Inc., expects to announce a trial in a major
market by year's end, said Sylvain Perrier, the company's vice president of
technology.
Cabco Group Ltd., the New Zealand-based company that makes the TV Kart,
argues that past attempts failed because they offered shoppers no real
advantage.
"This is all about improving the shopping experience. Unless you're going
to do something that's going to give a direct customer benefit, it's never
going to catch on," said Doug Bartlett, the company's business development
manager.
So far, more than 2,000 TV Karts have been deployed at supermarkets in
eight states, mostly in the Midwest. Publix and Wal-Mart are among the
chains testing their popularity.
For $1, shoppers can rent the brightly colored carts, which play an
hourlong DVD of whichever children's television show adorns the side _
"Barney," "Bob the Builder" or "The Wiggles."
They each look more like a toy car than a shopping cart, with oversized
doors on the sides and a narrow bench on which up to two children can sit,
buckle up and watch the TV in the dashboard. (The screens are about the
size of a TV dinner, and cart-pushers can hardly hear the audio.) Overhead,
there are two storage bins offering rather limited space for parents to
pack their groceries, a frequent complaint of the parents.
In engineering the $1,500 entertainment system on wheels, the company had
to develop a docking station to recharge the carts' batteries when they're
not in use. To deter theft, they lodged the monitor deep within a hulking
case and designed wheels that lock until they're activated by a parent and
skid to a halt when they roll past a checkout line.
There's no doubt the carts are popular with toddlers, who point immediately
at their favorite characters as they walk through the store's sliding doors.
"People are making special trips to the store," said Kevin Kidd, a Publix
store manager who said the three carts at his store in the north Atlanta
suburb of Alpharetta each log about 60 rides per week.
Yet Cabco and other cart builders still have a long way to go to impress
the grocery industry's picky decision makers, said Peter Fader, a marketing
professor at University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
"They're very reluctant to make big investments unless there's a proven
payback," he said. "Something that changes behavior over time is often not
worth it. It's not just in respect to carts. It's in respect to anything.
Grocers just can't risk change."
If high-tech carts catch on, expect another side effect: Cart conflicts at
a supermarket near you.
Two-year-old twins Sam and Lindsay Rothman were babbling happily as they
strolled with their grandmother, Ann Kafetz, into the Publix store in the
north Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta. But when she passed over the TV Kart
for the old-fashioned variety, they broke down into tantrums.
"It's the principle of the thing," she said, defending her decision. "They
have so much stuff. And they could live without it."
Not surprisingly, Sam disagreed. For the next few moments, his cries of "I
want Barney" echoed throughout the store.
___
On the Net:
TV Kart: http://www.tvkart.com/
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 9
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 19:59:11 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Nuclear Renaissance Prompts Uranium Boom
To: medianews@twiar.org
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED],
[EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Nuclear Renaissance Prompts Uranium Boom
By PAUL FOY
The Associated Press
Saturday, September 16, 2006; 12:20 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/16/AR2006091600237_pf.html
TICABOO, Utah -- The last U.S. uranium mill ever built, in this parched
landscape near Lake Powell, shut down almost as quickly as it started
operating as nuclear power fell into disfavor about two decades ago.
Keith Larsen, chief executive for U.S. Energy Corp., picked up the mill 10
years later for practically nothing, banking it for better days. His
patience paid off, making Larsen's company one of the few already taking
profits out of a new uranium boom.
Larsen's mothballed mill, once a liability, became a $90 million asset with
mining claims _ the deal he made to sell the package to Toronto-based SXR
Uranium One Inc. by the end of the year.
Suddenly, nuclear power is back in demand as a relatively cheap, reliable
and emissions-free solution to the world's insatiable demand for energy.
Even some leading environmentalists have endorsed nuclear power as an
antidote to global warming. More than 50 nuclear plants are planned or
under construction in a dozen countries, according to U.S. and
international nuclear agencies.
The nuclear comeback has reinvigorated a Western mining industry that,
during the 1950s and again in the 1970s, was the stuff of legends. Uranium
claims _ which grant an exclusive right to mine a piece of federal land _
were bought and sold like stock.
The successive booms made millionaires and losers and overnight towns. It
also left some environmental damage, including a huge pile of radioactive
uranium tailings the government has promised to move from a bank of the
Colorado River near Moab, Utah.
Today's boom doesn't have people running around with Geiger counters. For
the most part, the West's uranium deposits are known, mapped and claimed.
"It's nothing like it used to be," said Moab Mayor David Sakrison, whose
town has been transformed into a recreational playground. "It's a different
community. We're more tourist oriented. A lot of the people who lived here
in the 1970s have moved away. It's a new cast of characters."
The first Western uranium boom answered a call in 1948 for domestic uranium
stockpiles for atomic bombs. By the 1970s, demand from nuclear power plants
was picking up, until the partial meltdown of a Three Mile Island reactor
in 1979 signaled a shift in public acceptance.
The Ticaboo mill here opened in 1982 just in time to watch the bottom fall
out of the uranium market. Utilities were canceling orders for new nuclear
plants. The 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Russia further tarnished nuclear power.
Two decades later, the spot price for milled uranium yellowcake has jumped
sharply to $52 a pound after bottoming out at $7 in 2001. Higher prices
have motivated thousands to snatch up expired uranium claims and
wildcatters to sink test drills in places where it's a good bet.
"If you find one of those ore bodies, it's a valuable asset," said
geologist Richard Dorman, exploration manager for British Columbia-based
Universal Uranium Ltd.
Dorman started a second round of drilling this month on a largely
unexplored side of fabled Lisbon Valley near Moab, about 314 miles south of
Salt Lake City.
Over forty years, more than 80 million pounds of uranium ore were taken
from Lisbon Valley. The area was the setting of a Hollywood movie that
chronicled the rags-to-riches story of Charlie Steen, a geologist who
launched Utah's first uranium rush with the discovery July 6, 1952, of one
of the richest ore bodies mined in the United States.
Dorman is certain the fault that created Lisbon Valley hides a continuation
of that ore body. Another British Columbia exploration company, Mesa
Uranium, says it's closing in on the same uranium-speckled sandstone deposits.
Not far away, International Uranium Corp. operates the only working U.S.
uranium mill, near Blanding, Utah, which has been surviving for years on
"alternate feeds," processing contaminated soil or radioactive ore from
others trying to get rid of it.
Ron Hochstein, president and chief executive officer, says the company
plans to resume mining uranium ore at a dozen locations in northern Arizona.
Uranium production has a future again, though the nation hasn't solved the
disposal problem for spent fuel rods, said John D. Parkyn, chairman and
chief executive of Private Fuel Storage, a group of nuclear-power utilities
blocked by federal authorities from opening a temporary repository at an
American Indian reservation in Utah's west desert.
A more permanent repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain, not scheduled to
open until 2017 _ 19 years late _ may never open, he says, adding,
"Presidents come and go, and some of them slowed it down."
That hasn't stopped utilities from making plans to open or add nuclear
plants, however.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says U.S. utilities are looking at
building as many as 27 reactors, and it just licensed a $1.5 billion
uranium enrichment plant near Eunice, N.M., where a groundbreaking was held
Aug. 29.
Louisiana Energy Services, a subsidiary of Urenco Ltd., is building the
first U.S. installation that will use modern centrifuge technology. USEC,
formerly the United States Enrichment Corporation and an arm of the federal
government until 1998, operates a gaseous diffusion plant in Paducah,
Kentucky, where pumps and filters separate lighter uranium atoms from
heavier atoms in a slower, more power-intensive process.
The nation's 103 operating nuclear power plants already are operating on
dwindling stockpiles of uranium _ some of it converted from Russian bombs _
while energy-hungry China and India are rushing to build their own nuclear
power plants.
Larsen sees no let up in the world demand for uranium fuel, even as his
company leaves behind a large part of the business for molybdenum prospects
in Colorado. U.S. Energy Corp. will keep a small royalty in the Ticaboo
mill, take about 5 percent of SXR's stock and hold onto a uranium deposit
in Wyoming.
It also will keep a small royalty on Wyoming's Sweetwater uranium mill, on
standby for years. Mining multinational Rio Tinto is selling that mill to
SXR, which plans to open the Sweetwater and Ticaboo mills by 2010.
In New Mexico, Strathmore Minerals Corp. is looking at opening a third mill
and making use of its extensive uranium claims there.
Uranium concentrate is in short supply, with world consumption of 180
million pounds outpacing annual production of 100 million pounds, according
to industry and government estimates. For now, the difference is being made
up by dwindling stockpiles _ and the shortage is expected to get worse as
new plants come on line.
"Bottom line, we'll probably have five new nuclear plants in the U.S. by
2015," Larsen said. "Now we're in a pinch. It's emergency time. We don't
have enough energy."
U.S. utilities looking at building or adding reactors are being motivated
partly by the escalating cost of natural gas, and partly by fears the
government may tax coal-fired plants for the carbon emissions they release
into the air.
Outside of the United States, the Nuclear Energy Institute says 27 nuclear
plants are under construction in 11 other countries, adding to the world's
442 nuclear plants.
The uranium boom has met only tepid resistance here from the environmental
movement. The Southern Utah Wilderness says the largely worked-over uranium
deposits fall outside vast areas of redrock canyons it has proposed for
wilderness protection.
Federal policy, meanwhile, is changing to expedite development of nuclear
power.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is streamlining licensing and operating
approvals for a standardized _ and vastly improved _ new generation of
reactors. The Energy Act of 2005 offered loan guarantees, production tax
credits and partial reimbursement against regulatory delays for builders of
nuclear plants.
Larsen, 47, recalls when the federal government dumped its uranium stocks
on the market, depressing the price of uranium yellowcake in the early
1980s. Even though the price has rebounded to $52, Larsen said it can move
a lot higher.
By his measure, the price can double again and still make uranium as
economical as coal for producing electricity.
"Our nation needs nuclear power," Larsen said. "It's the cleanest, the
cheapest and it's advanced so much we're not going to have another
Chernobyl. Three Mile Island is still in operation, and it's one of the
most efficient plants in the U.S. The new designs have vastly improved
since the 1970s."
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 10
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 20:01:27 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Uranium Boom Challenges Older Companies
To: medianews@twiar.org
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED],
[EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
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Uranium Boom Challenges Older Companies
By CATHERINE TSAI
The Associated Press
Saturday, September 16, 2006; 2:40 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/16/AR2006091600236_pf.html
CANON CITY, Colo. -- It's dead silent at the Cotter Corp. uranium mill
outside this southern Colorado prison town just one driveway down from a
golf course. Steam should be rising from the boiler. A loader should be
moving ore to the mill to be turned into yellowcake.
But the mill is shut down and there are just 34 employees here instead of
115. Trucks that once hauled ore 300 miles from southwestern Colorado have
been idled. The mines are on standby, despite a growing interest in uranium
across the West and around the world.
While uranium prices have roughly tripled from $15 per pound in 2002,
Cotter officials figure the price will have to reach $60 before the mill is
up and running again.
Uranium potentially could hit that price as soon as early next year, if
prices keep rising at the same pace as they have been, said Nick Carter of
The Ux Consulting Company, a consultant to the uranium mining industry.
Industry observers say everything from world events to uranium production
and expansion worldwide will affect how high uranium prices go, but for now
demand is outstripping supply. Given how much time it can take to ramp up
production, demand is expected to stay strong at least for the next year or
two.
Cotter Corp. President Amory Quinn, vice president of uranium operations
for Cotter parent General Atomics, said the Canon City mill has aging
equipment that needs tens of millions of dollars in upgrades _ work that
won't be done any time soon.
"Today the price of uranium is not high enough to make it profitable,"
Quinn said.
The surge in demand for clean, inexpensive electricity, particularly in
Asia, has led to the sudden new interest in uranium. New mining claims are
being staked, old mills are being revived and the government recently
licensed what will be the nation's second uranium enrichment plant in New
Mexico.
But as old uranium hotspots like Uravan, Colo., Jeffrey City, Wyo., and
Ticaboo, Utah, get another look, veteran private companies like Cotter are
on the outside looking in. Public companies like International Uranium
Corp. and the juggernaut Cameco Corp. _ along with their eager investors _
are going full speed.
The hundreds of new, small companies trying to get in on the uranium boom
are mostly led by entrepreneurs raising cash through the stock market, said
Tom Pool, an industry consultant with International Nuclear Inc. in Golden.
Those companies either have to acquire old uranium assets or start from
scratch, meaning it could take years for them to begin recovering or
processing ore.
Cotter's mill and mines have been around for decades, finding and
processing uranium and an accompanying metal, vanadium, that is used to
harden other metals.
Uranium was selling for above $60 per pound in today's dollars when
Cotter's mill began running in 1958. Uranium prices plummeted to the single
digits in the 1980s and 1990s amid a recession and the end of the Cold War,
before they rebounded and Cotter reopened four mines in Colorado in 2003
and 2004.
In 2005, the mines produced 255,000 pounds of uranium and 1.37 million
pounds of vanadium found in the same ore, said Jim Cappa, chief of the
mineral and mineral fuels section of the Colorado Geological Survey. As
recently as last fall, there were 115 workers here processing uranium and
vanadium, mill manager John Hamrick said.
But vanadium prices have been volatile. The average price was $17.52 a
pound in 2005 but was hovering around half that earlier this summer. And
rising gasoline costs took their toll, making it more and more expensive to
haul ore from mines in the Uravan area of southwest Colorado.
"Any time you transport ore by truck 300 miles and fuel costs are $3 per
gallon, it's a problem," Quinn said. "We know uranium is going up and the
boom is near, but we're not going to jump on the bandwagon and lose another
$30 million or $40 million."
Cotter closed its mines in November. The mill got its last shipment of ore
in February.
Mayor Bill Jackson remembers when Cotter first put up the mill about 50
years ago. Tourism and state prisons drive the local economy now, but back
then, the town had 14 operating coal mines, he said.
"As time goes on, why, things change. We no longer have coal mines
operating, so the mining aspect to the community has diminished," Jackson
said. "When you get that kind of job fluctation, it's bound to have some
economic effect. Most of those jobs are better-paying jobs."
It may be years before Cotter tries to revive the mill, Hamrick said.
In the meantime, Cotter has tried to keep the mill humming with plans to
accept and dispose of radioactive waste from a Superfund site in Maywood,
N.J. It later proposed accepting waste to process from the former Sequoyah
Fuels Corp. plant in Oklahoma.
So far, state regulators have blocked both plans.
The Maywood proposal, in particular, prompted an outcry from the community,
many of whom remember when the Cotter mill was named a Superfund site in
1984 after contamination from unlined tailings ponds seeped into the
groundwater.
Lawsuits alleging health problems and property damage followed. Residents
formed Colorado Citizens Against Toxic Waste Inc., which has lobbied for
the mill to be decommissioned.
"The community has forcefully spoken to the Legislature, who has forcefully
spoken to the regulators, who put every conceivable barrier in front of
Cotter to doing these kinds of other business activities whether it makes
sense or whether it's a danger to the public or not," said Randy Roberts, a
member of the Fremont County Independent Outreach Committee.
The committee of volunteers says it keeps an eye on Cotter and also works
with a community facilitator funded by the company.
Roberts, the nephew of a Cotter employee who died of cancer, said the
company's most vocal opponents have responded based on emotion rather than
science.
"Cotter's dealing with more than just the economics of supply and demand.
They've got this huge wildcard in there involving environmental issues,"
Roberts said. "That has been as much or more of a hindrance to their
function than real live economics and technology."
Not all is grim for Cotter.
Pool, the industry consultant, estimates it would take five to seven years
for a startup to build a mill from scratch and obtain a license _ two
things Cotter already has. But it needs to invest a large amount of
capital, Pool said.
Quinn said Cotter has not received offers of a buyout.
"Cotter is not done. We're just waiting for the price to go up a little
bit," Quinn said. "When the price is right, they'll start it right up. It's
just a matter of economics."
___
On the Net:
Cotter Corp.: http://www.cotterusa.com
Colorado health department:
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hm/cotter/cotterhom.htm
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
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End of Medianews Digest, Vol 33, Issue 1
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