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Household, Misc. Gadgets Northeastern University students build web-syncing, home-automating DPAC alarm clock By Donald Melanson posted May 6th 2010 4:51PM It may not actually be available for sale, but it looks like some students from Northeastern University are giving devices like the Chumby and Sony Dash a run for their money. They've built this so-called Dynamically Programmable Alarm Clock, or DPAC, which can sync up with your Google Calendar to automatically set alarms, get traffic, weather and other information, and even integrate with a home automation system to turn on the lights, open the blinds, and start your coffee maker as part of a wake-up cycle. What's more, the whole thing can also be configured using a web interface, and it of course packs a built-in FM radio and an iPod dock for good measure. Hit up the source link below for a look at the months-long build process, and head on past the break to check it out in action. See: http://egaertner.com/dpac/

Small high-tech firms are universally considered to be key for stimulating innovation and economic growth. But what if these companies do not grow, due to limited entrepreneurial ambition, premature acquisitions, limited access to market? This is a key problem for policy-makers, but also for the stakeholders of these firms.

Can "Universal Expositions", or EXPOs as they are now known stimulate innovation? This was the case 100 years ago, and it might happen now too, if one looks at the concepts for "future cities" being showcased in Shanghai. However, it is also true that the lead time from showing an invention at such events to actual diffusion is often very long.

A brief editorial comment on the problem of conflicts of interest that emerge between companies that sponsor academic research and the recipients of such grants. Of course, when the field is pharmaceuticals, the problems become very big.