Title: AIMC presenta los resultados de su Décima  Encuesta a Usuarios de Internet
Source: noticias.ya.com
Date: February 22, 2008
Abstract: Some 26.9% of the population in Spain over 14 years old uses Internet on a daily basis, with blogging being the activity experiencing the most growth last year among users. This according to data from AIMC (Asociación para la Investigación de Medios de Comunicación), which has released its tenth Internet user survey, designed to circulate information about the current situation and behavior of Internet users and find out which online applications and systems are faring the best. The study focuses closely on the emerging areas being developed on the Internet, including Web-based TV, tools that provide RSS news feeds, and the new virtual worlds, such as Second Life.

 

In 2007, US risk capital investment in green technologies amounted to 2.5 billion dollars, a 70% increase, according to Dow Jones VentureSource.
This push for going green among ICT companies, which includes a wide variety of measures—from more eco-friendly packaging, to the use of more energy efficient lighting, the promotion of cell-phone recycling and even computers made out of corn, as announced by Fujitsu—is complemented by the moves made by young innovative companies that view eco-technology as a business opportunity. This year's edition of fairs such as CES and CeBIT have reflected this effort to achieve efficient, sustainable technologies, such as the transistors made by UK firm Freeplay Energy, hydrogen batteries from US manufacturer Millennium Cell, laptops built by Japan’s Fujitsu with corn-derived bioplastic, and Climate Savers, the energy conservation project backed by HP, Google, Lenovo and Dell, among other companies catching this green-technology fever, which is furthered by the proximity of solar cells and chips, as is the case with the innovative, razor-thin solar panels based on the easy-to-use nanoparticles. Meanwhile, battery manufacturers are researching more sustainable technologies for contaminating products, whose use is shooting up thanks to cellular phones. Sanyo, for example, has announced a battery that does not get drained when not in use, thereby saving energy; Google has recently announced a set of plans for developing renewable energies and promoting the production of rechargeable car batteries.

 

Articles in Vnunet.es and Europa Press

The energy crisis, climate change, waste, recycling…warning signs are coming one after another. The most recent one came in early March from the OECD, which is concerned about the predicted state of the planet in the year 2030. Evidently, the environment issue is also causing concern among tech companies. Back in 2006, a study released by the ECOTIC Foundation, PwC and AETIC estimated that by 2010, in Spain alone more than 100,000 tons of waste would be generated by consumer electronics devices. A year later, the launch of Windows Vista was criticized by Greenpeace, which feels that Microsoft should have taken measures to prevent the new hardware demands brought about by Microsoft’s new operating system from translating into more contamination. Recently, Intel decided to take some such measures. One of these consists of consuming 1.3 billion kilowatts/hour in the form of renewable energy, thus driving the industry on eco-friendly energy.

 

Articles in El País and BusinessGreen

bdigital Global Congress, the new name of the Internet Global Congress, is taking care of the final preparations. The annual event, organized by Fundació Barcelona Digital, dedicated to the advances and use of Information technologies by companies, public institutions and society in general, will be taking place May 20-22 at the Palau de Congressos, part of the Fira de Barcelona. The event will include the City of Knowlege Award prize, created to recognize the top projects related to the social use of ICTs, as well as the Digital Innovation Awards Prize, which is divided into three categories and designed to promote innovative ideas and projects generated by companies, technology centers and universities that have potential corporate uses. The deadline for presenting candidates is April 11, 2008, and the period for proposals will also be open until the start of the Congress. Lastly, remember that all subscribers to this newsletter are entitled to a 20% discount off the regular admission prices.