According to an article at Usa Today food prices could be on the rise because of natural calamities and congressional mandates. We may not see it on our grocery bill in the US yet but other countries are already feeling the droughts in Russia, China and Argentina, and the flood in Austalia. The US Congress is also contributing a longer term increase of food prices by mandating that 24% of corn grown in the US be used to create ethanol. The mandate combined with a low corn yield this year has put the US field-corn reserve at the lowest it has been in 15 years. The shortage of "eating corn" has caused the price per bushel to almost double from $3.49 in July to $6.10 in January. The price has been predicted by analysts that the price per bushel will continue to rise to $6.90 by the end of the year. The frightening thing is that corn is made into high-fructose corn syrup, our most common sweetener. The corn syrup is found in a huge amount of processed foods, so a shortage of food could cause a widespread increase in prices. So far the Produce companies have been able to hide the shortage of corn by cutting expensives and even making packages smaller. But after earnings reports came in for last quarter a majority of companies have stated that they will raise prices.

Is 3D the future of home entertainment?

Least anyone forget, the world is still mired in an economic crisis. The US is still experiencing 10% unemployment overall with some regions much higher. Foreclosures are still rising with no end in sight and retirement investments have yet to recover from being halved in the last 2 years. Yes, we may be climbing out, but with predictions of no new jobs until 2012, and credit card limits trimmed, aside from those getting bonuses from bailed out banks and Wall Street Robber-Barons, where will the cash come from? Or are we supposed to think that consumers will lease their next TV from the ‘Bank of Sony’?


With the economy still recovering and consumers weary to buy expensive things can a market for 3D televisions thrive? The average cost of a 3D set is around 3,000 dollars, which is steep for most consumers. The glasses are also another aspect of 3D that will push consumers away. I already wear glasses and I don't enjoy having to put on two pairs at once. Marketing is another weak point for 3D, as it is very hard to show off 3D to some one on a 2D set. With many families still transitioning to high definition televisions I dont think there will be enough consumers who will want a 3D set in the first place. Until 3D goes glasses free and the market for high definition televisions starts to diminish, I think 3D is stuck.

United States to start off shore wind energy projects

The US government today took a bold step towardperhaps finally getting some offshore wind energy development going with $50 million in investment money and promise of renewed effort to develop the energy source.  

The Department of the Interior and Department of Energy have teamed on what they call the jointNational Offshore Wind Strategy: Creating an Offshore Wind Industry in the United States.  Theplan focuses on overcoming three key challenges that have made offshore wind energy practically non-existent in the US: the relatively high cost of offshore wind energy; technical challenges surrounding installation, operations, and grid interconnection; and the lack of site data and experience with project permitting processes.

 This article that can be found on NetworkWorld talks about how the US is heavily investing in alternative energy sources with this massive campaign for off shore wind energy stations. This will be a great economical boost for the country, by using thousands if not millions more wind turbines our national dependence on coal and when teamed with the rising popularity of electric cars such as the Chevy Volt reduce the overall dependency on foreign oil. This will help to stimulate the national economy because more of our funds as a nation will be spent and used here within the States opposed to being sent to outside nations. In addition to boosting our economy this will also reduce the amount of coal required to burn to produce energy for our energy hungry nation reducing pollution and the demand on coal. This will help conserve a dwindling nonrenewable resource and make the tree huggers out there happy at the same time. I see this also as a change in consumer interest for the country, being more responsible for out actions and repercussion as a nation. Overall this sums up to be an addition to the wind energy use, more economical boosts for the US and a reduced use of the polluting dwindling energy source coal.

Tablets Using Android OS

Google just announced that its new tablet computers are going to run off of the Android OS (operating system). The tablets will work the same way that iPads do in the sense that you have to download apps to a computer and then upload them to the tablet, no 3g yet. The new software will supposedly sync the tablets to the computers by themselves wirelessly, downloading the new apps you purchase almost instantaneously. Microsoft's cloud is the main contributor to this new way of downloading apps because it takes all of your data and stores it online that way you can access it anywhere which makes it possible for these tablets to download things without wires or syncing.

This opens up a whole new door for application creators using the Android Market, because now there is a device that has a larger screen which could accommodate better for things like books and movies. There is also a better processor in the tablet than in the phones running Android which makes it possible for games with higher graphics to get good fps (frames per second), opening up the device to more gamers. The fact that this tablet will run off of Android will also draw people in simply because it isn't using Apple's OS. The main thing that worries me is that no price point has been set and the first tablet to come out with this new OS will hit store shelves this month. I'm hoping that the tablet will be priced less than, but no higher than, the iPad less it risk being seen as being overpriced, which would kill its chances. Even with my uncertainty I think with the Android Market backing this product it will do very well against the already established iPad.

ESPN partners with UT to create network

AUSTIN, Texas -- ESPN and the University of Texas will combine on a 24-hour television network showing Longhorns sports as well as original series, studio shows, historical programming and other academic and cultural events.

There also will be an online component to the network offering content not featured on the linear TV feed.

ESPN will help develop, launch and operate the network. It will also handle distribution of the network, which is unnamed as of now. The deal is worth $300 million over 20 years. The network will launch in September.

With the University of Texas the first such school to get a network deal how many other schools will follow suit? Using a network like this Texas seeks to draw in more student athletes via more media exposure as well as to promote their schools sports to a new level of revenue grabbing. With colleges making millions of dollars off of tv deals with major television networks for bowl games alone will we see a new bevy of associated sports networks dedicated to selling us on a particular college? With college sports creating more and more revenue for huge schools like Texas, I think we will see a trend for colleges who want to produce more programming of their sports to more fans over a longer time. With a 20 year deal it looks like we wont see the end of UT's sports for a long time, will networks like these dominate our televisions for years to come?