Smart Grid Stimulus

EE Times reports: “Eighteen million homes—13 percent of all U.S. households—will get smart electric meters within three years as part of $3.4 billion in U.S. government grants to upgrade the country’s aging electric grid. President Barack Obama will formally announce the awards Tuesday (October 27) in remarks at one of the country’s largest solar farms in Arcadia, Florida.

The grants represent a small sliver of the U.S. economic stimulus package announced earlier this year. But they are perhaps one of the biggest pieces in a set of federal government moves to accelerate work on the transition to a so-called smart grid.” [Full article]

Deal Radar 2009: Extrabux

Extrabux.com is a comparison shopping website that combines discounts from coupons and cash back to give shoppers the lowest price for any product. The site aims to save shoppers money on everyday purchases by enabling them to search for a product and view all the stores selling that product, along with the final price. The site integrates online coupons, cash-back rebates, and tax and shipping costs to show the lowest possible prices on over 30 million products from over 1,500 top online retailers. >>>

Making Serious Money From Casual Games: King.com CEO Riccardo Zacconi (Part 6)

SM: Can you describe the games that people are playing in these tournaments?

RZ: We had about 150 games on the site. They are classic casual games. They go from puzzle and word games to suduko and card games. We develop all the games in-house. >>>

Deal Radar 2009: AppSense

AppSense is a user environment management (UEM) software solutions provider for user profile management, optimized application response, application feature lock down, protection from unauthorized applications, reduced logon/logoff times, and virtual and contextual desktops. Founded in 1999, the company is based in Daresbury, the United Kingdom, and has offices in London, New York, Melbourne, and Munich. >>>

Making Serious Money From Casual Games: King.com CEO Riccardo Zacconi (Part 5)

SM: Let me ask you some ramp questions. In 2003, you launched the site. In 2005, it started becoming profitable. What was your revenue ramp between 2003 and 2005?

RZ: In 2003, we had very little. Revenue, in euros, was 14,000. In 2004, we had 2.3 million and in 2005 we had 10.8 million. >>>

Catching Up On Readings: E-Books On The Brain

Major tech firms are devoting an increasing amount of time and money to develop e-book readers. Read about the trend in this week’s Technology Stocks posts. >>>

Making Serious Money From Casual Games: King.com CEO Riccardo Zacconi (Part 4)

SM: Who were your primary partners in the early days of King?

RZ: We partnered with Lycos, T-Online, and major portals. >>>

Ford Hall Opening, Smith College

On October 16th, a crisp fall day, my alma mater, Smith College, opened its new Science and Engineering center, Ford Hall. Built with a recession-defying budget of $76 million, the building represents the college’s ambitions to house 21st century disciplines at a large scale. >>>