A fleet of U.S. Navy destroyers is rolling out workflow software called Jess, which is developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Sandia National Laboratories, Government Computer News reports. Using the Eclipse platform, the software allows developers to build workflow and business rules directly into Java applications. According to the DOE, Lockheed Martin, the lead contractor building the fleet of DDG 1000s, has licensed the Jess rules engine (Version 7.1a3) for onboard use to help manage the alarm system and evaluate ship safety. Meanwhile, Sandia also has licensed Jess for use by corporations, academic institutions and other government agencies (Jackson, GCN, 1/31/08).

A recent survey suggests that 77 percent of American consumers are ready for fingerprint sensors to become part of their daily activities, the Birmingham Business Journal reports. Conducted independently by Zoomerang for Florida-based fingerprint sensor producer AuthenTec Inc., the survey also finds that 66 percent of Americans trust the sensors more than traditional PIN numbers or passwords and 68 percent find them more convenient. The survey concludes that the data suggests support for broader adoption of the technology in consumer products such as personal computers and e-commerce applications (Birmingham Business Journal, 1/31/08).

In an effort to encourage environmentally-friendly practices, The Nature Conservancy on its Web site highlights advice from Christian Renaud, the chief architect of networked virtual environments for the Cisco Technology Center, who supports increased use of virtual tools in the workplace. In this article, Renaud outlines steps professionals can take to protect the environment including relying on Web conferencing and VoIP to reduce cross-country air travel for face-to-face meetings (Renaud, TNC, 1/30/08).

Tennessee’s Department of Education recently deployed Oracle infrastructure software to better manage student data, Government Computer News reports. Specifically, the department is installing Oracle Database; Oracle Warehouse Builder; and components of Oracle Fusion Middleware including Oracle Application Server, Oracle Business Intelligence Standard Edition and Oracle Portal to comply with federal and state reporting requirements. The new programs enable the department and school district officials to track student records such as attendance, assessment, enrollment and truancy information, as well as identify areas in need of improvement, according to Oracle. Specifically, the Oracle-based data warehouse generates five reports including assessment data, which includes standardized assessment grades. Other reports cover attendance; exit status data such as enrollment, student withdrawals and graduation rates; discipline records; and truancy rates. The department also will be able to produce its annual state report card that assesses school performance, as well as allow school districts to access data on teacher qualifications (Walsh, GCN, 1/30/08).

The University of Utah recently received a $9 million Federal Communications Commission grant to expand the Utah Telehealth Network, the Deseret Morning News reports. The grant will help expand the network to include roughly 50 additional sites statewide and will enable the more than 30 existing sites to switch to Ethernet connections, which will significantly boost speed and increase the volume of data that can be exchanged, according to officials. University Health Care and Intermountain Healthcare together will lead the expansion with help from other partners such as the Association of Utah Community Health and the Utah Navajo Health System. As a condition of the grant, the FCC requires that network organizers secure 15 percent in matching funds to help cover the cost of the entire expansion, which is slated for completion in 2011 (Collins, Deseret Morning News, 1/31/08).

The U.S. Air Force’s (AF) Electronic Systems Center and new Cyber Command this week held a two-day event in Massachusetts for contractors interested in helping construct an automated cyber-defense and retaliation system, United Press International reports. The AF last month detailed a Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for what it called a Cyber Control System (CCS), which would manage "command and control" for the AF's portion of the Pentagon's Global Information Grid intranet. In its proposal, the AF solicit interested companies to develop their own ideas about CCS and to attend the industry event to share ideas with military planners. According to an AF statement, roughly $7 million has been allocated this year for the system, which will be phased in beginning with a test of phase one in September. One commander says the first phase should "be able to detect patterns and give operators within the Air Force Network Operations Center near-real-time information about any suspected network disturbances," adding that it also will enable information transfers “to kinetic and non-kinetic war fighters and decision makers." At the event, industry partners are being asked to develop the phases and officials hope to release a formal plan by March and have a fully operational system by 2010 (Waterman, UPI, 1/30/08).

In a press release, Intel Corporation on Monday announced it has purchased more than 1.3 billion kilowatt hours per year of renewable energy certificates as part of a comprehensive approach to curb its impact on the environment. According to the release, the move may make the company the single largest U.S. corporate purchaser of green power. In addition, the purchase brought Intel to the top of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) latest Green Power Partners Top 25 list, as well as to the No. 1 spot on EPA's Fortune 500 Green Power Partners list. Intel officials note that they hope the record-setting purchase will encourage the market to adopt green power, potentially leading to additional generating capacity and lower costs (Intel release, 1/28/08).

Adam Ostrow reports on Mashable.com that the social networking site MySpace on Feb. 5 will launch a developer platform. Pre-registration is available now at http://developer.myspace.com. According to the article, MySpace plans to help developers “monetize their applications, potentially through a revenue share program,” meaning the company may use its major advertising sales force to help developers earn top revenue. Though final details will not be released until Feb. 5, preliminary details discussed in the article suggest MySpace has been closely watching other sites such as Facebook to learn the best strategies for a social network developers platform (Ostrow, Mashable Social Networking News, 1/30/08).

IBM on Tuesday announced it is adding a new capability to its virtualization platform that will enable Linux applications to run on IBM's Unix servers, IDG News Service reports. Slated for inclusion in all editions of IBM’s PowerVM virtualization software (formerly known as the Advanced Power Virtualization platform), the "Lx86" capability enables x86-based Linux applications to run on IBM's System p and Power-based Unix systems without modification, the company says. The systems will be designed to auto-detect and run Linux-based binaries designed for x86 environments. Meanwhile, IBM also announced plans to update its i5/OS with support for Power6 processors. According to the company, the V6R1 update will include improved performance, storage and security features (Shah, IDG News Service/Yahoo! News, 1/30/08) 

Connecticut’s governor today announced that her revised budget will include $5 million to support industry-university partnerships in nanotechnology research at Yale University and the University of Connecticut (UConn). Using the funding, each university will establish Centers of Nanoscience and will make both accessible to industry representatives, faculty and students outside each institution. Specifically, the Yale Center will focus on the application of nanotechnology to bioscience, while the UConn Center will emphasize material science (Governor’s release, 1/30/08).