We've already talked about IBM's collaboration to develop better recyclable plastics, but they are also collaborating to help build smarter buildings.  Johnson Controls, a leader in energy services and management, and IBM announced last month that they will be collaborating to provide a "Smart Building Solution" in order to reduce energy and water consumption and improve building operations. 

IBM not only cares about our environment, but they have a spot in their heart for the elderly as well.  IBM announced with the National Institute of Design of India (NID) and Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo (RCAST) today that collectively they will research an initiative to develop an open, common user interface platform for mobile devices that will allow disadvantaged populations (such as illiterate, blind, deaf, or elderly) to more easily use the devices.  The project is yet another extension of IBM’s Open Collaborative Research program, which the company hopes will lead to great innovations through university-company collaborations.  

After a multi-year research effort, IBM and Stanford University have announced that they have discovered a new recycling process that can lead to the development of new biodegradable, biocompatible plastics.  This new green process could change the future of sustainability in such industries as biodegradable plastics, plastics recycling, healthcare, and microelectronics.  The results of this study have been published in the American Chemical Society journal.

We've already mentioned Panasonic's announcement of the new LUMIX G2, but Panasonic announced another "world recordholder" yesterday, the LUMIX G10.  The G10 is said to be the world's lightest digital interchangeable lens system camera with a viewfinder.  The G10 is compact and portable, with advanced features that are easy-to-use for beginners.  David Briganti, Senior Product Manager, Imaging, Panasonic said of the G10 "We continue to expand this award-winning LUMIX G Series, and with its easy-to-use features and compact size, we expect the G10 to attract a lot of new users who want to step-up from their point-and-shoots."

There's a lot of buzz out there about Panasonic's 3D HD home theater system, 3D gaming, LED TVs, and LUMIX digital cameras.  Well, Panasonic is giving you the chance to experience all of these amazing products first hand at their "Touch the Future" tour!  Panasonic will be visiting 15 major US cities showcasing their new, exciting products. 

Panasonic announced yesterday the launch of the world's first digital interchangeable lens system with a movable LCD touch control screen, the LUMIX DMC-G2.  The successor to the G1, the world's first Micro Four Thirds digital camera, can use any Four Thirds standard interchangeable lens with the use of an adapter.  The 3 inch LCD touch screen is useful for shooting, playback, and photo viewing. 

We've been discussing today technology blog Gizmodo's leaked information regarding Microsoft's Project Pink, a plan by Microsoft to develop its own line of phones.  It's already been leaked that the phones do exist, there have been initial trials, and that Verizon might be the exclusive carrier.  Now Gizmodo even has leaks of Project Pink's firmware.From the leaked firmware, Gizmodo reports that the carrier is definitely Verizon, but there are also references to AT&T and T-Mobile. The Turtle's screen is 320x240, and the Pure has the same size screen as the exist, there have been initial trials, and that Verizon might be the exclusive carrier.  Now Gizmodo even has leaks of Project Pink's firmware.

The Kill-A-Watt power meter is not new to the marketplace.  The meter assesses how efficient your appliances are by showing their energy consumption.  Now the Kill-A-Watt is helping you determine the energy consumption of all of your electronics with the Kill-A-Watt power strip.  At this year's CES, the power strip was featured, creating a way for you to track the kWh usage of your every-day electronics and shut off your electronics when you've hit your maximum desired amps for the month (or day, or however you want to set it). 

As we mentioned earlier, technology blog site Gizmodo received leaked information confirming that Microsoft will, indeed, be releasing their own line of phones, service, and operating systems.  This leaked information and the first looks at the phones came hours after a marketing campaign was leaked to Gizmodo, showing the new Microsoft phone, Turtle, as being a real product which will be offered under Verizon as the carrier. 

One of our favorite technology blogs, Gizmodo, has been speculating about Microsoft's "Project Pink" phones, saying that the company has been working on self-branded phones with services and operating systems.  Well, it has been confirmed to Gizmodo by a "tipster" and the site has gotten a hold of some first shots of the series of Project Pink Turtle and Pure phones.  The photos came shortly after an advertising campaign leaked that pointed to Verizon as the carrier for the new Turtle phone. 

Adobe Systems, Inc announced on Friday that they are making Photoshop.com Mobile for Android 1.1 editor available to third-party application developers.  In addition, users of Google Mobile will  have the capabilities of quick and easy photo-editing and sharing.  The editor can be used for new editing effects on your camera phone. 

It seems that solar chargers are the new green gadget of the year, and stories are popping up left and right about being green “on the go” with all of your gadgets with the use of solar power.  Well, there’s yet another solar power charger being launched into the marketplace, but this one claims to be better than all the rest.  The JOOS Orange is boasting 20-30 times more power than any other solar charger on the market and is supposed to be able to produce power in the shade or rain.  The device maximizes the power obtained thanks to a micro-processor controlled energy management system.  

In order to repay creditors, Polaroid has been ordered to sell part of the Polaroid Collection  at Sotheby's in New York that shows insight into Polaroid's technology and history.  The collection includes over 1200 Polaroid and non-Polaroid pictures taken by many leading photographers.  The inventor and founder of Polaroid, Edwin Land, requested that Ansel Adams, with whom he worked closely, start the collection.  Adams has over 400 photographs in the collection, as do Peter Beard, Chuck Close, Robert Frank, and many others.

Researchers from IBM are developing a process that takes the copper wires that usually transmit information within computer chips out of the process.  Instead, they have found a way to use "nanophotonic avalanche photodetectors" that use pulses of light to communicate the information.  The great thing about this new process?  It uses 20 times less energy than the copper wires. 

We’ve been closely following the much anticipated results of The Impossible Project, a group determined to reinvent the instant film used in the classic Polaroid camera.  Last month it was announced that the project unveiling would be delayed due to some unforeseen issues and that the future of The Impossible Project was uncertain.  We received this week the new press release announcing that the group will reveal the status of the project this month in New York City.