#Aging: GE & Intel Combine Forces To Improve Independent Living For Seniors
Thought GE & Intel announced in 2009 a partnership to develop technologies for retiring Baby Boomers to enhance their independence, they announced the finalized plans for the organization this week. According to a GE press release, the final legal steps are being taken to create the joint venture by the end of this year. The symbiotic opportunities of these two high-tech companies is stressed by the announcement: “GE and Intel share a common vision to use technology to bring more effective healthcare into millions of homes and to improve the lives of seniors and people with chronic conditions. With the dramatic increase of people living with chronic conditions, and a global aging population, there is a need to find new models of healthcare delivery and extend care to the home and other residential settings.”
What are some of the technological avenues that the new “Care Innovations” company will be developing?
Popularity: 4% | Category Automobiles, Communications, Health, Healthcare, Independent Living, Press Release, Retirement Living, Seniors Life, Technology, Wellness | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#Aging: Ford Motor Co. Features Fonts For Baby Boomers – How Lame Is That?!
As Margo Channing famously said, “You better buckle up. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”
The issue that has fired all cylinders is that the Ford Motor Company is designing a series of cars over the next few years with larger fonts and gauges in order, in part, to appeal to Baby Boomers. Out of the gate, the 2011 Ford Explorer has signage and text some 30% larger than previous generations, and Ford promises to expand the use of larger fonts over the next few years.
Catey Hill of SmartMoney.com noted Ford’s studies of dashboard legibility that argued for safety in larger fonts: “The move is an effort to make it “easier for people of all ages, particularly aging baby boomers, to read display fonts,” the company said in a statement. (Ford conducted a “legibility study,” which found that people’s eyesight begins to decline in their 40s and worsens from there; these results mimic the results of previous studies as well). Of course, it’s also likely an effort to sell more cars to the lucrative boomer demographic.”
As Boomers move toward retirement age, they will soon be a larger American demographic than children under five. So why would it be lame for Ford to adjust the fonts on the dashboards of its cars? Of course it would not be lame: not many five-year-olds in the car-buying market. But try talking sense to Tristan Hankins over at Carscoop.com.
Popularity: 7% | Category Advertising, Aging, Automobiles, Blogs, Communications, Dashboards, Design, Independent Living, Marketing, Opinion, Press Release, Public Relations, Research, Retirement Living, Reviews, Seniors Life, Technology | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
Upcoming Greening Events in Baltimore To Highlight Sustainability Successes
On our entry for 25 March we touted some notable greening projects in New York City, including Annie Novak’s rooftop farm. We also noted opportunities for Baltimore’s citizens to get involved in similar projects. Today we follow on with that call-to-action to draw your attention to a couple of festivals and conferences meant to inspire and educate the Baltimore community to strive for environmental and economic sustainability. We also want to offer kudos to Towson University’s students, staff, and faculty who recycled 140 tons of materials in the fourth annual “RecycleMania” competition held among Maryland’s institutions of higher learning. They far exceeded their goal of 120 tons, itself an expansion over the 114 tons recycled last year. And they did so despite those crippling blizzards in February smack dab in the middle of the competition. (Cue sappy music) Of course, Maryland’s citizenry and environment are the big winners, as schools across the state competed in the 10-week competition.
Popularity: 1% | Category Automobiles, Climate Change, Community, Conference/Congress, Education: General, Greening, Local/Maryland, Nonprofit, Politics, Sustainability | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner
Saving Money, Reducing CO2, and Getting Profitable IS That Easy

Shut down your machine!
The Ford Motor Company did not require the same sorts of bailouts that the General Motors conglomerate did last year. Its family-run structure likely kept its owners, managers, and designers on their toes because they had their own ‘skins-in-the-game.’ Now TreeHugger.com posts a story about how the company went ahead and saved another cool $1.2 million by, uh, turning off the computers at its headquarters at night and on weekends. The decision is rewarded thusly, according to TreeHugger: “By centrally controlling the power settings on the company’s computers, they are saving an estimated $1.2 million annually and keeping between 16,000 and 25,000 metric tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere.”
Popularity: 1% | Category Automobiles, Climate Change, Community, Conference/Congress, Greening, News and Current Affairs, Site Administration, Sustainability, Technology, Urban Farming | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner
Audi’s ‘Green Police’ Ad: Not Just Another Pot Shot at the Green Movement
Repost of original article by Leo Hickman, Feb 8, 2010, guardian.co.uk
Mmm, I wonder if Will Ferrell and his comedy compatriots at Funnyordie.com saw Audi’s Super Bowl ad (Sunday)? If they did, then they might have recognised the ad’s satirical vision of a world patrolled by the “green police”.
The reason being that they made virtually the same joke – scoring far more laughs in the process – in their Green Team video a couple of years ago. (more…)
Popularity: 1% | Category Automobiles, Climate Change, Greening, Marketing, Media Review, Sustainability | | Comments Off
Written by: Marco Kathuria
