management

General Electric and Nissan, keen on advancing plug-in vehicles, are looking for ways to make electric cars part of a home energy system.

The two companies on Friday signed a two-year research collaboration to speed up deployment of electric vehicles, an extension to an agreement announced last year.

One project focuses on tying electric cars' batteries into GE's energy management system. Nissan is already developing a Nissan Leaf battery charge point, which can provide backup power to homes.

The research will look at whether stored energy can automatically supply a house during peak times, when electricity rates are higher. … Read more

When dealing with several hundred items, it's a good idea to have a solid system of organization. This is true if you're a collector of things like cards, work in a system with a lot of tools or clients, or even if you're at home working with different fonts on your computer. Unfortunately in the case of the last example, Windows 7 users get the short end of the stick on native options for font organization. However, using the free tool NexusFont can alleviate this problem.

To begin, download and install NexusFont.

Groups are … Read more

Houston, we have a health problem.

About 30 percent of adults in the U.S. have at least two chronic health conditions. Roughly half of a panel of surveyed patients are not complying with doctor's orders. And more than half of Americans could be obese by 2030.

In the coming years it's going to be more important than ever for doctors' offices to be able to automatically track their patients across a variety of parameters, from age and ethnicity to conditions and diseases, and even to compliance levels. Dallas-based health management firm Phytel is hoping that the platform it's unveiling today … Read more

Mike Shaver, vice president of technical strategy at Mozilla and an influential Firefox executive, is leaving the nonprofit that develops the open-source browser.

Shaver had worked directly for Mozilla for six years, though he worked longer before that as part of the volunteer community around the software project. He announced the departure on his blog yesterday:

I've decided that it's time for me to move on from the Mozilla Corporation, where I have enjoyed 6 years surrounded by incredible people doing incredible things on (and to) the Web. I haven't yet decided what's next, though I … Read more

WASHINGTON D.C.--The smart grid was hyped and then deflated. Now, it's looking to rebound, this time with consumers along for the ride.

Consumer "engagement" is a persistent theme at the GridWeek conference here, where people said new grid technologies need to be made relevant to consumers.

Smart-grid technology is already bringing more information about energy usage, shortening power outages, or generating tips to improve home efficiency. The problem is that many advanced services are only offered to small groups of people as part of pilot programs.

So what will it take to speed up the … Read more

WASHINGTON D.C.--Best Buy plans to start selling home energy management products in stores later this year, creating a channel to introduce consumers to emerging grid technologies.

The consumer electronics retailer in late October will start a trial in which three stores will have dedicated areas to demonstrate and explain a range of home energy technologies, said Kris Bowring, senior director and platform lead for home energy at Best Buy, at the GridWeek conference here yesterday.

The choice of products has not yet been finalized but there will be a variety, ranging from simple whole-house energy monitors to a … Read more

Wunderlist is a beautifully designed, multiplatform task management tool that can sync with the cloud and even add tasks via e-mail.

The beauty of Wunderlist lies in its simplicity. Its interface is made up mostly of Tasks and Lists. Lists are essentially groups of tasks, great for organizing projects or categories of to-dos.

To get started, tap the Lists tab on the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen, then create a new List. From there, you can tap the List and add new Tasks to it. You can prioritize Tasks with a star, create due dates, and add … Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The gateway to controlling home energy--the thermostat--is joining the Internet in the name of better and more customized energy efficiency.

Thermostat maker Honeywell today announced a partnership to develop a product platform with Opower, which provides customized home energy efficiency recommendations by analyzing home energy patterns.

Products from the collaboration will be ready for testing with utilities in the next few months, according to representatives from the company. The deal was announced at the GridWeek conference here.

The companies were cagey on precise details about the product, but said it will combine Opower's energy efficiency recommendation … Read more

If you leave your computer on for extended periods of time, it's usually a good idea to perform a reboot now and then. Furthermore, if you're managing multiple computers, it's difficult to remember when each received a reboot. That's why Windows keeps track of your total up-time and the last time your computer booted for you. Here's how to access those pieces of information:

Note: You can also use these instructions to see how long you've been sitting in front of the computer, if you turn it off after each use.