Microsoft is planning to open “dozens” of retail stores, beyond the four that currently exist, the company’s COO said recently.

According to Softpedia, Microsoft COO Kevin Turner made the comments during the company’s recent Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC).

“We’re going to build dozens more stores. And we’re just getting started on that. And we’re going to keep building them,” Turner reportedly said at the event. read more »

Alaska Airlines, Boeing, Portland International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Spokane International Airport and Washington State University announced a strategic initiative to promote aviation biofuel development in the Pacific Northwest. The first regional assessment of its kind in the United States, the “Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest” project will look at biomass options within a four-state area as possible sources for creating renewable jet fuel.

The comprehensive assessment will examine all phases of developing a sustainable biofuel industry, including biomass production and harvest, refining, transport infrastructure and actual use by airlines. read more »

The U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is now offering a new set of three export-oriented podcasts offering valuable information on issues and challenges small business exporters may find when dealing with specific countries.

The podcasts, featuring interviews with business representatives from Uganda, Cameroon and Bahrain, are part of a comprehensive effort by SBA to promote and support the President’s National Export Initiative. The interviews focus on what U.S. companies can expect when exporting to those countries and provide information relevant to their respective business and import environments. read more »

At the 11th annual Microsoft Research Faculty Summit, Microsoft Corp. announced the latest version of the WorldWide Telescope and unveiled the largest seamless spherical map ever made of the night sky. Microsoft also released the most complete high-resolution coverage of Mars available, provided through an ongoing collaborative relationship with NASA, allowing WorldWide Telescope users to experience Mars in 3-D.

To learn more, Microsoft encourages viewers to download the WorldWide Telescope rich application at www.worldwidetelescope.org. read more »

At the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2010, Microsoft Corp. highlighted market opportunities for hosting and communications service providers as adoption of cloud services among small and midsize business (SMBs) continues to rise. Microsoft is helping service providers take advantage of those opportunities through its software, services and programs that enable them to become trusted advisors and full-service IT providers to businesses.

“Microsoft sees service providers becoming more important as the cloud becomes more predominant. Given their experience in deploying and selling infrastructure and software as a service, businesses will depend on them for IT as a service,” said John Zanni, general manager of Worldwide Hosting for the Communications Sector at Microsoft. read more »

A Redmond-based seller of e-commerce services agreed to change course after customers complained the company promised Web hits but struck out, the Washington Attorney General’s Office announced.

“Visible.net and Captures.com promised small businesses that they’d be ‘blown away’ by achieving top Internet search results,” Attorney General Rob McKenna said. “But merchants who paid thousands of dollars hoping to increase sales found the defendants couldn’t always deliver on their promises. This settlement requires Visible.net and Captures.com to accurately represent their services and will enable us to provide restitution for some customers.” read more »

Black Hat, the world’s leading family of information security events produced by UBM TechWeb, spotlights new vulnerabilities, tools, programs and big names debuting at this year’s event, including a Cyber War discussion by General Michael V. Hayden, former director of the National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency. Black Hat USA will host digital security experts, bringing together public and private sector security professionals and underground hackers in Las Vegas. For more information visit www.blackhat.com. read more »

Kitsap Economic Development Alliance recently announced that the SBA has introduced the first phase of its social media strategy this week.

On the new SBA YouTube Channel there will be videos on topics such as financing, exporting and marketing business.

Also connect with the SBA’s newest resources on Twitter and Facebook as they continue to be developed.

Over the next few years, your trusty incandescent light bulbs will become illegal. Didn’t know that? Don’t feel bad, few people do.

Perfected by inventor Thomas Edison in the 1880s, the incandescent light bulb has been a shining example of American ingenuity and innovation. In fact, the light bulb is the very symbol of a good idea.

Alas, after 130 years of faithful service, the incandescent bulb has been banned by Congress as energy inefficient. Beginning in 2012, 100-watt bulbs will be banned, followed by all others in 2014, although three-way bulbs and some specialty lights will survive — for now. read more »