Oregon,United States

I'm typically cynical when it comes to the promises of government reform packages, but it seems like almost everyday there's another great project that is at least indirectly benefitting from the stimulus bill. Here's today's example.

We already heard that the stimulus bill will help build California's high speed rail and now a project to add electrical transmission capacity in Oregon is being pushed forward thanks to the bill. Bonneville Power Administration can go ahead with their $246-million, 870-MW McNary-John Day project after the bill's funds removed a "major uncertainty" about its future.

While technology manufacturers are cutting back on investments, computer chipmaker Intel is doing the opposite. The company said it will invest $7 billion over the next two years on three factory upgrades in the United States.

Intel said the investment is its largest on new manufacturing and represents 7,000 high-wage jobs. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company plans to upgrade existing facilities in Arizona, New Mexico and Oregon to manufacture its 32-nanometer products.

The Justice Department doesn't have to look far to find a scam that preys on people whose retirement plans have been crippled by the global financial meltdown.

It designed one of its own. And e-mailed it to agency employees.

The bogus offer -- signed by "Thrift Savings Plan Account Coordinator" -- was sent two weeks ago and directed employees to a Web site and asked them to plug in account information by Jan. 31.

The hoax triggered a bout of anxiety and warnings among Justice Department employees.

Like Exxon, Lockheed Martin Corp. is not usually associated with environmental friendliness, but it can now be counted as another large corporation that has discovered that adding some green projects to their portfolio is both good for the planet and their bottom line.

Just as Clearwire Corp. has fired up its long-awaited WiMax wireless data network in two cities, Nokia Corp. has stopped selling the only portable gadget that can use the network without accessories.

Nokia spokeswoman Laurie Armstrong confirmed Wednesday that the company has discontinued the N810 Internet Tablet WiMax Edition on its Web site.

Armstrong did not say why the tablet was withdrawn. But she said Nokia is still interested in WiMax, and by the time WiMax networks are more widely deployed, "refreshed products with even better performance will be required."

One of the most useful free tools out there is Google Trends and I’m continually surprised by the innovative ways I see it used by my colleagues. Beyond the obvious function in SEM and SEO campaigns, the half of all internet users who are starting their session with a good Google must be giving use some other useful information. Google showcased this recently with their Flu Trends project and it got me thinking about other ways to bring the line graphs to life.

One of the most useful free tools out there is Google Trends and I’m continually surprised by the innovative ways I see it used by my colleagues. Beyond the obvious function in SEM and SEO campaigns, the half of all internet users who are starting their session with a good Google must be giving use some other useful information. Google showcased this recently with their Flu Trends project and it got me thinking about other ways to bring the line graphs to life.