Top 10: Signs You’re Tech-Obsessed; Least Expected Products to Use Nanotechnology; Uses for Dell Computer Batteries and MORE!

Top 10 Brands of 2006

10. Mercedes-Benz (Germany)
The new S-Class sedan and M-Class SUV are helping repair a tarnished quality reputation. High costs and weak margins will take longer to fix.

9. McDonald’s (U.S.)
A new healthy-living marketing campaign — and the premium-priced sandwiches and salads that came with it — have led to a fourth year of sales gains.

8. Disney (U.S.)
New CEO Robert Iger expanded the brand by buying animation hit-maker Pixar and beefing up digital distribution of TV shows through the Internet and iPods.

7. Toyota (Japan)
Toyota is closing in on GM to become the world’s biggest automaker. A slated 10 percent increase in U.S. sales this year will help even more.

6. Nokia (Finland)
Fashionable designs and low-cost models for the developing world enabled the mobile phone maker to regain ground against competitors.

5. Intel (U.S.)
Profits and market share weren’t the only things slammed by rival AMD. Intel’s brand value tumbled 9%, as it loss business from high-profile customers.

4. GE (U.S.)
The brand Edison built has extended its reach from ovens to credit cards, and the “Ecomagination” push is making GE look like a protector of the planet.

3. IBM (U.S.)
Having off-loaded its low-profit PC business to Lenovo, IBM is marketing on the strategic level to corporate leaders.

2. Microsoft (U.S.)
Threats from Google and Apple haven’t yet offset the power of its Windows and Office monopolies.

1. Coca-Cola (U.S.)
Flagging appetite for soda has cut demand for Coke, but the beverage giant has a raft of new products in the pipeline that could reverse its recent slide.

Source: BusinessWeek

Top 10 Signs You’re Tech-Obsessed

10. You speak in a secret language
9. You own a BlackBerry
8. You change your mobile phone’s “outfits” depending on its ‘mood’
7. You answer your mobile phone when you’re on a date
6. Instead of laughing, you say “LOL”
5. Your favorite song goes “beep”
4. You know your friends by their online “handles” rather than their real names
3. You check your e-mail on Sunday … at 3 a.m.
2. You collect ridiculous accessories
1. You forget basic bodily functions

Source: The Age

Top 10 Least Expected Products to Use Nanotechnology

1. Golf balls and tennis racquets
Manufacturers are always looking for the best new design to improve your score, but this sports equipment is truly high tech. Wilson previously made its nCode tennis racquets of standard carbon, but now uses nanotechnology to pack extra atoms between the carbon atoms to make the racquets stronger, but just as light. A nano-coating on NDliNX golf balls is meant to make them soar faster and feel firmer when hit, thanks to a higher-density polymer layer on the outside of the ball.

2. Stain-resistant khaki pants and ties
Ever wonder how those so-called stain resistant pants stay so clean? Dockers, Lands End and Brooks Brothers carry khaki pants and neckties whose fabrics have been redesigned to pack extra atoms between the fabric atoms to help repel liquids on the surface.

3. Shoe inserts and socks
Suffer from cold feet? Originally designed for NASA, Polarwrap has created its Toasty Feet inserts with built-in nano-size pockets of air to improve insulation and make them lightweight. Millions of nano-size silver particles are knitted into Sharper Image’s Antibacterial Silver Athletic and Lounging Socks to make them antibacterial and antifungal.

4. Lip gloss
DERMAdoctor cosmetics puts nano-size zinc-oxide into its POUTlandish Hypermoist lip paint for SPF protection without the heavy consistency of liquid sunblock.

5. Sportswear
Nano-size channels built into fabrics whisk away moisture from the skin and help fabric dry quickly. The New Balance women’s Skye Crop sports bra uses this technology. Eddie Bauer’s Water Shorts use nano-size drying channels as well, with nano-size sunscreen embedded in the fabric to provide extra protection from UV rays.

Rounding out the top 10: food storage containers; men’s razors, skin cream, household paint; and canola oil.

Source: aboutMyPlanet.com

Best States for Business
…based on business costs, economic climate, growth prospects, labor, quality of life and regulatory environment

1. Virginia
Business Costs: 10
Labor: 4
Regulatory Environment: 1
Economic Climate: 8
Growth Prospects: 10
Quality of Life: 5

2. Texas
Business Costs: 22
Labor: 25
Regulatory Environment: 6
Economic Climate: 7
Growth Prospects: 2
Quality Of Life: 23

3. North Carolina
Business Costs: 4
Labor: 26
Regulatory Environment: 3
Economic Climate: 30
Growth Prospects: 4
Quality Of Life: 26

4. Utah
Business Costs: 19
Labor: 9
Regulatory Environment: 18
Economic Climate: 17
Growth Prospects: 11
Quality Of Life: 17

5. Colorado
Business Costs: 31
Labor: 2
Regulatory Environment: 8
Economic Climate: 35
Growth Prospects: 1
Quality Of Life: 19

The remaining five in the top 10: Idaho; Nebraska; Delaware; Florida; and Georgia.

Source: Forbes

Highest-Earning Celebrities in the World for 2005

10. Dick Wolf, “Law & Order” creator ($48.4m)
9. JK Rowling, “Harry Potter” writer ($61.13m)
8. Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of the 3 “CSI” series and of movies with effeminate pirates and stuff blowing up ($57.3m)
7. Dan Brown, author of the over-hyped “The DaVinci Code” ($61.12m)
6. Tiger Woods, golfer and endorsement extraordinaire ($62.4m)
5. Jerry Seinfeld, comedian and NY Mets fan ($69m)
4. Oprah Winfrey, talk-show host ($155.37m)
3. George Lucas, creator of the “Star Wars” empire … writer/director of the last three lousy installments ($162m)
2. Howard Stern, radio jockey who moved to Sirius satellite radio and was elected to Time Magazine‘s “Time 100: The People who shape our world” ($208m)
1. Steven Spielberg, filmmaker and Eagle Scout ($229.3m)

Source: Forbes

Top 10 Uses for Dell Computer Batteries Now That 1.4 Million Have Been Recalled Because Some Have Burst Into Flames!

10. A firestarter for your hibachi
9. A new, cheap, but flammable, portable microwave oven
8. Survival tool if your plane crashes in the Andes
7. Pocket warmers for Alaskans
6. Line them all up in a 10-foot long trench at the next Dell Executive retreat so Michael Dell can do a firewalk.
5. Repackage and market them as “The Ultimate Whoopee Cushion.”
4. Better than curling irons
3. Ultimate weapon of choice for our soldiers fighting the War on Terror
2. Send the recall notice to Osama Bin Laden and see if he turns his in with a return address.
1. Free Dell Laptops to Hezbollah!

Source: The Hawaii Reporter

Cheers.