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Gov. Sonny Perdue unveiled Georgia SecureID, a multiagency effort to combat the use of fraudulent documents to obtain state identification cards and drivers' licenses. Investigators from the Department of Driver Services will be placed in 10 service centers statewide to crack down on fraudulent documents.

Currently illegal immigrants are using valid but illegitimately obtained state IDs to gain employment and access state-funded services. With Georgia SecureID, the state will ensure the integrity of a Georgia driver's license, follow the sources of fraudulent documents, combat identity theft and keep Georgia drivers safe by preventing people from obtaining drivers' licenses illegally. -- gov.state.ga.us

Enhancing the Big Apple

New York City's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications awarded Northrop Grumman a five-year, $500 million contract to provide the city's broadband public safety wireless network.

The company will work on enhancing the city's existing mobile wireless communications network with high-speed data and video capabilities, and roll out several new, advanced wireless applications to support first responders and transportation personnel.

The network will be based on standards-based mobile broadband wireless technology, known as the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, which delivers broadband mobility, high capacity, reliability and scalability -- all suited to meet the real-time, fail-safe requirements of the program. -- Northropgrumman.com

The Yin-Yang of Waste

A new technology that converts household waste into bricks has been approved by a Chinese environmental company.

Developed by Shanghai Tiannan Environmental Protection Technology, the new process is being used by Baoshan District Public Sanitation Bureau in local pavements and pathways.

Brick production is achieved through the initial compression and sterilization of the waste; following compression, an additive hardens the material.

Throughout China, there are around 700 registered landfill sites, with Shanghai hosting around 200 in mostly residential areas. -- Rics.org

Untraceable

In September 2006, Void Communications announced VaporStream, the world's first record-less electronic communications system. A complement to existing e-mail applications, VaporStream's messaging system lets users send completely private and confidential electronic messages that never create or leave a record.

Designed to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of electronic communications, the Web-based messaging system eliminates some of the inherent risks and costs associated with traditional e-mail and instant messaging systems, such as spam, viruses and high storage costs. -- Vaporstream.com

The VoIP Factor

The impact of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) on landlines is already significant, but the impact on mobile phones may be even more significant, according to Analysys Research. Projected revenues for fixed and mobile VoIP services in the United States and Western Europe are as follows:

Mobile VoIP

United States........................................ $18.6 billion

Western Europe......................................$7.3 billion

Fixed VoIP

United States........................................ $11.9 billion

Western Europe..................................... $6.9 billion

High-Tech Hiring

High tech added more than 140,000 jobs to employ 5.8 million people as of June 2006, the largest number since 2002, said the American Electronics Association. This is a 2.5 percent growth compared to the first half of 2005.

Tried and True

Consumers still trust traditional media outlets, according to a LexisNexis survey of U.S. adults who said they would turn to the following for information on major events, including disaster and emergency situations such as pandemics and hurricanes:

Network TV:................................................................ 50 percent

Radio:........................................................................ 42 percent

Local newspaper:......................................................... 37 percent

Cable news or business networks:................................. 33 percent

Web sites of print and broadcast media:......................... 25 percent

Blogs, chat rooms, online groups:.................................... 6 percent

Participants were allowed to choose multiple answers.

GPS on the Rise

In 2011, the total