For Zion's Sake...

Israel: Hi-Tech Roads (Seriously)

Israelis have developed a new type of asphalt that makes it easier to brake on while helping the environment.

“Leave it to Israel to infuse high technology into something as prosaic as asphalt. A Negev company has developed a road asphalt compound that uses old tires for strength and safety, and is friendly to the environment to boot…

“Among the qualities of RuBind is its ‘rubberiness,’ due to the bits and pieces of rubber mixed in with the asphalt, and as a result, cars have an easier time braking thanks to the higher friction that occurs when a car’s rubber tires meets the rubber on the road.”

Apple to open new R&D facility in Ra'anana, Israel

“Following a successful hiring spree of former Texas Instruments employees in Israel, Apple is opening a new research and development center in the city of Ra’anana, reports Israeli business publication ‘Globes.’”

Cisco buys Israeli start-up Intucell for $475M

“Today, Cisco announced plans to buy Intucell for $475 million in cash, and BVP tells me it will take nearly half that sale price.

“Intucell’s technology helps mobile carriers dynamically adjust their cellular grid to maximize mobile traffic speeds and minimize dropped calls. Without SON software, a carrier’s service slows down and becomes less stable under heavy load or when users travel to the edge of a geographic block of the static grid. Any optimization had to happen manually, which was inefficient and inadequate.

“Intucell’s SON uses big data to assess the state of a network and lets a carrier’s towers communicate with each other. That way they can expand or contract their cells in real-time so customers on the fringes of a block get picked up by neighboring towers, and users in the center of that block get much better reception.”

Israeli 2012 Tech Exits Top $5.5 Billion

“Israeli tech startups were bought out for a record total of $5.5 billion in 2012, according to a report published Monday. The report also suggests a maturity in the Israeli sector with fewer, but larger, deals transacted.”

Tel Aviv's New Year Resolution for 2013: Offer Free City-Wide Wi-Fi

“The $1.6 million project will provide a free high-speed Internet connection throughout the city as well as technical support all day, every day, Haaretz reported.”

Israel preparing gigabit high-speed Internet access home-to-home

“The Israeli government, via state-owned electricity utility Israel Electric Corp (IEC), is taking tentative steps towards deploying a gigabit-capable fibre-to-the-home network it hopes will cover two-thirds of the country.”

Five amazing Israeli start-ups you've probably never heard of

Christian Zionists attempt to ban Hamas from Twitter

Over 12,000 have emailed Twitter in the first hour of the campaign’s launch.

iPhone 5 frenzy in Gaza despite "harsh Israeli blockade"

Moroccan Jew winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics

“Serge Haroche of France and David Wineland of the United States won the Nobel Physics Prize on Tuesday for work in quantum physics that could one day open the way to supercomputers. Haroche is from a Jewish family and was born in Casablanca, Morocco in 1944. He has lectured at Israel’s Technion University.

“The two men were honored for pioneering experimental experiments in ‘measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems,’ the jury said in its citation, AFP reported.”

Israel may utilize EMP attack against Iran

“Israel might attack Iran by using electromagnetic pulses (EMP) that could cripple the country by shutting down its electronics and sending the Islamic Republic ‘back to the Stone Age,’ The London Sunday Times reported.”

An EMP attack would cripple communications and other forms of technology in Iran, crippling not only its nuclear program but also its economy.

Israelis develop bullet-proof grenade

“Israel Military Industries says it has developed a unique grenade that doesn’t explode when hit by shrapnel, bullets or even if exposed to fire.”

The innovation improves supply, storage, handling, and safety.

Microsoft CEO to visit Israel

“Ballmer will attend events at Microsoft Israel and Microsoft Israel’s R&D Center, and is due to meet entrepreneurs and developers, as well as leaders of Israel’s economy.”

Israelis Invent Anti-Date Rape Straw

“The idea is that women will carry the straw with them when they go out, and they can reuse the straw as many times as they like until the straw encounters the presence of any date rape drugs. If the straw detects any drug in the drink, a chemical reaction will be created and the straw will change colour, depending on the drug.”

Israelis help to discover the "G-d particle"

“Perhaps appropriately for the Land of the Bible, Israeli researchers played a significant part in Wednesday’s breakthrough on what scientists call the ‘God particle,’ properly known as the Higgs boson, the missing link in Einstein’s Standard Theory.”