Web Development Live

Live Mesh is both a development platform and a folder-sharing and synchronizing service for end users, according to Amit Mital, general manager of Live Mesh. From a Web-based Live Desktop, users can set devices or PCs to have access to different folders stored both on the devices and on the Web.

Using the desktop, users can set preferences for what machines or devices they want to make “a part of the mesh,” Mital said. Once they set a preference, software will be downloaded to that machine or device to activate it on the mesh.

Once a device or PC is activated, users can set what folders from that machine they want to be stored online. If they update folder content in Live Mesh, devices and PCs on the mesh will be updated with the changes the next time they are connected to the Web. Similarly, if information is changed locally on the device, then once the device goes online again, folders will be synchronized across devices on the entire mesh.

“The whole idea, from an experience perspective, is you still have access to documents online and offline, and we take care of the changes,” Mital said.

Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie first introduced the idea of a mesh that could leverage the Web to connect devices, entertainment, business and development at the company’s MIX 08 conference in Vegas in March. Microsoft is expected to officially unveil Live Mesh at the Mesh It Up event at the Web 2.0 Conference in San Francisco on Thursday.

Users also can directly access and control any devices within their mesh through Live Remote Desktop, a feature of Live Mesh built on the capabilities of Windows Remote Desktop. For example, users can gain access to their home PCs from any computer by logging on to Live Mesh.

In addition to letting users set Live Mesh preferences for their own devices, people also can use the service as a collaboration tool, allowing people in their trusted network to access certain folders or files stored on their personal Live Mesh service.

Microsoft envisions Mesh as not only a helpful service to end users, but also a way developers can quickly build applications to enhance the experience of sharing and synchronizing files among devices, Mital said. As an example, Mital said an application built on the platform could allow users to establish a central storage place for data that they upload on various Web sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.

The scenario he presented Tuesday sounded similar to how developers can easily build applications for the social-networking site Facebook and allow users to share those applications across the platform. Mital said Microsoft built Live Mesh on Web development technologies that are emerging as standards for Web 2.0 development — such as representational state transfer (REST) and Atom Syndication Format — that any developer has access to and can use.

Facebook has found a viable business model in advertising-supported social networking, so it may be that Microsoft is planning something similar for Live Mesh. Mital said Microsoft is considering several possible business models for Live Mesh, including using online advertising to support it or charging users a subscription fee to use it.

Microsoft is giving 10,000 users access to the Live Mesh preview by invitation, through a Windows Live ID. Initially, the service will be available only for PCs or laptops running Windows XP or Vista; in a few months, Microsoft will make Live Mesh available for Mac users and also mobile devices, beginning with the Windows Mobile platform. Eventually, devices such as the Zune, Xbox and digital photo frames could also be part of Live Mesh.

Mital acknowledged that once mobile devices can be added to Live Mesh, user access will be limited to the presentation and application capabilities of the devices. Microsoft is also working on a way to display an image of a document, such as an Excel document, from Live Mesh on a phone’s browser so that users can at least view a document, he said.

Cisco last week released specifics of its previously announced innovation and sustainability initiative for China.

The initiative includes research and development, education, procurement, investment and training, Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers said in an Web Development Live announcement in Beijing.

“The next stage of our strategy for China reflects the country’s importance to Cisco’s global growth strategy and to our long-term business model, built upon next-generation innovation in collaboration and Web 2.0 technologies,” said Chambers.

“Cisco’s public-private collaboration within China not only helps accelerate these business efforts, but also helps the 1.3 billion people and growing number of entrepreneurs within the country gain access to social and economic opportunities afforded by the internet.”

The move also included the appointment of Jim Sherriff, previously Cisco’s senior vice-president of global operations, to the newly created position of chairman, Cisco China.

According to a press release regarding the initiative, a memorandum between Cisco and China’s National Development and Web Development Live Reform Commission is intended to “extend cooperation in the areas of manufacturing and service outsourcing, next-generation internet, venture investment, training and development, as well as environmentally focused research and development including energy efficiency, emission reduction and network-based green urban development”.

A similar memorandum between Cisco and China’s Ministry of Commerce will see the vendor work with the ministry to help implement the Thousand-Hundred-Ten Project for China’s business process operations industry.

The program will see Cisco provide training to improve the skills of Web Development Live employees in Chinese companies.

CollabNet recently announced the launch of CollabNet OnDemand, a hosted solution of distributed development tools. This release means that the power of an enterprise-class integrated suite of development tools is now available to teams of all sizes.

Web Development Software If you’ve never heard of CollabNet, here’s the background: The company’s roots come from the land of open source as the company was founded in 1999 by Tim O’Reilly and Brian Behlendorf, gurus with ties to the early days of the open source movement. When it released Subversion in 2000 it was the result of applying open source principles to the arena of software development. Subversion is the software code control piece of the puzzle and has over 2 million current users.

CollabNet’s distributed software development platform integrates tools for version control, requirement, issue, and other things in a collaborative development environment. With 1.3 million users, it is one of the leading platforms for geographically distributed software development organizations.

Many traditional source-code-control configuration management tools are installed applications, geared toward development teams who work within the same company. They were initially designed to handle non-web-based software development projects, and many teams have simply adapted them for use within a web-based-development environment the best they could. CollabNet Subversion was designed specifically with the web-development environment and global, distributed-team model in mind.

CollabNet Enterprise Subversion took things further, adding in a full suite of distributed development technologies to the mix including issue tracking, file release, project management, reporting, and collaboration tools. Role-based access control allows different team members to have varying levels of permissions across a project.

Now virtual teams could work as effectively as a local group in a conference room because all the basics of distributed development could be managed centrally through the web. Because the suite itself is web based, it is specifically designed for the way web architecture and development software projects work. Teams could be in synch over various time zones and large distances. Leveraging the power of collaboration technologies like wikis, project information and knowledge that would normally be inaccessible while one half of the globe is asleep is now available to teammates during their peak productive hours.

According to Rob Cheng, director of product marketing at CollabNet, “OnDemand allows small startup teams to get all the advantages of an enterprise solution. The features are identical and only the service level agreement (SLA) and degree of support varies. Larger teams of 50-60 users and up will still benefit more from using the full enterprise product either hosted or onsite.”

OnDemand is basically a hosted version of the SourceForge Enterprise suite. What it means though is that even small startup teams of a few folks scattered geographically can benefit from the power of a full arsenal of development and collaboration tools usually only available to larger teams with big budgets Web Development Software.

Satyam Computer Services, global consulting and IT services provider, has announced that it has signed a MoU with Central Institute of Plastics Engineering %26 Technology (CIPET), Hyderabad, an autonomous Plastics Training %26 Application Research Institute, under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India, for developing new engineering plastic materials through an Industry-Institute collaborative approach. The collaboration, according to the company is part of Satyam strategic initiative of developing a global innovative ecosystem of alliances to provide total engineering solutions to its global customers.

IPET Satyam relations will strengthen the research base in innovative plastic material development which will benefit the industry and community. This is one of the initiatives taken up by CIPET Hyderabad in the field of applied research to work closely with the demands of the industry, said Poomalai, Head %26 Deputy Director, CIPET, Hyderabad.The proposed alliance is aimed at synergizing the product design and development expertise of Satyam Engineering Solutions and application research of CIPET to develop innovative materials for new products being developed for customers worldwide.

Technology giant IBM has announced new initiatives for the emerging unified communications market including a wide range of investments, product and technology advances and collaboration with leading clients and business partners.

There will be a USD 17 billion unified communications market for the taking by 2011, and the Big Blue is planning big inverstments to meet the demand, said the company in a statement. In a near future major technological changes would reshape the way business communicate and collaborate worldwide across the private and public sectors and IBM is investing significantly in a range of resources meet the demand for these shifts, it said. IBM Research is currently exploring a growing number of social and collaborative software projects with over 70 researchers dedicated to this work in eight labs worldwide. In 2008, over 1,300 IBM software developers and technical experts will make innovative contributions to unified communications. New technical skills programmes for IBM developers are being used to help accelerate software development, including the teaching of Eclipse-based development.

In addition, IBM’s Venture Capital programme is working to identify and fuel promising new innovations in unified communications.A part of this investment also covers an expansion of IBM Lotus Sametime software products. The new IBM Lotus Sametime Advanced software, to be available from 28 March 2008, includes community tools that enable users to spend less time trying to figure out who can help solve a problem, by reaching out to a community of colleagues or experts instantly. Lotus Sametime Advanced also features persistent group chat and instant screen sharing capabilities. The company is also making full investment in training its engineers, consultants and services professionals in IBM Global Services Method and Reference Architectures.

Dressed in jeans and sneakers, Owen Thor Walker, 18, of Whitianga, looked young and scared when he appeared in Thames District Court yesterday to face six charges.
The FBI accused Walker, known online as Akill, of being the ringleader of a group of international programmers that set up a botnet - a network of hacked computers controlled by a single computer on the Internet.
FBI spokeswoman Cathy Milhoan said its cyber division had a partnership with New Zealand authorities and had kept an eye on international prosecutions.
Cyber crime is third on the list of priority for the head of FBI, behind counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence.
FBI director Robert Mueller said botnets were the weapon of choice of cyber criminals.
Walker - who has no formal computer training - pleaded guilty to two charges of accessing a computer for dishonest purpose, damaging or interfering with computer systems, possessing software for committing crime, and two charges of accessing computer systems without authorisation. All charges were laid under computer provisions of the Crimes Act.
Though some of the charges carry sentences of up to five years imprisonment, Judge Arthur Tompkins indicated he was not considering jailing Walker, who has Aspergers syndrome - a form of autism.
He was reportedly bullied at school and left in Year 9 to study by correspondence. He started experimenting with bot programmes and created his own code, continually developing, redesigning and adding to it.
International cyber crime investigators considered Walkers to be among the most advanced bot programming they had seen, the prosecution summary says.
His bot code contained a number of special features that protected it from discovery, allowing it to spread automatically and identify and destroy rival bot code.
One feature automatically disabled any anti-virus software on an infected computer and prevented the software from being updated.
Walker, also identified online as Snow Whyte and Snow Walker, set up the command and control of his botnet using computer servers outside New Zealand, mainly in Malaysia. He either leased server space or accessed servers illegally.
Prosecutors say the exact number of computers affected by his bot code may never be known, but it was tens of thousands.
Dutch authorities established that Walker was responsible for 1.3million illegal installations of adware - software which an Internet user unwittingly downloads that causes disruptive and unwanted advertising to appear in various programs.
His total income from this activity has been assessed at $36,174.65.
A statement read in court said Walkers parents knew he was making money from the Internet from their home in Whitianga. He had told them he was contracted to do computer programming and they didnt realise he was engaged in illegal activity.
It is believed Walker received 40 cents for every computer infected.
He was arrested in November after an 18-month investigation by New Zealand police, in collaboration with the FBI, secret service and Dutch authorities.
In bailing him to May 28 for reports, Judge Tompkins said the pre-sentence report would cover home detention, community detention, community work and a fine. He said he would not specify the sentencing outcome.
DEFINITIONS
*Adware: Software that causes disruptive and unwanted advertising to appear on users computer screen. Often downloaded unwittingly when user clicks on advert, downloads program or opens attachment.
* Bot: Malicious software with ability to log keystrokes and capture data %26ndash; for example copying bank account passwords %26ndash; or relay spam.
*Botnet: Collection of computers, also known as zombies or robots, that can be controlled remotely through bots by a bot-herder.
*Spam: Unsolicited or junk e-mail, often sent out in massive quantities and through zombie computers. E-mail users without anti- spam protection can find their inbox choked with unwanted adverts.
A spammer who has command and control over a botnet can send messages from thousands of computers.

The “Nouvelle Vague”, or new wave - playfully and perversely -
reinvented cinema. Now, professional music fans Marc Collin and
Olivier Libaux, cracking a joke and making an art statement by
dubbing their outfit Nouvelle Vague, are reinventing post-punk via
sultry, faintly kooky, bossa nova renditions of new wave classics
by the likes of Joy Division, the Specials, PIL, XTC, and their
post-punk ilk. Layering the in-joke further, “nouvelle vague”
translates to “new beat” in Portuguese, the native language of many
of the bossa nova guest vocalists. Their studio album A Bande
Apart, was presumably inspired by Jean Luc Goddard’s 1964 film
of the same name.
Given the duo’s name, it’s not surprising that Collin is a film
buff. He released Coming Home in 2007, a collection of
classic film soundtracks including Gato Barbieri’s Last Tango
in Paris and Michel Legrand’s score for the original
Thomas Crown Affair. Collin is scoring James Boss’ The
White Wall, a post apocalyptic sci-fi film.
“These days in film, you can’t compose the whole soundtrack like
Lalo Schrifin or John Barry used to do, it’s more difficult for a
composer now to really put their own personality into a movie. But
with this film, I can do the whole thing.”
His cinema obsession is something he shares with Philippe Cohen
Solal, a former cinema soundtrack composer, who leads modern
tangoists the Gotan Project, joining Nouvelle Vague on their
Melbourne sojourn. His latest project, The Moonshine
Sessions is a collaboration with former Bob Dylan sideman
Bucky Baxter. Enlisting such country luminaries as Jim Lauderdale
and David Olney, the album achieves a highly appealing dirt-floor
ambience; faithful to country while exploring a striking, if
delicate, marriage between delightful twang and electro tang.
Having selected Charlie Rich and Glen Campbell tracks for Nouvelle
Vague’s Late Night Tales album in 2006, Nouvelle Vague’s
Collin is by no means immune to country moods either.
Solal’s DJ-versus-pedal-steel interpretation of the album has
been a feature of recent Nouvelle Vague European shows, Solal being
an ’90s old house acquaintance of Collin.
Solal also took direct inspiration from cinema for Moonshine
Sessions. “I compare my work to a film director’s. I write the
story (the songs) and direct each singer like an actor to perform
the song with the right emotions. I cannot create music without
thinking of the different levels of soundscape; upfront or far
behind, our ears are hearing and we are feeling.”
Inspired by Blondie and the bands on Manchester’s Factory
Records whose songs he would cover years later, Collin’s musical
interests have roamed widely but his passion remains the post punk
era. “I am more a child of post punk, which was more musically
interesting than punk. Punk was extraordinary for the freedom, for
the politics, for the movement but musically I prefer post
punk.”
He curated a double disc of post punk curios and favourites in
2007, Nouvelle Vague presents New Wave, including
Joy Division’s live cover of the Velvet Underground’s Sister
Ray, and Etienne Daho’s version of Pink Floyd’s debut single
Arnold Layne.
“Post punk bands supposedly came from nothing but with this
compilation we can see they were inspired by lot of different bands
like the Velvet Underground, the Rolling Stones and black
music.”
If Collin remains a (post) punk at heart, the vocalists his duo
have employed to sing songs by Bauhaus ( Bela Lugosi’s
Dead) Killing Joke ( Psyche) and Echo and the
Bunnymen ( The Killing Moon) are anything but. Collin has
tried to employ vocalists - including Camille - with only a passing
familiarity with the material. There’s a sense of discovery in the
vocalists’ performances and it gives Nouvelle Vague their
X-factor.
“I only play the songs once or twice, so the vocalists remember
the melody, so they aren’t so familiar,” he says.
“If one becomes a really big fan of one song, you try and
remember everything about the way the singer was singing it.”
Collin says 20 tracks are already completed for another Nouvelle
Vague collection, comprising versions of songs by Wire, Soft Cell
and the Sex Pistols, in the form of God Save the Queen.
The highlights may lie in re-invention of the Human League’s 1982
smash Don’t You Want Me? and a duet with the Specials’
Terry Hall. “Imagine if James Brown and Aretha Franklin did
Don’t You Want Me? in the ’60s,” Collin says. “Our version
is like that! Terry Hall was very pleased what we did with
Friday Night, Saturday Morning on our first album, so we
duetted on Our Lips are Sealed.”
So, barring his own taste, what shapes the track listing on an
NV collection? “My ability to arrange it,” is the swift
response.
Australian music hasn’t escaped Collin’s keen ear either.
“Hunters and Collectors were a really great band. Mental as
Anything, I remember. I used to listen to that when I was
young.”

The Malaysian government may appear to favour the use of the ODF (OpenDocument Format), with plans to adopt the standard in its ICT deployment, but Microsoft has been able to convince a growing number of Malaysian IT companies and independent software vendors (ISVs) to incorporate OOXML (Office Open XML) into their offerings.

Developed by Microsoft, OOXML is a close rival to the ODF, which is championed by open-source vendors and major IT houses such as IBM and Sun.

ODF has a first-mover advantage, having gained certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) while OOXML is still seeking approval from the global standards organisation.

Microsoft’s document format, however, had received a much-needed boost when European standards body Ecma International ratified it in December 2006.

Microsoft’s latest success story in Malaysia comes from Tradenex.com, the IT arm of the Federal of Malaysian Manufacturers which represents over 2,000 manufacturing and industrial service companies.

Familiarity breeds adoptionTradenex.com last month launched nexCONNECT, an electronic business collaboration platform that links suppliers, distributors, logistics and financial institutions via the web. The Microsoft .Net-based system will incorporate OOXML as one of its standards.

The platform is targeted at small to medium-sized enterprises with limited budget and IT capabilities to invest in leading-edge technology to support their business.

“This will allow users to interact with nexCONNECT in the familiar Microsoft office environment [encompassing products such as] Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office 2007, that they are so used to, with the aim to simplify its usage and adoption,” said Soon Koi Voon, chief executive of Tradenex.com, at the recent launch of nexCONNECT.

Asked why OOXML was preferred over the ODF, Soon said the decision was based on commercial realities. He estimated that over 90 percent of companies ran their operations using Microsoft Office and the Windows platform.

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008:Investors Want More Interest Rate CutsWASHINGTON (AP) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, criticized last year for being too tentative in cutting interest rates, has shown he can act boldly. But the Fed’s two aggressive rate cuts in the past eight days have left investors demanding still more. That may be a sign of how much trouble the economy is facing, with many analysts contending that the country is flirting with a recession and may, in fact, already be in one.—House, Senate at Odds on StimulusWASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate is set to begin voting on dueling economic aid proposals, as senators rush to add jobless benefits and tax rebates for high earners, the elderly, and disabled veterans to a House-passed package. Senate Democrats and some Republicans are teaming up to tack $32 billion onto the House measure with a bill that would send rebates of $500-$1,000 to all but the richest taxpayers. Families also would get $300 for each child. Senators could begin voting as early as Thursday in hopes of completing the package by week’s end.—Starbucks Axes Sandwiches As Part of FixSEATTLE (AP) - The scent of ham, eggs, cheese and bacon will soon stop competing with the aroma of coffee in Starbucks stores as hot breakfast sandwiches become the first casualty of the company’s battle to win back customers. The sandwiches, which will disappear by this fall, boost a typical store’s annual revenue by $35,000, so pulling them off the menu will cost at first. Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Schultz said that proves the company isn’t letting the soft economy distract it from committing to big changes that will pay off over the long haul.—Amazon Expects Sales to Rise in 2008SEATTLE (AP) - This year isn’t looking quite as sweet for Amazon.com shareholders as 2007. Despite a possible recession in the U.S. economy, the Web retailer said it expects sales to rise briskly again in 2008. But the gains won’t translate as readily to bottom-line growth. “A lot of old Amazon bears are going to be growling,” said Tim Boyd, an analyst at American Technology Research.—Sony Quarterly Profit Rises 25 PercentTOKYO (AP) - Sony reported a 25.2 percent jump in profit for the October-December quarter Thursday as its PlayStation video game business stopped losing money after six straight quarters of losses. Profit at the Japanese electronics and entertainment company climbed to 200.2 billion yen ($1.88 billion) for the fiscal third quarter from 159.9 billion yen the same period the previous year.—Super Bowl’s Big Day for TV, Pizza SalesNEW YORK (AP) - Super Bowl Sunday may be the biggest day of the year for football fans, but it’s also a big day for people who sell big screen TVs, recliners and pizza. Yes, some sports fans are willing to pay thousands of dollars for a TV just to watch the game. Jim Ferrero, of Yardley, Pa., has done so twice.—Cost Cuts Push Lenovo Profit Up 198 Pct.BEIJING (AP) - Lenovo Group, the world’s No. 4 personal computer maker, said Thursday that profit in its third fiscal quarter rose 198 percent and forecast strong sales this year despite a possible U.S. economic slowdown. Driven by strong sales and aggressive cost-cutting, profit for the three months that ended Dec. 31 was $172 million, or $1.93 per share, on revenue of $4.6 billion, Beijing-based Lenovo said. That was below the average $253.5 million expected by analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.—Market Turmoil Felt in Central EuropeWARSAW, Poland (AP) - It took years for Andrzej Solyga to muster the courage to invest in mutual funds. But in June 2007, at the urging of a friend, the Polish sculptor invested 200,000 zlotys ($82,000) in a fund that had been earning rich returns of 50 percent a year, joining a growing number of small investors in Europe’s post-communist countries who finally succumbed to the lure of booming stock markets.—$50M Grant Will Finance Plant ResearchPHOENIX (AP) - A collaboration of botanists and computer scientists is being awarded a $50 million federal grant to conduct research into plant biology with an eye toward resolving global problems related to agriculture, environment and energy production. The five-year National Science Foundation grant announced Wednesday will pay for research on topics such as climate change, development of biomass energy, and agricultural land use, said foundation Director Arden L. Bement. The University of Arizona is leading the project.—Mardi Gras Means Money in New OrleansNEW ORLEANS (AP) - That happy, singsong sound heard on Bourbon Street is trickle-down economics at its best as hundreds of thousands of Carnival season visitors spend themselves silly before Fat Tuesday. The city’s tourism industry, getting back on its feet after Hurricane Katrina, is counting on a big weekend crowd to fill restaurants and hotels leading up to Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, on Feb. 5.—Gold PricesLONDON (AP) - Gold opened in London Thursday at a bid price of $923.10 per troy ounce, up from $920.85 on Wednesday.—Japan MarketsTOKYO (AP) - Japanese stocks rose Thursday as reports that a troubled U.S. bond insurer had closed an investment deal helped to ease concerns about the subprime loan crisis. The Nikkei stock index rose 247.44 points, or 1.85 percent, to close at 13,592.47 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The index shed 0.99 percent the day before.—Dollar-YenTOKYO (AP) - The dollar fell against the yen in Asia Thursday amid anxieties about U.S. bond insurers and continuing fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis. The U.S. dollar was trading at 106.46 yen at 2:50 p.m. Thursday, down from 106.95 yen late Wednesday in New York. The euro fell to $1.4879 from $1.4898.

The first step toward responding to our state’s energy challenges is realizing they exist. The high price of gasoline, rising utility bills and the fact that Idaho imports the majority of its total energy needs leads to a general conclusion - the time is now to act!But there is no need to panic. There are numerous emerging opportunities presenting themselves to help meet our energy needs into the future. Energy-related developers are showing significant interest in Idaho. Proposed projects include nuclear, natural gas generators, wind, geothermal, biomass, methane digesters, pump storage hydro, interstate pipelines and transmission. And there is innovative activity to convert methane from dairy waste into pipeline-quality natural gas. Regarding transportation fuels, development of biofuels is expanding and more service stations are offering ethanol and biodiesel to Idahoans. There clearly is an interest in developing energy resources to serve Idahoans. When we focus on big-ticket items, there are five interstate transmission projects, three natural gas pipelines and two nuclear generation ventures that are exploring options here. This represents more activity than we have seen in decades. But why now? The reason for all this potential new supply is simple demand. We have seen tremendous growth, and our ability to manage it with the existing energy infrastructure is nearing capacity. It is time to build. And as a state, we have to be prepared to accommodate those projects that are economically feasible and cost-effective. Collaboration is under way among state, federal and local units of government to coordinate our efforts as these projects move forward. We cannot allow projects to fail because we lacked the ability to deal with them appropriately. As we confront our energy needs, we also must accept that factors beyond our control limit our options. A case in point is the impact that greenhouse gases have on our choices for generation resources. People can and do argue both sides of the science, but Wall Street has essentially settled that argument for developers. Investors simply will not risk their money on carbon-emitting resources. We already are feeling that impact in Idaho. Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power each had previously proposed building coal-fired generators in Idaho. Both utilities have scrapped those plans. They simply cannot build them until costs associated with greenhouse gases are resolved.So what can we build? Based on greenhouse gas realities, and the fact that renewables such as wind, solar and geothermal are not yet ready to meet our large-scale needs, our resource options are limited to the three “N’s” nuclear, natural gas, or nothing. Each of these options carries baggage. Nuclear is carbon-free, but concerns over waste and safety require our attention to overcome. Additionally, completion of a nuclear plant is 10 to 15 years away. Nuclear offers long-term solutions, but does not resolve our short-term requirements. Natural gas facilities are low-carbon emitters, but they expose utilities and customers to volatile fuel prices. And if we do nothing, our energy plan would likely need to include scheduled rolling blackouts.There clearly is no silver bullet. That is one of the reasons Gov. Butch Otter placed the 25 by ‘25 initiative under the Office of Energy Resources. The goal is to have 25 percent of Idaho’s energy provided by renewable resources by the year 2025. This challenge represents a tremendous opportunity to explore all renewable options and their financial viability. Additionally, it enables us to examine the role that carbon trading can play in pushing projects to fruition. Ultimately, the 25 by ‘25 initiative allows us to thoroughly investigate possible energy resources. We want to avoid stomping on innovation before it has a chance to bloom.There is something each of us can do. Through energy efficiency, conservation and demand-side management we can control the size of our energy bills and reduce the burden on our existing infrastructure. If you want to do your share, go to your utility’s Web site and explore some of the options that exist. You also will find some cash incentives there that could make your choices a little less expensive. The cheapest energy is the amount we do not consume. Working together, we can meet our energy needs. Paul Kjellander is the director of the state’s Office of Energy Resources.