News bits

Nearly half of construction firms are utilizing the Internet for project management or documents distribution, according to a survey of 15,000 firms conducted by Associated General Contractors of America. Of the firms that are online, 63 percent use it for plan distribution, 52 percent for project collaboration and 18 percent for payment tracking. Other online services cited by respondents were bidding, job site cameras and research.

www.agc.org

Motorola Inc. and Digital Cyclone have announced My-Cast, an online weather forecasting service using Doppler radar for Web-enabled mobile phones. My-Cast calculates weather forecasts eight times daily, and includes information such as wind speed, temperature, moisture and severe weather warnings.

www.my-cast.com

Web site serves as an electrical product resource for owners of commercial buildings interested in reducing operating costs by upgrading with more energy-efficient technologies. Sponsored by the Energize America Educational Institute, the Web site includes a product locator for energy-efficient lighting fixtures and lamps, controls and sensors, transformers, motors and drives, and HVAC equipment.

www.energizeamerica.org

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