From time to time, Orbis has customers that wish to pay with their credit or debit card, but it’s not really a big part of our business. Still, we like being able to offer this convenience to our customers. Unfortunately, the process is way more complicated than it needs to be. The website used to process payments is confusing. We get charged three different monthly fees which seem to vary every month. We pay different rates depending on the type of card.

As a possible solution, we’ve opened an account with Square, a company started by one of the founders of Twitter. They’re sending us a free card reader that plugs into an iPhone and allows us to accept all credit cards with a flat percentage fee and no contract. Sounds good, I guess we’ll see how well it works. Anyone out there have any experience with Square?

Philadelphia Recycling Rewards is a partnership between the Philadelphia Streets Department and RecycleBank, which allows residents to earn points for the amount they recycle. Residents will obtain a special sticker to place on their recycling bins, which is scanned at the time of collection. From there, points are automatically added to your account based on how much your community has recycled.

Points can be redeemed through RecycleBank for discounts, gift cards, or charitable contributions at hundreds of local and national merchants and non-profit agencies. The program will begin in some neighborhoods in early 2010, and by July the entire city will be participating.

Click here to see when your neighborhood will begin the program.

In honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday- and all the hard work that goes into preparing for it- we’ve come up with 5 websites that can quickly and easily help you give back to the community without ever leaving your computer chair.

1. www.freerice.com
   FreeRice is a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Program. For every trivia question that you answer correctly on the website, 10 grains of rice is donated to hungry people around the world. While that may seem like a relatively small amount, it’s important to remember that while you are playing, so are thousands of other people. In 2008 alone, 43,942,622,700 grains of rice were donated by sponsors who advertise on the site. Trivia questions range from vocabulary to math and art history, so test out your skills for a good cause!
2. www.blackle.com
   “Blackle” is essentially the same as Google, but with a black background. Why does this make a difference? Because a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen. Blackle is powered by Google and will give you the same exact results, although it does not allow for image searches. By setting www.blackle.com as your home page, you can save a little bit of energy every time your browser loads.
3. www.oxfam.org
   Oxfam International is a group of organizations that work together to eradicate poverty and combat injustice. You can do your part by simply entering your name, address, and email to sign petitions that urge world leaders to listen to the voices of people around the world on topics like the crisis in Darfur and natural disaster relief. You can also opt to save your information so that you only need to enter your email upon future visits, and it won’t cause you to get any junk mail. This is a very quick and simple step to take that could make a difference in the lives of many.
4. www.firstgiving.com
   Firstgiving allows you to create your own fundraising page to raise money for any nonprofit organization. You can email your webpage to friends, family and colleagues, who donate by credit or debit card in an easy, secure online transaction. Firstgiving will send all the donations to the registered non-profit of your choice, minus a small transaction fee that covers the cost of support, secure hosting and money transfers.
5. Donate to a local charity or organization
   Here are a few websites of Philadelphia-based charities and non-profits that accept credit card donations online:
   • Philabundance: www.philabundance.org
   • Project H.O.M.E.: www.projecthome.org/donate
   • Variety: The Children’s Charity: www.varietyphila.org/donate
   • Greater Philadelphia Cares: www.philacares.com/donate.htm
   • Career Wardrobe: www.careerwardrobe.org/donate.php
   • Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger: www.hungercoalition.org
   • Fox Chase Cancer Center: www.fccc.edu/giving/donatenow/index.html
   • The Philadelphia Zoo: www.philadelphiazoo.org/_zoo/fcart/adopt.php
   • Philadelphia Museum of Art: www.philamuseum.org/giving/options

There is one problem though- it seems that many links still revert back to the old design, meaning that the transition is far from complete. In any case it’s good to see that SEPTA is taking a step (or, baby steps) in the right direction, and we look forward to future improvements. Check out the site at www.septa.org, and tell us your opinion in the comments below!

The technology behind the system is actually quite complex. Due to varying heights and batting stances of players, the strike zone is not the same for every batter. As a player places his front foot down in the batter’s box to take his stance, a KZone technician ‘sets’ the strike zone based on his position in the box and his height. Special ‘sensor’ cameras are mounted in center field, high above home plate, and down the first and third base lines. These cameras, which are not used for video broadcasting purposes, track the pitch as it crosses over the plate. The data from the cameras is sent to four computers running a sophisticated algorithm which compares the pre-set strike zone and the location of each pitch. This data is then used to generate the three dimensional image which we see on television. Sportsvision claims that the system is accurate to within 2/5ths of an inch.

Currently the system is used only for entertainment purposes. Both baseball officials and purists agree that computers will not replace the human umpires anytime soon. As professional sports integrate technology into officiating more and more, one can only wonder if it is simply a matter of time before fans at home will be yelling at KZone and not the man in blue.

The trash compactors are solar powered and no additional wiring or electrical connections are required, allowing for a quick and easy installation. Direct sunlight is not required to charge the small battery in the unit which stores power for use in inclement weather and at night. An optical sensor inside the cans initiates the compaction process. When almost full, an indicator light turns yellow and a wireless alert, similar to a text message, notifies a central server computer that pickup is required. When the can is full, a red indicator light is illuminated. An ‘inner bin’ is capable of holding trash during the compaction process and after the unit is full to prevent litter.

The units are capable of storing up to 200 gallons of trash, opposed to the 55 gallon limit of the old wire baskets. This increased efficiency will reduce trash collections from 17 times per week to 5, saving fuel costs and emissions from collection vehicles.

The upgrade is part of a $342 million energy initiative from Peco meant to promote new low-energy programs. Peco estimates the new display will be 40% more energy efficient than its predecessor which was comprised of 2,600 individual screw-in light bulbs. Since its original installation in 1976 over 17,500 messages have been displayed on the building, a tradition that will now continue well into the 21st century.