Austin-based uControl is making some impressive improvements to the product strategy, and they’re taking it on the road to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association show in New Orleans. uControl was founded in November of 2005 and launched their first product at DEMO Fall in 2006, and they won a DEMOgod award! Back then they had created a better home security box that allowed web or cellphone access, and it was a 5-minute swap of the existing home security boxes by ADT and other similar companies. Besides the web access, the original uControl system worked over broadband and cellular, just in case a burglar cut your phone line.

This week uControl is announcing a major new revision to their product. They’ve added a touch screen interface, and they’ve opened up their platform to widgets. The touch screen can be mounted either on the wall, or on a tabletop. With the touchscreen and open widget platform, it’s possible to do additional cool stuff with the uControl hardware, like home automation, weather monitoring, or anything you can dream up. There’s even a YouTube widget! You wouldn’t necessarily want to watch YouTube on your uControl touchscreen, but it demonstrates that you can add pretty much anything to it.

With these new capabilities, it’s easy to imagine all sorts of uses, and it makes the uControl device even more valuable. You could change the home thermostat from the web, turn on lights, or check the status of the doors and windows in the house. If the grandparents had a Flickr widget on their uControl touch panel, you could push pictures of the grandkids to them and show it in a widget. A storm warning widget could monitor the weather for tornado activity, and sound some sort of alarm. You could probably use your iPhone to make sure you turned the A/C off before leaving the house. The possibilities are pretty endless.

You won’t be seeing uControl boxes at your local Home Depot just yet. The company intends to continue selling the device through channels such as home alarm companies, cable companies, phone companies, and others who are typically aware of when consumers are moving into a new house. How big is the market? There are 28 million home security systems in the U.S. Annual recurring revenue from monthly monitoring adds up to $6.4B.

The company has been funded by the founding executives, friends, and family. Executives say the option of institutional financing is always on the table, and they may seek that type of funding when the time is right.

Pluck Corporation, which was acquired by Demand Media in March, announced today that it is now powering social media capabilities at Film.com and RollingStone.com. Attracting combined monthly audiences of more than 10 million, Film.com and RollingStone.com will use Pluck’s SiteLife social media capabilities.

“Our primary focus is delivering the very best in high quality social entertainment and editorial content to millions of viewers online,” said Elizabeth Coppinger, vice president of video services for RealNetworks®. “The integration of the Pluck social media tools throughout RollingStone.com and Film.com expands how people engage with our content, our brand and one another.”

“Film.com and RollingStone.com are two of the most popular entertainment sites on the web, providing multi-media experiences to millions of film and music enthusiasts,” said Dave Panos, president of Pluck. “We’re excited to be working with them as they deliver new socially-oriented experiences to a variety of audiences.”

N-trig, the provider of DuoSense™ technology combining pen and zero-pressure touch for mobile and fixed computers into a single device, announced today that it is meeting environmental Green requirements in compliance with international standards. All articles, including materials, parts, assembly, and packaging that N-trig and its affiliates directly or indirectly supply have been designed and manufactured to meet the latest environmental standards for controlling substances which impact the environment. N-trig has now moved from being RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) compliant to being a “Green” company.

“We have a commitment to protecting the environment and reducing waste, and we’re demonstrating that through the materials and processes that we use,” said Amihai Ben-David, CEO of N-trig. “While our technology improves how we live, we want to improve where we live as well by operating in an environmentally responsible way. We hope other companies around the world will join us as we develop tomorrow’s technology while making the world a cleaner place for all of us today.”

Because N-trig has now gone “Green,” its supply chain is using new, environmentally friendly products as well. N-trig and its supply chain are actively involved in waste reduction and meet Green product requirements that restrict the use of 36 family materials in manufacturing, parts, assembly, and packaging. As an environmentally conscious company, N-trig strives to improve human health by ensuring that all of its processes and products are in compliance with the latest international environmental standards.

Asuragen announced today the CE-mark and European launch of RNARetain™ Pre-Analytical RNA Stabilization Solution, the company’s clinically validated and cGMP manufactured sample collection and RNA stabilization solution. Based upon patented technology, RNARetain is labeled for the collection, storage, and transport of clinical human cellular and solid tissue specimens and stabilization of intracellular RNA within these specimens for subsequent extraction and molecular analysis.

RNARetain was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in conjunction with Agendia BV’s MammaPrint® breast cancer test in June 2007. “RNARetain will become a valuable tool in molecular diagnostics and future personalized medicine applications by allowing shipment of fresh tumor biopsies at ambient temperature, thus greatly facilitating the logistical process of sample handling,” said Matt Winkler, CEO/CSO, Asuragen, Inc.

RNARetain infiltrates tissues and cells, precipitating nucleic acids and proteins in situ providing powerful protection of cellular RNA from both intracellular and extracellular ribonucleases, which would otherwise rapidly degrade the RNA in the specimen. Ribonucleases are ubiquitous in freshly acquired samples and need to be inactivated in order to effectively analyze the RNA composition of a specimen. The collection of human cellular and solid tissue specimens in RNARetain eliminates the need to immediately process these specimens, allowing RNA extraction and molecular analysis at a later time and/or different location. It also eliminates the need to flash-freeze specimens, a process that involves manipulation of potentially hazardous agents, and to keep specimens frozen throughout storage and transport. Formalin fixation, the most common method of clinical biopsy preservation, is both hazardous to work with and is known to degrade RNA.