Author: Serkadis

When Google sets its mind to something it usually gets its way. It’s not infallible, but when everything comes together the results can surprise even Google. Chrome has been out for almost a year and a half now and the browser is really starting to pick up steam. It hovered in the low one digit percentage points for most of its lifespan, but th… (read more)

Without any fanfare or even a glimpse at CES, Sony has brought forth a surprise – VAIO E (EB) series.  What’s great about it? Well, all the funky colors are there for you to cheer you up in the morning and any time of the day you will be using it. So here is what you can get and yea SonyStyle.com is taking pre-orders as well. Core i3 processors are available for pre-order now, and common specs of the i3-330M (2.1Ghz) version include Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, 15.5″ LCD, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, CD/DVD burner, HDMI out, webcam, Bluetooth, and of course the glossy finish.

What’s really fun is you can personalize your notebook and let you choose a style that’s all your own. Even the interior is striking, with clear-coat palm rests that match the lid and available colorful keyboard skins to spice things up. I was wondering why Sony recently introduced a number of colorful VAIO mice, and it definitely makes sense now.

Aside from the fancy Coconut White, Gunmetal Black (available Feb. 7), Lava Black, Hibiscus Pink, and Iridescent Blue colors, there is the VAIO E Signature Collection model: VPC-EB1JFX/G in Green

• Intel® Core™ i3-330M (2.10GHz)
• Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 15.5″ LCD, 4GB RAM
• 500GB HDD
• CD/DVD burner
• HDMI™ out
• Webcam, Bluetooth®, glossy finish

Other cool features present in each model that I found interesting are:

1. Enjoy instant, one touch access to the web without booting up Windows® using the Web button
2. The edge to edge isolated keyboard has a numeric pad built-in, giving you the experience of using a larger computer in a much smaller footprint. And with a pleasant-feeling textured touchpad that is integrated into the palmrest, your hands and fingers will be happy to compute.

There will be also a model available with Intel Core i5 Processor and Blu-ray drive on February 7. Starting at $899 not bad, not bad, Sony!

Explore more and pre-order here.

It’s Groundhog’s Day, again. And as a sign of the times, the famous Punxsutawney Phil stepped out of his burrow, saw his shadow and apparently text messaged all of this friends that there will be six more weeks of winter.

Now, just as Phil text messaging all of his friends doesn’t seem to go together, neither does electricity and hydrogen. But, this is what researchers in Virginia and China are proposing.

Scientists at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), the Chinese Academy of Science in Shanghai and Peking University in Beijing are proposing the use of an outside electrical field to contain hydrogen molecules efficiently and reversibly at ambient temperatures.

According to Puru Jena, Ph.D at VCU, “Using an external electric field as another variable in our search for such a material will bring a hydrogen economy closer to reality. This is a paradigm shift in the approach to store hydrogen. Thus far, the efforts have been on how to modify the composition of the storage material. Here we show that an applied electric field can do the same thing as doped metal ions.”

Right now there has been much research on metal hydride storage. Hydrogen clings to the metal at low pressures and ambient temperatures because of a weak electrical charge that bonds the molecules. The new proposal says that a weak electrical charge can be applied from the outside to “contain” the hydrogen inside some sort of fueling tank and when the electricity is shut off the hydrogen is released for the vehicle to use.

Now, this may seem counterintuitive to many, who think that hydrogen and electricity go together about as well as a flame and gasoline. But, the scientists aren’t talking about a spark to ignite the H2 fuel but rather charge polarization at the molecular level.

Like I’ve stated before it is this kind of outside-the-box thinking we will need in order to solve the issues, getting in the way of rolling out a full-fledged hydrogen transportation system in the near future.

This might be a shock for some of you, but motorcaravan magazines actually exist out there. And if they exist, that must mean that people actually buy motorcaravan magazines, which is even more surprising. But, nevertheless, their opinion is valid, and two of them awarded the Volkswagen California campervan and the Transporter van base vehicle in their annual awards.

Volkswagen California was voted the Best Multi-purpose Motorcaravan at the The Which Motorcaravan Awards 2010. The Volkswagen T… (read more)

Korean carmaker Hyundai will have a total of eight spots airing during Super Bowl XLIV on February 7, 2010. The carmaker will have two in-game ads, highlighting the 2011 Sonata and Hyundai’s 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty. Hyundai will also air three different 30-second ads during the "Hyundai Kickoff Show."

The first in-game spot, titled "Paint," will feature the new sedan, for which the carmaker revealed price tags today. The second, titled "10 years/Favre," wi… (read more)

The biggest stimulus to U.S. jobs in the past ten years wasn’t Barack Obama; it was China.

Exports to China grew by 341% from 2000 to 2008 and they’re on pace to keep growing.

Unless the China bubble pops.

More and more, analysts are calling for a big import slowdown, the result of massive overcapacity.

The ripple effects in the US will be significant. And Obama’s ambitious goal to double exports in the next ten years will be destroyed.

We’ve picked ten states that are most vulnerable to a Chinese slowdown, based on data from the US-China Business Council. In each state, we named a major employer in the export industry that will hand out pink slips if China bites the big one.

So is your state

One of the 10 about to get murdered by the China slowdown >

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• 10 States Where Surging Wind Power Is Breaking Records
• Stimulus-Funded High Speed Rail Likely To Lose Money And Be Built By Chinese Companies
• China’s Mercantilist Policies Are Screwing Us Out Of 1.4 Million U.S. Jobs

Article Tags: NZ Climate Scandal, Press Release

Press Release: New Zealand Climate Science Coalition

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) has been urged by the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition (NZCSC) to abandon all of its in-house adjustments to temperature records. This follows an admission by NIWA that it no longer holds the records that would support its in-house manipulation of official temperature readings.

In December, NZCSC issued a formal request for the schedule of adjustments under the Official Information Act 1982, specifically seeking copies of “the original worksheets and/or computer records used for the calculations”. On 29 January, NIWA responded that they no longer held any internal records, and merely referred to the scientific literature.

“The only inference that can be drawn from this is that NIWA has casually altered its temperature series from time to time, without ever taking the trouble to maintain a continuous record. The result is that the official temperature record has been adjusted on unknown dates for unknown reasons, so that its probative value is little above that of guesswork. In such a case, the only appropriate action would be reversion to the raw data record, perhaps accompanied by a statement of any known issues,” said Terry Dunleavy, secretary of NZCSC.

Source: scoop.co.nz

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A Warren Township woman accused of beating her 6-year-old daughter with a belt pleaded guilty to a reduced charge Monday in Lake County Circuit Court.

Jennifer Jordan, 28, pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated battery to a child during a hearing before Circuit Judge John Phillips.

Assistant State’s Attorney James Newman said Jordan and her live-in boyfriend, Lee Terry-Hemphill, 21, were arrested March 13 by Lake County sheriff’s police.

Jordan’s daughter had gone to a social worker at Woodland Elementary School the previous day and complained she was in pain over her entire body.

The girl said Jordan and Terry-Hemphill had beaten her with a belt because she was late getting up for school the previous day, Newman said.

An examination by doctors at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville revealed bruises on her back, buttocks, thighs and arms that appeared to have been made by a belt, Newman said.

Detectives said both Jordan and Terry-Hemphill admitted striking the girl, and they found an 1½-inch

leather belt folded in quarters and wrapped in duct tape in the couple’s apartment on the 3400 block of North Almond Road.

Both were charged with aggravated battery to a child, a felony that carries a mandatory prison sentence of six to 30 years in prison upon conviction.

Newman said the charge Jordan pleaded guilty to is punishable by four to 15 years in prison, but also has the possibility of probation.

Phillips ordered a psychological evaluation of Jordan and scheduled a sentencing hearing for March 4.

Terry-Hemphill has pleaded not guilty and is due to appear in court Feb. 18.

Both are held on $500,000 bond.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Skiing can be tough on your face, with all that cold, dry air freezing your lips to a state of chapped numbness. Not so with the ColdAvenger!

The ColdAvenger mixes inhaled cold air with exhaled warm air to keep your face toasty warm, up to 60 degrees warmer than the outside air, with the added bonus of making you look like a robot. So your face stays warm and you can scare the hell out of little kids on the bunny slopes? It’s a win-win! [ColdAvenger via Uncrate]

If you are already struggling with the decision of whether or not to go ahead and buy a first generation iPad model, then a new rumor that has sprung up regarding the device might help you make up your mind. The rumor has me leaning strongly towards a “Do Not Buy” state of mind, for the very same reason that I didn’t pick up the last revision of the iPod touch.

That reason being, it seems Apple may be holding back some important features to make the next iteration of the device seem more attractive. And now there’s some evidence to back up that assumption, so I’m not just acting out of early adopter paranoia.

iPad Camera

The lack of a camera was one of the biggest complaints many iPad naysayers had following the reveal of Apple’s exciting new creation. That’s what makes it so painful that Mission Repair, a licensed Apple repair partner, noted when it received a shipment of parts for the upcoming device that the iPad’s frames contain a space seemingly intended to house a camera. Putting a MacBook camera in that space, in fact, resulted in a perfect fit. Photos of the frame with and without the MacBook’s iSight camera inserted are available over at the Mission Repair blog right now, so you can see for yourself how perfectly they work together.

Add to that the fact that 9 to 5 Mac reported earlier in the week that the demo tablet Steve Jobs was using on stage during the announcement last week appeared to have camera holes according to pictures taken by some of those with higher quality cameras sitting closest to the stage. The photos definitely reveal something resembling a camera lens at the top of the iPad bezel.

Innovation vs. Staged Release

Either I’m becoming more savvy, Apple is becoming more transparent, or this business of withholding specific bits and pieces from products in order to increase the consumer appeal of subsequent iterations is the new standard for Cupertino. I suspect the last is true, and it’s spoiling my ordinarily ravenous appetite for conspicuous consumption of Apple products. I remember how right it seemed to buy the iPod touch when it first came out, and I felt at the time I didn’t need a smartphone (I didn’t, and I still probably don’t). It seemed like the natural evolution of the iPod, with nothing left out.

The iPad is more like a movie prequel. With prequels, the destination or endpoint of the film is generally accepted and known by the audience, but we go and see them to see how that thing came to be. The first-generation iPad is a good story about the device it will eventually become, but it doesn’t feel like something terribly worthwhile in and of itself.

Related GigaOM Pro Research:

• Web Tablet Survey: Apple’s iPad Hits Right Notes
• 5 Tips for Developers Targeting the iPad
• How AT&T Will Deal with iPad Data Traffic

Article Tags: Web Article

THE global warming crisis is now being rebranded as a climate change crisis because it seems that instead of getting warmer, we may actually be getting colder.

Some years ago the New Scientist published a report based on an interview with an Indian glaciologist who predicted that the glaciers in the Himalayas would disappear by 2035 as a result of global warming.

This could have catastrophic water implications for people living in some of the most densely populated areas. As many as half-a-billion people are dependent on water from the Himalayas.

The new data, released in recent weeks, indicates that 30 of the 96 glaciers in the Himalayas actually increased in mass during 2007-2008. Glaciers are also expanding in the Antarctic, New Zealand, and Norway.

Source: examiner.ie

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Filed under: Hybrid, Recalls, Hatchback, Toyota, Celebrities

Here’s Toyota‘s line: its two recalls for floormats and sticking accelerator pedals should cover all potential cases of sudden unintended acceleration in its batch of recalled vehicles. Both recalls are for mechanical issues, and Toyota spokesman John Hanson claims, “After man years of exhaustive testing we have not found any evidence of an electronic [software] problem that would have led to unwanted acceleration.”

Enter Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple and a jolly guy who knows a thing or two about software. While speaking at the Discovery Forum 2010, the Woz claimed that his 2010 Prius, which is not a part of either recall, has an accelerator that “goes wild but only under certain conditions of cruise control.” He also claimed that it’s repeatable. Though Woz said he has tried to contact both Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Institute, neither has reportedly investigated his claim.

Why is this news? Because despite Toyota’s claim that any potential risk for sudden unintentional acceleration in its recalled vehicles is mechanically related, there are lingering reports of other cases, including ones involving vehicles not affected by either recall, that could be software-related. Proving that software caused an instance of sudden acceleration is tricky, so the fact that Woz claims he can repeat the issue makes his case appear to be one worth investigating.

[Source: CNET | Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty]

Woz Up?! Apple co-founder speaks about software-related sudden acceleration in his 2010 Prius originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been amusing watching the entertainment industry lobbyists try to come up with talking points in support of their most favored trade agreement du jour, ACTA. A popular one is that nothing in it can or will change US law. But, of course, if you talk to the folks who know how these things work in DC, you quickly learn that’s hogwash. There wouldn’t be any ACTA at all if it wasn’t out to change the laws, and it wouldn’t be so secretive if it was just designed to keep the status quo. Case in point, not that we know for sure because we’re still not being told what’s in the document, but various sources have confirmed that “three strikes” legislation that would kick file sharers off the internet based on accusations (not convictions) is on the agenda. That’s not in US law, and according to all the ACTA defenders out there, it would be impossible for this to be on the agenda because, we’re told, ACTA can’t possibly change US law. Not at all. Except for the parts that do seem to require changing US law.

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The Bulls are winning for the second day in a row. Can they hold on?

Currently, the Dow is up 68 points at 10,253. The NASDAQ and S&P are up 8 points each as well.

Tech is the weakest. Retailers seem to be relatively unaffected by today’s Redbook numbers, and energy is a mixed bag. The financials? Depends on which company you’re looking at today.

After gaining for several days, silver is on the downturn slightly, down two cents to $16.65 an ounce. Gold continues to climb, gaining $8.80 to settle at $1114.

Oil is up $1.26 a barrel to $75.70. Natural gas futures are slightly down.

Softs are the only commodies doing poorly so far. Cocoa and cotton futures are down 1.5% each.

(Disclosure: the author has a position in silver)

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Dow Closes Up Over 110 Points, Huge Day For Gold
• Who Needs Gold As An Inflation Hedge When You’ve Got Coke?
• T. Boone Pickens Hates Natural Gas This Year

German carmaker BMW announced today an extension to the existing collaboration agreement with French group PSA Peugeot Citroen, as the perfect means for the two carmakers to further develop a new 4 cylinder petrol engine.

The deal, signed by BMW’s chairman of the board Norbert Reithofer and his PSA counterpart, Philippe Varin, calls for the creation of a unit which will meet EU6 requirements. The two will use as a basis the engine employed currently in several MINI, Peugeot and Citroen mode… (read more)

At the 2010 Chicago Auto Show next week, FoMoCo will unveil its new 2011 Ford Edge crossover. The Ford brand sibling to the 2011 Lincoln MKX we saw at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show will be the first to feature Ford’s new 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine and the company’s new MyFord Touch (Lincoln MKX will get MyLincoln Touch).

The body of the 2011 Edge will be a little more on the facelift side rather than a revolutionary redesign.

“It’s a pretty heavy face-lift. It’s more than what you’d normally do with a mid-cycle freshening,” said analyst Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics LLP in Birmingham who saw the new Edge. “Usually, automakers just change up some of the plastic.”

However, the big news will be a new 3.5L V6 and the 2.0L 4-cylinder EcoBoost that will deliver the same power as a 3.0L V6 with significantly better fuel-economy.

We’ll have more concrete details for you next week.

Source: Detroit News

Today’s Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index numbers tell two different tales, depending on how you look at the numbers.

The index was up 0.8% in the fourth and final week of January following a 1.0% gain in the prior week. Month-to-date, January was up 1.0% compared to January of last year.

Month-over-month, the index fell 1.5% (seasonally adjusted obviously).

As ZeroHedge notes, that’s worse than the 1.2% drop analysts were looking for, providing further evidence of a very unstable recovery on the consumer side.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Retailers: No Way Is A V-Shaped Recovery Possible In 2010
• Japan’s Economic Death Accelerates As Retail Sales Nose-Dive Back to 1980s Levels
• Retail Sales Unexpectedly Tank In December

Universal Studios Orlando is giving literary fans their first look at the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in a commercial ad that will air during this weekend’s Super Bowl. The amusement wonderland is based on the famous books by British author J.K. Rowling.

The new Wizarding World of Harry Potter section of the park, featuring Hogwarts Castle, will be the home of a new, state-of-the-art attraction — Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey — an amusement wonderland that uses ground-breaking technology to bring the stories of Harry Potter to life.

The Harry Potter theme park is set to open later this spring.