Author: Serkadis

Scanned brochures of the revised Mazda Atenza (Mazda6’s version for the Japanese Domestic Market) had already leaked on the Internet when the company released official info about the car’s facelift. Now, the shock wave has hit Europe and Mazda is introducing the facelift version of the Mazda6 ahead of its World Premiere scheduled at Geneva Motor Show in March.

As you can see, the Mazda6 follows the new family identity. The car also features new head and tail lights.

The company’s engineers… (read more)

Automotive manufacturer Ricardo, together with Growth Energy, a green energy lobbyist, will display during the Washington Auto Show the highly optimized engine fueled on ethanol called EBDI. Following the display, Ricardo plans to build two demonstrator vehicles who will use the EBDI engine.

According to its manufacturer, the engine is developed from a production V6 gasoline engine and will be converted to power two GMC Sierra 3500 HD pickup trucks.

"Ricardo is actively engaged world… (read more)

The legendary Ford Mustang could be coming to the old continent in 2015 in a move that is likely to send more than one classic car fan’s heart fluttering. The Mustang will celebrate 50 years in 2014 and the anniversary could see a new generation of coupe arrive in Europe, too. The next Mustang should also be slightly smaller, and include more Ecoboost engine options which could meet Europe’s strict anti-pollution norms.

If this turns out to be true, I’m going to start saving now. On the muscle car front, though, the Chevrolet Camaro which debuted at the 2008 Paris motor show was supposed to have appeared in showrooms in Europe, but it looks as though the infamous economic crisis may have slowed that project. I can see a niche market for the Mustang, though, particularly in a 50th anniversary guise. Fingers crossed…

Source | Autointernationaal.nl

With all the recent talk about the iSlate, iPad, iSlab, whatever… doesn’t it seem like the obvious candidate for the name of Apple’s rumored tablet computer is being completely overlooked? Like Apple’s first phone that later came to be called the iPhone, isn’t the most obvious name for an Apple tablet the iTablet? To support the theory we decided to share the above image that we received from a trusted source and believe to be authentic. It’s a picture taken of an Apple Store employee’s corporate email after receiving information about the time and place of Wednesday’s Apple event. While the content of the email wasn’t very enlightening, note the word used in the filename of the second attachment: “itablet.” Now this doesn’t prove a thing. The administrative assistant who sent the mass email could have been using “itablet’ much in the same way that we’ve been using the term for years as a generic placeholder for the rumored device. Then again, maybe we should heed the wisdom of Occam’s Razor when speculating about Apple’s naming preference for a 10-inch tablet computer?

P.S. Amtek currently holds the US trademark (and itablet.com domain) for “iTablet” and continues to sell products under that name as it has for years. Not that a silly thing like trademark ownership could stop Apple from announcing its iPhone at a time when Cisco owned the rights.

Apple iTablet: the obvious name? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Researchers say acoustic levitation could save equipment on Mars originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amnesty International deplores the execution in Baghdad of ‘Ali Hassan al-Majeed, also known as Chemical Ali, for his involvement in one of the worst atrocities committed under the government of Saddam Hussain.

‘Ali Hassan al-Majeed had been sentenced to death for a fourth time on 17 January for ordering a poison gas attack on the town of Halabja in 1988, which killed more than 5,600 members of Iraq’s Kurdish minority, many of them children and women.

He was executed by hanging on Monday following his conviction by the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal (SICT), which was set up to deal with crimes committed by the former government of Saddam Hussain.

Amnesty International has repeatedly expressed concerns about trial proceedings at the SICT, which have been undermined by political interference and fall far short of international standards for fair trial.

"Despite the enormity of the crimes of which Al Hassan al-Majid was convicted, we deplore his execution and consider it a step backwards," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Director.
 
"In fact, it is only the latest of a mounting number of executions, some of whom did not receive fair trials, in gross violation of human rights."

The execution of al-Majeed comes at a time when the Iraqi authorities are making increased use of the death penalty. Currently, more than 900 prisoners are reported to be on death row, many of whom could be executed in the near future. Many were sentenced to death by the Central Criminal Court of Iraq after trials that failed to conform to international standards of fair trial.  

Al-Majid had been sentenced to death for genocide and crimes against humanity in three previous trials before the SICT.  

"The execution of Al Hassan al-Majid was long expected and, no doubt, many people who suffered because of the crimes of which he was found guilty will see it as bringing to a close a very sad, a very bad, chapter in Iraq’s history," said Malcolm Smart.

"However, all executions brutalize society and in Iraq, where killing has become the order of the day, the time has come to say ‘Enough!’"

Hyundai’s South Korean division introduced a new 2.4-liter engine for the Sonata that brings a significant power increase and thus makes the car more powerful than its domestic competitors. According to a report issued by insideline.com, the car was introduced during designer Lie Sang Bong’s fashion show called Fashion Meets Cars.

Specifically, the 2.4-liter unit develops 201 horsepower and 185 lb-ft of torque and is mated to a six-speed transmission. For the sake of comparison with Sonata’s … (read more)

These days, doing “crowdfunding” of music has become so commonplace that it’s hardly worth mentioning any more, but it’s still a bit new in other content realms. Reader Pat points us to the news that a new video game, Grim Dawn, is trying to fund itself with this kind of model. The game is a “spiritual successor” to Titan Quest, and has three tiers of support from $20 to $48. Basically, the more you pay, the earlier access you get to the game (alpha or beta stage). I’d be curious to see how well it works, but I’m not sure it really offers that much excitement. I could see big fans of the game really wanting to get in on the alpha, but I wonder if it’s enough to really fund the game.

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The result of the collaboration between Venturi Automobiles and Michelin, the Volage concept was showcased at this year’s North American International {Ad}Auto Show (NAIAS). The Volage benefits from Michelin Active Wheel technology that incorporates 2 electric motors per wheel (1 for suspension and 1 for drive).

Completely made of carbon fiber, the car weighs just 1,075 kg, enabling it to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than 5 seconds.

Inside, the car, which is likely to see pr… (read more)

Although most eyes are now focused on Formula One car launches and their liveries for the 2010 season, Red Bull decided to disclose the latest pictures of Kimi Raikkonen as an official rally racer for Citroen Junior Rally Team. To be more precise, the Finn was the subject of a photo shoot with his new Red Bull-livery Citroen C4 WRC, prior to his rally debut for the new team later this week.

As reported by several media in the last few weeks, the Finn is part of the entry list for this weekend… (read more)

BMW is getting more and more awards throughout the world, as the German manufacturer has recently been voted on several occasions as the leading carmaker on the luxury segment. Things continue to go very well for BMW, as the X5 was named UK’s luxury used car of the decade by CAP.

The X5 received this award because experts in residual value and whole life costs say this car has set a new benchmark, as it is the first 4×4 which felt right at home on the motorway. Apparently, the judges were imp… (read more)

Who pissed in Kirstie’s coffee? A war of the roses has broken out between The View’s comic spitfire Joy Behar and self-confessed “Fat Actress” Kirstie Alley. The TV stars have been exchanging nasty barbs by Tweet for more than two weeks — to the confusion of the rest of us. The trouble appears to have began after Kirstie took issue with Joy’s coverage of the Tiger Woods’ cheating scandal on her nightly Headline News gabfest, The Joy Behar Show.

The public feud has blindsided celeb stalkers, particularly since no one can really tell where the bad blood began. Of course, one should keep in mind that Kirstie has a new reality series premiering later this year, and you know what they say about publicity…..

“And WHY has Joy Behar turned into such a self righteous cooz head? OOOOooo that’s right . . . FOREVER!” > Kirstie Tweeted on Jan. 9.

A short while later, the Cheers star added: “CHEATING is between a husband and wife. Not TMZ and Joy Bewhore . . . God, I want to bash her in the vagina with her microphone.”

Joy, on the other hand, appears to have largely ignored Kirstie’s Twitter tantrum until last Friday, when she sharply remarked:

“Kirstie Alley calls me Joy Bewhore,” Behar Tweeted. “Compliments! Compliments!”

Although former Porsche executives Wendelin Wiedeking and Holger Haerter have been somewhat cleared of the market manipulation accusations, a group of investment funds decided to pursue legal action against the two and Porsche, seeking to recover "over a billion dollars in losses suffered as Porsche SE attempted a takeover of Volkswagen AG in 2008."

The funds in question are saying Porsche and the two executives "repeatedly misled investors and lied about Porsche SE’s positions… (read more)

Judging by the latest rumors, Saab will most likely live on under Spyker’s ownership and, although some experts are raising concerns that such an alliance might not work, the Dutch carmaker will do anything that’s possible to revive the Swedish unit. At least, this is what Spyker CEO Victor Muller promises when talking about Saab’s future under his umbrella.

Anyway, an awkward report emerged today, informing us that General Motors recently started production of the Saab 9-4x crossover at its … (read more)

Although confirming that two of the newly-entrant teams have financial difficulties prior to the start of the 2010 Formula One season, the series’ chief executive Bernie Ecclestone argued that the upcoming championship will be the best in years. And that’s because even if some manufacturers decided to leave the series last season, the new teams coming into the sport, as well as strong drivers lined up for the title fight, will make the 2010 season a great one.

Campos and the American team are… (read more)

Will you look at that! Hogwarts Castle sure seems to be coming along nicely. The new “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” section of Universal Orlando Resort is being toted as an interactive theme park, bringing to life the compelling stories and characters of the hit book series and film franchise. The Potter Park uses ground-breaking technology to bring the stories of Harry Potter to life, says a Universal spokesperson.

On Monday, park representatives released this image of Hogwarts Castle as a teaser for what park visitors will see when the state-of-the-art attraction opens this spring.

Bad news for Asus, the EEE Keyboard that still hasn’t been released yet was beaten to market by a clone. The knockoff version is made by the Chinese company Great Wall, and while the clone version did beat the original to market, there are some serious reasons to wait until Asus releases their version.

The Great Wall version sounds good on paper, 2gb of RAM, a 250gb hard drive, wifi, and a Nvidia chipset and a new Cross PC U510 CPU. It all starts to fall apart when you look at how exactly it works. It’s lacking the built in battery, it doesn’t support dual displays, and will in fact turn off the touchscreen when you plug a monitor into the machine. The Great Wall version will sell for around $570 US in China, but I doubt we’ll ever see it in the US.

Additionally, when you start to compare features (like the touchscreen working when you plug a monitor in), it really seems to me that it’ll be better to wait for Asus to come out with their version.

[Via Tom’s Hardware]

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