Author: Serkadis

Gibson’s Robot Guitar may have gotten off to a head start, but EverTune is here at CES with an automatic guitar tuner of its own that promises to keep your guitar in tune forever. To do that, EverTune makes use of a simple mechanism that relies on springs to maintain the same amount of tension on each string as the tuner post loosens, which should ensure that your guitar won’t go out of tune even while playing (something that other self-tuning guitars can’t account for). Unfortunately, EverTune isn’t ready to announcing anything about availability (or pricing, for that matter), but it saying it will “soon be available on a wide range of electric guitars,” and that it’ll also be available as an installation kit through select retailers.

EverTune challenges Robot Guitar for in-tune supremacy originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Jan 2010 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember Galileo, Europe’s proposed GPS-like satellite navigation system? It’s back in the headlines, and according to the Telegraph, UK-based Surrey Satellite Technology and Germany’s OHB System have jointly secured €566 million (that’s $815 million in US currency) to build 14 more satellites. The funding continues until 2013, whereby 22 satellites will be order. Full satellite navigation requires 27, and ultimately the European Union wants 32 technological waypointers. Launch date? Apparently 2014 — we’re hopeful, but this road has been wrought with delays before.

Galileo sat-nav system back on the map, said to be ‘up and running’ by 2014 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Jan 2010 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The year is 20XX AD and biological warfare is still the in thing, which is kinda strange since they’re dealing with robots now. Need a visual? Here are a few screens to help you get a picture

Originally, when we planned our trip to Michigan for the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, we figured we’d take a flight out to DTT the night before. Well, all that changed when I called GM and asked them to provide us with a vehicle to take a road-trip to Detroit for the major North American auto show.

While we asked for a hybrid vehicle (you know, so we can talk about how fuel-efficient it is on a long road-trip and all that geeky stuff), GM came to us with a fully-loaded 2010 GMC Acadia AWD (seeing as we may face some inclement weather during our drive).

First Impression: We love the Lambda platform here at egmCarTech. We recently test-drove a Buick Enclave and have previously driven the Saturn Outlook. Out of all three, the GMC Acadia seems to be the most rugged with better handling and smoother acceleration.

Power comes form a 3.6L SIDI V6 making 288-hp with maximum torque of 270 lb-ft. Mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission, EPA estimated fuel-economy comes in at 16/23 mpg.

Pricing for the 2010 GMC Acadia AWD starts at $42,185. Our test-model is equipped with a $1,000 Technology Package (head-up display, cargo area audio controls, HID headlamps), $1,890 Touch Screen Navigation w/ Reverse Camera, $1,445 AM/FM Stereo Dual Play DVD and CD w/AUX input, $1,400 Power Sunroof with 2nd Row Skylight, $650 for heated and cooled leather seats and $395 Red Jewel Tincoat. That brings final pricing to $49,740.

We’ll be Tweeting about the 2010 GMC Acadia during our drive to Detroit, so keep checking out our Twitter status for updates.

Note: Yes, that is annoying road-salt on the Acadia in the pictures.

2010 GMC Acadia AWD (Weekly Test-Drive):

All Photos Copyright © 2009 Omar Rana – egmCarTech.

– By: Omar Rana

Buenos Aires, Argentina | Museums and Collections

Recoleta Cemetery, in the upscale Recoleta Barrio of Buenos Aires, is the final resting place of many of Argentina’s wealthiest and most famous families and personages.

The mausoleums are fairly small, befitting the size of the cemetery in an urban setting, and it’s common for many members, generations even, of the same family occupy one mausoleum.

The layout of the cemetery was designed by the French engineer Próspero Catelin, and was remodeled in 1881, while Torcuato de Alvear was mayor of the city, by the Italian architect Juan Antonio Buschiazzo.

The Cemetery includes graves of some of the most influential and important Argentinians, including several presidents, scientists, and wealthy characters. Internationally, Eva Perón is the best-known person buried in this cemetery.

The entrance to the cemetery is through neo-classical gates with tall Greek columns. The cemetery contains many elaborate marble mausoleums, decorated with statues, in a wide variety of architectural styles. The entire cemetery is laid out in sections like city blocks, with wide tree-lined main walkways branching into sidewalks filled with mausoleums.

While many of the mausoleums are in fine shape and well-maintained, others have fallen into disrepair. Several can be found with broken glass and littered with rubbish.

Each mausoleum bears the family name etched into the facade; brass or bronze plaques are added to the front for particular family members. La Recoleta is one of those cemeteries where the tradition of engraving a death date but no birth date has been maintained.

The cemetery was featured in the educational film Destinos as the final resting spot of a wife of the main character.

Filed under: SUV, Technology, Crossover, Ford

Last summer, during a preview of what was coming from Ford in 2010, the company officially announced that a 2.0-liter inline-four-cylinder Ecoboost engine would debut this year. Unfortunately, that’s about all we were told at that time. Like the 3.5-liter V6 Ecoboost, the four will be direct injected and turbocharged. We expect it will be rated somewhere in the 230-250 horsepower range, similar to a 3.0-liter naturally aspirated V6.

At a pre-Detroit Auto Show preview Friday morning, the 2.0-liter Ecoboost was again shown on a list of nine new engines that will debut this year, along with a new six-speed automatic for transverse applications. When asked, Ford officials told us that they were not ready to announce the product that the engine would go into. However, when we asked if it would be the new unibody Explorer, they smiled and repeated, “we’re not ready to announce that yet.”

Since the new Explorer is expected to be based on a platform derived from the Flex, it would make perfect sense to use this engine with the corresponding transmission. We’re also expecting the 3.5-liter Ecoboost that is already available in the Flex and other models to be the optional engine, potentially giving the Explorer an all-Ecoboost lineup.

[Images: Ford, KGP Photography]

Ford all but confirms four-cylinder Ecoboost for next Explorer originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 10 Jan 2010 11:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s a textbook case out of Japan of how not to maintain your credibility to global investors.

First, you prevent your ill finance minister from resigning, even though he’s obviously not up for the job. Then when you do let him resign, as Prime Minister Hatoyama eventually did, you embarrass his replacement.

Earlier this week, the new finance minister Naoto Kan made waves when he appeared to embrace a weak-Yen, Bernanke-ist approach to recovery.

But Hatoyama instantly slapped him down, scolding him for the comments.

So now investors have no clue where Japan stands. They just know that the country doesn’t have any kind of finance minister with any standing.

Not very well done.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Here’s The Real Reason Japan’s Finance Minister Resigned
• Japan’s New Kamikaze Finance Minister Is On A Mission To Blow Up The Yen, And Finally Let The Nikkei Surge
• Four Reasons Why Japan Could Be The Mother Of All Contrarian Bets In 2010

It’s still hard to believe a Republican could win in deep-blue Massachusetts, but if you’re interested in healthcare reform you must pay attention to the election that will take place on January 19th.

A new poll from PPP has GOP candidate Scott Brown leading Democrat Martha Coakley by 1 point.

How could a Republican win in a state that Obama carried by more than 20 points?

It’s simple. Republicans are motivated by the chance to pull a gigantic upset and torpedo healthcare reform. Democrats aren’t so motivated, so the conventional wisdom is that the makeup of the electorate will be way different than it was last election day.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Panicked Healthcare Lobbyists Descend On Massachusetts To Save The 60th Democratic Vote For Reform
• Upset In Massachusetts Special Senate Race May Be The Political Earthquake Of 2010
• New Poll Shows Healthcare-Killing Upset Potential In Massachusetts Senate Race

Could cellphone radiation actually be good for you and bad for you at the same time? It might, according to a group of researchers at the University of South Florida, who say that tests on mice suggest that long-term cellphone use might actually help fend off some of the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. That, as you might have suspected, is the exact opposite of what the researchers expected to find, and they say that exposure to electromagnetic waves from cellphones could both prevent some of the effects of Alzheimer’s if the exposure is introduced in early adulthood, or potentially even reverse some of the impairment among those already memory-impaired. Needless to say, the tests are still in the earliest of stages, but the researchers are apparently planning on modifying the experiment to try to speed up the results, and eventually expand it to include tests on humans. Tests on mice still found cellphones to be an impairement while driving.

[Thanks, Antonio]

Study finds cellphone use may fend off effects of Alzheimer’s disease originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Jan 2010 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aircell may have skipped out on having a presence at CES this year, but that doesn’t mean that nothing is going on in the wide, wacky world of in-flight internet. The company confirmed to us via email that it’s planning a new video download service for 2010, a little something that’ll go by the name Gogo Video. PC World was able to sit down with Eric Lemond, director of product management for the company, and they found that the service will be a lot like the iTunes Video Store in function. Users will be able to tap into their onboard WiFi in order to suck down TV shows and film rentals, which will be available for viewing up to 24 hours from the time of purchase. The files themselves will remain on the laptop (as in, this isn’t just a streaming service), and while the exact launch date has yet to be nailed down, we are told that it will only be available for Windows laptops initially. Prices should range from $2 to $4 based on the programming, though we’re still waiting to hear what kind content partners will be signing on. Fret not, jetsetters — the unfriendly skies are about to get a bit more bearable.

Aircell to start in-flight video download service later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Jan 2010 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EARS, by that I mean EA Recordings, is prepping something that my interest your…well, ears. Over the next few weeks, the publisher will be releasing soundtracks featuring three of their big upcomers: Mass Effect 2, Battlefield: Bad

La marca SsangYong acaba de lanzar una serie de promociones en diferentes modelos para comenzar el año con buenas ventas. Además, han confirmado que uno de sus mejores modelos, el SsangYong Rodius ha tenido muy buenas ventas durante las pasadas fechas navideñas.

Estas promociones nos presentan descuentos de hasta 6.500€ en el SsangYong Kyron dejando su precio en 18.990€. A continuación os dejo con el listado de promociones que sólo estarán disponibles durante este mes de Enero:

• Actyon desde 17.250€. Descuento promocional de 2.500€.
• Actyon Sports desde 19.990€. Descuento promocional de 1.600€.
• Kyron desde 18.990€. Descuento promocional de 6.500€.
• Rexton II desde 26.900€. Descuento promocional de 7.000€.
• Rodius desde 18.490€. Descuento promocional de 6.130€. Además regalo de un equipo integrado multimedia DVD en toda la gama.

Related posts:

1. SsangYong ofrece descuentos durante el mes de Septiembre
2. El SsangYong Rodius contará con navegador de serie
3. SsangYong C200 estará en el Salón de Barcelona

Gran Turismo 5 was also down in Vegas for CES 2010, and the star of this little show is the Toyota FT-86, displaying the long sought-after features of the Real Driving Simulator.
 
 

The folks over at MOTO Labs (not related to Motorola) demonstrated a DIY yourself technique that allows the average person to easily compare touchscreen performance between multiple handsets. The test is performed by opening a drawing application on the test handset and drawing a diagonal pattern of straight lines very slowly on the screen. A good touchscreen will produce straight linear lines, while a poor touchscreen will produce wavy lines. To demonstrate the technique, MOTO Labs did a comparison test between the Apple iPhone, Google Nexus One, Motorola DROID and HTC DROID Eris. The clear winner in each of the tests was the iPhone which produced straight lines but with curving and sensitivity loss at the edges of the screen. The Nexus One and DROID Eris fall slightly below the iPhone with both handsets performing equally well, producing straight lines with some waviness and good sensitivity at the edge of the screen. At the bottom of the pack was the Motorola DROID which showed significant waviness and “stair-stepping” in all tests. These results might definitely mean something to the average user as a touchscreen that tracks poorly has a higher likelihood of misinterpreting touch input, and apparently imprecision even as small as a millimeter or two can make a significant difference when using a small on-screen keyboard or selecting text for editing. The video demonstrating the test and its results are after the jump. Watch it and let us know what you think. Is the DROID really as bad as the results show or is this test somehow skewed?

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Filed under: Technology, Audi

Audi has announced that HD Radio Technology will be standard on its 2011 model year A6, A8 and Q7 vehicles.The 2011 Audi A4, A5 and Q5 models, sold at lower price points, will also offer the technology, but with the optional navigation radio.

“We are dedicated to providing our customers with the best entertainment options to enhance their Audi driving experience,” said Filip Brabec, General Manager, Product Planning at Audi of America. “These upcoming 2011 models will be fully equipped with the best in digital broadcast engineering, making it a clear choice to offer HD Radio Technology to our customers.”

Compared to static-laden traditional AM/FM radio, HD Radio offers CD-quality sound on FM channels, and FM-stereo quality sound on AM channels. According to iBiquity Digital Corporation, the company holding the trademark for HD Radio, there are more than 2,000 HD Radio stations and more than 1,100 HD2/HD3 channels (FM multicast) currently on the air. As of today, HD radio is available to 85 percent of Americans. It’s interesting to note that when HD Radio debuted, “HD” was the abbreviation for “Hybrid Digital,” but that was later dropped. Today, “HD” is simply part of the brand name – contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t stand for “high-definition.” Audi’s press release is pasted after the jump.

[Source: Audi]

Continue reading Audi makes HD Radio standard on three 2011 models

Audi makes HD Radio standard on three 2011 models originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 10 Jan 2010 10:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rice University analysis questions US ethanol subsidiesOregonLive.comIn 2007, Congress mandated that biofuels production increase from 9 billion gallons in 2008 to 36 billion gallons by 2022. Corn ethanol is capped at 15 …and more »