Author: Serkadis

Google is poised to unveil its strongest iPhone rival yet later today — the Nexus One.

Originally hyped as the Google phone, the Nexus One now has the tech blogosphere scratching its head over what appears to be a top-of-the-line, HTC-built phone. Dubbed an iPhone killer, and then a Droid killer, the Nexus One has some asking: What’s the big deal?

I’ve played with the Nexus One briefly. Sources who have owned both the iPhone and used the Nexus One for awhile say it’s better and faster than any previous Android phone. It’s light. It feels thinner then the 3GS and is incredibly fast. Like with other Android phones, Google’s strengths in the cloud give it advantages like a bar that lets you search the web and your phone’s apps at the same time along with a killer Gmail integration, not to mention apps that run in the background. But alas, the same weaknesses persist: the iPhone has a much richer selection of apps with 100,000 choices and that gorgeous user interface.

As the latest in a never-ending march of Android devices, the Nexus One underscores the cultural differences between Google’s and Apple’s approaches to the mobile space.

Google, which was born from the web, has a mentality of incremental improvement closer to some of the younger startups we profile every day on this blog. In a single year, Android has gone through serious revisions from Cupcake to Donut to Eclair, providing deeper HTML5 support, the ability to upload and record video and a Bluetooth API. (Android updates are named in alphabetical order after pastries. Flan is next.) Android phones were fairly yawn-worthy until last fall, when the first truly competitive devices including the Motorola Droid emerged. Even the name Nexus One — emphasis on the numeral — suggests future iterations.

By contrast, Apple’s older roots in hardware (and Steve Jobs) reinforce a culture that requires perfection upon release. Apple’s full force is behind a single phone, while Google has its eggs in many baskets and is open. A benefit of Apple’s approach is the torrent of speculation that does more to market its products than any advertising. Apple also retains end-to-end control over the phone’s entire experience, simultaneously delighting users while aggravating developers.

Overall, incrementalism seems to be working for Google. A couple stats released today bear out evidence of that success.

Google’s newly-acquired mobile advertising arm AdMob reports that requests for ads on Android devices nearly doubled between October and December. The company received 1 billion requests for ads in December. Motorola’s Droid is clearly leading the way with 30 percent of requests.

The Droid has also piqued consumer interest in Android-based phones. Twenty-one percent of people considering buying a smart phone in the next 90 days say they prefer Google’s Android as their operating system, according to a ChangeWave Survey.

That said, we think the Android-iPhone fistfight often portrayed is a bit simplistic. This isn’t a zero-sum game — yet. Smartphone penetration in the U.S. is still at 18 percent, according to The Nielsen Company. If Google can on-board a fraction of those users converting to smartphones and cultivate an ecosystem of rich, web-based mobile applications, that’s a big win. And Apple can still have its cake and eat it too.

We suspect there will be something beyond the Nexus One tomorrow. This would explain the normally paranoid company’s puzzling decision to hand the phone out as a Christmas gift to employees, taking the wind out of any device announcement.

Speculation has pointed to 1) a novel sales strategy giving consumers freedom to choose carriers, 2) Spotify availability (Spotify told us itself that it’s heading to CES, perhaps to make an announcement) or 3) a Google-HTC tablet.

In any case, we’re probably in for a surprise.

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Ryan McBride wrote:

Stephen Seiler has been hunting for cash to advance an experimental therapy for sickle cell disease into initial human studies. And the veteran biotech executive, the former CEO of Cambridge, MA-based Idera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IDRA), has founded a startup in Newton, MA called AesRx to carry out his goal.

Seiler said he has provided an undisclosed amount of money from his own pocket to support the young startup, which was formed in November 2008. Now he’s looking to raise about $10 million in a Series A round of venture capital to advance the startup’s lead drug, called Aes-103, into a Phase I clinical trial next year for sickle cell disease. He’s making the case that the current treatments for sickle cell disease (sometimes called sickle cell anemia), which affects about 75,000 Americans, have left patients with far too few options to treat the genetic, lifelong illness that causes pain, infections, organ damage, and can often be deadly.

The firm’s drug is a small molecule called 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural, or 5HMF, which is derived from sugar and can be found in everything from caramel and cookies to prune juice. Based on preclinical studies, according to Seiler, there is evidence that the drug could be less toxic than previous treatments for sickle cell disease. For example, the standard treatment for the disease, called hyroxyurea, is typically prescribed only when patients are experiencing pain and other complications of sickle cell because it can cause side effects such as vomiting and lowered red blood cell production. And while bone marrow transplants have been able to cure the illness, there are challenges to making this therapy available to most patients because a matching donor is needed and it’s too expensive for them.

“Although it’s still pre-clinical, we know a lot about this drug,” Seiler said. “Therefore we believe our odds of success are better than a random pre-clinical compound.”

For now, the company is supporting some of its claims about the potential utility of its treatment with outside, peer-reviewed studies that validate the importance of the target that AesRx’s treatment binds with, as well as the drug’s intended mechanism of action. The compound was also studied extensively by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University who first discovered its potential to treat sickle cell disease. (Seiler purchased the experimental drug after its former owner, New Jersey-based Xechem International, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in fall 2008, he said.)

Sickle cell disease is caused by abnormal …Next Page »

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Hofele Design has taken the Audi A5, added some R8 looks and come up with this result. The A5 takes on carbon fibre sideblades (which don’t appear on the R8 Spider, but which Hofele wanted to include on the A5 cabrio all the same), rear aerodynamic look from the supercar coupe, side skirts, a lowered body and twin chrome exhaust with four outlets. It might not be your cup of tea, but if you’re wanting to touch up your Audi, this kit is available on the Audi A5 and S5 coupé, and the Audi A5 cabrio and S5 cabrio.

Source | Autoblog.com

Dacia’s Logan, a successful model generally sold around the world as rebadged Renaults, is losing ground in India, a market where it is currently manufactured by Mahindra Renault. Sales of the budget-minded model got reduced in the last months and, as a result, Renault’s Indian joint venture will adjust production to cope with decreasing demand.

Renault’s partnership with Mahindra had a capacity of 50,000 units per year but monthly figures decreased every month in late 2009. The t… (read more)

Although Michael Schumacher hasn’t raced at competitive level in Formula One for the last 3 years, it appears the German will not be the first of the Mercedes driver to take the 2010 challenger for a drive during the first testing session of the winter, in Valencia. The FIA ban for testing expires on January 31st, after which all teams are scheduled to test their cars on the Ricardo Tormo Circuit starting February 1st.

Talking to the Salzburger Nachrichten the other day, Schumache… (read more)

The North American division of KTM Motorsports announced yesterday that FMF Racing is the title sponsor of the 2010 KTM Factory Off-Road and Supercross/Motocross Lites Racing Teams. Furthermore, FMF Racing will also be offering exclusive FMF/KTM exhaust pipes available only at KTM dealers.

The strong relationship between the two companies made FMF a perfect fit when looking for a title sponsor. It was also important to work with a company that had a strong presence in the off-road… (read more)

Yahoo hasn’t been doing great for several years now. Its vast arsenal of services and web proprieties has managed to provide it with enough revenue stream to survive but, at the same time, it’s holding it back from any real growth. The company has been shutting down or selling off services for a while now, and one product which has been on the ‘to-go’ list for a few months is Zimbra. It looks like Yahoo may have finally found a worthy suitor for the white-label email suite in VMware which is reportedly interested in acquiring the product.

All Things D’s Kara Swisher cites sources close to the deal and says that an announcement is coming soon and that the negotiations are very close to an end. Cnet also confirmed the deal through other sources, so the rumor is looking solid. As expected, both companies declined to comment, and the financial details are unknown. It is very likely, though, that the sell price will be significantly lower than the $350 million Yahoo paid for Zimbra when it acquired it in 2007.

All Things D says that Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz personally approached VMware CEO Paul Maritz and proposed a deal. VMware has been expanding rapidly from just a virtualization company, adding several new products and services for the enterprise market. Zimbra would be a welcomed addition to the line up as it would co… (read more)

Tucker was a man with a different approach on the auto industry who managed to build Tucker cars in the ‘40s. Unfortunately he only had the chance to build 51 Tuckers, as the story says that a conspiracy drove him out of business.

Needless to say that the cars are very expensive, as they are very rare. In the past twenty years, the Tucker Automobile Club of America have been recognized as the foremost authority on Tucker Automobiles, so it has been asked to make an official … (read more)

Article Tags: John Leonard

The public tends to trust “Science” to tell us the truth. Put a lab coat and a stethoscope on someone and we tend to trust them more than we normally would trust a stranger. Society respects the hard work that was required to earn that lab coat, whether a true scientist is wearing it or an actor who “plays one on T.V.” Looking the part and fulfilling the role are two different things.

Some “scientists” (better called pseudo-scientists) stick to their guns and defend bad theory long after reason and common sense dictate other actions are more rational for two reasons – peer pressure and funding. It’s tough to go against the flow of conventional wisdom and tell the world that global warming is a farce.

Bjorn Lomborg was an established and respected liberal scientist who believed completely in global warming and for that reason set out to disprove the theories of American economist Julian Simon. Simon claimed the world’s environment was improving and not getting worse.

Source: rightsidenews.com

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No more spyshots for the 2010 Opel Meriva! The Corsa-based compact MPV is now available for the public eye, in its production-ready form.

The Meriva has kept most of the concept version’s (presented at Geneva Auto Show 2008) features, following the current Opel design trend set by the Insignia and continued by the Astra. Thumbs up!

A really unexpected feature borrowed form the concept is the doors’ suicide layout, a design delicacy only used by a few sports or luxur… (read more)

Giancarlo Fisichella’s 5-race stint with Ferrari in the late stages of the 2009 Formula One season seems to secure him another season in the series. The Roman driver replaced injured Felipe Massa for the final 5 Grands Prix of last season and, although he didn’t score a single point for Ferrari, he was offered a 10-year reserve/test role with the Scuderia.

However, with Ferrari now providing Sauber F1 Team with powertrains for the 2010 F1 championship, it seems likely that the Ita… (read more)

With the 2010 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) just around the corner, the Cobo Center in Detroit is getting ready to receive its visitors. According to the organizers of the event, Cobo is now readier than ever, especially because of the $3 million spent on repairing and upgrading the center.

There had been the discussion about keeping the show at its rightful home, which is of course at Cobo in Detroit, and we’ve been able to do that because of being able to initi… (read more)

Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo recently released UK pricing for the MiTo MultiAir range, set to arrive on the British market this spring. The vehicle will be available in two engine versions, namely the 135 bhp 1.4 Turbo, and the top-of-the-range 170 bhp 1.4 Turbo which will carry the Alfa Cloverleaf badge.

Available for order through the Alfa Romeo UK dealer network from early January 2010, the MiTo’s MultiAir engine range promises lower emissions and fuel consumption, as well a… (read more)

Article Tags: Met Office, UK Winter Forecast 2009/10, World Temperatures

Britain was warned today it is facing one of the coldest winters in 100 years as the Arctic blast brought more chaos to airports, roads, railways and schools.

Snow has already closed Manchester Airport this morning, while ten train services between London and Leeds on the East Coast Main Line have been cancelled and thousands of school pupils have been told to stay home.

Six inches of snow is forecast to fall today as the icy blast tightens its grip. The South is expected to see the worst of the weather as heavy winter showers move south across England and Wales throughout the day.

Click source to read FULL report

Source: dailymail.co.uk

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BBC News (Yolande Knell)

With photo

Archaeologists in Egypt have said they have discovered the largest known tomb in the ancient necropolis of Sakkara, to the south of Cairo.

The tomb dates back 2,500 years to the 26th Dynasty and contains important artefacts, including mummified eagles.

It is one of two newly discovered tombs found by an Egyptian team working close to the entrance of Sakkara, the burial ground for Egypt’s ancient capital.

The tomb consists of a big hall hewn out of the limestone rock.

There are a number of small rooms and passageways where ancient coffins, skeletons and well-preserved clay pots were discovered, as well as the mummies of eagles.

Discovery News (Rossella Lorenzi)

With some good photos.

An Egyptian team led by Dr. Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, has unearthed the largest tomb yet discovered in the ancient necropolis of Saqqara, also known as the “City of the Dead.”

Saqqara largest tomb

Filled with skeletons, coffins and eagle mummies, the tomb was found just near the entrance point of the archaeological site.

Simply cut into limestone, the burial, which dates to the 26th Dynasty (664 -525 B.C.), extends from a large rock-hewn hall into a number of corridors and small rooms. Inside, the archaeologists found several coffins, skeletons and pots.

Saqqara largest tomb

At the tomb’s northern end, the team unearthed a room filled with shards of ancient pottery, coffins and mummified eagles.

According to Dr. Hawass, the 2,500-year-old tomb had been opened several times during its history. Most likely, it was robbed at the end of the Roman period.

Saqqara largest tomb

The team also uncovered a second large tomb which featured a sealed limestone room. Scattered inside, there were many clay pots and several ancient coffins.

The finding “shows that Saqqara still harbors secrets,” Dr. Hawass said.

Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes

Article Tags: PETE DU PONT

Al Gore said the other week that climate change is “a principle in physics. It’s like gravity. It exists.” Sarah Palin agreed that “climate change is like gravity,” but added a better conclusion: Each is “a naturally occurring phenomenon that existed long before, and will exist long after, any governmental attempts to affect it.”

Over time climates do change. As author Howard Bloom wrote in The Wall Street Journal last month, in the past two million years there have been 60 ice ages, and in the 120,000 years since the development of modern man, “we’ve lived through 20 sudden global warmings,” and of course this was before–long before–“smokestacks and tail pipes.”

In our earth’s history there has been both global warming and global cooling. In Roman times, from 200 B.C. to A.D. 600, it was warm; from 600 to 900 came the cold Dark Ages; more warming from 900 to 1300; and another ice age from 1300 to 1850. Within the past century, the earth has warmed by 0.6 degree Celsius, but within this period we can see marked shifts: cooling (1900-10), warming (1910-40), cooling again (1940 to nearly 1980), and since then a little warming. The Hadley Climatic Research Unit global temperature record shows that from 1980 to 2009, the world warmed by 0.16 degree Celsius per decade.

Source: online.wsj.com

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The sun isn’t supposed to help your vision, but for patients suffering from blindness, solar power may be the key to restored sight, according to Stanford researchers.

Ophthalmology Prof. Daniel Palanker, along with a team of researchers, has created a new artificial retinal implant that uses photovoltaic power to provide power to a chip implanted at the back of the eye. The discovery is particularly significant because previous implants had no way to send power to the chip in order to process light and data inside the eye.

Development of these new retinal implants used electronic retinal prostheses in order to restore sight to patients suffering from degenerative retinal diseases such as Retinitis Pigmentosa and Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

While normal vision may be out of reach for many patients, the implants could nonetheless offer dramatic vision improvements.

“We hope to be able to restore visual acuity up to the level of 20/100 because while 20/20 is normal vision, people with retinal degeneration may lose sight to the levels of 20/400 or below,” Palanker said.

According to neurobiology Prof. Stephen Baccus, a member of the research team behind the implant, the goal is to produce an electronic device that allows people to naturally perceive visual images, objects and motion.

Currently, the research team is studying how the retina processes visual information as a way to understand how neural circuits in the brain function.

“A natural use of this research is to construct an electronic device to replace part of the function of the retina in cases of retinal degeneration,” Baccus said.

Unlike similar methods, the Stanford system uses “real-time computer processing to transform visual images in a way that approximates the real neural code used by the retina,” Baccus added.

This particular research project also mirrors the well-known Stanford tradition of interdisciplinary collaboration.

“Due to [the] highly interdisciplinary nature of this project, our group includes specialists from four departments at Stanford: Ophthalmology, Hansen Experimental Physics Lab, Electrical Engineering and Neurobiology,” Palanker said.

Currently in the basic research state, Palanker’s team is using both in vitro methods and in vivo–using small animals–in order to better understand the implants. Further development, including the change from lab animals to humans, will depend on funding and perfecting the current method of research. The team aims to design systems that transmit visuals more naturally.

“By making the electronic stimulation as natural as possible, we hope that learning process will be easier,” Baccus said.

As its first action item of the new term, the nine-member Palo Alto City Council last night unanimously elected Pat Burt as mayor of Palo Alto.

Burt, a resident of the city for the past 28 years, has served as councilmember since 2007.

At the meeting, Councilman Sid Espinosa was also named vice mayor by unanimous vote, and the year’s new City Council was officially introduced. As more than 200 attendees looked on, four new councilmembers–Karen Holman, Gail Price, Greg Scharff and Nancy Shepherd–and one returning member, Larry Klein, were sworn into office.

They replace outgoing Mayor Peter Drekmeier, Vice Mayor Jack Morton and councilmembers Yoriko Kishimoto and John Barton, who is also a Stanford lecturer in architectural design.

Spyker is still in play to take control of Saab but a final decision is yet to be made. Still, if such a scenario becomes reality, Spyker plans to delay plans to launch the much-debated Saab 9-1 entry-level car but continue to rely on popular models such as 9-3, 9-5 and 9-4X. The plans were revealed by Spyker CEO Victor Muller in an interview for AOL Autos but they would only come into effect in case the Dutch company manages to complete the deal with GM.

According to Automotive N… (read more)

Growing up in a small apartment house in Queens, New York,Nenna Yvonne at an early age discovered she had a natural gift for music. At 14 she decided that she wanted to devote her life to music. She had her heart set out to study music – so while attending La Guardia High school of Arts, she learned to write and compose music in various genres and languages including German, French, and Italian. At 19 she partnered up with DTox,her now producer and manager (whom she credits for much of  her development as an artist and soon to be released  first album project).

This 21 year old Nigerian born diva takes Jamati Entourage ‘Seun Johnson,on a journey through her music career,her experiences and her soon to be released debut album titled “Model Citizen“. Recently she received an honorable mention from the VP and Editor-in-Chief for Billboard magazine.

Jamati: How did music all begin for you?

Nenna: My interest in Music began in grade school when I sang the lead for a recital.

Jamati: How were you able to combine music and school,and what were your parents initial opinion about it?

Nenna: Hard work and dedication. My parents have always been supporters of the Arts.

Jamati: You sing,write songs,model,and you’re an enterpreneur.What else do you do?

Nenna: I can walk a tight rope off the empire state building..(joking) but I also write poetry.

Jamati: Have you ever wondered how much you’ve achieved at 21.What can you attribute these successes to?

Nenna: Supportive Friends and Family.

Jamati: What’s working and being managed by D-Tox been like?

Nenna: He’s been super supportive and an amazing producer.

Jamati: You’ve been outta Nigeria for like all your life.How do you relate with home and do you intend visiting anytime soon?

Nenna: I’ve been to Nigeria multiple times. I relate with people everywhere and hopefully I can do a live show there soon.

Jamati: You’re often compared to renowned singers like Neyo,Whitney Houston,Britney Spears…how does that make you feel?

Nenna: It excites me and I’m appreciative that I am being compared to veterans of Music.

Jamati: You have plans of releasing your debut album titled “Model Citizen”.Can you tell us more about this album…what inspired it’s title,who will you be featuring,number of tracks,the behind-the-scene experiences,etc.

Nenna: We’ve got features from Lady Gaga’s Producer Space Cowboy, Hip Hop Legends Mobb Deep and few undislosed names. But most importantly,6 great songs and a lot of emotion and growth as an artist. The production and vocals convey strength and power and that’s who I’ve become as a Nigerian Woman growing up In the States! I’ve learned a lot and I’m excited to share the experience with the World. I have A Model Citizen Campaign on the way, radio interviews posted on my MySpace Page and tons of great new photos and poems on my Music page as well. The inspiration for this experience came from months of writing and listening and just observing. A lot of credit is owed to my manager Dtox for taking the time to develop and mould my artistry.

Jamati: The music industry is filled with multi-platinum record holding artistes with billions of fans world wide,how do you feel entering this same industry?

Nenna: Excited to share the stage and anxious to get on stage in front of potential fans!

Jamati: How do you see your music affecting the lives of people?

Nenna: My passions for music will become my passion for any other works I take on as an artist.It doesn’t stop with the music. Hopefully my gift will act as a catalyst to working with those who have achieved great success through other forms of media in hopes to achieve unity and strength in this world.

Jamati: What’s the secret to your good looks and stunning vocals?

Nenna: Genetics! African women rock!

Jamati: What makes Nenna Yvonne tick?

Nenna: My love for Family,Music and God creations.

Jamati: What advice would you like to give young aspiring females around the world who seem lost in their dream to doing their own thing?

Nenna: My advice to all female who aspire to have more and never settle is just that! Set short term goals for yourself and realize that no one can work as hard for you as you can for yourself.Lots of prayer and humility goes a long way too.

Jamati: Who’d you like to give a shout out to?

Nenna: Shout out to Dtox- A true friend and Supporter! Without him none of this is possible.

Jamati: Jamati Online wishes you the best in all you do this New Year.

Nenna: Thanks Jamati! Happy New Decade!

5 Fun Facts About Nenna

– Her favorite food is African food and Indian food….she leaves us guessing?

– She loves going to the beach!For you all who wanna hook up,lol.

– She writes everyday on her blackberry…songs and poetry obviously.

– She’s met quite a few celebs…a long list you bet!

– She really feels cool to know she shares the same music interests as some major acts you might know.

You can listen to her songs and read more on Nenna Yvonne on the following links.

www.NennaYvonne.com
www.MySpace.com/NennaYvonne
www.StereoFame.com/NennaYvonne
www.Twitter.com/NennaYvonne
www.YouTube.com/NennaYvonne
www.facebook.com/NennaYvonne