Mereja

Author: Serkadis

  • Koenigsegg Pulls Out Unexpectedly, Prolongs GM’s Saab Story

    SWEDEN/

    Just a few minutes ago General Motors released a statement confirming that Koenigsegg has suddenly reneged on their agreement to purchase Saab. Despite the fact that GM is no stranger to failed deals (for further reference, please contact your nearest disgruntled Saturn dealer), CEO Fritz Henderson expressed surprise and regret over the decision. “We’re obviously very disappointed with the decision to pull out of the Saab purchase,” said GM President and CEO, Fritz Henderson. “Many have worked tirelessly over the past several months to create a sustainable plan for the future of Saab by selling the brand and its manufacturing interests to Koenigsegg Group AB. Given the sudden change in direction, we will take the next several days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week.”

    While Henderson’s promise to weigh their options carefully seem promising, those who are familiar with GM’s proven track record for leeching what they can from a brand before tossing its lifeless carcass to the buzzards are not optimistic about Saab’s future.

    On a lighter note, this now frees up the funds previously guaranteed by the Swedish government for the Saab-Koenigsegg purchase to be invest elsewhere, possibly with the Crown consortium.

    Source: GM
    Image Cred: Reuters Pictures


  • Feedly Launches Google Chrome Extension

    Google hasn’t even launched the extensions gallery for Chrome and the excitement is already building. Extensions have been supported to some extent by the browser for several months now, but only recently has Google gotten close to launching the feature to a wider audience. The company is now weeks, maybe days, away from introducing extensions to the Chrome beta channel and launching the online gallery, so developers are gearing up to get in early. Feedly, a feed reader – social networking aggregator hybrid, isn’t wasting any time and has just launched support for Chrome.

    Feedly is a service which aims to change the way you read and explore your feeds. It’s not a dedicated feed reader in its own rights, it uses the feeds you already have in Google Reader, but, then again, it doesn’t have to be. The interesting part comes from the way it presents the items in a magazine-style interface, making it actually feasible to read the entries inside the reader in a way that is also visually appealing.

    Every action is synced back to Google Reader and almost all of the options available from Google are available in Feedly as well. It isn’t a complete replacement for hardcore feed users, but for everyone else it makes an interesting option. It also integrates with other services like Twitter and FriendFeed allowing you t… (read more)

  • Reports Surface of Faulty Core i7 iMacs

    Shattered glass. Flickering displays. Non-booting machines. So-goes the list of maladies affecting Apple’s brand new quad-core 27” Core i7-based iMacs. Threads over on the Apple Support Discussion forums are alive with complaints and debate by affected users.

    After hitting the power button, some owners hear the startup chime, but don’t get to boot successfully to their desktop. One particularly high-profile customer was Engadget, who took delivery of a machine that simply refused to boot. They didn’t even get as far as the teasing chime.

    A video has surfaced on YouTube of a machine that does boot, but its display ducks out and “flashes” every so often, rendering it impractical (and uncomfortable) for any kind of actual use.

    Several customers are reporting shattered or cracked glass on the bottom left hand corner of the iMac’s huge display.

    There’s currently no official comment on the matter by Apple (I doubt there ever will be) but the favourite explanation floating around the intertubes is that the packaging for these computers is somehow flawed, leading to damage (visible and otherwise) of their precious contents while in transit.

    Gizmodo says:

    What’s most plausible is that the packaging just wasn’t designed to handle the size and weight of the giant 27-inch iMac as it gets tossed around the cab of a FedEx truck. Apple has so far been extremely responsive and effective in making repairs and exchanges, but it’s still a discomfiting sign.

    This is the second wave of bad news regarding Apple’s new 27″ iMac lineup. Late last month reports surfaced on the Apple Support discussion website of incredibly sluggish Flash playback, and claims of a bug causing hard drives to spin down and even of a faulty Snow Leopard installation. You can read those discussion for yourself here and here.

    So, if you bought one of these machines as a holiday gift for someone, it’s probably a good idea to open the box and take it for a test-drive, while there’s still time to get a replacement from Apple should the need arise.

    Have you been affected by one of these faults?

  • eBay Find of the Day: 1986 BMW L7, Probably Ill-Advised Edition

    1986_BMW_L7

    Yesterday, during the over-hyped debut of the new 2011 5-Series, I made a nostalgic reference to the extinct front end styling of 80s – early 90s Bimmers and, much to my surprise, received nary a grammatically incorrect letter of dissent. So, it is on that faintly encouraging note that I bring to you Tuesday’s eBay Find of the Day: a mint condition, one owner 1986 BMW L7. As classic BMW enthusiasts are already aware, the L7 was a souped up version of the 735i originally introduced exclusively to the American market to sate the growing, fervent luxury ride lust of gangster rappers and coke dealers. Plebeian wood trim was replaced with sumptuous leather on the dashboard and door panels and enough extra interior accessories were added to ensure European automotive garages no shortage of business decades down the road. As was intended, the L7 eventually became the ultimate status symbol and, after putting a few years on it, the biggest electrical nightmare outside of a Land Rover dealership.

    This particular L7, however, appears to be in excellent working condition and was apparently meticulously cared for by its one owner. The original leather is not only still intact but as blemish free as the day it was driven home and the seller has all of the service records in his possession, so you’ll know what you’re getting yourself into. My personal spending limit is somewhere around $5k which puts me out of the race for this gem, but if I had the scratch I can assure you this would be making its way home to momma. Reliability be damned.

    Pics after the jump





























    Source: eBay


  • BREAKING: Koenigsegg backs out of Saab purchase, brand future up in the air

    Filed under: , , ,

    2010 Saab 9-5 – Click above for high-res image gallery

    After riding in on a white horse, Koenigsegg Group AB has pulled out of negotiations to buy Saab from General Motors, leaving the Swedish automaker’s future very much in doubt. In a brief statement issued by GM (available after the jump), president and CEO Fritz Henderson says that the company is “very disappointed with the decision to pull out of the Saab purchase.”

    It is unclear what will happen to the brand now, but if Saab fans can hold on to any hope, GM says it will “take the next several days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week.” It is worth noting that this is different from the brief announcement that GM issued when Roger Penske’s group pulled out from buying Saturn – GM immediately announced that they would begin “winding down” the brand. There was at least one other serious bidder interested in purchasing Saab previous to Koenigsegg becoming the preferred purchaser, but it isn’t immediately clear if they are still interested, or if their financial backing checked out to begin with.

    We suspect that even if Saab is unable to survive as a brand, someone will step in and purchase the assets to the already tooled-up forthcoming 9-5 sedan – perhaps the Chinese – and potentially the newish 9-3/9-3X as well.

    Gallery: 2010 Saab 9-5

    [Source: General Motors]

    Continue reading BREAKING: Koenigsegg backs out of Saab purchase, brand future up in the air

    BREAKING: Koenigsegg backs out of Saab purchase, brand future up in the air originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • UBS: There’s A “Buffet Bubble” In Railroad Stocks That Could Burst Any Day Now

    WarrenBuffett-0909-1

    Railroad stocks have outperformed the S&P 500 by 10% since Berkshire Hathaway acquired Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway early last month, but the risk of underperformance now looms large between now and year’s end, says UBS.

    (via DealJournal):

    “[T]his is the third period of outperformance on the back of significant Buffett investments in this industry, and the stocks quickly gave back half of those relative gains on the back of the first two of these Buffett ‘bubbles,’” firm notes. Says UNP “has the most to lose if this bubble unwinds” as it’s the biggest outperformer since the BNI deal was announced.

    Continue reading >

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  • Retail Sales, Monthly Change

    Retail Sales, Monthly Change

    Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

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  • Don’t Blame Facebook For Some Kids Beating Up Another Student

    Pickle Monger alerts us to a CNN story suggesting that a Facebook group “may have lead to the beating of a 12-year-old” boy. Really? Facebook could do that rather than a group of kids who are bullies? The “group” in question was apparently a group (potentially inspired by a South Park episode) for a national “kick a ginger” (redhead) day. There was actually some controversy about this last year as well. It seems bizarre to blame Facebook (or, for that matter, South Park) for this at all, and so Pickle Monger went and checked out the actual Facebook group and noted: “There doesn’t seem to be any outrageous comments. In fact most comments are in good humor, some by readheads. The event has one confirmed guest – assumingly the creator, who seems to be readheaded (assuming it’s his photo on the profile). The event has two people awaiting reply.” Kids do stupid things, and sometimes the stupid things they do involve hitting other kids. That’s not the fault of Facebook.

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  • Net Neutrality is a Must

    Guest Blog:  Joshua Breitbart is the Policy Director for People’s Production House.  This Op-Ed originally appeared in the online version of The Weekly Haitian Times on  Nov. 19th, 2009

    For many of us, the diversity and abundance of information on the Internet has become part of our daily lives. We assume that we will always be able to view the websites of our choosing and even upload our own photos and videos onto the Internet. However, as teachers of radio journalism, we can’t take net neutrality – the principle that prohibits discrimination of content and applications on the Internet – for granted. Our organization, People’s Production House, includes lessons on net neutrality as part of our year-long courses in public schools because without it, our students could soon be making entertaining and informative radio pieces without the ability to share them online.

    With last week’s introduction of Resolution 712, the New York City Council has taken up this important issue. While we don’t hear much about it in the news, the current debate over net neutrality will determine the future of how we communicate. Two companies alone – Verizon and AT&T – have spent over $20 million on federal lobbying this year trying to thwart The Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009, a bill in Congress that would enshrine net neutrality in law. Resolution 712, if the Council passes it, would endorse this bill.

    Net neutrality was the law of the land until 2005 and it brought us many benefits. Skype is an Internet-based voice service that is extremely popular among the recent immigrants we teach who wish to keep in touch with family around the world. Skype competes with the voice services of cable companies like Optimum and Time Warner. Without net neutrality, those companies could have kept Skype and similar products like Magic Jack from launching by blocking it or charging the companies exorbitant fees that would be passed on to users.

    Opponents of net neutrality point to the existing variety of online voice services as evidence that the system works. They call net neutrality a “solution in search of a problem,” but the problem is staring anyone who owns an Internet-enabled mobile phone right in the face. As it is now, most cellular phone companies – who have so far been exempt from net neutrality – block Skype from operating on their networks so people are forced to use their minutes for calls rather than their data connections.

    This is particularly harmful to poor people, people of color, and seniors who are all more likely to have a mobile phone than a broadband-enabled personal computer or laptop. While laptop users can use whatever chat or voice service they want – thanks, so far, to net neutrality – mobile phone users can only access the parts of the Internet that their service providers approve. For international calls they still have to rely on expensive phone company connections or unreliable pre-paid phone cards. We need to extend net neutrality protections to wireless networks, not allow these kinds of discriminatory practices to spread, especially not now that the Bloomberg administration is finally taking action to close the digital divide in our city with its new NYC Connected Communities initiative.

    Some companies say they need to be able to block unreasonable use of their networks. Then why, in 2007, when cable television and Internet service behemoth Comcast was found to be blocking a service called Bit Torrent that is popular for downloading movies, did they at first try to deny it? The Federal Communications Commission penalized the company, but Comcast is challenging the FCC’s authority in court – suing for its right to block our access to video services like Bit Torrent or voice services like Skype. Now that Comcast is seeking to purchase NBC Universal, it will have even more reason to block competitors’ content traveling over their wires.

    For community journalists like the immigrants, low-wage workers, and public school students that we teach at People’s Production House, this is a scary thought. The NBC corporation has been broadcasting its content since 1926, while our trainees are just now finding the power of distributing their own media through the Internet. They’re finding new ways of engaging in civic life, new job skills, and a new sense of community, locally and globally. Without net neutrality, Comcast and other corporate giants could take that power away.

  • REPORT: GM’s next-gen SUVs to be body-on-frame (otherwise they’d be crossovers)

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    2009 Cadillac Escalade Platinum – Click above for high-res image gallery

    The GMT900 platform is by far the highest volume chassis General Motors has here in the States, as it underpins the Chevrolet Silverado, Tahoe, Avalanche and Suburban, the Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV, and the GMC Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL. We never had any doubt that GM would continue to build body-on-frame trucks in the future, but with demand for SUVs shrinking quickly, some thought the body-on-frame SUV would soon be a thing of the past. Maybe not.

    Our friends over at Pickuptrucks.com are reporting that the next generation of the GMT platform will be produced by Magna International’s Cosma in Canada and Mexico – and that new platform will underpin the next-generation of GM SUVs along with the GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado. Pickuptrucks quotes Magna spokesperson Scott Worden as confirming that the next generation of GM’s large SUVs will come with the body-on-frame architecture. This sort of chassis tends to add weight versus a unibody platform, but it also adds capability for towing and payload at lower cost.

    We’re not really all the surprised that GM will continue to build BOF SUVs, especially when considering that the General sold a combined 200,000 copies of the Suburban, Yukon, Tahoe and Escalade last month alone. And last we checked, these are still relatively expensive vehicles that bring in quite a bit of desperately needed profit. And if customers are interested in a family hauler with better interior packaging and fuel economy, we’re sure GM dealers will be happy to get them into a Buick Enclave, Chevy Traverse or GMC Acadia.

    Gallery: 2009 Cadillac Escalade Platinum

    [Source: Pickuptrucks]

    REPORT: GM’s next-gen SUVs to be body-on-frame (otherwise they’d be crossovers) originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • A Tale of Two Hard Drives: Apple’s Secret Weapon?

    In my day job, helping people with computers, I see many failed hard drives. If the computer is under warranty, I’ll always try to get the system manufacturer to replace the drive rather than order a new one for the customer. Recently, two clients came in, one right after another, and it really illustrated the differences between Apple and everyone else when it comes to hardware support. “Lauren” bought a sub-$1000 PC, but didn’t consider the support costs and time involved. If she had, she might have second thoughts about her decision to buy a PC.

    The Dell Experience

    Client #1 comes in because Windows won’t boot. The minute she turns on the PC, I know the problem. It’s that horrible high-pitched clicking noise that is worse than nails on a chalkboard to any technician. It’s obvious the drive has failed and the solution is to replace it. I booted off a test CD and verified the hard drive failure.

    Fortunately the computer is under warranty. No big deal, Dell should replace the hard drive. I call Dell. After 20 minutes on hold, I’m not getting a live person, so I try the online chat and wait and wait and wait. Eventually, someone comes online. The first obstacle is that the client is a student and the father bought the computer via his work. Dell will not assist us until we tell them the owner of the computer and the shipping address. Arrrgh. So we play a multiple choice game for about 20 minutes trying to find out which name and address it was under.

    We are now at about an hour. When we get the “correct” answer to the shipping address, our tech then begins to help us. I explain that the hard drive is making a high pitched clicking noise and the system doesn’t show a hard drive. First, the tech wants me to try a special diagnostic that is preformed off the hard drive. Of course the hard drive is dead, so we go back and forth with that I must be doing something wrong. His English was so shaky that I often didn’t understand his questions. (How does one answer  ”Is this issue not facing now?”) Eventually the tech believes I’m doing it right and then asks me to boot off a CD that come with the system, which of course the client doesn’t have. We’re supposed to look for the disks and contact them again, but I refused. The client didn’t know where the disk is and we needed this resolved.

    Eventually, the support person realizes we don’t have the disk, but he now wants us to open up the computer and reset everything. We’re now at the 1.5 hour mark. Eventually the agent agrees the hard drive should be replaced. Thank you! However, they must ship the hard drive to one of their contracted field techs per her warranty. Actually, that’s lucky; sometimes you have to ship the computer back to Dell. Her warranty was “upgraded” to include on-site repair. The tech will then contact her to set a time to install the hard drive. Three days later, there was no contact from the tech, no hard drive. Fortunately, I gave her a loaner and got her up and running.

    We tried calling Dell to no avail. There was no record of the request for the hard drive. Eventually we contacted Dell “Unresolved Issues” and the hard drive was shipped. Total time on the phone: three hours. Delay in hard drive replacement: almost two weeks. The time involved on the chat I assure you is very typical and it’s not just Dell. I see it with HP/Compaqs as well. Service is simply not part of their deal.

    The Apple Experience

    My next client had a Macbook. I could hear it was the same problem immediately. Ironically, it was the same brand and size of hard drive as was in the Dell. I entered her serial number on Apple’s support web site, and it showed the computer was still under warranty. We then set up a “Speak to an Apple Expert” call-back for about 20 minutes later. On the dot, the technician called. I explained the loud noise and told the tech I booted off the Leopard DVD and the hard drive showed errors. He agreed to ship a new hard drive the next day. Total phone time was less than five minutes and it was 30 minutes from problem diagnosis to closure and less than 24 hours from the time I called until the new hard drive arrived on her doorstop. Again, this interaction was very typical.

    For the sake of argument, let’s say these clients didn’t use a consultant to solve their problem. The Mac client could have made an appointment with a genius if an Apple store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider for the repair. The PC client has no physical store she could go to unless she bought that PC at a store that also offered warranty repair.

    The phrase “Penny wise and Pound foolish” comes to mind. Did the first client end up saving money because she bought a PC?

  • Carl Icahn Is Lead Bidder For Vegas Casino

    las vegas

    Carl Icahn will be the first bidder for the unfinished Fontainebleau Casino in Las Vegas.

    Contractors stopped building the hotel after claiming $600 million in unpaid bills.

    The famed raider out-bid Penn National Gaming’s initial offer of $105 million, bidding over $145 million and winning the right to first bid when the bankruptcy auction begins in January.

    If he wins, Icahn will have to spend roughly $1 billion to finish the casino. Building it has already cost $2 billion so far, the Miami Herald reports.

    Icahn has made made a small habit of buying bankrupt casinos and turning them for big profits after switching around management. He made $700 million (before taxes) turning American Casino & Entertainment Properties in 2007.

    He is also currently bidding on Atlantic City’s Tropicana Casino and Resort, hoping to buy it for $200 million.

    Read more here.

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  • SPB Time updated

    time_3 SPB Software announces the release of SPB Time 3.0, a major update to the best-selling Windows Mobile time toolset. The updated version offers a completely new, reconsidered user interface and significantly improved alarm features. SPB Time 3.0 provides user with three different types of alarms to fit any needs. Paranoid alarm is designed to wake up deep sleepers while Bio alarm does its job in a very gentle way. Classic alarm is a good solution for those who don’t believe in biorhythms and do not want to be disturbed too much in the morning time.

    A lot of features were reworked in the design aspect. For example, "World Time" feature is presented as a realistic looking 3D model of the Earth with chosen cities designated as spots on the surface. Countdown screen is supplemented with a picture of sandglass where the sand pours out as time goes. The splendour of these interface solutions are accompanied by a vast choice of skins in an online catalog.

    SPB Time 3.0 is also one of the company’s Windows Mobile applications that is able to make use of SPB Mobile Shell’s widget system. Four widgets are available for those who already have Time version 3 and higher: City Time, Moon Phase, Next Alarm and Stop Watch.

    SPB Time 3.0 New Features:

    • Snappier, better looking user interface;
    • Classic, Paranoid and Bio alarms;
    • More than 20 alarm tunes;
    • Online skins catalog;
    • SPB Mobile Shell widgets;
    • Scrollable Calendar with weeks numbers;
    • Moon phases.
    Pricing and Availability

    SPB Time 3.0 is compatible with Windows Mobile 5 and higher. It may be purchased for 14.95 USD, or a 15-day free trial version may be downloaded at www.SPBSoftware.com. Users of any previous versions of SPB Time are welcome to upgrade to SPB Time 3.0 with 50% discount. According to SPB Software’s upgrades policy, all SPB Time users who have purchased the product within the last 90 days, are eligible for free upgrade.

    Read more at SPB here.

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  • RE5: Alternative Edition’s other scenario is “Desperate Escape”?

    Two new scenarios, a souped-up new Mercenaries, additional costumes, extra figures for the Library – that’s what’s coming for Resident Evil 5: Alterna…

  • Germany Going After Google Again, This Time over Analytics

    Either Germans care a whole lot about their privacy or they really have it in for Google. Most likely it’s the first, but it doesn’t discount from the fact that Google is getting in trouble again in the country, after the whole Street View affair, this time for Google Analytics. Several government officials in the country are threatening websites which use the service with fines if they don’t stop using it without explicit consent from their visitors.

    The government officials claim that services like Google Analytics which retrieve detailed usage data from the visitors of a website are illegal in the country and are now considering imposing fines of up to €50,000 for websites which use the Google service. The officials take issue with the fact that the websites don’t make it clear to the users that their visit is being tracked and believe that the users would have to express their approval of the practice before the websites would be allowed to get the information.

    According to the Zeit Online some 13 percent of German websites, over 1.8 million in total, use Google Analytics to measure traffic and visits including some big companies, political parties, and so on. The officials claim that all this information could be used by Google to create a complete profile of the users from the data … (read more)

  • China Entering Winter With A Severe Natural Gas Shortage

    natural gasNatural gas shortages (as much as 40 percent) are expected to continue in China, as an unexpectedly harsh winter arrived early and shows no signs of leaving anytime soon. In an effort to conserve natural gas, industrial facilities, office buildings, and hotels have closed in cities in both the north and south.

    Chron.com: The shortages began nearly two weeks ago. On November 13, PetroChina which produces 70 percent of domestic gas in China, issued an emergency announcement to its gas distributors saying that it would limit supplies. Sinopec also started to apply similar gas supply restrictions on the same day.

    Today, China Petroleum Daily, a publication of CNPC, the parent of PetroChina, predicted that the gas shortages will continue through December and January, with shortages reaching about 300 million cubic feet per day in the north, and about 200 MMcf/d in the south.

    “Ostensibly this natural gas supply crisis is caused by the weather. In fact, the crisis is caused by a lack of gas supply,” said Dong Xiuchen, a professor at China Petroleum University. The root of the problem “is the natural gas price control by the government. To oil and gas industries, if there is no profit for their businesses, they then don’t have the resources and motivation to explore for more oil and gas reservoirs. 

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  • REPORT: Electric Infiniti will stay true to brand’s performance roots?

    Filed under: , ,

    After spending a product cycle honing its image, Infiniti doesn’t want to to compromise it’s standing in the luxury automobile set — not even for its electric vehicles. That is why the “compact, high-performance, four-seat luxury Infiniti with zero emissions” that Carlos Ghosn announced at the Tokyo Auto Show will not alter what people have come to expect from Nissan’s upmarket brand. If a VP in Infiniti’s Business Unit, Ben Poore, is to be believed, it will enhance it.

    “The model will fit perfectly with the performance standards that we’ve set for the brand,” Poore said. We don’t imagine it will be too difficult for Infiniti to simply electrify one of their vehicles and make it worthy — we’d hop in an electric G37 in a second. The real challenge will be livability and longevity. Those challenges could be what Infiniti has in mind in not giving its electric car a release date, because they’ll want to get it right… and maybe they want that time to perfect a four-door, electric Essence. Let the dreaming begin in three, two…

    [Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

    REPORT: Electric Infiniti will stay true to brand’s performance roots? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Sun Catalytix Developing Solar Home Hydrogen Production

    Sun Catalytix has just received $1 million in venture capitol funding and is also expecting to receive an additional $4.1 million in funding to develop a catalyst that will help solar energy in homes split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

    The hydrogen will then be used in two different ways. First, it will be run through a fuel cell to power the home and second it will be used to fuel a hydrogen car. One of the unique aspects of the Sun Catalytix catalyst is that it does not require purified water in order to work properly.

    According to Bob Metcalfe, a member of the board of directors, “This new catalyst will take dirty water, salt water. We’ve made hydrogen from the Boston Harbor.” The new hydrogen production system simulates photosynthesis by having small organisms self-repair and self-replicate around the electrodes of the electrolysis device.

    According to MIT professor Daniel Nocera and his collaborators, “The utilization of solar energy on a large scale requires efficient storage. Solar-to-fuels has the capacity to meet large scale storage needs as demonstrated by natural photosynthesis. This process uses sunlight to rearrange the bonds of water to furnish O2 and an H2-equivalent. We present a tutorial review of our efforts to develop an amorphous cobalt–phosphate catalyst that oxidizes water to O2. The use of earth-abundant materials, operation in water at neutral pH, and the formation of the catalyst in situ captures functional elements of the oxygen evolving complex of Photosystem II.”

    This page from the Sun Catalytix lists the peer reviewed articles of the science behind the new catalyst. Suffice it to say, home hydrogen production would be a large boost to building an infrastructure to support the upcoming hydrogen transportation system.

  • Foreclosure “Tsunami” Means The Florida Market Won’t Bottom Until 2011

    florida condos

    Though sales of existing homes are ticking up in Florida, the state remains home to counties with some of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation.

    Even worse, analysts predict that more are on the way and that the foreclosure problem won’t peter out until 2011:

    Sun Sentinel: Although the percentage price declines narrowed in each county, foreclosures loom large in the months ahead, some housing analysts say. Broward is second in the nation with 10.2 percent of first mortgages in default, according to Moody’s Economy.com. These are delinquent loans on which lenders have yet to start foreclosure proceedings.

    “There are still a lot of foreclosures that are going to happen, and when they do, it’s going to knock down home prices,” said Chris Lafakis, an economist for Economy.com. “The number one driver of home prices nationally has been foreclosures.”

    The West Chester, Pa., research firm expects South Florida home prices to keep declining through 2010 before hitting bottom in early 2011.

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  • The Carolina Center for Public Service at UNC-Chapel Hill Wins Philanthropy Award

    BOSTON, MA: On National Philanthropy Day, November 12, 2009, the Carolina Center for Public Service was honored for “Innovation in Philanthropy” by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Triangle Chapter. While the award acknowledged their great work over the years through the Public Service Scholars Program, it specifically recognized their innovative work through the Promoting Change Through the Nonprofit Sector course.

    The course—which provides opportunities for students to give both volunteer time and financial resources—was sponsored by a $15,000 grant from Students4Giving, a joint program of the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund and Campus Compact. UNC was one of five colleges and universities nationally to receive the award.

    Campus Compact President Maureen Curley explains, “Through our Students4Giving initiative and our partnership with Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, we provide support for colleges and universities to give students real-world experience in managing donor funds while learning about philanthropy. We’re delighted to see courses like the one just honored at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill win such praise and we look forward to hearing about the impact that these fund are making in communities.”

    As a class, the students oversee a Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Giving Account, disseminating a request for proposals and awarding $10,000 in grants. They considered factors such as the organizations’ scope, impact, and geographic location to select recipients. The students will continue to monitor the organizations in the coming year to see, first-hand, how their efforts helped various communities through North Carolina.

    About Campus Compact

    Campus Compact is a coalition of more than 1,100 college and university presidents — representing some 6 million students — who are committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education. As the only national association dedicated to this mission, Campus Compact is a leader in building civic engagement into campus and academic life. Through the organization’s national office and 35 state offices, Campus Compact provides training, research, resources, and advocacy to help colleges and universities educate a new generation of responsible leaders. For questions, contact Sue Kelman at skelman {at} compact(.)org or call 617/357-1881 x207.