Author: Serkadis

By Bill Sullivan
Green Right Now

A sudden cold snap creates a spike in consumption. Christmas lights are fun at the time, but they, too, keep that meter running. Kids routinely leave electronics on, even when they’re not in the room.

But what if your world was just a little more perfect? What if you could log on to your computer and check consumption down to, say, a 15-minute period? What if you could figure out that your teenager is running the TV, stereo, a game player (or two) and every light in his room — all despite the fact that he’s spending the night at a friend’s house?

That’s the future of the Advanced Metering System (AMS), and that future is closer than you may think.

In Texas, electric infrastructure provider Oncor already has installed more than 700,000 of the new meters as part of its Smart Texas program, and the company plans to roll out a total of about three million by 2012. The technology feeds information directly to your electricity service provider, eliminating the need for anyone to come read the meter. Once a new website is launched in the next few months, users will be able to access reports broken down into 15-minute intervals, allowing them to chart how much energy is being consumed in their home or business.

It may not make your teen any more energy-efficient, but at least you’ll have a little more information in the fight against high bills and increased carbon footprint.

“The great thing about these meters is that they allow consumers to have, in their hands, real-time information so they can make better decisions about how they can use their electricity,” said Megan Wright, an Oncor spokesperson.

“You can see, at 3 p.m, my energy use is spiking. That’s when my kids are getting home from school. I need to talk to them about shutting the doors and not leaving the TV on while they’re doing things in their room. It allows you to have control over your electric consumption.”

How is all this being funded? By a service charge on the monthly electric bill, even for those who have yet to receive the new meter. According to an agreement with the Public Utility Commission, consumers will be levied $2.21 per month for the next 11 years to pay for equipment and installation.

(And what about all the money saved by eliminating the meter readers? According to Oncor, the reduced personnel savings were built into the surcharge.)

While Oncor’s project is one of the largest around, it is only part of a larger movement toward more manageable energy.

In the Houston area, CenterPoint Energy is working with GE Digital Energy to provide similar service. Southern California Edison is implementing the new technology in portions of 15 counties. Pennsylvania Power & Light has already outfitted more than a million customers in the Philadelphia area. In Canada, Toronto Hydro has transitioned more than 600,000 customers to smart meters.

Meanwhile, General Electric is expanding its smart metering efforts into China. GE is working with the city of Yangzhou, beginning with building a 100,000 square-foot lab to serve as a grid demonstration center.

As often happens, progress comes with a price, and not just the one being added to your electric bill.

Earlier this month, the Maine Public Utilities Commission approved Central Maine Power Company’s proposal to spend $190 million (about half of that coming from a Department of Energy grant) to convert about 600,000 residences to advanced metering. The move immediately drew cries from union officials protesting the elimination of more than 100 jobs, but the PUC ignored the objections, citing overall cost savings.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is looking at getting into the game in a different way. The software giant’s  Hohm application is designed to help users assess usage without having a smart meter. The process requires the cooperation of the local utility, however, or users will have to enter their own data.

Once installed, an Advanced Metering System will be able to communicate with in-home devices (display monitors, smart thermostats) to provide access to your usage information. Oncor currently is creating a Web portal where users will be able to view their information on a “day after” basis.

In addition to the Web portal, customers will be able to employ an in-home display monitor, a wireless device that communicates with the AMS. The monitor also can convert that usage to a dollar amount to allow you to see how much you are spending at a given time. (The in-home monitor can be purchased through your retail electric provider or a retail specialty store.)

The AMS also should allow the power company to know almost immediately if an outage has occurred at a home or business, speeding response time. The technology may even help identify  issues before they turn into outages.

As part of the educational process, Oncor created the Smart Texas Mobile Experience Center, a 53-foot trailer filled with interactive videos and live demonstrations. The trailer visits local fairs, festivals and the like, in addition to making stops at Walmart, Home Depot and Lowe’s parking lots.

“We’ve had a lot of people react very favorably about it,” Wright said. “They come, they ask questions, they really want to know what they can do to use these meters to the best of their ability.”

“Right now, you’re constantly hearing about the ‘green’ movement. People are really concerned and wanting to be a part of it.”

(Coming soon: Another, smarter tool to help them do just that.)

Copyright © 2010 Green Right Now | Distributed by Green Right Now Network

Metra is exploring the idea of selling naming rights for train lines and train stations, as part of its continuing quest to find new revenue sources during tough economic times.

“We’re looking at any opportunity to increase non-fare revenue,” said Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet.

Metra executive director Philip A. Pagano said the idea might have more application to stations than to lines.

“There may be a real interest by businesses located along our stations to get advertising,” said Pagano, following a board meeting Friday. Hospital names are one possibility, if a hospital is within walking distance of a station.

He said the stations would still include the traditional station name along with the brand name — the Naperville stop would keep its name, even if it became the Naperville Boeing Station. Pardonnet compared it to the honorary street names used along with official street names in Chicago.

Pardonnet did not know what Metra would charge for naming rights.

Metra already has a “Mars” station near the Mars, Inc. candy factory in the Galewood neighborhood. But that’s an old station name, dating back to before Metra took over the line, and Metra doesn’t get money from the candy company.

Other public transit agencies have also sold naming rights — for example, Tampa Electric Co. sponsors a streetcar line in the Florida city for $1 million over 10 years, according to Metra officials.

In other Metra news, Metra is also developing a mobile application, to allow riders with Blackberries or other hand-held devices to more easily access Metra information like train schedules.

The application, which will be available for free to anyone with a metrarail.com account, should be ready by early March.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Gurnee Trustee Kirk Morris has filed a lawsuit against the village and mayor over her effort to remove his foundation as the developer of a memorial on public land for troops who died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mayor Kristina Kovarik contends the foundation accomplished little in the nearly five years it was unofficially in charge of building Heroes of Freedom Memorial Park where police headquarters once stood on Old Grand Avenue.

Morris has disputed the claim.

Although controversy over Heroes of Freedom erupted in October, it came to a head Jan. 25 when village trustees voted 3-2 against overriding Kovarik’s veto of an agreement that officially named the foundation as the project’s developer.

Kovarik and the village were named in the complaint lodged Thursday in Lake County court by the Pfc. Geoffrey Morris Memorial Foundation and Morris. The foundation is named for Morris’ Marine son who died in the Iraq war in 2004.

Morris wants a judge to issue an order declaring he and the foundation have a right to exclusive use of the “Heroes of Freedom Memorial” name, and that the village cannot prevent him from completing the project.

The civil suit also seeks unspecified damages from the village of more than $200,000 that Morris contends the private foundation spent to improve the publicly-owned former police headquarters site on Old Grand Avenue.

“It would be unjust for the village to reap the benefit of the foundation’s improvements to the property and its work on the memorial without any compensation to the foundation,” the lawsuit states.

Morris said he didn’t want to sue the government he was elected to represent in 2009.

Kovarik said today she had yet to receive the lawsuit. She said Gurnee will have to spend public money on lawyers to address the litigation.

“I am surprised a sitting trustee would sue the very people he was elected to represent,” Kovarik said. “There were certainly plenty of other alternatives.”

Under the agreement, Morris would have had to meet several construction timelines and finish Heroes of Freedom by Dec. 31, 2014. He said Kovarik’s refusal to be specific about why she soured on the deal forced him to file the lawsuit.

As of last month, nine flag poles representing every military branch and temporary lights were the most visible work done on the memorial. A garden, bronze statues projected to cost $250,000, a walkway and benches had not been built.

Morris and some supporters removed the flags and disconnected the lights after the village board did not overturn Kovarik’s veto Jan. 25. Morris recused himself from discussing the memorial or voting on the veto.

Kovarik said she still wants a memorial for the Iraq and Afghanistan troops, just on a smaller scale than envisioned by Morris.

Morris was not a trustee when he began the memorial effort. He said he took on the project at the request of village officials in 2005.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

The first guest during Guy Kawasaki’s feature presentation at Macworld was Jack Dorsey, who has recently changed his focus from Twitter to his new startup, Square.

Square’s goal is to allow anyone to easily accept credit card payments on their iPhone or iPod touch using a tiny dongle that fits into the device’s audio input. Imagine how easy it will be to buy or sell items through Craigslist using a credit card. What if your friend owes you money but he doesn’t have any cash? Plug in the dongle, which Dorsey claims will be initially free (although I can’t imagine that strategy lasting forever), launch the Square app, swipe your friend’s credit card, and you’re done.

Dorsey and Square are trying to improve the experience around credit card transactions. Instead of paper receipts, Square users can receive receipts via email. The image below is an example of one from when I visited Sightclass Coffee, a coffee shop in San Francisco that Dorsey often visits and was even mentioned during Kawasaki’s presentation (their coffee is delicious but the shop is still under construction so there’s nowhere to sit!).

Have you ever seen such a gorgeous receipt? It was immediately emailed to me after I signed using my finger on the iPod touch’s screen. Innovation at its finest. The merchant’s logo, email address, Twitter account, and location are included. Note: $7.00 for two lattes…

Before today I had several questions about the service. Fortunately I received some answers:

Is Square getting around traditional credit card security?
Square is actually working closely with banks and is in full compliance with all credit card security regulations.

Is the iPhone/iPod touch the only device that can be used with Square?
The dongle is designed to work with any device that has an audio input jack. That means a lack of software is the problem for now. Dorsey mentioned Android, Blackberry, and even the Mac as devices that will accept payments in the future.

How difficult is it to sign up for Square?
Go to the website. 10 second process. We’re just waiting for the dongle to become available to those who aren’t lucky enough to be in the beta program.

Below is a picture of Square in action at Sightglass.

Note: The iPod touch’s audio input jack is on the bottom of the device, so the Square dongle is covered by the employee’s fingers.

Gordon Peter “Butch” Hein wasn’t born in Mundelein, but he loved the town as if he were a native son.

He raised a family in town. He started a local business. He spent 20 years on the local park district board and coached youth sports.

“He adopted Mundelein as his hometown,” said one of his sons, Libertyville police Lt. Chris Hein. “He was very proud of the town.”

Mr. Hein, 71, died Tuesday at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville after suffering a heart attack at home, his son said.

Mr. Hein was born and raised in Hurley, Wis., and graduated from Hurley High School.

He and his family moved to Wheeling and then to Mundelein in 1966.

His brother, Bill, is a former Wheeling mayor.

After serving in the U.S. Army, Mr. Hein worked as a machinist and a mechanic and eventually opened BC Auto Parts in downtown Mundelein.

Mr. Hein served on the Mundelein Park and Recreation District board from 1977 to 1997. he also was a member of the Mundelein-Libertyville Rotary Club, and coached junior football and Little League baseball.

Contributing to the community was very important to Mr. Hein, his son said.

“He got a lot of satisfaction meeting people he influenced or had impacted when they were kids in youth sports,” Chris Hein said.

Mr. Hein also loved golf and was particularly proud of the park district’s development of the Steeple Chase Golf Club, which opened in 1993.

“He golfed every week,” said veteran park board member Ernest Shymanik, a longtime friend who served with Mr. Hein on the panel. “He always tried to get better.”

After selling the family business to Lee Auto Parts, Hein worked various jobs until he retired about six years ago, Chris Hein recalled. He remained busy in retirement, however, playing golf and working as a ranger at Steeple Chase.

“It was his way to be part of Steeple Chase,” Chris Hein explained.

Mr. Hein also cared for his wife, Juanita, who suffers from multiple sclerosis. They had four children and seven grandchildren, and he loved attending his grandkids’ football games and wrestling matches, Chris Hein said.

“He was very proud of his grandchildren,” Chris Hein said. “They were so important to him.”

The way he took care of his family should be Mr. Hein’s legacy, his son said.

Visitation is scheduled for 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Kristan Funeral Home, 219 W. Maple Ave., Mundelein. A service will begin at 5 p.m. Sunday at Kristan.

Hein’s survivors include: his wife; his mother; four children; and seven grandchildren.

Instead of flowers, memorials can be sent to the American Heart Association, 3816 Paysphere Circle, Chicago, Ill., 60674.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

CHICAGO — A flight from Mexico to Chicago was forced to make an emergency landing in St. Louis on Friday after a possible loss of cabin pressure.

The non-stop Mexicana Airlines flight from Guadalajara to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport was scheduled to arrive at O’Hare at 2 p.m., but during the flight, oxygen masks deployed and the plane was diverted to Lambert Field in St. Louis.

The father of A CBS News employee was on the flight at the time and said the plane apparently lost cabin pressure.

The exact cause of the problem was not immediately known.

Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Either this is something for Valentine’s, or Capcom just felt like letting Cammy and Chun-Li gang-up on Juri. Either way, the fight is quite a good watch, and I’m not talking about female assets.

Filed under: Government/Legal, GM, Earnings/Financials

To clarify, Bob Lutz is specifically talking about General Motors‘ top 25 execs. They are the ones who have seen their salaries decline by 31%, and their total remuneration packages go down by more than 20%. Said Lutz, “given the rigors of the job and demands and the accountability, I would say we are being paid way, way, way below market.”

Some would say that the company Lutz works for is lucky to be around at all. Still, he’s got a bit of a point – the “market” decides who gets paid what, and then decides who’s going to go where. If GM’s salaries can’t keep up with their rivals’, then GM knows it’s going to have to make do with what it can get. Or, heaven forbid, get really creative with the massive talent and resources it does have…

To be fair, Lutz knows the score and is only looking for the end of the tunnel, acknowledging, “You can’t go through Chapter 11 and come out the other side and expect to have all of the same perks and comps as you did before. We just hope it doesn’t stay this way too long.” We say that it’s only fitting that how long the situation lasts – until GM repays its loans – will be decided entirely by Mr. Lutz and those 25 pay-restricted executives.

[Source: The Detroit News | Source Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]

Lutz: Auto execs are underpaid originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alex Krieger and William S. Saunders recently published “Urban Design,” a 368-page collection of essays and discussions featuring prominent figures in city planning, architecture, and landscape architecture.  Together, they trace the field as it “evolved less as a technical discipline than as a frame of mind shared by those of several disciplinary foundations.” The volumes take the reader through the history of urban design by offering a critical analysis of competing theories and predicts future challenges posed by growing urban populations. Because the book features writings from multiple viewpoints, readers gain a well-rounded assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the differing schools of urban design theory.

The book begins with excerpts from transcripts of the first Urban Design Conference held at Harvard University in 1956.  This landmark conference, hosted by José Luis Sert, marked the establishment of urban design as a distinct planning discipline, as it was here that the field’s assumptions and ambitions were first discussed.  The essays that follow help to contextualize and critique the emerging urban design theories and illustrate the stark differences in opinions among those attending the conference.

Subsequent essays discuss urban design as it has evolved from the 1956 conference to its present state.  Because this field represents an overlap of so many disciplines – including city planning, architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, sociology, and politics – it has struggled to find its true identity as its focus has been pushed and pulled in many directions.  Urban designers are faced with the task of creating a cohesive plan that balances a macro-focus of developing a cohesive, functional, navigable and economically healthy city while still maintaining a micro-focus on the beauty, livability, sustainability, and ecology of individual neighborhoods. 

Now, for the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population lives in an urban environment. “We are becoming an urban species to a degree unimaginable,” and as a result urban designers will be confronted with more complex problems in the near future.  The final collection of essays attempts to predict some of the daunting problems that are looming on the horizon, and challenges designers to “inventively confront the morphological, functional, and human needs of cities and their citizens.” 

“Urban Design” is a great starting point for readers looking to become familiar with urban design history and the development of design theory.  For practitioners looking for a blueprint for designing an urban space, however, you probably want to look for another source, as this book does not focus on case studies or the practical steps that go into the process of designing and building a city.

Contributors: Jonathan Barnett, Denise Scott Brown, Joan Busquets, Kenneth Greenberg, John Kaliski, Timothy Love, Fumihiko Maki, Richard Marshall, Eric Mumford, Michelle Provoost, Peter G. Rowe, Edward W. Soja, Richard M. Sommer, Michael Sorkin, Emily Talen, Marilyn Jordan Taylor, Wouter Vanstiphout, Charles Waldheim.

Image credit: ASLA 2009 Professional Honor Award. Teardrop Park, New York, NY. Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc., New York, NY

Officials with the Heart of a Marine Foundation, based in Elk Grove Village, haven’t ruled out an appearance by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn at their Hearts Of Valor Ball on Saturday, but they concede it’s unlikely.

Last year, Quinn headlined the event less than one month after taking office. This year, however, his office received the invitation in the midst of the primary and so far has not responded.

“He hasn’t declined, let’s put it that way,” says Barbara Matsukes, foundation spokeswoman. “Gov. Quinn is a staunch supporter of ours and of all Illinois military, but I haven’t heard from him or his security people.”

Instead, foundation members landed Dan Grant, Illinois Veterans’ Affairs director, to speak to the crowd of more than 330 guests at the Stonegate Conference & Banquet Centre in Hoffman Estates.

Grant is a West Point graduate who served as a platoon leader and executive officer in Iraq and Germany, before being named to direct the state’s veteran affairs one year ago.

He replaced Tammy Duckworth, who was nominated by President Obama to serve as assistant secretary of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs.

“We’re thrilled (to get Grant),” said Georgette Frank, who with her husband, Roy, founded the Heart of a Marine Foundation in memory of their son, Lance Cpl. Phillip Frank, who was killed in Iraq in 2004. “He’s the point person with veterans affairs in the state.”

As an advocate for the state’s 1.2 million veterans, she expects Grant will speak about the current direction of veterans’ programming in the state.

The Heart of a Marine Foundation has focused its mission to donate software and computers for use in treating traumatic brain injury and stroke. They make donations to VA hospitals and civilian health care facilities.

Locally, they work with the Veterans’ Center at Alexian Brothers Medical Center and the Midwest Brain Injury Clubhouse in Chicago.

Proceeds from Saturday’s ball, including from the live and silent auctions and raffle, will be earmarked to support those programs.

Officials say representatives from all branches of the armed forces will be in attendance, not just the Marine Corps as its name suggests, as well as veterans and their families.

“It’s a nonpolitical, patriotic celebration of our armed forces and the sacrifices our veterans have made for us,” Matsukes adds.

Tickets at $85 per person remain available for the event, which begins at 6 p.m. Call (847) 621-7324 or visit heartofamarine.org. Tickets also may be purchased at the door.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Iceland got some bad press in the last year over its massive rise and devastating fall as a financial powerhouse, despite having such a tiny population. But now, the isolated island nation has decided that if it can’t be the center of the financial world, it might as well become the hub for investigative journalism. It’s set to announce “the strongest combination of source protection, freedom of speech, and libel-tourism prevention laws in the world.” My first thought on hearing of this was that it sounded like the country wanted to become a haven for Wikileaks… and, indeed, the report at Nieman Lab says that Wikileaks was involved in drafting the new legislation. I think this is a great idea — and the world needs places where free speech is much more seriously protected, but I do wonder how it will work in practice.

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(This post originally appeared at the author’s blog)

More bad news for investors who were hoping for a big first half boom in the markets.  The ECRI is now reporting that the recovery is likely to “throttle back” by the middle of 2010.  That could likely mean more near-term equity market volatility as investors position for a potentially weaker economy in the coming 6 months.

The weekly leading index fell to 130 from 130.9 last week.  The annual growth rate also continued to decline falling to 19.7% from 21.5%.  ECRI Managing Director Lakshman Achuthan is not worried about near-term economic growth, but says the longer-term picture is no longer as clear as the economy is likely to slow by the middle of 2010:

“While the U.S. economic expansion is well set to strengthen in the near term, the current easing in WLI growth to a 25-week low suggests that growth will begin to throttle back by mid-year.”

Source: ECRI

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See Also:

• CHART OF THE DAY: Dr. Copper Is Telling You To BUY
• The Secret Aluminum Shipments That Show China Is De-Stockpiling Its Commodities
• Inventory Cycle and GDP: What Made Q4 GDP So Strong And Why The Strength Won’t Continue This Year

Of all the commodities, copper is frequently extolled for its ability to predict the economy, and as such its fans joking say it has  “PhD” in economics.

Well, the industrial metal is earnings its tenure.

Not only did it clearly anticipate the turnaround in 2009, you could have used the copper selloff to anticipate the recent swoon.

And now copper is rebounding, while the market is heading down. Is this an opportunity?

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See Also:

• Dr. Copper Says The Bull Is Alive!
• Copper Breaks 17-Month High As Chilean Mining Strike Threatens Global Supply
• Chinese Demand Will Keep The Boom Going For Copper And Fertilizer In 2010

A “very good PS3 game (qjnet/playstation-3/ign-very-good-ps3-game-getting-a-trophy-patch-soon.htmlhttp:/www.qj.net/qjnet/playstation-3/ign-very-good-ps3-game-getting-a-trophy-patch-soon.html)” will be getting a Trophy patch soon, and wouldn’t you know it, two of the most-wanted bets to get that patch have been marked down to US$ 20. If indeed either

Are you making an iPad app? If the answer is yes, you’re definitely not alone. A recent report by Flurry Analytics, a firm which conducts research on mobile tech and trends, found that the number of new projects being developed for the iPhone (and now for the iPad, too) nearly tripled after Apple’s announcement of the new device.

The information is based on the number of developers who are integrating Flurry analytics into their iPhone OS-based apps, a number which increased threefold to nearly 1,800 applications in January, versus less than 600 in December. It’s a difference that’s too great to be accounted for by chance alone, and it’s the largest surge ever measured in the history of Flurry’s stat tracking.

The surge also helped Apple reinforce the dominance of its App Store versus its most significant competitor, the Google Android market. In December, new Android projects rose sharply, while new iPhone projects experienced the largest dip yet seen since the introduction of Google’s Android developer API. The January numbers more than reversed that trend, however.

So while there’s no denying that the gold rush is on for iPad development, there does remain the question of whether or not said gold rush will actually pay off for developers. Apple must be pleased as punch, because it sells its devices on the back of content, a big chunk of which for the iPad and iPhone platform comes from the App Store. But developers hoping to cash in and repeat some of the early successes of the App Store following its initial launch may be sorely disappointed when March comes around.

Yes, Apple will be expanding the customer base of the App Store by a significant margin, even if sales don’t meet the ambitious expectations the company seems to have for the device. But how much of that will translate into people willing to pay for new apps for their new devices? We already know that free app downloads exceed paid ones by a pretty wide margin. And there’s a very good chance that many of the iPad’s early adopters will be owners of iPhones and iPod touches. It’s entirely possible that this group will stick with the purchases they’ve already made, and be wary of making new ones without a solid demonstration of added value from iPad-specific apps.

The landscape is also very different this time around. There are many more established players on the scene now, including ones that ensconced themselves in consumers’ hearts after coming out of nowhere when the App Store initially launched. ngmoco is a good example of one of these. The existence of these iPhone stars will likely make iPad app downloading less of a merit-based system than it was in the frontier days of the App Store’s origin.

Is it a good idea to work on your iPad development skills (sub required)? Probably. Larger companies and brands will no doubt be looking to farm out app development down the road. Should you expect to hear about or experience the same kind of overnight success stories that accompanied the App Store’s launch? I’d say not. Lightning doesn’t often strike twice, and this is one instance where that old maxim’s likely to be proven true.

Related GigaOM Pro Research:

• 5 Tips for Developers Targeting the iPad

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Sedan, Performance, SUV, Geneva Motor Show, Europe, Crossover, BMW

BMW is hell-bent on incorporating its EfficientDynamics systems into every model in its line-up, and the latest recipient is the M3, which will come equipped with Auto Start Stop this spring. According to BMW, the system, which cuts the engine when the M3 comes to a stop, reduces emissions and fuel consumption by up to eight percent.

BMW will also begin offering a Competition Package for the M3 coupe and sedan in Europe, which includes 19×9-inch wheels, a suspension lowered by 10mm and a revised Sport traction control setting. A carbon fiber rear spoiler and front apron flaps are included in the package, and can be ordered separately for older M3s.

A new M Sport package for the X5 will debut alongside the Competition M3 at the Geneva Motor Show, comprised of a 19- or 20-inch wheels wrapped in specially developed tires, a new front fascia with larger air intakes, “satinized aluminum” window surrounds, M leather steering wheel, footrest and a few interior tweaks. All the details, along with new Individual packages for the X5 M, X6 M, 5 and 7 Series sedans, are available in the press release below the fold.

Continue reading BMW announces start-stop system and Competition package for M3, M Sport for X5

BMW announces start-stop system and Competition package for M3, M Sport for X5 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GigaOM has put together and infographic with a timeline of the back and forth tech battle between Google and Apple. Check out the full graphic here.

Now with CNC!

Now you can enjoy all of the VµMaster measuring functionality with the added benefit of Automatic part inspection with full CNC control.

The VµMaster CNC cleverly retains the original manual handwheels so its just as easy to walk up and make manual measurements in an instant. But if you have a batch of components to inspect, the CNC takes over and drives the handwheels for you! Just load the part(s), click on play to run the program.
Thanks to our patented Colourmap technology you can make full use of the class leading 400mm x 300mm measuring envelope by palletising your parts and let VuMaster do the measuring giving you time to get things done.

Simply tell the software how many parts you’ve loaded, click on play and walk away!
When you return you’ll have a detailed dimensioned drawing for each part loaded showing in tolerance dimensions in green and out of tolerance dimensions in Red so that you can identify the problems at a glance.

SPC information is also available so you can look at trend data for any dimension on any part.The CNC control has been completely integrated with the manual control for the best of both worlds.

When measuring manually, use the integrated handwheels to position the high resolution camera based measuring optics to the feature to be measured. Segmented LED lighting ensures that the exact edge you need can be seen by the camera. Now hit the auto-focus button and VuMaster will focus the image for you. Capture hundreds of data points along the edge of the feature to be measured using the advanced edge detection tools.
A fully dimensioned drawing of the measured part is then quickly produced for the fastest inspection possible.