Author: Serkadis

Perhaps it has to do with Apple positioning itself as a mobile devices company, but the iPhone is on a serious upswing in the U.S. smartphone market, even while all of its competitors seem to be losing ground. Except for one, that is, and the rate at which that company is building up steam should give the Mac maker cause for some concern.

For the moment, though, Apple is doing much better than anyone in the space, really. The latest comScore report, which covers a three month period from September to December of 2009, shows Apple as having 25.3 percent of the total smartphone market share, up 1.2 points from 24.1 percent at the beginning of the period measured.

Research In Motion (RIM) came in first place overall once again, with 41.6 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers opting for a BlackBerry device. But that number represented a slide, ultimately, as RIM began the measurement period with 42.6 percent. Microsoft and Palm likewise slipped, with MS dropping from 19 to 18 percent, and Palm losing 2.2 points, down to 6.1 percent.

Google had the lowest market share of the bunch, with 5.2 percent of subscribers. But that number was up from only 2.5 percent in September, suggesting that it was probably helped along considerably with the introduction of the Motorola Droid. 2.7 points also represents the largest market share grab made by any smartphone manufacturer over the period of the report, so Google is indeed the company Apple needs to be most worried about.

Palm is probably the company everyone needs to be least worried about. The Pre and Pixi maker lost almost as much market share as Google gained, and was the only company on the list to post such a significant loss of ground. The Pre Plus and Pixi Plus could alter its fortunes, but I honestly can’t see customers who were disappointed with the originals going back for more at this point.

Going forward, Apple’s main concern is going to be with Google and how it fares now that it’s begun taking more control over its own smartphone future. The Nexus One drastically undersold the iPhone both in the first week and in the first month, so that’s got to be good news for Apple. That said, Google is doing something pretty much unprecented with regards to smartphone sales in the U.S., and it’s only selling the device in the U.S. as of yet. Apple had the advantage of selling its device through AT&T when it launched, which was an established sales and marketing channel for such devices already.

Apple’s growth over the period measured in the comScore report remains impressive, though, given that it had not introduced a new smartphone model since much, much earlier in the year. Google’s rise can be almost entirely attributed to the initially strong sales of the Motorola Droid, which was arguably the “it” device of the pre-Christmas season.

Related GigaOm Pro Research: As Windows Mobile Stumbles, Which Smartphone OS Will Seize the Lead?

Chicago Transit Authority bus routes are a convenient travel option for those heading to the 2010 Chicago Auto Show at McCormick Place North and South beginning Friday, Feb. 12 through Sunday, Feb. 21.

Bus service is available during all hours the show is open.

CTA’s #3 King Drive and #21 Cermak bus routes provide direct service to McCormick Place. #3 buses serve McCormick Place from North Michigan Avenue and the South Side every nine to 15 minutes.

#21 buses serve the West Side, operating to McCormick Place from North Riverside Park Mall approximately every 13 to 18 minutes and 20 minutes later on weekday evenings and Sunday evenings.

#21 buses also serve the South Side from Mercy Hospital operating approximately every 15 minutes. Customers also can take the CTA’s Red Line and transfer to #21 buses at the Cermak-Chinatown station.

In addition, the #129 West Loop/South Loop operates between the Ogilvie Transportation Center and McCormick place during weekday evening rush hours.

CTA also will operate two bus routes dedicated to Auto Show service. One route will provide convenient connections with CTA’s rail lines downtown and Metra lines at Ogilvie Transportation Center, Union Station and LaSalle Street station.

Service will operate approximately every 15 to 20 minutes on weekdays and approximately every seven-and-a-half to 15 minutes on weekends between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. each day, and until 9 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 21.

On weekends only, a shuttle service will operate from the Halsted station on the Orange Line approximately every 15 minutes beginning one half hour before the Auto Show opens to one hour after the event closes.

Auto Show Service

Auto Show buses start their trips from Ogilvie Transportation Center on Clinton at Washington, making stops south on Clinton, east on Monroe and east on Jackson to Wabash.

A stop is also made on Columbus at 11th to serve the Museum Campus.

From Columbus and 11th, the buses run express to McCormick Place.

Customers can connect to buses on Jackson from the Blue Line at Dearborn, the Red Line at State, and from Brown, Green, Orange and Pink Line trains serving the Adams/Wabash station (one block north of Jackson).

CTA Fares

For bus customers who use CTA fare media, fares are $2 and transfers are an additional 25 cents. For rail customers the fare is $2.25 and transfers are an additional 25 cents.

The fare for bus customers paying cash is $2.25. Transfers are not available for customers paying fares in cash.

For further information about CTA service, call 836-7000 (all local area codes) or visit the CTA Web site at transitchicago.com.

Ubisoft today officially confirmed that Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, the next entry in their Ghost Recon franchise, is now in development at their Paris studio. They’ve also announced that Xbox 360 owners will get

The Sims are bustin’ out again EA has announced that the gibber-talking, Simoleon-earning, Woohoo-making sims of The Sims 3 are heading to the consoles and the handhelds.

Filed under: Motorsports, Europe, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Ferrari

There are plenty of racing series around the world that attract big names from Formula One. Le Mans endurance sportscar racing ranks high among them, but the former F1 pilots usually go to the top-tier LMP1 class. Sometimes the GT1 class draws some big names, but this year it’s the GT2 category that’s drawing two drivers familiar to F1 fans: Giancarlo Fisichella and Jean Alesi.

After 14 years on the grid with six different teams, Fisichella was called up to Ferrari to fill in for Felipe Massa last season. He’s been kept on as a test and reserve driver for the Scuderia this year, and though had hoped to secure a race seat (with Ferrari’s blessing) for another F1 team this season, none proved anxious to sign an aging driver who could be called back to Maranello at a moment’s notice. Instead, he’ll be contesting the full Le Mans Series calendar in Europe behind the wheel of a Ferrari F430 GTC for AF Corse, a team which shares close relations with both Ferrari and Maserati. After a career devoted to formula racing (with a couple of seasons in touring cars), the foray into sportscar racing will be a novelty for Fisico.

Joining him in the cockpit will be none other than Jean Alesi, who tested for AF Corse back in October. The former grand prix winner was always a favorite among the tifosi, and since retiring from Formula One has tried his hand at stock cars in Asia and touring cars in Germany.

Alesi and Fisichella will be supported by Toni Vilander, the Finnish driver who took the FIA GT2 titles in 2007 and 2008. AF Corse will field two additional F430 GTCs in the Le Mans Series, one driven by Gianmaria Bruni (another former F1 driver, GP2 race winner and Le Mans class winner) and FIA GT2 class winner Jaime Melo, and another by the returning race-winning Argentine pairing of Luis Perez Companc and Matias Russo. Details in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Ferrari]

Continue reading Ferrari F1 veterans Fisichella and Alesi team up to contest LMS GT2

Ferrari F1 veterans Fisichella and Alesi team up to contest LMS GT2 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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From Green Right Now Reports

Plenty of small to mid-size businesses are environmentally friendly, but organizing those efforts and conveying that commitment to a skeptical public can be another matter. One possible solution: Green Business Certification from the Green Business Bureau.

The Web site provides tools for management to evaluate, plan, implement and track green initiatives in almost every aspect of a business. The site also offers suggestions for better efficiencies and cost saving – all from a green perspective.

“Frequently, business owners realize they need to become involved in helping their environment as a way to save money, adhere to industry standards, or remain competitive, but aren’t sure what steps need to be taken or what level of involvement they already have – and how costly those un-orchestrated efforts might be within the company,” said Marcos Cordero, Green Business Bureau co-founder and CEO.

The Green Business Bureau was formed by industry professionals with experience in small-and medium-sized businesses as well as large corporate daily operations, with a goal of helping both the environment and North American businesses. While acknowledging the value of programs to recognize green buildings (such as LEED) or green products, the Green Business Bureau endeavors to help businesses go green in an orderly, step-by-step way.

“Small businesses comprise 99% of all businesses in the United States, and account for 65% of all American consumption,” Cordero said. “We know that by teaching these companies the importance and steps to take to go green, we make a difference.”

Copyright © 2010 | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Mummies, Pyramids, and Pharaohs: A Book about Ancient Egypt was written by Gail Gibbons and illustrated by Saho Fujii.   “One of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations began about five thousand years ago, in the land of Egypt.”  The book gives an great overview of how and where ancient Egyptian’s lived, what jobs they held, how they celebrated different occasions, what their houses looked like, their medical & magic healing powers.  Communication and story telling through picture writing, known as hieroglyphs, was a very important part of ancient Egyptians life.  “People called scribes spent up to ten years to learn the hundreds of hieroglyph symbols.”  Ancient Egyptians were ruled by kings, known as pharaohs.  Pharaohs were burried in pyramids along with their family and slaves.   Today people can go and visit pyramids as well as museums around the world and view some of the ancient Egyptian art from that era.

Curriculum Connections

This would be a great book to start off or use to support a lesson on ancient Egypt.  The illustration in the book is great and can be used as a quick reference for life during ancient Egypt.  The photos can be used for early readers.  The life style, architecture and location are described in detail for early learners (SOL 2.1 and 2.4a).

Additional Resources

• Ancient Egypt for Kids– Great additional support for students. Photos to support the instruction.

• Ancient Egypt for Teachers-Lesson plans and classroom activites.

• Ancient Egyptian Interactive Activities– Hands on activites for content support such as: Pharaoh’s Death Mask, learn how to make a mummy & build a pyramid.

• Hieroglyphics– Translate any English word into Hieroglphics! Fun classroom activity.

Book: Mummies, Pyramids, and Pharaohs: A Book about Ancient Egypt
Author: Gail Gibbons
Illustrator: Saho Fujii
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 30
Grade Range: 2-5
ISBN: 0316309281

 

 

 

 

 

Google is no stranger to controversy. If it isn’t Google Books that’s getting the company in trouble, it’s Street View. And every once in a while, a seemingly innocent product, Google Maps, also puts Google in the middle of the worst type of arguments, politically charged border disputes. Last year, it was India that had a b… (read more)

CHICAGO  — The state Dept. of Children and Family Services is investigating the death of a 19-month-old northwest suburban boy found unresponsive Sunday at his grandmother’s West Side home.

Hamad Moore of Oxford Dr. in Carpentersville was taken from the 900 block of N. Long Ave. in Chicago and pronounced dead at Children’s Memorial Hospital at 6:54 p.m. Sunday, according to a Cook County Medical Examiner’s office spokesman.

Hamad was found unresponsive at his grandmother’s home, the spokesman said.

DCFS spokesman Jimmie Whitelow said Monday morning the agency is investigating allegations of abuse in connection with the death.

He said the agency had also investigated what turned out to be “unfounded allegations of neglect” in December 2007.

An autopsy conducted Monday was inconclusive, pending police investigation and further studies, the medical examiner’s office said.

Police responded to the home about 6:15 p.m. Sunday, News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak said. Police are conducting a death investigation.

Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.

CHICAGO  — An unidentified man found dead in an alley on the Southwest Side on Sunday morning was strangled and beaten, an autopsy revealed Monday.

The Hispanic man in his 20s, who remained unidentified as of Monday afternoon, was found at the 3000 block of S. Christiana Ave., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the man was found unresponsive in an alley about 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

A Monday autopsy revealed he died of strangulation and blunt head trauma from an assault. His death was ruled a homicide, the medical examiner’s office said.

Harrison Area detectives are investigating and no one was in custody as of Monday afternoon.

Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.

CHICAGO  — Chicago Police lieutenants and captains would face random alcohol testing at any time, mandatory drug and alcohol testing whenever they they fire their weapons and be prohibited from drinking four hours before duty, under contracts ratified Monday by a joint City Council committee.

Some aldermen expressed concern that City Hall may be over-reacting to high-profile incidents involving officers and alcohol.

“If the guy’s at work and he’s been drinking, it does not necessarily mean that the guy’s a dipsomaniac. He just had a drink. So, how do you deal with that?” asked Ald. Ed Smith (28th).

Jim Franczek, the city’s chief labor negotiator, said there would be a sliding scale of disciplinary actions for those who test positive in random tests.

Lieutenants and captains whose random Breathalyzer tests range from .02 to .04 will be taken off-duty that day, re-tested the following day and randomly tested for the next six months.

If they stay straight throughout that probationary period, their records will be wiped clean, Franczek said.

If they test positive again, they’ll be subject to disciplinary action by the Internal Affairs Division.

Lieutenants and captains whose first random alcohol test is over .04 will also be referred to IAD, Franczek said, “But, they will have the option of inviting the officer to go into a rehab program.”

“We tried to balance this so that we get what we want but don’t get what we don’t want,” Franczek said, acknowledging the possibility of “unfairness.”

Donald O’Neill, director of management and labor affairs for the Chicago Police Department, said the same reasonable approach would apply to officers tested after firing their weapons on- or off-duty.

“If you’re having a glass of wine with your wife at home and a bad guy breaks in the front door, you go for your weapon and kill the bad guy, we’re not gonna discipline the officer for defending his family or doing what he legally has a right to do just because he had a drink,” O’Neill said.

“But, there’s other cases where there’s something wrong with the use of force. Then, we will take discipline based on anything that was done done wrong with the weapon discharge incident.”

The five-year contracts also include changes in disciplinary procedures, at the request of both IAD and the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA).

The agreements triple — from 24 to 72 hours — the exchange of witness statements given by officers involved in disciplinary procedures.

For the first time, statements made by those officers and witnesses would also be recorded.

Chicago Police officers are arrested for DUI at a far lower rate than drivers as a whole, but a number of high-profile incidents have put the issue on the political front-burner.

In 2006, drunken off-duty officer Anthony Abbate was caught on videotape beating a female bartender. He was convicted in the attack, sentenced to probation and fired.

Other off-duty officers were charged in a highly publicized brawl at a West Loop bar that happened weeks after the Abbate incident. Those officers were acquitted and reinstated to their jobs.

Last year, two off-duty Chicago Police officers who had been drinking were involved in fatal accidents.

Officer Richard Bolling was charged with reckless homicide in a hit-and-run collision that killed 13-year-old Trenton Booker on his bicycle at night on May 22.

Four hours after the crash, Bolling registered on a Breathalyzer at .079, just under the legal limit of .08, prosecutors said.

In April, Detective Joseph Frugoli was charged with reckless homicide and DUI in a fiery crash that killed two men on the Dan Ryan Expy.

Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.

A month ago I vented about Aperture 2’s stagnation, and many of you rallied along with me. Well everyone can stow their torches and pitchforks — Aperture 3 has finally been released today by Apple. With over 200 new features, the latest version of Apple’s professional photo processing and organization software should have something to please everyone.

The fairly obvious improvements like Faces, Places and 64-bit architecture (for Snow Leopard users with Core 2 Duo Processors) are there, of course. But there are so many cool new features — I won’t touch on all of them here — I had to mention a few.

• Backup on Import Smart & necessary!
  Automatically back up your master images to a second drive during import, freeing you from the need to perform a separate, manual backup.
• Color Labels
  Apply up to eight different color-coded labels to images to organize and group them. Add a custom name for each color label in Aperture preferences. Simple keyboard shortcuts allow you to apply labels using the keyboard.
• Fast Library Switching
  Close one Aperture library and open another on the fly by selecting the desired library from the Switch to Library submenu — no need to quit and restart Aperture.
• Focus Points
  Hover over the Focus Points button in the Camera Info pane to see the focus points used by your camera to autofocus the image. You can also click the button to turn the display of focus points on or off.
• Nondestructive Brushes YES!!!!
  Make nondestructive image enhancements to specific areas of any photo using new adjustment brushes. Use brush strokes to modify — brush in or brush away — most of the standard image adjustments available in the Adjustments inspector. You can control the size, softness, and strength of each brush with intuitive sliders.
• Create Multiple Instances of Adjustments
  Apply multiple adjustments of a single type to different parts of an image by creating multiple adjustment bricks for each adjustment. For example, set one Levels adjustment to create the perfect sky. Then add another Levels adjustment brick to selectively perfect skin tones. To add a new instance of an adjustment, choose the Add New option from the Action pop-up menu in each adjustment brick.
• Support for GPS Track Logs
  In Aperture, you can easily assign locations to photos by importing the track log from a GPS receiver. Then simply drag photos onto the track to have Aperture sync the photos to the location data in the track log. You can also reset the time zone of the track in Aperture.

So yeah, that’s maybe more than a few features I listed, but believe me, there’s plenty to get excited about with Aperture 3. Try it out for free for 30 days, and then if you’re upgrading, pay $99, or $199 for a new user license. (If you’re thinking about picking Aperture up, check out the new ‘in-action’ videos of it here.) We can breathe easy, folks — it looks like our day has finally come.

Santa Clara County, California | Unique Collections

‘The Gates of Hell’ is a massive sculpture work created by the famous French artist Auguste Rodin. The imagery of the sculpture is based on a scene from Dante’s “The Inferno” and the gates stand roughly 6 meters high and 4 meters wide.

Of the 180 figures in the sculpture, many were later cast into separate effigies, and some are well known on their own. The most famous of which is “The Thinker”, the well-known image of the contemplative man seated and resting his chin in his palm.

Though originally commissioned to be completed in five years in 1880, Rodin worked on ‘The Gates of Hell’ for some 37 years, until his death in 1917. Rodin labored on his sculpture on the ground floor of the Hotel Biron, which, a few years after his death, opened up as Musée Rodin, displaying ‘The Gates of Hell’ and his other works.

This exquisite piece of sculptural art has had a few series of casts loaned out, but only six including the one in Musée Rodin in Paris. This one in particular is on the Stanford University campus in the B. Gerald Cantor Rodin Scultpure Garden. The garden has 200 works by Rodin, most of which are cast in bronze, though there others in wax and terra cotta.

CHICAGO  — Dan Hynes conceded the Illinois Democratic gubernatorial primary to Pat Quinn two days after the primary election, after vote counts showed him about 8,000 votes behind.

Illinois State Comptroller, who lost to Gov. Pat Quinn by a razor-thin margin in the Democratic gubernatorial primary last week, reportedly has no interest in taking Scott Lee Cohen’s place as Quinn’s running mate.

Cohen dropped his bid for lieutenant governor on Sunday, under intense pressure from top Democrats over allegations he abused his ex-wife and an ex-girlfriend. Cohen has denied those allegations.

Hynes was seen as a potential replacement for Cohen as the Democratic nominee and Quinn’s running mate, in what some viewed as a chance to reunite the party after a divisive primary battle between the Quinn and Hynes.

“He wants to be an advocate for the party, but he is not interested in the lieutenant governor position,” Hynes campaign spokesman Matt McGrath told the Chicago Sun-Times on Monday.

During the campaign, Hynes had suggested the lieutenant governor’s office should be eliminated to save money on the state budget.

The office has very few statutory powers and its only constitutional duty is to replace the governor should he die in office or otherwise leave office before his term expires. If a lieutenant governor leaves office or steps in to replace the governor, the lieutenant governor’s office remains vacant until after the next election.

The 38-member Democratic State Central Committee will choose Cohen’s replacement. The group is to meet in March, but could meet sooner to pick Cohen’s replacement.

State Rep. Art Turner came in second to Cohen in the primary and has expressed interest in replacing Cohen on the November ballot. The other candidates in the primary were State Sen. Rickey Hendon, State Sen. Terry Link, State Rep. Mike Boland and electrician Thomas Castillo.

Some observers have also mentioned State Rep. Julie Hamos, who lost a primary bid for Congress, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, who lost a bid for state comptroller.

Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.

Austin, Texas | Outsider Architecture

Tucked unsuspectingly in a suburban backyard in South Austin, is Vince Hannemann’s towering Cathedrl of Junk.

Some 60 tons of discarded items, many of them bicycles, make up the skeleton and decoration of the structure. The construction of the Cathedral started in 1989, when Hannemann was in his 20s. For a few years he collected junk for his project, but it was soon unnecessary as people began to supply him with their unwanted goods.

Still a work in progress, the Cathedral of Junk is evolving. There once stood a three-story tower in the back of the Cathedral, but Hannemann tore it down thinking he was finally done with his long-lasting project. But instead of dismantling the Cathedral further, and after having had a change of heart, he added three more rooms to the structure with the pieces of the former tower.

Seemingly hidden from the front of the house, the Cathedral is not completely invisible to neighbors. Tenants of a townhome complex located behind the house have filed complaints with the city, which in turn warranted inspection by officials. Several city engineers attempted to find weak-points in the structure, though it was found to be structurally sound and safe. Hannemann did have to destroy his pyramid of televisions, but many of these found a new home in the “zen garden of TVs”.

The Cathedral of Junk is free to the public and open often, however it is advised to call ahead to make sure Mr. Hannemann is home. The Cathedral can even be rented for parties, weddings, birthday parties, etc. In fact, in keeping with its name, some couples have even been wed at this Cathedral.

Bronx, NY – Continuing and Professional Studies at Bronx Community College (BCC) can help you act on your New Year’s resolution to learn more, earn more, gain skills and obtain the education you need to get to where you want to be professionally and personally.  Go through that door of opportunity Saturday, February 20, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. in Philosophy Hall, room 22, at the Continuing and Professional Studies Open House. BCC is located at 2155 University Avenue at West 181^st Street. Directions to the campus are available at www.bcc.cuny.edu/directions/directions.htm.

Learn about classes and training programs that can offer you needed skills in basic education, languages, job training, professional development and personal enhancement.  Discover training and certification programs in allied health, computer technology, building trades, and business that can lead to in-demand careers, or help you by increasing your skills with the job you already have.

Find out more from staff and instructors about upcoming classes and scholarships that are available.  Register for classes during the Open House and receive a 10% tuition discount.  Participate in a raffle that will give away free tuition for one class, and other prizes.

For more information, call Continuing and Professional Studies at (718) 289-5170.

Press, Radio, TV
Please call: Bryant Mason
Media Relations Specialist
(718) 289-5208
[email protected]

Founded in 1957, Bronx Community College (BCC), the oldest of City University of New York’s six community colleges, serves as the engine for academic and economic mobility for motivated students from diverse backgrounds and preparations. More than 11,000 students from over 109 nations are enrolled in 30 associate degree and certificate programs including Nursing, Radiologic Technology, Computer Graphics, Nuclear Medicine, and Business Administration, Digital Arts, Computer Information Systems, Education Associate, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Technology, Electronic Engineering Technology, Liberal Arts, Marketing, Accounting, Human Services, Media Technology and Paralegal Studies. BCC’s 43-acre campus, high above the Harlem River, features architectural masterpieces of Stanford White and Marcel Breuer, as well as the Hall of Fame of Great Americans, the nation’s first hall of fame. BCC President Carolyn G. Williams is in her 13th year of leadership service to the College, which is located on a 43-acre campus at 2155 University Avenue at West 181st Street , formerly New York University’s uptown campus until 1973.

The College is home to initiatives not commonly associated with two-year institutions, such as the Center for Sustainable Energy, which promotes the use of renewable and efficient energy technologies in urban communities. The National Center for Educational Alliances (NCEA) is currently collaborating with South African Further Education and Training Colleges and universities to create linkages between these institutions. NCEA also coordinates the College’s international initiatives and the annual International Education Week.

Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Minivan/Van, Work, Ford, Specialty, Electric

Fresh off of its North American Truck of the Year win, Ford’s Transit Connect commercial van range is set to grow by two. The Blue Oval will present the space-efficient runabout in production electric and taxi forms at tomorrow’s Chicago Auto Show.

The battery-powered version, unimaginatively dubbed Transit Connect Electric, is primarily intended as a fleet solution for intra-city use. The emissions-free vanlet has a range of up to 80 miles and can be recharged through either a 240-volt or 120-volt outlet. In Ford’s words, the TCE is “ideal for fleet owners that have well-defined routes of predictable distances and a central location for daily recharging,” and we can see it being a great fit for utility companies and urban-only delivery services and such.

Despite the added bulk within the chassis of the electric powertrain and battery, Ford says the transit connect will still have the same 135 cubic feet of cargo space, including 72.6 inches of load length.

The Transit Connect Electric clearly isn’t designed for home use, although Ford officials admitted to us that a few might get pressed into service in that capacity. Still, those looking for a battery-electric solution for their driveway would probably be better off waiting for the Focus Electric, a model slated for 2011.

While the average consumer is unlikely to catch a ride in Ford’s Transit Connect Electric, we’re betting that you’ll have a very good chance at planting your posterior in Dearborn’s new taxi package model in the next few years, especially as the company’s ubiquitous Crown Victoria cab is marked for extinction.

The Transit Connect Taxi will be powered by the same 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine as the TC that’s already on the market, but Ford will offer engine prep packages to convert the vehicle to run on either compressed natural gas or propane fuels. Even without the conversion kits, the gas-powered TC is said to be 30 percent more fuel-efficient than current taxis.

Unlike the Crown Vic, the Blue Oval promises that the taxi package will be available with a version of Ford Work Solutions that will also include high-speed Internet and navigation. In addition, Ford is working with suppliers to offer rear-seat entertainment packages and a credit-card swipe pay station for passengers. In the prototype vehicle that we had the chance to sit in, there was an 8.4-inch screen in the back seat that offered everything from maps to a stock ticker, weather conditions, and cab fare. Rear legroom was a bit on the tight side, but ingress and egress was easier than other vehicles with the big sliders, and cargo capacity remains solid.

The Transit Connect Taxi goes into production this year and will be earmarked as a 2011 model.

High-res galleries below, official press releases for both vehicles available after the jump.

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Chicago Preview: Ford rolls out production Transit Connect Electric and Taxi variants

Chicago Preview: Ford rolls out production Transit Connect Electric and Taxi variants originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SPRINGFIELD — A new state law that attempted to clear up some of the confusion concerning low-speed, non-highway vehicles has unintentionally barred farmers from using all-terrain vehicles on local roads.

Now, the same lawmakers who pushed for the law are working to undo some of it by exempting farmers from its provisions.

Starting this year, municipalities were given the power to approve ordinances legalizing ATVs, golf carts and other low-speed vehicles on their roads.

Before the law went into effect, many were unsure if they could.

The new law, however, trumped a similar measure approved three years ago that gave farmers great leeway when operating ATVs on rural roads to get from field to field. Because ATVs are now included in the same law that governs other low-speed vehicles, the new restrictions apply.

For instance, the new law states off-highway vehicles may only travel on roads with marked speed limits of 35 mph or less. Many farmers, however, travel long stretches of unmarked roads on ATVs, said Kevin Rund, senior director of local government for the Illinois Farm Bureau.

Drivers also cannot cross a highway unless the road has a stoplight or stop sign and has a speed limit of 35 mph or less.

“It is way out of the realm of practicality in the farming industry,” Rund said.

The Farm Bureau has been lobbying to change the law since the fall, and sponsors of the original bill vow to take up the issue this legislative session.

State Rep. Richard Myers, R-Colchester, said leaving out an exemption for farmers was a mistake. He is sponsoring legislation that would do just that.

“Everybody missed it until the bill was made into law,” he said.

State Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville, also sponsored the non-highway vehicle bill last year and is pushing a similar exemption for farmers in the Senate. A Senate committee could hear testimony on the exemption as early as Wednesday.

Sullivan said the original bill creates a “consistent set of guidelines every community would be operating off of.” Communities in his district had expressed interest in legalizing low-speed vehicles because they are more fuel-efficient.

Low-speed vehicles gained popularity across the state in 2008 when gas prices surged to $4 a gallon.

Four-wheeled ATVs, on the other hand, have been popular amongst farmers for years. Farmers say they help them tend fields and haul loads of equipment and feed.

Lyle Gallagher, a farmer from Sadorus, has owned an ATV for five years and uses it because normal-sized cars are impractical in the fields.

“It’s like my right arm,” he said.

The 83-year-old eastern Illinois resident has been farming since 1946. His farm is six miles from his home, and he uses rural roads to get there. Even with the new law, he said he plans to use his ATV for farming purposes.

The legislation is Senate Bill 2566 and House Bill 4904.

Read the original article from Herald & Review.

In an note sent out this morning, RBS’s Bob Janjuah, who is known as quite bearish by many, warns of the next wave of bubbles brought on through government intervention, sovereign risk, and excess liquidity.

RBS: What is driving my thinking that the post-March 09 rally may well be over and that the next leg of the great bear mrkt may well have begun? Well, since mid-09 most clients I speak to regularly have gradually got more bullish, based largely on the view that Policy will remain effective AND will remain uber easy/get even easier if needed, and that there would be little/no consequence to easy policy. Well, guess what? I think that game is now over. Partly because the Market is doing/did its jobs (periph Europe). However, in the UK and US the Market seems again to have failed to do its job of seeing a delusional debt fuelled Ponzi Bubble for what it is. The real vigilante this time seems to be The People.

Once again, Janjuah, like many others, seems to be calling the Scott Brown election as a huge turning point.

Here are some key things Janjuah observes:

• The market has switched from bullish to bearish without many realizing it.
• Tim Geithner and Ben Bernanke are at center stage in this economy; how they shape policy will ultimately determine our outcomes.
• Sovereign risk is a huge concern, especially in regard to Europe.
• Obama’s budget proposals are irrelevant and will drastically change within the next year. Taxes WILL go up.

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See Also:

• UK Extends $64 Billion Bailout To Ailing British Banks, CEOs Out
• Niall Ferguson: This Crisis Didn’t Happen Because Banks Were Too Big
• Historically, Huge Inventory Boosts Like In Q4 Have Ended Very Badly