Category: News

Google today announced on its blog that they have upgraded the mobile Image Search on Android 2.1 and iPhone OS 3.0+ devices.

It’s a typically Google update, in that the revamp will provide more speed and less clutter — two things that are always welcome.

There will now be more thumbnails per screen, and a quick swipe to the left or right will have you move between pages of results.

After clicking on a thumbnail, the images will be presented fullscreen on a plain black background (try saying that 6 times quickly), with the text disappearing after a few moments.

All in all, it’s a nice, clean, fast upgrade: a win in my books.

To access it, simply go to www.google.com on your Android 2.1 or iPhone 3.0+ handset, and click on images.

Neither of those handsets in reach right now? No worries: check out the video demo, below.

[via Mashable]

Toyota has resumed sales of the 2010 Lexus GX 460 SUV, two weeks after it announced a recall of the 9,400 models already sold.

The Japanese automaker stopped sales of the vehicle after Consumer Reports magazine declared the SUV a safety risk, warning readers that it was prone to oversteer in turns.

Lexus tested the car in response to the warning and made changes to the vehicle’s electronic stability control software. New vehicles are being built with the new software and dealers will install software upgrades on the recalled vehicles.

The Lexus GX 460 is built on the same platform as the Toyota 4Runner, which — along with the larger Toyota Sequoia and Land Cruiser SUVs — is currently being tested by Toyota to detect any similar concerns.

For more

Source: Car news, reviews and auto show stories

Catherine Rampell at the NY Times Economix asks: How Long Is an ‘Extended Period’?

Short answer: Longer than many analysts expect.

First we can compare to the “considerable period” language in 2003:

June 25, 2003: Lowered Rate to 1%, Unemployment Rate peaked at 6.3%

August 12, 2003: “the Committee believes that policy accommodation can be maintained for a considerable period.” Unemployment rate at 6.1%

December 9, 2003: Last statement using the phrase “considerable period”. Unemployment rate at 5.7%

January 28, 2004: the Committee believes that it can be patient in removing its policy accommodation. Unemployment Rate 5.7%

May 4, 2004: “the Committee believes that policy accommodation can be removed at a pace that is likely to be measured.” Unemployment Rate 5.6%

June 30, 2004: FOMC raised the Fed Funds rate 25 bps. Unemployment Rate 5.6%

So “extended period” is probably 6+ months after the language changes – the next meeting is June 23rd and 24th, so the earliest rate hike would probably be in December (barring a significant pickup in inflation or rapid decline in unemployment).

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the effective Fed Funds rate (Source: Federal Reserve) and the unemployment rate (source: BLS)

In the early ’90s, the Fed waited more than a 1 1/2 years after the unemployment rate peaked before raising rates. The unemployment rate had fallen from 7.8% to 6.6% before the Fed raised rates.

Following the peak unemployment rate in 2003 of 6.3%, the Fed waited a year to raise rates. The unemployment rate had fallen to 5.6% in June 2004 before the Fed raised rates.

Although there are other considerations, if we assume the unemployment rate peaked in October 2009 – and add 18 months – then the Fed would probably wait until early 2011 to raise rates (at the earliest). My guess is the Fed will probably wait until the unemployment rate is closer to 9% before removing the “extended period” language, and it is unlikely they will raise rates until the unemployment rate is below 8%. Last September I wrote: Fed Funds and Unemployment Rate. Here is an excerpt with an updated graph:

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The Audi vs BMW challenge is getting serious with this funny picture of the Hong Kong Audi dealership adorned with an enormous BMW billboard above it. It seems that when the going gets tough…. After BMW’s not very exciting EfficientDynamics video with the prococious child genius, Audi has produced a “friendly competition” video and one called “the spell”. So far we have to give Audi and BMW 1-0 for creativity in advertising. Although having nabbed that space above the Audi dealership, BMW could be a step ahead in guerilla tactics. See the videos after the jump.

Eva Regårdh wrote:

On March 29 MIT arranged a round table seminar entitled “The Future of Manufacturing Innovation—Advanced Technologies.” The seminar focused on technological advances that could spur manufacturing in the U.S.

MIT president Susan Hockfield opened the afternoon by reflecting on the status of the U.S. as a manufacturing nation. “Many Americans tend to believe that hardly anything is made in the U.S. anymore, and that all manufacturing has moved to China or other countries with low wages,” she said. ”But by reinventing manufacturing capabilities and processes, the U.S. could create 17 to 20 million new jobs.”

Is this realistic? Can Western countries with high-paid jobs really compete with countries like China and India where the cost of labor is lower?

“Yes. Just look at Germany and Japan,” Hockfield said.

Coming from Sweden with a background in engineering, and having covered European industry for many years for publications such as VerkstadsForum, Verkstäderna, and Automation, I believe that Hockfield may be right, but that the United States has much to do in order stay competitive. Just look at the figures: in 2009 the U.S had a trade deficit of almost $227 billion with China alone, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s foreign trade statistics. Over the last three years, 10 percent of the U.S. manufacturing workforce was laid off, MIT political scientist Suzanne Berger pointed out at the seminar.

While I don’t mean to sound like a preachy outsider, a number of practices that I’ve observed from my time covering European manufacturers, particularly in my native Scandinavia, could be useful as the United States seeks to rebuild or reinforce its own manufacturing infrastructure.

Consistent information handling during a product’s entire lifecycle is an often underestimated but vital component if we want to keep manufacturing profitable. Being able to master small batch production, even of complex and high-tech goods, in order to meet individual customers needs, is another key to staying competitive.  This is easier said than done. America is adapted to economies of scale, a tradition dating back to the days of Henry Ford. Certainly the U.S. has a huge home market, but this has probably delayed the adoption of small, efficient batch manufacturing essential in smaller countries and markets, such as the Nordic ones.

Once that is mastered, customization becomes, if not easy, at least more achievable. Customization, in turn, demands consistent information, with software solutions holding and updating product data correctly, through the product’s entire life cycle. Systems that can do this must …Next Page »

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Drive the Nissan 370z at the Top Gear Track

Drive the Nissan 370z at the Top Gear Track. The Stig will be there to show you how.

The Nissan 370Z (known as the Fairlady Z in Japan) is a sports car manufactured by Nissan Motors.

It was announced on October 29, 2008 and was first shown at an event in Los Angeles ahead of the 2008 Greater LA Auto Show, before being officially unveiled at the show itself.

The 370Z is the sixth-generation of the Nissan Z-car line, succeeding the 350Z.

Ford designers set their sights on creating an endearingly simple vehicle for their latest project, and we’d have to say they’ve succeeded. Unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show, there’s definitely a certain stripped-back elegance about the Start Concept, which along with its sculpted lines and some clever interior customization options, features a new 1.0-liter, three-cylinder addition to the company’s EcoBoost petrol engine family that promises a CO2 rating of under 100 g/km…
Continue Reading Ford Start Concept features 1.0-litre, three-cylinder EcoBoost engine

Tags: Beijing-Motor-Show,
Concept Cars,
Ford

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Found under: BlackBerry 6, OS, RIM, Video, sneak peak, preview, WES,

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The SMH has an article on a concept electric bike from Lexus – Lexus’s hybrid bike.

Lexus’s Hybrid Bicycle concept features a 240-watt electric motor that boosts man-made torque (pedalling) for more effortless riding.

Unlike a regular bike that is rear-wheel drive, the 17kg carbon-fibre concept uses a belt-drive arrangement and an electric eight-speed gearbox from Japanese component specialist Shimano to put power to the road through both wheels.

The rider has a choice of Eco or Power modes, while the all-wheel-drive bike also mimics the regenerative braking of the Toyota/Lexus Hybrid Drive System by recharging the lithium-ion battery with the kinetic energy captured whenever the rider squeezes the callipers.

Yesterday we showed you the gigantic oil slick that’s floating its way towards New Orleans.

If it looks really big to you, that’s because it is really big.

According to Bloomberg, the Coast Guard has upped its estimate for the size of the spill from 1000 barrels per day to 5000 barrels.

The slick is expected to hit land today.

Meanwhile the first test burns have begun and Obama has been briefed on the situation.

More throughout the day as warranted.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Here’s Why Big Oil Spills Are Going To Become More And More Frequent
• Saudi Arabia Warns That Rocketing Domestic Oil Demand Could Slash Its Export Capacity
• MAP OF THE DAY: Check Out The Huge Oil Slick Floating Towards New Orleans

UPI reports that Indian efforts to produce biofuel from Jatropha aren’t working out as well as hoped – Indian biofuel efforts falter.

Jatropha has long been promoted as a promising biofuel substitute to ease the global energy crisis. One hectare is capable of yielding 390-456 gallons of jatropha oil, equivalent to 433.7 gallons of diesel. …

Jatropha’s growing conditions proved to be more complex than originally thought. Jatropha requires close care. Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency analyst Preeti Kaur noted that while initially specialists assumed that jatropha could flourish on wasteland, without irrigation it in fact requires moderate irrigation. As a result, nationwide investments in jatropha of more than $5 billion are at risk.

Kaur added, “The plans have almost failed and our investments are stuck due to the poor quality of jatropha seeds. Other than this, small land holdings are a major reason for the failure of jatropha plantations.”

Everyone saw this one coming, Baidu, the leading Chinese search engine, has posted great financial results in the first quarter after Google abandoned its search operations locally and moved all search efforts to its Hong Kong service. Baidu has been growing in terms of revenue for quite a while now, but these latest numbers … (read more)

A few weeks back, we linked to the NY Times’ Ethicist, Randy Cohen, explaining why it’s not unethical to download a digital copy of a book, if you’d bought a hard copy of the book — even though it probably violates copyright law. That created quite a lot of anger from folks who felt that it was clearly an ethical violation as well. Mitch Wagner, apparently missed that kerfuffle, as he’s written up a short blog post for Computerworld asking people their thoughts on the ethics of downloading media that you purchased legally:

I recently got a hankering to re-read some of my favorite books. I already own them, in hardcover and paperback. But I’d like to re-read them as e-books. Do I need to buy the e-book versions, or can I download a pirated copy of the e-book for free?

The argument that says it’s wrong is pretty simple, and clear-cut: When I bought the books, I bought individual copies of the books. All I own is that one copy. If I lost the copy, I wouldn’t be entitled to a free replacement. It wouldn’t be right for me to shoplift the book from the local Barnes & Noble. I’d have an obligation to buy a new copy, or borrow one legitimately, before re-reading the book.

On the other hand: I already paid for these books legitimately. They’re my books. The shoplifting analogy is specious, because in that case, I’m depriving the rightful owner — the owner of the bookstore — of their copy of the book. If I download a copy of the e-book, nobody else is deprived of their copy.

However, he goes on to make another point that also deserves some scrutiny:

Every couple of years, TiVo hiccups and fails to record a favorite TV show. In that case, I have to decide whether to wait for the show to come out on DVD, or just download the episode from the BitTorrents.

Now there will be people who will claim that, due to the fact that it likely infringes on copyright to do so, it’s automatically unethical. But morality isn’t determined by the law. In general, I’ve always argued that if the economics increase the overall market and opportunity, then there’s no moral issue to speak of — and it’s hard to see how someone downloading an episode their TiVo missed would harm the overall economy in any way. But, I’m guessing that some folks here will disagree…

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Things seem to be looking a bit up in euroland this morning. A bit.

The euro is ticking up, and the Athens Stock Exchange is up 4%, obviously on hopes that the worst fears of Krugman and El-Erian won’t be realized.

So, will the Greeks name their next temple after Obama?

Yesterday he leaned heavily on Merkel, and it sounds as though she may be softening her stance a little.

Of course, his pressure does nothing for the German parliament which still needs to approve a bailout, but still.

At this early hour on Thursday, things are looking a little brighter. If history is any guide, expect more shoes to drop throughout the day.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Mohammad El-Erian And Paul Krugman Both Wildly Gloomy About Spiraling Crisis In Greece
• Now Obama Is Making Emergency Calls To Merkel Over Greek Aid
• Here’s Everything You Need To Know About The Rapidly Approaching Crisis In Spain

Yahoo has had a rough time for the past few years and the company has only recently started showing some optimistic signs. Under CEO Carol Bartz, Yahoo has gotten a lot more focused and has shed off a lot of dead weight. Spurred by great financial results in the first quarter, things are looking up, but there are still questions of whether Yahoo has what… (read more)

A new report suggests China’s Brilliance Automotive’s run could be over in the European market. The news of Brilliance’s exit from the European market comes just months after the automaker’s European importer – HSO Motors – filed for bankruptcy. Brilliance has been handling its own European distribution since November.

Citing poor sales, a Brilliance executive revealed to AutoWeek that the company will halt all European sales. Brilliance was one of just a handful of Chinese automakers that managed to crack in to the European market.

Brilliance’s presence in the European market seemed doomed from the start, with the company’s first European offering – the BS6 – receiving zero out of five stars in Germany’s ADAC crash test. Brilliance’s pricing scheme didn’t do the company any favors, either.

“They didn’t want to lose any money per car,” former HSO boss Hans-Ulrich Sachs revealed. “We told them that this is the entry fee you have to pay to get established in Europe. They told us that we should make the investment to cover the shortfall; that we would have to subsidize the brand.”

Conflicting reports
Refuting AutoWeek’s report, one Brilliance insider told the Global Times that the Chinese automaker has no plans to exit the European market. “Brilliance will never pull out of Germany and Europe, even though it is confronted with bleak sales and thin profit margins,” the source said.

However, Brilliance’s lineup barely conforms to Europe’s current Euro IV regulations, with the Chinese automaker admittedly struggling to comply with Euro V regs. “They abandoned Europe IV in less than a year and a half, and will put Europe V in place in the second half. We can hardly meet the new standards with domestic auto part suppliers. We have to use overseas ones, which will raise our costs,” the source added.

Even if Brilliance does manage to limp along in the European market in the short-term, its long term future looks bleak. Those within BMW – Brilliance’s China partner – have revealed the automaker has stopped work on meeting the new Euro V standards, with sales well below expectations. Although reports vary, Brilliance has sold no more than 4,000 units since entering the European market in 2006, with some reports as low as 502 units.

References
1. ‘China automaker Brilliance…’ view
1. ‘Brilliance’s future uclear…’ view

Source: Leftlane

Dacia has officially confirmed its first entry to the right hand drive market. The Romanian manufacturer’s new SUV, the Duster, will arrive in 2012.

Even as the date of the launch and the pricing information have yet to be revealed, Dacia has set up a UK website, where interested parties can register for updates. The Duster is actually the cheapest SUV on the market. Its top notch version sells in Europe for 16,630 Euros, a price that is comparable to the entry levels of most competitors. The available options for the Duster include one petrol engine (1.6 16V 110hp) and two diesel engines (dCi 85 and dCi 110). These engines generate from 85 to 110hp, which aren’t all that impressive. However, when you consider the car’s reduced weight (1,160kg in 4×2 specification and 1,250kg for the 4×4 version), the overall result isn’t bad at all and could just be enough to pull through. Photo gallery after the jump!

Source: Car news, Car reviews, Spy shots

O Laboratório de acidentologia, de biomecânica e de estudos do comportamento humano (LAB), completou 40 anos de estudos e de inovações ao serviço da segurança, no Comitê de Construtores Francesas de Automóveis (CCFA). O LAB foi criado em 1969, sobre a forma de um Grupo de Interesse Econômico (GIE), e é resultado de uma parceria entre o Grupo Renault e a PSA Peugeot Citroën.
A missão do Laboratório é fazer progredir a segurança no trânsito baseando os seus esforços em três pilares: proteção dos ocupantes do automóvel, conhecer a “genética” dos acidentes para evitá-los e compreender o comportamento do motorista.

Nos anos 90, o Laboratório dedicou-se a um intenso programa de estudos detalhados dos acidentes, com a meta de compreender melhor as suas causas e conseqüências. Ele se constituiu um banco de dados científico e técnico único no mundo, a partir das observações e do recolhimento de informações nos mesmos locais dos acidentes: ele reúne as informações sobre 15.000 veículos, 27.000 acidentes e 70.000 lesões.

O LAB também participou do desenvolvimento dos “dummies” (manequins que simulam o corpo humano nas simulações de acidentes), visando aproximá-los, o mais fielmente possível, das características humanas. Com isso, os “dummies” representam o “corpo humano” com extrema precisão.

Em 40 anos de atividades, o Laboratório adquiriu o “know how” e o reconhecimento cientifico e técnico mundiais, que lhe resultaram na conquista de oito prêmios internacionais. Os estudos realizados pelo LAB foram objetos de 642 publicações cientificas e os profissionais do LAB participaram de 29 projetos de pesquisas francesas e européias.

Fonte: Renault

Filed under: Advice, Health, Hormone Diet

Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That’s Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues as well as improve their overall health.

Have you been unable to lose weight even with a healthy diet and exercise? Our bodies are wired to send us signals when something isn’t right, but often we’re too busy to hear them. The symptoms of hormonal imbalance are experienced by many every day. Recognizing and treating these subtle warnings is essential to weight loss, yet so many of us have been imbalanced for so long, we don’t even know what normal is anymore.

Continue reading 8 Hormonal Imbalances That Stop You Losing Weight

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Sub-Quattroporte Model to Allow Quattroporte to Grow
Canadian Auto Press

There are auto news stories that just make sense and then there are some that leave us with our heads shaking. Thoughts of Maserati returning to the midsize sport sedan arena do both, it makes absolute sense from a business point of view and simultaneously makes our heads shake, but with the latter they’re shaking vertically.

Maserati Planning Midsize M5 Competitor

Certainly, we’d give the nod to a smaller sport sedan from the company that brought exotic into the realm of relative affordability. The thought of Maserati’s Ferrari-derived V8 stuffed into a smaller, lighter package will likely get enthusiasts whipped up into a collective frenzy, and for good reason.

What makes this story more than just mouth-watering speculation is that it’s very real. News of a smaller sport sedan comes as part of an announcement made by Fiat, Maserati’s parent company, which stated that a new sub-Quattroporte four-door would be part of its five-year growth strategy.

Rather than target Audi’s A6, BMW’s 5 and Mercedes-Benz’ regular E-Class directly, the new Maserati Quattroporte-lite will be positioned higher on the pecking order, more directly against the S6, M5 and E63 AMG, with performance to match and likely a price that comes close to these legendary German sport sedans, but far less than the entry point for the current larger Quattroporte.

The Quattroporte, mind you, is not as large as full-size rivals from Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and now Jaguar, which has finally shown up with a serious competitor in the full-size premium sedan segment. Therefore, the Q will likely grow to its former mid ‘70s through late ‘80s Quattroporte III size, when it stole the hearts of well-heeled yuppies the world over. A larger more opulent Quattroporte would be in keeping with the brand’s history too, which offered a Quattroporte Royale variant in 1986 as its top-line flagship model.

More speculative, a smaller bodied and overall lighter midsize sport sedan could lend itself to a smaller and sportier coupe and roadster bearing the Trident front and back. Could a modern-day Mistral be in our future? Collective Maseratisti fingers are crossed.