Category: News

Dear Visitor from 2020:

I know you feel things haven’t progressed very far, but you really need to take a look at how we did communications in 2010.

Believe it or not, in 2010 Google’s Gmail could open 3 windows that looked like this …

One was for something called email. Another was for something called “Chat” or “Instant Messaging”. A third was for something called “SMS” or “Texting”.

They all looked rather the same and did rather similar things, but they all worked somewhat differently with different phones and different computers. The SMS was the most restrictive, it was limited to less than 200 ascii characters! Despite being so limited, it cost much more than the others. It worked, however, with the archaic phones that persisted in the US until 2012.

Pretty bad eh? It gets worse. I’d tell you about Twitter, but you wouldn’t understand it at all.

Aren’t you glad you’re not living in the dark ages any more?

john

A new trailer has come out for Christopher Nolan’s new film, Inception. The Dark Knight director casts Leonardo DiCaprio in this Action, Sci-Fi, Crime thriller that has Nolan fans beaming with anticipation. The plot according to IMDB: Best friends work together as aspiring young architects on the rise, their relationship complicated by a recent inception. Corporations have developed a technology to enter dreams to extract information from certain peoples’ heads. A CEO (Leonardo DiCaprio) enters dreams and things begin to escalate. Like the plot description itself, the trailer is also quite ambiguous. With films such as Memento, The Prestige, and the two last Batman films, Nolan is headed as one of the best directors of our time.

View the trailer after the jump.

Filed under: Hybrid, GM, Opel, Vauxhall, Diesel

If you want to maximize you fuel efficiency in the city, your best bet is probably a hybrid. On the flip side of the coin, if you do most of your driving on the open road, diesel engines tend to be much more economical than their gasoline-powered siblings. What if you could combine the two, though, and end up with the best of both worlds?

While it would hardly be the first automaker to embark down that path, Autocar is reporting that General Motors is working on a diesel hybrid powertrain that could see production in various Opel and Vauxhall models (such as the Astra and Insignia) sometime after 2012. Sounds good, right? Of course, there are problems to work out.

One thing that’s holding all major automakers back from diesel hybrids are both development and production costs, which can be substantial since both diesels and hybrids already carry a premium over gasoline-burning engines. Maurizio Cisternino, GM of Europe’s advanced technology chief engineer, has reportedly told the UK publication that the automaker is aiming for a premium of 1,000 euros (£880 or about $1,400 U.S. at current exchange rates) for the diesel hybrid over traditional hybrids, something that would be quite an achievement.

If the hybrid powertrain does come to fruition, expect it to be paired with GM’s upcoming 1.6-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder, a special version of which is said to be prepared with computer controls that are compatible with The General’s hybrid systems. It’s also possible that a diesel engine will at some point be coupled to the automaker’s Voltec powertrain as seen in the Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera.

[Source: Autocar]

Report: General Motors working on diesel hybrids originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Do your ears that protrude, are abnormally large, angle forward, fold down or do you just have natural ear folds or creases that are missing? Have you ever considered Otoplasty to correct all of these problems?

This simple procedure can make a very big difference in the symmetry of your physical appearance. Because this procedure has such a big impact on the way you look it is very important that you research and learn as much as you can about the procedure so you know it is the right one for you.

If you think that this procedure might be what you’re looking for then here is a website I found that I think is very useful in learning a lot about this Plastic Surgery Procedure and many others.

Gaga Oh La La! Lady Gaga just got a promotion. Today, Polaroid announced that Lady Gaga will act as the brand’s Creative Director for a new specialty line of imaging products. The perfect candidate for such a job, Lady Gaga surely prides herself on her own creative imaging whether it’s in fashion, video, or music. Announcing the new products on Thursday January 7th at 10:45 at the Polaroid Booth at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Gaga will be there in full effect to unveil this mysterious new line of products and her future business plans with the company at Polaroid’s booth.

The American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation will honor five physicians with awards representing the highest ideals of medical service in providing care to underserved and uninsured patients.

These physicians are recognized for their altruism, compassion, and leadership.

The physicians will be presented with awards during the eighth annual Excellence in Medicine Awards dinner on March 1, 2010 in conjunction with the AMA National Advocacy Conference in Washington D.C.

“These five Excellence in Medicine Award recipients embody what it means to be a physician,” said AMA Foundation President Richard Hovland.

“By compassionately sacrificing their time and effort to help underserved, uninsured and disadvantaged populations, these physicians show us that one person can truly make a difference. They are role models for us all.”

Two physicians will receive the Pride in the Profession Award, two physicians will receive the Jack B. McConnell, MD Award for Excellence in Volunteerism and one physician will receive the Dr. Nathan Davis International Award in Medicine.

The awards are presented in association with Pfizer Inc.

The Pride in the Profession Award honors physicians who aid underserved populations in the U.S.

Judith T. Broder, MD

Psychiatrist

The Soldiers Project, Los Angeles, Calif.

Many people in the military are apprehensive to seek help for issues such as PTSD, depression and family problems through military channels, for fear it could adversely affect their careers. Judith Broder, MD launched The Soldiers Project, offering mental health services for the military and their families. All treatment is offered without charge and is completely confidential. Currently, there are 400 licensed therapists participating in the program, and in Southern California alone, over 300 people have consulted these therapists. The program has expanded to Seattle, Chicago, New York City, Sacramento and San Diego.

Javier Davila, MD

Internist and infectious disease specialist

American Indian Healing Center, Whittier, Calif.

It is a common misconception that the health care needs of the American Indian community are met through government programs. In fact, urban American Indians are among the most medically underserved group in the nation. Javier ‘Hawk’ Davila, MD recognized this need and founded the American Indian Healing Center (AIHC) in 2000, providing health care to disadvantaged American Indians in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Today, AIHC serves as a medical home to over 1,500 individuals, providing primary care and health education.

The Jack B. McConnell, MD Award for Excellence in Volunteerism honors senior physician volunteers who increase access to health care in the U.S.

Zaven S. Ayanian, MD

Internist

Parker Family Health Center, Red Bank, New Jersey

In 2000, as the second physician volunteer to be recruited to launch the Parker Family Health Center, Zaven Ayanian, MD has been there from the beginning. The free clinic evolved from a walk-in clinic open two nights a week into a six-day-a-week comprehensive health care source. Now, after nine years of volunteerism, Dr. Ayanian has helped to build an organization that provides 10,000 patient visits annually with support from 200 volunteers.

Robert G. Kendall, MD

Neurosurgeon

Our Health, Inc., Winchester, Va.

Robert Kendall, MD is the catalyst behind Our Health, Inc., which provides coordinated, collaborative, high quality health care to disadvantaged populations. The Our Health model provides ‘one stop shopping’ for low income, uninsured and underinsured citizens of Frederick and Clarke Counties and the city of Winchester. Started in 1999, twenty-nine different agencies are linked together through Our Health. The result is astounding – this network, including 25,000 square feet of office space and a green activity area, serves 15,000 people annually.

The Dr. Nathan Davis International Award in Medicine honors physicians for outstanding international service.

Richard Bransford, MD

Bethany Kids at Kijabe, Kijabe, Kenya

Richard Bransford, MD has spent a lifetime in service transforming the lives of disabled children of Africa. In 2004, he and a colleague founded Bethany Kids Center at Kijabe Hospital, which has become known throughout Africa as a referral center for disabled children. At fourteen outreach clinics across Kenya, nurses and doctors assess new and previously treated patients. African trainee doctors work alongside Dr. Bransford’s team to learn the special operations for this population.

About the AMA Foundation

The AMA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt foundation, is the philanthropic arm of the American Medical Association and is committed to improving the health of Americans through support of quality programs in public health and medical education.

For more information, please visit amafoundation.org.

Thanks to Phillips’ CushionSpeaker, I’m well-rested despite getting a mere three hours of sleep. That’s because the lapdesk not only has a built in speaker, but happens to double as the best pillow I’ve slept on since arriving at CES.

Phillips intended to make the CushionSpeaker more comfortable than some other lapdesks by adding a soft, cushion-like bottom to caress your lap, but what they really did is create an almost ergonomic pillow. All you have to do is flip the accessory upside down and you’re ready for a nap.

That unintended purpose aside, the CushionSpeaker does in fact make a good lapdesk and a decent speaker. I have been using it for a good portion of the day in Gizmodo’s improvised pressroom and I’ve no complaints. Except that Frucci briefly kidnapped it for some sleepy time. [Phillips]

We’re inside the halls of CES right now, just checking things out. Maybe we’ll see something interesting.

So it would appear that the “IWantMyOnePointSix” (twitter:@IWMOPS) group has had their voices heard.  In the coming months, both HTC Dream and HTC Magic owners will be seeing upgrades to their current software.

The updates that HTC has so far decided on are only minor for the Dream due to hardware limitations, although the Magic will be given a full update to Android’s latest and greatest 2.1 which was officially announced yesterday at the Google Android Conference. Although this at first appears to be good news, those who are reading and currently own a Rogers HTC Dream are slightly shocked that their brother/sister device is getting upgraded to 2.1 and they are not. So I would assume that IWMOPS’s purpose is still not complete.

It is hard to believe that HTC would think we would believe them when they say the Dream has hardware limitations when many of us, including myself are already running 1.6 without any loss in speed or functionality. Following this news we are sure to see an even larger outcry from this group that will most likely continue until they get what they want, so stay tuned for more information regarding this issue in the coming weeks.

Set release dates and known details are as follows:

In the upcoming weeks

• Both Dream and Magic will receive minor updates to Android 1.5
• Magic will receive HTC Sense experience software.

By Mid-Year(June-July)

• Magic will receive full upgrade to Android 2.1

Although a long time away for Android 2.1, it’s something to look forward to and shows that Canada may not be as behind as it has proven to be in the past.

Also congratulations to IWMOPS for your victory.

Your Canadian Correspondant,

@MatthewPatience

Last summer, of course, there was a lot of attention paid to China’s announced plans that every PC sold in China needed to include the new “Green Dam Youth Escort” software, which was a client-side filtering program. After international outrage over the plan actually had some sort of impact, the government backed down. A smaller story, that came out during all of this, was that the Green Dam software appeared to copy significant portions of the commercial filter product, CyberSitter. Now, CyberSitter has sued the Chinese government and a bunch of companies for $2.2 billion. The lawsuit has been filed in Los Angeles, and I would wonder what jurisdiction a Los Angeles district court has over the Chinese government concerning software that was only to be used in China.

While the lawsuit does include the expected copyright claim, it also goes much further to claim trade secret violations and “conspiracy.” And while the Chinese government is obviously the headline grabber, it also includes Sony, Lenovo, Toshiba, Acer, ASUSTek, BenQ and Haier, claiming that these computer makers were in on the conspiracy. While many of those have US operations, it seems like a longshot that (a) the court has jurisdiction over their actions in China or (b) the charge of “conspiracy” has any chance of sticking.

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What emblem best signifies the end of the space shuttle era? NASA has selected its 15 finalists for a mission patch symbolizing the conclusion of the shuttle program, currently scheduled for this fall. The CollectSpace Web site has the whole batch on view.
A panel of judges at the space agency selected the finalists from more than 80 entries that were submitted over the past few months by the shuttle program’s past and present workers. The same judges will select the winning patch in February, after…(read more)

Fastcardtech.com have published this three part customer video review of the Sunno A880 Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone. The device is HTC Magic-looking, but does at least bear the Sunno brand proudly.

The smartphone unusually for a Chinese device is not dual SIM, but if your expectations for performance is low (the processor is only 406 Mhz) it is still a pretty well specified device, with a 3.2 inch HVGA screen, a first for Windows Mobile, WIFI, GPS and EDGE, 5 megapixel camera and a 3.5 mm headphone jack, all for only $179.99.

In part 2 we can clearly see the device is a Windows Mobile 6.5.3 device, suggesting part of the saving may be not paying any license fee to Microsoft and using leaked ROMs.

See part 2 and 3 of the review after the break.

Part 3

Read more about the device at Fastcardtech.com here.

Thanks tjoho for the tip.

It’s been a busy day so far getting ready for the opening of the CES tomorrow. We had over an hour to play with some cool mobile gear earlier, including an innovative hybrid, and we should have that video up pretty soon. Meanwhile I have been on a quest to find passable Wi-Fi connectivity somewhere around the Venetian Hotel and the Sands Center. The press room at the Sands is a wash, too many people and the network too saturated to be of much use.

I’m able to keep going just fine with the MiFi, but full bandwidth would be nice. I stopped for coffee in a shop on the edge of the casino and lo and behold the connectivity is free and tasty. Nothing better than a good cup of java and some tasty Wi-Fi, but it sure is strange blogging with slot machines all around.

Riversimple’s Hybran project, an open-source design for a fuel-cell car that anyone can access and build, has taken one step closer to reality with the publishing of the first engineering drawings now online. Riversimple says that all of its designs will be posted online starting with the car’s rear suspension layout.

Riversimple hopes to speed up development by gathering criticism from analysts and consumers.

“One of our hopes is that the open-source community will speed up development of the fuel cell and electrical network, as well as other key technologies,” said Hugo Spowers, a key partner in the Riversimple project.

Early last year, Riversimple debuted its new two-seater hydrogen-electric city car with an estimated fuel-economy of 300 mpg. Power comes from a 6kW fuel-cell system from Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, which allows the two-seater to travel 240 miles on one small tank of hydrogen.

The first 10 Hybran prototypes are planned to be on the roads by the end of 2011. Riversimple plans on producing 5,000 units a year for the UK.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: AutoCar

The Samsung E6 and E101 are the first eBook readers with electromagnetic resonance stylus that let you take notes and scribble as you read, with what Samsung claims is vastly improved functionality over competitive models.

Samsung’s partnership with Google Books means that there’s a lot of content that will already be loaded at launch, and the two readers support both Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth.

The screens aren’t backlit, which according to Samsung will provide a more natural reading experience, and it looks like you’ll have your choice of stylus thickness.

The E6 and E101 will both be available early this year, for $399 and $699, respectively.

SAMSUNG UNVEILS ITS FIRST E-BOOK FOR READING, WRITING AND SHARING ON-THE-GO

Samsung’s New E-book Series Boasts First-of-its-Kind Functionality with a Precision Stylus Pen

Las Vegas, January 6, 2009 – Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Corporation, today unveiled its first e-book devices, with six-inch and ten-inch screen size offerings, at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The E6 and E101 further solidify Samsung’s position as a global leader in display technology by raising the bar on the quality of writing capabilities for e-books.

“We’ve used our expertise to create a high-quality e-book with today’s on-the-go consumer in mind,” said Young Bae, director of display marketing, Samsung Information Technology Division. “Samsung is addressing a common frustration that users experience with many of today’s digital readers with a stylus that allows them to annotate their favorite works or take notes. Coupled with wireless functionality that enables sharing of content, this is a truly multi-faceted device..”

Handwriting Capabilities

Unlike other e-book devices, Samsung’s E6 and E101 enables handwriting directly onto the display, allowing users to annotate their reading selections, calendars and to-do lists with a built-in electromagnetic resonance (EMR) stylus pen. This dedicated pen prevents mistypes caused by hands and other objects that may graze the screen’s surface. A variety of pen and eraser thicknesses make the Samsung e-books perfect for drawing and writing.

Low Power Consumption

The Samsung e-book displays reflect light naturally and deliver an appearance similar to that of printed paper, allowing people to read more naturally than they would with other backlit electronic paper devices. The E101 boasts a ten-inch screen, while the E6, is the more portable sibling at six inches. Because Samsung’s e-book is not backlit, the power consumption is lower than that of other portable display devices. Only four hours of charging prepares the battery for up to two weeks of use, depending on the extent of daily use.

Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Wireless

Samsung’s e-books are equipped for wireless connectivity as well. Wi-Fi 802.11b/g allows users to download content such as books and newspapers from a server wirelessly, as well as to share certain content with other devices. Bluetooth 2.0 is also a built in feature.
The Samsung E6 and E101 will be priced at $399 and $699, respectively. They will be available in early 2010.