Category: News

Article Tags: ArcticSnap.Com

We have put together a site called ArcticSnap.Com, you can send in photos and news stories about the current “Arctic Snap” in your area.

Note: it will take a couple of days for Google to find the new site, so use the time to collect some interesting reports for us to post on your behalf.

Email your “Arctic Snap” (a snowman/snowshape or you/someone in the snow) via the Contact form.

We also have the following available for you to stay “live” on any postings/photos that are put up.

Twitter Link to ArcticSnap

RSS News Feed

Regards

Co2sceptic & MrZippy

More to follow soon.

Read in full with comments »   

Cobra Electronics has expanded its line of radar detectors with the world’s first touchscreen models, which will let you know of upcoming radar and speed cameras. They’ve also got the first model for under $200, which unfortch isn’t touchscreen.

The two touchscreen models, the XRS 9970G and XRS 9965 have 1.5-inch color interfaces. The former also works with Cobra’s AURA Camera Driving Hazard Database and has IntelliView Pro which displays a pictorial alert with the speed you’re traveling at. They’ll be under $379.95 in price when they go on sale in March.

That $200 model I mentioned is the XRS 9550G, which can detect all radar, laser and safety cameras. It works with the AURACamera database which keeps GPS coordinates of cameras and other hazards online, for future avoidance of those nasty fine-issuing devices. [Cobra]

FoMoCo announced today that its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury December sales were up 33 percent versus a year ago, the highest sales month since May 2008. Even though full-year sales totaled 1.62 million, down 15 percent, Ford enjoyed its first full-year market share gain since 1995.

“People increasingly are discovering that the Ford difference is the strength of our products, particularly our leadership in quality, fuel efficiency, safety, smart technologies and value,” said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing Sales and Service.

Across town, General Motors Company reported sales of 2,084,492 vehicles in 2009, down 30 percent from the previous year. Chrysler’s 4 percent December decline left it with a 36 percent drop for the year.

Other than that, Toyota came in behind for with a 32 percent sales gain in Dec., while Honda posted an increase of 20 percent. Nissan was up 18 percent.

Hit the jump for Ford’s press release.

Press Release:

FORD CAPS 2009 WITH 33 PERCENT SALES INCREASE, FIRST FULL-YEAR MARKET SHARE GAIN SINCE 1995

* Ford, Lincoln and Mercury December sales up 33 percent versus a year ago; highest sales month since May 2008
* Ford posts first full-year market share gain since 1995; December marks the 14th time in 15 months that Ford increased retail market share
* Record December sales delivered for Fusion (up 83 percent) and Escape (up 75 percent) ; Fusion sets new full-year sales record (180,671); Escape full-year sales (173,044) second best ever
* Ford’s F-Series tops best-seller lists again with December sales of 48,209 (up 16 percent) and full-year sales of 413,625; F-Series has been the best-selling truck in America for 33 years in a row and the best-selling vehicle, car or truck, for 28 years in a row
* New products drive Ford’s brand favorability and purchase consideration to record highs

DEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 5, 2010 – Higher sales in every product category and for every brand propelled Ford to a 33 percent sales increase in December versus a year ago.

Ford cars were up 42 percent, crossovers were up 51 percent, sport utilities were up 33 percent, and trucks and vans were up 18 percent. Among brands, Ford sales were up 37 percent, Lincoln sales were up 16 percent and Mercury sales were up 6 percent.

“Ford’s plan is working,” said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing Sales and Service. “Customer consideration continues to grow for our high-quality, fuel-efficient vehicles. In 2010, we will introduce an even higher number of new products, giving customers more reasons to Drive One.”

Every consumer metric about the Ford brand – including favorable opinion, consideration, shopping and intention to buy – ended the year at record levels. In fact, favorable opinion is up more than 20 percent from the beginning of the year, and intention to buy Ford increased more than 30 percent.

Ford, Lincoln and Mercury December sales totaled 179,017, up 33 percent versus a year ago. Full-year sales totaled 1.62 million, down 15 percent.

Ford estimates its full-year 2009 U.S. total market share was about 15 percent – about 1 percentage point higher than in 2008. This marks the company’s first full-year U.S. market share increase since 1995. Ford also has improved its retail market share 14 times in the last 15 months.

Sales Highlights

* Ford Fusion, recently named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year, posted a December sales increase of 83 percent and set new December (18,852) and full-year (180,671) sales records. Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan are the most fuel-efficient mid-size sedans in America.
* Ford Taurus sales totaled 7,256 for the month, up 110 percent versus a year ago. Since the introduction of the all-new model in August, Taurus sales are nearly 90 percent higher than a year ago.
* Ford Mustang sales were up 62 percent in December, and Ford Focus sales increased 22 percent. Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ were each up 5 percent.
* Crossover utilities also posted strong sales increases. In 2009, the Ford brand was the top-selling brand of crossovers in the U.S., led by the Ford Escape. Escape set a December sales record (19,156), up 75 percent versus a year ago. For the full year, Escape sales totaled 173,044, the second-best sales year ever. Ford Edge sales were up 59 percent, and Ford Flex sales were up 73 percent. The all-new Lincoln MKT posted its highest sales to date (858).
* Ford’s F-Series truck had its best sales month since March 2008. F-Series sales in December were 48,209 (up 16 percent), bringing the full-year total to 413,625. F-Series has been America’s best-selling truck for 33 years in a row and America’s best-selling vehicle, car or truck, for 28 years in a row. In 2009, F-Series increased its leadership position among full-size pickups with a 4 percentage-point gain in segment share.
* Transit Connect, Ford’s new versatile, fuel-efficient small commercial van, had its best sales month (1,992) since August.
* Ford’s new EcoBoost engine technology and hybrid vehicles are winning customers, too. December was the best sales month for EcoBoost (1,662), and total EcoBoost sales since introduction now total 4,973. The conquest rate for the Taurus SHO is 60 percent. EcoBoost provides customers up to 20 percent improvement in fuel economy and a 15 percent reduction in emissions versus larger-displacement engines. EcoBoost is standard on the Taurus SHO and available on the Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS and Lincoln MKT.
* December sales of hybrid vehicles totaled 2,843, up 147 percent versus a year ago. Ford hybrid models include the Ford Fusion, Ford Escape, Mercury Milan and Mercury Mariner. For the full year, Ford hybrid sales totaled 33,502, a new record and up 72 percent versus a year ago.

– By: Omar Rana

The Port of Long Beach said on Monday that it has cut nearly 80 percent of emissions from truck engines at the port since its ban of old diesel-fueled trucks.

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Geneva Motor Show, Europe, Renault

When Renault gets to the Geneva Motor Show in March, it will inevitably show off its lineup of limited range battery powered vehicles. However, the star of the stand may well be the car the French automaker teased this morning: the new Mégane Coupé-Cabriolet.

“Coupe-cabriolet” is Euro-speak for a retractable hardtop convertible, and while we’re not huge fans of folding tin-tops due to their peculiar (read: unattractive) proportions, added weight and complexity, if one French automaker can pull it off, it might just be Renault. Only time will tell if Renault has managed to overcome these issues, but considering the new Mégane will have a glass roof, there’s a good chance the coupe-cabriolet will be on the heavy side.

[Source: Renault]

Geneva Preview: Renault teases new glass roof Mégane Coupé-Cabriolet originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has taken detailed pictures of what scientists are saying is evidence that large lakes of liquid water sat on the planet’s surface relatively recently–which is to say, about 3 billion years ago.

MRO imaged several deep depressions that scientists previously attributed to the sublimation of underground ice 4 billion years ago. However, the new images show that the depressions are connected by long channels, and researchers say these channels could only be formed by running water, and not by ice turning directly into gas. The scientists’ ageing of the region, which on bodies like Mars is done by counting craters, suggests the features formed during the so-called Hesperian Epoch on the Red Planet [BBC News]. Essentially, this means that there was water on Mars a billion years more recently than previously thought. The findings were published in the journal Geology.

The researchers aren’t quite sure how the lakes, which are up to 12 miles long, were filled with water. Scientists had believed that the planet was a frozen wasteland during the Hesperian Epoch, but researchers now suggest that it may have had short-lived warm phases. Mars could have been warmed by volcanic activity, meteorite impacts or even orbital shifts. The result would be a temporary increase in planetary temperature as the gases created in those events thickened the Martian atmosphere [SPACE.com]. Regardless of how it happened, scientists and space nerds are giddy about the possibility that these lakes could have once harbored life.

A few months ago, NASA announced their finding of a huge ice sheet under the Martian surface, and where there’s water, there could have once been life. According to researcher Sanjeev Gupta, “potentially life could have survived in these lakes, we would be talking about microbial life…. But now we have shown that there was standing water, this is another avenue to explore” [Telegraph]. The researchers are widening their search to include spots along Mars’ equator to determine how large an area the lakes covered.

Related Content:
80beats: NASA Finds Big Stash of Water on Mars
80beats: Spirit Rover’s 6th Anniversary on Mars Is Likely Its Last
80beats: New Map Suggests Huge Ocean Once Dominated Mars’ Northern Hemisphere

Image: NASA/JPL/Imperial College of London

Like we said in the hands on, this is the best Android phone right now. And since we know you can’t get enough photos of a gadget you’re pining for, here’s a huge gallery.

Other than popping a Verizon version in Spring 2010, Google really didn’t throw any surprises our way. So all the impressions we’ve got in our hands on still apply. Head there to see details about how the phone works and what we think.

Then, visit our visual guide to Android 2.1, and everything you need to know about the Nexus One.

Trade in services is central to many of the new issues on the trade policy agenda. Policy on trade in services exists in the space between traditional trade negotiations and, among other things, a range of relatively new investment-related measures and labor migration policy. Inadequate conceptualization appears, however, to limit the chances for policy breakthroughs at the multilateral, regional, and bilateral contexts.

In addition, there is a need to better understand the ways in which power structures of states, institutions, lobby groups, and individuals jointly shape markets and systems of economic interaction in the services sectors, and how these affect political processes and structures.

While extensive literature address international trade in services from various angles, much less has been written from an international relations/ political economy perspective.

The goal of the conference is to theoretically and empirically explore whether existing international political economy theories apply to services trade liberalization and how they might be revised. Possible questions which can be examined at the conference:

1.    What are the domestic and international political economy determinants for and against services trade liberalization? How do they vary across sectors and modes of supply?

2.    How do the partisan and pluralist theories apply to services trade negotiations? What are the different coalitions and alliances? How do they operate in the domestic and international spheres?

3.    Can a single analytical framework account for the diversity and variation of services sectors, modes of supply and providers?

4.    What is the theoretical distinction, if any, between the liberalization of private and public services trade?

5.    What are the similarities and differences between the political economies of goods and services trade? Do multi-level games have similar trajectories in the goods and services sectors? Why do critical provisions in trade liberalization agreements differ between services and goods (e.g. safeguards and enforcement mechanisms) ?

6.    What can be learned from the international political economy of services trade for (the design of) international cooperation and regimes? What impact does this political economy have on both multilateral and preferential trade negotiations?

7.    Does the political economy of services trade liberalization differ between developing and developed economies? In what ways? What are the implications of these differences for multilateral and preferential negotiations and liberalization?

Keynote Speaker:

Mr. Alejandro Jara

Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization

Academic Committee

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS: FEB. 21, 2010

Paper proposals should include a title, a short 250 word abstract of paper, and name and affiliation of author(s).

Panel proposals should contain a title, a short 250 words abstract of the theme, 2-3 paper proposals (see above), name and affiliation of the chair and optionally a discussant (discussants will otherwise be determined by the conference academic committee).

All submission(s) should be sent to:  [email protected]

The Participants will be informed by email of the acceptance of panels and papers by March 16, 2010.

Conference fee is 40 Euros (20 Euros for students and non-OECD country participants). The fee covers participation as well as lunch and refreshments during the conference.

An optional one-day tour of Israel will be offered to participants, the day before the conference, on June 13.

For further information, please visit the website: http://davis.huji.ac.il/eng/activity.asp?cat=128&in=0

or contact:

Daniela Persin: [email protected]

Lior Herman: [email protected]

להגשת מועמדויות

Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) has finally confirmed rampant reports that it is buying up mobile ad network Quattro Wireless. In a short blog post, Quattro CEO Andy Miller says that—for now—the company’s offerings won’t change and its “client and support teams” will remain the same. Miller is joining Apple as VP of mobile advertising.

By picking up Quattro, Apple is positioning itself to make money from the many ad-supported apps on the iPhone and iPod—and gets to counter Google’s recent $750 million purchase of AdMob. No word (at least yet) on how much Apple is paying. Our source puts the price at $270 million.

Related

• Is Apple Buying Quattro Wireless?
• Google To Acquire Mobile Ad Network AdMob For $750 Million In Stock

Kia es una marca que quiere hacerse un hueco en el saturado pero apetitoso mercado europeo. El primer modelo en llegar fue el Kia Picanto, un pequeño compacto manejable y muy barato que tuvo rápida aceptación en Europa y sus ventas fueron más que saludables. Con la llegada del Cee’d, anunciado por Rafa Nadal, quisieron dar un golpe sobre la mesa atrayendo el público joven y deportivo.

El coche en sí es un buen modelo, pero desde luego uno de los atractivos era tener garantía de 7 años, que lo anunciaron a bombo y platillo. Cuando la vida útil de los coches en España es de menos de 13 años, en Europa de un valor menor y con tendencias a reducirse, tener cubierto casi toda la vida útil de tu vehículo por la garantía es una baza muy importante a la hora de decantarte por un vehículo u otro.

Pues bien, como reza la noticia ahora esa garantía se ha extendido al resto de vehículos de la gama Kia. Como siempre sólo cubre fallos de fabricante, no de desgaste, así que realmente los costes no deberían subir demasiado, y sí que debería hacerlo la imagen de marca solvente y a prueba de fallos. El límite de kilometraje es de 150.000 kilómetros, con lo que podemos hacerle a nuestro coche 20.000 kilómetros al año sin problemas.

No se cuál es el coste real, pero imagino que debe ser bajo: los números deben cuadrarle a la marca, pero desde luego que habrá muchos compradores que no tengan una preferencia muy decantada por algún modelo y que busquen un coche a buen precio y “que me dure“, como dice mucha gente. 7 años de garantía es un buen reclamo para ese público.

Vía | Autoblog

Yesterday Google wasn’t in the business of selling mobile phones. Today, they are. The Nexus One smartphone has arrived and on sale at Google.com/phone. Our live notes from the event are here.

I’ve been using the Nexus One with TMobile since mid-December as my primary mobile phone. This is the best Android powered phone to date. It’s also the fastest and most elegant smartphone on the market today, solidly beating the iPhone in most ways. In this rapidly evolving market there is sure to be something better just around the corner. But if you are looking to buy a high end smartphone right now, this is the phone for you. The Nexus One is the Android signature device.

Our complete review is below.

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And now D-Link is in the home security business. The company, of whose router I bought several months ago and fight to use on a daily basis (seriously, the Internet just cuts out at times… what are you gonna do?), has just announced a series of home monitoring devices, including the Home Monitoring Starter Kit ($149). One device plugs into your router, and then you place a series of wireless motion sensors around the house in strategic areas (doors, windows, etc.). The sensors then send alert the device, which can then text message you, send you an e-mail, etc. something like, “Hey, the kids are home.”

Of course, all of the data is remotely accessible via a special Web site D-Link has set up at mydlink.com.

There’s also Home Energy Monitoring Starter Kit ($99). Once all set up, you can remotely control the various devices in your home. Left the TV on? The PC? You get the idea.

I save he best for last. There’s the 3G Door Phone ($199). It’s a doorbell, right, but inside is a built-in 0.1 megapixel camera that can send photos and video to your 3G cellphone. This is helpful if you, say, are a very rich man in the year 1212 and are afraid that the serfs will revolt. But until I see otherwise, this is clearly the best thing I’ve heard/read/ about it at this year’s CES if only because it’s 100 percent. Who the heck needs a doorbell spy? How bad is your neighborhood?

All three of these guys will be available in the second quarter of this year.

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Just like clockwork more companies are announcing its plans for a 3D TV stations. ESPN’s plans were just announced and now we hear that Discovery, IMAX, and Sony have form a joint venture to develop a 3D station.

Discovery will launch the station sometime in 2011 under its name and will be a sort of showcase for 3D. It will likely be a lot like what Discovery HD Theater was to high definition a few years back. While ESPN 3D will only be up during live events, this station will be running 24/7. Now all we need is more affordable 3D HDTVs. Hopefully some will be announced at CES this week.

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Gartner has acquired the Burton Group for $56 million.

The purchase is another example of how the analyst community is becoming increasingly homogeneous, dominated by a handful of firms such as Forrester and IDC. And it points to a growing debate about the value that companies can receive from analyst firms when there is little diversification in the market.

But it also points to the importance of independent firms and individuals that engaging in dialogue through blogs and other mediums.

Sponsor

The Burton Group is based out of Midvale, Utah. Its speciality lies in providing in-depth advice to front-line IT professionals. The firm has 41 research analysts and 40 sales and client service associates, and self-projected 2009 revenue of $30 million.

This is Gartner’s second acquisition in the past few months. Gartner purchased AMR Research late last year.

The Future: A Hybrid Model

Analyst firms do not have the sway in the market that they once did. Bloggers are often considered analysts as they often specialize in particular fields, providing in-depth analysis for particular markets.

This is not to take anything away from the individual analysts who populate Gartner, Forrester and other groups. We depend on many of them for the insight they give on topics ranging from APIs to web-oriented architecture.

But the future of the analyst community looks more like a hybrid animal – a cross between a traditional analyst firm and an online community.

RedMonk and the Altimeter Group represent this new hybrid. Both are small, independent firms.

RedMonk, for instance, provides in-depth research into markets but they also invest heavily in their blogs, podcasts and other outlets such as the real-time, microblogging world.

The Altimeter Group also invests heavily in its community. Technobabble 2.0 recently took a look at a survey done by Jeremiah Owyang to determine the influence of his blog on the overall market. Owyang is a partner with Altimeter.

Technobabble’s Jonny Bentwood made this conclusion:

“The fact that there is any link between the blog and procurement is a massive validation point. Obviously we are taking people’s words for this and it would be excellent to have credible evidence to back this up, but this in itself is a huge factoid.”

SageCircle is a third-party service that provides clients with analysis of analyst firms. SageCircle concludes that the Gartner acquisition does provide a silver lining for independent firms:

“The implication for the analyst ecosystem is “not good.” Anytime a well-regarded mid-sized advisory firm is swallowed up by another firm it eliminates a valued second voice and opinion about the vendors and markets it covers, and decreases clients’ purchasing and negotiating options. However, for competitors like Ovum this does provide a great opportunity to establish themselves as the second – if not the first – source of advice and opinions to IT managers and other technology buyers not comfortable with having only a single source for this type of service.”

Discuss

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Fitting, no? Dell (briefly) launched its Inspiron Mini 10 at a press event last year at CES, and this year’s show is ushering in the next major iteration. ‘Course, it’s not like we didn’t know it was on the way, but if it’s details you crave, you’ll leave this post duly satisfied. Starting today, the revised Inspiron Mini 10 is up for order at Dell’s US website, and the options list is fairly impressive (particularly for a netbook). The device sports a 92 percent full-size keyboard, the same “hinge-forward” design seen on the company’s ultrathin Adamo and a bevy of extras including a 9.5 hour battery, Broadcom’s Crystal HD media accelerator, built-in GPS and an integrated HDTV receiver. There’s also a good chance a version will be made available with a Mobile DTV tuner within, though that’s just speculation based on the fact that this machine is currently being used in a trial program in the nation’s capital. Hit the source link to start customizing your own — the base price is pegged at just $299.

Dell’s Atom N450-based Inspiron Mini 10 now up for order, starts at $299 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know, you’re so surprised. Google’s finally confirmed the Nexus One. We’ve naturally heard all about the phone already from dubious sources, and even reviewed the purported device, but now that they’ve got one in hand up on a stage, we suppose we’ll have to set aside all of our doubts. So, the nitty gritty: 3.7-inch AMOLED display, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, compass, GPS, accelerometer, light and proximity sensor, 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, 3.5mm headphone jack, and a multicolored LED under the trackball. There are also two mics onboard, one on the bottom and one on the back, for the purpose of noise cancellation à la Motorola’s CrystalTalk, and the phone is naturally running the brand new Android 2.1. The phone is actually HTC branded, unlike the pre-release versions we’ve seen, and can be custom engraved with two lines of text at the time of order, for that extra personal touch (there’s a picture of the phone’s back after the break). The phone is available today off contract with a T-Mobile compatible radio for $529 unlocked, shipping to the US, UK, Singapore and Hong Kong, or with a two year T-Mobile US contract for $179 (both with free overnight shipping in the US). Most surprisingly, the phone is also headed to Verizon this Spring, and Vodafone will score the device eventually as well.

Update: Tony couldn’t resist, and he managed to capture each step of the checkout process while ordering an unlocked Nexus One today. Hit up the gallery below if you’re into that whole “living vicariously” thing. Thanks, Tony!

Continue reading Google’s Nexus One is official

Google’s Nexus One is official originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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