Category: News

  • Duct Tape Is an Organizer’s Friend

    I may not wear clothes made from duct tape or create gifts to give to family members out of it, but I sure do love this versatile home improvement product! Duct tape can really help keep things tidy. Here are just a few ways I use duct tape to keep my home organized:duct tape

    • Tape down cords. As I mentioned in a home safety tips article, taping down cords helps prevent people from tripping and injuring themselves
    • Keep things that fall over where they belong. A little piece of tape keeps stuff like computer speakers or the Funkey starter kit critter on the kids’ computer desks, even when they are being a little vigorous with their mice. I don’t know how many times I picked them off the floor and stuck them back on the desks before I taped them down.
    • Reinforce flimsy organizer hinges. A lot of little containers have one little seam of plastic holding the lids on. I’ve discovered that running a piece of tape along the hinge on the outside of heavily used containers helps them last longer.
    • Keep containers fastened. If you have a container lid that is a bit loose, duct taping it shut makes it very secure.

    Do you use duct tape to keep things neat around the house?

    Photo: Amazon.com

    Post from: Blisstree

    Duct Tape Is an Organizer’s Friend

  • Telephone Video – coming VERY soon!

    Just a quick note from our friends over at GagaDaily

    Lady GaGa will film the “Telephone” music video in a few days with Beyoncé!

    Can’t wait!

  • ARTICLE: Rumor: Are these the Apple tablet specs?

    I’ve been holding my breath, waiting to see what Apple’s potentially game-changing new tablet device might bring with it. Well, happy new year to us! Thanks to a leak of what seems like an internal document, it looks like a lot.

    PhoneArena got the goods from an anonymous tip serving up more than just vague buzz, but actual specifications. The info comes courtesy of images that appear to be Apple memos or fact sheets. Among the details contained therein are some pretty juicy bits, including:

    • 7.1-inch multitouch display (with fingerprint-resistant coating)
    • 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor
    • 2GB DDR3 RAM
    • 120GB hard drive
    • built-in projector

    What isn’t clear from this is whether the tablet will be 3G-enabled. This is a pretty big factor for any mobile device, since it will determine how truly portable it is and whether it will allow data through cellular networks. In laymen’s terms, that means you’d be able to browse the web, get email and such whenever you want, even without Wifi. It could also potentially mean there could be some relationship with one of the major mobile carriers.

    And last, but definitely not least important, is the operating system.

    If you laid bets on whether the tablet will run the iPhone OS or a version of Snow Leopard, be prepared to pay up. The document mentions neither. Instead, the tablet seems to jump the fence, and dive right into a next-gen operation system that isn’t on the market yet: Mac OS 10.7, codename “Clouded Leopard,” a new platform that allows for touchscreen functionality and a new widget-based homescreen. 

    This is some crazy stuff. That OS on top of those specs — well, that simply has my jaw hitting the floor. Not just because this might be an unbelievably sexy beast of a mobile gadget, but because of the ramifications this could have across other Apple products. Think of it: Clouded Leopard sort of seems like an evolution of both the iPhone and Mac platforms.

    The fact that this new OS takes on the nomenclature (or naming convention) of Apple’s desktop operating system is no joke. The current version is Snow Leopard, aka 10.6. If this tablet debuts with 10.7, what would the next desktop operating system be called? Or could this possibly suggest the general direction for Cupertino’s whole line of computers? And what would that mean for the iPhone? Will we see 10.7’s influences reach into the next version of the smartphone platform? The possibilities are just mind-boggling.

    Now that we’ve pondered that for a moment, let’s come back down to earth. It’s important to remember that all this comes from an anonymous source, so you know how that goes: We need to put our cynical pants on, just like with any other rumor. Docs can be faked, and unknown sources are always a little suspicious. Luckily, we don’t have too much longer to wait and see if this pans out. January 26th is when Apple is expected to make some sort of announcement, and most of the industry believes the purpose is to introduce this tablet to the world. 

    But one thing’s for sure — if these specs and OS details are true, then they definitely call up more questions than they answer.

    The Apple tablet, iSlate or iGuide rumored specs

    The Apple tablet, iSlate or iGuide rumored specs

    Via: PhoneArena

    Fast facts (rumors?) on the Apple tablet

    This is some of the recent gossip that’s circulating

    • Some blogs report that the tablet’s name may be iSlate or iGuide
    • Expected to have either 7-inch or 10-inch display (or both via two different versions)
    • Apple vendors are working on strengthening the glass displays (presumably so such a large screen won’t be vulnerable to easy breaking or shattering)
    • Cost may be around $800
    • Announcement expected this month, but won’t launch until March or April
    • The main purpose of the device may be for media consumption (and not content creation)

    Mock-ups of what the Apple tablet could look like:

    What the Apple tablet, iSlate or iGuide could look like

    What the Apple tablet, iSlate or iGuide could look like

    What the Apple tablet, iSlate or iGuide could look like]


  • 2011 BMW 5 Series tuned by Racing Dynamics

    Filed under: , , , ,

    Racing Dynamics 5 Series

    You can’t buy the 2011 BMW 5 Series yet, but German tuner Racing Dynamics knows what it’s going to do to the car when you can. Opt for the 535i and you’ll take delivery of a sedan turned into an R35, pulled by a turbocharged six that’s got a 104-horsepower bump to 410 along with 385 pound-feet of torque. It will get to 60 miles per hour nearly a second faster than the standard 535i.

    But if you can, why not take the R50S? That’s a 550i taken from 407 ponies and boosted up to 620 horsepower. Controlling that oomph will be a Racing Dynamics sport suspension, locking rear differential, and a brake system with slotted discs that can handle 800 degrees Celsius. Making it sound good will be a new exhaust, and making it look good will be a minimal bodykit featuring a pair of dual pipes and 21-inch forged wheels.

    [Source: Bimmer Today (translated) via BMW Blog]

    2011 BMW 5 Series tuned by Racing Dynamics originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • BET’s Decade End Charts

    Beyonce276

    BEST SONGS

    #1 – Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”

    Newly married to Jay-Z at the time, Bey delivered an anthem for women waiting on a ring everywhere. Serving as the first single to “I Am Sasha Fierce…,” the offering reached no.1 on Billboard’s Hot 100.

    #10 – Destiny’s Child “Survivor”

    “Thought I wouldn’t sell without you, sold 9 million.” Nuff said! Having lost two original group members halfway through promoting “The Writing’s on the Wall,” DC delivered a triumphant album led by the chart-topping “Survivor.”

    MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS

    #2 – Beyoncé (second ONLY to Jay-Z, AND the only female)

    No female had more influence on R&B than the one and only Beyonce. From her breakthrough role in “Dreamgirls” to her string of #1 hits, Beyonce set the tone for all singers to follow.

  • Cebuano Literary Works and Linguistics Thread 4

    Post away folks! :colgate:

    Link to Thread 3 in the Archives. :okay:

  • Burn Out the Night

    Wells Fargo at night (taken around 5:30 PM local time). Please, I beg of you, give me whatever commentary, critique, or advice you can. I’m just starting to get into night photography and I really like it, so all help is appreciated. 🙂

  • Welcome To The Anthropocene by Doug L. Hoffman

    Article Tags: Doug L. Hoffman

    Image Attachment
    In an essay adapted from his 2009 AAAS Annual Meeting keynote address, James J. McCarthy has produced a fairly concise statement of the anthropogenic global warming believer’s world view. After a self-serving review of climate science history, McCarthy trots out the usual litany of climate change troubles: increased cyclones, rain and floods, rising sea levels and, of course, those pesky tipping points. The tone of the article is set early on, when research is cited stating that mankind’s impact on Earth is “sufficiently profound to declare that we have transitioned from the Holocene era of Earth history to the Anthropocene.”

    McCarthy, professor of Biological Oceanography at Harvard and outgoing president of the AAAS, has done an admerable job in summarizing the main stream, “concensus view” version of climate science. His article, titled “Reflections On: Our Planet and Its Life, Origins, and Futures,” appeared in the December 18, 2009, issue of the AAAS journal Science. He begins with a quick rundown of how the CO2 centric AGW theory developed—a history that could have been cribbed from The Resilient Earth.

    Source: theresilientearth.com

    Read in full with comments »   


  • Três anos depois, outros navios e retratos do novo skyline de Santos em formação

    Olá a todos!

    Depois de muito tempo, aqui estou eu voltando a abrir um thread de fotos próprias. O título é uma referência a este outro thread (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=445739) que eu postei em 2007, mostrando a mesma região. É interessante notar as mudanças que ocorreram na Ponta da Praia, bairro que aparece na maioria das imagens, e na cidade de Santos em geral, nesse período relativamente curto. Dessa vez o céu não estava tão azul quanto a 3 anos atrás e eu também comecei a fotografar mais tarde, por volta das 19 horas, por isso as fotos não ficaram tão boas.

    1 – Novas torres da Ponta da Praia, quase prontas.

    2 – Navio Sovereign, o primeiro a deixar o porto.

    3 – Pequeno, perto dos outros que estão por vir.

    4 – Balsa passando bem próxima ao navio.

    5 – Splendour of the Seas.

    6 – Topo do navio.

    7 – Assim dá pra ter uma idéia de como os navios estavam passando com um intervalo bem curto.

    8 – Reparem como estão próximos.

    9 – Costa Concordia.

    10 – Grande!

    11 – E o irmão dele, Costa Magica.

    12 – Saindo.

    13 – Ponta da Praia.

    14 – Mais prédios.

    15 – Ferry Boat Plaza, onde ficam um terminal de ônibus municipais e intermunicipais e a estação das barcas Santos-Guarujá. A idéia deste lugar é ótima, eu adoro tirar fotos lá, é um dos melhores mirantes da Baixada.

    16 – Parte do terminal.

    17 – Linhas intermunicipais, para Bertioga, Cubatão e área continental de Santos.

    18 – Mais do skyline.

    19 – Balsas.

    20 – Atracando e desatracando. Que falta faz uma ligação seca entre as duas cidades.

    21 – Agora já em Santos e olhando pro skyline do Guarujá.

    22 – E agora a orla de Santos.

    23 – Por inteiro.

    24 – No centro da foto, prédio em construção no bairro do José Menino, quase na divisa com São Vicente. É um dos mais altos de Santos, vejam como é pouco mais baixo que o morro.

    25 – Novamente o skyline.

    26 – Fortaleza da Barra, no Guarujá.

    27 – O pôr-do-sol, não poderia faltar.

    28 – Praia do Góes, Guarujá.

    29 – Sol.

    30 – Close nos prédios da região do Gonzaga.

    31 – E do Embaré. Estes à direita da foto também estão entre os mais altos da cidade.

    32 – Pra fechar, uma imagem de quase toda a orla de Santos.

    :cheers:

  • Sinus Surgery Improves Quality of Life

    Sometimes short headlines can’t say what you really want them to say. Sinus surgery can improve your quality of life, but only if you have a condition that needs it, right?

    noseIf you live with chronic sinus infections or inflammation, sinusitis, you’ve likely tried many treatments or therapies to get relief. Sometimes, the only option is surgery though and this is proving to be quite a boon for many people who need it. In fact, according to a new study, over 3/4 of patients who needed endoscopic sinus surgery had good results.

    Endoscopic surgery involves using very small instruments that reach into the sinuses, allowing surgeons to operate without having to make incisions. These types of surgeries are called minimally invasive surgeries.

    Chronic sinusitis or rhinosinusitis (CRS) is defined as a condition where symptoms persist for more than three months, despite medical treatment. Statistics show that it affects about 14% to 16% of the American population. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, CRS is a problem that is the most common chronic illness seen in Americans.

    Symptoms of CRS include:

    • stuffy nose,
    • sinus pain and pressure
    • headache
    • sneezing

    On top of being uncomfortable, CRS can affect the bottom line economically. There is not only the amount of money spent on treatments and therapies, but lost work and productivity.

    People who live with CRS often have, believe it or not, more overall body pain than and less social contact than people who live with more serious health issues, such as heart failure, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) or back pain.

    To understand how effective surgery can be on patients with CRS, researchers examined 302 patients and followed them for about 18 months after. The results of the study were published in the most recent issue of the journal Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

    What the results showed was that a majority of the patients, between 72% and 76%, showed significant improvements in their quality of life after having the surgery.

    Of course, not all patients are candidates for surgery and not all patients can be helped with this type of surgery, but the results are promising for many, particularly patients who are suffering with CRS and who are trying to decide if they should go ahead and have the procedure done.

    ~~~

    Image: MorgueFile.com

    Post from: Blisstree

    Sinus Surgery Improves Quality of Life

  • Claim: Millimeter wave body scanners wouldn’t have stopped Christmas plot. Why bother with them, then?

    scanner

    Not to alarm y’all, but those millimeter wave body scanners that have been paraded around as the solution to would-be airplane terrorist attacks? Turns out they’re sorta useless in that, while they’re able to detect dense material (C4, metal, traditional bombs, etc.), they’re completely ineffective against less dense material. And wouldn’t you know it, the powdered explosive that was to have been used in the Christmas plot would not have been detected by the scanners. As Jay-Z would say, on to the next one.

    Right, so the millimeter wave scanners—the ones that create a crude image of a nude human being (gasp!)—would not have prevented that Christmas bomb plot because the materials involved (some sort of powdered explosive) aren’t dense enough to be picked up by the scanners. Meaning that if you see any politician (or pundit or whomever) trying to say, “We need these new scanners ASAP; we may not be so lucky next time,” well, kindly point them in the direction of Ben Wallace, who was involved in the development of said scanners before he became an MP in the UK.

    The bottom line is, the millimeter wave scanners simply wouldn’t have detected the powered explosive. Now, had the guy tried to smuggle C4 in his underpants that would have been a different story, but that didn’t happen.

    And you’ve got to think that for every device that’s developed to help detect illicit materials, the bad guys, however you want to define that, are just as hard at work trying to circumvent said device. It’s not ideal, no.

    So now privacy advocates, people who feel the millimeter wave scanners amount to an invasion of privacy have another talking point: they patently would not have foiled the attempt.

    (When you think about it, the entire response to the botched attack has been a bit of a joke. Look at the new TSA regulations: people can’t move about a flight in the last hour. What, an attack can’t happen in the time preceding the final hour? You can’t have personal items on your person during the last hour, including blankets and pillows because you could be hiding something underneath… as if a woman’s dress isn’t just as effective at concealment.)

    In short, the scanners aren’t going to make you or I any safer than what’s already in place.

    And now we wait for the manufacturer of said scanners, or the politician in the manufacturer’s home state, to claim that they’re perfectly effective and that every airport all over the world needs several of them installed now.


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  • Healthy Me: Another TUAW giveaway to help your New Year’s resolutions

    Filed under: , ,

    When you’re trying to live a more healthy lifestyle, it takes more than just watching your weight and exercising. Experts agree that you should eat a balanced diet, drink at least eight glasses of water per day, sleep well, and take nutritional supplements.

    That’s the idea behind Healthy Me [US$0.99, iTunes Link] from developer Teddy Newell. Healthy Me features a simple and colorful interface for watching your weight approach your goal as well as tracking how many servings of the major food groups you’ve eaten, whether or not you exercised, and more.

    Since it’s always nice to receive positive feedback when you’ve done something good for your body, Healthy Me gives you gold stars for achieving certain goals, as well as providing positive reinforcement through happy messages. The background of the app changes throughout the day, and there are even fun sound effects that play as you enter your daily info.

    Newell has provided TUAW with 20 promo codes to give away, so you have a chance to win Healthy Me. The details follow:

    • Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
    • To enter leave a comment telling us if you made a health-related New Year’s resolution and if so, what that resolution is.
    • The comment must be left before Monday, January 4, 2009, 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time.
    • You may enter only once.
    • Twenty winners will be selected in a random drawing.
    • Prizes: Promo Code for one copy of Healthy Me (Value: US$0.99)
    • Click Here for complete Official Rules.

    My next wish is for an app that I can just point my iPhone camera at to see how many calories I’m about to consume. Developers — get to work!

    TUAWHealthy Me: Another TUAW giveaway to help your New Year’s resolutions originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • ProVision’s AXAR to wirelessly stream HD content to just about anything

    The world needs another wireless HD system like it needs another thousand gallons of goop spinning in the middle of the Pacific, but regardless of the facts, ProVision is set to introduce one such system at CES this week. According to details scrounged up by Pocket-lint, the AXAR technology will function much like WHDI does currently. The difference? Increased range and a knack for distributing to more than just an HDTV. It’s expected that AXAR will find its way into TVs, set-top boxes and a range of network devices in time for Christmas 2010, where it will allow any AXAR-enabled device (a laptop, phone, PMP, HDTV, PC, etc.) to receive 1080p content from a media player, Blu-ray player or similar. Better still, it can also distribute those signals to WiFi-enabled products if your network can handle it. Currently, the tech can support two separate HD streams at the same time, and it can broadcast ‘em to a living space that’s three times that of the Buckingham Palace. We’ll be sure to poke our nose around for more at CES, but in the meanwhile, feel free to catch a few first impressions down in the source link.

    ProVision’s AXAR to wirelessly stream HD content to just about anything originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • The Sun Eats a Comet [Space]

    Maybe the little guy is safe. Maybe he went…around back? In any event, this senseless celestial murder was captured by SOHO today. The dirty deed gets done toward the end, coming from left to right. [Tom’s Astronomy Blog]







  • A Startup Movie: Never Mind the Valley, Here’s Boulder

    It’s no secret that we at ReadWriteWeb have a lot of love for startups that make their homes outside Silicon Valley and the Bay Area.

    Over the last year, we decided to make a few videos spotlighting some unique, unexpected locations where startups thrive, where tech scenes are vibrant, where cooperation outstrips competition, and where creativity runs rampant. One of the first cities we’d like to introduce you to is home to between 150 and 170 startups as well as a thriving entrepreneurial and creative community. Welcome to Boulder, Colorado.

    Sponsor

    redux_150x150.png

    Editor’s note: This story is part of a series we call Redux, where we’ll re-publish some of our best posts of 2009. As we look back at the year – and ahead to what next year holds – we think these are the stories that deserve a second glance. It’s not just a best-of list, it’s also a collection of posts that examine the fundamental issues that continue to shape the Web. We hope you enjoy reading them again and we look forward to bringing you more Web products and trends analysis in 2010. Happy holidays from Team ReadWriteWeb!

    With the startup accelerator program at TechStars acting as a lightning rod, this area has grown from an earthy university town to a true hotbed of innovation. In certain parts of downtown, you can’t throw a rock without hitting some startup’s offices, and I could barely walk three blocks without bumping into at least one entrepreneur, developer, or designer working at a company such as Threadless or AOL.

    We interviewed a couple of local startup advisors and one startup team about the culture and community in Boulder. Watch and listen to what they have to say; there are more than a few reasons tech-minded residents love this gorgeous mountain town.

    Discuss


  • Top 10 PSP Games of 2010

    Top 10 PSP Games of 2010

    The PSP defies its lackluster reputation with a strong and varied lineup for 2010.

    By 1UP Staff

    If the DS is the portable RPG and adventure machine, then we’d consider the PSP the portable “all sorts of games” system. Which, to be fair, maintains the PSP’s original mandate in being a portable version of a home console. We’ve occasionally joked about the sparse and uninteresting PSP lineup, but once you take an honest look at 2010, it’s time to admit that the PSP jokes have been worn thin. It’s hard to be snarky about a lineup that includes a new Metal Gear Solid, Valkyria Chronicles, and Resident Evil on it.

    <!– 10. –> Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

    Dev: Kojima Productions | Pub: Konami

    Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

    Who would have thought that a full-fledged installment in the Metal Gear Solid series would be headed to the PSP? Hideo Kojima’s latest opus drops you into Big Boss’ sneaking suit once again and adds yet another chapter in the already completely off-the-wall story inhabited by characters named after animals and snakes of various physical states. Even though MGS has historically been a single player experience, Peace Walker tries its hand at cooperative play and seems to have pulled it off as Jeremy Parish suggests, “Kojima wants you to play this with a friend, and you should.”

    <!– 10. –> Valkyria Chronicles 2

    Dev: Sega | Pub: Sega

    Valkyria Chronicles 2

    Whether you considered Valkyria Chronicles to be a really good strategic RPG with an awesome visual style, or a fantastic HD-generation update to the tactical gameplay of Jagged Alliance, you came to the same basic conclusion we did: it was an awesome PS3 game. While it’s a bit saddening to not see another HD-generation follow-up, the fact that we’re getting any sort of sequel is still good news. Not only does this follow-up maintain the class-based real/turn-based strategic gameplay of the original, but it also adds some new classes and multiplayer modes. Plus, it fits in your pocket.

    <!– 10. –> MLB 10: The Show

    Dev: SCEA | Pub: SCEA

    MLB 10: The Show

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  • Facebook Wants To Know How You Feel About Their News Feed

    Facebook seems a bit neurotic about the news feed. Last March they made it a Twitter-like stream of everything by default. Then in October they switched back to using an algorithm to determine what stuff you see from friends. Now the company is asking users what they think.

    In a survey Facebook is asking some users to tell them how they “feel” about the news feed. One question ask “How have the following affected how you feel about your Facebook experience?” Users are asked to respond to “trouble keeping up with all the posts in my News Feed” with “made me feel a lot worse” to “made me feel a lot better.”

    Normally a survey would just ask if people like something or not. But Facebook seems concerned with causing stress and guilt to users by throwing too much information at them. I guess some users, feeling overwhelmed, may just give up on the news feed altogether (this is common with Google Reader, where people fall so far behind that they just give up).

    Facebook is trying to solve a big problem – personalized news – that hasn’t really been solved by anyone yet. Asking users what they think isn’t likely to give them the answers they want.

    A lot of the questions also deal with privacy and user confusion over what information about them gets published for others to see. Too many privacy options combined with frequent changes to how Facebook deals with privacy is clearly leaving users confused and frustrated.

    The pure Twitter approach is at least understandable – you see everything from everyone you follow, and if there’s too much info you just stop following people. And accounts are either public or private. Simple and easy to understand. Facebook should just do the simple thing that works. In my opinon.

    Here’s the survey:










    Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.


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  • Peugeot 206+ 1.4 HDi 70 CV, prueba (Parte II)

    Peugeot_206+

    Continuamos con la prueba del Peugeot 206+ equipado con el único motor diesel disponible en la gama, el 1.4 HDi de 70 CV. Ahora que ya hemos visto como se comporta, que consumos tiene ese motor y sus prestaciones, como es costumbre pasamos a hablar del diseño del Peugeot 206+, ya sea el diseño exterior (donde básicamente es un 206 con algunos retoques exteriores) y de su diseño interior (también viejo conocido en gran parte).

    En cuanto al diseño exterior, a algunos de nuestros lectores latinoamericanos seguro que este 206+ les sonará más bien con otro nombre, es decir 207 Compact, un restyling del 206 que se lanzó para latinoamérica y para el que Peugeot encontró un hueco en el mercado europeo ahora que estaban de moda los modelos de bajo coste. Pero la verdad es que han conseguido un diseño exterior bastante bonito y un coche con un precio bastante contenido que es una de las características importantes del Peugeot 206+.

    Diseño exterior

    Peugeot_206+

    Si hacemos un repaso a su exterior, vemos que la base es claramente un 206 pero con focos delanteros alargados y tomados del 207, trasera con pilotos rediseñados y que toman ahora un aspecto más actual y moderno, así como retoques en el paragolpes delantero con un nuevo diseño con la típica parrilla ancha de la marca del león y con el paragolpes trasero que es ligeramente más alto que en el 206 anterior. Además las modificaciones en las defensas y pasos de rueda hacen que el 206+ crezca unos centímetros con respecto al 206 anterior (en concreto 36 mm de largo más).

    A esto hay que sumarle algunos detalles estéticos más como la tapa del depósito de combustible en un símil de aluminio o las llantas que cuentan con un nuevo diseño más actual. Las ruedas que calza de serie el 206+ son de 14 pulgadas, pero nuestra unidad tenía un extra (que viene en un pack) y las equipaba de 15 pulgadas. En general el aspecto exterior, pese a tener como base un modelo ya veterano, tiene un tinte nuevo y juvenil gracias a los retoques que le han dado. Y su tamaño sigue siendo muy útil para callejear o para aparcar en las urbes y podernos mover con bastante agilidad, sobretodo si lo unimos a la fuerza del propulsor HDi.

    Diseño interior y habitabilidad

    Peugeot_206+

    En cuanto pasamos al interior seguimos con partes del 207, puesto que la parte superior del salpicadero es tomada del 207 y la parte inferior es del anterior 206, al igual que el climatizador que es un viejo conocido en la gama de Peugeot y Citroën. Otra parte que viene del 207 es el panel de instrumentos, bastante más completo y moderno que el del 206. La parte superior del salpicadero es de bastante calidad y pese a que en la consola central hay bastantes plásticos duros, en general la calidad es bastante buena sobretodo si comparamos al 206+ con otros modelos de la competencia de tamaño y precio similares.

    Al principio tardarás algo en coger la postura de conducción, pero después de acostumbrarte resulta correcta. No es una berlina ni un espacioso monovolumen, pero durante la prueba y el tiempo que hemos pasado rodando con el 206+ en autopista ha resultado correcto en cuanto al confort, la única pega de los asientos sería que tienen poca sujeción lateral pero es normal en un compacto. Además desde el puesto de conducción tendrás todo prácticamente a mano y en particular me gusta la solución de los mandos en el volante (o más bien tras él) para el manejo de la radio y del control de velocidad y limitador, son muy prácticos.

    Un detalle que no me gustó son los pedales de aluminio, porque aunque vienen de serie junto con el pomo de la palanca de cambios (vieja conocida ya) y el volante de cuero, los veo poco prácticos porque en un día de lluvia resbalan con bastante facilidad y justo durante la prueba nos tocaron varios dias de lluvia intensa y no resultaron muy prácticos para la conducción que fueran de aluminio.

    Peugeot_206+

    En las plazas traseras mejor dos adultos y no tres, porque pese a que está homologado para cinco personas viajarían muy justas. Por lo demás tiene una altura para la cabeza suficiente y un espacio para los pies correcto, al menos para un utilitario. La visibilidad es buena en todos los ángulos, incluso la visibilidad trasera y es algo que se agradece sobretodo para andar por ciudad.

    Si pasamos a hablar de huecos, el 206+ cuenta con una buena guantera y portaobjetos en las puertas bastante grandes con hueco para una botella de medio litro incluso y además con un hueco en el tren central donde puede albergar un cenicero portátil (que hoy en día abundan) y otro posavasos central trasero. En cuanto al maletero, es un utilitario, y tiene un maletero bastante justo con 285 litros (y eso que aumenta en 40 litros la capacidad del anterior 206) pero bueno al menos tiene formas regulares y se puede aprovechar bien, incluso si no va nadie en las plazas traseras se pueden abatir para conseguir algo más de espacio.

    Peugeot_206+

    Eso sí, me lleve una desagradable sorpresa cuando abrí el maletero y vi atado en un lateral con una goma un práctico kit-antipinchazos, porque el 206 anterior contaba con rueda de repuesto bajo el maletero (debajo del coche) y no entiendo porque al 206+ no se la han equipado. Pero parece ser que en principio sería solo en algunas unidades, porque conozco gente que se ha comprado actualmente el 206+ y se la están equipando. Desconozco si Peugeot recapacitó o es cortesía del concesionario, pero me parece algo necesario.

    En general hay ajustes que son claramente mejorables o equipamientos que no tienen mucha lógica (de eso hablaremos en la tercera parte) pero es ilógico que en un pack cerrado equipe sensor de luces y sin embargo no pueda equipar una radio MP3 y no sólo radio CD (que además es un extra) o el caso de los pedales de aluminio que non son muy prácticos, pese a que venga de serie, al igual que el pomo de la palanca de cambio que con el uso se acaba prefiriendo de plástico antes que ese metal o incluso como lo monta el 3008 recubierto de cuero.

    En la tercera parte de la prueba os hablaremos del equipamiento del 206+, valoración general y los precios (una de sus mejores bazas). En el equipamiento hay ciertos matices como el ESP o la radio MP3 que es bueno tener en cuenta si vas a comprar o un 206+, además de hablaros de los packs porque el 206+ cuenta con menos opciones que su antecesor y con un equipamiento más cerrado.

    Fotos | David Taboada



  • MUST SEE: GLOBAL WARMING AND THE EUROPEAN UNION – THE DAY DEMOCRACY DIED

    Article Tags: UK Independence party (UKIP)

    Several UKIP MEPs speak out against the sham of ‘man-made global warming’, carbon taxes and global pillage and impoverishment.

    The theory of ‘man-made global warming’ has been disproven over and over again by science — study after study. There is absolutely no proof that man-made CO2 heats up the atmosphere. The polar ice caps are at their normal size. No polar bears or penguins are losing their habitats or drowning (in fact, these animals are natural born swimmers….). The world has been cooling since 2001. The recent scandal of CLIMATEGATE was the last nail in the coffin of whatever scientific credibility the theory still had — since it proved the main authors of the IPCC reports systematically engaged in data fudging and manipulation to prove their nonsensical theory.

    Source: climategate.com

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  • Wikipedia Makes Its Funding Goals

    wikipedia.org A while back, Wikipedia founder, Jimmy Wales, posted an appeal for donations to keep Wikipedia on the Internet as a free site. According to Wales, the site is the 5th most-read on the Web worldwide. It has a staff of under 35 people, with a 10 million dollar yearly budget. Wales took the site nonprofit in 2003 (having started in 2001), so donations are all tax deductible.

    In a Wikipedia, and am very pleased that the website will continue to be financially strong.