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One of the major issues in Oracle’s delayed and disputed acquisition of Sun Microsystems was MySQL. The European Commission anti-trust watchdog blocked the acquisition for several months as it investigated the impact the sale would have on the database market. It finally gave the go-ahead and Oracle completed the acquisition earlier this year. Now, the comp… (read more)

Ooh, this is something unexpected. That Incredible phone that’s been knocking around for months now will be part of the Droid line-up, launching with Verizon Wireless on April 29th. More »

Technology: CDMA
Announced Carrier: Verizon Wireless
Announced Release Date: April 29, 2010

UPDATE: Verizon Wireless confirmed today that they will be getting the HTC Droid Incredible on April 29, 2010.  After weeks of calling it just the Incredible, an official release names the device the Droid Incredible.

The HTC Incredible comes equipped with Android 2.1 (Eclair) with HTC Sense, 1 Ghz Snapdragon processor, 8GB internal memory, plus 512MB of ROM and 512MB DDR of RAM memory.  Other key features include an 8MP camera with video captures, easy access to YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as a 3.5mm headset jack.  

It’s mind blowin’ time! According to a new theory, every black hole contains a smaller alternate universe. And our universe might just exist inside a black hole in a much larger universe. Ah-whaaaaaa? More »

“I know a couple things about manners. I just don’t use them…” Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi

The Guidettes go to Charm School…. The ladies (I use this term loosely) of MTV’s Jersey Shore will wow fans of the breakout reality hit with a dramatic makeover and an etiquette intervention in the May issue of Harper’s Bazaar. In a photo spread snapped by shutterbug Danielle Levitt, Shore stars Snooki, JWoww, and Sammi take some lessons in social grace from Manhattan socialite/CW reality star Tinsley Mortimer and Lizzie Post, and showcase their new sense of style in a buzzworthy spread for HB.

The May issue of Harper’s Bazaar debuts on newsstands April 27 — but here’s a sneak peek!

The girls also gab on the price of fame, breast implants, and “The Snookit” — a new “Bumpit-inspired” hair accessory from the show’s tiniest Guidette.

“It was a teen Guidette thing, and when everyone grew out of it, I just kept it,” Snooki says of her signature bump. “I’m launching the Snookit,” she says, her own version of Bumpits.

JWoww on breast implants: “I’d do it every year if I could.”

Even as home prices tentatively rise, the gorilla in the room is growth in delinquent loans.

Delinquent loans are up for several reasons. Obama is doing everything he can to prevent foreclosures, which means more mortgages languish in delinquency. More Americans are poorer than ever, and are unable to pay the mortgage. Others have caught the default contagion and may be flirting the idea of a strategic default.

What happens if delinquent loans become foreclosures and flood the market is a severe drop in home prices.

The evidence is in the latest Mortgage Monitor from LPS.

See the evidence here >

February delinquencies were up 21.3% from last year

Source: LPS

Foreclosure inventory is up 51.1% from last year

Source: LPS

Inventory is bloated with non-current loans

Source: LPS

Red dot means a major foreclosure problem

Source: LPS

Red dot means a major foreclosure and/or delinquent loan problem

Source: LPS

Loans are going bad at record rates

Source: LPS

1,145,000 loans went bad from Jan. to Feb.

Source: LPS

Nevada and Mississippi are at the heart of the delinquent mortgage spike

Source: LPS

Foreclosed homes are not selling

Source: LPS

Although FHA production declining…

Source: LPS

And although FHA origination attributes have improved…

Source: LPS

FHA loans are still going bad at rising rates

Source: LPS

Even at moderate credit scores

Source: LPS

Even at good credit scores

Source: LPS

2008 FHA loans are going bad as quickly as other high risk products

Source: LPS

An unprecedented volume of FHA loans are in advanced delinquency

Source: LPS

But it’s not all bad news

While delinquent loans present a huge risk, other aspects of the housing market are getting better.

Better loan practices will decrease the number of new delinquencies. A strong-enough recovery in prices could salvage underwater mortgages, removing the incentive to default.

February is a clear improvement

Source: LPS

Delinquent loans are improving at record rates

Source: LPS

HAMP is helping

Source: LPS

Although more loans deteriorated than improved…

Source: LPS

The ratio of deteriorating-to-improving loans is improving

Source: LPS

Roll rate into foreclosure is down (thanks to high number of delinquent loans)

Source: LPS

Recent deterioration rate (red) is bad… but things have been worse (gray)

Source: LPS

Banks have become slower to foreclose on delinquent loans

Source: LPS

Jumbo loans are in decline

Source: LPS

Jumbo loan standards have improved

Source: LPS

Almost all jumbo loans have solid credit scores

Source: LPS

First payment default rates for all loans are down

Source: LPS

Read more…

The 10 Housing Markets That Are Still Wildly Overvalued

Join the conversation about this story »

At next week’s Beijing Motor Show, Chinese automaker JAC’s will reveal its Smart ForTwo competitor, a car that looks like the Toyota iQ… but better. Why better? Because the JAC IV Concept was designed by the firm’s Italian facility in Milan, so right off the bat it’s got some sex appeal for a subcompact ride.

Click here for prices on the Smart ForTwo.

The $2 million dollar facility was built in 2005 and focuses on the design of JAC cars and engineering techniques that can be sent back to the Chinese automaker’s owner r&d department.

The JAC IV Concept will have a hybrid powertrain, but we’ll get more details next week. Stay tuned.

JAC IV Concept:

– By: Kap Shah

Source: AutoCar

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Ford

If Bill Ford, Jr. has his way, he’ll never be behind the controls of the Ford Motor Company ever again. It’s not that the former CEO loathes the idea of holding the reigns to one of the biggest car manufacturers on the planet, notes Automotive News, it’s just that he’d rather spend his time focusing on the company’s future than dealing with day-to-to-day concerns.

So who’s going to take the tiller when current head-honcho Alan Mulally steps out for good? It’s anyone’s guess at this point, though Ford believes that the company now has a strong enough management structure to pull a candidate from within. Mulally, who’s currently 64 years-old, took over as CEO back in 2006, and there has been some speculation as to how long the man will stay in charge.

One thing’s for sure though, odds are whoever jumps in the saddle at the Blue Oval after Mulally likely won’t be of the Ford bloodline.

[Source: Automotive News | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]

Report: Bill Ford Jr. not likely to be CEO again, Mulally successor will be internal originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week we write about the science behind environmental protection. Previous Science Wednesdays.

Last week, I taped my first homeland security talk radio interview!

The interview was with Dr. John Ohab, moderator of the Defense Department’s (DOD) “Armed with Science” news webcast. He focused our interview on EPA’s role in homeland security science while emphasizing our collaborative research with DOD in two critical areas:

1. Protecting national water infrastructure, and
2. Decontaminating buildings and outdoor areas following biological, chemical, or radiological contamination.

Dr. Ohab asked me questions designed to inform DOD’s listeners about EPA’s homeland security research.  He was interested in how our extraordinarily talented EPA scientists and engineers collaborate with the Defense Department and others in undertaking a broad range of scientific research activities that are advancing our homeland security science to support and improve our response and recovery capabilities.

In addition to my interview, I posted my first ever blog entry—on the “Armed with Science” web site
and wrote my first “tweet” on EPA’s Research Twitter site: www.twitter.com/eparesearch .

I must say, these were entirely new experiences for me, and I’m still on a steep learning curve when it comes to blogging and tweeting. I really enjoyed exploring new ways to share the story of our homeland security research, our results, and its impacts. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I decided to contribute this post to EPA’s Greenversations blog!

I want to offer special thanks to everyone at EPA, and to our colleagues at the Department of Defense, who are helping us make our way into the new world of Web 2.0 technologies. Thanks to everyone reading this blog entry! Your interest in EPA homeland security research and science makes it even more gratifying.

You can listen to my DOD interview here: Armed with Science Episode 62 where it has been archived.

About the Author: Dr. Peter Jutro is the Deputy Director for Science and Policy at EPA’s National Homeland Security Research Center. EPA scientists and engineers collaborate with their partners on research and technologies that protect national water infrastructure and advance the state-of-the-art in decontaminating buildings and outdoor areas after a chemical, biological, or radiological attack.

The HTC EVO 4G won’t be alone in the ranks of Android 2.1 devices with an HDMI output. Pantech plans to release a Snapdragon powered, 2.1 Android device with this feature as well. This phone also packs in a few other surprises that most people would like in their next device.

This phone will be released for SK Telecom in Korea. It features a 3.7”AMOLED screen with a resolution of 800 × 480, a TV tuner, 5 Megapixel camera, 500MB of internal memory, compatibility with MicroSD memory cards (up to 32GB), Wi-Fi, HDMI output support DivX. And it appears to have a front facing camera as well. So it’s essentially a Nexus one type device with an HDMI and DiVX support, we need something like this to be released in the US.

[via fr.akihabaranews.com,pantech]

We have several cutting boards and obviously use them for different reasons. We use a cutting board each and every day and frankly &mdash we don’t think it’s possible to have too many!

Read Full Post

We’ve seen a lot of crazy disclosures over the years here at footnoted. But the 8-K that teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) filed yesterday has to be one of the wackiest we’ve ever seen. So much so, that it made us recall the words of Phil Rizzuto when we spotted it: “Holy Cannoli”.

As the filing notes, CEO Michael Jeffries, who has a penchant for using ANF’s corporate jet for personal use, racking up over $1 million in a year when Abercrombie’s stock fell by over 60%, will receive $4 million not to use the corporate jet as much under his amended employment contract filed yesterday. If Jeffries spends over $200,000 a year on personal use, he’ll have to (insert huge sigh here) reach into his own pocket!

The amendment is short and sweet and very much written in legalese. Here’s a snip:

The Executive shall be provided, at the expense of the Company, with limited use of a private aircraft for personal travel, both within and outside North America; provided, however, that the incremental cost to the Company of such personal use (as determined by the Company for purposes of Item 402 of SEC Regulation S-K) for each fiscal year during the Term ending on or after January 29, 2011 shall not exceed $200,000… In consideration of the Executive entering into this Amendment, concurrently with the execution of this Amendment, the Company shall pay the Executive a lump sum cash payment in the amount of $4,000,000.

With Abercrombie stock sharply outperforming this year, it may seem easier for investors to swallow, or at least not complain as vociferously. Still, you have to wonder what ANF’s board was thinking here when they made this decision. Perhaps, cannolis were served at the meeting?

Image source: Davio’s

MEXICO CITY–First Lady Michelle Obama will take some time during her trip here to give interviews to the reporters covering her visit.

Here is a part of the Mrs. Obama media plan. Later today, Mrs. Obama will do a group interview with the print reporters trailing her, after a speech on “youth engagement” at a university. I’ll be in the gang.

She will also be doing one-on-ones with three English U.S. networks. On Thursday, she will talk to Spanish language outlets. The interviews will be in English but I’m told Mrs. Obama will have a translator with her to translate her answers into Spanish.

PRINT AND BROADCAST OUTLETS COVERING MRS. OBAMA IN MEXICO

Chicago Sun-Times/Politics Daily
Chicago Tribune
Washington Post
New York Times
AP
Reuters
NBC
ABC
CBS
CNN
Univision
Telemundo
Not here: Fox News

MEXICO CITY–First Lady Michelle Obama, making her diplomatic debut on this solo Haiti-Mexico City swing, brought East Wing staff along, plus folks from the West Wing who work in “advance,” helping set up the visit and run it while in progress. Here’s the roll call.

Chief of Staff Susan Sher
Deputy Chief of Staff Melissa Winter
Communications director Camille Johnston
Press Secretary Semonti Stephens
Press Secretary Katie McCormick-Lelyveld
National Security Council advisor Dan Restrepo
Personal assistant Kristen Jarvis
Director of Scheduling Franny Starkey
Trip Director Alan Fitts

Plus
White House advance staffers detailed to this trip
White House new media team
Secret Service personnel
U.S. Embassy in Mexico staffers

With Geohot’s PS3 “custom firmware” still not out, PS3 owners who want to keep the Other OS feature have been staying on FW 3.15 and using a proxy hack to play online. Thing is, Sony have reportedly

Consumer Reports magazine has issued a “Don’t Buy” warning for the 2010 Lexus GX 460 after test drivers discovered that a trailing throttle problem could cause the SUV to fishtail, potentially resulting in a rollover or serious accident for drivers. The warning, which is the first time the magazine has recommended consumers not buy a vehicle in nearly 10 years, has led Toyota to halt all sales for the vehicle. 

The Lexus GX 640 problems are known as trailing throttle or lift-throttle oversteer. According to test drivers at Consumer Reports, if the driver takes his foot off the gas while the vehicle is driving through a sharp turn, the rear end of the vehicle may begin to slide. On most vehicles, the electronic stability control system would detect the slide and stop it from happening, but it does not seem to be responsive enough to the problem on the Lexus SUV.

Test drivers said that it is a common maneuver for drivers, like when they take an off-ramp too fast, or realize they are in a sharper turn than they expected. Testers at Consumer Reports said they wouldn’t allow their families to ride or drive in the vehicles in their current condition. Consumer Reports said that the problem could lead to Lexus rollover accidents and serious personal injury or death.

The last time Consumer Reports issued a “Don’t Buy” warning was 2001, for the 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Limited.

Toyota, which has sold 4,787 GX 460s in the first quarter of this year, quickly halted sales of the SUV after the Consumer Reports warning, and before the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) could become involved. The company claims that there have been no reports of Lexus GX 460 accidents related to the problem, and said they are determined to identify and correct the problem.

The NHTSA has said that it is in communication with both Toyota’s Lexus division and Consumer Reports about the problem. Toyota has said it has no plans to issue a Lexus GX640 recall for the vehicles sold, but will offer loaner vehicles to owners until they can fix the problem.

The problems with the Lexus GX640 are the latest in a serious of safety issues for Toyota, which has recalled millions of Lexus and Toyota vehicles in recent months over issues that may cause some cars to suddenly accelerate out of control.

Earlier this month, the government announced that it planned to fine the automaker more than $16 million for covering up the accelerator defects, which may have killed as many as 50 people. The company also faces a number of product liability lawsuits over the gas pedal problems, including several wrongful death claims and a number of Toyota class-action suits.

Ford’s V6 EcoBoost engine is already a pretty impressive unit, offering V8 power with V6 like fuel-economy. How do they do that? They use many of the same technologies found in today’s state-of-the-art diesels, including turbocharging and direct-injection.

Ford announced today that the next-generation of EcoBoost engines will get even closer to diesels as Ford will introduce cooled EGR (exhaust gas recirculation), which will help the units have higher compression ratios. Ford said that the addition of EGR to EcoBoost should yield in another 5 percent gain in fuel-economy.

Click here to get prices on the 2010 Lincoln MKS EcoBoost.

“The first generation of EcoBoost applied some of the key technologies found in powerful diesel engines – such as direct injection and turbocharging – and optimized them for the gasoline engine,” said Bob Fascetti, director of large gas and diesel engine engineering. “The next generation of EcoBoost engines will continue that path to deliver more power and even better fuel economy with lower emissions, which are key customer benefits of EcoBoost technology.”

Fascetti said that Ford is going to introduce about 30 powertrains over the next couple of years to power everything from small cars to large pickup trucks.

Earlier this week, Ford confirmed it will have three EcoBoost engines by the end of 2010.

Make the jump for the press release for more details.

Press Release:

NEXT GENERATION OF FORD’S ECOBOOST ENGINES PROMISE EVEN MORE POWER, BETTER FUEL ECONOMY

* Ford’s award-winning EcoBoost™ gasoline engines use many of the same technologies found in today’s state-of-the-art diesels, including direct injection and turbocharging
* The next generation of EcoBoost engines will move even closer to diesels as Ford introduces cooled EGR (exhaust gas recirculation), which helps enable higher compression ratios
* Further refinements to EcoBoost engines expected to yield another 5 percent gain in fuel economy

DETROIT, April 14, 2010 – At the 2010 SAE World Congress this week, Dan Kapp, Ford’s director of powertrain research and advanced engineering, and Bob Fascetti, director of large gas and diesel engine engineering, will detail how the next generation of the company’s award-winning EcoBoost engines will further connect gasoline and diesel engine technology.

Technologies being studied to further expand the potential of EcoBoost include cooled EGR and more advanced forms of turbocharging, which also have links to modern diesel engines. Cooled EGR as applied to an EcoBoost engine can improve efficiency and reduce the tendency for an engine to knock. Cooled EGR is exhaust gas that is cooled in a heat exchanger before being pumped back into the cylinders, where it lowers the combustion temperature.

The result: a cleaner-running engine that develops more power and delivers as much as a 5 percent gain in fuel economy over today’s already efficient EcoBoost engines. Ford’s current generation of 2.0-liter EcoBoost I-4 and 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 engines deliver between 10 and 20 percent better fuel economy than comparable normally aspirated V-6 and V-8 engines, respectively.

Ford holds more than 125 patents on its EcoBoost technology, which combines direct injection, turbocharging and variable valve timing to increase performance and reduce emissions. EcoBoost gasoline engines already use much of the same technology that is found in today’s state-of-the-art turbo-diesels.

As with diesels, today’s EcoBoost engines feature:

* A high-pressure direct-injection fuel system fed by a common rail that delivers a precise amount of gasoline in the exact spot for fast and complete burn
* Turbocharging to create a more dense mix of air and fuel in each cylinder
* Special pistons with optimized bowls in the center to improve combustion efficiency. These pistons are also oil-cooled, which reduces in-cylinder temperatures
* Reduced CO2 emissions and higher fuel economy

And just like diesels, Ford’s EcoBoost engines deliver outstanding performance and driving enjoyment at all speeds. EcoBoost accomplishes this at less cost than a similar-displacement diesel engine.

“When it comes to smaller-displacement engines, EcoBoost is the perfect solution for most consumers,” said Barb Samardzich, Ford’s vice president for Powertrain Engineering. “EcoBoost delivers what customers need most – outstanding fuel economy and low-end torque.”

Adapting diesel engine technology to a gasoline engine involves more than simply machining a few new parts and then just bolting them on, explained Brett Hinds, manager of Ford’s advanced engine design.

“An EcoBoost engine has much higher operating temperatures than a diesel engine,” said Hinds. “Many parts had to be upgraded to special metals and alloys that hold up to that environment. Our exhaust manifolds, for example, are made of stainless steel, and the turbochargers are made from high-temperature cast-iron alloy.”

EcoBoost and diesel engines share higher pressures in the fuel system and higher compression ratios. For example, a regular port fuel-injected gasoline engine’s fuel pressure is around 65 psi, while the pressure at which the fuel is delivered through the injectors in an EcoBoost engine can be as high as 2,250 psi.

State-of-the-art diesel engines, such as the new Ford-designed and Ford-built 6.7-liter Power Stroke® V-8, have fuel pressures that are even higher. But in both engines, the fuel is delivered to almost the exact same area. With EcoBoost, the fuel is introduced directly into the cylinder head, just like a diesel, and the fuel injection tip is right in the combustion, just like a diesel.

“We’re introducing about 30 powertrains over the next couple of years to power everything from small cars to large pickup trucks,” said Fascetti. “Our experience with a wide range of engines allows us to take the best solutions and apply them to many platforms to benefit the customer.”

– By: Omar Rana

Since the release of the G1, highly anticipated Android has been given their own space full of information and teasery, that’s right, teasery. The HTC Incredible now has a coming soon site, but unlike its predecessors, there not much information on this site and you can forget about an emulator, for now.

Head over to the site and enter your email for updates from Verizon on this device. Pricing is not listed or a released date isn’t on the site. The only bit of information to be found is in the fine print on the page which reads:

Activation fee/line:$35 ($25 for secondary Family Shareplan lines w/2-yr Agmts).
IMPORTANT CONSUMER INFORMATION: Subject to Customer Agreement, Calling Plan & credit approval. Up to $175 early termination fee ($350 on Advanced Devices) & other charges.
Device capabilities: add’l charges & conditions apply. Offers & coverage, varying by service, not available everywhere. Some applications not available at this time.

By submitting the form, I agree that Verizon Wireless may contact me via email about the information I’ve selected above. I also agree that I am at least 13 years of age.

[via Verizon}