Blog

by Jonathan Hiskes

President Barack Obama
is reportedly
considering about 10 people to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice
John Paul Stevens, although popular consensus has quickly settled on just
three: Elena Kagan, Diane Wood, and Merrick Garland. A National Journal poll of court-watchers picked Kagan as the most likely, with Wood and Garland as the
only close contenders.

Obama’s choice will
have a direct bearing on climate policy, as the court is likely to hear a
number of consequential cases in the coming years. It already affirmed the
EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, but the agency is facing new legal
challenges to that authority from the state of Texas, among others. If
Congress passes a climate bill, it would face similar challenges. And towns
such as Kivalina,
Alaska, threatened by the effects of carbon pollution, are pursuing public
nuisance lawsuits against fossil fuel companies, which could be appealed up to
the Supreme Court.

So here’s a look at the
environmental records of these leading contenders:

Courtesy Doc Searls via Wikimedia Commons

Elena Kagan

As Obama’s solicitor general, Kagan represents the
U.S. government before the Supreme Court. But because it’s her job to represent
the government’s view, the work doesn’t reveal much about her judicial
philosophy or environmental priorities. And she’s never served as a federal
appeals judge (unlike the other nominees and all current justices), or any kind
of judge, so she has no judicial record to assess.

One indicator of her
philosophy is her six years as dean of Harvard Law School, from 2003 to 2009,
where she helped found the Environmental Law Program.
Kagan lured the highly regarded environmental policy and regulation scholar Jody Freeman from UCLA
to lead the program, one of the most prominent hires of her Harvard tenure.
Kagan also launched an Environmental
Law and Policy Clinic that puts students to work on current cases.

“For many years,
Harvard was not known for a primary expertise in the environmental
jurisprudence, and that changed under Dean Kagan’s watch,” environmental law
professor Jim Rossi told
Greenwire last year.

Merrick Garland

The District of Columbia
Court of Appeals judge is considered the insider’s choice—widely known and
liked in Washington legal circles, able to draw support from both Democrats and
Republicans. Former Bush Justice Department official Ed Whelan called Garland
“the best that conservatives could reasonably hope for from a Democratic
President.”

That won’t excite
progressives, but they might appreciate the role he played on the D.C. Appeals
Court in repeatedly smacking down environmental shenanigans from the Bush
administration EPA. In 2004, he wrote the
court’s opinion [PDF] that found the Bush EPA had deliberately dragged its
feet on smog standards, ruling in favor of Earthjustice and the Sierra Club.

Courtesy Linda Rux via Wikimedia Commons

Diane Wood

Wood sits on the
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, where she’s considered a liberal
counterweight to conservative heavyweight Richard A. Posner. Her signature
environmental mark was defending the scope of the Clean Water Act in Solid Waste Agency
of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The
case questioned whether seasonal and non-navigable waterways should be
considered protected, a dilemma stemming from ambiguous language in the Act.
Wood’s majority opinion held that regulations should apply to such waterways.
The Supreme Court reversed that decision, however, limiting the reach of
clean-water regulation. It’s an issue the court could well examine again.

Wood’s position on that
case might give encouragement to fans of clean water, air, and soil because it
rests on a broad interpretation of the Interstate Commerce Clause of the Constitution, the foundation of much federal environmental regulation.
Given Chief Justice John Roberts’ ambiguous position on
the commerce clause, Wood’s support could be an asset.

Related Links:

Chicago considers getting serious about coal pollution

Obama’s Earth Day message: ‘Change won’t come from Washington alone’ [VIDEO]

Sens. Kerry and Graham to unveil climate bill next week

Dow solar shingles should begin to reach the market mid-year. …

… “The solar shingle systems are expected to be available in limited quantities by mid-2010 and projected to be more widely available in 2011 … ” …

Via The StockMasters: Dow Chemical Powerhouse

DOW POWERHOUSE Solar Shingle: “Solar shingle integrates low-cost, thin-film CIGS photovoltaic cells into a proprietary roofing shingle design, which represents a multi-functional solar energy generating roofing product. The innovative product design reduces installation costs because the conventional roofing shingles and solar generating shingles are installed simultaneously by roofing contractors. ”

T&J Towing of Kalamazoo, MI wants to send a message to anyone in the town who feels like complaining about the company online. They’ve filed a $750,000 defamation lawsuit against a Western Michigan University student for starting a Facebook page about them.

The student, Justin Kurtz, told the local news station,

“It’s not like I was making untrue claims or anything. It’s not like I had control over anything that everyone had posted the whole time. I told everyone to be professional, don’t post any threats. Just tell your story and that’s what pretty much everyone did.”

“Towing co. wants $750K from WMU student” [WOOD TV8] (Thanks to Dustin!)
“Kalamazoo Residents against T&J Towing” [Facebook]

Despite being accused of never innovating, HTC’s engineers are always coming up with new and interesting designs, both software and hardware.  Their latest patent application is for a hinged device that slides open into a flat tablet-like device. Interestingly their render of an actual device does not show any keys, suggesting again a dual-screened device, like their earlier patent application.

HTC explains their invention as such:

The present application generally relates to a portable electronic device, in particular, to a portable electronic device having two bodies capable of being stacked or spread.

Portable electronic devices refer to electronic devices capable of being carried and operated by users. Portable electronic devices generally have small volume and weight for being carried by users conveniently. Common portable electronic devices include mobile phones, multimedia players, personal digital assistants, handheld game consoles, handheld satellite navigation systems, and notebook computers.

Most of the current portable electronic devices adopt a two-layer folding or sliding design, thus the two bodies of the portable electronic device have a minimum volume when being stacked and a large area when being spread. However, as for sliding design, the two bodies are still partially stacked when sliding with respect to each other, thus definitely reducing the area utilization rate of the lower body.

Accordingly, the present application is directed to a portable electronic device having a function of stacking or spreading bodies thereof.

The present application provides a portable electronic device having a first body, a second body, and a moving mechanism. The moving mechanism is disposed between the first body and second body, such that the second body is moveable between a first position and a second position with respect to the first body. In the first position, the second body is stacked on the first body. In the second position, top surfaces of the first body and the second body are substantially coplanar.

Based on the above description, the present application stacks or spreads the two bodies via the sliding mechanism and the moving mechanism, so as to improve the area utilization rate of the first body.

Having a “coplanar” design does not facilitate the use of a keyboard much, except to allow the keyboard to be even larger, but such a design would certainly look good on a dual screen device.

Read the full patent here and the design after the break.

BMW has announced that it is testing a new hydrogen fuel-cell hybrid powertrain that could be used by the next-generation Mini and the front-wheel-drive BMW vehicles planned for 2014. The system combines a front-wheel-drive architecture, a hydrogen fuel-cell system, an electric-motor and a small gasoline engine.

Engineers say that the system is designed to allow compact vehicles to travel emissions-free in city areas. The company has already built functioning prototypes based on 1-Series hatchbacks converted to a front-wheel-drive architecture.

Power comes from a gasoline engine, a 5 kW (7-hp) hydrogen fuel-cell drivetrain and an 82 kW (110-hp) electric-motor.

The hydrogen fuel-cell system, which can fit in BMW and Mini models that are at least four meters long, has yet to be given the green light by BMW executives. The company still needs to make sure that hydrogen fuel-pumps will be available in most large city areas.

Follow the jump for the press release.

BMW 1-Series Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Hybrid Prototype:

Press Release:

The future of sheer driving pleasure.

Efficient Dynamics – from research to road.

The Efficient Dynamics development strategy provides the BMW Group with the world’s most efficient programme for reducing consumption and emission values in road traffic. The development of power systems with optimised efficiency, smart energy management in the vehicle, and aerodynamic measures form the key supporting aspects of this strategy, complementing lightweight construction throughout. BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH has made significant progress in all these areas since the company was established and the results have been channelled into the series development of many different new models.

Intensive fundamental research has also been carried out in the context of the development of innovative and alternative propulsion systems. The spectrum of research ranges from new concepts for the classic internal combustion engine, through hybrid technology and the deployment of hydrogen as a fuel in the vehicle, to electro-mobility. This demonstrates that research covers all the areas that today form the mainstays of the Efficient Dynamics development strategy.

In celebration of its 25th landmark birthday, BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH premiered the results of two projects designed to highlight innovative ways of significantly reducing consumption and emission values. These projects relate to a research vehicle with fuel-cell hybrid technology and a concept for using hydrogen technology by a device known as a reformer. The reformer facilitates strategic optimisation of the emission characteristics of internal combustion engines. These two projects offer solutions that are closely associated with the needs of drivers operating in everyday road conditions. The fuel-cell hybrid vehicle was designed with the objective of emission-free mobility in city traffic. The reformer technology allows significantly optimised emission values during the warming-up phase of the engine.

Fuel-cell hybrid technology for emission-free mobility in city traffic.

The fuel-cell hybrid vehicle launched by BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH offers a highly innovative form of hybrid technology developed within the framework of Efficient Dynamics. Moreover, the prototype developed on the basis of a BMW 1 Series car presents an innovative approach to the use of hydrogen as a fuel. The research vehicle has a four-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor, as well as a small fuel cell in the form of an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU). The combination of an internal combustion engine with a fuel cell creates the possibility of using both drive technologies, each with optimised efficiency. Hydrogen offers the advantages of conventional fast refuelling and a long range. The size of the fuel cell means it is ideal for use at low speeds, whereas the performance benefits of the internal combustion engine come into their own when the vehicle has to cover long distances at higher speed, delivering the masterly overall performance so typical of BMW. In city traffic, the electrical energy generated by the APU is continuously supplied to high- performance capacitors (supercaps) which have outstanding high power density and cycle robustness. These supercaps cover the performance peaks for acceleration and taking off at traffic lights. The electric motor assumes the function of a generator during coasting and braking phases and feeds electrical energy back to the supercaps. This regenerative braking energy is then available for the subsequent acceleration phases and further reduces consumption. The objective of the researchers in the next stage of expansion is to increase the range provided by electric motive power to several hundred kilometres in city traffic.

All drive components were configured as optimised packages in the 3-door BMW 1 Series. The APU is positioned under the engine bonnet together with the internal combustion engine, the electric motor takes the place of the rear axle differential and drives the rear wheels. An output of 82 kW and a high torque that engages right from a standing start deliver the sporty handling typical of BMW. The supercapacitor battery instead of the gearbox and conventional drive train is mounted in the central tunnel. The force of the 88 kW petrol engine acts on the front wheels. A reduced petrol tank leaves space for the hydrogen tank. This configuration means that no constraints are placed on the interior space of the research vehicle by contrast with the series model. The standard five seats are provided. Moreover, the weight of the fuel-cell hybrid vehicle is only just above the value for a corresponding series model.

BMW has been developing fuel-cell technology since 1997.

The low-temperature PEM (Polymer Electrolyte Membrane) fuel-cell technology has been researched and developed at BMW since 1997. Right from the beginning, the research concentrated on application as an APU with comparatively compact dimensions and a maximally low weight. The hydrogen concept vehicle BMW 750hL presented as early as 2000 had a fuel cell as a source of on-board electricity. The researchers believed that using the small fuel cell for the supply of on-board electricity was the most cost- effective scenario in conjunction with the internal combustion engine for launching the technology.

Meanwhile, BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH is already bringing the fourth generation of APU units on stream. Apart from the increase in service life under automobile load cycles to the current level of 5000 hours, the complexity of the system has gradually been reduced and a robust fuel-cell unit has been created. This simple system effectively operates at ambient pressure and achieves an efficiency of 58 percent for the system over a broad performance spectrum. The special design enables rapid changes in load, such as those occurring during the APU application, from virtually idle to full loading within the space of five milliseconds.

One of the most important issues relating to introduction of the low-temperature PEM fuel cell is the capability to start under frosty conditions after a long period without use at temperatures below freezing. An ingenious cell design means the external moistening of the gases can be omitted so that the system is in a position to supply the vehicle with energy after a period of only 30 seconds. Intensive tests, in some cases on extremely steep gradients, demonstrated that there was no degradation after several hundred frost starts. This confirms that the technology is ready for use in vehicles on
the road.

APU supplies the on-board power – and also provides drive energy for the first time.

The APU supplies the energy necessary for the on-board power supply in the fuel-cell hybrid vehicle, as was already the case in the BMW 750hL. All the units consuming electricity can be supplied in this manner, without having to tap the power of the internal combustion engine. This energy management concept also allows sophisticated comfort features to be displayed. For example, the fuel-cell hybrid vehicle can be fitted with an effective system providing air-conditioning while standing still and it offers virtually unlimited, emission-free energy supply for infotainment applications. The ongoing advance of the small fuel cell also achieves a premiere by using electricity generated from hydrogen for forward propulsion. The combination of the APU (providing a small but continuous output) and the back-up storage in the supercaps (delivering high outputs over a short period) achieves a highly efficient yet marketable drive system, specially designed for city trips.

Reformer technology: fewer emissions during cold start.

The BMW Group possesses unique know-how in the use of hydrogen. The projects based on this technology being pursued by BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH include the use of hydrogen in internal combustion engines as well as its application in a fuel cell. Hydrogen can also be used with the aim of optimising the emission behaviour of conventional petrol and diesel engines. BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH presents a particularly effective solution in this area in the form of reformer technology in an otherwise standard 5-door BMW 1 Series.

The ambitious emission limits mean that the initial seconds after a cold start present a particularly difficult scenario, because catalytic converters only achieve maximum effect after they have been heated to a specific temperature. The reformer technology intervenes precisely at this point and significantly reduces the level of engine out emissions that are generated during a cold start.

Synthesis gas obtained from liquid fuel is free of residues.

Reformer technology can be used in petrol and diesel engines. The system comprises a mixing zone, an injection valve, a spark plug and a special catalytic converter where fuel is partially oxidised with a limited supply of oxygen. The catalytic process that is initiated in this way selectively splits hydrocarbon chains (CxHy) to generate a synthesis gas with a proportion of approximately 21 percent hydrogen and approximately 24 percent carbon monoxide. This synthesis gas is then supplied to the conventional intake manifold of the engine by selectively delivering it into the cylinders via air assisted injection valves. This mixture can completely replace conventional fuel while the engine and catalyst system is warming up. Since the gas mixture burns with virtually no residues, the critical phase for emission behaviour immediately after a cold start is transformed by reformer technology into a particularly clean operating mode. The lower efficiency of the reforming process is the only disadvantage of using the synthesis gas generated from fuel compared with continuous operation of the internal combustion engine. When combustion of the gas occurs, 15 to 20 percent of the original fuel-energy content is converted into heat. However, this side effect is particularly useful during the warming-up phase. The heat generated in the reformer heats up the engine faster than during operation with petrol or diesel fuel for the increase in engine efficiency as a result of a reduction in frictional losses and complete and very stable combustion.

The reformer system presented in the research vehicle is currently equivalent to the status of a prototype. However, series development is still precluded by the need to reduce the size of the components and the weight of currently some five kilograms to a maximum of one and a half kilos, while optimising the characteristic properties of the system at the same time. Once these requirements have been met, the system could also be used to replace the auxiliary heater currently used in diesel engines or for regenerating the particle filter and for selective catalytic reduction (SCR catalysis) of nitrogen oxides NOx). The expense for the exhaust treatment used to date is then reduced accordingly.

Hybrid concepts: More efficiency, more driving pleasure – right from the start.

BMW Forschung and Technik GmbH has carried out intensive and fundamental research in order to lay the foundations for many of the standard efficiency enhancement technologies used in BMW automobiles today. Comprehensive, thorough and wide-ranging research at an early stage makes a significant contribution to the outstanding know-how of the BMW Group in the area of drive technology. The BMW ActiveHybrid technology available in BMW series vehicles today also owes its unique qualities not least to the experience in this area gathered by researchers over a period spanning more than 15 years.

The BMW ActiveHybrid 7 and the BMW ActiveHybrid X6 are the first two models of the brand available in 2010 to use a combination of internal combustion engine and electric motor. Each model deploys a unique platform of BMW ActiveHybrid technology while also presenting a characteristic homogeneity: BMW ActiveHybrid presents tangibly enhanced dynamic driving accompanied by significantly reduced consumption and emission values. This twin-track advance is manifested in the BMW EfficientDynamics development strategy, and from the start it shaped the ground-breaking work carried out by BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH in hybrid technology. Hybrid technology in the style of BMW advances efficiency and intensifies driving pleasure.

Development of hybrid technology since the 1990s.

The hybrid concept car based on the BMW 5 Series and developed in 1994 already facilitated fully electric and hence emission-free driving with characteristic features optimised for city traffic. The car’s power-unit technology configured as a parallel hybrid drive combined an 83 kW four- cylinder petrol engine with an electric drive that develops peak output of 26 kW and a maximum torque of 165 newton metres. This research vehicle was already designed as a Full Hybrid, in other words it permits emission-free driving only using the electric drive in city traffic. The energy stored in a nickel metal hydride battery with a capacitance of 3.5 kilowatt hours was sufficient to power the car over a range of eleven kilometres in purely electric drive mode. An Auto Start Stop function was also integrated which switches the internal combustion engine off automatically when the car is stationary at junctions or standing in traffic jams outside suburban areas, in order to prevent unnecessary fuel consumption during the idle phase. Today, hybrid technology in the BMW 5 Series is more relevant to the modern world than ever before. It is well on the way to series maturity, as demonstrated at the Geneva Motor Show in 2010 when the BMW Concept 5 Series ActiveHybrid was featured and bore impressive testimony to the technology.

Within the space of just one year, the researchers had developed another hybrid concept vehicle and yet again extended the range of the vehicle solely under electric power. The BMW 3 Series with serial hybrid technology was also primarily intended for city traffic and was able to travel a distance of 38 kilometres using a sodium nickel chloride battery with the internal combustion engine switched off. The drive train is comprised of an internal combustion engine using petrol as a fuel and two synchronised electric motors. One of them provides the propulsion generating a peak output of 35 kW, and the other motor with maximum output of 32 kW carries out the function of a generator within the system. This research vehicle was also equipped with an Auto Start Stop function.

Researchers presented a hybrid vehicle based on the first generation of the BMW X5 in 2001, and they thus demonstrated the progress that had so far been made in the area of drive and energy-storage technology by the start of the new millennium. This study combined an eight-cylinder petrol engine and an asynchronous electric motor to generate a maximum combined torque of 1000 newton metres at 1000 min-1. The most important additional innovation was the use of the double-layer capacitors known as supercaps, which are deployed to store energy with a particularly high capacitance of 650 kWs. In addition to highlighting efficiency benefits, this research vehicle also gave a particularly impressive demonstration of the potential of hybrid technology for bringing about a significant increase in driving dynamics.

The BMW Concept X3 EfficientDynamics consistently progressed development of supercaps integrated in the side sills. The technology was presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2005. The specialists at BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH were also able to present new solutions for integrating the internal combustion engine and electric motor. The electric motor with a maximum output of 60 kW installed in the BMW Concept X3 EfficientDynamics was integrated in a compact active transmission together with the power electronics. The range of the electric power unit could be expanded using the option of an additional nickel metal-hydride battery. The hybrid technology was again used to optimise efficiency as well as to intensify the driver’s level of driving dynamics. The precisely synchronised interaction of the six-cylinder in-line petrol engine with direct injection and the electric motor achieved enhanced fuel efficiency amounting to some 20 percent. A torque of 600 newton metres generated by the two drive sources was available to power particularly dynamic acceleration manoeuvres. This powered the BMW Concept X3 EfficientDynamics from a standing start to 100 km/h in just 6.7 seconds and enabled the car to achieve a top speed of 235 km/h.

Option for the future, available now owing to intensive research: hydrogen as fuel.

Over the long term, the BMW Group is also committed to using hydrogen as a fuel in vehicles. The use of hydrogen produced with assistance from renewable energy sources offers the option of future emission-free mobility. The capability of this power-unit technology for everyday use has already been demonstrated with the BMW Hydrogen 7. This car passed through the complete series development process before being manufactured as a limited series. The world’s first hydrogen-powered luxury saloon for use under everyday conditions is powered by a bivalent twelve-cylinder internal combustion engine and has been made available to selected customers worldwide. Meanwhile, the model produced as a limited series of 100 vehicles has covered at total of more than four million kilometres across the world. On the way to the BMW Hydrogen 7, the specialists at BMW Group Research and Technology set up a large number of research projects and concept vehicles, leading to a much better understanding of hydrogen technology and the framework conditions for use in the automobile. A precursor to the BMW Hydrogen 7 was presented in 2000 as the BMW 750hL and used as a shuttle vehicle at the EXPO2000 World Exhibition in Hanover. The BMW 750hL then drove more than 170 000 kilometres in a practical test during the “Clean Energy World Tour”.

Other pioneering achievements were provided by the BMW H2R hydrogen record vehicle. In September 2004, the model powered by a twelve-cylinder engine set up nine international records for hydrogen-powered vehicles with an internal combustion engine at the BMW test track in Miramas, France. The 210 kW/286 hp engine achieved a top speed of more than 300 km/h.

Other innovations in hydrogen technology being driven forward by BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH include a variably shaped tank with optimised weight for storing hydrogen in the vehicle. The free-form tank made of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic and developed jointly with partners from the aerospace industry is used to store liquid hydrogen. The variable shape enables the fuel tank to be integrated flexibly within a range of different vehicle concepts. The weight of the tank has been reduced to one third of the weight of an equivalent conventional cylindrical tank. When filled with around 10 kilograms of hydrogen, the free-form tank integrated in an appropriate vehicle would permit a range of more than 500 kilometres.

Because the infrastructure of fuelling stations will not be starting with complete coverage to permit hydrogen to be used as a single source, bivalent engines provide an initial solution. These engines can run on hydrogen and petrol. BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH has successfully confirmed the potential of the monovalent combustion process as regards output and efficiency – for example with the H2R. This process is optimised without compromise for hydrogen.

The particularly powerful hydrogen-powered four-cylinder cryogenic engine was developed in a joint project between BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH and BMW M GmbH. This engine is based on the four-cylinder engine of the BMW M3 first generation, although it is already fitted with components from the advanced development of one of the two cylinder banks of the V8 engine currently incorporated in the latest M3. A special feature of this drive unit is the mixture formation for super-chilled hydrogen developed by the researchers during the course of this project. On the test rig, the engine achieved a specific output of 67 kW per litre of displacement and set a benchmark for hydrogen-powered aspirated engines.

Another example of the intensive basic research in the area of drive systems is provided by the modular single-cylinder hydrogen engine developed especially for thermodynamic analyses. The HyICE research project sponsored by the European Commission developed a hydrogen-powered engine with the typical geometry of an Otto engine between 2004 and 2007, which generates a specific output of 100 kW per litre of displacement. Another version designed with the geometry typical of a diesel engine was developed between 2007 and 2009, and this power unit has a particularly favourable efficiency. An effective efficiency of 43 percent achieved the level of advanced diesel engines and was virtually free of pollutants.

– By: Omar Rana

Source: BMW (via WCF, AutoCar)

We’ve talked for many years about how broadband over powerline (BPL) technology has failed to live up to what little potential it possessed as a viable major third broadband pipe. Pretty much since the technology’s inception, the FCC praised BPL as the "great broadband hope," going out of its way to ignore the technology’s rather nasty potential to interfere with local emergency and ham radio signals. Engineers repeatedly criticized the unshielded delivery system as impractical, but the FCC (and pretty much everybody else) repeatedly ignored them.

To help gloss over FCC broadband policy failures that fortified monopoly or duopoly markets, the FCC told anyone who would listen that BPL was the magic elixir that would save us all from the lack of competition in the broadband sector. Think tanks with ties to BPL hardware vendors issued study after study informing everyone that this would be the year that BPL finally took off. The technology press by and large believed it, flooding the wires with a long line of stories about BPL’s immense, untapped potential. The problem was that in addition to the technology not really working, many utilities simply didn’t want to get into the broadband business, and speeds delivered via BPL were quickly overshadowed by wireless and faster cable technologies like DOCSIS 3.0.

Manassas, Virginia has long been the poster child for BPL’s supposed successes, and was the first real non-trial deployment of the technology in the United States. The city’s network, built by a company named COMTek, offered city residents speeds slower than 1 Mbps for $24.95 a month. By 2008, COMTek was starting to realize their fortunes would never be made in residential broadband using an inherently flawed technology, so they sold the network to the city — and it has been sucking Manassas dry ever since. After pouring $1.6 million into the network and losing about $166,000 a year — the city this week finally voted to shut the network down. All 520 residents have been told to find a new ISP, and the remnants of the city’s "great broadband hope" are being sold off for scrap.

COMTek, who often took an adversarial approach to dealing with local ham radio interference complaints, is now focusing on selling intelligent power network monitoring systems to utilities. Former FCC boss Michael Powell has since moved on to a lucrative career working for broadband carrier funded think tanks, where he’s still busily hallucinating about competition in the broadband sector. As for the residents of Manassas, if it’s any comfort, most of them have the cozy local duopoly of Verizon and Comcast to fall back on.

There’s still a few scattered deployments of BPL left in the country, but they serve only a few thousand people and will likely be supplanted in time by faster next-generation wireless. There’s absolutely no doubt Manassas leaders should have done their homework before buying the network, though the FCC’s whitewashing of the technology’s problems didn’t exactly help. Maybe next time the FCC should listen to actual engineers instead of salesmen for companies trying to sell the public a broken product.

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Trashley Dupre, the former call girl at the center of the 2008 sex scandal that got Eliot Spitzer booted from New York’s Governor’s Mansion, has bared all for a steamy eight-page pictoral in the May edition of Playboy Magazine.

“I had a lot of fun doing these pictures,” Dupre, now 24, said of her photoshoot with the iconic men’s mag. “You’re naked and you’re in front of a bunch of guys – good-looking guys, too, manly men. If I had [posed] right after, I would have been known as Spitzer’s girl,” she explained. “Now that I waited, it’s now more about me, my story.”

Dupre now works as a sex/relationship advice columnist for the equally trashy New York Post.

MEXICO CITY–First Lady Michelle Obama and Second Lady Jill Biden said a reason for their Haiti trip–unannounced–was to keep attention on the plight of earthquake striken Haiti. \

At a press conference in Haiti Mrs. Obama said she came because, “I think it was important for Jill and I to come now because we’re at the point where the relief efforts are underway but the attention of the world starts to wane a bit. And as we enter the rainy season and the hurricane season, you know, the issues are just going to become more compounded. And I think it was important for us to come and shed a light.”

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the First Lady
___________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release April 13, 2010

PRESS GAGGLE
WITH THE FIRST LADY AND DR. BIDEN

U.N. Logistical Center
Port-au-Prince, Haiti

3:47 P.M. (Local)

DR. BIDEN: Okay, so this has been an absolutely incredible trip. General Keen from the U.S. Army took us around with the U.S. military today. We saw areas of devastation. We saw schools. We saw camps.

But I think the one thing that we take away from it is really the strength and the resilience of the human spirit, and that’s what we saw today and that’s what we’ll take home to Washington with us.

Thank you.

MRS. OBAMA: Well, and I think it was important for Jill and I to come now because we’re at the point where the relief efforts are underway but the attention of the world starts to wane a bit. And as we enter the rainy season and the hurricane season, you know, the issues are just going to become more compounded. And I think it was important for us to come and shed a light.

But it was also important to speak to the President and First Lady, who is just — she is just a powerhouse. And she’s been working on education. The school that we visited, this sort of bus camp, was one of two sites that are feeding and caring for nearly a thousand children a day that are coming through those — that particular site. They’re reading, they’re dancing, they’re painting. I painted a purple fish, by the way — (laughter) — and Jill did a house —

DR. BIDEN: A house. (Laughter.)

MRS. OBAMA: With trees and everything. It’s very good.

But it’s providing some level of stability and normalcy for kids who don’t really have a place to go yet.

But what is clear is that there is still so much to do. I mean, when we flew over — we did an aerial tour because it was probably the quickest and safest way — but what you see — you know, imagine a country where every church and every school has been destroyed. And at least that’s what the — every church and every school has been destroyed and has to be rebuilt from the bottom up.

Now, that’s an incredibly daunting challenge, but as the President sees it, it’s also an incredible responsibility. But it’s going to take all of us. And that’s what we talked about when we met with the U.N. staff, is that this has not been a U.S. effort. This has been a global effort. America has been a leader, but it has not been the only leader, by any close margin. And in order for Haiti to get back to where it needs to be, it’s going to take the world continuing to invest, to partner, to show that sense of compassion.

Stepping up and seeing the world work on behalf of Haiti has been the absolute right thing to do. And it’s just been a privilege for Jill and I to be able to come to see for ourselves, to lend support, to boost morale wherever. You know, I think it’s important for us and America to know that we still have U.S. Embassy officials working here, working here tirelessly. They’ve left their families. Some have sent them back home. They’re living in tents. The same for U.N. officials.

And the world needs to understand that there is still a small cadre of people working day in and day out to get this country back on its feet. So we’re just happy to be able to shed a little light on this situation.

DR. BIDEN: God bless them.

MRS. OBAMA: Absolutely.

DR. BIDEN: And God bless the Haitians.

MRS. OBAMA: Absolutely. So thank you all. Thank you for following us around and covering this. This has been an emotional but important day for Jill and I.

So thank you.

DR. BIDEN: Thank you.

Q Based on what you saw today, do you think that the aid money that’s been contributed by Americans is actually reaching the Haitian people?

MRS. OBAMA: Yes. And, you know, by all accounts, the Haitian people are very happy with the relief efforts. Still, accountability is key. And, you know, I know that the governments are going to continue to work together. But I think that my sense is the Haitian people feel a deep appreciation for what the world has done, that’s for sure.

END 3:51 P.M. EDT

Lt. Gov. Bill Halter Out Raises Lincoln’s First Quarter 2010 Total In One Month.

Washington – Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln (D) raised $1.3 million in the first three months of 2010 and has $4.3 million cash on hand according to a Tuesday media release from her campaign.

“I am grateful for the support of thousands of Arkansans, because I know I can’t do this without them,” Senator Blanche Lincoln said.

However, her opponent in the Democratic primary, Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter (D) raised $2 million in the month of March alone.

Halter Campaign Spokesman Laura Chapin confirms to Fox News that Halter was able to raise that figure between his announcement on March 1 and the end of the quarter on March 31.

Lincoln is considered one of the most vulnerable Senators in the 2010 midterm elections, which led Halter to jump into the race.

The Democratic primary is only five weeks away and the winner will face a tough race regardless, with the latest polling out of Arkansas suggesting voters are overwhelmingly against the health care reform act passed by congress.

Meanwhile, Arkansas Representative John Boozman (R) is facing off with state Senator Gilbert Baker (R) in the Republican primary. Most establishment Republicans seem to be lining up behind Boozman. Neither Boozman nor Baker has released first quarter 2010 fundraising numbers yet.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Spring Design’s Android-based, dual-screen e-reader named “Alex” made a sudden and noticeable splash when it was announced one day before book retailer Barnes and Noble debuted its Android-powered Nook e-reader, and then Spring Design sued them over it.

We had a look at a pre-production model of Alex at CES last January, and Spring Design started taking orders for the $399 e-reader in February.

The company has just announced that those orders will begin shipping tomorrow.

The 11-ounce Android-powered e-reader supports ePub, PDF, HTML, and TXT documents on the upper e-paper screen, and the lower full-color touchscreen offers full Web browsing over Wi-Fi connectivity. Spring Design today said that there will be a model that supports EV-DO rev. A 3G wireless, and a multi-language model for international markets.

Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010