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I suspect overhead would eat away at the profit, but this seems like a sure thing …

The Large Hadron Collider: Phew! | The Economist

…Paddy Power, an online bookmaker, is offering odds of 11 to 10 that dark matter will be found before black holes and 8 to 1 that black holes will be first. Dark energy, a mysterious force thought to drive the expansion of the universe, trails at 12 to 1. And for those who fancy a real outside bet, the firm is also offering 100 to 1 that the machine will discover God….

To make it worthwhile though you need to bet $100K to earn $1K. A CD would have comparable returns, which probably has something to do with the odds.

… are a great live act. If you don’t know anything about King Khan, this album — Supreme Genius of King Khan — is a great place to start. I featured King Khan and the Shrines in a “video fun” post early last year. The King Khan and BBQ show is a lot of fun live, but he’s at his best with the Shrines.

2Market Information Inc., publisher or Tech Transfer E-News, has just released the latest targeted edition in its growing series of royalty rate references. Royalty Rates for Technology: Computers and Communications Edition, offers more than 140 pages of benchmarks focused on computer hardware, software, semiconductor, internet, and communications technologies. By deriving all computer and communications entries from the more comprehensive — and more costly — technology edition, we are making these unique data more affordable for those whose interest is focused on these sectors. This new edition is available for immediate download. For more detail, including a complete table of contents, and to order, CLICK HERE.

Filed under: Motorsports, Performance, BMW, Specialty

Formula DRIFT is recognized as the North American professional drifting championship series. Autoblog has been invited behind-the-scenes with GSR Autosport, and their driver Michael Essa, as the team builds, tests and campaigns a V10-powered BMW 350R during the 2010 racing season. This is the second installment in our series (see Part 1) as we follow the team throughout the creation, testing and race season.

Armed with a 2008 BMW 335i coupe, a shattered BMW M5 and boxes of components stacked around the shop, the team gets busy tearing the near-perfect 3 Series apart. The bumpers, doors, hood and trunk go first, followed by the glass sunroof and remaining sheet metal on the roof (hundreds of spot welds must be painstakingly drilled out). The stock twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter N54 is carefully removed and put aside. The interior is completely gutted and the heavy glass front, side and back windows are cut out. The chassis sits bare on the cold concrete shop floor.

Continue reading GSR Autosport BMW 350R: Part II – We decimate a 335i and a Formula Drift racecar materializes

GSR Autosport BMW 350R: Part II – We decimate a 335i and a Formula Drift racecar materializes originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Writing on his public blog, USPTO director David Kappos explains a streamlined procedure the USPTO has instituted for review of briefs filed in ex parte appeals in patent applications. Under the procedure, the Chief Judge of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) will have the sole responsibility for determining whether appeal briefs comply with the formality requirements governing the content of these briefs. The new procedure eliminates two layers of review. Only the Chief Judge and his staff will conduct a compliance review of appeal briefs at the time they are filed. If a brief is determined not to comply with the applicable regulations, the Chief Judge will promptly send the appellant a notice and provide a time period within which an appellant can file a corrected brief. The Chief Judge also will have the sole responsibility for determining whether corrected briefs comply with the applicable regulations and addressing any inquiries and petitions regarding notices of noncompliant briefs. The USPTO expects this procedure to reduce appeal pendency from the filing of a notice of appeal to the docketing of the appeal. To further reduce the number of noncompliant appeal briefs, the Chief Judge has posted on the USPTO website the “Top Eight Reasons Appeal Briefs are Non-Compliant,” which include:

1. Related appeals and interferences – missing or defective: Appellant must provide “a statement identifying by application, appeal or interference number all other prior and pending appeals, interferences, or judicial proceedings known to appellant, the appellant’s legal representative, or assignee which may be related to, directly affect or be directly affected by or having a bearing on the Board’s decision in the pending appeal.”

2. Status of claims – missing or defective: Appellant must provide “a statement of the status of all claims in the proceeding and an identification of those claims that are being appealed.”

3. Status of amendments – missing or incomplete: Appellant must provide “a statement of the status of any amendment filed subsequent to final rejection” in the brief.

4. Summary of claimed subject matter – missing or incomplete: Appellant must provide “a concise explanation of the subject matter defined in each of the independent claims involved in the appeal, which must refer to the specification by page and line number, and to the drawing, if any, by reference characters.”

5. Claims appendix – missing or incomplete: Appellant must provide “an appendix containing a copy of the claims involved in the appeal.”

6. Evidence filed under 37 CFR 41.33(d)(1) and (d)(2) – untimely filed: “An affidavit or other evidence filed after the date of filing an appeal and prior to the date of filing a brief may be admitted if the examiner determines that the affidavit or other evidence overcomes all rejections under appeal and that a showing of good and sufficient reasons why the affidavit or other evidence is necessary and was not earlier presented has been made.”

7. Evidence appendix – missing: In the brief, appellant must provide “an appendix containing copies of any evidence submitted or of any other evidence entered by the examiner and relied on by appellant in the appeal, along with a statement setting forth where in the record that evidence was entered in the record by the examiner.”

8. Related proceedings appendix – missing: Appellant must provide “an appendix containing copies of decisions rendered by a court or the Board in any proceeding identified pursuant to 37 CFR 41.37(c)(1)(ii).”

Additional details about the USPTO procedure are outlined in the Federal Register .

In addition, the USPTO is seeking public comment on a proposed change that would effectively provide a 12‑month extension to the existing 12-month provisional application period. The change would be implemented through the missing parts practice in nonprovisional applications. The proposal would benefit applicants by giving them additional time to determine if patent protection should be sought, enabling IP holders to defer additional fees and enabling applicants to focus efforts on commercialization during the expanded provisional period, according to Kappos. The proposal would add publications to the body of prior art and remove from the USPTO’s workload nonprovisional applications for which applicants decide not to pursue examination.

“The existing 12-month provisional period may provide too little time for inventors to test the marketplace,” Kappos says. “Giving applicants a 12-month period to reply to a missing parts notice would effectively give applicants more time to evaluate the value and market potential of their inventions.” The USPTO published a request for comments on the proposed change in the Federal Register.

Sources:  USPTO Director’s Forum and USPTO Press Releases

Whoever you are, just admit it, and all will be forgiven.

One of you obviously leaked the number before the 3:00 release form the Fed.

Join the conversation about this story »

If you’re even a semi-regular reader of Consumerist, you probably remember back in January when we blew the lid off Best Buy’s overpriced and unnecessary computer “optimization” deal. Well, that report has caused Best Buy to make changes to their optimization offering — problem is, all they’ve changed is the name.

A Consumerist reader identifying themselves as a Best Buy/Geek Squad employee wrote in to alert us that “optimization” has now become “Quick Tune-Up”. He also sent in the above image of the latest Geek Squad price list showing the new name — and the same old optimization.

Quoth the tipster:

Today my company had a meeting about new strategies and prices for our Geek Squad services… During the meeting, management actually mentioned your article, and informed us that because of the bad press given to the Computer Optimization, it is from now on to be referred to as a “PC Quick Tune Up.” It is the EXACT same service at the EXACT same price; the name is the only thing that changed.

If you’re unfamiliar with the to-do about optimization, for $39.99, a Geek Squad employee would run a few simple tasks (downloading updates, deleting trial software) that our tests showed did absolutely nothing to improve the performance of the computers.

We’ve reached out for comment to Best Buy and will update this story if/when they get back to us.

RELATED:
* Best Buy Optimization Is A Big Stupid Annoying Waste Of Money
* Shocking: Best Buy’s “Mac Optimization” Sucks Also
* Some Best Buys Still Forcing Computer Optimization, Being Jerks

The name of the game right now is tablet.  It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, you can’t avoid tablets.  And I don’t think I have to tell you that Apple is the company to beat.  While other tablets out there have been dubbed contenders (JooJoo, WePad, etc.), they just don’t have the brand recognition nor following that has made Apple’s iPad a phenomenon spanning technology buffs and grandmothers alike.

But rest assured, where there’s a Goliath, there generally seems to be a David nearby looking for a fight.  Innovative Converged Devices (ICD), a UK based company, may be looking to challenge Apple with the introduction of their newest tablet, the ICD Gemini.  The Gemini comes sporting a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, an 11.2 inch multi-touch capable touchscreen (and it looks like you’ll have the option between resistive or capacitive touch), Android OS, 512 DDR RAM (I would have hoped for 1GB or more), and support for up to 32GB of SD removable memory.  The Gemini, unlike the iPad, supports the ability to make calls on the cellular network (though it doesn’t say which network – I’m guessing it’s GSM) and is also 3G, SMS, MMS, 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth, and FM Radio ready (phew, that’s a lot for one tablet!).  These are just a few of the features that enthusiasts have come to expect in a “killer” device, but don’t worry – the list goes on (click here for the full comparative list of features).

According to a recent “hands-on” obtained by SlashGear, while the Gemini looks stellar on paper, great hardware is nothing without the software to back it up.  Apparently, there is still much to be done before the software will be launch-ready, as was noted by numerous bugs during testing (this can be common for pre-launch devices).  On a positive note, one of the more important features for consumers–web browsing–was said to be “blisteringly fast,” and it doesn’t hurt that it supports Flash.  The Gemini is expected to come out sometime around August of 2010 in the UK with no carrier, specific date, or pricing listed.  ICD has worked with T-Mobile in the past, so there’s a solid chance that the Gemini will launch via Magenta this Summer.

I think I’ll be waiting for an iPad/Gemini/WePad Dogfight before I go ahead and make my tablet purchase.  Any takers?  Feel free to leave your comments below!

Via Engadget, SlashGear

The University of Georgia (UGA) Research Foundation has reached an out-of-court settlement in a long legal battle with former UGA researcher Renee Kaswan, DVM. The $20.2 million settlement ends a seven-year dispute over money UGA received from a pharmaceutical company to market Kaswan’s invention, the prescription treatment Restasis, which alleviates chronically dry eyes. The pharmaceutical company Allergan bought the right to develop and market the drug from the research foundation in the 1990s, but Kaswan said in court that UGA lost more than $200 million in fees from the company in 2003 by negotiating a new deal for the drug without her knowledge. The deal gave UGA more money up front, but a lot less in the long run, according to Kaswan.

UGA had little comment on the settlement. “The University of Georgia Research Foundation is pleased that it has reached a settlement agreement with Dr. Renee Kaswan,” UGA lawyer Edward Tolley said in a prepared statement. “We believe the $20.2 million to be fair to both parties, and we wish Dr. Kaswan the best as she continues her academic research.” Under the settlement, Kaswan agrees to release both the drug company and the research foundation from future claims, although Kaswan maintains she’s still in the right. UGA just wore her down, and she wants to move on with her life, she says. “There’s no way they won this case on its merits,” says Kaswan, a former professor in the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine’s small animal medicine department. “They didn’t really win. They just beat me.” The big winner is Allergan, which has racked up more than $1 billion in sales for Restasis, she adds. Source:  http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/040310/uga_600934241.shtml.

A team of cardiologists, materials scientists, and bioengineers has created and tested an implantable device to measure the heart’s electrical output that they say represents the first use of flexible silicon technology for a medical application. “This technology may herald a new generation of active, flexible, implantable devices for applications in many areas of the body,” says Brian Litt, MD, associate professor of neurology in the School of Medicine and associate professor of bioengineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Initially, the researchers plan to apply their findings to the design of devices for localizing and treating abnormal heart rhythms. “We believe these new devices will allow doctors to more quickly, safely, and accurately target and destroy abnormal areas of the heart that are responsible for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias,” Litt says.

The new devices bring electronic circuits right to the tissue, rather than having them located remotely inside a sealed can placed elsewhere in the body, Litt explains. “This enables the devices to process signals right at the tissues, which allows them to have a much higher number of electrodes for sensing or stimulation than is currently possible in medical devices,” he says. The implantable silicon-based devices also have the potential to serve as tools for mapping and treating epileptic seizures as well as providing more precise control over deep brain stimulation and other neurological applications, says Story Landis, PhD, director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, which provided support for the study.

The team tested the new devices — made of nanoscale, flexible ribbons of silicon embedded with electrodes that form a lattice-like array of connections — on the heart of a porcine animal model. In their experiment, the researchers built a device using 288 contacts and more than 2,000 transistors spaced closely together. Standard clinical systems usually use five to 10 contacts and no active transistors. “We demonstrated high-density maps of electrical activity on the heart recorded from the device, during both natural and paced beats,” says team member David Callans, MD, professor of medicine at U-Penn. The team described its proof-of-principle findings in Science Translational Medicine. “The next big step in this new generation of implantable devices will be to find a way to move the power source onto them,” says John Rogers, PhD, Lee J. Flory founding chair in engineering innovation at the University of Illinois. “We’re still working on a solution to that problem.”

Source: ScienceBlog.com

Los Angeles Controller Wendy Greuel on Wednesday announced that her office would audit the Department of Water and Power fund that is now at the center of L.A.’s budget crisis and a growing political conflict between Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council.



Utility executives this week took steps to block a promised $73.5 million payment in "surplus" power revenue -– money that comes from ratepayer electric bills — to the city general fund.

 

The action was in response to the council’s rejection of an electricity rate hike that both the DWP and Villaraigosa said was necessary to cover the fluctuating cost of coal and the mayor’s renewable energy program. Without the increase, DWP executives said the utility cannot afford to make the payment and doing so would endanger the utility’s fiscal health.



Greuel said her “quick-and-dirty" audit would include a review of the utility’s books to determine if, in fact, the money can be transferred to the city’s general fund.



Earlier this week, Greuel warned that the city could run out of cash within weeks if the DWP withheld the $73.5 million.

“There’s been a lot of questions and, clearly, the DWP understands there has been a credibility gap with the department," Greuel said. "People have said they have the money… There’s been a lot of political back-and-forth from all sides, and I want to go in and do an independent review."



Greuel said she expects the audit to be completed within a month. Her office also is doing a more in-depth examination of the utility’s renewable energy program, though a completion date on that has not been announced.



Greuel declined to take sides in the political fracas, and would not say whether she supports a rate hike or forcing the DWP to make the $73.5 million payment.



“I deal with the facts," she said.



Villaraigosa suggested Wednesday that he would ask his appointees on the DWP board to transfer at least some money to the struggling general fund.



Appearing on KPCC-FM’s “Airtalk,” Villaraigosa said he would probably not request the full $73.5 million promised by the DWP earlier this year. Instead, the request would likely be in the range of $20 million, he said.



— Phil Willon at Los Angeles City Hall

Here’s an idea – use facebook to lobby our state legislators. Just a small number of members can create a wave of action. The 3,147 IEA page fans can produce a tidal wave!

The strategy is simple. Many state legislators have facebook pages. Even Gov. Quinn has one, but his friends list is full. So start by finding your legislator, or any one or more that you’d like to lobby. Click to become their friend. (Of course, if your legislator isn’t on facebook, this won’t work.)

Once you receive your notice that your friend request has been accepted it is time to act. Go back to the legislator’s facebook page and post your message on their wall. For instance, I recently posted on one legislator’s page the message:

“Unless the legislature wants the state to fall off the cliff this summer, it is critical that a fair funding bill such as HB 174 be passed this spring. Now that the legislature has addressed the pension issue, it is time to address the real problem, revenues. I hope you will take the lead in this effort.”

Because I first clicked on the legislator’s “Add a Link” button, I was also able to add a link to a news article by Ralph Martire that explains why an increase in state revenues needs to happen now.

Once posted, the legislator sees the post, all of your friends see the post, and all of the legislator’s friends see the post. If more than one voter posts to that legislator’s page, all the better!

Here are some other cool lobbying ideas that are being tried by members throughout the state:

• Members are attending and asking questions of legislators at town hall meetings. Some meetings are sponsored by the Responsible Budget Coalition. These meetings are listed at www.abetterillinois.com. Check your legislators’ websites for other dates.
• Have pink-slipped members attend these meetings wearing pink shirts.
• Region 38 purchased the billboard pictured with this post.
• A number of regions are organizing legislative breakfasts, luncheons or dinners during the spring recess.
• Associations in the Rockford area have organized or participated in protests with parents and students directed at legislators.
• The Champaign office plans on handing pink slips to their legislators.
• Organize mass phone call campaigns to legislators, keep calling, leaving multiple messages about job losses and program cuts.
• Coordinate local lobbying efforts with your area’s central labor council and other unions including IFT, SEIU and AFSCME.

Well, what I am sure nobody thought would happen or Sony wanted to happen is about to happen. Geohot aka George Hotz has found a work around for the removal of OtherOS: Custom Firmware. Geohot has dubbed his firmware “3.21OO”. Based upon his blog entry, it won’t require opening the PS3, and will be possible by restoring a custom generated pup file. Below is his video demo:

What’s really interesting is that he said it may add OtherOS functionality to to the PS3 Slim, although this hasn’t been tested as of yet but will be soon. At this time it only applies to those on firmware 3.15 or earlier. He did have this interesting thing to say to the community, which we at Sony Insider eluded to earlier:

Note to the people who removed OtherOS, you are potentially turning 100000+ legit users into “hackers.” There was a huge(20x) traffic spike to this blog after the announcement of 3.21. If I had ads on this site I guess I’d be thanking you.

Who knows what the future holds for the PS3 scene moving forward. One thing we do know is that over the course of just a few days, the game has seriously changed

A renewable energy research project developed at the University of Nevada, Reno is moving from the lab to the field in a demonstration-scale system to turn wastewater sludge into electricity. The patent-pending, low-cost, energy-efficient technology will be assembled in the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility near Reno and Sparks, NV. “Our plan is to test the unit by about May 15,” says Chuck Coronella, PhD, PE, principal investigator for the research project and associate professor of chemical engineering at U-Nevada. “We’re designing, building, and assembling a continuous-feed system that will ultimately be used to generate electricity. We’ll run experiments throughout the summer, creating a usable dried product from the sludge.”

The experimental carbon-neutral system will process 20 pounds of sludge per hour, drying it at modest temperatures into solid that will be analyzed for its suitability to be used for fuel through gasification and, in a commercial operation, ultimately converted to electricity. The refrigerator-size demonstration unit will help researchers determine the optimum conditions for a commercial-sized operation. “The beauty of this process is that it’s designed to be all on-site, saving trucking costs and disposal fees for the sludge,” explains Victor Vasquez, PhD, associate professor of chemical engineering. “It uses waste heat from the process to drive the electrical generation. It also keeps the sludge out of the landfill.” Estimates, which will be refined through the research, show that a full-scale system could potentially generate 600 kilowatts of electricity a day to help power the reclamation facility plant. U-Nevada’s TTO, with assistance from the College of Business, is supporting the project with plans to make the system available to hundreds of communities around the country that operate water treatment plants.

Source:  PhysOrg.com

Before the Lakers play the Nuggets, we like to put a call into the Denver Post’s Benjamin Hochman, who covers the Nuggets’ beat for the newspaper.

On Tuesday, Hochman offered updates on Kenyon Martin’s knee, George Karl’s health and Carmelo Anthony’s odd decline from the free throw line, and discussed the Thursday night TNT matchup between last year’s Western Conference Finals opponents.

To listen to the podcast, just click play below:

For cash-strapped TTOs, industry can be more than a licensee or research sponsor — these companies can be a wellspring of needed resources and funds for you operational budget too — as Mike Rondelli, director of technology transfer and commercialization at San Diego State University, has proven. Rondelli has made it his mission to offset tight money constraints by forging corporate partnerships and utilizing industry funding to further the office’s aims and bolster its budget. Tomorrow, April 8th, you and your staff can find out how SDSU has thrived even in a recession-wracked environment in part by supplementing its funding using corporate dollars and resources. CLICK HERE for details and to register for Stretch Your TTO’s Budget: Tap Into Industry Resources and Partnerships.

PLUS, Coming April 29th: Working Effectively with University Counsel to Speed the Licensing Process. CLICK HERE for complete information.

Tarun Goswami, DSc, associate professor of biomedical and orthopaedics at Wright State University in Dayton, OH, is approaching local manufacturing companies to commercialize his artificial joint research. “We have to create some local interest so this can actually see the market,” says Goswami, who worked with students to develop toe brace and total toe joint replacement technologies for which patent applications have been submitted. Goswami also collaborated with students and with Richard Laughlin, MD, who chairs the department of orthopaedic surgery at Wright State’s Boonshoft School of Medicine, on a total ankle replacement system. The researchers also have submitted a patent application for that technology.

It’s not clear how much revenue the artificial joint technology could generate. However, the decision by Wright State’s Office of Technology Transfer and Development to seek patents is a vote of confidence in the technology’s commercial potential, says Reid Smith, interim director of the OTTD. “This is a growing market, and it’s going to continue to grow as the population ages,” Smith points out. Goswami sees strong potential for collaboration in the Dayton region. “Dayton is famous for materials research,” he says. “The base is here, as well as very strong industry support that we have developing new surgical-grade materials for these kinds of implants.” Promising materials include a polymer known as PEEK and a nickel-titanium alloy. The technology could improve the longevity of artificial joints, Goswami says, which, in turn, could cut health care costs. The technology’s commercialization could mean good jobs for the region, he adds.

Source: Science Business