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First, the internet. Then smartphones. Now it looks like Google wants its piece of the energy pie as well. The company created a “Google Energy” subsidiary last month. It’s also applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to be allowed to buy and sell power, like utilities. What exactly does the internet search leader want with energy? To be that much closer to taking over the world? Possibly. But it’s more likely that the company just wants to enhance and protect its profit margin.

The New York Times’ Bits blog reports:

Google said it did not have specific plans to become an energy trader and that its primary goal was to gain flexibility for buying more renewable energy for its power-hungry data centers.

“We want to have the ability to procure renewable energy to offset power usage of our operations,” said Niki Fenwick, a Google spokeswoman. Ms. Fenwick said that having access to more renewable energy could help the company fulfill its goal to become “carbon neutral.”

Right, because Google runs on energy, literally. Think about the thousands of databases and computer terminals sucking power 24-7 at Google’s headquarters each day. Does it really want to have to rely on electric companies to control its energy costs? If it had some power over its energy sources, that could bend its cost curve dramatically.

So what Google is likely doing here is bracing for the inevitable increase in energy prices associated with the depletion of fossil fuels. It would likely prefer to shape its energy destiny by relying on cheaper, renewable energy sources in the years to come. While this has pleasant environmental implications, there’s little doubt that Google has economic reasons for this endeavor as well.

But why the need to trade energy? Because if it eventually goes off the grid and lines up agreements with independent electricity producers, then it could end up with a deficit — or surplus — of energy at any given time. The company would benefit from greater flexibility to buy and sell that energy.

Or maybe it’s just part of Google’s plan for world domination. Perhaps, one day, we’ll all get our energy from Google. And our mobile phones, maps, books, e-mail, videos, searches. . .

Can the most useless gadget company in the history of shopping justify their new incarnation?

2010: The year of the products

2009 was definitely the year of infrastructure at 37signals. We put in a lot of work behind the scenes to improve our hardware, software, and security setup. We also launched our biggest infrastructure project to date: 37signals ID. Infrastructure improvements are never over — we’ve got at least one big one brewing right now — but 2009 saw big progress on that front.

2010 is going to be the year of our products. With some of the big infrastructure projects behind us, we can focus more of our energy on improving our products. We’ve got some great ideas for new features, integrations, UI design/redesigns, streamlining common flows, etc. We have some new product ideas we may explore as well.

A new way of working

At the heart of the product renaissance is a new way of working. In the past each person at 37s has been pretty isolated. Everyone pretty much worked on their own own project. There was some overlap in a few spots, and occasionally a small team might come together to tackle something big, but most of the time it was every man for themselves.

We also had a tendency to pull people in different directions. We might ask someone to work on A, but then a few days later ask them to pitch in on project B, and then also ask them to help fix bug C. That makes settling into a focused zone really difficult.

In 2010 we’re going to change that. Here’s how:

More…

Judge Rules Chicago Transit Authority Cannot Ban Computer and Video Game Ads

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) a preliminary injunction in its suit against the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), the ESA said today.

The case, which the ESA filed in July 2009, challenges CTA’s prohibition of certain computer and video game advertisements as a violation of the guarantees of free speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

In her opinion, Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer stated, “…the advertisements the CTA wishes to ban promote expression that has constitutional value and implicates core First Amendment concerns.”

“This ruling is a win for Chicago’s citizens, the video game industry and, above all, the First Amendment,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA, which represents U.S. computer and video game publishers.

“It is our hope that the CTA sees the futility of pursuing this case further. To do so will waste taxpayer money and government resources. Chicago deserves better and we look forward to bringing this matter to an end.”

ESA argued that CTA’s Ordinance 008-147, which took effect in January 2009, unfairly targeted the entertainment software industry by prohibiting any advertisement that “markets or identifies a video or computer game rated ‘Mature 17+’ (M) or ‘Adults Only 18+’ (AO).”

The ESA further contended the ordinance unconstitutionally “restricts speech in a public forum that is otherwise open to all speakers without a compelling interest for doing so.”

In addition, the ESA’s complaint stated that the ordinance impermissibly discriminates on the basis of viewpoint and ignores less restrictive means of achieving the supposed ends of the ordinance. The court ruled that the ESA was likely to succeed on the merits of these claims at trial and, therefore, blocked enforcement of the ordinance until the case could be finally resolved.

The ESA also contended that the CTA’s ordinance is unnecessary because game-related marketing is already subject to the Entertainment Software Rating Board’s Advertising Review Council, which strictly regulates computer and video game advertisements that are seen by the general public.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board assigns computer and video games ratings and content descriptors, which are both displayed on advertisements for those games.

The Entertainment Software Association is the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet.

The ESA offers services to interactive entertainment software publishers including a global anti-piracy program, owning the E3 Expo, business and consumer research, federal and state government relations, First Amendment and intellectual property protection efforts.

For more information, please visit theESA.com.

It’s CES week, so you know we’ve got some new BlackBerry developments from there. There are a few new gadgets, some functional, some for fun, but all around a good BlackBerry experience. And, as we do every week, we discuss the new BlackBerry model du jour.

So click on over here to hear the BBGeekcast (13 min, 44 sec)

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you won’t miss future episodes!

You can also subscribe to the BBGeekcast in iTunes.

Highlights include:
(more…)

Vuzix can make glasses with built in stereoscopic cameras that can seamlessly blend computer-generated imagery and your real world environment together, but they can’t make them look cool?

Of course, it doesn’t seem like anyone in the business of high tech eyewear has any sense of style. Apparently, they all want us walking around looking like Geordi or Blade. Still, if you can get past the looks, here’s what the Wrap 920AR glasses can offer:

The stereo camera pair delivers a single 1504 x 480 side-by-side image that can be viewed in 3D stereoscopic video, while the video eyewear provides an unprecedented 67-inch display as seen from 10 feet. The Wrap 920AR also includes a 6 Degree-of-Freedom Tracker, which allows for absolute accuracy of roll pitch and yaw and also X, Y and Z positioning in 3D space

Vuzix Wrap 920AR Specifications:

• 1/3-inch wide VGA Digital Image Sensor
• Resolution: 752H x 480W
• Includes 6 Degree-of-Freedom Tracker
• Frame rate: 60 fps
• Dynamic range: >55dB linear; >80-100dB in HiDy mode
• Shutter efficiency: >99%
• ADC Resolution: 10-bit column parallel
• High-speed USB 2.0
• PC and Mac compatible
• System requirements: Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista, Windows7, Mac OS X 10.4.9 or higher
• MSRP: $799.99

The idea of video game characters hanging out in my living room or viewing web links published in magazines or books on the internet in real time sounds intriguing, but I’m not quite ready to spend $800 to look like an idiot quite yet. If you are, expect the glasses to be available in the second quarter of this year.

Vuzix to Introduce Revolutionary Augmented Reality Wrap 920AR Video Eyewear at 2010 International CES

Las Vegas, NV – January 6th, 2010 – Vuzix Corporation (TSX-V: VZX), the leader in video eyewear for the mainstream consumer, defense and low vision markets, will debut the Wrap 920AR eyewear complete with a stereo camera pair that “looks” into the world, bringing mixed and augmented reality content to life. With the new Wrap 920AR, users can view the real-world environment and computer-generated imagery seamlessly mixed together; allowing video game characters to jump out of the TV and come to life in your living room, or magazines and books with animated links back to the web in real time.

The stereo camera pair delivers a single 1504 x 480 side-by-side image that can be viewed in 3D stereoscopic video, while the video eyewear provides an unprecedented 67-inch display as seen from 10 feet. The Wrap 920AR also includes a 6 Degree-of-Freedom Tracker, which allows for absolute accuracy of roll pitch and yaw and also X, Y and Z positioning in 3D space. Selected as a 2010 CES Innovations Award winner and a semifinalist for the “Last Gadget Standing” competition, the Wrap 920AR will be the highlight of Vuzix’ display at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show.

“The Wrap 920AR offers the world’s only sunglass styled Augmented Reality experience” said Vuzix CEO, Paul Travers. “This state-of-the-art video eyewear, offers consumers an AR solution only available in handheld devices to date, merging the real world with the digital in a pair of glasses makes for world changing experiences from industry to gaming,” adds Travers. “With the Wrap 920 AR, Vuzix brings exclusive new capabilities to the consumer.”

The Wrap 920AR’s stereo camera assembly and 6-DoF Tracker will also be available separately for upgrading existing Wrap video eyewear.
Vuzix Wrap 920AR Specifications:

• 1/3-inch wide VGA Digital Image Sensor
• Resolution: 752H x 480W
• Includes 6 Degree-of-Freedom Tracker
• Frame rate: 60 fps
• Dynamic range: >55dB linear; >80-100dB in HiDy mode
• Shutter efficiency: >99%
• ADC Resolution: 10-bit column parallel
• High-speed USB 2.0
• PC and Mac compatible
• System requirements: Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista, Windows7, Mac OS X 10.4.9 or higher
• MSRP: $799.99

Expected availability for the Wrap 920AR is 2nd quarter of 2010. For specific product or company information, please visit www.vuzix.com.

The latest research from the Center for American Progress finds that the U.S. could reap $1.5 trillion in economic benefits by legalizing its vast population of unauthorized workers.

Essentially, they argue that the costs of enforcing a broken system are massive, and do nothing in the long-term. Thus legalize them.

CAP: The current enforcement-only approach to unauthorized immigration is not cost effec- tive and has not deterred unauthorized immigrants from coming to the United States when jobs are available. Rather, enforcement-only policies have wasted billions of taxpayer dollars while pushing unauthorized migration further underground. And these policies have produced a host of unintended consequences: more deaths among border crossers, greater demand for people smugglers, less “circular migration” in favor of more “permanent settlement” among unauthorized immigrants, and further depressed wages in low-wage labor markets.

Significant declines in unauthorized immigration have historically occurred only during downturns in the U.S. economy when U.S. labor demand is damp- ened. And declining birth rates in Mexico will likely accomplish what tens of billions of dollars in border enforcement clearly have not: a reduction in the supply of migrants from Mexico who are available for jobs in the United States.

Read the full Center of American Progress report here >

(Via Paul Kedrosky)

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Obama Tells Immigration Reformers They Are At The Back Of The Line
• Immigrants Hammered By Foreclosures
• 12-13 Killed In Hostage Standoff At Binghamton Immigration Center

Diesels are slowly starting to get popular in the United States, with German automakers leading the front with diesel variants of their most popular gasoline models.

Of course there are some obvious benefits to diesel over gasoline, including the increase in fuel-economy, a boost in torque and the final price differential over gasoline models is generally much smaller than that for hybrids. Nonetheless, diesel fuel is a bit pricier than gasoline, which may be the reason why Americans still seem to be a bit hesitant about purchasing them.

So we figured we’d ask you guys whether or not you would consider buying a diesel over a gasoline model? If yes, then which one? Some choices you have include the 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI, 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, 2010 Volkswagen Touareg TDI, BMW 335d, BMW X5 xDrive35d, 2010 Mercedes-Benz ML350 BlueTEC, 2010 Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTEC, 2010 Mercedes-Benz R350 BlueTEC, Audi A3 TDI and the Audi Q7 TDI.

– By: Omar Rana

In a blog post from 2006 titled, “The Art of Driving Your Competition Crazy,” Silicon Valley venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki wrote, “you cannot drive your competition crazy unless you understand their strengths and weaknesses.” Kawasaki undoubtedly knows what he’s talking about, and his advice – while almost 4 years old – still rings true today.

If you’ve got a great idea for a startup, knowing as much about your potential competitors is invaluable, and the people behind Competitious know this as well as anyone. That’s why they created their handy application for keeping close tabs on the competition.

Sponsor

Developed by RivalSoft, the makers of RivalMap, Competitious is a free service that allows users to collaborate on numerous projects for tracking industry competitors. You and your team can gather and collect news clips, build feature comparison matrices and keep an eye on traffic trends with Alexa data.

The comparison matrix feature is very useful and we here at ReadWriteWeb are even putting this feature to use in researching an upcoming report. However, entering in individual features for each company can become a bit tedious.

It would have been nice to see Competitious offer a list of popular companies whose core features could be automatically placed into a matrix. Users would also benefit from suggested competiors for any given company based on what other users are comparing, but perhaps these features are on Competitious’ roadmap for the future.

The traffic graphs can only be seen if your competitors are ranked in the top 100,000 on Alexa, which can be a problem for small business with equally small competition. Competitious does claim, however, that they are working on “a much more robust traffic system” for their post-beta release.

In the meantime, free site analytics services like Compete and Quantcast can provide data for those hard-to-reach sites. Despite its early flaws, with the ability to easily compare any number of companies in a side-by-side fashion, Competitious is a convenient solution for researching that “competitors” slide in your startup’s pitch presentation.

Discuss

TNDTE has put Diploma Results 2008 on the srevers of website www.squarebrothers.com.
Click any one of these these mirror links of 4 severs to get your DOTE october2008 result.
Mirror 1

Mirror 2

Mirror 3

Mirror 4

http://results.squarebrothers.com/diploma-results/dec2008/

Drop your registration no. in commenting section to get your result by mail.
Update as of 4th DEC 2008:
Following notifications are available on the TNDTE website.

QUESTION PAPER REQUIREMENT FOR GRACE CHANCE JAN-2009 EXAMINATION

http://www.tndte.com/QPR-Jan_2009.pdf

GRACE CHANCE – JANUARY2009 – TIME TABLE

http://www.tndte.com/Grace_chance.htm

The results for the Tamilnadu Diploma in Technical Education will come soon, kindly check this space for the most recent and updated information regarding this. According to some online sources, these results will be made online and all the students who had appeared for these exams can take this facility of going through their results online.

The location of the online website to get the results is

http://www.tndte.com/results/index.html

For some reason this website is currently not working – may be it is under maintenance or may be there is too much load on it by students across India or Tamil Nadu who are queuing up to check their examination results for TNDTE 2008.

Students who qualify for the exams in these tests will be eligible for admission to various colleges and institutes in Tamil Nadu who offer different courses in Technical Diploma.

Read more: TNDTE 2009 Results for Tamilnadu Diploma

Related posts:

1. Tndte Diploma Results October 2008 Information TNDTE has put Diploma Results 2008 on the srevers of…
2. Tndte Results, Tndte Results 2009 & Tndte Diploma Results 2009 Find your Result 2009 of Diploma by just entering your…
3. Bharathiar University Ug Results 2009 Information The Bharathiar University is the University of Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore….

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TNDTE has put Diploma Results 2008 on the srevers of website www.squarebrothers.com.
Click any one of these these mirror links of 4 severs to get your DOTE october2008 result.
Mirror 1

Mirror 2

Mirror 3

Mirror 4

http://results.squarebrothers.com/diploma-results/dec2008/

Drop your registration no. in commenting section to get your result by mail.
Update as of 4th DEC 2008:
Following notifications are available on the TNDTE website.

QUESTION PAPER REQUIREMENT FOR GRACE CHANCE JAN-2009 EXAMINATION

http://www.tndte.com/QPR-Jan_2009.pdf

GRACE CHANCE – JANUARY2009 – TIME TABLE

http://www.tndte.com/Grace_chance.htm

The results for the Tamilnadu Diploma in Technical Education will come soon, kindly check this space for the most recent and updated information regarding this. According to some online sources, these results will be made online and all the students who had appeared for these exams can take this facility of going through their results online.

The location of the online website to get the results is

http://www.tndte.com/results/index.html

For some reason this website is currently not working – may be it is under maintenance or may be there is too much load on it by students across India or Tamil Nadu who are queuing up to check their examination results for TNDTE 2008.

Students who qualify for the exams in these tests will be eligible for admission to various colleges and institutes in Tamil Nadu who offer different courses in Technical Diploma.

Read more: TNDTE 2009 Results for Tamilnadu Diploma

Related posts:

1. Tndte Results, Tndte Results 2009 & Tndte Diploma Results 2009 Find your Result 2009 of Diploma by just entering your…
2. Bharathiar University Ug Results 2009 Information The Bharathiar University is the University of Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore….
3. Bharathiar University Result, Bharathiar University Result 2009 The Bharathiar University is the University of Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore….

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Boeing [NYSE: BA] has announced that several new senior-level engineering leadership positions have been established to help drive engineering excellence and ensure program success across the company.

“Boeing’s reputation for engineering excellence is built on an array of outstanding products designed and developed under the guidance of strong engineering leaders,” said John Tracy, Boeing chief technology officer and senior vice president of Engineering, Operations & Technology (EO&T).

“Our new senior engineering leaders will help ensure that engineering excellence continues to be driven through all our products and services to satisfy our customers and grow our company.”

Appointed as vice presidents of Engineering, the new engineering leaders are all recognized authorities in technical fields critical to aerospace development (see below).

They will work closely with program managers and chief engineers to help ensure the technical integrity of their products by providing technical guidance in their various areas of expertise.

This guidance will be provided in a number of ways, including direct and active involvement in key system requirements and criteria definition, critical design and production readiness reviews, technical risk assessments and issues resolution, and any other important engineering challenges that may arise.

In addition to reporting to Tracy, the new engineering vice presidents will also report to either the Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president of Engineering or the Boeing Integrated Defense Systems vice president of Engineering and Mission Assurance, who also co-lead the Enterprise Engineering function within EO&T under Tracy.

“By having these vice presidents report to the engineering leaders of the business units and to me, we can assure that they are focused on the most critical engineering issues of the company,” Tracy said.

The newly appointed leaders and their technical areas of responsibility are:

Boeing Commercial Airplanes

• Mike Delaney — Airplane Performance & Product Architecture. Delaney was vice president, chief project engineer for the 787 program.
• Keith Leverkuhn — Propulsion Systems. Leverkuhn was vice present/general manager of Propulsion Systems for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
• Jim Ogonowski — Airplane Structures. Ogonowski was director, chief structures engineer for the 787 program.
• Mike Sinnett — Airplane Systems. Sinnett was vice president, systems chief engineer for the 787 program.

As part of their new assignments, Delaney, Ogonowski and Sinnett will continue to focus on the 787 program, which is currently the most important engineering challenge for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Integrated Defense Systems

• Bill Carrier — Structures. Carrier was previously director of mechanical/structural engineering.
• Laurette Lahey — Flight & Controls. Lahey was previously director of flight engineering.
• Jack Murphy — System-of-Systems / Systems Engineering. In addition, Murphy will continue to serve as vice president of mission assurance.
• Darrell Uchima — Mission Systems Payloads & Sensors. Uchima was director of the satellite development center for Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems.
• James Farricker – Networks & Communications. Farricker is a senior technical fellow and was most recently chief engineer of Boeing’s Enterprise Network Organization in EO&T.

Revitalizing the role of senior engineering leaders represents another in a series of strategic steps Boeing has been taking over the past several years to strengthen its drive for functional and program excellence.

As part of this drive Boeing formed in 2006 an integrated Enterprise Engineering function chartered to identify best processes, systems, tools and training, and deploy them as standards across Boeing.

Led by Tracy in conjunction with the Commercial Airplanes vice president of Engineering and the Integrated Defense Systems vice president of Engineering and Mission Assurance, the Enterprise Engineering function has made significant progress toward improving the efficiency and effectiveness of engineering support across Boeing programs.

By being able to share more processes, systems and data, Boeing engineers in the different business units are now able to work more effectively together on joint programs – such as the P-8A and 767 International Tanker programs – which leverage Boeing’s unique ability to combine its commercial and defense capabilities.

Just as important, Boeing engineers can now cross business unit lines to support any Boeing program.

For example, more than 1,000 Integrated Defense Systems’ engineers have helped support Commercial Airplanes’ 787 and 777 programs over the past two years, while Commercial Airplanes’ engineers have helped Integrated Defense Systems resolve technical and flight test issues on the 767 International Tanker program.

Now, by focusing the technical expertise of proven engineering leaders on the top engineering challenges of the company, Boeing is strengthening its ability to ensure that engineering quality, effectiveness and efficiency are being driven into the design, development and production of all the company’s products and services, Tracy said.

MEDIA CONTACT:Daryl Stephenson, 314-232-8203
[email protected]

If you have ever been on the fence about taking up sewing and embrodiery, this might be the deciding factor. Brother introduced the Quattro 6000D, a first of it’s kind sewing and embroidery machine with a built in camera. It uses an InnovEye Technology to give the experience of the camera being right above the needle so as to give a magnified view of the sewing area on the LCD touch screen in HD. The precision this will allow is amazing. Recieving the “Best Buy” award from Consumers Digest magazine, it has been the talk of the industry. This machine will allow anyone with an interest to become a full designer because of it’s easy use. There are even Disney embroidery design presets to utilize and even more you can access through the USB port. Brother’s website offers these.

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Technology, Ford

In recent months, rumors have been rampant that the next generation of Ford’s Shelby GT500 Mustang would dump the existing 5.4-liter supercharged V8 in favor of a twin-turbo version of the new 5.0-liter Coyote V8 that debuts this spring. Unfortunately, in spite of earlier reports confirming the development, it appears that such an engine will not be installed in the GT500 any time soon. Autoblog had the chance to talk with Mike Harrison, Ford’s chief engineer for the 5.0-liter and 6.2-liter V8 engines this morning, and he made it clear that the mooted engine is not part of the program for the Blue Oval bomber.

Harrison explained that such a configuration would be almost impossible for Ford to engineer because the 5.0-liter already consumes virtually the entire engine compartment. There is evidently no room to mount the turbos on the outside of the block where the exhaust currently resides. One possibility would be to put the turbos in the valley of the block similar to the new 6.7-liter diesel or BMW‘s 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8, but this creates a bunch of new problems as well. The heat generated by having the turbos up top would probably cause the paint on the hood to bubble and peel unless Ford could add some exotic and undoubtedly expensive heat shielding, which is unlikely to happen.

The other issue is that this configuration would really only work if the intake and exhaust flow were reversed, putting the exhaust in the valley. Without this change, the paths from the exhaust ports to the turbos would be too long, resulting in excess turbo lag and unacceptable performance. However, this would require a level of engineering investment for new heads that Ford is unlikely to make in such a low-volume program. Thus, we’ll have to be satisfied with the aluminum block 5.4 that is arriving later this year.

Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Ford V8 boss says no twin-turbo 5.0L for Shelby GT500 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article Tags: Joseph Bast

During the past year, the theory of man-made global warming took some serious hits. More than a few people are now saying the whole thing was a lie or an elaborate hoax, and that someday we’ll be laughing at how foolish we were to “fall for it.”

Certainly there is a solid basis for this view. Global temperatures during the past ten years stopped rising and started to fall, something computer models that claim to show a human influence on the climate did not predict.

Despite wall-to-wall promotion of global warming alarmism by the media and businesses seeking to cash in on public concerns, only 36 percent of Americans believe global warming is man-made, according to a Pew Research Center poll released in October. That’s down from 47 percent the year before.

Source: pajamasmedia.com

Read in full with comments »