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During a recent Board of Directors meeting, Yamaha Japan took the decision to reorganize the management system, including the change of the company’s president. The decision followed president’s Tsuneji Togami admission to hospital at the end of last year.

Togami is to be replaced by the company’s current Senior Executive Officer, Hiroyuki Yanagi. The Board’s decision will take effect officially March 25, 2010. Managing Executive Officer and Representative Director Takaaki Kimura … (read more)

Jeep has a serious reason to celebrate, as the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon was named the Best 4×4 Vehicle of the Decade, while the four-door Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon was named the Decade’s Most Significant 4×4 Vehicle. The awards were presented by Australia’s Four Wheeler Magazine.

Jeep vehicles have earned many awards in the almost 70-year history of the iconic brand, but few have been as prestigious as these accolades from the editors at Four Wheeler magazine, said Mike Manley, Pres… (read more)

Google is getting into a lot of things these days, operating systems, even phones, so there shouldn’t be anything surprising to us coming from the Mountain View company. Except maybe that it’s getting into the utility business, but that’s exactly what the company is doing with the newly formed Google Energy. In all fairness, Google doesn’t plan to compete with the established utility companies, but it has filed a request with the federal regulators in the US to become a licensed wholesaler of electricity mostly to achieve its plans of being carbon neutral.

Cnet reports that Google has set up a subsidiary called Google Energy, based in Delaware, last month and its submission has now been forwarded to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the US agency which oversees the national power grid. Google is now awaiting approval but, in theory, there shouldn’t be any problems.

Google is deeply interested in green technology and energy savings and has several related projects mostly run through its philanthropic arm Google.org. A couple of years ago, the company made a pledge to become carbon neutral and is pursuing several means of achieving that. Last year, the company said it had managed to achieve that goal for 2007 and part of 2008.

One way of lowering its carb… (read more)

Warm and wintry recipes today, including icy oysters with an unusual pairing, and chewy ginger cookies with cardamom and black pepper.

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While Beijing merely scolds Chinese speculators from 30,000 fee above, the city of Shenzhen has decided to crack down on local property speculation themselves.

They’re launching a three-month crack down speculators and less than savoury practices. Hopefully they mean it.

Hong Kong Standard: Shenzhen’s action, which began yesterday, comes after some tier-one cities adopted stringent policies to cool down the property sector. Last month Guangzhou announced tougher penalties for land hoarding and stepped up the seizure of idle land. And Shanghai introduced four measures including more stringent mortgage policies for second homes.

But analysts say their efforts might not be successful. “Local governments depend very much on real estate for their incomes,” said Janet Leung at Core Pacific-Yamaichi International.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban- Rural Construction is to tighten mortgages for second-home purchases. It will also step up its effort to fight home stockpiling and false pricing. In cities with excess price surges, the ministry will speed up the construction of affordable homes.

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See Also:

• GM China Sees Record Sales In 2009
• How China Will Blow Past India And Control The Gold Market In 2010
• China: A Threat Or Opportunity For A Greener Future?

We have seen mannequin robots already, machines that may sometime replace real models in fashion shows and similar events. Needless to say that the company behind those robots is based in Japan. And it was clear that the first robot maker marketing a new line of robots as “recyclable” would come out of the same country, too. And Osaka-based Eager [JP] is combining both ideas by offering recyclable mannequin robots.

Eager says their models are ideal for recycling as they are partly made of cardboard. The robots detect the presence of humans through sensors and start posing. Small motors placed in the elbows and shoulders enable the robots to bend their necks and arms. They can pose in a total of 12 variations.

Each robot weighs just 6kg. At the moment Eager is only offering female models, but the company is thinking about building male and child models, too. Future versions may even be able to “speak” in one way or the other.

Eager is selling the robotic mannequins to department stores and museums. One machine costs around $5,000.

Via The Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

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Aaron Carter’s the new Gordon Ramsey!

The cash-poor crooner is such a big fan of Fort Lauderdale Italian eatery Slice, he recently decided to put what’s left of his money into the venture.

“Hey everyone! Important message! To all of you who enjoy food! The way I finally do now! I’m part owner in the greatest restaurant EVER!!! See you tomorrow!” Carter excitedly wrote in a series of posts on his personal Twitter.com page this week. “The first five fans to show up at Slice and find me, will get MY favortie (sic) combo The #1 haha I wonder what the first fan will get??”

Late last year, the Internal Revenue Service filed a lien against the singer for failure to pay over $1 million in back taxes.

Crossing a bridge and getting to the other side sure is difficult during snow and rain. Keeping this in mind, a new heating system powered by solar energy will be used by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and will be installed by Pave Guard Technologies, a Kansas City firm. Scheduled to be first installed on two bridges along the Missouri Highway 10 at a cost of $183,000, the system uses the concept of a radiant floor heating with the use of solar energy to save costs. This system will also help generate energy during dry seasons that will be used to power up streetlights.

The system eliminates the use of corrosive clearing materials to clean the pavements, hence increasing the bridges life span. The system is activated automatically at 38 degrees Fahrenheit and a warm mixture is circulated in the tubing. The rehabilitation work will be carried out on these bridges this spring to keep these bridges free of ice this following winter season.

[Sun Trib]

One of our favorite food magazine features of the year is the Saveur 100 List. Every year they bring out an issue with 100 tidbits, ingredients, good meals, restaurants, products and more that they think deserve to be spotlighted. This year, though, the list is a little different. It was chosen by their readers — and the whole thing is online. Here’s a peek at some of the bits we especially enjoyed!

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3D was a big buzzword at last year’s CES, and it’s even bigger this year.

It’s hard to find a TV manufacturer who isn’t showing off sets that promise to let you replicate the “Avatar” experience at home. And programmers are promising to produce entertainment you’ll want to see in three dimensions. Sony (SNE) in particular is making a big bet here.

But even you believe there’s an audience for this stuff, the 3D advocates have one big problem in front of them: Lousy timing. American consumers are finishing the end of a major TV replacement cycle, which means it will be some time before they’re ready to plunk down big money again for a new screen.

If you want a reality check on 3D’s impact on consumer electronics and the entertainment industry, check out this brief interview I conducted with DreamWorks Animation head Jeffrey Katzenberg yesterday (apologies for crypt lighting and distracted camerawork — you can at least hear him, though).

Katzenberg is definitely a believer — his studio just announced that all of its future releases will be available in 3D — but even he thinks it will be “a ways down the line” before DreamWorks (DWA) sees a lift from the sale of 3D DVDs.

Katzenberg, along with Disney’s (DIS) Bob Iger, can afford to wait a bit for the 3D boom, because both of those studios cater primarily to families who are still buying DVDs, even if those numbers are dipping.

The rest of Hollywood will be more impatient. The industry depends on home video for a large part of its revenue and an even bigger slice of its profits, and those sales have been dropping off dramatically.

The high-def Blu-ray format was supposed to spur consumers to buy more discs, but it took years for the industry to settle a costly format war, and that format is only now starting to get a little bit of traction. The studios can’t wait that long for 3D to take off.

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BoomTown is in Vegas, shuttling up and down the Strip from one tech-related event after the next on the first night of the Consumer Electronics Show.

Held in Las Vegas for the next several days, the massive confab pretty much takes over the hotels, clubs and restaurants of the city, as well as its convention facilities.

A lot of top tech players are here, such as Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer, who delivered the opening keynote address last night.

I ran into Ballmer at a party later and he thought it went fine, but was definitely irked by power going out in the midst of his presentation, ruining one demo of some interactive features the software giant was keen to show off.

Power going off in the midst of this device-choked, electricial-hogging geekfest is pretty much of an apocalypse, as you might imagine, so I feel your pain, Steve!

In any case, here’s a video I did from last night, with a visit to see some innovative gadgets and also to interview Walt “Mr. CES” Mossberg, as well as some other shots.

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Filed under: Software, Developer, iPhone

It’s a new year, which means that in a few months, taxes will come due yet again. So why not get a head start on them with your iPhone — there is, it turns out, an app for that. TurboTax has an app coming out called SnapTax that promises to make taxes easy. All you do is take a picture of your W2 form with the camera, and then the software automatically reads the form, extracts the necessary information, and then uploads it into TurboTax’s software and processes your return. Pretty amazing.

There are, of course, a few drawbacks here. First is that you need to be in California. While the software will eventually work everywhere, they’re beta testing in the Golden State this year only. Second is that you should have a later generation iPhone — the optical text software works better with more processor power, so you’ll have to fix fewer errors on your 3GS than earlier versions of the hardware. And finally, you’ll need to have a pretty simple tax return. There are more options to handle more complicated tax issues, but basically the software is designed for a simple W2 plus maybe some extra income. Being a freelancer, I have all sorts of hoops to jump through, so I’ll have to head to the accountant yet again.

But hopefully this will help some of you. The app is coming later this month and will be available for $9.99. I’m not sure if that includes the actual return, but if it does, that’s a bargain. If you’re lucky enough to be in California and in the position to use this app, keep an eye out for it.

TUAWSnapTax allows you to do your taxes on your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sailing is now fast turning into an eco-friendly recreation with the availability of energy efficient yachts using alternative energy resources. The newest addition to these green sailors is the fuel cell powered super yacht built by SVDesign. Named as the OrganiK, this yacht has a high and economic cruising speed due to its narrow and long hull. Two pods with electric engines propel the vessel and are powered by fuel cells. Cruising on this yacht is a silent affair due to this
technology. The wheel house also has wide windows eliminating the need for extra lighting.

Luxury defines itself with the yachts salons, balconies and bedrooms, dining areas and even a library. The yacht uses eco-friendly systems to heat water and for air conditioning. The OrganiK has a minimum carbon footprint and lets you sail without the guilt of polluting the air and water. This super yacht is a pal to our environment in its production and use.

[SuperYachtTimes]

Police in the U.K. are searching for a man who goes around sniffing the backsides of unsuspecting grocery store workers. The creep has been caught on closed circuit TV not once, but twice. Here’s the rogue butt sniffer in action. Yuck.

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Autant d’humour que de mauvaise foi, encore plus d’indépendance, le dernier essai Top Gear consacré au BMW X6 fait partie de ces reportages comme on aimerait en voir plus souvent…

Situé il y a bien longtemps en Bretagne, un petit village d’irreductibles Gaulois… vous connaissez l’histoire. Petit à petit, le village s’est déplacé un peu au nord, de Bretagne vers la Grande-Bretagne. C’est depuis là maintenant que quelques irreéductibles résistent encore et toujours à l’envahisseur marketing et à ses essais calibrés et asseptisés, diffusés par des chaînes dont la vocation première est de fournir du « temps de cerveau disponible » à ses annonceurs. Ce qui exclut bien entendu toute fantaisie, tout critique trop virulente. Mais ici, à Top Gear, devenu un haut-lieu de la grande BBC, on pratique le service public, la dérision tout britannique, et on cultive l’exception culturelle autrement que dans l’incantation… Résultat; l’émission la plus regardée et téléchargée au monde, et des annonceurs qui, finalement, se frottent les mains!

Alors même si on sait que Jeremy Clarkson n’est pas un grand fan de BMW et que ses méthodes de test sont pour le moins spéciales, c’est quand même très réjouissant, et tant pis pour le X6!

Nouveau: pour profiter facilement et rapidement des notifications de nouveautés sur le site,pensez à vous abonner via Twitter. Chaque modification, nouvel article ou nouvelle vidéo sur notre chaîne Youtube, fait l’objet d’un Tweet immédiat!

It’s no secret that Google is a big proponent of open source technology and the open web (to a degree), and it’s no secret that Chris Messina is too, either. It’s thus not terribly surprising that the man is joining the Mountain View Internet giant as its new Open Web Advocate.

Messina announced the news on his blog, and referred to his move as a very happy birthday present (he’s turning 29 today).

Although involved in a slew of projects (Diso, Citizen Agency, Activity Streams, and others) and his capacities as board member of the OpenID and Open Web Foundations (which he’ll continue to be), Messina previously worked part-time for Vidoop, but was laid off around May 2009.

In the past, he’s also worked for (other) browser software makers such as Mozilla and Flock.

In his blog post, Messina says he’s been mulling over such a move for some time, and that multiple options were on the table. He writes that he feels he’s just getting started with his work, and that by joining Google he feels he can make a bigger impact.

Google lost one of its social forces and open web evangelists last year when Kevin Marks decided to go work for British Telecom instead, but last month the company recruited former Plaxo CTO Joseph Smarr to ‘turbocharge the opening up of the social web’. Messina’s other good friend, Jaiku co-founder Jyri Engeström, did the exact opposite about two months ago by leaving Google after a two year run.

People come and go, but with Messina, Google has attracted one of the people that I know is the most passionate about the future of the social web, and there’s no doubt in my mind that what he’ll be doing at Google will ultimately prove useful for the Web as a whole.

Happy birthday, Chris.

(Original image via Flickr / Lithfin)

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

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A source close to Artie Lange’s management team has revealed that the Howard Stern funnyman was admitted to New Jersey hospitall last Saturday after he tried to take his own life.

Lange reportedly stabbed himself multiple times in his Hoboken apartment over the weekend and was bleeding profusely by the time he was found by his grief-stricken mother on Saturday afternoon. Lange has a history of drug addiction and was collared on DUI charges in the Garden State last summer.

The comic has been absent from his post as Stern’s sidekick since early December. Artie also cancelled a number of stand-up gigs in the weeks leading up to the alleged suicide attempt. Despite his mysterious disappearance from the public eye, on Monday, shock jock Stern praised Lange’s strength and ensured viewers that the star has not be fired from the Sirius XM show.

“We all have our demons,” Stern said on-air this week. “Artie has given this show tremendous moments of great comedy. He’s a tremendous contributor. He is a good man. Don’t forget how great he is.”