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The ‘white space’ promise continues to be enticing to tech companies as much as to the consumers. Several big tech and hardware companies, like Dell, HP, Google and Microsoft, have lobbied for the US government to open up the so-called white space, unused portions of the lower frequency spectrum usually designated to TV broadcast. One requirement before manufacturers can start offering devices using that space is a national database to keep track of the portions of the spectrum already used in every location. This database will be maintained by several private sector administrators. Google has now made its intentions of becoming one of the database administrators official in a submission to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

“In a submission to the FCC, we’re asking the Commission to designate Google as one of potentially several administrators of a white spaces geolocation database,” Richard Whitt, Washington Telecom and Media Counsel at Google wrote.

“Why are we offering to do this? We continue to be big believers in the potential for this spectrum to revolutionize wireless broadband, and we think it’s important for us to step forward and offer our assistance to make that vision a reality… [W]e believe we’re in a strong position to build and successfully manage one,” Google explained it… (read more)

As EV technology and solution manufacturers and providers are gearing up for the battle ahead, the Chinese from Wonder Auto managed to get a head start by signing a deal with the local Liaoning government to provide electric motors for 100 of its taxis. The deal is a first for the Chinese and, according to Wonder Auto, a sign for the "adoption of electronic cars(!)" (their words).

"After 5 to 10 years, automobiles will be transformed from fuel powered to electric p… (read more)

Continue reading Turtle Beach upgrades, iterates USB soundcard line, adds optical output for true 5.1 surround

Turtle Beach upgrades, iterates USB soundcard line, adds optical output for true 5.1 surround originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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See that text up there? The part of the site that reads “Kindle DX Now with Global Wireless.” Well, the Kindle DX doesn’t have have global wireless… yet. The link is dead but it certainly looks like Amazon is about to make good on its earlier promise to bring global roaming capabilities to the DX as it did with its 6-inch Kindle. In fact, we’re expecting a press release any time now.

[Thanks, Brad]

Kindle DX now with global wireless? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Twittering Arduino-powered laser tripwire captures trespassers — digitally (video)

Twittering Arduino-powered laser tripwire captures trespassers — digitally (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Need some extra sound power? No worries because now you can carry your own personal Earphone speaker on you as a keychain on you keys or maybe your backpack. The speaker looks great with a look of an earpiece.

It works in almost any 1/8″ jack but of course it will not work on the first generation iPhone. But it will on all others.

So now you can carry a speaker with you where ever you go that looks and sound great. No lack of sound from you mp3 players any more.

Order your Earphone Speaker Keychain today and start dancing tomorrow.

By Juliet Ye, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

As makers of electronic-book readers jockey for position in the U.S., Japan and Europe, a similar but more challenging effort is unfolding in China.

World-wide, about four million electronic-book reading devices were sold last year. The number is expected to jump to 12 million in 2010 and 18 million in 2012, predicts the U.S.-based market intelligence firm iSuppli Corp.

China is forecast to see e-reader sales jump from 800,000 in 2009 to three million in 2010, making up of 20% of the global market, according to a recent report by research firm DisplaySearch. The company goes on to forecast that China will surpass the U.S. to become the world’s largest e-reader market before 2015, by virtue of its large population.

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Google is poised to unveil its strongest iPhone rival yet later today — the Nexus One.

Originally hyped as the Google phone, the Nexus One now has the tech blogosphere scratching its head over what appears to be a top-of-the-line, HTC-built phone. Dubbed an iPhone killer, and then a Droid killer, the Nexus One has some asking: What’s the big deal?

I’ve played with the Nexus One briefly. Sources who have owned both the iPhone and used the Nexus One for awhile say it’s better and faster than any previous Android phone. It’s light. It feels thinner then the 3GS and is incredibly fast. Like with other Android phones, Google’s strengths in the cloud give it advantages like a bar that lets you search the web and your phone’s apps at the same time along with a killer Gmail integration, not to mention apps that run in the background. But alas, the same weaknesses persist: the iPhone has a much richer selection of apps with 100,000 choices and that gorgeous user interface.

As the latest in a never-ending march of Android devices, the Nexus One underscores the cultural differences between Google’s and Apple’s approaches to the mobile space.

Google, which was born from the web, has a mentality of incremental improvement closer to some of the younger startups we profile every day on this blog. In a single year, Android has gone through serious revisions from Cupcake to Donut to Eclair, providing deeper HTML5 support, the ability to upload and record video and a Bluetooth API. (Android updates are named in alphabetical order after pastries. Flan is next.) Android phones were fairly yawn-worthy until last fall, when the first truly competitive devices including the Motorola Droid emerged. Even the name Nexus One — emphasis on the numeral — suggests future iterations.

By contrast, Apple’s older roots in hardware (and Steve Jobs) reinforce a culture that requires perfection upon release. Apple’s full force is behind a single phone, while Google has its eggs in many baskets and is open. A benefit of Apple’s approach is the torrent of speculation that does more to market its products than any advertising. Apple also retains end-to-end control over the phone’s entire experience, simultaneously delighting users while aggravating developers.

Overall, incrementalism seems to be working for Google. A couple stats released today bear out evidence of that success.

Google’s newly-acquired mobile advertising arm AdMob reports that requests for ads on Android devices nearly doubled between October and December. The company received 1 billion requests for ads in December. Motorola’s Droid is clearly leading the way with 30 percent of requests.

The Droid has also piqued consumer interest in Android-based phones. Twenty-one percent of people considering buying a smart phone in the next 90 days say they prefer Google’s Android as their operating system, according to a ChangeWave Survey.

That said, we think the Android-iPhone fistfight often portrayed is a bit simplistic. This isn’t a zero-sum game — yet. Smartphone penetration in the U.S. is still at 18 percent, according to The Nielsen Company. If Google can on-board a fraction of those users converting to smartphones and cultivate an ecosystem of rich, web-based mobile applications, that’s a big win. And Apple can still have its cake and eat it too.

We suspect there will be something beyond the Nexus One tomorrow. This would explain the normally paranoid company’s puzzling decision to hand the phone out as a Christmas gift to employees, taking the wind out of any device announcement.

Speculation has pointed to 1) a novel sales strategy giving consumers freedom to choose carriers, 2) Spotify availability (Spotify told us itself that it’s heading to CES, perhaps to make an announcement) or 3) a Google-HTC tablet.

In any case, we’re probably in for a surprise.

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Ryan McBride wrote:

Stephen Seiler has been hunting for cash to advance an experimental therapy for sickle cell disease into initial human studies. And the veteran biotech executive, the former CEO of Cambridge, MA-based Idera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IDRA), has founded a startup in Newton, MA called AesRx to carry out his goal.

Seiler said he has provided an undisclosed amount of money from his own pocket to support the young startup, which was formed in November 2008. Now he’s looking to raise about $10 million in a Series A round of venture capital to advance the startup’s lead drug, called Aes-103, into a Phase I clinical trial next year for sickle cell disease. He’s making the case that the current treatments for sickle cell disease (sometimes called sickle cell anemia), which affects about 75,000 Americans, have left patients with far too few options to treat the genetic, lifelong illness that causes pain, infections, organ damage, and can often be deadly.

The firm’s drug is a small molecule called 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural, or 5HMF, which is derived from sugar and can be found in everything from caramel and cookies to prune juice. Based on preclinical studies, according to Seiler, there is evidence that the drug could be less toxic than previous treatments for sickle cell disease. For example, the standard treatment for the disease, called hyroxyurea, is typically prescribed only when patients are experiencing pain and other complications of sickle cell because it can cause side effects such as vomiting and lowered red blood cell production. And while bone marrow transplants have been able to cure the illness, there are challenges to making this therapy available to most patients because a matching donor is needed and it’s too expensive for them.

“Although it’s still pre-clinical, we know a lot about this drug,” Seiler said. “Therefore we believe our odds of success are better than a random pre-clinical compound.”

For now, the company is supporting some of its claims about the potential utility of its treatment with outside, peer-reviewed studies that validate the importance of the target that AesRx’s treatment binds with, as well as the drug’s intended mechanism of action. The compound was also studied extensively by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University who first discovered its potential to treat sickle cell disease. (Seiler purchased the experimental drug after its former owner, New Jersey-based Xechem International, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in fall 2008, he said.)

Sickle cell disease is caused by abnormal …Next Page »

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Hofele Design has taken the Audi A5, added some R8 looks and come up with this result. The A5 takes on carbon fibre sideblades (which don’t appear on the R8 Spider, but which Hofele wanted to include on the A5 cabrio all the same), rear aerodynamic look from the supercar coupe, side skirts, a lowered body and twin chrome exhaust with four outlets. It might not be your cup of tea, but if you’re wanting to touch up your Audi, this kit is available on the Audi A5 and S5 coupé, and the Audi A5 cabrio and S5 cabrio.

Source | Autoblog.com

Dacia’s Logan, a successful model generally sold around the world as rebadged Renaults, is losing ground in India, a market where it is currently manufactured by Mahindra Renault. Sales of the budget-minded model got reduced in the last months and, as a result, Renault’s Indian joint venture will adjust production to cope with decreasing demand.

Renault’s partnership with Mahindra had a capacity of 50,000 units per year but monthly figures decreased every month in late 2009. The t… (read more)

Although Michael Schumacher hasn’t raced at competitive level in Formula One for the last 3 years, it appears the German will not be the first of the Mercedes driver to take the 2010 challenger for a drive during the first testing session of the winter, in Valencia. The FIA ban for testing expires on January 31st, after which all teams are scheduled to test their cars on the Ricardo Tormo Circuit starting February 1st.

Talking to the Salzburger Nachrichten the other day, Schumache… (read more)

The North American division of KTM Motorsports announced yesterday that FMF Racing is the title sponsor of the 2010 KTM Factory Off-Road and Supercross/Motocross Lites Racing Teams. Furthermore, FMF Racing will also be offering exclusive FMF/KTM exhaust pipes available only at KTM dealers.

The strong relationship between the two companies made FMF a perfect fit when looking for a title sponsor. It was also important to work with a company that had a strong presence in the off-road… (read more)

Yahoo hasn’t been doing great for several years now. Its vast arsenal of services and web proprieties has managed to provide it with enough revenue stream to survive but, at the same time, it’s holding it back from any real growth. The company has been shutting down or selling off services for a while now, and one product which has been on the ‘to-go’ list for a few months is Zimbra. It looks like Yahoo may have finally found a worthy suitor for the white-label email suite in VMware which is reportedly interested in acquiring the product.

All Things D’s Kara Swisher cites sources close to the deal and says that an announcement is coming soon and that the negotiations are very close to an end. Cnet also confirmed the deal through other sources, so the rumor is looking solid. As expected, both companies declined to comment, and the financial details are unknown. It is very likely, though, that the sell price will be significantly lower than the $350 million Yahoo paid for Zimbra when it acquired it in 2007.

All Things D says that Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz personally approached VMware CEO Paul Maritz and proposed a deal. VMware has been expanding rapidly from just a virtualization company, adding several new products and services for the enterprise market. Zimbra would be a welcomed addition to the line up as it would co… (read more)

Tucker was a man with a different approach on the auto industry who managed to build Tucker cars in the ‘40s. Unfortunately he only had the chance to build 51 Tuckers, as the story says that a conspiracy drove him out of business.

Needless to say that the cars are very expensive, as they are very rare. In the past twenty years, the Tucker Automobile Club of America have been recognized as the foremost authority on Tucker Automobiles, so it has been asked to make an official … (read more)

Article Tags: John Leonard

The public tends to trust “Science” to tell us the truth. Put a lab coat and a stethoscope on someone and we tend to trust them more than we normally would trust a stranger. Society respects the hard work that was required to earn that lab coat, whether a true scientist is wearing it or an actor who “plays one on T.V.” Looking the part and fulfilling the role are two different things.

Some “scientists” (better called pseudo-scientists) stick to their guns and defend bad theory long after reason and common sense dictate other actions are more rational for two reasons – peer pressure and funding. It’s tough to go against the flow of conventional wisdom and tell the world that global warming is a farce.

Bjorn Lomborg was an established and respected liberal scientist who believed completely in global warming and for that reason set out to disprove the theories of American economist Julian Simon. Simon claimed the world’s environment was improving and not getting worse.

Source: rightsidenews.com

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No more spyshots for the 2010 Opel Meriva! The Corsa-based compact MPV is now available for the public eye, in its production-ready form.

The Meriva has kept most of the concept version’s (presented at Geneva Auto Show 2008) features, following the current Opel design trend set by the Insignia and continued by the Astra. Thumbs up!

A really unexpected feature borrowed form the concept is the doors’ suicide layout, a design delicacy only used by a few sports or luxur… (read more)