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Windows: Yesterday we showed you how to remotely control a computer through Dropbox. Want to further automate your online syncing? MailDrop automatically grabs attachments from a particular email folder or label and stashes them in your cloud-based Dropbox storage.

Why would MailDrop be useful, beyond what a Drobox user can already do with their automatic folders and web access? Because it monitors only a specific label or folder in your email account, MailDrop makes it very easy to back up important files that get sent to your inbox. If you set that folder in your Dropbox account to be shared with others, it’s also a one-click solution for getting important files to collaborators and friends. Finally, if you’re on a device without a decent browser or a native Dropbox client (we’re looking at you, BlackBerry), it’s not too hard to set up a filter or folder rule that automatically shuffles files you mail to yourself into your Dropbox account.

What about the application itself? It’s self-contained and portable, and runs in the Windows system tray, periodically checking an email address, via IMAP connection, for activity in a folder you specify. It’s set up from the get-go for easy Gmail access, but you can manually tweak its server, port, and SSL settings for any IMAP-compatible service. If you find it helpful, you’ll want to add it to your Start menu’s Startup folder and set up your email with a unique folder or label for MailDrop to monitor.

MailDrop is a free download for Windows systems only.

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Filed under: Etc.

With 2009 nearly in our rearview mirror, MotorTrend has put together its annual list of 50 top automotive execs and their fortunes for the coming new year, and it’s a good primer on the industry’s movers and shakers.

It’s unlikely that 2010 will be as tumultuous as 2009, what with two of the world’s largest automakers under the fed’s control and storied marques being killed off faster than a topless chick in a slasher flick, but 2010 has the potential to be a another truly newsworthy year and MotorTrend’s Power List gives you a glimpse into the people behind the action. Make the jump for the top ten entrants and hit up MT for the full list with individual analysis of each exec.

[Source: MotorTrend]

Continue reading Motor Trend uncorks its yearly industry Power List

Motor Trend uncorks its yearly industry Power List originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Volvo, Geely

Prior to Ford Motor Company’s statement that it had agreed in principal to sell Volvo to China’s Geely, some former Volvo executives wrote a letter to Bill Ford voicing their collective concern with the deal. The former execs felt Geely didn’t have the cash or products to keep Volvo competitive and there was also a sense that Geely would somehow change how Volvo was run.

Reuters reports that Volvo has nothing to worry about, at least according to the head cheese at Geely. Geely founder and chairman Li Shufu reportedly told the official Xinhua news agency “if the deal succeeds, nothing will change for Volvo, except the boss turns to Li Shufu,” adding that Volvo and Geely will be “independently-managed brands.” Besides showing that CEOs can be as good at referring to themselves in the third person as any pro athlete, Shufu also insisted that Volvo’s production, research and development facilities, union agreements and dealer networks will all be left intact.

Reuters estimates that acquiring Volvo will cost Geely about $1.8 billion dollars, though Shufu adds that the complications over intellectual property were much more costly than the final price tag. The Geely chief added that Volvo could help the Chinese automaker move more upscale, including helping the company build what he calls an “energy-powered vehicle.” We’re guessing he’s referring to electric vehicles.

Shufu making such a public statement is likely welcome news to the many workers at Volvo, but there will likely be at least some changes in store for the storied Swedish automaker. For example, Shufu mentioned that Geely could help Volvo lower production costs, which could mean that parts that are currently produced in Europe could instead be made in China where labor is considerably cheaper. Beyond that, who knows what future lies ahead of Volvo. Shufu may be saying all the right things now, but his actions over the next few years will show whether he means what he says.

[Source: Reuters]

REPORT: Geely says it will continue to let Volvo be Volvo originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 07:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T is apparently not alone in struggling to cope with the demand that data hungry devices like the iPhone have placed on its network. Ronan Dunne, CEO of O2 UK, has publicly apologized to Londoners for the poor performance of its network over the past 6 months, blaming the explosion of demand for data by smartphones such an Apple’s iPhone for its woes. Londoners on O2 have struggled with intermittent data outages and occasional periods where they could not make or receive phone calls,  a scenario all too familiar for AT&T customers in the US. To cope with this surge in usage, O2 UK has dumped30 million pounds ($48 million USD) into its network and has added 200 mobile base stations. O2 is also working closely with Nokia Siemens to help better equip its network infrastructure and is in talks with both RIM and Apple to help identify data-intensive applications, a strategy which sounds a bit troubling. With a bit of good news, Mr. Dunne claims O2’s London network has shown improvement in the month of December and that any  “short-term blip” in their network reputation will be ameliorated by these efforts.Read

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It is a great privilege for the blog to have been included in the News and Analysis section of Medpedia. Medpedia includes a medical encyclopedia maintained by ‘physicians and PhD’s’ as well as a number of other useful features and further information can be found here.

MF Global has put out one of the more interesting 2010 predictions reports we’ve seen. Among its calls: A jobless recovery, an easing of investor demand for commodities, sovereign debt worries, and the peak of US liberalism coinciding with the official passage of healthcare reform. Thanks to ZeroHedge for posting the document.

MF Global 2010

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See Also:

• Left-Wing Frustration Over Healthcare, Wall Street, And Afghanistan Leads To Shocking Internal Anger At Obama
• RBC: Here’s How To Make A Killing In Emerging Markets In 2010
• Morgan Stanley: These 10 Trades Will Make You Rich In 2010

After discovering that Apple had registered iSlate.com in late 2006 (we dug a little deeper and found trademarks had been filed for ‘ISLATE’ in both the United States and Europe by a company that was most likely a dummy corporation set up by Apple), MacRumors has now discovered another possible name for the upcoming Apple tablet.

MacRumors bases its report on the filing for a US trademark for ‘IGUIDE’ by another Delaware-registered company called iGuide Media LLC, which can be linked to Cupertino by means of signatures on the documents coming from Apple’s Senior Trademark Specialist, Regina Porter.

Let’s dig a little deeper, once again.

Domain names

There’s no indication that Apple owns any domain name that contains the term ‘iguide’. The identity if iguide.com is shielded from public WHOIS records, but not by Mark Monitor, the brand protection firm Apple usually works with. The domain name iguide.net belongs to a company called iGuide Media, a marketing and design firm started by Jon Warren back in 1997 and led by a Brian Noon from 2002 to 2006, when the company was sold.

I checked a couple of other TLDs (.ca, .fr, and more) and found no indication that Apple owns any of those.

Trademarks

Two trademarks were filed for ‘IGUIDE’ by iGuide Media LLC (through a James Johnston) in the United States: a principal and a service mark, both on 18 December 2007. The description of goods and services given to iGuide Media is very similar to the one given to Slate Computing, the supposed shell company set up by Apple used to register the trademark for ‘ISLATE’, although it leans a bit more to a focus on software and services than hardware.

On the exact same day, iGuide Media LLC filed for a trademark in Europe as well: search OHIM for ‘iguide’ and you find a trademark filing that has all the Apple marks on it: the legal representative is ‘EDWARDS ANGELL PALMER & DODGE UK LLP’ (the same as for ‘ISLATE’ and ‘MACBOOK’, among others), and the priority country is Trinidad & Tobago, the same as when Apple filed for the ‘iphone’ trademark in Europe.

Noteworthy: the status history suggests that the community trademark application was registered (not filed) in February 2009, and that the full examination of the CTM application has been completed very recently, on the 18th of December 2009 to be exact.

Final thoughts

If I were betting man, I’d still be putting my money on the name iSlate for the tablet, Magic Slate for a possible peripheral, and iGuide for a service linked to the hardware device(s).

Here’s why:

– Apple doesn’t seem to own, directly nor indirectly, any ‘iguide’ domain names
– The ‘ISLATE’ and ‘MAGIC SLATE’ US trademarks were not filed for separately as a service trademark, unlike ‘IGUIDE’
– The ‘ISLATE’ US trademark was filed earlier than ‘IGUIDE’, by a different shell corporation (and the same as ‘MAGIC SLATE’)
– NYTimes editor Bill Keller’s mention of an ‘Apple slate’ device in a past speech
– According to Trademarkia, the ‘ISLATE’ trademark application was extended a second time last September, to show use in commerce
– The slightly different description for ‘goods and services’ for both Slate Computing and iGuide Media

Or, of course, we’re all wrong, and none of these names will ever be actually used by Apple. I would deem that unlikely, but we can’t know for sure.

Besides, has Apple announced that it’ll be selling a tablet computer yet?

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

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Egad. We had such high hopes for the Camangi WebStation, but as with a few other non-phone devices that have attempted to use Android, it seems as if this 7-inch slate falls a bit short in practice. The gang over at Laptop was able to corral a unit for a brief sit-down, and while they admired the exceptionally light and portable hardware, they kvetched about the lowly 800 x 480 screen resolution, sluggish performance when opening applications and the limited / confined feel of the Camangi Marketplace. They also barked about the resistive screen’s inability to accurately recognize finger presses, and while they’re still holding out some hope that this thing could be useful in at least a few scenarios, it’s fairly clear this piece isn’t for everyone. Peek the source link for the full skinny.

Camangi WebStation gets a few first impressions: ’sluggish’ and ‘confined’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s little sense in resisting the obvious: Google is slowly but surely taking over your life, but rather than get indignant and discombobulated, we’d suggest letting go and appreciating how much easier things are with the folks in Mountain View squarely in control. Take Google Goggles, for instance, which aims to convert cameraphone images into useful search results on its own Android platform. Up until now, we’ve been shown stock demos and videos of it running on conventional handsets, but seeing the Goggles hard at work on Sony Ericsson’s not-yet-released Xperia X10 is another thing entirely. Hop on past the break for the frames you’re craving, but don’t bank on this making the wait for said phone any simpler to stomach.

Continue reading Google Goggles gets video demo on Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

Google Goggles gets video demo on Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 07:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cell phone, wallet, keys. That’s the standard pocket check when leaving the house. BlackBerry in the front right pocket, wallet and keys in the front left. While this layout makes for easy access, it does become quite bulky. Even with relatively loose jeans, you can still see the outlines of a BlackBerry and my wallet in each pocket. It’s not a big deal, really, but I like to avoid it when possible. For instance, I switched from a wallet to a money clip (with card holders) a year ago. Case-Mate now has a way for me to further combine. Their ID line of cases now comes with a card holder, so you can eliminate the need for a wallet. You can use an even thinner money clip and still have everything you need when leaving the house.

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Fannie Mae reported today that the rate of serious delinquencies – at least 90 days behind – for conventional loans in its single-family guarantee business increased to 4.98% in October, up from 4.72% in September – and up from 1.89% in October 2008.

“Includes seriously delinquent conventional single-family loans as a percent of the total number of conventional single-family loans.”

Read the whole story at Calculated Risk — >

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See Also:

• Obama Terrified Of Another Leg Down In Housing, As Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Are Set To Go In Dramatic New Direction
• Here’s The Secret Reason We Eliminated The Bailout Caps On Fannie And Freddie
• Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Warn About Dangers At Their Mortgage Insurers

Filed under: Etc.

With 2009 nearly in our rearview mirror, MotorTrend has put together its annual list of 50 top automotive execs and their fortunes for the coming new year, and it’s a good primer on the industry’s movers and shakers.

It’s unlikely that 2010 will be as tumultuous as 2009, what with two of the world’s largest automakers under the fed’s control and storied marques being killed off faster than a topless chick in a slasher flick, but 2010 has the potential to be a another truly newsworthy year and MotorTrend‘s Power List gives you a glimpse into the people behind the action. Make the jump for the top ten entrants and hit up MT for the full list with individual analysis of each exec.

[Source: MotorTrend]

Continue reading Motor Trend uncorks its yearly industry Power List

Motor Trend uncorks its yearly industry Power List originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So you are bored of the same black high gloss finish speakers. The Rock-It portable vibration speaker system takes music from your device and sends those vibrations through the Rock-It “pod” onto any object you choose. So basically you can stick your “pod”onto a juice carton, a box of cereal, or a Barbie and you’ll have music “pumping” out of it. Just press play on your device be it a iPod, MP3 player, or mobile phone. Basically any device that has a headphone jack and Rock-It will work with it. Besides being a unique way to hear your music, your pals will think you are technological genius for turning your sour milk carton into a speaker system.

This Bloomberg graphic taken from The Research Puzzle gives a nice snapshot of where treasury yields have gone over the last two decades. Yields for different maturities of U.S. treasuries are shown by each color, with 30-year bonds in light green.

First, it's clear that the longest-term 30-year bonds have rarely been fooled for long by short-term cuts to interest rates. Furthermore, while 30-year yields momentarily collapsed during the credit crisis, no doubt due to safe-haven panic buying of the times, they snapped back pretty fast and today yields are back near 2006 and 2007 levels, and arguably near the levels we've seen since 2001.

For 30-year bonds, everything is essentially back to 'normal', expecting moderate inflation rates and the Fed to raise interest rates back to the previously expected long-term run rate. Summed up in a sentence: We're riding the same long-term road as before, even if it's a bit bumpy at times. There are neither long-term deflation nor hyper-inflationary expectations baked into 30-year bonds.

(LInk via Abnormal Returns)

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See Also:

• Treasuries Are King Ever Since The Crisis Started
• Japan Denies Reports About It Dumping Treasuries
• Traders Freaking Out Over Rumors That Japan May Dump $100 Billion In Treasuries

By Yun-Hee Kim, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Computer-memory chip makers expect to see their fortunes improve next year after two tough years, allowing them to boost capital spending to improve their technology.

Industry heavyweights and observers see the notoriously up-and-down industry turning positive this year. Weak capital investments over the past two years have led to a gradual decrease in global supply of dynamic random access memory chips, which are the main chips used to store data in personal computers. The decrease in supply, coupled with improving demand, has led to a recovery in prices of DRAM chips in recent months.

The launch of the new Windows 7 operating system from Microsoft Corp. may also prompt consumers and corporations to replace their aging computers with new ones that require more memory storage next year, providing a much needed demand boost for DRAM makers.

The recovery in the DRAM market, while a sign that demand in the electronics supply chain is improving, could put pressure on PC manufacturers to trim their component costs to maintain margins.

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A tax payers revolt is brewing in the Highlands after the Taxpayers Alliance discovered, after a Freedom of Information Request, that local councils were spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on RIM Blackberrys.

Aberdeenshire Council was the worst offender, with more than £117,000 spent on contracts this year.

The total annual bills for Blackberrys and mobile phones rose from £150,000 in 2007 to £261,000 last year and up to £346,000 this year.

Describing the figures as “staggeringly high”, the TA complained the gadgets were an unnecessary luxury.

An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman however responded that: “Blackberrys allow us to offer more flexibility to staff who need to respond to e-mails and keep in touch with what’s going on, without having to travel large distances back to an office. They are an invaluable tool in a modern business environment.”

Susie Squire, of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, was unimpressed.

“They’re out of touch with economic reality,” she said. “These Blackberry costs are staggeringly high and will shock and disgust a lot of taxpayers.

An alternative which could lead to significant savings however exists, in the form of Windows Mobile handsets, which in studies have been shown to have a lower total cost of ownership of between 20 to 40%. 

In the current economic climate, and with costs being passed on automatically in increased council fees, tax payers need to be holding their elected representatives accountable for feeding their crackberry habit when better, cheaper alternatives already exist ready to be deployed.

Read more at PressandJournal.co.uk here