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Clear Channel Radio already had mobile applications for iPhone, BlackBerry and Chumby devices, but today it’s adding an Android version to the line-up.

Not that there’s a lack of decent radio streaming applications on well, any platform these days, but here goes: Clear Channel Radio’s iheartradio app gives users free access to some 350 American radio stations, including a couple of artist-hosted stations from the likes of Christina Aguilera, Megadeth, Eagles and Weezer.

The app also enables you to get ‘frequently updated’ traffic reports for large markets including New York, L.A., Chicago, San Francisco and Houston.

Like its iPhone / iPod Touch sister, the iheartradio app for Android can be configured to automatically start playing a specific station upon launch, includes artwork and lyrics and also enables users to tag songs for purchase on iTunes.

To download the free app, simply log on to Android Market from your handset (Android v1.5 or higher).

Enjoy the music.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

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Combined with a poweful postprocessor Eureka transforms any 5-axis CAM output in a robot program.
* Full 3D simulation with material removal
* Automatic collision detection
* Out of limits verification
* Singularities verification
* Verification of material removal in rapid movements
* Tool changing
* Interactive creation and editing of trajectories
* Robot and external axes movements optimization
* Machining with disc and blade cutters
* Compatible with any industrial robot: ABB, Kuka, Fanuc, Motoman, Kawasaki, Staubli, Comau
* Compatible with the most diffused CAD/CAM on the market

The latest version Eureka will be on display at EUROMOLD 2009 in Frankfurt / Main, Germany, 02.12.2009 – 05.12.2009- Hall 8 – B96.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR PARTNERS IN USA, ASIA AND EUROPE. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED PLEASE GET IN TOUCH.

For your holiday edification, here’s Eric Sprott railing against the Fed, and claiming fictitious numbers. (via ZeroHedge)

Sprott December

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Just Accept The Giant Federal Reserve Lie And Make Money From It
• Stephen Colbert Hilariously Savages The Federal Reserve
• Fed Accused Of Jumping In Front Of Other Lehman Creditors

Cleantech.com reports that Californian utility PG&E is investigating a 100 MW wave power project – PG&E takes another shot at wave power.

San Francisco’s Pacific Gas & Electric said today it filed a filed a preliminary permit application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a three-year study of a potential wave power site with a capacity of up to 100 megawatts off the coast of northern Santa Barbara County.

If the study is successful, the utility proposes the installation of wave energy conversion devices that would feed into the electrical grid at Vandenberg Air Force Base. PG&E said it already signed an agreement with the U.S. Air Force to allow it to conduct the study.

PG&E has received approval from FERC to conduct environmental studies of a potential wave power site off the coast of Humboldt County. The utility says it plans to give a maximum of four wave energy converter (WEC) manufacturers the chance to test their devices.

The five-year trial is expected to be installed in fall 2013.

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Toyota, Earnings/Financials

As with every other automaker – heck, almost every other company – Toyota wants to save more money. Japan’s Asahi business daily revealed a Toyota initiative to lower its parts expenses by 30% over the next three years, and it is one that we’re all too familiar with: Toyota told its suppliers to cut their prices by 30-40%. Can anyone guess how suppliers will most likely remove one-third the cost of their parts? If you said “use cheaper materials,” we have your prize backstage…

A Toyota spokesman said the company had given “various suggestions including cost reductions” to the affected portion of its supplier base, which makes it sound like at the very least the company didn’t just say “Here’s less money, make it work.” There are more than 200 vehicle components involved the move – that might sound sizable on its own but it’s a tiny fraction of all the parts in a car.

Ultimately, Toyota wants to ensure its competitiveness in emerging markets and guard against a strengthening yen. Assuming the initiative is carried out, the parts in question will be used for cars arriving for the 2013 model year. We hope that by 2014 it is clear that Toyota chose the right bets for this game of parts roulette.

[Source: Reuters via TTAC | Image: TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images]

REPORT: Toyota cutting supplier expenses by 30%, probably means using cheaper parts originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Le roi français du buzz vidéo sur Internet nous sort sa dernière trouvaille: Mario Kart,en vrai.Tous les amateurs du jeu ou ceux qui y ont déjà joué vont adorer.Tout simplement excellent!

Voici la vidéo:

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General Motors Company’s new CFO, Chris Liddell, will receive a salary of $750,000 in 2010 and will get another $5.45 million worth of company stock starting in 2012 when GM intends to sell its shares to the public. Liddell’s package exceeds the imposed limits on companies that received government aid, but GM said in a government filing yesterday that an exemption was made with the government pay czar Kenneth Feinberg.

Liddell, who will take up his new position on Dec. 31, was receiving a pay package of $2.4 million when he was working at Microsoft.

According to a report by the Associated Press, Liddell is also a possible candidate for GM’s next CEO. GM’s current CEO, Ed Whitacre Jr., does not receive a salary but gets an annual compensation of $350,000 as a board member. Former CEO Fritz Henderson received a compensation of nearly $5.5 million, including an annual salary of $950,000.

Liddell, 51, will replace current CFO Ray Young.

– By: Omar Rana

Source: MSNBC

About a year ago, JVC started selling headphones with wooden housing in Japan, claiming the superior sound quality they bring justify the high price ($730). And today the company announced the HA-FX700 [JP], earphones partly made of wood. And we have the same things coming with it again: JVC promising high sound quality and a relatively high price.

The earphones operate in a 6Hz to 26kHz frequency at 16Ω, feature an overpressure value of 104dB/mW and support a maximum input of 200mW (IEC). They weigh 9.6g and come with ear pieces sized at S/M/L. Technically, the HA-FX700 is based on the HP-FX500 JVC introduced back in 2007.

The updated version will hit Japanese stores in February next year, costing a whopping $330. Ask Geek Stuff 4 U or the Japan Trend Shop in case you live outside Japan and are interested in these earphones.

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We have just been pinged by our HTC rep with this statement regarding the HTC HD2 and Vodafone UK:

Following its availability in November 2009, we have been extremely pleased by the strong sales and positive feedback from Vodafone about the HTC HD2.  Vodafone’s strategy continues to be to provide the HD2 as part of its broad portfolio. The HD2 will continue to be available through Vodafone for consumer sales via www.vodafone.co.uk and for enterprise customers.

Looking at Vodafone’s site, the phone is certainly in their Business shop but its nowhere to be found on their consumer side, so this may not be the final word after all. I am sure many readers will however be happy that there is at least some route to ordering the phone on their favourite carrier.

(This guest post originally appeared at the author’s blog)

JP Morgan has been one of the more prescient banks on Wall Street in the last few years.  Not only did management steer them clear of many of the troubles the other banks were in, but their analysts have been spot-on with regards to the trading environment.  They were believers of the reflation trade before the term was even coined.  Now, they see many of the trends from 2009 continuing into 2010 and here’s how their 10 favorite ways to play it:

Our top 10 trades are:

(1) long EM equities;

(2) short USD versus EM FX;

(3) short USD versus EUR and JPY in 1H;

(4) short US agencies and MBS outright;

(5) long US HY outright;

(6) overweight US HG and EM external debt versus USTs;

(7) long EM corporate credit;

(8) overweight cyclicals within equities;

(9) long lower-tier II bank bonds outright and versus government debt;

(10) long AAA CMBS/RMBS and A-rated CLOs.

Source: JPM

Read more market commentary at The Pragmatic Capitalist — >

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See Also:

• Here’s 20 Things That Definitely WON’T Happen In 2010
• Morgan Stanley: These 10 Trades Will Make You Rich In 2010
• Goldman Sachs: Low Rates And Hot Commodity Demand Means 2010 Will Be A Monster Year

A vote was organized for workers at South Korea’s Hyundai Motor in order to settle a debate about a union-management deal which freezes 2010 basic salaries and offers serious bonuses in return, AFP reported.

The voting lasted six hours and ended at noon. The ballot counting will start late this evening and the results won’t be known until Thursday," a union spokesman told AFP.

The number of union members that took part (out of the total 45,000 persons) remains … (read more)

To all the fresh-faced dollar bulls out there, following your favorite doomsaying long-dollar gurus, watch out for this.

China is set, yet again, to start trading dollars for hard assets en masse. This is despite claims that the country already has too much in the way of hard assets. That’s how commited they are to this diversification (after all, it’s not like there are any other paper currencies to move into.

Telegraph UK: On Wednesday, traders claimed the Chinese Ministry of Commerce recently said that the country should increase its imports of commodities for its strategic reserves at an “appropriate” time. Dealers took this as a hint that the country could start buying in the New Year.

According to brokers, the reserve targets are said to be 1m tons of aluminium, 400,000 tons of copper, 400,000 tons of zinc, and 20,000 tons of nickel, as well as the equivalent of 90 days’ oil consumption.

As a result, base metal producers peppered the leaderboard. Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation climbed 33 to 901p while Rio Tinto perked up 156p to £32.96.

Read more at The Telegraph >

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• With The Euro Crumbling, Foreign Central Banks Are Running Out Of Dollar Alternatives
• Australia: Copper Production To Slow Next Year, Global Shortage Coming
• Treasury Tells Obama To Block Chinese Investment In Nevada Gold Mine

Tim Lambert has a post on the scientific consensus about global warming – 97% of active climatologists agree that human activity is causing global warming.

Eos has just published the results of a survey of 3146 Earth Scientists conducted by Peter Doran and Maggie Kendall Zimmerman. The graph below shows the results for this question:

Do you think human activity is a significant contributing factor in changing mean global temperatures?

The 97% of active climatologists is 75 out of the 77 in the survey. Doran and Zimmermann say:

While respondents’ names are kept private, the authors noted that the survey included participants with well-documented dissenting opinions on global warming theory.

I’m guessing that Lindzen and Spencer are the two that said “no”.

The difference between the opinion of the general public and the scientists is striking. For comparison, despite the ongoing efforts of right-wing pundits here, 80% of Australians answered “yes” to a similar question.

China Unicom topped the 2 million subscriber mark this month and based upon its recent handset procurement, those wild and crazy China Unicom customers love Symbian and BREW, enjoy Windows Mobile, and, though they are buying the China Unicom-exclusive iPhone, they do not share the same fervor for Apple’s mobile phone as their Japanese counterparts. Speaking At the 2010 Communications Industry Technology Annual Conference in Beijing, China, Zhang Zhijiang, GM of China Unicom’s technology division, revealed that 75% of the carriers recently ordered WCDMA equipment is comprised of mobile handsets with data cards (15%) and netbooks (10%) accounting for remaining 25%. Of the procured handsets, 16% run the Symbian OS, 8% run Windows Mobile, 4% run the Apple iPhone OS and the remainder run BREW or a proprietary OS. The bulk of the order, 63%, is comprised of mid-range handsets (priced below 3,000 Yuan or $439USD) with high-end handsets accounting for a modest 37% of the procurement. The take home message from this brief statistical dump is that China Unicom customers love their cheap BREW phones and the iPhone, which even trails Windows Mobile, has a lot of catching up to do if it wants to be the King of the Hill amongst China Unicom customers.

[Via wmpoweruser]

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Martina from Austria probably has the luckiest hamster in the world. Here’s the home she built for Sonic the hamster.

“I am an adult keeping a little dwarf hamster. I don’t like the traditional cages – I find them indescribably ugly and also most of them are much smaller than the space recommendations given by animal rights organizations. So I looked for a solution that would provide my hamster with a lot of space to run, high levels of bedding to buddle and give me something beautiful to look at when watching the little furball go about her activities.

After lots of research and planning I hacked a 5×5 Expedit into my dream hamster cage. I got the Expedit used for €50,- and shortened it to 3 rows of 5 columns as the room would have looked too full with another 5×5 Expedit in it. I then added 2 sets of Capita feet (8 feet in total) to get the height I wanted (eye-level when I sit in my chair) and to get a more floating look.

The cage area has a deep area on the left side where the hamster can buddle 40cm (~16in) deep. The right side has less bedding because you have to secure heavy things like stones and wood so the hamster isn’t squashed when she buddles under them. Securing everything with 40cm high platforms or “legs” was not an option, therefore the shallow area. A back plate was added to close the cage and to give more stability I screwed the backplate also to the inner divider plates (esp. the shortened top one) of the Expedit. Air holes are in the top and on both sides. The front of the deep area is plexi glass, the sliding doors are real glass. I then used aquarium silikone to seal all the little gaps between the cage area and the non-cage area so no bedding (or pee 😉 can go through.

I used a set of white Dioder strip lights for the cage illumination plus a red LED christmas light chain so I can choose between white and red light. Hamsters are red blind so you can watch them under red light without disturbing them. (I could have used another colored Dioder but I was too cheap for that. The Xmas-lights were only €5,-.)

The interior also contains Ikea products: the 2 houses were hacked from a Fira set and the little food bowls are actually Glimma tea light holders.

I added 2 red Lekman boxes and some Krus food storage bins for hamster stuff and food. The rest of the space will be filled with office stuff as the cage is in our study and we have a lot of binders.”

Click for more pictures of Sonic and her Expedit hamster home.

I’ll be celebrating Christmas with family and friends tomorrow, so will lay off the computer for a day. For all you peeps out there celebrating too, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

A Kids Pick

By Heather O’Roark

 

Words cannot possibly express my joy at finally finding myself on top of my library’s hold list for Catching Fire (Scholastic Press/ 2009) by Suzanne Collins.  It seemed like everyone had read it before me, and I just NEEDED to find out what was going to happen to Katniss.  So, YAY, Catching Fire! 

For those of you who have read these books, you already know the plot.  For those of you who haven’t, I’m just going to say – go read The Hunger Games.  Now.  I’m really not kidding.  These books really are as phenomenal as everyone says, and I can’t recommend them enough.

Catching Fire definitely met any expectations I may have had.  I’ve seen mixed reviews for this second installment in the series, but I have to say that I may have enjoyed the experience of reading this better than The Hunger Games.  (I said might.  I’m still not sure which one I prefer.)  The first book was more of a thrill ride, definitely, but I felt that this one had a bit more substance mixed in with the crazy, twisting plot. 

I loved learning a little more about the different districts in Katniss’s world, and the book definitely had a creepy, ominous feel to it that haunted me throughout my reading.  It was clear that there was so much riding on Katniss’s actions, and not only that, but there was a lot more going on underneath the surface that even Katniss wasn’t aware of.  I liked the feeling of trying to figure stuff out along with her.  Although the first book was more insanely suspenseful, this one had more secrets and plot points were much less straightforward.  I really liked that.

I always say that my favorite thing about series books is getting to know the characters, and that was definitely the case with Catching Fire.  I am just as big a fan of Katniss as I was before, if not more after having read the second book, and it was great to get more invested in the Katniss/Peeta/Gale love triangle.  I actually would have liked to hear more from Gale – I feel like he’s one of the only characters that could be developed much further than he is.  Most of the rest of the important characters are developed pretty well and are somewhat complex and interesting.  But not Gale – to me, he’s very one-note and I just think Collins could do a lot more with him.

Anyway.  Catching Fire, of course, made me extremely excited for the third book in the series.  The cliffhanger at the end of this one was seriously crazy.  What is Suzanne Collins trying to do to her readers?! 

So, awesome.  I loved Catching Fire just as much as The Hunger Games.  This series is so much fun and I really can’t recommend it highly enough.  Read it!!

Since 1991, Suzanne Collins has been writing for children’s television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo.  She is the author of several children’s urban-focused books.  You’ll find the author online at www.suzannecollinsbooks.com

5* Review For Graphic Novel–A.D.: New Orleans After The Deluge

Copyright © 2006-2010, Basil & Spice. All rights reserved.

Alors qu’on est pas encore fixé sur le sort de Saab, mort et ressuscité en cinq jours, mais toujours à l’agonie, un site américain n’a rien trouvé de mieux à faire que publier une étude sur les bénéfices de la dépouille!

–> Nouveau! Le fil continu Saab: les dernières infos de Saab, remis à jour à chaque news… c’est par ici!

Le site américain de vente d’automobiles en ligne Autotrade publie ainsi les résultats de son étude. ils ont interrogé les clients de Saab pour savoir vers quelles marques il y a avait le plus de chances qu’ils se tournent pour leur nouvel achat.

Voici les résultats:

1. BMW – 33%
2. Audi – 31%
3. Volvo – 29%
4. Volkswagen – 27%
5. Toyota – 27%
6. Nissan – 26%
7. Honda – 24%
8. Mercedes-Benz – 24%
9. Ford – 23%
10. Chevrolet – 22%

(Il s’agit là des clients US de Saab, et donc les marques sont celles présentes sur ce territoire – Plusieurs réponses possibles)

Pour être clair d’emblée, on est là dans l’économie libérale et Saab est une entreprise. Il ne s’agit donc pas de faire du politiquement correct du type « c’est pas bien », alors même qu’ils ne sont pas les seuls à se poser la question. Par contre, quelques remarques tout de même:

1-Ca fera sûrement une belle jambe à Audi, Volvo ou BMW de savoir qu’ils vont peut-être récupérer aux US quelques milliers de clients d’un constructeur qui à vendu dans le monde 75000 voitures l’an dernier. Pas négligeable, mais marginal. Donc, cette étude est plus ou moins inutile, d’autant plus que les interviewés avaient plusieurs choix possibles.

2-Saab n’est pas mort, il est donc indécent et même dégueulasse pour le dire directement de publier ça. Ca pouvait attendre au pire que la mort soit certaine. Les pilleurs de tombe eux au moins, attendent que le mort y soit, dans la tombe…

3-Ce qui parait le plus choquant là-dedans, c’est que ça vienne des USA. La politique industrielle arrogante, stupide et contre-productive des gouroux de l’ultra-libéralisme  a déjà coûté cher au monde entier, sans parler bien sur de Saab et des milliers de gens qui attendent d’être fixés sur leur sort. Je ne reviens pas ici sur GM, dont le cas a été « vu » ces jours derniers. Il me semble pour le moins qu’un site américain aurait pu s’abstenir de sortir ce genre de choses, surtout en premier. Comme s’il y avait urgence…

–>GM veut-elle la mort de Saab pour offrir la 9.5 à Opel?

–>Sur Saab,voir aussi: ici et ici.

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After buying design and technology from GM’s Saab, Chinese automaker Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp. plans to launch an aggressive marketing campaign at home and abroad in order to develop their brand. After paying $200 million for three vehicle platforms and two engine technologies from Saab, BAIC will sink another $4.8 billion into R&D over three years.

Integrating Saab technologies with its own, the company aims to sell 100,000 self-developed passenger vehicles in 2011, according to company chair Xu Heyi.

The Chinese market having recently emerged as the world’s largest for autos, is rife with manufacturers scrounging to get their hands on superior, foreign technologies.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

While Santa’s elves have been hard at work building toys for all the good little girls and boys, we’ve been busy rounding up the manliest links on the web and here they are:

9 Sex Myths You Shouldn’t Believe [MadeMan]

What Can Manly Men Expect of Women? [Art of Manliness]

Gorgeous Girls Gift Wrapped (see above) [COED Magazine]

The Naked Pint: An Unadulterated Guide to Craft Beer [Cool Material]

Christmas Gifts NOT to Get Your Girlfriend [EgoTV]

10 Most Irritating People Of 2009 [YepYep]

Outgoing with Friends…Shy on Dates? [TSB Magazine]

11 Last Minute Gifts for Your Girlfriend [Primer Magazine]

Really Bad Santa: The Four Worst St. Nicks [Gunaxin]

NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin’s smoking hot girlfriend [All Left Turns]

The Escudero Sisters are the International Babes of the Day [Double Viking]

If ‘00 Movies Were Made in Other Decades [College Humor]

Tiger Woods’ New Book [Tasty Booze]

Related posts:

1. Your Mantelligence Briefing for October 15th
2. Your Mantelligence Briefing for December 3rd
3. Your Mantelligence Briefing for January 7th

Tracking Santa just got easier.

The people at NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, known for bringing us the ability to track Santa on his Christmas Eve trek around the world, have added tons more ways to stay up to the minute on Santa’s whereabouts.

You can follow Santa’s action on Facebook and Twitter. Plus there are pictures of Santa and his elves at NORAD briefings and other activities available on Flickr. And videos of Santa cruising the globe will be on YouTube.

All of the new methods of Santa tracking are in addition to the ability to track him on your phone or by calling (1-877-Hi-NORAD) or e-mailing (noradtracksanta-AT-gmail-DOT-com) the official Santa trackers.

Santa tracking begins at midnight MST (2 a.m. on the East Coast) on Christmas Eve. You can track Santa all through the day and when you see him getting close to you, it’s time to leave some milk and cookies (and maybe a carrot for Rudolph) and tuck the kids in to bed.

From the GovGab team, we wish you and yours a happy and safe holiday season.