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Just as the leaks predicted, the UK government has offered up its Digital Economy Bill, which includes massive changes to copyright law, including the power of the government to effectively change the law at will with little to no oversight. Basically, it would let the Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, change copyright law through secondary legislation, which requires no Parliamentary approval. As people are noting, Mandelson has had to resign from elected positions twice in the past in disgrace, and is now in an unelected position. And he’s the guy who gets to change copyright law at will? That does not seem right. On top of that, the bill doesn’t even specify “three” strikes for users. Instead, it requires ISPs to notify users with warnings — and to notify copyright holders that they did notify users — and if file sharing is not reduced by 70% in a year (with no indication of how this is measured), then the government will tell ISPs to start kicking people off the internet.

Furthermore, Minister for Digital Britain Stephen Timms, who introduced the new bill, claimed that 99% of ISPs are “broadly supportive” of the bill. That’s funny because BT and TalkTalk — two of the largest ISPs in the UK — have loudly complained about the plans (with TalkTalk threatening to sue, and BT saying that this solution is “not the way forward”) and the ISP Association, which represents ISPs in the UK has loudly slammed the bill as unworkable and backwards looking:

“ISPA members are extremely concerned that the bill, far from strengthening the nation’s communications infrastructure, will penalise the success of the internet industry and undermine the backbone of the digital economy,” the industry group said.

Nicholas Lansman, ISPA’s general secretary, said in the statement that the government’s proposals were “being fast-tracked… and will do little to address the underlying problem”.

“Rather than focusing blindly on enforcement, the government should be asking rights holders to reform the licensing framework so that legal content can be distributed online to consumers in a way that they are clearly demanding,” Lansman said.

So, where exactly are the 99% who are supportive of the bill? Or is that RIAA/IFPI/BPI math?

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Filed under: Technology, Videos

We’re still early in the holiday movie season, but the clear early winner is the blockbuster world-ending thriller 2012. The pic cleared $65 million in its first weekend in the U.S. and a stunning $265 million around the globe. If you have already seen the movie or if you’ve just checked out the five minute clip we showed you last month, then you know this disaster flick is chock-full of CGI destruction on a scale we quite frankly have never seen before. And our favorite scene stars a Lincoln Town Car limo that somehow manages to survive (like the Panther platform upon which it is based) while the virtual world quite literally crumbles around it. It makes us wonder how that scene was made to look so damn real.

Well, we didn’t have to wonder for long, because YouTube has come to the rescue with video of how the scene was created. A company called SWAY Studio created a simulator/program called Drive-A-Tron that works like a virtual stunt driving machine with very realistic-looking results. The simulator features a real steering wheel, along with brake and accelerator pedals to capture the action in real time. SWAY reconfigured the machine for the big screen action flick so the program could interact with moving terrain, and since the system features true to life engine, suspension and even tire inputs, the final product looks pretty damn real to us. Hit the jump to watch how the Lincoln Town Car limo scene was created. Pretty interesting stuff.

[Source: Raging Artists]

Continue reading VIDEO: Deconstructing the end-of-the-world limo ride in 2012

VIDEO: Deconstructing the end-of-the-world limo ride in 2012 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I’ve just updated my Flash Light application for those that want such a thing, so it now has morse!

• Press and hold

  The LED will remain on whilst your finger is in contact with the screen

• Double tap

  The LED will remain on till the next double tap.

• Morse

  Swipe left/right to enter Mmorse mode, then type your message and hit enter to have it display.

 

It can be grabbed from the thread here.

HTC HD2 battery life has been a hot area of contention, with some reporting excellent battery life (and have bench marks to prove it) and others (like me) not making it through even an 8 hour business day on one charge.

The forums at TracyandMatt.co.uk is one place where HTC HD2 owners congregated to discuss the issue, so if you want some reassurance than your experience is not unusual, or maybe pick up tips to manage the issue, head right over there.

Thanks James for the tip.

PDF Version (1.1 MB)

“The joke among China hands goes like this: If the Americans and the Chinese start talking about a major project today, in two years the Chinese will be done and the Americans will still be talking and applying for permits.” – Michael Economides

China’s economy is growing at a rate of 9 percent per year, and forecasts have its fast pace of economic growth continuing, though at a slightly lower rate.[i] Eager to bring more of its citizens out of poverty, China will not let energy be a bottleneck for such growth. Because it has limited domestic oil and gas resources, China is investing globally to ensure supply. The world’s most populous country is also expanding its coal-fired electricity capacity at breakneck speed and making a major commitment to nuclear energy. In smaller quantities, and under international pressure from the environmental community, China is also constructing solar- and wind-powered generating facilities, to the point that 30 percent of its wind capacity cannot be supported by its electric grid. Yet even with all these other technologies, coal will remain China’s mainstay for a very long time since coal is its most abundant and least expensive resource.

All this is happening in a developing country that learns from others, and quickly outperforms them by manufacturing the same materials at significantly less cost, thus increasing its export market. It is also a country where there is a lot less red tape: regulations, legal delays, and financing issues do not stand in the way of its energy construction progress.[ii]

Coal

China currently gets 70 percent of its energy from coal[iii] and is expected to retain this fuel as its major source of energy at least through the next several decades. China ranks third in the world in recoverable coal reserves,[iv] after the U.S. and Russia. Its annual coal production and consumption is the highest in the world, more than twice that of the U.S.[v] Both China’s generating sector and its industrial sector rely heavily on coal, with 79 percent of its electric generation being coal-fired.[vi] The Energy information Administration (EIA) expects that 75 percent of China’s electric generation will still be coal-fired in 2030.[vii]

That EIA forecast expects 600 additional gigawatts of coal-fired capacity to be built in China between 2006, the most recent year of reliable data, and 2030.[viii] That equates to 50 plants a year of 500 megawatt (MW) capacity, or 1 coal plant coming on line each and every week for 24 years. From current reports, China is meeting this goal by planning to build 500 coal-fired plants over the next ten years.[ix] That means: every week to 10 days, China will open another coal-fired power plant that is big enough to serve all the households in Dallas or San Diego.[x]

Wind

Not only is China building coal-fired plants to increase its generating capacity; it is building them to back-up wind power when the wind doesn’t blow or when the grid is inadequate to handle the wind capacity. Last year, as much as 30 percent of China’s wind power was not connected to the grid. Adding to the problem is poor connectivity between regional transmission networks, which makes it difficult to move surplus power from one part of the country to another and thus requires each region to have sufficient reserve capacity.[xi]

Even with these problems, China has a goal to produce 15 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020.[xii] To help meet this goal, China is planning to build the world’s largest wind farm in the northwest part of the country. The plan is for 5 gigawatts in 2010, expanding to 20 gigawatts in 2020, at a cost of $1 million per megawatt,[xiii] or $1,000 per kilowatt, about half the cost of an onshore wind unit in the U.S., according to the Energy Information Administration.[xiv]

While China is manufacturing wind turbines for domestic use, few of its wind turbines are currently being exported. But that may soon change if the U.S. allows a consortium of Chinese and American companies to build a 600-megawatt wind farm in West Texas, using turbines manufactured in China.[xv] One-third of the wind farm’s funding will be from federal stimulus money and about 330 jobs will be created in the U.S., mostly temporary construction jobs. The labor-intensive work of building the turbines will also create thousands of jobs in China. GE will provide the gearboxes of the turbines, but they too will be made in China.[xvi] GE, a major U.S. wind turbine producer, already owns three facilities in China that produce turbine components.[xvii] And GE is planning a factory in Vietnam that will employ 500 local workers and export 10,000 tons of components to GE Energy assembly plants around the world.[xviii]

Solar

China leads the world in solar cell manufacture, although 95 percent of its production is exported.[xix] Currently, China itself generates very little electricity from solar power. At the end of 2008, about 0.01 percent of its grid-connected electric generating capacity was from solar.[xx] However, in September, Arizona-based First Solar signed a deal to build the world’s largest solar farm in China by 2019, which will supply power to 3 million homes.[xxi]

Realizing that the U.S. may be a good market for solar, China’s Suntech, the world’s largest supplier of solar panels, announced plans to build a solar manufacturing plant in Phoenix, Arizona, with production beginning next year. Arizona was chosen because its Renewable Energy Standard requires that 15 percent of the state’s electricity generation be supplied from renewable power by 2025 and because Arizona favors distributed generation, whereby power is provided locally for homes or businesses.[xxii] Suntech’s factory will create finished panels from subcomponents that will be manufactured in the company’s Chinese facilities. According to Suntech, locating the assembly in the U.S. will lower delivery time and costs, as well as reduce the overall carbon footprint of getting finished panels to U.S. customers.

Because of Chinese and other Asian competition, the cost of solar panels dropped 50 percent in the past 18 months.[xxiii] Due to lower operating costs in China, a U.S.-based firm, Evergreen Solar, after receiving over $58 million in incentives from the state of Massachusetts, is moving its assembly plant to China.[xxiv] (In 2008, Massachusetts’s industrial electricity prices were 115 percent higher than those of Arizona.[xxv] Industrial electricity prices in Massachusetts are lower in 2009, making the differential in prices through August 2009 only 69 percent.[xxvi]) The push to get China into the solar power market seems to have some environmental consequences. China is a major worldwide producer of polysilicon—the key component of sunlight capturing wafers. The manufacturing of polysilicon, however, produces a highly toxic substance, silicon tetrachloride, which can be recycled back into the production cycle. In China, however, many factories are dumping the waste product because of the high investment costs and time required for the recycling process, and because of the enormous energy consumption needed to heat the substance to more than 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. People close to the sites where the substance is being dumped are complaining of illness, crop failures, acrid air, and dead fields. But owing to the shortage of polysilicon, the Chinese Government is willing to overlook these complaints.[xxvii]

Nuclear

China is also building nuclear power plants, with 20 nuclear reactors under construction and more starting construction this year.[xxviii] Four AP 1000 reactors are under construction at 2 different sites: Haiyang and Sanmen.[xxix] These are the same reactors that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has ruled need additional analysis, testing, or design modifications of the shield building to ensure compliance with NRC requirements.[xxx] China expects to achieve a total nuclear capacity of 60 gigawatts by 2020, and 120 to 160 gigawatts by 2030,[xxxi] surpassing the total nuclear capacity of the United States.

Natural Gas

China is not well-endowed with natural gas, having only 1.3 percent of the world’s reserves. Nonetheless, it is expected to build an additional 23 gigawatts of gas-fired electric generating capacity by 2030, almost doubling its gas-fired capacity, according to the EIA.[xxxii] To fuel these generators, China will need to continue its dependence on natural gas imports, which will provide one-third of its total natural gas consumption by 2030. China opened its first LNG regasification facility in 2006 at Guangdong, and 2 others are planned to open this year. The first imports of natural gas into China by pipeline are expected in 2011, via a new pipeline running from Turkmenistan through Kazakhstan.[xxxiii]

Conclusion

China is on a fast track to bring online new generating units using coal, nuclear, solar, and wind power, which will allow its economy to continue to grow. However, because China is endowed with a sizable amount of coal resources and because coal is still the cheapest energy source in China, coal-fired generating additions will far outpace those of other technologies. “No matter how much renewable or nuclear is in the mix, coal will remain the dominant power source,” said Ashok Bhargava, a China energy expert at the Asian Development Bank in Manila.[xxxiv] By continuing to rely heavily on currently available coal technology, China will remain the number one emitter of carbon dioxide, almost doubling its carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, according to EIA’s forecast.[xxxv]

The U.S., on the other hand, has made it difficult to build generating plants in this country. Prospects of cap-and-trade legislation and reviews and re-reviews by the Environmental Protection Agency have slowed the construction of new coal-fired plants. NRC requirements, financing difficulties, and slow fulfillment of the nuclear provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 have slowed the construction of new nuclear power reactors. Even renewable energy projects have been halted by “not in my back yard” (NIMBY) protesters. They have blocked energy projects by organizing local opposition, changing zoning laws, opposing permits, filing lawsuits, and bleeding projects dry of their financing.[xxxvi] Without reasonably priced energy, it will be difficult to achieve high levels of economic growth, and U.S. industry will just move offshore where energy is more affordable.

 

 

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[i] Energy Information Administration, International Energy Outlook 2009, http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/index.html

[ii] USA Today, “China Pushes Solar, Wind Power Development”, http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/environment/2009-11-17-chinasolar17_CV_N.htm

[iii] Energy Information Administration, International Energy Annual 2006, http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/China/Background.html

[iv] Recoverable reserves are those quantities of coal which geological and engineering information indicates with reasonable certainty can be extracted in the future under existing economic and operating conditions.

[v] Energy information Administration, International Energy Outlook 2009, Table 9, http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/index.html

[vi] Ibid, Tables H10 and H13

[vii] Ibid

[viii] Ibid, Table H4

[ix] http://windfarms.wordpress.com/2009/01/29/china-building-500-coal-plants/

[x] The New York Times, “Pollution From Chinese Coal Casts a Global Shadow”, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/business/worldbusiness/11chinacoal.html?_r=1

[xi] The Wall Street Journal, “China’s Wind Farms Come with a Catch: Coal Plants”, September 28, 2009, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125409730711245037.html

[xii] USA Today, “China Pushes Solar, Wind Power Development”, http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/environment/2009-11-17-chinasolar17_CV_N.htm

[xiii] The Wall Street Journal, “Wind Power: China’s Massive and Cheap Bet on Wind Farms”, July 6, 2009, http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2009/07/06/wind-power-chinas-massive-and-cheap-bet-on-wind-farms/

[xiv] Energy information Administration, Assumptions to the Annual Energy Outlook 2009, Table 8.2, Electricity Market Module, http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/assumption/index.html

[xv] www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS200008+29-Oct-2009+BW20091029

[xvi] Dallas News, “Wind turbine jobs blow in China’s direction”, November 19, 2009, http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/jlanders/stories/DN-landers_17bus.1.ART0.State.Edition1.3f095e8.html

[xvii] “Overseas firms collecting most green energy money”, October 29, 2009, http://investigativereportingworkshop.org/investigations/wind-energy-funds-going-overseas/

[xviii] “Vietnam’s first turbine component plant underway”, May 13, 2009, http://www.vietnewsonline.vn/News/Business/Companies-Finance/6072/Vietnams-first-turbine-component-plant-underway.htm

[xix] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/26/china-invests-solar-power-renewable-energy-environment

[xx] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_China

[xxi] USA Today, “China Pushes Solar, Wind Power Development”, http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/environment/2009-11-17-chinasolar17_CV_N.htm

[xxii] Business Week, “China Solar Panel Maker Sets First U.S. Plant”, November 15, 2009, http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2009/tc20091115_970512.htm

[xxiii] USA Today, “China Pushes Solar, Wind Power Development”, http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/environment/2009-11-17-chinasolar17_CV_N.htm

[xxiv] The Boston Globe, “Evergreen Shifts Work to China”, November 5, 2009, http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/11/05/evergreen_shifts_work_to_china

[xxv] Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, March 2009, Table 5.6B, http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/ftproot/electricity/epm/02260903.pdf

[xxvi] Energy information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, November 2009, Table 5.6B, http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/epm_sum.html

[xxvii] Washington Post, “Solar Energy Firms Leave Waste Behind in China”, March 8, 2008, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/08/AR2008030802595_2.html

[xxviii] “Nuclear Power in China”, World Nuclear Association, November 6, 2009, www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf63.html

[xxix] Westinghouse News Releases, “Westinghouse and the Shaw Group Celebrate First Concrete Pour at Haiyang Nuclear Site in China”, September 29, 2009, http://westinghousenuclear.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=200

[xxx] “Westinghouse Statement Regarding NRC News Release on AP1000 Shield Building”, http://westinghousenuclear.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=203

[xxxi] “Nuclear Power in China”, World Nuclear Association, November 6, 2009, www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf63.html

[xxxii] Energy Information Administration, International Energy Outlook 2009, Tables 6 and H3, http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/index.html

[xxxiii] Ibid, Chapter 3, Natural Gas

[xxxiv] The New York Times, “China Far Outpaces U.S. in Cleaner Coal-Fired Plants”, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/world/asia/11coal.html

[xxxv] Energy Information Administration, International Energy Outlook 2009, Tables A10, http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/index.html

[xxxvi] For a repository of stalled and stopped energy projects, see U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “Project No Project Energy-Back On Track”, http://pnp.uschamber.com/

Filed under: Motorsports, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Rumormill

Say it ain’t so, Schu! The Daily Telegraph is reporting that seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher is close to signing on with the newly formed Mercedes Formula 1 team. Mercedes is the new name of the former Brawn GP team, the current Constructors Champion. After a stellar rookie season that saw this former Honda team clinch not just the Constructors Championship, but also the Drivers Championship for Jenson Button, they had a bit of a dropoff as Button bolted for rival McLaren.

That left a seat to fill at Mercedes and if BBC Sport‘s Eddie Jordan is to be believed, none other than Michael Schumacher is about to sign a one-year contract to return to racing in that very car. The deal, which would net Schumacher the same salary that Button turned down at Brawn GP in favour of McLaren, would finally see the German teaming up with Mercedes, who were in the past unsuccessful in their bids to lure him away from Ferrari.

Ferrari almost lured the retired champ back this season when Felipe Massa went down following the infamous spring incident in Hungary. The Champ’s sore neck put a stop to that comeback, but apparently it got Schumi’s juices flowing again. Signing with Mercedes would create something of a German dream team with Nico Rosberg in the other car. If the deal goes through, MS will be reunited with Brawn GP-namesake and current Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn, the man who guided Michael to all seven of his World titles.

Still just a rumor for the moment, the deal is said to give Schumacher the same salary Button turned down when he defected to McLaren. The Schumacher deal is just the latest volley in the silly season melee that has seen Kimi Raikkonen vacate his seat in order to make room for Fernando Alonso at Ferrari, which lost adviser Michael Schumacher as well. Whatever the future holds, it is only going to get more interesting. We’ll keep you posted as things develop. Thanks to everyone for the tips!

[Source: The Daily Telegraph via Planet F1, BBC Sport | Image Source: Getty]

BREAKING: Schumacher likely to return to F1 racing with Mercedes originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The second biggest news in the Linux world right now is the release of Google’s Chrome OS yesterday. I say second biggest, because Bauer-Puntu 9.10 released yesterday as well!

I know a lot of you are looking to test out Chrome OS, so I decided to host the files on Bauer-Power’s FTP server as well. If you are having problems downloading the VMWare VMDK image of it, or the VirtualBOX VDI image of it from GDGT.com, I created alternate mirrors here:

Google Chrome VMDK Download

Google Chrome VDI Download

I haven’t played with it yet myself, so I will not be doing a review just yet, however my buddy Sundance is playing with it, and he said he may talk about it in Episode 14 of Bauer-Power, so stay tuned!

Sony has lofty goals for this fiscal year. Banking on the recent success of the PS3 Slim and the round of PS3 price cuts, Sony executive vice presiden…

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Black Friday is just a week away and the demand for ebook readers looks to already be too great.

Earlier this week, Sony said its 3G-connected Daily Edition Reader may not arrive in time for the holidays. Preorders for the device began on Wednesday, but it will not ship until some time between December 18th and January 7th, and it is not expected to land in stores until after the holidays.

Today, Barnes and Noble said that it has already sold out of its new Nook e-reader, and that the next shipment of devices will not be available until January 4th.

In November 2007 when the Kindle first launched, the device reportedly sold out in six hours and wasn’t available again until mid-2008. Then the Kindle DX debuted, and it too was in short supply.

The link between these devices (and nearly every e-reader on the market) is their electrophoretic display, which comes from Massachusetts company E Ink Corporation. Betanews reached out to E Ink Co. today, to find out how its production is holding up in light of the high demand for e-readers, and a reply is pending.

We’ll update as soon as the company gets back to us.

Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009

Research has shown that most men have shorter lives than women due to the type of lifestyles they lead – including late nights of boozing with their mates, being in a high-pressured job, undergoing plenty of stress as he wonders how is he going to pull his family through a crisis, and perhaps even engaging in crazy stunts and sports for that bit of adrenaline rush. Well, most men too would be involved with the use of power tools, and is tasked with mowing the lawn with NASCAR race attendance as his reward. Some of those activities mentioned do involve being exposed to high levels of noise at any one time which if left unchecked, could lead to permanent hearing loss many years down the road. With Christmas coming up in slightly more than a month, why not give dad the protection he needs with the NoiseBuster Active Noise-Canceling Hearing Protector?

This professional-grade, high-performance equipment will merge a passive earmuff with active noise-canceling electronics to deliver overall noise cancellation performance that is unmatched by any other hearing protector. Apart from its superior noise cancellation, the NoiseBuster is full well capable of delivering awesome audio, essentially making this a great 2-in-1 audio choice – to prevent you from running a higher risk of hearing loss, while enjoying your favorite tunes in greater detail as it blocks external noise. Not something we would wear when going jogging or cycling though, as those activities require you to hear what’s going on outside just in case you end up as roadkill and a statistic. The Noisebuster
allows one to listen to music or the ball game without overamplifying or distorting the signal in order to compensate for the noise. The NoiseBuster PA4000 is currently priced at $149 , and if you happen to fork out that kind of money for it, you will be pleased to know it will come with a hard carry case, an audio cable and an AA battery to get you started right out of the box, with all web purchases coming with a 10% discount.

© 2007 Freakitude dot Com.

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I recognize that NPR news analyst Daniel Schorr is well into his tenth decade of life, and plays the role of the “senior statesman of journalism” on NPR at times, but as a bunch of folks have sent in, he seems to have totally lost it with his recent piece suggesting the internet should share some of the blame for the Ft. Hood shootings done by Maj. Nidal Hasan. The reason? Hasan apparently communicated via email with an “extremist cleric” whom he had met years ago (in person) at a mosque in Northern Virginia. One wonders if they had corresponded by telephone, if Schorr would be questioning if AT&T was to blame. Or, if by pen and paper, if Bic was at fault. Of course, Schorr doesn’t even know what was in the emails sent between the two, so his speculation is based on even less than nothing. However, even if his worst fears are true, and the cleric somehow pushed Hasan to carry out his attack, the fault remains with Hasan, and potentially the cleric. Not the internet.

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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Spy Photos, Sedan, Geneva Motor Show, Europe, Hatchback, Audi, Luxury

The intrepid spy shooters at KGP have caught the 2011 Audi A7 uncovered in a testing lab in Germany ahead of its official reveal next year, and the sleek, low-slung saloon/coupe hasn’t lost much of its flavor in the transition from showcar to production.

Although the shots don’t give us a clear view of the front fascia, the headlamps and front clip have obviously been toned down from its conceptual predecessor shown earlier this year the Detroit Auto Show. However, its sloping roofline and well-integrated hatch would appear to prove that at least one automaker can create a five-door hatch that’s simultaneously attractive and functional.

If our tea leaf-reading is accurate, we’d expect to see the A7 make its production debut either in Detroit this January or at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Powertrain options should include everything from Audi’s turbocharged 2.0-liter inline four to the S4’s supercharged six, along with a V8 option further down the line. And if the BMW 5 Series GranTurismo proves to be a hit in the States, we won’t be at all surprised if Audi follows suit and by offering the A7 in North America.

Spy Shots: 2011 Audi A7 caught in production form originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony has lofty goals for this fiscal year. Banking on the recent success of the PS3 Slim and the round of PS3 price cuts, Sony executive vice presiden…

Big Game Week is meant to remind students of the pride we have in our school and our athletic program. Events ranging from the impaling of the Bear in the claw to the Big Game Hourly Countdown and Rally bring students together across disciplines and dorms to support our football team. The Axe Committee and the students with the points to gain priority seating into Big Game seem excited through the first game week in recent memory that finds Stanford favored. However, our quick ascendancy seems to be lost on many students on the Farm.

Current seniors on the Cardinal football team will still recall the abysmal 1-11 they were forced to endure as freshmen. From the student perspective, many underclassmen attended Big Game simply because engagement in the rivalry is a Stanford tradition, not because they actually believed Stanford could win. In 2007, when we upset Cal here at home, the victory sent shockwaves through campus. The mere consideration of the tearing down of goalposts here at Stanford is a foreign one, but such sheer displays of exaltation were on the minds of many. Our upset of formerly perennial power USC that same year prompted a Maples Pavilion courtyard-filling rally, greeting players upon their return, and a large Quad bonfire.

This year, as the Cardinal team enjoys its most extraordinary season in recent memory, a similar outpouring of camaraderie seems to be missing from campus. Currently ranked number 14 in the nation–with a plausible chance at the Rose Bowl–we seem to have been unable to muster the same kind of campus-wide vigor as when we were less than impressive and surprised everyone. Though many students made the trek to USC and proudly stormed the field after our victory, little of that energy translated to campus enthusiasm later that night. The crowd that met the returning players at Maples Pavilion was meager compared to the one from two years ago, even though the Cardinal completely trounced USC this time around. Only a few seasons ago, we celebrated small victories against Pac-10 powerhouses as if we had won the conference. Now, when we actually have the chance to be conference champions, our expression of support seems to be lacking.

The team’s success in Big Game, and through the coming weeks, has positive repercussions not only for our football program, but also for the whole institution. Highly respected academically and for our Director’s Cup-winning athletics department, our football success helps focus even more attention on our campus and community. A recent New York Times piece on Heisman hopeful Toby Gerhart is just one of the lights currently being shined on the Cardinal football team, and thus on Stanford as well. The article noted we have seen four alumni become Supreme Court justices since our last Heisman winner in 1970. The Editorial Board hopes our continued success on the football field will help hasten the day when Stanford is envied as much for its football program as for its academic departments and faculty.

While Big Game week invokes feelings of nostalgic pride regarding our recent upset of Cal and of “The Play,” our increasing fervor for our team should also stem from an understanding of how far we have come in such a short time. Coach Harbaugh sent coaches and assistants to every house meeting his first year on campus as one of his many efforts to remind students of our program’s storied history. The Editorial Board hopes all who are part of our campus community reach back to the program and find a way to support our team this weekend. Whether you are at the game or not, have pride in the Stanford football team, and remember how far we have come.

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Sedan, Videos, Audi, Luxury

We still have a bit over a week until Audi officially pulls the wraps off its next-generation A8 flagship sedan in Miami. As a holdover, however, they have released a teaser video, and we’ve got it for you. The operative word here is tease. As usual, very little of the car is actually shown, although a variety of phrases are overlaid on the imagery which feature terms like “creativity,” “aesthetics,” and “art factory.” From a couple of the images (including the one captured above), it appears that the new A8 will probably be more sculpted than previous models, and it will likely feature elements like the so-called “tornado line” used on the side of the A4 and A5.

As a brand headliner, the A8 will surely feature an “intensive abundance of research and ideas“ such as the rumored touch pad interface with handwriting or gesture recognition for the controls. No doubt more details will be trickling out over the coming week, and we’ll be on hand in Miami to give you the full details as the car is revealed. In the meantime, you can check out the video now by clicking past the jump.

[Source: Audi]

Continue reading VIDEO: Audi teases the new A8 ahead of Sunshine State debut

VIDEO: Audi teases the new A8 ahead of Sunshine State debut originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is a really awesome video about oil drilling going on today in Hollywood and Beverly Hills. (via Houston Chronicle)

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See Also:

• How To Make Money Hoarding Oil
• Russia Gives Europe Yet Another Reason To Stop Buying Its Gas (UNG)
• ‘Tis The Season For Natural Gas To Rally

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While WIND Mobile might never launch thanks to parent company Globalive’s illegal ownership structure, that didn’t stop its CEO Ken Campbell and his entourage from celebrating the completed renovation of one of its retail stores. It’s a departure from the typical Bell, Rogers or TELUS location to say the least. BG thinks it looks like a “New York subway car in white lacquer” and Andrew said it’s nothing but an “Apple store with mahogany”, so naturally we’re curious to know what you think. So hit the jump, check out the pics and give us your thoughts!

P.S. Anyone noticing the huge table cut-out where the Microsoft Surface might one day be installed?

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