The popularity of mainstream electric cars is on the rise and a good example is the soaring demand for the Nissan electric vehicle LEAF. Nissan has decided to produce 12,000 LEAF models for the year 2010 and in US alone, the number of bookings is 13,000. Add to this, the 6,000 LEAF models booked in Japan and this implies that the LEAF has been sold out in the US for this year. This is one of the first green commuters that has the potential to go mainstream unlike the Toyota Prius which was too heavily priced for a layman. The LEAF features an 80kW electric motor and it is powered by laminated lithium-ion batteries that give the green automobile a 99mile range on a single charge.
Machine-to-machine (M2M) services are a promising opportunity for carriers struggling with a saturated handset market and data traffic that’s increasingly difficult to manage. M2M promises to boost revenues with minimal network taxation by delivering lightweight data transmissions to everything from e-readers like the Kindle to railroad cars and home appliances. Harbor Research has predicted that shipments of so-called “intelligent devices” will grow to 430 million in 2013 from 73 million in 2008, while total device revenues will exceed $12 billion.
For software developers and hardware manufacturers, then, the question is how to tap the new market for connected devices. How do you add connectivity to existing products, or create entirely new intelligent devices, and what kind of business model should you employ? Those topics are the focus of a Long View I posted today over at GigaOM Pro (sub req’d).
Operators have streamlined certification processes and invested substantially in order to help developers bring products to market as quickly as possible. But not every carrier has achieved the same degree of traction. Other factors must be considered in choosing a carrier partner for M2M deployments, too: Deployments through Verizon or Sprint can be more expensive, due to the costs of licensing CDMA technology, but CDMA can provide superior coverage in rural areas — a key advantage for segments like utility communications, which must cover broad areas. And carriers that have yet to build much of an M2M business may be flexible on price compared to their more established counterparts.
Meanwhile, operators and their partners are experimenting with a variety of business models and pricing schemes as M2M begins to get legs. We’re likely to see business models break down according to how devices are being used. A gadget that intermittently receives premium content at irregular intervals — like an e-reader or connected music player — is a natural fit for pay-per-use models where carriers take a share of the purchase price. Scenarios that require more consistent connectivity but consume little bandwidth — a mobile heart monitor, say, or applications that track energy usage — are likely to leverage traditional subscription models at flat rates.
And complicated alliances between carriers, device manufacturers, application developers and outside vertical markets will require new business models and revenue splits. So while the new world of M2M teems with opportunity for every player in the value chain, some substantial hurdles must be overcome if the segment is going to be the savior mobile network operators hope it will be. Read the full post here.
Here are the official pics of the new Audi TTS Coupé restyling, which shows a slightly changed Single Frame front with aluminium look. The rear bumpers have also been changed with Black Panther tint finish. The interior has also been slightly changed, with twin tone silver and black finishes.
The new Audi TTS Coupé is equipped with the 2.0-litre TFSI engine with 272 hp and 350 Nm. Combined with the S-Tronic gearbox, the car accelerates to 100 km/hr in 5.2 seconds and has a top speed of 250 km/hr. With dual clutch technology, the TTS consumes 7.7 litres of fuel per 100 km.
Okay, if you have been following along all week I have showed you how to obtain your Magicjack username and password by doing a memory dump, and I showed you how to use that information to connect a softphone in Windows. What about you Linux users? Well, I am a Linux user myself, so I will show you guys how to do it too.
Like I said before, using other methods to connect to you Magicjack service other than the way magicjack wants you to (USB dongle in Windows) violates their TOS. I accept no responsibility if you lose your account because you want to hack your Magicjack. The following is for educational purposes only, and if you do this, you do so at your own risk.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the way I believe Magicjack authenticates with their proxies is they combine your password with their proxy info to create an MD5 hash. With that hash your can authenticate with their proxies to make and receive calls. Without it, you will not be able to connect. In Windows I mentioned a tool called MJMD5 that creates this hash authentication for you. In Linux, it is a little bit different. In Linux, you have to compile the tool yourself. I am using Ubuntu 10.04 for this.
Now that we have our MD5 proxy running, we are ready to setup our SIP softphone! For this I used Twinkle which is available in the repositories. To get it working, do the following:
Install Twinkle
>sudo apt-get install twinkle
After installation open Twinkle from Menu > Internet > Twinkle
Setup your account information with the following:
Your name: Whatever you want
Username: Your Magicjack Username (E<YourPhoneNumber>01)
Domain: 127.0.0.1:5070
Realm: Blank
Authentication Name: Your Magicjack Username (E<YourPhoneNumber>01)
Password: Your Magicjack Password
AKA OP: Leave Deafault
AKA AMF: Leave Default
Click OK and you are ready to go!
Now you can make Magicjack calls from your Linux machine! Make sure you have a good USB microphone headset though. When I tried it on my laptop with the internal mic there were a lot of echoes.
The cool part of this setup is that you could configure mjproxy to run as a service by adding it to init.d… Hmmmm, with that you could configure say…. Asterisk or 3CX to authenticate with Magicjack, and share out that number with a bunch of users using extensions.
World Cup 2010 Fixture is an app that makes it easy to calculate and displays on screen the standings of teams in each group and then the following steps until the World Cup final.
The software also displays photos and details of each city and football stadium to be used in the event and a countdown to start the World Cup and then the next game.
The software is multi-lingual and is available in English, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Serbian, Danish, Slovak, Slovenian, French, Greek.
One of the best ways to reduce the amount of landfill waste is to recycle used products into works of art. There are many who are doing their bit for the environment by converting discarded materials into products that have artistic or functional value. Recently we showcased a few chandeliers that were made from recycled materials, and today we bring to you 11 robotic sculptures that stand on recycled bones:
• MotorCycleMan:
The MotorCycleMan is the creation of designers at RoboSteel. The robotic sculpture is built entirely from recycled motorcycle parts. Standing at nearly 2 meters tall, the sculpture took over 750 hours to construct and features more than a thousand motorcycle parts that are creatively hidden. The sculpture carries parts from a variety of manufactures that include Suzuki and Yamaha, among others.
• Giant Styrobot:
The Giant Styrobot by Michael Salter stands exceptionally tall at 21 feet and is crafted from recycled Styrofoam. The design has altered the function of this packaging material from a protector of packed contents to bones of a colossal robot that can crush anything under its feet.
• DIY Wall-E Robot Toy:
Designed by Filth Wizardry, this cute movie character is made from kitchen crap that includes empty yogurt cups, cereal boxes, wrapping paper tubes, empty tape dispensers, a bucket and a plastic drink holder. This version of the Wall-E won’t help you out in any household work but will definitely keep your kids entertained in a green way.
• Optimus Prime Replica:
This 14-foot-tall replica of Optimus Prime features a chest made from old house windows, a back from old TV roof antennas and a few gears and old tires that might be lying around in a garage.
• Autobot Optimus Prime:
Autobot’s leader Optimus Prime has been immortalized in this sculpture of metallic junk. Standing at a height of 7 feet and weighing 550 pounds, he is rather heavy on any Autobot fan, costing a staggering $6,900.
• Recycled Typewriter Robot:
This robot is the creation of Jeremy Mayer and has been crafted from recycled typewriter parts. This robot has been created without using any glue, soldering, welding or any other means of assembly.
• WEEE Man:
The WEEE Man has been created by the British Royal Society of Arts from unwanted electrical equipment. The robot structure weighs exactly 3.3 tons and stands at the Eden Project in Cornwall.
• Bumble Bee Replica:
This Bumble Bee Replica has been created from recycled motorcycle parts.
• Speaker Bot:
The Speaker Bot is an 18.5-inch robot replica that has been created in electronic scrap. Powered by an adapter, wall socket, batteries or USB, the speaker bot functions well with all kinds of MP3 players and costs $550.
• Transformer Robot in Recycled Steel:
The transformer robot built out of recycled steel is something literally out of this world for us, but it isn’t all that intricate for these lads at RoboSteel. Made in about 5,000 unique parts of recycled steel, which range from a car parts to television parts, the sculpture’s been welded together and expertly polished to stand firm at over 2.5 meters.
• Giant Transformer Robot:
This gigantic transformer robot has been created from discarded cars and scrap metal. The giant sculpture is standing outside the town of Yuzhny, approximately 40 km (25 miles) south of the Black Sea port of Odessa, Russia.
Yesterday Dave Peters at Minnesota Public Radio posted a great article on broadband in Minnesota. It’s a nice overview of what’s going on in the state – starting with the statewide broadband bill and going down to talking about what a couple of specific communities are doing to boost broadband in their areas.
Dave writes about rural issues so I wasn’t surprised but I was impressed to see his assessment of leadership (at the Ground Level)…
So how one community addresses this question is likely to differ, and need to differ, from how the next one does. I can’t think of another public policy issue or social trend — from energy to food networks to housing to demographic change — in which the leadership in specific communities will make as much difference in the quality-of-life outcome.
It’s going to be illuminating to see how local leadership emerges and what kind of information sharing gets fostered. It’s a great opportunity to see, as the Bush Foundation likes to call it, “courageous leadership.”
It’s a perspective that can often get lost but rural is a series of different communities. There are some shared characteristics – but each is different and each will address their questions differently. In some ways that’s what makes the broadband situation in the US different that in other countries. As Dave points out we don’t have a statewide strategy. The National strategy is being developed but the plan at that level seems to be stocking the magazine of weapons – not creating the game plan for each community. So it’s an opportunity for local communities to shine.
Weather change has never been more artistic and eye-catching before. Maybe you stop, look around and run for cover at times when the rains show up all of a sudden. No-one gives a damn about winter winds and the lovely spring breeze in a busy bustling city. Well, the World Financial Center Plaza will have an artistic way to weather change, with a kinetic outdoor sculpture that will light up through December the 31st. Known as the Weather Beacon, this multi-media sculpture by Erik Guzman translates weather data into moving gears and flashing lights. So how does weather data enable the moving of gears and flashing of lights? By receiving them via radio waves! These are then transformed into visual representations of spring breezes, winter winds. The Weather Beacon flashes and has its gears moving about through the day and into the night. Source
‘This kind of program was implemented during the 1930s when we are told that unemployment was 25%. During the late 1930s the program failed to pull America out of depression. Unemployment in 1939 was 17.4% and in 1940 it was 16.2%, hardly the results hoped for and anticipated. The result was WWII. We are headed in the same direction today, as the Middle East and Asia smolder ready at any time to burst into flames.
In the US liquidity was unleashed on a massive scale and that is what will happen in Europe. It is the only way they can keep the system functioning. We Are now closing in on the next planned world war as a result. When and where we can only guess, but it surely is on the way, the same way it was in the late 1930s. War is a distraction and it succeeds in culling the population. It is also a cover-up for massive financial and economic problems that have resulted from the financial elite looting the system.’
The Times y The Sunday Times anuncian nueva version de sus webs, que serán accesible sólo para usuarios de pago, con un precio de dos libras a la semana o una libra por un pase de un día. Es interesante como en el propio anuncio recopilan los argumentos de los “escépticos ante el pago por contenidos de la prensa en internet” y tratan de rebatirlos, aunque que el hecho de que el argumento más fuerte sea “la prensa necesita cobrar para mantener estructuras muy costosas para tener calidad” no es precisamente halagüeño para los medios de News Corp.
Lo que no se puede achacar a Murdoch es que no vaya con todo en su apuesta por el pago por contenidos en la web, al contrario de la estrategia de Unidad Editorial con Orbyt. Los españoles mantienen El Mundo.es en abierto, no lo “sacrifican”, mientras que los británicos sí que sitúan al lector de Times en la disyuntiva del pago o renuncia a consumir su medio. Hay más riesgo, pero también más posibilidades de que el usuario pague, El Mundo también asume el riego de que al decidir que gran parte de su contenido en papel no esté en la web, mucho de su público se desplaze a alternativas que no paran de crecer como El Confidencial.
En todo caso, dos libras por semana por todos los contenidos del medio de cabecera no suena para nada desproporcionado, casi podríamos decir que “debería funcionar”… aunque parte del problema es que la forma de consumir contenidos en internet se aleja mucho del “leer todo de una fuente” y está más cerca del “acceder a muchos contenidos de muchas fuentes y de formas muy diversas” (buscadores, agregadores, sitios sociales, enlaces). Y claro, cuando lo que uno pierde si no paga es sólo el 10% de los contenidos que realmente consume en internet, la intención de pago tiende a cero y la búsqueda de un sustituto (quizás no tan bueno, pero sí lo suficientemente bueno) se impone.
Homebrew coder ant512 is back once again the DS homebrew scene to release a new version of Woopsi, a handy GUI library for creating homebrew user interfaces for the Nintendo DS. The latest update of the homebrew
The Big Apple is getting a facelift, environmentally speaking, and is going from dangerous red, to clean green. To start with, the cities two tallest sky scrapers will go green, with retro-fitting. The second tallest building, the Bank of America, last week won the platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, the first commercial building of its kind to ever do so. Completed in 2008 at a cost of $2 million, the building, 54-story high, uses a 4.6-megawatt power generation plant and is self sustained. It was also made out of 87% recycled materials with concrete from 45% recycled content. This tower at One Bryant Park co-owned by Durst Organization, saves 8 million to 9 million gallons of water every year with rainwater capturing, water recycling, and waterless urinals. Also New York’s tallest building, the Empire State Building is aiming for the green stamp, with retro-fitting since last year, to reduce energy usage by 38%. The Big Apple is destined for a green horizon.
They’re not a failed attempt at Belgian jigsaw camouflage or a trophy from clown school, these colorful lycra gloves are the vital component in a new gestural user input system developed by researchers at MIT. When used with a standard webcam and some clever software, the wearer’s hand movements are instantaneously translated into on-screen commands or control gestures. Commercial development of the system could lead to widespread availability of cheap and easy-to-use spatial gesture interfaces…
Continue Reading MIT unveils colorful solution for cheap, accessible gesture-based computing
American Idol season 9 finale could have been complete, in some point of the show a farewell tribute to the departing Simon Cowell was featured.
American Idol winners Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks, Ruben Studdard, CarrieUnderwood, Fantasia Barrino, TaylorHicks and Kris Allen took the stage singing the song “Together We Are One” by Delta Goodrem. Later they were joined by American Idol finalists that included everyone from Kimberly Caldwell to Constatine Maroulis, including Justin Guarini.
As noticed last night, Idol Season 7 winner David Cook was the only ‘idol’ absent in the group performance.
Just after the show, according to Cook’s twitter, Cook was attending a charity event in KansasCity for cancer.
Some of the Cook’s fans were disappointed last night as they were expecting to see him, but as Cook tweeted, he was in the show “in spirit“.
Another Idol had another story behind the show. Adam Lambert was reported by Zap2itthat he did not show up for the finale rehearsal, which was a surprise performance form the show.
Water reservoirs have never looked better before. When was the last time you cast a water reservoir a second while passing by? Well, this one, unlike its peers and ancestors, is sure to grab a lot more attention. And that’s simply because of the beautiful skin it flaunts. Known as the Balance Tower, this reservoir in Barcelona is part of a pumping station built by ATLL, a Spanish water supplier. It conceals a water reservoir inside it. The Balance Tower boasts a media skin, by ag4, with moving images. The structure uses a concrete core spread across 768m2 covered in a patchwork of metal and photovoltaics. LEDs in the joints of the skin emphasize the structure. The 18,000 LEDs light up at night, powered by the photovoltaics that soak in the sun during the day, to display images and text with a resolution of 3650 pixels. The power generated is fed into the grid during the day, and grid power is used to light up the Balance Tower at night. An eye-catching water storage tower, this one sure is a whole lot different.
The Sydney Police Force now has a new member in its vehicle fleet – the Alfa Romeo Mito. This car never fails to attract attention with its white body and blue check stripes. It certainly increases the presence of the Police in the city.
This police vehicle uses the car control technology called DNA, which consists of three traction and stability control programs — Dynamic, Normal and All-weather. The Dynamic mode gives cornering feedback, more engine power, and a relaxed stability control setting. Meanwhile, the Normal mode allows for lighter steering and an engine tune designed to improve fuel economy. The All-Weather mode assists the drivers through all types of weather conditions. This vehicle is intended to help authorities as they fight crime as well as to integrate the road safety concept into local communities.
ACS:Law, the UK-based copyright threat letter operation that has been called a “scam” by UK politicians and condemned by ISPs alike, is apparently using a new tactic. The operation, which is apparently being investigated for potential disciplinary action (like Davenport Lyons, whose lawyers have been disciplined for initiating the “pre-settlement” mass letter campaign, and which has some sort of connection with ACS:Law), seems to know that the “evidence” it has isn’t enough to actually take anyone to court, so if you reply and deny the infringement, ACS:Law sends you a questionnaire effectively asking you to incriminate yourself.
Of course, there’s no legal obligation to reply, just as there’s no legal obligation to pay, based on such a “pay up or we’ll sue” letter. TorrentFreak notes that, despite all of this, people are still paying, even though not a single case has gone to court. No wonder we have multiple copycat operations showing up in the US. Extortion-like processes are apparently quite profitable. I’m sure that’s exactly what the folks who created copyright law in the first place were thinking of in their creation: a system to send out thousands of threat letters demanding payment to avoid a lawsuit. It’s all about promoting the “progress” of a few copyright lawyers, you see…
‘The US State Department says National Guard troops being sent to the Mexican border will not be used to enforce US immigration laws. On Tuesday, US President Barack Obama authorized the deployment of up to 1,200 additional troops to border areas to fight the drug cartels, but State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters, “It’s not about immigration.” Crowley also said that the troops will stem the flow of guns and drugs across the borders.’
Ford Taurus owner manual (PDF file and Zip file available) Free Ford Taurus owner manual are available to download here. The owner manual covers most of the Ford Taurus model year like 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005 and more. The owner manual for older Taurus model year from 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, to 1998 is also available to download. Other than that, you can also find the owner manual for older Ford cars here. Here we shared you where you can download all these owner manuals and repair manuals online easily.
Ford Taurus owner manual
There is total number of six generations until present, thus you will have to check out which generations your Taurus is before you can download the correct manual.
Ford Taurus first generation (1986-1991)
Ford Taurus second generation (1992-1995)
Ford Taurus third generation (1996-1999)
Ford Taurus fourth generation (2000-2007)
Ford Taurus fifth generation (2008-2009)
Ford Taurus sixth generation (2010-present)
Your website talked a lot, so where can I really get the owner manual that I want?
Ford owner manual from 1996 to present year
Ford Motor Company has made all the Ford cars owner manuals as well as repair manual available in online version. It can be easily found at www.fleet.ford.com/maintenance/owners_manuals. By simply key in the year, make, model and click on submit, you can get the owner manual in PDF file just in seconds. Some model will come along with the scheduled maintenance guide as well as warranty guide. However, the available owner manuals only start from year 1996 to present year.
Online Ford Taurus manual
Other than getting a manual from Ford website, there are still many websites give away free Ford manual. For example,online Ford Taurus manual, free ford wiring diagrams.
Ford Taurus owner manual
If you are preparing to buy the owner manual, Haynes will be a good choice. Haynes provides two different versions. One is for the Ford Taurus from year 1986 to 1995 while another version which available is for model year from 1996 thru 2005. By the way, do you know Ford Taurus actually has had a more upscale Mercury branded version which known as Sable?
There are many great ways you can maintain your car at very good condition if you have lost the owner manual or your car is too old to find any owner manual. You will just have to follow the correct car maintenance schedule. That’s all for Ford Taurus owner manual.
Following the “Astronepic” word invention by Southpeak comes this debut trailer for their RPG, Two Worlds II. Check out what awaits you in the land of Antaloor come September 14th, 2010 after the jump.
The Sydney Police Force now has a new member in its vehicle fleet – the Alfa Romeo Mito. This car never fails to attract attention with its white body and blue check stripes. It certainly increases the presence of the Police in the city.
