Posted: 16 May 2011 02:41 PM PDT San Fran Loses Last Domestic Dealer San Fran Loses Last Domestic Dealer The City by the Bay's allegiance 'is to anything but domestic.' |
Posted: 16 May 2011 02:41 PM PDT Europe Eyes US Small-Luxury Market Europe Eyes US Small-Luxury Market A new generation of small, fuel-efficient luxury cars heads to US. |
Posted: 16 May 2011 02:17 PM PDT iPhone 4, App Store Get A Bevy Of Records In The Guinness Book  iPhone 4, App Store Get A Bevy Of Records In The Guinness Book We've learned some pretty amazing (and incredibly arbitrary) things from the Guinness Book of World Records. Did you know that the record for most people dressed as Smurfs was set on July 18, 2008 by 1,253 attendants of Ireland's Muckno Mania Festival? Now you do. Or did you know that Jean-Francois Vernetti of Switzerland set the record for the largest "Do Not Disturb" door-hanger collection with 8,888 hangers (way to go,... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 02:08 PM PDT Better Place announces pricing for Renault Fluence Z.E. in Israel  Better Place announces pricing for Renault Fluence Z.E. in Israel Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Renault, Middle East Renault Fluence Z.E. - Click above for high-res image gallery Ahead of its official launch scheduled for the end 2011, Better Place has unveiled a complex pricing structure for the Renault Fluence Z.E. in Israel. The base version of the electric sedan will hit the market at a price of ILS 122,900 ($34,265 U.S.... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 02:07 PM PDT Lenovo ThinkPad X1 review  Lenovo ThinkPad X1 review For weeks now, Lenovo aficionados have been salivating. Thanks to a series of leaks, more than a few of you have been awaiting the ThinkPad X1, the skinny, girlfriend-proof follow-up to the company's vaunted X series. One problem: it didn't officially exist. Well, the jig is up, and the X1 is at last a real, whirring product, on sale tomorrow with a starting price of $1,349.... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 02:07 PM PDT Lenovo's ultraslim ThinkCentre 91z All-in-One gets official, starts at $699  Lenovo's ultraslim ThinkCentre 91z All-in-One gets official, starts at $699 Anyone lucid during the past 24 hours won't be particularly shocked to see the arrival of Lenovo's slick new all-in-one -- though the thing is officially becoming official a day before originally anticipated. Not surprisingly, the company's really playing up aesthetics with the ThinkCentre Edge 91z, calling it the thinnest AIO, at 2.5 inches -- and certainly its thinner than, say, the HP TouchSmart 610.... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 01:44 PM PDT Apple Files Text-To-Speech/Speech-To-Text Patent For Phone Calls  Apple Files Text-To-Speech/Speech-To-Text Patent For Phone Calls You're out at a restaurant, and your phone rings. You don't want to be that chump blabbing to himself into a headset — but if you take the call outside, your risotto is going to get cold. You're knee deep in the middle of a first world problem, friend — what's your move? Apple, it seems, feels your pain.... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 01:34 PM PDT $4,000 Leica lens split in two, sold on eBay as $1,000 piece of art  $4,000 Leica lens split in two, sold on eBay as $1,000 piece of art Discontinued products typically dip in value, but such is not the case with Leica lenses -- unless they're sawed in half. Leica students had an opportunity to "make" cutaways of two Leica lenses as part of a graduation project. A discontinued Tri-Elmar-M 28-35-50mm (valued at about $4,500 when fully functional) and a 50mm f/1.4 Summilux (about $3,700) were split, exposing various layers of glass and metal.... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 01:34 PM PDT HP x2301 Micro Thin monitor makes other displays feel bloated, insecure  HP x2301 Micro Thin monitor makes other displays feel bloated, insecure Those new desktops HP unveiled today are little more than humming foot rests without a monitor, so the company also trotted out the x2301 Micro Thin -- a 23-inch, LED-backlit, 1080p display that's an absolutely anorexic 9.8mm (0.39 inches) thick. Most of the important internals have been shoved into the blue-tinted base to keep the brushed aluminum and glossy black screen as thin as possible.... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 01:11 PM PDT Samsung Postpones Their Mysterious May 24th Event Indefinitely  Samsung Postpones Their Mysterious May 24th Event Indefinitely Oh noes! Just a few weeks back, Samsung told the press that they were going to be announcing something come May 24th. We guessed that "something" was the Galaxy S II's US launch details — and, given that the Galaxy S II is one of the finest pieces of Android we've seen so far, we were pretty excited. Consider our bubble burst.... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 01:01 PM PDT Nissan Leaf Nismo RC gets on-track shakedown  Nissan Leaf Nismo RC gets on-track shakedown Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Nissan, Racing Nissan Leaf Nismo RC - Click above to watch video after the jump Nissan has yet to figure out exactly where the company will campaign its new Leaf RC racer, but that hasn't stopped the engineers behind the Japanese automaker's Nismo effort from getting the machine out on track for a little shake-down action. With its sexy carbon fiber bodywork, three-door layout and silent electric drivetrain, the car looks... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 01:01 PM PDT Nokia X7 gets approved, undressed by FCC  Nokia X7 gets approved, undressed by FCC Is there any faster way for a sexy new handset to lose some mystique than by being torn apart beneath the unflattering lights of the FCC's offices? But while all of these shot juxtaposed with a blue ruler might not be precisely the way Nokia wants you to see the X7, the listing does bring the Symbian smartphone all that much closer to reality -- particularly for US users hoping to... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 01:01 PM PDT Nuance voices found in OS X Lion, patent application suggests new iPhone speech / text capabilities  Nuance voices found in OS X Lion, patent application suggests new iPhone speech / text capabilities Apple's certainly no stranger to speech recognition, but it looks like it may have enlisted a bit of outside help for the next version of OS X, otherwise known as Lion. As Netputing reports, some of the text-to-speech voice options available in the developer preview of Lion just so happen to match the voices available from Nuance -- which would seem to suggest a partnership or licensing agreement of some sort,... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 12:28 PM PDT Obama to let oil drilling escalate in Alaska [w/video]  Obama to let oil drilling escalate in Alaska [w/video] Filed under: Etc., Legislation and Policy, USA President Obama discusses oil drilling - Click above to watch video after the jump As part of a broad plan aimed at blunting critics who say the President isn't doing enough to address soaring energy prices, Barack Obama announced during his weekly radio address on Saturday that drilling for oil in Alaska - a state that's thought to have vast oil reserves - will soon escalate. Additionally,... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 12:28 PM PDT French basketball team 'trains' with robots, learns how to 'win'  French basketball team 'trains' with robots, learns how to 'win' To the list of French accomplishments you may now add "robot basketball training" -- at least if the video above is to be believed. But you probably shouldn't believe it when members of Poitiers Basket 86 testify that amusement park rides improved the team's "spatial orientation" and helped them defeat top-ranked Chalon.... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 11:56 AM PDT Barnes & Noble logs 1 million Nook app downloads in first week, people are probably playing Angry Birds instead of reading  Barnes & Noble logs 1 million Nook app downloads in first week, people are probably playing Angry Birds instead of reading We were pretty stoked when Barnes & Noble finally made Android apps a legit feature on the Nook Color (lack of Market access be damned) and, unsurprisingly, many of you were, too -- the company reports that within a week of making these applications available, it hit 1 million downloads.... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 11:22 AM PDT Microsoft outlines new enterprise features coming to Windows Phone 'Mango'  Microsoft outlines new enterprise features coming to Windows Phone 'Mango' When Microsoft takes the stage May 24th to preview the next release of Windows Phone, will there be any surprises left for the peanut gallery? In the last week we've seen numerous features announced or leaked, an awfully big coincidence given the timing of next week's event. More cats were let out of their bags today at Microsoft's annual TechEd conference keynote, as several enterprise-related capabilities were shown off that both... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 11:22 AM PDT Toshiba enters pixel density fray with 367ppi LCDs for cellphones  Toshiba enters pixel density fray with 367ppi LCDs for cellphones Toshiba just fired its own salvo in the pixel density wars at SID 2011. The company is showing off a range of LCDs for cellphones that top out at an almost imperceptibly fine 367ppi on its 4-inch HD (720 x 1280) model. Beyond just cramming more red, green, and blue dots in each inch, these panels also top the bar-setting Retina Display in the contrast department with an impressive 1,500:1 ratio.... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 11:22 AM PDT Cuba's Restaurant Revolution Cuba's Restaurant Revolution After years spent working in dreary state-run restaurants and hush-hush culinary speakeasies, restaurateurs and chefs are operating under a set of new, less exacting rules that allow their talents freer reign. |
Posted: 16 May 2011 10:48 AM PDT Report: CARB says U.S. is leaning towards non-CHAdeMO quick-charge standard  Report: CARB says U.S. is leaning towards non-CHAdeMO quick-charge standard Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Legislation and Policy, USA Craig Childers, a zero-emissions specialist at the California Air Resources Board (CARB), said it appears that the U.S. is leaning towards the adoption of a non-CHAdeMO quick-charge standard for plug-in vehicles, according to All Cars Electric. Though Childers admits that this is not a "done deal," he claims that "automotive companies are lobbying for only one opening for powering the car to allow for... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 10:48 AM PDT Canadian copyright group pushes for levy on memory cards  Canadian copyright group pushes for levy on memory cards As even non-Canadians may recall, there was a big issue in the country a few years back over a so-called "iPod tax" (something that cropped up again in the recent election) and, while it still hasn't come to pass, the Canadian Private Copying Collective is now pushing for a music tax of another sort.... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 10:15 AM PDT Mercedes E300 Bluetec diesel hybrid could make it to the U.S.  Mercedes E300 Bluetec diesel hybrid could make it to the U.S. Filed under: Diesel, Hybrid, Mercedes Benz, USA We're about to witness the first-ever mass-production diesel hybrid in this summer's Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4 crossover; this sort of powertrain has had engineers and many consumers drooling for a few years. The miles-per-gallon possibilities and environmental benefits are fascinating right away. All that has held them at bay was the expense of development and production, plus the unwanted risk of passing that big price tag... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 10:15 AM PDT NEC spits out LaVie L and S Series laptops, ValueStar W and N Series all-in-ones  NEC spits out LaVie L and S Series laptops, ValueStar W and N Series all-in-ones Like your computers Japanese and fire engine red? You might want to have a gander at the quartet of PCs NEC just churned out, including twin LaVie notebooks and ValueStar all-in-ones. The laptops both have 15.6-inch displays, optional Blu-ray drives, and hard drives as large as 750GB, but the L series packs a TV tuner and maxes out at a Core i7 processor, while the S series' top CPU option is... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 10:15 AM PDT Samsung, RealD announce licensing agreement for new LCD-based 3D panels  Samsung, RealD announce licensing agreement for new LCD-based 3D panels Remember that 3D display technology that Samsung and RealD were working on at CES? Today, the two companies announced that they've struck a licensing deal for the panels, which promise to deliver full resolution HD images to each eye by integrating active shutter technology directly within an LCD. This approach differs from the passive film patterned retarder (FPR) technologies that you'll find in Vizio and LG displays, which cut image resolution... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 09:41 AM PDT Apple offers free repairs for iPhones, other products damaged in Japan quake  Apple offers free repairs for iPhones, other products damaged in Japan quake Apple customers with Macs, displays, and iOS devices that were directly damaged in the Japan earthquake and tsunami may be eligible for free repairs. The offer, posted on the company's Japanese website, excludes iPod classic, nano, and shuffle, and only applies to customers living in areas covered by the Ministry of Health's Disaster Relief Act.... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 09:41 AM PDT HP trots out Pavilion p7, Pavilion Slimline s5, and HPE h8 desktops  HP trots out Pavilion p7, Pavilion Slimline s5, and HPE h8 desktops Lest you think the desktop is an endangered species, HP, at least, begs to differ. The company just unveiled three of 'em: the Pavilion p7, Slimline s5, and the Pavilion HPE h8 -- all festooned with black finishes, rounded edges, sliding port covers, and metallic panels designed to blend in with the electronics already populating your living room.... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 09:19 AM PDT This Rilakkuma iPhone Case Has Ears  This Rilakkuma iPhone Case Has Ears I had a beautiful Rilakkuma iPhone case a few months ago but mine did not have ears. I am concerned that I missed out on something special. However, this one costs, inexplicably, $19 when the old version, without ears, cost $12. I'm no economics scientist, but ears don't cost $7. Product Page |
Posted: 16 May 2011 09:08 AM PDT Video: Photographer captures Los Angeles' car-less  Video: Photographer captures Los Angeles' car-less Filed under: Transportation Alternatives, USA Photo essay of Los Angeles' car-less - Click above to watch video after the jump Professional photographer Diane Meyer discovered that Los Angeles, CA is chock full of people who not only survive, but often thrive in the City of Angels without automobiles. Meyer's "Without a Car" photo essay - originally published in the May/June 2011 issue of Orion, a bimonthly, advertising-free magazine devoted to creating a stronger... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 09:08 AM PDT Space Shuttle Endeavor lifts off one last time (video)  Space Shuttle Endeavor lifts off one last time (video) NASA's Endeavour shuttle marked its final launch today, lifting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, a fortnight after an initial takeoff was scrubbed over concerns surrounding an auxiliary power unit heater. A six-member crew lead by commander Mark Kelly and some tiny satellites are on-board for the STS-134 mission, which involves the delivery of the massive cosmic ray-collecting Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and some spare parts to the International Space Station.... |
Posted: 16 May 2011 08:45 AM PDT Samsung Galaxy S II Gets Renamed For American Debut… Thrice!  Samsung Galaxy S II Gets Renamed For American Debut… Thrice! Those of you who've been anxiously awaiting the launch of Samsung's sweetest smartphone may have a few new names to memorize. Before any carrier announcement, retailer Wireless Xcessories Group leaked the new names of our beloved Galaxy S II in a phone case listing. According to WXG's page, the Android 2.3 Gingerbread-powered smartphone will roll out as the Samsung Galaxy S II Attain for AT&T, the Function for Verizon Wireless, and... |
Monday, May 16, 2011
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