07
May
2009
NaviGadget: BMW has an ad campaign going on these days showing how you can endanger the lives of pedestrians trying to scribble something on a map using GPS.
On this next video for example for they tried for “unstoppable” but it more looks like “Un_toppdole”.
Apparently you can join in on the fun by Uploading your GPS drawing at http://gps.bmw-motorrad.com/.
07
May
2009
TGDaily: Software giant Microsoft laid off 3,000 people on Tuesday – part of its plan to cut costs.
The job losses will be spread equally between the USA and other geographies, but Microsoft has also committed to re-hiring as soon as the economic meltdown eases.
The Seattle Times has reproduced an email that CEO Steve Ballmer sent to all staff. In it, he describes the layoffs as difficult news to share. Microsoft, he continued, has nearly finished with the layoffs.
Ballmer did not rule out further layoffs – he said Microsoft is closely monitoring the economic downturn and is prepared to take action including layoffs if things continue to be bad.
The meltdown has affected practically every tech company and it’s probably fair to say that no-one has a clue when it will end.
05
May
2009
AVZombie: Looking for a new piece of AV kit or just want to window shop? Then the annual awards issues of most specialist press journals are a good place to start.
At HCC, we’ve now produced a digital edition of the Home Cinema Choice Awards. It’s a Director’s Cut (if you like) of the version printed first featured in the magazine, slightly extended simply because we could.
As with Living with Home Cinema, it makes use of the Issuu pdf-to-flash platform. We’ve only been using Issuu for a few weeks but we’re already dominating that site’s Technology section, which is really gratifying, and I’ve no doubt that when we unleash our Free Digital Magazines initiative we’ll have some of the most popular (fre)e-mags on the site.
05
May
2009
Electronista: Toshiba Corporation and Fujitsu Limited on Thursday today announced the terms of the definitive agreement, following the pair’s memorandum of understanding completed in mid-February.
Under the agreement, Fujitsu will transfer its hard disk drive (HDD) business to Toshiba, with a target completion date of July 1st.
A new company, Toshiba Storage Device Corporation (TSDC), will assume all of Fujitsu’s HDD-related business and functions, with Fujitsu’s manufacturing operations in the Philippines and Thailand being renamed to Toshiba Storage Devices Philippines (TSDP) and Toshiba Storage Devices Thailand (TSDT).
At the same time, Yamagata Fujitsu Limited will become Toshiba Storage Device Yamagata Corporation (TSDY), with all three companies becoming wholly-owned subsidiaries of TSDC once the deal is completed. Toshiba will then handle the sales and marketing of all HDD products, while design, research and development and production handled by TSDC. The majority of Fujitsu’s sales and marketing offices outside of Japan will be transferred to Toshiba’s overseas business operations.
Toshiba will acquire an 80.1 percent stake in TSDC by July 1st, with Fujitsu holding 19.9 percent of shares until the end of December 2010. On January 1st, 2011, Toshiba will receive all shares of TSDC. The business transfer will see about 800 employees in Japan and nearly 7,000 worldwide transfer over from Fujitsu to Toshiba. The deal is expected to be worth the equivalent of about $305 million. TSDC will be one of the largest hard drive makers, competing against rivals like Hitachi and Seagate.
05
May
2009
Engadget: Man, talk about coming straight out of left field. After blowing it out at CeBIT just two months ago, Navigon has just announced its intentions to pull out of the navigation business here in North America.
According to CEO Egon Minar: “Due to the difficult economic environment and the aggressive pricing we have decided to withdraw from the PND business in North America for the time being. We are however not closing down our Chicago office which will continue to serve our automotive and mobile phone businesses in North America.”
He did assert that the company would “continue to fulfill all obligations to its existing PND customers in terms of map updates, etc.,” but nothing else on the subject was said. So long, Navigon — we’ll miss your “uber-premium” wares.
05
May
2009
Engadget: You might think the future of surround audio lies in sophisticated DSP-driven single-box soundbars or even crazy wireless headphones, but 
Labs knows the truth: what you really need is more speakers.
Up to 11 of ‘em, to be exact, as part of the company’s new Dynamic Surround Expansion system. Like the 9.1 channel Dolby Pro Logic IIz, DSX focuses more on the audio in front of you, since that’s what your ears are tuned to differentiate the best — in addition to the left, right, and center channels, DSX includes two speakers mounted up high at a 45-degree angle, and two speakers placed farther out to each side to create width.
Add in the two surround back channels from a traditional 7.1 rig and presto — you’re up to 11. Yep, that’s a lot of speakers, especially if your loved ones already think a standard 5.1 system is an eyesore. On the other hand — 11 freaking speakers. DSX-enabled receivers are expected to arrive by summer, just in time to close the shades and spend all day indoors watching movies.
05
May
2009
Gizmag: Made up of more than 1200 mirrored heliostats surrounding a huge 54 story high tower, the world’s largest solar power tower plant is now on line near Seville in Spain.
Developed by Spanish engineering company Abengoa, the PS20 plant generates 20 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to supply 10,000 homes.
Concentrating solar thermal technology has been used in desert areas in Spain and the southwest U.S. for decades and is seeing a resurgence as utilities seek to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
A solar thermal plant generates electricity in much the same way a conventional coal fired or nuclear power plant does, only the heat source is different. In fact up to 80% of the world’s electricity is generated using the Rankine cycle to heat water into high pressure steam that drives a turbine, which in turn connects to an electrical generator.
In a tower concentrator system the heat is provided by a field of heliostats, or mirrors, that focus sunlight onto a receiver held near the top of a tower. At the PS20 plant each heliostat is 1291 ft2 (120 m 2), which gives the entire heliostat field a massive area of 155,000 m 2.
Each heliostat tracks the sun throughout the day on two axes and concentrates the radiation onto a receiver located on the upper part of the 531 ft (162 m) tower. The receiver converts 92% of received sunlight into steam which is piped down to a turbine driven generator at the base of the tower.
05
May
2009
JCNNetwork: Sharp Corp. doubled its loss estimate for the year give slump in sales of televisions and panels, but brought forward plans for a cost-efficient factory to cut costs.
The company would shift overseas some output of key components such as panels and solar cells with domestic partners to lessen the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations and control capital spending, a departure from its usual strategy of making core products at home. Sharp faced an uphill task to make the new business model work.
Panel demand was recovering, prompting it to move up its date for starting production at its plant by five months to October.
Sharp’s 380 billion yen (US$3.8 billion) plant in western Japan will process 10th-generation glass substrates, which are bigger than earlier generation substrates and help reduce per panel production costs.
Earnings were hit by mounting inventory from unsold liquid crystal display panels and televisions as consumers limit spending amid the global economic crisis, as well as restructuring costs.
05
May
2009
Pioneer Europe: This July, Pioneer will be releasing an exclusively-designed navigation and multimedia centre for a range of VW, Skoda or Seat vehicles: the AVIC-F9110BT.
As well complementing the interior of your vehicle, the NavGate AVIC-F9110BT delivers more efficient and pleasurable journeys through comprehensive navigation capabilities, high-quality and versatile entertainment and convenient and safe communications.
The stylish unit is shaped and manufactured from specialist materials to seamlessly integrate with a wide range of cars from the VW Group.
Behind the sleek façade of the high-resolution 5.8-inch WVGA touch panel is seriously powerful navigation technology:
At the heart of the NavGate AVIC-F9110BT is a powerful processor which enables navigation and entertainment features to be used simultaneously .
The NavGate AVIC-F9110BT is compatible with 18 VW, Skoda and Seat cars as follows (an original VW, Skoda and Seat accessory may be required to fit the unit):
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05
May
2009
Electronista: Samsung recently announced some specs of what looks like the 8-series plasma HDTV first shown at CES. The 50-inch 850 PAVV is just 1.14 inches (29mm) thick and houses the tuner.
Samsung says it’s also 40 percent more energy efficient and, at about 57lbs, 20 percent lighter than the corresponding previous-generation model.
The TV has 1080p resolution and has DLNA support. Along with the necessary software and USB 2.0 ports, this allows users to watch DivX videos, view photos or play MP3 audio files from external drives or flash memory sticks.
These features are expected to carry over to a 58-inch plasma model Samsung is also readying, though no specifics other than that it is 50 percent slimmer than the previous-generation TV and weighs about 80lbs.
Pricing or a release date for either model is likewise unknown. Samsung does not currently offer any 8-series plasma HDTVs in North America, and it is unknown if these set will be the first to come to the market.