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<title>Haaze.com / James01 / All</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 18 May 2011 07:10:38 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[Give digital photos a retro look with Lo-Fi]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=give-digital-photos-a-retro-look-with-lo-fi</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=give-digital-photos-a-retro-look-with-lo-fi</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 18 May 2011 07:10:38 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James01</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=give-digital-photos-a-retro-look-with-lo-fi</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Wingnut)People take a lot of bad and/or boring photos (myself included). Do it with a smartphone, though, and you've got a bunch of apps, such as Hipstamatic for iPhone and Vignette for Android, to make things more interesting or cover up flaws. However, things are a little more complicated for people who still use a regular camera, and that's where Lo-Fi comes in. The software--available forMac and Windows--lets you do what those apps do by quickly applying different effects based on film types, flashes, and lenses. What's nice about using Lo-Fi is that it doesn't feel like software. Instead of working in a typical box with tools and drop-down menus, you get this big camera with easy-to-understand clickable buttons. Drag and drop photos onto the camera and they load up onto the strip above the large screen. From there you select the ones you want to work with and start playing.The Film, Mood, and Frame area on the right side of the interface have about a dozen options each, giving you a wide range of effects, such as grain, colorful cross processing, lens blur, light leaks, and frames. If you're not sure what one of them does you can just hover over it to get a brief description. There's also on/off buttons for each one so you can shut one, two, or all three of them off. The developer, Wingnut, has updated Lo-Fi three times with new effects since its release in February. It doesn't quite have the number of options that the apps I mentioned earlier have, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's possible Wingnut will add more in the future, too, but right now there are no immediate plans. The example below was taken with a point-and-shoot I was testing. The original photo was soft, overly cool, and slightly underexposed. I applied a vignette to draw attention away from the background, a cross-processed film to change the tone, and a plastic lens effect to heavily blur the outer edge, which actually helped hide some motion blur. It takes no time to do these things either--just a few mouse clicks--and if you don't like what you have you can just keep clicking till you get the combo you want. (Credit:Joshua Goldman/CNET)There's also a button for letting the software apply random combinations that you can keep pressing until you get one you like. Unfortunately, what it won't allow you to do is stack multiple effects in the same category (i.e., you can't use two Moods at the same time) or increase or decrease the intensity of an effect.Once you've got the result you want, there are one-click buttons to save to your computer as well as share on Facebook and Flickr. You can create entire photo sets and tag them within the software, too. There's no Twitter option, though, which is a little strange.Overall, it's a fun application for breathing life into your photos and you don't need to work on a tiny smartphone screen to do it. Lo-Fi is available free to try or you can buy it for $15.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[To invite plug-in cars, cities work on permitting]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=to-invite-plug-in-cars-cities-work-on-permitting</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=to-invite-plug-in-cars-cities-work-on-permitting</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Feb 2011 08:11:17 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James01</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=to-invite-plug-in-cars-cities-work-on-permitting</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Now that plug-in electric-vehicle technology is ready for prime time, forward-looking cities are trying to modernize their building codes to stay current.The National Renewable Energy Laboratory yesterday published case studies of four locations that have crafted plans to encourage drivers to go electric. Rather than financial or technical hurdles, the biggest priority of these cities is updating the permitting process around home and public charging stations.The electric-car all-stars come out (photos) View the full galleryAlthough it's not necessary, most plug-in electric-car owners are expected to have a dedicated charge port installed at their homes, which will work at 240 volts and cut charge time roughly in half. One of the concerns automakers and potential buyers have is long delays in getting these chargers installed since building codes don't always explicitly address them.In an effort to avoid delays in installations, Oregon last year adjusted its building codes to clarify the situation for electricians. Home charging stations now fall under the same building codes as large appliances, such as electric water heaters. Only one in ten of an electrician's installations needs to be inspected, another streamlining effort. Raleigh, N.C., too, applied an existing permitting and inspection process to electric-vehicle charging stations, or electric-vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). The area expects that the entire process takes a few days, rather than several weeks, and it intends to allow electricians to apply for permits online as more people are trained. Houston, meanwhile, claims that it has its permitting and inspection process down to one day. The other location included in the study is Los Angeles. Electric-vehicle experts advocate building up the charging infrastructure for plug-ins in specific regions to give plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles a foothold in the auto fleet. The case studies are designed to be blueprints for municipalities, said Linda Bluestein, the co-director of Clean Cities, a Department of Energy-funded program to reduce oil consumption in transportation. &quot;Preparation by municipalities, utilities, states and regions will determine how quickly and smoothly that transformation takes place,&quot; she said in a statement.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Friday Poll: Is PS3 hacker ban the right move]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=friday-poll-is-ps3-hacker-ban-the-right-move</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=friday-poll-is-ps3-hacker-ban-the-right-move</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Feb 2011 08:11:10 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James01</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=friday-poll-is-ps3-hacker-ban-the-right-move</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Matt Hickey/CNET)This week Sony announced that it's kickingPlayStation 3 hackers off its PlayStation Network and Qriocity media service--for life. Those deemed offenders by Sony get an e-mail saying the company is aware of their ways and plans to drop the banhammer unless they reformat their PS3's hard drive and reinstall the official, un-jailbroken PS3 firmware.If a user fails to comply, then the ban is handed down. Users who get bannned get a blue screen telling them they're not allowed on the network, as well as an e-mail explaining why. So far there's no word on whether those who are banned can somehow reconnect their machines to Sony's online services (and we're hoping there's a way, or there may be a glut of network-less PS3s on Craigslist in the near future). Sony's not alone' Microsoft enacted similar measures a couple of years ago to keep modded Xboxes off of its Live network, and there was a backlash. Now, though, it seems that banning console hackers is the norm. But we have to ask, in your view is Sony's latest move to thwart breaches of its official policy fair Opinions on the matter, of course, are varied and passionate. If the poll answers don't cover yours, please elaborate in the comments section. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Microsoft responds to Google's copycat claims, again]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsoft-responds-to-googles-copycat-claims-again</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsoft-responds-to-googles-copycat-claims-again</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 02 Feb 2011 08:10:40 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James01</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsoft-responds-to-googles-copycat-claims-again</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Following yesterday's fracas over whether Microsoft was culling search results from rival Google, Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's senior VP of its Online Services Division, has weighed in, reiterating that Google's claims are false.&quot;We do not copy results from any of our competitors. Period. Full stop,&quot; Mehdi said in a post on Bing's community blog titled &quot;Setting the record straight.&quot; &quot;We have some of the best minds in the world at work on search quality and relevance, and for a competitor to accuse any one of these people of such activity is just insulting,&quot; Mehdi said.Mehdi went on to mirror some of the statements made by Harry Shum, Microsoft's head of core search development, during the company's Farsight event. Shum had discussed allegations on stage with Google's head of Web spam, Matt Cutts' Mehdi outlined how Bing made use of anonymous click stream data, along with &quot;more than a thousand inputs&quot; to create Bing's ranking algorithm.Mehdi said that Google's plan to check whether Bing was looking at that click stream data was &quot;rigged to manipulate Bing search results,&quot; and called Google's honeypot attack &quot;click fraud.&quot; He then compared Google's efforts to the the methods used by spammers to create fraudulent search result pages.&quot;What does all this cloak and dagger click fraud prove Nothing anyone in the industry doesn't already know,&quot; Mehdi said. &quot;As we have said before and again in this post, we use click stream optionally provided by consumers in an anonymous fashion as one of 1,000 signals to try and determine whether a site might make sense to be in our index.&quot;Mehdi closed up the post by saying that the company would continue to focus on innovating the product, though added a jab about the timing of Google's honeypot discovery, saying it was directly related to some of Microsoft's recent improvements to Bing, which were &quot;so big and noticeable that we are told Google took notice and began to worry,&quot; Mehdi said.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Touch pad of the future: Hands-on with Synaptics' ClickPad Series 3.0]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=touch-pad-of-the-future-hands-on-with-synaptics-clickpad-series-3-0</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=touch-pad-of-the-future-hands-on-with-synaptics-clickpad-series-3-0</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 13 Dec 2010 08:10:26 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James01</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=touch-pad-of-the-future-hands-on-with-synaptics-clickpad-series-3-0</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Building a better clickpad: Synaptics&amp;39' prototype on a Samsung.(Credit:Sarah Tew/CNET)For all the advancements laptops have made, the humble touch pad has been essentially running the same hardware and software for years.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Now playing in iOS Game Center: Your real name]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=now-playing-in-ios-game-center-your-real-name</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=now-playing-in-ios-game-center-your-real-name</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Nov 2010 08:10:17 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James01</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=now-playing-in-ios-game-center-your-real-name</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Erica Ogg/CNET)If you're a gamer who revels in your status as a faceless player, you should pay attention to the change Apple rolled out with its Game Center app today.Starting today, when you send a friend request or accept a friend request, your real name in addition to your gamer tag or nickname will be shown to that person. Apple added that new policy in a change to its terms of service agreement to Game Center.Previously, when you added a friend it only displayed a username. Now, it shows both the person's username and real name. While that may seem harmless to some, it's a change from how most online gaming works. To understand the importance of privacy for gamers, look no further than the recent controversy kindled by Blizzard Entertainment, the creators of popular World of Warcraft and the StarCraft franchises. In July, Blizzard started requiring users to register with their real names instead of anonymous usernames, but just days later backed down due to the firestorm of criticism from its rabid users.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[IAC bows to Google, kills search at Ask.com]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=iac-bows-to-google-kills-search-at-ask-com</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=iac-bows-to-google-kills-search-at-ask-com</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Nov 2010 08:10:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James01</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=iac-bows-to-google-kills-search-at-ask-com</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Ask has been fighting for search market share for a long time, but Google has just been too strong.(Credit:Screenshot by Tom Krazit/CNET)Add another name to the list of technology departments destroyed by Google. IAC, the parent company of storied search engine Ask.com, has decided to cut 130 engineering jobs and halt all work on developing an algorithmic search competitor to Google, according to a report from Bloomberg. Ask.com will still operate as a questions-and-answers site, but plans to use search technology from another company--not named in the report--to power search on its site. An Ask.com representative confirmed the news and issued a statement. &quot;Today's move is a reflection of our shift in strategy to focus on delivering the best Q&amp;A service on the Web and in developing technologies that provide answers to the millions of questions asked by our users every day,&quot; the company said. &quot;Ask has been very vocal that this is our heritage and it's why our users come to us time and time again.&quot; Also, in a blog post to employees, the company said it would be closing offices in New Jersey and China. &quot;As our loyal staff knows best, Ask has taken a lot of flak through the years, fairly and unfairly, for not having a focused, cohesive strategy, for ping-ponging across different approaches and marketing tactics,&quot; Ask.com president Doug Leeds said in the post. &quot;The current team ended that. We know that receiving answers to questions is why Ask.com users come to the site, and we are now serving them in everything we do.&quot; It's been nearly suicidal to challenge Google in search since around 2004, when it took over the search market share lead. It now has around 65 percent of the market. Nonetheless, Barry Diller, CEO of IAC, agreed to buy the former Ask Jeeves in 2005 for $1.85 billion with hopes of gaining a piece of the lucrative search ads market. Leeds conceded in an interview with Bloomberg that Google had just proven too difficult a competitor. According to ComScore, Ask.com had just 3.7 percent of the search market in September, just barely ahead of AOL, which uses Google to power its search results. But Ask.com was one of the few companies that was still attempting to find its own way to crawl and index the Web. Yahoo has given up its efforts, outsourcing its back-end search functions to Microsoft's Bing and attempting to redefine itself as a user-interface search company.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Pay dirt: Why rare earth metals matter to tech (FAQ)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=pay-dirt-why-rare-earth-metals-matter-to-tech-faq</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=pay-dirt-why-rare-earth-metals-matter-to-tech-faq</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Nov 2010 07:10:22 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James01</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=pay-dirt-why-rare-earth-metals-matter-to-tech-faq</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A topic most people once considered as boring as dirt--rare earth minerals--has fast become a matter of international significance with a direct impact on green technologies and consumer electronics. Rare earth metals are a group of elements that are used in a wide range of products we use every day, including hard drives and hybridcars. Their properties, notably as light-weight magnets, make them key to the ongoing miniaturization of electronics and the growth of green technologies.Rare earth minerals have become a hot-topic issue for industrialists and politicians for one simple reason: supply.(Credit:U.N. Environment Program)China recognized the importance of these elements decades ago and now supplies almost all the rare earth materials in the world. Companies and countries outside of China are becoming increasingly concerned that this lock on supply could handicap burgeoning green industries, such as wind power and electric vehicles. In recent weeks, China unofficially created an embargo on the export of rare earth metals, which was lifted last week, perhaps because of international pressure, according to reports in The New York Times. A diplomatic dispute between Japan and China over territory led China in September to temporarily suspend shipments of rare earth elements to Japan, a move that caught the world's attention.To explain the role of rare earth elements in tech andgreen tech--and the importance of minerals, in general--we offer this FAQ. What are these elements and what are they used forRare earth minerals are a group of 17 elements with properties that make them attractive for certain uses in everything from iPhones to military aircraft. When combined with other common metals, they bring very valuable qualities, such as amplifying light in fiber optic cables or bringing color to TV screens. The most common use for them is permanent magnets. Certain metals, notably neodymium, have strong magnetic fields, which make them a vital component in electric motors in vehicles. A hybrid car can have about five pounds of rare earth metals in its magnets and battery electrodes. Another use is phosphors, made from yttrium and other metals, which create a pleasing color light in compact fluorescent and LED lamps. These minerals do the same work of magnets and phosphors in the digital gadgets we use every day, including computer disk drives, smartphones, and flat-screen TVs. Powerful neodymium-based magnets are used in earbud speakers and microphones in small gadgets, while others are used in batteries in cell phones and laptop displays, according to U.S.-based Molycorp Minerals.Other metals could be used for magnets, for example, but can't match the power per ounce that rare earth permanent magnets offer, particularly in spots where size and weight matters, like cars, consumer electronics, and weapons systems.Technically, this group of elements is not really rare, although they were thought to be when they were discovered in the late 18th century. However, it is hard to find them in concentrations that are economically viable to exploit. So why the sudden interest in these metalsThe interest is not so sudden for many people but these metals have entered onto the geopolitical stage at the highest levels recently, the same way that other vital natural resources have.Currently, China dominates the rare earth mining industry in terms of production and expertise. It's estimated that China mines about 95 percent of the rare earth metals used in the world today. In the face of price competition from China, mining in other countries, including the U.S., which has significant reserves, has all but shut down in recent years. But now, supply has become a problem. China sharply reduced its export quotas last year and this year in order to conserve its own resources, according to statements from the Chinese government. That move and the embargoes, have caused a spike in prices and angst around the world. As the Japanese incident demonstrates, it appears that China is also tightening supply for political reasons, although Chinese officials deny this is the case. Still, China has been transparent about its interest in rare earth elements for a long time, according to Keith Delaney, the executive director of the Rare Earth Industry and Technology Association based in Colorado. China wants to dominate the production of wind turbines, batteries, and other energy technologies and needs to secure its own sources. &quot;They are going to manage their reserves by taking care of their own requirements,&quot; he said.What's being done about alternative supplies Should we be worriedThere are two rare earth mines outside China--one in the U.S. and one in Australia--that plan to go online in 2012, with others in the pipeline. Molycorp Minerals, which went public earlier this year, plans to reopen the Mountain Pass mine in the Mojave Desert of Southern California, which closed in 2002, and Lynas plans to develop at Mount Weld in Australia. Starting new mining operations is fraught with a number of technical and financial risks and takes between 5 and 10 years to develop, according to experts. Another notable problem for non-Chinese operations is the lack of expertise and an undeveloped supply chain for mineral refinement and production of end-use products, such as magnets.Rare earth metals are particularly challenging to extract because they are often found together and it requires a lot of chemistry and metallurgy to separate them from each other and purify them. These mines also typically contain radioactive thorium, which has to be handled separately. Molycorp claims that its current water-based process for mining and extraction will be far cleaner than previous operations at Mountain Pass. But even if these operations come online flawlessly, it's unlikely that the supply will be able to meet the demand in the very near future, said Delaney. The best the world can hope for is a smooth transition when new mines open in 2012, he said.For electronics, it's not a very acute situation because computers and phones use just a few grams of the material per unit. But it's a totally different story for vehicles, where the scale is kilograms, and wind turbines, where it's hundreds of kilos.The most promising technology in wind power to come along in recent years is direct drive turbines, which use permanent magnets to improve the reliability and cost of generating electricity. Every megawatt of wind power requires about half a ton of permanent magnets, said Delaney. To meet the projected future demand for wind--where 10,000 megawatts of capacity were installed in the U.S. last year--there just isn't the supply, he said.What about recycling At this point, recycling of rare earth metals is not done in a significant way, according to a United Nations report from earlier this year. But there are signs that this is starting to change, notably in Japan, which needs to import rare earth metals. A Japanese town has started an &quot;urban mining&quot; project to extract valuable metals, including gold and rare earth magnets, according to a report in The New York Times. A neodymium-iron-boron (Nd2Fe14B) permanent magnet.(Credit:Ames Laboratory)Many people believe that recycling rates should be increased on all manner of valuable metals, given the constraints on supply for rare earth elements and many other raw materials, such as the indium used in solar cells, semiconductors, and LED lights. Toyota last week launched a nickel recycling operation where used nickel-metal hydride hybrid batteries will be repurposed. Recycling is also far less polluting than extracting raw materials.&quot;Recycling is definitely going to be a big part of the solution to this problem,&quot; Alex King, director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory in Iowa, told Scientific American. The lab is seeking to develop alternative processes to prepare neodymium-iron-boron magnets, which can be sourced in the U.S.What's nextOn the political stage, it's safe to say that control over rare earth metals will remain in the news in the years ahead. The challenge isn't only the concentrated supply of the raw materials in China, but the location of the entire supply chain that goes with it. &quot;China is the center of the world rare earth industry, in all of its aspects,&quot; said rare earth metal expert Jack Lifton during a trip to China earlier this year.Other countries are clearly waking up to this issue. Last week in Washington there was a conference held specifically on this topic and there have been a number of Congressional hearings, particularly about how rare earths relate to green technologies and the military, which relies on them in many applications. As an indicator of corporate interest in rare earth metals, both General Electric and General Motors are members of the Rare Earth Industry and Technology Association. The general public, obviously, is less engaged on this issue, but media coverage of rare earths is growing. In general, as people look for alternatives to fossil fuels with green technologies, the issue of raw materials is becoming more prominent. Although it's not part of the rare earth metals group, the source and supply of lithium for batteries, for example, has come under sharper focus. At last week's conference, political officials from the U.S. and Germany voiced alarm over China's control over supply. German officials have appealed to the European Commission and the World Trade Organization to intervene on China's moves to restrict supply. In the meantime, new mines can't come online fast enough. &quot;The mood at (last week's) conference was that this is a solvable problem,&quot; said Delaney. &quot;Whether we have time to solve it is the issue.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[SiOnyx 'black silicon' boosts solar cells with lasers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sionyx-black-silicon-boosts-solar-cells-with-lasers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sionyx-black-silicon-boosts-solar-cells-with-lasers</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:25:48 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James01</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sionyx-black-silicon-boosts-solar-cells-with-lasers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Harvard University spinoff SiOnyx has raised money to commercialize a semiconductor technology with the potential to improve solar-cell efficiency and light sensors in digital cameras.The Beverly, Mass.-based company today announced its $12.5 million series B round of funding which brought in laser manufacturer Coherent and Vulcan Capital, the venture investment firm started by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. SiOnyx&amp;39's black silicon process treats the surface of silicon so it can capture more light.(Credit:SiOnyx)With the money, SiOnyx will be seeking to hire more people to commercialize its &quot;black silicon&quot; technology in consumer electronics and solar-cell manufacturing, CEO Stephen Saylor.The company is developing a semiconductor process to blast silicon with a series of laser pulses in a controlled gas environment. The effect is to re-form the crystalline structure of silicon so that the surface captures more light, explained Saylor.&quot;It makes it almost a totally antireflective surface. Almost no light bounces off the stuff, so it's a very efficient way to capture more light in a layer of silicon,&quot; he said.With changes to the manufacturing process that incorporate its technology, solar-cell efficiency can improve by about 1 percent. The laser treatment can also lower manufacturing costs and eliminate the need to use nasty chemicals used to treat silicon during solar manufacturing, he said.The company intends to sell its chips to partners in solar manufacturing, consumer electronics, and other industries where there is need for more light-sensitive electronics. Its first products will be ready for consumer electronics and solar next year, but when they go to market depends on its partners, Saylor said.Many companies have techniques to improve the efficiency of solar cells and bring down the manufacturing costs. Silicon Valley-based Innovalight, for example, has signed deals with solar manufacturers to use its &quot;silicon ink&quot; technology which treats silicon material so that it produces more electricity. One of the challenges for getting SiOnyx's technology into production is the cost of changing solar manufacturing equipment, but even a small efficiency improvement is very significant.&quot;The history of the solar market is incremental improvements,&quot; said Saylor. &quot;But these small efficiency increases are dramatic given the overall scale of the energy industry.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GE: Hybrid light bulb solves CFL issues]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ge-hybrid-light-bulb-solves-cfl-issues</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ge-hybrid-light-bulb-solves-cfl-issues</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:25:40 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James01</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ge-hybrid-light-bulb-solves-cfl-issues</guid>
<description><![CDATA[GE&amp;39's new hybrid halogen-compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs don't take time to warm up and contain less mercury.(Credit:GE)General Electric today unveiled a halogen compact fluorescent light bulb that promises the efficiency of a CFL without the annoying warm-up period.Unlike typical compact fluorescents (CFLs), the new GE Reveal and GE Energy Smart Soft White hybrid light bulbs will not take time to heat up in order to reach full luminescence.The hybrid bulb&amp;39's halogen tube turns on instantly, then shuts off once the CFL tubes have warmed to their ultimate brightness.(Credit:GE)The bulb is actually two bulbs in one. A halogen light nestled within the bulb turns on almost instantly (half a second), then shuts off once the CFL has reached its full brightness, according to GE.GE says its new hybrid bulb only contains 1 milligram of mercury. Although some companies like Sylvania managed to make small CFLs containing only 1.5 milligrams of mercury, the Enivironmental Protection Agency states that the average CFL contains 4 milligrams of mercury.Mercury is widely known to be a health risk if inhaled or ingested, especially in small children, and has always been one of the downsides to CFLs. The use of mercury in CFLs has been the concern of several consumer-advocacy groups, and the EPA has guidelines on how to handle broken CFLs, which can release a small amount of mercury if its tubes are broken. Some manufacturers have even made a CFL light bulb that can contain its mercury even in the event of a tube breakage.Pricing has not yet been announced. GE did say that 15-watt (60-watt incandescent equivalent) and 20-watt (75-watt equivalent) versions of the hybrid halogen-CFL bulbs will be available as of 2011, with other sizes to become available later.At 8,000 hours of use, the hybrid light bulb has the same lifespan as GE's Soft White 14-watt CFL. The average incandescent bulb has a 1,000-hour lifespan.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[The Key To Happiness Is Being Yourself&nbsp'(TCTV)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-key-to-happiness-is-being-yourselfnbsptctv</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-key-to-happiness-is-being-yourselfnbsptctv</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James01</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-key-to-happiness-is-being-yourselfnbsptctv</guid>
<description><![CDATA[We finagled our way on board the Zappos &amp;''Happiness Bus&amp;'' at Web 2.0 Summit and spoke with CEO Tony Hsieh about why Zappos is such happy place to work, why the company is hiring another 2000 people in 2011, and how it&amp;'s positioned itself brand-wise to give Virgin a run for its money. Key takeaway: The best business strategy is being yourself.Enough said.CrunchBase InformationZapposTony HsiehInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Picplz 1, Instagram 0 as VC firm Andreessen Horowitz chooses photo app rival]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=picplz-1-instagram-0-as-vc-firm-andreessen-horowitz-chooses-photo-app-rival</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=picplz-1-instagram-0-as-vc-firm-andreessen-horowitz-chooses-photo-app-rival</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James01</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=picplz-1-instagram-0-as-vc-firm-andreessen-horowitz-chooses-photo-app-rival</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The popularity contest between competing smartphone photo manipulation apps Instagram and Picplz has been won by Picplz in one regard today, after early Instagram investor Andreessen Horowitz said it has decided to switch teams and pour $5 million in first round funding into Picplz.Andreessen Horowitz had earlier invested $500,000 with Baseline Ventures into Instagram&amp;'s prior incarnation, Burbn.Both apps manipulate photos with filters and other a4Aart creationa4 tools to let users have more interactivity with the images they take with their smartphones.So, given their remarkably similar tools and offerings, speculation has been rife this week that any investment from Andreessen Horowitz in PicPlz could indicate that Instagram had either been outright sold or would be combined with its close rival.Thus far, Andreessen Horowitz has said in an interview with TechCrunch that it would not be investing any additional funding in Instagram and would take a more a4Apassivea4 role as it amps up its involvement with PicPlz.San Francisco -based Picplz co-founder Dalton Caldwell said for his part the company could not be more pleased to team up with the VC firm. Andreessen will be joining the company&amp;'s board of directors.&amp;''The narrative that is easy to believe as a casual observer is that one or two individuals move the mountains at tech companies. To me, the reality is that having a fantastic team, and a &amp;8216'deep bench&amp;' is the most important factor for eventual success,&amp;'' Caldwell told VentureBeat.Caldwell was previously founder and CEO of star-crossed social music siteImeem, which was acquired by MySpace in December 2009. He added that he isn&amp;'t worried about any face-off with Instagram, saying Picplz was already a more diverse offering.&amp;''In general, I think we are in an excellent position. Given the history of new product versions announced on our blog, we are clearly iterating our product at a quick pace that is only increasing over time and with additional capital,&amp;'' Caldwell told VentureBeat. &amp;''It&amp;'s important to note that we are already shipping iPhone and Android apps and are seeing the cross-platform strategy payoff.&amp;''However, Instagram isn&amp;'t throwing in the towel just yet &amp;8212' the company is rumored to be cobbling together its own round of funding, setting its valuation at $20 million and fishing in the same venture capital pool as Picpiz would be for future infusions.Menlo Park, Calif.-based Andreessen Horowitz currently holds stakes in other well-known Silicon Valley hot properties such as GoodData,Ze Frank Games, Foursquare Solutions,Foursquare, Canvas Networks, Proferi,Kno andApptio.Next Story: In crowded ethanol market, waste has the edge Previous Story: Facebook heads back east with a relatively green data center in North CarolinaPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: phone apps, smartphones, Venture CapitalCompanies: Andreessen Horowitz, Apptio, Canvas Networks, Foursquare, Foursquare Solutions, GoodData, imeem, Instagram, Kno, PicPlz, Proferi, techcrunch, Ze Frank GamesPeople: Dalton Caldwell, mark andreessen          Tags: phone apps, smartphones, Venture CapitalCompanies: Andreessen Horowitz, Apptio, Canvas Networks, Foursquare, Foursquare Solutions, GoodData, imeem, Instagram, Kno, PicPlz, Proferi, techcrunch, Ze Frank GamesPeople: Dalton Caldwell, mark andreessenRiley McDermid is a contributing reporter to VentureBeat. She was previously the online editor at institutional investing and trading forum Markets Media, which she joined in 2008 from Dow Jones/MarketWatch in New York. Her work has appeared in the The New York Times, the Associated Press, Portfolio Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Barrona4a4s. She has won awards from the American Society of Business Publishers and Editors, the Magazine Association of the Southeast, the Mississippi Press Association and the Atlanta Press Club, and was a finalist for the Pacemaker Prize for excellence in news reporting.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Nasdaq Stock Market&'s computers penetrated by hackers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nasdaq-stock-marketrsquos-computers-penetrated-by-hackers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nasdaq-stock-marketrsquos-computers-penetrated-by-hackers</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James01</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nasdaq-stock-marketrsquos-computers-penetrated-by-hackers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Hackers have penetrated the computer network of the Nasdaq Stock Market during the past year, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal. Federal investigators are trying to figure out who did it and why.If its true, then the entire stock market is vulnerable to disruption, an event that could potentially wreck billions of dollars in electronic commerce on a daily basis. The worry remains that if hackers can penetrate Nasdaq, then maybe they can break into the computer systems of other secure entities, from air traffic control system to defense computers.The exchange&amp;'s computers that execute stock trades weren&amp;'t comprmised, but so far it isn&amp;'t clear how deep the hackers were able to penetrate. Investigators aren&amp;'t sure about the motives, but they could include financial theft, trade secret theft, or some kind of terrorist threat to damage the exchange. So far, the hackers may have only been probing the system. Nasdaq declined comment to the Wall Street Journal. The Secret Service and the Federal Bureau Investigation are looking into the matter.The company that runs the exchange is New York-based Nasdaq OMX Group. Details of the hack aren&amp;'t available yet. The Journal said that hackers broke into the Nasdaq&amp;'s web site in 1999.Previous Story: Is the Answers.com sale in troublePrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: cybercrime, hackers, NASDAQ, stock marketCompanies: NASDAQ          Tags: cybercrime, hackers, NASDAQ, stock marketCompanies: NASDAQDean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Keen On&8230' Don Tapscott to Malcolm Gladwell: a4AYoua4a4re just dead wronga4&nbsp'(TCTV)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=keen-on8230-don-tapscott-to-malcolm-gladwell-ldquoyoursquore-just-dead-wrongrdquonbsptctv</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=keen-on8230-don-tapscott-to-malcolm-gladwell-ldquoyoursquore-just-dead-wrongrdquonbsptctv</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James01</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=keen-on8230-don-tapscott-to-malcolm-gladwell-ldquoyoursquore-just-dead-wrongrdquonbsptctv</guid>
<description><![CDATA[In an inflammatory New Yorker piece last month, Malcolm Gladwell argued that the revolution will not, in fact, be tweeted. Gladwella4a4s argument that social media isna4a4t enabling genuine political change elicited a predictable storm of protest a4&quot; from Twitter co-founders Biz Stone and Ev Williams  to the co-founder of Hunch, Chris Dixon. Even Paul Carr, Techcruncha4a4s slightly more coiffeured version of Malcolm Gladwell, leapt into the fray, defending the poor, persecuted New Yorker writer against the retweeting mob. Last month also saw the publication of Don Tapscotta4a4s latest magnum opus, Macrowikinomics: Rebooting Business and the World, a follow up to his best-selling 2007 book Wikinomics (both co-authored with Tapscotta4a4s long time collaborator Anthony Williams). In Macrowikinomics, Canadaa4a4s leading digital guru takes the polar opposite position to Gladwell, arguing that democratic networks like Twitter and Facebook are fundamentally changing our world, revolutionizing everything from education to healthcare to politics to media. Social media represents a4Aa turning point in history,&amp;'' Tapscott predicts in Macrowikinomics. It will, he promises, enable us to literally a4Areindustrialize the planet.a4So it was with relish that I caught up yesterday with Don Tapscott via Skype to learn more about how we got from Wikinomics to Macrowikinomics, how our industrial world is broken and what the entrepreneur can do to reboot civilization. And, of course, I couldna4a4t resist asking him whether he agreed with Malcolm Gladwell that the revolution wona4a4t be tweeted. Why Our World is BrokenA Five Minute History of the Last Five Hundred YearsHow We Can Put Our World Back Together AgainHow Entrepreneurs Can Reboot the WorldTapscott to Gladwell: &amp;''You&amp;'re Just Dead Wrong.&amp;''CrunchBase InformationDon TapscottInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Lars Rasmussen, Father Of Google Maps And Google Wave, Heads To&nbsp'Facebook]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=lars-rasmussen-father-of-google-maps-and-google-wave-heads-tonbspfacebook</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=lars-rasmussen-father-of-google-maps-and-google-wave-heads-tonbspfacebook</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James01</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=lars-rasmussen-father-of-google-maps-and-google-wave-heads-tonbspfacebook</guid>
<description><![CDATA[When Google put their faith in Wave, an ambitious new project last year, they knew it was a gamble. But a big part of it was the team behind the project. A team led by Lars Rasmussen, the engineer best known as the co-creator of the hugely successful Google Maps. And now he&amp;'s left the company. And from what we hear, he&amp;'s heading to Facebook.Rasmussen confirmed his departure on his Facebook page. Yesterday was his last day of work at Google. He didn&amp;'t give any indication where he&amp;'ll be heading next, other than he&amp;'d be &amp;''a whole big ocean closer&amp;'' (he was living in Australia where the Wave team was based). But the fact that he put all this info on Facebook is telling. From what we&amp;'re hearing, he will be joining Facebook.Neither Facebook nor Google has returned our request for comment yet.This is a huge loss for Google and a huge gain for Facebook. But it&amp;'s hardly surprising that Rasmussen is leaving Google given that the search giant killed his ambitious Wave project barely a year after it was first unveiled.Rasmussen&amp;'s defection is the latest in a series of moves from Google to the pre-IPO Facebook. But his move is likely the biggest one since Chrome OS lead Matthew Papakipos made the same jump in June.We&amp;'ll be very interested to hear what he&amp;'s working on at the social network. No word yet on what his brother Jens, who also helped co-create both Maps and Wave, will be joining him there.Update from Facebook:As matter of policy, we do not comment on potential employees until they start.In other words, when he gets back from his vacation in between jobs, they&amp;'ll confirm.CrunchBase InformationGoogleFacebookLars RasmussenInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Coupons.com Reaches $1 Billion In Coupons Printed, Growing At A Rate 5x That Of&nbsp'Newspapers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=coupons-com-reaches-1-billion-in-coupons-printed-growing-at-a-rate-5x-that-ofnbspnewspapers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=coupons-com-reaches-1-billion-in-coupons-printed-growing-at-a-rate-5x-that-ofnbspnewspapers</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James01</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=coupons-com-reaches-1-billion-in-coupons-printed-growing-at-a-rate-5x-that-ofnbspnewspapers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[photo a4s 2010 sdc2027 | more info (via: Wylio)For the first time ever in a year, digital coupon platform Coupons.com has surpassed a billion dollars in printed coupon savings. A milestone for the company and the entire digital coupons industry, this growth further validates the burgeoning coupon and digital deals space which has been brought into the spotlight recently through the proliferation of sites like Groupon and Livingsocial.The company also released data for their coupon distribution during first 9 months of this year. Coupons.com printed out $854 million in savings during the period between January 1st and September 30th. This represents a 57% growth over last year&amp;'s $534 million in savings, at more than 5x the 11% growth rate of newspaper coupons during the same period.Coupons.com CEO Steven Boal explains the unprecedented growth as directly stemming from the recession, which has motivated us to seek out deals on almost everything.a4ADigital coupons continue to grow in popularity with consumers and brand marketers, driven by many factors including economic pressures felt by consumers and the increasing propensity for them to look across the digital domaina4&quot;on the Web, in social media, mobile environments, etceteraa4&quot;for money-saving offers.a4The top 10 most popular coupon categories among Coupons.com users were cereal, yogurt, refrigerated dough, snacks (in both the 4 and 8 slots), vegetables, baby needs, soup, lunch meats, and good ole cheese at 10. Savings printed in October was over $128 million, the highest amount ever recorded by a company in a single month.Mountain View-based Coupons.com is currently the 61st largest web property in the United States and number one in the coupons/rewards category according to Nielsen. The company also is responsible for the Grocery iQ anda4sCoupons.com apps and provides coupons for Scanbuya4a4s Scanlife and the Pushpins mobile app.CrunchBase InformationCouponsInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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