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<title>Haaze.com / bperfaterr51 / All</title>
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<pubDate>Mon, 02 May 2011 07:10:51 +0000</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[LED bulbs move in and mix up home lighting]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=led-bulbs-move-in-and-mix-up-home-lighting</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=led-bulbs-move-in-and-mix-up-home-lighting</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 02 May 2011 07:10:51 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>bperfaterr51</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=led-bulbs-move-in-and-mix-up-home-lighting</guid>
<description><![CDATA[In the space of a few years, I've gone from one lighting technology to another and now to three lighting types in my home. I suspect others will be in the same shoes as lighting options expand, notably those involving LEDs.Eager to cut down my electrical load, I essentially converted to compact fluorescent lighting (CFLs) years ago. Recently, though, I've replaced CFLs with efficient LED bulbs and even energy-hogging incandescents to address an unfortunate feature of CLFs: turning them on and off frequently degrades their life. Home lighting diversifies, led by LEDs (photos) CLFs are still a good deal both financially and environmentally. They use about one quarter of the energy of incandescent bulbs and will last about 10 years, or 10 times as long, according to Consumer Reports tests. But Consumer Reports also found that turning a CFL on and off within less than 15 minutes, something you might do in the bathroom for instance, leads to earlier-than-expected brownouts.That rapid cycling issue, plus the arrival of good LEDs in the traditional A19 bulb shape, got me rethinking my home lighting and prodded me to use different bulb types for different purposes. I'm still focused on efficiency, so I'm only using incandescent bulbs in places where the light is used in short spurts. I tend to go in and out of the attic quickly, for example, and want full brightness as soon as possible.I've also added a few LEDs, which are certainly more expensive--a 60-watt incandescent replacement costs almost $40--but functionally they have been good CFL replacements and are more efficient per lumen. I have a few Philips LEDs that give off as much light as a 60-watt incandescent or a 14-watt CFL, and they consume 12 watts. It will take a long time based on energy savings compared with CFLs to recoup the initial cost. On the other hand, LEDs are supposed to last upward of 20 years, and I placed them in fixtures that we flick on and off frequently, which I hope will address the burnouts I've experienced with CFLs. LEDs multiplyYou don't yet see general-purpose LED bulbs at the supermarket or corner hardware store, but more products in the popular 60-watt-equivalent category are coming, and prices are expected to continue falling. In the space of the last few weeks, a couple of new LED companies have emerged, and one anticipated product (well, anticipated by lighting geeks at least) is expected in stores soon.Light dispersal in LED bulbs (photos) View the full gallerySwitch Lighting, backed by venture capital firm VantagePoint Capital Partners, plans in the fourth quarter to start selling an LED bulb which has a cooling system that it says will ensure long life--on the order of 20,000 hours, or 18 years, at three hours a day. The company is readying 40-watt, 60-watt, and 75-watt equivalent bulbs, with prices starting at less than $20, according to a representative. To make light dispersal more even, the LED light sources--small coin-size dots--are located near the edge of the bulb glass, a change from the typical &quot;snowcone&quot; shape.Related links&amp;149' Lightbulb wars: More than just LED&amp;149'  Are efficient LED bulbs worth the price&amp;149'  To cut LED lighting costs, Bridgelux rides silicon &amp;149'  GE pitches halogens as incandescent bulb stand-inAnother company is Pixi Lighting, which introduced an A19 LED earlier this month. It has a color rendering index (CRI) of 90, a measure of light quality, and a color temperature of 3,000 Kelvin, or white light. The 40-watt equivalent, which uses 6.5 watts, has been in an overhead fixture in my house for a few weeks and I find the light quality is good. Lighting Sciences Group will offer two 60-watt equivalent LEDs with some impressive &quot;feeds and speeds&quot; slated to be available online and in Home Depot nationally by the end of the second quarter, according to the company. Rather than the snowcone shape, the bulb has a thick disk on top of a heat sink to disperse light evenly. There will be both a &quot;cool white&quot; and &quot;warm white&quot; version. The cool white will give off 950 lumens, have a CRI of 88, consume 13 watts, and have a cool color temperature of 4,900 Kelvin. That product is already available at some Home Depot stores and costs $36.97. The warm white will give off 850 lumens, consume 13 watts, have a CRI of 88, a temperature of 3,000 Kelvin, and cost $34.97.The design of that product reflects how manufacturers are trying to improve LEDs so that they are suitable for many more uses in a typical home. Until now, LEDs have excelled at directional lighting uses, such as spotlights or downlights in recessed cans in a ceiling. But now GE has an &quot;omnidirectional&quot; LED bulb where the heat sink diffuses light. Cree, too, is working on a 60-watt replacement LED bulb that prioritizes even light along with efficiency (less than 10 watts) and life. More LED bulbs to choose from (photos)  The other significant change in buying LEDs, at least for me, is choosing a color temperature, as LED manufacturers typically offer a cool 3,000 Kelvin and a warmer 2,700 Kelvin temperature, which is similar to the yellow of an incandescent bulb or CFL. I'm also going to pay closer attention to CRI, as I've been impressed with the 90 CRI of the Pixi bulb (although I'd like it to put out more light). Some bulb manufacturers are already advertising how their bulbs can be recycled or taken back, another desirable feature in my book. Purchase prices between $30 and $40 for lightbulbs are obviously a barrier to adoption. But there are some state and manufacturer rebates available, and some people, as I have, will be willing to consider the energy savings, environmental benefit, and other attributes, such as long life and the ability to work with dimmer switches. (CLFs can work with dimmers, but not all of them, so you need to check that when shopping.) Falling prices and improving performance of LEDs puts people in a similar situation to buying a PC or mobile phone, where the technology is always improving and there's an argument for waiting. In my case, I've stepped into LED bulbs in a measured way and we've been happy with the results. Rather than ditch CFLs en masse, I'll let these different lights coexist while keeping my electricity bills low. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Three reasons you might actually buy a Chrome OS netbook]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=three-reasons-you-might-actually-buy-a-chrome-os-netbook</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=three-reasons-you-might-actually-buy-a-chrome-os-netbook</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>bperfaterr51</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=three-reasons-you-might-actually-buy-a-chrome-os-netbook</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Netbooks with Googlea4a4s Chrome OS operating system wona4a4t be available to most consumers until the middle of next year, but company executives walked through many of the features at a press event today, where they also announced a pilot program using unbranded netbooks.I&amp;'m finally starting to understand why someone would buy one of these devices. Most of the discussion until now has been at a theoretical level, focusing on the idea of an operating system that exists almost entirely online &amp;8212' which sounds exciting but doesna4a4t necessarily translate to a must-buy for consumers.Instead of summarizing the entire demo, Ia4a4m going to point out the three things that stood out for me as a consumer:Next Story: Waze revs up crowdsourced driving app with $25M Previous Story: One expert&amp;'s take on fixing wind energy: Think smallerPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: chrome, Chrome OS, netbooksCompanies: GooglePeople: Sundar Pichai          Tags: chrome, Chrome OS, netbooksCompanies: GooglePeople: Sundar PichaiAnthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.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[Cond Nast&'s $500M Web shopping spree]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=condã©-nastrsquos-500m-web-shopping-spree</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=condã©-nastrsquos-500m-web-shopping-spree</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>bperfaterr51</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=condã©-nastrsquos-500m-web-shopping-spree</guid>
<description><![CDATA[&amp;8216'Tis the season, rightCond Nast, the owner of publications like tech magazine Wired and social news aggregation site Reddit, announced today it has raised a $500 million fund and brought in Andrew Siegel, a former Yahoo mergers and acquisitions expert, to help the publisher go on a shopping spree.Cond Nast isn&amp;'t much of a stranger to trying out new forms of media.The publisher has been on the prowl for some new, defining media sources for several years now. Its flagship publication, Wired, launched an iPad version of its magazine earlier this year. It purchased the news aggregator site Reddit.com in 2006 as well, which has since exploded in popularity thanks to slipping traffic at rival site Digg.com.With the success of upstart companies like Groupon that have essentially managed to generate completely new markets, it&amp;'s pretty clear why the publishing company would come topside and start looking for new revenue streams. There wasn&amp;'t any indication of what kind of companies Cond Nast was looking to pick up outside of a cryptic focus on &amp;''digital brands,&amp;'' according to a report by All Things D. But with newcomers like Groupon spurning offers worth at least $6 billion, the publisher is probably going to be on the prowl for fresh, early-stage startups.You can pretty much rule out news aggregation sites in that &amp;''digital brand&amp;'' spectrum, though. After Cond Nast acquired Reddit in 2006, it became a bit reluctant to send additional resources to the site&amp;'s owners. The site as a result periodically experiences traffic overload and outages. To bypass Cond Nast&amp;'s frugal attitude, it began offering a premium subscription that had some additional features for a monthly fee.Ben Huh, the mastermind behind the Cheezburger network that helped popularize some of the Internet&amp;'s most popular memes, even offered to buy the site at one point. Site founder Alexis Ohanian said he would be surprised if Cond Nast agreed to sell the site. But he said the two would chat at some point. It isn&amp;'t clear whether Cond Nast hasn&amp;'t found a way to monetize the Internet-savvy Reddit community, or if it simply has no interest.Previous Story: Why Verizon needs the iPhone to stay in the leadPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: digg, news aggregation, RedditCompanies: Conde Nast, digg, Reddit, WiredPeople: Ben Huh          Tags: digg, news aggregation, RedditCompanies: Conde Nast, digg, Reddit, WiredPeople: Ben HuhMatthew Lynley is VentureBeat's enterprise writer. He graduated from University of North Carolina, where he studied math and physics, in May 2010. He has reported for Reuters. He currently lives in San Francsico, Calif. You can reach him at mattl@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @logicalmoron.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[4chan founder&'s Canv.as opens up to the world a4a4a4sbut just a taste]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=4chan-founderrsquos-canv-as-opens-up-to-the-world-âÂ€Ââ but-just-a-taste</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=4chan-founderrsquos-canv-as-opens-up-to-the-world-âÂ€Ââ but-just-a-taste</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>bperfaterr51</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=4chan-founderrsquos-canv-as-opens-up-to-the-world-âÂ€Ââ but-just-a-taste</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Canv.as, a slightly secretive image-sharing and content creation site created by 4chan founder Christopher Poole, has opened its doors to the rest of the world a4&quot;but for viewing purposes only.Existing beta Canv.as users can link to threads within Canv.as and show threads of images created within the image-sharing site. The site is designed to streamline the content creation process by making it easy to &amp;''remix&amp;'' images with additional pieces of content or create animated images. Canv.as beta users can simply link to a thread within the image-sharing site, and external visitors can view the entire thread a4&quot; but cannot remix images or post new images. Users will still require a beta invite to get a chance to remix images.Canv.as is basically a descendant of 4chan, a lightly-moderated imageboard that has become the font of most memes in the modern era.  Poolea4a4s project is worth watching closely, since a lot of sites have tried to replicate the same community energy that 4chan seems to have a4&quot; for example, the comment streams in news aggregators like Reddit.com a4&quot; but the 4chan magic just doesna4a4t seem to pop up anywhere else.The site has more moderation than 4chan has in order to attract advertisers. 4chan was originally a tough sell because it was inadvertently host to racist or illegal content. The site lets users moderate content by voting up original and popular submissions with &amp;''stickers&amp;'' and quickly reporting offensive content a4&quot; and down-vote unpopular content with stickers as well.4chan has 4 million monthly visitors in the U.S. and 8 million globally a4&quot; many of whom are tech-savvy and know their way around image-editing programs like Photoshop. The site has basically no rules, and that has become part of the appeal. But it also has a number of barriers to entry, such as requiring a few technical skills like Photoshop mastery to fit into the somewhat haphazard community.Canv.as is trying to remove that technical barrier to entry by making it simple to edit images. Each image thread has a &amp;''remix&amp;'' option that makes it easy for users to quickly add their own flair to the image with brush-strokes or additional images. It doesn&amp;'t require users to purchase (or pirate) larger image-editing programs like Photoshop. And so far it seems like a pretty vibrant community, with hundreds of original images appearing on the site daily. It hasn&amp;'t quite reached 4chan standards yet, but it looks like it is on track.Next Story: Samsung offers a peek into mobile trends of the future Previous Story: Boku to move from virtual-goods billing to real-goods billing in GermanyPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Canv.as, Christopher Poole, content creation, image editing, PhotoshopCompanies: 4chan, Canv.as          Tags: Canv.as, Christopher Poole, content creation, image editing, PhotoshopCompanies: 4chan, Canv.asMatthew Lynley is VentureBeat's enterprise writer. He graduated from the University of North Carolina, where he studied math and physics, in May 2010. He has reported for Reuters. He currently lives in San Francisco, California. You can reach him at mattl@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @logicalmoron. 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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