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<title>Haaze.com / ccretspql / All</title>
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<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jun 2011 07:10:52 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[White House plugs for cleaner, info-rich smart grid]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=white-house-plugs-for-cleaner-info-rich-smart-grid</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=white-house-plugs-for-cleaner-info-rich-smart-grid</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jun 2011 07:10:52 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>ccretspql</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=white-house-plugs-for-cleaner-info-rich-smart-grid</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The White House today outlined its priorities for modernizing the electricity grid, saying the smart grid is central to economic competitiveness and a cleaner energy system.The National Science Technology Council released a report called &quot;Building the 21st Century Grid,&quot; which was presented by Obama's top science and environmental advisers, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The White House expects to devote at least $250 million to modernize the grid in rural areas and its budget for next year calls for the creation of a &quot;smart grid innovation hub&quot; research center. The report says the White House's top goals for the smart grid are giving consumers access to energy information, security, standards, and a process to assess the cost effectiveness of infrastructure investments.During a presentation at the White House, director of the White House Office and Science Technology Policy John Holdren said that the U.S. economy requires a more reliable energy system to manage stresses on the grid, such as outages and peak-time demand. New technologies, such as electric vehicles and home energy monitoring, and more renewable energy require planners to reimagine how the grid works, he said.&quot;New ways of generating electricity, from the biggest wind turbines to the smallest rooftop solar panels, are demanding a new degree of flexibility and adaptability,&quot; Holdren said. &quot;Consumers deserve access to their own energy usage information in consumer and computer-friendly formats so they can take advantage of new tools and services to manage that use.&quot; The White House is seeking to advance its smart-grid goals with new programs and through initiatives to coordinate among industry and the many state and federal agencies responsible for the grid and energy. A combination of federal and private industry investments totaled about $10 billion over the past few years. One initiative is Grid 21, a private-sector collaborative to promote &quot;consumer-friendly innovations&quot; around managing home energy while ensuring privacy. The Department of Energy is also launching programs to give consumers access to detailed energy use information, including a home energy education challenge to promote efficiency. Two of the speakers today were high-school students from California who spearheaded an energy monitoring initiative at their school. Using submeters to isolate where energy is consumed allowed the superintendent to find waste, such as leaving the air conditioning on in the gym during weekends.Images: The many faces of the smart grid In a talk, Energy Secretary Chu touched on the need to upgrade the grid for economic reasons and the possibilities of new technologies, such as high-voltage transmission lines to shuttle energy long distances with minimal losses or large energy storage systems. Ireland and Spain, he noted, already get 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by balancing them with fossil fuel generation.&quot;Our grid right now cannot handle when renewable energy becomes the same price as fossil generation, which will happen,&quot; Chu said.At the same time, he noted that the complexity of the grid--which encompasses power generation, long-distance transmission, and local distribution to consumers--requires changes to current regulations and ways of doing business. He said the DOE is eager to facilitate discussions among different states and regulators. The White House intends to create a Renewable Energy Rapid Response Team to improve coordination among federal agencies, including the Energy and Interior Departments, for quicker review of renewable-energy and transmission line projects. Also, opening up access to consumer information could create new consumer services, but not all utilities have the ability or interest in communicating that information back to consumers.&quot;Cooperation among stakeholders will increase the return on investment in the electricity system,&quot; he said. &quot;We see incredible opportunities for new technology.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA['South Park' MusicSkins: Cartman on your phone]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=south-park-musicskins-cartman-on-your-phone</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=south-park-musicskins-cartman-on-your-phone</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:10:25 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>ccretspql</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=south-park-musicskins-cartman-on-your-phone</guid>
<description><![CDATA[You must respect my authority! (Click to enlarge.)(Credit:MusicSkins)Television shows have a way of escaping from the small screen into the real world. Now you can share your devotion to the foul-mouthed young residents of South Park, Colo., on your smartphone, laptop,iPod, ortablet with MusicSkins' new line of &quot;South Park&quot; images.There is a reason for this special skinning occasion. &quot;South Park&quot; just arrived for its 15th season (that's a long time to be stuck in fourth grade). Choose from character portraits or memorable scenes such as the &quot;Last Pizza Party.&quot; Am I the only one wishing Mecha-Streisand and the Loch Ness Monster were options MusicSkins are made from glossy 3M ControlTac vinyl for a tight, but removable, fit. Expect to pay around $15 to $20 per skin.The skins are available for most brands of cell phones and laptops, as well as a menu of more obscure devices. Consider sticking Chef to your Seagate external hard drive or slapping Captain Chaos onto your kids' Fisher Price iXL preschool learning device. It's never too early to start forming a crude sense of humor. They'll thank you when they get to college and &quot;South Park&quot; is still on the air.If &quot;South Park&quot; doesn't float your boat, you can upload your own images for a custom MusicSkin or browse the huge list of images that are ready to go. I'm totally checking out the Justin Bieber collection, but I think I'd rather skin my iPad with a panorama of run-down Baltimore buildings from &quot;The Wire.&quot;Decorating your phone or laptop with &quot;South Park&quot; is a good way to signal to potential mates that you're into skewing celebrities, social satire, and singing Christmas Poos. Now, every time you drop youriPhone, you can shout, &quot;I killed Kenny!&quot; <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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