
<?phpxml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<rss version="2.0" 
xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
>
<channel>
<title>Haaze.com / eernsterte / All</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2011 07:11:26 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[Interview: GM's Posawatz says future of luxury could be electric]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=interview-gms-posawatz-says-future-of-luxury-could-be-electric</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=interview-gms-posawatz-says-future-of-luxury-could-be-electric</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2011 07:11:26 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>eernsterte</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=interview-gms-posawatz-says-future-of-luxury-could-be-electric</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Despite a heavy marketing campaign and major public outreach, for some reason people still seem to think that the Chevrolet Volt is just an expensive hybrid with unimpressive fuel economy. But even if the public doesn't get the difference between serial and parallel hybrids, the folks over at the Edison Awards do--the Volt beat out the Nissan Leaf and the Copenhagen Wheel by Senseable City Lab to win the Gold medal in the Personal Transportation segment. At the Edison Awards ceremony last week, I got a chance to chat with Tony Posawatz, Vehicle Line Manager for the Volt. Posawatz had the gargantuan task of bringing the Volt to market under intense public scrutiny from angry taxpayers and bitter battery-only proponents. That challenge was compounded by an unconventionally transparent development process, a marketing move that Posawatz says the company probably won't try again. Before winners were announced at the ceremony, we chatted briefly about demographics, range anxiety, and why people complain about the Volt's fuel economy. CNET: With reports of drivers getting stranded in their Nissan Leafs, do you feel vindicated in your execution to the Chevy VoltTony: We root for all electric drive technologies, but we learned from our EV1 experiences, and there's a reason why we chose to develop the Volt with the extended range feature. I famously coined the &quot;range anxiety&quot; in November 2006, and it is a real affliction. We think that if you want to develop and make battery-poweredcars viable, you have to create an experience like a regular car. And regular cars don't have range anxiety because you have 150,000 gas stations you can refuel at. What the Volt gives you is the choice of a million outlets and 150,000 gas stations, so the customer can choose how he or she wants to refuel and drive their car.CNET: There have been a lot of complaints online that the Volt gets only 35 mpg, which is on par with a Smart ForTwo. Do people understand extended range technologyTony: All cars have performance variation, whether in EV range or miles per gallon, that is based on what we call temperature, technique, and terrain. Temperature is the ambient outside temperature, which typically requires a response from the customer, such as turning your AC on or off. Technique is how aggressive you drive, and terrain is whether you're going up or down hills.With the Volt, we've always said that its range will be between 25 to 50 miles on battery power alone. We have people who have exceeded that when the temperature is moderate, when their driving is efficient, and they're on flat ground.Personally, I've driven the car continuously since September, and achieved very high numbers that I don't even want to quote because I don't want people to think they can achieve those same numbers. But I have my own techniques to maximize economy. The beautiful thing about the Volt is that in spite of any variation in electric range, you have a very unique insurance policy that allows you to go anywhere at any time, and not feel any concerns that the car is hampering your lifestyle. CNET: Given that not a lot of people can go electric-only, who is the person that can get the most benefit from the VoltTony: The technology guys like it a lot for the technology. If I were to oversimplify the customer, it's the commuter. It's not the long distance traveller--its the guy who commutes in from the suburbs. It's the person who typically drives less than 20 miles per day, but on weekends occasionally has to go longer distances. We have a number of our early customers that have not yet refueled because the Volt's portable cord allows you charge anywhere you have access to a wall outlet. I'm fortunate enough to have a 240-volt charger at work and at home, so my charges are really quick: 3.5 to four hours max. When I drive 120 miles a day, I get nearly two-thirds of that driving on battery power from the grid.CNET: I saw that the Mi-Ray won a design award at the 2011 Seoul auto show. Does this mean we will see this technology in a luxury high performance vehicleTony: I can't comment on future plans, but I think one of the things we're seeing is that when the Volt first came out and highlighted extended range technology, there wasn't a large following. People were either in the camp of the hybrid, diesel, or the pure battery-powered car. What we're seeing now is that as people realize that this is solution that can replace the everyday car, I think we'll see more and more extended range vehicle technologies and different models, makes and body styles in the future.Believe it or not, but because of its instantaneous torque, no transmission shift, and whisper quiet interiors there are people that feel it could be the definition of luxury in the future.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Windows Phone 7 update rolls out, slowly]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=windows-phone-7-update-rolls-out-slowly</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=windows-phone-7-update-rolls-out-slowly</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 22 Mar 2011 07:10:35 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>eernsterte</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=windows-phone-7-update-rolls-out-slowly</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Microsoft wanted to take some extra time to release the latestWindows Phone 7 update to iron out problems of a February update that rendered some Samsung phones temporarily unusable. Problems solved, mostly, Microsoft says. The update has begun to trickle out, first to phones in Europe that don't have mobile carrier brands.(Credit:Josh Lowensohn/CNET)The new update was supposed to be unleashed to the masses in the first two weeks of March. But a series of glitches with software updates in February led Microsoft to revise the schedule. Back then, Microsoft pushed software out to the phones to prepare them for updates that would add new features. That brought the first batch of problems, rendering some Samsung devices unable to update their system software, and some other Samsung devices unusable. Microsoft stopped the update to fix the bugs. But even the follow-up update caused some glitches.Winrumors first reported the latest update, noting that Microsoft is gradually distributing this update. Phones that sport carriers' brands will likely receive the updates in coming weeks, presumably as those carriers test the software to avoid the February snafus.With the problems apparently solved, the new update includes perhaps the most anticipated feature for Windows Phone 7, the ability to copy and paste text. Microsoft originally unveiled the feature in October. Of course, other phones, notably the rivaliPhone, already has copy and paste.The update also includes some performance improvements, notably the speed with which apps load. It's also streamlined searching its Marketplace, making it easier to hunt specifically for games, applications, or music in the store. And Microsoft still plans a larger update in the second half of the year that will include so-called third-party multitasking that lets users run applications in the background while working in another, and support for Internet Explorer 9.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

</channel>
</rss>
