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<title>Haaze.com / Sanya01 / Voted News</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:10:45 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[Web speed tests: Tablet tournament!]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=web-speed-tests-tablet-tournament</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=web-speed-tests-tablet-tournament</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:10:45 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>bimbemarascaer23535</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=web-speed-tests-tablet-tournament</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Sheriff creates 'Mugshot of the Day' online voting]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sheriff-creates-mugshot-of-the-day-online-voting</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sheriff-creates-mugshot-of-the-day-online-voting</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 21 Apr 2011 07:10:55 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>manlabug2</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sheriff-creates-mugshot-of-the-day-online-voting</guid>
<description><![CDATA[You know they do things differently in Arizona.They like to be forward-thinking, proactive, and pure in their motivations.So who could not be impressed with Sheriff Joe Arpaio who has decided to add a new, public-spirited, and entertaining element to Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Web siteArpaio, whose county covers Phoenix and a number of suburbs, decided it would be amusing to have anyone who visits the site and eyeballs the gallery of mug shots to choose a &quot;Mug Shot of the Day.&quot;In a nation in which &quot;Dancing with the Stars&quot; and &quot;American Idol&quot; define our very being and culture, one should surely commend Sheriff Arpaio for having such a keen sensitivity towards public mores.The Arizona Republic, clearly in awe of Arpaio's initiative, asked him whether he might have sensed a certain incongruence between this frivolity and the fact that mug shots are of people who haven't been found guilty of anything.Arpaio's reported reply: &quot;What's that word In congress&quot; Maricopa County Sheriff&amp;39's Office mugshot page(Credit:Screenshot by CNET)He reportedly continued: &quot;I'll make a deal with you. The minute your newspaper doesn't put the mug shots of all these 'innocent' people in the paper every day I will cut out all the mug shots.&quot;The Republic pressed him by suggesting that at least in the newspaper, there might be some news value, but on this site, the shots, though public information, are there for pure giggly entertainment.I am sure that many of you will wish to hotfinger it to this gallery of amusement. You will see that one of the current leaders is someone who appears to have had his face smeared with suntan lotion or, perhaps, Nivea face cream. Is this mug shot in some way amusing Some would, no doubt, think so. But should it be subject to an &quot;American Idol&quot; style voteIn any case, what are these refined citizens of Arizona (and elsewhere) voting for The mug shot they think is funniest The one they think is goofiest I only ask because there is nothing funny, goofy or otherwise extraordinary about many of the shots on the site.Arpaio, in case his goofy, little face had escaped your cornea, is rumored to be contemplating a Senate run in 2012. He is also the chap who put prisoners in tents, gave them pink underwear and fed them green baloney. So his creativity and advertising skills know few bounds.Arpaio told ABC15 that he believes this jollity will drive more people to the Web site. Hey, perhaps they might see that a neighbor's been arrested and be able to vote their mug shot up to the top of the class. What fun.I feel sure that there will be some Web-oriented artists who might be mulling the creation of a similar site-- perhaps featuring some of Sheriff Arpaio's more unguarded moments.However, who could not agree that, given the thousands of people who have flocked to cast their votes and aspersions, Arpaio has his finger (and his wily, dextrous brain) in full concert with more than a few of his fellow citizens <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Sprint, Clearwire reach deal on wholesale pricing]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sprint-clearwire-reach-deal-on-wholesale-pricing</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sprint-clearwire-reach-deal-on-wholesale-pricing</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 19 Apr 2011 07:10:50 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>bugreslawitada</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sprint-clearwire-reach-deal-on-wholesale-pricing</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Sprint Nextel and Clearwire have settled their dispute over wholesale pricing, the companies announced today. Sprint uses the nationwide Clearwire network for its 4G WiMax wireless broadband service. Under the new deal Clearwire will receive at least $1 billion from Sprint in 2011 and 2012. The minimum 4G usage commitment for this year is $300 million and $550 million next year. Sprint will pay $175 million in pre-payment for the service that will be used later this year and beyond. The companies also worked out an agreement for devices that use both Sprint's 3G network and Clearwire's 4G WiMax network. The deal is meant to align &quot;the interests of both companies to enable growth for customers using smart phones and dual-mode devices.&quot;The companies will also be allowed to resell each other's 3G and 4G services to other parties. Clearwire is building a nationwide wireless broadband network using a technology called WiMax. It's a joint venture with investment from Sprint Nextel, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Intel, and Google. Sprint owns more than 50 percent of the company, and it is the primary customer for the wholesale 4G wireless network. Building a new network is not cheap, and Clearwire has struggled to come up with the cash to finish building its network. The stalemate in negotiations between it and Sprint over the roaming agreement called into question how Clearwire would continue to pay for its new network. The deal now clears up some of that uncertainty.Still, there are rumors floating around based on a report from The Wall Street Journal this morning that Sprint is close to signing a deal with a new wholesale player called LightSquared. Like Clearwire, LightSquared is building a new 4G network. It is using LTE, the same technology that Verizon Wireless and AT&amp;T are using for their 4G networks, instead of WiMax. And unlike Clearwire, which also competes with Sprint by selling a commercial 4G service directly to consumers, LightSquared will only sell access to its network on a wholesale basis.The Journal reported that in the proposed deal LightSquared would get access to Sprint's network and spectrum as it builds its nationwide LTE network. In exchange, Sprint will get paid some cash, but will also get access to LightSquared's network. The benefit of using LightSquared's network is that it will give Sprint a wider footprint particularly in remote and rural locations. Today Sprint must pay competitor Verizon Wireless for roaming. This deal could let Sprint cut back on its roaming deals with Verizon. What's more, it would give Sprint a strategy for also offering 4G service using the LTE technology, something the company's executives have said it might consider. This is important as most carriers around the world adopt LTE and not WiMax for their next-generation networks. A deeper analysis of LightSquared's strategy and what it might mean to Sprint will be published later today, so stay tuned. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Is there a bidding war over TweetDeck]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=is-there-a-bidding-war-over-tweetdeck</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=is-there-a-bidding-war-over-tweetdeck</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2011 07:11:04 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>darrylkikr</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=is-there-a-bidding-war-over-tweetdeck</guid>
<description><![CDATA[TweetDeck&amp;39's logo.A report Monday in The Wall Street Journal claimed that Twitter is in &quot;advanced talks&quot; to acquire TweetDeck, a Twitter desktop client preferred by many of the social-media service's most active users, for about $50 million. &quot;TweetDeck has emerged as a favorite of heavy users of Twitter, letting people track tweets about multiple topics at the same time,&quot; the story explained. &quot;The program, which many people download and use on their desktop computers, also lets people write tweets longer than 140 characters, among other features.&quot;But wait: Two months ago, TweetDeck was reported to have sold to UberMedia, a company that owns a portfolio of Twitter clients and related applications. Shortly thereafter, Twitter blocked UberMedia's applications, citing a variety of concerns including trademark violations and privacy issues, and then reinstated them several days later. And then earlier this month, a CNN report surfaced that claimed UberMedia was going so far as to construct a service designed to rival Twitter, suggesting that the bad blood between the two companies was even thicker than expected.So if Twitter is attempting to acquire TweetDeck, it could be a reactionary counter-bid to UberMedia's offer. Or it might not.Twitter has declined comment on the rumors, updating its official public relations Twitter account with: &quot;We don't comment on rumors. We don't provide off-the-record background on rumors. We don't wink twice or release puffs of smoke (about) rumors.&quot;It's true that Twitter has aggressively pursued an acquisition strategy in building up a suite of applications--buying Tweetie and turning it into Twitter foriPhone, or buying Summize and turning it into Twitter Search--and that it does not yet own or operate a desktop-based Twitter client. (UPDATE: Actually, it does, sort of. When Twitter acquired Tweetie, it also acquired Tweetie forMac, which has been turned into Twitter for Mac. But it's a desktop app for casual users who do more reading than tweeting, not the &quot;power users&quot; drawn to TweetDeck.) So it would, one could surmise, want to buy TweetDeck independently of any competition from UberMedia. It's a sensible fit for Twitter to own the client of choice among its most dedicated (dare we say obsessed) users, and these &quot;advanced talks&quot; may have been going on for far longer than we think.To make matters even more complicated, UberMedia has never confirmed that it was about to buy TweetDeck in the first place (the company was not immediately available for comment).This post was updated at 6:45 p.m. PT to clarify that Twitter for Mac is, technically, a desktop Twitter client.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Texas revs up eVgo chain of charging stations]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=texas-revs-up-evgo-chain-of-charging-stations</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=texas-revs-up-evgo-chain-of-charging-stations</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 08 Apr 2011 07:10:48 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>eladiab4</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=texas-revs-up-evgo-chain-of-charging-stations</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Walgreens will host eVgo stations at 18 of its Houston-area stores.(Credit:eVgo)The eVgo chain of charging stations for electric vehicles will have its official coming-out party today at a Dallas event whose speakers include Texas Gov. Rick Perry.The first U.S. commercial chain of charging stations, eVgo (pronounced ee-vee-go), is set to announce that it will have a total of 60 electric-vehicle charging stations in place by Labor Day. It is owned by NRG EV Services, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, one of the largest electricity providers in Texas.NRG EV Services and eVgo will also likely announce their specific pricing structure and plans for station customers. So far, eVgo has said it plans to offer a subscription service through which customers get unlimited access to its stations for a set monthly fee, and it is developing a smartphone app that will alert users to nearby charging stations.The eVgo network already announced in November that it had snagged some leading Texas retailers as partners to provide space in their parking lots for charging stations. The Walgreens pharmacy chain will host 18 of the rapid-charging stations at its Houston-area stores. Other partners include electronics retailer Best Buy, stores in the HEB supermarket chain, and the airport parking company Park N' Fly.Related links &amp;149' Texas to be U.S. transportation testing ground &amp;149' Better Place unveils plans for 9 stations in Israel &amp;149' Fast EV charging stations plug inThe eVgo network will consist of two types of charging stations: 480-volt DC rapid chargers, which take about 30 minutes to recharge an electric vehicle, and 240-volt Level 2 chargers, which take about four hours to recharge a vehicle.The eVgo &quot;Freedom Stations&quot; will be open 24 hours a day, and offer both types of chargers. Twenty-five of those will be open in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and 35 in the Houston area by Labor Day. A total of 70 will be in place in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area and 50 in the Houston area by 2012, according to NRG.Electronics retailer Best Buy will soon offer eVgo charging at some of its Texas locations.(Credit:eVgo)Eventually, eVgo also plans to roll out &quot;convenience stations&quot; that will be limited to 240-volt Level 2 chargers, and only open for service during the business hours of the retailer hosting the station.It's not unusual for Perry to speak at such an event.In addition to his support for the coal and petroleum industries, Perry has also been a very vocal proponent of green-energy projects, and embraced wind energy as an electricity source for Texas.While Texas currently only gets a small percentage of its power from wind, it actually has the most wind power capacity of any U.S. state, according to the latest report from the American Wind Energy Association. Texas is also home to the largest wind complex in the U.S., a $1 billion project that includes 627 wind turbines across 100,000 acres over four Texas counties. It has a capacity of 781.5 megawatts.The state is also no stranger to experimental transportation projects. Texas is currently the country's test subject for a series of telematics transportation technologies being rolled out by IBM in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation. The projects consists of a GPS-enabled communication network similar to Wi-Fi that allows vehicle-to-vehicle communication.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[New technology could slash airplane delays]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=new-technology-could-slash-airplane-delays</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=new-technology-could-slash-airplane-delays</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 05 Apr 2011 07:10:45 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>riauckter3d22</dc:creator>
<category>Gaming</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=new-technology-could-slash-airplane-delays</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A system in development by aerospace giant Honeywell could make it possible for planes to land even with cloud cover as low as 100 feet.(Credit:Honeywell)If a technology being developed by aerospace giant Honeywell that helps airplanes land in very cloudy conditions wins regulatory approval, it could make a huge dent in weather-related delays throughout the aviation system. The technology is called Enhanced Visual System/Synthetic Vision System (EVS/SVS), and it is designed to give pilots the information they need to land safely even when there is cloud cover as low as 100 feet off the ground. Current U.S. rules require clouds no lower than 200 feet and for pilots to either abort a landing or to circle around and try again if they encounter such conditions.According to Bob Witwer, vice president of advanced technology for Honeywell aerospace, cloud cover below 200 feet was responsible for six entire days' worth of delay at a single airport--New York's La Guardia--in 2010. And as anyone who flies in the United States knows, delays in one city can easily roll over and cause slowdowns or even flight cancellations throughout the country.For years, Witwer said, airlines have relied on a Honeywell's Synthetic Vision System, which provides pilots with a database and 3D graphical representation of their flight paths, complete with detailed imagery showing terrain and obstacles and automatic warnings triggered when their planes get too close. The idea was that the system could offer pilots a better sense of situational awareness, especially when flying into areas where the terrain is &quot;aggressive,&quot; such as mountainous destinations like Aspen, Colo.Related links&amp;149' After flight delays, FAA may add backup system&amp;149' U.S. flight delays pegged to FAA computer woes &amp;149' Can technology solve air travel woesAll told, Witwer said, airlines have flown 800 million hours using SVS. But the system can't do anything to help pilots when clouds are too close to the ground. At least not by itself.However, with Honeywell's new EVS technology, Witwer said, pilots trying to land in cloudy conditions can look at their instrument displays and see a graphical representation of the area that &quot;makes it look like a sunny day.&quot;EVS works, Witwer said, with the aid of an infrared sensor mounted on the nose of an aircraft that can capture real-time imagery of the ground and blend it with SVS data. Together, the two sets of data can provide a clear view of the ground, he explained, so long as the clouds don't go below 100 feet. &quot;Infrared can pick up things with thermal signatures that the eye can't,&quot; like runway lights, Witwer said. &quot;Those are the kinds of things that infrared can pick up, even if vision is obscured to the naked eye.&quot;Witwer said that even the 100-foot limitation could disappear over time, but that it is in place in the EVS technology today due to issues like signal accuracy around airports and general system redundancy. And in any case, Honeywell believes that if clouds are no higher than 100 feet, it's often possible to see the runway anyway.Ultimately, Honeywell is betting that airlines and the aviation industry in general will see the value of the EVS/SVS marriage and that the technology, when and if it is approved by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, will help the industry cut down on delayed landings, save fuel, and generally improve the flying experience. So far, Witwer said, pilots have test-flown about 100 hours using the technology, with thousands more hours in engineering tests. Still, Witwer said that it's far too early to know if or when the FAA will approve the technology or how many more hours of testing the agency will require before it considers the system ready for prime time.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[NASA MoonBuggy race swept by Puerto Ricans]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nasa-moonbuggy-race-swept-by-puerto-ricans</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nasa-moonbuggy-race-swept-by-puerto-ricans</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:11:43 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>sleniouminori</dc:creator>
<category>Social</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nasa-moonbuggy-race-swept-by-puerto-ricans</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A Puerto Rican moonbuggy team in action.(Credit:NASA/MSFC)The space shuttle program may be drawing to a close, but a little bit to the south of the Kennedy Space Center, some young Puerto Ricans could represent our greatest hope for the future of the space program.Teams from the island territory swept the top honors in NASA's 18th annual Great Moonbuggy Race held over the weekend. Teams representing Teodoro Aguilar Mora Vocational High School of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, took the top two places in the high school division, and the University of Puerto Rico in Humacao won its second straight title in the college division. NASA describes the competition as challenging &quot;students around the world to build and race lightweight, human-powered buggies--demonstrating the same innovation and can-do spirit that put the first Apollo-era lunar rover on the moon four decades ago.&quot; Check out this footage:The Puerto Rico delegation brought its A-game to the space engineering geekfest held at the U.S. Space &amp; Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., besting more than 70 teams from 22 states, Canada, Germany, India, and Russia. Teodoro Aguilar Mora racer Isadora Matta also added glory to injury, receiving an award of special recognition for emerging bloody and bruised from one of the weekend's more spectacular crashes. Put simply, the Puerto Ricans are nuts for moonbuggy racing--the University of Puerto Rico in Humacao is the only school to enter a buggy in every race since the beginning in 1994.High school teams from Jupiter, Fla., and college entries from the University of Utah, Ohio State, and the University of Alabama-Huntsville were also among the top finishers. Best moonbuggy design awards went to Jupiter High School and Rhode Island School of Design, which documented some of the process of creating the vehicle online--as far as I can tell, the custom paint job seems to be a critical element.Student racers from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City tied for third place in the college division of the Great Moonbuggy Race held over the weekend.(Credit:NASA/MSFC)<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Apple wins reversal in Cover Flow patent case]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-wins-reversal-in-cover-flow-patent-case</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-wins-reversal-in-cover-flow-patent-case</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:10:23 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>grydarmon89</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-wins-reversal-in-cover-flow-patent-case</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Apple has come out the victor in a three-year-old patent infringement suit that would have cost the company more than $625 million for infringing on patents held by Mirror Worlds. The case, in which a jury had found Apple liable last October, targeted the Cover Flow, Spotlight search, and Time Machine features found in Apple'sMac OS. The October jury ruling was fought by the Cupertino, Calif.-based technology company with an emergency motion to stay. In that motion, Apple said the damages were too high and urged the court to re-evaluate the evidence. In the court's ruling today, which was picked up by Bloomberg, the case was turned in Apple's favor. In the conclusion section of the court's findings, U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis noted that while the jury's take on the case is important, the group might have been swayed by Mirror Worlds' argument, which the court was not sold on factually:&quot;The jury often relies on the representations of parties, who bear the burden of being accurate and complete and living up to the representations they make to the jury. No matter how attractive a party paints the facade of its case, it is worthless without the requisite foundational support. It is the Court's job to inspect that foundation, and where it has not been properly laid under the law, to set aside the verdict to protect the reliability of our jury system. In this case, Mirror Worlds may have painted an appealing picture for the jury, but it failed to lay a solid foundation sufficient to support important elements it was required to establish under the law. Accordingly, the Court rejects Mirror Worlds' case as to infringement and damages, while affirming it as to validity and inequitable conduct.&quot;Mirror Worlds was founded by Yale University computer-science Professor David Gelernter. In its original claim, the company had accused Apple of infringing on its patents with its Mac OS X operating systems going back to 10.4 &quot;Tiger,&quot; as well as in its iOS devices including theiPhone, iPods andiPad. An Apple representative declined to comment, and legal representatives for Mirror Worlds did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cracking the code on high-tech green buildings]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cracking-the-code-on-high-tech-green-buildings</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cracking-the-code-on-high-tech-green-buildings</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 01 Apr 2011 07:11:11 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>parlawinu6n</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cracking-the-code-on-high-tech-green-buildings</guid>
<description><![CDATA[WALTHAM, Mass.--There's loads of technology available to make commercial buildings smarter and more efficient, but getting beyond a small niche of trophy green buildings requires big changes to current real estate practices, not just a technology make-over. Every year, many buildings are built or retrofitted to improve water and energy efficiency and offer a good interior space for occupants. But often owners and occupants don't take full advantage of advanced technologies, creating a situation where buildings don't perform up to the level they were designed for, industry experts say. Click on photo for slideshow of high-tech and efficient Genzyme Center in Cambridge, Mass.(Credit:Martin LaMonica)&quot;What about Gus the janitor The person maintaining a building may not have the technology and skills to run the building the way somebody designed it for,&quot; said Mark Nelson, deputy commissioner for the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management, which manages the state's buildings. &quot;You give (Gus) a really fancy stereo system but he just wants an on/off and volume and he won't play with other things unless you train him.&quot;Nelson was on a panel of building and technology professionals earlier this week exploring the melding that's starting to occur between the IT and building industries. It was organized by design software company Autodesk in conjunction with the business association the Mass Technology Leadership Council.Many forward-looking companies and government agencies tasked with reducing their environmental footprint have adopted many products, such as solar panels, efficient lighting, and on-site fuel cells or biomass boilers. The energy load of buildings can also be significantly reduced by tightening the building envelope and thick insulation.Meanwhile, IT companies, including heavyweights IBM and Cisco and dozens of start-ups, see buildings as a fertile area to apply existing technology. Building management systems, which control indoor climate or lighting, can generate data that can be analyzed to optimize building performance. That means building equipment can now be administered by IT management applications, such as IBM's Tivoli. Nibbling around the edgesCommercial buildings are attractive to many technology providers because businesses consume lots of energy and will often invest in efficiency projects to save money or as part of corporate sustainability programs. But even as more technology becomes available, professionals in the field say that many people are still learning how to actively manage buildings using automated tools and software dashboards. Architects can even create commercial buildings that are net zero energy consumers, but it's often difficult to know whether a building performs that well over time, said Ellen Watts, an architect at Architerra, which has worked on numbers net-zero-energy or low-energy projects.Related links&amp;149' Autodesk crunches numbers for greener buildings&amp;149' Study: 'Building IT' to speed energy efficiency&amp;149' Photos: A look inside the green, high-tech Genzyme Center&quot;There are building standards that address net zero energy buildings but there are scant few good systems for measuring and monitoring building performance,&quot; she said. On the technology side, IT and building management companies are increasingly teaming up. For example, Cisco and Johnson Controls, which makes equipment such as thermostats and heating and cooling controls, have a partnership geared at building IT. One of the big challenges with using more sophisticated building management technology is the cultural problems inside companies, notably the gap between facilities people and IT people, said Brendon Buckley, development manager for networking equipment at Johnson Controls.Putting both IT and building equipment on the same networking backbone allows businesses to better understand energy usage, even down to CO2 per square foot, or to prioritize maintenance projects across multiple buildings, Buckley said. &quot;Getting an alert from a control on an air conditioning unit in the data center from Tivoli was unheard of just a few years ago,&quot; he said.With so many companies entering the area, though, the market for products that give building managers a dashboard to monitor building operations and energy usage could become confusing. &quot;No single company can deliver on the energy or water transformations or any other 'sustainability' opportunities. It will require an ecosystem...and new business models,&quot; said Richard Esker, the director of emerging solutions ecosystems in Cisco's Connected Real Estate group.Changes in policy, such as updated building codes or mandates to improve building efficiency can have a very significant impact, panelists said. Without them, status quo buildings practices will continue.&quot;I believe that even with all this innovation, we are still nibbling around the edges,&quot; said Watts. &quot;After 10 or more years of working in this (green building) field, energy use in the U.S. is going up.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Aircell unveils Android phone for in-flight calling]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=aircell-unveils-android-phone-for-in-flight-calling</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=aircell-unveils-android-phone-for-in-flight-calling</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 30 Mar 2011 07:10:31 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>claumanaau</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=aircell-unveils-android-phone-for-in-flight-calling</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Aircell Samrtphone(Credit:Aircell)We missed this last week while we were at CTIA, but Aircell announced a new smartphone for making that all-important call from 35,000 feet.The Aircell Smartphone (catchy name, eh) will allow air travelers on private business jets to make and receive calls just as they would while on the ground. It will be compatible with Aircell's forthcoming GoGo Biz service, which will supply in-flight Internet access and voice call service for corporate aircraft customers. Though the handset won't be available to airline passengers anytime soon (and hopefully never), Aircell also operates the GoGo in-flight Wi-Fi service that many commercial airlines currently employ. The Android-powered Aircell Smartphone will offer Bluetooth, a wired headset jack, an alphanumeric physical keypad, and a 3.8-inch color touch screen. The design looks pretty standard, though in its press release Aircell notes that the device &quot;exceeds the size of most consumer smartphones on the market today.&quot;Full availability is planned for late this year, with pricing details also to come. The company unveiled the Aircell Smartphone at the 2011 Aircraft Electronics Association trade show in Reno, Nev.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Leonardo da Vinci would love this robo-bird]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=leonardo-da-vinci-would-love-this-robo-bird</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=leonardo-da-vinci-would-love-this-robo-bird</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 25 Mar 2011 07:10:39 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>10JogosCarros</dc:creator>
<category>Social</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=leonardo-da-vinci-would-love-this-robo-bird</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Germany&amp;39's Festo says it has &amp;34'succeeded in deciphering the flight of birds.&amp;34' (Credit:Festo)Bird flight has fascinated mankind for centuries. German-based Festo now says it has deciphered it by building a robot seagull that flies like the real thing. (Credit:Festo)SmartBird is inspired by the herring gull and can take off by flapping its wings, and flying and landing autonomously. It moves by flapping and twisting its wings like a gull, and turns its head to steer--see the video below. Built of carbon fiber and polyurethane foam, SmartBird weighs about 1 pound and has a wingspan of some 6.5 feet. Though its inner structure recalls the flying machines of Leonardo da Vinci, it also houses a microcontroller, four servo drives, and a lithium polymer battery.  The wings are driven with an exterior rotor motor through a two-stage helical transmission, and the wing positions are monitored with sensors that relay data to ground operators via a radio link. Festo has done other graceful robo-creatures before including penguins and flying rays. Its flexible Bionic Handling Assistant is inspired by an elephant's trunk. It says SmartBird, part of its Bionic Learning Network, is all about adapting a natural principle to technology, as well as energy efficiency and conservation of resources. At the least, it's an improvement on the Falco airport bird hunter. It would also make a pretty nifty toy, especially if it could perch on trees and spy on people. (Via IEEE Spectrum)<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[2010: The year Apple also became a chip company]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=2010-the-year-apple-also-became-a-chip-company</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=2010-the-year-apple-also-became-a-chip-company</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 24 Mar 2011 07:10:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>zisirbimVeroni</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=2010-the-year-apple-also-became-a-chip-company</guid>
<description><![CDATA[While changes in the ancient market-share rivalry between chipmakers Intel and Advanced Micro Devices were unremarkable in 2010, the emergence of Apple as a force was anything but. The iPad and iPhone are making Apple a force in the chip market. (Credit:Apple)&quot;The competitive state of affairs remained very much the same two-horse race it has been for more than 20 years, with Intel firmly in the lead and AMD a distant second,&quot; IHS iSuppli said in a research note today. Intel finished 2010 with an 81 percent share of global microprocessor revenue, up a scant 0.4 percentage points from its 80.6 percent in 2009. Meanwhile, AMD ended the year with an 11.4 percent share, down 0.8 points from 12.2 percent in 2009, keeping it in second place, iSuppli said. With that out of the way, we have the much more interesting rise of Apple. &quot;The year 2010 was marked by the rise of a new platform: the mediatablet, led byApple's iPad, which employed a [chip] at its heart designed by Apple,&quot; said iSuppli. Though the Apple A4 processor and recently announced A5 chip are made by Samsung Electronics, that's no different than, for instance, Qualcomm-branded chips, which are fabricated by Asia-based contract chip manufacturers. The note continues. &quot;IHS believes unit shipments of media tablets soared to 17.4 million in 2010, up from zero in 2009, with levels expected to grow to more than 240 million units in 2015.&quot; 240 million is a very big number and portends seismic shifts in the chip market--a lot of that potentially coming at the expense of Intel and AMD, which make chips primarily for PCs. iSuppli also noted that most Intel and AMD chips in 2010 included built-in graphics circuitry, a trend that will continue in 2011 and beyond. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[This week in Crave: The 'Eye, Robot' edition]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=this-week-in-crave-the-eye-robot-edition</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=this-week-in-crave-the-eye-robot-edition</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 19 Mar 2011 07:10:13 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Tiresandco</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=this-week-in-crave-the-eye-robot-edition</guid>
<description><![CDATA[This microrobot might make it into your eye one day.(Credit:IRIS)Too busy relocating to your new Tron home to keep up with Crave this week Here's what you missed while you were trading in your comfy couches for stone-cold furniture only an isomorphic algorithm could love. &amp;149' If contact lenses make you nervous, you sure ain't going to like the eye-swimming microbot.  &amp;149' Microsoft's Dr. Kinect scrubbed in. &amp;149' Will Tiny Wings outfly Angry Birds  &amp;149' Android tablet smack-down!  &amp;149' FromiPad 1 to iPad 2: How to transfer your data. &amp;149' But, as Kent reminds us, there are iPad alternatives.  &amp;149' Component video is MIA on some 2011 Blu-ray players. Here's why.  &amp;149' We don't have Batman: Arkham City yet, but at least we have the trailer. &amp;149' Convert your Honda Civic to an all-electric--for a steep fee.  Got a story idea for us Don't worry about fees! Just send it on in to crave at cnet dot com. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Study: iPad 2 screen stacks up well to iPhone 4]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=study-ipad-2-screen-stacks-up-well-to-iphone-4</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=study-ipad-2-screen-stacks-up-well-to-iphone-4</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 16 Mar 2011 07:11:30 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>berew98</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=study-ipad-2-screen-stacks-up-well-to-iphone-4</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Josh Lowensohn/CNET)Despite theiPad 2 not shipping with a display that matched the pixel density of theiPhone 4, a new report by DisplayMate says thetablet holds its own against the phone's display in a number of other areas. The Apple iPad 2 and iPhone 4 LCD display &quot;shoot-out,&quot; which posted earlier today on DisplayMate's site, ran a number of tests on the iPad 2's display, comparing it to the iPhone 4 as well as the iPhone 3GS--all products made by Apple. DisplayMate's conclusion is that while the iPad 2's pixel density of 132 pixels per inch (PPI) is not quite up to snuff with the iPhone 4's 326 PPI &quot;Retina display,&quot; it's got the same color depth, and performed similarly in viewing tests. Furthermore, the report says Apple can improve things with a few software tweaks. &quot;Other than PPI resolution the iPad 2 display delivers similar performance to the iPhone 4 Retina Display,&quot; wrote DisplayMate's President Dr. Raymond M. Soneira in the report. &quot;It needs a software update for anti-aliasing and another for the Auto Brightness Control, then higher PPI resolution for the next generation,&quot; he recommended. Rumors had kicked up months ahead of the iPad 2's unveiling that Apple was planning to bring a 2,048 x 1,536 pixel &quot;Retina display&quot; to the iPad successor. The gadget maker was also said to be working on anti-reflective technologies to combat screen glare, something that had been a target for competitors like Amazon in its advertising for the Kindle.As for the anti-aliasing suggestion, some developers have already taken it upon themselves to include the feature on their apps targeted at the iPad 2. Given the device's beefier processor and graphics specs, developers are able to run anti-aliasing, which can smooth edges without slowing down what's happening onscreen. Among the other findings from DisplayMate's round of testing was that the iPad 2's screen is less bright and has a lower contrast ratio than the iPhone 4, while it beats the iPhone 4 out in other areas like having more accurate white levels and a slightly higher readability rating when viewed at a 30 degree angle. The company has yet to determine how the iPad 2 stacks up against the iPhone 4 in terms of its anti-reflective capabilities, something that CNET has found to still be an issue when trying to use the iPad 2 as an e-reader. Related: iPad 2 gets the teardown treatment <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[The 411: Touch screen or keyboard]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-411-touch-screen-or-keyboard</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-411-touch-screen-or-keyboard</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 28 Feb 2011 08:10:29 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>wanjujukksab</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-411-touch-screen-or-keyboard</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Welcome to the 411, my column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have similar queries, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.The Motorola Droid Pro has a touch screen and a keyboard in case you need both. (Credit:Josh P. Miller/CNET)Question: I'm a Verizon customer, and very soon my upgrade is up. I've had a Motorola Q, and now a BlackBerry Tour, and quite frankly, I love having a QWERTY keyboard without all the slide-out stuff. However, I'm also totally a techie, and while the Motorola Droid Pro seemed like my dream phone at the time, that came out quite a while ago in &quot;cell phone years,&quot; and from what I read it was just &quot;OK.&quot; I'm thinking I might have to switch to a more touch-screen-based phone, since they get all the best capabilities, but I really don't want to if there is something else on the horizon.Is there something that I should just wait on that would be more for me, or am I just likely stuck with either the Droid Pro, or a more touch-screen phone like theiPhone (which I will definitely wait for its future versions since Verizon is switching over to 4G, and the current Verizon iPhone is already in a way dated) or one of the many droids--Jonathan, via e-mailI wouldn't want to force you to switch to a touch-screen phone if you're not quite ready, but you're right that the touch screen is where it's at if you want a high-end smartphone. Even the Droid Pro that you mentioned has a touch screen in addition to the physical QWERTY keyboard underneath. Personally, I think the touch-screen technology in smartphones is so advanced now that I don't miss having physical buttons. However, this is a personal preference -- I also know people who just need a physical keyboard for one reason or another. This is a decision that you have to come to on your own.My first instinct is to advise you to get a smartphone that has both a touch-screen display and a QWERTY keyboard, to get a feel of both worlds. As you seem to not like the slider form factor, then yes, the Droid Pro is your only choice since you're a Verizon customer. If you're open to the slider however, you can opt for the Droid 2 Global.But I would hold off on buying any more phones until theCTIA trade show in late March, which is when many companies announce new phones. Also note that if you're open to phones that don't have keyboards, you could get the upcoming Droid Bionic, the HTC Thunderbolt, LG Revolution, and the oddly named Samsung 4G LTE Smartphone, all of which are the first Verizon phones to ship with 4G LTE. So my advice would be to at least wait until the 4G LTE phones come out, and see what kind of reviews they get before making the final decision.        Nicole Lee     Full Profile E-mail Nicole Lee   E-mail Nicole Lee If you have a question or comment for Nicole Lee, you can submit it here. However, because our editors and writers receive hundreds of requests, we cannot tell you when you may receive a response.   Submit your question or comment here: 0 of 1500 characters       Nicole Lee is a senior associate editor for CNET, covering cell phones, Bluetooth headsets, and all things mobile. She's also a fan of comic books, video games, and of course, shiny gadgets.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Twitterverse: 'King's Speech' will win Best Picture]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitterverse-kings-speech-will-win-best-picture</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitterverse-kings-speech-will-win-best-picture</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 24 Feb 2011 08:11:06 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Spommaimmus</dc:creator>
<category>Gaming</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitterverse-kings-speech-will-win-best-picture</guid>
<description><![CDATA[We all know that any single tweet has a much better than average chance of containing total nonsense, and that any individual Twitter user's Oscar predictions aren't worth their weight in ones and zeroes.But if you aggregate tens of thousands of users' guesses, you end up with what could be called The Wisdom of the Twitterverse, and in this case, the crowd has spoken: &quot;The King's Speech&quot; will win Best Picture in a runaway.Based on tens of thousands of tweets, Tweetbeat expects 'The King's Speech' to be the runaway Best Picture Oscar winner.(Credit:Tweetbeat)Since the announcement of the Academy Award nominations last month, a service called Tweetbeat has been collecting each and every Oscar-related tweet, and today it released its conclusions.With well more than 25,000 votes, if you can call them that, &quot;The King's Speech&quot; emerged as the clear winner, with the support of 31.4 percent. Next up was &quot;The Social Network,&quot; with 13.7 percent, &quot;Black Swan,&quot; with 10.9 percent, &quot;Inception,&quot; with 10.6 percent, and &quot;True Grit,&quot; with 8.1 percent. The five other Best Picture nominees, &quot;The Fighter,&quot; &quot;127 Days,&quot; &quot;Toy Story 3,&quot; &quot;Winter's Bone,&quot; and &quot;The Kids are Alright&quot; all had less than 8 percent.In the Best Actress category, Natalie Portman was an even bigger favorite than &quot;The King's Speech.&quot; The &quot;Black Swan&quot; actress garnered support from 54.5 percent of tweeters, while runner-up Nicole Kidman got 16.7 percent, Annette Bening got 11 percent, Jennifer Lawrence got 10.6 percent, and Michelle Williams came in last at 7.3 percent.Among the men, Colin Firth, the king in &quot;The King's Speech,&quot; did even better than Portman, raking in 56.4 percent of the &quot;vote,&quot; while Jesse Eisenberg was the favorite of 14.1 percent, and James Franco, Javier Bardem, and Jeff Bridges rounded out the field with 12.3 percent, 10.6 percent, and 6.5 percent, respectively.To be sure, these are entirely unscientific numbers, so please don't bet your kid's college fund based on them. But when you're talking about the collective impressions of many tens of thousands of people, it's hard to imagine Tweetbeat's predictions being off base. I, for one, think &quot;The King's Speech&quot; is a shoo-in to win, and that Firth certainly deserves the Oscar for his role as King George VI. I haven't seen &quot;Black Swan,&quot; so I can't weigh in on Portman's performance.Regardless, this is an interesting way to arrive at wisdom of the crowds-type predictions, and it will be very interesting to see if Tweetbeat has it right. If so, I'll be very, very interested to see what the Twitterverse has to say about the 2012 presidential election.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Formatting glitch affects MS Word 2007 and 2010]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=formatting-glitch-affects-ms-word-2007-and-2010</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=formatting-glitch-affects-ms-word-2007-and-2010</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 21 Feb 2011 08:10:29 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>tiffanffff</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=formatting-glitch-affects-ms-word-2007-and-2010</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Some readers took exception when I stated in a post from last month on future-proofing your data archive that Microsoft's proprietary Office file formats may not stand the test of time. Well, compatibility problems have already surfaced between the two most recent releases of MS Word. Several people report spaces being dropped randomly from documents created in Word 2010 when the files are opened in Word 2007 on another machine. (A post on the Microsoft Answers forum explains the problem in more detail.) The quick fix is to set both systems to use Adobe PDF as the default printer driver. Of course, this is a system-wide setting you change inWindows 7's Devices and Printers (Printers and Faxes in Vista and XP). Microsoft provides a short video explaining how to change your default printer in Windows 7' the steps are similar in earlier Windows versions. If you're willing to do without the new features of Microsoft's XML-based Office file formats, you can set Word to use the older .doc format by default instead of the newer .docx. To do so in Word 2010, click File &gt; Options &gt; Advanced and scroll to &quot;Compatibility options&quot; at the bottom of the window on the right. Choose All New Documents in the first drop-down menu andMicrosoft Office Word 2003 in the second menu.To prevent formatting errors when moving Word documents between the 2007 and 2010 versions of the program, change the default file format to the older non-XML .doc format.(Credit:screenshot by Dennis O&amp;39'Reilly/CNET) Microsoft's TechNet site describes the Compatibility Mode settings in Office 2010 and Office 2007, respectively. Wikipedia's Office 2010 page lists the features removed from the most recent version of the suite.A 'standard' file format acts in a very non-standard way Both of the solutions to the Word file-formatting problem--resetting the default printer on both PCs and reverting to the .doc default file format--seem like overkill to address what appears to be a minor glitch. The bigger question for me is what benefit the Office XML file formats offer to PC users. In corporate settings, they clearly make file management easier and more efficient for IT departments (once all the compatibility problems are worked out). But this is not how you would expect a de facto standard file format to operate. It seems Microsoft wants all the benefits of ruling one of the preeminent file standards in the computer industry without the costs of ensuring new versions of the format retain compatibility with previous releases. The Office file formats--new and old--will continue to dominate the industry for years to come. No doubt organizations benefit from the predictability that these &quot;standards&quot; provide. Likewise, millions of dollars have been spent training people to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and other Office apps. But in terms of productivity and ease of use, are these programs really the best choice from a user's perspective In other words, are we PC users along for the ride, or are we being taken for one<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[747-8 Intercontinental flight expected this spring]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=747-8-intercontinental-flight-expected-this-spring</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=747-8-intercontinental-flight-expected-this-spring</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 12 Feb 2011 08:10:21 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>eladlickululk</dc:creator>
<category>Gaming</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=747-8-intercontinental-flight-expected-this-spring</guid>
<description><![CDATA[EVERETT, Washington--Boeing expects to make the first flight of its next-generation 747-8 Intercontinental sometime in early spring of this year.Where Boeing's next-gen 747-8 comes to life (photos) That was the word from Elizabeth Lund, the 747 program's vice president and deputy program manager, at a media event here today.Of course, given lengthy delays with Boeing's 787 Dreamliner program, it would be fair to say that no &quot;expected&quot; date can be firmly counted on. Indeed, Boeing maintains that despite the expected schedule, the plane will take its first flight, and make its first delivery &quot;when it's ready,&quot; Lund said.Still, she said she was very confident about the schedule she announced.The plane is expected to be the world's most fuel efficient and can carry more passengers at a lower fuel cost-per-mile than the current generation 747-400.Stay tuned for much more from this weekend's 747-8 Intercontinental events.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Nuclear research reactor perseveres in city center]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nuclear-research-reactor-perseveres-in-city-center</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nuclear-research-reactor-perseveres-in-city-center</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Feb 2011 08:10:54 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>citiesads</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nuclear-research-reactor-perseveres-in-city-center</guid>
<description><![CDATA[CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--The MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory is a trip into the past and, if nuclear power grows in this country, perhaps a glimpse into the future.A stone's throw from busy Massachusetts Avenue here is a large blue cylinder about the height of a two-story building, which houses the reactor, built with an attached research lab in 1958 at the dawn of the nuclear power industry.The mission of the lab has changed over the years, most recently shifting its primary emphasis from medical research to experiments on new materials and fuels for nuclear power. Its director envisions that the lab's main product--streams of neutrons--could be used to advance microscopic imaging, giving researchers the ability to visualize the structure of proteins or the inside of complex machines.A retro nuclear reactor eyes the future (photos) All the while, the building is a training ground for nuclear engineering students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, giving them hands-on experience with the various aspects of nuclear power, from a basic understanding of how a reactor works to nuclear plant safety.Superintendent Edward Lau gave me a tour of the reactor earlier this week, which I had heard of and passed dozens of times but had never seen up close. In addition to satisfying my curiosity, I was also looking for clues on the future of nuclear power in the U.S. and whether this was possibly an outpost in the hoped-for nuclear renaissance in the U.S., spawning new reactor designs such as modular reactors placed close to city centers. Old schoolIn many ways, the lab itself is quaint and old-fashioned. At the check-in desk, there's all sorts of analog equipment from an earlier time, including a typewriter and large board with hand-operated switches that light up to show who is in the reactor at any time, a security measure that works even if the power's out.Rather than an electronic radioactivity monitor, visitors carry a pen-like device with a filament inside that reacts to changes in electrical charge to measure any radioactivity. When you walk out, a classic Geiger counter, giving off a regular stream of crackling beeps, makes sure your hands or shoes are clean of contaminants. (Credit:Martin LaMonica/CNET)Inside the containment building is a collision of the old and new again. To get into the building, you have to pass through two air-tight doors that have a balloon seal of special reinforced rubber around the edges, the same type used in submarines. Once inside, you can see the structure that holds the actual reactor, which at its core is only 15 inches across. It's puny in terms of output, too, able to generate five megawatts of thermal power, compared to 1,000 megawatts or more of electric power (or about 3,000 megawatts of thermal power) from a commercial nuclear power plant. The current reactor was installed in 1975 and it uses a more highly enriched version of uranium fuel than a commercial plant.The core sits inside a tank of heavy water, which has a form of hydrogen atoms that reflect neutrons from the core back as slower-moving &quot;thermal neutrons&quot; to maintain the chain reaction, Lau explained. That tank of water sits inside a tank of graphite, which reflects neutrons. And all of that is surrounded by a cylindrical concrete structure, made with special, iron-laden concrete and covered with steel.The heat from the MIT reactor could supply enough heat for the lab and an adjoining building, but the university decided not to do that because it represents a conflict of interest, Lau said. After all, if you have to immediately shut down the reactor for a safety reason, it wouldn't be a reliable heating system.Instead of usable energy, the reactor from the start was designed to generate a stream of neutrons for experimentation. The neutrons come out of &quot;beam ports,&quot; or small tunnels where neutrons shoot out from the core. Those captured neutrons are used for a wide range of experiments, done both by MIT students and outsiders who use the facility. In the early days of the 1950s, the research was quite basic: engineers needed to better understand nuclear fission, or splitting atoms, to release heat in a controlled way. The center has since done research in many areas, including semiconductors, and working for utilities seeking better power plant design.In the 1990s, the lab did quite a bit of work on boron neutron capture therapy, where cancer patients would sit in a room next to one of the beam ports and receive a dose of radiation. Patients would take a treatment that includes boron, which interacts with the neutron beam, releasing enough energy to kill cancer cells.Fitting in and looking aheadNow, one of the areas that the lab is focused on is in-core experiments, something that's very specialized and requires specific engineering expertise, according to Lin-wen Hu, the associate director of research development. While some university research nuclear reactors in the U.S. shut down because of lack of funding in the 1990s, there is now more research money available from the Department of Energy, she added. Working with the Idaho National Laboratory, the research reactor is used to expose different materials and fuels to the radiation of an actual core. Although the MIT research reactor core operates at only 50 degrees Celsius, researchers can insert a loop, or tube, that's about two inches in diameter into the core and control the heat and pressure for experiments, Hu explained. Inside a nuclear power plant (photos) Although the reactor has been in Cambridge for decades, relations between MIT and the city have been strained at times. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the city council held emergency hearings to gain assurances regarding the safety of the operation. In 2005, an ABC News investigation found security lapses in some of the country's research reactors, prompting more hearings in Cambridge regarding safety. Another cause for unease is the fuel used at the reactor, which uses fuel that has a higher concentration of enriched uranium than commercial plants.MIT has committed to changing by 2015 to a different fuel type now being developed that has a lower concentration of enriched uranium, making it harder to convert to a bomb, said Thomas Newton, the associate director of engineering. It's taking years because the fuel and fuel casing, or cladding, needs to be tested for durability and ability to withstand conditions in the core, he said.Community relations are a significant part of what the reactor lab does, Lau indicated. It regularly gives tours, including to high-school students, and has meetings with city officials, including fire and police officers, he said.Even as the lab continues trying to be a good neighbor tucked in the city, its director David Moncton has ideas on how to expand, either by hosting more experiments from others with a larger reactor or by breaking into new areas. One idea is testing out salts that could be used as a core coolant, rather than water, which could be used in a new generation of reactors, he said.Meanwhile, students learn the ins and outs of nuclear power and can get certification from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for their work. When I was in the control room, I met MIT junior and nuclear engineering major Brendan Ensor and asked whether his learning there would prepare him for the nuclear renaissance in the U.S. His response &quot;That's the plan.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Where should Road Trip go in Europe]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=where-should-road-trip-go-in-europe</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=where-should-road-trip-go-in-europe</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Feb 2011 08:10:51 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>oxypogralry</dc:creator>
<category>Gaming</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=where-should-road-trip-go-in-europe</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Summer may seem like it's a long way off, but over here at Geek Gestalt, it already feels like it's just around the corner. That's in large part because I'm already deep in the planning for Road Trip 2011, which will be my sixth annual journey in search of some of the best destinations around for technology, military, architecture, science, nature, and so on.The Eiffel Tower will be part of Road Trip 2011, in Europe. But what else would be good to spotlight If you have a suggestion that I use, you could win a prize.(Credit:Daniel Terdiman/CNET)For the past five years, the project has been in the United States, and I've had the opportunity to visit the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest, the Southeast, the Rocky Mountain region, and the Northeast.But this year, for the first time, Road Trip is heading across the pond to Europe.I've already got a long list of potential destinations, but as always, I thought I'd turn to my readers for what I'm sure will be some excellent suggestions of places I haven't thought of myself.So, if you have an idea for a Road Trip stop, please send it to daniel--dot--terdiman--at--cnet--dot--com. Here's what I'm looking for: It would need to be in Western Europe, or possibly Scandinavia. It would need to be something that would appeal to an American audience. And it would need to be highly visual and support a big photo gallery.Some things that might work would be manufacturing facilities for iconic brands, famous monuments or large-scale works of art or architecture, famous or important military facilities, and much more. Past examples include behind-the-scenes looks at New York's Grand Central Terminal, the process of printing the next-generation $100 bill, a look inside NORAD's former home at Cheyenne Mountain, behind-the-scenes at Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, the high-tech gear aboard the  most advanced submarine on Earth, and so on.I'd like to reward anyone who comes up with a great idea. So if you send me a suggestion that I haven't already thought of myself, and which I end up adding to my itinerary, I'll send you a gift in exchange. I hope to hear from you, as I know that many of you have extensive experience traveling the globe, and I'd love to be able to benefit from that experience--and share the wealth with my readers. I look forward to hearing from you.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Roof-mounted solar assists in cooling too]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=roof-mounted-solar-assists-in-cooling-too</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=roof-mounted-solar-assists-in-cooling-too</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 03 Feb 2011 08:11:05 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>jsetan</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=roof-mounted-solar-assists-in-cooling-too</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Conserval Engineering is testing a new product with the U.S. Army based on its original solar thermal wall panels that could help cool a building in addition to helping heat it up, the company announced today.The company is best known for its SolarWall corrugated galvanized-steel solar collectors that can be used to heat a building's HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning) system as a way to save energy and bring down heating costs. It's used mainly on commercial, industrial, or large apartment buildings with vast wall space. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, for example, installed a solar collector air heating system from SolarWall for its Research Support Facility. SolarWall air heating system panels are mounted on the Research Support Facility at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo.(Credit:NREL/U.S. Department of Energy)Conserval Engineering's new product, NightSolar, employs technology that works akin to the Nocturnal Radiation principle, in which a large body, like the Earth, for example, after spending a day absorbing heat from the sun, radiates that heat back into the cold night air.SolarWall air heating systems are attached to south-facing walls so they can absorb long-wave radiation delivered by the sun (aka heat) during the day and transfer that heat to passed air via the building's HVAC system. The new product does that and its opposite. Connected to air handlers or an air conditioning system, the NightSolar roof panel can also draw the heat from warm air inside a building and transfer that heat out into the cooler night air.As with the heating version, the NightSolar system is limited in function and is an aid toward building energy efficiency but not really a solution.For example, it can only chill air 10 degrees Fahrenheit below the building's ambient temperature, and only works between sunset and sunrise, according to company statistics.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Will Sandy Bridge issues delay new Apple MacBooks]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=will-sandy-bridge-issues-delay-new-apple-macbooks</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=will-sandy-bridge-issues-delay-new-apple-macbooks</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 31 Jan 2011 08:10:53 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>dotali</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=will-sandy-bridge-issues-delay-new-apple-macbooks</guid>
<description><![CDATA[MacBook Pros: Sooner or later(Credit:CNET)With Intel's surprising Sandy Bridge news suggesting new computers featuring the processors might see delays, we couldn't help but ask ourselves whether the Sandy Bridge issues mean new MacBook Pros will come later rather than sooner. First of all, we have no idea when new MacBook Pros are hitting next. However, assuming they're due for a refresh within the next few months, a few things seem likely: They're going to receive new Sandy Bridge processors, including the older Core 2 Duo-toting 13-inch MacBook Pro. And, they'll likely arrive after the competition. At least, that's been the case for recent MacBook Pros, including last year's Core i-series updates.New Sandy Bridge laptops have been expected somewhere around the end of February. Even if that timeframe doesn't shift, consider that last year's Core i3/i5/i7 CPUs became available immediately afterCES. Apple's new MacBook Pros debuted in April. If that same pattern held true this year, tea leaves would point to somewhere around the end of May/early June.Now we're taking our Nostradamus hats off. Certainly, we'll be hearing news soon enough as to how OEMs will be handling the Sandy Bridge situation.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[W3C tackles touch-screen Web apps]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=w3c-tackles-touch-screen-web-apps</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=w3c-tackles-touch-screen-web-apps</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 28 Jan 2011 08:10:13 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Samya01</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=w3c-tackles-touch-screen-web-apps</guid>
<description><![CDATA[In the competition between native applications for mobile phones vs. Web applications, hardware support often makes native apps an obvious choice for programmers. But the World Wide Web Consortium is tackling one area, touch-screen support, in an effort that could help Web apps catch up.The W3C published an editor's draft of a new touch-screen standard for Web apps today. The draft specification is designed also for devices such as drawingtablets that don't have a screen, but today's hot market for smartphones makes touch screens the more important focus.A standard--if designed well and adopted--would make programmers' lives easier by making it possible to write Web application software that would work on multiple browsers. And with touch screens expanding from the high-end smartphone market to lower-end models and to tablets, touch screens are becoming a dominant technology for user interfaces.Of course, touch screens work to an extent withmobile browsers today. But they chiefly just reproduce the mouse era, and touch screens can be different. Multitouch is one obvious difference, but the draft specification also accommodates subtleties such as the pressure of a touch event and the radius of the spot being touched.The specification defines how a browser would report information in a standard way to a Web application, letting programmers write software that responds to the events. And as with many Web specifications, it uses a real-world browser as a starting point. In this case, Apple'sSafari.&quot;Editor Doug Schepers did the sensible thing and started with Apple's specification,&quot; said Peter-Paul Koch, a consultant who closely monitors browser issues and in particular mobile browsers, in a blog post. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Firefox 4 entering the home stretch]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=firefox-4-entering-the-home-stretch</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=firefox-4-entering-the-home-stretch</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 26 Jan 2011 08:10:20 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>riapnomin01</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=firefox-4-entering-the-home-stretch</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Mozilla programmers are gradually reducing the number of Firefox 4 bugs.(Credit:Mozilla)With plenty of competitors breathing down its neck--Microsoft's IE9 in particular--Mozilla is fixing the final bugs that lie in the way of aFirefox 4 release.Last night, Mozilla released Firefox 4 beta 10 (click to download for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux). This version focuses mostly on stability and performance rather than on new features--although one new option is the ability to start Firefox in safe mode by holding down shift when launching on Windows.Flash should work better onMac OS X with the new beta, and memory usage should be better, Mozilla said in a blog post yesterday.Next up are one or two more beta versions, then the release candidates, and if all goes well, a final Firefox 4 release in February. In a planning message last night, release manager Christian Legnitto said Mozilla will build beta 11 and, if too many bugs remain unfixed, beta 12.Mozilla recently divided its blocking bugs into two categories, soft and hard, with only the latter able to hold up release of the new software. As of Wednesday morning, excluding security bugs, there are 194 soft blockers and 76 hard blockers.In practice, it won't make much difference whether Firefox 4 is released before Internet Explorer 9: most people don't change browsers that frequently. But competition is fierce right now, especially with Google's Chrome edging in on the early-adopter stronghold Firefox once had more to itself.IE9, currently in beta testing, changes the competitive dynamic in the browser marketplace. Microsoft for years lagged rivals for support of new Web technologies. IE9 embraces many of them, though, and adds significantly improved performance at the same time. It's not clear when exactly IE9 will be released, but Microsoft's developer-oriented Mix conference in April seems a fitting venue.One of the headline features in Firefox 4 is hardware acceleration using computers' graphics chips. However, Mozilla has decided to implement the feature cautiously to begin with to avoid crashes or other problems among its 400 million users. Specifically, Firefox 4 will disable hardware acceleration except with new graphics drivers and with a whitelist of video hardware makers: Intel, AMD, and Nvidia.&quot;We just want to minimize our initial risk here,&quot; graphics team member Joe Drew said in a mailing list discussion. Mozilla plans to remove the whitelist later, he said.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Apple criticized in Chinese environmental report]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-criticized-in-chinese-environmental-report</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-criticized-in-chinese-environmental-report</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 20 Jan 2011 08:10:27 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>limpnoli5</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-criticized-in-chinese-environmental-report</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Apple has been accused by a coalition of 36 Chinese environmental groups of ignoring hazardous and unhealthy conditions at the factories in China where its components are assembled.Released yesterday by the Institute of Environmental and Public Affairs (IPE), the report &quot;The Other Side of Apple&quot; ranked theiPhone maker dead last among 29 other tech companies for their responsiveness to health and environmental concerns in China.Specifically, the report claims that Apple ignored concerns at Wintek, a factory that makes touch screens for the iPhone andiPad as well as components for other companies. Wintek came under fire in 2009 when plant workers were exposed to n-hexane poisoning. A number of workers went on strike and later sued Wintek, which eventually removed the toxic substance from use at its factories.Wintek workers also appealed directly to Apple at the time, according to a 2009 report from AppleInsider. But it's unclear if Apple has even acknowledged Wintek as a supplier.IPE Director Ma Jun told Bloomberg News in a phone interview that Apple refused to confirm that suspected polluters were among its suppliers and avoided taking responsibility for environmental problems related to its products. Apple was also criticized in the report for its response to the worker suicides at the Foxconn plant last year. Though Apple at the time said it had contacted Foxconn management regarding the incidents, the report gives the impression that the company's response was rather cavalier, citing a e-mail from CEO Steve Jobs that reportedly read: &quot;Although every suicide is tragic, Foxconn's suicide rate is well below the China average. We are all over this.&quot;The IPE added that Apple allegedly didn't answer requests for information about some of its more problematic suppliers, another issue that put the company at the bottom of its list.&quot;We originally thought that Apple, as a corporate citizen, would take a leadership role, but now we feel they ended up as the most obstructive,&quot; Ma told Bloomberg.We've reached out to both Apple and the IPE for comment on the report and will update the story if we hear back from them.On a more positive side, British Telecommunications, Hewlett-Packard, Samsung, Sanyo, and Sony were the top five tech players lauded in the report for their environmental responsiveness.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[In Singapore, even airplanes can have paparazzi]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=in-singapore-even-airplanes-can-have-paparazzi</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=in-singapore-even-airplanes-can-have-paparazzi</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 14 Jan 2011 08:10:13 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>bobmarley</dc:creator>
<category>Gaming</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=in-singapore-even-airplanes-can-have-paparazzi</guid>
<description><![CDATA[As home to Singapore Airlines, the first carrier to fly the Airbus A380, Changi Airport is an easy place to spot the behemoth airplane.(Credit:Daniel Terdiman/CNET)CHANGI AIRPORT, SINGAPORE--If you don't think airplanes can have paparazzi, consider the following scene.I was here last month, having flown in from San Francisco the night before, only to wait about 18 hours for my flight to Calcutta, India. Carrying my camera around in search of things to photograph at what I had been told was one of the world's most-interesting airports, I spotted my most-desired prey: An Airbus A380.But a clear view of the plane was blocked by some walls, as well as a locked gate lounge, and I couldn't figure out how best to get the shot I wanted. Looking over, I noticed another guy sporting an even better camera, trying to solve the same problem.Changi Airport: From A380s to the Kinect (photos) Just as we were both about to give up, a bathroom attendant came out of one of the terminal loos and, seeing the two of us with our Canons at the ready, and clearly recognizing what we were trying to accomplish, beckoned us to follow him back into the restroom. Confident this wasn't a Larry Craig situation, the other fellow and I followed the attendant into the bathroom, where he quickly pointed out how, if we jumped up onto a platform behind some potted plants, there was a window facing out onto the tarmac, right in front of the A380. Clearly, the attendant had seen a whole lot of camera-toting travelers trying to take pictures of Airbus' famous behemoth airplane. Like I said, planes can have paparazzi.Besides what has to be a disproportionate number of A380s--the world's-largest commercial passenger plane making its initial home here as Singapore Airlines was the first carrier to take delivery of one of the double-decker monsters--Changi offers those passing through the airport a plethora of entertainment, technology, nature, and artistic options. It is home to a pseudo-Apple store, a real Sony Style store, a full-on butterfly sanctuary, orchid gardens, koi ponds, and more.Changi Airport, in Singapore, is home to a plethora of technology that awaits travelers as they pass through, either on a quick layover, or during an 18-hour wait for their next flight. (Credit:Daniel Terdiman/CNET)You can test Microsoft's new Kinect motion controller, sit and rest in front of a 103-inch plasma TV, charge any number of mobile devices, shop for Rolexes, Hermes scarves, expensive Scotch, and the latest best-sellers, even see an exhibit of the 600 daily flights out of Changi, each represented by an individual paper airplane.And lest I get too rapturous about the bathrooms here, I'd also scoff at your skepticism about this idea: it may actually be worth flying half-way around the world for a shower. For, those staying in the airport overnight can book a room in its transit hotel which, other than being a featureless motel-like experience right inside the terminal (no passport control needed), offers what I say confidently was one of the three best showers of my life. And not only because I'd just spent 19 hours on an airplane to get there.In short, while I would never choose to spend 18 hours in an airport, I can't think of one where I'd rather do so than Changi. Clearly, the Singaporeans--who are very humorless about things like gum (you can't chew it in the small city-state) and drugs (the immigration form makes it clear that smugglers will be put to death)--want those who have to spend a few hours in their airport to be comfortable, entertained, and have no shortage of things on which to spend their hard-earned dollars (either American or Singaporean).<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Out with the old--Jasmine's Tech Dos & Don'ts]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=out-with-the-old-jasmines-tech-dos--donts</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=out-with-the-old-jasmines-tech-dos--donts</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:10:31 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>kristofsif</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=out-with-the-old-jasmines-tech-dos--donts</guid>
<description><![CDATA[With the new year upon us, there are no doubt plenty of plans in place for changes both big and small. For precisely this reason, January's Tech Dos &amp; Don'ts column will be focused on helping you through the necessary transitions--at least as far as technology is concerned. First up: out with the old, in with the new.Certainly, both the holidays and the Consumer Electronics Show have inspired a lot of dough-dropping in the gadget space. Many of you probably have a new device or two lying around, which raises the question: what to do with the sad, old tech you're replacing  According to one study, only 39 percent of consumers are recycling their electronics. That's not nearly enough, especially considering the sometimes hazardous and always environmentally unfriendly material that makes up most of these products. Here are some tips that I hope will help us all reduce the e-waste littering in landfills.First off, DON'T throw your electronics in the trash (bet you could see that coming a mile away). To find recycling centers near you, check out E-cycling Central. The site offers options in every one of the 50 states. For the uberdiligent, there's also a series of questions to ask potential recyclers to check whether they're using the proper disposal methods. (Some other options for searching for locations are EPA eCycling and e-Stewards.)If none of the options identified by those search offerings are close enough to home, DO check in with your local school and government offices. These establishments can often direct locals to specified locations and dates for dropping off e-waste. Also, DO research the company that manufactured the product in question. Sony for example has partnered with Waste Management to offer a Take-Back program that will even allow you to ship gadgets for recycling--a handy service for those who live in remote areas.For tech that might still be worth a little something, DON'T overlook the option to sell. Of course, we all know about eBay and Craigslist, but EcoSquid offers a more innovative way to deal with old gadgets, batteries, and cables. If there's no resale value, Ecosquid will help with recycling options as well.If selling isn't your bag (after all, it can be kind of a hassle), DO donate your unwanted gear to support a cause or organization of your choosing. Personally, I'm fond of Project KOPEG, which receives your used electronics and then donates the corresponding monetary value to a fund that helps soldiers and their families. You can donate to everything from schools to organizations that fight against domestic abuse. Goodwill also runs a great program called Reconnect that accepts certain types of tech.Finally, with all those old gadgets expunged from your repertoire, DO be forward-thinking and reduce future waste by choosing items that have less of an impact on the earth. An increasing number of companies are churning out products (and packaging) aimed at reducing our ecological footprint when it comes to technology. Indeed, I saw loads of environmentally friendly offerings on display atCES 2011, from electronic cars to headphones with principles.Have tips of your own for reducing, reusing, and recycling electronics Please share them in the comment section below.Last time:Traveling with video<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[AMD CEO resigns' search on for new leader]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=amd-ceo-resigns-search-on-for-new-leader</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=amd-ceo-resigns-search-on-for-new-leader</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:10:47 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>PerchidloZX</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=amd-ceo-resigns-search-on-for-new-leader</guid>
<description><![CDATA[AMD CEO Dirk Meyer will step down after reaching an agreement with the company's board over his departure, AMD said today.Former AMD CEO Dirk Meyer(Credit:AMD) Thomas Siefert, AMD's CFO, will fill Meyer's spot on a temporary basis as the company searches for a new CEO. It doesn't sound like the decision was entirely Meyer's. &quot;...the board believes we have the opportunity to create increased shareholder value over time. This will require the company to have significant growth, establish market leadership and generate superior financial returns. We believe a change in leadership at this time will accelerate the company's ability to accomplish these objectives,&quot; AMD said in a press release Monday. Meyer had been with AMD since 1995, holding a variety of prominent engineering roles before becoming the man-in-waiting to succeed Hector Ruiz at the top spot, which he did in July 2008. During his tenure as CEO, AMD regained its financial footing to a certain degree, helped out by the settlement of its antitrust lawsuit against Intel for $1.25 billion in November 2009. His departure comes as a bit of a surprise to the chip industry, judging by comments on Twitter from people like Microsoft's Rahul Sood, who worked closely with AMD for years developing gaming PCs for his Voodoo PC and later Hewlett-Packard, which acquired Sood's company. &quot;woah...Dirk Meyer resigned from @amd. that was completely and totally unexpected...,&quot; he wrote. AMD also announced preliminary revenue results for its fourth quarter, ahead of next week's expected announcement of its full financial results. Revenue will be $1.65 billion, slightly ahead of what analysts were expecting for the quarter.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Obama to hand Commerce Dept. authority over cybersecurity ID]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=obama-to-hand-commerce-dept--authority-over-cybersecurity-id</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=obama-to-hand-commerce-dept--authority-over-cybersecurity-id</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 07 Jan 2011 08:10:46 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Dakota02</dc:creator>
<category>Politics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=obama-to-hand-commerce-dept--authority-over-cybersecurity-id</guid>
<description><![CDATA[STANFORD, Calif.--President Obama is planning to hand the U.S. Commerce Department authority over a forthcoming cybersecurity effort to create an Internet ID for Americans, a White House official said here today.It's &quot;the absolute perfect spot in the U.S. government&quot; to centralize efforts toward creating an &quot;identity ecosystem&quot; for the Internet, White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt said.That news, first reported by CNET, effectively pushes the department to the forefront of the issue, beating out other potential candidates, including the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. The move also is likely to please privacy and civil-liberties groups that have raised concerns in the past over the dual roles of police and intelligence agencies.The announcement came at an event today at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, where U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Schmidt spoke.The Obama administration is currently drafting what it's calling the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, which Locke said will be released by the president in the next few months. (An early version was publicly released last summer.)&quot;We are not talking about a national ID card,&quot; Locke said at the Stanford event. &quot;We are not talking about a government-controlled system. What we are talking about is enhancing online security and privacy, and reducing and perhaps even eliminating the need to memorize a dozen passwords, through creation and use of more trusted digital identities.&quot;The Commerce Department will be setting up a national program office to work on this project, Locke said.Details about the &quot;trusted identity&quot; project are remarkably scarce. Last year's announcement referenced a possible forthcoming smart card or digital certificate that would prove that online users are who they say they are. These digital IDs would be offered to consumers by online vendors for financial transactions.Schmidt stressed today that anonymity and pseudonymity will remain possible on the Internet. &quot;I don't have to get a credential, if I don't want to,&quot; he said. There's no chance that &quot;a centralized database will emerge,&quot; and &quot;we need the private sector to lead the implementation of this,&quot; he said.Jim Dempsey of the Center for Democracy and Technology, who spoke later at the event, said any Internet ID must be created by the private sector--and also voluntary and competitive.&quot;The government cannot create that identity infrastructure,&quot; Dempsey said. &quot;If it tried to, it wouldn't be trusted.&quot;Inter-agency rivalries to claim authority over cybersecurity have existed ever since many responsibilities were centralized in the Department of Homeland Security as part of its creation nine years ago. Three years ago, proposals were circulating in Washington to transfer authority to the secretive NSA, which is part of the U.S. Defense Department.In March 2009, Rod Beckstr&amp;246'm, director of Homeland Security's National Cybersecurity Center, resigned through a letter that gave a rare public glimpse into the competition for budgetary dollars and cybersecurity authority. Beckstrom said at the time that the NSA &quot;effectively controls DHS cyberefforts through detailees, technology insertions,&quot; and has proposed moving some functions to the agency's Fort Meade, Md., headquarters.One of the NSA's missions is, of course, information assurance. But its normally lustrous star in the political firmament has dimmed a bit due to Wikileaks-related revelations.Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private who is accused of liberating hundreds of thousands of confidential government documents from military networks and sending them to Wikileaks, apparently joked about the NSA's incompetence in an online chat last spring.&quot;I even asked the NSA guy if he could find any suspicious activity coming out of local networks,&quot; Manning reportedly said in a chat transcript provided by ex-hacker Adrian Lamo. &quot;He shrugged and said, 'It's not a priority.'&quot;Last updated at 12:20 p.m. PT<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[CES: Citi swiping Dynamics' 'smart' credit cards]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-citi-swiping-dynamics-smart-credit-cards</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-citi-swiping-dynamics-smart-credit-cards</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 06 Jan 2011 08:10:32 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah01</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-citi-swiping-dynamics-smart-credit-cards</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Dynamics-powered Citi credit card lets you select which account you want to use at the time of payment.(Credit:Dynamics)LAS VEGAS--Dynamics' high-tech update on the old-fashioned credit card, which we covered from Demo in September, has landed a real customer. AtCES here, the company announced that Citigroup will be launching a trial of a credit card that lets users pay with either their regular credit account or with reward points they've accumulated. The user will press a button on the credit card to select a method of payment. That will activate the card's built-in electronics and rewrite the magnetic strip on the back so standard credit card-reading machines will use the chosen account.A small number of Citi customers will get the trial Citi ThankYou Prestige 2G Card later this yearDynamics' technology is designed to enable the creation of credit cards as thin and durable as existing passive cards, but with security features such as coded keypads that unlock the card's number display and magnetic strip, flexible multi-account features like those Citi is using, and other twists on the old, boring, static credit card.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[CES: Hands on with the Olympus XZ-1 enthusiast camera]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-hands-on-with-the-olympus-xz-1-enthusiast-camera</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-hands-on-with-the-olympus-xz-1-enthusiast-camera</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Jan 2011 08:10:18 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Samya01</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-hands-on-with-the-olympus-xz-1-enthusiast-camera</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Sarah Tew/CNET)While ILCs may be the more interesting enthusiast cameras, the more popular market seems to be the compact, fixed-lens models, most notably the Canon PowerShot S95. Olympus forges into that market with its XZ-1, a promising looking model that's not quite as compact as the S95, but with an exceptionally fast f1.8 lens and a sleek design that rivals models like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 in size and operation. I had some time to play with a preproduction version of the camera--can't really make any judgements about photo quality or performance, unfortunately--and think it's got a nice combination of features and usability that make it a model to watch.First, here's how the XZ-1 compares to the rest of the crowd (with the exception of the Samsung TL500--no room in the table):&amp;nbsp'Canon PowerShot G12Canon PowerShot S95 Nikon P7000 Olympus XZ-1Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5Sensor (effective resolution)10-megapixel CCD10-megapixel CCD10-megapixel CCD10-megapixel CCD10-megapixel CCD1/1.7-inch1/1.7-inch1/1.63-inch1/1.63-inch1/1.63-inchSensitivity rangeISO 80 - ISO 3200ISO 80 - ISO 3200ISO 100 - ISO 3,200ISO 100 - ISO 6,400ISO 80 - ISO 3200Lens28-140mmf2.8-4.5 5x28-105mmf2-4.9 3.8x28-200mm f2.8-5.6 7.1x28-112mmf1.8-2.54x24-90mm f2-3.3 3.8xClosest focus (inches)0.42.03.20.40.4Continuous shooting1.1fps frames n/a1.9fps frames n/a1.3fps 44 JPEG/n/a raw2fps 23 JPEG/8 raw2.5fps 3 JPEG/n/a rawViewfinderOpticalOpticalOptional OVFOptional EVFOptional OVF or EVFAutofocusn/a Contrast AFn/a Contrast AF9 area Contrast AF11 area Contrast AF23-area Contrast AFMeteringn/an/a256 segment324 arean/aShutter15-1/4000 sec15-1/1600 sec60-1/4000 sec60-1/2000 sec' bulb to 16 min60-1/4000 secFlashYesYesYesYesYesHot shoeYesNoYesYesYesLCD2.8-inch articulated 461,000 dots3-inch fixed 461,000 dots 3-inch fixed 921,000 dots3-inch fixed OLED 610,000 dots3-inch fixed 460,000 dotsImage stabilizationOpticalOpticalOpticalSensor shiftOpticalVideo (best quality)720/24p H.264 QuickTime MOV720/24p H.264 QuickTime MOV Stereo720/24p H.264 QuickTime MOV720/30p Motion JPEG AVI720/30p AVCHD Lite MonauralManual iris and shutter in videoNoNon/atkYesOptical zoom while recordingYesNon/atkYesMic inputNoNoYesYesNoBattery life (CIPA rating)390 shots220 shots350 shots320 shots400 shotsDimensions (WHD, inches)4.4 x 3.0 x 2.03.9 x 2.3 x 1.24.5 x 3.1 x 1.84.4 x 2.6 x 1.74.3 x 2.6 x 1.7Weight (ounces)14.5 (est)7 (est)12.7 (est)9.69.2Mfr. Price$499.99 $399.99 $499.95$499.99$450AvailabilitySeptember 2010 August 2010October 2010January 2011August 2010The Canon-like control ring around the lens is just as comfortable to use, and the 3-inch OLED is bright and high contrast. The camera has the same accessory port for an add-on EVF as the PEN ILC models. The only real issue I had was with the body material (though it's not clear to me if it was final)' it felt a little too slippery. But otherwise, it's got a straightforward interface and nice control layout. I'm not sure where I stand yet on the USB charging. I look forward to testing the final version when it's available later this month.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Micron's new solid-state drive: 256GB for $425]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microns-new-solid-state-drive-256gb-for-425</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microns-new-solid-state-drive-256gb-for-425</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 04 Jan 2011 08:10:34 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simoncarter</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microns-new-solid-state-drive-256gb-for-425</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Micron Technology is unveiling four new solid-state drives at the Storage Visions conference in Las Vegas this week. One 256GB model will cost $425--pricey compared to a traditional hard disk drive but competitive for the speedy flash chip-based storage drives. Micron 256GB solid-state drive will be available for about $425.(Credit:Micron)Micron's RealSSD drives--marketed under the Crucial brand name--will be available for laptops in 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch form factors--the former size typically goes into ultra-small laptops like the MacBook Air, while the latter is the standard size for mainstream laptop drives. Micron, which runs a joint flash chip manufacturing venture with Intel, is making the flash chips (that populate the SSD) on a cutting-edge 25-nanometer manufacturing process, allowing higher data capacities. Generally, SSDs are much faster than standard hard disk drives at reading data and tend to be lighter and more shock-resistance than hard disks. For that reason, SSDs are used, for example, across Apple's new MacBook Air product line. Based on the SATA 6-gigabit-per-second (Gb/s) interface, the new drives reach read speeds up to 415 megabytes per second, which is 17 percent faster than Micron's previous generation drives, the company said in a statement. Write performance varies by capacity, with the 512GB drive achieving up to 260MB/second write speeds, which is more than 20 percent faster than previous drives, Micron said. Micron's solid-state drive pricing--in volumes of 1,000--will be $825 for 512GB, $425 for 256GB, $215 for 128GB, and $110 for 64GB. Final consumer pricing will come out from Crucial around March, Micron said. &quot;We expect the consumer pricing to be similar to OEM (1K volume) pricing,&quot; the company said. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Android 2.3 coming soon to Nexus One]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=android-2-3-coming-soon-to-nexus-one</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=android-2-3-coming-soon-to-nexus-one</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:10:33 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Crespinnecips</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=android-2-3-coming-soon-to-nexus-one</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Android 2.3 Gingerbread is coming to the Nexus One.(Credit:CNET)Owners of the GoogleNexus One won't have to wait much longer for Android 2.3 Gingerbread.The Google Nexus team posted on Twitter last night that Gingerbread would be making its way over the air to Nexus One devices &quot;in the coming weeks.&quot; The team didn't provide any more information on when it would land, but owners of the smartphone can at least be reassured that it is in fact coming to the device sooner rather than later.Those who don't want to wait that long (or would like a new smartphone) can get Gingerbread right now. Best Buy is currently selling the Gingerbread-equipped Google Nexus S smartphone to T-Mobile customers. In addition, the Nexus S features a 4-inch display, 5-megapixel camera, and a 1GHz Hummingbird processor.Gingerbread boasts several updates over its predecessor, Android 2.2 Froyo. The updated operating system features an improved user interface, Internet calling with the help of SIP, the ability to switch over to voice mode to fix text errors, and more.As important as it might be that Gingerbread is coming to the Nexus One, other Android phone owners will likely be forced to wait much longer. With each new Android version launch, it takes quite a while to get the latest version of the OS on devices. Samsung's Galaxy S smartphones, for example, are still running Android 2.1.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Bing gets modest face-lift, task improvements]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bing-gets-modest-face-lift-task-improvements</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bing-gets-modest-face-lift-task-improvements</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:10:19 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>nocarlberg</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bing-gets-modest-face-lift-task-improvements</guid>
<description><![CDATA[SAN FRANCISCO--Microsoft is making Bing easier on the eyes, and hopefully easier to use.At the Bing Search Summit here at Microsoft's downtown San Francisco offices, the company unveiled a more visual way to search for things like music, events, movies, and images from its search results, as well as improvements to the things people are able to do from Bing's results page and the Bing mobile app. Satya Nadella, Microsoft's senior vice president of research and development, went into detail on how much effort the Bing team puts into making the search engine more aesthetically pleasing. That includes 400 &quot;unique visual experiences&quot; built into Bing, each of which gets served up based on the action.Those actions are broken down into the things people want to do when they search for things. In order of importance, that's music, clothing and shoes, consumer electronics, recipes, home furnishings, and movies that are no longer in theaters. Nadella said the Bing team then delves into what people do once they start searching for each of these items to figure out how it can serve up results in a more efficient manner. For something like movies that means you get show times, as well as rankings from places like IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes.Microsoft has also cleaned up its image search, adding things like infinite scrolling, and something called smart tabs, which is a set of related image searches that sit on the top of the page. Clicking these begins another image search without taking you off the page:Bing&amp;39's enhanced image search.(Credit:Josh Lowensohn/CNET)Another improvement to the results pages involves a partnership with Fansnap to help people get things like concert or game tickets. So say you're searching for an upcoming basketball game at a local stadium. Bing will now serve up a stadium map, and a listing of the tickets you can buy, straight from the results:Ticket sales inside of Bing search results.(Credit:Josh Lowensohn/CNET)Microsoft also detailed advances in its integration of Facebook as part of Bing search results. In the next month or so, Bing will feature Facebook likes underneath results, so that you can see which of your friends liked a result. Unlike previous efforts, which would just highlight items friends had liked, Paul Yiu, Bing's group program manager, said that Bing is now changing the rankings based on these annotations.That change in ranking has also been utilized to highlight people search results, so that if you're searching for someone, Bing can filter those results based on the network of people it knows you know. Yiu said this should go a long way toward helping users find the right person if they have a common name.Beside's Bing's search page, Microsoft demoed the new version of its Bing Maps product which uses Ajax instead of Silverlight, which is going out to users beginning today. Bing Maps' architect Blaise Aguera y Arcas explained that while the vast majority of the features have been able to be ported over to the new system, Silverlight will still be needed to use Bing's map applications tools for its computational tools. Bing Maps has also partnered with Everyscape to add in-line panoramas for business listings. In the same vein, the Bing mobile application can now let users make their own panoramas in a similar style to Occipital's 360 Panoramic app. These can then be uploaded to Microsoft's Photosynth site:Making a panorama in Bing&amp;39's iPhone app.(Credit:Josh Lowensohn/CNET)That's not the only new trick to come to the Bing app though. Microsoft is also bringing along its Streetside technology, which lets users take a virtual, first-person walk around city streets:Microsoft&amp;39's Streetside is coming to its Bing mobile app.(Credit:Josh Lowensohn/CNET)The Streetside view gets a special trick within the mobile app so that you can zoom out even further than you're able to on the desktop iteration. This, Aguera y Arcas explained, was to make it easier to get a broader look at a neighborhood you might be unfamiliar with and see its landmarks. Other additions to the mobile app include geo-fencing, real-time public transit schedules that will let users do a search for the next bus or train nearby or as part of a directions query, and a new visual search tool that makes use of your phone's camera. This identifies words and lets you tap them to begin a query:Bing&amp;39's mobile application is getting a new search tool that lets you pick out specific words from a photo. (Credit:Josh Lowensohn/CNET)These features, as well as the ones being made to Bing's browser search are being rolled out over the new few weeks.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[NOX's ridiculously good $79 in-ear headphone]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=noxs-ridiculously-good-79-in-ear-headphone</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=noxs-ridiculously-good-79-in-ear-headphone</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 19 Nov 2010 08:10:16 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>cailing</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=noxs-ridiculously-good-79-in-ear-headphone</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The NOX Scout headphones(Credit:NOX Audio)I think we're entering the golden age of headphone design. Over the last few years the competition's heated up and at nearly every price level, headphone performance standards are improving at a fast and furious rate. For example, the TDK EB900 in-ear headphone I heard at the CNET office a few weeks ago were pretty amazing for around $100, but the all-new NOX Audio Scout is better, a lot better. Headquartered in City of Industry, CA, NOX Audio was founded in 2009. The superlightweight design is extremely comfortable, and while my ears are sometimes very fussy about getting a tight seal for best bass response, I had no trouble with the Scout's silicone eartips. The design features &quot;balanced armature technology,&quot; which is rarely seen in headphones in the Scout's price class (I don't know of any others). The Scout's cable has an inline omnidirectional microphone, and according to the Scout press release, &quot;the world's smallest send/end button, making it an ideal device for cell phones, portable media players and gaming handhelds.&quot; Best of all, the Scout's flat cable was the least tangle-prone headphone wire I've ever used. Jumble it up any which way, shove it into your pocket, and it'll never tie itself into knots. That's a first!I compared the Scout with a set of $180 Monster Turbine in-ear headphones (the base model Turbine) which I've always really loved. The Turbine's big bass came booming through on Radiohead's &quot;Amnesiac&quot; album, but switching over to the Scout clarified not only the bass, but the midrange and treble were more transparent. The drums' cymbals shimmer and sparkle were much superior, each drum whack was more precisely rendered, and the bass pitches were easier to follow on the Scout. Detail of the tiny send/end button (middle) and inline microphone (right)(Credit:NOX Audio)I heard similar distinctions with Willie Nelson's recent &quot;Country Music&quot; album. The banjo on &quot;Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down&quot; was perfectly clear, and each note's attack and tone were pristine on the Scout' the Turbine softened the tonal balance somewhat. The Turbine's richer tone will no doubt appeal to some tastes, but I think the Scout is more accurate. The Scout had a deeper soundstage compared to the Turbine, which seemed to spatially flatten the sound of the Nelson album. The one decisive win for the Turbine was its noise isolating abilities on the NYC subway' the Scout wasn't as effective as the Turbine.The Scout's bass is really something special for an under $100 in-ear headphone. It's extremely well-defined, and when the recording has really deep, very low frequency bass, the Scout reproduces it. Brian Eno's new &quot;Small Craft on a Milk Sea&quot; CD has that kind of bass, and the Scout let me hear it. NOX is off to a grand start, I'm already a big fan. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Carriers creating Isis mobile payment network]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=carriers-creating-isis-mobile-payment-network</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=carriers-creating-isis-mobile-payment-network</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Nov 2010 08:10:15 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pnomabeqw</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=carriers-creating-isis-mobile-payment-network</guid>
<description><![CDATA[AT&amp;T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile are creating a mobile payment network designed to help consumers more easily pay for items at stores using their cell phones, the trio announced today.(Credit:BusinessWire)The three mobile companies are building the network, known as Isis, with the initial goal of setting up a mobile payment system in which people can use cell phones to pay for items directly at a retailer, known as point-of-sale purchases.The system will use a technology called near-field communication (NFC), which provides short-range and encrypted wireless communication between different devices. The companies said the system will include strong security and privacy protection.The new mobile payment service is expected to roll out over the next 18 months. No doubt not coincidentally, Google CEO EricSchmidt showed off an upcoming Android phone with a near-fieldcommunication chip yesterday, perhaps the NexusS. Isis has already tapped two major financial players to join the effort. Discover Financial Services will work with Isis to develop the overall infrastructure for the mobile payment network, while Barclaycard US, part of Barclays, will be the first credit issuer on the network. Meanwhile, Isis is leaving the door open to other banks, financial institutions, and wireless carriers that want to be part of the new venture.Former GE Capital executive Michael Abbott has been hired as Isis CEO. Beyond the initial work that Isis is planning, Abbott has lofty goals for the system.&quot;Our mobile commerce network, through relationships with merchants, will provide an enhanced, more convenient, more personalized shopping experience for consumers,&quot; Abbott said in a statement. &quot;While mobile payments will be at the core of our offering, it is only the start. We plan to create a mobile wallet that ultimately eliminates the need for consumers to carry cash, credit and debit cards, reward cards, coupons, tickets, and transit passes.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[YouTube: 35 hours of video uploaded every minute]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=youtube-35-hours-of-video-uploaded-every-minute</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=youtube-35-hours-of-video-uploaded-every-minute</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 11 Nov 2010 08:10:04 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>nanoensure</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=youtube-35-hours-of-video-uploaded-every-minute</guid>
<description><![CDATA[This is YouTube's upload growth from June 2007 to October 2010.(Credit:YouTube)Just in case you had any doubts that YouTube was still growing, the folks over at Google have unleashed some stats to prove it.According to a company blog post yesterday, YouTube users upload about 35 hours of video to the site every minute. That means that about 50,400 hours are added every day. In comparison, that figures was 24 hours of video every minute back in March.YouTube attributes the growth to several factors. First, the company's decision to increase time limits from 10 minutes to 15 minutes per video has helped. It also pointed to the site's file size limit of 2GB. With the help of mobile phones, YouTube said that consumers are finding it relatively simple to quickly add videos to the site. It also doesn't hurt that &quot;more companies [are] integrating our APIs to support upload from outside of YouTube.com.&quot;In a report from August, market researcher ComScore noted that Google video sites, led by YouTube, served videos to more than 143 million unique viewers in July and had more than 1.8 billion viewing sessions. The average viewer spent 282.7 minutes--or more than 4 1/2 hours--watching YouTube videos during the month.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Microsoft says Windows 8 roughly two years away]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsoft-says-windows-8-roughly-two-years-away</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsoft-says-windows-8-roughly-two-years-away</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 24 Oct 2010 18:23:03 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Adam01</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsoft-says-windows-8-roughly-two-years-away</guid>
<description><![CDATA[In its most concrete comments yet about the next version of Windows, Microsoft said in a blog post on its Dutch Web site that Windows 8 is about two years from hitting the market.Microsoft is working on the next version of Windows, the blog says in Dutch, but it will be about two years before Windows 8 is on the market.Microsoft&amp;39's Dutch subsidiary posted a blog Sunday that says the company is working on Windows 8 but that the new operating system is not due for about two years.(Credit:CNET)The comments, noted earlier Sunday by Winrumors.com, came at the end of a post celebratingWindows 7's first birthday. Microsoft also posted about that milestone on its U.S. Web site this week but made no mention of the timing of Windows 8.A Microsoft representative, reached on Sunday morning, declined to comment or elaborate on the blog posting.Indeed, Microsoft executives from Windows unit President Steven Sinofsky on down have been hesitant to say anything about the company's future Windows plans. While the desktop team has been quiet, Microsoft's server team did say last year that a major release of Windows Server was due in 2012 and server versions typically slightly lag a desktop release.A presentation leaked in June suggests that the next version of Windows will include, among other things, an app store similar to ones offered by Apple and other mobile device makers. Apple announced this week that it will bring an app store to theMac within 90 days.The presentation also said that Microsoft wanted to improve startup times and the time it takes to resume from sleep, improve power efficiency, as well as work more closely with computer makers to better differentiate their respective computers. While these are all needed things, it's going to be a very long two years for Microsoft if it can't better address Apple's moves in the tablet and notebook models before Windows 8.Windows 7 was released in October 2009, two and a half years after the Windows Vista went on sale for most customers. Microsoft officials, including CEO Steve Ballmer, had promised that after Vista's many delays that the company would never again go so long between Windows releases.The company has not said much about Windows 8, but if it is indeed two years out, that would make three years between releases. Ballmer did say this week at a Gartner symposium that the next version of Windows represents the company's &quot;riskiest bet.&quot;Update, 1:25 a.m. PT, Oct. 25: Unsurprisingly, Microsoft has now changed the Dutch site, removing all reference to Windows 8 and instead talking about the first service pack to Windows 7 as well as the recently released Windows Live Essentials update (see image below).My year of study in the Netherlands tells me (and a reader tip and Google translate both verify) that Microsoft is saying that Windows 7 SP1 is now in testing and will be released in the first half of next year, while the first update to Windows 7 is the new version of Windows Live Essentials released in June.And you don't have to speak Dutch to know that there were some less than happy e-mails from Redmond to the Netherlands sent on Sunday. (Thanks to German journalist Achim Sawall who alerted me to the update.) <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Melinda Gates: No Apple products in my house]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=melinda-gates-no-apple-products-in-my-house</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=melinda-gates-no-apple-products-in-my-house</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 24 Oct 2010 18:22:16 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Torrie</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=melinda-gates-no-apple-products-in-my-house</guid>
<description><![CDATA[How should one bring up children Should one give them everything for which they ask Or should one make them understand very early in life that some things are bad for them, whether it is physically or psychologicallyThis flight of philosophical depth comes to me on reading an interview in the New York Times with Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft's Bill.I wasn't sure whether to laugh, cry, admire or attempt to plait my eyebrows. You see, the interviewer offered her questions about Apple. The first was quite amusing: &quot;Do you own aniPod, which is made by Apple&quot; When I read this i was overcome with a feeling that Halloween had come early. Melinda Gates needs to be told that the iPod is made by Apple Might this phraseology not have made her shiver tooStill, her reply was sturdily corporate: &quot;No, I have aZune.&quot;The interviewer persisted on pushing the buttons of Melinda Gates and her Zuneiness: &quot;What if one of your children says, 'Mom, I have to have an iPod'&quot;For those who have never seen one, this is a Zune.(Credit:CC Robert Nelson/Flickr)Again I was disturbed by this phraseology. Do kids really say &quot;I have to have&quot; Or might they still have a tinge of human politeness and offer &quot;Please can I have&quot; Gates again offered a corporately correct response: &quot;I have gotten that argument--'You may have a Zune.'&quot;Note the enormously polite use of &quot;may&quot; in response to the alleged &quot;I have to have&quot;.The interviewer was not to be deterred. She asked Gates whether she owned aniPad (&quot;Of course not&quot;). Gates denied that her husband works on an Apple laptop. &quot;False. Nothing crosses the threshold of our doorstep,&quot; she said.This curious interview of domestic manners reached its highest note when the interviewer asked: &quot;Isn't there room in this world for both Apple and Microsoft&quot; Really. Isn't that like asking someone whether there's room for rabbits and porcupines Voles and raccoonsBut the response might suggest to some that this interview was being conducted via Google Translate. For Gates' reply was: &quot;Microsoft certainly makes products for the Macintosh. Go talk to Bill.&quot;Perhaps you, too, are left with a peculiar sensation in several of your active quarters on reading these exchanges. I wonder, though, what the Gates' kids might make of it all. Surely they must have held an iPod or an iPad in their hands. What if they liked them Is deprivation a positive parenting tactic Or will children grown up to crave what they were denied Just as those who own Apple products crave Flash. Oh, wait.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[EA&'s Pogo takes casual games into mobile sphere with iPhone launch]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=earsquos-pogo-takes-casual-games-into-mobile-sphere-with-iphone-launch</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=earsquos-pogo-takes-casual-games-into-mobile-sphere-with-iphone-launch</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Tara01</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=earsquos-pogo-takes-casual-games-into-mobile-sphere-with-iphone-launch</guid>
<description><![CDATA[After a long prep period, video game giant Electronic Arts is launching its first Pogo game on the iPhone tomorrow.Pogo.com has been around as web site for casual gamers since 1998. EA bought the company in 2001 and has built it into a popular casual game site with 5 million unique monthly visitors. Now the company is launching an iPhone app that is integrated with the web site. The integration is what took a long time to do, and it is the integration that could help set this site apart from other casual mobile game portals. EA has been careful to replicate the Pogo web experience on the iPhone.For other big brand companies, this is the wave of the future. Gone are the days when game companies could create a Facebook app, a web app, and a mobile app that didn&amp;'t talk to each other. When you are dealing with a multi-platform brand, the game experience should be integrated across the platforms.EA has done that. If you&amp;'re a member of Pogo.com, you can sign up for the iPhone app and view your web account stats. You can see your friends, challenges and leaderboards. If you play a game on the iPhone, your results can be incorporated into Pogo&amp;'s own web stats.&amp;''We&amp;'re taking Pogo from a consumer web experience and taking it to where consumers are,&amp;'' said Michael Marchetti, senior vice president and general manager of EA&amp;'s Pogo division. &amp;''We want Pogo to be a classic casual gaming brand that can travel across platforms.&amp;''EA also said yesterday that its Poppit! game, one of the popular Pogo titles, will be available on the Chrome Web app store as well. Pogo games are also already available on Facebook. On the iPhone, EA will make five Pogo games available: Word Whomp, Turbo 21, Poppit! (pictured at top), Sweet Tooth 2, and Mahjong Safari. The Pogo app is free and ad-supported. If you want to turn off ads, you have to pay a one-time $2.99 fee. If you are already a premium subscriber to Club Pogo, the iPhone ads are turned off automatically.Marchetti said that EA couldn&amp;'t bring Pogo to phones before because it require richer graphics capability. The iPhone, however, is perfectly capable of displaying such graphics. It took about nine months because it isn&amp;'t easy to create the verification system which authenticates the Pogo identity. When you activate the Pogo app, you can choose among the games and tap to initiate one. As more Pogo games are launched, EA can add them to the Pogo iPhone app window.The social layer of the Pogo community should help the games spread. On the iPhone, getting a game to be viral isn&amp;'t as easy as it is on Facebook. So the social discovery helps games get noticed and played in the mobile setting. But EA doesn&amp;'t yet have that same strategy across all of its games, mainly because of branding differences. On Facebook, for instance, you can play FIFA Superstars, a soccer game, and see a promotion for Madden NFL Superstars. But on the iPhone, you won&amp;'t see cross-brand promotions, such as Pogo recommending that you try out Need for Speed Shift or other EA Mobile games.Overall, this sounds like the approach that will help EA&amp;'s games stand out among the tens of thousands of games on the iPhone.Next Story: Apple&amp;'s iPhone game guru bids adieu Previous Story: GM backs hydrogen fueling stations in Hawaii &amp;8212' setting the stage for Chevy salesPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: PogoCompanies: Apple, Electronic ArtsPeople: Michael Marchetti          Tags: PogoCompanies: Apple, Electronic ArtsPeople: Michael MarchettiDean 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.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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