The Car of the Future Promised for October

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The car of the future is almost here.

Aptera Motors has rolled out the first pre-production model of the 2e, an all-electric three-wheeled two-seater that gets the equivalent of 200 mpg and goes 100 miles on a charge. It's a significant milestone for the Southern California startup, which plans to put the first cars in driveways by Halloween and looks like a contender to win the $10 million Progressive Automotive X Prize.

"Everything is progressing nicely as we ramp up for full production of the 2e beginning in October," says chief marketing officer Marques McCammon. "We're still on target to build an ultra-efficient, high-mileage vehicle without sacrificing comfort and safety, and once Californians get behind the wheel this fall, we expect to change the world of commuter transportation."

In recent months, it has become clear that automakers big and small are focusing on electric vehicles as the next evolution of the automobile. If Aptera manages delivering its superstreamlined cars nine months from now, the 2e will be among the first mass-market, relatively affordable (at $25,000 to $45,000) EVs on the road.

And that would be a testament to the power of the $10 million X-Prize to spur innovation.

The 3-year-old company funded by Google, Idealab and others is among at least 20 teams competing in the X-Prize race to build the world's first mass production-ready vehicle that exceeds 100 mpg.

Most of the major automakers rolled into the Detroit auto show with EV concept cars, with Ford and Chrysler among the companies promising to begin putting cars with cords on the road in 2010. Tesla Motors has been building its all-electric Roadster for almost a year now, and Fisker Automotive says it will begin producing its $87,900 plug-in hybrid next fall.

But despite their advanced drivetrains, all those vehicles look like regular cars. The 2e is like nothing else in the auto industry, which might be why it scored a cameo in Star Trek. With its sleek, three-wheeled design, the 2e looks like something Spock might cruise around in. A lithium-ion battery powers an electric motor that can propel the car from zero to 60 in less than 10 seconds on its way to a top speed of 90 mph.

High performance obviously isn't the 2e's strong suit, but who cares when you're getting the equivalent of 200 mpg? Making the car as slippery as possible is key to the car's impressive efficiency. With a coefficient of drag around 0.15, the 2e is even more aerodynamic than the General Motors EV1, the most aerodynamic production car ever built.

The 2e's ultralight weight of just 1,700 pounds also contributes to its efficiency. But don't worry, the car's front crumple zone, race car-like passenger safety cell and airbags will keep everyone inside safe. Aptera says there's enough room inside to haul around 15 bags of groceries, two sets of golf clubs or a surfboard.

Aptera will flog the pre-production model mercilessly to ensure durability and safety are up to snuff. The 2e differs from an earlier prototype called the Typ-1 in several significant ways. Front-wheel drive replaces the prototype's belt-driven rear wheel to improve weight distribution and traction, the rear-view camera was ditched in favor of mirrors, and wider doors make it easier to get in and out. The interior is a little slicker too, with a stereo, roll-down windows and solar-assisted climate control (check out the PV cells on the roof).

In other words, the 2e has evolved from a spartan runabout into a real car. Aptera says it's already received 4,000 deposits from potential buyers, who will receive a car that Aptera says should look pretty much like the model shown here.

"We're getting close to finalizing our final prime-time vehicle, but there's still a lot of work to accomplish," company chief Paul Wilbur says.

Of course, nothing is certain in this economy, and the auto industry is taking such a beating that even Toyota is hurting, so there's no guarantee Aptera will meet its goal. And it's hardly the first startup to think it can beat Detroit at its own game. But Wilbur's spent more than 25 years in the auto industry, doing everything from product planning and development to bean counting for the likes of Ford and Chrysler, so he's got some idea what it takes to build a car.

"We now have to make the final refinements in the upcoming months, squeezing out every ounce of positive performance, and then we'll have the first safe, affordable all-electric vehicle on the market," he says.

Affordable is a relative term when you're talkin' EVs, and the 2e is expected to cost you something more than $25,000 but less than $45,000. That's a pretty wide range, and it includes such mass-market cars as the next-gen Toyota Prius hybrid, the forthcoming Chevrolet Volt range-extended EV and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric city car that may or may not be coming to America.

The first models will be classed as motorcycles and available only in California, but Aptera hopes to sell it nationwide and then get to work on a new model. "We hope to change everyday driving forever," Wilbur says.

Photo and images: Aptera

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Source: Wired

Steve Jobs health hoax hits Wired

It is a hoax, Wired reported Thursday -- an article that looks like a story on Wired.com and that claims Apple CEO Steve Jobs has had a heart attack.

"A widely-circulated URL which points to an image that purports to be a wired.com story about Steve Jobs health is a hack job," Wired.com said. "We won't provide the URL here but the Twitterverse quickly surmised that the item was not correct." It appears to have first been reported by Mashable.

Someone created a legitimate-looking Web page using Wired's public upload image viewer, which generates a page containing an image under a Wired logo banner, Wired.com said. The hole has been patched, the news site added.

While characteristics of the fake post--such as the Wired logo, byline, and accompanying related stories list--make it look legitimate, the post is plagued with misspellings and grammatical problems.

Rumors about Job's health have been a big deal for the last 12 months, including a fake news item in October about Jobs purportedly having a heart attack. That allegation was reported on CNN's iReport citizen journalism site and led to a drop in the price of Apple stock.

Jobs, who had surgery for pancreatic cancer in 2004, announced this month that he will take a medical leave of absence to treat a hormone imbalance.

Mashable got a screen shot of the fake Wired.com page with the Steve Jobs hoax report.


Source: CNET

Facebook now twice as big as MySpace? Oh boy


The blogosphere's love affair with Facebook-MySpace traffic wars just won't stop.

On Thursday, TechCrunch posted new statistics from ComScore that show Facebook now pulling in nearly twice as many unique visitors worldwide as its News Corp.-owned competitor.

About 222 million people visited Facebook worldwide in December (keep in mind that the social network pegs its active user count somewhere just north of 150 million these days) versus 125 million people for MySpace.

This comes less than two weeks after other ComScore statistics indicated that not only was MySpace still bigger in the U.S., it was way ahead in page-view count and time spent on the site.

But worldwide, the new ComScore numbers indicate that Facebook has a bigger edge on page views.

I have a headache now.

MySpace offered a statement in response, and it's not denying that it's been eclipsed in traffic:

We are laser focused on building a sustainable global business which we measure by profits and revenue--not just eyeballs. In a tough economic climate, our international revenue is up 30 percent year over year and we continue to focus on those markets with the strong monetization opportunities.

Additionally, MySpace continues to dominate the U.S. market--where the bulk of online advertising revenues reside--both in terms of monetization and user engagement with more than 76 million unique users and a 40 percent spike in engagement year over year.

MySpace does have a point. With News Corp.'s media muscle behind it, not to mention a stronger foothold in the U.S. and a willingness to use splashier advertisements (i.e. "wrapping" the homepage), it's not too hard to see that MySpace probably still has a notable edge in the advertising race.


Source: CNET

The Internet Will Double in Size Every 5.32 Years

Moore's Law was first used to predict the number of transistors that can fit on an integrated circuit, and argued that their number would grow exponentially over time. Indeed, current trends show that twice as many transistors can be placed on the same circuit in an interval of approximately 18 months. Now, newly-published research hints at the fact that the growth of the Internet follows the same trend, with experts saying that the World Wide Web will continue to increase its size by 100 percent every 5.32 years.

Understanding how a network grows, develops and expands is crucial to ensuring that its calibration is just right, in that it will always work at optimum parameters. And although the Internet is very popular nowadays, and continues to expand its “fan base,” its position could easily be compromised by low data transfer speeds and other such issues, which are endemic to networks that are not properly set up, or that have been artificially expanded beyond their capacity.

In the study, published in the New Journal of Physics, researchers led by Guo-Qing Zhang from the Institute of Computing Technology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, tried to determine the trend in WWW growth over the past years. So, they recorded data between December 2001 and December 2006 and analyzed communication nodes for intermittent periods of 6 months. They learned that the Internet indeed follows Moore's exponential law of growth, but, in addition, also found how the web evolves and the differences between its components.

Basically, the team was able to conclude that the core of the Internet, which is made up of less than 0.3 percent of all nodes currently online, is relatively stable, while the most activity is recorded at the periphery. Systems in these areas evolve and expand constantly, creating new nodes and edges to the overall system on an almost daily basis.

“Many models are proposed to predict the evolutionary properties of the Internet in the future, and to our knowledge, these models assume that the central part and the periphery obey the same evolving mechanism, and the maximal connectivity of the Internet should grow very fast,” Zhang told PhysOrg.

“Here we show that the maximal degree (connectivity number) as well as the size of the central part is relatively stable, and the explosion is mainly contributed by the periphery. These findings indicate a completely different picture against the previous works, and can be considered as important criteria for modeling the Internet,” he added, noting that the research proved the fact that the core and the marginal regions of the Internet evolve using different mechanisms, which naturally implies different speeds


Source: Softpedia

Verizon Wireless launches Internet phone



Verizon is readying a new product that will marry its wireless phone service with an Internet home phone that uses a broadband network to make calls.

The new phone system, called Verizon Hub, connects to any broadband line to provide home phone service using the Internet. It integrates with Verizon Wireless service so that customers can send and receive SMS text messages directly from their home phone and use location-based services, like Chaperone and VZ Navigator. It also provides additional Web-based services, such as an online calendar and a contact list that syncs with Microsoft Outlook.

The service is designed to give families or multiple people living in a household an alternative to the traditional copper based phone system.

The Hub will go on sale at Verizon retail stores February 1. It costs $199 after a $50 rebate. Customers must sign up for a two-year contract with a monthly charge of $34.99. The monthly service charge includes unlimited local and long distance calling in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. The service is only offered to Verizon Wireless customers, and the integrated cell phone service only works with Verizon Wireless phones. The Verizon Hub is considered to be a part of Verizon Wireless in-calling plans, so Verizon Wireless subscribers can send unlimited text messages to the Hub and calls made to the Hub phone aren't counted as part of their anytime minute usage.

The product itself consists of a cordless handset that sits in a docking station that has a 7-inch touch screen display. From this touch screen, users can access several Internet widgets for news, sports, and traffic information. It's also where users can manage their calendars and send and receive text messages from Verizon Wireless phones. The service is integrated with Verizon's location services. For example, users can look up nearby movie theaters, purchase tickets, and get directions right from the Hub. These directions can then be forwarded directly to a Verizon Wireless phone via an SMS message.

"The purpose of the Hub is to deliver specific content to help our customers manage through their day," said Mike Willsey, marketing director for Verizon Wireless. "And it doesn't require them to turn on their computer or fire up a browser to access the information they want. It's always on."

Additional "satellite" cordless handsets will be available when the Hub launches next month. Pricing for additional cordless handsets hasn't been announced yet. But Willsey said they will likely be sold as part of a bundle.

Bad news for Vonage?
The service that Verizon is offering is very similar to services offered by other voice over IP providers, such as Vonage, which Verizon sued in 2006 for infringing on its technology patents. The companies eventually settled the legal dispute after a long court battle. And Vonage was forced to pay $120 million to Verizon.

Both services offer phone service over a broadband connection rather than the traditional phone network. This means if the broadband connection is disrupted or the power goes out, so does the home phone service. Both services also offer E911 service. Like the Verizon Hub, Vonage also offers many Web-based calling features that can be managed from a computer.

The main difference between the two services is that the Verizon Hub also offers integration with cell phone services, and the Web services can also be managed from the Hub, instead of just from a computer.

But Verizon representatives say they aren't trying to compete against Vonage or any other voice over IP service. Instead, they're trying to offer their wireless customers an alternative to home phone service while also providing added features and benefits.

"We are really targeting people who are cutting their traditional landlines," Willsey said. "People are spending between $50 and $60 a month on that service. And we see wireless and voice over IP as an economical alternative that also offers more features and more flexibility."

Indeed, the Verizon Wireless Hub plan is cheaper than a comparable calling plan from Verizon Communications, a parent company of Verizon Wireless. Verizon charges $40 to $50 a month for unlimited local and long distance calling in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico for its traditional phone service. And without an extra international calling plan, a call to the U.K is $2.89 a minute from a Verizon landline.

That said, the Verizon Hub service is still more expensive than Vonage's Internet calling service. Vonage charges $24.99 a month for unlimited local and long distance calling within the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico as well as to five countries in Europe.

By contrast, the Verizon Hub service is $10 more a month, and the company charges wireless rates for its international calls. So while a Vonage user can call any landline phone in the U.K. for free as part of the $25 a month service fee, a Verizon Hub user would have to spend $1.49 per minute to make the same call.

But the real kicker is that users must dish out $200 for the Verizon Hub hardware, whereas Vonage provides its wireless equipment as part of the service and allows people to use existing phones.

And Vonage isn't the only VoIP service on the market. There are already several cheap calling alternatives available today. Other cell phone operators are also offering VoIP services. T-Mobile offers a home phone replacement service called Hotspot @Home Talk Forever that allows its wireless customers to add a Voice over IP service for $9.99 a month.

With the U.S. in its deepest recession in a lifetime, I'm skeptical that consumers will be looking to make the additional hardware investment and pay more per month for a service that they can get much cheaper from other providers. But Verizon is confident that consumers will find its service appealing even in tough economic times.

"We think customers will find a ton of value in this product because it offers so much more," Willsey said. "So we think this is the perfect time to launch this product."

Source: CNET

Free Microsoft Tool Adapts Content to the WorldWide Telescope


The WorldWide Telescope Academic Development Kit January 2009 release is a project from Microsoft Research designed to catalyze the production and integration of a higher volume of content into WorldWide Telescope. Available as a free download, the kit is set up to permit the conversion of astronomical content (be it digital images or information) into a format that can play nice with the WorldWide Telescope. In this regard, Microsoft has bundled a total of two tools into the WorldWide Telescope Academic Development Kit January 2009 release, namely the WWT SphereToaster Tool and the WWT StudyChopper Tool.
“The WWT SphereToaster Tool enables users to provide images in an equirectangular format that covers all or part of the inside or outside of a sphere,” Dan Fay, director, Technical Computing North America, revealed. “This includes, for example, cylindrical projections of panoramas and all-sky surveys. SphereToaster converts these to a different projection system—the TOAST system, currently unique to WWT—and then stores an image pyramid of the resulting TOAST-projected image. The tool also produces thumbnails and WTML files.”

Astronomical images, panoramas, sky surveys, and planetary textures can all be converted with the kit to the native format of the WorldWide Telescope, and shared via Microsoft's telescope on the desktop. In this regard, Microsoft indicated that WTML files (XML files in the WWT format) were capable of keeping track of various information including metadata, while connecting to digital pictures via the Internet. At the start of this year, Microsoft took the WorldWide telescope one step further. The evolution was synonymous with the introduction of the WorldWide Telescope Solstice Borealis Beta version 2.2.41.1.

“The WWT StudyChopper Tool enables users to provide photographs of small parts of the sky, such as a high-resolution image of the Crab Nebula, and enter appropriate coordinate information and metadata,” Fay added. “It creates image pyramids of the photographs, thumbnails, and WTML files. Once the output image pyramids and thumbnails are hosted by the user's servers and the WTML files are made available to others, anyone with access to the WTML files will be able to browse the images in WWT.”

The WorldWide Telescope Academic Development Kit January 2009 release is available for download here

Source: Softpedia

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