Say hello to the new Area-51 m15x from Alienware. Tagged for mixing their legendary performance with impressive mobility, it is a 15.4 gaming laptop that when configured properly can knock close to $5,000. When we first got wind of this machine, we were worried that Dell's conservative take to design would dilute the futuristic flash and style that Alienware has been known to supply. In true LaptopLogic form read on to find out if looks and performance match our intuition

Design

Silver and only silver, thats the fist thing youll notice with the m15x. The case wasn't something that impressed us much and given Alienware's reputation for edgy design (almost Giger-esque), we found the silver lid with obligatory blue-eyed alien head to be, well...boring. Having reviewed Alienware machines in the past, we were always fond of their blue exterior option. This new lid is a silver panel, with a seam starting from the bottom to two-thirds up the lid, where it's broken by the ambiguous alien head. Granted, the texture and quality of the material used was spot on babys behind smooth, but also too plain for what were used to.

One notable negative to the build-quality of the m15x was the creaks and groans. Let's just say James Bond wouldn't use this laptop if he was hiding in the rafters. Just moving the lid, even before the lids angle is adjusted, emits a creaky staircase noise (think 40s horror flick sound). What makes the matter worse, is it doesn't make much difference where you grip the lid. However, we have a theory behind the creakswe're attributing this to the LED lighting built into the rim of the lid. Being somewhat boring on the exterior, Alienware opted to deliver an attractive blue border to their monitor, although the extra parts means more chances for frictionand more friction means more noise.

Keyboard
The 86-key keyboard has a pleasant blue LED area of light that surrounds each key and features excellent feel while keeping perfect key travel and ample space for large hands. However, flex was an issue (although isolated). We noticed a fair amount of keyboard flex, but only to the dead center of the keyboard, which only significantly affected half-dozen keys or so.

Display

The display was astounding with a native resolution at 1920x1200, and being a 15.4" WUXGA display was plenty enough pixels per inch. Although we did notice the monitor seemed to produce a softer image than most displays at this resolution. However, this may be a better thing because it made it easier to stare at the screen for longer periods of time.

Size & Weight
The whole kit will take up approximately 14.55" x 10.73, and weighs in at around seven pounds. Compare this to the HP Pavilion DV6700t series, which is slightly smaller (14.05" x 10.12") and weighs around 6.12 pounds.

The weight, however, can differ slightly depending on what drive you're placing in the Smart Bay. Youre choices can range from a 2x Blu-ray Disc Burner, secondary 300 GB hard drive, or an extra Li-Ion battery. One thing we definitely like about the m15x is that all 3 of these devices are hot-swappable and can be completely changed in around 10 seconds or so.

Connectivity

Alienware did an excellent job supplying connections for the m15x. It carries the latest internal Intel a/b/g/n wireless card, which is something we feel is a requirement given the machines price.

The left side supplies the power jack, a Gigabit Ethernet port, two USB 2.0 ports, connections for both headphones and microphone, and the hot swappable Smart bay.

The right side provides Firewire B, USB, and HDMI, as well as an ExpressCard and 7-in-1 media card reader.

The front houses a single IR port no more, no lessok, more drab silver color but thats just our disappointment talking a little more.

Heat, Noise, Upgrading
Even though this machine screams at the performance and price tag level, we're glad to note that while the fan noise of the m15x is audible, it doesnt scream at you (thankfully). The heat generated by the laptop is only uncomfortable under the area to the right of the palmrest. It does get warm after hours of use, although it's within expected limits, especially with a 8800m GTX and Core2Extreme CPU under there.

Alienware gives you plenty of manufacturer options for upgrading the m15x, and luckily your base Alienware can be configured for quite less than ours. So you do have a few options - our unit came maxed out with 4 GB of DDR2 RAM running at 667 MHz, and that's the most you can get out of both Dual-Channel slots.

Features, Performance and Conclusion

The glorious gloat power this machine carries is the huff and puff power behind the monitor which is an awesome NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX video card carrying a generous 512 MB of discrete memory. Yes, this card has mega-performance, and yes, it does have the ability to really suck your battery dry like a cold lemonade on a hot summer day. However, Alienware thought of this and included a feature called BinaryGFX which can enable video to run off of integrated memory only really saving you some battery time on those long business journeys. Enabling this feature however, requires a system restart, but the benefits are definitely worth it.

Another option you can opt for is a Media Center remote control, allows you to watch Blu-ray movies or connect an HDTV tuner and control via the IR port in the front.

The AlienFX technology (available through the Command Center) allows you to change the color of the lid border, keyboard, touchpad border, and all associated lights depending on what program you're running. Not in the mood for alien blue? Ready to heat up the night and kick it to red light district? Lucky you, you can with this feature, and this may make it easier to find your m15x in dark rooms. We give it a nod for interesting technology, although we'd trade it in a heartbeat for a weight reduction and better component fit.

Other neat extras include alien writing on the bottom of the laptop, complete with an aluminum nameplate with the name of the purchaser. This would be an excellent idea to establish ownershipnow if only the nameplate wasn't affixed by four easy-to-remove screws wed be sold like true stockholders.

Stealth power management is a feature that may encourage you to purchase the system even if the price tag and drab silver didnt. The m15x running at normal sucks 70 watts of power which is a lot of power for a notebook. But, with just a click of a mouse button, you enable Stealth and use BinaryGFX to move to integrated graphics, thus cutting that power usage to a mere 30 watts. Stealth also throttles the 2.8 GHz Core2Xtreme back a bit, and in return you get a much improved lifespan.

Webcam and Mic Array

Hooray for something better than a 1.3mp LCD webcam. The webcam on the m15x is a 2.0 MegaPixel webcam mounted above the LCD, and even though the overall image quality was good, it lacked the ability to manually reposition itself, a feature that much lower end / cheaper laptops include. For many this isn't a significant deterrent, but it's worth mentioning and Ive always hurrahed to see a step up from the ubiquitous 1.3 MP webcam technology to the clearer 2.0 MP. How often you use these things, is up to you however.

Performance

Since this is the first laptop to actually RUN 3dMark Vantage, we have no comparison for it yet...so we'll just give you the P number and let you decide from there.

Following just shy of our M70sa we just reviewed, although, that is a 17" model and carried 1GB of Video Ram. Interesting to note however that this carries the "extreme" processor and highly famed "8800m"...it should have probably gotten a better score.

Ok, it has spanked just about everything we have reviewed as of late, good job Alienware!

Conclusion

There's plenty of love for this version of Alienware, its size factor and perfect blend of power and mobility will appeal to many. Pairing the lightning-fast Core2Duo Xtreme processor with a speedy 512 MB 8800m GTX video card and 4 GB of RAM - it makes for a very quick, very satisfying laptop experience, which is often reserved for larger notebooks, or even mid-range desktops.

However, the base point starts at $1,799, and like Mt Everest can climb to unreachable heights for many consumers, nearing our model price at $4,808.00. Granted our m15x came with all the extras, like a seconday hard drive, Blu-ray disc burner, and an extra battery. We love the addition of an HDMI port, and we think its a great idea to connect your laptop to your home theater, an option that's a little tougher to find in the competition, and were guessing you have plenty of fun toys to connect that HDMI port if you can buy this laptop. Simply stated, If you're in the market for a high-class gaming laptop, have the money to spend, and love the new Alienware design, this is an excellent purchase.
Source:http://laptoplogic.com

IN a world with grocery store television screens, digitally delivered movie libraries and cellphone video clips, the average American is exposed to 61 minutes of TV ads and promotions a day.

Some people may think that amount seems excessive. But “people don’t seem to be getting up and running away,” said Jack Wakshlag, chief research officer at Turner Broadcasting.

In fact, adults are exposed to screens — TVs, cellphones, even G.P.S. devices — for about 8.5 hours on any given day, according to a study released by the Council for Research Excellence on Thursday. TV remains the dominant medium for media consumption and advertising, the study found. The data suggests that computer usage has supplanted radio as the second most common media activity. (Print ranks fourth.)

The council was created by the Nielsen Company but has an independent board. The $3.5 million study, paid for by Nielsen, sought, in part, to determine whether media companies needed to address new forms of media measurement.

Researchers at Ball State University’s Center for Media Design, who conducted the study for the council, say it is the largest observational look at media usage ever conducted. Rather than relying on what people remembered watching, researchers captured the actions in real time by shadowing 350 subjects — most of whom were former members of the Nielsen television ratings panel — and recording each person’s behavior in 10-second increments. The researchers say they recorded 952 days of behavior. People under 18 were not included in the study.

The results of the video consumer study may intrigue advertising clients ahead of the upfront season for ad sales. The researchers found that the number of minutes with media is almost identical for every age group. Mr. Wakshlag called the amount of time “amazingly consistent across the age groups.” Except, that is, for 45-to-54-year-olds, who spend on average an extra hour in front of screens each day, the study found.

“It flies in the face of conventional wisdom, of course, which tells us that the younger cohorts apparently spend more time with screen-based media,” said Michael Bloxham, a director of the center at Ball State.

Among other surprises, the research found that young people aren’t the only ones dividing their attention among multiple screens and machines; people in their 20s, 30s, 40s and early 50s essentially multitask for the same amount of time. People over 55 are markedly less likely to be multitasking. “That’s where the generation gap, if there is one, may exist,” Mr. Bloxham said.

Although the researchers emphasized that the study did not set out to prove any specific points about media consumption, much of the data is “actually quite comforting” for the television industry, Mr. Wakshlag said. The data reaffirms much of what Nielsen has found in past studies, namely that television remains by far the dominant medium for video viewing. The Ball State study found that the average American adult was exposed to five hours and nine minutes of live TV each day, almost 15 minutes of TV via a DVR device and 2.4 minutes of video on the computer.

“Even though people have the opportunity to watch video on their computers and cellphones, TV accounts for 99 percent of all video consumed in 2008,” Mr. Bloxham said. “Even among the 18-to-24-year-olds, it was 98 percent.”

Among younger audiences, there are some leading indicators that the Web is affecting media usage. The data shows that 18-to-24-year-olds — generally college students and new entrants into the work force — watch the smallest amount of live TV of any age group (three and a half hours a day), spend the most time text messaging (29 minutes a day) and watch the most online video (5.5 minutes a day).

Slightly older viewers, those ages 25 to 34, spend the most time of any group watching DVD or VCR videos. People ages 35 to 44 spend more time on the Web than other groups, 74 minutes a day on average. The next demographic, 45 to 54 years old, spends the most time on e-mail. Consumers over the age of 65 watch the most live TV, according to the research.

The researchers found that television and video games attract the most undivided attention, while other actions (like listening to music) often occur while people are doing other things.

More than 30 percent of households now own digital video recorders, allowing them to time-shift their viewing and potentially fast-forward past advertisements. The study found that the average American watches almost 15 minutes of TV using a DVR each day.

Mr. Wakshlag said that newer owners of DVRs “are using them for less time-shifted viewing than the ones who bought them a while back.” Mr. Bloxham noted that more people were receiving DVRs as part of a cable company upgrade, instead of buying them on their own.

While the study’s findings mostly align with the ratings that Nielsen and other companies report on a daily and monthly basis, the researchers did find that people remembered watching less TV than they actually did.

When subjects in the study were asked to recall their behaviors, “people underestimated the amount of time they spent with TV by a substantial amount,” about 25 percent on average, Mr. Wakshlag said. The same people tended to overestimate their use of other media.

For some people, there is a “social stigma” attached to high levels of TV watching, Mr. Bloxham said. When some people are asked to estimate their TV viewing, he said, some of them may not “want to tell you five or six hours, because that may slip into the couch potato category,” he said. For others, he said, “there is no stigma because being able to talk about last night’s reality show or last night’s ball game is social currency.”
Source:http://www.nytimes.com

With its lingering debt problems resolved for now, Blockbuster is pinning some of its hopes on a digital future.

The struggling video rental chain will announce a partnership with TiVo on Wednesday to deliver Blockbuster’s digital movie library over the Internet directly to the televisions of people with TiVo digital video recorders.

As with similar deals TiVo has struck to make digital video services from Amazon and Netflix accessible from its set-top boxes, no money will change hands between the companies. But Blockbuster also said it would sell TiVos at many of its 4,000 stores in the United States, taking a typical retailer’s cut of sales. The two companies plan a joint marketing campaign to promote the new service, which will start in the second half of the year.

“We are excited to be teaming with TiVo, the company that created the DVR, to make Blockbuster’s entertainment content readily available to their millions of subscribers,” Jim Keyes, chief executive of Blockbuster, said in a statement. “Ultimately, our vision is to work with TiVo so that their subscribers can access movies not only through our On Demand service but also from our stores and through our by-mail service as well.”

Blockbuster On Demand will be accessible only to the approximately 800,000 TiVo owners who have broadband Internet connected directly to their TiVo boxes.

Joe Miller, a TiVo senior vice president, said that adding another recognized entertainment brand would help the company sell more devices. “Typically you will find consumers reward and appreciate companies and technologies that take an open approach to business, and that is what we are doing here,” he said.

The company’s nemesis, Netflix, whose popular DVD-by-mail service has damaged Blockbuster’s core business, makes about 12,000 film and television programs available on the Web free to most of its subscribers. But those are often titles that are several years old.

Blockbuster will offer a smaller selection of about 5,000 to 10,000 titles at any one time, mostly newer releases like “The Dark Knight” that will typically cost $3.99 to watch over a 24-hour period. The company already offers online rentals through the Movielink service it bought from a group of studios in 2007.

Kevin Lewis, the senior vice president for digital at Blockbuster, said the deal with TiVo would be the first of many it would announce with major consumer electronics companies.

The company appears to have time to forge those deals. It said last week that it had reached agreements with two of its largest lenders to extend its revolving credit line through September 2010.

Source:http://www.nytimes.com

The laundry basket of the future

The Electrolux Design Lab is showing off its Futuristic Appliances at the forthcoming Grand Designs show, including this rather intriguing iBasket.

At first glance, it looks like a high-end laundry basket. And you'd be right thinking that, except this particular basket also cleans your clothes. No water required, just fill it up and let the 'built-in air refresh system' take away that smell of hard graft (or last night's curry). And when your washing is ready, this Wi-Fi device will send you an instant message asking you politely to empty it. If you're out in the flying car, you can always get the robot butler to do that bit for you.

Designed by Guopeng Liang of Tongji University, China, the machine is aimed at both the 'internet generation' who are 'too busy working for their dreams' along with 'live-alone students and young white-collars'. Essentially, people who can't be bothered doing the laundry. It's just a shame there's no sign of this going into production as yet.

But let's not give up hope. Unlike the majority of madcap ideas you see at trade shows, this is one that's well within the realms of possibility. If it could warm a pizza, keep a beer cold and make a cup of tea in the morning too, the iBasket could be gadget perfection.

Source:http://www.t3.com

New SDK, Over 100 New Features and 1,000APIs; Finally support for MMS, Copy & paste!

Apple today previewed the iPhone 3.0 software and announced the immediate availability of its Developer Beta to registered developers.

The 3.0 release is a major upgrade in more ways than one. The updated Software Development Kit (SDK) includes over 1,000 new APIs including In-App Purchases; Peer-to-Peer connections; an app interface for accessories; access to the iPod music library; a new Maps API and Push Notifications. Apple also announced over 100 new features that will be available to iPhone and iPod touch users this summer including cut, copy and paste; MMS; landscape view for Mail, Text and Notes; stereo Bluetooth; syncing Notes to the Mac and PC; shake to shuffle; parental controls for TV shows, movies and apps from the App Store; and automatic login at Wi-Fi hot spots. The iPhone OS 3.0 beta release will also include a new Voice Memo app and expanded search capability for all key iPhone apps, as well as Spotlight search across the iPhone or iPod touch.

In-App Purchases will allow developers to offer subscription content and provide the ability to sell new content and features. Developers can also more easily create peer-to-peer games for iPhone and iPod touch by using Bluetooth.

The iPhone 3.0 software includes Push notification service, offers apps the ability to interface with hardware accessories and brings Google Maps integration (to make turn-by-turn navigation possible... finally!).

A few other miscellaneous updates. The iPhone 3.0 OS will bring a new homescreen with Spotlight search. A flick to the left from the first screen of apps will bring this up. Second-generation iPod touch can have its Bluetooth capability unlocked with iPhone 3.0 software to make use of Stereo A2DP, peer-to-peer connections and wireless accessory control. On the Apple apps front - a new Voice Memos app, revised Stocks app, Landscape view for Mail, Text & Notes, search functionality on all major apps,YouTube account support, Form auto-fill and Phishing protection will be introduced.

The App Store will soon be available in 77 countries. Developers set the price for their applications and retain 70 percent of all sales revenue.

Pricing & Availability:

The iPhone OS 3.0 beta software & SDK is now available to registered developers. iPhone users will be able to download iPhone OS 3.0 software for FREE this summer and iPod touch customers will have to pay $9.95 for the software update.

Source:http://laptoplogic.com

Wearing what looks like a coat of Native American war paint, here is a cladding-free, running prototype of the next-generation Mazda 3, a car that has garnered nearly as much praise as the mighty little BMW that goes by the same name.

The redesign is thorough, if not radical. Like the all-new Mazda 6, the new 3 is expected to grow a bit in key dimensions, something we’d have verified if the darn car had slowed down enough for our helpful spy to whip out his tape measure. The front end is very different, with detailed, Mazda 6–like ellipsoid headlamps and a low-mounted grille. The bodysides, window line, and rear end are similar to the current car, save the more organically shaped taillamps and new dual exhaust tips.

We imagine we’re looking at the equivalent of today’s top-of-the-line “s” trim, as this car has upscale details like turn signals on the mirror caps, fog lamps, a rear spoiler, and LED taillamps. We expect the new car to be more aerodynamic than before and to perhaps shed some weight, and hope that translates into better fuel efficiency. We also expect the powertrain lineup to include the revised 2.5-liter four-cylinder (170 horsepower) as well as a new 1.6-liter rotary engine, details of which could be released as soon as this fall’s L.A. auto show.

What we don’t see here is any shred of influence from Mazda’s recent batch of frivolous, trees-and-dew-inspired concept cars that we’d hoped might bear fruit, so to speak, in the form of unique forms and game-changing styling details. Sigh.

Hopefully what won’t change are the 3’s excellent driving characteristics, since we find ourselves somewhat disappointed by the softer dynamics of the new 6.

Production of the new hatchback, at least preproduction models, should be underway by the end of the year for launch early in 2009.

Source:http://www.caranddriver.com

Great Lotus concept car just freshly released its first set of pictures. The above image shows its amazing model which designed by Idries Noah’s. It is called 2010 Europa i6 at the moment, the Lotus new-concept car is fully inspired from the classic Lotus cars, Europa and Elite as well. It can be seen the features from the previous design, however it has its own characteristic.

Further more, it is supposed to be a rear wheel drive car powered by a 2.0L in line 6, both supercharger and inter-cooler. Which can be predicted that the Lotus Europa i6 would hit a top speed of 165 mph and speed up from 0 to 60 mph in no more than 7 seconds. It would be happy to see that Lotus is getting inspiration from this Lotus Europa i6! We will have more news coming on and keep you refresh.
Source:http://carzpage.com

An international team of scientists is developing what they say will be the world's first microrobot -- as wide as two human hairs -- that can swim through the arteries and digestive system.

The scientists are designing the 250-micron device to transmit images and deliver microscopic payloads to parts of the body outside the reach of existing catheter technology.

It will also perform minimally invasive microsurgeries, said James Friend of the Micro/Nanophysics Research Laboratory at Australia's Monash University, who leads the team. The researchers hope the device will reduce the risks normally associated with delicate surgical procedures.

While others have tried and failed to create microrobots for arterial travel, Friend believes his team will succeed because they are the first to exploit piezoelectric materials -- crystals that create an electric charge when mechanically stressed -- in their micromotor design.

"People have tried various techniques, including electromagnetic motors," Friend said. "But at this scale, electromagnetic motors become impractical because the magnetic fields become so weak. No one has taken the trouble to build piezoelectric motors at the same scales, for this kind of application."

Funded by the Australian Research Council, Friend's team is tweaking larger versions of the device, and expects to have a working prototype later this year and a completed version by 2009.

The scientists say stroke, embolism and vascular-disease patients should be the first to benefit from the new technology.

The tiny robot, small enough to pass through the heart and other organs, will be inserted using a syringe. Guided by remote control, it will swim to a site within the body to perform a series of tasks, then return to the point of entry where it can be extracted, again by syringe.

For example, the microrobot might deliver a payload of expandable glue to the site of a damaged cranial artery -- a procedure typically fraught with risk because posterior human brain arteries lay behind a complicated set of bends at the base of the skull beyond the reach of all but the most flexible catheters. There's a high risk of puncturing one of these arteries, which almost always results in the death of the patient.

Other regions of the body are completely outside the reach of current technology, including congenital arteriovenous malformations, or AVMs, which recently afflicted South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson.

The microrobot's design is based on the E. coli bacterium, complete with flagella that will propel it through the body. Scientists will make the flagella out of human hair in the preliminary research stages, and eventually they want to try using Kevlar.

The theory behind the microrobot's propulsion system is modeled after turbine and helicopter blades, Friend said.

"In and of itself, the idea is not especially new, but it has always fallen down around the propulsion system," he said.

The piezoelectric materials vibrate a twisted microstructure inside the robot at ultrasonic frequencies. When the twisted structure is compressed against the rotor, it untwists and the rotor turns. As the compression is released, the twisted structure unwinds back to its original shape, while the rotor slides.

Working with the flagella, the tiny propulsion system creates enough power to carry the device through the viscous, fluid environment inside the human body, Friend said.

Friend's lab has developed larger prototype motors about the size of a grain of sand, shown in this video.

Even the most sophisticated motor can break down, and then what?

"It is indeed something we're concerned about," Friend said. That's why the scientists plan to swim the robot against the current of the blood, so if it loses power it will return to the point of entry. And for the riskiest procedures, the robot could be tethered by a microcatheter, he said.

Israeli scientists announced last October that they were developing a microrobot that could travel through the spinal canal. But going into the arteries is a much more challenging proposition, according to Moshe Shoham, who led the Israeli team.

"The spinal canal is a little bit bigger, and there isn't the high flow that you have in the bloodstream, so the power that you need for the propulsion is smaller," said Shoham.

"The idea to have a swimming device that uses tails for propulsion is very good because with such small dimensions swimming like a fish cannot work," Shoham said. "It would be a revolution if we could have some device that could go inside the human body's arteries, and either send out images or perform some kind of therapeutic action."

One can easily imagine the device being used for ill. Imagine the bot rigged with an RFID tag embedded in a part of the body, the brain perhaps, where retrieving the tag would kill the recipient.

"I think the use of this sort of technology is like any other technology in the sense that it is subject to the desires, for better or worse, of the people with the ability to make use of it," Friend said. "In light of human history I wouldn't be surprised to see the entire gambit from dystopia to utopia played out in miniature here. Even so, I remain optimistic."

Source:http://www.wired.com

INVEST €10 million in a robotic octopus and you will be able to search the seabed with the same dexterity as the real eight-legged cephalopod. At least that's the plan, say those who are attempting to build a robot with arms that work in the same way that octopuses tentacles do. Having no solid skeleton, it will be the world's first entirely soft robot.

The trouble with today's remote-controlled subs, says Cecilia Laschi of the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa, is that their large hulls and clunky robot arms cannot reach into the nooks and crannies of coral reefs or the rock formations on ocean floors. That means they are unable to photograph objects in these places or pick up samples for analysis. And that's a major drawback for oceanographers hunting for signs of climate change in the oceans and on coral reefs.

Because an octopus's tentacles can bend in all directions and quickly thin and elongate to almost twice their length, they can reach, grasp and manipulate objects in tiny spaces with extraordinary dexterity.

"So we are replicating the muscular structure of an octopus by making a robot with no rigid structure - and that is completely new to robotics," she says.

The team will have its work cut out. The octopus has evolved a beguilingly manoeuvrable muscle architecture. Each tentacle has four independent muscles running along its length. These longitudinal muscles are separated by transverse muscles which span the width of the limb with an axial controlling nerve that passes through its centre.

This arrangement keeps the tentacle's volume constant, so when it extends a limb by elongating the longitudinal muscles and contracting the transverse ones, it also becomes narrower.

The nearest engineers have come to mimicking this before is with a snake-like tentacle whose segments inflate with compressed air. But while this machine could move well, it did not become narrower when stretched - nor could it work underwater because of the buoyancy of air.

So Laschi and colleagues in the UK, Switzerland, Turkey, Greece and Israel are testing artificial muscle technologies that will more accurately mimic tentacles (Biomimetics and Bioinspiration, DOI: 10.1088/1748-3182/4/1/015006). The team plans to mimic the longitudinal muscles with soft silicone rubber interspersed with a type of electroactive polymer (EAP) called a dielectric elastomer. Apply an electric field to this material and it squeezes the silicone, making it shorter (see diagram).

While Laschi has high hopes for the robot, others are more sceptical. Claire Little, a cephalopod expert at Weymouth Sealife Centre in Dorset, UK, thinks the researchers have underestimated the magnitude of the task. "Don't they realise how flexible an octopus is? They can squeeze through the smallest of holes. This plan sounds a bit crazy," she says.

But Laschi is undeterred. The team has yet to build a tentacle but have built a mechanical simulator that mimics the forces that the EAPs produce. This has proved that the peculiar motions of an octopus tentacle can be copied, she says.

Source:http://www.newscientist.com

With the latest portable PCs, working on the move has never been easier, but laptops are still slaves to the National Grid.

You can do practically anything on a modern laptop, but their advanced features drain battery life to the extent that you can only get a couple of hours out of your laptop before it turns up its toes.

While battery life is a chief cause of mobile moans, it's possible to get significant improvements by simple good practice and a few software tweaks. To help you get the most from your laptop battery, here are seven easy ways to make it last longer.

1. Dim your screen

The screen is one of the most power-hungry parts of the laptop. It takes serious amounts of battery power to keep your display looking clear and bright. Saving this power is simply a question of turning the brightness down. The screen brightness button is usually located as a second function of one of the F keys, and is represented by a little sun symbol with up and down icons. To use it, just hold down the correct function key and then choose up or down.

2. Change power settings

Windows Vista comes with some great power features, which enable you to eke out the best performance when you're plugged into the mains, and optimise battery life when on the move. Type power options into the Start Search box and choose Power saver from the list. The Windows Mobility Center has more methods for saving battery life. These include settings for powering off the monitor and kicking into sleep mode more quickly.

3. Switch off Wi-Fi

One of the biggest battery sappers is the wireless networking capabilities built into most laptops. Wi-Fi drains the battery by constantly drawing power from the battery and, when not connected, looking for networks. When you're using your laptop away from the grid, the likelihood is you're away from wireless networks, so you can turn this device off. Many laptops have a function button that enables you to turn off the wireless adaptor manually to save yourself the unnecessary waste, but older laptops often don't have this. If this is the case, just go to the Control Panel, access the Network Connections menu and disable your wireless connection manually.

4. Turn off peripherals

Using USB peripherals can put a big drain on your system, because your motherboard has to power them, so unplugging everything saves juice. USB sticks, mice and webcams are common offenders, so copy all your information across and eject your devices as soon as possible, and put up with laptop track pads over your USB mouse. Many laptops have function buttons to turn off the built-in webcam, which drains the battery if given the chance.

5. Eject your disc drives

Having a disc spinning in the drive is a huge drain on resources, and many programs constantly do this. Simply eject your discs before you switch to battery power to gain vital extra minutes from your working day.

6. Invest in some hardware

Good practice can go some way to extending your battery life, but if you need to use your laptop throughout your working day, you're going to need some help. Most laptops come with a six-cell battery, but many manufacturers offer eight- or even 12-cell optional upgrades, which can double your power. The alternative to expensive laptop batteries are products such as the Philips Portable Power Pack, which gives you valuable extra hours for all your devices. The Philips is a compact battery unit that has adaptors for most laptops and mobile phones, which is portable enough to be placed in a bag and has enough capacity to double the length of your charge.

7. Disable features

Windows Vista has some handy built-in features, but many put demands on your system that are unnecessary when working on the move. Take the simple measure of turning off Windows Aero and the Windows Sidebar when you're on the move to make your laptop more efficient.

Source:http://www.techradar.com

Exciting Future Of Automobiles

New technologies will improve fuel efficiency, increase safety, aid navigation and repair.

Bend Bohn, of the German auto components company, Robert Bosch Corporation, recently predicted that internal combustion engines will continue to dominate the automotive market well into the 21st Century. Automotive manufacturers have invested considerable time and effort in attempt to improve fuel efficiency in these engines, and they have been successful. In fact the U.S.A. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), estimates engines have become 30 percent more fuel-efficient over the past 15 years than previously. However the gains have been offset by the introduction of increasingly bigger and more powerful engines. The average engine in the present industry is 63 percent more powerful than 20 years ago.

John Heywood, Director of the Sloan Automotive Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, estimates new technology will reduce fuel consumption by a third by 2020 and a half by 2030. Gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles and modern diesel engines are significantly more fuel efficient than their gasoline counterparts, but new technology in gasoline engines is also expected to reduce fuel consumption.

Next year, General Motors will begin introducing “displacement on demand” technology in their engines, reducing fuel consumption by eight percent by using only half their cylinders during most normal driving. GM predicts another 7 to 11 percent in fuel savings can be achieved through use of continuously variable automatic transmissions.

More advanced variable valve controls, already in the works at BMW, are expected to further increase fuel savings, while Bosch has recently developed it Direct-Start system. The system allows the engine to shut off while idling, but it instantly restarts as soon as the driver touches the gas pedal, igniting the combustion mixture in the fuel injections system without engaging the starter motor. Bosch predicts fuel savings of 5 percent with the Direct-Start system.

New and exciting automotive technology goes far beyond fuel economy improvements. “’I’ve been involved [with auto research] for more than 30 years, and there’s more action and more promise for improvement now than I’ve ever seen,” says Heywood.

New technology expected to hit the marketplace within the next decade:

1) Active safety systems will include radar and cameras that watch for danger. “We’ve put airbags just about every place you can.” Says Toyota Product-planning Manager, John Weiner, “Within the next five years the car will use algorithms to anticipate hazards and intervene or warn the driver.

2) Keyless entry has already been implemented on certain Cadillac, Infinity and BMW models and will be introduced to approximately 40 different vehicles in the next three years. Credit card style systems will replace car keys.

3) Navigation systems such as computer-like screens on the dash, displaying navigation systems that employ global positioning satellite and onboard DVD’s to provide the driver with distractions, maps, and information on businesses such as hotels, hospitals and restaurants. The video screens will also have the capability to connect to PDA’s and cellular phones.

4) Wi-Fi hook-ups in almost every vehicle will provide weather, news, and other information. “We’re going to see hot spots in places like gas stations and restaurants,” says Peter Wengert, marketing manager for automotive products at Microsoft.

5) Data collection will give vehicles the capability to collect pertinent data that can be shared with dealers, manufacturers, and other vehicles helping service personnel perform remote diagnostics and help troubleshoot for a broken down motorist.

6) Onboard cameras will help detect blind spots, while helping parents watch their kids. Many recreational vehicles already have this technology at the rear and in front to “see” around corners.

7) 40 Volt Electrical Systems will become standard to accommodate the many new electric devices.

8) Voice commands are already in certain BMW’s, Jaguar and Lexus models and will become common and necessary in order to operate the various functions in cars.

9) Electronic pedals already in use in Mercedes, Chevy Corvette and all recent Audi vehicles, brake-by-wire and accelerate by wire pedals send an electronic signal rather than activating a physical connection to the engine and brakes. Emergency brake handles will also be replaced by electronic controls.

10) Programmable vehicles will let you use electronics to express your choice of vehicle you wish to drive, says Stanford professor of mechanical engineering Chris Gerdes. “You can have it be as sporty or luxurious, as you choose.” Drivers of the new Audi A8, for example can change the car’s ride by raising and lowering road clearance.

Submitted by: Amsoil Inc. Dealer Rudy Hiebert
www.lubedealer.com/hiebert

Content Source: Amsoil Inc’s Direct Line, November 15, 2003 by permission.

About the Author
Rudy Hiebert has been a Dealer with Amsoil Inc. for more than fourteen years. After application of the Internet to his marketing strategy, business activity has paralled the ballooning revenue of the corporation, which has been double digets. People are using and selling Amsoil 's synthetic lubricants all over North America with the help of Abbotford's Amsoil Dealer, Rudy Hiebert. His web site is www.lubedealer.com/hiebert where more Amsoil information can be accessed.

Last week General Motors (GM) unveiled a hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered version of its Chevrolet Volt concept, a family of electric cars that get a portion of their energy from being plugged into the electrical grid. The first version, announced in January, married plug-in electric drive to a gasoline or ethanol generator that can recharge the battery.

But swapping out the generator for a fuel cell may be a step backward. That is in part because producing the hydrogen needed to power the fuel-cell version could increase rather than decrease energy demand, and it may not make sense economically.

"The possibility that this vehicle would be built successfully as a commercial vehicle seems to me rather unlikely," says Joseph Romm, who managed energy-efficiency programs at the Department of Energy during the Clinton administration. "If you're going to the trouble of building a plug-in and therefore have an electric drive train and a battery capable of storing a charge, then you could have a cheap gasoline engine along with you, or an expensive fuel cell." Consumers will likely opt for the cheaper version, Romm notes.

Still, the Volt is part of a promising trend toward automotive electrification--which could decrease petroleum use and reduce carbon emissions. It is part of GM's response to an anticipated future in which both petroleum and carbon-dioxide emissions will carry a heavy price, driving consumers to buy vehicles that run on alternative, low-carbon power sources.

The new Volt, announced in Shanghai, replaces the generator with a fuel cell and cuts the battery pack in half, in part to make room for storing hydrogen. The lithium-ion battery pack can be recharged by plugging it in. The fuel cell kicks in immediately when the car is started and provides power at a constant rate at which it is most efficient. If more power is needed, such as for acceleration or high speeds, the battery provides a boost of power, much like what happens in today's gas-electric hybrid vehicles. When less power is needed, such as when the vehicle is stopped or at low speeds, the battery stores energy to be used later.

By allowing the fuel cell to run at a constant rate, the batteries improve efficiency, cutting down on hydrogen consumption. The battery further improves efficiency by storing energy generated during braking. Compared with earlier prototypes, the new concept also uses a more advanced fuel-cell design (thinner stainless-steel parts were substituted for thick composite parts) and the vehicle is lighter, making it possible to have a 300-mile range using half the hydrogen.

The car emits no harmful emissions from the tailpipe. But because hydrogen fuel today is primarily made from fossil fuels this means the carbon-dioxide emissions are simply happening someplace else, Romm notes. He says that using renewable energy to charge up the battery in the gas-generator version of the Volt makes more sense than using it to make hydrogen. That's because it's more efficient to charge a battery than to make hydrogen, compress it, and then convert it back into electricity using a fuel cell.

Nick Zielinski, the chief engineer at GM responsible for advanced vehicle concepts, says that GM released the fuel-cell version in China because hydrogen has a better chance of taking hold there. In China, energy infrastructure is still being developed, and gasoline and electricity may not be available everywhere. "They could develop a hydrogen infrastructure much sooner than we do here. And a fuel-cell vehicle may make more sense than a plug-in-to-grid option because hydrogen may be much more accessible," Zielinski says. He adds that "hydrogen, when it's generated in a renewable way, produces no emissions. And that's where I think we'd like to get to."

With the Volt, the power source can vary according to the proposed market. In the original version revealed in January, likely to attract customers in the United States, the first 40 miles of driving are powered by energy stored in a battery pack that can be recharged by plugging it in. (See "GM's New Electric Vehicle.") That's enough range for a typical daily commute. For longer trips, a gas- or ethanol-powered generator recharges the battery, allowing for an additional 600 miles of range. In Europe, diesel generators can be used, rather than gasoline generators or fuel cells.

Other major automakers are also developing plug-in fuel-cell and battery-powered vehicles. In January, Ford unveiled a vehicle that runs off stored power in the battery for the first 25 miles before a fuel cell starts recharging the battery, which can add an additional 200 miles of range. As with GM's Volt, the fuel cell could be replaced by a gas or diesel generator.

Both the fuel-cell and generator versions of the Volt will face challenges, but it's likely that the fossil-fuel versions will reduce carbon-dioxide emissions more than the fuel-cell versions. The Volt equipped with a gas-powered generator has a large battery pack that will allow most drivers to skip the gas station altogether for daily commuting. And because the generator is very efficient, even for trips longer than 40 miles it may use less gas than ordinary cars. Of course, total carbon emissions will depend on the source of the electricity for charging the battery, but the relatively high efficiency of power plants compared with conventional vehicles will likely lead to lower carbon-dioxide emissions overall.

The main challenge with this vehicle is that a big enough lithium-ion battery pack, made to withstand the abuse of automotive applications, hasn't yet been created. Zelinski says that no more major breakthroughs in battery-cell technology are needed. All that's left is to integrate hundreds of these cells to make a big battery pack. That's going to be challenging, but, he says, "it's something that can be handled in a straightforward, solid-engineering way."

Source:http://www.technologyreview.com

Search is the gateway to the Internet for most people; for many of us, it has become second nature to distill a task into a set of keywords that will lead to the required tools and information. But Adam Cheyer, cofounder of Silicon Valley startup Siri, envisions a new way for people to interact with the services available on the Internet: a "do engine" rather than a search engine. Siri is working on virtual personal-assistant software, which would help users complete tasks rather than just collect information.

Cheyer, Siri's vice president of engineering, says that the software takes the user's context into account, making it highly useful and flexible. "In order to get a system that can act and reason, you need to get a system that can interact and understand," he says.

Siri traces its origins to a military-funded artificial-intelligence project called CALO, for "cognitive assistant that learns and organizes," that is based at the research institute SRI International. The project's leaders--including Cheyer--combined traditionally isolated approaches to artificial intelligence to try to create a personal-assistant program that improves by interacting with its user. Cheyer, while still at SRI, took a team of engineers aside and built a sample consumer version; colleagues finally persuaded him to start a company based on the prototype. Siri licenses its core technology from SRI.

Mindful of the sometimes spectacular failure of previous attempts to create a virtual personal assistant, Siri's founders have set their sights conservatively. The initial version, to be released this year, will be aimed at mobile users and will perform only specific types of functions, such as helping make reservations at restaurants, check flight status, or plan weekend activities. Users can type or speak commands in casual sentences, and the software deciphers their intent from the context. Siri is connected to multiple online services, so a quick interaction with it can accomplish several small tasks that would normally require visits to a number of websites. For example, a user can ask Siri to find a midpriced Chinese restaurant in a specific part of town and make a reservation there.

Recent improvements in computer processor power have been essential in bringing this level of sophistication to a consumer product, Cheyer says. Many of CALO's abilities still can't be crammed into such products. But the growing power of mobile phones and the increasing speed of networks make it poss ible to handle some of the processing at Siri's headquarters and pipe the results back to users, allowing the software to take on tasks that just couldn't be done before.

"Search does what search does very well, and that's not going anywhere anytime soon," says Dag Kittlaus, Siri's cofounder and CEO. "[But] we believe that in five years, everyone's going to have a virtual assistant to which they delegate a lot of the menial tasks."

While the software will be intelligent and useful, the company has no aspiration to make it seem human. "We think that we can create an incredible experience that will help you be more efficient in your life, in solving problems and the tasks that you do," Cheyer says. But Siri is always going to be just a tool, not a rival to human intelligence: "We're very practical minded."

Siri cofounder Tom Gruber volunteered Adam Cheyer to participate in a conversation with the software (shown above). Gruber explains the artificial-intelligence tasks behind its responses.

1. "The user can ask a broad question like this because Siri has information that gives clues about what the user intends. For example, the software might store data about the user's location, schedule, and past activities. Siri can deal with open-ended questions within specific areas, such as entertainment or travel."

2. "Siri pulls information rele vant to the user's question from a variety of Web services and tools. In this case, it checks the weather, event listings, and directories of local attractions and uses machine learning to select certain options based on the user's past preferences. Siri can connect to various Web applications and then integrate the results into a single response."

3. "Siri interprets this reply in the context of the existing conversation, using it to refine the user's request."

4. "The software offers specific suggestions based on the user's personal preferences and its ability to categorize. Because Siri is task-oriented, rather than a search engine, it offers to buy tickets that the user selects."

5. "By now, the conversation has narrowed enough that all the user has to do is click on his choice."

6. "Siri compiles information about the event, such as band members, directions, and prices, and structures it in a logical way. It also handles the task of finding out what's available and getting the tickets."

Source:http://www.technologyreview.com

Since its founding in 1958, NASA's exploration and research missions have benefited people around the world through the expansion of our civilization's horizons, the acquisition of knowledge, and the development of new technologies and applications that provide amazing new advances in the quality of human life. What follows is a brief overview of how technologies developed through the Nation's investment in aerospace research have come back down to Earth to benefit the medical community in its understanding of cancers and cancer treatments.

			NASA has partnered recently with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to use the U.S. portion of the ISS for medical research, including cancer studies. According to NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni, "We are extremely pleased that this collaborative effort is moving forward. The International Space Station provides a unique environment where researchers can explore fundamental questions about human health issues, including how the body heals itself, fights infection, or develops diseases such as cancer or osteoporosis." Research projects on the ISS funded by the NIH will be conducted on the U.S. segment of the space station and be consistent with existing NIH priorities and relevant to improving human health on earth. http://www.niams.nih.gov/News_and_Events/NIH_NASA_Activities/nih_nasa_mou.asp
			On the ISS, the near-zero-gravity environment could allow researchers to develop three-dimensional cancer cell clusters that function more like cancer in humans than the two-dimensional cell cultures traditionally grown in petri dishes. Growing cultures for long periods aboard the station could further advance this research. Such cultures could be used to help develop models and test new treatments for cancer without risking harm to patients. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/index.html
			Higher-purity protein crystals may be grown in space than on Earth. Analysis of these crystals helps scientists better understand the nature of proteins, enzymes, and viruses, which leads to the development of new drugs and a better understanding of the fundamental building blocks of life. Similar experiments have been conducted on the space shuttle, although they are limited by the short duration of shuttle flights. This type of research could lead to the study of possible treatments for cancer, diabetes, emphysema and immune system disorders.
			To simulate the weightless conditions of space and thereby bring the advantages of ISS research to laboratories on Earth, NASA developed a bioreactor device to simulate the effect of reduced gravity. A great deal of bioreactor work being used to study patterns of cell growth could help better explain the ways cancers spread. http://science.nasa.gov/NEWHOME/br/bioreactor.htm
			LED Photodynamic therapy research has been applied to activating cancer drugs once they have been pinpointed inside a tumor. An emerging cancer treatment, PDT uses high-intensity, monochromatic light to turn on the cancer-killing properties of a drug, allowing physicians to activate a drug in the tumor only. This keeps the healthy areas around the tumor from being negatively impacted. http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20060022057_2006145857.pdf http://sbir.nasa.gov/SBIR/video/quantum.html
			Charge-coupled devices (CCDs) used in the Hubble Space Telescope to convert a distant star's light directly into digital images have been adapted to improve existing methods for physicians to detect small masses in breast tissue. Finding the exact location allows doctors to analyze the tissue by stereotactic biopsy, which requires a needle rather than surgery. http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20020080116_2002131836.pdf
			Another technique for analysis of mammography uses software designed by NASA to significantly improve the extraction of patterns from complex data sets, like those returned from deep space and those found in medical imaging results. This software provides image segmentation that helps reveal details that cannot be seen with the naked eye, greatly aiding disease diagnoses. http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20080003922_2008001499.pdf
			NASA scientists, in conjunction with industry and academic researchers, discovered a safer method to decrease exposure to harmful X-rays in mammographies or breast radiography. Usually, physicians make more than one exposure to arrive at an X-ray film of acceptable density. Now the same solar cells used to convert sunlight into electricity on space satellites can make a single exposure sufficient. When solar cell sensor is positioned directly beneath X-ray film, it can determine exactly when film has received sufficient radiation and has been exposed to optimum density and then cut off the radiation. Reduction of mammography to single exposures could not only reduce X-ray hazard significantly, but double the number of patient examinations handled by one machine. http://www.sti.nasa.gov/spinoff/spinitem?title=Breast+Cancer+Detection
			The potential of carbon nanotubes to diagnose and treat brain tumors is being explored through a partnership between NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and City of Hope, a leading cancer research and treatment center in Duarte, California. City of Hope researchers hope to boost the brain's own immune response against tumors by delivering cancer-fighting agents via nanotubes. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2008-006
			Working under a Small Business Innovation Research contract with NASA's Ames Research Center, Amnis Corporation designed a method that allows users to view whole cells at the same time, rather than just one section of each cell. For NASA, the resulting high-speed image flow cytometry process made its way into a life-detection instrument built to collect, store, and analyze sample organisms from erupting hydrothermal vents. Commercially, the resulting device simplifies quantitative analyses of individual cells and cell populations. ImageStream is also built for many other applications, including cell signaling and pathway analysis; classification and characterization of peripheral blood mononuclear cell populations; quantitative morphology; apoptosis (cell death) assays; gene expression analysis; analysis of cell conjugates; molecular distribution; and receptor mapping and distribution. http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20080003919_2008001498.pdf
			The BioScan System was developed by OmniCorder Technologies, Inc. at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The system is able to locate cancerous lesions by detecting the cancer's ability to recruit a new blood supply. A digital sensor detects infrared energy emitted from the body and identifies the minute differences accompanying the blood flow changes associated with cancerous cells. It also has potential use as a monitoring device during cancer treatment. This technology will reduce the time taken to detect cancerous cells and allow for earlier intervention, therefore increasing the overall survival rates of breast cancer patients. http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/spinoff2000/hm3.htm Source:http://ipp.nasa.gov