Monthly Archives: March 2013

The new +Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Wraith will be the first car to use GPS-terrain…

This entry was posted in Uncategorized on by (updated 4207 days ago)
The new +Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Wraith will be the first car to use GPS-terrain data to look ahead for transmission control

Fully autonomous vehicles are still several years in the future, but the enabling technologies are increasingly appearing in today's cars. One example is the use of satellite based location and terrain mapping data in controlling vehicle systems. +BMW and other manufacturers have talked for some time about this kind of integration. 

If the car knows can look far enough down the road beyond the driver's sight-lines, it can make control decisions about managing things like the throttle, transmission, brakes and other systems to optimize fuel efficiency by avoiding acceleration or a down-shift right before you crest a hill or allowing the cruise control to dissipate speed before going into a corner. It should be very interesting to see how well this first generation control system works out. 

Automotive News Europe
Automotive News coverage of the European market, focusing on vehicle development, production, marketing and sales.

View this post on Google+

Post imported by Google+Blog for WordPress.

There is plenty to like about the EV driving experience but the lack of noise is… 2

This entry was posted in Uncategorized on by (updated 4207 days ago)
There is plenty to like about the EV driving experience but the lack of noise is definitely a downside

I love the precision mechanical sound of a +Porsche 911 boxer-6, the muted whoosh of an +Audi R18 TDI racing diesel and the high-pitched wail of a +Ferrari V12, but frankly there is nothing quite so visceral as a large displacement V8 engine. Spend a weekend at an ALMS race and you'll hear all kinds of engine notes but it's the Corvettes that sound the best. In some respects the closest you'll get to a classic Can-Am car like the +McLaren Automotive M8 today is actually the LS3-powered LMPC class in ALMS. Follow the link and watch the clips of the two M8s being fired up. 

The McLaren M8C and M8D are better than coffee
Few things will startle you into full alertness better than a big-block Chevy-powered McLaren Can-Am car during a cold start. So here’s a Thursday double-shot of that beautiful cacophony.

View this post on Google+

Post imported by Google+Blog for WordPress.

What I really want to know is, will +Audi International use a battery or that cool… 3

This entry was posted in Uncategorized on by (updated 4207 days ago)
What I really want to know is, will +Audi International use a battery or that cool flywheel hybrid system?

Upcoming Audi Hypercar Known as Scorpion, Will Receive R18-Derived Engine
Speculation is rife about Audi’s upcoming hypercar, which is being referred internally as Scorpion—and not R10 or R20 as has been previously speculated. A final decision on the name hasn’t been taken …

View this post on Google+

Post imported by Google+Blog for WordPress.

Wow, Apollo F1 rocket engines recovered from 3 miles below the surface of the At… 1

This entry was posted in Uncategorized on by (updated 4207 days ago)
Wow, Apollo F1 rocket engines recovered from 3 miles below the surface of the Atlantic

F-1 Engine Recovery | Bezos Expeditions
March 20, 2013. What an incredible adventure. We are right now onboard the Seabed Worker headed back to Cape Canaveral after finishing three weeks at sea, working almost 3 miles below the surface. We …

View this post on Google+

Post imported by Google+Blog for WordPress.

Always make sure you put the right fuel in your tank, gasoline and diesel don't… 3

This entry was posted in Uncategorized on by (updated 4207 days ago)
Always make sure you put the right fuel in your tank, gasoline and diesel don't mix

President Obama’s Limo Breaks Down In Israel After Being Filled With Diesel By Mistake
President Obama is on his way to Israel for a state visit. His limo, the Beast, made the trip with him. Apparently it just broke down because it was filled with diesel instead of gas. Whoops.

View this post on Google+

Post imported by Google+Blog for WordPress.

Great copyright ruling from SCOTUS

This entry was posted in Uncategorized on by (updated 4207 days ago)
Great copyright ruling from SCOTUS

Reshared post from +Dan Gillmor

Supreme Court: "first sale" does apply to works manufactured overseas — this is a hugely important (and positive) copyright ruling.

Supreme Court Upholds First Sale In Landmark Kirtsaeng Ruling
In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court, by a 6-3 margin, today held that the doctrine of first sale, which allows for legally acquired copyrighted works to be resold by their owners, does apply to w…

View this post on Google+

Post imported by Google+Blog for WordPress.

Another electric sports car on the way, maybe

This entry was posted in cars electric Uncategorized on by (updated 3399 days ago)
Judging from the visible details on this teaser image including the fender profiles, the shape of the windshield and the mirrors, and the involvement of former Lotus executive Albert Lam, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that this will be yet another car derived from the Elise platform. That means we're probably talking another Tesla Roadster. No way are they ever going to sell 2,500 of these a year. 

Detroit Electric returns with 100% electric sports car teaser
Revived Detroit Electric company announces it will unveil a brand new all-electric sports car in Detroit in early April.


This post has been reshared 1 times on Google+
 View this post on Google+

Post imported by Google+Blog for WordPress.

If you haven't read +Andy Ihnatko's 3-part series explaining why he switched…

This entry was posted in Uncategorized on by (updated 4207 days ago)
If you haven't read +Andy Ihnatko's 3-part series explaining why he switched from iPhone to Android, you should 

This line in particular sums up why I have preferred +Android over iPhone ever since I first picked up an +Motorola Mobility OG Droid in November 2009:
  
The iPhone is still my go-to recommendation for people who want as few surprises as possible and the easiest phone to use and maintain. An iPhone is a delight fresh out of the box and for the life of the device. An Android phone is a delight starting around…week two, after you’ve made a bunch of minor adjustments that change it from “Good for the majority of users” to “great for you, personally.”

That lack of surprises on the iPhone means that what you start with is what you'll have at the end of the phone's life and if certain things don't suit your tastes or needs, well that's just too bad. You need to learn to live within Apple's constraints. I prefer having the option to optimizes my devices to a market size of one. (props to +Ford Motor Company senior technical leader Venkatesh Prasad for that last line)

http://www.techhive.com/article/2030116/customize-and-collaborate-why-i-switched-from-iphone-to-android-part-2.html

http://www.techhive.com/article/2030168/pros-and-cons-why-i-switched-from-iphone-to-android-part-3.html

Why I switched from iPhone to Android
About a month and a half ago, I walked into an AT&T Store, handed over my iPhone 4S, and asked to be switched from my unlimited iPhone data plan to a new LTE data plan. I bought the first-genera…

View this post on Google+

Post imported by Google+Blog for WordPress.

At +The Verge,  +Dieter Bohn provides a great explanation of why RSS is still so…

This entry was posted in Uncategorized on by (updated 4207 days ago)
At +The Verge,  +Dieter Bohn provides a great explanation of why RSS is still so important and Twitter is not an adequate replacement

First and foremost, Twitter is not an open web standard, it's a service from a private company that once offered a relatively open API but now does not. Depending on a single company's largess when it comes to creating an open and viable third-party app ecosystem is a fool's game.

Why RSS still matters
Google’s bombshell last night that it would be shutting down the Google Reader RSS client hit the web, well, like a bomb. Just as with any major tech event, it spurred a raft of reactions on what…

View this post on Google+

Post imported by Google+Blog for WordPress.