plus 4, Live updates from Consumer Electronics Show - Tulsa World |
- Live updates from Consumer Electronics Show - Tulsa World
- Formula One boss Ecclestone in last-ditch bid to take the wheel of car ... - Daily Mail
- Suzuki Signs '10 Xtreme Rockstar Team - Motorcycle USA
- Justin Brayton enters Anaheim on a roll - Motorcycle USA
- SuperBikePlanet.com Interview: Jamie Hacking - Superbike Planet
| Live updates from Consumer Electronics Show - Tulsa World Posted: 08 Jan 2010 09:57 AM PST This week I'm attending the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas – the biggest tech expo in the world. I'm just one of over 1,500 journalists here, to say nothing of the thousands upon thousands of exhibitors and other attendees. Needless to say, it's a tech paradise. Through Friday I'll periodically post updates to this online section, in addition to the regular articles I'll file in the Tulsa World. There's just too much to fit in the daily articles, and I wanted to include some of the more unusual gadgets I bump into. 1/8/2010 6:00 PM
1/8/2010 5:15 PM
Canon's Powershot line has been refreshed with the A series, a group of cameras that are barely three and a half inches long. The cameras don't skimp on features, since they range up to 12.1 megapixels and have extending lenses. Still, just look at how this man's hand just swallows up the thing. 1/8/2010 4:30 PM Henry Penix, co-founder of Tulsa-based Zomm, said his keychain device wouldn't be possible without the help of Bluetooth. That's why he's giving Dr. Mike Foley, executive director of Bluetooth Special Interest Group, an award of the company's own devising. Foley received the King Harold I award, named the ancient Danish king from which the Bluetooth technology got its name, from Zomm at the company's booth at CES today. Penix said the award honors Foley's relentless pursuit for bringing the Bluetooth experience to society as a whole. Bluetooth SIG is the consortium that develops and applies Bluetooth technology specifications. 1/8/2010 3:00 PM
The Intel Reader from Intel is a portable device that lets you read on the go and converts text to speech. Pretty standard so far. But the device comes with a frame that can hold the reader above a table. While in the frame, a camera will be able to scan any pages from a book, magazine or newspaper placed under it. The reader then analyzes the images and pulls out the text for you to read or convert to speech. Voila, you don't have to buy a book or paper to read it, provided you've got the patience to scan it in. 1/8/2010 2:00 PM Thanks to CES, I finally got the opportunity to check out Microsoft's foray into furniture. The Microsoft Surface is a large, flat video screen on top of a table. If you remember those old sit-down arcade games with the screen on the top, you're not far off. The video screen is completely touch-capable, so you can manipulate information or objects on them with gestures and swipes. Think the iPhone, only on a much bigger scale. For the most part, the Surface is aimed for commercial use, such as in stores and hotels. Kodak even implemented several at their CES booth. Interestingly enough, Kodak had several small objects on top of flat sensors that could interact with Surface. Put a video camera with a sensor on top of the Surface, and you'd immediately get more information about the camera. I didn't just see them at CES. The Rio resort in Vegas has an entire bar built around Surface, called the iBar. Wait, shouldn't a bar with that name be filled with Apple products? At any rate, the surface tables could be used to play games, order drinks or even send flirtatious messages to other tables. Note to my wife: I didn't.
1/8/2010 12:00 PM It's not just passive entertainment that's going 3-D. Games are getting a visual overhaul as well. TV maker Sony obviously has a vested interest in getting as many people into 3-D as possible, so they demonstrated several of their upcoming Playstation 3 games in three dimensions. Gran Turismo 5, the latest version of their upcoming car racing game, looked spectacular but a little overwhelming in 3-D. I'm also wondering how long gamers can play in one sitting before the glasses get a little uncomfortable. Video card maker Nvidia had 3-D PC gaming at their booth. Since they don't make games themselves, they had retrofitted last year's Batman: Arkham Asylum by Eidos for the demonstration. The Dark Knight's chiseled physique absolutely popped off the three screens that were chained together, and I felt like I could reach out and touch the grime in Arkham (not that I would want to). Then again, this could all come with a price. The Nvidia rep said the computer running Batman had three top-end video cards powering it. I don't know the price of that particular model, but it's not unusual for powerful cards to go for $600 apiece. 1/7/2010 4:00 PM
Yes, that's what the audio company really named it, yet it's not just overly macho bragging. The Buttkicker does pretty much what it says it does. In a nutshell, the Buttkicker is a small yet powerful bass speaker that emits silent, rumbling bass pulses. You synch it up with your TV, then place it within your chair or couch. Now, whenever you're watching a movie and something explodes, you'll feel the rumble of the blast through your couch. Shooting games (for instance) could give you a lot more feedback when you get shot. I tried it myself, and my butt was thoroughly kicked. Put in a particularly loud Schwarzenegger classic, and I imagine it would give you an interesting massage. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Formula One boss Ecclestone in last-ditch bid to take the wheel of car ... - Daily Mail Posted: 08 Jan 2010 08:19 PM PST By Karl West  Power broker: Bernie Ecclestone's 11th hour bid for Saab faces competition from Dutch bespoke car maker Spyker Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has launched a last-ditch bid to seize control of struggling Swedish car maker Saab. The 79-year-old billionaire has teamed up with the Luxembourg-based buyout company Genii Capital, which recently invested in Renault's F1 racing team. Saab was put up for sale last year by parent General Motors, which owns Vauxhall, as part of a major restructuring operation, but has so far failed to secure a buyer. It is not known how much Mr Ecclestone, who is estimated to be worth £2.3billion, and Genii are proposing to pay for the stake. Mr Ecclestone said: 'It's a good brand that has probably been neglected by the current owners. 'We don't own it yet, so let's see what happens.' Saab which employs 3,400, lost £255million in 2008 and has not made a profit since 2001. Any buyout will have to be agreed quickly - Saab's board members were meeting in Sweden yesterday to discuss their plans to wind down the business. Genii Capital confirmed in a statement that it was working on an offer for a 'majority stake' in Saab in a partnership with Ecclestone. The buyout group believes it can add value by using some of the expertise it has in its investment portfolio in the fields of green engine production and on-board entertainment systems. It said: 'The group believes that Saab has a tremendous brand value in a number of key automotive markets as well as an innovative image allowing it to be at the forefront of the car companies that will be first to market with some of the above mentioned technologies.'
Ecclestone has clawed his way up from humble beginnings, leaving school at 16 to work at the local gasworks. After the Second World War, he went into business trading spare motorcycle parts, forming the Compton & Ecclestone dealership in Bexleyheath, Kent. Last year his family's fortune was estimated to be worth about £2.3billion by Forbes magazine.  Dire straits: Saab lost £255m in 2008 GM chief Ed Whitacre this week said he was not confident a deal could be reached to sell Saab as a deadline for bids came and went. Ecclestone's 11th hour tilt at Saab faces competition from Dutch bespoke car maker Spyker, which made a revised offer to its previously rejected proposal. There is also talk that other bidders may gatecrash the process. Merbanco, a Wyoming-based group of investors, plus a team of Swedish business men, including the former head of German truckmaker MAN Hakan Samuelsson, are said to be interested. Most of Saab's employees work at its main plant in Trollhattan, Sweden. The brand also has some 1,100 dealers. Meanwhile, GM Europe boss Nick Reilly warned workers at Opel and sister brand Vauxhall of the challenging times ahead, which will include job cuts, as he seeks to overhaul the division. GM plans to cut around 8,300 jobs from its 50,000 Europe-wide workforce. Most of the cuts - about 5,000 - will be made in Germany, with just 354 British jobs to go at Vauxhall's Luton van plant. Share this article:Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Suzuki Signs '10 Xtreme Rockstar Team - Motorcycle USA Posted: 08 Jan 2010 09:57 AM PST American Suzuki has announced its Xtreme Rockstar Suzuki amateur team plans for the 2010 season. Led by Team Manager Ed Torrance and team owner Bobby Hewitt, the 2010 Xtreme Rockstar Suzuki team will consist of two riders and will focus on preparing them for their pro careers. The racers will be competing on Suzuki's line-up of championship-winning bikes, the all-new RM-Z250 and race-proven RM-Z450. The Xtreme Rockstar Suzuki line-up will consist of Ian Trettel and Landon Currier. "Ian just came off a dominating performance at Mini O's and I believe the Xtreme Rockstar Suzuki team will be able to provide him the tools to win more championships and gain the skills to begin a successful pro career," stated Brian Noah, Suzuki Motocross Support Specialist. "Landon Currier is new to Suzuki in 2010, and after only weeks on his new bikes, is showing the speed required to win races in the hotly-contested B classes." With Hewitt and Torrance, the Xtreme Rockstar team was created to help cater to riders who are getting ready to make the next step and prepare for their professional debut. "I'm really excited about the opportunity we have with American Suzuki. Having two great riders who understand the program and the commitment that is required with Ian and Landon is going to make this year another successful season at Xtreme Rockstar Suzuki," stated Hewitt, owner of Xtreme Amateur and Pro Lites, LLC. The Xtreme Rockstar Suzuki team offers a semi, top-notch race mechanics, and the best equipment possible to provide the riders the best opportunity for victories. The team also helps riders prepare for the future by bridging the gap from amateur to pro racing. Trettel, from Silver Springs, Florida, will compete in the 250A and 450A classes. From Brush Prairie, Washington, Currier will compete in the 250B and 450B classes.
The Xtreme Rockstar Suzuki team is currently preparing for its debut at the Lake Whitney Spring Classic which takes place on March 8-13. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Justin Brayton enters Anaheim on a roll - Motorcycle USA Posted: 08 Jan 2010 06:25 PM PST
Justin Brayton has a lot of momentum heading into the 2010 AMA Supercross season. Newly signed with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGRMX), the former Arenacross star finished out the 2009 season with a moto win at the final round of the AMA National Motocross series, and then backed it up by taking the King of Bercy title at the Bercy Supercross in November. Both wins were a first for Brayton (first 450-class outdoor national moto victory and first 450-class supercross win). In addition to a new team, Brayton will be sporting a new number on the front of his YZ450F in 2010 – #23. We spoke with Brayton the day before the SX opener in Anaheim to get his perspective on the new season. You had a pretty incredible finish to last season. What was it like from your perspective? It was awesome to win at Steel City; it was a dream of mine to get a win like that. I signed with Joe Gibbs Racing right after that, which was a big step for me. I moved to North Carolina, and then went to Bercy and won that, and then I did a couple more overseas races and won those too. So it's been a really good off-season and we're going to try to keep it going at Anaheim. Do you feel like you're on a roll and you can keep that momentum going? I don't know if it's momentum, but I work hard and I do my own thing, the team's great and the bike's awesome, so there's no reason I can't be up there battling at the front. I'm not going to put any expectations on myself; I'm just going to go do my thing. Joe Gibbs Racing is certainly one of the top teams when it comes to resources. Yes, I think going in I had an idea of the resources we would have available to us, but now that I'm there it's crazy the things we can test. If there's something on the bike I feel the team can try to make better, the next day we have a new part which makes that specific thing better. It's a great thing; I love to test and to make the motorcycle better and I think that's a huge part of racing at this level. The top 10 guys are all talented and they all work hard and it just comes down to making the bike work for you.
Was it a big switch from the KTMs you were riding to this new Yamaha? It's a big difference. I never had any issues with the KTM – it gets a bad rap – but I had a great time over there, it was an awesome two years I had with KTM. But coming over here, the Yamaha is an awesome bike, and right when I jumped on it it turned good and went through the whoops good, we just had to do some fine tuning from there and it made it twice as good. There's no complaints with the bike at all. This is your first Supercross season on a 450, how do you feel about the class? A: This is where I've always wanted to be and the timing was right to go to Joe Gibbs racing. Everything is working out perfect for me – I'm on one of the best teams, and the 450 class is where I think I belong. I ride a 450 well and I think I've proved that in some of the races I've ridden and I'm looking forward to getting some experience this year and some good results. Are you a goal-setter? Yeah, I've set some goals for myself. I think they're all realistic goals, I just need to ride like I'm capable of riding and I think I'll meet my goals. But I'm not going to force anything tomorrow night, I think there's a lot of hype around Anaheim I, and a lot of people forget there are 16 other races we gotta do and I want to be there at the end, not just at the beginning. You pocketed a lot of money at Bercy, so have you bought any toys with any of it?
Nah, I haven't purchased anything. That was a good weekend for me, along with the other races over there, but I just put it away. I'm not a flashy guy; I just buy what I need – I need to eat and have shelter and that's about it. Actually, I don't even need a car, Toyota gave me a Tundra pickup to drive. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| SuperBikePlanet.com Interview: Jamie Hacking - Superbike Planet Posted: 08 Jan 2010 09:21 AM PST This is the transcript of a telephone interview conducted this week with American racer Jamie Hacking. Q What is your current status in terms of a contract or a job? It was definitely uncomfortable feeling knowing that all the factory rides ... there's no such thing as back how it used to be. It's not how it used to be any more. So it's definitely a big change. Me and Rachel, we decided, since we've got our baby on the way, and better things to look forward to in the future with our kid and that, we weren't going to get stressed out about it. We definitely want to go racing, but obviously the opportunity's got to be right, and it's got to be on good equipment. If the opportunity doesn't come there for us to do that, then I'm going to stay home and I'm going to raise my little girl and have a beautiful family. I'd like for my girl to see me stand on a podium a few more times, and maybe collect some wins. It's been kind of a dry spell for Jamie Hacking on the top of the podium. Definitely, like I said, if the opportunity was right, I'd definitely come back out and race. Today, you look at it, and you look at these kids that are 20, 18 years old - 25 years old - and there's no money. And they've got to go out here in a high-risk sport. They make it look easy, but the truth is, the sport's hard. It's hard, and it's very dangerous, and the money's not there, and a high-profile athlete is supposed to get paid for what he does, because obviously we can't do this for so many years. It's kind of hard - like you said, it's hard - it doesn't weigh out right. Why should I come out here and risk my life for - obviously, the money is probably better than a 9-to-5 job, but I think in a 9-to-5 job, you've got a pretty slim chance of breaking your arm, or your leg, or this and that. It's hard, definitely, for me, to go out. I see guys now who are offering to ride for free, and this and that. That's just ... that does nothing for our sport. You don't see any guys in NASCAR or basketball, saying "I'll play for free. I'll drive for free." It's just not right. There's a reason why we are professionals and we get paid to do what we do. So people can come and enjoy our sport and see some professional racing. Obviously, ever since 2003 when I turned my career around, and we had a good run from 2003 all the way through 2008 on the Superbike - many people were agreeing with me that it seems like now I'm just finally coming into my element. Late coming into the sport, and the series, and so inexperienced, and it took me seven or eight years to finally find my wits about myself and figure out, "Okay, this is what really needs to happen. This is what you need to do." And then for it all to just come - it seems like, right as I just started to really get to the peak of my career where I'm just now getting a handle on it, and somebody just slapped a sledgehammer right back down into the ground, and it feels like I'm starting all over again. We saw what happened to our series in attendance this year. It definitely hurt. It's bad. It's really, really bad. The worst I've ever seen it. And another thing. You've got to respect the people that have fed this sport for so many years. The Japanese. Obviously, this is an American country and an American sport, but the truth of the (matter) is, the Japanese have fed this sport for years, the manufacturers, and supported all of us, and give us all jobs, and that's one thing, you've got to respect those guys too. They need to embrace the manufacturers and move forward. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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