Google Phone is Almost Here! September 30, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Breaking News, Technology, Tech Tips , add a commentThe first mobile phone powered by Google was launched last week, ready to do battle with Apple’s iPhone for the top spot on many people’s Christmas gift list. The long-awaited smart phone, the T-Mobile G1, which was unveiled at a press conference in New York, will go on sale in the US next month (Oct 22), and T-Mobile announced they will begin selling the G1 phone for $179, the first to run Google’s Android operating system.
Check out the first video review of the Google Phone here.
Android has been compared to Apple iPhone interface and the G1 phone happily adopts the best features of the iPhone and BlackBerry — two of the best smart phones on the market. It has the easy-to-navigate and intuitive touchscreen, like the iPhone. But, like the BlackBerry, it has a qwerty keyboard, which slides out, and a “trackball” that helps you navigate around the screen. It’s features include: downloadable applications, 3G data service, WiFi, 3-megapixel camera, 256 MB storage and microSD slot, a slideout keyboard and a full web browser. Local T-Mobile stores will have demo units, but the carrier is only selling the G1 at stores where T-Mobile offers 3G service. Sprint Nextel also plans to sell a Android phone in the future.
What’s promising about Android is it is open platform that developers can make interesting programs. One that caught my eye uses the phone’s camera to scan barcodes. The phone then scans the Internet shops for prices of that product. Since the Android operating system is being offered for free to phone makers, there will be many flavors of the phone. Unlike the iPhone, which has only one model, there will be a lot of variety.
The arrival of Android signals the opening round of the battle between Google and its rivals, such as Nokia and Apple, to create software for the next generation of mobile phones that allows users to connect seamlessly to the internet.
At $179 with a two-year contract, the G1 will cost $20 less than the 3G iPhone. But for all of the hullabaloo about Android’s impact on Apple, Google’s efforts appear to be targeted directly at Microsoft’s Exchange, a multifaceted e-mail server software, says Pablo Perez-Fernandez, a wireless analyst for Global Crown Capital, a San Francisco boutique investment firm. “The tight integration of Google’s mobile applications and business services, such as maps, Gmail, calendar and search, essentially eliminates the need for an Exchange server for a wide range of companies,” Perez-Fernandez says.
Provision Theater’s World Premier September 24, 2008
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago, Breaking News, The Cultural Conversation, The Arts in the City, Provision Theater, Culture and Faith , add a commentIf it is starting to cool outside and football is in full swing, then it must be theater time in Chicago. This year will prove to be an exceptional year in Chicago Theater, especially for Provision Theater, who starts off their season with a WORLD PREMIER of Truman Capote’s best -selling books, A CHRISTMAS MEMORY and THE THANKSGIVING VISITOR, that have been adapted by Provision’s Artsitic Director, Tim Gregory. Come check out the world premier at the Royal George Theater from November 5 to December 21.
Thanksgiving and Christmas mean something different to everyone. For seven-year-old Buddy, it means a new home and a new family. When his parents drop him off with distant relatives in a town with no other children his age, Buddy becomes close with an older, simple woman named Sook. Before long, the two find themselves on one amazing adventure after another, proving that friendship is the greatest gift of all. Based on the best selling books by Truman Capote, A CHRISTMAS MEMORY and THE THANKSGIVING VISITOR are sure to warm the heart or your entire family this holiday season!
Solar Cells Get to 20% Conversion Efficiency September 23, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Methods & Strategies, Energy Efficiency, Entrepreneuring, Sustainability , add a commentI am becoming a big fan of solar power as it begins the long march toward parity with current power supplies — I would love to get off the Commonwealth Edison grid and not have to pay that big electricity bill every month.
So I was excited to see today that Suniva Inc. announced that its R&D team has developed several silicon solar cells in its lab with more than 20% conversion efficiencies using its patented combination of cell designs and screen printing technologies.
“Our R&D team already has a solid roadmap in place to further increase our efficiencies. We are excited about Suniva’s continued momentum on the path to make solar electricity cost-competitive with conventional grid electricity.” — Dr. Ajeet Rohatgi, Founder and CTO, Suniva
These high efficiency milestones have been verified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The efficiency achievement closely follows Suniva’s two recent customer agreements with Germany’s Solon AG and India’s Titan Energy Systems Ltd, together worth approximately US $1 billion. “This demonstrates that Suniva’s advanced technologies in diffusion, surface passivation and contacts can increase conversion efficiency while reducing processing time and maintaining low cell cost,” said Dr. Ajeet Rohatgi, Suniva’s founder and CTO. “Our R&D team already has a solid roadmap in place to further increase our efficiencies. We are excited about Suniva’s continued momentum on the path to make solar electricity cost-competitive with conventional grid electricity.”
Wait … Now who was President in 1929? September 23, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentI try to stay apolitical on my blog, but I just love ole’ Joe Biden. He says whatever he wants and sometimes, he angers his boss, sometimes he asks a man in a wheelchair to stand up, and other times he forgets history — but he is always sure to create some memorable quotes if he is given enough talking time. He reminds me of another VP - Dan Quayle of the infamous “potatoe” episode……..
Yesterday, in his interview with Katie Couric, it looked like he forgot to study his talking points closely. He said (video here):“When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the princes of greed. He said, ‘look, here’s what happened.’”
As I was growing up, my grandparents always told me about the stock market crash of 1929. Two problems here: Television did not even exist in 1929, and FDR was elected in 1932, so he wasn’t even the leader at the time of the crash. When Joe was in history class, he must have been sleeping or doodling. Of course, TV celebrity Katie Couric made no effort to correct the Senator on this obvious error.
He certainly adds to the spice of this election……
Arrrrgh! It’s Talk like a Pirate Day! September 19, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, Movies, The Cultural Conversation, Culture and Faith , add a commentToday marks International Talk Like a Pirate Day (ITLAPD), a parodic holiday invented in 1995 by John Baur (Ol’ Chumbucket) and Mark Summers (Cap’n Slappy), of Corvallis, Oregon, who proclaimed September 19 each year as the day when everyone in the world should talk like a pirate. For example, an observer of this holiday would greet friends not with “Hello,” but with “Ahoy, me hearty!” The holiday, and its observance, springs from a romanticized view of the Golden Age of Piracy. In part a send-up of the “Golden Age of Piracy,” tech culture has absorbed pirate symbology and made it a kind of comical meme, much like LOLcats or “Don’t tase me, bro!“.
Search Engine Land prepared a short list of tech and online companies participating in Pirate Day:
- Google, through its Google Pirate Search feature.
- Friendfeed has a commemorative logo honoring the holiday.
- Search Engine Roundtable prepared a special theme.
- Dogpile’s mascot dressed up like a pirate.
Other Derivative Sites:
- Tom Smith has written and recorded the song “Talk Like a Pirate Day,” the quasi-official anthem of the holiday.[10]
- In the Nintendo DS version of The Sims 2, in-game characters celebrate “Talk Like A Pirate Day” on September 19, in which a special quest is released, involving a pirate quiz.
- The holiday is observed by the followers of the satirical Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, who consider pirates to be divine beings.[11]
- In the online game Lord of the Rings Online, in-game characters can celebrate “Talk Like a Pirate Day” with a special quest, involving a shipwreck. Quest rewards include a pirate-type hat.
- World of Warcraft now celebrates “Pirate’s Day”, an anniversary thought up by two of the in game characters called “Ol’ Chumbucket” and “Cap’n Slappy” (a reference to the creators of Talk Like a Pirate Day). Talking to the in game character ‘Dread Captain DeMeza’ will provide your character with a pirate costume that lasts for 12 hours. Characters can also see commoners in the major cities dressed as pirates who will also provide your character with a pirate costume.
- In the online game Kingdom of Loathing, players can celebrate “Talk Like a Pirate Day”. Phrases such as “Arr” are occasionally added to the end of sentences in chat, as well as during random encounters with pirates.
65 MPG but Not Available in USA September 8, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , 1 comment so far 
Businessweek: If ever there was a car made for the times, this would seem to be it: a sporty subcompact that seats five, offers a navigation system, and gets a whopping 65 miles to the gallon. Oh yes, and the car is made by Ford Motor (F), known widely for lumbering gas hogs. Ford’s 2009 Fiesta ECOnetic goes on sale in November. But here’s the catch: Despite the car’s potential to transform Ford’s image and help it compete with Toyota Motor (TM) and Honda Motor (HMC) in its home market, the company will sell the little fuel sipper only in Europe.
“We know it’s an awesome vehicle,” says Ford America President Mark Fields. “But there are business reasons why we can’t sell it in the U.S.” The main one: The Fiesta ECOnetic runs on diesel. Automakers such as Volkswagen (VLKAY) and Mercedes-Benz (DAI) have predicted for years that a technology called “clean diesel” would overcome many Americans’ antipathy to a fuel still often thought of as the smelly stuff that powers tractor trailers. Diesel vehicles now hitting the market with pollution-fighting technology are as clean or cleaner than gasoline and at least 30% more fuel-efficient. Yet while half of all cars sold in Europe last year ran on diesel, the U.S. market remains relatively unfriendly to the fuel. (more…)
Who Pays Taxes in America September 3, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentAs we are in the political season where each politican wants to use the federal government numbers to bolster his or her tax increase or tax cut, I thought I would share with you the plain facts about who pays taxes in the U.S.
In 2006, the latest year to get actual numbers, there were 135.7 million tax returns filed, and of those, IRS data, shows that in 2006, 92.7 million (68.3%) of the tax returns came from people who paid taxes into the Treasury.
More than 43 million tax returns (or 31.7%) were filed by people with positive adjusted gross income (AGI) who used exemptions, deductions and tax credits to completely wipe out their federal income tax liability. Not only did they get back every dollar that the federal government withheld from their paychecks during 2005, but some even received more back from the IRS. This is a result of refundable tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit, which are not included in the aggregate percentile data here. (For more on the limitations of the data on this page, see the notes below. For a detailed paper on the distribution of the entire U.S. fiscal system, including all federal, state and local taxes, read Who Pays Taxes and Who Receives Government Spending? An Analysis of Federal, State and Local Tax and Spending Distributions, 1991 - 2004.)
Tax year 2006’s numbers (see below) show that both the income share earned by the top 1 percent of tax returns and the tax share paid by that top 1 percent have once again reached all-time highs. In 2006, the top 1 percent of tax returns paid 39.9 percent of all federal individual income taxes but only earned 22.1 percent of adjusted gross income, both of which are significantly higher than 2004 when the top 1 percent earned 19 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI) and paid 36.9 percent of federal individual income taxes. The bottom 50% of all tax return filers paid less than 3% of federal income taxes in 2006.
The top-earning 25 percent of taxpayers (AGI over $64,702) earned 68.2 percent of the nation’s income, but they paid more than four out of every five dollars collected by the federal income tax (86.3 percent). The top 1 percent of taxpayers (AGI over $388,806) earned approximately 22.1 percent of the nation’s income (as defined by AGI), yet paid 39.9 percent of all federal income taxes. That means the top 1 percent of tax returns paid about the same amount of federal individual income taxes as the bottom 95 percent of tax returns.
