Monthly Archives: June 2012

Toyota and BMW are in colaboration to develop new “Sports Car”.

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Toyota GT 86

 

 

Japanese car manufacturer “TOYOTA” has now established a working relationship with BMW.In fact, the two companies first announced plans to join forces back in December 2011 when they announced a partnership for sharing hybrid systems and diesel engines. Then, in March 2012, they signed a binding agreement on collaborative research in the field of next-generation lithium-ion battery cells.

Today, Akio Toyota, President of Toyota Motor Corporation and Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG met again and talked about a new agreement that could lead to developing a new sports car. The two leaders talked about joint development of a fuel cell system, joint development of architecture and components for a future sports vehicle, collaboration on power train electrification, and joint research and development on lightweight technologies.

BMW will supply highly-efficient 1.6 liter and 2.0 liter diesel engines to Toyota Motor Europe starting in 2014 and, in return, Toyota will share their knowledge on environment-friendly hybrids and fuel cells. The relationship makes sense due to the fact that one of BMW’s strengths is their production of engines and Toyota was the first to push out their electric vehicle – the Toyota Prius – with much success.

 

Source: Top Speed

MICROSOFT Office under attack in Athens,Greece

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p27b1 Arsonists attack Microsoft office in Athens

 Attackers targeted the Microsoft main office in the Greek capital in a pre-dawn arson attack yesterday, smashing the entrance with a mini-van and blowing up gas canisters, police said. Anti-terrorist police were investigating, and authorities did not rule out an extremist group was behind the attack, which caused no casualties.

Two or three masked men immobilized two security guards around 3:45 am (0045 GMT), then rammed the stolen mini-van through the entrance, and set fire to the van, which was packed with gas canisters, police said. The fire and explosion damaged the entrance and ground floor of the building, the Greece corporate headquarters of the US technology giant, located in the northern Athens suburb of Maroussi.

“We are grateful that there were no injuries and our staff are safe,” the company said in a statement, noting that the assailants had forced the security guards out of the building before setting the mini-van on fire. “We await the completion of the police investigation to form a more complete picture on the case,” they added. A fire department spokeswoman told AFP: “Serious damage has been caused to  the ground floor of the building. Our first estimate is in the region of 60,000 euros ($75,000).”

The mini-van used in the attack was entirely gutted, she added. The offices will remain closed yesterday and today, a company source said. Attacks against targets such as diplomatic missions, state offices, companies and banks, which usually do not cause casualties, are frequent in Greece and blamed by police on extremist and anarchist groups.

In April, a previously unknown group called “Revolutionary Action” claimed responsibility for an attack with an incendiary device that badly damaged an annex of the Greek ministry of administration in Athens.

Source: Kuwait Times

Renault Unveiled its “Alpine A110-50″ concept Car.

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Renault Alpine

Renault will unleash this 400bhp mid-engined Alpine sports car concept around the Monaco GP circuit on Friday. More good news! It’s going into production. Almost definitely.  The A110-50 simply celebrates 50 years since the introduction of the Alpine A110, the legendary Renault-engined sports car of the Sixties and Seventies that won the inaugural World Rally Championship in 1973.
Renault Alpine A110-50 is naturally empowered by the renowned expertise of Renault Sport Technologies. It benefits from the experience gained from the racing Mégane Trophy by using the same technical platform (well-known participant of the World Series by Renault).

Its tubular chassis has been stiffened and undergone several developments for Alpine A110-50. The roll cage and bracing in the engine bay have been modified (lowered) in the workshop of Tork Engineering to adapt them to the vehicle’s height, which is lower than that of Mégane Trophy. The final weight distribution is almost ideal, with 47.8% over the front wheels.

 Engine-wise, Alpine A110-50 runs the Renault V4Y engine block, a 3.5 liter 24-valve 400hp V6 mounted in a mid-rear position.

 

Renault "A110-50 Sports Car"

 

This Alpine concept also took its sportsmanship from Renault’s experience in Formula 1, like Computational Fluid Dynamics, a cutting-edge technology used to research and design air flow. Or its F1-style transmission, with a semi-automatic six-speed sequential gearbox as well as a twin-plate clutch that can be controlled using either the clutch pedal or a paddle on the steering wheel.

The gearbox is fitted longitudinally behind the engine and incorporates a limited-slip differential (discs and ramps) with adjustable pre-loading. The cerametallic twin-plate clutch is also specific to the car. It is activated automatically when downshifting, guaranteeing fast and reliable gear changes.

 

Samsung’s Galaxy SIII sale will hit 10 million units this July.

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tech23 Samsung Galaxy S III sales to hit 10m in July

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone maker, said Monday it expects to have sold 10 million of its newest Galaxy S3 model by the end of July, two months after its launch.

J.K. Shin, head of the mobile communications division, said robust sales of the model would help Samsung’s mobile business post a second-quarter profit bigger than the first three months.“We’re getting more positive reviews for Galaxy S3 than the previous Galaxy S1 and S2 since the release in Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia beginning May 29,” Shin said at an event to mark the phone’s domestic release on Monday.

He estimated that global sales of the new phone  currently available in 147 countries  would surpass 10 million next month, including about a million to be sold at home.“We’re doing fairly well in emerging-economy markets… I think our second-quarter earnings will be better than the first quarter’s, despite the difficult economic situation in Europe,” Shin said.

The company, the world’s biggest technology firm by revenue, posted a record net profit for all its divisions of 5.05 trillion won ($4.44 billion) in the first quarter, thanks largely to strong smartphone sales.The third version of the Galaxy S series offers face-recognition technology and improved voice-activated controls as well as a more powerful processor that lets users watch video and write emails simultaneously.

It also has a 4.8-inch screen that is 22 per cent larger than the S2, while it can detect eye movements and override the automatic shutdown if the user is looking at the screen.Samsung shipped 44.5 million smartphones in the first quarter, exceeding the 35.1 million of US arch-rival Apple, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics in April.

Samsung, embroiled in patent lawsuits in 10 nations with Apple, is pinning its hopes on the S3 to further erode its rivals’ market share before the expected new version of Apple’s iPhone 5 this year.In a rare victory for the Korean firm, a Dutch court last week ruled in favour of Samsung and ordered the US giant to pay unspecified damages for patent infringement.

ASTON MARTIN’s New Breed “”" Vanquish”"”………….

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Aston Martin-1

Aston Martin unveiled a stunning new luxury sports car “Vanquish”.

Sitting proudly at the pinnacle of the luxury British car maker’s sports car line-up, this breath-taking new super grand tourer represents the zenith of current Aston Martin design and engineering.  Vanquish points to an exciting and confident future for the historic brand.

 

 

Vanquish is a new Aston Martin featuring the next generation of the renowned VH architecture as well as a significantly upgraded 6.0-litre V12 engine that is considerably more potent than before.

The design represents the latest take on Aston Martin’s iconic visual language. Vanquish unquestionably sees the brand continue its enviable tradition of producing some of the most beautiful sports cars in the world. Styling cues such as the elegant new waist, elongated side strakes and LED rear light blades are derived from the One-77 supercar.

 

Aston Martin-3

 

Unmistakably an Aston Martin, the design shows a clear and coherent lineage from its heritage while providing an equally clear pointer to the luxury car brand’s vibrant future. Closer inspection reveals details such as the stunning new Aero Duct on the rear boot lid. This elegantly devised passive engineering feature, which counteracts lift at the car’s rear when traveling at speed, is a triumph of both design and technical ability.

 

Aston Martin-4

 

Powered by a significantly revised naturally aspirated 6.0-litre V12 petrol engine mated to the proven Touchtronic 2 six-speed automatic gearbox, the new car offers suitably impressive performance figures. The V12’s power peak of 565 bhp (573 PS) makes it Aston Martin’s most potent production model yet, out muscled only by the strictly limited edition £1.2m One-77 super car.

The raw statistics speak for themselves: 573 PS at 6,750 rpm, 620 Nm of torque at 5,500 rpm, 0-62 mph in 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 183 mph place the Vanquish firmly into super car territory. Yet the brand’s team of engineers have been working towards economy and emissions improvements too.

 

 

 

 

The latest engineering methods, innovative technologies and typically understated classic British design come together to make the muscular new Vanquish a true super GT. For instance, each body panel on the car is constructed from carbon fiber because of its high strength-to-weight ratio and flexibility of form. Meanwhile torsional rigidity is improved by more than 25%.

Practical improvements such as a newly designed and significantly more spacious cabin and a boot that, at 368 liters, is more than 60% larger than that of the DBS, ensure the new Vanquish can carry sufficient luggage for even the most ambitious grand tourist.

World’s Highest Building “Kingdom Tower” Jeddah,Saudi arabia.

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Kingdom Tower SA

World’s Tallest Building

The project calls for construction of a Mile Tower which is a skyscraper in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.The height of the skyscraper is around 1600 meters.The Mile Tower is a mixed use tower includes apartments, hotels, commercial shops and malls.The skyscraper will be the tallest skyscraper in the world. The owner of this project is Jeddah Economic Company (JEC) .

Kingdom Tower-1 SA

Kingdom Tower touching clouds.

 

The partners of JEC are Kingdom Holding Company, Mr. Samaual Bakhsh, Abraar, International Holding Company, prominent Jeddah businessmen Mr. Abdulrahman Hassan Sharbatly and Saudi Bin Laden Group (SBG). The capital of JEC is made up of SR8.8 billion in land value, assets that are SR7.3 billion, plus SR1.5 billion in cash contributed by SBG that further demonstrates their confidence in this extensive project.This tower 173 meters taller than Burj Khalifa.

Data for this project is as under:

Client:                                               Jeddah Economic Company (JEC)

Contractor:                                       Saudi Bin Laden Group (SBG)

Main Consultant:                            Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill Architecture

Local Consultant:                           Omrania & Associates

Country:                                           Saudi Arabia

Project Type:                                   Mixed Use

Project Duration:                           63 Months (5.25 Years)

Total Construction Area:              530,000 square meters

Cost of Tower:                                 1.2 Billion US $

Status:                                              Construction not yet started

 

Apple fined $2.29m on Australian 4G iPad

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Today(Thursday),June 21,2012.

Apple Inc. has been fined Aus$2.25 million (US$2.29 million) for misleading Australian consumers about the local 4G capability of its next-generation iPad, in a case brought by regulators.

The tech giant was also ordered to pay Aus$300,000 in costs by the Federal Court.Justice Mordy Bromberg found that Apple misled people with claims in its advertising implying that the “iPad with WiFi + 4G” could connect with fourth generation cellular networks in Australia, when it could not.

The judgement found the company engaged in conduct liable to mislead the public and contravened Australian consumer law.Apple had offered in March to refund Australian customers who felt they had been misled, and publish a clarification about the popular tablet’s capabilities.

The product is now advertised outside North America as “Wi-Fi + Cellular” – a change that came into effect on May 12 — with a clear caveat on its Australian site that “it is not compatible with current Australian 4G LTE and WiMax networks.”

“Apple does not seek to deny the deliberateness of its conduct and there are no facts before me which seek to excuse or explain the conduct, other than that the conduct occurred at the behest of Apple’s parent company,” Bromberg said.The iPad was the world’s best-selling tablet in the first three months of 2012, outgunning its Android-powered rivals, with sales more than doubling from a year earlier to send Apple’s profits soaring.

 

Source : The News

Citroen GT Concept Car..

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Image

 

Initially, there was a crazy idea of an engineer by Polyphony Digital to include in the game Gran Turismo 5 Citroen among other models to the player. Ferrari Lamborghini and other super GT The idea seems to have seduced the center of style and the firm Citroen in Chevron of a roof, rectangular section, prepared, started to specify and design this amazing car of a meteoroid of mass, producing a drag.
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Technical specifications are intended to both advanced and very politically correct, the Citroen is driven by 4 electric motors powered by a battery fuel the presence of oxygen and energy, can combine to oxygen, all providing power maximum of 780 horses for speed the evolution of a quantity as a function of time. Greatly exceeding the maximum 300 km/h more importantly, the real prototype exhibited at the show is actually equipped with this engine and the super GT Citroen conduct real towers runway. The car game video has become reality in the hands of teams from French manufacturer, becoming the One of the most popular cars of the show.

Today Microsoft unveiled a 10.6 inch Windows 8 Tablet “SURFACE”……….!!!

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The new Surface tablet utilizes a 10.6 inch screen with a cover that contains a full multitouch keyboard. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images/AFP


Today in Los Angeles, CEO Steve Ballmer announced the new tablet, calling it part of a “whole new family of devices” the company is developing.One version of the device, which won’t go on sale until sometime in the fall, is 9.3 millimeter thick and works on the Windows RT operating system.

It comes with a kickstand to hold it upright and a touch keyboard cover that snaps on using magnets.The device weighs less than 680 grams and will cost about as much as other tablet computers.The size is similar to the latest iPad, which is a little more than 9.4 millimeters thick and weighs 590 grams.

 

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Microsoft also promised that the Surface’s price tag will be similar to the iPad, which sells for $499 to $829, depending on the model.Microsoft’s broadside against the iPad is a dramatic step to ensure that its Windows software plays a major role in the increasingly important mobile computing market.

“They are saying it’s a different world now and are trying to put the sexy back into the Microsoft brand,” said Gartner Inc analyst Carolina Milanesi.Microsoft is linking the Surface’s debut with the release of its much-anticipated Windows 8 operating system, which has been designed with tablets in mind.

 

 

The company hasn’t specified when Windows 8 will hit the market, but most analysts expect the software to come out in September or October.Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft’s Windows division, called the device a “tablet that’s a great PC, a PC that’s a great tablet.”

A slightly thicker version, still less than 14 millimeters and under 910 grams, will work on Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 Pro operating system and cost as much as an Ultrabook, the company said. The pro version comes with a stylus that allows users to make handwritten notes on documents such as PDF files.

 

 

 

Each tablet comes with a keyboard cover that is just 3 millimeters thick.The kickstand for both tablets was just 0.7 millimeters thick, slimmer than a credit card.

Now its a question, how Apple will react against this step from Microsoft.Apple is also facing tough competition from Samsung and Nokia in mobile phone industry. Lets see what happens next…. but this  Giants war becoming more and more interesting.

 

 

Source: techcrunch

Microsoft’s own Tablets will soon in market.

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Microsoft is gearing up to unveil its own tablet to boost its new Windows 8 operating system and counter Apple’s hot-selling iPad, according to media reports on Friday.Such an effort, which the company has not confirmed, would be a departure from its usual focus on software and potentially throw

Microsoft into direct competition with its closest hardware partners such as Samsung Electronics and Hewlett-Packard.The world’s largest software company has invited media to a “major” announcement in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon, but has not provided any details.

In the absence of information, talk is swirling that Microsoft will introduce its own tablet, according to anonymously sourced reports in the New York Times and the AllThingsD tech blog. Microsoft declined comment on the subject and those reports.

It is not the first time such talk has surfaced, as Microsoft looks for a way to make an impact with its new tablet-friendly Windows 8 operating system and put the best product it can in the market to counter Apple’s iPad. Apple, which makes both hardware and software for greater control over the performance of the final product, has revolutionized mobile markets with its smooth, seamless phones and tablets. Rival Google may experiment with a similar approach after buying phone maker Motorola Mobility this year.

 

 

Source: Khaleej Times

NASA Launches “Black Hole Hunter” into the Space.

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The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, nicknamed NuStar, shot toward orbit aboard a Pegasus XL rocket seconds after being released from an aircraft flying about 40,000 feet (12,200 metres) over the Pacific Ocean south of the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

Circling the Earth in orbit, one of the X-ray telescope’s initial jobs will be to conduct a sky survey, intended to give astronomers more information about how galaxies formed.Its technology will later be used to examine galaxy clusters, supernova explosions and certain regions of space where particles are being accelerated close to the speed of light, such as around black holes.

 

 

In studying supernovas – the exploded remains of giant stars – scientists will be looking for telltale chemical fingerprints of radioactive titanium.““There’s a whole variety of phenomenon from very extreme neutron stars to remnants of old stellar explosions we haven’t discovered yet,” said lead scientist Fiona Harrison, with the California Institute of Technology.

Supernovas are an important measuring stick for determining the universe’s rate of expansion. Because astronomers believe they give off roughly the same amount of light, measuring their brightness has been used to determine how distant they are, much like how a standard 100-watt light bulb appears dimmer if it is farther away.

NuSTAR complements NASA’s Chandra X-ray observatory and Europe’s XMM-Newton telescope, both of which study c osmic X-ray light in lower energy wavelengths.The telescope consists of two sets of 133 concentric shells of mirrors, made from flexible glass, such as what is used in laptop computer screens. Since X-rays need a large area to focus, NuSTAR has a 33-foot (10.5-metre) mast that is expected to unfold on June 20.

Both the telescope, which cost about $180 million, and the Pegasus launcher were built by Orbital Sciences Corp.

[Source:khaleej times]

Nissan Develops Self-Healing iPhone Case

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Phones

You pay a lot of money for your iPhone, but normal wear and tear makes its case look old within weeks. What if those scuffs and scratches disappeared after an hour or so?

In 2005, Nissan developed Scratch Shield self-healing paint, making shallow vehicle scratches disappear. Today, the paint is used on the Murano and 370Z and across Infiniti’s lineup. The Japanese automaker recently announced the technology’s first non-automotive application: the iPhone case.

The Scratch Shield iPhone uses the same gel-like, durable paint finish found on Nissan and Infiniti products, as well as rigid, high-strength plastic. As with vehicle scratches, a shallow scratch on the iPhone case will take around an hour to heal on its own; deeper scratches could take around a week to repair themselves.

The case is being developed in conjunction with the University of Tokyo and Advanced Soft materials Inc. and is compatible with iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S models. Prototypes are being tested with a small group of customers and journalists. If the tests are successful and demand proves high, Nissan could sell the cases to the public later this year.

Apple floated its own maps in market against Google Maps in updated iOS 6.

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iOS 6 features Maps on the New iPad Video Demo

Apple used its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) to show off upgrades to the software running iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touch devices including its own Siri-infused mapping technology and features tailored for Chinese users.

The hundreds of improvements in the iOS 6 mobile operating system due out before the end of the year come as Apple seeks to outdistance rivals powered by Google’s Android software.

Apple chief Tim Cook kicked off the California company’s annual WWDC by showing off new capabilities built into software for its hot-selling devices and slimmer, more powerful MacBook laptop computers.

Apple booted Google Maps from iOS 6, opening up another front in the war with the maker of the Android operating system.Apple’s new operating system for the iPhone and iPad includes “an entire new mapping solution from the ground up, and it is beautiful,” Apple’s Scott Forstall told the standing-room only crowd in San Francisco.

“We are doing all the cartography ourselves. We are covering the world.”Apple has “ingested hundreds of millions of business listings around the world,” he added, and has integrated with the consumer review service Yelp for reviews and ratings.

Although Maps does little to generate revenues directly, it often links to searches for products and services such as restaurants or businesses.“You can now do local search even in China,” said Forstall, who added that an array of new iOS 6 features was tailored for that country.

Analysts say the Apple maps program could over time move iPhone and iPad users away from Google search and reduce revenues for the search giant.“Make no mistake, with maps and some expanded Siri features, Apple is now in the search business,” said analyst Greg Sterling on the technology blog Search Engine Land.

Google last week beefed up its maps program, which had been pre-installed on Apple devices.Apple said that iOS 6 will also include a better-educated Siri personal assistant, which performs many of the search functions of Google.

“Siri has been out only eight months,” Forstall said.“In these eight months Siri has been studying up and learning a lot more.”

Siri, which made its debut with the release of the iPhone 4S, will be extended to recent generation iPad tablet computers, according to Forstall.Another improvement to the iOS will be to incorporate Facebook in the operating system.“We have been working very closely with Facebook to create the best Facebook experience ever on a mobile device,” Forstall said.

Source: Dawn News

 

Google accuses Microsoft, Nokia of mobile collusion.

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GOOOOOOGLE

Microsoft

Google Inc accused Microsoft Corp and Nokia of conspiring to use their patents against smartphone industry rivals, and said it has filed a formal complaint with the European Commission.

In its complaint, Google claimed Microsoft and Nokia, which cooperate on smartphone technology and production, transferred 1,200 patents for assertion to a group called MOSAID, which the company called a “patent troll” – a term referring to a holder of patents that litigates them aggressively.

Nokia and Microsoft are colluding to raise the costs of mobile devices for consumers, creating patent trolls that side-step promises both companies have made,” the Internet search leader said in a statement, adding that the complaint was filed “recently.”

“They should be held accountable, and we hope our complaint spurs others to look into these practices.”Microsoft said the complaint was a “desperate tactic” by Google.“Google is complaining about antitrust in the smartphone industry when it controls more than 95 percent of mobile search and advertising,” Microsoft said in an emailed statement.

“Google is complaining about patents when it won’t respond to growing concerns by regulators, elected officials and judges about its abuse of standard-essential patents,” Microsoft said. Where as Nokia was not immediately available for comment.

 

 

Source : Khaleej Times