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October 27 iBangle wearable design concept
Click image to enlargeImage Gallery ( 3 images ) October 27, 2008 Apple has a well deserved reputation for churning out slick designs and is equally adept at keeping us guessing as to what's around the corner. Designer Gopinath Prasana is one aficionado who has decided not to wait and see, instead coming up with his own take on what the iPod The design envisions navigation by means of a multi-touch trackpad and sound would be wirelessly transmitted to a discreet set of in-ear headphones. Cool? Yes, in fact James Bond should probably have one. Feasible? We're not too sure. Via Yanko Design Paris round-up: Nissan's compact future (好"口愛"的ㄅㄨ ㄅㄨ!!!)
The Nissan October 27, 2008 In addition to the futuristic Nuvu concept car premiered in Paris, Nissan also provided a taste of what's in store for the more immediate future with the new Pixo- a five-door, four-seater that boasts very low fuel consumption and emissions - the introduction of an all-new combined satellite nav and infotainment system known as Nissan Connect and a revised version of the Note compact car. The Nuvu, literally meaning ‘new view’, is an electric vehicle that features small, leaf shaped solar panelsacross its all glass roof that feed power to the battery. Just 3 meters long and with 2+1 seating – meaning it has two regular seats and a third occasional chair that can be folded down when required, Nissan sees it is a practical proposition for a typical supermarket or shopping expedition with an integral luggage area providing sufficient space. The Nuvu uses natural, organic and recycled materials within the cabin, but the leaf shaped solar panels on the roof that feed power to the battery using a ‘tree trunk’ within the car as a conduit, is perhaps taking the green analogy a little too far. Nissan has already announced plans to introduce an all-electric car The new Pixo is a five-door, four-seater with a roomy interior and generous luggage space. With a three-cylinder 1.0-litre engine and lightweight construction, the car promises very low fuel consumption and emissions and as an "all-rounder", it's designed to be agile enough for city driving, while the availability of a full four-speed automatic also makes it capable of longer journeys. Nissan also displayed the revised Note with the most obvious changes being a completely new design of grille, bumper and headlight. At the rear, the signature ‘boomerang’ lights are now darker and two new designs of alloy wheels– 15” and 16” – are available. For the driver, a new combi-meter has been introduced, giving improved legibility and clarity and there is also a new central instrument panel, giving a cleaner appearance to the center console. Under the skin, improvements have been made to the Note’s suspension and, following revisions to its engine and gearbox ratios and the introduction of a diesel particulate filter earlier this year, the latest 1.5-litre dCipowered Note produces CO2 of just 119g/km. Additionally, from October, customers will benefit from reduced CO2 emissions The updates to the Note also herald the introduction of Nissan Connect, Nissan’s all-new combined satellite navigation, audio entertainment and communication system. The system utilizes touch screen technology and combines a satellite navigation system (in nine languages), with an audio system capable of playing CDs (including MP3 and WMA CDs), as well as music via an auxiliary input, USB plug and Bluetooth streaming. The system also provides Bluetooth phone connectivity for hands-free communication. Sales of the Pixo start from late spring in the UK, while Nissan Connect will be available on Note from January 2009 and will be extended to other Nissan models during the course of 2009. Loads more Nuvu pics can be found here. iPhone 3G baseband hacked, one step closer to an unlockThe iPhone Dev Team has posted a video showing their recent progress with the iPhone 3G. They have hacked their way in to the PMB8878 baseband processor, which gives them unrestricted access to the iPhone 3G hardware - and, you guessed it, the means to unlock the phone for use on any carrier. Of course, the unlock isn't here yet, but it's clearly only a matter of time. Via iPhone Dev Team October 26 San Antonio,安多尼歐(老闆真的瘋了之愛河本店完全五折計畫)Robert，我真是猜不透你啊～ (老闆真的瘋了之愛河本店完全五折計畫)
 完全五折?!Robert，你到底在想啥啊？ 你該不會到時候又延後半個月 老實說，我心裡想的大概也是那樣，這應該是Robert心中的腹案吧？沒想到我錯了.... 然後減少為8人吧   Robert：你太天真了，要突破思考的窠臼啊～ 他接下來的，是要把安多尼歐本店也拖下水，變成完全五折！
PS. 這篇雖然放在好康大放送裡，不過我覺得更應該放在你以為你老闆在想啥？  哈哈～ Robert：哼哼哼，搞清楚了吧？ October 25 Sushi that you sit on
SUSHItwo-in-one furniture design An entry in the 2008 Create the Future Design Contest An entry in the 2008 Create the Future Design Contest The elegantly simple design is made from a high gloss finished fiber glassbase with fine fabric upholstery and its unique pattern was created using a laser cuttingtechnique. The creator says SUSHI is designed to fit “modern and futuristic home design interiors” for adults as well as children. It turns out that another home-decor product, this one from German design firm, Sternform Emily Clark [趣事] 英國商務大臣公開喝中國牛奶 (Monica 提供)http://phtv.ifeng.com/phinfo/200809/0928_45_810365.shtml 9月28日 溫家寶：在鳳凰電視上看到曼德爾森喝中國牛奶很感動 溫家寶：我在鳳凰電視看到曼德爾森先生，不知道他今天在不在場， 他喝了一杯中國的牛奶，以表示他對中國產品的信心，我心裡非常感動。 因為他看到的不是眼前，而是未來。 - - - - - - - - - - -但是 - - - - - - - - - - - - http://finance.ifeng.com/news/hqcj/20081008/173686.shtml 10月8日 英商務大臣曼德爾森上任當天 腎結石發作接受手術 -- 也真是難為他了..... October 23 2008 Peugeot Design Contest: tommorrow's urban commutersPeugeothas announced the winners of its 2008 Design Competition with RD, a morphingthree-wheeler from 25 year old Columbian designer Carlos Arturo Torres Tovar claiming the top prize in what has once again proved to be an invigorating platform for futuristic automotive design. Now in its fifth year, the theme set down for this year's contest was to "imagine the Peugeot in the worldwide megopolis of tomorrow", a challenge the winning entry meets with a small footprint that gives it the scope to navigate narrow roads combined with the ability to shorten itself by folding upwards at a central hinge point in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Along with the €10,000 prize, the designer will see his vision produced in full-scale modelform for the 2009 Shanghai Motor Show. Filling out the podium places was Ego, a lightweight, one-seat EV from Emre Yazici of Turkey and OXOby Lou Ke of China, another electric vehiclemade up of two pods that can be pulled closer together to meet the space constraints of modern cities. Other noteworthy designs to make the shortlist for the award included the "Peugeot 888", which has four wheels but shares the same shrinking footprint as the winner, the water-drop like "P.R.O.", Shinji Nukumi's "Vision" and the MoVille, a radical (even in this company) three-wheeled The 2008 contest attracted 2500 designs from around 100 countries nationalities and more than 132,000 votes from the public were received before the judges met to pick the winners earlier this month. When dealing with design, the old adage" a picture tells a thousand words" hits the mark - check out he gallery. Noel McKeegan Source: Peugeot Rainbow Glasses: fashion you can see throughOctober 23, 2008 Fashionistaswho are required to wear glasses will love this color-changing eyewearfrom Portuguese industrial designer, Luis Porem The RbG glasses are made from clear plastic with an internal channel for the colored inkto pass through and a flexible, enclosed hinge to prevent leakage. This "paints" the frames with the desired color and allows you to choose the right hue for whatever occasion presents itself. Emily Clark Via Luis Porem Honda demonstrates V2V communication system for motorcyclistsOctober 23, 2008 No matter what your skill level, being aware of what's going on around you is THE most critical safety factor for all road users - if you don't see it coming, you are in big trouble. For motorcyclists, who are simply less visible on the roads and face a much greater risk of death or serious injury in the event that an accident does occur, this factor becomes even more important. In the past, the technology dedicated to inter-vehicle communication has been limited to blowing the horn or perhaps catching a radio report of an accident up ahead, but things are changing fast. This brings us to Honda's latest innovation in the field. The company has debuted a new Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication (V2V) system aimed at reducing road casualtiesof both motorcyclists and car drivers which links vehicles within a defined radio range via a wireless LAN network to provide immediate access to data on vehicle location, accidents, congestionor other potential threats that lie ahead. The system monitors the position, speed, distance and direction of surrounding road users and the collected data is centralized before being sent to drivers and motorcyclists. For the latter, the information can be accessed on their navigation system display or relayed by means of an in-helmetaudio system. The HMI (Human Machine Interface) concept developed by Honda Developed within the ASV (Advanced Safety Vehicle) program in Japan, Honda demonstrated the system for the first time at the CAR 2 CAR Although there is no room to doubt the premise that greater awareness equals greater safety, the statistics cited by Honda to underpin their commitment to developing this technology make interesting reading. EU funded research project (Motorcycle Accident In-Depth Study or MAIDS) collected in 1999 looked at data from 921 motorcycle accidents in 5 European countries. It was found that 88% of the accidents were mainly caused by human error, while 8% were due to external environmental factors such as weather conditions or road infrastructure. In 37 per cent of cases the motorcyclist was the cause of the accident, while in 50 per cent of cases the driver of the other vehicle was responsible. Of this 50 per cent, 72 per cent were so-called 'perception' failures, where the driver failed to see the motorcycle, three per cent were 'comprehension' failures (they saw the motorcycle but the brain did not recognize it as such), and 20 per cent were 'decision' failures (they saw the motorcycle but decided to continue with the intended manoeuvre anyway)... i.e. drivers tend not to see motorcyclists. It's hoped systems like V2V will have an impact in particular problem areas such as accidents at an intersections and left-turn accidents (right-turn in the UK, Ireland, Australia etc) where a other vehicle cuts across the path of an oncoming motorcycle. Work is continuing into extending the scope of the system to assist more difficult situations. This includes identifying when are motorcyclists hidden in "blind-spots" or pinpointing the location of emergency services vehicles when a siren is sounding. The Car 2 Car Consortium’s research and work, coupled with Honda’s latest safety innovation will result in a new era of road safety for all road users, where vehicle communication systems share vital information with the aim of helping to reduce the number of casualties on the roads," said General Manager of Honda (UK) Motorcycles, Steve Martindale. "Honda fully supports the EU targets for traffic fatality reduction and we’re pleased to be able to further our commitment under the European Road Safety Charter with this latest vehicle communication safety system.” Via Honda Waiting for the Hurricane to Hit- Notes on Life in Silicon Valley . . .By Tom Foremski - October 22, 2008 The morning traffic does seem a little lighter going into the valley but the restaurants, especially in San Francisco, are still buzzing. Clearly, we haven't yet been hit by the effects of the financial crisis, or the wider global economic recession. But it does feel as if our version of Hurricane Katrina is building up energy, just off the coast of Silicon Valley. There is a definite feeling of something huge and nasty lurking just over the horizon. It's an ominous feeling highlighted by the fact that we are enjoying a gorgeous Indian summer. Shelter from the storm . . . It is only about three years since things started to get better from the dotcom dotbomb fallout. And now Silicon Valley is headed into yet another bust cycle. Will we be somewhat sheltered from the storm? Will our version of the economic hurricane Katrina come smashing into us with a bulls eye hit? Or will it be a glancing blow? In my travels I've been asking about how the economy and the financial crisis is affecting people and their companies. In the PR industry, companies tell me they continue to close big deals, and while there has been some churn, it is nothing out of the ordinary. Among startups and VCs, people seem to be tightening their belts, but then again, most startups already operate lean and mean, there isn't a whole lot more tightening to be done. Capital efficiency has been drummed into startups by the VCs, who have forced them to outsource as much development as they can to India, China, and dozens of other countries. This means that startups will likely cut outside services, such as PR, and cut conferences and trade shows, as they turn to social media to home grow their PR activities. Out PR the recession . . . Every PR blogger out there continues to write about the need to invest more in PR during tough times. While I agree with many of their arguments, it is always easier to cut outside services than it is to cut the jobs of your colleagues--people who have been in the trenches with you through many a long night. PR agency retainers start at about $20K per month and can run typically run at $40K and above. Those are large numbers and ones that can be cut more easily than others. The chips are in . . . Another bleak sector is in the semiconductor equipment markets. The financial crisis and recession coincides with over-production in memory chips and the natural boom and bust cycles of the chip industry. Mark Osborne, editor in chief of Fabtech, a large UK based magazine covering the chip production industry, tells me he is hearing of huge cuts in capital expenditure by chip makers. Also, with tough capital markets, it is going to be difficult for chipmakers to raise the capital to build multi-billion dollar fabs. Mark Osborne says that most will try to refit their existing fabs--if they have the money. Web two-point-oh-oh! In Web 2.0 sectors, times will be tough. A lot of the web 2.0 companies have business models based on advertising. Online advertising is going to be hit hard by the recession. A weeding out of the many similar Web 2.0 companies is an easy prediction to make. Again, PR companies will feel the hits here. Accelerating media death spiral . . . Media companies are already fighting the massive disruption caused by Internet 2.0 and the fragmentation of the industry. With advertising being hit, this disruption will be accelerated. Newer media companies are in a better position because of lower costs of operation but even they will be affected. Online advertising was already a poor source of revenues, so many have moved to hosting conferences and mini-trade shows. Conferences and trade shows will be affected as companies reduce spending on outside services and events. Things look bleak but things won't be as bleak in Silicon Valley as they will elsewhere. Here is why: - Silicon Valley lives in the future not in the now. The economy of Silicon Valley is based on big bets made on the future not on the present. While what happens today does have an effect on investment psychology, it is the future expected returns that rule the roost. - There is still a lot of money in VC funds. Raising new funds is a problem but Elke Heiss, over at Sterling Communications points out that there is still a lot of money waiting to be put to good use, her VC contacts say they are continuing to invest in good ideas and good teams. The Sequoia RIP powerpoint presentation is considered overkill in some VC circles. - Startups have time horizons of two to five years out--the economy will be completely different by then. It's the same as hunting for ducks, you shoot ahead of the ducks not where they are now. You want to be ready to go when the economy gets better and that means that VC investments will continue as before, with the same goals. - Micro-capital. It takes less capital than ever to fund a startup. - Smart people. Silicon Valley has access to the best public university, Berkeley, and the best private university, Stanford. - Downturns birth innovation. Innovation is about many things but its core quality is about creating technologies that are far better and far cheaper than doing things the old way. In tough economies tough decisions are made and changing to more efficient and productive technologies has a greater urgency. - Diversity. San Jose has the most diverse population in the US. And Silicon Valley has the most diverse economy in the US. It is more than tech, it is bio-tech, green technologies, and clean energy industries. Diversity is the best protection to any economic recession. Silicon Valley knows how to deal with downturns. And it knows how to profit from upturns, we've been here many times before. - - - Please see: - The Size of Derivatives Bubble = $190K Per Person on Planet - Must Read Analysis: Why Markets Are Still Falling . . . The Shadow Financial Systems - Survey: Bosses are keeping staff in the dark on financial crisis - We've been here before - boom and bust in Silicon Valley - VCs to Startups: Cut Your Burn Rate by 25 % Now! - Scoop: IBM Considering Bankrolling Partner Projects Because of Financial Crisis - Thought Leader Interview: - Sabrina Horn Says "Sell Like Hell!" 現代年輕人核心競爭力之二: 立志 (轉載"嚴成文的想法")個人認為文中被我紅色highlight的部分…值得深思現代年輕人核心競爭力之二: 立志「立志」似乎已經變成一個被遺棄的名詞，「要立志做大事，不要立志做大官。」是我兒時常聽到的一句話，而我也確實在父兄長輩間看到許多立志要做大科學家或大文學家的人。如今，好像大多數人想的是「立志賺大錢」，在有錢才有自由的想法中，設定自己的將來。可是最後演講一書的作者Randy Pausch卻說:「只有極端缺乏想像力的人才會把財富當作自己的童年夢想。何況，研究結果告訴我們追尋你真正的夢想反而比追逐財富可能得到更多財富。」 對我個人而言，「立志」就是替自己設定人生的理想，而且是一個真正讓自己能不虛此生的崇高理想。當然，理想必須兼顧現實，只是我們太容易和現實妥協，所以年輕人在求學時所關心的不是學問的價值，甚至不是自己的興趣，而是為了未來的出路與錢途。 所以軍校因為目前軍人優渥穩定的待遇而變成熱門的升學選項。可是，在我年輕的時候，軍校對學子的吸引力和現在十八分就可以上的大學差不多。別忘了，有需要時，軍人是要遠赴沙場甚至為國捐軀的。如果，從軍真是我們的志業，那麼，馬革裹屍也算是死得其所。但如果只是為了生活安穩，面對這樣的結果我們能有幾分情願？更何況，過了十年後軍人的待遇會不會風水輪流轉到另ㄧ頭?所以陳文茜小姐曾說：「年輕人只要做自己愛做的事，盡力發展自己的天份就好，只要天份發展成熟，有時社會條件不好，轉一下還是可以有出路，這個社會變動那麼大，何必管它變成怎麼樣？」 不過「只要做自己愛做的事」未必就是「立志」。 兒時的我想當少棒國手，只因為那時全國都在瘋少棒，我不過是隨風潮起舞。青少年時，想當熱門樂手，但我從未真正去了解當樂手所需在音樂上下的苦工，也未能認知到為何成名樂手中有許多人日後會走上墮落糜爛之路？我只看到他們的光芒，癡迷他們的炫目，那些不是理想，是虛榮。大學後，一方面是覺得有錢真好，一方面被海外學人的頭銜所吸引，我決定好好讀書、留學、拿學位，然後找發財的機會，這一切雖然沒有完全地落空，回顧起來這種不入流的「立志」，讓我浪費了許多寶貴的時光，更大大限制了我今生所能成就的事！ 真正的理想不會有虛榮的成分，否則也不會有這麼多公眾人物在人氣退散之後找不到自己下半生意義的所在。 真正的理想與物質和金錢無關，太多的實際例子顯示它們給人的快樂是非常短暫的，物質與金錢完全不能保證幸福。 真正的理想也和安適的生活沒有太大的關係。大家現在常想的就是如何在經濟無憂的狀況下退休，之後四處旅遊，只是退休不到一年半載，就發現自己實在「玩不下去了」。 沒人能替我們定義理想，但是下列這段孫運璿先生的話卻是個好典範：「有的母女倆合穿一條褲子，吃飯時就抱著甘藷沾鹽啃，我想到我將來入政府，一定要改善他們的生活，不能讓他們受這樣的苦」。 我相信真正的「立志」一定不是只和自已的福祉有關。 最後，我還想大聲的說：「立志」這件事，過程絕對比結果重要。無法達到的理想固然容易讓人難過，但是只要有個忠於自己、無愧於人的努力過程，就算回憶時有所遺憾，但也還是會有無可取代的美與價值。這也就是前輩們所說的「求仁得仁有何怨，老死路邊又何妨」，這是何等的氣魄。 我希望我沒有讓你誤認為「立志」是悲情的犧牲。相反的，它反倒是能變成現代年輕人的核心競爭力。 在升學主義的功利思想誘導下，現代的年輕人常是順著固定的升學管道走，每一個階段的目的就是要考上最好的學校，拼第一名。在工程上，這種只為當下目標尋找最大利益的解題方式，稱之為貪婪演算法（greedy algorithm），而它所得到的答案經常和真正的最佳解有無法評估的差距。 然而，在「立志」之後，我們的所有努力就能以整體性的方式向我們的理想匯集，時間長卻不做虛功，不斷地累積能量，替人生尋求全域最佳解（global optimum），這種競爭力的提升不是任何短線操作方式所能達到的。 嚴長壽有一句話形容把「立志」的真義形容的的淋漓盡致:「你生命中所做的每件事，不是為了要留下碑文，期待別人的懷念或是歌功頌德；你的奮鬥、你的努力，儘管除了天地，無人知曉，你都仍然願意以同樣的熱忱去付出。更重要的是，你自己是不是在當下充分享受了那些付出的過程。」 我們的「立志」能不能得到別人的掌聲甚或認同也就無足輕重了。 Seat-less bike design promises fitter children
Julia Meyer's TaurusbicycledesignImage Gallery ( 2 images ) The “Taurus” is a futuristic bicycle concept from Julia Meyer which promises to keep kids fit through its seat-less design. The forward-leaning configuration means you stand on the bikein the optimumposition for giving your leg muscles a solid workout as well as ensuring correct posture. The upright stance is assisted by angled handlebars and the pedaling action is more like operating a steppermachine than a traditional bicycle. The back wheel hub of the bike also stores the energy generated by pedaling which can be called upon when you get to the next steep climb and a readout on the bike shows the amount of energy created and stored with the aim of encouraging kids to pedal harder. Designed specifically for children, the Taurus is designed to be easily transported in a car as the handlebars and wheels can be removed. Via: Yanko Design 台式電影回憶片段
少年吔，安啦！ 台灣自產值得一看的黑幫電影 如今還記得國二的我一直站在唱片行渴望買下原聲帶的那一幕，造就出些原本就有才華的音樂人 (林強…一直很欣賞台灣手，如果覺得原聲帶很黑暗，聽聽他唱…”幸福進行曲”、”向前走”)
只有在廟會，才偶見的八家將~鐘仔…描繪台灣特殊行業的小人物日誌
練著打點，盯電腦看了五次…後段取景巴黎有陳湘琪一幕的”你那邊幾點?” 感覺就像林強所寫的歌-“無聲的所在”
不知為何? 就是對”愛你，愛我” 有股莫名好感!!!唯一美中不足的就屬”張震”這選角…嗯，有點不ok! 大學時並成為我”當代美學”其一報告 或許就和《檳榔西施我愛你》的作者相似吧!
”海角七號”吸引我之處，在於其探討的人文議題 關於愛情…”純樸鐵道倩影-戀戀風塵”仍是首選
很多人都會覺得台灣電影帶著些許沉重的壓力…or more，”海角”的出現多少能緩一緩台式壓抑的情緒~
LaLa Launches Next Generation Music Web ServiceBy Tom Foremski - October 20, 2008 LaLa has launched a unique online music service that has the potential to be a one-stop music web application for most people. It cleverly blends people's personal collection of MP3 songs with a choice of more than 6 million songs available for streaming--and accessible from any Internet connected device. Users let LaLa scan their PCs for the MP3 files they already have and the music service matches them automatically with its online catalog. If it's not in the catalog, its Music Mover application automatically uploads the songs to make them available online. In addition, users have access to 6 million songs in the LaLa catalog that they can listen to for free--once. For 10 cents per song users can buy lifetime access to a streamed version of that song. If they then want to own that song on their local hard drive, they can buy it for 79 cents. What makes LaLa even more compelling is that it recommends music that you don't have, and enables discovery of music that you might like. Plus you can subscribe to other people's playlists, create your own playlists, and also gift music to others. If they don't like the track, they can keep the credit.
LaLa does not believe that a subscription based monthly music service, or an advertising supported music service, can be successful. "If you are a subscriber there is no incentive to encourage you to listen to more music because you become less profitable to the service, it costs them money for every song you listen to," says Mr Nguyen. And with advertising based models, music services have to place adverts between the user and the music they want to listen to to pay for the service, which harms the user experience. Foremski's Take: LaLa has come a long way from its start in early 2006 as a CD swapping service using snail mail. This latest incarnation of LaLa leapfrogs the many varieties of online music services available with a great user interface, and a business model that integrates licensing agreements with four major labels and 175,000 independent labels. Behind the scenes is LaLa's data center which is designed to be scalable and to use any cloud computing platform available. "We built a data center to get things started but our system can run on Amazon or any other platform," says Mr Nguyen. The key to LaLa potential success is that it has incorporated a commerce platform into the music service that can then cross-sell new music based on a user's existing library as a guide. I love the idea of scanning my drive and having access to my music from any internet connected device without needing to upload gigabytes of music. I also like the discoverability within the system in that I can find new music easily and get one free play of any music in the LaLa catalog. Even though 10 cents per song isn't expensive, I like the Yahoo Music monthly "all you can eat" service for one low payment--but I'm sure I can get used to this risk-free method of discovering new music. Here is my "Forecast" from LaLa which you can listen to for free: I hate myself for loving you (Anoceanapart recommends)
喚醒當年"熱血高校生"的情操 October 20 No hands, no pedals: the electric self balancing unicycle (有了這謝志偉就不用辛苦騎單輪車!)October 20, 2008 While the unicyclecould never be accused of being the most practical form of transport, one or two designs that have emerged in recent years (like the Unomoto and Bombadier's Embrio concept) have identified the potential of combining self-balancing technology with a format that is, well, inherently unbalanced. Known as the electric self-balancing unicycle or SBU, this new incarnationfrom Focus Designs makes the challenge 50% easier by incorporating a system of accelerometers and gyroscopes to control the forward and backward balance, leaving the rider to concentrate mainly on sideways movement. The other big difference from the traditional design is that there are no pedals or crank arms, just footrests to help balance while you glide along at up to 8mph while controlling speed by leaning forward and backwards. According to Focus Designs it takes about two hours of practice before the average punter can master the SBU and there is an in-built warning sensor that alerts you when you are pushing too hard. The electric motoris good for around 12 miles, or 1.5 hours on a single charge and despite the fact that you still run the risk of ending up face down on the pavement, the SBU does boast a much smaller footprint than its two-wheeled cousins and at under 25lbs (11.2kg) it's still light enough to carry with you on the train. If you're really looking to stand out from the crowd at the bike shelter you can get your hands on the SBU in November at a cost of USD$1500 - however only 10 will be produced in this first run. See Focus Designs October 19 Biz Break: Valley, California unemployment rate held steady in SeptemberPlus: Mervyns to cease operations; Rambus to get $5.2 million from antitrust case
Compiled by the Mercury News Article Launched: 10/17/2008 02:36:06 PM PDT Related Links
Despite national financial turmoil and worries of a recession, Silicon Valley's unemployment rate remained unchanged in September, as gains in the professional and technical sectors balanced losses elsewhere. But at 6.5 percent, it's the highest rate Santa Clara County has seen since September 2003, when the area was deep in the post-dot-com-bubble slump. It's also up sharply from this time last year, when it was 4.9 percent. In neighboring San Benito County, with a much smaller population and an agricultural bent, the rate hit 7.9 percent, the highest in a dozen years. The state's unemployment rate was 7.7 percent, also unchanged from August. (The state's figures are adjusted to account for seasonal variations in employment, while the county's are not.) The national unemployment rate, announced two weeks ago, was 6.1 percent, also unchanged. In the Silicon Valley region, which includes San Benito and Santa Clara counties, the manufacturing sector lost 600 jobs since August, about half what it normally loses at this time of year, according to Janice Shriver, a labor market specialist at the state Employment Development Department in Campbell. Mervyn's to cease operations: Mervyn's announced today that it will cease operations and hold going out of business sales at all of its stores, making the bankrupt retailer the latest company Advertisement
Hayward-based Mervyn's explored a sale of the company and a wide array of other options before making the abrupt decision to shut the company. The going-out-of-business sales will be held during the upcoming holiday season, Mervyn's said. Mervyn's had filed for Chapter 11 earlier this year and was attempting to reorganize its finances through the bankruptcy case. Rambus to get $5.2 million from antitrust case: Rambus, a designer of high-speed computer memory chips, said it will get about $5.2 million in royalties that were held back while it successfully fought an antitrust case by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The FTC had tried to limit the amount Rambus collected on certain dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, chips that act as the main memory in computers. Any amounts in excess of the limit were to be put aside while Rambus appealed an agency finding that the company violated antitrust laws to obtain patents on an industry standard. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Washington threw out the case in April, saying the FTC failed to prove Rambus harmed competition in the market for DRAM chips. The appeals court in September rejected the FTC's request to reconsider the case, prompting the agency to release the withheld royalties, Rambus said. Silicon Valley tech stocks: Up: Borland, Cisco, eBay, Hewlett-Packard, LogicVision and Sun Microsystems Down: Apple, Intel, Network Appliance and Yahoo The tech heavy Nasdaq composite index: Down 6.42, or 0.37 percent, to 1,711.29. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average: Down 127.04, or 1.41 percent to 8,852.22. And the Standard & Poor's 500 index: Down 5.88, or 0.62 percent, to 940.55. Check in weekday afternoons for the 60-Second Business Break, a summary of news from Mercury News staff writers, the Associated Press, Bloomberg News and other wire services. October 18 Must Read Analysis: Why Markets Are Still Falling . . . The Shadow Financial SystemsBy Tom Foremski - October 16, 2008 I'm fortunate to be a member of the ACTA Open, which provides great analysis of today's complex financial markets. Here is an excellent analysis by DK Matai, chairman of the ATCA Open. (I'm reprinting it because it is a member only organization - see description at end - but the information should be more widely distributed, imho.)
About ACTA Open
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of the future might look like. Dubbed the iBangle, the concept design turns the iPod into a wrist worn, 
, single-person design that envisions electromagnetic spherical wheels and tilting cabin for aerodynamic efficiency when the city gridlock eases.
Bill Nguyen, founder of LaLa, gave me a demonstration of the service earlier today. "This service goes beyond owning CDs, it goes beyond owning music files, for ten cents a song you get lifetime access to that song over any Internet connection. Our research shows that people listen to 30 per cent of their own music and the rest is music that they don't yet own. Search and discoverability of music is a key part of this service."
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