Samsung’s been pretty busy with its successful Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets, along with the Nexus S, but the company this morning reminded us all that it’s not been resting on its laurels when it comes to hardware. Samsung today revealed that it’s developed a 1GB DRAM for mobile devices that boasts a wide I/O interface and low power consumption to boot. The new mobile DRAM is capable of transmitting data at 12.8GB per second, an eightfold increase in bandwidth when compared to mobile DDR DRAM, and it’s made possible by the use of 512 pins for data input and output compared to the last-gen mobile DRAMs’ 32 pins. All this comes with a reduction in power consumption amounting to roughly 87 percent.
"Following the development of 4Gb LPDDR2 DRAM (low-power DDR2 dynamic random access memory) last year, our new mobile DRAM solution with a wide I/O interface represents a significant contribution to the advancement of high-performance mobile products," said Byungse So, senior VP of memory product planning and application engineering at Samsung Electronics. "We will continue to aggressively expand our high-performance mobile memory product line to further propel the growth of the mobile industry," he continued.
Samsung’s next move is to provide 20nm-class 4Gb wide I/O mobile DRAM sometime in 2013.
Ready for 7601? It's been talked about since the very original release of Windows 7 and now it's finally here. That's right, if you've been holding off on Windows 7 until the first Service Pack, today is the day that you can finally step up.
Now available for direct download from Microsoft are Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1. You can grab it from Microsoft at the links here, but if you're only updating one machine, then you are probably better off just running Windows Update.
Airplane technology under development at NASA could bring a whole new meaning to the term "autopilot."
Called the Intelligent Flight Control System, the futuristic software is meant to help keep damaged planes flying right even in the face of catastrophic failure.
Fighter pilots could return to safety with a shot-up wing, for example, or a commercial jetliner could land with a busted stabilizer.
The software knows how the airplane should fly, said James Smolka, a test pilot at the Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, who has been working on the project.
If the plane starts to fly differently than it should, the system will adjust controls such as rudders, flaps, and engines to get it back on track.
"It measures the actual [flight patterns] and it knows what it prefers to have, and it tries to change the actual to fly more like the desired," Smolka said.
(Related news: "Self-Healing Spacecraft? Tiny Tubes Ooze Epoxy" [January 27, 2006].)
With this technology, even pilots who lack special training on how to make those adjustments themselves could stay in control of the plane, he added. Crash Prevention
One example of where such technology could have been useful is Alaska Airlines Flight 261, which lost control of its horizontal stabilizer and spun into the Pacific Ocean off California on January 21, 2000.
Proof of fourth basic circuit element could transform computing
By Jamie Beckett, April 2008
Researchers at HP Labs have solved a decades-old mystery by proving the existence of a fourth basic element in integrated circuits that could make it possible to develop computers that turn on and off like an electric light.
The memristor — short for memory resistor - could make it possible to develop far more energy-efficient computing systems with memories that retain information even after the power is off, so there's no wait for the system to boot up after turning the computer on. It may even be possible to create systems with some of the pattern-matching abilities of the human brain.
A mathematical model and a physical example that prove the memristor's existence appear in a paper published in the April 30 issue of the journal Nature.
The memristor first appeared in a 1971 paper published by Professor Leon Chua, a distinguished faculty member in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Department of the University of California Berkeley.
Chua described and named the memristor, arguing that it should be included along with the resistor, capacitor and inductor as the fourth fundamental circuit element. The memristor has properties that cannot be duplicated by any combination of the other three elements.
Although researchers had observed instances of memristance for more than 50 years, the proof of its existence remained elusive - in part because memristance is much more noticeable in nanoscale devices. The crucial issue for memristance is that the device' atoms need to change location when voltage is applied, and that happens much more easily at the nanoscale.
Proving memristor in the lab
Williams and co-authors Dmitri B. Strukov, Gregory S. Snider and Duncan R. Stewart were able to formulate a physics-based model of a memristor and build nanoscale devices in their lab that demonstrate all of the necessary operating characteristics to prove that the memristor was real.
"This is an amazing development," Chua says. "It took someone like Stan Williams with a multi-disciplinary background and deep insights to conceive of such a tiny memristor only a few atoms in thickness."
Williams has a background in physical chemistry. Strukov is a theoretical physicist, Snider is a computer architect and Stewart is an experimental physicist.
Possible replacement for D-RAM
By providing a mathematical model for the physics of a memristor, the team makes possible for engineers to develop integrated circuit designs that take advantage of its ability to retain information.
"This opens up a whole new door in thinking about how chips could be designed and operated," Williams says.
Engineers could, for example, develop a new kind of computer memory that would supplement and eventually replace today's commonly used dynamic random access memory (D-RAM). Computers using conventional D-RAM lack the ability to retain information once they are turned off. When power is restored to a D-RAM-based computer, a slow, energy-consuming "boot-up" process is necessary to retrieve data stored on a magnetic disk required to run the system.
Memristor-based computers wouldn't require that process, using less power and possibly increasing system resiliency and reliability. Chua believes the memristor could have applications for computing, cell phones, video games - anything that requires a lot of memory without a lot of battery-power drain.
Brain-like systems?
As for the human brain-like characteristics, memristor technology could one day lead to computer systems that can remember and associate patterns in a way similar to how people do.
This could be used to substantially improve facial recognition technology or to provide more complex biometric recognition systems that could more effectively restrict access to personal information.
These same pattern-matching capabilities could enable appliances that learn from experience and computers that can make decisions.
Nanoscale electronics experience
In the memristor work, the researchers built on their extensive experience - Williams founded the precursor lab to IQSL in 1995 - in building and studying nanoscale electronics and architectures.
One goal of this work has been to move computing beyond the physical and fiscal limits of conventional silicon chips. For decades, increases in chip performance have come about largely by putting more and more transistors on a circuit. Higher densities, however, increase the problems of heat generation and defects and affect the basic physics of the devices.
"Instead of increasing the number of transistors on a circuit, we could create a hybrid circuit with fewer transistors but the addition of memristors - and more functionality," Williams says. Alternately, memristor technologies could enable more energy-efficient high-density circuits.
In 2007, the team developed an architecture for such a hybrid chip using conventional CMOS technology and nanoscale switching devices.
"What we now know," Williams says, "is that these switches have a name - memristor."
Twenty years from now, semiconductor chips will cost a penny apiece and will be in everything -- our clothing, our sunglasses, our contact lenses and even our toilets -- physicist Michio Kaku told an audience Thursday at the RSA 2011 convention.
Moore's Law, which posits that computing power doubles roughly every 18 months, also more or less applies to electricity, running water and paper, Kaku suggested.
Extrapolating this curve out into the future, some computer chips will eventually cost about a penny apiece, Kaku stated. "There will be millions scattered in our clothing, in the environment."
When computer chip prices fall to about a penny, chips will be ubiquitous. They'll be present in our clothing and in our eyeglasses, Kaku remarked.
Embedded chips will give our eyeglasses access to the Internet on the fly, Kaku predicted. Eyeglasses will then double as their owners' home offices or entertainment centers.
"In 10 years, we'll live in a world where we can identify people's faces, see their biographies, see subtitles as they speak in other languages and, if you're an artist, you'll be able to create any sculpture by waving your hands and see it develop," Kaku said.
The Technology of War
The United States military is using a version of smart glasses called "Land Warrior," which Kaku saw at demonstrated at Fort Benning. "It's the Internet of the battlefield -- you'll see friendly troops, enemy troops, everything on your glasses," he told his audience.
Augmented reality will be used to enhance the capability of smart glasses. "You've seen this before in the movies," Kaku said, showing a slide from the film "The Terminator."
The Chinese already have created an augmented reality version of the Summer Palace in Beijing, Kaku stated.
The U.S. Department of Defense began investing in augmented technology back in 2007.
One company, Tanagram, has worked on a DARPA project involving an augmented reality interface for F-35 fighter jets.
Two other companies announced products including augmented reality at the Mobile World Congress, being held in Barcelona, Spain. Route 66 unveiled a new app for Android earlier this week that incorporates augmented reality. Meanwhile, Travel site TripAdvisor announced Thursday at MWC that it has added a virtual tours feature that uses augmented reality to its iPad app.
More Uses for the Ubiquitous Chip
Paper will be electronic, using organic LED (OLED) technology. "Your cellphone will scroll out paper which can be totally flexible," Kaku said.
The wallpaper of the future will be both flexible and intelligent, and it will consist of hundreds of computers on the wall. "When you want to redecorate your house, you talk to the walls and they'll change to whatever color you want," Kaku said.
Office files will follow people around in the cloud as they move from room to room, or between the home and office, Kaku forecast.
"Today your office is structured around your PC," Kaku said. "Why? The content is more important than your platform."
Cars of the future will drive themselves, Kaku said. "Google is already investing millions of dollars into this technology and predicts that, in eight or nine years, your car will drive itself," he pointed out.
Cars of the future will drive themselves, Michio Kaku stated. The research is already being undertaken.
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), however, isn't hold too tightly to that time frame.
"We aren't going to put a hard number on when the car will be available on the road," Google spokesperson Jay Nancarrow told TechNewsWorld.
"The technology has made a lot of progress, but there are a lot of other external factors involved with putting cars on the road that make it more difficult to give an estimate," he explained. "The team is hard at work on some of the toughest computer science challenges in their field."
Reinventing Manufacturing
The ubiquity of chips will lead to mass customization, Kaku forecast.
For example, consumers will be able to walk into a store, select an item of clothing they want, and send a message to the manufacturer, who will create that item tailored exactly to them, Kaku said.
This is already happening now, Jake Sorofman, chief marketing officer at rPath, told TechNewsWorld.
"That's what Dell's (Nasdaq: DELL) doing," Sorofman elaborated. "They've outsourced manufacturing and they're just assemblers who configure their products to suit market needs. We see that at Ikea as well."
Eliminating Diseases
All medicine will be reduced to computer science, Kaku said.
"When Isaac Asimov did this in the movie 'Fantastic Voyage,' people laughed," Kaku elaborated. "In the future we'll do this. We've already done this with nanoparticles."
The California Institute of Technology has developed nanoparticles that can home in and destroy individual cancer cells, Kaku said. These have been up to 80 percent effective in trials.
Smart toilets will help eliminate cancer, Kaku suggested. "Your toilet will have DNA chips which can zoom in on individual cancer cells and can tell you if you have cancer," he explained. "It will tell you that there are 100 cancer cells in a colony in your body 10 years before that forms into a tumor."
A hearty 65 percent of Internet users have paid to access or download online content, according to survey results released Thursday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The study focused on content such as music, articles and apps.
There were a number of surprises in the data. With the exception of software, which is a predominantly male interest, men and women bought content at roughly the same rate. The researchers also found it surprising that Internet users bought online content and subscription services at the same rate as physical products and travel.
The big categories of purchased content were software and online music. In both categories, 33 percent of online users have made purchases. Typical users pay about US$10 per month for content. As for methods of purchase, the majority of users pay for subscriptions services (23 percent) versus downloads of individual files (16 percent).
The survey data came from telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,023 adults in a mix of age groups during the period of October 28, 2010, through November 1, 2010.
The print publishing industry has taken a significant hit due to the migration of readers online. The newspaper industry has been hit particularly hard, with major decades-old papers folding during 2010. There's good news online, however, with 18 percent of Internet users paying for online content from newspaper and magazine sites.
"Eighteen percent is well above noise level, so it's a positive thing," Jim Jansen, the author of the report and senior fellow at Pew Internet & American Life Project, told the E-Commerce Times. "Whether all the print outlets will be able to switch to an online model is another story."
The type of business model that supports online paid content is still the subject of experimentation.
"I think it's an issue of working out a price structure and subscription model that works for online consumers," said Jansen. "If there is a good model, people are receptive to paying for things. Music is a good example."
An Online Path Back From Disaster
While the Internet has dealt print publishing a mighty blow in recent years, the Internet may also be the salvation of content publishing.
"Nearly a fifth of users have paid for articles. That did jump out at me," Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, told the E-Commerce Times. "While some online-only sites have been very successful -- like the "Huffington Post" -- most of their income is coming from advertising rather than premium subscriptions."
Those sites selling newspaper and magazine content tend to be print-based publishers that also have a Web presence.
"Most of the newspapers and magazines charging for content also have hard copies, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist and others," said King. "I do think it portends potentially good news for the magazine and newspaper industry. There has been a lot of concern about how online content has impacted traditional newspapers. These numbers are higher than I would have expected."
Advertising Chases New Models
With so many sites selling subscription services, the future of Internet advertising could be challenged. "I think a lot of different business models are going to develop," said the Pew's Jansen.
The advertising model is still evolving online.
"Niche sites do well -- like car enthusiast sites. Advertising works well there. Other places where advertising works are at sites with high traffic," said Jansen. "I don't think the subscription model is a threat. There are just different advertising models for different verticals."
Trend Watching
The Pew study is the center's first survey of online content consumption. It may become an annual report.
"This is the first time we've asked these kinds of questions, and certainly there is a lot of interest in trend data," said Jansen. "It would be great to re-do in a year's time and see what the changes are. I would expect there would be some dramatic changes given the technology that's coming."
The M1A1/2 Abrams main battle tank is manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS). The first M1 tank was produced in 1978, the M1A1 in 1985 and the M1A2 in 1986.
The first M1 Abrams battle tanks were delivered to the US Army in 1980. 3,273 M1 tanks were produced for the US Army. 4,796 M1A1 tanks were built for the US Army, 221 for the US Marines and 880 co-produced with Egypt.
Approximately 77 M1A2 tanks have been built for the US Army, 315 for Saudi Arabia and 218 for Kuwait. For the M1A2 upgrade programme, over 600 M1 Abrams tanks are being upgraded to M1A2 configuration. Deliveries began in 1998. Abrams orders and deliveries
In March 2004, the Australian Army announced the purchase of 59 US Army M1A1 tanks to enter service from 2007. The contract was signed in November 2005 and the first five were handed over in February 2006 at GDLS in Lima, Ohio. The first 18 tanks were delivered to the Australian Army at the School of Armour in Victoria in September 2006. The remaining 41, to be based in Darwin, were delivered in March 2007.
In June 2006, Saudi Arabia requested the foreign military sale of 58 M1A1 tanks and the upgrade of these and the 315 M1A2 already in the Saudi inventory to M1A2S configuration. The upgrade involves rebuilding to a 'like new' condition, similar to the US Army Abrams integrated management programme (AIM).
"The first M1 tank was produced in 1978, the M1A1 in 1985 and the M1A2 in 1986."
In August 2007, Egypt requested the foreign military sale of an additional 125 M1A1 tanks, which would bring the country's fleet to 1,005 M1A1 tanks.
GDLS was awarded a $349m contract in January 2008, for the production of 125 M1A1 tank kits under the tenth increment of the the Egyptian co-production programme. Deliveries began in April 2009 and will continue until July 2011.
In July 2008, the Iraqi Government requested the sale of 140 M1A1 tanks to be upgraded to M1A1M configuration.
In February 2009, the US Army TACOM Life-Cycle Management Command (TACOM LCMC) awarded GDLS a multiyear contract worth $81m to upgrade 30 M1 Abram tanks to M1A2 systems enhancement package version 2 (SEPv2) configuration. The deliveries are expected to be made by June 2012.
In March 2009, the TACOM LCMC awarded a $33m contract to GDLS for long-lead materials to produce 140 M1A1 SA (situational awareness) tanks for the Iraq programme. The tanks will be fitted with FLIR thermal site, tank urban survivability kit (TUSK) enhancements and a driver's vision-enhancing thermal viewer.
Under a $45m contract signed in July 2009 under the Egyptian tank co-production programme, GDLS will provide technical assistance and equipment to M1A1 tanks at the Egyptian tank plant. It is expected to be completed by December 2012.
Honeywell is improving the performance of the AGT 1500 engines of M1 Abrams tanks under a one-year extension contract awarded by the US Army in August 2009. The company will work with the army on the total integrated engine revitalisation (TIGER) programme of about 750 engines. The value of the fourth year contract is about $300m. The total contract value is $1.4bn.
In October 2009, GDLS was awarded a $58m contract by the US Army awarded for providing systems technical support (STS) for the Abrams tank. The work is expected to be complete by 31 December 2011.
In December 2009, GDLS received a $17.6m contract from Saudi Arabia for purchase of long-lead materials used for conversion of 15 M1A2 Abrams tanks to M1A2S tanks.
In March 2010, US Army TACOM LCMC awarded $37m contract to GDLS for providing STS services for the Abrams tanks. The work includes identifying improvements and replacement of obsolete parts of the tanks. It is expected to be completed in December 2011.
In February 2010, GDLS awarded $18m contract to Northrop Grumman to supply LRS-2000 rate sensor assembly units for the stabilised commander's weapon station (SCWS) on the US Army M1A1 Abrams tank. The sensors will increase soldier safety and effectiveness in urban areas attacks. Production of the units is underway and deliveries will begin in late 2010.
M1A2 system enhancement package (SEP)
In February 2001, GDLS were contracted to supply 240 M1A2 tanks with a system enhancement package (SEP) by 2004. The M1A2 SEP contains an embedded version of the US Army's Force XXI command and control architecture; new Raytheon commander's independent thermal viewer (CITV) with second-generation thermal imager; commander's display for digital colour terrain maps; DRS Techologies second-generation GEN II TIS thermal imaging gunner's sight with increased range; driver's integrated display and thermal management system.
"The army's force XXI battle command, brigade and below (FBCB2) programme is a digital battle command information system."
The main armament is the 120mm M256 smoothbore gun, developed by Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH of Germany. The 120mm gun fires the following ammunition: the M865 TPCSDS-T and M831 TP-T training rounds, the M8300 HEAT-MP-T and the M829 APFSDS-T which includes a depleted uranium penetrator. Textron Systems provides the Cadillac Gage gun turret drive stabilisation system.
The commander has a 12.7mm Browning M2 machine gun and the loader has a 7.62mm M240 machine gun. A 7.62mm M240 machine gun is also mounted coaxially on the right hand side of the main armament.
"The M1A1 tank incorporates steel-encased depleted uranium armour."
Depleted uranium armour
The M1A1 tank incorporates steel-encased depleted uranium armour. Armour bulkheads separate the crew compartment from the fuel tanks.
The top panels of the tank are designed to blow outwards in the event of penetration by a HEAT projectile. The tank is protected against nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warfare.
One L8A1 six-barrelled smoke grenade discharger is fitted on each side of the turret. A smoke screen can also be laid by an engine-operated system.
In August 2006, General Dynamics Land Systems was awarded a contract to produce 505 tank urban survivability kits (TUSK) for the US Army Abrams tanks. TUSK includes add-on reactive armour tiles, loader's armour gun shield (LAGS), tank infantry phone (TIP), Raytheon loader's thermal weapon sight with Rockwell Collins head-mounted display and BAE Systems thermal driver's rear-view camera (DRVC). TUSK entered service on M1A1 / M1A2 tanks in late 2007 and has been deployed to Iraq.
Australian M1A1 tanks are being fitted with Saab Barracuda multispectral camouflage systems which reduce the tank's visual, radar and infrared signature. Fire control and observation
The commander's station is equipped with six periscopes, providing a 360° view. The Raytheon commander's independent thermal viewer (CITV) provides the commander with independent stabilised day and night vision with a 360° view, automatic sector scanning, automatic target cueing of the gunner's sight and back-up fire control.
The M1A2 Abrams tank has a two-axis Raytheon gunner's primary sight - line of sight (GPS-LOS) which increases the first round hit probability by providing faster target acquisition and improved gun pointing. The thermal imaging system (TIS) has magnification ×10 narrow field of view and ×3 wide field of view. The thermal image is displayed in the eyepiece of the gunner's sight together with the range measurement from a laser rangefinder.
The Northrop Grumman (formerly Litton) Laser Systems eyesafe laser rangefinder (ELRF) has a range accuracy to within 10m and target discrimination of 20m. The gunner also has a Kollmorgen Model 939 auxiliary sight with magnification ×8 and field of view 8°.
"The commander's station of the Abrams M1A1 is equipped with six periscopes, providing a 360° view."
The digital fire control computer is supplied by General Dynamics - Canada (formerly Computing Devices Canada).
The fire control computer automatically calculates the fire control solution based on: lead angle measurement; bend of the gun measured by the muzzle reference system; velocity measurement from a wind sensor on the roof of the turret; data from a pendulum static cant sensor located at the centre of the turret roof.
The operator manually inputs data on ammunition type, temperature and barometric pressure.
The driver has either three observation periscopes or two periscopes on either side and a central image intensifying periscope for night vision. The periscopes provide 120° field of view. The DRS Technologies driver's vision enhancer (DVE), AN/VSS-5, is based on a 328×245 element uncooled infrared detector array, operating in the 7.5 to 13 micron waveband. A Raytheon driver's thermal viewer, AN/VAS-3, is installed on the M1A2 Abrams tanks for Kuwait. Propulsion
The M1 is equipped with a Honeywell AGT 1500 gas turbine engine. The Allison X-1100-3B transmission provides four forward and two reverse gears.
The US Army has selected Honeywell International Engines and Systems and General Electric to develop a new LV100-5 gas turbine engine for the M1A2. The new engine is lighter and smaller with rapid acceleration, quieter running and no visible exhaust.
What is Biodiesel?
Biodiesel is the name of a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It can be used in compression-ignition (diesel) engines with little or no modifications. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics.
Is Biodiesel the same thing as raw vegetable oil? No!Biodiesel is produced from any fat or oil such as soybean oil, through a refinery process called transesterification. This process is a reaction of the oil with an alcohol to remove the glycerin, which is a by-product of biodiesel production. Fuel-grade biodiesel must be produced to strict industry specifications (ASTM D6751) in order to insure proper performance. Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have fully completed the health effects testing requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. Biodiesel that meets ASTM D6751 and is legally registered with the Environmental Protection Agency is a legal motor fuel for sale and distribution. Raw vegetable oil cannot meet biodiesel fuel specifications, it is not registered with the EPA, and it is not a legal motor fuel. For entities seeking to adopt a definition of biodiesel for purposes such as federal or state statute, state or national divisions of weights and measures, or for any other purpose, the official definition consistent with other federal and state laws and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) guidelines is as follows:
Biodiesel is defined as mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats which conform to ASTM D6751 specifications for use in diesel engines. Biodiesel refers to the pure fuel before blending with diesel fuel. Biodiesel blends are denoted as, "BXX" with "XX" representing the percentage of biodiesel contained in the blend (ie: B20 is 20% biodiesel, 80% petroleum diesel).
Is biodiesel used as a pure fuel or is it blended with petroleum diesel? Biodiesel can be used as a pure fuel or blended with petroleum in any percentage. B20 (a blend of 20 percent by volume biodiesel with 80 percent by volume petroleum diesel) has demonstrated significant environmental benefits with a minimum increase in cost for fleet operations and other consumers.
Is it approved for use in the US? Biodiesel is registered as a fuel and fuel additive with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and meets clean diesel standards established by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Neat (100 percent) biodiesel has been designated as an alternative fuel by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Department of Transportation (DOT). How much biodiesel has been produced in the US? The National Biodiesel Board has released the following production volume estimates for the US: FY 2008 -- 700 million gallons
FY 2007 -- 450 million gallons
FY 2006 -- 250 million gallons
FY 2005 -- 75 million gallons
FY 2004 -- 25 million gallons
FY 2003 -- 20 million gallons
FY 2002 -- 15 million gallons
FY 2001 -- 5 million gallons
FY 2000 -- 2 million gallons
FY 1999 -- 500,000 gallons How do biodiesel emissions compare to petroleum diesel? Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have fully completed the health effects testing requirements of the Clean Air Act. The use of biodiesel in a conventional diesel engine results in substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter compared to emissions from diesel fuel. In addition, the exhaust emissions of sulfur oxides and sulfates (major components of acid rain) from biodiesel are essentially eliminated compared to diesel.
Of the major exhaust pollutants, both unburned hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides are ozone or smog forming precursors. The use of biodiesel results in a substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons. Emissions of nitrogen oxides are either slightly reduced or slightly increased depending on the duty cycle of the engine and testing methods used. Based on engine testing, using the most stringent emissions testing protocols
required by EPA for certification of fuels or fuel additives in the US, the overall ozone forming potential of the speciated hydrocarbon emissions from biodiesel was nearly 50 percent less than that measured for diesel fuel.
Can biodiesel help mitigate “global warming”? A 1998 biodiesel lifecycle study, jointly sponsored by the US Department of Energy and the US Department of Agriculture, concluded biodiesel reduces net CO² emissions by 78 percent compared to petroleum diesel. This is due to biodiesel’s closed carbon cycle. The CO² released into the atmosphere when biodiesel is burned is recycled by growing plants, which are later processed into fuel..Is biodiesel safer than petroleum diesel? Scientific research confirms that biodiesel exhaust has a less harmful impact on human health than petroleum diesel fuel. Biodiesel emissions have decreased levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and nitrited PAH compounds that have been identified as potential cancer causing compounds. Test results indicate PAH compounds were reduced by 75 to 85 percent, with the exception of benzo(a)anthracene, which was reduced by roughly 50 percent. Targeted nPAH compounds were also reduced dramatically with biodiesel fuel, with 2-nitrofluorene and 1-nitropyrene reduced by 90 percent, and the rest of the nPAH compounds reduced to only trace levels.
Does biodiesel cost more than other alternative fuels? When reviewing the high costs associated with other alternative fuel systems, many fleet managers have determined biodiesel is their least-cost-strategy to comply with state and federal regulations. Use of biodiesel does not require major engine modifications. That means operators keep their fleets, their spare parts inventories, their refueling stations and their skilled mechanics. The only thing that changes is air quality.
Do I need special storage facilities? In general, the standard storage and handling procedures used for petroleum diesel can be used for biodiesel. The fuel should be stored in a clean, dry, dark environment. Acceptable storage tank materials include aluminum, steel, fluorinated polyethylene, fluorinated polypropylene and teflon. Copper, brass, lead, tin, and zinc should be avoided.
Can I use biodiesel in my existing diesel engine? Biodiesel can be operated in any diesel engine with little or no modification to the engine or the fuel system. Biodiesel has a solvent effect that may release deposits accumulated on tank walls and pipes from previous diesel fuel storage. The release of deposits may clog filters initially and precautions should be taken. Ensure that only fuel meeting the biodiesel specification is used.
Where can I purchase biodiesel? Biodiesel can be made available anywhere in the US. The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) maintains a list of registered fuel marketers. A current list is available on the biodiesel web site at www.biodiesel.org or by calling the NBB at (800) 841-5849.
Who can answer my questions about biodiesel? The NBB maintains the largest library of biodiesel information in the US. Information can be requested by visiting the biodiesel web site at www.biodiesel.org, by emailing the NBB at info@nbb.org, or by calling NBB’s toll free number (800) 841-5849.
Start off with your render such as the one below there should be clear areas for lightning otential.
Using the polygon lasso tool with no feather select the area for lighting be sure to include any little jagged bits to add interest as below.
Then fill this layer with a good deep color slightly darker than the intended lighting color as shown below.
Then duplicate that previous layer and set this new layer to color dodge the result should be a brighter color something close to what you want.
The important bit go back to the original (orange) light layer and apply filter --> Blur --> gaussian blur radius 6 The result should be similar to below
Finally on a new layer, with the above brush settings and a deep red color brush around the top and particulartly the bottom below the light set this layer to soft light.
The result should be similar to that below.
Here is an example of it in use.
Important note: The author is not a natural English speaker and there is a high chance of mistakes in every way. Corrections and comments are welcome.
Wednesday's recall of the 2003 Sequoia marks the third computer-related recall for Toyota Motor this year.
Lexus GX: recalled for electronic stability control problems.
(Credit: Toyota Motor)
The Japanese car company announced a recall of 50,000 Sequoia 2003 model year SUVs to address problems with the Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) System. If not fixed, some vehicles may not accelerate as quickly as the driver expects, Toyota said.
And earlier this month, Toyota said it would recall 9,400 Lexus GX 460 SUVs to correct a stability control system problem that could lead to a loss of control, which Consumer Reports designated as a "Don't Buy: Safety Risk."
These two recalls follow a February recall of 133,000 2010 Prius models to update software in the vehicle's antilock brake system (ABS), which could lead to inconsistent braking.
In the glitch disclosed on Wednesday, Toyota said it made a production change during the 2003 model year and published a technical service bulletin to address the issue when it was first identified in the fall 2003. "Since that time, Toyota has been responding to individual owner concerns by replacing the skid control engine control unit in Sequoias impacted by this condition," Toyota said in a statement. The engine control unit, or ECU, is an onboard computer.
There have been no reported injuries or accidents as a result of the condition, Toyota said.
The Sequoia and Lexus GX 460 recalls both involve stability control, which is one of many computer-controlled drive-by-wire technologies used in cars today. Toyota instituted the Vehicle Stability Control system in 1997 on Lexus vehicles (PDF), which it describes as "sensors, actuators, and computer electronics (that) help avoid and recover from vehicle skids and spins." Sensors detect when the vehicle's direction of travel does not correlate with "driver steering inputs." The system then uses throttle and selective brake intervention to help maintain the path of travel.
In the case of the Lexus GX 460, "it was a bad choice of (programmed) settings," said Jeff Bartlett, online deputy editor for autos at Consumer Reports, which first identified the problem. "If you were decelerating from a highway to an off-ramp--they just gave it too much latitude, really," he said in a phone interview. "It wasn't an electronic problem per se, it was more of an engineering software decision."
Toyota said it is now more proactively looking into consumer gripes. "Toyota is committed to investigating customer complaints more aggressively and to responding quickly to issues we identify in our vehicles," Steve St. Angelo, Toyota's chief quality officer for North America, said in a statement Wednesday.
Toyota has denied any computer control problems related to electronic throttle systems that may result in sudden unintended acceleration. The company attributes those problems, which involved the recall of millions of vehicles, to sticky acceleration pedals and/or accelerators that can get caught in floor mats.
I'll take you from a high-level overview of JavaScript language concepts through several useful scripts you can modify for use in your own pages.
This tutorial introduces JavaScript, a language you can use to embed commands in an HTML document. This article assumes no prior knowledge of programming, but does assume HTML familiarity. I'll take you from a high-level overview of JavaScript language concepts through several useful scripts you can modify for use in your own pages. This tutorial supplements Netscape's official JavaScript Authoring Guide, which is a thorough reference but doesn't give you much in the way of getting started.
What HTML Isn't
HyperText Markup Language (HTML) thrives in a static environment. You put up a page, then it pretty much stays where it is until the user calls up a new page, for example by clicking on a link. HTML lets you combine text and graphics, and gives you tools such as frames and tables to get the layout just the way you want it. HTML is pretty, but it ain't smart. If you need to process information (such as data entered into a form) you have to send it over the data stream back to your server (very smart), which then generates a new HTML page and sends it back to the user for display.
This process, accomplished via a protocol called CGI (Common Gateway Interface), gets the job done...but if your user isn't connected via an Ethernet or ISDN line, it has obvious disadvantages. CGI is a server-side process. The need to perform client-side processing was addressed in the earliest helper apps, such as those to view pictures or play back sound snippets. Java and ActiveX controls are mechanisms by which developers can embed functionality, not just information, into an HTML page. However, there are times when you need a little bit more than what HTML can offer without the complexity of Java. That's where JavaScript fills the bill.
What JavaScript Is
JavaScript shares the fundamental feature of all programming languages: it can get data from some source, process that data, and output the results. Because it is integrated into HTML, JavaScript already knows what your browser knows, and can figure out, for example how many form elements are on a page or how many frames are in a window. It also knows how to work with this environment, and can perform such tasks as targeting a specific frame for output just as you could target a frame to contain the contents of a hypertext link in HTML.
The types of things you can use JavaScript for include: controlling a page; opening and closing windows and frames; programmatically accessing the history window (which allows the developer to refer to previously viewed documents) and other browser features.
Furthermore, with JavaScript you can provide feedback to the user, generate new HTML pages using variable information, and implement user-defined functions.
The Object Model
Like most other programming languages of its generation, JavaScript is characterized by the object model. This means that you think about your JavaScript program in terms of the objects-the things you want to work with. For programming purposes, the browser window is an object. The HTML document is an object. Each form in the document is an object, made up in turn of other objects such as text boxes and radio buttons. Objects aren't static entities that float in space. You can access information about them, do things to them, or respond to events that happen to them. In programming terms, information about an object is called the object's properties.
Actions you can perform on or with objects are called methods. The mechanism by which you can respond to something that happens to an object is an event handler. Objects, properties, methods, and event handlers are the building blocks of JavaScript programs.
Let's look at how we can put these components to practical use to improve the interface of three sample HTML pages. In each case our goal will be to provide dynamic, context sensitive information to the user that is over and above what is included in the text of the page itself. The first example will employ the status bar to emphasize important information on the screen. The second example will bring up an alert box. The third example will bring up an entire window of information in response to the user clicking on a button. Be especially careful not to make a typo. Program commands must be typed in precisely or an error is likely to occur. If you learn best by doing, I've added some suggested exercises throughout the article that will help you make sure you understand the concepts. (Editor's Note: Click here to enter Heidi's mini-menu of sample programs and links, while here is a zipped file of all the sample code modules.)
Example 1: The Status Bar Application
The first application is for a fictional company, JS Software's download page. The goal of the program is to give the user a little more information than what is in the text of the page, without being obtrusive. We can do this by manipulating the status bar. In JavaScript, the window object has a property called status that describes the text that is currently displayed on the status bar of the user's browser. The defaultStatus property describes what is normally shown in the status bar while the user's mouse pointer is over that window (but not, for example, over a hot spot). We use objects by giving each one a distinctive name. Some objects, such as the window, have a built-in name. We can refer to the current window as either window or self. In JavaScript syntax, the object is separated from properties or methods with a period. Therefore, both
window.status
self.status
refer to the contents of the status bar, which we can either read from or write to. If you've programmed before, it may help to think of this kind of expression as a variable. If you haven't programmed before, the important thing to know is that in order to assign a value to a variable or in this case a property you write a command that looks like this:
propertyName = propertyValue
where propertyName is the name of the property and propertyValue is an expression that evaluates to a valid value for propertyValue to contain. An expression can be the result of an equation, the value of another variable or property, or a literal value, such as a series of characters enclosed in quotation marks.
window.status = "Click here to download the compressed Mac version of Ziffle Zot."
is a valid expression, as is:
window.status = "The old status was " + window.defaultStatus
Note the way you can combine elements, in this case by concatenating a string of characters and another property value by using the plus sign.
Skeptics question the logic behind building a supertall skyscraper in the middle of the desert. Others are less interested in why the Burj Khalifa exists than how it was built. The secrets to its construction might surprise you. While the Dubai landmark dwarfs its closest rival in the competition for world's tallest building by more than 1,000 feet, it doesn't flaunt its architectural muscle. Rather, its design is as straightforward and logical as it gets.
At the heart of that logic is the building's triaxial geometry. "The Y-shaped plan is ideal for a residential building because it gives plenty of surface area per unit, and structurally, it is much better than a cruciform or linear tower," explains Adrian Smith, FAIA, former design partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in charge of the project through the completion of construction documents. And though SOM's competition-winning design for the Burj far exceeded the approximately 550-meter (1,800 foot) height called for in the brief to make it the world's tallest, the scheme — originally at about 700 meters, or 2,300 feet — was selected based on its appearance and construction feasibility, according to Smith.
The center of the structural-concrete tower features a hexagonal core that surrounds the elevators. Since the core is not big enough to rise to such extreme heights on its own, it is buttressed by the three wings. While the core functions as an axle to keep the building from twisting, 2-foot-thick corridor walls on either side of each wing act like the web of an I-beam; cross walls like the flanges. Round columns are located at the pointed end of each wing between ordinary flat plate slabs. The result is a tower that is extremely stiff laterally and torsionally.
The Burj Khalifa's organic form has a triaxial geometry. The Y-shaped building's three wings are connected to a central core. As the tower rises, one wing at each tier sets back in a spiraling pattern.
Photo: EMMAR
"These are very conventional systems, just arranged in a unique manner," says William Baker, structural engineer partner at SOM. The driving force behind the structural design was wind. "Tall building design is dominated by wind forces, even in most seismic areas where earthquakes are a major concern," Baker says. Since wind velocities increase with height, it was an even greater concern here. Consulting engineers Rowan Williams Davies and Irwin (RWDI) carried out extensive wind-tunnel testing over the course of two years in its renowned facilities in Ontario, Canada. First, balsa wood models of the slender tower were subjected to force balance tests. Later, more sophisticated aeroelastic tests were conducted. RWDI studied the building's six important wind directions — the pointed end, or nose, of each of the three wings, and the areas between two wings, called tails.
The most significant change to come from RWDI's analysis did not significantly affect the building's design but rather its orientation. Since analysis indicated less excitation in wind patterns blowing at the nose, the tower was rotated 120 degrees from its original position so that the noses faced into the wind. RWDI also suggested that the Burj's different tiers be made more regular. "Initially, the building spiraled much more dramatically," says Smith. "But each time it steps back, it changes how the wind reacts. To keep the wind from organizing into vortices, we evened out the setbacks."
While changes to the design were being made, so too were changes to the building's use. Originally meant to be all residential, the client, Dubai-based Emaar Properties, added offices to the program. Corporate suites were located at the top of the tower, which, with floor areas as low as 5,000 square feet, is more ideally suited for apartments, the original intent for those floors. But the program was not the only element to be in flux. The tower's final height remained a question mark until rather late in the game. It wasn't until after the foundation was in place and construction of the superstructure began that the magic number — 828 meters, or 2,717 feet — was finally determined. "I hated the proportions of the shorter tower and kept pushing for it to be taller," recalls Smith. The economy was on Smith's side at that point, and the client agreed it looked better taller.
The 2011 Chevrolet Volt became the first electric car to be chosen as the Green Car of the Year 2011. Chevrolet Volt received this honor at the Los Angeles Auto Show, which is held every year by the Green Car Journal. The 2011 Chevrolet Volt electric car was chosen as the electric car of the year by an eminent jury, which consisted of the editors of Green Car Journal, Jean Michel President of Ocean Futures Society, Carl Pope Chairman of Sierra Club, and the host of Tonight Show Jay Leno, who happens to be a big fan of cars.
The competition for the Green car of the year was tough. In the finals 2011 Chevrolet Volt had to compete in this category with other big names in the field of electric cars like the Nissan Leaf, the Lincoln MKZ, Hyundai Sonata, two hybrids and a Ford Fiesta subcompact.
So what makes 2011 Chevrolet Volt, run on electricity a green car? The following two features contribute in this direction,
It can run up to 40 Km on electricity before the backup gas engine comes into play
The car has a special backup engine, which never lets you run out of electric power. The driver may not have any kind of fear in this regard.
Other Accomplishments
Motor Trend and Automobile Magazine has also named Chevrolet Volt, which will be available in the open market very soon, as the car of the year. Social responsibility that General Motors takes-up towards environment
Apart from being voted the Green car of the year, General Motors, which makes Chevrolet, is also taking other steps to do its bit to clear up the environment, which is being polluted by its cars. It has contributed $40 million as donation to a local environment project in the US hoping to reduce carbon emission by 8 million metric tons. Since the 1.9 million Chevrolets sold before 2012 are expected to release roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide, this will kind of compensate the environment for the loss General Motors has caused to it.
Mike Robinson, the Vice-President for environment, energy and safety in General Motors says that apart from fuel economy and other features, Chevrolet wanted to do something that makes their brand distinguished. So they have set-up this program, the first by any auto maker. Taking up Other social obligations.
General Motor’s Vice President of US marketing Joel Ewanick has also said that though it will take two more years to choose such projects. In the future the company will help various projects like small-scale wind energy and weatherizing schools by providing them aid and grants .
Salingsapa.com Quite Social networking sites now widespread in the enthusiast created by the virtual world, one of the successful social networking site is FB , And yesterday the work of city children koprol.com Also already in the acquisition by Yahoo, and now present a social networking site created by young people Indonesia www.salingsapa.com address at the which the site is equipped with a variety of different features of Islamic
John Harlan youth is the birth July 25, 1998 are still sitting on the bench smp is the inventor of this salingspa.com site, On this social networking site, John Harlan made a feature Khazanah and the Koran.Two recent feature was much loved by its users.Within two weeks after launch Until today has reached 5400 users.
"On the features of Khazanah, the user cans listen to the lectures darai many Cleric. While the features of the Quran, the user cans read Al-Qurang from Juz 1 to 10, complete with its translation as well. Or just to listen to The verses of the Koran, cans Also be clicked on this feature, the "bright students WHO like tinkering with computers and play this guitar.
Besides these two features, Yahya Also features radio lists several cans That Played for 24 hours.That and other features are similar to general social networking Such as wall (wall), photo , friends, and others.
However, John said, he Had to work extra with the father to monitor social networking as well as delete user tries to insert content into Salingsapa.com-negative content.
"Another constraint is less powerful servers. Server We Were kids once, but must accommodate more users to join in Salingsapa.com," said the student WHO intends to make games Islamic education is nuanced.
For those Interested please just register on the site www.salingsapa.com
BARCELONA, Spain--After months of rumors, a slew of leaks and one creepy commercial, Sony Ericsson's worst-kept secret is now a reality. On Sunday, the day before Mobile World Congress officially opens, Sony Ericsson finally took the wraps off of the Xperia Play.
Long billed as the "PlayStation Phone," the Xperia Play is very much the handset that Sony Ericsson highlighted last week during the Super Bowl. In the United States, it will arrive as a Verizon Wireless exclusive later this spring.
The four-inch (854x480 pixel resolution; 16.7 million colors) display is up to usual Sony Ericsson standards. Colors were bright and vibrant and graphics showed up well. From our brief hands-on experience, the display also appears to do the gaming features justice. Below the display are four physical controls for the usual Android functions (back, menu, home, and search). On the left spine you'll find a 3.5mm headset jack and a Micro-USB port, while the power control, a volume rocker, and shoulder gaming controls sit on the right spine.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play
(Credit: Sony Ericsson)
Of course, what the phone can do is the real story. At the top level, the Xperia Play runs on Gingerbread (Android 2.3), so you'll get the new text selection tool, a Wi-Fi hot spot, and new options in the Settings menu. And like on the Xperia Arc, you can pinch your fingers to see all five home screens on one page. As we said when the earlier handset made its debut at CES, it's very much like HTC's Leap feature.
Slide up the face to reveal the gaming controls, which are very similar to those on a Sony PlayStation DualShock controller. Instead of joysticks, however, you'll find two round touch pads. And as mentioned, the handset has only one set of shoulder buttons.
Game downloads will be available from an online Sony Ericsson store. Once you purchase a game, individual icons for each title will sit in the phone's main menu.
The Xperia Play also has a 5.1-megapixel camera with autofocus, a flash, image stabilization, geotagging, and video recording. Other features include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a personal organizer, a speakerphone, Assisted-GPS, messaging and e-mail, 400MB of internal memory, Sony Ericsson's Timescape interface, a music player, and a full HTML browser with Flash Lite. It also supports the usual Google apps and you can download additional titles from the Android Market.
By Richard Adhikari
