 CBC.ca |
20 cars of the future
CBC.ca – 16 Jan 2009 By Steve Kichen, Forbes.com Ford is expected to introduce a peppier motor to appeal to consumers who value fuel economy. (Ford) Thanks to celebrity endorsements and relatively little competition, Toyota's got a lock on the domestic hybrid market with … Prius throws down gauntlet Ottawa Citizen Mighty Motor City hits brakes The Sun all 3 news articles |
 CBC.ca |
20 cars of the future
CBC.ca – 1 hour ago By Steve Kichen, Forbes.com Ford is expected to introduce a peppier motor to appeal to consumers who value fuel economy. (Ford) Thanks to celebrity endorsements and relatively little competition, Toyota's got a lock on the domestic hybrid market with … Ford wants government money, too. BusinessWeek There's life in Big Three yet The Province all 5 news articles |
 New York Times |
Light Bulbs: Which Do You Use?
New York Times – 13 hours ago By Tom Zeller Jr. Consumers are divided over compact fluorescent light bulbs and their predecessor, the incandescent bulb. (Photo: Justin Maresch/Shutterstock) The facts are plain. Conservationist’s promotion of CFLs puzzles reader Independent and Free Press When CFLs Fail: How to Keep Your Compact Fluorescent Glowing Popular Mechanics MSNBC – Compound Semiconductors Online (press release) – Earthtimes (press release) all 14 news articles |
nandemoari writes “The damage isn’t just limited to the United States. Shipments of PCs in Europe, the Mid-East, and Africa dipped to records posted around the turn of the century. It was even worse in Asia, which according to Gartner, posted its worst growth rate ever — just 1.8 per cent. Within the industry, desktops took the hardest hit, as was expected. Sales of non-portable computers were down about 16 per cent as consumers opted instead for the rising ‘netbook’ and similar hybrids. That fact alone is troubling for PC makers, given that 0-0 netbooks offer a far lower profit margin than more expensive and more powerful laptops and desktops.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The report believes the company will now “further accelerate its restructuring”, cutting more jobs and closing more plants. There’s no word on how the PS3 and PSP divisions of the company will be affected. The silver lining in this for consumers is that PS3 is rumored to receive another price drop in the next few months.
heybus writes “Economist Dean Baker, best known for calling the housing bust and warning of the ensuing economic collapse, has just published his recommendations for how to allocate President-elect Obama’s estimated 0 billion economic stimulus plan. Among other things, Baker calls for juicing the economy with billion worth of government spending to support the development of free and open source software. Baker’s idea is similar to the New Deal federal arts and writers’ projects: the government would fund projects as long as they produce freely available code. In addition to employing programmers, ‘the savings [to consumers] in the United States alone could easily exceed the cost of supporting software development.'”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Netbooks represent the latest consumer electronics craze. They’re small, they’re portable, they’re dirt cheap, and, in 2008, consumers bought somewhere in excess of 14 million of them.
The Ocean Pearl, C-Quester 3 and OrcaSub are seriously expensive, but will make it possible for consumers to go if not 20,000 leagues under the sea, then up to 2,000 feet. Check them out, and then read about one PM editor’s experience driving the Ocean Pearl.
Misch writes “Representative Rick Boucher (D-VA) will be taking the chair of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. Rep. Boucher has been an advocate for consumers rights, is a co-founder of the Congressional Internet Caucus, and has participated in a Slashdot Interview. He was instrumental in defeating key escrow, back in the day.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Consumers are being warned to be on the look out for fake iPhone Nanos, despite the real thing not even being released.
