Making Bay Area friendly for electric cars

Bay Area environmental leaders are counting on a $1 billion investment to build the nation's first electric vehicle network - with service stations to recharge batteries and garages to swap depleted batteries for fresh ones - and finally make the gasoline-free cars practical.

The Palo Alto-based company Better Place says its network of electric-vehicle charging stations will cover the Bay Area by 2012. In exchange for the investment from Better Place, the mayors of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland announced plans Thursday to collectively create cohesive regulations for electric vehicles that will apply to cities and counties throughout the region.

In San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom said the city will use tax breaks to promote sales of electric vehicles and encourage homes and businesses to make charging stations widely available. The city will also look at ways to speed up the permitting process to install charging outlets at homes and businesses.

"We're going to get serious about advancing our local climate action plans, about getting into the business of alternative transportation," Newsom said during a news conference at City Hall. "I don't believe halfway is good enough. I'm a guy driving a hybrid (vehicle) and I don't feel too good about that. For us to get to the next level, we need unprecedented regional collaboration."

Better Place has built similar networks in Israel, Denmark and Australia, but the Bay Area infrastructure, which will allow drivers of electric vehicles to make long-distance trips without worrying about finding a place to charge or change a battery, will be the first of its kind in the United States.

San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland will begin implementing their own policies next month, with plans to make electrical outlets for low-voltage vehicles available on all public buildings next year. Higher-voltage charging equipment also will be made available at city parking lots and curbs - including one plan to put outlets in sidewalk streetlights in San Jose and San Francisco.

In the current economic and political climate, it's more important than ever that the United States find creative ways to reduce its dependence on foreign oil, said Shai Agassi, founder of the investor-funded Better Place.

"We need to start thinking about this as the next generation of the car. It's about time we changed from car 1.0 to car 2.0," Agassi said. "We're following a model that's worked in Israel, in Denmark. We build the infrastructure first. By 2012 we'll be ready for a mass market of cars."

Newsom said he speaks from experience on the current hurdles keeping people from owning electric vehicles. The mayor is chauffeured in a hybrid SUV most of the time, but two years ago he got on the waiting list for a $100,000 electric car from Tesla Motors.

He's told the car will finally be available next week. But storage is going to be a problem. The building managers of his Russian Hill complex don't yet know how he should pay for the electricity he uses.

"This is the problem, the classic problem," he said. "We're in an apartment building, and everything in the garage is shared in terms of cost. But then a guy like me comes in, and I pull all this energy, and people say, 'Why am I paying for his electric use?' This is the problem. It's very complex."

Source : http://www.sfgate.com/

IE8 slips into 2009 - good or bad news?

Redmond (WA) – The general manager for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Dean Hachamovitch, revealed in a surprise blog post that Microsoft will not release the final version of Internet Explorer during the remaining six weeks of the year. Instead the company now plans on providing a release candidate, which will close the beta period and behave like the final product, Hachamovitch executive said. The reason? To look at all the feedback that has been provided so far. But there may be an unknown variable as well. 

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is increasingly under pressure from rivals such as Firefox and Safari, which are consistently gaining ground on the dominant browser on the Internet. In a time where IE market share seems to breaking away every week, we learn that IE8 will not, as widely anticipated, launched in 2008, but in Q1 2009 at the earliest.

Hachamovitch’s post does not provide a clear idea why the browser may have been delayed, but he noted that Microsoft was not able to deliver IE8 without the information that was provided by “over 20 million IE sessions and hundreds of hours of usability lab sessions”,  “thousands of threads from user forums” and “hundreds of hours listening and answering questions in meetings with partners and other important organizations.”

Following feedback the company received during the IE7 release, Hachamovitch said he wanted to be clear about the plan for IE8 and wrote:

“We will release one more public update of IE8 in the first quarter of 2009, and then follow that up with the final release. Our next public release of IE (typically called a “release candidate”) indicates the end of the beta period. We want the technical community of people and organizations interested in web browsers to take this update as a strong signal that IE8 is effectively complete and done. They should expect the final product to behave as this update does.”

Microsoft will still take note of critical issues (“issues impacting robustness, security, backwards compatibility, or completeness with respect to planned standards work”), but it appears that IE8 RC1 will be feature complete and represent the software users can expect in the final release. The feedback to Microsoft will also determine the final release date of IE8.  
     

TG Daily’s take

Whether the apparent delay is a good or bad decision remains to be seen, but we believe that Microsoft in fact has a good reason for taking another look at its next-gen browser.

Since the release of the first IE8 beta, the browser market has taken a dramatic turn and somewhat outmaneuvered Microsoft’s strategy. While Microsoft promised to be more standard-compliant than ever before, the browser has not reflected that promise in the Acid3 test so far. Also, Microsoft decided to add two more proprietary features, web slices and activities, which very few may have really use for.

In the meantime, a browser speed race - that quite apparently caught Microsoft on the wrong foot - has developed between Google Chrome, Apple’s Safari and Firefox. While Chrome and Safari are insignificant to the browser market as a whole at this time (according to Net Applications at 0.7% and 6% share, respectively), Firefox is accelerating its pace at the expense of IE.

Daily browser market share data provided by Net Applications suggests that, if nothing earth shattering happens in the remaining days of November, that Firefox will post its first 20%+ market share for this month. Daily market share estimates for Firefox range between 19.7% and 21.9% at this time – a record level for the Mozilla software.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is likely to see another decline in November. IE’s market share swings are much greater than those of Firefox: The posted share has been between 64% and 74% in November, according to Net Applications. Those declines can be mainly attributed to the use of Internet Explorer 6 in business environments. While the browser is still listed with a market share of up to 24% during the week, its share drops consistently over the weekend - to as low as 16%. IE8 Beta, by the way, currently hovers around 0.7% - 0.8% market share, according to Net Applications’ charts.

IE6 may pose the greatest threat to Microsoft’s browser market share dominance. When those systems enter upgrade cycles and if Mozilla or any other browser manufacturer can convince businesses to adapt their browsers, Microsoft could be facing a landslide loss and may be in danger of dropping below the 50% mark in the browser market. If we look at what really counts in business environments - security and productivity - then Microsoft is at a clear disadvantage right now. IE8 is in no position to effectively compete with Firefox at this time.  

From this perspective, Microsoft may actually have all the reasons to delay IE8 for a few weeks and take a closer look at the browser’s competitiveness.

Source : http://www.tgdaily.com/

Microsoft names the date for IE8

A release candidate for Microsoft's browser is due in early 2009, which suggests that Windows 7 could also hit the decks by the end of the year.

The development wheels at Microsoft might grind slowly, but Redmond is obviously feeling the pressure from rivals such as Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome to get updates out the door more quickly.

Microsoft confirmed today in a post on its official IE7 blog that the release candidate for Internet Explorer 8 will be out in early 2009. The first public beta appeared in March and version 2 followed in August A 12-month cycle for a major new release is a speedier path than usual for Microsoft, suggesting that it's aware of the competitive pressures in the current browser market.

"We will release one more public update of IE8 in the first quarter of 2009, and then follow that up with the final release," IE general manager Dean Hachamovitch wrote. "Our next public release of IE (typically called a 'release candidate') indicates the end of the beta period. We want the technical community of people and organizations interested in web browsers to take this update as a strong signal that IE8 is effectively complete and done." More than 20 million IE8 sessions have been tracked so far, Hachamovitch wrote.

A mid-June release for IE8 would tie in nicely with Microsoft's plans to get Windows 7 out the door sometime in 2009. Distribution via Windows remains one of the most effective ways for the company to get consumer users to upgrade, although the heavy push for standards compliance in IE8 ironically might make some enterprise buyers less receptive.

IE8 ditches most of the MS-specific tweaks made in earlier versions of the browser in favour of Acid2 compliance, but many of those "design features" have been incorporated into sites and applications built for use on enterprise portals and web-based applications. If those sites aren't redeveloped rapidly, companies installing Windows 7 might choose to downgrade the browser rather than flood their support desks with calls. For Microsoft, even that would be preferable to companies switching to Firefox or Chrome.

Source : http://apcmag.com/

Mother saw MySpace plan as clever, witness says

A Midwestern mother accused of using a fake MySpace account to torment a teenager who later committed suicide thought the plan was a clever and funny way to deal with a girl she suspected was spreading lies about her daughter, according to witnesses Thursday.

Ashley Grills, who was testifying under a grant of immunity, said that Lori Drew was directly involved in creating the bogus MySpace profile of a 16-year-old boy that was used to lure Megan Meier, 13, into an online relationship.

Grills, 20, said she was the one who came up with the idea of the MySpace account, but that Drew agreed and "thought it was funny."

Megan, of Dardenne Prairie, Mo., hanged herself two years ago after receiving an e-mail from the fictitious "Josh Evans" saying "the world would be a better place without you," prosecutors allege.

Drew, 49, is accused of violating federal law by providing false information to MySpace to set up the account, obtaining information about Megan in violation of MySpace rules, and then using the MySpace account to intentionally "inflict emotional distress" on the girl.

The circumstances surrounding Megan's death caused a national uproar when they were revealed last year. Authorities in Missouri launched an investigation but eventually concluded that there was no statute under which Drew could be charged. U.S. Atty. Thomas P. O'Brien indicted Drew in Los Angeles on the computer charges this spring on the theory that because MySpace is based in Beverly Hills, his office had jurisdiction.

Drew's attorney, H. Dean Steward, on Thursday sought to cast Megan as a deeply troubled teen who had already considered suicide and who was taking an antidepressant medication, which warned of suicidal tendencies as a potential side effect.

He read to jurors an e-mail Megan allegedly sent to Drew's daughter, Sarah, less than a year before the suicide: "Every day is a struggle. I can't do anything right. I'm always in trouble."

Grills, a longtime family friend of the Drews' and an employee of Drew's coupon distribution business, testified that she, Drew and Drew's daughter were trying to figure out a way "to expose Megan" for rumors she'd allegedly been spreading about Sarah.

Drew was present when Grills sat at the computer and agreed to the terms of service, though they did not read them, Grills testified. She said Drew also helped formulate messages that were sent to Megan and at one point suggested that they have "Josh" arrange a meeting with Megan at a local mall at which Sarah and her friends would "pop out" and tease Megan.

Grills said that she and Sarah thought they might get in trouble for fabricating the Josh Evans account, but that Drew told them "that it was fine and people do it all the time."

Under cross-examination, Grills said she thought she sent the final e-mail telling Megan that the world would be better off without her from an AOL instant messaging service, not MySpace.

In comments to a reporter outside the courtroom, Steward suggested that the revelation was a blow to the government's claim of jurisdiction.

Grills also testified under cross examination that Megan had been trading insults with several people online the afternoon she killed herself.

In other testimony Thursday, the Drews' hairdresser and a classmate of Drew's daughter said both Lori and Sarah Drew acknowledged to them that they were involved in the hoax on Megan.

The hairdresser, Dawn Chu, said Lori Drew told her she had a "funny story" to tell her before recounting how she and Grills had set up the account to fool Megan. Chu said she told Drew that doing so was wrong, but that she didn't respond.

She said Drew came in for a haircut again on the day of Megan's wake. Chu said she asked Drew why she was going to the wake, given her role in the hoax.

"It's not like I pulled the trigger," she quoted Drew as saying.

Source : http://www.latimes.com/

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion launches counterattack against iPhone

The BlackBerry, a phone and e-mail device that just a few years ago could be found mostly clipped to the belts of high-powered professionals, isn't just for workaholics anymore.

Research in Motion Ltd. today is launching its first major counterattack at the iPhone: the BlackBerry Storm, a touch-screen device that enables users to take pictures, play movies and music, and visit their Facebook and MySpace pages with ease. It even tells them where to turn when they're lost in their cars.

For years, the Waterloo, Canada, company has been the de facto provider of e-mail devices for corporations. But the company has its sights on the consumer market.

It launched its first-ever mainstream TV ad campaign this year and is partnering with Verizon Wireless to expand a marketing blitz that has touted the Storm on TV and in print.

"It's only in the last year that they've made a real concerted effort to branch into consumers," said Barry Richards, a senior analyst at Paradigm Capital who owns RIM shares.

RIM is trying to gain market share as tech-savvy consumers embrace smartphones, which are hand-held computers that enable users to make calls, surf the Web, check e-mail and maybe even watch TV. Smartphones account for 12.6% of handsets in use in the U.S. market and for 19% of recently acquired phones, according to Nielsen Mobile.

"The smartphone market has plenty of room to grow, and we are well-positioned to benefit from our continued focus on innovation, customer value and partnerships," said Mark Guibert, RIM's vice president of corporate marketing.

Like other handset makers, RIM faces competition from Apple Inc.'s iPhone, whose sales have surprised analysts since its June 2007 launch. According to NPD Group, the Apple gadget was the top-selling phone in the third quarter, followed by Motorola's RAZR and the Blackberry Curve.

That's not good news for all carriers including Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp., which collectively lost 2 million subscribers in one quarter to AT&T, the exclusive provider of the iPhone, Richards of Paradigm Capital said.

Carriers are especially interested in signing up smartphone customers because although most people in the U.S. have voice plans, much fewer have data plans, which are more lucrative for carriers, said Jim Ricotta, chief executive of Azuki Systems, a mobile media services company.

The Storm isn't the first competitor to the iPhone, which is credited with piquing consumers' interests in smartphones. T-Mobile USA Inc.'s G1, Samsung's Instinct and LG's Dare all have touch screen capabilities like the iPhone.

But RIM says it goes a step further, with what it calls the "world's first 'clickable' touch screen" -- Storm's screen compresses when tapped and offers tactile feedback to mimic the feeling of a real keyboard.

And Storm captures video, which the iPhone doesn't. It does include one popular iPhone feature: an accelerometer, which means the screen shifts depending on which way you hold it.

The Storm is "not an iPhone killer, but it is intended as a retention tool to keep people that have a BlackBerry but might be eyeing the iPhone," said Charles Golvin, principal analyst at Forrester Research.

RIM is expected to gain some footing in the smartphone market because it offers phones with touch screens, flip screens and keyboards that appeal to a wide range of consumers. A Forrester survey found that 18% of online 12- to 18-year-olds who frequently used the Internet on their phones wanted a BlackBerry -- only 15% said they wanted an iPhone.

Still, few smartphones please consumers and critics like the iPhone, which is lauded for its speedy Web browser and its range of user-friendly applications. RIM will have an especially tough time competing in the fourth quarter because Apple gets so much holiday foot traffic in its stores, said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis with the NPD Group.

"It's going to tough to compete with Apple," he said. "Then again, there could be pent-up demand."

But analysts say that this quarter is only the beginning of the game between Apple, RIM and the other competitors.

Said Roger Entner, senior vice president of the communications sector at Nielsen IAG: "They're looking at each other's devices and trying to figure out how they can keep their edge, and also how they can copy what the other one does better."

Source : http://www.latimes.com/

Google unveils customised search

Google has unveiled a tool that will allow users to customise and refine their search queries.

The company's SearchWiki lets users re-order, remove or add specific web search results.

This means the next time they perform the same search, the personalised version will pop up.

"I would call this revolutionary. It's a huge step, not a baby step in the world of search," Google's product manager, Cedric Dupont, told the BBC.

"This is part of an obvious movement of the web to become more participatory, so Google search is adapting to this movement," he said.

"The SearchWiki is about giving users more control over their search results and increasing user happiness," Mr Dupont added.

But industry watchers predict one huge problem with the effort.

"Most people are not going to engage with it and think about where the results should be - if it's above this one or below that one," said Greg Sterling, an editor with SearchEngineLand.com.

"This is really for a motivated or elite core of user who really wants to participate in the process."

"Social search"

As well as ranking results, SearchWiki allows users who have logged in to their Google account to write comments which will have a dialogue balloon next to the result when they return for any further searches.

These will also be public so that others using SearchWiki can view them and get feedback on a website.

Mr Dupont stressed that SearchWiki would not affect the way websites were ranked by Google.

At the bottom of the page, there will be a link to take users to a page showing what search results others have re-ranked, deleted or added.

Mr Sterling said that if Google managed to get a great number of people re-ranking results, it could improve the overall search experience.

"Lots of people have tried so-called 'social search', combining algorithmic search with human editorial input, because the perception is that humans have the ability to craft a better result in any given situation because they can make distinctions machines can't," he said.

"So this could be quite dramatic if they get a lot of people participating because it could improve the algorithms of the process and serve up better search results."

Matthew Humphries of geek.com would like to see the tool available to the public at large and not just to account holders. He said that even among SearchWiki users, search would be improved.

"You always see posts on forums for different subjects asking for the best resources to help with X. With SearchWiki the responses won't be a bunch of links, they will be a single link to an annotated Google search page," he added.

Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/