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  1. DM LED HEAD LIGHTS ================== 2500 lumens LED Headlights ( lastest technology ) energy savings and white light projection. Non heat emission and will not damage headlamp appearance unlike HID. LED Open for bookings now. Message or call us at 6341 6164 to enquire.
  2. https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Xinjiang-is-prototype-for-fully-totalitarian-state-Taiwan-minister?utm_campaign=RN%20Subscriber%20newsletter&utm_medium=daily%20newsletter&utm_source=NAR%20Newsletter&utm_content=article%20link&del_type=1&pub_date=20200727190000&seq_num=22&si=%%user_id%% Xinjiang is prototype for fully totalitarian state: Taiwan minister Audrey Tang says Chinese region is a reminder of the value of liberal democracy Taiwan's Digital Minister Audrey Tang speaks to Nikkei in her Taipei office last month. (Photo by Toshiyuki Kumagai) ANDREW SHARP, Nikkei Asian Review deputy politics and economy editorJuly 27, 2020 15:38 JST TOKYO -- China is using new technology to turn its western region of Xinjiang into a model for a fully authoritarian surveillance state, Taiwan's digital minister said on Monday. "We have seen that previous attempts at totalitarian government were at most sub-totalitarian because there were no sufficient technologies to ensure the total tracking of people," Audrey Tang told reporters in Tokyo in an online news conference. "Now in places like Xinjiang we are seeing a prototype of a truly totalitarian surveillance regime is being worked on." The once Muslim-majority region is part of the ongoing feud between Washington and Beijing, with the U.S. Commerce Department last week slapping sanctions on 11 more companies that it said were linked to alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang. Chinese officials slammed the move, calling it a "blatant hegemonic act." A February report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute estimated that more than 80,000 Uighurs were moved out of Xinjiang to work in factories across China between 2017 and 2019, with some being sent directly from detention camps. According to the report, the workers are subjected to intimidation and threats, and are constantly monitored by security personnel and digital surveillance tools. Speaking via video link from Taipei, Tang said such reports serve as a reminder for people in Taiwan of the value of liberal democracy. "We see things through a human rights and democracy lens," the 39-year-old said. "These attempts, for example in Xinjiang that I just alluded to, are basically prompting all sectors in Taiwan -- not just the social sector people, the 'hacktivists,' but also people in the private sector -- to look at these applications and technologies. It serves a really strong reminder that we should not go there." In a recent Nikkei interview, Tang said that putting Chinese equipment in a country's core telecom infrastructure is akin to inviting a Trojan horse into the network. "Every time you upgrade you have to do another systemic risk assessment," Tang said. "But the feeling is that the risk is too high, and the cost of ownership too high, and we would be better to work with other vendors from liberal democratic countries." Indeed, Taiwan has effectively excluded Huawei from its 5G network. In June, the government-backed Chunghwa Telecom launched commercial services on the island's ultrafast internet system, using Ericsson technology. Taiwan's relations with China have deteriorated since President Tsai Ing-wen was first elected in 2016, making the island a frequent target of cyberattacks. The government says Taiwan is hit an average of 30 million times a month. "There are cyberattacks literally every hour," Tang said. "Fortunately, most of those attacks were sorted automatically by the defense in-depth system that we employ. And so they did not really interfere with [January's] presidential election, although there's a lot of disinformation campaigns." Tang, the youngest minister in Taiwan's history, is a renowned hacker, programmer and entrepreneur. Brought into Tsai's cabinet in 2016, she has been praised as a key figure in the fight against COVID-19 for her role in quickly developing apps to speed up the distribution of masks and economic stimulus coupons. She describes herself as a "conservative anarchist," and continues to be so despite being in government. "So I am at once digital minister, that's my day job. But I'm also moonlighting as a civic hacker," Tang said. "I see myself as a channel, as a bridge, as a Lagrangian point between civic movements on one side and government on the other."
  3. Are we ready fir disruptive technology of a different kind if Madison is not allowed ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1IvqmC8okY Sugar Daddies and Sugar Babies - Documentary
  4. https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-cut-thousands-jobs-sky-news-2023-01-17/ Jan 17 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) plans to cut thousands of jobs with some roles expected to be eliminated in human resources and engineering divisions, according to media reports on Tuesday. The expected layoffs would be the latest in the U.S. technology sector, where companies including Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) have announced retrenchment exercises in response to slowing demand and a worsening global economic outlook. Microsoft's move could indicate that the tech sector may continue to shed jobs. "From a big picture perspective, another pending round of layoffs at Microsoft suggests the environment is not improving, and likely continues to worsen," Morningstar analyst Dan Romanoff said. U.K broadcaster Sky News reported, citing sources, that Microsoft plans to cut about 5% of its workforce, or about 11,000 roles. The company plans to cut jobs in a number of engineering divisions on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported, according to a person familiar with the matter, while Insider reported that Microsoft could cut recruiting staff by as much as one-third. The cuts will be significantly larger than other rounds in the past year, the Bloomberg report said. Microsoft declined to comment on the reports. The company had 221,000 full-time employees, including 122,000 in the United States and 99,000 internationally, as of June 30, according to filings. Microsoft is under pressure to maintain growth rates at its cloud unit Azure, after several quarters of downturn in the personal computer market hurt Windows and devices sales. It had said in July last year that a small number of roles had been eliminated. In October, news site Axios reported that Microsoft had laid off under 1,000 employees across several divisions. Shares of Microsoft, which is set to report quarterly results on Jan. 24, were marginally higher in late afternoon trading.
  5. Hello! We are a young and driven development team that needs your help. We are currently in the market research phase, and the aim is to create an OBD2 application to monitor the health of your car. There are already quite a few applications of this type on the market, but only a few deal with car data analysis, statistics, machine learning, and long-term prediction of potential problems. The purpose of our application is not to display fuel consumption. It is to collect and analyze data that we obtain from the car's computer and from the vehicle owner. The computer sends information through the OBD2 connection about the amount and consumption of oil, fuel, coolant, emissions, wear on certain vehicle components, speed, revolutions..., in other words, about the condition of the vehicle and the way it is used. We would collect this data through machine learning and analyze it, presenting it in a user-friendly way in the application. In this way, we can alert the user about defects and worn components a few weeks before the warning light surprises us (which in most cases does not provide much information on its own). When the mechanic resets the service warning light (or when we detect an abnormal deviation from the average in certain values), the application sends a notification to the user's phone and prompts them to enter which components were replaced and the cost of the repair. With the user's permission, the application would send data to our cloud, where users of the same vehicles could "compete" with each other (in terms of consumption, costs, vehicle efficiency, driving style...) while also making it much easier to buy and sell a vehicle as most buyers prefer to purchase a vehicle with a known history, and you will be able to sell your car more easily. Future buyers will therefore be more prepared for the maintenance costs of such a vehicle, which is still a major fear and reason against purchasing more prestigious car brands. The analysis and presentation of all this data is useful for all of us, as we can more accurately compare certain models and brands of vehicles, their consumption, the lifespan of individual components and the vehicle, and maintenance costs, as never before. For this purpose, we would need about 1 minute of your time to complete the survey below: https://forms.gle/cRRSrUhreUebrYHo8 Thank you! Suggestions and criticism is welcome.
  6. <Scientists Trained Goldfish to Drive a Little Car It's proof that fish are capable of navigation even in unfamiliar environments. Scientists often create elaborate studies in order to tease out secrets and truths from the animal world. One such work has recently been published, with a group from Ben-Gurion University hoping to determine the true nature of a fish's navigation capabilities, as shared on Twitter. Several goldfish were tasked with driving a robot towards a goal, with the sea creatures proving more than up to the job. As per the paper available online, the apparatus for the test was relatively straightforward. Goldfish were placed in a small transparent tank of water placed on top of a robot chassis. A camera mounted above the tank tracked the fish's position and orientation. If the fish swam outward towards a given wall, the robot would move in that direction. When the fish drove up to a pink target on the wall, they would be rewarded with food. Initially, the six fish in the study drove around largely at random. However, tests were regularly performed three times a week, and the fish quickly began to learn that if they drove over to the target area, they would receive food. Over time, the fish became more capable, and could trigger the reward mechanism more times in a single given 30 minute test session. The researchers wanted to further determine just how well the fish had learned to understand their terrestrial environment. The starting position in the room was changed, and the fish were still able to navigate to the target for a reward. Similarly, adding decoy targets of different colors in the room did not stop fish from achieving the task. As a further test, the pink target was moved to a different location in the room and the fish were tested again. Initially, fish drove towards the old target location in an attempt to receive a reward. When none was forthcoming, the fish eventually learned that the pink target itself was the key to the task, and began to drive there instead. The study suggests that a goldfish's navigational abilities are not solely limited to the underwater environment to which they are accustomed. Indeed, a fish can learn to drive a robot in order to secure food. Furthermore, the tiny creatures are also able to build a greater understanding of their world, proven by learning that reaching the pink target, and not simply the original target location, is key to receiving a reward. It also helps clear up the widely-disproven myth that the common pet fish only have a 3-second memory. We've seen similar studies before, which may seem frivolous, but they teach us a great deal about how organic brains work and their true capabilities. We're still likely a ways off from teaching dogs to drive cars, but such insights are of key importance to learning about animal behavior. Creative test design is key to really determining what's going on inside the brain of a goldfish who otherwise can't tell us what's going on, as ably demonstrated by this study.>
  7. https://www.thedrive.com/tech/43155/ford-purdue-cooling-patent-could-charge-evs-as-fast-as-gas-station-fill-ups <Ford, Purdue Cooling Patent Could Charge EVs As Fast As Gas Station Fill-Ups Heat management is crucial to faster charging, and this patent has a built-in way to keep things cool. Battery science is a pretty undeveloped field, which is why we're still using lithium-ion instead of ultra-efficient metal air or sodium chemistry. During the period when burning fuel to generate power was always the easiest option, there wasn't a motivation to make storage a priority and when it comes to EV charging, from infrastructure to materials and methods, we're in the absolute infancy of what might get done. This is why it's extremely cool to see Ford working with Purdue University on a potentially game-changing charge cable. The patent's still pending and this isn't in the production stage, so it'd be years before it could be rolled out. But Ford has shared details about the research, which has come up with a solution that could drastically cut EV charging, Ford says, maybe even down to the same amount of time it takes to fill up a gasoline car. Before I dive into how it works, let's discuss the basics. One of the things about charging a battery, as anyone who's ever plugged their phone in on a warm day will know, is that it gets hot. And as you'll also know from plugging the charger in, it's not just the battery—the cable, the adapter, everything gets real warm because of the current flowing through it, especially as you increase that voltage for faster charging. You can lower how hot parts of it get by using higher-grade, less resistant materials but not only is there a financial cost to that, it also generally means you need rarer stuff and it's not like metals and minerals we're using for technology aren't already a problem. The heating up limits charging and causes the equipment, on the battery and charger side, to degrade faster. So one key to improving charging—which is to say, making it faster—is managing that heat. Ford's partnership with Purdue has come up with something pretty interesting, which is a cable made with liquid cooling built into it. PURDUE UNIVERSITY Liquid cooling is pretty fancy, in a battery—AMG is rightly pleased with its direct-liquid-cooled energy store that's basically apeing the Mercedes F1 battery—but it doesn't need spectacularly precious elements. Building it into a cable is clever enough in the first place, given the cable needs to flex but Ford and Purdue's research has also got a stage smarter than anything else around so far. The cooling agent that the cable uses switches between being a liquid and vapor, which is a heat-reductive process. Like the reason humans sweat, when something vaporizes it takes heat from its surroundings, wicking the excess away from the charging cable wires. That also doesn't require the liquid to be pumped around in order to circulate its heat reduction capabilities. Purdue mechanical engineering professor Issam Mudawar led on the project, alongside Ford's engineers. In Ford's news release, Mudawar said that a prototype cable should be being tested within the next 24 months, in order to work on seeing how much difference the cable makes to vehicle charging times and how much it increases potential current. That's very exciting, even if it's still a long way off being a production concern, especially because this isn't Ford saying it has a new type of proprietary plug, this is actually a new way to use cooling technologies altogether. Although there was quite a lot of bombast in Ford's release about this to say it could bring EV charging times down to equivalent to refueling, that bits in the handwave phase at the moment. We don't know how much it will actually improve charging times or if the system is, for instance, robust enough to withstand thousands of charge cycles—that's the point of research, that it's still getting worked out. But it's a nifty innovation and it'll be interesting to see where it goes.>
  8. Hey guys ! Just curious and wanting to know cars that have a similar technology to what Formula 1 car has. The closest could ever get to a formula 1 car and why. Could be looks, technology, speed, all of the above? you name it. Personally my top 2 picks are the LaFerrari as it is as close as it could get to a F1 car for its technology, and Lexus LFA for its Screaming V10 sound.
  9. https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/11/11/huawei-has-defied-trumps-blacklist-so-what-happens-now/#1f4d92d17336 Huawei Has Defied Trump’s Blacklist: So What Happens Now? Zak Doffman Contributor, Cybersecurity Back in May, when U.S. President Trump stripped Huawei of its U.S. supply chain, the company’s short to medium term future looked bleak. The blacklist was aimed at 5G networking equipment, but it was Huawei’s consumer goods business that seemed to be hit hardest. Huawei execs forecast billions in lost revenue as CEO Ren Zhengfei talked survival: “It's good enough for us to just survive,” he told Bloomberg in May, “you can come back to interview us in two or three years and see if we still exist.” Fast forward six months, though, and it’s all change. “Huawei defies the odds to lead the global telecoms market after 180 days on the U.S. trade blacklist,” announced a South China Morning Post headline on November 8. “Performance,” it reported, “that has defied early predictions that it would stumble under the U.S. trade ban.” And this isn’t a slant on the truth—with this story, there are no rose-tinted spectacles in sight. Far from losing the hard-fought number two slot for global smartphone sales it won from Apple last year, Huawei has continued to grow, leaving Apple further behind and chasing down Samsung for the global crown. This year, the blacklisted company has shipped 200 million smartphones 64 days faster than it managed in 2018—pre-blacklist. Huawei targeted 2020 as the year it would overtake Samsung. It remains on course to do exactly that. Samsung is no slouch—according to Canalys it posted annualised growth of 11% in the third quarter this year—Huawei, though, hit 33%. So all good on the consumer front, but what about sales of 5G networking equipment. Well, despite the blacklist, Huawei still leads the world. In the first quarter of 2019, despite a relentless U.S. campaign against the company, Huawei’s market share was 28%. During the following quarter in which the blacklist was put in place, this increased to 29%. Second-placed Nokia remained a distance behind, at around 16%. Worse for the U.S., Reuters reported that half of Huawei’s 65+ 5G contracts are in Europe—the primary international battleground between Washington politicians and Shenzhen execs. A recent EU report warned of the dangers associated with a dominant 5G player from an authoritarian regime. But the two key battlegrounds, Germany and the U.K., remain undecided and could still opt for Huawei. If that happens, it is likely that other markets around the world will follow suit. If key markets, especially the U.K., allow Huawei into their networks, it undermines the U.S. case considerably. So what went wrong with the U.S. campaign? In a word—China. Huawei’s domestic market has pulled hard enough to make all the difference. Huawei’s overall growth was strong, but its performance in China was exceptional—a 66% increase catapulting the company to a 42% market share. The company is chasing down an extraordinary 50% market share of the world’s largest smartphone market—a market that has been a recent nightmare for both Apple and Samsung as they struggle to compete. Huawei eased past the $100 billion revenue mark last year for the first time, after a decade of uninterrupted growth. Against the odds, it looks set to do the same this year. There are three allegations behind the U.S. campaign against Huawei. The first that the company will facilitate espionage or data theft at the behest of China’s intelligence agencies if asked. The second that the company receives state subsidies at the expense of non-Chinese competitors. And the third that its technologies have been used to help suppress China’s ethnic minorities, most notably the Uighurs in Xinjiang. Underpinning Huawei’s defense against U.S. claims has been a carefully orchestrated media campaign that was underway before the sanctions were in place. Back in February, at the flagship Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Huawei hit back at the U.S. in front of its industry peers. The company’s chairman Guo Ping used a keynote speech to remind the world about the cybersecurity controversies emanating from the U.S. entered around the Edward Snowden revelations. As I wrote at the time, the approach has “all the hallmarks of a carefully orchestrated line of defense that has been in the works for some time—and it’s a very good one.” In short, that campaign hasn’t stopped since. We have seen a new transparency from Shenzhen, open access to the once reclusive CEO, an open-door policy at HQ, a growing team of Western media and PR professionals drafted in to shape the messages and manage the media. And those messages have focused on innovation, investment, legacy, history and performance. All underpinned by trust, loyalty and consistent denials of any security wrongdoing. Behind all this has been a darker message, though. Essentially Huawei is offering the world a choice. Take the U.S. line, swallow its tech dominance through the likes of Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and Qualcomm. Or push back, don’t take it all at face value, and support this leading non-U.S. player as it carves out a new way. The messaging around a replacement for Android itself or a replacement for Google Mobile Services aligns with this. The world’s consumers don’t want to move from Google, but in truth no company has offered them a viable alternative in a decade. Huawei has ridden out the storm. Between its 5G contracts and its smartphone market position it is well protected for another 12-18 months, with perhaps another 10% market share in China on offer to offset any slowing non-China sales. Beyond that, there are one of two paths open to the company. Either Google (and the others) will be returned under Commerce Department licenses, in which case the company will be even stronger, even more of a threat to its competition. Or the blacklist will hold, in which case the company will invest in Huawei Mobile Services and in an app ecosystem to wean millions to its new third way. Unless there is a significant change in the U.S. stance, this analysis on Huawei will continue back and forth. And the more the company is seen to ride out its sanctions, the more likely the U.S. will trade away more restrictions for trade talk benefits while they still carry some weight. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, U.S. tech giants continue to lobby for a return to business as usual. What is certain, is that there was no expectation that Huawei would field the first six months of its blacklist as well as it has. For the U.S. to campaign this strongly against a commercial enterprise is unprecedented—the result of that campaign, though, is arguably even more so.
  10. Singapore startup launches first-of-its-kind machine to brew kopitiam-style coffee Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-startup-launches-first-its-kind-machine-brew-kopitiam-style-coffee Mr Jason Thai decided to design a machine to brew kopi when he could not find a skilled kopi brewer His startup Hawkermatic aims to roll out 1,000 of the machines by 2022 Mr Thai is confident kopi brewed by the KopiMatic is just as good as a cup brewed by a kopi “tao chiew” SINGAPORE — Avid kopi drinkers could soon find that the next cup of coffee they order from their local coffee shop is brewed by a homegrown automated coffee machine, rather than hand brewed by a skilled kopi “tao chiew”. The machine — named the KopiMatic — is the brainchild of Mr Jason Thai, who came up with the idea when he could not find a skilled kopi brewer after opening his canteen-style coffee shop at Infinite Studios in One-north in 2015. “(Back then) I thought maybe there’s a machine which can actually make Nanyang-style coffee so I can have that role filled and then be the cashier, but then I discovered that this machine did not exist,” he said. Nanyang-style coffee is the type usually served in kopitiams, with the flavour enhanced by the use of palm oil or butter in the roasting process. This type of coffee has always been handmade, unlike coffee in upscale outlets such as Starbucks where machines are the norm. Discovering this gap in the market, the 51-year-old decided to take matters into his own hands and took on the challenge of making the first version of the KopiMatic. Though Mr Thai has always had a passion for building things — dabbling in carpentry and metal work — the complexity of the KopiMatic required him to pick up more skills, and he learned 3D printing and computer-aided design and manufacturing to create the prototypes. The KopiMatic went through three iterations before Mr Thai settled on what he calls “version three” of the machine. He recalled that at first, the machine was just a row of pumps on a metal shelf and the pipes were scattered around. Now, the KopiMatic has become more compact and ergonomic. It features a dual dispenser and a set of buttons corresponding to the various common kopi orders that any staff member can easily navigate and press to mix a drink to the customer’s taste. Businesses can install the machine in their shops for S$250 a month on a hire purchase plan. Mr Thai and the team at startup Hawkermatic said they have received interest from at least 10 local coffee shop chains, spanning 200 outlets in total. They hope to roll out 1,000 units by 2022. The machines are being made in Singapore. MACHINE PASSED MULTIPLE TASTE TESTS Of course, the first question on every kopi lover’s mind is whether the taste of the coffee brewed by the KopiMatic compares to a cup carefully brewed by a trained kopi “tao chiew”. Mr Thai and the team at Hawkermatic told TODAY during a media preview on Thursday (Aug 13) that they are confident even a kopi connoisseur will not be able to tell the difference between the machine and a trained hand. He recalled that two years ago, when he told his regular patrons that he was shutting his coffee shop to sell the KopiMatic to other food and beverage businesses, his customers were surprised to learn that they had been drinking coffee from a machine this whole time. “I’ve sold about 60,000 cups using the older version (of the machine) and people liked it,” he said. And it is not just the patrons. The team at Hawkermatic also invited several bosses of local kopitiam chains to test the machine out for themselves to see if it could match the traditionally brewed coffee in taste and quality. In a taste test, the kopitiam bosses could not tell the difference between a cup brewed on the spot by one of their staff members and a cup brewed by the KopiMatic. On top of that, Mr Thai said what appealed to the bosses was the consistency of each cup of coffee that the KopiMatic promises. “The consistency (of each cup of coffee) has always been a problem for them,” he said.
  11. Dyson developing an electric car, according to government documents The company last year refused to confirm they were working on a green vehicle, but a government plan on infrastructure suggests they are Dyson is developing an electric car at its headquarters in Wiltshire with help from public money, according to government documents. The company, which makes a range of products that utilise the sort of highly efficient motors needed for an electric car such as vacuum cleaners, hand dryers and bladeless fans, last year refused to rule out rumours it was building one. But on Wednesday, the government appeared to have accidentally disclosed Dyson is working on one, along with other big companies outside of the automotive industry, such as Apple. “The government is funding Dyson to develop a new battery electric vehicle at their headquarters in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. This will secure £174m of investment in the area, creating over 500 jobs, mostly in engineering,” said the National Infrastructure Delivery Plan, published on Wednesday. When Dyson CEO, Max Conze, was asked last year if the company was working on an electric car, he said: “We are ruling nothing out. Like our friends in Cupertino [Apple] we are also unhealthily obsessive when it comes to taking apart our products to make them better.” Dyson recently reported profits up 20% in 2015, driven by strong growth in China, and said it plans to invest £1bn in battery technology over the next five years. Last October, Dyson bought solid-state battery company, Sakti3, for $90m, which founder Sir James Dyson said had “developed a breakthrough in battery technology.” Asked if the company was, as the government suggested, developing an electric car, a Dyson spokesman said: “We never comment on products that are in development.” The Guardian has also contacted the Office for Low Emissions Vehicles, which encourages the roll-out of electric vehicles as a way to cut air pollution and lower carbon emissions, and is awaiting details on the exact level of funding. Dyson, 68, has a long history of inventions. He designed the Rotork Sea Truck, a fast cargo boat in 1970, which has been used by the military and is still sold today. In 1974, he designed the Ballbarrow, a barrow with a ball replacing the wheel, having been frustrated by wheelbarrows getting stuck in mud on a building site. His breakthrough was the bagless vaucum cleaner, which was inspired by air cyclones used in sawmills to suck up sawdust. Since then, he has created bladeless fans and the Airblade hand dryer. Many of Dyson’s devices use small, light and efficient electric motors developed over 10 years by his company, which may find application in developing a new electric car. Dyson is a now worth several billion pounds and in 2014 pledged his company would spend £1.5bn on research and development to create future products, aiming to launch 100 new electrical products by 2018. Dyson Reportedly Developing An Electric Car Of Its Own There are so many potential jokes, quips, and overall smartass remarks to be mined from the prospect of a vacuum cleaner company designing a car which, contrary to the firm’s essential business, doesn’t suck, that we’ll cut straight to the otherwise buried lead… Originally tipped by The Guardian, U.K. company Dyson is developing an electric car of its own at its headquarters in Wiltshire, England, and according to government documents, the Brits are publically funding the enterprise. Both the company and the government have yet to officially comment on the situation. The Guardian says a just-published National Infrastructure Delivery Plan revealed, likely by accident, “The government is funding Dyson to develop a new battery electric vehicle at their headquarters in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. This will secure £174m of investment in the area, creating over 500 jobs, mostly in engineering.” The newspaper further reports that Dyson bought solid-state battery company, Sakti3, for $90m last October, which founder Sir James Dyson said had “developed a breakthrough in battery technology.” In 2014 Dyson reportedly pledged his company would spend £1.5bn on research and development to create future products, with the lofty goal of bringing 100 new items to market by 2018. A big boost in the company’s favor in this regard is that its famed lineup of vacuum cleaners, bladeless fans and hand dryers not only incorporate cutting-edge electric motors, but come wrapped in revolutionary designs that essentially transform everyday household products into display-worthy items and enable Dyson to command premium prices for their wares. Substitute “home computer” for “vacuum cleaner” and “operating system” for “electric motors,” and that sounds a lot like Apple if you ask us.
  12. The most modern technology used in internal combustion engines currently is Variable compression ratio engine ( VCR ). As the name suggests, the motor may alter the compression ratio under operating circumstances. The technology had existed as a prototype for the previous few years. Currently, Infiniti (the luxury brand of Nissan) is prepared to display its VCR engine, the first ready-to-produce VCR engine, to be exhibited in the 2016 Paris Motor Show. 2016 Paris Motor Show by Maxime Joly, on Flickr Why need a VCR engine? Generally, a traditional petrol engine makes more power from a specified engine size using a turbocharger. In a Diesel engine, Turbocharging's approach looks excellent, as they operate heterogeneously injecting more fuel into denser air. On the other hand, petrol engines do not have the flexibility like diesel engines; a petrol engine's mixing power impacts engine efficiency. Detonation and knocking prevail when the turbocharger boosts over specific concentrations as the general compression ratio rises (piston compress + turbo-added pressure).The first solution to the issue may be to use a reduced engine compression ratio so that more dense air can deliver to the turbo. However, the downside is that lowering the percentage of compression can affect the economy of petrol. Hence the designer must trade-off some Compression ratio for power and rest for the economy. A variable compression ratio engine The main characteristic of the engine is to use a compression ratio of 14 at the lower throttle and low speeds while cruising. So you can achieve the highest fuel economy. The compression ratio of the cylinder falls to about 8:1 during acceleration or high-velocity acceleration, this is also the case when the turbo kicks in. Turbo, therefore, rams more air into the engine, making it more powerful. Infiniti patented such systems at the end of 2001. It is also possible to operate the VC-T (Variable Compression Turbo) motor on Atkinson cycles. Currently, the VC-Turbo engine is paired in INFINITI QX50, a luxury compact SUV that can rival the likes of Lexus NX, Volvo XC40 and Mercedes Benz GLC. "It's currently one of the most affordable premium mid-sized SUV in the market right now" - Julian Kho, Editor of sgCarMart. Join MCF HangOut with Infiniti and Stand a chance to win attractive prizes total worth $1,300! Join MCF HangOut and enjoy attractive savings and discount! Saturday 24th August, 10 am – 1 pm.
  13. The new tech driving traffic on Singapore's roads Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/new-technology-driving-traffic-singapore-roads-11688500
  14. http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/mazda-announces-breakthrough-in-long-coveted-engine-technology/ar-AApIOMK?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=mailsignout Mazda announces breakthrough in long-coveted engine technology Mazda Motor Corp said it would become the world's first automaker to commercialise a much more efficient petrol engine using technology that deep-pocketed rivals have been trying to engineer for decades, a twist in an industry increasingly going electric. The new compression ignition engine is 20 percent to 30 percent more fuel efficient than the Japanese automaker's current engines and uses a technology that has eluded the likes of Daimler AG and General Motors Co. A homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine ignites petrol through compression, eliminating spark plugs. Its fuel economy potentially matches that of a diesel engine without high emissions of nitrogen oxides or sooty particulates. Mazda's engine employs spark plugs under certain conditions, such as at low temperatures, to overcome technical hurdles that have hampered commercialisation of the technology. Executive Vice President Akira Marumoto called Mazda's engine technology the automaker's "heart". The engine is called SKYACTIV-X and Mazda had no plans to supply the engine to other carmakers, Marumoto said.
  15. CREATIVE Technology, the home-grown tech firm, has slashed 2,700 jobs, or almost half its total workforce, in the last fiscal year as falling demand for its products continues to hit its bottom line. Jobs cuts were made across the board, but the bulk was in manufacturing, due to the sale of its Malaysian plant in July 2007. The Straits Times estimates that up to 2,200 jobs have been eliminated as a result of that closure. This came to light in the company's annual report filed with the Singapore Exchange on Wednesday. In the report, Creative said it had about 3,100 full-time workers as at June 30 last year, or 47 per cent fewer than the 5,800 employed a year earlier. In the previous year, Creative had cut headcount by about 800 from 6,600. A Creative spokesman said: 'The bulk of the reduction in the worldwide workforce was due to the sale of Cubic Electronics, the manufacturing subsidiary of Creative in Malaysia, in July 2007.' Creative sold an 80.1 per cent stake in the Malaysian facility for US$6.9 million (S$10.1 million) to a group of third-party investors as part of a move to streamline and improve its operational efficiency. Other staff cuts were made, with about 250 coming from sales, marketing and customer support, about 180 from administrative and other areas and fewer than 50 from research and development (R&D). Besides Asia, headcount was also significantly reduced in the Americas region, from about 640 to 280. The spokesman said there had been no 'significant change' in headcount in Singapore, where Creative has its corporate headquarters and a large part of its R&D operations. 'We are still looking to hire more R&D engineers,' the spokesman said. The company employs about 1,100 staff in R&D across the US, Britain and China, in addition to Singapore. Creative had net losses of US$19.7 million for the year ended June 30, 2008. The company, which makes MP3 players and speakers, has been hit by slowing sales of its products due to the worsening economic situation and tough competition. Sales for the three months ended Sept30 were US$141.2 million, down from US$184.6 million for the same period a year before. Half of Creative's sales came from Europe, while the Americas and Asia made up the rest almost evenly. In the report, Creative said it faces 'intense competition from a large number of established companies and emerging companies'. Sales of electronic products have slumped as the economic slowdown forces consumers to cut back on spending, leading companies like Chartered Semiconductor and Philips Electronics to announce job cuts in recent months. Creative suffered a net loss of US$32.2 million in the first quarter ended Sept 30 to follow a net loss of US$31.7 million in the three months before that. 'We will continue to reduce operating expenses as we target to reduce our losses in the uncertain market environment ahead,' president and chief operating officer of Creative Labs Craig McHugh said in October. [email protected] [AD]
  16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUJT96I-q_8 Now simi sai also cloud. Prepare for real life watch dogs 2 liao.
  17. Hi All, Just like to have an update from current and would be hybrid owners on how economical and reliable of hybrid cars these days. Seen many improvements from different makes, and would like feedback from those whom are driving or would be owner why consider a hybrid. Please I am not a tree hugger and appreciate posts that can provide cost of usage and fuel saving over time. CEV rebate is also not a consideration because as understand, OMV or parf gets affected by the end of 10 years, thus that segment is a no win to owners. (at least that's how I feel). Thanks
  18. http://green.autoblog.com/2011/10/21/malay...mport-excise-d/ Make them exempt from import and excise duties and "robust growth" will follow. That's Malaysia's hybrid and plug-in vehicle scheme. From now through December of 2013, all hybrid and plug-in vehicles sold in Malaysia will be completely exempt from import and export duties. Malaysia's finance minister, Najib Razak, says that the duty exemption is to "promote green technology and ensure sustainable development" by encouraging domestic assembly of electric vehicles and hybrids. Kavan Mukhtyar, Frost & Sullivan's transportation head for the Asia-Pacific region, says the duty exemptions will indeed encourage automakers to launch hybrids in Malaysia: This will drive robust growth in the hybrid market over the next few years. We expect hybrid volumes to exceed 10,000 units [annually] by 2013. 10,000. That's not much, is it? Well, since Toyota sold only 162 Prius hybrids in Malaysia through the first eight months of 2011, moving up to 10,000 hybrids sold there per year would be quite an achievement.
  19. perhaps 5-10 years ago, kia resale value is probably tagged to near hyundai, whereby people stay away from them due to the low resale value after few years. Compared to toyota and honda whose resale value sustains. However, when getting my new ride k3 from kia comparing to the new altis, I was surprised by the outstanding functions that the car offers compared to altis. Cruise control, paddle shift, rear aircon vent , sunroof, 17inch wheels where altis has none of them. And definitely i would say kia has improved tremendously over the years and i believe that its resale value will catch up to the japan brands in few years time. What do you guys say?
  20. While browsing sgcarmart and checking out vehicles specifications, something caught my eye - carbon emissions. With the new CEVS kicking in from July, cars with 'high' emissions can be taxed additional $30k! But what is interesting is how the German vehicles have much lesser emissions than comparative Japanese cars. Examples below. Specifications from sgcarmart. Toyota corolla 1.6(A) - CO2 emission 151 g/km (As tested by LTA) / Kerb weight 1,265 kg Mercedes Benz E200 - CO2 emission 146 g/km (As tested by LTA) / Kerb weight 1,655 kg Numbers speak for themselves. Further e.g. Subaru WRX STi 2.5(M) - CO2 emission 242 g/km (As tested by LTA) / Kerb weight 1,516 kg (additional $30k CEVS tax from July) Mercedes Benz A45 AMG - CO2 emission 165 g/km (As tested by LTA) / Kerb weight 1,555 kg Seems like the German technology is far ahead of the Japanese.
  21. Just to share! I still have my 1st thumbdrive which is 64mb. That was the biggest thumbdrive during my sch times... Best thing is, it's still workable!!! hahahah!!!
  22. No more tearing of coupons and roving parking attendants - that is the idea behind a new "electronic parking system" being explored by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). The system would have drivers accessing parking information and paying electronically from their cars via an "on-board unit" similar to the in-vehicle unit (IU) used in the Electronic Road Pricing system. Parking offences would be detected and transmitted wirelessly to central computing systems or mobile enforcement vehicles. The latter could also capture image or video evidence of parking violations and recognise licence plates just by driving past the vehicles of alleged parking offenders. These solutions were detailed in URA's request for proposal (RFP) for a "technical trial of an electronic parking system" last month. In it, URA outlined that a key aim of the system is to allow it "to better manage its carpark inventory to avoid congestion". Interested contractors have till Dec 2 to submit proposals, and preparation for the trial will begin on Dec 30, with the trial set to end by Sept 30, next year. "This is an ongoing effort to explore the use of technology to find a replacement to the paper parking coupons and at the same time reduce the manpower needed for enforcement," said a URA spokesman in response to queries from The Straits Times. The authority is looking for proposals that will tap advancements in areas such as global navigation satellite systems, vehicular Wi-Fi and automated number plate recognition. But the spokesman said the project is "exploratory" and that the authority will not be making changes to the current system soon. "For now, the best alternative is to continue converting more URA carparks to the gantry parking system where we can." URA now manages more than 46,000 public parking spaces here, of which 17,000 are on-street kerbside parking spaces. Such kerbside parking uses the coupon system, with enforcement carried out by parking attendants. Another 29,000 are off-street parking spaces, and 15 of URA's off-street carparks are equipped with the gantry parking system. National University of Singapore civil engineering associate professor Lee Der Horng, who specialises in intelligent transportation systems, welcomes the move to explore a new electronic parking system. "The future of kerbside parking could be quite competitive and this system would help both driver and the authorities to monitor usage and shape parking policy," he said. It would ideally be integrated with the ERP system, but a more sophisticated IU is needed to realise URA's vision, added Dr Lee. How the new system would work 1. A car with an on-board unit, much like the in-vehicle unit now, will let the driver know if there are carpark spaces nearby and process electronic parking payments. Once parked, it can prompt the driver to extend parking time when the session is about to expire. 2. Some roadside parking areas will have roadside units at spaced intervals to provide information on parking availability, rates and payments in the absence of Global Positioning System availability. 3. If a parking violation has occurred, the on-board unit can send details of the offence to a central computing system or a mobile enforcement vehicle (MEV) driving past. The MEV can also take images and videos of parking violations and recognise licence-plate numbers of vehicles it passes. Source: http://ride.asiaone.com/news/general/story/ura-turns-tech-parking-issues
  23. One of the worst things about commuting on a bicycle is how hot it can get underneath your helmet. No one wants to arrive at work with unkempt locks, misshapen after being crammed under a sweltering headpiece. Tired of strapping ugly, uncomfortable styrofoam-and-plastic turtle shells to their heads, a pair of Swedish women came up with a pretty revolutionary solution that does manage to give you full head protection without, remarkably, wearing anything on your head. When we first saw the promotional photos of the Hovding airbag helmet system, we instantly dismissed it as some kind of viral joke or a mad scientist dream. Their promotional photo showed a fashion model wearing a big scarf in one photo, then an inflatable helmet on the next. It might sound mad, but the Hovding helmet works. Sensors in the system detects the specific types of movement found during an accident. Based on thousands of experiments with crash test dummies, its Swedish student inventors developed an algorithm that can distinguish between normal cycling and trauma, triggering the airbag when required. On impact, the collar releases a hood-like inflatable airbag made of strong waterproof nylon fabric that won’t rip when it hits the ground. It wraps your head, leaving the field of vision clear, but everything else protected. It covers more of your head than a classic cycle helmet and is reusable. And when you land with a bump? Its gentle shock-absorbing qualities come into their own. Hovding works via a battery that’s easily charged using a USB cable and lasts for around 18 hours of cycling at a time. There’s an on/off switch and the front zip needs to be completely closed to activate it. From an aesthetic point of view, the helmet looks like a money belt for your neck. It comes in a clever removable wrap - available in a number of colours, to match your outfit or bike. So the Hovding looks more like part of a jacket than a clumsy helmet. And it’s ergonomically designed to ensure even weight distribution across your shoulders and back. Hopefully, this will pave the way for even more items of protective clothing to help cyclists. For now, this Swedish development is on the cutting edge of bike safety. This invisible helmet system may well work locally (given our climate), if approved by the relevant authorities. Watch the Hovding helmet during testing below. http://dai.ly/x171lo9
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