6:01 PM
Company developing a new type of battery based on a MIT professor has the potential to cut the battery price for electric cars by 85%! The company raised $10 million in VC funding and $6 million in ARPA-E funding for a collaboration with MIT and Rutgers. If electric car batteries can go from $10k to $1500, the whole automotive market could be changed significantly:
http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/08/24m-could-reduce-cost-of-batteries-for.html
Lockheed's MONAX system creates a persistent wireless broadband network for tactical use. Commercial off-the-shelf smartphones can connect with ground or airborne 3G base stations, improving battlefield communications for "the first tactical mile":
http://www.defencetalk.com/persistent-wireless-broadband-communications-network-for-the-battlefield-28055/
A Taiwan Zoo have had their male lion breed with a female tigress, with 2 of the cubs surviving. The Zoo could face a fine for producing the ligers:
http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/08/taiwan-zoo-has-cross-bred-lions-and.html
After taking on RIM to be able to intercept BlackBerry communications, the government of India says that they next plan to take on Skype, Google and everybody else that offers secure communications:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/08/13/india_takes_on_voip/
It appears that the iPhone coming to Verizon in January will be called the iPhone 5 and will have a faster processor (1.2 GHz) than the iPhone 4, have a larger screen (3.7 inches) and it will avoid the antenna problem that the iPhone 4 has:
http://www.mobilesdna.com/news/verizon-iphone-4-4s-iphone-5-carrying-1-2-ghz-processor-3-7-inch-screen-no-antennagate-in-january-2011/1102/
Apple is reportedly using Liquidmetal in iPhone 5 to completely resolve the antenna reception problem that the iPhone 4 has. If Verizon has a faster iPhone that has a complete fix for the antenna problems for the iPhone on AT&T, and AT&T users can only get the iPhone 4, that would seem to be a stab at enticing iPhone 3 and iPhone 4 users to switch to Verizon:
http://www.mobilesdna.com/news/iphone-5-antenna-made-up-of-liquidmetal-with-its-exclusive-license-purchased-by-apple/1119/
It appears that the BlackBerry Torch with BlackBerry's next-generation OS isn't selling that well:
http://www.businessinsider.com/rim-blackberry-torch-launch-underwhelming-goldman-sachs-2010-8
Man took up the challenge from Groupon to live off the random deal-of-the-day coupons for a *year*. Groupon's challenge forbids him from using or even touching money--he has a laptop and online coupons that can be used for eating, shopping, and finding a place for him to sleep. For this year he's only allowed to see family and friends 5 times, each time for less than a day:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/16/live.off.groupon.year/index.html?hpt=
Man collected almost 200 signatures for the petition he needed to run for school board...but discovered that his dog chewed up the petition so he won't be able to run for office:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/14/ap/strange/main6772230.shtml
http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/08/24m-could-reduce-cost-of-batteries-for.html
Lockheed's MONAX system creates a persistent wireless broadband network for tactical use. Commercial off-the-shelf smartphones can connect with ground or airborne 3G base stations, improving battlefield communications for "the first tactical mile":
http://www.defencetalk.com/persistent-wireless-broadband-communications-network-for-the-battlefield-28055/
A Taiwan Zoo have had their male lion breed with a female tigress, with 2 of the cubs surviving. The Zoo could face a fine for producing the ligers:
http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/08/taiwan-zoo-has-cross-bred-lions-and.html
After taking on RIM to be able to intercept BlackBerry communications, the government of India says that they next plan to take on Skype, Google and everybody else that offers secure communications:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/08/13/india_takes_on_voip/
It appears that the iPhone coming to Verizon in January will be called the iPhone 5 and will have a faster processor (1.2 GHz) than the iPhone 4, have a larger screen (3.7 inches) and it will avoid the antenna problem that the iPhone 4 has:
http://www.mobilesdna.com/news/verizon-iphone-4-4s-iphone-5-carrying-1-2-ghz-processor-3-7-inch-screen-no-antennagate-in-january-2011/1102/
Apple is reportedly using Liquidmetal in iPhone 5 to completely resolve the antenna reception problem that the iPhone 4 has. If Verizon has a faster iPhone that has a complete fix for the antenna problems for the iPhone on AT&T, and AT&T users can only get the iPhone 4, that would seem to be a stab at enticing iPhone 3 and iPhone 4 users to switch to Verizon:
http://www.mobilesdna.com/news/iphone-5-antenna-made-up-of-liquidmetal-with-its-exclusive-license-purchased-by-apple/1119/
It appears that the BlackBerry Torch with BlackBerry's next-generation OS isn't selling that well:
http://www.businessinsider.com/rim-blackberry-torch-launch-underwhelming-goldman-sachs-2010-8
Man took up the challenge from Groupon to live off the random deal-of-the-day coupons for a *year*. Groupon's challenge forbids him from using or even touching money--he has a laptop and online coupons that can be used for eating, shopping, and finding a place for him to sleep. For this year he's only allowed to see family and friends 5 times, each time for less than a day:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/16/live.off.groupon.year/index.html?hpt=
Man collected almost 200 signatures for the petition he needed to run for school board...but discovered that his dog chewed up the petition so he won't be able to run for office:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/14/ap/strange/main6772230.shtml