7:08 PM
Defense Secretary Gates is expected to announce as soon as Thursday about $100 billion in savings for the Pentagon and cuts to some weapons programs. The Marine's swimming tank (the GD-developed Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle) is expected to get cut--the Pentagon has already spent $3.3 bil developing the swimming tank and it would cost $8.2 billion more to build the 573 tanks currently in the budget. Raytheon's ground-launched missile system is also expected to be cut:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0318558320110104
Here is a good article that provides background on why Secretary Gates and Congress want to cut the swimming tank and why the Marine Corps wants that tank so badly:
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/01/is-this-the-end-for-the-marines-swimming-tank/
Leaked US diplomatic cables revealed that Germany and the US are jointly developing secret spy satellites despite opposition from France. The HiROS satellites will be capable of spotting any object on Earth that is at least 1.5 feet big. The satellites can take infrared images at night and send images much quicker back to earth than current satellites. The controversial nature of the project made US and German officials decide to claim the project is a civilian project with environmental aims that is run by commercial entities...but in reality the German intelligence service and German aerospace center will control it:
http://www.asdnews.com/news/32698/US%2C_Germany_developing_secret_spy_satellites:_cables.htm
Interesting summary of the Global R&D spending expected in 2011. The US will spend more in defense R&D in 2011 (~$80 billion) than the total R&D spent for all but 3 other countries in the world. It appears that R&D spending took a dip during the global economic problems over the past year, but R&D spending is expected to be on the rise again in 2011:
http://www.rdmag.com/Feature-Articles/2010/12/Policy-And-Industry-Government-Funding-2011-Global-RD-Funding-Forecast-Industrial-RD-Aerospace-Defense-Security/
Coal prices will spike upwards at least 20% due to supply shortages due to severe flooding in Australia. This is a major problem for the steel industry, since Australia supplies about half of the metallurgical coal (also called coaking coal) used in steel making. The mines in Australia are still underwater and they say that the coal shortage could last into 2012:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/coal-prices-expected-to-rise-on-australias-flood-waters/article1857762/
China announced that they made Skype illegal, joining Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube on the list of blocked sites. Google also closed down its Chinese servers last year. However, just like there is a workaround for Google users, it appears that the Chinese government will not be able to block Skype from being downloaded from servers outside of China:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/8231444/China-makes-Skype-illegal.html
Qualcomm is spending nearly $1 bil to expand production of its Mirasol flat panel displays in Taiwan's Hsinchu Science Park:
http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2011/01/03/qualcomm-spending-1b-on-mirasol-fab-plant-in-taiwan/
Article about how Apple will be missed at CES this week, but lots of other companies will have tablets at CES they hope will compete with the iPad. Interesting that 3D TV sales were well below projections in the US in 2010 (just 1 million 3D TVs sold instead of the 3-4 million projected), partially due to the bulky battery-powered glasses required that cost $100 each. This year, 3D TV sets will hit the market that uses thin 3D glasses like those in the movie theaters (Vizio already has one on the market):
http://www.rdmag.com/News/2011/01/Electronics-Apples-absence-to-be-felt-at-CES-gadget-show/
ASUS unveiled 3 Android tablets and a Windows 7 tablet ahead of CES. The $399 tablet with a docking station for it to have a full keyboard might hit a good price point for some people:
http://www.androidcentral.com/asus-unveils-trio-android-tablets
Sprint declined to buy debt from Clearwire, so Clearwire will look for others to inject the funds it needs:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-01-04/sprint-declines-to-buy-clearwire-debt-before-deadline.html
US consumers who bought smartphones last month heavily favored Android: 40.8% bought Android smartphones (up from 27.5% 6 months ago), 26.9% bought iPhones (up from 20.9% 6 months ago), while just 19.2% bought BlackBerries (down from 35% 6 months ago):
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/apple-leads-smartphone-race-while-android-attracts-most-recent-customers/
HP announced their new line of *LTE* netbooks--they will be available for purchase on Sunday and start at $449. The new AMD processor in the netbooks was also just announced today and will enable users to view full 1008p HD video:
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/215432/hp_announces_fusion_netbook_with_lte.html
A startup company will be showing off their robotic ball that is controlled by an iPhone or Android smartphone at CES this week:
http://mobilized.allthingsd.com/20110103/phone-controlled-robot-ball-set-to-roll-around-ces/
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0318558320110104
Here is a good article that provides background on why Secretary Gates and Congress want to cut the swimming tank and why the Marine Corps wants that tank so badly:
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/01/is-this-the-end-for-the-marines-swimming-tank/
Leaked US diplomatic cables revealed that Germany and the US are jointly developing secret spy satellites despite opposition from France. The HiROS satellites will be capable of spotting any object on Earth that is at least 1.5 feet big. The satellites can take infrared images at night and send images much quicker back to earth than current satellites. The controversial nature of the project made US and German officials decide to claim the project is a civilian project with environmental aims that is run by commercial entities...but in reality the German intelligence service and German aerospace center will control it:
http://www.asdnews.com/news/32698/US%2C_Germany_developing_secret_spy_satellites:_cables.htm
Interesting summary of the Global R&D spending expected in 2011. The US will spend more in defense R&D in 2011 (~$80 billion) than the total R&D spent for all but 3 other countries in the world. It appears that R&D spending took a dip during the global economic problems over the past year, but R&D spending is expected to be on the rise again in 2011:
http://www.rdmag.com/Feature-Articles/2010/12/Policy-And-Industry-Government-Funding-2011-Global-RD-Funding-Forecast-Industrial-RD-Aerospace-Defense-Security/
Coal prices will spike upwards at least 20% due to supply shortages due to severe flooding in Australia. This is a major problem for the steel industry, since Australia supplies about half of the metallurgical coal (also called coaking coal) used in steel making. The mines in Australia are still underwater and they say that the coal shortage could last into 2012:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/coal-prices-expected-to-rise-on-australias-flood-waters/article1857762/
China announced that they made Skype illegal, joining Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube on the list of blocked sites. Google also closed down its Chinese servers last year. However, just like there is a workaround for Google users, it appears that the Chinese government will not be able to block Skype from being downloaded from servers outside of China:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/8231444/China-makes-Skype-illegal.html
Qualcomm is spending nearly $1 bil to expand production of its Mirasol flat panel displays in Taiwan's Hsinchu Science Park:
http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2011/01/03/qualcomm-spending-1b-on-mirasol-fab-plant-in-taiwan/
Article about how Apple will be missed at CES this week, but lots of other companies will have tablets at CES they hope will compete with the iPad. Interesting that 3D TV sales were well below projections in the US in 2010 (just 1 million 3D TVs sold instead of the 3-4 million projected), partially due to the bulky battery-powered glasses required that cost $100 each. This year, 3D TV sets will hit the market that uses thin 3D glasses like those in the movie theaters (Vizio already has one on the market):
http://www.rdmag.com/News/2011/01/Electronics-Apples-absence-to-be-felt-at-CES-gadget-show/
ASUS unveiled 3 Android tablets and a Windows 7 tablet ahead of CES. The $399 tablet with a docking station for it to have a full keyboard might hit a good price point for some people:
http://www.androidcentral.com/asus-unveils-trio-android-tablets
Sprint declined to buy debt from Clearwire, so Clearwire will look for others to inject the funds it needs:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-01-04/sprint-declines-to-buy-clearwire-debt-before-deadline.html
US consumers who bought smartphones last month heavily favored Android: 40.8% bought Android smartphones (up from 27.5% 6 months ago), 26.9% bought iPhones (up from 20.9% 6 months ago), while just 19.2% bought BlackBerries (down from 35% 6 months ago):
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/apple-leads-smartphone-race-while-android-attracts-most-recent-customers/
HP announced their new line of *LTE* netbooks--they will be available for purchase on Sunday and start at $449. The new AMD processor in the netbooks was also just announced today and will enable users to view full 1008p HD video:
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/215432/hp_announces_fusion_netbook_with_lte.html
A startup company will be showing off their robotic ball that is controlled by an iPhone or Android smartphone at CES this week:
http://mobilized.allthingsd.com/20110103/phone-controlled-robot-ball-set-to-roll-around-ces/