3:15 PM
iRobot is the only public company that focuses purely on robotics and its stock is up 44% since the start of this year. Its profit and revenue went from $3 mil on $299 mil in 2009 to $26 mil on $401 mil in 2010. Its stock jumped 13% on Wednesday after it won a bomb disposal robot contract with the Navy. The makers of the Roomba even make robots for the Fukushima nuclear plant situation now and their robots were used to locate spilled oil in the water in the Gulf of Mexico after the BP problem:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-0416-irobot-20110416,0,6053205.story
The FBI shut down all the major online poker sites in the US due to criminal charges against their top executives. 11 people, including the founders of the 3 largest poker sites, were charged with bank fraud, money laundering and violating gambling laws. The government is looking to recover $3 bil from the companies. 8 to 10 million Americans play poker online for money, with many of them earning their living that way:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-poker-busts-20110416,0,308055.story
Report predicts that sales of plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles will be poor while sales of e-bikes and micro-hybrids will increase significantly. There are currently about 140 million e-bikes and scooters in use in China, and last year the 25 million EV 2-wheelers were manufactured in Asia, with only 600,000 exported. They project 10% or more growth each year in 2-wheel electric vehicles in China, with production volumes reaching 25 million and export volume reaching 2 million. Electric bikes are attractive in China because they are far cheaper than cars (even before factoring in high gas prices) and gas-powered motorcycles are banned in more than 90 cities in China:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110412005596/en/Small-Batteries-Power-Biggest-Growth-Electric-Vehicle
Sales of USB thumb drives are predicted to explode after Windows 8 is released, since Windows 8 features USB-runnable Portable Workspaces:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/15/windows-8-to-feature-usb-runnable-portable-workspaces-sales-of/
Team of college students in Canada built a racecar to enter in an international contest. Their female team member was entering a contest to appear in a calendar to raise money for a women's charity and needed a photo as part of her application, so she posed for a photo with the car. The fuddy-duddy (I haven't used that term in decades) University said that it was inappropriate for the female to wear a bikini and take a photo with the car, so the University suspended the team and they won't be able to enter the contest now:
http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2011/04/16/canadian-university-suspends-students-for-bikini-photo/
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-0416-irobot-20110416,0,6053205.story
The FBI shut down all the major online poker sites in the US due to criminal charges against their top executives. 11 people, including the founders of the 3 largest poker sites, were charged with bank fraud, money laundering and violating gambling laws. The government is looking to recover $3 bil from the companies. 8 to 10 million Americans play poker online for money, with many of them earning their living that way:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-poker-busts-20110416,0,308055.story
Report predicts that sales of plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles will be poor while sales of e-bikes and micro-hybrids will increase significantly. There are currently about 140 million e-bikes and scooters in use in China, and last year the 25 million EV 2-wheelers were manufactured in Asia, with only 600,000 exported. They project 10% or more growth each year in 2-wheel electric vehicles in China, with production volumes reaching 25 million and export volume reaching 2 million. Electric bikes are attractive in China because they are far cheaper than cars (even before factoring in high gas prices) and gas-powered motorcycles are banned in more than 90 cities in China:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110412005596/en/Small-Batteries-Power-Biggest-Growth-Electric-Vehicle
Sales of USB thumb drives are predicted to explode after Windows 8 is released, since Windows 8 features USB-runnable Portable Workspaces:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/15/windows-8-to-feature-usb-runnable-portable-workspaces-sales-of/
Team of college students in Canada built a racecar to enter in an international contest. Their female team member was entering a contest to appear in a calendar to raise money for a women's charity and needed a photo as part of her application, so she posed for a photo with the car. The fuddy-duddy (I haven't used that term in decades) University said that it was inappropriate for the female to wear a bikini and take a photo with the car, so the University suspended the team and they won't be able to enter the contest now:
http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2011/04/16/canadian-university-suspends-students-for-bikini-photo/