March 2010

The Mini Cooper has been an icon of British style and appeared in pop art and movies like the Italian Job since the 1960’s. Now the car maker is taking a green turn to challenge the likes of the Prius and Chevy’s Volt with the all-electric Mini E.

Mini admits on their web site that there are inherit problems with the launch or testing of an electric car. Their “considerable hurdles” include limited driving range, expensive batteries, charging times, and the small number of existing charging stations.

Just a few months ago, chef Jamie Oliver set out to change the eating habits of the residents of Huntington, West Virginia. He had cameras document the experience for a show on ABC called “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.” However, one blogger has shown that Oliver isn’t alone in his passion to change the way students eat.

Known only as Mrs. Q, she is the anonymous blogger behind “Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project.” As a new mom, she got angry with the quality of food being fed to children. The idea for the blog borrowed a little from the “Julie & Julia” project and a some tips from spy movies. Mrs. Q would act as a teacher for most of her day but turned into a blogger for her twenty minute lunch break. Her daily goal is to eat and document the very same food being served to her students.

As LED becomes more and more mainstream, the question ought to be asked: is an LED TV worth the extra cash? To some, absolutely not. Only price matters. To others, price takes a back seat to the overall viewing experience, and from initial reviews by buyers and critics, the viewing experience is worth every dime.

So what is it about LED TVs that are better?

One of the strong criticisms of LCD TVs has always been the color and contrast. While LCD TVs control a competitive edge over plasma TVs in a lot of areas, the overall black levels of the traditional LCD TV cannot compete. To enhance the experience, manufactures began developing LED LCD TVs that offer a pair of lighting techniques that sharpen up color and contrast levels.

Part of the problem with the green movement right now is its focus on sacrifice. Consumers naturally don’t like the idea of giving up conveniences or products that provide pleasure and productivity gains. At the same time it’s important to recognize that while the Earth is bountiful it essentially has a limited supply of raw resources. Dell is taking a pro-active approach to that dilemma by making its products powerful and green.

Alienware is a brand that’s synonymous with gaming machines, and massive processing capacity is a cornerstone of cutting edge gaming. That in mind one might expect that their towers and laptops would drain lots of electricity to power all of that capability. Not necessarily so. As JustMeans points out Dell’s M11x Alienware gaming machine has some great power-saving features:

With the anticipation of the iPad release looming, Apple is hoping to cash in on a market that the Amazon Kindle failed to please: education. Researchers tested the Amazon Kindle DX at several major universities and found that for students, it just wasn't conventional or convenient. So is the iPad capable of bringing satisfaction where the Kindle was not?

According to recent estimates, Apple could have as many as 190,000 pre-ordered iPads heading to consumers in the first week. This of course is no more than a calculated approximation (no numbers have yet been released), but for Apple, it could be a gauge of the success of the product for months or even years to come.

For the iPad to ultimately to be successful, it needs to fit the price-point and technological desires of every day consumers, including students.

Assuming the 190,000 orders is accurate, it seems many early adopters feel the iPad has hit the mark when weighing the value of the product to the price.

Amazon is all too aware of the upcoming Apple iPad launch, and with rumors pointing toward iPad pre-orders in the hundreds of thousands, it behooves Amazon to generate some of its own buzz. What better way to draw some attention than building an outpost on the competitor’s doorstep. The aptly named Kindle for Mac makes reading books on the computer a snap and may help a niche of customers who don’t always carry their Kindle 2.

Of course, the centerpiece of the Kindle 2 experience – it’s E Paper screen – is missing with Kindle for Mac but the new software could potentially expand Amazon’s audience and hedge its losses slightly when the iPad launches.

Not all of the features on the Kindle 2 are available with Kindle for Mac (free download), but some pretty important pieces are there:

California is a state struggling to make ends meet boasts billions in public debt so theoretically it would be looking to reverse that trend or find another way to make money. Instead, the golden state is offering $5,000 rebates to electric car buyers, at least until $4.1 million in funding runs out. California’s dedication to going green is admirable as long as it can make the economics work too, and that might be possible given the current selection available.

The bill language excludes hybrid cars and focuses on electric cars that can be plugged in and recharged. Tesla has one car available that meets those requirements though that costs over $100,000 as a base price and there are other less-known models out there. The Nissan LEAF and Chevy Volt may also qualify but the are not yet out in the market.

Ford, well aware of the importance of maintaining or even expanding its government fleet car market share, is trying to up the ante on its new police interceptor by not only offering greater durability and brawn, but a more eco-friendly engine.

Sure, it is no hybrid or even fully electric car, and it may not completely revolutionize police patrolling, but the 2012 Ford Police Interceptor gives police officers the hefty punch they require without compromising safety or fuel economy.

So what is so special about the 2012 Ford Interceptor in comparison to its Crown Victoria predecessor?

Its tougher. The new Ford Interceptor offers the durability officers demand in the body and shocks of the vehicle. With the ability to withstand a 75 MPH rear end collision or a curb at speeds of more than 40 MPH, this heavily reinforced, heavily tested vehicle can just about hold up to anything (it even has rollover airbags).

MTV isn’t exactly the home of highbrow television with shows like “The Hills” and “Jersey Shore.” They are trying something different on March 14th by airing a new documentary about the clean water crisis called “Summit on the Summit: Kilimanjaro.” The ninety minute show focuses on a ragtag group of scientists, educators, and celebrities like Jessica Biel and Santigold who dared to climb the mountain to publicize the cause.

It’s easy to take clean water for granted because it’s all around us from bottled water to the nearest tap. Imagine a world where your water supply was also where the local cows defecated or your government had no laws that prevented water pollution. That’s the reality for over one billion people in the world and the cause of 80% of the world’s illnesses.

All the hype and all the press surrounding the recent release of the new Panasonic 3D TV is a really just a dissatisfying tease before the real showdown: Sony 3D LED TVs versus Samsung 3D LED TVs.

Panasonic's preemptive strike on Sony and Samsung will certainly steal some of the attention and consumers away from the two superpowers, but when Samsung and Sony finally unveil their 3D LCD models to consumers, Panasonic will have no choice but to bow down in defeat.

The move to release the Panasonic 3D TV to Best Buy came as no surprise as Panasonic had been touting their Full HD 3D Home Theater System in a nationwide tour since September.