Big Blue: Make Way For Big Red

When people think about American cars they almost immediately think about muscle cars; the Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, and so on. They also might think about The Ford Motor Company, that big blue oval that basically started it all with their mass production assembly line. But now there’s a new kid on the block by the name of Tesla Motors.

Their recent initial public offering (IPO) was very successful. But that’s not why we should be paying attention. The reason is actually in the Gulf of Mexico right now, namely the BP oil spill. Eventually, we’re going to run out of accessible oil (accessible meaning oil that can be pumped out safely without taking insane and ever increasing risks and expenses).

So the real reason why the future of the American car is going to morph from a gas guzzling muscle car to a humming sleek electric car is not because people will all of a sudden enjoy the sound of tire noise over the thrilling sound of a supercharged V8, nor will they all of a sudden see the light and all embrace green technologies in a euphoric tree hugging vigil, but because of one thing and one thing only:

Necessity.

There has been much speculation over the past years that the days of the American muscle car has long been numbered. With the first US automotive IPO in more than 50 years, it seems like the free market has finally made it official now by hedging bets. Long live Big Red. May your future be green (in more ways than one of course).

Back to Basics for Toyota

Toyota appears to be stuck in quicksand lately, and the harder they try to free themselves from the mess that they find themselves in the faster they seem to be sinking into it. The best thing to do would be to stop and use this precarious situation that they find themselves in as an opportunity for some self reflection and a chance to take stock.

Some of the recent attention on safety recalls and concerns have been disproportionate when it comes to criticism towards Toyota. Other companies have also been affected by the various issues–from “sticky” accelerator pedals to software “glitches” in the computers of popular hybrid models. But then again, Toyota did recently surpass GM as the largest car company in the world. Whether they like it or not, they are in the center of attention now and the spotlight is firmly trained on their every move.

While Toyota has a relatively good record on customer satisfaction, safety, and quality, the effects of being the largest auto maker in the world are starting to creep in. For years there have been debate about just how economical and practical their jewel–the Prius–really is. Volkswagen and Audi for example have been gradually introducing diesel versions of some of their more popular mid-sized cars and SUVs with surprising success for North America. The efficiency of some of these models as equivalent if not better than the Prius (and even the upcoming 2011 Chevy Volt).

It is becoming more apparent that volume, marketing tactics, and sheer sales numbers are the main driving force behind some of their more recent cars and initiatives than maybe they were in the past. This is not to say that they don’t build a quality product anymore, but nonetheless, the cliché that Toyota is somehow the most innovative and progressive (while still affordable) car company out there has been losing steam lately. Part of it might have to do with an embedded complacency which is often accompanied by the top position, but most likely it has to do with the fact that it’s simply a crowded market out there with some very compelling competition.

What I would personally like Toyota to do is to make some bold decisions and start innovating and moving the industry again. Instead of the dreaded hybrid cars (which is like trying to market light cigarettes as being more safe for our health) take a clear position and start not only building hydrogen fuel cell cars and/or all electric vehicles, but work with upcoming energy infrastructure startups to push for the full integration of these two technologies of the future. Tesla Motors for example has already carved itself a nice niche market by producing high performance all electric vehicles and the longer the more mainstream companies fiddle about with hybrids hoping to wane customers away from the internal combustion engine, then the more they will lose out on catching up with where the industry is headed. And in the meantime, they should fix all those faulty pedals and squash those software bugs.

MSI’s “Wind” U160 Blows Germany’s iF Design Judges Away and Gets Ready to Mess Up Your Hair at a Retailer Near You

Micro-Star Int’l Co.,Ltd. (MSI) announced today the launch of the Wind U160 “lightweight notebook” (or netbook). The high end color-film-print paint job, a wide and seamless touch-pad along with the Chiclet keyboard and 10.1-inch LED backlight display are just some of the key exterior features that saw it win the 2010 iF product design award in Germany.

On the inside it will be sporting the new Intel Atom N450 (1.66 GHZ, 512K Cache) Processor running on the Intel NM10 Express Chipset. The new CPU supports 2GB of DDR2-667, 64-bit Instruction Set, and Intel’s Hyper-Threading Technology. On top of the built in 802.11 b/g/n capability, the Wind U160 also supports 3.5G (or enhanced third generation) mobile communications (where available).

MSI’s unique “ECO” energy-saving technology allows the user to switch between different power setting modes (gaming, film-viewing, presentation, word processing, and Turbo Battery) which achieves a battery run-time of 15 hours according to MSI testing.

Altogether this netbook has a good balance of styling/design along with features/technologies that will appeal to a wide range of customers. The only thing that would really put it over the top would be an option to upgrade to a solid state drive (SSD) as a storage solution. But it certainly isn’t a deal-breaker since the hard drive component is easily upgradeable with more mainstream and affordable SSDs that are now on the market.

It will be interesting to see what Google has up its sleeve for the Chrome OS laptops that they will be launching later this year. They’ve said that they want to incorporate only the best technologies into their certified OEM products. From the looks of the Wind U160, it looks like MSI stole one from Google’s playbook.

MSI Wind U160 Specs

OS Microsoft ® Windows® 7 Starter

CPU Intel® Atom™ Processor N450 (1.66GHZ)

Chipset Intel® NM10 Express Chipset

Graphic Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3150

Memory DDR2 667 support up to 2 GB(1 DIMM slot)

LCD 10.1” (1024 x 600) WSVGA LED

HDD 160 GB or above (2.5″ SATA)

Card reader 2 in 1 (support SD,MMC)

I/O D-sub*1 , USB 2.0*3 , Mic-in, Headphone, RJ45

Battery 3 cells / 6 cells ( optional)

Wireless 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth V2.0EDR

Webcam 1.3 M Webcam

Sound HD Audio, Stereo speakers

Dimension 265 x 165 x 24-25.4mm

Weight 1 Kg (with 3 cell battery)

Tesla Motors Going Public

Tesla Motors, Inc. filed the Form S-1 Registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday. It is essentially a proposal for an initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock. There has been rumors and speculation about Tesla going public since late last year, but until now the company has remained silent about its intentions and any specifics about such an initiative . There are still unknowns (among which is what the common shares will be priced at and so on), but what is certain as of right now is that the company is serious about taking advantage of federal loans and grants which will help with its production of its upcoming Model S car targeted at the more mainstream consumer by going public. According to the SEC statement and the company press release, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank Securities “are acting as the joint book-running managers for the offering”.

This development is significant since Tesla Motors is the first US auto company to go public since Ford Motor Company did so back in 1956. It is also a testament to the fact that American innovation is still alive and kicking, even in the worst recession since the Great depression. Tesla still has a long way to go until they can even be considered a long term viable company, but the fact that Daimler has already taken a 10% stake in the company is definitely a positive sign.

The immediate succes of Tesla’s future seems to hinge on their all-new Model S “plug-in” electric vehicle that is scheduled to debut in 2011-2012. It is a mid-sized luxury sport sedan with a 300 mile range and a base price of $49,900 (before $7,500 federal tax credit). Tesla touts it as “the world’s first mass-produced electric vehicle [that] offers performance, efficiency and unrivaled utility”. Tesla Motors already has showrooms from Los Angeles and Manhattan to London, Munich, and even Monaco.

Tesla Motors Press Release: Tesla Files S-1 Registration Statement for Initial Public Offering

SEC Statement: REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON FORM S-1

MultiCam Making a Comeback

The BBC is reporting today that the UK Ministry of Defense will phase out the old woodland uniform in the British Army known as Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM) in favor of the new “Multi-Terrain Pattern” or MTP. According to the article, troops should start receiving them as early as March 2010 with the transition being completed sometime in 2011.

This news comes in the midst of US Army and Marine Corps leaders (under the direction of congress and spurred by soldier feedback) undergoing their own internal field tests for a new camouflage pattern. So what is fueling this interest all of a sudden? The short answer is Afghanistan. With its dynamic terrain and geography, there is a need for military personnel to blend better within that environment–an environment that has multiple features such as woodlands, desert, mountains, etc.

A “Multi-Terrain Pattern” makes sense in an environment that has multiple terrains. The advantage of blending better in any scenario is also accompanied by the cost effective measure of having a more universal camouflage pattern as opposed to specific patterns designed only for specific environments and situations.

Many military enthusiasts were disappointed the last time around MultiCam was being considered as a new universal pattern by the US Army (back in 2003/2004) as a result of the ACU pattern being picked over it. But MultiCam has long been used by elite Special Force units around the globe, and especially in the theatre of Afghanistan.

The rumor is that the US Army along with congress might make a decision concerning the new patterns being considered for Afghanistan (which includes a darker version of the ACU pattern known as Universal Camouflage Pattern Delta or UCP-Delta) as early as January 2010, so things are definitely moving quickly (as well they should be when the lives of the armed forces are at stake). Military officials have also been cautious by stating that their testing and analysis will reflect real world performance and not just popular opinions. So there is a fine balance of doing due diligence on the part of the specialists as well as not dithering when it comes to getting the equipment and uniforms that our brave men and women of the armed forces need to successfully accomplish their missions.

But as far as the enthusiasts are concerned, the old saying of “he who laughs last laughs best” applies very much so to this camouflage debate in light of recent developments.

Reuters.com Redesign

If you’re a news/business junkie like myself, then you probably already know about Reuters’ new website redesign. If not, I would encourage the casual reader to check it out as it has a very nice crisp new layout with some pretty interesting new features. If I were to summarize the “feel” of the new layout I would have to say that it’s like a refined, high-end blog that still manages to maintains its authoritative texture. Pure and simply, it’s what every news organization webpage should look like as far as I’m concerned. Reuters’ Editor-in-chief David Schlesinger has recently said about the new redesign that, “We want this to be the world’s best website covering business and finance news, analysis, and opinion. Full stop.” Source

Considering the fact that this new redesign has been a year in the making, he certainly takes that statement very seriously. In any case, it’s certainly a step in the right direction from their previous layout–which had a crammed, claustrophobic feeling to it. With this new layout the content seems more accessible and easier to navigate. It is also very intuitive and the true nature of Reuters’ services is more apparent (i.e. their focus on business and financial news and analysis). There are still some minor modifications and adjustments to be made, but for the most part the concept will remain as is.

Live Webcast of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner’s First Flight Today! (Update: Boeing 787 Dreamliner Completes First Flight!)

Boeing’s 787 has completed final high-speed taxi tests and is all set for first flight! The maiden voyage will be documented online of course. The live webcast is to begin today at 9:40 AM PST (17:40 GMT) at the following webpage:

Boeing 787 Dreamliner First Flight

Just click “Webcast” in the top right corner to get access to all the real time data being made available for this special event. Break a leg everybody and bon voyage!

Update:

The 787 Dreamliner completed its first flight today as it took off from Paine Field in Everett, Wash. at 10:27 a.m. local time and landed at 1:33 p.m. at Seattle’s Boeing Field. The flight was cut short due to weather, but initial tests were performed on the airplane’s structure and systems and real-time data was streamed back to the flight-test team on the ground. The test pilots–Chief Pilot Mike Carriker and Capt. Randy Nevillehave–reported that the plane flew beautifully and as expected from the extensive flight simulation training they received prior to this mission.

This flight also kicks off the barrage of lengthy and comprehensive air worthiness tests which will ultimately lead to the certification of this new type of airplane. Six airplanes are expected to take part in that flight test program which will see them flying almost around the clock until the first new 787 Dreamliner is scheduled to be delivered to All Nippon Airways of Japan (ANA) in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Boeing Press Release

December’s Geminid Meteor Shower: Best Meteor Shower of 2009

According to NASA, tomorrow night will be a great opportunity to see one of the best meteor showers of the year. It is visible for the “mid-northern latitudes” high above the eastern horizon near the constellation of Gemini (weather permitting of course). They almost never disappoint and at peak viewing it is estimated that some 100 meteors could be visible per hour. So dress in layers or grab a blanket, and enjoy!

More information on observing conditions can be found below:

This year the peak of the Geminids is expected the night of December 13/14 (9:10 pm PST/12:10 am EST/05:10 UT), coinciding with a nearly perfect new moon. Many tens of meteors per hour will be visible in the few nights surrounding those dates.

The 2009 Geminid Meteor Shower

Google Releases Long Awaited Chrome Browser (BETA) for Mac OS X, Linux and Extensions

It’s taken the Google Chrome team longer than they expected it would to get these BETAs out the proverbial door, but I’ve been using the developer release for Mac OS X for a few weeks now and things have been noticeably faster than Safari 4 and Firefox. Aside from a few video plugin bugs (which is to be expected from an “alpha” essentially), I’ve found the experience to be very intuitive and pleasant. My bookmarks were all imported correctly, and did I mention that it’s fast!

Head over here to get your copy now. Or clicky here to read the Official Google Blog post and watch a short promotional video. (Note: Google Chrome BETA for Mac requires OS X 10.5 or later and works only with Intel processors.)

Russia Has Some New Competition… But That’s a Good Thing

To say that the Russians have had a bit of an exclusive niche when it comes to putting civilians into space is an understatement. But the one man that is almost synonymous with entrepreneurship is keen on changing all of that. I am of course referring to Sir Richard Branson who has made the Virgin brand popular the whole world over.

On Monday, Virgin Galactic unveiled SpaceShipTwo (SS2), the “world’s first manned commercial spaceship”. Earlier this year Virgin Galactic unveiled its mothership the VMS Eve (christened after Richard’s mother) which helps carry SS2 to a high enough altitude (some 50,000 feet) where it can launch for sub orbit. SpaceShipTwo however is the actual ship that will carry the clients to the far reaches of Earth’s atmosphere (and back again) for a zero G experience no one is likely to forget. The two ships in conjunction act as a two-stage rocket essentially, but do so in a very clever, [relatively] cheap, and efficient way. Thus, the dawn of a new era in human space flight is upon us–if all goes according to plan that is.

So why is this such a big deal considering the fact that it still costs a fortune (~ $200,000) for most people (and by most people I mean the rest of us who do not have our own amusement parks in our backyards, 9 exotic cars of the same kind in all different colors, and who do not take morning dips into a big pile of money like Scrooge McDuck) to experience? Well, for starters without this new service the conventional way to get into space costs somewhere around $20 million so no matter how you cut it, that’s a big difference. And if the technology really catches on, the possibility for growth would drive down prices even more.

Similarly, with the advance of the unmanned H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) developed by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to resupply the ISS as well as some promising commercial automated processes currently being developed means that the various space agencies around the globe can shift their human space exploration programs from low Earth orbit to the Moon, Mars, and beyond (as suggested by NASA’s Human Space Flight Committee).

The key in this transition is to ensure that everybody remains vigilant when it comes to safety. If the commercial sector can remain true to that fundamental priority and not cut any corners for the sake of profit, then more competition in this industry can only mean good things not only for human space exploration, but for consumers everywhere. Before we know it, doing backflips in zero gravity will seem so passé. Click the read link to watch a short video.