2012 Chevrolet Camaro 45th Anniversary Edition

The 2012 Chevrolet Camaro 45th Anniversary Edition is originally set to be released under the company’s effort to commemorate its long lineage and the extraordinary amount of contribution that it has put in car manufacturing. After fans have gotten their first look of the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro 45th Anniversary Edition in Arizona, there is no doubt in the mind of Chevrolet’s higher ups that their goal has been achieved. The anniversary edition of the Camaro has caused quite a stir in the field, both in the minds of the enthusiasts and of Chevrolet’s fellow car manufacturers alike.

    The 2012 Chevrolet Camaro 45th Anniversary Edition has shaped up to be the good commemorative model that it is, with a wide range of features that are specifically designed to combine the various perks of the older and the newer Camaro models. The unique hood deck, for one, carries the 45th anniversary mark stripes and badges that are 


bound to set this model apart from the others.The jet black interiors are also designed to whet every single car enthusiast’s appetite, mainly by combining red and white detailing on the different key interior pieces of the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro 45th Anniversary Edition model.

Tesla's next act: Cheaper electric cars...and a profit?

Tesla Motors can design cool-looking electric cars. Now it has to show the world that it can steer its finances just as well.

CEO Elon Musk said this week that Telsa's iconic Roadster electric sports car will no longer be on sale in the U.S. within a few months, marking a turning point for the company which helped catalyze an industry-wide technology shift to electric propulsion.

The move will cut off Tesla's main revenue source and start a transition to a new product--the Model S electric sedan. Whereas Tesla has still sold fewer than 2,000 Roadsters, the Model S will be made entirely by Tesla at a whole different scale of production in its new factory. That means still-unprofitable Tesla enters a period where it has little room for error as it takes on big changes in how it does business and its underlying product.

"Tesla's real challenge now is on the operational side. They need to switch to an operational model that actually makes them profitable and brings the cash flow to sustain them," said Oliver Hazimeh, the head of the e-Mobility practice at management consulting firm PRTM. "The question is how do they get the scale to make money on this car."

The Roadster, which starts at $109,000, was always geared to the well-heeled buyer who bought the sports car as much for its jaw-dropping acceleration and styling as its green credentials. By making a high-end vehicle, Tesla shattered the image of EVs as under-powered econo-cars or golf carts. It also tapped into a customer base willing to pay a premium for the latest technology, giving the company the funding it needed to break into the new EV market.

Now as it shifts toward the Model S, Tesla is using the same marketing tactic of targeting the high-end auto segment. The first 1,000 Model S sedans to roll off the line from Tesla's California manufacturing plant will be a Signature series priced in the range of $77,000. First deliveries are projected to come in mid-2012.

Then Tesla will begin making three models of the Model S with the price varying according to driving range--160 miles, 230 miles, and 300 miles. The base model will be $57,400 and the 230-mile option will be $10,000 more. It intends to make 5,000 in 2012 and ramp that up to 20,000 in 2013, according to a company representative.

The luxury sedan market is substantially larger than the tiny niche for high-end sports cars. But it's highly competitive, with a number of incumbent automakers which have loyal customers. Tesla's most obvious differentiator--an electric powertrain--adds substantially to production costs: a 300-mile range Model S will have a battery pack that costs on the order of $25,000, said Hazimeh.

Tesla will still be selling its Roadsters in Europe and Asia through the first half of 2012 and it has deals with Toyota and Daimler to supply electric powertrains into next year. But the introduction of the Model S isn't a slam dunk transition to profitability, according to some company watchers.

"To date there is no real evidence that Tesla has a clear path to profitability and I don't see that changing," said Kevin See, an analyst at Lux Research. Any production glitches at its factory, which is slated to start operating early next year, or delays--the Model S has already been delayed--could not only hurt the bottom line but also tarnish Tesla's image, he added.

Tesla also received a $465 million loan last year from the Department of Energy's 2007 program to promote domestic auto manufacturing.

The road to "Gen 3" 
For all the challenges ahead, Tesla clearly has people who believe in its vision and the company's ability to pull it off.

The company went public last year, raising more money than it originally anticipated based on strong interest from investors. Earlier this month, it announced that it will have will go back to the stock market for a secondary offering to fund production of the Model X, a crossover SUV built on the same platform as the Model S. Its stock today is at $27, which is off its all-time highs but at the higher end of its historical range.

Indeed, many company observers argue that the company's image, bolstered by the relentlessly optimistic CEO Musk, is one of its greatest assets. The company's cars are seen as cutting-edge, not just because they are electric but because they are high-tech. That's one reason why Musk much prefers comparing Tesla, once a Silicon Valley start-up, to Apple or Google rather than Ford or GM.

Executives at the company say that the Model S will bring the company to profitability because its electric powertrain, which they refer to as the "skateboard design," can be used on multiple models, including a minivan, cabriolet, and the Model X crossover. "The Model X is really just a way of generating potentially twice as much volume in the premium vehicle segment (by) offering a crossover SUV in addition to sedan," Musk said in an earnings call.

Face time

phone calls like 

you never seen before

People have been dreaming about video calling for decades. iPhone 4 makes it a reality. With the tap of a button, you can wave hello to your kids, share a smile from across the globe or watch your best friend laugh at your stories — iPhone 4 to iPhone 4, iPad 2, the new iPod touch or Mac over Wi-Fi. No other phone makes staying in touch this much fun

One-tap simple.

FaceTime works straight out of the box — no need to set up a special account or screen name. And using FaceTime is as easy as it gets. Let’s say you want to start a video call with your best friend. Just find her entry in your Contacts and tap the FaceTime button. Or maybe you’re already on a voice call with her and you want to switch to video. Just tap the FaceTime button on the Phone screen. Either way, an invitation pops up on her iPhone 4 screen asking if she wants to join you. When she accepts, the video call begins. It’s all perfectly seamless. And it works in both portrait and landscape modes.

Two cameras made for video calling.

iPhone 4 has two built-in cameras, one on the front above the display and one on the back next to the LED flash. The front camera has been tuned for FaceTime. It has just the right field of view and focal length to focus on your face at arm’s length. So it always presents you in the best possible light.

Share what you see with the back camera.

Imagine your sister is away at university and can’t make it to your son’s birthday. So you’re cheering her up with a FaceTime call. As the cake comes out your son’s eyes light up and you just have to share it. Tap a button and before you can say “Make a wish”, iPhone 4 switches to the back camera and to the birthday boy’s big moment. Another tap switches back to the front camera and to you. Simple, fast and fun.

THE FUTURE TECHNOLOGY: Alienware Area-51 ALX

THE FUTURE TECHNOLOGY: Alienware Area-51 ALX: "Pros: Dual ATI Radeon HD 5870 video cards. 2GB Video Ram. 1.2TB Hard Drive. 24x DVD RW drive. Cons: Dual 7200 RPM Hard Drives come stock wit..."

Alienware Area-51 ALX

Pros: Dual ATI Radeon HD 5870 video cards. 2GB Video Ram. 1.2TB Hard Drive. 24x DVD RW drive.

Cons: Dual 7200 RPM Hard Drives come stock with 16MB cache. You’ll have to overclock the stock CPU yourself.

The Verdict: Clearly the cream of the crop, with nice upgrade options available for all performance aspects, including liquid cooled Quad Core CPU.

Alienware produces the de facto archetypes for ultra-high performance gaming computers and their Alienware Area-51 ALX is the current epitome of the class. Every aspect of this computer screams performance beginning with the matte black anodized aluminum housing complete with the illuminated image of the actual aliens that many earthlings believe are housed in the Nevada desert’s super-secret Area-51. Nearly infinite other lighting combinations can be achieved across several zones of the case using the AlienFX feature to complete the effect. The ultimate in cool lighting may just be the eerily ominous color that can be made to emanate from beneath the fins on the chassis’ top that automatically open and close, ostensibly to dissipate heat though, more realistically, to complete the visual impression.
The dramatic exterior gives just a hint of the power that’s housed within. Attention has been given to every detail that makes a gaming powerhouse that serious gamers demand. The base model will blow any game away that it encounters but, if that’s not enough, just about every aspect of the computer can be upgraded to meet any user’s most outrageous fantasy.

Video/Audio: 

When talking about extreme gaming performance, the most critical component is the computer’s video card. Any display can be met head on with the dual 1GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon HD 5870 CrossfireX cards that are part of this exceptional system. The fast cards allow higher graphics frame rates at true high definition resolution. The second card increases performance even farther with more realistic images, smoother motion and quicker transitions. It also makes it possible to power up to four distinct digital displays so you can keep up with other aspects of life while remaining immersed in the action.

For most people, including power hungry gaming aficionados, the included video cards will be perfectly adequate. Still, for those who demand even more they can be upgraded to dual 1.8GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 SLI cards or all the way up to dual 2GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon HD 5970 CrossfireX enabled cards.
The standard sound set up has integrated 7.1 surround sound audio. It can be enhanced with the addition of the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium sound card.

Processor: 

The heart of any computer, whether for gaming or more mundane pursuits, is the CPU. The Area-51 ALX comes with a blazing Intel Core i7 960 quad core processor that runs at 3.2GHz and features 8MB of intelligent cache, the largest available on any PC. It will keep cache allocation optimized avoiding bottlenecks when system requirements are at their greatest. Quad core architecture allows for eight simultaneous processing threads to make the most of multitasking requirements. The processor can even overclock to a remarkable 3.6GHz while maintaining a stable gaming and multitasking environment.

Not surprisingly, the base processor can be upgraded for even more ravenous users. The first step up is to the Extreme Edition Intel Core i7 975 which is also a quad core chip with 8MB cache but running at a snappier 3.33GHz.Want still more? You’re covered. There are two factory overclocked Intel i7 975 Extreme Edition Quad Core processors available. One runs at 3.73GHz while the other blazes 3.86GHz.
Now all of this power is bound to create substantial heat so the unit is equipped with a liquid cooling system. Liquid cooling is far more effective at removing component damaging and performance robbing heat but is far quieter than heatsinks and fans that are found on lesser machines. There’s also active venting, motorized vents located on the enclosures top that can be programmed to open automatically as the action heats up. They promise greater airflow in high performance usage but we think the liquid cooling does the job nicely. That said, they really look rad.

Memory: 

All that processor power is for naught without equivalently impressive RAM memory. The Alienware Area-51 ALX’s standard package is equipped with a whopping 6GB of DDR3 1333MHz RAM in the form of three 2GB sticks. It can be double to a phenomenal 12GB if DDR3 1333MHz tri channel memory with three 4GB sticks.

A massive 1.2TB of storage are provided by two 640GB SATA-II, 7,200 RPM hard disc drives with 16MB of cache. That can be increased to 1.5TB by substituting two 750GB drives that otherwise have the same specs. The next level of upgrade is to a full 2TB which comes in the form of two 1TB SATA-II HDDs running at the same 7,200 RPMs but boasting 32MB cache.
For less storage but greater data access speeds, users can opt for two 300GB SATA-II HDDs, a total of 600GB, running at a much faster 10,000 RPM or forego hard drives altogether with two 256GB solid state drives for a total of 512GB of storage totally devoid of moving parts.
A variety of secondary storage volumes are available in addition to those described above. They include standard drives standard drives running at 7,200 or 10,000 RPM speeds or high performance drives with integrated data security.

Additional Features: 

The Alienware Area-51 ALX comes equipped with a 24x CD/DVD reader/burner with double layer burn capability. It can be upgraded to an optical drive which will also play Blu-rays discs and even further to a unit that can burn Blu-ray discs as well. Massive power is supplied by the 1,000 watt power supply and the whole thing is held together by an Asus P6T WS Pro motherboard. The rig doesn’t include a monitor but does come with an Alienware TactX mouse and keyboard. Windows 7 Home Premium is the included OS.

Support/Warranty: 

Alienware customers benefit from Dell’s well known customer support. Online support includes an active user community, driver update downloads and both email and live chat features. There’s an included one-year warranty plan that can be augmented by up to a four-year plan. Advanced in home service is available for a premium charge.

Summary:

When dedicated gamers and neophytes alike think of top end gaming super computers, it’s likely that Alienware is the mark that comes to mind. The Area-51 ALX combines the company’s legendary experience with cutting edge hardware to afford an intense gaming experience that few can rival. Sure, the device is pretty expensive, but it packs a huge wallop for the money and is a must consider for extreme gamers.

PC is compliant to Atex zone 1

Computer consists of a compact, waterproof display and keyboard unit in the hazardous area, with the processing box and interface unit in the safe area

To keep pace with the latest European directives governing the safe installation and use of equipment within potentially hazardous areas, Intecpc has designed the ExPC - a PC fully compliant with European Atex Zone 1 legislation.

This modular unit, utilising a single cable connection and no requirement for a separate power supply, also incorporates the latest touch-screen technology, unaffected by surface contamination and easy to use - even by gloved hands.

With pricing starting from around £2500 it can also be considered for applications where Zone 1 compliance may not be part of the specification.

The ExPC comprises a compact, waterproof display and keyboard unit in the hazardous area and a computer and interface unit in the safe area.

Power consumption of the display is minimised so there is no requirement for a power supply in the hazardous area.

Installation becomes simple, with connection between the devices via a single, multi-way, shielded cable.

The through-glass touch-screen display can be wall, bench, floor or ceiling mounted up to 150 metres from the computer in the safe area.

The display unit and keyboard are ruggedised for tough industrial environments.

The touch-screen can be used with gloved hands and is not affected by surface contamination.

Construction means there is no drift and no requirement for regular recalibration, providing a set-and-forget system.

Configuration software allows different operating modes to be selected.

The custom designed keyboard is an intrinsically safe Qwerty membrane keyboard with built-in mouse functionality.

An intrinsically safe RS232 serial port is provided to interface peripherals in the hazardous area.

The interface unit in the safe area provides standard PC connections and can be connected to all standard PC peripherals eg printers, modems, network interface etc.

Intel cuts prices, analysts cut Q3 estimates

Intel Corp. completed a round of cuts in the prices of its processors yesterday, reducing the price of its flagship Pentium 4 desktop processors, its mobile Pentium 4-M processors, its desktop and mobile Celeron processors, and its Xeon processors for workstations and low-end servers.
At the same time, financial analyst firms warned of slower-than-expected sales and revised their guidance downward for Intel's third-quarter numbers.
The price cuts had been widely expected after Intel last week introducedseveral new desktop Pentium 4 processors at clock speeds up to 2.8 GHz. Intel at the time cut the price of its previous clock-speed leader, the 2.53-GHz Pentium 4, and needed to cut the prices of slower Pentium 4s to bring the slower chips in line with the high-end prices.
The 2.4-GHz Pentium 4 now costs $193 in 1,000-unit quantities, down from $400, a decrease of 52%. The 2.26- and 2.2-GHz chips also now cost $193, down from $241. The 2-GHz chip costs $163, down from $193; and the 1.8-GHz chip costs $143, down from $163.
Intel's fastest mobile processor, the 2-GHz Pentium 4-M, now costs 45% less at $348, down from $637. The 1.9-GHz Pentium 4-M is down to $241, a drop of 40%; the 1.8-GHz chip now costs $198, down 43%; and the 1.7-GHz chip now costs $171, down 29%.
The company's desktop Celeron processors were reduced by an average of 16.75%, and its fastest mobile Celeron processor, at 1.5 GHz, was cut 44% to $96. Lower-end Xeon processors were cut by an average of 16.67%. High-end Xeon and Itanium processors for servers weren't affected by the latest round of price cuts.
The price cuts and new processors were expected to stimulate demand for PCs featuring the new processors, but that strategy has continued to be derailed by a sputtering economy.
Financial analyst firm Investec Inc. in New York CIty, said today that it's lowering revenue and earnings-per-share estimates for Intel's third quarter and fiscal year, based on a survey of retail consumer electronics stores that indicated a weaker back-to-school market. The back-to-school market is the second most important season for PC and processor sales, with the fourth-quarter holiday season carrying the most weight.
Investec now expects Intel to earn $6.5 billion in the third quarter, down from its previous estimates of $6.7 billion. Earnings for the third quarter will now be 12 cents per share, down from 13 cents, Investec said. The company also lowered expectations for Intel's 2002 and 2003 full-year results.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call in Bostonexpect Intel to earn 13 cents per share in the third quarter.
Intel provided its own guidance for third-quarter revenue of between $6.3 billion and $6.9 billion when it announced its second-quarter results.