Marussia and CarDesign.ru reveal concepts for new car for President Putin

It appears that Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t like his car. Tired of seeing Russian officials being carted about in Mercedes and BMWs, Mr. Putin ordered that a Russian domestic limousine be designed to replace them. Unfortunately, according to the Moscow Times, Mr. Putin apparently didn’t much care for the Zil-4112P that Russian car maker Zil came up with, and told them to have another go. Seeing a chance to get in on the action, car rivals GAZ and Marussia Motors are jumping into the game with Marussia and CarDesign.ru teaming up for a public competition to find “A car for the President.”

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During the Cold War, Soviet luxury cars were nothing to write home about – except to express disbelief. The limousines that chauffeured the likes of Brezhnev and Kosygin were massive, ugly creations with gearboxes like coal scuttles, the turning radius of a container ship and huge engines that, paradoxically, provided hardly any power.

Two decades after the fall of communism, CarDesign.ru with Marussia Motors are using their “A car for the President” competition to put those days behind them with a call for a completely different model, and have released images of the entrants’ concepts

For those who are used to competition concepts showing cars that defy gravity, violate the laws of physics or are simply impossible to get into, the proposals for the Russian President’s future runabout do seem a bit on the conservative side, with many of them looking like tweaked Cadillacs and Bentleys. This isn’t surprising, since the competition rules are very specific about the basics of the cars. They have to fall into three classes – limousine, minivan or SUV – they must be front engined, rear-wheel drive, fit inside a specific set of dimensions and “stand on a par with competitors from Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, etc.”

The rules also recommend starting with current Russian models and going on from there. Given this and the fact that the target demographic are heads of state who have their offices in the Kremlin, it's small wonder that they look more like something for going to a summit meeting rather than tearing up the track on the weekend.

According to CarDesign.ru, the competition received 40 entries from students and professionals and over 80 amateur entries with some from abroad. The winner of “A car for the President” will receive cash prizes plus a chance to work on developing the actual cars. The concepts are currently being reviewed by a jury of car experts and Marussia Motors.

The results will be announced May 1.

Accidentally Extraordinary headphones feature capacitive touch controls in the cable

Due mainly to the influence of the iPhone and iPod, a good many headphones have a playback/call control unit of some sort bulging out from the audio cable. Though undeniably useful, this can add some unwelcome weight (particularly with earbuds), but more often the housing just gets in the way or adds its own thump to the music as it bangs against your upturned collar. California-based Accidentally Extraordinary is looking to change all that, with a pair of elegant studio headphones featuring a capacitive touch control interface on the surface of the cable itself.

"I was just about to go to sleep while listening to music and I started getting annoyed that my headphone buttons located on the right cable kept getting in the way," founder and CEO of Accidentally Extraordinary (AE) Kunal Dalal told us. "Long story short, I thought about how easy it could be to wrap flexible touch electrodes directly on the cable of the headphone, get rid of this remote/mic housing and create a sleek, asymmetrical look to earbuds and headphones."

Development started in September last year and, with a few prototypes under his belt, Dalal took his idea to the Eureka Park section of CES 2013. Four days later, Dalal walked away from the Vegas Convention Center with an address book full of useful contacts and some very positive feedback from both the press and public.

The AE design centers on nano-carbon graphene touch sensors that are printed directly onto the surface of the cable using graphene-based Vor-ink. In much the same way as existing in-cable controls, this flexible and durable touch strip will allow users to play/pause or skip tracks with a tap/double tap, but will also change volume with a swipe of the finger.

The design features swipe-to-turn-on and lock functionality, though the strip won't be accidentally activated by inanimate objects. While the prototype images show the red touch section flanked by slightly bumpy metal strips, the whole interface will be flush with the rest of the cable in the production models.

Users will also be able to customize touch commands and gestures using a smartphone/tablet app (in a similar way to the Jay One Plus headphones). AE has confirmed that a built-in microphone is planned for inclusion some time in the near future.

"We are looking to address the limits placed on us by the different operating systems," said Dalal when asked about device compatibility. "Our original prototypes controlled volume internally so, regardless of the device, users would be able to control their volume via touch. While we are still exploring that option, the additional power requirements will determine the feasibility of that route. This option may be available in a high-end model geared specifically to the audiophile crowd, powered internally to work across all devices – including your old record player or Walkman."

At this stage in development, the headband and earcups are made from a strong and abrasion-resistant thermoplastic polymer called Delrin, which has been found to lend some crispness to the audio. Foam ear cushions are covered in a soft synthetic fabric and there's a foam cushion on the underside of the headband (not pictured). Dalal says that the design team is currently experimenting with memory foam for the cushions to give users an improved, snug fit.

For the audio side of the development equation, AE is working with an experienced (but as yet unnamed) California-based audio company. At the time of writing, all we can tell you is that the current prototypes use closed acoustics, low impedance (~32 Ohms @ 1 kHz), and high-quality dynamic drivers.

To get this technology into the hands of consumers, AE has launched on Kickstarter. An early bird special of US$160 will get you one of the first 200 off the production line. After that, you'll need to part with at least $200. The campaign closes on March 23 and the product launch has been penciled in for June/July, with delivery to backers scheduled to start in August.

While failure to reach the funding target won't mean the end of the AE project, it will likely result in significant delays in bringing this product to market.

AE is also working on some earphones with a capacitive touch strip built into the cable, but they won't be ready for a public debut at the close of the funding campaign. As an exclusive Kickstarter special $60 pledge level, however, backers can get a taste of things to come with a set of non-capacitive earbuds that sport the same red section along the audio cable, but this is a soft button that can be used to control playback and answer calls on iOS, Windows and Android smartphones (in addition to offering volume control for the latter).

SD college tests fingerprint purchasing technology

<(by Amber Hunt, YahooNews) RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - Two [stores] on South Dakota’s School of Mines and Technology campus are performing one of the world’s first experiments in Biocryptology - a mix of biometrics (using physical traits for identification) and cryptology (the study of encoding private information). Students at the Rapid City school can buy a bag of potato chips with a machine that non-intrusively detects their hemoglobin to make sure the transaction is legitimate. Researchers figure their technology would provide a critical safeguard against a morbid scenario sometimes found in spy movies in which a thief removes someone else’s finger to fool the scanner.

 On a recent Friday, mechanical engineering major Bernard Keeler handed a Red Bull to a cashier in the Miner’s Shack campus shop, typed his birthdate into a pay pad and swiped his finger. Within seconds, the machine had identified his print and checked that blood was pulsing beneath it, allowing him to make the buy. Afterward, Keeler proudly showed off the receipt he was sent via email on his smartphone. Fingerprint technology isn’t new, nor is the general concept of using biometrics as a way to pay for goods. But it’s the extra layer of protection – that deeper check to ensure the finger has a pulse – that researchers say sets this technology apart from already-existing digital fingerprint scans, which are used mostly for criminal background checks. Al Maas, president of Nexus USA – a subsidiary of Spanish-based Hanscan Indentity Management, which patented the technology – acknowledged South Dakota might seem an unlikely locale to test it, but to him, it was a perfect fit. “I said, if it flies here in the conservative Midwest, it’s going to go anywhere,” Maas said. Maas grew up near Madison, S.D., and wanted his home state to be the technology’s guinea pig.
 He convinced Hanscan owner Klaas Zwart that the 2,400-student Mines campus should be used as the starter location. The students all major in mechanical engineering or hard sciences, which means they’re naturally technologically inclined, said Joseph Wright, the school’s associate vice president for research-economic development. ”South Dakota is a place where people take risks. We’re very entrepreneurial,” Wright said. After Maas and Zwart introduced the idea to students this winter, about 50 stepped forward to take part in the pilot. ”I really wanted to be part of what’s new and see if I could help improve what they already have,” said Phillip Clemen, 19, a mechanical engineering student. Robert Siciliano, a security expert with McAfee, Inc., minimized potential privacy concerns. ”We are hell bent on privacy issues here in the U.S. We get all up in arms when someone talks about scanning us or recording our information, but then we’ll throw up everything about us on Facebook and give up all of our personal information for 10 percent off at a shoe store for instant credit,” he said. Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union, said fingerprint technology on its own raises security issues, but he called “liveness detection” a step in the right direction. ”Any security measure can be defeated; it’s a question of making it harder,” he said. The key to keeping biometric identification from becoming Big Brother-like is to make it voluntary and ensure that the information scanned is used exactly as promised, Stanley said. Brian Wiles, a Miles mechanical engineering major, said it’s exciting to be beta testing technology that could soon be worldwide. ”There was some hesitation, but the fact that it’s the first in the world – that’s the whole point of this school,” said Wiles, 22. “We’re innovators.” - See more at: http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/daily-news-article/sd-college-tests-fingerprint-purchasing-technology/#sthash.634fL1aO.dpuf

New York’s Technology Future: Is It a Bubble or a Lasting Boom?

Amid the hullabaloo about New York’s growing innovation scene lurks a big question about the future. “Is New York’s rise in technology a combination of the mayor’s exuberant personality, things that are happening organically, and the overall growth of tech?” asked Steven Rosenbaum, CEO of Magnify.net. “Or is there a fundamental shift happening?”

Last Thursday during the many Social Media Week events happening across the city, he moderated a panel that included local entrepreneurs, representatives of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration, and a pioneering venture capitalist who offered a few opinions on the matter. Rosenbaum’s company Magnify.net is a provider of cloud-based video curation service. He is also entrepreneur-at-large with the New York City Economic Development Corp. (NYCEDC).

Joining him in the discussion were Scott Anderson, chief strategy officer with the Control Group; Matthew Burnett, CEO of Maker’s Row; Alan Patricof, managing director with Greycroft Partners; Ann Li, managing director and executive vice president with the NYCEDC; and Jonathan Bowles, executive director with the Center for an Urban Future think-tank.

Rosenbaum wondered if a landmark IPO or other exit by a startup in New York could give the city real bragging rights in its rivalry with Boston over which region follows Silicon Valley in the list of top tech hubs.

New York to some extent is still waiting for a big win among its startups, according to Anderson of Control Group, a technology innovation strategy company, but he also cast doubt on the necessity of achieving such a milestone. “That doesn’t mean business isn’t happening or people aren’t making money,” he said. “Hanging our hats on that big win is a mistake.”

Matthew Burnett, CEO of Maker’s Row, listens to fellow panelists discuss the city's prospects.

Maker’s Row co-founder Burnett told Xconomy after the panel it is getting easier for some startups in the city to reach customers thanks to such e-commerce platforms as Etsy and Fab.com. “They are creating opportunities for entrepreneurs to create their own goods and run their own businesses,” he says. Maker’s Row is an online marketplace that connects small and midsize businesses with American manufacturers. Burnett previously founded fashion accessory company The Brooklyn Bakery. “[Fab.com] helped me be able to pay rent for so long as an entrepreneur,” he says.

The growth of the local startup community, according Greycroft’s Patricof, is not likely to halt anytime soon. “New York is like a meteor at the moment,” he said. “The momentum has been started; you can’t stop it now. This train is moving.” An early player in the private investment world, he was a founder and chairman of New York magazine and founded private equity firm Apax Partners, now based in London, prior to forming Greycroft.

Patricof said investments in the past focused largely on technology semiconductors and

FIFA licenses third goal-line technology project

Zurich: 

Goal-line technology system Cairos was licensed by FIFA on Monday as the third candidate for use at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Cairos, a German system using magnetic field technology, joins Hawk-Eye and GoalRef as officially approved projects.

“The Cairos GLT System met all of the demands placed on it,” the company said in a statement.

Germany’s goalkeeper Manuel Neuer looks at a ball that hit the bar to bounce over the line during the World Cup. AP

Testing was done at two German stadiums in December, one week after Hawk-Eye and GoalRef were installed at two stadiums at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan. The systems were never needed for any decisive calls at the seven-team tournament.

FIFA’s rule-making panel approved goal-line technology for use in competitive matches last July after President Sepp Blatter insisted it must be installed at the World Cup.

Last week, FIFA invited bidders to compete for the World Cup and 2013 Confederations Cup contract.

FIFA said it aims to choose the winner in April. A fourth system has also completed testing and could join the race.

Cairos, which began developing its system in 2000, resumes its longstanding rivalry with Hawk-Eye, a British camera-based system successfully used in tennis and cricket.

Both were evaluated — and rejected — by FIFA when goal-line technology was first considered several years ago.

Blatter was originally opposed to giving technological aids for referees, but he changed his mind after seeing England’s Frank Lampard have a clear goal disallowed against Germany in a 2010 World Cup second-round match.

Germany and England will compete again for the World Cup contract.

GoalRef also uses magnetic fields and is a collaboration of companies from Germany and Denmark. The fourth contender is also German, but FIFA has said it will not identify that candidate before it is given a license.

LG's Demonstration of Wireless Ultra HD Transmission Technology

MWC 2013

 The folks over at LG have decided to light up MWC this year with more than just their fair share of smartphone announcements, having demonstrated what is touted to be the first wireless Ultra HD transmission technology in the world. In a nutshell, it enables users to watch smartphone content on Ultra HD TVs, although you can more or less say that such technology is overkill at the present moment, considering smartphones themselves have recently “migrated” to Full HD displays for flagships recently, and to tote an Ultra HD movie file on your smartphone would certainly take up oodles of space, don’t you think so?

I guess the reason behind parading this technology is very simple – because LG can. The possibilities down the road will definitely be an enticing one, as this next generation mobile feature will allow users to view games and other kinds of smartphone content on Ultra HD TVs in real time, all without the need for a normal cable, helping you live out the wireless lifestyle.

LG claims that their Wireless Ultra HD Transmission system will also consume less than half the power of other similar transmission technologies, and this is made possible courtesy of the smartphone’s CPU that works in tandem with other hardware resources.

LG

 LG Corporation is a South Korean conglomerate that is based in Seoul. LG operates a number of subsidiaries including LG Electronics, LG Display, LG Telecom, and LG Chem. The conglomerate specializes in developing electronics, telecom products, and chemicals. LG Corp. was founded in 1947 by Koo In-Hwoi. Koo first established Lak-Hui Chemical Industrial Corp. in 1947. Today, Lak-Hui (pronounced lucky) is known as LG Chem. The company then expanded its business and created Goldstar Co. Ltd, now known as LG Electronics Inc. Both companies merged and formed Lucky-Goldstar, which was eventually renamed “LG” 

Top 20 video games in UK chart

Crysis 3: battling its way through the urban jungle

UK top 20 video games chart, week ending 23 February 2013

Position	Game (age rating)	Platform (share%)		Weeks in chart
1 (–)	Crysis 3 (16+)	Xbox 360 (57) PS3 (23) PC (9)		1
2 (–)	Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (18+)	PS3 (61) Xbox 360 (39)		1
3 (3)	Fifa 13 (3+)	Xbox 360 (49) PS3 (31) Wii (5) VITA (3)		22
4 (4)	Call Of Duty: Black Ops II (18+)	Xbox 360 (59) PS3 (38) PC (2) Wii U (1)		15
5 (1)	Aliens: Colonial Marines (18+)	Xbox 360 (57) PS3 (39) PC (2)		2
6 (2)	Dead Space 3 (18+)	Xbox 360 (60) PS3 (36) PC (4)		3
7 (5)	Far Cry 3 (18+)	Xbox 360 (55) PS3 (38) PC (7)		13
8 (7)	Need For Speed Most Wanted (7+)	PS3 (44) Xbox 360 (43) VITA (12) PC (1)		17
9 (6)	Assassin's Creed III (18+)	Xbox 360 (51) PS3 (41) Wii U (4)		17
10 (11)	Hitman Absolution (18+)	PS3 (49) Xbox 360 (49) PC (1)		14
11 (8)	Just Dance 4 (3+)	Wii (79) Xbox 360 (19) Wii U (2) PS3 (1)		21
12 (12)	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (15+)	Xbox 360 (78) PS3 (15) PC (7)		62
13 (9)	Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed(7+)	Xbox 360 (29) Wii U (25) 3DS (21) PS3 (18)		12
14 (13)	Skylanders Giants (7+)	Wii (40) Xbox 360 (29) PS3 (14) 3DS (6)		19
15 (15)	Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (7+)	Xbox 360 (31) Wii (20) DS (16) PS3 (14)		33
16 (10)	Halo 4 (16+)	Xbox 360 (100)		15
17 (16)	Lego The Lord of the Rings (12+)	Xbox 360 (36) Wii (18) PS3 (17) DS (14)		14
18 (20)	Grand Theft Auto Iv (18+)	Xbox 360 (62) PS3 (37)		43
19 (–)	The Sims 3 (12+)	PC (87) Xbox 360 (5) 3DS (5)		48
20 (–)	Forza Motorsport 4 (3+)	Xbox 360 (100)		31

UKIE Games Charts © compiled by GfK Chart-Track