Thursday, November 24, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
AMG Performance Media Track Monitor Shown
AMG recently showed its AMG Performance Media module for its cars. The video below shows the data that can be accessed via the APM. These include 0-100 km/h acceleration times, a G-meter to measure acceleration, braking and cornering forces, throttle and brake inputs, lap timer, engine output, tire pressures, engine temp and a history function for comparing your and the car’s performance across various tracks. For the enthusiast, monitoring these functions enables one to use the data to improve the performance of the car and driver combination.
These real-time data logging functions have been available for some time now from aftermarket companies. But by allowing this data to be accessed through the multifunction display, the interior of the AMG vehicle retains its look without having a tacky add-on mar the availability of the additional data.
By the way, the demonstration run you will see was done on an SLS AMG at the Hockenheim circuit in Germany.
Mercedes-Benz Classic Center
by Emmanuel (RSS feed) October 19th, 2011 at 8:11 pm
Vintage race cars, pre-war models, one-off custom cars. Any one of these cars would fetch a commanding price if it were to find itself at an auction. But for the technicians at the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center, finding themselves in the middle of this rich automotive history is all in a day’s work. Entering the shop as rusting hulks, these cars each have a story to tell and the people in the Center are justifiably proud when what was once a heap of rusty metal components is turned into a concours-quality masterpiece.
As you will see, what these master craftsmen strive for is perfection in all aspects of a restoration. Whether it is in the exact tolerances of the mechanical parts, or the authenticity of the look or even in the way it’s put together. Because of this goal towards authenticity, the cars that come out of the shop don’t look restored but are instead presented as timeless pieces of automotive history.
CLS63 AMG Design Process Time-Lapsed
We all know that Mercedes-Benzes are highly complex cars that are masterpieces from the minds of designers and engineers from the company’s tech centers. Unlike the sometimes overwhelming feeds on new models and spyshots that we get on a weekly basis, the design process is not as readily available. But now, a time-lapse video has hit YouTube, showing some elements of the design process, from the proverbial clean sheet of paper, to a digital rendering on a computer, which will become the basis for CAD/CAM processes that make up the steps in automobile production.
As you will see, the video is a demonstration of the design process and not an actual work in progress. For one, the computer has obviously been set up in a conference room and, as we said, some steps are apparently skipped. Some commenters have also noted some faults in the original sketch. But as AMG says, this is a demo of how a great car like the CLS is made into a reality, and for most of the world, it is highly informative.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Former VP and Apple Director Al Gore on Steve Jobs and More: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)
We’re following the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Al Gore, former Vice President, Nobel Prize winner, environmental activist, sometime VC, occasional entrepreneur and all-around busy dude.
Of course, Gore talked about a wide range of issues, from the legacy of Apple’s Steve Jobs (Gore is on the company’s board), to being an adviser to Google, to the “broken” U.S. political system, to alternative energy.
Here’s his onstage interview with Walt Mossberg:
AsiaD: Jonney Shih Full Session
AsiaD: Jonney Shih Full Session
Asus chairman Jonney Shih talked with Walt Mossberg about the blurring boundaries between tablets, notebooks and smartphones at AllThingsD's AsiaD conference last month.
AsiaD: Jerry Yang Full Session
AsiaD: Jerry Yang Full Session
Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and Rose Tsou, who oversees the company's business interests in Asia, spoke with Walt Mossberg at AllThingsD's inaugural Asian conference last month.
Former VP and Apple Director Al Gore on Steve Jobs and More: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)
We’re following the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Al Gore, former Vice President, Nobel Prize winner, environmental activist, sometime VC, occasional entrepreneur and all-around busy dude.
Of course, Gore talked about a wide range of issues, from the legacy of Apple’s Steve Jobs (Gore is on the company’s board), to being an adviser to Google, to the “broken” U.S. political system, to alternative energy.
Here’s his onstage interview with Walt Mossberg:
Sony’s Kazuo Hirai on Reviving the Iconic CE Brand and More: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)
We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.
We’ve been following the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Sony’s Kazuo Hirai.
Hirai is a key figure at the Japanese consumer electronics giant, which has been struggling to revive itself after dominance turned to years of decline; he is widely considered the second in line to CEO Howard Stringer.
In an onstage interview with Walt Mossberg, the elegant exec, who was a longtime gaming exec at Sony, talked about the next-generation (but delayed) Vita game player, smartphones and Sony’s first Google Android tablets, which are now launching.
Here’s the video:
Huawei’s John Roese on the Telecom Giant That Wants to Roar: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)
We’re following the schedule of the actual event. Up now: John Roese, head of Huawei’s North American R&D team.
While not as well known as others, the Chinese company is the world’s second-largest maker of telecommunications and networking gear. You might hear more about it soon, though, since Huawei aims to increase its annual revenue to more than $100 billion per year within the next decade, by expanding its business beyond communications service providers.
Roese is one of the execs charged with making it so by expanding in the U.S. and focusing on research.
Here’s his onstage interview with Ina Fried:
Nvidia’s Jen-Hsun Huang on Superman Quad-Core Chip, Microsoft and Apple: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)
We’re following the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Nvidia’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang.
An early pioneer in graphics chips, the tech company is now aiming at the market for processors driving smartphones, tablets and, soon, PCs. Nvidia’s latest effort is a quad-core chip code named Kal-El, which is the Krypton moniker of Superman.
Is Huang the Man of Steel? Or, at least, can he steal some of major rival Qualcomm’s thunder?
Here’s the video of his onstage interview with Walt Mossberg:
Self-assembly and self-healing for robotic collectives
In the future, Rubenstein hopes to implement his thesis work on “Self-assembly and self-healing for robotic collectives” on the kilobots. An example of such a system is show in the video below.
Mike Rubenstein is a postdoctoral researcher from the Self-organizing Systems Research Group at Harvard. In an effort to make large swarms of robots a reality, he’s been building 1024 coin-sized robots dubbed kilobots. Challenges include making the robots low-cost and easy to assemble, recharge, reprogram and control. The final system is made with only $14 worth of parts, takes 5 minutes to assemble and can be operated in less than a minute. The open source release of all the electronics and assembly documents is expected near the end of this year.
After bording a plane with 100+ robots, Rubenstein was able to demonstrate the system at IROS.
Rezero is the name of a unique Ballbot, able to balance and drive on a single sphere.
Rezero is the name of a unique Ballbot, able to balance and drive on a single sphere. Especially designed for high acceleration, it moves in a very organic and elegant way. Rezero is the first Ballbot prototype which is able to show the full capacities of a Ballbot.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Software (Siri)
Though it comes a few days after its release, the iPhone 4S ushers in the world of iOS 5. This latest revision of Apple's mobile operating system helps to clean some of the dust off of what was starting to feel a bit dated without actually changing any fundamentals. iOS 5 introduces a slew of improvements and enhancements, some minor and some rather more major. We've already posted a particularly comprehensive iOS 5 review, so we won't blather on about it any longer here except to say it's a very solid update that will make your smartphone an even more seamless, integral part of your life.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
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