Items tagged with tree
At first, we had to double check our calendars to ensure that it wasn't the dawn of April. Nope -- this one's the real deal. Lenovo's Horizon Table PC is already a pretty unique take on the tablet + oversized sit-down desktop, but it's about to get even more so. Lenovo today introduced three new table concepts that are meant to house the Horizon Table PC. The company is showcasing the commissioned custom table designs – "The Treehouse" built for the 21st century playroom, "The Nest" for the modern living room and "AT-UM" for the digital workshop at the 25th annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair. The image shown here is the Treehouse. And yes, that's what a Horizon Table PC would...
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As the old saying goes, one man's ceiling is another man's floor. And in every down market, somehow, somewhere, another sector of the market is flourishing. Though many folks out there might not be tapping into that early retirement as early as they would like, troubles in the Financial sector spell opportunity for the geeks in Computer Sciences and IT. Not to mention the fact that the internet is quickly running short of routing resources, so they'll need a few more smart kids real soon, to backfill things with new technology. So if you were college-bound, where would you go? With the flow of course. Randal Bryant, dean of...
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Earlier in February a strange case arose over an obscure California law, the Solar Shade Control Act (.PDF), passed in 1979 after the Oil Crisis. The law essentially made criminals out of a pair of Sunnyvale residents, whose eight redwood trees cast shade on a neighbor's solar panels.The dispute between the neighbors, Mark Vargas (solar panel owner) and Richard Treanor and Carolynn Bissett (tree owners) was "settled" when a judge ruled Treanor and Bissett had to cut two of the trees down, despite the fact that the trees pre-dated the solar panels.Let us cast some common sense on this by saying: huh? The trees were there first!Well, on Tuesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a bill...
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From July 5th through July 27th, the Tour de France will be running. I'm not going to be heading over there to watch, and although they'll be plenty of coverage, what if we want take a look at the route from a spectator's view? Google's thought about that, and has provide a Street View of the entire route. Google's blog post announcing the launch gives us the info: With this launch, you can now follow the race through each of the 21 stages with just a click of a mouse and enjoy a perspective similar to what your favorite cyclists see as they wind through France's majestic mountains, vivacious cities, and tranquil countryside. The Tour de France route marks our first launch of Street View imagery...
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Nvidia shares dropped significantly on news of lower sales, with the double whammy of a estimated $200 million charge to replace defective laptop chips. Nvidia was already struggling to compete with AMD's subsidiary ATI, plus an encroachment on Nvidia's bread and butter graphics processors by industry leader Intel. A soft economy isn't helping much, either. The warranty cost for the chips is especially galling; Nvidia says the chips were OK but were damaged by their packaging material. Ouch. In the past six weeks, prices of graphics cards for personal computers with Nvidia's 9800GTX chip have fallen to $200 from as much as $275, said Blake Fischer, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in...
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Since its unveiling in May of 2007, Google's Street View has hit a few bumps in the road, including being told to "keep out" of an entire town, to being sued over privacy by a Pennsylvania couple, to being told to stay out of military bases. This particular incident is more humorous than anything else. Who is standing at the corner of 3186 San Pablo Ave. in Emeryville, near Oakland, California? Some think they may be working women, coining the nickname “Streetview Hookers.”Google Street View launched May 25, 2007 in five cities and has since expanded to 40 cities. The Google Maps addition shows 360-degree panoramic views of city streets.Since its launch, Street View has captured several...
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North Oaks, Minn. is a small town of 4,500 residents. According to its web site, its residential roads are all privately-owned, and because of this unique situation it has requested that Google take down all Street View images of its roads."It's not the hoity-toity folks trying to figure out how to keep the world away," said Mayor Thomas Watson. "They really didn't have any authorization to go on private property."Since the introduction of Google Maps' Street View last spring, the feature has caused controversy in several cities and with the federal government. The Pentagon banned Google Maps from taking any images of military facilities, and a Pittsburgh couple sued the company over images of...
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Ever wish you could get a view of possible landmarks when getting directions from a mapping site or program? Well, Google's heard your plea, and has added Street View to directions in Google Maps.Driving directions and Street View have been separate features of the search engine's Google Maps site. By combining them, Google said users can now get a better picture of their route alongside turn by turn information. Users simply click camera icons to get photos of the route along with an arrow showing which way to go. At the end of the line, the last view is a green marker that shows you've arrived."By viewing Street View images alongside directions, drivers have visual context for intersections...
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Google's Street View has been at the center of privacy concerns, so this is just the latest story in that chain ... but why would guards let them onto a base in the first place?A person familiar with the matter at Fort Sam Houston said a base official twice granted Google access, but only after he was assured that Google would not videotape or photograph the historic base, which serves as a medical-training and support post. The official had believed an online map would be useful to guide visitors. "Unfortunately, Google didn't follow the rules," said the person, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the situation. Google spokesman Larry Yu said the driver in question...
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Every so often in this business, something truly awesome happens that makes you step back and appreciate all of the hard work, tight deadlines, and a late night product launches. For us here at HotHardware, this is one of those times. If any of you happen to have a copy of this morning’s Wall Street Journal nearby, do us a favor and fold open the front page and check out the Intel ad running in the lower, right corner. In the ad, Intel is promoting their ultra high-end Skulltrail enthusiast platform and it just so happens that they’ve chosen a quote from our article in the campaign. There it is, right there in big, bold print! It’s not often that we see our words or URL...
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Considering solar panels? How is your relationship with your neighbors? You might want to look around you and see if any neighbors have trees which may in the future shade your planned panel locations. Technically, if they eventually do, it will be a crime.Richard Treanor planted the trees in his yard 11 years ago, but neighbor Mark Vargas says they reduce the amount of electricity the panels can generate."Trees do a lot of good," says Richard. "Solar does a lot of good, too.""Some people say they're for solar power, and some people do something about it," says Mark.Vargas says his panels produce enough power to sell back to the utility company. His yearly bill is only $60.Both...
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Still can't get a Nintendo Wii? Join the club. However, there might be a possible solution, if you don't mind putting a piece of paper under the tree, as well as a somewhat fuzzy delivery date.Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime told a telephone news conference that shoppers who pay the full price of about $249 for an out-of-stock Wii on December 20 and 21 at retailer GameStop Corp will get a certificate promising a Wii "sometime in January."The program is exclusive to GameStop. The executive declined to say how many units would be available, but noted that the video game specialty retailer had "many tens of thousands" of rain checks.Instead of a large box under the tree with a Wii...
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Many have expressed concern over the privacy aspects of Google's Street View. Although Google is now allowing anyone to report identifiable faces, license plates, etc., which Google will then zap, Canadian privacy law may not be satisfied by the "zap process." Canadian law obliges businesses wishing to disclose personal information about individuals to first obtain their consent. Stoddart said pictures of people on Street View were clear enough to be considered personal information. "The images ... appear to have been collected largely without the consent and knowledge of the individuals who appear in the images," wrote Stoddart....
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Apple's newest advertising strategy alleges that Macs are superior to PCs, in that they'll save users money. The company claims that Mac's aren't only cheap, but that they're also good for business because they are easy to use and are not prone to viruses. Apple has also proven its value as a company, as some analysts expect its stocks to have double by 2010. Ironically, only a few years ago some experts predicted the company's failure. The recent money conscious shift in Apple's advertising strategy is not only meant to increase sales, but also to change the way that the public perceives the company. There's been a distinct sea change in the way people think about...
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Almost anyone who's ever spent a few minutes with Wikipedia can start appreciate the vast wealth of knowledge the site has to offer. Though the free encyclopedia is open to a whole host of problems, such as inaccurate information, questionable sources, and vandalism, its popularity continues to grow. Even with all the site's problems, the information on most articles is fairly accurate, as there are many respectable users who have taken up the job of keeping the service clean, and the information inside accurate. Is it better than Britannica though? This issue has been brought up before, and the argument probably won't be laid to rest for some time, if ever. The two main...
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