| Hot Shots: Tech That Keeps You on the Move
Even in the dog days of summer there's always some new tech tool to help a small business run more efficiently. Here's a quick look at a few of the latest products that can help keep you rolling along. Fresh Batteries for Old Laptops
Unleash your laptop you know, the older model that hasn't been further than three feet from a wall socket since its battery went to lithium ion heaven back in 2003. Even a thorough search on eBay failed to find a replacement for it. FreshBattery.com wants to get you mobile again, and so it recently launched its Legacy Power line of batteries designed for more than 1,500 models of aging laptops including those from HP, Compaq, IBM/Lenovo, Apple, Toshiba, Sony and Dell. Most batteries start to lose their full charge capability at about two years.
Tuesday | 14 August, 2007
Toshiba has recalled more defective laptop batteries, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said last week, the latest move in a long-running problem with lithium-ion batteries made by Sony. According to a warning from the CPSC, batteries in some of Toshiba's Satellite A100, Satellite A105 and Tecra A7 notebooks built between January and April 2006 pose a fire hazard from overheating. Approximately 1,400 portable computers are affected by the recall, said the CPSC. The batteries due for call back are a subset of a recall issued by Toshiba less than four weeks ago that wasn't publicized by the CSPC. Then, the Japanese computer maker listed 17 different laptop lines as potentially equipped with defective batteries. An update to the Toshiba support document a day after the initial July 17 alert added the three systems called out by the CPSC last Thursday.
Engaging India: The minor miracle of gelato
Engaging India is a weekly online column analysing the issues, trends and forces behind the business and politics shaping India and its impact on the world, which appears on FT.com India, a dedicated online section on India. Engaging India appears every Thursday morning exclusively on FT.com India and is written by Jo Johnson, the Financial Times' South Asia bureau chief; Amy Yee, New Delhi correspondent; and Joe Leahy, Mumbai correspondent. Tucked away down a small lane in a popular shopping area lies one of Delhi's hidden gems. It's not a Mughal ruin or a shrine with Sufi singers, but something far more mundane: a bona fide gelato parlour. The discovery becomes even more precious when temperatures soar to 40-45 degrees and ice cream seems a minor miracle. .
GM Says It Could Lead Electric Car Race
General Motors Corp. has signed an agreement with a battery maker that could propel it ahead of Toyota Motor Corp. in the race to bring plug-in hybrid and electric cars to market, a top company official said Thursday. A123 Systems Inc., based in Watertown, Mass., already produces millions of nanophosphate lithium-ion batteries for use in cordless power tools, and it plans to apply the technology to automobiles. GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said the deal, coupled with a published report that Toyota Motor Corp. would delay launches of lithium-ion battery powered hybrids for up to two years, could give GM the lead in bringing the new clean technology to market. "I think that our No. 1 competitor has some problems with their technology, and I do think that it very definitely opens a window of opportunity for us to be first to market with a genuine plug-in hybrid," Lutz said at an automotive industry conference in Traverse City where the battery deal was announced.
11 Maoists arrested in Jharkhand
Eleven Maoist rebels have been arrested from different parts of Jharkhand in the last three days, police said on Monday. Jeedan Gudia, a top leader of the Jharkhand Liberation Front (JLF), was reportedly arrested on Sunday along with his friend Sunita from Gorbeda jungle, around 45 Km from Ranchi. Police recovered a pistol, live cartridges and Rs 4,000 in cash from them. Seven other Maoists were nabbed from Bokaro district on the same day. One of the arrested, Jayant, was allegedly using the cell phone of slain Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M) legislator Mahendra Singh who was killed by Maoist guerrillas in Giridih district in 2005. Police claimed to have recovered Rs 1 million in cash, pistols, rifles, live cartridges, a laptop and Maoist literature from the seven rebels.
Portable iPhone, iPod USB charger ships
USBFever.com today launched a USB Universal External Portable Charger that serves as a rechargeable battery for Apple's iPhone, iPod, and other USB-capable devices. The portable device charges iPhones and iPods via a dock connector, and works to power other USB-enabled devices including mobile phones and PDAs. The charger ships with 10 adapters that enable it to work with more than 80 percent of current cellphone models, according to USBFever.com, while LED indicators reveal battery status at a glance. An on/off switch prevents accidental power leakage when not in use, and the device charges via AC power which enables users to plug into any standard wall outlet. The USB Universal External Portable Charger is priced at $42. .
Small energy savings can add up
Home air conditioners are energy hogs, but little sources of power running quietly behind the scenes can also pile up over time, adding to costs and demand. It's cell phone chargers left plugged in, DVD clocks running day and night. Televisions, cable boxes, digital video recorders -- any device with a computer chip that allows a display clock or remote control to work. As Duke Energy's residential customers brace for what could be their highest monthly bills ever, conservationists and utilities say unplugging electronics that drain power even in the off position is an often overlooked way to save electricity. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California estimates the power wasted from a typical home's electronics equals burning a 60-watt bulb year-round.
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