From Engadget: Aakash lurches toward another crisis as India loses patience with DataWind

The conflicts and behind-the-scenes drama surrounding India’s Aakash project once again threaten its existence. Despite a record-breaking 1.4 million pre-orders gained in under a fortnight, maker DataWind has only shipped 10,000 units to nearly universal derision. Early adopters have found the processor too slow, battery life too short and the resistive touchscreen difficult to use. Kapil Sibal’s Human Resource Development ministry now plans to re-open tendering for a replacement contractor and withdraw DataWind’s deal for a further 90,000 units. An anonymous ministry official has said that they’ve seen “sufficient interest […] to get better specifications at the same or lower price.”

In response, DataWind has claimed that its development-partner, the Indian Institute of Technology, pulled a bait-and-switch, demanding at the eleventh hour that the tablet meet US military criteria for durability — including being able to withstand four inches per hour of “sustained rain.” Work has been on hold since then but neither party can afford another delay. DataWind promised it would sell the commercial version of the slate this month, while Kapil Sibal has promised that a second edition of the Aakash would be announced in April.

 

from Engadget

From Engadget: Tesla Roadster EVs accused of ‘bricking,’ Tesla responds

Tesla Roadster

Last night we were sent an interesting report about Tesla Roadsters falling into an unfortunate state — a very terminal, very expensive state. According to theunderstatement a Tesla Roadster that is left to discharge completely, a process that could take many weeks, will need to have its entire battery pack replaced (pictured above) — at a cost of approximately $40,000. There are said to be no countermeasures that can prevent this short of keeping your car topped up, and while that may sound simple enough, it becomes tricky if you need to put the thing in storage for a few months.

While we haven’t been able to confirm all the “several” supposed cases of this happening, we did hear back from Tesla issuing a statement (after the break) that more or less affirms this could happen. Tesla uses a number of so-called “countermeasures” to prevent this, up to and including a representative from the company calling the owner should a battery pack trail dangerously low. Worryingly, though, this situation is said to be possible in both the upcoming Model S sedan and Model X SUV. Here’s to hoping for a little more clarity on this issue — and maybe a solution — before those two come to market.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Tesla Roadster EVs accused of ‘bricking,’ Tesla responds

 

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From Engadget: ASUS gives Transformer Prime a bootloader unlock tool, Ubuntu promptly ported

Ah, it was indeed only a matter of time. Much like the way HTC caved into fan pressure, ASUS has finally released a bootloader unlock tool for its Transformer Prime TF201. Understandably, the tablet will no longer be covered under warranty once you set it free, but the other catch is that it needs to be running Ice Cream Sandwich in the first place as well. Not that it concerned modder littlesteve who promptly ported a partially-working Ubuntu over to his unlocked slate, pictured above. Steve says there’s much work to be done yet, especially with enabling touchscreen support, so keep an eye on his tweets if you’re itching to get a taste of his Linux pie. Now, about that mysterious TF300T

from Engadget

From Engadget: AMD Piledriver cores will clock over 4GHz, employ ‘resonant clock mesh’

AMD’s Trinity APU can do some remarkable things, but we still don’t know exactly what magic ingredients make its Piledriver cores superior to the tepidly received Bulldozer. Now though, a firm called Cyclos claims it’s supplying ‘resonant clock mesh’ power-saving technology for use in the new module. In speaking to the media, it’s revealed that this will help to enable a “4+ GHz” factory clock speed, which sounds high if it definitely refers to an integrated chip with low-power credentials. As for the resonant clock mesh itself, it’s a bit like KERS for processors: it recycles clock power instead of letting it dissipate and thereby enables higher clock speeds in “next generation SoCs that also require ultra-low power consumption.” We also know that the technology is financially backed by ARM and Siemens and has seen precious little implementation prior to AMD — which is fine, so long as all that resonance doesn’t make our rig hum even louder.

AMD Piledriver cores will clock over 4GHz, employ ‘resonant clock mesh’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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From Discover Magazine: Google’s Augmented Reality Glasses Could Be On Your Face This Year | 80beats

ar
Like this…only on your face.

Wearing glasses that superimpose a layer of information—nearby pizza places, the local bus line, or, if you’re the Terminator, the amount of ammo left in your weapon—over reality is a long-held techie fantasy. Fighter pilots already use such “heads-up” displays to keep track of vital info while keeping their eyes ahead of them, but despite the constant low buzz about such augmented reality glasses for the rest of us, actual products have been few and far between. Now, though, Google employees speaking to the NYT’s Bits blog have confirmed that Google’s experimental lab is indeed building such a device. Due to come out at the end of the year, these “Google Goggles” are said to function basically as a smartphone you can wear on your face.

According the the Bits blog, users will be able to scroll around on the glasses’ tiny screen using small head motions. The glasses will also feature a low-res camera that monitor the world in front of the user and take pictures, but there are obviously privacy issues at stake with such a feature: apparently the team is currently discussing how to make …


from Discover Magazine

From Ars Technica: Humanity’s water footprint: US exports the most, uses the most per capita


Most people are familiar with the concept of a “carbon footprint,” and some even feel dutifully guilty about their own. “Water footprints” get a little less play. Even though we live on a blue planet (oddly named “Earth” by one of its continentally-biased inhabitants), water is still a precious resource that warrants conservation. After all, over 99 percent of that water is either in salty oceans or frozen glaciers.

A paper published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences delves into an analysis of humanity’s water footprint and the various components that contribute to it. This isn’t the first stab at a global assessment, but it’s a significant improvement on earlier work. And, in one of the more interesting twists, it accounts for the international movement of water use that occurs when a good that requires water is shipped to another country.

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from Ars Technica