Okay so that was an epic not checking my own link fail.

http://www.bluecar.fr/en/pages-accueil/default.aspx should work

For anyone who actually might be interested in the list that the post is about, rather than more photos we've already seen and old ABG posts, http://www.bluecar.fr/en appears to be the website where you can pre-order.

I commend Dell for ensuring that all of the interesting stuff that would really set it apart from other netbooks is coming "down the road" or on "future models". Let me guess, the eventual version with "mobile broadband" will mean you need to buy one particular model that isn't customisable, and that comes with an expensive data contract, just like with the 9 in the UK?

I kinda hope this isn't going to be the case, not only because Electra is kind of a crappy name, but because I think the alliteration present in "Vauxhall Volt" is just too damn good to pass up.

Despite sending this via corrections a few days ago, they still haven't updated this post to make it clear that the FT article actually says it'll likely be around £20,000 for the car itself, not a £20,000 premium over the cost of an Astra.

"Company executives indicated to the FT yesterday that the Volt could have a list price in the UK of around £20,000, several thousand pounds dearer than an equivalent petrol or diesel Astra."

Firstly, big car manufacturers are probably doing a lot more research into EVs than you think, very often as a part of HEV/PHEV/REEV, as well as their hydrogen fuel cell research (the Clarity is an electric car, the electricity is just generated by a fuel cell), and secondly, pure EVs, as much as I love them, still have some issues to be worked out.

Firstly, although battery technology has got a lot better (I can't wait for the A123Systems IPO), they're still pretty expensive. The rumoured cost for the Volt's batteries (which should take it 40 miles or so before the ICE kicks in) are around $10,000.

Secondly, range, even with better batteries, is still an issue. Although 200 or so miles should be feasible with a good enough design, I think we're going to see a lot more PHEVs and REEVs before pure EVs, as they completely remove range from the equation and may also lower costs somewhat.

Thirdly, a lot of people can't actually charge a car that easily, and although it should be feasible to charge them at gas stations, since modern lithium-ion batteries can be fast-charged in minutes, the lack of standards for fast chargers, along with the difficulty in getting gas stations to start doing this, makes things more difficult. Although it's worth mentioning that it should still be a frackload easier than trying to retrofit gas stations to dispense hydrogen.

In terms of why they like hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, I think it comes down to a combination of hydrogen seeming futuristic, having no nasty local emissions (the 'just water' thing is gold), skipping the issue of charging entirely, utilising an energy-rich fuel, and tying into wider EV/HEV research, since as I mentioned, the vast majority of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are EVs with a hydrogen fuel cell generating the electricity.

While I had similar issues, I was able to download stuff in *way* less time than it normally takes (on 20Mb here), so methinks maybe they're speeding some stuff up and Marketplace is a bit iggy in the meantime.

"And of course, the most obvious reason to doubt an HDMI adapter, it would serve no purpose."

Aside from people (like me) who have a Wii and a 360, and want to connect the Wii via component for the better picture quality that comes with it, but who don't want to go scurrying behind their TV's to switch 5 cables every time they want to switch between the two.

So the mouse tracking speed slider in Keyboard & Mouse isn't enough control for you? I find the slowest setting like trying to move the cursor through treacle.

And there was me hoping the RFID functionality might allow me to replace the two cards taking up space in my wallet with a tiny flashdrive and a button press...