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Paul Sr. demonstrates OCC's electric chopper, Fox News seems mystified

by Tim Stevens posted Aug 14th 2009 at 3:12PM

Paul Teutul Sr. may not be the most eloquent of men, but he's good at what he does and has developed quite a following both on and off the reality TV circuit. Apparently none of those followers work at Fox News, as he got something of an odd reception when going on air there to show off Orange County Choppers' latest creation: the Siemens Smart Chopper. A different sort of bike than either the Zero S or Brammo we've ridden this year, the Chopper has a 27hp electric motor and a top speed of over 100mph while still managing a 60 mile charge. It sports LED lighting and recycled components to further up its green cred, a combination that seems to, for some reason, raise the ire of the hosts of Fox and Friends. Or maybe they're just trained to always sound loud and incredulous. Decide for yourself in the video after the break.

[Via Gizmag]

Continue reading Paul Sr. demonstrates OCC's electric chopper, Fox News seems mystified

Microfluidic chip does 1,000 parallel chemical reactions, looks glorious

by Vladislav Savov posted Aug 6th 2009 at 8:13PM

We'd never considered a career in biochemistry until we saw this wild beast of a chemical microprocessor. Microfluidic chips, used to test chemical reactions and properties, have been known to be smaller, but they've never before been quite this powerful. The result of a joint study between California State University, UCLA and China's Wuhan University, the "integrated microfluidic device" is capable of performing 1,024 in situ chemical reactions at a time, making the researcher's life, oh, about 1,024 times easier. Most importantly though, costly enzymes previously used for a single test can now be split up into hundreds and tested simultaneously, which should pave the way for exponentially faster and easier medical research. It's not clear when these will be widely available, but we're sure PhDs around the world are trying to order one as we speak.

[Via medGadget]

Study says LEDs are about as efficient as compact fluorescents, all things considered

by Donald Melanson posted Aug 5th 2009 at 5:03AM

As we've seen with the slight resurgence of new and improved incandescent light bulbs, the amount of energy used to actually light up the bulb isn't necessarily the whole measure of energy efficiency. There's also the small matter of producing the bulb, shipping it around the world, and eventually disposing of it. With that in mind, the Siemens Corporate Technology Centre for Eco Innovations conducted a study that compared regular compact fluorescents to LED lamps -- using one 25,000-hour LED lamp as a constant, compared to 2.5 10,000-hour compact fluorescents (and 25 1,000-hour incandescents). While it's still holding back on some of the finer details, the group did apparently find that LEDs are no more or no less energy efficient than compact fluorescents when the entire lifecycle of the bulb is taken into account, although it is quick to point out that LEDs should eventually win out as they become more efficient to produce.

New cooling material keeps heat down in densely packed electronics

by Darren Murph posted Apr 9th 2009 at 3:17AM

Oh sure, liquid cooling rigs are all the rage, but they aren't too useful within minuscule things like netbooks, MIDs and pocket projectors. The always churning minds over at Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft are already on the issue, recently conjuring up a new material designed to "efficiently dissipate heat even in devices with densely packed components and that can give increasingly miniaturized electronics a longer life." Researchers at the entity's Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research have teamed with gurus from Siemens and Plansee to create the substance as part of the EU project "ExtreMat." Unfortunately, details beyond that are few and far between, but given that demonstrations have reportedly "already been produced," we'd say it's well on its way to infiltrating things far smaller than your mind can grasp.

FSC Amilo Sa 3650 laptop and GraphicBooster tested, deemed flawed but synergistic

by Ross Miller posted Dec 24th 2008 at 12:34PM

Having already seen it run Crysis, we've been itching to know if Fujitsu Siemens' AMILO Sa 3650 laptop and GraphicBooster had any other tricks up their sleeves. The Notebookcheck crew ran the dynamic duo through some tests and found it to be an impressive pairing, although the laptop itself takes a few jabs for shoddy case design, stiff touchpad keys and an underperforming AMD processor. By its lonesome, the integrated ATI Radeon HD 3200 GPU is better than the usual Intel GMA fare, but the GraphicBooster and an external monitor puts this machine nearly on par with a decent desktop rig. Without that external monitor, however, the GraphicBooster only provides marginal improvements to the laptop's performance, due to limitations in the bandwidth connecting the add-on to the port. The second display is connected directly to the booster via DVI-I or HDMI. An asking price of 1300 Euros (US $1,810) seems a bit steep to us, but they say it's worth the premium, calling it an "unprecedented fusion of performance and mobility." Hit up the read link for a full analysis.

[Thanks, Jamil]

German labs set new mark for energy efficient white OLEDs

by Richard Lawler posted Nov 26th 2008 at 12:48AM

BASF and OSRAM ticked the OLED progress meter up one recently, with news out of Germany about new diodes that are both efficient (60 lumens per watt) and reproduce color accurately enough to meet international Energy Star standards. The most power sipping organic light-emitting diodes ever created they aren't, but the ability to keep their color under varying levels of intensity leads to the next step, producing stable deep-blue colored emitters for increased efficiency (100 lumens per watt or more) so they can start illuminating surfaces near you. Isn't it lucky, we know some folks in South Korea BASF might want to have a chat with.

[Via OLED-Info]

Video: Fujitsu Siemens' GraphicBooster plays Crysis, probably blends

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 18th 2008 at 5:19AM

Ah yes, one more item to tick off the yes it runs Crysis checklist: Fujitsu Siemens' GraphicBooster hooked up over PCI Express 2.0 to an AMILO Notebook Sa 3650. While ATI's XGP tech is pretty sweet, the Fujitsu Siemens GraphicsBooster implementation only works with the Sa 3650 laptop according to the spec sheet. Shame. For everyone else there's ASUS' ROG XG Station. Peep that 470% performance gain over the Sa 3650's Radeon HD3200 graphics in the video after the break.

[Thanks, Hero_p]

Continue reading Video: Fujitsu Siemens' GraphicBooster plays Crysis, probably blends

Fujitsu buys out Siemens' share of computing joint venture, logo designers rejoice

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 4th 2008 at 7:41AM

It's not the first, and certainly won't be the last, now Fujitsu Siemens Computers becomes the latest victim of corporate restructuring under the pressure of a global economic turn down. Fujitsu announced that it's acquiring beleaguered Siemens AG's 50 percent share of the joint venture for €450 million (about $580 million). The partnership established back in 1999 should be dissolved by April, assuming government approval naturally. Hey US, you're not the only country with a stake in today's presidential election -- oh you betcha.

Fujitsu Siemens ships world's first zero-watt monitor

by Darren Murph posted Aug 13th 2008 at 10:01AM

It's been a solid tick since we've seen a new monitor from Fujitsu Siemens, but apparently it's been spending a lot of time on its SCENICVIEW Premium Line ECO range. Announced today, the 20-inch P20W-5 ECO and the 22-inch P22W-5 ECO are being hailed as the planet's first to feature power supplies that "automatically switch off completely in power-save mode." The whole zero-watt bit comes from their ability to suck down precisely no power when not in use, while the majority of LCDs continue to draw slivers of energy even in standby. Furthermore, the new devices include the DisplayView AutoBright functionality, which automatically adjusts brightness "in harmony with ambient light" in order to net even greater power savings. Both screens are available now in Europe starting at €419 ($625), though 24- and 26-inch models are arriving next month.

[Via BIOS]

Siemens' Gigaset SE68 WiMAX ExpressCard arrives before the network

by Darren Murph posted Apr 9th 2008 at 1:28AM

Talk about putting the cart before the horse. Without a bona fide WiMAX network for mass consumer use up and running yet here in America, Siemens is making sure you're really ready for its onset by announcing its first WiMAX ExpressCard. The Gigaset SE68 WiMAX is based on the IEEE 802.16-2005 standard and complies with Wave 2 specifications (including MIMO A / B), supports beamforming and has actually been demonstrated as functional way over in Singapore. With a network in place, users can expect mobile broadband speeds of up to 20Mbps, and while no price is given, you can just circle the entire summer of 2008 in anticipation of its arrival.

Intel and Nokia working on seamless WiFi / WiMAX switchoffs

by Nilay Patel posted Feb 12th 2008 at 9:29PM

We've seen a lot of research and even some products that promise seamless WiFi / cell roaming, but Intel and Nokia are cooking up tech that might one day bring us true uninterrupted broadband connectivity, based on automatic undetectable switchovers from WiFi to WiMAX. Intel's posted up a brief video demoing the tech auto-switching without interrupting a video conferencing session on a laptop, but it's easy to imagine the potential application on a mobile phone or UMPC -- dare to dream after the break.

[Via DailyWireless]

Continue reading Intel and Nokia working on seamless WiFi / WiMAX switchoffs

Siemens developing call center voice-recognition software that determines age and gender

by Nilay Patel posted Nov 26th 2007 at 3:03PM

We're not certain why call center employees need even more reasons to treat customers condescendingly, but Siemens has announced that it's developing tech that will "intelligently" assign reps to callers based on determinations of age and gender. No word on how the system makes the determinations, but we're not going to be happy if we have to start doing Marilyn Monroe impressions just to get someone on the phone.

[Via The Raw Feed]

Siemens rolls out ultrasound-equipped MacBook Pro

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 26th 2007 at 11:39AM

We've seen MacBooks re-purposed for various uses in the past, but never quite like Siemens new "P50" laptop, which takes a standard issue (if slightly outdated) MacBook Pro and outfits it with some ultrasound equipment to accomodate doctors that just can't be tied down. Apparently designed specifically for cardiology and vascular applications, this one boasts an "array of transducers," along with an integrated stress echo function and a range of cardiology application packages which, Siemens says, "considerably simplifies and accelerates the workflow in echocardiography and vascular diagnosis." Mac fans may not want to boast too much about this one, however, as it seems that Siemens has opted to use Windows as a basis for the platform.

[Via The Raw Feed]

Fujitsu-Siemens' tests its design chops with the AMILO Si 2636

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 7th 2007 at 5:53AM

In an upmarket move, Fujitsu-Siemens just loosed this, their AMILO Si 2636 laptop onto the cafe-posing elite. Besides sporting an interesting orb of a touchpad, it's configurable with a 2.2GHz T7500 Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB DDR2 memory, and 250GB of 5400rpm SATA disk. The new 13.3-inch, 1,280 x 800 (WXGA) laptop features Intel GMA X3100 graphics, HDMI-out, an integrated 1.3 megapixel webcam, 4-in-1 card reader, slot loading 8x dual-layer DVD burner, and battery capable of up to 5-hours. They even combine one of the 3x USB ports with eSATA for attaching a bit of high-performance external disk action. It weighs in at 2.3-kg (5-pounds) and 36.6 ~ 37.4-mm thick. We're still waiting for pricing and availability to be announced.

Gallery: Fujitsu-Siemens' tests its design chops with the AMILO Si 2636

[Thanks, Joe]

Germany gearing up for maglev railway

by Darren Murph posted Sep 27th 2007 at 4:36AM

While folks living near Shanghai are already enjoying the luxuries of a maglev (magnetic levitation) railway, Germany is getting set to build a similar line to shuttle citizens from Munich's city center to its airport. The €1.85 billion ($2.61 billion) project is finally on track to become a reality after securing the necessary funding, and it should be able to whisk travelers around at nearly 310 miles-per-hour when it's complete. Sadly, there's no word as to when the Munich service will launch, but at least we're moving in the right direction, eh?

[Via Slashdot]