Truyo

Filed under: Sedan, Nissan, Reviews

Front-wheel drive is a funny thing. When originally introduced during the Thirties in the Cord 810 (then later in the awesome supercharged 812) and the Citroën Traction Avant, FWD was hailed as a major breakthrough, a wondrous technological innovation that allowed for lower ride height and greatly increased passenger space. Postwar consumers got a taste of the wonders of FWD with the iconic Citroën DS. At the top of its game in the Sixties, General Motors reintroduced FWD to American consumers with two remarkable luxury coupes: the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado and the 1967 Cadillac Eldorado. Come the Seventies, Citroën produced what is arguably the greatest GT coupe of that decade, the impeccable (and FWD) SM.

Roll the clock forward to the Eighties and suddenly everything was being tugged around by its front wheels. Honda, Toyota, Nissan, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler all jumped head first onto the FWD bandwagon and, for the most part, they haven't looked back. Granted, Cadillac has rethought which wheels get driven, but with the exception of a dinosaur livery-mobile, there isn't a single rear-wheel-drive Lincoln to be found. Even Volkswagen got in on the transversely-mounted engine madness. This left only the Germans - namely Mercedes-Benz and BMW - to seriously carry the rear-wheel drive passenger car torch for nearly a decade. Sure, Lexus and Infiniti brought out some heavy hitting RWD sedans along with a raft of FWD offerings (M30 I30, G20 anyone?), but Acura never bothered.

The average gearhead hates FWD for all the right reasons (weight distribution, steering feel, the front tires being asked to both propel and turn, etc.), and during a recent discussion we had with a half-in-the-bag PR guy, [NAME REDACTED] exclaimed, "Front-wheel drive sucks!" So, how can a technology go from the penthouse to the doghouse like that? One answer (of many) comes from the Minnesotan economist/social philosopher Thorstein Veblen and his book The Theory of the Leisure Class. Here's a quick, ten-cent Cliff Note version: When electric lighting first appeared, only the rich could afford electric lights. As such, electrically lit dinners were considered romantic and desirable. However, once electrification trickled down to the unwashed masses, only the rich could afford both bulbs and candles. Hence, candlelit dinners became en vogue. Which - believe it or not - leads us very nicely to the 2010 Nissan Maxima SV Sport and its $38,384 asking price.



Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2009 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Review: 2010 Nissan Maxima SV Sport is a lot of car for a lot of coin

Review: 2010 Nissan Maxima SV Sport is a lot of car for a lot of coin originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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On Friday, December 18, James Cameron’s Avatar hits theaters across the globe. With a nearly $500 million budget, groundbreaking special effects and 3D camera technologies, this is easily one of the most anticipated films of the year.

Fox has taken a pretty proactive social media approach to the film, utilizing technology and the web in unique ways like the augmented reality version of the trailer and a Facebook-powered live chat with MTV. Fox is also partnering with Ustream to broadcast the red carpet arrivals at Avatar’s world premiere on Wednesday, December 16, at 6:00 p.m. PST.

Ustream is becoming the de facto place for studios to broadcast live red carpet events. This fall alone, we’ve seen The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Michael Jackson’s This Is It and the American Music Awards pre-show.

If you want to catch the Avatar action, just head to Ustream.tv/avatar. You can watch the stars arrive and even ask questions that might get passed onto the cast and crew.

Video streaming by Ustream

Reviews: Facebook, ustream

Tags: avatar, premiere, red carpet, ustream

Read More... [Source: Mashable!]

Filed under: Fantasy, Dofus, Launches, MMO industry, News items, MMORTS

If you're a gamer looking for a tactical approach to MMOs, then you're pretty much going to want to play Dofus. Dofus is the MMO that takes a real-time strategy approach to combat, letting characters move in cells and conduct attacks in turns, very similar to the classic combat system of Final Fantasy Tactics.

Recently, the Dofus team has ripped open the packaging on Dofus 2.0, a huge update that gives the game improved graphics, new areas, gameplay, and much more. However, the update hasn't been released without a fair share of criticism. Ankama Games had made the decision to launch Dofus 2.0 while simultaneously keeping Dofus 1.26, the prior version, online on separate servers.

Continue reading Dofus opens their new version, Dofus 2.0, to simultaneous praise and worry

Dofus opens their new version, Dofus 2.0, to simultaneous praise and worry originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Presiding over the picturesque Vermont village of Manchester, The Equinox has played host to the well-heeled and well-traveled for nearly 250 years. Established in 1769, the archetypal grand old New England hotel has served as a meeting place for the fathers of the American Revolution and hosted American presidents including Taft, Grant, Harrison and Teddy Roosevelt. Now part of the Luxury Collection, the iconic 195-room resort recently underwent a $20 million restoration, adding luxury amenities, luxe accommodations, and a new restaurant and bar to update an American icon and uphold its legacy going forward.

Designer Geoffrey Bradfield was put in charge of the redecoration, and fitted out the new guestrooms with a muted palette of slate blue, dark brown and beige accented with hand-carved furniture. One wall of each guest room features a large black and white photograph of The Equinox from the early 1900's. Custom-made beds, marble vanities, dramatic floor length curtains and plush leather armchairs add the finishing touches. The lobby seating areas and library, both with fireplaces, have also been spruced up.

The Falcon Bar and Chop House are the new additions to the drinking and dining scene. The Falcon Bar features French doors opening onto a terrace with incredible mountain vistas and an open-air fire pit. Inside there's dark wood paneling and plush leather chairs, as well as an extensive collection of single malt Scotch and a comprehensive wine list. There's also a menu of locally sourced cheeses and gourmet chocolates. The Chop House, located at the original site of The Equinox House Hotel built by Franklin Orvis in 1853, features the original stone hearth and is designed in the manner of a refined hunter's lodge complementing the gourmet steak house fare. Leather banquettes and rugged palette are accented by old hardwood floors.

The adjacent Marsh Tavern, which has been the favorite watering hole of presidents since 1769, has been given a new menu of sophisticated, New England-style cuisine full of nostalgic flavors and simple, farm fresh ingredients. The bar specializes in an extensive selection of beers and ales and features snacks such as pretzels served with Raye's Mustard from Maine, the last stone ground mustard mill in the country. And of course there's lots to do besides eating and drinking: the indoor pool and spa, for starters.

The Equinox also offers the ultimate outdoor Vermont adventure experience with a variety of activities such as golf, falconry, archery, fly-fishing, shooting and Land Rover off-road driving. You can spend your morning maneuvering a Land Rover on rough terrain, midday practice your aim with recurve bows on the archery field, play golf on the lush course, and in the afternoon try field hunting alongside a majestic hawk, with some of the country's most scenic vistas as a backdrop.

Filed under: Journeys, The Classicist

The Classicist: The Equinox, Updating An American Icon in Vermont originally appeared on Luxist on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Actually, according to the EA press release we just received, the demo for Army of Two: The 40th Day will be released in significantly less than 40 days. It'll arrive on the PSN and Xbox Live Marketplace on December 17, and the PSP demo will drop on January 7 (January 14 in Europe). The preview will allow players to get a sneak peek at most of the game's first level, which takes place in Shanghai -- but you know what? None of that is important. What is important is seen in the trailer for the demo, which we've posted above.

Now, jump to a little bit before the halfway mark, and keep an eye out for the strange interaction between the game's two beefy protagonists. What is that? It's like ... the future of fist-bumping technology. The forearm-bump. More subtle, yet still triumphant. Less aggressive, but still dripping with bravado. An alternative manly salutation or congratulation for the gentleman's mercenary. Study the technique, friends. This thing's gonna catch on like wildfire.

Army of Two: The 40th Day demo coming in less than 40 days originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read More... [Source: Joystiq [PlayStation]]

By placing electrode grids inside patients' skulls, researchers at the Mayo Clinic have created a way for people to type words using only their brainwaves. It's a major breakthrough for brain-computer interface research.

The experiments were undertaken on patients who already had electrodes in their brain to monitor epilepsy. Readings were taken via electrocorticography (ECoG), as the subjects were shown a grid of letters and numbers. As each symbol was illuminated, the patient was told to focus on the letter or number, and data was recorded. Once this calibration data was taken, the patients would think of a letter or number, and their brain waves would be appropriately translated to the screen. The theory is that this technique will allow people to communicate and type far more easily when they suffer from Lou Gehrig's disease, MS, or paralysis.

The lead scientist on the project, Dr. Jerry Shih, says the program is able to perform near or at 100% accuracy for the patients. While this isn't far from the results from studies using non-invasive EEG, Shih believes that ECoG has advantages, as the scalp and skull distort the information coming from the brain, which means that ECoG has potential to be faster and more accurate. Shih also said that with EEG, "the accuracy isn't terribly great, and it takes a long time for the computer system to learn an individual's brain signals and to correctly interpret."

It is early days yet, and there are still numerous hurdles for the research. The initial study was only with two patients, but they're now on to the sixth, with plans for a wider study, to ensure that this technique is universally applicable. Shih's system does require a craniotomy, which is not a surgery to be taken on a whim; and an interpreter device is required, which must be tuned to an individual user. There is also the fact that EEG based interfaces don't require the invasive surgery, and are similarly accurate, even if they are slower and not quite as precise. So in terms of market adoption, the implant is at a disadvantage. Most people would be willing to deal with the speed loss to avoid dangerous procedures.

Shih is currently working on ensuring the method's effectiveness. He believes it could be used for controlling prosthetics as well as typing. It could also possibly be trained with images instead of letters. Imagine an item, and an image or word for it would appear on your screen.

The device could be available in as little as 5-10 years.

It's just a matter of time before this technology filters down from medical to elective, and we can all live out our cyberpunk dreams of plugging our brains directly into a computer.

Via American Epilepsy Society and Mayo Clinic

Read More... [Source: Gizmodo: top]

Filed under: Gadling's Daily Deal

Here are the hottest gear deals for today, Monday December 14th 2009. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.

Today's first deal is for another price drop on the Ultimate Ears Metro.fi 200 noise isolating headphones. These high quality earbuds normally retail for $80, but are currently on sale through buy.com for just $19.99, with free shipping. Click here for this deal.

Over at Sierra Snowboard, you'll find over 90 different backpacks on sale for just $9.99. The assortment is bound to have something for everyone. Click here for this deal.

Next up is the GoGroove "hybrid" iPod/iPhone solar charging case/speaker. Pretty wacky looking gadget, but essentially you are getting a solar/AC/USB charger with a built in speaker. Yours for $29.99. Click here for this deal.

And finally in today's lineup, if you'd like a stocking stuffer for a kid, that can also help bring you some peace and quiet, then check out the Kidz Gear headphones. They are designed to fit children 2 and up. Click here for this deal.

Daily gear deals - $20 noise isolating headphones, $10 backpacks and more originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Computers, Breaking News

You can't beat free online e-mail. You want a different e-mail address for every day of the week? You got it. Need separate accounts for those sites you just know are going to spam you like there's no tomorrow? No problem.

No problem, that is, until those sites go down, which is exactly what happened to Microsoft yesterday. Most users of the company's Windows Live suite of tools, which includes the free online e-mail client Hotmail, were unable to access the site for much of the day, leaving them with no way to look at all of their spam.

The outage was total, leaving the service's 260 million subscribers with nothing but a "Service Unavailable" message when they attempted to view the site.

Today, we're happy to report, things seem to be back up and working correctly -- if a bit slowly. Spam ahoy.

From CNET News.com

Related Links:

• Microsoft Office Served Up On the Web
• Gmail Overhaul On the Way?
• The Hitman Spam Scam

Hotmail and Other Windows Live Services Suffer Outage originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Enterprise, Developer, iPhone

Developers are learning that iPhone users want sophistication and features in their apps, not watered-down functionality. A report in GigaOM shows that not only are companies finding that slimmer isn't better when it comes to apps, but that one company is actually changing their business model based on what they found out about how iPhone users were using their app.

Travel search service Kayak based its first iPhone offering on the assumption that a mobile user would most likely use the app if her flight had been canceled and she needed a replacement reservation. As a result, the initial app didn't have features like flexible date search.

While the Kayak app [free, iTunes link] was very successful for the company, with over 600,000 downloads since February now accounting for 5% of Kayak's search volume, users demanded the full functionality that they found on the company's website.

Kayak went back to the drawing board and recently released version 2.0 of the app, with some major improvements. However, since Kayak is a search engine, iPhone users still end up being pushed to other travel websites, which means that they have to put up with tiny renditions of full pages and non-loading Flash sites. This "concierge" model obviously needed some work for the iPhone client.

The growing movement towards iPhones and other handheld devices becoming laptop replacements has forced a change in Kayak's business model. In 2010, Kayak will introduce an iPhone-friendly wallet system that will give users the chance to book travel from their devices. That wallet will save credit card, frequent flier, and flight preference information. Kayak will use the wallet to enter data into travel provider sites, and then send the users an alert when the booking has been completed. This change, forced by the growing use of iPhones, will most likely be reflected on the main Kayak website as well.

Do you know of any other companies that have had to change their business model because of the success of the iPhone? We'd like to know -- please leave a comment below.

TUAWKayak's business model upended by iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read More... [Source: The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)]

If you were looking for just one more reason to ditch Sprint then this could be it. A CDMA-flavored Palm Pixi just cleared the FCC -- yes, another one -- and we can say with confidence it's not coming to Sprint this time around. Better yet, Palm's model P121EWW matches up with that P121 code we saw leaked a while back for Big Red (Sprint's model is P120EWW), and this sucker got tested for 802.11b/g WiFi. Looks like that Sprint ad touting the Pixi's non-existent WiFi was more than just wishful thinking. With webOS-powered Palm gear already confirmed on Verizon for "early next year," are you really going to make the jump to a WiFi-less Pixi on Sprint knowing what's on the way? And more importantly, can we expect another terrifying series of ads targeting Sprint this time instead of AT&T?

Palm Pixi clears FCC with Verizon frequencies and WiFi in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 12:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read More... [Source: Engadget]