Toshiba developed the SCiB to meet a series of demanding performance and safety criteria. By successfully employing lithium titanate oxide in the anode, Toshiba has assured that the SCiB offers high level operating safety, a long life and rapid charging. The use of lithium titanate oxide also significantly reduces the possibility of a puncture in the separator between the anode and cathode, so minimizing the risk of them coming contact into and short circuiting, and maintains battery performance levels even in severe operating conditions, including very low temperatures.

The SCiB pushes the life of the lithium-ion battery to a new level by supporting 2.5 times more charge/discharge cycles than a typical lithium-ion battery. Recharging is also notably better. Charged with the highest current available with CHAdeMO, widely seen as the emerging standard for fast charging EV, an SCiB reaches about 80 percent of full capacity in some 15 minutes, about 50% in 10 minutes and about 25% in 5 minutes – half the times of a typical lithium-ion battery charged under the same conditions. The SCiB also generates little heat while recharging, eliminating the need for power to cool the battery module.

Most important of all for real-world application, the SCiB delivers high level performance. The SCiB offers a higher effective capacity than a typical lithium-ion battery, in that more of the stored charge can be used safely before recharging the battery. This, combined with highly efficient regenerative charging during braking or coasting downhill, allows the SCiB to deliver 1.7 times the driving distance per level of charge of a typical lithium-ion battery. This will allow for installation of smaller battery modules in vehicles and contribute to lower EV prices. The SCiB also offers high level performance in a wide range of temperatures, and continues to support rapid charging and excellent power output at temperatures as low as -30ºC.

The SCiB for Mitsubishi‘s new EV will be manufactured at Toshiba’s Kashiwazaki Operations in Niigata prefecture, northwest Japan, a new facility dedicated to production of SCiB that came on line in February this year. Toshiba will seek to establish a plant operating structure able to respond quickly to market growth as the basis for expanding the SCiB business for EV, including hybrid and plug-in hybrid EVs.

As the automotive industry responds to concerns about global warming by developing a new generation of environmentally friendly EV, Toshiba is promoting advances in essential automotive technologies, from dedicated on-board control systems to batteries and Intelligent Traffic Systems. In automotive-related power electronics technologies, Toshiba is targeting net sales of 800 billion yen (approx. US$10 billion) by fiscal year 2015 from its concentration on motors, inverters and SCiB.

Researchers at Tufts University announced Sunday they’ve created an electrical motor many thousands of times smaller than the width of a single human hair, a breakthrough they claim could eventually lead to innovations in healthcare and technology.

The microscopic motor is the size of a single molecule and is electrically charged, an innovative feat since previous single-molecule-sized motors were powered by chemicals or light.

The distinction is important. With a light or chemically charged motor, scientists struggle with precision in adding chemicals to a clump of trillions of molecules. In that scenario, the practicality of charging the motors decreases.

With the Tufts research, though, a team led by Associate Professor in Chemistry Charles Sykes found that electricity could be used with precision and accuracy to control a single molecule, even when additional molecules sat just a nanometer away.

The team says the ability to control a single-molecule motor could lead to innovations in more precise medical and engineering technology and could lead to tinier, advanced digital devices.

“An interesting thing would be to get this into opto electronics, where you are interfacing light with electronics. With the tiny chargers on the motors, you have a tiny rotating motor and you could create something that would give off light, or a tiny microwave generator or tiny antenna,” Sykes told TechNewsWorld.

from technewsworld …

Sony Tablets with Android OS deliver the perfect combination of hardware, content and network with seamless usability for a quality, engaging entertainment experience. Based on decades of engineering heritage, Sony is developing two Android Tablets with unprecedented design, including the Sony S1 tablet which is optimized for rich media entertainment and the Sony S2 tablet hich is ideal for mobile communication and entertainment.

Sony Tablets are equipped with the latest Google Android 3.0 software which is designed and optimized for tablets. Both Sony Android Tablets are Wi-Fi and WAN (3G/4G) compatible and Sony tablet users can not only browse the internet or check e-mail but they can also smoothly access digital content including videos, games and books through Sony’s premium network services and more, on-the-go at any time.

Sony S1 Android Tablet has a 9.4-inch display for enjoying the web and rich content on a large screen. Its off-center of gravity design realizes stability and ease of grip as well as a sense of stability and lightness, offering comfortable use for hours. The Sony S2 Android Tablet has two 5.5-inch displays that can be folded for easy portability. In contrast to existing tablets, its unprecedented dual screen presentation and usability allows its displays to be combined and used as a large screen or for different functions such as playing video on one screen while showing control buttons on the other.

Sony’s knowhow for combining hardware and software, ?Sony Android Tablets? realizes optimal usability and performance. Because of Sony’s rapid response technologies, users can perform smooth, quick touch-screen operations and enjoy fast and efficient website loading. The keyboard arrangement is also optimized for the large screen, making email and SNS communication a breeze.

Sony Tablets can control home entertainment devices as well as enjoy content in new ways. The Sony S1 tablet uses infrared technology and works as universal remote controls for a variety of AV devices starting with Bravia. Users can perform functions like turning on their TVs, changing the channel and adjusting the volume. Also, through DLNA functionality on Sony Tablets, users can throw personal content to large screen televisions or music to wireless speakers.

Several factors have combined to make the iPhone’s and iPad’s operating system into what is arguably the most secure commercial OS — desktop or mobile!!!!!!!

• A sandbox isolates programs, and iOS’s memory organization makes exploitation more difficult.
• Applications that run on the iOS are vetted by Apple and can be removed if found to be malicious.
• Patches can be quickly applied to the iPhone and iPad to close security holes in the operating system.
• The software is regularly reviewed, especially its open source components.
• The platform has the advantage of attacker psychology — attackers still target smartphones far less than desktop systems.

Better security with every version
Although iOS had a rocky start in terms of software security, the platform quickly gained a rounded set of security features.

iOS 4, the latest version of iOS, includes ASLR, DEP, a sandbox, and code signing. By comparison, Mac OS X has limited application-dependent sandboxing and no code signing, and it only partially implements ASLR. Microsoft’s Windows 7 has DEP and ASLR, but code signing is limited to drivers and sandboxing is dependent on the application.

iOS also compares well against its competitors in the mobile space. Google’s Android does not have DEP or ASLR, but it does have a strong sandbox and code signing, says Kevin Mahaffey, CTO for mobile security firm Lookout. Research in Motion’s BlackBerry OS lacks all but sandboxing. “They all have really good sandboxes in terms on what limits are put on what code can do,” Mahaffey says.

Although the inclusion of ASLR and DEP seemingly puts Apple ahead in design, it lacks an advanced feature that helps lock down both Google’s Android and RIM’s BlackBerry: granular privilege controls. Requiring applications to get specific permissions to access data on the phone can bolster security significantly, Mahaffey says.

The security is in the app store
It’s not surprising, then, that security professionals pointed not to Apple’s design but to the company’s gated App Store and its required code review before publishing as a major security advantage. “The closed ecosystem makes the model pretty safe,” says Trend Micro’s Genes. “It is not because the iOS is completely safe. From a system design standpoint, Android is safer.”

Although security experts question the quality of the review performed by Apple’s team — the company is not transparent about its process — Apple does seem to catch most of the bad actors, says Accuvant’s Miller. “If you are completely security-clueless, you can still download every app out there and be fairly safe,” he says.

But Apple doesn’t catch all the bad apps. Lookout’s Mahaffey points to the Handy Light incident as an example of the ability of applications to slip by Apple’s review. In 2010, Apple pulled the flashlight app after it was discovered that hidden features allowed tethering, where a user could connect to the Internet through the phone’s network. While the hidden functionality was not malicious for the user, it did undermine AT&T’s own service for allowing network access and underscored that hidden, and potentially malicious, functions could get by Apple’s review.

Dell XPS 15z also comes with Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11, 2 USB 3.0 ports, eSATA/USB port,9-in-1 card reader, HDMI DVD writer, 1.3 MP camera with dual array digital microphone, Stage User Interface, optimized multi-touchpad, Intel Wi-Di, and stereo speakers.

Dell XPS 15z Core i5 version will come with 500 GB HDD and 4 GB RAM for the price tag of Rs 69,900, on the other hand the Core i7 version will come with 750 GB HDD and 8 GB RAM for the price tag of Rs 80,900.

But Chinese shipbuilders are expected to produce a 60,000 ton carrier that is double the size of Viraat, and also equip themselves with the capability to churn out more such vessels in a short space of time. India is expected to welcome the INS Vikramaditya (formerly Admiral Gorshkov) in 2013, after several delays.

The news caused a stir in the naval world soon after the Hong Kong Commercial Daily published a report quoting Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army, as saying the 300 -metre carrier ” is being built, but it has not been completed.”

The paper said Chen didn’t give details of the carrier, originally called Varyag, which is currently based in the northeast port city of Dalian. But it quoted an anonymous source as saying it would become operational in June end.

” All of the great nations in the world own aircraft carriers – they are symbols of a great nation,” the paper quoted Qi Jianguo, assistant to the chief of the PLA’s general staff, as saying. But Qi and other Chinese defence experts hastened to counter the suspicion in countries like India, Japan and South Korea – that have territorial disputes with China – that it is a reflection of China’s military ambitions. The 60,000 ton carrier would not try to venture far outside China because the country favoured a defensive military strategy, they said.

The timing of the announcement is significant. It comes ahead of Chinese president Hu Jintao’s visit to Russia and in the midst of a warming of relationship between the PLA and the US military in recent weeks. ” China should at least be on the same level as other permanent members of the UN Security Council who have carriers,” General Xu Guangyu said.

DRAGON POWER

Chinese shipbuilders are expected to produce a 60,000 ton carrier – double the size of INS Viraat Chinese will also equip themselves with the capability to churn out more such vessels in a short space of time The carrier, originally called Varyag, will become operational by June end

The surface to surface missile with range of 350 km was test-fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea in Balasore district, about 230 km from here, as part of user trial.

Prithvi is India’s first indigenously built ballistic missile. It is one of the five missiles being developed under country’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.

Facebook is embroiled in another privacy controversy after it quietly switched on technology that automatically identifies people in photos.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg Photo: REUTERS/Norbert von der Groeben

By Christopher Williams, Technology Correspondent

12:05PM BST 08 Jun 2011

http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/follow_button.html?show_screen_name=false&show_count=true&screen_name=#!/cg_williams 

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The “Tag Suggestions” system uses facial recognition software to identify individals as photos are uploaded, and then encourages their friends to tag them so that others can easily access the images.

Facebook originally began testing Tag Suggestions in the US only, in December, but has now extended it to “most” of the dominant social network’s 600 million users worldwide without notice.

“Yet again, it feels like Facebook is eroding the online privacy of its users by stealth,” said Graham Cluley, of the British internet security firm Sophos.

“Many people feel distinctly uncomfortable about a site like Facebook learning what they look like, and using that information without their permission.”

Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington DC, criticised the way Facebook had opted users into its facial recognition system by default.

“I’m not sure that’s the setting that people would want to choose. A better option would be to let people opt in,” he said.

Facebook has frequently pushed its users to reveal more online by implementing new features by default. Facebook Places, a location-based service launched last year, broadcasts some information about users unless they explicitly tell it not to, for example.

Following the criticism of Tag Suggestions, Facebook said “we should have been more clear with people during the roll-out process when this became available to them”.

It added that the facial recognition technology would only be applied to newly-uploaded photos.

Users can disable the feature by turning off the “suggest photos of me to friends” option on their Privacy Settings page.

Facebook has previously faced criticism for the complexity of it its privacy settings and following yet another privacy controversy in May last year Mark Zuckerberg, its CEO, pledged to make them simpler.

It has been reported that four engineering students from Bangalore have developed a diesel bike that gives a mileage of 110km/liter which is a mammoth task considering that the world’s best brains are working on the same goal. It was reported that the young students from the M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology took the challenge of developing a two wheeler diesel engine with automatic gear and automatic clutch and have successfully carried out the project.

The reports state that the students were given direction by their project guide Dr. S V Prakash and four mechanical engineering students namely Naveen V V, Tony Paul, Nadeem Anwar and Sanjay Bhushan decided develop a diesel-run two-wheeler as our final year project. Their work was not easy and they had to fit a Bullet engine to Kinetic Blaze and they also had to do a lot of alterations. While spending four months on the project with various workshops in Bangalore and Coimbatore, they reduced 325cc engine to 200cc, flywheel weight reduced to 7kg and power reduced to 3.5 hp from 6.5 hp apart from many other alteration works. “We have spent almost 72 thousand on the production of this prototype and with mass production, the cost would be around 55 to 60 thousand,” said Nadeem Anwar, a member of the team. Naveen V V said Bikes that run on diesel are rare. So we decided to develop a diesel-run two-wheeler as our final year project. As far as we know, we are the first in the country to come up with a diesel-engined two-wheeler with automatic gears and automatic clutch.”

The reports quoted another team member Sanjay Bhushan as saying that it took them only four months to complete the bike. “The automatic gear and automatic clutch work smoothly, making it easy to ride in the traffic,” he said.

It was mentioned that the highlight of the innovative work is that it gives a mileage of 110km/liter and it reduces travel expense to a great degree as diesel engine runs at 40 paise per km and petrol engine runs at 1.70 per km. The vehicle offers a smooth ride with automatic gear and clutches and is less polluting compared with other diesel-engine vehicles. In addition, the life of a diesel engine is generally about twice as long as that of a petrol engine.

Dr. S V Prakash, the project guide who has been a great help to the young students to materialize their dream project, said India’s largest engineering and construction conglomerate ‘Kirloskar Group’ has shown interest in the technology and has offered to further assistance to the project. He also said “The engine is capable of producing better torque as compared to other diesel engines and the bike gives a mileage of around 110 kmpl”.