Power-guzzling TVs to be banned

Energy-hungry television sets will soon be banned across California in a landmark move by state legislators to reduce energy consumption.
The state will be the first in the US to impose a mandatory energy curb on TVs, an often-overlooked power drain.
Supporters say the move will help save California residents more than $8bn over 10 years in energy costs.
But some 25% of TVs currently on sale would not meet the minimum standards, an industry group in Virginia said.
The California Energy Commission will require that all new television sets up to 58 inches (147cm) be more energy efficient by 2011, consuming 33% less energy than current sets.
The standards will get even tougher in 2013, when regulators will require sets to be 50% more efficient.
"We have every confidence this industry will be able to meet the rule and then some," energy commissioner Julia Levin said.
"It will save consumers money, it will help protect public health and it will spark innovation."
Television usage currently accounts for 10% of home electricity use in California, according to the state's energy commission.
'Limit choice'
Environmental groups applauded the tougher standards, saying the new rules would help avoid the need for a new 500-megawatt power plant to be built and save nearly $1bn each year.
However, some consumer advocates and industry leaders opposed the move, saying it would limit consumer choice and increase the price of television sets.
"It could drive up costs," said Dave Arland, who represents the plasma television industry.
"The ones that are super energy efficient are the ones that are more pricey."
California has long pioneered environmental change, setting tough standards on everything from refrigerators to washing machines.
As a result, electricity use in the state has stayed level for nearly three decades, whereas it has risen elsewhere in the US. BBC News.bbc.co.uk

Sony Ericsson closes NC, other sites as HQ moves

By EMERY P. DALESIO (AP)
RALEIGH, N.C. — Cell phone handset maker Sony Ericsson will move its North American headquarters from North Carolina to Atlanta and close a half-dozen sites worldwide as it retrenches against what it expects will be a tighter market and cuts about 1,600 jobs globally.
The joint venture between Sweden's LM Ericsson and Japan's Sony Corp. will consolidate product development operations by closing sites in Research Triangle Park; Seattle; Miami; San Diego; Kista, Sweden; and Chennai, India, spokeswoman Stacy Doster said.
The site closures are new elements of a plan announced in April to cut worldwide staff of 10,000 by 20 percent at the joint venture between Sweden's LM Ericsson and Japan's Sony Corp., Doster said. About 400 jobs have been cut since then and about 1,600 remain to meet that goal by the middle of next year, she said.
The cost-cutting follows the loss of 2,000 jobs last year.
The 8-year-old company has about 425 workers left in Research Triangle Park after shedding hundreds of jobs in the past year. Operations include customer support, customers service, sales, finance and research and development.
Doster said she did not know how many were employed at other locations the company planned to close. She also did not know how many would be added in Atlanta when that site takes over North American headquarters functions.
"There's a project team looking at what makes sense in what areas of the business," Doster said. "We've got to figure all that out across the whole organization."
Atlanta was chosen in part because of its proximity to AT&T Inc., one of the company's largest customers, Doster said. The city also is desirable as a "gateway into Latin America" because of its international connections through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, she said.
Product development would be consolidated in Sony Ericsson operations in Redwood Shores, Calif.; Lund, Sweden; Tokyo; and Beijing, Doster said.
The company announced last month that its losses worsened to euro164 million ($245 million) amid falling sales in the third quarter, up from a euro25 million ($37.25 million) loss in the same period a year ago. Sales during the quarter dropped by more than 40 percent.
Sony Ericsson said its share of the global handset market came to around 5 percent in the third quarter, compared to 38 percent for market leader Nokia Corp.
-http://davidsradiotv2000.blogspot.com

Obama: Gunman in Fort Hood rampage to pay for crimes

Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:24pm EST

Continued from page one
Investigators tried to interview Hasan on Sunday at the military hospital where he was recovering from gunshots that subdued him during the attack but he invoked his right to speak to a lawyer, government officials said.
They declined to speculate about his possible motive.
The shootings took place at Fort Hood's crowded Soldiers Readiness Processing Center, where troops get medical checkups before deploying abroad. Authorities have decided to charge Hasan in a military court, officials said.
(Writing by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by John O'Callaghan
-http://harlemblogosphere.blogspot.com

Know What Google Knows About You with 'Dashboard'

11.05.09
by Brian Heater

That whole "don't be evil" thing is all well and good, but when a company's whole goal is cataloging the world's information, it would--at the very least--be nice to know what Google knows about you.
The company has just launched Dashboard, which aggregates the different information its gathered from 20 different Google products, including Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Web History, Orkut, YouTube, Picasa, Talk, Reader, Alerts, and Latitude.
You'll need to sign in to view your own personal information. Users can also edit account information from the page, such as privacy settings. Of course transparency doesn't mean that you can't still pat yourself on the back.The scale and level of detail of the Dashboard is unprecedented, and we're delighted to be the first Internet company to offer this--and we hope it will become the standard," Google said in a statement.

Originally posted to AppScout.