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iPad lands big in Japan, other foreign markets

The appeal of the Apple iPad is being tested overseas as it launches in nine countries Friday. Japan is one market where it is expected to have a special allure.

Two months after the start of U.S sales, Apple kicked off iPad sales in Japan, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Canada early Friday morning.

And in Japan, the world's second largest economy, it was launched with the kind of fanfare typically reserved for a new game machine from Nintendo.

Read the full story at Cnet News by Brooke Crothers



In Tokyo thousands of excited and sleep deprived gadget fans mobbed shops in Japan as Apple's iPad launches. Video courtesy of AFP.


Once again Apple fans lined up from the early hours, this time in Sydney to get their hands on the first iPads to be released Down Under. Video courtesy of The Daily Telegraph.


Early adopters like to show off and share their glossy new iPads, but one thing is rubbing people the wrong way: The 9.7" touchscreen is smudge-prone -- and no one likes a greasy gadget. WSJ's Nick Burns reports.

Beautiful Eco Friendly Homes for Sale in the UK

ECO HAB™ - ECO FRIENDLY HOMES

The Mission at EcoHab is to create an exciting and innovative range of high performing, energy efficient, Eco Friendly Homes, which offer the chance to achieve sustainable living at affordable prices.

Every step has been taken during the design and construction of our EcoPods to minimise the demand for and dependency on fossil fuels, and to incorporate energy saving features.eg:

• High level of thermal insulation giving an excellent overall U value
• Sealed Envelope (no air leakage)
• Hot air recovery ventilation
• Wood/ solid fuel burning stove (for use on colder days)
• Under floor heating
• Full recycling facility (5 separate waste chutes

On Grid - It can be connected as normal to mains electricity, water mains and local sewage piped network.

Off Grid - It uses its own renewable energy source technology such as solar hot water heaters, rainwater harvesting, Dry Toilet, Wind power, gas powered generator & battery power store (if needed) and many other green home products. Therefore allowing, the Eco-Hab to be used in remote sites without traditional power sources.

Other extras can include:

• Solar and/or PV panels
• Wind Turbine
• Seasonal Thermal storage tank
• Rainwater harvesting
• Composting toilet

The Eco-Hab, often refered to as Eco-Pod, which has just been showcased at the Grand design show is the brainchild of Aidan Quinn the Managing Director of Eco Hab Ltd. The innovative egg shaped, eco-home is set to revolutionise the concept of carbon zero housing.



The Eco-Hab doesn't have to be used as your main residance there are many other uses for these eco-friendly homes,
• Outdoor office
• Place to stay for guests & visiting family
• Used at campsites as luxcury accomodation
• Within schools as educational centers
• Within corporations as quiet or games rooms

For more details about the models of Eco-Habs available, please click here.

iPad in the international news

Apple is to delay the international release of its touchscreen tablet computer, the iPad, by one month.

It will now launch the device around the world, including the UK, at the end of May, and will begin accepting pre-orders on 10 May.

In a statement the company blamed demand for the device in the US, which it said had been "surprisingly strong". When the iPad launched in the US, 300,000 units were sold on its first day.

Continue reading the story at BBC News


Isreal bans the iPad in clash on wireless frequency standards

Israel has banned all imports of Apple's hottest new product, the iPad, citing concerns that its wireless frequencies are incompatible with national standards.

Customs officials said Thursday they already have confiscated about 10 iPads since Israel announced the new regulations this week.

Continue reading the full story at The Globe and Mail

Norway's Prime Minister is currently "managing the country" from New York via his new Apple iPad. That's quite a productivity commercial for the iPad.

The volcanic eruption in Iceland has lead to cancelled flights to and from Northern Europe today. According to Norwegian newspapers VG and Dagbladet, Norway's Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, is one of many who are affected. "Due to the delays, I'll be working from New York", Stoltenberg said in a comment.

Read the full story at Infosyncworld

Tomato pill 'beats heart disease'!

Scientists say a natural supplement made from tomatoes, taken daily, can stave off heart disease and strokes.

The tomato pill contains an active ingredient from the Mediterranean diet - lycopene - that blocks "bad" LDL cholesterol that can clog the arteries.

Ateronon, made by a biotechnology spin-out company of Cambridge University, is being launched as a dietary supplement and will be sold on the high street.

Read more about what the Experts said.

BBC: UK housewives rule in online time

A survey of more than 27,000 web users in 16 countries has shown that the Chinese spend the largest fraction of their leisure time online.

However, UK housewives spend even more than China's average - 47%. The study was conducted by global market information group TNS, which asked 27,522 people aged between 18 and 55 to answer questions about their web use and compared respondents' faith in traditional versus online media.

Read the full story BBC story

E-Passports Can Be Hacked and Cloned in Minutes

A computer researcher proved it by cloning the chips in two British passports and then implanting digital images of Osama bin Laden and a suicide bomber. Both passports passed as genuine by UN approved passport reader software. The entire process took less than an hour.

read more | digg story

Electric car shootout in London

WhatCar? Britain's Biggest and Best Car Buyer's Guide has a Electric car shootout in London. They review the NICE Mega City, the Smart ed, the Micro-Vett Fiat Doblo, and the Reva G-Wiz together for a group evaluation on the streets of London town to "...decide whether or not they do make a practical alternative to urban transport.".
Now before you start drooling these electric cars can currently be purchased in Europe and hopefully one day a broad spectrum of electric cars will be sold in the USA.


Even "Beautiful beaches and a perfect climate are not enough for the citizens of the South Pacific islands of Fiji. Apparently, they desire cars that are quiet and don't emit pollution as well. If the Korean electric vehicle maker, CT and T, gets its way, that desire will be fulfilled."

Mitsubishi plans to sell iMiEV electric car from 2010 to mid 2009 in Japan about 4 million yen or US $37,496. Sadly currently there are no plans to sell the car in the USA.

A very interesting looking car is the Opel Flextreme and the upcoming Volt will be badged as a Chevrolet or an Opel across "the pond has been decided. The first Euro-bound EV's from the General will be Opels, though we are not sure how much in common the vehicle will share with the Flextreme concept."

In an amusing statement Rick Wagoner, head of General Motors, at a recent conference in Dallas, Texas in response to why GM didn't begin offering hybrid cars earlier is because nobody wanted them. So next time you wonder why the American auto industry is doing poorly look no further then their upper management. Kudos' to Toyota on the foresight to build hybrid cars earlier. In frustration Hank and Joe built their own electric car rather then waiting on the big automakers. While these guys have actually made a working product there are no end of retarded gas saving devices for sale on the Internet that will not save any gas at all.

Last but not least BMW is planning sell 500 electric Minis coming to California.

Interesting news from Europe & USA

There have been a flurry of articles on the net this weekend and I am sure more will follow this week talking about the iPhone (part touch iPod and phone) that will start selling in the UK this Friday. The iPhone is going to do wonders for Apples bottom line and so far the iPhone has been a total success even though it's not selling overseas yet un-lockers have been shipping them to needy buyers. But that's not all Macintosh sales have seen a strong increase and that's good news all around. Those of us in the USA who travel can now enjoy the new AT&T international plan with rates starting as low as $25! 

What about those rude cell phone users doesn't it make you crazy the way they yell into their phone and then give you the evil eye for daring to look their way? Some people it seems lack the common sense to step out side or if that's not possible talk in a whisper. After all do we really need to know what outfit your wearing in the morning or what an idiot your boyfriend is? Well now there is a solution, however lets just say it's not legal but oh does it sound fun! 

Not only those who are developers might find the article "Why Cocoa Bloat is Nonsense" an interesting read. 

I am sure you have all had a chance to hear about how Leopard is a security risk because they have an open firewall. Well that's in part true ipfw only has one rule that allows all incoming traffic but then it routes that traffic to a new custom Apple firewall. So its a bit of a mystery as to why Apple went the custom route for their firewall but I am sure they will be forthcoming with details soon.

Asus is shipping the Eee PC starting at $399. This PC is running a custom Linux install that is said to be very simple for new computer users to learn. However the Eee PC seems to suffer from a lack a space to store your documents or even install new programs. The Eee PC is very small and light but still even if Im a new user I want room to grow. This weekend I know I saw an ad in the local news paper saying they were selling an Acer laptop with Windows Vista for $399 so I am not sure what the advantage of buying an Eee PC would be? I hear if you buy the Eee PC in bulk then the price drops to $199. I think Id save my money for a MacBook.