Microsoft Surface

Microsoft Surface (Codename: Milan), is a forthcoming Multi-touch product from Microsoft which is developed as a software and hardware combination technology that allows a user, or multiple users, to manipulate digital content by the use of natural motions, hand gestures, or physical objects. It was announced on May 29, 2007 at D5 conference, and is expected to be released by commercial partners in spring 2008. Initial customers will be in the hospitality businesses, such as restaurants, hotels, retail, and public entertainment venues.

Overview
Surface is essentially a Windows Vista PC tucked inside a table, topped with a 30-inch reflective surface in a clear acrylic frame. A projector underneath the surface projects an image onto its underside, while five cameras in the machine's housing record reflections of infrared light from human fingertips. The camera can also recognize objects placed on the surface if those objects have specially-designed "tags" applied to them. Users can interact with the machine by touching or dragging their fingertips and objects such as paintbrushes across the screen, or by placing and moving tagged objects.
Surface has been optimized to respond to 52 touches at a time. During a demonstration with a reporter, Mark Bolger, the Surface Computing group's marketing director, "dipped" his finger in an on-screen paint palette, then dragged it across the screen to draw a smiley face. Then he used all 10 fingers at once to give the face a full head of hair.
In addition to recognizing finger movements, Microsoft Surface can also identify physical objects. Microsoft says that when a diner sets down a wine glass, for example, the table can automatically offer additional wine choices tailored to the dinner being eaten.
Prices will reportedly be $5,000 to $10,000 per unit. However Microsoft said it expects prices to drop enough to make consumer versions feasible in 3 to 5 years.
The machines, which Microsoft debuted May 30, 2007 at a technology conference in Carlsbad, California, were set to arrive in November 2007 in T-Mobile USA stores and properties owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. But with delays in developing custom applications for each of the partners, it will take until spring 2008 before the machines start showing up at these locations.

History
The technology behind Surface is called Multi-touch. It has at least a 25-year history, beginning in 1982, with pioneering work being done at the University of Toronto (multi-touch tablets) and Bell Labs (multi-touch screens). The product idea for Surface was initially conceptualized in 2001 by Steven Bathiche of Microsoft Hardware and Andy Wilson of Microsoft Research. In October 2001, a virtual team was formed with Bathiche and Wilson as key members, to bring the idea to the next stage of development.
In 2003, the team presented the idea to the Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, in a group review. Later, the virtual team was expanded and a prototype nicknamed T1 was produced within a month. The prototype was based on an IKEA table with a hole cut in the top and a sheet of architect vellum used as a diffuser. The team also developed some applications, including pinball, a photo browser and a video puzzle. Over the next year, Microsoft built more than 85 early prototypes for Surface. The final hardware design was completed in 2005.
A similar concept was used in the 2002 Science Fiction movie Minority Report and in the 2005 Science Fiction movie The Island, by Sean Bean's character "Merrick". As noted in the DVD commentary, the director Michael Bay stated the concept of the device came from consultation with Microsoft during the making of the movie. One of the film's technology consultant's associates from MIT later joined Microsoft to work on the Surface project.
Surface was unveiled by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on May 30, 2007 at The Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, California. Surface Computing is part of Microsoft's Productivity and Extended Consumer Experiences Group, which is within the Entertainment & Devices division. The first few companies to deploy Surface will include Harrah's Entertainment, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, T-Mobile and a distributor, International Game Technology.

Features
Microsoft notes four main components being important in Surface's interface: direct interaction, multi-touch contact, a multi-user experience, and object recognition.
Direct interaction refers to the user's ability to simply reach out and touch the interface of an application in order to interact with it, without the need for a mouse or keyboard. Multi-touch contact refers to the ability to have multiple contact points with an interface, unlike with a mouse, where there is only one cursor. Multi-user is a benefit of multi-touch -- several people can orient themselves on different sides of the surface to interact with an application simultaneously. Object recognition refers to the device's ability to recognize the presence and orientation of tagged objects placed on top of it.
The technology allows non-digital objects to be used as input devices. In one example, a normal paint brush was used to create a digital painting in the software. This is made possible by the fact that, in using cameras for input, the system does not rely on restrictive properties required of conventional touchscreen or touchpad devices such as the capacitance, electrical resistance, or temperature of the tool used (see Touchscreen).
The computer's "vision" is created by a near-infrared, 850-nanometer-wavelength LED light source aimed at the surface. When an object touches the tabletop, the light is reflected to multiple infrared cameras with a net resolution of 1280 x 960, allowing it to sense, and react to items touching the tabletop.
Surface will ship with basic applications, including photos, music, virtual concierge, and games, that can be customized for the customers.

Specifications
Surface is a 30-inch (76 cm) display in a table-like form factor, 22 inches (56 cm) high, 21 inches (53 cm) deep, and 42 inches (107 cm) wide. . The Surface tabletop is acrylic, and its interior frame is powder-coated steel. The software platform runs on Windows Vista and has wired Ethernet 10/100, wireless 802.11 b/g, and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity.

Dow SafeTouch Fiberglass

SAFETOUCH Fiberglass-Free Insulation has the same insulating properties as fiberglass. In fact, it even looks the same as traditional insulation. But that's where the similarities end. SAFETOUCH is manufactured from the same type of fibers used to make clothing and bedding, so it's not irritating to bare skin. It has no formaldehyde binders, no acrylic binders and no borates, which are found in most other traditional insulation products, SAFETOUCH Fiberglass-Free Insulation is better for your family and for the environment.

A well insulated home is good for your bank account and the planet. Everyone knows that replacing older insulation or adding insulation can save money and energy. The problem for do-it-yourselfers has always been the installation. For most homeowners, the notion of doing an insulation project is just too itchy, dusty and troublesome. But SAFETOUCH Fiberglass-Free Insulation was specifically designed for the DIYer to be free of these problems. It's so easy to use just about anyone can create a more comfortable and energy efficient home.

Samsung Solid State Drive

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A solid state drive (SSD) is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data. Hardware RAM disks are also known as ramdrives. An SSD emulates a conventional hard disk drive, thus easily replacing it in any application.
The original usage of the term solid state (from solid state physics) refers to the use of semiconductor devices rather than electron tubes, but has in this context been adopted to distinguish solid-state electronics from electromechanical devices as well. With no moving parts, a solid state drive is usually more robust, effectively eliminating the risk of mechanical failure, usually silent, and usually enjoys reduced seek time and latency by removing mechanical delays associated with a conventional hard disk drive.

Architecture and function
An SSD is commonly composed of either NAND flash non-volatile memory or SDRAM volatile memory.
SSDs based on volatile memory such as SDRAM and DRAM are characterized by fast data access, less than 0.01 milliseconds (over 250 times faster than the fastest hard drives in 2004) and are used primarily to accelerate applications that would otherwise be held back by the latency of disk drives. DRAM-based SSDs typically incorporate internal battery and backup disk systems to ensure data persistence. If power is lost for whatever reason, the battery would keep the unit powered long enough to copy all data from random access memory (RAM) to backup disk. Upon the restoration of power, data is copied back from backup disk to RAM and the SSD resumes normal operation.
However, most SSD manufacturers use nonvolatile flash memory to create more rugged and compact alternatives to DRAM-based SSDs. These flash memory-based SSDs, also known as flash drives, do not require batteries, allowing makers to replicate standard disk drive form factors (1.8-inch, 2.5-inch, and 3.5-inch). In addition, non-volatility allows flash SSDs to retain memory even during sudden power outages, ensuring data retrievability. Though flash SSDs are significantly slower than DRAM, they still perform excellently when compared to traditional hard drives. Indeed, flash SSDS have no moving parts, eliminating seek time, latency and other electro-mechanical delays inherent in conventional disks. Solid state drives are especially useful on a computer that has already come with maximum amount of RAM. For example, some computer systems built on the x86-32 architecture can effectively be extended beyond the 4 GB limit by putting the paging file or swap file on an SSD. These SSDs do not provide as fast storage as main RAM because of the bandwidth bottleneck of the bus they connect to, but would still provide a performance increase over placing the swap file on a traditional hard disk drive.
DRAM based SSDs may also work like a buffer cache mechanism. Whenever data is written to memory, the corresponding block in memory is marked as dirty and all dirty blocks can be flushed to the actual hard drive based on the following two strategies:
Time (e.g. every 10 seconds, flush all dirty data),
Threshold (when the ratio of dirty data to SSD size exceeds some predetermined value, flush the dirty data).
Modern models carry lithium-ion batteries as backup in case of a power outage or transfer to another computer.

Compared with hard disk drives (HDDs)
Advantages
Faster startup - as no spin-up is required.
Faster random access - since there is no read/write head to move.
Extremely low read and write latency times - SSDs seek times are orders of magnitude smaller than the best current hard disk drives..
Faster boot and application launch time - provided hard disk seeks are the limiting factor, see Amdahl's law.
Lower power consumption and heat production - at least for small SSDs. High-end SSDs and SSDs larger than 64GB may have a much higher power consumption.
No noise - Lack of moving parts makes the SSD completely silent, although high-end SSDs and large SSDs may include cooling fans.
High mechanical reliability - Lack of moving parts almost eliminates the risk of mechanical failure.
High level of ability to endure extreme shock, high altitude, vibration and temperatures - SSDs are tougher than traditional hard drives . This features are useful for laptops, mobile computers, and devices that operate in extreme conditions.
Relatively deterministic performance - unlike hard disk drives, performance of SSDs is almost constant and deterministic across the entire storage. This is because seek time can be constant, so fragmentation has less impact on performance than on physical drives.
For low-capacity SSDs, lower weight and size - size and weight per unit storage are still better for traditional hard drives, and microdrives allow up to 20 GB storage in a CompactFlash 42.8?36.4?5 mm (1.7?1.4?.2 in) form factor. Up to 64GB, SSD is lighter than Hard drive for the same size.
Disadvantages
Price - as of early 2008, flash memory prices are still considerably higher per gigabyte than those of comparable conventional hard drives - around US$15 per GB compared to typically less than US$1 for mechanical drives.
Capacity - though currently far lower than that of conventional hard drives, SSD capacity is set to increase rapidly. At CES 2008, BiTMICRO Networks announced the release of SSD drives with capacities of up to 832GB, for release in Q3 2008. On February 5, 2008, BiTMICRO Networks announced that they had managed to pack a record-breaking 1.6 TB into a 3.5" SSD, the E-Disk Altima E3S320.
Higher vulnerability to certain types of effects, including abrupt power loss (especially DRAM based SSDs), magnetic fields and electric/static charges compared to normal HDDs (which store the data inside a Faraday cage).
Limited write cycles - typical Flash storage will typically wear out after 300,000-500,000 write cycles, while high endurance Flash storage is often marketed with endurance of 1-5 million write cycles (many log files, file allocation tables, and other commonly used parts of the file system exceed this over the lifetime of a computer). Special file systems or firmware designs can mitigate this problem by spreading writes over the entire device (so-called wear levelling), rather than rewriting files in place. An example for the life time of SSD is explained in detail here.
Slow random write speeds - as erase blocks on SSDs generally are quite large, they're far slower than conventional disks for random writes.

History of the solid state drive
In 1978 the company StorageTek developed the first solid-state disk. In the mid 1980s the company Santa Clara Systems introduced BatRam, an array of 1 megabit DIP RAM Chips and a custom controller card that emulated a hard drive. The package included a rechargeable battery to preserve the memory chip contents when the power was off.
RAM disks were popular as boot media in the 1980s, when hard drives were expensive, floppy drives were slow, and a few systems, such as the Amiga series and the Apple IIgs, supported booting from a RAM disk. At the cost of some main memory, the system could be soft-rebooted and be back in the operating system in mere seconds instead of minutes. Some systems had battery-backed RAM disks so their contents could persist when the system is shut down.
The advent of Serial ATA has meant that RAM disks can be interfaced as a normal hard drive, although with extremely high transfer speeds. An example is the Gigabyte i-RAM, Hybrid Ram Disk, which uses standard DDR modules and connects to its host via SATA. This card also can make use of the system's standby power (also used for Wake-on-LAN and similar features) to maintain its RAM contents even with the system powered off, and even includes a battery that can retain the data when the system is completely disconnected from the power supply.
In 1995 the company M-Systems introduced flash-based solid state drives (SanDisk completed acquisition of M-system in November 2006). Since then, they have been used successfully as hard disk drive replacements by the military and aerospace industries, as well as other mission-critical applications that require the exceptional mean time between failure rates that solid state drives achieve based on their ability to withstand extreme shock, vibration and temperature ranges.

Commercialization of solid state drives

Cost and capacity considerations
Until recently, solid state disks were too costly for mobile computing. As flash manufacturers transition from NOR flash to single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash and most recently to multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash to maximize silicon die usage and reduce associated costs, "solid state disks" are now being more accurately renamed "solid state drives" - they have no disks but function as drives - for mobile computing in the enterprise and consumer electronics space. This technology trend is accompanied by an annual 50% decline in raw flash material costs while capacities continue to double at the same rate. As a result, flash-based solid state drives are becoming increasingly popular in markets such as notebook PCs and sub-notebooks for enterprises, Ultra-Mobile PCs (UMPC), and Tablet PCs for the healthcare and consumer electronics sectors. Major PC companies, with Dell leading, started to offer such technology. The capacity of these drives varies from 32 GB to 256 GB.

Availability
Even though solid state disk (SSD) technology has been marketed to the military and niche industrial markets since the mid-1990s, it is only recently that the enterprise sector has taken notice of the benefits that SSDs can offer as key SSD technologies emerge, prices drop and several case studies, along with analyst reports, are published.
Along with the emerging enterprise market, SSDs have been appearing in ultra mobile PCs and a few light weight laptop systems, adding a US$ $600 to $1000 premium to the price of a HDD equipped laptop, depending on the capacity, form factor and transfer speeds. Only a handful of companies offer large (128 GB or larger) SSD drives with write speeds adequate for replacing traditional drives, but these drives are available in limited quantities and are very expensive. Already some manufacturers have begun shipping affordable, fast, energy efficient drives priced at $350 to computer manufacturers. For low-end applications, a USB memory stick may be used as a Flash hard drive for around $10-$100, depending on capacity, or a CompactFlash card may be paired with a CF-to-IDE or CF-to-SATA converter at a similar cost. Either of these requires that write cycle endurance issues be managed, either by not storing frequently written files on the drive, or by using a Flash file system.
One of the first mainstream releases of SSD was the XO Laptop built under the 'One Laptop Per Child' project. Mass production of these computers built for children in developing countries begun in December 2007. These machines use 1024 MiB SLC NAND flash as primary storage solution which is considered more suitable for expected harsher conditions they are expected to be used in. Dell has begun shipping ultra-portable laptops with Sandisk SSDs on April 26, 2007. Asus released the Eee PC subnotebook on October 16 2007 which, after a sucessful commercial start in 2007, is expected to ship several millions PCs in 2008. On January 31 2008]] Apple Inc. released the MacBook Air, a thin laptop with optional 64GB SSD.

Manufacturer
An incomplete list of notable SSDs manucturer
BiTMICRO launches ssd 3.5" with a capacity of 1.6 TB. Will mostly be used for the army.
Real Ram Disk, Inc introduces Hybrid Ram Disk plug in card to convert a regular hard disk into multiple GB DDR2 hybrid Disk.
Trident Space & Defense introduces highly rugged Triton Series Drives (shock, vibration, splash resistant) for military and industrial applications in a standard 2.5-inch form factor with 9.4 mm height.October 2007
Fusion IO announces ioDrive 640 GB 100,000 IOPS 800 MB/s NAND Flash PCI Card on September 24, 2007.
Violin Memory announces 1010 memory appliance on August 2, 2007. The DRAM version of their appliance is capable of 504 GB of memory and the expected flash version will scale to a bit over 5 TB. This 2U appliance is capable of over 3 Million random I/O per Second (IOPS). It is attached to a server through a 20 Gbit/s PCI Express connection(8 lanes) and has demonstrated over 1750 GBit/s random read/write.
SMART On August 7, 2007, SMART Modular Technologies launched the XceedLite SATA SSD product line.
Sandisk announces 64 GB SSDs of 1.8 UATA 5000 and 2.5 SATA 5000 on June 4, 2007.
SimpleTech has announced a 64 GB SSD that is only 9.5 mm thick, half the size of competing SSDs. On April 18, 2007 SimpleTech announced 256 GB capacity enterprise level drives available immediately and 512 GB capacity drives available late 2007.
Taiwanese A-DATA introduced at the Las Vegas CES 2007 SSD drives at capacities of 32 GB, 64 GB (1.8" model) and 128 GB (2.5" model). It is expected to be commercially available by mid-2007.
Power Quotient International (PQI) Announces 256 GB SSD on 28 May 2007.
PNY announces SSD lineup targeting OEM customers in 1.8" and 2.5" form-factors, PATA and SATA, capacities reaching 128 GB. 24 May 2007.
Lexar ExpressCard SSD is shipping in 4 GB, 8 GB, and 16 GB capacities, as of May 2007.
Super Talent Technology announced a 3.5-inch 128 GB Solid State Drive in April 2007.
Samsung has upped the capacity of its flash-based SSD line to 64 GB on March 27, 2007.
Sandisk released a 32 GB 2.5-inch solid state drive on March 13, 2007. The SSD SATA 5000 is being sold to computer manufacturers for $350. Sandisk has also released a 32 GB 1.8-inch solid state drive on January 4, 2007.
Adtron announced a 160 GB SATA SSD on February 20, 2007.
Hyperdrive release the rev.4 designed to use 8 standard DDR ECC Registered memory modules on a native SATA and IDE interface. February 2007.
SMART February 26, 2007 SMART Modular Technologies launched its first in a new line of XceedUltra premiere solid state drives (SSDs). SMART's XceedUltra U100 is the industry's first SSD with a next-generation serial ATA (SATA) interface that achieves sustained read speeds of 100MB/s and write speeds of 60MB/s.
Mtron announces the fastest flash memory solid state disk, performing 100 MB/s Read, 80 MB/s Write, 72,000 Max IOPS.[December 2005]
.
BiTMICRO launches flash memory-based solid state disks on January 7, 1999.

Ford Sync

Ford SYNC is a factory-installed, in-car communications and entertainment system developed by Ford and Microsoft. The system will be offered on 12 different Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles in North America for the 2008 model year.

Overview
Ford SYNC allows drivers to bring nearly any mobile phone or digital media player into their vehicle and operate them using voice commands, the vehicle's steering wheel, or radio controls.
Plans to introduce the new Ford SYNC technology were announced by Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally at the annual North American International Auto Show in January 2007. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates made an appearance to help with the official partnership announcement at the media briefing in Detroit via live satellite.
Ford SYNC offers a more user-friendly and potentially safer driving experience, allowing various portable digital music players (i.e., the iPod and Zune) and Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones to be operated with simple voice commands. SYNC can even receive text messages and read them aloud; using SYNC's digitized female voice "Samantha." SYNC can interpret a hundred or so shorthand messages such as LOL for "laughing out loud" and will read swear words; it won't however, decipher obscene acronyms.
Priced as a $395 option and currently available in a dozen Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models, the system is designed to appeal to the iPod generation of 18-to-35-year-old motorists. "It's not by chance that the first car we're offering this in is the Focus, our most inexpensive car," said Ford spokesman Mark Schirmer. "This can't be some $2,000 option that only rich people are going to put in their cars." Ranked #4 on Popular Mechanics - The Top 10 Most Brilliant Gadgets of 2007. Recognized by Popular Science magazine with a "Best of What's New Award" for 2008 in November 2007.

Vehicles offering Sync
The following vehicles will be offered for the 2008 Model Year with SYNC as either an optional or standard feature:
Ford Focus
Ford Fusion
Ford Taurus
Ford Taurus X
Ford Edge
Ford Explorer
Ford Sport Trac
Mercury Milan
Mercury Sable
Mercury Mountaineer
Lincoln MKZ
Lincoln MKX

Features
Voice-activated, hands-free calling: Using the "Push to Talk" button on the steering wheel allows the user to access anyone on their mobile phone's contact list by voice command.
Uninterrupted connections: Pushing the "Telephone" button on the steering wheel will automatically transfer a current telephone call to the SYNC system without having to hang up and call again.
Audible text messages: SYNC can convert text messages from your phone to audio and read them out loud. The system can even translate commonly used text messaging expressions as "LOL" and :).
Advanced calling features: SYNC displays the same features as the mobile phone used, such as caller ID, call waiting, conference calling, a caller log, a list of contacts, a signal strength icon, and a phone battery charge icon.
Voice-activated music: SYNC allows you to browse through the collection of your digital media player, mobile phone, or USB drive by genre, album, artist, and song title using simple voice commands, such as "Play genre Rock," "Play," or "Play Track."
Instant voice recognition: SYNC's voice recognition technology allows users to avoid any complicated programming or reading aloud of prewritten scripts for SYNC to recognize their voice.
Ring tone support: SYNC will play personal ring tones assigned to identify specific callers.
Automatic phonebook transfer: SYNC will wirelessly transfer the names and numbers in a mobile phonebook automatically.
Multilingual intelligence: SYNC is fluent in English, Canadian French, and Spanish.

System
The system is based an ARM 11 processor, 64MB of DRAM and 256MB of flash memory, and runs Microsoft Windows Mobile for Automotive operating system . Utilizing the USB port, SYNC's Windows-based operating system can be updated to work with new personal electronic devices, which consumers tend to swap out more frequently than their vehicles.

Zonbu Zonbox

Introduction

The PC industry is known for making their products small and fast, and the Zonbu Zonbox is an interesting advancement in the arena. The goal of the box is to provide a simple, Linux-based PC that offers basic functionality like web browsing, productivity, and entertainment.

Zonbu is also a hit on the green front. The Zonbox not only runs off of a very low power Intel CPU, but also uses a compact flash card for the hard drive, which helps it consume much less power than its counterpart, desktop PC models.

The Zonbox also uses Amazon's S3 web services for remote storage. A monthly subscription provides 25, 50, or 100GB of online storage space, and the computer automatically manages copying the files to the server when they're updated.

Zonbu's Zonbox is loaded with buzzwords: green, desktop Linux, open source. But can it deliver, or is it just a bunch of hype?

First Looks

The box is small. Very small. It measures about 2.25" tall by 6.5" wide and 5" deep when laid flat, or roughly the size of an optical drive. The box can either be laid flat on a desk, or placed vertically on its side with the assistance of a stand.

The front of the device contains the power button, as well as a single USB port and indicator LEDs for the on/off and HD access. The rear has a master on/off switch (to completely power down the unit - not put it into standby), DC in (through the use of the power brick), PS2 ports for a keyboard and mouse, five USB ports, 10/100 Ethernet, VGA, audio out and microphone in, and a compact flash card slot which contains the 4GB memory card the device uses as its hard drive.

The case is very sturdy, and combines both form and functionality. It is completely metal; the top and bottom of the case feature fins that aid in the passive cooling of the device. This also adds some weight. Unless you plan on carrying it around, though, it shouldn't be a big deal.

Two-Mode Hybrid

Global Hybrid Cooperation (formerly called Advanced Hybrid System 2 or AHS2) is a set of hybrid vehicle technologies jointly developed by General Motors and Daimler AG, with BMW joining in 2005. It uses two sets of gears in an automatic transmission: One for the internal combustion engine and another to multiply the power of a pair of electric motors. General Motors has stopped using the "AHS2" name as of 2006, preferring to call it simply a "two-mode hybrid system".
Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive is similar in that it also combines the power from a single engine and a pair of electric motors, although it uses only one planetary gearset. Honda's Integrated Motor Assist uses a more traditional ICE and transmission where the flywheel is replaced with an electric motor.

Cooperation
When GM and DaimlerChrysler engineers realized how similar their hybrid work was, they decided to join forces and share technology. The GM/DaimlerChrysler partnership was announced on December 13, 2004 with Dieter Zetsche of DaimlerChrysler joining Rick Wagoner of GM on stage with a prototype. The agreement was not signed until the following August, however.
GM is reportedly responsible for development of rear- and four-wheel drive truck and front wheel drive car systems while DaimlerChrysler is focused on a rear wheel drive luxury car application.
It was announced on September 7, 2005 that BMW would also join the alliance, likely using archrival DaimlerChrysler's rear wheel drive system.
The three companies have formed an organization called Global Hybrid Cooperation with engineering and management centered at the GM, DaimlerChrysler and BMW Hybrid Development Center in Troy, Michigan. Recent reports indicate that the three automakers will spend one billion US dollars between them on the development of the front- and rear-wheel drive hybrid transmissions.

Technology
The group touts its technology as "two-mode" to differentiate it from the Toyota, Honda, and Ford "single-mode" systems. The two modes of operation are:
Input-split mode - At low speeds, the vehicle can move with either the electric motor/generators, the internal combustion engine, or both, making it a so-called full hybrid. All accessories will still remain functioning on electric power, and the engine can restart instantly if needed. In this mode, one of the motor/generators (M/G 1) acts as a generator, while the other operates as a motor (M/G 2). This mode is operational using the first and second gear ratios of the transmission.
Compound-split mode - At higher speeds or heavier loads, the internal combustion engine always runs, and the system uses advanced technologies like Active Fuel Management and late intake valve closing to optimize fuel efficiency. This mode begins at the point where one of the motor/generators reaches zero speed; at this point some clutches within the system engage while others disengage to alter the physical configuration of the transmission, and the velocity is Vshift. Immediately after the shift, both electric machines operate as motors and the first gear ratio is employed. At a given velocity above Vshift, the second gear ratio is employed, and M/G 2 begins to operate as a generator, while also slowing down its angular speed. When the angular speed of M/G 2 is zero, the third gear ratio is employed, and M/G 1 begins to operate again as a generator. As the vehicle velocity increases, the fourth gear ratio is employed, and M/G 1 begin to operate as a generator and M/G 2 as a motor again.
Although the transmission mechanically has only four conventional gear ratios, the electric motors allow it to function as a continuously variable transmission. This variable ratio functions in addition to the torque multiplication of the planetary gears.
Despite the "two-mode" marketing pitch, however, it is the packaging of the first application of the system which is unique. A special automatic transmission incorporates two 100 kW (133 hp) three phase induction motors, two planetary gearsets, and two selectively-engaging friction clutches. This system amplifies the output of the electric motors similarly to the way in which a conventional transmission amplifies the torque of an internal combustion engine. It also transfers more of the engine's torque to the wheels, making the transmission more efficient even without the electric motors in use. Finally, the whole system fits into the space of, and indeed appears as, a conventional 4L60-E automatic transmission.
A 300 volt battery pack is housed elsewhere in the vehicle to store energy. Most applications will also include 120 volt AC power outlets as on the 2004 Chevrolet Silverado PHT hybrid.
The two-mode transmission seems to resemble at least some, if not most, aspects of the SEL Transmission, researched and documented by TU Chemnitz under a public research grant, in July 2000.

Applications

Buses
The system was first used in the General Motors transit buses deployed in 2004.
City bus system by Allison Transmission
Albuquerque, New Mexico ABQ RIDE (74 New Flyer buses announced December 21, 2004 (12 buses), February 2007 (6 buses), and October 2007 (58 buses))
Indianapolis, Indiana IndyGo (two buses announced January 24, 2005)
Yosemite National Park National Park Service (18 Gillig buses announced April 25, 2005)
Kelowna and Victoria, British Columbia (6 New Flyer buses announced May 5, 2005)
Shreveport, Louisiana SporTran (one bus announced June 9, 2005)
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte Area Transit System (2 buses announced June 9, 2005)
Springfield, Massachusetts Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (one bus announced October 14, 2005)
Aspen, Colorado Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (seven buses announced December 9, 2005)
Consortium (led by San Joaquin RTD) of 10 transit agencies in California and Nevada (157 Gillig buses announced March 20, 2006).
Note: ABQ RIDE of Albuquerque, New Mexico was formerly a member of this consortium, but instead chose to order New Flyer buses on their own instead.
Madison, Wisconsin Madison Metro (5 Gillig buses announced September 11, 2007, with 10 more planned for purchase in the next few years)

RWD truck
The longitudinal system for light trucks from General Motors will be manufactured at Baltimore Transmission by GM's Allison Transmission division. The nickel-metal hydride batteries will be manufactured by Panasonic EV of Japan.
The system was to be introduced for the 2007 model year in the full-sized GM SUVs, but these were delayed for one year for unspecified reasons. Instead, GM will reportedly launch the system in the full-size GMT900 pickup trucks in the Fall of 2007.
Rear wheel drive truck system
GMC Graphyte Hybrid SUV concept (shown at the 2005 NAIAS)
2008 Chevrolet Tahoe
2008 GMC Sierra Hybrid
2008 GMC Yukon
2008 Dodge Durango/Chrysler Aspen - 5.7 L (347.8 cu in) Hemi V8 with MDS
2009 Cadillac Escalade
2009 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid

FWD
Front wheel drive car system
Opel Astra Diesel hybrid concept (shown at the 2005 NAIAS)
2009 Saturn VUE Green Line SUV, 45% improvement over Mild hybrid version according to GM

AWD
All wheel drive car system
2010 Saturn VUE Green Line SUV 45% improvement over Mild hybrid version according to GM

Latest developments
On March 1 2007, BMW and DaimlerChrysler announced that they are expanding their partnership and moving quickly to develop a mild hybrid module for rear wheel drive premium cars. They plan to roll out the new system within the next three years on BMW and Mercedes-Benz vehicles produced.
GM is not part of this expanded partnership, and has not announced plans to develop a hybrid RWD system for cars.

Sources
David Talbot. "Gas-Guzzling Hybrids". Technology Review (April 2005).
Chevrolet Tahoe with Two-Mode Full Hybrid Exploits Fuel Savings, SUV Driving Pleasure and Performance. General Motors press release. Retrieved on January 9, 2006.
Global Alliance for Hybrid Drive Development: Cooperation between BMW, DaimlerChrysler and GM. General Motors press release. Retrieved on September 9, 2005.

Nintendo Wii Fit

Video games have always had a bad reputation when it comes to discouraging exercise, however Nintendo is hoping to change all this with the launch of the Wii Fit, a balance board that encourages gamers to get active. But does it? Or is it going to follow the same route as every other fitness gadget in your household, in the cupboard gathering dust? We got a first look at the Wii Fit at Nintendo's Mind, Body and Control event in central London.

The Wii Fit comes in two components: the gaming software and a Wii Balance Board that you stand on. Tested to withstand all gamers regardless of your weight, the idea is that you stand on the board and then interact with the game or exercise task in front of you.

For the gamer there are plenty of Wii Sports style games, however for the fitness fan there is also a series of exercises ranging from Yoga to Circuit training.

The idea of course is that whatever you choose, you get to exercise and play at the same time.

In our brief play we had a go playing football, skiing and yoga excerises while we watched other journalists enjoy hoola hoping and a range of other activities all designed to get you moving and shaking your stuff in front of the TV.

Training falls into four fitness categories: Aerobic Exercise, Muscle Conditioning, Yoga Poses and fun balance games.

Like Wii Sports the games or exercises are quick and linear. Those looking for a home workout can try Yoga, something in our play we found very hard. Following the simple (it was even simple on the Japanese version we played) you follow the computer animated character. Once in position you are then tasked with keeping a red dot centred inside a yellow circle. Sounds easy, but because the system works out where you are standing and what pressure you are putting where, it allows you to perfectly hone your skills.

From here you can then choose to run through a course getting progressively harder as well as the software telling you how to make improvements to your stance.

The Wii Fit also uses the Wii Balance Board for daily tests so you can monitor your weight on a daily basis. These evaluate two measurements; Body Mass Index (BMI) and Wii Fit Age, which looks at a user's BMI reading, testing the user's centre of gravity and conducting quick balance tests.

However where we can really see this working is making exercise fun. Skiing for example will see you go down a slope slalom style moving shifting the balance from your right to left foot. Making this a fantastic way of getting into practice for the real thing.

Rather than just the handful of games found on Wii Sports, Nintendo is promising over 40 types of training activity designed to appeal to all members of a household.

Our play might have been brief, but we are already longing for more. If you are a skier looking to get back in shape before you hit the slopes this is going to be great fun and much better than leaning up against a wall to do your exercises.

Like Brain Training or Wii Sports, this is going to be a cracking addition to the console. It might be been done before with snowboarding devices in the past, but the Balance board is more approachable and not as dangerous - it doesn't move for example, you do.

Those who can't wait that long can import one from Japan on 1 December, however you will need to import a Japanese Wii at the same time.

Either way this will certainly be one to take a closer look at when in launches in the UK next year.

Hitachi Power Tools CR13VBY

This is a great saw for bench work. It is very smooth and fast, and fits well in the hand even though it is larger than many others.

The only "fly in the oitment" is the weight, which is important if working on site, or under a vehicle as I have. Holding the saw up and cutting will rapidly fatigue the user. However, the saw is so fast and smooth that fatigue-creating positions will be thankfully short.

Blade change is easy, speed control using the trigger is nice as well.

If you can manage a 10 pound saw while upside down, or if that isn't so imprtant to you, then this saw is nearly perfect.

Apple iPhone

The iPhone is a Internet-enabled multimedia mobile phone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It has a multi-touch screen with virtual keyboard and buttons. The iPhone's functions include those of a camera phone and a portable media player ("iPod"), in addition to text messaging and visual voicemail. It also offers Internet services including e-mail, web browsing, and local Wi-Fi connectivity. It is a quad-band mobile phone that uses the GSM standard, and hence has international capability. It supports the Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) data technology.
Following the success of iPod, Apple announced the iPhone in January 2007. The announcement was preceded by rumors and speculations that circulated for several months. The iPhone was introduced, first in the United States on June 29, 2007 with much media frenzy and then in the United Kingdom, Germany and France in November 2007. On February 5th 2008, Apple released a new version of the iPhone with storage expanded to 16GB. It was named Time magazine's Invention of the Year in 2007. A version of Apple's iPhone is expected to be introduced in 2008 that is capable of operating on faster 3G cellular networks.

History
The genesis of the iPhone began with Apple CEO Steve Jobs' direction that Apple engineers investigate touch-screens. At the time he had been considering having Apple work on tablet PCs. Apple created the device during a secretive and unprecedented collaboration with AT&T-Cingular wireless at the time of the phone's inception-at a development cost of USD$150 million by one estimate. They rejected an early "design by committee" built with Motorola in favor of engineering a custom operating system and interface and building custom hardware.
Comments made by Jobs in April 2003 at the "D: All Things Digital" executive conference expressed his belief that tablet PCs and traditional PDAs were not good choices as high-demand markets for Apple to enter, despite many requests made to him that Apple create another PDA. He did believe that cell phones were going to become important devices for portable information access.
On January 9, 2007, Jobs announced the iPhone at the Macworld convention, receiving substantial media attention, and on June 11, 2007 announced at the Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference that the iPhone would support web applications using the Safari engine on the device. Third-parties would create the web applications and users would access them via the Internet. On October 17, 2007 Apple announced that an iPhone software development kit would be made available in February 2008, allowing developers to create native applications that take full advantage of the iPhone's application programming interface.
On July 25, 2007 Apple announced in their 2007 Q3 sales report and conference call that they sold 270,000 iPhones in the first 30 hours on launch weekend. AT&T reported 146,000 iPhones activated in the same time period. Apple anticipated selling their millionth iPhone in the first full quarter of availability, and anticipates selling 10 million iPhones by the end of their 2008 fiscal year. On September 10, 2007, Apple announced sales of 1 million iPhones. This was followed by Apple's 2007 fourth quarter earnings announcement on October 22, 2007 which put total iPhone sales at 1.39 million with 1.12 million sold that quarter.[dead link]

Features
The iPhone allows conferencing, call holding, call merging, caller ID, and integration with other cellular network features and iPhone functions. For example, a playing song fades out when the user receives a call. Once the call is ended the music fades back in. Voice dialing is not supported by the iPhone.
The iPhone includes a Visual Voicemail feature allowing users to view a list of current voicemail messages on-screen without having to call into their voicemail. Unlike most other systems, messages can be listened to and deleted in a non-chronological order by choosing any message from an on-screen list. AT&T, O2, T-Mobile and Orange modified their voicemail infrastructure to accommodate this new feature designed by Apple. A lawsuit has been filed against Apple and AT&T by a company called Klausner Technologies claiming the iPhone's Visual Voicemail feature infringes two patents.
A ringtone feature, introduced in the United States on September 5, 2007, but not yet available in all countries where the iPhone has been released, allows users to create custom ringtones from their purchased iTunes music for an additional fee, the same price of a song. The ringtones can be from 3 to 40 seconds in length of any part of a song, can include fading in and out, can pause from half a second to five seconds when looped, and never expire. All customizing can be done in iTunes, and the synced ringtones can also be used for alarms on the iPhone. Custom ringtones can also be created using Apple's GarageBand software 4.1.1 or later (available only on Mac OS X).
Apple has released a video explaining many of iPhone's features through a series of demonstrations.

Multimedia
The layout of the music library differs from previous iPods, with the sections divided more clearly alphabetically, and with a larger font. Similar to previous iPods, the iPhone can sort its media library by songs, artists, albums, videos, playlists, genres, composers, podcasts, audiobooks, and compilations. Cover Flow, like that on iTunes, shows the different album covers in a scroll-through photo library. Scrolling is achieved by swiping a finger across the screen.
Like the fifth generation iPods introduced in 2005, the iPhone can play video, allowing users to watch TV shows and films. Unlike other image-related content, video on the iPhone plays only in the landscape orientation, when the phone is turned sideways. Double tapping switches between wide-screen and fullscreen video playback.
The iPhone allows users to purchase and download songs from the iTunes Store directly to their iPhone over Wi-Fi, but not over the cellular data network.

Web connectivity
The iPhone is able to access the World Wide Web via a modified version of the Safari web browser when connected to a local area Wi-Fi or a wide area EDGE network. It is not able to utilize AT&T's 3G or AT&T's HSDPA network. Steve Jobs has stated 3G would need to become more widespread in the United States and much more energy efficient before it's included in the iPhone. By default, the iPhone will ask to join newly discovered Wi-Fi networks and prompt for the password when required, while also supporting manually joining closed Wi-Fi networks. When Wi-Fi is active, it will automatically switch from the EDGE network to any nearby previously approved Wi-Fi network.
Before the launch, some reviewers found the EDGE network "excruciatingly slow," with the iPhone taking as long as 100 seconds to download the Yahoo! home page for the first time. Immediately before the launch the observed speed of the network increased to almost 200 kbit/s. This is probably due to the new "Fine EDGE" upgrades AT&T had been making to their network prior to the launch.
The EDGE network benefits iPhone users in the U.S. by providing greater availability than 3G, as carriers based in the U.S. do not have full 3G coverage. Most other countries have very little EDGE infrastructure in place, relying on 3G instead. By contrast, 3G coverage ranges from 60 to 90-percent. As a result, many users outside major cities will have to browse the Internet on GPRS, a much slower protocol.
The web browser displays full web pages as opposed to simplified pages as on most non-smartphones. The iPhone does not support Flash or Java technology. Web pages may be viewed in portrait or landscape mode and supports automatic zooming by pinching together or spreading apart fingertips on the screen, or by double-tapping text or images.
Apple developed an iPhone application for accessing Google's maps service in map or satellite form, a list of search results, or directions between two locations, while providing optional real-time traffic information. During the product's announcement, Jobs demonstrated this feature by searching for nearby Starbucks locations and then placing a prank call to one with a single tap. Though Flash isn't supported in Safari on the iPhone, Apple also developed a separate application to view YouTube videos on the iPhone.

E-mail
The iPhone also features an e-mail program that supports HTML e-mail, which enables the user to embed photos in an e-mail message. PDF, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel attachments to mail messages can be viewed on the phone. Yahoo! and Google's Gmail currently offer a free Push-IMAP e-mail service similar to that on a BlackBerry for the iPhone; IMAP and POP3 mail standards are also supported, including Microsoft Exchange and Kerio MailServer. The iPhone will sync e-mail account settings over from Apple's own Mail application, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Entourage, or manually configured using the device's Settings tool. With the correct settings, the e-mail program can check many IMAP or POP3-enabled web based accounts such as Gmail, .Mac mail, and AOL.

Others
The iPhone features a built in 2.0 megapixel camera, without a flash, located on the back for still digital photos, but does not support video recording. It also includes software that allows the user to upload, view, and e-mail photos. The user zooms in and out of photos by "unpinching" and "pinching" them through the multi-touch interface. The software interacts with iPhoto on the Mac and Photoshop in Windows.
The built-in Bluetooth 2.x+EDR supports wireless earpieces (which requires the HSP profile), but notably does not support stereo audio (requires A2DP), laptop tethering (requires DUN and SPP), or the OBEX file transfer protocol (requires FTP, GOEP, and OPP).
Text messages are presented chronologically in a mailbox format similar to Mail, which places all text from recipients together with replies. Text messages are displayed in speech bubbles (similar to iChat) under each recipient's name. The iPhone currently does not have built-in support for message forwarding, drafts, delivery reports, instant messaging, MMS, or copy/cut/paste capability . Some of these functions are accessible via free Safari-based "applications" as well as by free "hacked" native applications, though at this time Apple only sanctions the use of Safari "applications". Support for multi-recipient SMS was added in the 1.1.3 software update.

Interface
The display responds to three sensors: a proximity sensor that shuts off the display and touchscreen when the iPhone is brought near the face to save battery power and to prevent spurious inputs from the user's face and ears, an ambient light sensor that adjusts the display brightness which in turn saves battery power, and a 3-axis accelerometer, which senses the orientation of the phone and changes the screen accordingly. Photo browsing, web browsing, and music playing support both upright and left or right widescreen orientations, while videos play in only one widescreen orientation.
A single "home" hardware button below the display brings up the main menu. Subselections are made via the touchscreen. The iPhone utilizes a full-paged display, with context-specific submenus at the top and/or bottom of each page, sometimes depending on screen orientation. Detail pages display the equivalent of a "Back" button to go up one menu.
The iPhone has three physical switches on its sides: wake/sleep, volume up/down, and ringer on/off. All other multimedia and phone operations are done via the touch screen.
The iPhone interface enables the user to move the content itself up or down by a touch-drag motion of the finger, much as one would freely slide or flick a playing card across a table with a finger. Similarly, scrolling through a long list in a menu works as if the list is pasted on the outer surface of a wheel: the wheel can be "spun" by sliding a finger over the display from bottom to top (or vice versa). In either case, the object continues to move based on the flicking motion of the finger, slowly decelerating as if affected by friction. In this way, the interface simulates the physics of 3D objects, giving it a real world feel.
The photo album and web page magnifications are examples of multi-touch sensing. It is possible to zoom in and out of web pages and photos by placing two fingers (e.g. thumb and forefinger) on the screen and spreading them farther apart or closer together, as if stretching or squeezing the image. As can be intuitively expected from multi-touch sensing, the two fingers don't have to be from the same hand.

Text input
For text input, the device implements a virtual keyboard on the touchscreen. It has automatic spell checking and correction, predictive word capabilities, and a dynamic dictionary that learns new words. The predictive word capabilities have been integrated with the dynamic virtual keyboard so that users will not have to be extremely accurate when typing-i.e. touching the edges of the desired letter or nearby letters on the keyboard will be predictively corrected when possible. The keys are somewhat larger and spaced further apart when in landscape mode, currently only available using the Safari web browser. Not focusing more on texting has been considered a chief weakness of the iPhone, while at the same time the virtual keyboard is a bold step and a worthwhile risk.
David Pogue of The New York Times and Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal both tested the iPhone for two weeks and found learning to use it initially difficult, although eventually usable. Pogue stated use was "frustrating" at first, but "once you stop stressing about each individual letter and just plow ahead, speed and accuracy pick up considerably." After five days of use, Mossberg "was able to type on it as quickly and accurately as he could on the Palm Treo he has used for years," and considered the keyboard a "nonissue." Both found that the typo-correcting feature of the iPhone was the key to using the virtual keyboard successfully.

Hardware
According to The Wall Street Journal, the iPhone is manufactured on contract in the Longhua, Shenzhen factory of the Taiwanese company Hon Hai. Conditions for workers at the factory have been a matter of controversy.
Touch screen
The 3.5 in liquid crystal display (320?480 px at 160 ppi) HVGA touch screen topped with optical-quality, scratch-resistant glass is specifically created for use with a finger, or multiple fingers for multi-touch sensing. Because the screen is a capacitive touch screen, no stylus is needed, nor can one be used. Bare skin is a requirement; users wearing gloves would have to remove them to use the touchpad, unless they are wearing electrically conductive gloves.
The user interface also features other visual effects, such as horizontally sliding sub-selections and co-selections from right and left, vertically sliding system menus from the bottom (e.g. favorites, keyboard), and menus and widgets that turn around to allow settings to be configured on their back sides.
Audio
The iPhone's headphones are similar to those of current iPods, but also incorporate a microphone. A multipurpose button in the microphone can be used to play or pause music, skip tracks, and answer or end phone calls without touching the iPhone. The 3.5 mm TRS connector for the headphones is located on the top left corner (as seen from front upright). Wireless earpieces that use Bluetooth technology to communicate with the iPhone are sold separately. The headphone socket on the iPhone is recessed into the casing and is narrow when compared to some headphone jacks, making it incompatible without the use of an adapter.
The loudspeaker is used both for handsfree operations and media playback, but does not support voice recording.
Composite or component video at up to 576i and stereo audio can be output from the dock connector using an adapter sold by Apple.
Battery
The iPhone features a built-in rechargeable battery that is not intended to be user-replaceable, similar to existing iPods. If the battery prematurely reaches the end of its life time, the phone can be returned to Apple and replaced for free while still in warranty, one year at purchase and extended to two years with AppleCare. The cost of having Apple provide a new battery and replace it when the iPhone is out of warranty is US$79 and US$6.95 for shipping.
The battery is stated to be capable of providing up to seven hours of video, six hours of web browsing, or eight hours of talk time (depending on configuration). The battery life for music playing is stated to be 24 hours. The battery also allows for up to 250 hours of standby time. Apple's site says that the battery life "is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity after 400 full charge and discharge cycles," which turns out to be the same as for the iPod batteries. When the battery reaches only 80% capacity, it would be providing approximately 5.6 hours of video, 4.8 hours of web browsing, 6.4 hours of talk time, or 19.2 hours of music playing, depending on configuration.
The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a consumer advocate group, has sent a complaint to Apple and AT&T over the fee that consumers have to pay to get the battery replaced. Though the battery replacement service and its pricing was not made known to buyers until the day the product was launched, a similar service had been well established for the iPods by Apple and various third party service providers.
SIM card
The SIM card is located in a slot at the top of the device, and the device is activated through iTunes. The iPhone is usually sold with a simlock preventing the use of SIM cards from different mobile networks.
Storage
The iPhone was initially released with two options for internal storage size, either a 4gb or 8gb flash drive (manufactured by Samsung) model was available. On September 5, 2007, Apple announced they were discontinuing the 4gb models . On February 5, 2008, Apple announced the addition of a 16gb model to the iPhone lineup . The iPhone does not contain any external memory card slots for expanded storage.

Software
An optimized version of the OS X operating system (without unnecessary components) runs on the iPhone, although differences between the operating system running on Macs and the iPhone have not been officially explained in detail. The iPhone's version of OS X includes the software component "Core Animation" from Mac OS X v10.5 which is responsible for the smooth animations used in its user interface. The operating system takes up considerably less than half a GB of the device's total 8 GB or 16 GB storage. It will be capable of supporting bundled and future applications from Apple.
The iPhone is managed with iTunes version 7.3 or later, which is compatible with Mac OS X version 10.4.10 or later, and 32-bit Windows XP or Vista. The release of iTunes 7.6 expanded this support to include 64-bit versions of Vista, and a workaround has been discovered for previous 64-bit Windows operating systems.
The iPhone's CPU is an ARM-based processor instead of the x86 and PowerPC processors used in Apple's computers. This means applications can not simply be copied from Mac OS X and have to be written and compiled specifically for the iPhone. Additionally, the Safari web browser supports web applications written with AJAX, which, by design, are platform agnostic applications.

Applications
There are several applications located on the "Home" screen: Text (SMS messaging), Calendar, Photos, Camera, YouTube, Stocks, Maps (Google Maps), Weather, Clock, Calculator, Notes, Settings, and iTunes. Four other applications delineate the iPhone's main purposes: Phone, Mail, Safari, and iPod.
The YouTube application streams videos over Wi-Fi and/or EDGE after encoding them using QuickTime's H.264 codec, to which YouTube has converted about 10,000 videos. They are expected to convert the entire catalog by the third quarter of 2007. As a result, the YouTube application on iPhone can currently only view a certain selection of videos from the site. Also, because YouTube displays videos using Flash, the iPhone can only view videos through the YouTube application as opposed to accessing the YouTube website using Safari.
At WWDC 2007 on June 11, 2007 Apple announced that the iPhone will support third-party "applications" via the Safari web browser that share the look and feel of the iPhone interface. The applications must be created in JavaScript to maintain device security. The iPhone cannot officially install full programs from anyone but Apple, although Steve Jobs has hinted that future third-party applications are in development.. Many third party Safari "applications" as well as native applications are now available, although the ability to run native applications is currently completely unsupported by Apple. Such native applications could be broken by any software update, but Apple has stated it will not design software updates specifically to break native applications other than applications that perform SIM unlocking.
On October 17, 2007, Steve Jobs, in an open letter posted to Apple's "Hot News" weblog, announced that a software development kit (SDK) would be made available to third-party developers in February 2008. Due to security concerns and Jobs' praise of Nokia's digital signature system, it is suggested that Apple will adopt a similar method. The SDK will also allow application development for the iPod touch.

Software updates
Apple provides free updates to the iPhone's operating system through iTunes, in a similar fashion to the way that iPods are updated, and touts this as an advantage compared to other cell phones. Security patches, as well as new and improved features, may be released in this fashion. Since Apple provides future unspecified features and additional software products free of charge to its customers, Apple recognizes revenue from their iPhones on a straight-line basis over the currently estimated 24-month economic life of these products. ,
The first iPhone software update, 1.0.1, was released on July 31, 2007 to patch an exploit, discovered on July 23, 2007. It allowed hackers to take complete control of the iPhone via Wi-Fi connection or by luring a person to a website with that included malicious code. Once the hacker had control of the iPhone they could download the entire content of the iPhone, make phone calls, or turn the phone into a covert listening device.
The first full update, 1.1.1, was released on September 27, 2007. In addition to the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, this update also adds home button shortcuts and other features previously released in the iPod touch. The update significantly changed the iPhone's software and improved stability of its applications. This firmware is incompatible with previous hacks for modifying the system software or installing third party applications.
The updates that have been released are:
1.0.1 - July 31, 2007
Safari security update
1.0.2 - August 21, 2007
Fixed bugs
1.1.1 - September 27, 2007
This update is commonly called the iPhone "September '07" update by Apple
iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store
Louder speakerphone and receiver volume
Home button double-click shortcut to phone favorites or music controls
Spacebar double-tap shortcut to intelligently insert period and space (eg: ". ")
Mail attachments are viewable in portrait and landscape modes
Stocks and cities in Stocks and Weather can be reordered
Apple Inc. Bluetooth Headset battery status in the Status Bar
Support for TV out
Preferences to turn off EDGE/GPRS when roaming internationally
New Passcode lock time intervals
Adjustable alert volume
1.1.2 - November 12, 2007
Battery charge level shown in iTunes
International language & keyboard support
Patched the TIFF exploit
Adds custom ringtone field
Fixed bugs
1.1.3 - January 15, 2008
This update is commonly called the iPhone "January '08 Update" by Apple
Google Maps gains the 'Locate Me' feature which determines the phone's approximate location using cell tower triangulation and (in the US and Canada) Wi-Fi data from Skyhook Wireless; also adds hybrid map support and the 'Drop Pin' feature.
Icons on the homescreen can be rearranged and placed on multiple homescreens (up to nine).
iTunes gift cards can be redeemed on the iTunes Wi-Fi store.
Movies acquired through iTunes have chapter support.
Music has lyrics-support feature
Web Clips can be added to (and subsequently removed from) the homescreen.
SMS messages can be sent to multiple contacts.
SMS storage capacity increased to 75,000 (from 1,000)
Default Gmail IMAP setup for new accounts (previously was defaulted as POP3).
Multi-touch keyboard (ie: simultaneously pressing "Shift" + "a")
The clock timer now remembers the last used options. (bug fix)
Incoming SMS messages now prompts the user to "View" or "Close" (previously "Ignore" or "Reply"). Pressing either option now marks the message as "seen" so there is no way to defer messages anymore.
Labels for contact data can now be deleted.
Applications on the phone no longer run as root; they run as the user "mobile" instead.

Sales
Germany
Deutsche Telekom has signed up 70,000 iPhone customers during the eleven-week long period of November 9, 2007 to January 26, 2008.
The United Kingdom
It has been estimated that 190,000 customers have signed with O2 during an eight-week period from the November 9, 2007 launch date to January 9, 2008.

Specifications
The specifications as listed on Apple's website are:
Screen size: 8.9 cm (3.5 in)
Screen resolution: 320?480 pixels at 163 ppi
Input method: Multi-touch screen interface plus a "Home" button
Operating System: OS X
Storage: 8 or 16 GB flash memory (4 GB model discontinued)
Quad band GSM (GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900)
Wi-Fi (802.11g), EDGE and Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
2 megapixel camera
Built-in rechargeable, non-removable battery with up to 8 hours of talk, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback, and up to 24 hours of audio playback, lasting over 250 hours on standby.
Size: 115?61?11.6 mm (4.5?2.4?0.46 in)
Weight: 135 g (4.8 oz)
Digital SAR of 0.974 W/kg
An analysis of the iPhone's firmware has revealed that the main Samsung chip (designated S5L8900) contains an ARM 1176 processor, together with a PowerVR MBX 3D graphics co-processor.

Patents and copyrights
Apple has filed more than 300 patents related to the technology behind the iPhone.
LG Electronics claimed the iPhone's design was copied from the LG Prada. Woo-Young Kwak, head of LG Mobile Handset R&D Center, said at a press conference, "We consider that Apple copied Prada phone after the design was unveiled when it was presented in the iF Design Award and won the prize in September 2006."
On September 3, 1993, Infogear filed for the U.S. trademark "I PHONE" and on March 20, 1996 applied for the trademark "IPhone". "I Phone" was registered in March 1998, and "IPhone" was registered in 1999. Since then, the I PHONE mark has been abandoned. Infogear's trademarks cover "communications terminals comprising computer hardware and software providing integrated telephone, data communications and personal computer functions" (1993 filing), and "computer hardware and software for providing integrated telephone communication with computerized global information networks" (1996 filing). Infogear released a telephone with an integrated web browser under the name iPhone in 1998. In 2000, Infogear won an infringement claim against the owners of the iphones.com domain name. In June 2000, Cisco Systems acquired Infogear, including the iPhone trademark. On December 18, 2006 they released a range of re-branded Voice over IP (VoIP) sets under the name iPhone.
In October 2002, Apple applied for the "iPhone" trademark in the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, and the European Union. A Canadian application followed in October 2004 and a New Zealand application in September 2006. As of October 2006 only the Singapore and Australian applications had been granted. In September 2006, a company called Ocean Telecom Services applied for an "iPhone" trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and Hong Kong, following a filing in Trinidad and Tobago. As the Ocean Telecom trademark applications use exactly the same wording as Apple's New Zealand application, it is assumed that Ocean Telecom is applying on behalf of Apple. The Canadian application was opposed in August 2005 by a Canadian company called Comwave who themselves applied for the trademark three months later. Comwave have been selling VoIP devices called iPhone since 2004.
Shortly after Steve Jobs' January 9, 2007 announcement that Apple would be selling a product called iPhone in June 2007, Cisco issued a statement that it had been negotiating trademark licensing with Apple and expected Apple to agree to the final documents that had been submitted the night before. On January 10, 2007 Cisco announced it had filed a lawsuit against Apple over the infringement of the trademark iPhone, seeking an injunction in federal court to prohibit Apple from using the name. More recently, Cisco claimed that the trademark lawsuit was a "minor skirmish" that was not about money, but about interoperability.
On February 2, 2007, Apple and Cisco announced that they had agreed to temporarily suspend litigation while they hold settlement talks, and subsequently announced on February 20, 2007 that they had reached an agreement. Both companies will be allowed to use the "iPhone" name in exchange for "exploring interoperability" between their security, consumer, and business communications products.[dead link - history]

Unlocking
While initially iPhones were only sold on the AT&T network with a Simlock in place various hackers have found methods to unlock the phone, more recently some carriers have started to sell unlocked iPhones. More than a quarter of iPhones sold in the United States were not registered with AT&T. Apple speculates that they were likely shipped overseas and "unlocked".
On November 21, 2007, T-Mobile in Germany announced it would sell the phone "unlocked" and without a T-Mobile contract, caused by a preliminary injunction against T-Mobile put in place by their competitor Vodafone. In Germany, a company is not allowed to lock the SIM card to itself. On December 4, 2007, a German court decided to grant T-Mobile exclusive rights to sell the iPhone with the SIM card locked, overturning the temporary injunction. In addition, T-Mobile will unlock the iPhone at the termination of a customer's contract.
The iPhone normally prevents access to its media player and web features unless it has also been activated as a phone with an authorized carrier. On July 3, 2007, Jon Lech Johansen reported on his blog that he had successfully bypassed this requirement and unlocked the iPhone's other features with a combination of custom software and modification of the iTunes binary. He published the software and offsets for others to use.

LG Super Blu Player

At a press conference today at CES 2007, LG introduced the first player capable of playing both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. The words on the drawer of the player read "Super Multi Blue Player," but the model number is simply BH100. The player will be available as early as the first week of February at Best Buy and Circuit City among other outlets, according to the company, and will cost $1,199. At least for now, this announcement appears to be the most significant news at the show.

In case there was any doubt of the unit's capability, the company's press event included a demo of one player showing a custom demo loop labeled with a Blu-ray watermark and a second player showing the same loop with an HD DVD watermark. The company's reps even bravely performed a live demo of playing first an HD DVD disc and then a Blu-ray disc, skipping chapters, and so on. At one point in the conference, the LG representative changed discs, which took about a minute, although the spokesperson claimed a short, 25-second load time.

The player can deliver up to 1080p output resolution at 24 and 30 frames per second via HDMI, but future-conscious buyers might lament that the HDMI version is just 1.2, not 1.3. The LG also has Blu-ray Java compatibility. All of the standard A/V outputs are present, including 5.1-channel analog audio outputs. The spec sheet also mentions all of the requisite audio formats, including the lossless Dolby Digital True HD and DTS-HD formats, implying that the player decodes those formats internally and can send them out via HDMI in PCM format and via the analog 5.1-channel outputs. The unit can also play DVDs but not CDs. The back panel of the demo unit we saw did have an Ethernet port labeled "LAN," which I assume allows at least firmware updates and possibly some interactive features. Update: LG has confirmed that the BH100 also lacks the ability to access the HDi interactive layer found on some HD DVD discs, meaning that their advanced interactive features, like picture-in-picture commentaries and bookmark sharing, won't be available. LG also said that it could not add HDi via a firmware upgrade.

I was skeptical at first of the company's ability to deliver a player, but this demo and the early release date appear perfectly legit. The release of LG's player opens the door to other companies marketing a combination player (Samsung?), finally bringing some sense of security to buyers interested in investing in next-generation DVD discs. Of course the price of the BH100 is out of reach for most buyers, but if the falling prices of DVD players are any indication, their successor players might become somewhat affordable in a couple years. Of course, we're looking forward to reviewing a BH100 as soon as possible.

The company also introduced a $1,199 computer drive, model GGW-H10N and available around the same time, capable of playing HD DVDs and playing and recording Blu-ray discs at up to 4x speed. It can also read and write DVDs and CDs.

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