Chinese Project Puts Cow Dung to Work

A rapidly growing industry in China?dairy farming?is also a major new source of greenhouse-gas emissions. But Huishan Dairy in northeast China is trying to change this by installing the world's largest system for generating electricity by collecting methane gas emitted by fermenting cow manure.

The Chinese have not, historically, been big milk drinkers, but decreasing costs and aggressive marketing efforts have changed that. Huishan's new system will prevent methane?which is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas?from reaching the atmosphere. It will also reduce waste and odors, and produce a valuable organic fertilizer that's safer than raw manure.

The operation at Huishan is 10 times the size of the typical systems for generating electricity from cow manure. Its massive scale could help make the project more economical. GE, which is supplying the project's gas-powered generators, also hopes it will act as a showcase for the technology. Methane is not widely harnessed in farming worldwide, largely due to the initial costs, a lack of established economic models, and little government support.

Huishan, one of the biggest dairies in the country, imports 3,000 cows from Australia every month to sustain its massive stock of 250,000 cows?about double the number of dairy cows in the entire state of Florida. Huishan's new electricity generating system will process the waste from 60,000 cows and produce 5.6 megawatts of power. It will generate enough electricity to meet the needs of 3,500 American-size households, which means it will service many more Chinese ones, which use far less energy.

What was previously the largest system for generating electricity from manure produced two megawatts. Most such systems still produce only a few hundred kilowatts. Huishan will capture 20 million cubic meters of biogas (which is about 60 percent methane).

Technology for capturing biogas and putting it to use has existed for a long time. In its simplest form, an enclosed digester allows the anaerobic organisms to break down manure and capture the methane produced. The gas is then siphoned off in a pipe for cooking or lighting. The Chinese government estimates that millions of small farms already have such primitive manure digesters.

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Verizon now offering 150Mbps FiOS service

Verizon today added a new 150/35 Mbps tier to its FiOS broadband access service, effectively bumping by three times the previous 50Mbps peak and almost doubling the previous upload speed of 20Mbps. According to the company, the new plans downstream speed is fast enough to download a 1GB file in roughly a minute, is three times faster than Time Warner's fastest Internet offering and as much as 50 percent faster than Comcast and Cablevision.

Upstream rates are also 30 percent faster than Cablevision and Comcast and a whopping seven times faster than Time Warner. Of course all this speed comes at a premium between $195 and $215 per month, depending the length of the contract and whether the subscriber buys Verizon's phone service as well. But while the majority of users probably won't be able to afford this new service, at least some previous customers will get a speed bump with no change in price: the 50/20 Mbps tier can now handle 60 Mbps down 35 Mbps up.

Back in August the company completed a real-world field test in which it pumped data at nearly 1Gbps speeds, while more recently Verizon hit another milestone, delivering 10 Gbps through a trial run of advanced XG-PON2 technology.

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Source: http://www.techspot.com/news/41237-verizon-now-offering-150mbps-fios-service.html

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Netflix announces $8 streaming-only plan, raises DVD prices

Netflix has introduced a new $8 streaming-only subscription plan in the US. The plan, which allows members to instantly watch unlimited movies and TV episodes on their TVs and computers, is available now to both new and existing members. The new offer is in direct competition with Hulu Plus, which also cost $8 per month.

In order to compensate for the new plan, at least in our opinion, Netflix also announced that the price for its streaming and unlimited DVD delivery plan (one DVD out at a time) will increase by a dollar to $10 a month. Prices of subscription plans allowing for more DVDs out at a time will also increase, as detailed below. The new price changes take effect now for new sign-ups and in January for existing members.

Netflix says its members prefer watching content over the Internet. The company recently announced that in the current quarter, which ends December 31, its members will watch more streamed content than DVD content. As a result, Netflix will invest more money to license streaming content than to acquire DVDs in the same period.

"We are now primarily a streaming video company delivering a wide selection of TV shows and films over the Internet," Reed Hastings, Netflix co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. "Today's action reflects the tremendous customer value we've injected into streaming from Netflix, our initial success with a pure streaming service in Canada for $7.99 a month and what our U.S. members tell us they want."

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Source: http://www.techspot.com/news/41238-netflix-announces-8-streamingonly-plan-raises-dvd-prices.html

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Rumor: next-gen iPad due April 2011, CDMA-GSM compatible

Apple sticks to a pretty regular schedule when it comes to new iPhone and iPod releases every year in June for the first and September for the latter. So it doesnt come as a surprise that the company is planning to launch an updated version of the iPad sometime in 2011. According to the latest rumors, that update will come in April and will bring built-in cameras, a slimmer profile, and a Qualcomm chip that makes it possible to run the 3G version of the tablet on CDMA and GSM networks.

Such a move would mean the device could run on the cellular networks of all major U.S. wireless carriers, including Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T, as well as on the networks of carriers in Europe and Asia. Naturally, Apple doesnt comment on future products, but Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blairs sources claim the company is preparing to build approximately 48 million iPads in calendar 2011. It will be made out of a single piece of metal, adopting a manufacturing process similar to the one it uses for its unibody MacBooks.

If accurate, this would tie in well with recent information from Digitimes that Apple has already named three suppliers for iPad printed circuit boards -- TTM, Tripod and Ibiden -- and will start shipping any layer HDI boards for the iPad 2 in small quantities in December.

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Source: http://www.techspot.com/news/41234-rumor-nextgen-ipad-due-april-2011-cdmagsm-compatible.html

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How Mobile Phones Jump-Start Developing Economies

As one of the fastest-spreading technologies in history, the mobile phone has been transformative for the billions of people in the developing world who never had a landline or an Internet connection. One of the most unexpected benefits is its ability to deliver banking services.

Veronica Suarez, like some 2.5 billion other adults on the planet, has no bank account of her own. Suarez and her husband run a small grocery store in Quito, Ecuador, a city of about 1.4 million people on a plateau ringed with dormant volcanoes. In the past, she would often spend half a day traveling to pay bills in cash. But since June, she has been testing a mobile banking service called Mony, which is run by the Panama-based startup YellowPepper Holding. Now she can simply type out text messages that zap payments to the phones of the delivery men who bring cases of Coca-Cola and boxes of vegetable oil to her shop. That could enable her to save travel time, reduce the risk of getting robbed, and run her business more efficiently.

"It works pretty well," says Suarez, whose store is one of 52 mom-and-pop shops in Ecuador taking part in the tests. "But sometimes I am $50 short to pay the delivery man. It would be better if they loaned money, too."

Soon, they might. Worldwide, dozens of companies are introducing mobile wallets that store money in cell phones instead of bank accounts. Such schemes help the vast ranks of the "unbanked"?those huddled masses who yearn to easily send funds to distant family members, pay bills, or even take out small loans, but don't have access to financial services. "The mobile wallet can be transformational," says YellowPepper's founder and president, Serge Elkiner, who was in Ecuador in November demonstrating his system to officials from neighboring Colombia. "We have the chance to bring hundreds of millions into the banking system."

Entrepreneurs say mobile wallets are feasible thanks to the rapid expansion of cell-phone use in poorer regions of the world. In the past five years, operators have added more than two billion mobile accounts in developing and poor nations, according to data from the International Telecommunication Union. That compares to 435 million new accounts in wealthy nations (see chart).

As a result, even in poor regions without clean water or electricity, most adults are now connected. "In pretty much any developing country, in any rural area, you can get the four Cs: Coca-Cola, cigarettes, condoms, and cell phones," says Robert Katz, an associate with the Acumen Fund, a nonprofit that invests in companies trying to address poverty. "The cell-phone companies have been successful in creating ubiquity, so the challenge for the next generation of startup companies and entrepreneurs is leveraging that installed base to deliver real economic and social value to the poor."

There's no shortage of ideas for how to do that. One company in India is offering basic medical diagnoses over the phone to people who live far from a doctor; patients can pay with phone credits. Others are trying to deliver market information to farmers or fishermen, so they can take their goods to the places where they are in demand.

In Ecuador, the Mony service is filling a real need, says Elkiner. According to the consulting firm Bankable Frontier Associates, more than 75 percent of Ecuadorians have a cell phone but only 35 percent have a bank account, about average for poor and developing nations. To open a conventional bank account in Ecuador, you need several hundred dollars and proof of address?two things many Ecuadorians don't have. To sign up for a YellowPepper mobile account, all that's needed is an ID, a $5 deposit, and a cell phone. The service is slated for launch in 2011 in partnership with mobile-phone company Porta and a local bank.

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The coolest Microsoft Twitter app you?ve never heard of, and it?s free! [TNW Microsoft]

With an R&D budget in the billions, you would expect Microsoft to have some very neat side-projects. The good news is that your hunch is completely correct, Microsoft does have some very interesting experiments for you to play with.

This morning we are going to be focusing on a new favorite of mine: The Archivist. The Archivist (for this article, just ?Archivist?) is a very interesting way to track and monitor Twitter searches. While that is not a particularly unique idea per se, the implementation of the idea is what sells it; Archivist is drop dead sexy.

As everyone does, my first search was for my Twitter username, take a look at what Archivist made for me:

Of course, each one of those sections is clickable, so that you can drill down into the data that it provides. Here are my ?Source? and ?Top Words? pages:

Sadly most of this data is from the weekend, so it is not as interesting as it might be, but you can get a gist of what Archivist can do in the above pictures.

So what can you use Archivist for? I use it for personal reasons, it?s a very fun way to stare at your own navel with pretty graphics to boot. It provides an interesting look into what you actually talk about, what clients your followers use, how popular your tweets are for retweeting, and so forth. You can also set archives to ?public? and share them with others if you wish to highlight certain sections of the provided data for whatever purpose.

For the whole history of Twitter, users have been looking for more and more raw data to synthesize as it makes their accounts simpler to understand. Archivist fills that niche very well for everyone but the most hardcore Twitter user. Oh, and of course, Archivist is very strong at spying on your friends. Want to see how many @s they get? Just stick their name in the search bar and hit go.

What does the application not do that we wish that it did? We wish that it would load and archive more than 500 tweets. If you have a high-volume account, that limitation can be rather annoying. Also, as you might expect given the total tweet limitation, you cannot go back in time.

Archivist shows you a snapshot of your Twitter account, not a lifetime history. Still, it does it with more eye candy than we have yet seen.

If you like Archivist and want to get more data on your Twitter account, be sure and check out TNW?s TwitterCounter or Untitled Startup?s Rowfeeder.

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Source: http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2010/11/22/the-coolest-microsoft-twitter-app-youve-never-heard-of-and-its-free/

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iOS 4.2 for the iPad, iPhone & iPod Touch Out Today?with a surprise. [TNW Apple]

The long awaited 4.2 update is finally here bringing a slew of updates to the iPad that iPhone users will already be used to.

iPad users specifically will now enjoy folders for applications and multitasking. For everyone, iOS 4.2 brings brand new AirPrint, offering the ability to print files wirelessly to a small number of printers that support this feature; and AirPlay, bringing streaming video to any modern TV via Apple TV.

The surprise? 4.2 brings FREE ?Find my iPhone? service to all 4.2 users ? well those on the iPhone 4, iPod touch 4th Gen and iPad. You can get started with Find My iPhone here.

Other new features that iOS 4.2 brings to the iPad include: the ability to rent TV episodes directly to iPad using the iTunes App with a 30 day viewing window and a 48 hour session window once playback is started; the ability to easily find and highlight specific words and phrases on web pages in Safari; enhanced enterprise support so businesses can take advantage of stronger security features, new device management capabilities and more.

You should find the update waiting for you in iTunes at 10am PST today and once the update is released, you?ll be able to update by attaching your iDevice to your Mac or PC, selecting it in the iTunes source list, and clicking the Check For Update button.

You should know OS 4.2 is compatible with all existing iOS devices except the original iPhone and first-generation iPod touch. However, some features (such as multitasking) won?t work on older devices, including the iPhone 3G and the second-generation iPod touch.

More to follow.

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Source: http://thenextweb.com/apple/2010/11/22/ios-4-2-for-the-ipad-iphone-ipod-touch-out-today-with-a-surprise/

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RIAA hunts for creator of LimeWire Pirate Edition

The RIAA, a trade group for the major recording labels in the US, is unhappy with the launch of LimeWire Pirate Edition (LPE). LPE was created by an anonymous team that decided to resurrect the Gnutella-based file-sharing client after its creators had to shutdown the original LimeWire due to copyright law infringements. LPE is an improvement on the latest LimeWire 5.6 beta (released earlier this year, before LimeWire's demise): the Ask toolbar has been unbundled, dependencies on LimeWire LLC's servers have been removed, remote settings have been disabled, adware/spyware/advertising has been removed, and all the features of LimeWire Pro have been switched on for free.

"An anonymous developer calling himself or herself 'Meta Pirate' launched the website at http://metapirate.webs.com that provides users with several links to download the LimeWire Pirate Edition," the RIAA's attorneys said according to Ars Technica. "Press reports indicated that 'Meta Pirate' is either formerly or presently a Lime Wire employee. Plaintiffs requested expedited discovery to uncover the identity of 'Meta Pirate.'"

The RIAA has requested that LimeWire assist with the investigation and has issued a court order for MetaPirate's identity. LimeWire will likely comply, emphasize that it's not distributing any version of LimeWire, and point out that it has already issued a cease and desist letter to the hosting company of LPE.

"Speaking for myself, the motivation is to make RIAA lawyers cry into their breakfast cereal," MetaPirate told Ars Technica. "We cannot contest the court order while remaining anonymous," he said, "but our software remains available from The Pirate Bay and other sites." While MetaPirate's site has been taken down, he doesn't plan on giving up his identity as easily. "Good luck, I'm behind seven proxies."

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Source: http://www.techspot.com/news/41236-riaa-hunts-for-creator-of-limewire-pirate-edition.html

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Samsung Sells 600,000 Galaxy Tab Devices At Launch [TNW Mobile]

The Korea Herald is reporting that Samsung?s first Android-powered tablet device, the Galaxy Tab, has launched to a considerable fanfare, selling 600,000 units since launch and heading towards Samsung?s own target of one million units sold by the end of the year.

Demand for the Galaxy Tab, on sale in 30 countries worldwide, is said to be eclipsing supply of the tablet device. Samsung says ?consumer demand for its Galaxy Tab has been robust, outpacing supply in most countries.?

Samsung?s 7-inch tablet device has received considerable praise from critics, lauded for its ability to multi-task, support dual-cameras and Adobe Flash.

Competing against the iPad, the Galaxy Tab was initially priced higher than its rival, leading industry analysts to question whether the device would sell. It appears that consumers are taking advantage of the partnerships between Samsung and mobile operators to buy heavily subsidised units and spread the cost over a number of months.

The Korea Herald also reports that the Galaxy Tab has sold 30,000 units in Korea since its launch on November 14, steady figures for a device that has only been on the market for just over a week.

A solid launch for Samsung, with the holiday season approaching demand for its devices will only increase. Apple sold 4.19 million iPads during its third quarter and is said to hold over 90% of tablet market share but Samsung?s figures will see them make considerable inroads into that market.

Perfect time for a new iPad, Apple? You bet.

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Source: http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2010/11/22/samsung-sells-600000-galaxy-tab-devices-at-launch/

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