earth

A voice mail from Santa

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

The FCC is set to vote on new Net neutrality rules today

An app that gives users access to WikiLeaks documents gets yanked from Apple's App Store

Google extends free Gmail calling through the end of 2011

Amazon is issuing a refund for the non-lighted Kindle cover for users who have problems with it. The refund number is 877-453-4512.

Google Earth and Google Maps will track Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve

Microsoft is none too amused by the 3D sex simulation use of Kinect by a company called ThriXXX

Hitachi and Molycorp plan rare earth joint venture

U.S. rare earth metal supplier Molycorp today said that it is planning a joint venture with Hitachi Metals to produce rare earth metals in the U.S.

No definitive agreement has been signed but the talks envision production of neodymium-iron-boron alloys and magnets, according to Molycorp. If conditions are met, the companies could start producing rare earth magnets in the latter half of 2011.

Molycorp is in the process or reopening a mine in Mountain Pass, California to extract and process rare earth metals, which would be the only mine in the U.S.

The supply of rare earth … Read more

U.S. at risk of rare earths supply disruptions

The United States risks major supply disruptions of rare earth metals used in clean energy products unless it diversifies its sources of the minerals, the Energy Department warns in a report released today.

The United States and other countries are worried that China, which controls 97 percent of the world trade in rare earth metals, will use those supplies as a political weapon and cut back their export when it is in a dispute with another country or to grow China's clean energy technology sector.

"The availability of a number of these materials is at risk due to … Read more

3G baby monitor

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded:

Amazon invests in Living Social while rumors persist that Google wants to purchase Groupon

eBay purchases local shopping site Milo.com

Google Earth Engine launches with 25 years of archived satellite imagery

Google Doodles are now available on mobile searches

A new version of Rock Band is out for iPad and iPhone

A Pennsylvania couple is awarded $1 in a trespassing case against Google

The Wi-Fi Baby 3G will help you monitor your little ones--and big ones--while you're away

At Cleantech Open, less is more

This year's Cleantech Open 2010 Business Competition winner, announced last week, is Puralytics, a company developing photochemical water purification products.

Since 2006, the Cleantech Open has offered a venue for competition among green tech start-up companies looking for funding. Winning alumni of the contest include Cool Earth Solar, Green Volts, and Micromidas.

This year's winner, Puralytics, is an Oregon-based start-up that uses natural sunlight or LED lighting as the catalysts to remove pathogens, petrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals from waste water. Its processes under development have applications for both industrial manufacturing facilities and small rural communities. Puralytics will receive $250,… Read more

You've got mail!

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Facebook gets ready to make an announcement about mail and messaging

AOL unveils its new Webmail client, Project Pheonix

The Sony Dash touch-screen device snags Hulu Plus

Netflix can now stream on Android but only on a select few handsets

Google Earth adds user-contributed panoramic photos

Audi A1 E-tron to use Google Earth navigation

Audi is raising the bar for electric vehicle infotainment systems by offering the same telematics package in the European A1 E-tron that it delivers in its top-of-the-line A8 sedan.

The Audi A1 E-tron is a prototype plug-in that uses a 45-kilowatt electric motor powered by a 12-kilowatt battery to deliver a 31-mile range. For longer distances, a small gasoline engine generates electricity to recharge the battery and extends the urban EV's range another 125 miles. Gear heads often complain that EVs take the fun out of driving, but the A1 E-tron's infotainment system could change their minds.

It … Read more

China's rare earth embargo triggers price hikes

A Chinese embargo on rare earth elements is causing a dramatic spike in the price of materials, which is expected to lead to a jump in high-tech product prices before settling back down in a few years, according to report released today.

Prices will increase rapidly until "non-Chinese rare earth mines are up and running, increasing product availability and thereby decreasing prices," wrote Robert Castellano, president of The Information Network, in a research note today. (See: Pay dirt: Why rare earth metals matter to tech (FAQ).)

But for the time being, Castellano points to some alarming statistics. In … Read more

Master disasters

We've used plenty of weather-watching programs, but none quite like Earth Alerts from South Wind Technologies. This disaster-watching program monitors online information related to severe, extreme, and violent weather and natural disasters in near real time, notifies you about alerts and updates, displays satellite data and imagery, and even lets you view the event in images and video.

Earth Alerts has an attractive, colorful display that is quite easy to get started with. We first added our own location by clicking New Location and entering our ZIP code in the Search tool. Earth Alerts populated the relevant information fields … Read more