films

Wal-Mart boosts on-store solar with thin-film tech

Retail juggernaut Wal-Mart is using panels from First Solar and MiaSole in what is expected to be one of the largest business installations of thin-film solar technology.

Wal-Mart on Monday said that it is adding solar panels at between 20 and 30 store locations in California and Arizona, building on the 31 stores in California and Hawaii already equipped with on-site solar. The majority of the new installations will use thin-film solar panels, a technology a number of companies are developing to undercut traditional silicon cells on price.

First Solar's cadmium telluride panels have been available for years and … Read more

Twitter redesigns itself

  Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded: New Twitter is coming "Social Network" reviews are in HP webOS slate confirmed Google fired engineer over privacy breach

'Social Network' weaves a complex Web (review)

"When (Hermes) had driven away the cattle of Apollo and had been caught in the act, to win pardon more easily, at Apollo's request he gave him permission to claim the invention of the lyre."--The Astronomica of Pseudo-Hyginus (2.7) explains the birth of deception, and intellectual property

"For those of you addicted to FarmVille as much as I am there is a glitch in the game that gives you free cows." -- A much-read how-to on the Facebook Platform's biggest runaway success

In one scene in David Fincher's new film "… Read more

Netflix still after first-run films

New releases were supposed to be dead at Netflix.

Don't tell that to CEO Reed Hastings. He just signed a long-term agreement that will hand the Web's No. 1 video-rental service the ability to stream "first-run films" from independent studio, Nu Image/Millennium Films as soon as the movies are made available for pay TV services, the companies announced Wednesday.

Remember when Netflix was blasted for initiating a 28-day delay on the rentals of new releases from Warner Bros. and some of the other big studios? Oh, how the critics howled. They said Netflix had surrendered. … Read more

SoloPower trumpets certification for flexible solar modules

SoloPower said Tuesday that it has received UL certification for its flexible solar modules, helping the thin-film solar products compete against the incumbent solar technology.

San Jose, Calif.-based SoloPower said that the certification from Underwriters Laboratories is the first for a company making flexible modules from a combination of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium (CIGS).

The flexible solar modules are designed for commercial rooftops where they can be rolled out and attached to roofs without racking systems. Thin-film solar cells are generally less efficient than traditional polycrystalline silicon material, but SoloPower and other thin-film companies say that their installation … Read more

Jedi Mind changes its name amid Lucas pressure

Not even the Jedi Mind trick could get LucasFilm to change its opinion on Jedi Mind's name.

The small software developer announced on Tuesday that it has changed its name to Mind Technologies. In a statement, the company said it decided to change its name "to avoid potential infringement of trademarks owned by LucasFilm."

Mind Technologies has also redirected its former Web site, JediMindinc.com, to its new MindTechnologies.com.

Mind Technologies' name was just one part of the issue LucasFilm had with the company. It also didn't like that it used "Jedi" in … Read more

Global Solar rolls out stick-on solar panels

Glue may be the magic ingredient to making solar power cheaper.

Solar company Global Solar on Tuesday introduced a line of flexible solar modules that are designed for flat commercial rooftop buildings.

Rather than install racking systems to hold heavy glass-covered solar panels, the company's PowerFlex BIPV modules can be adhered onto a roof or built right into roofing materials. The modules are quicker to installer, lighter, and don't require any penetrations into the roof, according to the company.

The installed cost of Global Solar modules is about the same as traditional polycrystalline silicon panels with racks, said … Read more

Another ISP bucks 'Hurt Locker' subpoenas

An Internet service provider based in South Dakota is refusing to turn over information belonging to 143 customers accused of illegally sharing the Oscar-winning film, "The Hurt Locker."

In federal court on Monday, Midcontinent Communications filed a motion to quash a subpoena received from Voltage Pictures, the film's producers, who allege some of the ISP's customers used peer-to-peer services to pilfer unauthorized copies of its movie. Voltage seeks to require Midcontinent to identify those customers as well as turn over their home addresses, phone numbers, and other data.

Midcontinent's lawyers told the court that the … Read more

'Social Network' raises questions as debut nears

NEW YORK--They're everywhere here: on the sides of buses and along the walls of subway stations, posters for the upcoming film "The Social Network" bearing little else than the three words "PUNK, BILLIONAIRE, GENIUS" and a partial headshot of lead actor Jesse Eisenberg. Likewise, buzz about the David Fincher-directed film about the contested origins of Facebook, based on Ben Mezrich's book "The Accidental Billionaires," has been growing now that its hyped premiere at the New York Film Festival is less than a month away. Its wide theatrical release is on October 1.… Read more