places

Better Place raises $350 million, first projects on track

Better Place has raised $350 million to build its charging network for electric cars, the start-up said Monday.

The series B round was led by HSBC Holdings and brought new investors Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Lazard Asset Management. The investment, which follows a $200 million round in 2007, is likely to be one of the largest in the green-tech area this year.

Better Place also said that its first two projects in Denmark and Israel are on track to go online in 2011 using all-electric Renault sedans. The new money will allow the company to further build its technology … Read more

Google Favorite Places coming to window near you

Google is turning its sights squarely on the local ad market, with plans to promote its local business listings in storefronts around the U.S.

Stickers bearing Google's logo and a QR code have been distributed to 100,000 of the most popular businesses in Google's Local Business Center database, and starting this week consumers will be able to use code-scanning applications on modern phones to look up the Google listing for that particular restaurant, store, or dry cleaner. The stickers will be prominently displayed in store windows of participating businesses, and represent a shot across the bow … Read more

Apple buys map service to compete with Google?

We may now have a better idea of why Apple objects to Google Latitude.

It appears that Apple has purchased PlaceBase, a company that produced a maps API called Pushpin and offered a mapping service much like Google Maps. The evidence, dug up by ComputerWorld's Seth Weintraub, first appeared in the form of a tweet in July by Fred Lalonde, the founder of Openspaces.org, a company that used PlaceBase's software, stating that Apple had purchased PlaceBase:

Apple bought PlaceBase - all hush hush. Pushpin site taken offline. Hyperlocal iPhone?

The next clue apparently came from Jaron Waldman, … Read more

Better Place software tallies electric cars' charge

Better Place founder Shai Agassi is ready to show off that he's applying his software industry experience to improve electric vehicles.

At the Frankfurt auto show on Tuesday, the electric car service company will show off in-car software designed to ensure that electric car drivers have enough charge to keep driving.

Code-named AutOS, Better Place's software alerts drivers to a car battery's charge status and points them to battery charging spots and swapping stations in the company's network.

In conjunction with the launch, partner Renault is also expected to debut a concept car called Fluence ZE, a five-seat all-electric passenger car that will be able to operate at Better Place's battery-swapping stations. The two companies have committed to producing 100,000 of the sedans, which have a 100-mile-driving range, for Better Place customers in both Israel and Denmark by 2016. … Read more

Better Place to test electric taxis in Japan

Better Place will test its battery-swapping service with electric cars used as taxis in Tokyo.

The project, funded by Japanese government agencies, will use as many as four cars converted to run on batteries. The taxis will be able to swap in fresh batteries at an existing station in Tokyo.

Better Place is developing a service that will allow drivers to charge electric car batteries and to change out batteries at a network of swapping stations. It has signed partnerships to develop a number of networks, with the first expected in Israel.

The trial in Tokyo, scheduled to begin in … Read more

Architectural helper

MB Vastu Shastra provides users with a tool to align their home using this ancient Indian architectural principle. While learning the program can be difficult, its results are worth the added effort.

The program's interface will take some experimenting. This is because the program's online Help file does little more than explain what Vastu Shastra is supposed to do. Luckily, there are several drop-down menus and intuitive fields that eventually will feel natural and help to organize your home. Users must first enter the dimensions of their living space in feet. This is represented in a square diagram … Read more

Moving wallpaper

Big Mountain Valley Animated Wallpaper is a great way to breathe some life into your stagnant desktop. With a peaceful scene as your background, this wallpaper will speak volumes about your personality.

The program's interface could not be much simpler. With only a few settings, this program is either on or off with not many decisions to make. Users will not find a Help file, but will not miss it, since the program is so simple. The program consists of a peaceful scene depicting a pond and wildflowers with a mountain in the background. All of it is a … Read more

Mapping celebs' favorite places

Study: To speed electric cars to market, sell batteries separately

To get more electric vehicles on the road, consumers should have the option to essentially lease the batteries, a University of California at Berkeley study argues.

The UC Berkeley Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology on Monday released an analysis that found that there are environmental and economic benefits to adopting electric vehicles, but the high cost of batteries is a persistent problem that remains a barrier to buyers.

The study's author, economist Thomas Becker, argues that pay-per-mile service contracts--the rough equivalent of buying a service contract with a cell phone--and swappable batteries will hasten adoption rates. Separating the cost … Read more