tracker

New particle trapping technology and significantly lower sulfur diesel fuel has opened the door for more diesel-powered vehicles to be sold in all 50 states. But the increase in engine cleanliness hasn't translated into increased diesel vehicle sales the way German automakers wanted.

The problem? Consumer perception hasn't caught up with engineering advances.

To combat the dated stigma that diesels are dirty, slow, expensive, and won't start in the cold, VW has launched TDI Truth & Dare, a new Web site that aims to debunk these myths.

The videos may provide a bit of entertaining education, but … Read more

Expense Tracker does just what its name suggests and lets you record all of your personal and business expenses. As long as you're not looking for any type of synchronization functionality, it's a very easy-to-use tool for managing your finances.

We were happy to find that the program is password-protected. The user interface is as simple as it gets, and we needed no guidance whatsoever to get started. Prominent icons on the left side of the window let you quickly access your accounts, transactions, and payees. Adding new accounts was as simple as clicking the Add button and … Read more

Days after four defendants in the high-profile Pirate Bay case were found guilty of violating copyright law, the Web site implored fans to stay calm, not to send donations, and to stay united.

In a blog posted to Thepiratebay.org, the controversial BitTorrent tracker said the "verdict has already been appealed by us and will be taken to the next level of court."

Administrators of the court in Sweden did not immediately respond to requests to confirm the filing of the appeal. On Friday, the court convicted Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, and Carl Lundströ… Read more

While there are separate ways to check the status of your iPhone minutes in the U.S. via AT&T, and pay for your phone bill remotely, the 99 cent app Cell Minute Tracker from Pageonce combines both functions in one. It's neither a complete nor flawless solution, but it's got promise. For many, the nominal price might be worth it to keep from busting through their plan's minutes on AT&T, and from missing bills.

After registering for a MyAccount log-in from AT&T.com--business services aren't included yet--you can access much … Read more

On Thursday, Pageonce released a native application for the iPhone and iPod Touch that AT&T might have considered when it won the iPhone's exclusive carrier rights in the U.S. Cell Minute Tracker (99 cents) keeps tabs on your cell phone usage, data plan, rollover minutes, SMS costs, and payments on a relatively compact page that has additional features AT&T doesn't provide you on the phone.

You'll need to register for a MyAccount login from AT&T.com for Cell Minute Tracker to work. The app speaks directly to AT&T'… Read more

Disney Online announced on Wednesday that it has acquired "a number" of assets from family site Kaboose.

According to the company, Kaboose assets were acquired for $18 million. Kaboose sites, including BabyZone and AmazingMoms, will become part of Disney's existing family properties. The deal will be completed once the acquisition attains shareholder approval.

FileLater, an authorized IRS e-file provider, announced on Wednesday that it is now the only online service to provide both businesses and consumers the opportunity to file a tax extension before the April 15 deadline. The company said it facilitated the filing of more … Read more

In many ways, Wednesday's release of an updated front page to Google Blog Search has put blog news tracking into the limelight. Google didn't get there first though. Sites like Techmeme, Blogrunner, and Technorati have been tracking the hottest blog posts for quite some time. Now's a good point to take a look at what makes these sites (and others) individual and different from Google's new tool.

Editor's note: this list is in no particular order.

1. Google Blog Search

In case you missed Wednesday's news, Google's new blog search tool organizes the biggest news and the sites that are breaking it. The service is entirely automated, and meant to be a quick way to figure out what's going on outside of mainstream media outlets--the sources that make their way onto Google's sister site, Google News.

Google Blog Search's core feature is that it shows you not only how many different blogs have written about a particular topic, but also within what period of time. It also blends in some of Google's trends prowess to show you how a story's prominence has increased or decreased by the hour.

2. Techmeme

To compare, let's start with Techmeme. Techmeme is a site run by Gabe Rivera, who has formulated a software-powered algorithm that automatically figures out which stories are hot and orders them accordingly. Items change throughout the day, with as much importance placed on who wrote the story and where it came from as the topic itself.

One of the things that makes Techmeme stand out from the rest is its speed. The service is constantly crawling thousands of news sources, and it promotes and demotes items depending on the day's story velocity. It's also updating its list of sources on a daily basis, so new sites that offer good coverage can rise in the ranks at a good clip.

Compared with Techmeme, the sources in Google Blog Search are weighted a bit differently. Google's taken it's "all of the Web!" approach here, which means you're going to see a lot of junk blogs that are likely taking content from elsewhere. As automated as Techmeme is, there's still some behind-the-scenes selection going on (via the software) that keeps those copycat blogs out of the mix. The same cannot be said for Google's current offerings, although that is likely to change.

One of the criticisms of Techmeme has been its recognition of who "broke" a story. The service's policy is to give an author a primary headline (instead of a relational link based on how many other blogs are linking to that post), combined with when it surfaced. The system is not perfect though--in cases where several publications release a post that's been embargoed things get fuzzy.

Also worth noting is that Techmeme is just one of four companion sites that use this same system for different topics. There's also celebrity gossip tracker WeSmirch; Memeorandum, which focuses on political news; and baseball news tracker Ballbug.

This story continues after the break. Keep reading for numbers 3-7, and which one you should use to track news.… Read more

Blogged.com, a site that started off as a ratings-powered blog directory has branched out into new territory this morning. It's now compiling the hottest news headlines by hand. Competing news tracking services like TechMeme, Google News, and BlogRunner use automated systems or a slight mix of automation and editorial choice to categorize news as it happens. Blogged's will be entirely human-driven.

The move is a bit of a gamble to get people in the door. Once a user is looking at a story, they can dig into Blogged's directory and check out its rating, hopefully coming … Read more

If there was ever an argument to integrate GPS functions into watches, this would be it. The Chinese-made "Wrist GPS Tracker" claims to be the smallest gadget of its kind, providing satellite tracking and texting functions in a wristwatch-like device.

But even in this relatively compact form it seems unnecessarily cumbersome, especially if it's worn separately from a conventional watch. And the messaging feature needs to work with a cell phone anyway, so that's yet another thing that needs to be carried. With GPS technology being built into more devices all the time, it would seem … Read more