nissan

So, Twitter has had a hard time staying up today because of a denial of service attack. But we think we have the answer. And it's available in many spam e-mails for order. We also get in a big, fat argument about whether News Corp. will win or lose by charging for all its news sites. But we can all agree on Whisky.

Twitter DOS outage today is really becoming a big one. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10304633-36.htm http://status.twitter.com/… Read more

OPPAMA, Japan--Imagine a drive through the countryside when you suddenly sniff that distinctive, methane-drenched stench that says you're in cattle country.

Nissan Motor says it knows how to spare your nose.

Nissan's new Forest AC air-conditioning system detects offensive odors before they enter the car. It then automatically masks the smells with the pleasant aroma of floral wood and freshly cut grass.

Forest AC is just one of several new technologies that could be coming to the United States as early as next year. Nissan showed them last week at its annual advanced technology briefing. … Read more

This weekend Nissan released photos and details of the electric car it intends to put into production in 2010. The Nissan Leaf is a purpose-built, pure battery electric vehicle. Nissan previously let us test-drive the Leaf's power train using the Cube as a test model. The Nissan Leaf has its own distinct look; it's a more conventional car than the Cube, with four doors and a hatchback. Although it hasn't announced pricing, Nissan says the Leaf will be affordable, priced as a C-segment car. The company also notes that the Leaf will cost less to operate than … Read more

Seeking out a better auto battery, Nissan Motor and EnerDel said Thursday that they will team up in support of research into a better conductive material for batteries.

The pact calls for the two companies to co-fund research at the Argonne National Laboratory to develop a new electrolyte made of a slurry liquid. The work is being done specifically for electric and hybrid vehicle batteries.

EnerDel, which makes lithium ion batteries, has agreements to supply Think Global's city car and Fisker Automotive's luxury plug-in electric vehicle, both of which are expected to be available in the next year. … Read more

Here in sunny San Francisco and in many other major cities, hybrid taxis and buses are pretty commonplace. But New Yorkers might want to get used to seeing hybrid police cars, as well, because the largest police department in the U.S., the New York Police Department (NYPD), is replacing 40 of its squad cars with Nissan Altima hybrids.

The 40 hybrid squad cars (18 marked, 22 unmarked) will be the first gas-electric hybrids to be used as regular patrol cars by the NYPD.

There is a premium for this new technology and the new Altima hybrids are about $1,… Read more

Top Gear reviews the new BMW Z4 and the Nissan 370Z, putting each car through the paces. Although the 10-minute video favors the Z4, the Nissan has a few surprises.

Folks are always talking about Nissan and Porsche's Nurburgring rivalry between their heavyweights: the GT-R and 911. But the automakers may have another rivalry on their hands a short way down their respective product lines.

When the Nissan 370Z first hit the streets late last year, many automotive journalists compared the smaller, lighter Z car's performance to the midengined Porsche Cayman S. One thing these cars do have in common is that they both live in the shadow of their more exotic siblings.

Check out this video from Best Motoring that pits the 370Z (also known as the … Read more

Nissan's continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) have historically impressed us with their smoothness and efficiency. Nissan's latest announcement, in conjunction with its transmission supplier JATCO Ltd., could mean that its next generation of transmissions could be even more efficient.

Conventional CVTs work by pairing two variable conical pulleys with a belt to allow for infinitely variable gear ratios within the paired pulleys' ranges. However, due to friction constraints of the belt driven design, most CVTs have been limited to a maximum transmission ratio of 6:1.

Nissan's newest CVT combines the conventional belt-driven operation with an auxiliary gearbox … Read more

On today's episode, we invent a new word that we hope will show up on a show like "The Hills" sometime soon. Plus, we get fired up, make terrible jokes about monkeys controlling computers with their brains, and actually work in a tiny bit of news. For example, Apple's doing a tablet and music labels are trying to sell some new weird digital album thing. You might like the "fired up" part better.

Apple partners with music labels for interactive content for new netbook -- Sept

Microsoft in new EU browser offer

Confusion at Best Buy over rumors of a $99 Palm Pre

Installing Pre homebrew apps: now even easier

Netflix Prize: And the $1 Million Winner Is...?

ATandT blocks 4chan

AT&T said to block 4chan; pranksters fight back

Wi-Fi on ordinary cell phones

Aussie Net filtering trial deemed a success despite problems

Nissan's Forest AC blows wild scents through your ride, keeps you alert

Monkeys and scientists develop persistent "plug and play" control over brain-to-computer interface… Read more