activism

Mazda tweet hints the rotary engine is not dead

After it killed off the RX-8, we thought that Mazda had called off its love affair with the Wankel rotary engine. If the Mazda_PR twitter account is to be believed, perhaps the rumors of the rotary's death have been exaggerated.

The tweet comes out of the other side of Google Translate's tubes as:

To support a lot of RX-8 rotary engine, the message, thank you very much! We are excited together. Mazda "SKYACTIV" said aims to achieve technological breakthroughs, new models are being developed intensively with the next generation of rotary engines. Continued support thank you! … Read more

Meridian digital hi-fi setup goes ruby-red

For well-heeled fans of British hi-fi brand Meridian, the limited-edition 40th Anniversary System could be a dream. With a unique ruby-red finish, the company's latest hi-fi system consists of a tweaked 808.3 Signature Reference CD Player and a pair of DSP8000 Digital Active Loudspeakers.

Both the speakers and CD player are the company's flagship models. While there are analog purists who prefer a full-analog hi-fi setup, Meridian caters to fans of pure digital. This set keeps your music in the digital format right up to the moment it reaches the speaker drivers.… Read more

BMW M5 generates fake engine noise using stereo

For a driving enthusiast, there's nothing like the throaty roar of a well-tuned engine. However, as vehicle noise regulations, technological advances, and general increases in build quality have continued to make vehicles ever quieter both outside and inside, some automakers have been seeking ways to preserve and enhance the visceral sound of an angry engine for their performance-oriented models. For example, Ford includes a sort of sound pipe that channels induction noise into the Mustang's cabin. BMW, on the other hand, has taken a different approach with the new M5's Active Sound Design technology, which artificially replicates … Read more

Feeding the meter for public space (audio slideshow)

As part of an urban-design movement that began in San Francisco in 2005, parking spaces around the world were reclaimed as public spaces yesterday, with artists and activists feeding meters to build temporary community spaces and small parks for Park(ing) Day. Across San Francisco, pop-up communities of restaurants, hair dressers, yoga classes, and gardens created new forms of temporary public space, re-envisioning the metered parking space as a public gathering space--a place for meeting people, cultural expression, teaching, playing, or just hanging out.

Study finds passive 3D TVs superior to active

A new study comparing the two current types of 3D TVs available for sale, active and passive, finds that passive 3D TVs had superior image quality to their active counterparts. I was personally surprised by the finding, since I've found the opposite in my reviews comparing the two types of 3D TVs.

The author of the study, Raymond Soneira, is the man behind the DisplayMate evaluation and calibration software. I've found his past work generally on target and well-researched, with plenty of supporting labs-based observations. This study, encapsulated in an article called 3D TV Display Technology Shoot-Out, is … Read more

HP update to boost TouchPad 'functionality'

Hewlett-Packard told CNET on Monday that it will deliver a future update to boost the TouchPad's functionality. HP also said it has seen "huge spikes" in TouchPad activation in the wake of the decision to discount the tablet.

On August 19, HP slashed the price of the 16GB TouchPad to $100, setting off a buying frenzy at stores like Best Buy and online. HP's action came after announcing the shuttering its WebOS device business. The TouchPad uses the WebOS operating system.

"We expect that HP TouchPad owners can look forward to an over-the-air update that … Read more

Do you want me to draw you a map?

OkMap is a free geographical software package that can create, edit, and manage digital maps, import data from GPS devices, scanners, and other sources, plot your position in real time, and extract statistics.

With its detailed toolbar and feature-packed menu bar, OkMap's interface bears a strong resemblance to digital imaging and word processing tools, but with a specific geographical focus. The program opened with an optional tool tip that we could click through for a general view of the program's capabilities. An online-hosted, PDF-based Help file does an excellent job of explaining this versatile application's many features … Read more

Premium presentations

We've encountered programs like ActivePresenter before, and to be quite honest, we weren't really looking forward to reviewing this one. Most of the software of this type that we've tried has been unintuitive and a huge hassle to use. So imagine our surprise when we opened ActivePresenter and successfully created a presentation almost without knowing it. If you're looking for a simple way to create tutorials, presentations, and anything else using video screen captures, look no further than ActivePresenter.

The program's interface is incredibly intuitive, with commonsense menus and buttons across the top. To get … Read more

Nonprofit necessity

If you've ever worked for a nonprofit organization where your job included managing the membership roster, and had to do so using an outdated database program with very few useful features, you'll appreciate a program like Membership and Activity Records System. This comprehensive nonprofit database keeps track not only of your membership list, but of everything about your interactions with your members. It takes some effort to learn how to use MARS, but its multitude of features makes it worth the time investment.

MARS' interface is fairly straightforward, with its main features organized in five tabs. Some of … Read more