csr

China tests 311-mph train after deadly crash

China has apparently tested a train with a top speed of 500 kilometers per hour (311 mph) despite lingering worries over the crash earlier this year of two high-speed trains that left about 40 dead.

Qingdao-based CSR Sifang, a subsidiary of train maker CSR, produced the six-car train partly out of carbon fiber-reinforced plastics, according to state media. The design was inspired by ancient Chinese swords.

The train, some 200 kph quicker than China's fastest trains, is experimental. It was based on CSR's CRH380A, which set a world train speed record at 486.1 kph (302 mph) last … Read more

CSR reaches beyond GPS to improve navigation

CSR's new GPS architecture taps additional satellites, plus cell tower and Wi-Fi access points, to improve navigational accuracy.

During a meeting in CNET's offices, Kanwar Chadha, CMO of CSR Technology, noted that all content is becoming location-aware. Smartphone apps and navigation devices can tailor information to a user's personal surroundings. Taking advantage of that trend, Chadha's company, which provides GPS chips for navigation devices, has developed a new generation of products that can pinpoint locations both outdoors and indoors.

As an initial step to improve accuracy, the company's SiRFstarV architecture not only uses the U.… Read more

GoodGuide rates most virtuous cell phones

Whether they consider it bling or just a tool, people typically buy phones based on features and carrier plans. But if you're looking to add benign environmental and societal impact to your feature wish list, GoodGuide has got the data.

GoodGuide launched on Thursday cell phone ratings that rank individual models and manufacturers on health, environment, and social attributes. The new category joins others already on the site, including cleaning products, food items, personal care products, and home appliances.

The ratings cover 576 phones and are based on publicly available information, said Chief Scientist Bill Pease. Altogether, 150 factors … Read more

Business, Ethics, Barcelona: Doing Good When You're Not Doing So Well

I just returned from Barcelona (where every tourist now seems to be tracking the path of Woody Allen's Vicky and Christina...), attending a few sessions of the Doing Good and Doing Well Conference organized by IESE Business School and Net Impact, an organization that connects MBA students interested in social responsibility.

That a leading business school is dedicating an entire student-run conference to the topic of responsible business is remarkable (HEC Paris will do the same soon in May, also in collaboration with Net Impact) but not an isolated phenomenon. In the past few years, several top business schools, … Read more

Generation G: Wired to care, wired to share

Trendwatching gets it right (again): "Giving is the new taking, and sharing is the new giving." That's the key assertion in this month's trend briefing, which describes the characteristics of Generation G (for generosity) and offers eight ways for brands to join: from Tryvertising to Brand Butlers to Random Acts of Kindness (RAK).… Read more

CSR absorbs GPS chip company SiRF

CSR, formerly Cambridge Silicon Radio, has bought SiRF, an American GPS chip company, in a share transaction valued at 91 million British pounds ($132.7 million), giving SiRF shareholders 27 percent of the new, enlarged CSR. Two SiRF directors will get seats on the board.

SiRF is best known for its SiRFstar range of GPS chips, which are used by TomTom, Garmin, Palm, and others. CSR has traditionally specialized in Bluetooth chips, more recently concentrating on highly integrated all-in-one circuits that combine Bluetooth with other radio functions like Wi-Fi and FM reception. Lately, it has been promoting 802.11n for … Read more

Obama Inc. - Web activism for profit

A few months after Barack Obama’s historic election, and a couple of weeks after the release of Barry Libert’s and Rick Faulk’s book Obama Inc. (and, of course, Obama's inauguration), the first start-ups are popping up that directly apply some of the widely heralded business lessons emerging from the innovative campaign. The fact that most of these lessons lie in the marketing domain supports the view I’ve expressed earlier and on numerous occasions: 1) Marketing will (again) become the number one change agent in business, 2) when it follows the new rules of “marketing with … Read more

IBM launches 'Green Sigma' business consulting

Big Blue has devised a consulting service to profit from corporate initiatives to "go green."

IBM on Monday detailed its "Green Sigma" consulting practice for reducing energy and water usage at businesses by using networked sensors and data analysis software.

It's based on the Lean Six Sigma management strategy that was originally designed to focus on operational efficiency and customer requirements.

The idea with Green Sigma is to do an accounting of a company's water and energy usage, both at its own facilities and also its supply chain partners. IBM is piloting the method … Read more

"A Better World by Design" summons change agents from various sectors

" A Better World by Design" is a first-of-its-kind conference on "globally conscious design," as the organizers call it. Held at Brown University/RISD from November 7-9, it aims to generate innovative solutions to issues facing today's world, including extreme poverty, access to basic resources, and environmental degradation.

The conference wants to attract academics and professionals interested in learning and discussing ways in which user-centric and affordable technology can improve the world around us. It will bring together such far-ranging fields as social entrepreneurship, engineering, design, economics, development, and environmental studies in search of new opportunities … Read more