Tesla shakes up luxury car pricing in Australia

Credit: Tesla/drive.com.a

http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/tesla-shakes-up-luxury-car-pricing-20140530-zrsk4.html

Comments on the article linked above are interesting, although keep in mind that:

● Toyota Rav EV was only ever a compliance car. I.e. produced in small numbers to comply with California Air Resource Board (CARB) requirements

● "fuel cell miracles" haven't happened yet — see below

http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/fuel-cells-finally-ready-for-prime-time.html

http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-not-viable-says.html

Thanks to Steve for the link at the top of this article. / EV electric vehicle car gulf in pricing luxury cars sold in Australia identical models sold overseas $91,400 to $119,900 Australia US price similarly priced models BMW Mercedes Mercedes-Benz $150,000 more in Australia luxury cars BMW M5Mercedes-Benz E63 S AMG Australian dollar boomed GFC US dollar luxury car makers traditional price points pricing of competitors additional equipment minor price reductions luxury cars BMW spokeswoman Lenore Fletcher taxes specification levels lower sales volumes Tesla debunks debunk those arguments sell significantly lower numbers established luxury marques similar tax structure European models keep costs down in Australia Tesla encourages customers to order cars online delivered by truck lavish dealership Tesla spokeswoman Atsuko Doi national centre in Sydney full sales and servicing arrangements Mercedes-Benz spokesman David McCarthy looks and performance will attract buyers fast charge fast-charge stations Supercharger eight-year battery warranty /

Wireless charging of phones from across the room? The tech inches closer (video)

Wireless charging is available now, using the Qi standard. All you need is a Qi charging pad & a receiver for your phone. I have one in my Samsung Galaxy S4. Receivers for phones with non-removable batteries are incorporated into a case.

In my experience, the phone needs to be be positioned precisely to charge at the highest possible rate. Current drawn from the wall can vary between 4 & 7.5 Watts, depending on the position of the phone on the charging pad. I assume this is reflected in the time taken to charge, although I haven't timed it.

Which brings us to another possibility: do you want wireless charging, or would you prefer to be able to charge you phone in under a minute? It could be very useful at the airport, or if you forgot to plug it in overnight & you have to leave for work. Elon Musk has suggested charge times of 5 to 10 minutes for Tesla electric vehicles in the future.

Wireless charging

http://singularityhub.com/2014/05/25/wireless-charging-is-poised-to-go-mainstream-at-last/

Tesla 5 minute charging

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/516876/forget-battery-swapping-tesla-aims-to-charge-electric-cars-in-five-minutes/ / electric car vehicle EV LiIon lithium ion over metal plate cell mobile phone charging mat charge recharge batteries battery no plugs required wireless energy transmission Thomas Edison’s time robots gain mobility electric vehicles accrue consumer demand tangled power cords smartphone users remain tethered to plug-in chargers cables new promising technology consumers easier to use wireless charging methods inconvenience cables receiver plates cases robots EVs Energous public semiconductor company energy router powers several receivers up to 15 feet away receivers built into desks tables sofas receiver sleeves convert radio waves sent by the router direct current phone in a receiver cae cases for sale extend battery life device remains within 15 feet of the router prototypes device being charged WiTricity MIT spinoff company patents magnetic resonance charging magnetic coil sends electricity tuned to the same resonance wireless charging hub communicates charging sleeves up to 15 feet away magnetic resonance charging works wood granite wall between hub sleeve 20 percent 80 percent electricity outlet devices repeaters receivers built into smartphones devices standard wireless charging two major industry groups make those standards interoperable Qi Samsung LG speed of charging less than under a minute, right StoreDot charger can power a phone in 30 seconds Israeli company Energous semiconductor unconventional nanodots self-assembled organic peptides wireless charging innovation Energous Wireless Power Consortium /

Self assembly — the next technological frontier?

http://www.selfassemblylab.net/index.php / living things molecule virus furniture wire frame form device tool monolayer self-assembling robot self-assembly process disordered parts build ordered structure local interaction demonstrate demonstrated phenomenon scale independent scale-independent ulitlise utilize utilized self-constructing manufacturing systems scale key ingredients self-assembly simple set responsive building blocks energy interactions designed material machining process enable breakthroughs applications biology material science software robotics manufacturing transportation infrastructure construction the arts space exploration Self-Assembly Lab academic commercial nonprofit government partners collaborators sponsors self-assembling future reality research develop development researcher /

Goodbye Nexus — Hello Silver — Google's new "pure Android" programme

http://androidandme.com/2014/05/opinions/ill-miss-the-nexus-line-but-android-silver-sounds-even-better/

http://www.stuff.tv/android/android-silver-everything-you-need-know-about-google-s-upcoming-range-premium-smartphones/fe

http://www.techradar.com/au/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/google-reportedly-looks-to-more-devices-line-with-the-android-silver-program-1246122

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/553209/20140522/google-android-silver-samsung-touchwiz-htc-sense.htm#.U4wXo9B_W2c / Google's Silver program replace Nexus Android Silver devices tailored Google experience software interface features compete custom user interface UI's Samsung TouchWiz HTC Sense Nexus Google Play Edition devices pure Android experience programme programs Android Open Source Project AOSP Nexus 5 Android 4.4 KitKat Google's shifting focus applications Google Now launcher Google Dialer software hardware partner create Android source code partners Google services Amazon Nokia OEMs tailor Android system user experience fragmentation problem Android Silver program Google Experience Android interface notification shade home screen recent integration integrate Search Chrome under Android Google Launcher focus multitasking working with other applications Google Now provide a more convenient UI user dismiss applications swipe official announcements company I/O conference this June /

Elon Musk on 60 Minutes (video)

"Only 4 entities have put a capsule in space & brought it back: The United States, Russia, China ... Elon Musk." — 60 Minutes

After a tussle with Ford, the Tesla "mass market car" (200 mile range, $30,000), will no longer be called the Model E, but whatever it is called, Elon Musk's says it will be unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show in January 2015.

/ Tesla lithium ion LiIon battery charge recharge recharge Supercharger CEO important try probable outcome failure profile entrepreneurs financial financially succeed real world changing solar city solar panels roof transportation oil capsule space United States Russia China Elon Musk SpaceX cheaper Tesla unveiled early 2015 third platform Detroit Auto Show January 2015 on sale 2016 or 2017 inexpensive batteries planned Gigafactory Tesla /

Scientists have pinpointed why batteries lose capacity over time

Now if they can just do something about it ...

http://www.dvice.com/2014-5-30/scientists-have-pinpointed-why-batteries-lose-life-over-time

http://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=24805 / charger smart phone smartphone top up battery single charge battery longevity LiIon litihum ion lithium-ion battery batteries easy replacement removeable scientists charge fully breakthrough paper papers published publish scientists U.S. Department of Energy positive lithium ions move across the anode battery causing irregular degradation anode surface Huolin Xin materials scientist Brookhaven Lab Center for Functional Nanomaterials CFN degradation unevenly resulting irregularities anode surface crusty deposits rock salt build up on the surface insulate insulation insulating electron flow diminishing diminish capacity source of the problem next step develop solution stops crusty buildup more resistant charging ability loss atomic deposition process crystallization resistant coating on the anode cellphone industry upgrade to a new phone end contract Brookhaven National Laboratory /

Emptying the oceans — trawling leading to deep ocean deserts

Credit: Gewin 2004

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/science-sushi/2014/05/30/emptying-ocean-trawling-leading-deep-ocean-deserts/#.U4mCF9B_W2d / research trawl trawler trawling allowed high seas bottom trawling dredges up twice the area of the United States every year terms unregulated study published Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences mounting evidence protein laying waste planet permanent lasting changes in the sea floor prevent recovery method of fishing boats nets drag nets through the water along the sea floor catching catch sustainability high-efficiency fishing method abundance small fish boats designed drag larger and larger nets deeper and deeper engineering prowess empty our oceans devastation of trawling United Kingdom UK unrestricted freedom of fishing high seas world world’s oceans ban bottom trawling modern technology bottom trawlers drag nets corals top predators surface habitats living sea floor corals sponges other marine life net’s massive weight dragged surface dying or dead deep gouges seabed rubble deep sea organisms slower growing scars on the sea floor seafloor greed /