Monday 8 October 2012

honda in trouble

Honda has said it will recall nearly 500,000 cars after a fault was found that could lead to the driver's door catching fire.
The Japanese carmaker said the recall was announced after it found water may enter the power window switch on the door, which could ultimately cause the switch to overheat, melt and catch fire.
It said the recall affected about 489,000 CR-V sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in Europe (Chicago Options: ^REURUSD - news) and the United States.
Some 220,000 CR-Vs in Europe and around 268,000 in the US would be examined. Another 100 in Africa were also being recalled.
Honda said all the recalled vehicles are from model years 2002 through to 2006.
There have been reports of five switch fires, but no crashes or injuries have been reported related to the issue, Honda said.
CR-V owners have been advised to park cars outside and away from structures as a safety precaution, as a fire could start even when the ignition is off.
But spokesman Ed Miller emphasised that a switch is unlikely to catch fire unless someone spilled liquid on it or let a large amount of rain into the vehicle through an open driver's window.
Honda, Japan (EUREX: FMJP.EX - news) 's third-largest vehicle manufacturer, did not give estimated costs for the huge recall.
The safety alert comes days after it recalled more than 600,000 Accord cars in North America over fears of a power steering fluid leak causing engine bay fires.
Earlier last week, it also recalled 820,000 Civic cars and Pilot SUVs because of headlights failures.
The company will begin contacting CR-V owners in November (Xetra: A0Z24E - news) and cars will be repaired for free.
Honda said it will install a cover plate over the switch to prevent any liquid ingress

Sunday 7 October 2012

THE PEN WONDER: The computer pen, or digital pen, is a computer invention that writes on paper and transmits the writing into digital media. Although touch screen devices represent a movement away from paper, approximately eighty-percent of businesses still use paper based forms. Many professions hand-write their notes, tables, diagrams and drawings instead of using tablets or other devices. The computer pen is comparable to a regular ink pen (even uses refillable ink) that writes on regular paper, except it has an optical reader that records motion, images and coordinates. The recorded data is then transmitted to a computer via a wireless transmitter. You can browse and edit your written notes, diagrams, tables, or drawings. A useful feature of this computer invention is that hand-written digital files can be easily converted into text fonts for use in word documents or emails. Digital pen technology was first developed by the Swedish inventor and entrepreneur Christer FĂ„hraues.

Voice Stick Invented by Sungwoo Park, this cool new gadget is a portable scanning device that reads printed text and converts it into a voice. The Voice Stick can read any written document such newspapers, books and mail. It was the Gold Medal winner at the International Design Excellence Awards for new inventions.

Friday 5 October 2012

Talking With Your Appliances One of the cool new gadgets to hit the market is a touchscreen device that allows you to communicate with anything consuming energy in your home. Inventor Seth Frader- Thompson's new invention has been named one of the "best new gadgets" and "breakthrough ideas of the year" by Time Magazine. The EnergyHub Dashboard is a device that allows you to wirelessly communicate with all your appliances. The touch screen device receives wireless information from "plug- ins" in your electrical sockets and provides details of usage for every energy consuming product in the home - everything from your furnace and air conditioner to a specific light bulb, cell phone or alarm clock. It even tracks leak current (the power used by devices that are plugged-in but not being used). Although many of us are motivated to reduce our carbon footprint and power consumption by changing our lights or upgrading to Energy Star appliances, this doesn't tell us exactly what's happening with consumption. Our utility bills give us total power usage but nothing about what would happen if our thermostat was reduced by a few degrees or if a specific appliance was replaced, shut-off or used on a certain schedule. The EnergHub provides this type of information and allows you to control and schedule the energy usage of anything in the home.

The Xbox 360 console and Xbox 360 controller for windows are very successful game gadgets that have sold more than 54 million units worldwide. But the Kinect holds the Guiness record as the fastest selling consumer electronics device ever. Kinect sold approximately 8 million units in its first 60 days of release. The Kinect (combined usage of the words "kinetic" and "connect") is aptly named for a controlling device that plugs into an Xbox 360 console. It is a black plastic horizontal bar that uses specialized cameras, three-dimensional infrared light, distance, motion, facial recognition and voice sensors that enable players to use gestures, motion and speech instead of the Xbox 360 controller. On start-up, the kinetic bar moves and scans everything in a room. It not only locates you in the room but will identify you by tracking forty-eight features of your body - what you look like, how you move, and how you talk. It will know you, recognize you, and distinguish you (even a body part or facial gesture) from anyone or anything else in the room. Kinect creates a digital replica of you within the game. What you do - your virtual double will also do. It’s an experience that no other game gadgets can create. How It Works The Kinect technology was developed by Microsoft as "Project Natal" and was based upon a sensory system created by PrimeSense, a company in Tel Aviv. A projector floods the room with near-infrared light and captures the reflected rays. Complex algorithms then convert the data into a three-dimensional mapping of the area. It then processes this information with data collected from other sensors to identify and recognize everything in the room. Although this technology may be the ultimate in game gadgets, Microsoft believes it is the just the beginning of something even more innovative. Electromagnetic fields permeate our homes, our vehicles, and our neighborhoods because of electricity. Researchers have discovered a way for electromagnetic field frequencies to identify and recognize us. What this means is that you may soon be able to control anything electrical in your home with the wink of an eye, flick of a finger, uttering of a word, or whatever gesture you prefer. Source: msnbc.com; global.coolsculting.com; Best Wireless Keyboard This latest gaming gadget won best wireless keyboard at the Consumer Electronics Association Awards. The design and engineering award was given to IOGEAR for their wireless keyboard. The palm-sized device features an optical trackball, scroll wheel, LED backlight and auto on/off lid cover. This 2.4GHz hand-held keyboard allows users to manage their home theaters, pc's, tv or game consoles from any direction up to 33 feet away, whether stationary or mobile, by just plugging in a USB RF Receiver.