Audi, the company that has brought us the hybrid-diesel racecars as well as many of the greatest car designs are tackling two-wheels now; the bicycles!

Yes, it is true…Audi has presented last week, at the Wörthersee Tour event in Austria a high-end, ultra-light carbon fiber electric bicycle. This new pedicycle would be ideal for stuntmen; it permits computer-controlled tricks as well as enabling you to strut down the road at 50mph!

Our inner child is incredibly thrilled yet upset that this was not available when we were actually 12 or 14 and busy learning to factor quadratic equations; a skill arguably even more useless in adulthood than being able to ride a bike on one wheel!

Audi has certainly geared up the experience with the bike’s specs:

1. A carbon fiber frame weighs just 3.53 pounds (1.6kg ) and a 2.3kW motor with a lithium ion battery (FYI; pedal-assist electric bikes’ legal maximum in most legislations is about a tenth of that). The bike’s total weight is 24lbs (11kg).

2. An on-board computer control, hydraulic brakes and gears.

3. A touch-screen on the top-tube that controls riding mode selection, recording of trick sequences as well as adjustment of various e-bike functions as electric pedaling assistance and lighting.

4. A display that show cases speed, distance, battery charge, energy consumption and inclination.

5. The battery can be charged in 2.5 hours or quickly swapped and gives a claimed range of 50-70km.

6. The seat height is continuously adjustable from a handlebar control, even while riding.

7. A Smartphone app to control the built-in immobilizer.

The bike’s designated as a high-performance bike for trick cycling, including the ability to ride on its back wheel alone in two (Power Wheelie and Balanced Wheelie) of the five available modes: Pure, Pedelec, eGrip, Power Wheelie, and Balanced Wheelie.

The pure mode is basically what you and I would simply call “pedaling”. The Pedelec mode will permit you to do 50mph. Riding solely on the back wheel is posibile by either picking an angle in Power Wheelie mode or shifting your weight in the Balanced Wheelie mode.

As stylish and high tech this bike really is, you’re going to need a license, registration and a helmet of course to be able to use it on the road.

Many automakers also sell performance bikes as lifestyle accessories, but nothing like Audi’s e-bike. BMW i Ventures, the New York City-based venture fund for mobility related investments, is providing seed money for a more mainstream electric bicycle that would be light and foldable. Drive to the train station in the suburbs, carry the bike on board, get to your destination city, unfold the bike, and motor electrically to your office a mile or two away.

There’s no word on whether Audi will ever actually sell this thing, though some automotive sites have speculated it’d have a Ducati label if they did, as the group recently bought Ducati.

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It’s not uncommon to see a 6 year old nowadays operate an iPad, or any other gadget for that matter, with absolute ease. Children are being brought up into such a fast paced world that they practically come programmed to know these stuff by default. This was definitely not the case for those growing up in the 80’s and 90’s.

Back in those days, carrying a phone was a privilege you earn when you’re in high school and off to a dance or some sort of important outing. While we agree that it is highly beneficial for children to carry a mobile device so that their parents can check on them regularly, their concerns are also justified.

Texting during class is one of those concerns; hindering the child from actually benefiting from the lesson. Sending inappropriate images, sleep deprivation, lack of productivity and bullying are becoming more conventional than they ought to be!

On the other hand, according to a research published on Monday, more electromagnetic waves are taken in by children in and around the frequency band of 1000 MHz – which is used in FM broadcasting – and 1 GHz, the frequency band of mobile telecommunication.

Also, according to this same study, children who use cell phones are often more likely to develop Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The study was conducted by researchers from the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Korea Communications Commission and the Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science.
Bemilo, a new mobile network launching in the United Kingdom, targets these issues and hope to eliminate some of those concerns with controls that allow parents to select the times of day the phone can be used and the numbers it is capable of dialing.

“Bemilo’s exclusive functions put YOU in full control of your child’s mobile service,” the network promises. “Putting a stop to mobile bullying, late night phone use, and rising monthly mobile phone bills.”

Bemilo is a MVNO, or mobile virtual network operator, that runs on the Vodafone’s infrastructure. The network’s SIM card will allow parents to load money onto their child’s phone on a PAYG basis.

There’s a base charge of £3.95 ( $6.21) a month, with calls charged at 10p ($0.16) per minute, texts charged at 10p ($0.16) per message and data charged at 25p ($0.39) per MB. Parents can control how much is spent, what time of day the phone is used, when data is switched on or off, and whether or not their child is allowed to send photos or video. There’s also the ability to ‘turn off’ the phone during school hours or at night without removing the ability to contact certain numbers (such as parents or guardians). You can also block certain numbers from contacting your child, a feature designed to combat bullying.

For more info, check out their official website.

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If you’re heading to Northern Spain this summer, port Gijon in particular; do not be frightened if a yellowish fish sprints beside you.

Apparently scientists from all over the globe, in a bid to combat pollution, are experimenting and eager to update the marine watch with a revolutionary robo-fish, composed solely from fiber and metal.

A number of these are actually undergoing rigorous tests to find out if they are compatible to become the new aquatic police.

“The idea is that we want to have real-time monitoring of pollution, so that if someone is dumping chemicals or something is leaking, we can get to it straight away, find out what is causing the problem and put a stop to it,” explains Luke Speller, a senior scientist at the research division of BMT Group, a technology consultancy.

The idea is speeding up the shore monitoring process from months to seconds; since at the moment, samples are being taken once a month, according to Dr Speller.

This could eliminate the chances of a ship leaking chemicals into the coastline and getting away with it.

The fish, which are 1.5 meters (5 feet) long and currently cost 20,000 pounds ( $31,500) each, are designed to swim like real fish and are fitted with sensors to pick up pollutants leaking from ships or undersea pipelines.

So what’s so special about this fish?

1. A minute chemical sensor is one of the key features that lives inside the fish. Water is allowed to pass through the body of the fish and could pass over the chemical sensor allowing scientists to detect pollutants in the water such as lead, copper etc.

2. The fish can also “see” under water using a sonar; this allows the fish to perform obstacle avoidance and range viding under water so it knows where it is and can stay safe and return to base when its battery life runs low.

3. Deep inside the core of the fish lives a small computer than runs the artificial intelligence of the fish allowing it to figure out where to go and the best ways to monitor pollution.

4. The fish can work either autonomously, or co-ordinate with each other through acoustic signals, to transmit their readings back to shore station, that could be up to a kilometer away.

5. Another key feature of the fish is its propulsion ; it doesn’t use a propeller like standard underwater robotics, but has a tail, which allows it to look and move like a fish under water ; this is quieter, more efficient and also allows for better maneuvering.

After the tests this week, the team will look at modifications needed to move the fish into commercial production, which they expect to reduce the cost of each unit and hopefully prolong the current eight hour battery life.

Looking for a simple, elegant backup solution?
Genie Timeline 2012 is a new version of the number one continuous data protection program Timeline 2.1. It offers the first metro style user interface; enhanced performance, and added features. Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter for the latest news.
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“Oh my God, not another social network site!” Those were our exact thoughts when we first read about Microsofts’s So.cl ( pronounced “social” ) being launched yesterday. With Facebook, Twitter and G+, it is getting rather hectic trying to manage all of one’s accounts. It seems that everyone wants a bite of the social apple, yet their success is bound by either having the backing of a large Internet player, or an idea that introduces something exceptional to the scene. We have previously discussed the two platforms; Pinterest Vs Reddit.

Yesterday, it seems there was a malfunction, and the site that was in beta went live for a brief period of time; not brief enough though since the keen eyes caught up. Apparently, it has been live when first seen, then it has gone to invites for a couple of days and now it is what we have today. Our guess is that the invites had generated enough interest to go live. Is this a successful silent/ accident launch? Hmm, that is quite arguable, but it seems that the So.cl project was being used at Microsoft for months already for internal purposes, so maybe their somewhat of a secretive launch is to test the waters.

Signing up is either with your Windows Live ID or your Facebook account. If you’ve chosen the latter to sign up, you can follow your fellow Facebook buddies that are already using So.cl and then move on to start exploring some suggested topics and popular users.

So.cl combines web browsing, search and social networking with each other, according to Microsoft.
Well, here is So.cl 101:

1. As in any social network, you can follow other users to view their posts in your newsfeed. You also have the option of browsing through the global feed; though we’re not too keen as to how this might work when/if millions of users start posting.

2. Once you find a post that intrigues you, you have 5 options: you can like it, comment on it, tag it, share it or riff it. Since the last one there sounds a bit puzzling, we shall further explain it; riffing a post basically signifies posting a response to that post. For instance, if you see a post full of photos of Amsterdam, you might want to riff it to add your own photos or notes that relate to the original post. A link to the riffed post is added to the original post and vice versa. This works similarly as YouTube’s video response feature.

3. New posts are created by entering a topic of interest into the form at the top of the page. Bing is obviously the search engine behind So.cl; hence you will find images, videos and texts as well as results from feeds in the results’ listing. Content, links and tags can be manually added to your posts as well.

4. One cool feature is the ability to join and create video parties. By doing so, you will be able to create a chat room and add videos to it from various video hosting web sites. Other users can then join this room and chat about the videos that they watch, and add their own videos.

5. A bookmarklet is available that allows you to share content that you stumble upon on the internet directly to So.cl.

The video party idea is quite appealing, but is it enough to captivate let alone drive away the many Facebook fans? Humm, we think not. One disappointment already spotted is the inability to sign out; you can only do so by deleting cookies.

It is recommended of course, that new users check the settings to make sure the notification and privacy settings are to their liking. By default, emails will be sent out on a weekly basis, and notifications will be sent out when someone comments on a post/ search, tags the user, invites/sends a private message.

Well, in order not to be judgmental and prejudice, we’ve created an account to see how it actually goes, have you?

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This week is certainly one that will go down in history for Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg; turning 28, taking Facebook public at a $ 104 billion valuation but most importantly marrying recently medical UC San Francisco graduate, and longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan.
Now that Facebook Inc. has become a public company, wearing a hoodie will be the least of Mark Zuckerberg’s concerns.

Mark apparently received some condemnation for his apparel when the social-networking giant was pitching its initial public offering to investors. Zuckerberg will remain Facebook’s most-powerful shareholder after what has turned out to be a modestly successful IPO.

His personal stake in Facebook is now worth around $19.1 billion, making him richer than Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. Going public has made him the 29th-richest person in the world.

Santa Clara University law professor Stephen Diamond argued that investors did in fact want to Zuckerberg to stay in charge, since he is the one responsible for where his company is today. On the other hand, shareholders are worried that if things go wrong- which presumably they will- Zuckerberg might not be capable of dealing with some of these challenges. “The hoodie debate” personifies these concerns; it is quite venturesome to invest in an individual who holds so much power, and is relatively so young and inexperienced.

So, ultimately who are the big winners of the IPO?
We’ll give you the top three :

1. Sheryl Sandberg; the company’s chief operating officer has been on board since 2008 when she was propelled to leave Google. Her current salary is a modest $300,000 which has helped by almost 1.9 million shares, which are now worth $72 million. Not too bad huh?

2. Reid Hoffman; LinkedIn founder has been on board very early on when he, alongside Peter Thiel in 2004 had invested in Facebook. Back then, Myspace was dominating the social scene, yet their smart move paid off; Hoffman’s remaining stake is now worth $138 million and Thiel is valued at $1.1 Billion.

3. Paul David Hewson ( or most commonly known as U2’s front man, Bono) ; it turns out that Bono is also part of the Elevation Partners investment group, which has an almost 1.5% stake in Facebook. Elevation is taking $176 million off the table, and will still be left with a whopping $1.3 billion. This ought to compensate for the company’s disappointing investment in Palm and Forbes magazine.

Let us know how you feel about these historic chain of events, whether you actually take them to heart or simply do not regard them as important, we’d love to hear from you!

Looking for a simple, elegant backup solution?
Genie Timeline 2012 is a new version of the number one continuous data protection program Timeline 2.1. It offers the first metro style user interface; enhanced performance, and added features. Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter for the latest news.
>Follow @Genie9backup