Tech News 2/2/10
NASA: Good night moon, hello new rocket technology
President Barack Obama is redirecting America's space program, killing NASA's $100 billion plans to return astronauts to the moon and using much of that money for new rocket technology research.
Apple iPad's A4 chip attracts attention
Apple’s decision to field its very own A4 chip inside the iPad is beginning to set tongues wagging, with analysts and others considering the meaning, potential and technology the company’s wielding.
Now, we know the expertise behind the processor comes from PA Semi, which Apple acquired in 2008. What we didn’t know is that some of the expert processor designers who migrated to Apple management post purchase have now left Cupertino to work for another chip patent filer, Agnilux, based in San Jose. The company was co-founded by one of PA’s leading system architects, Mark Hayter, new Apple chip employees left because they didn’t think Apple’s offered stock compensation was high enough.
DOE Report Says Smart Grid Can Cut US Emissions by 12% (Video)
A new report from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory entitled The Smart Grid: An Estimation of the Energy and CO2 Benefits has determined that the smart grid could cut carbon emissions by 12%, and could cut energy consumption by an equivalent amount. Looking at the direct mechanisms - including smart grid-enabled diagnostics for buildings and providing consumers a way to see and manage their energy usage - as well as indirect mechanisms - including the smart grid making it easier to incorporate renewable energy into the power grid - the report has figured that the smart grid could be capable of saving the equivalent of 66 coal-fired power plants by 2030. But there's a big key word - "if."
Last Updated (Tuesday, 02 February 2010 09:12)