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The 2013 Mazda CX-9 received a fresh face, with a new five-point grille anchoring the re-sculpted front end.By Larry PrintzSome vehicles are glamorous, meant to evoke envy from your friends and neighbours; others live out their lives in quiet competence, delivering exactly what’s expected of them without fanfare, just quiet admiration.The CX-9 seven-passenger crossover SUV is the latter. People won’t envy you — unless they know just how good the CX-9 is.For 2013, the CX-9 received a fresh face, with Mazda’s handsome new five-point grille anchoring the re-sculpted front end. Inside, there’s a revised infotainment system.Originally developed from the same Ford Motor Company platform that underpins the five-passenger Ford Edge, the CX-9 shares more. Both crossovers use the same 3.7-litre double-overhead-cam V-6, which develops 273hp, matched to a six-speed automatic transmission and either front-wheel or all-wheel drive.The CX-9 has enough power to safely navigate pokey parkways and crumbling highways, although fuel economy is disappointing, measuring a mediocre 17 mpg. In contrast, handling is a pleasant surprise. Ride motions are well controlled, but not overly firm. Cornering behaviour reveals minimal body lean, and the steering returns some feedback, instilling driver confidence. While this vehicle is a bit too large to live up to Mazda’s zoom-zoom image, it is agile enough to be very enjoyable to drive, while delivering a quiet, compliant ride.How perfect is that? Very.And, if you have a toy to tow, you might be happy to know that all CX-9 front-wheel-drive models can yank 2,000 pounds of trailer. The Towing Prep Package — optional with front-wheel drive, standard with all-wheel drive — bumps the rating to 3,500 lbs.Styling aside, the CX-9’s cabin carries over unchanged.The three ascending trim levels are Sport, Touring and Grand Touring. Even base models come with a generous amount of standard gear, including cloth seats with optional front-seat heaters, tri-zone climate control and Bluetooth connectivity. Stepping up to the mid-level Touring adds the sort of gear most buyers appreciate, including leather seats, eight-way power driver seat with power lumbar support, auto on/off headlights, blind spot monitoring, rear backup sensors and a rearview camera. The top trim level gilds the lily, but doesn’t seem essential.A new 5.8-inch information screen is standard on all CX-9s for 2013, while the audio system has added HD Radio and Pandora to its arsenal of entertainment options. It resides in an instrument panel that’s blessedly simple to use.The CX-9’s cabin space is decent, although it doesn’t seem as generous as its overall size suggests. Front passengers might find the centre console a bit too wide, while the second-row seats are a little low — not unusual for crossovers. But they do slide forward, adding space in the third row for cargo or people, although the sloping backlight impedes cargo-hauling ability. The CX-9 does offer generous headroom, however.The CX-9 starts at $29,785 (in the US), with the test vehicle, a fully loaded Grand Touring model with all-wheel drive, coming in just under $40,000.At that price, you’ll be getting a vehicle that quietly goes about its business without calling undue attention to itself. That may be about to change. Given the CX-9’s agile handling and newfound dose of style, this crossover may finally earn the notoriety it deserves, even if it will never be glamorous. — The Virginian-Pilot/MCT*  Price and technical specifications may vary in locally available models

Samsung Electronics’ first watch phone, Samsung SPH-WP10, made in 1999, is seen in this undated handout photo provided by Samsung in Seoul on September 2, 2013. By Jeremy WagstaffThe smartwatch could be as revolutionary as the smartphone — an intelligent device on our wrist that connects our bodies to data and us to the world — but only a handful of companies have the heft and vision to be able to pull it off.  It’s not through lack of trying. Watchmakers and others have been adding calculators, calendars and wireless data connections to wrist-straps for at least 30 years.  Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is having another go, when it launches the Galaxy Gear in Berlin, but a source familiar with the matter said that the smartwatch device would be no game changer — more of a fashion accessory than an effort to redefine the genre.  Sony Corp is also launching a modest update of its Android-compatible SmartWatch, while heavyweights Apple Inc and Google Inc have shown tentative signs of interest in developing such technology. The market potential, cheerleaders say, is vast. Leveraging advances in voice technology, biometrics, communications, cloud storage and power consumption, smartwatches and other wearable devices could be a $50bn market by 2017, according to Credit Suisse.  “Look at the way we experience mobile communication today — this is not the end point,” said Andrew Sheehy, chief analyst at British-based consultancy Generator Research, pointing to the awkwardness with which most of us clasp the handset to our ear, remove it from our pockets to read messages, or tap in appointments and e-mails. “If you look at the phone today, it’s important to ask: is this as good as it gets?”  Wearable devices such as smartwatches or digital eyewear, the argument goes, could take over many of the more cumbersome functions of a smartphone while also adding functions we can so far only dream of.  By tapping into sensors around the body, on objects and in other devices, they could offer what Plantronics, a headset maker, calls “contextual intelligence”, harvesting data to create “a highly personalised experience in real-time”, according to Joe Burton, the company’s CTO. Driving this optimism are advances in technology, and a more sophisticated audience already familiar with smartphones, apps, and wireless communication protocols such as Bluetooth. The prices and size of sensors have fallen rapidly — making them a feature of many smartphones. Samsung’s Galaxy S4 has nine, according to a report on wearable technology by Credit Suisse.   An addition to Bluetooth, for example, uses much less energy and can push and pull data to a watch via the mobile phone, says Paul Williamson of CSR plc, a maker of such so-called Bluetooth Smart chips.  With the technology now integrated into devices running the latest versions of Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems, “smartwatches can render data from any of the applications that are running on your smartphone,” Williamson said. Smartwatches like the Magellan Echo, for example, can stream data wirelessly from a range of third party fitness apps on a smartphone, without requiring frequent recharges. Tim Ensor, head of connected devices at British-based Cambridge Consultants, which advises companies and develops new technologies, called the adoption of Bluetooth Smart “a real game-changer”. But so far wearables have remained a niche for early adopters, such as fans of Pebble Technology’s crowd-funded smartwatch, which has sold 100,000 units since its launch earlier this year, or health and fitness enthusiasts embracing Nike’s Fuelband or Under Armour’s FitBit. And therein lies the rub, says Generator Research’s Sheehy.  Most of these players have either thought too small, or lack the heft to be able to break into the mainstream.  That not only means having capital and resources, but being able to build on existing expertise in hardware, software, cloud and processing data. “This is tough technology,” he says. “The number of companies who can do this are very few and far between.”  First there are remaining technological hurdles, such as powering the devices. Batteries will need to be 5-10 times smaller than those in smartphones, says Cosmin Laslau, mobile energy analyst at Lux Research, requiring innovation in cell materials such as silicon anodes and packaging — such as Apple’s work on flexible batteries.   Then there is a need for better displays. Both Apple and Samsung have been working on curved glass — Samsung is investing more than $6bn on displays this year alone, and is planning to launch a curved mobile device later this year, according to a source familiar with the matter.   There’s also the fact that wearing a device is not quite the same as carrying one. For one thing it has to be stylish, says Gartner research director Angela McIntyre. Jonathan Peachey, CEO of Filip Technologies, spent three years working on a watch to make it acceptable for the kids who would wear it and their parents who would use it to track and communicate with their offspring via a smartphone.   “Consumers need to develop a more personal relationship with a wearable computing device than they would otherwise with a handheld device,” Peachey said. Key to this is the interface, says Thad Starner, Professor of Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology, whose pioneering work with wearable computers led to him be a technical lead for Google Glass.  Developing a mobile interface for wristwatches and heads-up displays requires lots of experimentation, he says. The best way, he adds, is to build “living laboratories” where more and more people use them in everyday life. “The most important thing, right now, is to reduce the time between the user’s intention to perform a task and the user’s action to complete that task.”  His other projects point to the possibilities: a contraption that lets him answer students’ text messages by voice while wandering across campus and a gesture interface that understands sign language. But even if those hurdles are overcome, just how useful is a wearable device going to be? “Finding a role or a use for wearable electronics is the central question facing the industry today,” says Mykola Golovko, an analyst at Euromonitor.   Right now the most appealing prospects are as a “slave” to the smartphone or tablet, where the wearable devices collects data from the user’s body or environment and relays it to the smartphone. The smartphone acts as a gateway to the Internet to process this information and merge it with other data before feeding it back to the device.  “In this world the role of the smartwatch is not to replace the phone but to keep the data feed going and make it even more accessible,” says Rob Milner, technical leader of smart systems at Cambridge Consultants. But this is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. “The multi-sensor combo packages and low-power wireless chips are available,”says Shane Walker, an analyst at IHS, “now the data created from this pairing needs to be made compelling and useful.” Which means that whoever cracks the nut of a mass market wearable device is less likely to be a pure hardware maker than a broader-based company. “You can call me a smartwatch sceptic,” says Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst at Forrester. “I don’t see that any vendor, with the possible exception of Apple, can make smartwatches a mainstream success.” Speculation aside, Apple has kept its cards close to its chest. CEO Tim Cook has called the wrist “interesting” and Apple has registered the trademark iWatch in Japan. Several Apple patents point to wrist-worn devices.  And Google has staked a claim in wearables with its Google Glass, spectacles that include a small visual display. It bought start-up WIMM Labs, which had launched a smartwatch in 2011, and has demonstrated the power of contextual information with Google Now, which mines users’ e-mails, location and other data to provide a personalised stream of data.  Other possible players, says Generation Research’s Sheehy, include Microsoft Corp, Yahoo Inc. “If Samsung or Google succeeded at this and Apple failed at this level, it would really be a handing over of the baton,” he said.  If the Galaxy Gear is the first salvo, Apple has little to fear. After two earlier wrist-phone flops in 1999 and 2009, Samsung is taking a cautious approach with its latest version of the smartwatch, according to the source familiar with Samsung’s thinking.  “Samsung is trying to say that it is not following but jumping into it ahead of its key rival, ie Apple,” he said.  “They are simply dipping their toes into the market as they don’t want to take big risks with a costly bet on the new unproven category yet.” (Additional reporting by Miyoung Kim in Seoul) — Reuters

Michael Schloesser, chief of the BaseCamp indoor motor camp. Behind him is the “hunting lodge” caravan with animal skins as decor.By Guenter WaechterThe 15 caravans — or travel trailers — dating back to the 1950s and 1960s have names like Big Ben, Hunting Lodge and Rockabilly. Their travelling days over, they stand parked in an old warehouse in Bonn.Indoor camping is the idea — low prices and the freedom of your own home-away-from-home, without having to endure the vagaries of the German summertime weather. Among the collection at his BaseCamp, Bonn hotelier Michael Schloesser has four Airstream models — the legendary US travel trailers with their characteristic streamlined shape in gleaming aluminium.He is not alone with his idea. The Huettenpalast (Hut Palace) in Berlin has a similar concept, offering its guests accommodation in caravans and small wooden huts set up in the former production hall of an old factory. The main advantage is a permanent roof, as holidays in the northern European summers are seldom rain-free. These indoor campers stay dry while still being able to sleep out of doors, so to speak.The Bonn indoor camping site covers some 1,600 sq m and counts school groups among its customers. Schloesser has acquired two old railway carriages, one of them a sleeper and the other with reclining chairs, and set them up in the hall too. Guests seeking something more intimate can opt for an old Trabant, the icon of East German communist motoring technology, complete with a two-person tent on the roof. Also on offer are models from Volkswagen and Citroen.“Collecting all of these old vehicles wasn’t that easy,” Schloesser says. He finally found many of them at an auction in the Netherlands, engaging the services of a film-set maker to turn them into acceptable accommodation units.Much of the decor comes from Berlin’s well-stocked flea markets. Rockabilly is covered on the outside with vinyl seven singles, while the Drag Queen is in bright colours with a great deal of plush and chintz.In front of each of the vehicles there is a garden with places to sit in the appropriate theme. The Hunting Lodge has a boar’s head and deer’s antlers mounted on the outside above a sofa covered with animal skins.Schloesser has also had a gallery measuring 170 sq m installed in the hall to provide a kitchen and seating for breakfast with a panoramic view out over the entire hall and its walls decorated in the theme of a South Pacific holiday. The reception is open 24 hours, and the campsite is monitored by closed-circuit television.Apart from the usual ablution facilities, there are lockers fitted with sockets for charging mobile phones and the like, and outside there is an old US school bus in traditional yellow serving fries, burgers and sausages.Unlike the average big-city campsite in the suburbs, Basecamp is in the heart of Bonn, within easy walking distance of the museums and the old West German government quarter.Huettenpalast is in the middle of the trendy area that straddles the Berlin boroughs of Kreuzberg and Neukoelln to the south-east of the city centre.The prices reflect the changed status of the cities.In the sleepy former West German capital, a bed in the sleeper carriage is to be had for as little as €22 ($30), rising to €128 for one of the Airstreams, while in trendy Berlin, single accommodation starts at €55. – DPA

The 2013 Tesla Model S has an electric-only drivetrain, meaning all of the motor’s torque is available at any time.By Larry PrintzAs the auto industry struggles to meet new fuel economy mandates, automakers are revisiting drivetrain solutions that haven’t always worked out well.Case in point: electric cars. Battery technology limits their effectiveness as a practical solution for many motorists, since electric cars travel 100 miles at best, as opposed to 300 miles or more in a conventional car. And electric cars take as long as 12 hours to recharge, as opposed to a five-minute fill-up.They also boast high sticker prices, since most automakers lack the economy of scale to produce them affordably. This saps any savings you’d realise by choosing an electric car over one powered by petrol, even though electric car buyers are entitled to a $7,500 federal tax credit in the US.So you can only imagine the envy that the Tesla Model S Performance model must evoke in corporate suites across the automotive world.Its AC synchronous induction motor produces 416hp and a 0-60 mph time of 4.2 seconds. You can do that for 265 miles before you need to plug it in to recharge, according to the EPA. And that recharge takes as little as four hours.You have to wonder how Tesla managed to do it. After all, electric cars aren’t a new idea; the first ones were built more than a century ago.Credit Elon Musk, founder of PayPal, with succeeding where so many have failed. He took over Tesla four years ago. At the time, the company was producing an all-electric roadster based on an existing Lotus model. It was a great way for the company to dip its toes in the water, but it was a low-volume niche product. With the introduction of the Model S, Tesla’s first model engineered and built in-house, the automaker has managed to do what other car companies haven’t: produce not just a viable electric car, but one of the finest premium sedans available.At first glance, it looks modern and shockingly normal, with a five-door shape that recalls the Audi A7. Then you reach for the car-shaped key fob and unlock the doors. That’s when the flush-mounted door handles slide out from the side of the car. Once you’re seated, they retract into the doors. That’s way cool.Inside, you’ll find a cabin that’s much roomier than that of the A7. There’s no lump in the floor; nor is there much of a centre console. An armrest with cupholders and USB ports constitute the back half of the console. The forward end is left open, the perfect space for a purse or briefcase.Head and leg room are very good all around, although the rear seat cushion sits a little low, and the lack of a rear seat centre armrest is noticeable in a car this pricey.This may sound like your typical five-passenger car, but the Model S can seat as many as seven. For an additional $2,500, Tesla will fit the rear cargo area with two rear-facing child seats that fold flat into the floor when not in use. There’s additional cargo space under the hood because the car doesn’t need such items as a radiator, fuel tank or engine.But perhaps the biggest surprise is the instrument panel. In an age where premium cars are cluttered with more than 50 buttons on the dashboard, the Tesla has two: one to control the hazard flashers, the other to open the glovebox.Other functions — audio, climate, navigation and vehicle settings — are controlled by a 17-inch touch screen. Its enormous size makes hitting any on-screen button easy to do. It can display climate controls, audio system and navigation at the same time. Or, if you prefer, you can fill the screen with one function. This is particularly handy when you’re using the navigation system, which zooms in and out as you spread or pinch your fingers, just as you would on an Apple product. In fact, the screen’s interface is so easy to use, you might think that Apple designed it.As wonderful as that is, little will prepare you for how well this car performs. This is one fast car. How fast depends on the battery pack. The base car comes with a 60 kWh battery, a 302hpr motor and 208-mile range. Reaching 60 mph takes 5.9 seconds. Opt for the 85-kWh battery and horsepower jumps to 362, while range increases to 265. Reaching 60 takes a half-second less. This will set you back an extra $10,000. The top-of-the-line Model S Performance has the same battery and range, but its more powerful motor produces 416hp and a 0-60 mph time of 4.2 seconds. Opting for this setup costs an extra $20,000.What’s more remarkable is the car’s seamless power delivery. There’s a single drive gear, not six or eight, so there aren’t any shifts. You don’t have to wait for a turbocharger to spool up or more fuel to be burned. All of the motor’s torque is available at any time.That makes the Model S Performance’s 416hp feel particularly potent. Power flows effortlessly to the rear wheels from this car’s lithium-ion battery pack, which is located under the passenger compartment in the car’s floor pan. This puts most of the car’s weight at the lowest point in the car, allowing the Model S to eagerly corner with grip equal to the best sports sedans and sports cars. Steering is ideally weighted and provides some feedback. Bottom line: The S is a blast to drive.And it’s so quiet. After all, electric motors don’t make much noise and there’s no exhaust, so there’s no tailpipe.Braking is very effective. Like other cars with electric motors, the Tesla has regenerative braking, which captures energy generated during deceleration to recharge the battery. This gives them a touchy feel, but it’s easy to get used to. You can adjust the braking feel, but it will capture less energy and shorten your range.In terms of safety, the car is equipped with eight air bags, electronic stability control, traction control and anti-lock disc brakes. The traction control can be switched off if you’re so inclined.The short test drive didn’t allow for testing the Model S’s range or recharge time. The Model S comes with one on-board charger, which charges the car at a rate of 31 miles range per hour using a 240 volt outlet. Sound tempting? There are a couple catches. First, they are built to order. Secondly, Tesla sells its cars online directly to the public, not through franchised dealers. If you can afford one, it’s well worth it. It’s a wake-up call from the 21st century that reminds us all of what’s possible when you let go of preconceived notions and re-examine what’s come before. — The Virginian-Pilot/MCT* Price and technical details are US specific

By Geoffrey RowlandsA music prodigy who rarely plays an instrument. Step forward Russian-born but Germany-based Anton Zaslavski, better known as Zedd.The 23-year-old electronic dance music producer and DJ is enjoying a world-wide hit with Clarity, the title-track from his 2012 debut album. The song, which features vocals from British singer Foxes, has topped the US dance charts and is currently at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. But how many of Zedd’s fans would imagine he was a classically trained multi-instrumentalist?“Some enormously popular dance music producers don’t play instruments,” Zedd remarked. “They can still create fantastic songs but have basically learned what they need to click to get the right sounds from their computers. I feel my ability to play instruments is an advantage in that it helps me to write more musical songs.”Born to classical musician parents, Zedd was an accomplished pianist at four and recording his own compositions by the time he turned six. He later began playing drums and developed an interest in rock music.“I was performing in a post-hardcore, rock and metal trio named Dioramic when I was 12. I also wrote and produced most of our songs. The only electronic music I was listening to at that time was Daft Punk’s album, Discovery. It wasn’t until as recently as 2009 that I really got into electro dance through hearing Justice’s Cross album.”He made an immediate impact on the dance scene winning two prestigious Beatport remix contests. This success led to deals with Skrillex’s OWSLA label and a major contract with Interscope Records.“I made more remixes at first before creating my own tracks, Shave It and Slam The Door. Both songs topped the Beatport chart. I then had the opportunity to do remixes of tracks by some very famous artists such as Black Eyed Peas, P Diddy and, particularly, Lady GaGa. My remixes of her songs, Born This Way and Marry the Night, brought me to the attention of a much wider audience.”Zedd found himself in demand not just to remix tracks but produce original songs for other artists.“I was so busy working on the songs for my own album, making remixes and producing. But I was also having a fabulous time doing all this work and felt honoured to have been accepted so readily by everyone on the dance music scene.”Although everything he releases seems to hit number one on the Beatport chart, Zedd’s own work has taken time to find a significant mainstream audience.“Clarity has been on the market for nearly a year. It was an iTunes ‘Single of the Week’ last October. I think I’m another artist who can thank television for leading people to my song. Covers of Clarity were performed on Glee and The Voice so it was heard by many more people than just dance music fans.”Zedd’s next single, Fall Into the Sky, is a collaboration with his friend and fellow producer Lucky Date, real name Jordan Atkins-Loria. The song features vocals by Ellie Goulding.“We keep pushing back the release date because Clarity is doing so well. I was amazed when it went gold and now platinum. I’ll be only too pleased if Fall Into the Sky isn’t released for a good while yet.”inbriefOne DirectionWith One Direction’s 3D movie, This Is Us, set to go on general release later this week, the British boy band’s fans can also read all about their heart-throbs in a newly published book, One Direction: Where We Are: Our Band: Our Story.Described by publisher HarperCollins as “the only official book from One Direction charting their journey,” it is packed with previously unseen photos and tells the group’s story in Harry, Zayn, Niall, Louis and Liam’s own words. The book not only chronicles their rise to fame and subsequent world-wide stardom but also offers fans an insight into each band member’s reaction to their spectacular success.Sir Elton JohnThe British Phonographic Institute have added a new Icon category to their BRIT Awards. Reserved only for those artists whose songwriting, recording and performances have made a lasting impact on UK culture, the first recipient will be Sir Elton John.Elton does not have to wait until the 2014 BRIT Awards ceremony to receive this honour. It will be bestowed upon him during a stand alone event on September 2.However, he will have to metaphorically sing for his supper. The ceremony will take place at the London Palladium theatre with Elton giving a performance of classic hits and new material which will be filmed for television broadcast later that evening.A delighted Elton said; “It’s a tremendous honour and a real thrill for me to have my work acknowledged in this way. I’m really looking forward to participating in what promises to be a very special occasion.” EminemEminem has created a new song for use in the forthcoming video game, Call of Duty: Ghosts. Survival will feature in the marketing campaign as well as the game. But Eminem’s fans who do not play video games can still buy the track as part of his as-yet-untitled upcoming eighth studio album. It is also available to hear now at www.youtube.com/watch?v=isutFv7ORHA.The Survival chorus is performed by largely unknown vocalist Liz Rodrigues, singer with Canadian band The New Royales. A free download of their version of Jefferson Airplane’s 1967 song, Today, is available from (no www.) thehastingsset.bandcamp.com/track/today-2.The band, with Liz featured front and centre, can also be seen in the video for their collaboration with Pitbull on Don’t Stop Me Now. It is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty6ceMTA9KM.AsgeirAsgeir Trausti Einarsson has become Iceland’s latest musical sensation.The 21-year-old singer / songwriter’s music has been described as melodic folk. His debut album, Dyro i dauoapogn, has broken sales records for an Icelandic artist in Asgeir’s native land. It has also spawned three chart-topping singles.He is now hoping to find world-wide success by literally translating his songs for the international market. American singer / songwriter John Grant, who is currently living in Reykjavik, Iceland, is helping Asgeir to translate his lyrics into English.The first fruits of their labour can be seen in the video for Asgeir’s first English language single, King and Cross. John also appears in the video which is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-dHIkF_lO4.The VaccinesEnglish indie rockers The Vaccines have just released their first EP. Melody Calling contains three new songs plus a remixed version of Do You Want A Man? created by producers John Hill and Rich Costey.A video for the title-track is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJPqJwdCXpw. The rest of the EP can be heard at (no www.) soundcloud.com/the-vaccines. Many more of the band’s songs can also be found on this webpage.Both of their albums are posted in full on YouTube. What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fgvlQZJl1M while the URL for “Come of Age” is www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q5u7AGk40w.

By Jeremy Wagstaff & Clare JimNow in his 10th year as CEO of HTC Corp, Peter Chou is lauded as the architect of the Taiwanese firm’s award-winning smartphones. But as the company’s fortunes have dived, some insiders say he’s now an obstacle to any revival. Rocked by internal feuding and executive exits, and positioned at the high-end of a smartphone market that is close to saturation, HTC has seen its market share slump to below 5% from around a quarter five years ago; its stock price is at 8-year lows, and it has warned it could make a first operating loss this quarter. Reuters interviewed a dozen former and current HTC executives who said Chou’s abrasive management style and weak strategic vision play their part in the company’s decline, which has coincided with the success of Apple Inc’s iPhone and Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy phones. Chou has said publicly he has no intention to stand down, and executives — none of whom wanted to be named because of the sensitive nature of the issue — said HTC has no clear internal successor. “Part of the weakness is there is no obvious successor, and that’s not been good for morale,” one said. Chou declined to be interviewed for this article, but in response to Reuters queries, the company said: “HTC’s board and broad employee base remain committed to Peter Chou’s leadership.  The (flagship) HTC One product family — which has been met with accolades by media and consumers alike — was a result of Peter’s vision and leadership, and speaks for itself.”  Born in Myanmar but educated as an electrical engineer in Taiwan, Chou joined HTC from Digital Equipment Corp (DEC) in 1997. Colleagues describe him as a perfectionist with an obsessive eye for materials and hardware design. Staff would deliver trays of prototype phones for him to inspect and pore over, spinning them to check for balance and running his fingers across the bevelled edges and joints. Phones would pile up on his desk, sometimes spilling onto the floor.  That attention to detail and Chou’s willingness to make decisions on the fly helped build a culture within HTC of moving quickly to address market demands. At an offsite meeting two years ago, for example, the HTC team realised it needed another device for its portfolio. Chou quickly drew some sketches on a whiteboard, recalled one of those present, and soon had the outlines of a device, its price point, and a launch date — just three months away. Most manufacturers would need up to 18 months for a similar project, yet the Sensation XL appeared on schedule, and to rave reviews. “Having the ability to just tear up a plan and say, OK, this is the new thing and we’re going to get it done fast. That’s Peter,” said another former senior foreign executive. This shoot-from-the-hip approach served HTC well when the market was growing fast. Shortening the time to market meant HTC could alter plans at the last minute to take advantage of new or cheaper parts. But, as the market has matured, making it harder for handset makers to differentiate their products, the approach has left HTC vulnerable. Locking in the supply of more advanced components and materials to make products stand out requires more foresight and planning than HTC currently allows, former executives say. “The weak point is they don’t really have a long-term strategy,” said one. “It used to be a strength, and now is becoming a weak point as they don’t have a clear direction going forward.” HTC’s second-quarter net profit was well below forecasts even after resolving component shortages that hit its HTC One phone, and the company has said current quarter revenue could fall by as much as 30% from the previous quarter. HTC shares trade at around a tenth of their 2011 peak. Just three years ago, HTC was shipping 25 million smartphones a year and Chou led a huge expansion, bringing in foreign executives from Sony Ericsson, Apple, Motorola and Microsoft as he sought to take on Apple by doubling HTC’s shipments.  HTC was named Device Manufacturer of the Year at the world Mobile Congress in February 2011 and its market value topped that of rivals Research In Motion, now BlackBerry Ltd, and Nokia. Chou ordered champagne to celebrate. But as Apple and Samsung reigned supreme, HTC’s annual shipments never reached that 50mn level, and by the end of last year HTC had dropped to 10th among global smartphone makers. The HTC One, and earlier so-called ‘hero’ handsets from HTC, have won wide praise. The problem has been selling them. Executives say HTC’s failure to hit sales targets was at least partly down to Chou’s management style. After hiring a slew of foreign executives, he fell short on promises to senior staff to foster a more open culture and cede sufficient authority. He openly berated managers and overrode their decisions, often with little discussion.  Such an atmosphere, executives said, damaged morale and left managers uncertain of their roles. Chou kept his sales, product, marketing and design executives separate and, in some cases, created parallel teams doing the same thing. He didn’t hold meetings of executives of the different departments to iron out problems even as HTC’s performance wilted. “There’s a culture in HTC not to discuss numbers at senior management meetings,” said one former executive. “Those discussions tend to become hard or ugly, but if you don’t solve it, it becomes bigger.” Chou’s difficulty in developing a durable global brand of handsets and building an ecosystem of apps and services around it raise questions about how HTC can recover under his leadership at a time when high-end smartphone sales growth is slowing.  “With intensifying competition from other top-tier players and the entrance of lower-tier players, we think a long-term margin downtrend is inevitable,” SinoPac wrote in a recent note. Many of the foreign hires have now quit, and HTC’s old guard has re-established charge, running nearly all operations except design from Taipei. That, say those both inside and outside the company, is a mixed blessing. While leadership tensions may have eased, some warn that concentrating global marketing in Taiwan will create a one-size-fits-all, local approach that won’t help HTC grow globally. “What works in Taiwan is different from other markets,” said one of the former executives. Chief Marketing Officer Benjamin Ho defended the move, saying in a recent interview with Reuters that it made sense to centralise key functions, but that HTC was “not forgetting that we know we’re an international brand.” Even his fiercest critics agree Chou remains the heart of the company and say it’s hard to imagine HTC coming up with great devices without him. As it seeks to turn around its fortunes, HTC has launched cheaper phones in China, and brought out a smaller, cheaper version of its flagship phone, the One Mini. It is trying to revive its US business by working more closely with operators and forming a new operations team. — Reuters Smart watches might not fit millennials’ needs, says expertYoung adults tend to be early adopters of new technology. But as Samsung Electronics Co reportedly prepares to unveil its Gear smart watch next month, it could run into a barrier among young users who have grown up with time-telling cell phones in their pockets instead of watches around their wrists.“A lot of the millennial behaviour is transitory,” said Jeffrey Cole, director of the Centre for the Digital Future. “But as people age, they still are not wearing watches, and we’ll begin to find out next month if that behavioural change is transformational.”The centre, affiliated with the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, has been tracking the same group of people for 13 years. And its annual study has given the think tank long-range insights into changing consumer behaviour.This year, Cole said, questions about wearables — computing devices that are worn rather than held — are starting to emerge.“We’re preparing for the invasion onto our body,” he said.The results, which fall in line with other market research surveys, show little interest in devices such as Google Glass, Nike’s FuelBand health monitor, the Fitbit activity tracker and smart watches among millennials. About 3% of respondents are using smart watches, Cole said.“People right now don’t think they want wearables,” he said. “People also don’t realise what they want, and we believe having the Internet right at our level 24/7 is going to be a compelling proposition.”The emerging problem is that everyone’s starting to dig in their heels against privacy intrusions and the blurring lines between work and play. Having a talking, tracking and texting watch isn’t about to make things easier for consumers.“Technology is a fundamental part of people’s lives, but we’re working for balance,” Cole said. “Nobody wants to ban the stuff, but we need to create boundaries.”About 45% of people surveyed by the centre said they can spend more time with family and friends because technology allows for working remotely. Still, 20% resented working from home and 31% said technology had made finding that balance harder.Gadget manufacturers could help by improving features such as user profiles and account switching to help people segregate work and personal tasks. A smart watch, for example, could automatically stop corporate e-mail notifications during lunch or while the device’s sensors determine that the person is exercising.Cole recalled a button on his old Palm Treo that needed one flick to turn off the ringer — something that takes several taps on some newer devices. That could explain why a slowly growing number of survey respondents, now 25%, said they struggled to figure out new technology.“You don’t get instruction manuals anymore,” Cole said. “To really understand your smartphone, you would need 300 pages and days of training.” — Paresh Dave, Los Angeles Times/MCT

A man with video camera records outside the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco before Apple introduced the iPhone 5.By Poornima Gupta & Peter HendersonShortly after signing on as chief operating officer at Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg was looking to connect with people in a similar role — No. 2 to a brilliant and passionate young founder. She called Tim Cook. “He basically explained nicely that my job was to do the things that Mark (Zuckerberg) did not want to focus on as much,” Sandberg said of the 2007 meeting that lasted several hours with the chief operating officer of Apple Inc. “That was his job with Steve (Jobs). And he explained that the job would change over time and I should be prepared for that.”  While Sandberg has enjoyed a steady run at Facebook, it is Cook’s job that has changed radically since then. Now, the man who was handed one of the more daunting tasks in business — filling the shoes of the late Steve Jobs and keeping Apple on top — may himself need a spot of advice. Two years into Cook’s tenure, Apple is expected to unveil a redesigned iPhone next month. It will be a key moment for Cook. The company he inherited has become a very different creature: a mature corporate behemoth rather than a scrappy industry pioneer, with its share price down 5% this year, despite a recent rally. The S&P 500 is up about 15% this year.  A transition was, perhaps, inevitable after an astonishing five-year run in which Apple’s headcount tripled, its revenues rose over six-fold, its profits grew 12-fold, and its stock price jumped from $150 to a peak of $705 last fall.  But it’s been painful for some.  It is unclear whether the spread-sheeting-loving, consensus-oriented, even-keeled Cook can successfully reshape the cult-like culture that Jobs built. Though Cook has deftly managed the iPhone and iPad product lines, which continue to deliver enormous profits, Apple has yet to launch a major new product under Cook; talk of watches and televisions remains just that.  Some worry that Cook’s changes to the culture have doused the fire — and perhaps the fear — that drove employees to try to achieve the impossible. Cook is known as a workaholic who guards his privacy closely. People who know him well paint a portrait of a thoughtful, data-driven executive who knows how to listen and who can be charming and funny in small group settings.  Lisa Cooper, who went to high school with Cook in Robertsville, Alabama, and remains a friend, still laughs at memories of Cook staging prank photos for the school yearbook and crooning ‘The Way We Were’ to her in class.  In the day to day at Apple, Cook has established a methodical, no-nonsense style, one that’s as different as could be from that of his predecessor. Jobs’ bi-monthly iPhone software meeting, in which he would go through every planned features of the company’s flagship product, is gone. “That’s not Tim’s style at all,” said one person familiar with those meetings. “He delegates.” Still, he has a tough side. In meetings, Cook is so calm as to be nearly unreadable, sitting silently with hands clasped in front of himself. Any change in the constant rocking of his chair is one sign subordinates look for: when he simply listens, they’re heartened if there is no change in the pace of his rocking.  “He could skewer you with a sentence,” the person said. “He would say something along the lines of ‘I don’t think that’s good enough’ and that would be the end of it and you would just want to crawl into a hole and die.” Apple declined to comment on Cook or the company for this article.  Cook’s fans say that his methodical manner doesn’t get in the way of decisive action. They point to the Apple Maps fiasco, in which Apple replaced Google’s mapping product with its own on the iPhone and it quickly became clear that Apple’s maps were not ready for prime time. Apple initially downplayed the glitches by saying Maps was a “major initiative” and they were “just getting started.” But behind the scenes, Cook bypassed Scott Forstall, the mobile software chief (and Jobs favorite) who was responsible for maps, and tasked Internet services honcho Eddy Cue with figuring out what exactly happened and what should be done.   Cook had a lot of questions, and the episode also prompted him to fast-track his thinking on the future direction of the critical phone and tablet software known as iOS, a person close to Apple recounted.   Cook soon issued a public apology to customers, fired Forstall, and handed responsibility for software design to Jony Ive, a Jobs soul-mate who had previously been in charge only of hardware design.  “The vision that Tim had to involve Jony and to essentially connect two very, very important Apple initiatives or areas of focus — that was a big decision on Tim’s part and he made it independently and very, very resolutely,” said Bob Iger, CEO of Walt Disney Co and an Apple director. Still, employees report some grumbling, and Apple seems to have taken note, conducting a survey of morale in the critical hardware engineering unit earlier this year.  “As our business continues to grow and face new challenges, it becomes increasingly important to get feedback about your perceptions and experiences working in hardware engineering,” Dan Riccio, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, wrote to his team in February in an e-mail seen by Reuters. Some Silicon Valley recruiters and former Apple employees at rival companies say they are seeing more Apple resumes than ever before, especially from hardware engineers, though the depth and breadth of any brain-drain remains difficult to quantify, especially given the recent expansion in staff numbers. “I am being inundated by LinkedIn messages and e-mails both by people who I never imagined would leave Apple and by people who have been at Apple for a year, and who joined expecting something different than what they encountered,” said one recruiter with ties to Apple.  Still, the Cook regime is also seen as kinder and gentler, and that’s been a welcome change for many. “It is not as crazy as it used to be. It is not as draconian,” said Beth Fox, a recruiting consultant and former Apple employee, adding that the people she knows are staying put. “They like Tim. They tend to err on the optimistic side.” There does seem to be, under Cook, a new willingness to admit mistakes and a more open approach to problems such as poor working conditions at Chinese contract manufacturers. “On the social side, the only way for Apple to make a difference in the world in a broad way is to be — I believe strongly — is to be totally transparent,” Cook said earlier this year at what was, paradoxically, a closed-door talk at his business school reunion. “When you do that, you make a decision to report the bad and the good, and we hope that by doing that, that it puts pressure on everyone else to join.” Under pressure from investors, Cook not only agreed to share more of Apple’s $150bn cash hoard with shareholders, he voluntarily tied his own pay more closely to stock performance. Yet critics wonder whether Cook’s stated commitments to transparency and workers’ rights really amount to much. Cook set up the global manufacturing system being criticised, and the company and its CEO remain highly secretive about matters large and small. Conditions at some Chinese factories have improved — Apple now tracks and reports hours of a million workers to avoid allegations of unfair working conditions.  Apple has also come under scrutiny over its tax structure, under which it has kept billions of dollars in profits in Irish subsidiaries so as to pay little or no taxes. Cook defended the policy, which is legal, at a Congressional hearing in May.  Shareholders, meanwhile, are focused on the bottom line, and the next big product launch. A sharp drop in China revenue in April-June underscores the challenges Apple faces in its second-largest market as the technology gap with cheaper local rivals narrows and as Samsung Electronics keeps up a steady stream of new models across all price ranges. Cook got a vote of confidence this month when activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed he had amassed a large position in Apple stock. Bob Iger, the Apple director, said Cook had taken on “a very, very difficult role given the person that he’s succeeded and the company he’s running.” “I think he’s done so with a deft hand, a strong sense of himself,” said Iger, who himself long toiled as the number two to a celebrated CEO, Michael Eisner. “With that comes a real self-honesty that he is who he is, and not what the world expects him to be, or what Steve was. And I like that.”   — Reuters

By Heather SomervilleIn the US, if you’re shopping for a car, your first stop may be your smartphone. As consumers grow increasingly comfortable buying smaller items such as clothes and concert tickets from their mobile devices, some are also using their smartphones and tablets for big-ticket purchases like cars.“There’s this huge upheaval in terms of mobile usage and mobile behaviour,” said Jeff Birkeland, vice president of product management for High Gear Media, which publishes The Car Connection site and app. “People are looking to not only research cars, but actually take action and connect to a dealer and do some business on mobile.”Online companies are putting the entire car shopping experience on a mobile device, replacing the lengthy weekend trudge between dealerships with an afternoon on the couch with an iPad. The shift to mobile, tech companies and car salespeople agree, has armed consumers with more information and resources to prepare for what is for most of us a sizeable and emotional purchase. Shoppers can research their new and used car purchases before going to the dealer, and with some mobile apps, even buy a used car.Rodney Bonachita of Daly City, California, did much of his car shopping on his smartphone while he prepared last year to buy a 2009 Mazda. By the time he showed up at the dealership, he said, he was ready to write a cheque. “Dealing with the dealership is just a painful, painful experience,” he said. “Going there armed with information — I wouldn’t do it any other way.”With growing interest in car research apps, mobile devices are expected to become a go-to resource for 87% of car consumers, according to a 2012 study from Briabe, a mobile advertising company that surveyed more than 1,600 people planning to purchase a car within 12 months.The mobile app from Menlo Park-based The Car Connection offers vehicle ratings, reviews, buying guides, connections to local dealerships, financing and insurance advice and recall warnings. The company, which also has a desktop website, gets about 35% of its traffic from mobile, Birkeland said. That number spikes on the weekend and during televised sports events — especially the Super Bowl — when car advertisements air. “It took us a little bit by surprise, because it is a big purchase,” Birkeland said.Edmunds.com, the online car-buying guide headquartered in Santa Monica, saw its mobile website views increase six-fold from March 2011 to March 2013, and its separate mobile app saw 14 times as many views over roughly the same time period.“We’re definitely seeing the shift to mobile,” said Stephen Gandee, vice president of mobile and personalisation at Edmunds.com. Visitors spend an average of four minutes on the website, but about eight minutes each time they open the smartphone app and 12 minutes on the iPad app, he said.Cars.com, a partner with the Bay Area News Group, also offers a mobile app that let users search new and used car listings, schedule a test drive, check out reviews and compare models. This newspaper’s website also offers research on cars and reviews.Car buyers using mobile apps can look for their next purchase between running errands or while making dinner, and on the weekend, they can use a tablet and not be chained to a desk. And shoppers are bringing these apps to the dealership, keeping their smartphones and tablets handy to show salespeople competing offers or lower suggested prices.“They’ll be sitting there on their iPhones and iPads and checking, ‘What’s my car worth?’” said Richard Flores, sales manager at Courtesy Chevrolet in San Jose. “They have way more information than they ever had before.”Bonachita, who’s now shopping for a Subaru, said he doesn’t go to a dealership without his smartphone: “I’m validating information on the fly.”Shoppers aren’t using mobile only for car research — they’re buying used cars on their smartphones, too. eBay sells more than 11,000 pre-owned vehicles each week through its online auctions to shoppers using their mobile device, and traffic is so high that the company created an eBay Motors app, according to spokeswoman Amanda Coffee.The website Carvana buys cars at auctions and sells them online, sometimes in less than 20 minutes. Carvana, which is in test mode in Atlanta, uses high-definition photo technology that zooms in on any imperfections that shoppers may not notice on the lot.“People will buy with their phones,” said company director Ryan Keeton. “We’re using technology to change a very old, established industry.”Other technology companies disagree that mobile apps help car shoppers.“It’s a very infrequent purchase,” said Grant Feek, chief executive officer of Tred, a Seattle-based website that delivers a car to your house to test drive and refers you to a local dealership that sells it. “Plus, the median age (of car shoppers) is too old. The average 40-year-old in our market is not tech savvy enough to download an app for a one-time purchase.”And plenty of consumers still want the dealership experience. Lorenzo Torres of San Jose said car shopping from an app is “lazy”. “I don’t have to go online all the time for things I really want,” he wrote in a Facebook comment to this newspaper.But with many car shoppers spending more time on their iPads and iPhones, companies are continuing to develop mobile options. Edmunds is rolling out app features that will let shoppers lock in a price and text with the dealership. Soon, users will also get a virtual tour of a dealership from their iPad.“Traditionally car salespeople and dealerships want you to come in because they want you to get emotionally attached to the car,” Gandee said. “Now, customers will know as much or more than the salespeople about a particular vehicle.”But dealers argue that the strong emotions tied up in buying a car — a purchase that families use almost daily and depend on to get safely to work and school — have as much influence on the buyer’s decision as any app.“In most cases, it’s still an emotional car buying experience,” Flores said. “When you drive the car and feel the steering wheel (in your hands) — all that stuff affects you.” — San Jose Mercury News/MCTFor the mobile car shopperApp: Kelley Blue Book (KBB)What it does: Searches for used car value and new car prices, expert and consumer reviews, compares cars side by side, videos and photos, requests a quote from a local dealerCompatible: Android, Windows, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad (iOS 4.3)App: Cars.comWhat it does: Searches for new and used cars for sale near you, compares models, consumer and expert reviews, dealer reviews, schedules a test drive, calculates loan paymentsCompatible: Android, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad (iOS 5.0)App: EdmundsWhat it does: Calculates true market value, specs, searches local dealers, views cars in different colours, expert and consumer reviews, dealership reviews, high-resolution photos, fuel economy and warranty detailsCompatible: Android, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad (iOS 6.0)App: The Car ConnectionWhat it does: Reviews from auto journalists and around the Web, numeric and colour-coded rating systems, 2mn local classified listings, contacts for local dealersCompatible: Android, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad (iOS 5.0)App: Every Car ListedWhat it does: Affordability calculator, searches for used car value, searches for new and used cars for sale, directions to local dealerships, links to FacebookCompatible: Android, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad (iOS 4.0)App: CarMaxWhat it does: Alerts for car price drops, compares up to 10 cars, provides vehicle history, expert and consumer reviewsCompatible: Android, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad (iOS 5.0)App: eBay MotorsWhat it does: Scans vehicle identification number to get details on make and model, finds parts and accessories, contacts sellers, bid and purchase vehicles on eBay marketplaceCompatible: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad (iOS 5.0), and on Adroid only through eBay marketplace app

The 2013 Lexus ES, which now shares its platform and engines with the redesigned 2013 Toyota Avalon.By Larry PrintzSince its inception, the popular Lexus ES has made its mark as a pretentious Toyota Camry, although recent iterations have hidden that fact fairly well. That’s changed with the redesigned 2013 Lexus ES, which now shares its platform and engines with the redesigned 2013 Toyota Avalon.Like the Toyota, the Lexus is offered as a conventional petrol model, the ES 350, or, for the first time, as a petrol-electric hybrid, the ES 300h.More importantly, the ES has grown in size, gaining 1.8 inches in wheelbase and one inch in overall length. This allowed Lexus designers to increase rear legroom by 4.1 inches. Given the generous size of the cabin, you might not see the necessity of buying a larger Lexus. Try it out and you’ll see. There’s plenty of  space to comfortably fit four.While cabin space has grown, the ES 350’s trunk space is only slightly larger at 15.2 cu ft. The ES 300h has a mere 12.1 cu ft, thanks to the car’s battery pack.Size aside, the 2013 Lexus ES is a much more handsome car than the one it replaces. The ES’s dramatic spindle grille gives the car a distinctive face, artfully announcing this graceful car’s presence. The ES’s greenhouse is somewhat sporting in appearance, while the back end’s staid look is not unlike that of the pricier Lexus GS and LS sedans.Like the exterior, the ES’s interior has a much more modern feel. It’s lined in mock leather, brushed metal accents and accompanied by a choice of bird’s eye maple, piano black or bamboo trim. Leather trim is optional. A large navigation/infotainment monitor dominates the centre of the instrument panel. As in other Lexus models, it’s controlled by a mouse-like controller on the centre console with an overly sensitive feel that takes time to master while driving.While Lexus designers have masterfully banished the dowdy ambience of previous ES models, they are less successful when they try to do the same for performance.The 268-hp 3.5-litre V-6 in the ES 350 produces decent grunt, although it seems unrefined and noisy when compared with the creamy, smooth silence of the ES 300h’s petrol-electric hybrid drive line. The ES 300h is felt but not heard, delivering the isolated refinement that Lexus customers have come to expect. Yes, its petrol engine and electric motor are less powerful — there’s only 200 hp on tap — but it returns remarkable fuel economy: 40 mpg city, 39 mpg highway. By comparison, ES 350’s V-6 returns 21 mpg city, 31 mpg highway and costs $800 more to fuel annually. Regardless of engine, the ES has a somewhat more fun-to-drive personality for 2013. Lexus firmed up the suspension and dialed in more responsive steering. In addition, a “Driver Mode Select” dial allows the driver to adjust the car’s driving feel.There are three settings: Eco, Normal and Sport. The Eco mode markedly dampens the car’s responsiveness, making quick bursts of speed almost impossible. Normal mode delivers traditional Lexus response. Selecting the Sport mode does produce a more enthusiastic driving experience, but it doesn’t transform the ES into an Autobahn athlete. This car is a cruiser, meant to spend its time in the middle lane, transporting its occupants in serene comfort.Such comfort is easy to appreciate when accompanied by the optional 15-speaker, 835-watt Mark Levinson audio system with HD Radio, DVD audio/video and SiriusXM Satellite Radio. More importantly, the ES comes with 10 air bags, stability control, traction control, a rear back-up camera and optional blind spot monitor with rear cross traffic alert systems.If you’re thinking of buying an ES, opt for the ES 300h. For an extra, you get more refinement and better fuel economy than most subcompacts, but you will have to put up with a smaller trunk.For 2013, the Lexus ES has grown beyond its roots as a low-priced Lexus. Its newfound size and style put it on an equal footing with its larger stable mates. The redesigned interior lends it a modern edge that’s more appealing to younger buyers. And the new hybrid model means not having to sacrifice space for fuel efficiency.But perhaps the best part is its reasonable sticker price. While it may be a cliche to say that the Lexus ES 350 and 300h offer a lot of luxury car for the money, it’s true. Just look at what the competition offers at the same price point.That’s when you’ll see that it’s hard to overlook this compelling luxury car value. — The Virginian-Pilot/MCT* Price and technical specifications may vary in locally available models.In a nutshellDriveline: 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine and 105 kw electric motorWheelbase: 111 inchesLength: 192.7 inchesWeight: 3,660 poundsCargo space: 12.1 cu ftFuel consumption: 39 mpgFuel type: Regular

By Geoffrey MohanDon’t press the like button: Facebook is a bummer that makes us feel worse about our lives, according to new research.Facebook users in a study led by the University of Michigan wound up feeling worse about themselves after two weeks, and their moment-to-moment mood darkened the more they browsed the social medium. It didn’t seem to matter how big their network was, how supportive they thought their friends were, nor why they went to Facebook in the first place, according to the study published online in ‘PLOS One’.“We were able to show on a moment-to-moment basis throughout the day how people’s mood fluctuated depending on their Facebook usage,” said University of Michigan social psychologist Ethan Kross, lead author of the study.“We measured lots and lots of other personality and behavioural dimensions, like, for example, frequency of Facebook use,” Kross said. “But none of the factors that we assessed influenced the results. The more you used Facebook, the more your mood dropped.”The study adds to a body of work examining social media’s  effect on well-being, much of it offering mixed diagnoses. Looking at your own profile can be self-affirming, according to a recent study. And a survey of Facebook users suggested that it modestly increased life satisfaction, social trust, civic engagement and political participation.But other studies have suggested Facebook can evoke envy of others’ activities and profile, leaving users with diminished self-images. Another study suggested that people with low self-esteem don’t reap a benefit from tinkering with their online image, either.None of those studies, however, followed people over time. The University of Michigan study involved 82 college-aged volunteers — a core demographic among Facebook’s nearly 700 mn active daily users — who answered questionnaires five times a day for 14 days, and rated their well-being at the beginning and end.Worry did not predict changes in Facebook use, but loneliness did, according to the study. Nonetheless, when researchers controlled for loneliness, the relationship between Facebook use and mood and satisfaction were insignificant, Kross said.“Loneliness predicted Facebook use, and loneliness also predicted how bad people felt,” Kross said. “But the effect of Facebook on how people felt was independent of loneliness.“One of the things we don’t know is what aspect of Facebook use is contributing to these results,” Kross said. “Facebook and online social networks more generally represent a very new way in which human beings are interacting, and we’re really just beginning to scratch the surface as to how exactly these interactions work and how they influence us.”Catalina Toma, a University of Wisconsin communication researcher who found that Facebook users could increase their self-esteem, said seemingly contradictory findings among studies reflect the complexity of the medium and point out the need to drill deeper into what people do while on Facebook.“I think what’s happening, honestly, is that Facebook is such a gigantic space where so many different activities take place,” said Toma, who was not involved in the study. “So for us to be simply talking about Facebook use is an oversimplification. Facebook use is not just one thing; it is many, many different things.”Kross and fellow researchers conducted an exploratory analysis of the data that suggests a linear relationship between online communication and face-to-face interaction. As both increase, feelings of well-being decline.“The negative effect of Facebook use on happiness became more pronounced the more you interacted with other people within that time frame,” Kross said. “It’s very likely that there are going to be a multitude of mechanisms that explain this effect.”Like other social media, Facebook affords people the opportunity to contemplate, edit and enhance their presentation in ways that are difficult if not impossible during impromptu social interactions in the flesh. You can take hours to come up with a clever response, whereas most people have long left the cocktail party when they think of the perfect riposte.Toma suggested that users’ emotions and sense of worth may be negatively influenced by the discord between tailored online images of others and their unedited view of themselves. “Instead of doing a person-to-person profile, you’re comparing a profile and a person,” Toma said. Studies have shown that users tend to put their best foot forward, both Toma and Kross noted.Still, other studies indicate that the information in people’s profiles closely matches their actual personality — enough so that researchers could make predictions based only on the person’s “like” preferences. You are what you like, in other words.Whether any of this will make you feel better, however, may depend on whether you’re reading this on Facebook. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

By Jessica GuynnOn a recent afternoon, Homer Gaines hiked with girlfriend Tami Stillwell to the gusty peak of Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay, bent down on one knee and slipped a topaz and white-sapphire ring on her finger, capturing the entire marriage proposal on a computerised device that he was wearing like a pair of glasses.Gaines, a 41-year-old Web developer from Fort Myers, Florida, is one of 10,000 “explorers” testing Glass, the much talked about hands-free wearable computing device from Google that lets users take photos and videos, make phone calls, send and receive text messages, search the Internet and get turn-by-turn directions.“I would not have been able to pull off that level of spontaneity with any other device and instantly share it with the world,” Gaines said. “Glass gave me the ability to share with everyone that special moment from my point of view — the surprise on her face, the way she jumped around, the ring on her finger and the tears of joy in her eyes.”Glass won’t be widely available for purchase until early next year, but it’s one of the most anticipated new technologies in years. The question many are asking: Can Google make digital goggles the world’s next must-have gadget?As Google sees it, Glass is a revolutionary new way to quickly and effortlessly connect people with information. Critics view Glass as an invasive new technology that — if it takes off — could rob people of what few shreds of privacy they have left. Lawmakers are alarmed by the privacy implications and have begun asking pointed questions of Google. And some commercial establishments — most notably casinos and bars — have already banned Glass.Google is downplaying the privacy and security risks, assuring the public that it will not permit facial recognition apps. Google says it’s obvious when someone is taking pictures or recording a video on Glass.But some developers have already built a way to get around Google: an alternative operating system that runs on Glass but is not controlled by Google. One developer is making a facial recognition app that will help users remember the hundreds of people they have met and should recognise but don’t. That in-your-face quality of Glass could wake up more people to their ever shrinking privacy in the rapidly advancing digital age, University of Washington law professor Ryan Calo said.Not only will people be more keenly aware that they have no reasonable expectation of privacy in public, Glass and devices like it could make it easier for government authorities to gain access to everything they see and record without a warrant, he said.And, with a warrant, the government might even be able to remotely turn on Glass’ video recording capability without the user’s knowledge, the way it has done with OnStar systems in cars, Calo said. To counter that kind of growing apprehension, Google is trying to make the new technology seem as normal as possible.Google co-founder Sergey Brin constantly has a pair perched on his nose. He has worn Glass to the Oscars, to the TED conference, in the Hollywood film The Internship, and last year he stole the show at Google’s annual developers conference by wearing Glass.His cohort, Google Chief Executive and co-founder Larry Page, recently sported a pair as a groomsman in a wedding ceremony in Croatia. And he talked up Glass as the future of technology during Google’s second-quarter earnings conference call with analysts.Still, even inside the high-tech industry, some aren’t too keen on Glass. Los Angeles technology entrepreneur and investor Jason Calacanis has asked friends to remove Glass in his presence, banned Glass from poker games and coined a new term to describe what he feels like doing when he spots Glass wearers: “Glass-kicking”.And Glass hasn’t been able to ditch what could be its true Achilles’ heel: its dorky image. Labelled “Segway for your face,” it has become the butt of jokes on late-night television and on the Internet. Not only have Glass wearers been subjected to public ridicule for looking “glassed out,” they are referred to as a cross between Glass and a curse word.Google is the first to admit that Glass is not quite ready for prime time, with widely reported glitches. The battery drains quickly (but also charges quickly). The capabilities are still very limited, with only a smattering of apps such as Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. And some complain that it’s not easy to hear notifications or phone calls with the bone conduction speaker.Perhaps the most glaring omission: A way for the 64% of the US population who wears glasses to use Glass. Google has made a prototype of prescription frames designed to be compatible with Glass and said the company will release specifications for frames manufacturers.“We still have bumps in the road and obstacles,” Glass product director Steve Lee said. “Right now, you need to be an early adopter who is excited about the technology.”Glass is the first major product from Google X, the company’s super-secretive research laboratory for “moonshots,” big scientific bets such as self-driving cars. The lab is located in two nondescript brick buildings about a half-mile from Google’s Mountain View, California, campus. A row of electric cars — including Teslas — is parked and charged out front.In a conference room inside Google X, Lee showed off an early prototype of Glass: safety glasses with a Nexus One smartphone attached to the right temple and the phone’s battery attached to the left. The device clearly didn’t win any style points and was not terribly comfortable (“guaranteed to give you a headache in 10 minutes,” Lee said).Over the last three years, Google has dramatically refined Glass. The latest incarnation weighs about the same as a pair of normal glasses and is more attractive and less obtrusive. To keep careful watch over every detail, Google turned to Foxconn to manufacture Glass near its campus but won’t disclose the exact location.And Google chose a marketing strategy as novel as Glass. This summer, it opened three upscale pop-up stores that it calls “basecamps” — in a San Francisco office tower on the waterfront, in a penthouse in the Chelsea neighbourhood of New York and in Google’s Venice Beach offices — to give thousands the white-glove treatment as they are outfitted with Glass.This shopping experience is even more exclusive than most. Explorers not only stretched their pocketbooks to be the first to test Google’s $1,500 device, they competed in an online contest for the privilege.“This is a big, new leap in tech, and I think it’s really important to get feedback on product and how people use it. Why would you do that in a vacuum, when you can do it with people across the United States?” said Ed Sanders, Google’s head of marketing for Glass. “When you are inventing something new and something that by its very nature is very intimate and personal, a device that someone wears on his or her face, then you have to listen to people.”In the San Francisco basecamp, an airy room with exposed ductwork, concrete floors and sweeping views of the bay, explorers first pick from five colours  — demure hues of white, grey and black or bright pops of orange and blue — and then take a seat at wood tables. On each table sits a black shopping bag, a Chromebook Pixel laptop and a mirror.One by one, guides deliver white boxes with the silver Glass logo. Inside the box under a single sheet of white filmy paper is Glass. The guides custom fit the lens-less glasses, bending the titanium and adjusting the nose guards.The explorers slide their fingers back and forth along the right side of the device and stare into a screen the size of a postage stamp above their right eye. Soon they are ordering Glass around with ease, dictating messages to family and friends and making plans to take Glass sightseeing, even hang-gliding.Erica Pang, 24, who works for a Palo Alto start-up, and her brother Aaron Pang, 20, a junior at Washington University recovering from spinal lymphoma, entered the #ifihadglass contest. She was picked. Their idea: to broadcast live virtual field trips to museums and zoos for children who are immobilised by illness or stuck in hospital beds. They got the idea when Aaron spent three months in the hospital.“We want to let kids see the world without any of their limitations getting in the way,” Erica Pang said.Michael Kendle, an app develope., in flip-flops and jeans and lounging on a grey couch at the Google basecamp, is a self-professed gadget junkie and says he always has to be the first to get the new, new thing. Now he has Glass, and he says he plans never to take it off except to shower and sleep.“I love being connected to everything, to have all this information at my fingertips,” Kendle said. — Los Angeles Times/MCTIs a new iPhone coming in Sept? By Patrick MayIn the midst of whiplash-inducing reports about Apple’s health and future, the most tantalising tidbit to emerge from the blogosphere was a simple date: Tuesday, Sept 10, 2013.That, according to a report in AllThingsD attributed only to “sources,” is when Apple will release a new iPhone. Or perhaps two new iPhones.Apple spokesman Steve Dowling declined to comment. But many analysts say Apple must offer a cheaper version of its iconic iPhone to stake out a position in the midrange of the smartphone market, as sales of its higher-priced flagship model continue to slow and rivals introduce their own lower-priced gadgets. In the past, Apple has chased that value-seeking consumer by selling its older-model phones for $100 or $200 less than the latest and more expensive model. But speculation has gathered that Apple in September may unveil a new iPhone 5S alongside a lower-cost iPhone.Regardless of what Apple comes up with, analyst John Jackson of IDC in Boston says, it’s got to be a home run.“Investors, along with the rest of the world, are waiting with increasing impatience, for Apple to wow them once again,” he said. “And whether it’s in September or not, the next event will arguably be the biggest product launch in Apple’s history because it will tell us about the future of the company as a true innovator.”Apple’s hammered stock price, he said, is a clear sign that more and more investors are on the fence about Apple and wonder whether it can continue to live up to the legacy left by Steve Jobs of cranking out one mind-blowing product after another. “And whatever it is they introduce,” he said, “if there’s nothing that looks fundamentally new, the market will be greatly disappointed.”There’s been buzz for months about such an unveiling. And the timing, if accurate, would be classic Apple. The company likes to announce software updates at its developers conference in June, give it a test drive for a few months, then officially release it to the world shortly before its latest product is announced in September.So far, this year is no exception, as Apple shared its new mobile operating software in June, promising its iOS 7 will be available to the public in the autumn. — San Jose Mercury News/MCTCaution advised in online sharing By Christopher QuinnSeymour “Sy” Goodman, an expert on information security at Georgia Tech’s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, does not have a Facebook page.Goodman knows the risks of spreading personal news and information on the Internet probably as well as anybody, but even he does not know as much as he should. The field is too vast and it changes too quickly.“I am going to tell (people) what kind of risks they have out there and what they can do to mitigate those risks, and it’s not the type of thing I would have said to them 10 years ago. ... People can’t keep up with it. I can’t keep up with it,” he said.And why does an Internet security expert not have a Facebook page? In a word, privacy. It’s what we hold so dearly yet give away in the public forums of cyberspace, where others can take advantage of it.“You don’t provide Facebook with a penny,” Goodman said. “So how does Facebook make its money? You are their product.” Well, not you, but everything you post. Pictures. Family names. Where you travel. Pictures of things you like.Facebook, Google and all of those handy apps on your smartphone collect your data and locations and use information to figure out how to sell you stuff. Or some unscrupulous firms may sell your information to others. But however your information gets out there, there are people trying to figure out how to use it to their advantage, legal or not.Online theft and fraud is a growing problem. Recent numbers from the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network say Georgia in 2011 had the second-highest theft of identities per capita. Florida was No. 1.But it does not take a thief to cause damage. Friends or employers see something floating out there on the Internet, and bad things can happen.Like the Barrow County, Georgia, a teacher pressured to resign in 2011 after Facebook pictures showed her on vacation with glasses of wine and mugs of beer.“Each of us needs to give some thought to how to handle that risk. There are many ways available to us, although nothing guarantees security, and we all need to think about what we might lose if some things go wrong, and act with that in mind,” Goodman wrote.“I am going to explain to them why they are vulnerable and give them a sense of what little they can do about it.” — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/MCT

By G Chambers Williams III Taking a long family trip with car full of kids can be a challenge if you don’t have the right vehicle. But that’s not a problem when your chariot is a big luxury SUV, like our tester for the week: the 2013 Infiniti QX56.This cavernous vehicle, whose name will be changing to QX80 under Infiniti’s new nomenclature scheme for 2014, is among the few remaining truck-style sport utilities on the market. But there’s still a market for the QX56, especially among people with big families and those with big trailers to pull.Just two versions are offered, in a single trim, with either two- or four-wheel drive. Prices for 2013 start at $61,350 (in the US) for the rear-wheel-drive model, and $63,750 for the go-anywhere four-wheel-drive version, which we tested for this report.This year Nissan added its advanced Moving Object Detection system as a standard feature on the QX. It works in conjunction with the vehicle’s Around View Monitor, one of the coolest features available on Infiniti vehicles.The object-detection system uses front and rear sonar to provide audible and visual warnings to the driver if, when starting to go forward or backward, there is a moving object in front or behind the vehicle.Moving objects are visible on the dash screen through the Around View Monitor, which combines the views from four super-wide-angle cameras — front, rear and both sides — to project a 360-degree view of the area around the vehicle, seemingly from overhead.Self-dimming outside mirrors are new this year, along with the Smoky Quartz exterior colour. Eight people can ride in a QX, unless it’s configured like the one we tested, which came with the optional seven-passenger seating arrangement. There were two comfortable captain’s chairs in the middle row rather than a three-person bench, which is a no-cost option.Optional safety features include the Blind Spot Intervention system that comes in the Technology Package ($3,000), which was included on our tester. It’s designed to alert the driver if there is a vehicle in the adjacent lane, and tries to prevent the vehicle from changing lanes if there is another car in the way.The package also includes intelligent cruise control, lane-departure warning and prevention, intelligent brake assist with forward collision warning, and adaptive bi-xenon high-intensity-discharge headlights with automatic levellingOur vehicle also came with the Deluxe Touring Package ($4,650), which added a hydraulic body-motion-control system, cooled front seats, upgraded leather interior, a 15-speaker Bose Cabin Surround Sound audio system, mocha burl wood interior trim, an advanced automatic climate control system, headlight washers, and illuminated vehicle entry.We had kids onboard, and they were kept entertained by the Theater Package ($3,100), which added a rear DVD player with two seven-inch screens in the backs of the front headrests, two pairs of wireless headphones, a remote control, a 120-volt power outlet, auxiliary audio/visual input jacks, second-row heated seats, and remote tip-up second seats.To dress the QX up a bit, we had the Tyre and Wheel Package ($2,450). It brought nine-spoke, 22-inch wheels and all-season tyres. The only other option (couldn’t have been much left on the list) on our tester was a cargo mat/first aid kit ($200).All of this added up to $78,145, but we could have done without most of the extras and we still would have had a well-equipped and quite functional vehicle. Although I prefer four-wheel drive, if you can do without it, you can cut the price down even more.With its first complete redesign two years ago, the QX56 no longer shares its chassis with the Nissan Armada, and it’s now made in Japan, rather than in Canton, Mississippi, where the original model was assembled. But there still are a lot of similarities between the two vehicles, although the QX is fancier.Both QX56 models are powered by a 5.6-litre V-8 engine with 400hp and 413 foot-pounds of torque, connected to a seven-speed automatic transmission. That’s plenty of power, even as loaded as we had ours. We gave it good workout, even driving though some pretty serious mountains.It’s a heavy vehicle — 5,595 pounds for the two-wheel-drive model, and 5,855 pounds for the four-wheel drive — but the ride is smooth and quiet, and the engine never seemed to strain, even on the mountain grades.The QX handles easily, too, considering its size. I don’t recommend it for serious trail-driving though, because it’s just too big to go through tight spots that can accommodate smaller off-roaders such as a Jeep Wrangler.Our QX came with the Black Obsidian exterior colour, and a very nice Wheat coloured leather interior. There is comfortable seating for everyone on board, even in the third row. I was amazed that I was never uncomfortable during 11 hours in the driver’s seat. The dual front captain’s chairs were living-room quality.Teenagers rode without complaint in the middle-row captain’s chairs, which can be quickly folded forward to allow access to the third row. While we didn’t use the third row on the trip to and from our destination, it was convenient at our vacation spot when we took other people with us out to dine or explore.Not using the third row for seating during the long drive freed up cargo space. There’s 16.5 cu ft of space behind the third seat, which wasn’t enough for us with beach supplies and other necessities for a long family trip. With the third seat folded (60/40 split, power fold), the cargo area opens up to cavernous size.EPA ratings are typical for this vehicle class — 14 mpg city/20 highway (with either rear- or four-wheel drive). On our trip, which was mostly highway driving, we averaged only about 15 mpg, though.For those with RVs, boats or horses, the QX is capable of pulling trailers weighing up to 8,500 pounds. We tortured the kids in the back with our selection of music from an iPhone connected to the outstanding Bose audio system, which includes 15 speakers strategically place throughout the vehicle. The iPod music functions of the iPhone can be controlled through the audio system, with playlists showing on the in-dash colour monitor.For aerodynamics, the QX has a front chin spoiler, rear liftgate spoiler and streamlined outside mirrors. It has a 0.37 coefficient of drag, and there is “zero lift” from air passing underneath, Nissan says.Among the standard features are 20-inch alloy wheels; LED taillights; heated/power-folding outside mirrors with integrated turn signals, courtesy lights and reverse tilt-down feature; body-colour running boards and integrated front and rear splash guards in the wheel arches; roof rails; a power/sliding/tinted glass moon roof; and a power rear liftgate.Optional adaptive self-levelling adaptive headlights are designed to move slightly in the same direction as the vehicle to provide illumination of the area into which the car is turning.The standard Infiniti Hard Drive Navigation System includes a backup-camera along with the Around View Monitor system. While leather upholstery is standard, premium semi-aniline leather is included in the Deluxe Touring Package.The off-road-capable four-wheel-drive system has low-range gearing for hills, sand and mud on the trail. In automatic mode (high range only), the system can send up to half of the power to the front wheels; in normal mode, the rear wheels get the power. Both models come with Hill Start Assist, which prevents rollback when the vehicle is stopped on a hill and the driver releases the foot brake.Safety features include four-wheel antilock disc brakes with electronic brake-force distribution; electronic stability control; roof-mounted side-curtain air bags for all three rows; seat-mounted front side air bags; and tyre-pressure monitoring. — Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT* Price and technical details may vary in locally available models.In a nutshell The package: Full-size, seven- or eight-passenger, five-door, rear- or four-wheel-drive, V-8 powered, premium sport utility vehicle.Highlights: The QX56 is a premium family hauler with lots of power, a smooth ride, and a long list of available high-tech features.Negatives: Can get quite pricey with all the extras.Engine: 5.6-litre V-8.Transmission: Seven-speed automatic.Power/torque: 400 HP./413 foot-pounds.Brakes, front/rear: Disc/disc, antilock.Length: 208.3 inches.Curb weight: 5,595 pounds (2WD), 5,855 pounds (4WD).Cargo capacity: 16.5 cu ft (behind third row).Electronic stability control: Standard.Side air bags: Front seat-mounted, three-row side curtain.Towing capacity: 8,500 pounds.Fuel capacity/type: 26 gallons/premium recommended, but not required.Major competitors: Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade, Lincoln Navigator, Ford Expedition, Audi Q7, Toyota Sequoia, Nissan Armada Platinum.On the Road rating: 9.3 (of a possible 10).autoQ & A   How good is recycled oil? What is your take on 50% recycled oil? Stores are offering more of this oil. Is it just as good as new oil? Or should I stay with 100% new oil?As an oil “consumer” — meaning I buy and change my own oil — here’s my take on recycled oil. I’m absolutely sure it’s as good as 100% new oil, meets all of the Society of Automotive Engineers and American Petroleum Institute service ratings and standards, and provides equal protection and performance. But — and here’s where personal “baggage” comes into play — I’ll stick with new oil. The vehicles and engines I own are mine, I’m responsible for their maintenance and longevity, so I’ll continue to buy and use synthetic oil — the best oil available.For the relatively small difference in price, I’m simply more comfortable sticking with what’s worked for me for decades. At least until the price of recycled oil becomes so attractive that the Scrooge in me can’t resist.In August 2011 we purchased a 2012 Ford Fusion SEL to tow behind our motor home. We specifically asked the dealer what Ford products could be flat-towed as we did not want to deal with a tow dolly. We were told a Fusion would meet our needs. Six months later, an Owners Guide Supplement dated February 2012 came out saying that “Front-wheel drive vehicles CANNOT be flat-towed (all wheels on the ground) as vehicle or transmission damage may occur. The front wheels must be placed on a two-wheel tow dolly.”After finding out about this, we were told by the Ford dealer that we could continue to flat tow the vehicle and our 36-month warranty would cover any issues. We have already experienced a major tow-related problem with the transmission, which was repaired under warranty in March.Since we invested a substantial sum to outfit the car to be flat towed, we feel that the change in Ford’s position in the Owners Guide Supplement about this vehicle has substantially impaired the intended use of the vehicle. We also believe that the market value of the vehicle has been impacted if we decide we should sell it. Lastly, we feel that the safety of the vehicle has been severely compromised since we could have a major problem if the transmission should malfunction while we are towing it. Any advice?Space limitations forced me to leave out your comments on the “impaired use and loss of value” issues, which are valid concerns. But to the heart of the matter: Depending on the build date of your Fusion, Ford Technical Service Bulletin 12-11-5, dated November 2012, identifies which Fusion models with the 6F35 automatic transmissions can be flat towed with all four wheels on the pavement. The short version is these vehicles can be flat towed for no more than six hours at speeds of 65 miles per hour or less, if the transmission fluid level is set correctly, and if the engine is run every six hours to cool the transmission fluid.The issue is transmission fluid overheating and inadequate lubrication due to the fact that the transmission oil pump is not being driven by the running engine. This is always a concern when flat towing a vehicle with an automatic transmission and is why I’ve always recommended a tow dolly or trailer. Besides, the difference in wheelbase between the tow vehicle and towed vehicle can make sharp maneuvers difficult.In my opinion you have three choices: Use a tow dolly (my choice), buy or persuade Ford to extend the warranty long enough to cover your intended ownership, or trade the vehicle. The problem with trading is that you may well face the same situation unless the vehicle is fitted with a manual transmission or you can unlock the driven wheels from the drivetrain for towing. — By Paul Brand/Star Tribune/MCT

Mario Queiroz, vice president of product management, presents the new Chromecast media device during a Google product introduction at Dogpatch Studios in San Francisco. By Troy WolvertonGoogle’s Chromecast is not the first device to allow users to watch Internet videos on big-screen TVs, but it might have the most potential.The new digital media adapter is cheap, small, simple to configure and easy to use. It’s also flexible enough to work with Android smartphones and tablets, Apple’s iPhones, iPads and Macs, and Windows PCs.But it can’t do things that many of its rivals can, such as allow you to watch on your TV pictures or movies that are stored on your phone or computer.In short, it feels like a great beta product. It has a lot of potential and a low, low price, but it’s not yet fully developed.Launched by Google last month, Chromecast costs just $35, making it one of the least-expensive digital media adapters available. It’s also one of the smallest; it’s about the size and shape of a USB flash drive, which allows it to plug in discreetly behind your TV.Unlike rival devices, Chromecast doesn’t have a user interface of its own, or run any apps itself, or link to any Internet channels. Instead, everything you watch on it has to be sent to it from either the Chrome browser on your computer or from an app on your smartphone or tablet.When you “send” a video from your smartphone to Chromecast, the video is actually streamed directly from the Internet to the digital media adapter, rather than getting relayed from your phone. By going the direct route, Chromecast avoids draining your mobile devices’ batteries and allows you to watch other videos on your smartphones or tablets without interrupting the one on the TV.I found Chromecast easy to set up. You plug it into an HDMI port and then power it up by connecting it to a USB port on your TV — if you’ve got one — or to a power outlet.You then connect it to Wi-Fi using the Chrome browser on your computer, which, once you download a plug-in for Chrome, automatically detects the device.That’s a lot easier than the process on rival devices, which typically force you to type in Wi-Fi passwords and account information using a remote control to navigate an on-screen keyboard.Once you’ve installed the plug-in, you’ll see in the upper-right corner of Chrome a button that allows you to “cast” whole browser windows or Web videos to your TV. That same button shows up in compatible apps on iPhones, iPads and Android devices. If you tap the button while watching a movie in the Netflix app, the app will send that video to your TV.The process isn’t instantaneous, but it’s simple and works fairly quickly. Even though the mobile apps don’t actually stream videos to Chromecast, they can still control them. Buttons and progress bars in the app allow you to pause, restart, fast-forward and rewind videos or songs.One cool thing about the way Chromecast works is that you can jump from one device to another to control it. You can start a Netflix video on your Galaxy S 4 smartphone and then pause or rewind it on your iPad.Unfortunately, Chromecast is limited by having few compatible apps or services. On mobile devices, Chromecast is only compatible with Netflix, YouTube and Google’s movies and music apps. And on computers, it only works with the Chrome browser.Because of those limitations, there’s no way to use Chromecast to enjoy content stored on your computer or mobile device.You can’t use it to watch the home movie that’s saved to your PC or view the pictures you just took on your smartphone.Nor can you use it to listen to the songs you’ve stored on your PC. And you can forget about using it to watch anything you’ve bought from Apple’s iTunes.Unlike Apple TV, Chromecast can’t beam to your TV what’s displayed on other nearby devices.So you can’t use it to play mobile games on your TV or to display a PowerPoint presentation you’ve stored on your laptop.While Hulu, Pandora, Spotify and other popular entertainment apps aren’t yet compatible with Chromecast, you can use the device to access some of those services by pulling them up on Chrome on your computer (but not your tablet or smartphone) and beaming them.But beaming from a computer isn’t an ideal experience.A slow computer or a poor connection between it and Chromecast can result in choppy video.And if your computer is located in a room other than the one that has your TV, you might find yourself wandering back and forth to queue up videos. Even if you have a laptop in the same room, a computer makes an unwieldy remote control.Many of these shortcomings are so obvious that they’re likely on some Google engineer’s checklist for the next version of Chromecast, and they are what give the device its “beta” feel.I wish Chromecast were a more complete product now, but with its low price, simple set up and ease of use, it’s still pretty compelling. — San Jose Mercury News/MCT

The 2014 Jaguar F-Type is considered a sucessor to the brand’s iconic E-Type sports car.By Larry PrintzFollowing in the footsteps of a famous parent is difficult; just ask Jakob Dylan, Rufus Wainwright or George W Bush. The 2014 Jaguar F-Type, which hit showrooms in June (in the US), faces the same challenge.Its forebear, the 1961 Jaguar E-Type, was heralded as a work of art from its introduction. Created before the advent of government regulation, the E-Type was so unlike anything else that had come before or since, it quickly became iconic, a lifestyle prop to swinging London, the British Invasion and Carnaby Street.So what do you do for an encore? How do you follow something that’s legendary from its inception? Such brilliance rarely happens twice.Consider what the F-Type faces. It must meet government mandates across multiple continents. At the same time, it must satisfy the Jaguar loyalists who have been clamouring for this car since the E-Type staggered offstage in 1974, a victim of safety regulations, notorious British build quality, a V-12 engine with cooling problems, and an ill-advised redesign that left it looking like the automotive equivalent of Elvis Presley circa 1977 — bloated, but beloved.Yes, the F-Type is a more rational creature than its parent. How could it be anything else? And yet the F-Type avoids the pitfalls of other automotive sequels. There’s no slavish adherence to arcane styling decisions made decades before. This is a modern sports car. More importantly, it’s a modern Jaguar sports car, with two seats, rear-wheel drive and it’s available in three flavours.The base F-Type, base price $69,000 (in the US), is fitted with a 3.0-litre supercharged V-6 that develops 340hp and reaches 60mph in 5.1 seconds. If that’s not fast enough, you’ll be happy to learn that the higher-priced F-Types deliver more performance, not extra luxury. So stepping up to F-Type S, priced at $81,000, nets another 40hp from the same engine and reduces 0-60mph time to 4.8 seconds. At the top of the food chain sits the F-Type S V-8, with a base price of $92,000. This is the feral cat of the family, with 495hp and 20-inch wheels, able to reach 60 mph in just 4.2 seconds.Meow.The F-Type S V-8 I drove was ridiculously fun, delivering abundant power with a delightfully raspy, ferocious exhaust snarl accentuated by backfiring pops loud enough to disturb the neighbours and make dogs bark. And you can make it louder by hitting the active exhaust button, which opens up the exhaust baffles. It’s part of the $2,950 performance package. If you opt for the V-8, you want this. Trust me.The package also includes firm sculpted performance seats with adjustable side bolsters, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, red brake calipers and Configurable Dynamic Mode, which allows you to customise the response of the throttle, steering, suspension and transmission.As the V-8’s power pours out, the tyres grab madly at the pavement, wailing their sweet melody as the back end twitches wildly, allowing just enough tail dancing to be mischievously fun. The scenery blurs as speed builds and the exhaust unleashes its unearthly howl. The eight-speed transmission snaps off the shifts so quickly you may not miss a manual transmission.There’s no sensory deprivation in this car. The hydraulic-assisted power steering is perfectly tuned, nicely weighted and provides the right amount of feedback. Handling response is tight and quick; there’s no noticeable body roll in corners. Grip is tenacious; maintaining a line through corners is easy once you rotate the tail to where you want it.The base F-Type’s firm ride tells you that it’s a performance car; yet it still has enough absorbency in the suspension to be comfortable, although it can still pogo over closely spaced bumps.By contrast, the F-Type S, with its V-6 engine, doesn’t have the V-8’s deep well of torque. There’s plenty of power, but you must build the revs and speed first. Steering and handling are a bit more buttoned down, as is the exhaust note, which trades the V-8’s magnificently evil caterwaul for a classic European sports car sound.It’s worth driving the V-6 before the V-8 to see which personality suits you. Regardless of model, the F-Type’s performance is remarkable; it’s a true sports car.It’s a feeling reinforced by the interior, which is sporty and luxurious without feeling opulent. Designers decorated this cabin masterfully, keeping it simple and functional, while adding dramatic touches, such as the air vents, which rise out of the dash when the car starts.The fully automatic roof folds in a mere 12 seconds. Once down, wind management is remarkably good. Airflow is not intrusive; it’s just enough to make driving delightful.Put the roof up and you’ll find that the windows do not go up after the roof does, so you must raise them separately. However, the top is very well-insulated. So once it’s in place, you won’t hear any wind noise, although you will hear the exhaust note more clearly as well as road and tire noise.Storage space is minimal; there’s no room behind the seats and the oddly shaped trunk holds just 7 cu ft.Remember, this is a sports car. And it’s unique.It doesn’t feel like an Audi, Porsche, BMW, Mercedes-Benz or, for that matter, an E-Type. That car might have influenced the F-Type, but they have their own personalities. — The Virginian-Pilot/MCT* Price and technical specifications may vary in locally available models.

Dieter Zetsche became a local favourite around Detroit in the five years he ran Chrysler. Photograph: Kandschwar By Mark PhelanDieter Zetsche loved the five years he led Chrysler, but said he had to dissolve DaimlerChrysler to keep the acquiring German company from being dragged into bankruptcy by its American half.“It was the best time of my life, the five years I was with Chrysler,” the Daimler CEO said in a recent interview during a ride-and-drive north of Toronto in the new 2014 S-class sedan. “Detroit is such a great place to live. I loved being there, and my family did, too. The people were wonderful.”The business result, however, was less than successful. Chrysler retirees and workers who lost jobs during and after Daimler’s reign, may lay more blame at the doorstep of Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity firm that bought the Auburn Hills company in 2007, just as the US economy began its nosedive. But Daimler never made the deal work. In less than two years after Zetsche’s former boss Juergen Schrempp charmed then-Chrysler CEO Bob Eaton, the combined company was worth less than Daimler-Benz was before the deal happened.Even so Zetsche became a local favourite around Detroit in the five years he ran Chrysler. His bushy mustache, self-effacing humour and declaration that “I’m a Chrysler guy,” made him a favourite in a town that loves executives who can strip an engine.“Dr Z” became a character in Chrysler ads, and Zetsche, the German PhD with a gearhead’s heart, was a popular fixture on Michigan’s business and charity scene. He grilled burgers and served beer when Mercedes-Benz took over the Washington Boulevard fire station during Auto Show week.That made it all the more bitter for Detroiters when Zetsche effectively put Chrysler up for sale by declaring “all options are on the table” on Valentine’s Day 2007, after a $1.5bn loss in 2006.The lean German and adopted Detroiter looked as miserable as anyone on Chrysler’s side of the deal that morning in Auburn Hills, Michigan.“It was the toughest day of my life, the day I went to Detroit and told my colleagues,” Zetsche told me. “I was extremely grateful for the reaction of my colleagues (at Chrysler) who showed understanding for the decision which was much more than I expected or was hoping for.”The deal initially billed as a “merger of equals” and “a marriage made in heaven” fell apart at least in part because the companies never had a plan for how to work together. That’s the key difference Zetsche cites from Daimler’s current agreements with Renault-Nissan, which include shared manufacturing and joint development of engines and vehicle platforms.Those were all off-limits at DaimlerChrysler. Many mid- to upper-level managers seemed more intent on making sure Mercedes’ name was not sullied by association with Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep than finding ways both sides of the company could work together. Since then, Mercedes has learned how to work with companies and individuals with different cultures from Daimler, Zetsche said.“The sequence is different now,” Zetsche told me. Daimler and Renault-Nissan “found two or three areas where it made sense to co-operate” before committing to a relationship.“It’s on-demand. We are independent companies whose strategies align in some areas,” Zetsche said.Joint projects so far include a platform for the next generation of the Smart city car and engines for a variety of vehicles.Mercedes went through its own problems in the six years after Daimler sold Chrysler. It shut down its Maybach ultra-luxury brand, saw other luxury brands replace it as the global leader and continued to lose money on its Smart city-car brand.Finally back in growth mode now, the Stuttgart-based company, is expanding in the US and China, and will soon launch new cars at opposite ends of its model line.The new S-class arrives first. For decades, Mercedes’ biggest car set the tone for the whole brand, and often the entire auto industry. The 2014 S-class comes closer to driving itself than any previous production vehicle, and boasts flourishes like heated-touch massaging seats and electronically controlled air fresheners. Equally important, Mercedes will launch several new compact cars to attract new customers and boost sales.“The percentage of compact cars in our total sales will grow significantly,” Zetsche said, “Our growth will be driven by our new family of compact cars.” The CLA compact sedan arrives this autumn, followed by a CLA 45 AMG tuned by Mercedes’ legendary performance group. The boxy and practical B-Class electric vehicle comes next, then a small SUV called the GLA.“Being the best-selling luxury brand isn’t our primary goal,” Zetsche as the 2014 S-class steered itself through a picturesque resort town. “But if we build the best looking, most exciting cars, it is a natural result.” — Detroit Free Press/MCTGender affects car-shopping decision: surveyBy Catherine GreenWomen are more likely to prioritise safety and affordability in shopping for cars, while men appear to seek out cars based on exterior styling and “rugged” reputations, according to an online survey.Researchers from auto information company Kelley Blue Book collected online surveys from 13,000 US adults who visited KBB.com between January and June. The site offers insights on car pricing and reviews. Surveys were anonymous and linked to responders’ online shopping data.“Like comparing apples to oranges, men and women have different factors of importance when choosing a vehicle, influencing their brand research based on qualities that matter the most to them,” said market intelligence manager Diana Duque-Miranda.She noted older men typically gravitated toward “heritage” brands they grew up with — Lincoln, for example, and Buick.Search data showed 76% of women in the study sought out safety features in their next new car purchase, compared with 61% of men.That surprised Arthur Henry, another Kelley Blue Book manager. “When I think of solid cars, I also think of safety,” a priority analysts found more often in women’s searches.The survey data showed men tended to gravitate toward models considered “rugged,” Henry said. Twenty-eight percent of men were more likely to shop for such vehicles, compared with 19% of women, he said.Duque-Miranda noted women were more likely to seek out features once considered luxury — such as leather seats, USB ports and parking sensors — that are now becoming standard in lower-priced vehicles. Fuel efficiency also ranked high among 67% of women, compared with 48% of men.So how did brands fare in the battle of the sexes? Lincoln, Audi, Jaguar, Scion and Cadillac topped the list of 10 makes most likely to be sought out by men. Women were more likely to browse options from Volvo, Infiniti, Fiat, Acura and Nissan.The study’s analysts said they thought these findings might be self-reinforcing when it comes to future buyer behaviour.“I don’t know that shoppers are aware of these priorities,” Henry said. “The separation may become bigger. Once something is labelled, consumers tend to go that way. If you say, ‘This is a man car,’ men will say, ‘Yeah, I’ll go with that,’ while women shy away — and vice versa.” — Los Angeles Times/MCT

 Diego Porqueras peers through one of the pieces he made with a Bukobot 3-D printer in his newly opened Deezmaker store in a strip mall in Pasadena, California. By Shan LiDiego Porqueras’ Deezmaker store in Pasadena, California, is a geeky version of Santa’s workshop, brimming with action figures, chess pieces and jewellery.But instead of relying on elves, Porqueras has built his own one-man factory using 3-D printers capable of churning out plastic objects within a few hours. He sells the printers, which go for as little as $650, at the shop, which opened in September in a strip mall.The 37-year-old entrepreneur is part of an emerging industry for affordable 3-D printers. The technology has long been used in the aerospace and automotive industries, among others, to create prototypes, but has slowly crept into the consumer market with simplified printers that can be had for a few hundred or thousand dollars.“You can make so many things with them,” Porqueras said. “People who have businesses buy them for making prototypes. Parents buy them to make toys for their kids. Hobbyists buy them because they like to tinker.”3-D enthusiasts imagine a day when these printers are as ubiquitous as phones and people print out many household goods instead of stopping at a store. Small-business owners are already switching to these printers from more expensive industrial machines. Prices are expected to drop even further after key patents on 3-D printing technology expire next year.Usually about the size of a microwave, these machines “print” three-dimensional objects by melting plastic and depositing the material layer by tiny layer based on a three-dimensional computer-generated design of a necklace, say, or a fork. More advanced — and expensive — printers can use materials such as metal and chocolate.For those who are less tech-savvy, there are new smartphone applications that streamline the process of crafting or altering a design. Online markets have also popped up in which shoppers can customise and order 3-D-printed clothing, toys, gadget accessories and other products.Industry experts say 3-D printing could revolutionise traditional manufacturing, much as the Internet upended the music industry, and fundamentally alter how consumers shop and how much they pay. Some tech companies are already foreseeing a day when every home contains a 3-D printer churning out custom furniture and clothes, or a Kinko’s-esque store in every neighbourhood where items can be manufactured on demand via printers.It’s also raised concerns among law enforcement professionals, who worry that criminals will be able to print untraceable guns and other weapons at home.“The billion-dollar question is, how big will this become and when?” said Terry Wohlers, president of consulting firm Wohlers Associates, which tracks the industry. “You see companies already making fashion garments and jewellery through printing. And we have seen demonstrations of 3-D printing food and living tissue.”Wohlers said that by 2021, the US market is estimated to hit $10.8bn, up from $2.2bn last year and $$1.18bn in 2008. The industry has been growing, on average, more than 25% a year for the past decade. The consumer side, which is in its nascent stages, is especially ripe for growth, Wohlers said.Tech companies are already salivating at the opportunities.In June, 3-D veteran Stratasys Ltd, which for decades has made ultra-pricey printers for companies such as Boeing Co and General Motors Co, announced plans to buy MakerBot, which specialises in affordable desktop printers. Rival 3D Systems Inc launched two consumer-oriented models this year, the Cube ($1,299) and the CubeX ($2,499 and up).3D Systems’ chief technology officer, Chuck Hull, is widely credited with pioneering 3-D printing about three decades ago. He leads a research lab in Valencia, California, where scientists such as engineer Scott Turner experiment with new materials in the chemistry lab and tinker on machine prototypes.Turner said that health care is one of the biggest areas for 3-D printing; already, companies are testing living cells with a view toward making organs and other human parts such as ears. In March, a man in the US had 75% of his skull replaced with a 3-D printed implant.Another early adopter is the education sector: With a 3-D printer, students can make and play with models of cells rather than just study them in textbooks, or make custom robots in physics class.The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena already owns seven 3-D printers and plans to order more. The machines give students the luxury of repeatedly tweaking their designs for products as varied as car fenders and kitchenware, said David Cawley, director of the school’s rapid prototyping and model shop.“If you are making a design and you have to create it by carving it out of wood, the amount of time to create a model would be prohibitive,” Cawley said. “But 3-D printing allows them to refine the design because it’s pretty fast. You send the file the night before, and the day after that a physical object will be on the shelf.”Small-business owners have already taken to the printers.John Hariot of Los Angeles, for one, is using a printer bought from Deezmaker to create prototypes, such as knobs for drawers, for his new cabinet-making company. He said the 3-D printer is a much cheaper option compared with the pricey rapid-prototyping machines he once had to use.“It’s much easier to work with, and there’s less waste,” he said.For consumers who aren’t tinkerers or designers, industry experts say, a potentially bigger market could lie in on-demand services. Think of it as Amazon.com for custom orders, only with no warehouses required because a purse or belt is only made after it’s ordered.Shoppers can already go on sites such as Shapeways or Cubify, run by 3D Systems, and either find a designer for a custom design or tweak an available product.More than 10,000 shops have been set up by designers on Shapeways, which manufactures and ships a product after an order comes in, said company spokeswoman Elisa Richardson. Bestselling items include iPhone accessories, jewellery, home decor and wedding cake toppers — grooms and brides-to-be send in photos of themselves and receive toppers with their faces printed on them.Kimberly Orvitz, a fashion designer who recently launched a 3-D printed jewellery line, said the technology saves money: There’s no requirement to order products in bulk from a factory and no storage costs. Shoppers can also “customise by selecting colours and materials,” she said.But the technology has not been without controversy. Cody Wilson, the owner of a gun-manufacturing firm in Texas, made headlines after he successfully fired a 3-D-printed gun of his own design earlier this year (he also uses the technology to make firearm magazines and lower receivers).For now, such guns may pose more of a danger to the maker. Australian police who tried making Wilson’s design reported the plastic gun exploded after firing. Still, a recently leaked Department of Homeland Security bulletin said such firearms pose public safety risks. Industry experts say there is more danger in consumers making ordinary products that are defective.“The gun thing has been way overhyped because if you really want to make a gun, there are better and cheaper ways to do it,” Wohlers said. “But just think about people printing a brake part for their car, and it breaks going down the highway and people are injured or worse.”For now, the relatively untapped market has allowed not just big corporations but also entrepreneurs to jump in.Porqueras, the owner of the Pasadena store, was a Hollywood camera technician before becoming fascinated with 3-D printing.Always a tinkerer, he created his own ideal 3-D printer, started a campaign on the fundraising site Kickstarter, and raised $167,000 — enough to quit his job and start selling his machine full time. He recently launched another campaign to raise funds for the Bukito, his portable 3-D printer priced at $650. “It just blew my mind what these printers can do,” Porqueras said. “Who knows what the future will hold?” — Los Angeles Times/MCT

By Chris O’BrienFor Apple Inc fans and investors, the future can’t get here fast enough. Chatter about what revolutionary products the company has cooking in its laboratories is incessant and often overblown. But anticipation that, finally, Apple is about to launch something big this autumn has kicked into overdrive in recent days thanks to two separate but possibly related developments.The first clue came during the company’s earnings calls, when executives gave an unusual wink-wink, nudge-nudge about a planned announcement in October. The second clue was the sudden and mysterious disappearance of one of Apple’s highest-paid executives from the Web page listing the company’s top management.Of course, this being Apple, nothing has been made explicit, and the Cupertino, California, company is doing its best to drape a cloak over all future products. But the speculation it has triggered is highlighting the growing pressure on Apple to deliver a revolutionary hit product that supercharges its growth and proves that it hasn’t lost its innovation mojo.“We are very hard at work on some amazing new products that we will introduce in the fall in across 2014,” Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s chief financial officer, said during a conference call last week. Later he added: “We are on track to have a very busy fall. I would like to leave it there and go into more detail in October.”Last weekend, a few days after Oppenheimer spoke, Apple quietly removed Bob Mansfield, senior vice president of technologies, from its website.Mansfield is a popular figure inside Apple, credited with shepherding many of its hardware breakthroughs during his long tenure. Mansfield retired last year and then came out of retirement to take on a job created just for him overseeing the company’s wireless and semiconductor teams.With a pay package totalling $85mn, he became one of the highest-paid executives in tech. Now he’s moved into a new, narrower role for the company.“Bob is no longer going to be on Apple’s executive team but will remain at Apple working on special projects” and reporting to Chief Executive Tim Cook, Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said.Although Dowling declined to explain the change, analysts said it probably meant either that Mansfield was more focused on a single product to get it pushed out the door or had largely finished such an effort.“It seems like they’re finding a way to keep his expertise available and let him sit in on the things he likes and not have to worry about all the executive responsibilities,” said Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners. “This is probably coming at the end of a product cycle.”But what product cycle could that be? And will it be “amazing,” as Apple’s Oppenheimer promised?For starters, Apple’s new mobile operating system, iOS 7, and its new Mavericks operating system for Mac computers will be available this autumn. But those products are old news, having been announced weeks ago at the company’s developers conference.For October, analysts at Barclays Capital are betting that Apple will announce a new iPhone 5S that will feature a fingerprint sensor for added security. That may be followed by a new iPad Mini, complete with retina display, in late 2013 or early 2014, along with a thinner traditional iPad sometime.But it seems that the biggest announcement in the next few months is likely to be the long-rumoured “cheaper” iPhone. There is growing concern that the high-end market for premium phones, which Apple has dominated, has become saturated.Some pundits believe that the company needs a lower-cost phone to entice new users in the US, as well as buyers in emerging markets where phone companies don’t subsidise the cost of phones. Last week, one tech blog, Business Insider, reported that this low-cost phone would be called the iPhone 5C — “C” because it will be available in many colours, not because it’s cheap.Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, said becoming more competitive overseas with such a phone is Apple’s most pressing issue. “I believe Apple will first focus on improving their success in emerging regions,” Moorhead said.But Mansfield’s status change has also stirred up talk of something more dramatic, in part because he was rumoured to be working on the company’s iWatch. Analysts seemed to agree that a new category of product was still a bit further off, however.Morgan Stanley and Piper Jaffray analysts wrote that they believe the iWatch and some kind of Apple TV set announcement are coming either later this year or sometime in 2014.“Nothing about the report itself changes our belief that the key factors on the stock are the expected cheaper phone in the fall as well the potential TV announcement late this year and an iWatch in 2014,” Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster wrote in a note to clients last week.Just about any of these new gadgets, however, would be welcome news to Apple lovers.Investors breathed a sigh of relief when Apple’s third-quarter earnings report turned out not to be as bad as some had feared. The company reported higher-than-expected iPhone sales, primarily in the US.Still, several analysts lowered their earnings target for the current quarter, which ends in September, noting that Apple still faced challenges such as a lower average selling price for iPhones, weakness in international markets, slipping iPad sales and declining shipments of Mac computers.Apple’s stock rose $5.53, or 1.3%, to $453.32 last week. That’s a nice climb from the close of $418.99 just before earnings were announced July 23, but still well below the $582.52 price one year ago. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Robert and Rosemarie Stack at their home in this 1961 picture: Photograph: ABC TelevisionBy David UndercofflerIn 1960, as the story goes, actor Robert Stack had fallen in love. Not with a co-star from The Untouchables, but with a bright-green 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster.He would pine for it as he passed it on Sunset Boulevard on his way to work every day. It got so bad his wife Rosemarie finally told him to just buy the car and be done with it. But someone beat him to it.Unbeknownst to him, Dezi Arnaz, Stack’s producer, had bought the car as a gift to celebrate Stack’s 1960 Emmy for best actor. Arnaz handed the keys to Stack shortly after his win and Stack would own the car for the rest of his life.Such was the story told at Los Angeles’ Petersen Automotive Museum on its popular tour of a basement vault housing myriad vehicles rich in historical significance. The Mercedes passed into the museum’s hands after Stack’s death — he remains the only owner of the vehicle, which has 87,000 original miles.This Mercedes is one of many vehicles the Petersen Museum is now selling through various auctions around the US. The institution has already raised $8.5mn through the sale of about a dozen collector cars. It has said it plans to sell more than 100 cars and use the money to finance a remodelling of the museum’s building, updating exhibits and improving the Petersen’s collection.This has raised concern among museum experts, who say selling items from a collection to finance projects beyond adding to that collection is a violation of museum ethics. California Attorney General Kamala D Harris has launched an inquiry into the process the Petersen used to determine which of its vehicles it would sell.Some of the vehicles are rare or have storied backgrounds or Hollywood owners. The museum has already sold a Duesenberg owned by Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, the African-American dancer and actor who often starred with Shirley Temple in pre-World War II movies.This 300SL will hit the auction block as part of Auctions America’s inaugural Burbank, California, auction. The event will be shown live on NBC Sports.The car will be offered without reserve, and is estimated to sell for between $600,000 and $800,000. Such a price would be consistent with pricing on similar 300SL Roadsters, according to a pricing guide published by Hagerty Insurance. The company says that Roadsters with the hardtop can command $50,000 more than those without.An afternoon outing behind the wheel of this particular 300SL proved it to be an easy drive. The six-cylinder engine pulls strong and smooth, and idles cleanly. It moves the lightweight roadster with gusto.Meanwhile, the four-speed shifter is light and happy to find the correct gear.The steering isn’t power-operated, so the arms get a workout during tight maneuvering, but otherwise is plenty precise. The steering wheel itself is large by modern standards, and turning a smaller concentric circle within the wheel activates the blinkers.Though the car was built in 1957, it’s sometimes been listed as a 1960 model, Weaver said. This was because many cars from that era were referred to by the year they were registered rather than their specific model year.During the 1970s, Stack had the Mercedes painted the maroon colour it remains today and had the interior redone as well. Other than some aesthetic improvements to the engine, glass pack mufflers, and a Kenwood stereo, the car is entirely original, down to nearly all of the hoses in the engine, according to Alexander Weaver of Auctions America.The 300SL has a 3.0-litre, inline six-cylinder engine estimated to make between 235 and 250hp. A notable component of this engine is its fuel injection, a first on a production car and a feature that wouldn’t be commonplace on cars until years later. Power flows from this engine to the rear wheels via a smooth-shifting four-speed manual transmission.Though not as iconic as its gullwing-doored coupe version, the roadster actually proved to be the more popular model of the 300SL, with roughly 1,858 built during a production run that ended in 1963. — Los Angeles Times/MCTautoQ & AShortcuts don’t pay when repairing a tyre I just returned from my nearby petrol and repair station after having a leaking tyre repaired. The fellow made a surprisingly quick repair, and it seems to work fine. My son told me they plugged the hole in the tyre, and he thought this wasn’t a good thing. How else should it be fixed? I want to be sure the tyre remains safe and doesn’t lose air. — Susan TurnerGood question, Susan. Tyre repair is serious business, and a large percentage of tyre repairs made aren’t up to industry standards. As a general rule, a tyre may be repaired if it has legally adequate tread remaining; if there’s no structural damage from the puncturing object or from the tyre being operated while under-inflated; and if the puncture is located between the outer two tread grooves and is less than a quarter-inch in diameter. Repairs to a tyre’s shoulder or sidewall are off-limits, as this area is subjected to constant flexing, which may cause the repair to fail.Proper tyre repair consists of three important steps: The tyre should be removed from the wheel for inspection of the casing, the puncture is filled, and the tyre’s inner liner patched. Outside-in repairs, such as a non-vulcanising string plug, should not be considered a permanent fix, as an internal inspection was not performed, and this repair method has a mediocre success rate. Aerosol inflator and sealer products are a good companion to your break-down/emergency kit, but should only be utilised as a limp-home method. When using an inflator/sealer, be sure it’s nonflammable — a rusty older can may not be — and advise the person subsequently repairing the tyre that such a product was used. Finally, never have a tube installed within a tubeless tyre as a means of repair.The right way to repair a tyre is to demount it from the rim, inspect the casing for damage, and perform an appropriate repair from the inside. Pinhole punctures, which visually close up once the nail is removed, can be patched, and larger circular punctures should be reamed, plugged and patched. Tears or slices should not be repaired as they can grow in length.Reaming the puncture cleans the opening, makes room for the plug, and lessens the chance of it being cut by a steel belt’s strands. A rubber plug, coated with vulcanising cement, is then forced through the puncture, filling it, and after adequate cure time is cut off flush with the inner liner. Finally, the liner is cleaned, buffed, and patched. Mushroom-shaped combination plug-patches are an alternative to the above method, lessening the chance of procedural errors and saving time.There is debate within the tyre industry on the repair of high-performance tyres. Some tyre manufacturers do not recommend repairing them, while others allow doing so, but void the speed rating. Others allow repairs, as long as they are performed within accepted guidelines.I’d consider having the repair redone following the above methods. I’ve used plugs with good success while on the road, but always do a correct repair later when it’s more convenient. Additional tyre repair, maintenance and safety information can be found at the Rubber Manufacturer’s Association website: http://www.rma.org.  — By Brad Bergholdt/MCT

The 2014 Lexus IS 250 plays up the athleticism of the brand’s smallest four-door sport sedan by growing its overall length 3 inches and widening its stance slightly. By Susan CarpenterFor Lexus, the competition for entry-level luxury buyers is a race that isn’t won with flat-out speed. It’s an exercise in sophisticated sportiness, as exemplified by its newly updated IS 250.Available this summer as a 2014 model, the $35,950-plus (price in the US) IS 250 plays up the athleticism of its smallest four-door sport sedan by growing its overall length 3 inches and widening its stance ever so slightly for a profile that makes it more aggressive without going overboard. Its front grille now mirrors that of Lexus’ larger GS and LS models, with a two-tone interpretation of its so-called spindle grille and new LED running lights that recall the famed Nike swoosh.But the real sport story isn’t in its style. It’s more substantive. Powered with a spry, direct-injected 2.5-litre V-6 that is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission and can be operated in manual mode, with paddle shifters that are now standard, the IS 250 also employs a new tri-mode drive system. With the twist of a knob at the driver’s right elbow, the driving can be done in eco, normal or sport modes, each of which is apparent by the responsiveness of the accelerator. For those who are numb to the difference, though, there are visual cues. In eco mode, a portion of the dashboard is a calming blue; in sport, it’s adrenalised red.The car can be even sportier with an F Sport package that grows the wheels to 18 inches, upgrades the suspension and even comes with its own soundtrack. The F Sport-enabled IS can be upgraded with an intake sound generator that amplifies the first phase of internal combustion to remind drivers that, yes, this is something of sports car.Though a far cry from Lexus’ now-defunct $375,000-plus, 552-hp LFA supercar, the IS 250 still imports the driver-centric spirit of the LFA cockpit and some of its instrumentation into the dash, with low-slung bucket seats and a similar thin film transistor liquid crystal display that features a moving centre ring for the tachometer on the F Sport version.The centre console is unusual and uniquely Lexus. The touch screen is recessed deep within the dash, and can be operated with a controller that works similarly to a computer mouse. An analog clock is centered in a jetty of contoured plastic that hovers above a new system for the dual climate controls, allowing those in the front seat to swipe a finger along a vertical metal strip rather than twist a knob or repeatedly press a button to reach the desired temperature.Front seats aren’t just heated; they are also ventilated to blow cabin-temperature air, though they didn’t get as cool as I wanted on a recent hot day and the sound of the fan was apparent.The IS 250 seats five, but only four will sit comfortably. The back seat has two contoured seats, but the fifth passenger will be perched on a hump. At least there’s 1.6 inches of additional leg room, compared with the outgoing model, as a result of stretching the car’s wheelbase. There’s also a slightly larger trunk as a result of a new multi-link rear suspension system.In the five days I drove the IS 250, it felt solid and well-built, yet compliant and comfortable. In its redo, Lexus increased the car’s body rigidity to improve handling and responsiveness and revised the electronic power steering to mimic that of the GS, with more precision and better feedback. The suspension was also reworked in the rear to increase grip in harder cornering and with a revised front to reduce sway. Overall, the car felt taut but not overly so.The IS is available with rear- or all-wheel-drive, though the latter option, like many of the more premium aspects of the IS 250, will cost. All-wheel drive alone comes with a $2,535 price tag.With the 2014 IS 250, $1,400 worth of optional equipment on the outgoing model is now standard, including the drive mode selector, dual-zone climate controls and audio display. Still, there are a lot of goodies luxury drivers may desire that ratchet up the price.My test car was outfitted with a luxury and technology package that comped me the real-time traffic and weather information, instead of requiring a subscription, and also included various safety systems, such as a blind spot monitor and rear cross-traffic alert.The park assist feature was, however, more annoying than helpful. Each time I pulled the car in or out of my narrow driveway, it beeped with the urgency of a Morse code operator. Whenever I pulled too close to the rear bumper of the car in front of me, it beeped more consistently — and relentlessly. The rear view camera I understand, but I can see in front of me just fine. At least the park assist is customisable and can be silenced.The car can also be had with an optional adaptive cruise control system capable of executive decision making: The IS 250 will automatically increase the amount of brake pressure the driver applies if it senses the pedal isn’t being pressed with enough force.It is, however, the accelerator pedal that defines the sport sedan. The 2014 Lexus IS 250 has the goods for a satisfying update. — The Orange County Register/MCT*  Price and technical details are US-specific and may vary in locally available models. In a nutshell Powertrain: Direct-injected, 2.5-litre V-6, 4 valves per cylinder, DOHC, 6-speed electronically controlled transmission with sequential manual-shift modeHorsepower: 204 at 6,400 rpmTorque: 185 pound-feet. at 4,800 rpm          

By Noimot OlayiwolaA number of teams, who took part at the recently concluded Microsoft Imagine Cup 2013 at St Petersburg in Russia, demonstrated the power of student innovation by attempting to solve some of the world’s healthcare problems via the use of technology and computer games.Among the bright young minds from universities and institutions of learning from across 71 countries, who presented to judges their projects that could become potential ideas for solving healthcare issues through the use of technologies were Uganda’s team Code 8 and Taiwan’s OmniHearing Solution, who were awarded Women Empowerment awards, in partnership with the United Nations Women, under the competition’s World Citizenship category.Code 8’s Matibabu won first prize of $12,000 while team OmniHearing Solution’s OmniHearing solution won $8,000 in second place.By connecting a custom piece of hardware called a matiscope to a portable device — a Windows phone application, Matibabu can diagnose malaria without requiring a blood sample, the team claimed. They explained that the user is able to diagnose and know their malaria status in the shortest time possible. The results are sent to the user’s skydrive for medical record keeping and sharing with their personal doctors.Team member Gitta Brian said the team were inspired by the conditions he faced saying: “I suffered from malaria and brusella before the competition and was subjected to a number of prickings to diagnose over and over again,” he said adding that the experience lead the team to work towards a solution that can help diagnose malaria early, and efficiently to save lives, time and money.“While treatment may be available, the costly invasive diagnosis hinders implementation. With this solution — Matibabu, we are able to diagnose malaria in its early stages, which will help reduce malaria by more than 75% in 2015 as by World Health Organisation,” another team member Simon Fred Lubambo said.The Omni-Hearing Solution team explained that their project is an app-centric solution that ensures anyone full hearing ability. “The solution is three-fold: it’s a smartphone app to replace a traditional hearing aid; a cloud service to identify your potential hearing problem; and a sound processing technology to enhance the quality of all forms of vocal communication,” a team member said. The team claimed that traditional hearing aids only amplify sounds by different bands of frequencies, which results in a very limited speech intelligibility of the users because they cannot hear sounds of high frequencies. “To tackle the problem, we adopt a unique audio signal processing technology in real-time to allow those with hearing problems to hear high frequency sounds while minimising the distortion of sounds in the process. As a result, users can enjoy the best possible sound performance and a better speech intelligibility. Plus, aided with our online cloud services, all settings can be set at home with a few taps on the phone,” one of the team members said.“Before taking on this project, we had no idea that hearing loss is such a serious problem in the world. A quarter of million babies are born with hearing problem each year, and more than 30% of the rest three quarters that are lucky enough to have been born with healthy ears, will eventually face some degree of hearing loss as they age. New technologies are developed everyday to help improve the lives of the physically challenged and the elderly. Yet while people with myopia or presbyopia can easily get a pair of glasses from a nearby K-mart, there hasn’t been a simple and low-cost way for the hearing impaired to conquer their difficulties. “Through working on this project, we have learned that there is a part of the world that is in desperate need of something amazing to happen so they can change for the better. As our project develops, we find that we could be the amazing thing that happens. So, here we are,” the team member added.Though many of the teams did not win a prize at the event, their projects were equally creative. One of the teams is Pathfinder from India, which showcased a pill box called Swasthya Sanjivani.“Our project ‘Swasthya Sanjivani’ is an affordable, quick and atomised blood and urine testing system with immediate confirmatory results covering disease such as anaemia, diabetes, jaundice and renal damage. The fully digital testing is done under the supervision of doctors along with an electronic pill box to remind patients about medicine and appointment schedule,” team mentor Prashant Gupta told Gulf Times.According to him, ‘Swasthya’ is an Hindi word meaning ‘health’ and ‘Sanjivani’ is a magical drug, closely related to Indian mythology, that is believed to put life back into dead people.  He explained that it took the group almost six months of continuous hard work, sometimes up to 22 hours a day, to build the project.“We were inspired to develop the pill box after reading a newspaper article titled: ‘One billion people lack access to basic healthcare’.  It really shook us up … so we went to the villages, spoke to people as well as their leaders, and learned that health conditions were extremely bad,” Gupta said adding: “We got to know that several diseases are identified by colour changing tests and hence Swasthya Sanjivani was born.”Gupta, who described their participation as an ‘honour of a lifetime’, said it felt great to represent their country at such a big event, competing with many great ideas. Looking into the future, he mentioned that the team is planning to add some features to the kit in order to increase the spectrum of diseases that they are covering presently.“Also, we are planning to add cloud connectivity to the pill box aside working on personalised disease confirming methods,” he added.Team Devastators from Jordan, comprising five high school students of Jubilee School, Amman, was inspired to create their project called — Smart Tops — in order to improve the healthcare of the elderly.The technology is embedded into a jacket that was designed to help people, especially the elderly, with proper posture to avoid back pain and fatigue as well as detect and send vital signs about their health condition to the care-givers. The group has created an app making use of Windows Phone 8 that detects the condition of the jacket wearer and sends SMS to caregiver or hospitals.“We have created a technology embedded in a jacket, which will monitor the health of the elderly and send signals to whoever is responsible for their care, either at home or at the hospital,” team mentor Osama Turki explained.He claimned that the jacket has the potential to measure body temperature, heart rate and the level of smoke or gas exposure.“The jacket uses photo sensor that can monitor and check the wearer’s sitting position and in case of emergency, it sends signal to the apps on a Windows 8 Phone, via a panic button, which has already being programmed to the jacket, so that the caregiver can know that the patient is in danger,” said Turki adding: “The phone can also send signals or SMS to the hospital via radio frequency.”Team LifeSaver, comprising students from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (Lautech) and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), both in Nigeria, showcased ‘CardioLife’— a solution designed to tackle heart health by monitoring heart rate via the Windows Phone. The solution also provides a rehabilitation programme for stroke patients using Microsoft Kinect.“We observed that a good number of people in Nigeria have heart-related diseases due to many reasons and many end up having stroke or heart attack because majority is not aware of their symptoms, which usually occur very gradually. So, we decided to come up with a solution that will make it easy for people to monitor their heart rate by creating a software that will send vital signs to the hospital for analysis,” LifeSaver mentor Dr Tayo Arulogun explained.He maintained that the software, specifically created for physiotherapists for easier assessment of their patients, can also make audible alert to doctor or people around the patient.“In the event of a heart attack, cardiovascular disease or stroke, the patient can be rescued on time via the app. Also in physiotherapy exercise, which is usually tiring for the patient because the therapist has to make some physical measurements and calculations to monitor the patient and check where to apply the therapy, the software, through Kinect sensor, can allow this to be done remotely without having to carry or move the patient to different positions,” he claimed.The software can also be used to monitor people with facial palsy during their physio exercise, he added.Among other projects focusing on health included, technology for preventing hearing loss; teaching tool for doctors about insulin therapy for diabetes mellitus; solutions for autistic children, therapists and parents; solution to store medical record on an individual’s wristband for easy access; Kinect-based game for children with cystic fibrosis; coping with the complex requirements of metabolic syndromes and technology to assist epileptic children.