ORLANDO, Fla. — Attorneys for Florida A&M University are asking a judge in Orlando to dismiss a civil lawsuit brought by the family of a school drum major who died last year after being hazed by fellow band members.
Attorneys are going before Circuit Judge Walter Komanski on Wednesday, claiming that Robert Champions’ fatal injuries were the result of his agreeing to participate in hazing.
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BMW has taken the wraps off of its latest eco-friendly car design, the BMW i3 Concept Coupe, with an innovative carbon fiber cabin, clever inter-car communications system, and smartphone connectivity. Debuted at the LA Auto Show this week, the i3 Concept Coupe follows BMW’s LifeDrive ethos, packaging a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) passenger cell – lighter than steel, but stronger – on top of a 170HP electric motor slice with li-ion batteries.
The Drive section – shared with the previous BMW i3 Concept – is made primarily of aluminum, again to keep it light and strong, while the modularity of the system would allow BWM greater flexibility in how future EVs are pieced together to target different market segments. For the i3 Concept Coupe, it’s a case of a distinctive “layered” sports design, with some of the CFRP left untouched by the custom Solar Orange paint so that its high-gloss grain is visible.
That’s not to say the aesthetic is solely intended for visual appeal. The front apron’s complex venting creates an “air curtain” which pushes air around the wheel arches, while the rear apron has a diffuser to tweak the rear air flow. CFRP’s inherent strength means no B-pillar is required for structural purposes, so the two rear seats are more easily accessed; the scalloped shoulder line also maximizes light in the back. While the 20-inch wheels are on the large side, they’re narrow and fitted with low-resistance tires.
Inside, it’s a mixture of leather, wool, wood, and other renewable materials, with an electronic gearshift and twin displays mounted across a swathe of eucalyptus wood (sourced from sustainably managed European forests, naturally). BMW’s iDrive system is in the center panel between the front seats, but the space between the dash and where the transmission tunnel would normally be found is left empty. That makes the whole cabin feel more spacious, BMW says, but also allows for easier exiting the car on either side.
Since it’s the future of mobility we’re talking about, there’s no shortage of technology packed into the i3 Concept Coupe. A 6.5-inch screen above the wheel serves instrument binnacle duties, while a second, 8.8-inch panel in the middle is dedicated to BMW i ConnectedDrive: it can show infotainment, navigation, pull contacts, messages, and schedules from a wirelessly tethered smartphone, mixing that data together so that the system can make suggestions as to where and when to recharge the EV based on where the driver needs to go and the predicted range.
That range can be achieved in one of three modes – Comfort, Eco Pro, and Eco Pro+ – which temper the enthusiasm of the electric motors and how fulsome the HVAC system blows, heats, and cools depending on how much driving you need to squeeze from a full charge. BMW claims Eco Pro achieves up to 20-percent greater range than Comfort, while Eco Pro+ – which also limits top speed to 56mph – extends it even further. A roughly 100 mile range is expected in standard conditions, and the center display can show estimated range in each mode using a set of concentric circles (as in the above shot).
Meanwhile, a dedicated modem means the i ConnectedDrive system can get real-time traffic data from the BMW servers, and can map out the most efficient route or the fastest route to the driver’s destination. If a driving mode change is required, it can prompt that too, and remote reservation of charging station is also supported. BMW has created iOS and Android apps which will handle remote control and monitoring of charging, as well as setting navigation details, and how to complete the last stage of a journey on foot or by public transportation.
As for when you might be able to park a BMW EV like the i3 Concept Coupe on your drive, the release schedule still is pretty uncertain. “The study presented at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show has been brought out in parallel to the ongoing development process for getting the first ever all-electric model from the BMW i brand ready for series production,” BMW says of the new concept, “and demonstrates the potential for conceivably extending the model range.”
BMW i3 Concept Coupe ditches steel for intelligent EV is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
A woman’s relatives forced her to drink urine, shocked her with a stun gun, and assaulted her with pliers over the course of three to six months, cops said.
On Monday, Township, N.J. residents Edward Jester, 26; Georgianna Jester, 51; Ellen Hairston, 34; and Paulette Hairston, 44, were charged with aggravated assault, criminal restraint and weapons offenses in connection with the alleged torture, according to the Burlington County Times.
“These people are real sickos,” a source familiar with the investigation and the family told the paper.
Describing a work of art as “priceless” tends to be an exaltation collectors like to hear. That is, unless the art is literally valueless, like in the case of Robert Rauschenberg‘s “Canyon.”
Skype has just released an update to its iOS app, bringing the requisite bug fixes along with some new functionality. Version 4.2 lets iPhone and iPad users merge their Microsoft accounts with the VoIP service, enabling calls and instant messaging with Messenger, Hotmail and Outlook contacts directly through Skype, catching up with the functionality available on the desktop version and Android. The update also adds IM editing via tapping and holding on text, plus an emoticon picker — and animated smileys with support for Retina displays — so you can express the joy that comes with streamlining your contacts.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Apple
Source: iTunes (1), iTunes (2)
According to The Verge, Microsoft will begin shipping cheap updates to Windows every year. The new approach, which is reportedly codenamed Windows Blue, would shift Microsoft away from its current strategy of introducing mammoth updates to the OS package after several years. More »
After updating its app for the iPhone and launching version 3 for Android this month, Skype is now launching version 4.2 for Apple’s iOS devices. Skype 4.2 for iOS now allows users to chat with their contacts on Messenger, Hotmail, and Outlook.com. Basically, users will only need to sign in using their Microsoft account and voila, Skype will add their contacts from their Microsoft account. The update now also allows users to edit instant messages by tapping and holding them. But that’s not all. With Skype 4.2, iOS users can now use emoticons on their instant messages. Animated emoticons are also added to iOS devices sporting Apple’s signature Retina display. Today’s update also brings the capability to edit saved phone numbers from the dial pad as well as a slew of bug fixes. Skype 4.2 for iOS can be downloaded via Apple’s App Store.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Apple Reportedly Dumping Samsung In Favor Of TSMC, Samsung Galaxy Devices Banned In Netherlands,
Vimeo is a wonderland of amazing short films—a YouTube for filmmakers, but without all the racist gremlin commenters. And for the first time ever, it’s developed its very own iPhone app. More »
If you are a frequent visitor to CG odds are that you have tinkered with something in your life. Maybe you tried to make your mom’s frying pan into a flying saucer. Or maybe you created a robot that would take your clothes to the hamper. Not all of the tinkering succeeds. But our minds keep trying!
Meet Hans Andersson, a Swedish gentlemen who bought his daughters a LEGO® Mindstorm kit a few years back. They did not take to the kit, but Hans did, and created some new robots. A few years later – after creating a Rubik’s Cube solver and Sudoku solver – he tried a LEGO clock. He has now revised the Time Twister and posted a look at Time Twister 2. It is sort of a LCD looking clock made entirely of LEGO. Watch the video below to see it in action, but envision digit segments connected in a chain. The start of the chain must keep spinning – in either direction – until the last segment is in place. Why? Only one motor is required per digit. Digits are created using LEGO Mindstorms NXT Intelligent Bricks. Time Twister 2 looks much more stylish that the original. So perhaps Hans will gain some attention with this go around. Maybe we will be able to buy one of his creations someday. But if nothing else, let’s applaud Mr. Andersson on his mastery of something we all appreciate – tinkering.
The Apple-Samsung saga continues, folks. Today, a Dutch court has now banned several Samsung Galaxy devices from selling in the Netherlands. Apple has been rewarded the ban from the court because Samsung was accused of infringing on an Apple patent relating to the navigation interface in photo galleries.
Apple and Samsung have already been through this dance once before on the same exact patent issue last year. Samsung was accused of implementing the same “bounce back” feature as iOS when scrolling through images, so Samsung replaced it with a blue flash that would appear on the edges of images. However, Samsung has refused to “sign a declaration of abstinence committing to not infringing the patent,” but Samsung claims that the issue had been fixed in the Netherlands, and that its Galaxy products used Samsung’s own technology.
The ban only applies to Galaxy products that run Android 2.2.1 and higher, and that don’t use Samsung’s proprietary photo gallery software. The court ordered Samsung to inform Apple how much net profit it made from sales of its infringing Galaxy products since June 27, 2011. From there, a different court will determine how much of that profit Samsung must give to Apple. If Samsung continues to infringe on Apple’s patent, the company will be required to pay Apple 100,000 euros ($129,000) for every day it violates the ban.
A Samsung spokesperson said that the company was disappointed with the court’s ruling, and Apple did not respond to a request for comment. In another lawsuit between the two companies in the Netherlands, the court ruled that Samsung does not infringe on a multitouch patent from Apple, and this coming January, the court is set to place their verdict in another Apple-Samsung lawsuit dealing with tablet design rights.
[via Computerworld]
Apple gets Samsung Galaxy devices banned in the Netherlands is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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