Jay Leno Offers the Best Chevy Volt Preview So far

December 29, 2009 by admin · View Comments 

I can’t wait for GM to finally get this car rolling off the assembly line. From watching the above video, it looks like they are getting very close to production. Jay Leno had the opportunity to test drive an advanced prototype that looks to be what next year’s mass produced version will look like.

The big takeaway? GM has produced an electric car that’s practical and won’t leave its users stranded at the side of the road. It’s sellable.

Some new things I learned from the video:

  • The Volt has two power modes. The ‘sport’ mode consumes more electricity but operates with an additional 30 horsepower. There was no mention as to which mode gets the 40 mile range, but I assume it will be the power saving version.
  • There’s a separate regenerative braking mode to more aggressively transfer power to the batteries when coasting.
  • Air conditioning and vehicle electronics are powered through the main batteries and will impact range.
  • The car will charge off standard 110 in about 8 hours, 220 service will get it done in around 3.

    • Hat tip to GM-Volt.com for the link.

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    Review of the Western Digital My Book Studio 1 Terabyte Drive

    December 28, 2009 by admin · View Comments 

    I am a member of the Amazon Vine program. Each month Amazon sends me items to review on their site. This month I received the Western Digital My Book Studio 1 TB External Hard Drive.

    Western Digital’s My Book Studio is a Mac formatted external hard disk that includes a high speed firewire 800 interface. While the product is good, Western Digital’s foolish decision to make their ‘Smartware’ an intrusive part of this product is not Mac-like and completely unnecessary. The Smartware software will present itself as a ‘virtual CD-ROM’ that will not go away unless it is installed.

    Once installed, the included smartware software adds an equally unnecessary menu bar icon that does nothing but take up system resources. I was able to remove it from loading by going into user settings under system preferences and removing it from my startup items.

    Read more of my review at Amazon.com.

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    My Review of the Western Digital My Passport Essential External Hard Drive

    December 27, 2009 by admin · View Comments 

    I am a member of the Amazon Vine program. Each month Amazon sends me items to review on their site. This month I received the Western Digital My Passport Essential 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

    I have long been a fan of Western Digital’s bus powered external drives and own a bunch of them for my online video news startup. Their drives are workhorses and have withstood a ton of abuse my reporters have inflicted upon them. What I liked most was the drives’ simplicity – plug it in, format, and get to work.

    Unfortunately Western Digital has made a mess of their newest generation of bus powered hard drives by forcing users to install unnecessary drivers and the addition of a persistent `virtual cd` that can only be removed through a lengthy process hidden on their support site.

    Read my full review at Amazon.com to hear my experiences using this drive on both Windows and Mac.

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    2009-12-27 Weekly Twitter Update

    December 27, 2009 by admin · View Comments 

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    2009-12-20 Weekly Twitter Update

    December 20, 2009 by admin · View Comments 

    • Political crisis continues in Iran: http://bit.ly/8AL4rV #fb #
    • Wow foggy here at CLT #
    • Usairways, take some pride in your fleet, these planes are filthy! Inside and out. #
    • Great piece on using Canon DSLRs to produce professional video content: http://bit.ly/8qF6d3 #
    • Getting ready for the storm! #
    • RT @jschuller: RT @ciorici: *  ❄     *❄      *       *      ❄ .
          *  ❄    * .  ❄

         ❄        *        ❄ (via @DeFries) #

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    2009-12-13 Weekly Twitter Update

    December 13, 2009 by admin · View Comments 

    • My wife already signed me up! http://bit.ly/72q85U #fb #
    • Updated my blog post on my @twelpforce Best Buy rant. They need to have a small number of twelpers equipped to resolve cust. issues. #
    • Forgot to add the link to my Best Buy @twelpforce rant post: http://bit.ly/7VasVs #
    • Google chrome beta for mac is out: http://j.mp/yl8Vs #
    • Saw a guy ripping out his newspaper tube driving back to the office from lunch. Times are changing. #
    • Wow! http://bit.ly/62VvoQ #fb #
    • I stand corrected they did add a privacy link only after I started complaining. #
    • But- it's clearly stated in their privacy policy that they will sell your address to their clients/partners and possibly vendors. @youngdems #
    • Got to meet Tom Ridge last night in Chester. Will have a write up on our Valley Shore LocalOnlineNews.TV site this weekend. #
    • The Knight News Challenge folks are beginning to notify applicants. Unfortunately we won't be making it to round 2. http://bit.ly/5vPEnz #
    • Santa needs to get his brand on Twitter. #
    • Wondering why @amazon keeps suggesting the word 'heroine' in my payphrase :) . #
    • Amazon is giving 5-10% cash back with their new pay phrase system: http://bit.ly/4GXVMQ #fb #
    • Win a new Canon 7D (or 2500 photo scans) from @ScanCafe & Scott Bourne. Pls RT. Details here: http://bit.ly/dgYgA #
    • Soldout crowd on the Essex steam train Santa express! #fb http://yfrog.us/1559952136z #
    • I couldn't resist visiting @five_guys in East Lyme today.. Tasty! http://yfrog.com/4f14oyvj #

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    Lowepro Magnum DV 6500 AW Shoulder Bag Review

    December 9, 2009 by admin · View Comments 

    I am a member of the Amazon Vine Program. Each month Amazon sends me products to review on their site. This month I received the Lowepro Magnum DV 6500 AW Shoulder Bag.

    The Magnum DV 6500 AW is a very serious bag for serious content creators. It makes efficient use of space while offering adequate protection for expensive gear. Lowepro makes every inch of the main compartment configurable with a number of extra padded “walls” included to provide extra protection as needed.

    This bag is perfect for a pro with multiple cameras and lenses. I was able to fit my SLR, two lenses, and a small “angel” tripod in the bag with some room to spare for additional accessories.

    My only disappointment was that I couldn’t quite fit my unibody 15″ Macbook Pro in the bag comfortably. I could zipper the bag closed, but the computer was just too close to the zipper for my taste, leaving a portion without padded protection. A smaller 13″ plastic Macbook fit perfectly.

    Beyond that gripe this is a great bag that can carry a lot of expensive stuff safely and comfortably.

    See my video review, which includes the Macbook Pro difficulty, on Amazon’s site.

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    2009-12-06 Weekly Twitter Update

    December 6, 2009 by admin · View Comments 

    • So apparently the head of social media at Best Buy finds my earlier rant insulting. They just don't get it. http://bit.ly/7VasVs #
    • Five Google Wave invites to the next five who send a reply. First come first serve. Include your email address. #
    • Google Wave needs email notifications, I never know when I'm added to one or the one I'm working on is changed. #
    • Twitter lists are down temporarily: http://bit.ly/5fQBdW #
    • Here's a great example of people not "thinking different.". We live in a time of rapid change, embrace it: http://j.mp/7mF311 #
    • Google's take on today's FTC hearings looking at the future of news: http://bit.ly/7ctYeE @jeffjarvis is also doing a play-by-play #
    • Socialite on the Mac shows promise, Google Reader module needs more display options, RSS feeds shouldn't look like a twitter feed. #
    • My Amazon review of the Philips SWW1800/27 Wireless HDTV Link: http://bit.ly/4AgZLW – Broadcasts HD video across a room without wires. #
    • LocalOnlineNews.TV's Anna Sava to speak at the Connecticut Valley PRSA chapter's annual meeting Thursday: http://bit.ly/50xVpL #fb #
    • Seriously, why are they shipping these cables with Blu Ray players.My 1988 VCR came with them. Hdmi would be better http://yfrog.com/4ffhibj #
    • What goes around comes around: http://bit.ly/5PhfMZ #
    • Music video shot with just an off the shelf Canon 7D (and a nice lense of course). Very cool. http://bit.ly/8dOyFT #
    • RT @JimMacMillan: Mediabistro: Commitments every news startup should make in 2010: http://su.pr/32HgwK (via @markbriggs) http://su.pr/1GD17s #
    • Just posted my Amazon review of the Lowepro Magnum DV 6500 AW pro photo/video bag : http://bit.ly/6NExmr #
    • Haven't read the NBC/Comcast deal yet but I bet it will save Comcast serious $$$ on fees for carrying NBC's cable networks. #
    • A rare December event.. Mid 60's in Connecticut today. http://yfrog.us/0jnxiz #
    • Google launches Public DNS. What will this mean for OpenDNS? http://bit.ly/7PO5B1 #
    • OpenDNS responds to Google's new Public DNS. Interesting discussion: http://bit.ly/4ubIXn #
    • I just created a twalk at http://twalk.in/t/eY . Check it out! #
    • Wow Bing wants me to type in a captcha just to view their site? Fail. #
    • Night after night I get attacked by lady bugs in my own home. Hopefully they're eating other bugs that would normally attack me. #fb #
    • Transferring all of my voicemail boxes to Google Voice, let's see how this goes.. #
    • Crunchpad saga continues. Chandra Rathakrishnan will tell his side of the story on Monday, hires PR firm: http://bit.ly/4QiywL #
    • Thank you @google for the free wifi at BWI! #
    • Just saw a Burger King ad for a $1 1/4 pound double cheeseburger. If I was a cow I'd be insulted to be sold on the dollar menu. #
    • Rain/snow likely for wednesday in CT.. Ick.. #fb #

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