BMW's Vision Efficient Dynamics concept car

After several months of speculation and official teases for the past week, we now finally have all the details on the Vision EfficientDynamics Concept that BMW is revealed at Frankfurt. The speculation about the concept's powertrain has gone in several directions, almost all of which were correct. The new concept is a plug-in hybrid with a three cylinder turbo-diesel engine. Conceived with the idea of melding the performance of an M3 with exceptionally low fuel consumption, BMW claims a 0-62 mph time of 4.8 seconds while scoring 62.6 mpg (U.S.) on the EU combined test cycle.

There has been considerable speculation that future BMWs would go to smaller engines including a three cylinder. The concept uses a 1.5-liter turbodiesel that is essentially half of the fabulous 3.0-liter found in the 335d. The triple is rated at a hefty 163 hp with peak torque of 214 lb-ft. The engine is paired with a 6-speed DCT derived from the unit used in the M3 and Z4.

Adding fuel to the recent reports that BMW would not continue developing the two-mode hybrid system that will debut soon in the X6, the concept uses a new strong hybrid system. The new system is a further development of the mild hybrid that is debuting in the ActiveHybrid 7. As in the 7, a more powerful 33 hp electric motor is sandwiched between the engine and transmission. A second 80 hp motor provides drive to the front axle. The total net output of the drive system is 356 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. Continue reading after the jump.

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Who Killed Summer, Episode 9

Episode 9 of Who Killed Summer is now available. This episode is where the crew hits the Relentless Boardmasters festival. Who Killer Summer is a reality tv show by Vodafone that contains drama and surprising twists. It brings together 6 lucky young music lovers from across Europe for the summer of their lives, touring around festivals that include Benicassim, Global Gathering, Relentless Boardmasters, and Bloom Festival.

It's a 20 episode drama which will be filmed on site over the next 9 weeks, the actors are cast in a Big Brother type setup where they audition for the role before being thrown together for the first festival. The twist? One of them will be killed. New episodes will be released every few days, with you able to watch them all on eFestivals.

You can access the player to watch this drama as the episodes are released at the Official site.

It started out as 6 contestants (3 guys and 3 girls) are brought together for a summer which they will never forget. Each and every move of these 6 teens are captured by the film crew. But this is not just your average reality tv show. The surprising twist here is that by the end of summer, one will be dead and one will be the killer.

What are you waiting for, go grab the episodes that you haven't watched to keep track of what is happening this summer. Tell your friends about who kiled summer and surprise them. You can check out the embedded Video above to see the events that happen here and what will happen to each of the contestants or click here for the link for the video.

Aamir & SRK for National Award

Bollywood film-stars Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan are pitted against each other in the best actor category for the National Film Awards for 2007. Shah Rukh Khan has been nominated for his role as Kabir Khan in Chak De India — the man who as coach turns a shattered women’s hockey team into world champions.

Aamir Khan will compete with his subtle performance in Taare Zameen Par, a movie depicting the unique problems of dyslexic children. Khan played a school teacher who helps a dyslexic child, played by Darsheel Safari, to overcome the difficulties posed by his disability. Safari has been nominated for best child actor.

I&B Minister Ambika Soni is likely to announce the awards next week. President Pratibha Patil will give the awards in Delhi in October this year. Neither of the Khans has ever won the national award for best actor. Apart from best actor, Aamir Khan has also been nominated for another category, as producer. His film Taare Zameen Par has been nominated for best film by a jury headed by film-maker Sai Paranjpe.

Shah Rukh Khan is in the race for more feathers in his cap. His home production Om Shanti Om has been nominated under the category best feature film for wholesome entertainment. Here the film finds a rival in Bollywood film Jab We Met, starring Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor. There were over 100 feature films, Bollywood and regional, competing for the highest honours. The jury has short-listed about 30 movies under different categories.

The awards for films released in 2007 are being given this year because this annual feature was delayed by a year as those for 2005 had been challenged in court by documentary film-maker Anand Patwardhan.

Microsoft OneApp

Microsoft seems really interested in the mobile phone segment of late. If it announced a major partnership with Nokia a few weeks ago, its now time to announce its OneApp service which promises to bring smartphone like abilities to feature phones.

This also marks the beginning of Microsoft "deviation" into the non-smartpone scheme of things who, until now, had only the Windows Mobile smartphone OS in its mobile arsenal. Microsoft had never ventured into making hardware and it still seems committed to that policy. That however doesn't seem to have stopped the company from concentrating on non-smartphones.

As for OneApp, this happens to be a "do it all" application that will enable users to run various subsidiary applications under it's umbrella. These include mini Facebook, Windows Live Messenger, Twitter and Mobile Wallet applications. It's a pretty light on the resources, "weighing" in at just 150KB. The add-on apps are just 30KB in size and hence should fit in most feature phones of today. The best thing about this is that it offers users to access the service "online" being more of a cloud service. Which means, users do not really store and install apps to their devices.

"When people see these apps running on a feature phone, their eyes light up. It's pretty exciting. What we're letting you do is get access to the applications and services you want from a device you already own. If you don't own a PC, or you share a PC, your mobile phone may be your first or only computing device," said Tim McDonough, Microsoft's senior director of Mobile Product Management.

OneApp will be initially launched in South Africa. For those wanting more, there's a video preview available as well - strangely showcasing the service being used on a Nokia smartphone!

Apple Tablet

Hey techies, its great news the Apple tablet is finally going to hit the market by 2010. It’s since 2007 that Apple is convincing us that it is working on a tablet. Apple even claims that the project has been restarted half a dozen times in the last two years. This device features a 10 inch display, 3G data built-in supporting 3g accessories and many other features which make it look like a jumbo iPod touch.

It is uncertain to know about the operating system, the tablet is using or even what processor it might be equipped with. It is heard that Apple is believed to abandon the idea of using an Atom chip and so may be turning to custom-tailored ARM design instead. So now let us wait and watch that what apple is going to cook.

For months now, tech experts are speculating the release of the Apple tablet by next year. And although we’ve yet to hear from Apple execs themselves, a lot of rumors have been circulating around the Internet regarding the specifications and features of this particular gadget.

Brian Lam from Gizmodo got the most latest deets about this rumored Apple tablet.

- The tablet is described as a 10-inch version of the iPod Touch

- Pricing will be between $700 and $900

- It’s possible the screen will be used as a secondary touch pad for controlling Macs

- The project has been in development for four to six years

- A prototype was built around the end of 2008

- The product will likely launch this holiday season

Are you surprised with the price tag? Don’t be. I’m sure it even has the possibility of retailing higher than $700 or $900.

IBM uses DNA to make next-gen microchips

International Business Machines Corp is looking to the building blocks of our bodies -- DNA -- to be the structure of next-generation microchips. As chipmakers compete to develop ever-smaller chips at cheaper prices, designers are struggling to cut costs.

Artificial DNA nanostructures, or "DNA origami" may provide a cheap framework on which to build tiny microchips, according to a paper published on Sunday in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Microchips are used in computers, cell phones and other electronic devices. "This is the first demonstration of using biological molecules to help with processing in the semiconductor industry," IBM research manager Spike Narayan said in an interview with Reuters.

"Basically, this is telling us that biological structures like DNA actually offer some very reproducible, repetitive kinds of patterns that we can actually leverage in semiconductor processes," he said.

The research was a joint undertaking by scientists at IBM's Almaden Research Center and the California Institute of Technology. Right now, the tinier the chip, the more expensive the equipment. Narayan said that if the DNA origami process scales to production-level, manufacturers could trade hundreds of millions of dollars in complex tools for less than a million dollars of polymers, DNA solutions, and heating implements.

"The savings across many fronts could add up significantly," he said.

But the new processes are at least 10 years out. Narayan said that while the DNA origami could allow chipmakers to build frameworks that are far smaller than possible with conventional tools, the technique still needs years of experimentation and testing.

First Independence day Celebration

ICC Champions Trophy

Facts and Figures about the ICC Champions Trophy

The ICC Champions Trophy was made by Asprey. It took 60 hours to manufacture and is made of sterling silver with silver gilt cricket ball at the top. The ICC Champions Trophy weighs 3.1kgs. The trophy is 46cm high, while at the base its circumference is 47cm and at the top its circumference is 48cm