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Madison County probes water worker's dea...

leiyu5 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:31:38 +0200

ALTON, Ill. - The Madison County coroner is investigating the deathof a worker with a Metro East water district.

Coroner Steve Nonn says 72-year-old Jerry Estes of Roxana wasworking Monday with the Forest Homes-Maple Park Public WaterDistrict when he went into an underground water-control area toturn off a valve.

Co-workers who were unable to contact him later found his bodythere in the pit, which Nonn says doesn't contain standing water.

The coroner says an autopsy proved inconclusive. Authorities areawaiting the results of toxicology tests.

Valve problem puts 30 million tires at r...

leiyu5 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:31:05 +0200

As many as 30 million tires on the road are at risk of blowing out,causing a serious, even fatal accident. The problems arepotentially faulty tire valves. The valves have been recalled butplenty of them are still out there.

It's not easy to tell if your tire has one of these valves. At aminimum, Consumer Reports says you should check your tires'pressure at least once a month and inspect the valves for anycracks. Flex the valves out toward the tire and rotate them,looking for any cracks along the stem. A flashlight can be helpful.

If you do find a crack, go to your mechanic and make sure all fourtire-valve stems are replaced, not just the defective one.

To be certain that your valves haven "t been recalled, have amechanic take the tire off and inspect the valve from the inside.That "s the only way to check the model number to see if a valveis part of the recall. The model numbers of the recalled valvesare: TR-413, TR-413CH, TR-414, TR-415, TR-418, and TR-423.

These valves were distributed in 2006, so if you "ve bought a newcar or had your tires replaced since then, you may be at risk

Would EA Buy Valve?

leiyu5 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:30:31 +0200

Would EA Buy Valve?

Welcome to SPOnG, and thanks for visiting.

Click here to continue to "Would EA Buy Valve?"

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Japan: Eaton and Nittan Valve to form new joint venture

Valve:Subscribe to this channel of AutomotiveWorld.com and you willreceive:

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High Accuracy Torque Multiplier for Wet...

leiyu5 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:30:02 +0200

High Accuracy Torque Multiplier for Wet Valve Actuation

Tuesday, Aug 05, 2008

Norbar Torque tools has developed an innovative torque multiplierfor the subsea tools market. Designed as an adapter to allow API17D Class 4 intervention torque tools to generate the torquerequired to handle Class 7 applications, the new torque multiplierdelivers a higher level of accuracy than alternative solutions, andincreased flexibility in use through its added-value features andits ability to be configured in two standard lengths.

The gear unit has been designed as an adapter for torque tools usedon subsea Christmas trees – the assemblies of control valves,gauges and chokes that control oil and gas flow at a well head.Installed on the ocean floor at depths of up to 3000m, these‘wet trees’ provide the ultimate challenge for thetorque tools designed to actuate the various valves.

The valves come in various sizes with different torquerequirements, with the typically used subsea products ranging fromClass 1 valves with maximum torques of 68Nm up to Class 7 withtorques of 34,000Nm. Clearly it would be impractical to holddifferent tools for each valve, or to standardise only on thelargest tool on the off-chance of having to accommodate a Class 7valve now and again. So the gear adapter has become popular as ameans of extending a Class 4 tool (which would generate up to2,700Nm of torque) up to Class 7.

To date, the trade-off for this added convenience has beenaccuracy, with extended Class 4 tools failing to offer the precisetorques of dedicated Class 7 tools. But Norbar’s innovativedesign has overcome this problem, enabling a Class 7 torque outputto be generated from a Class 4 torque input to an accuracy ofbetter than ±5%.

“Our Norwegian customer came to us to see if we thought wecould improve on the existing designs,” says Norbar’sTim Bloor. “We looked at the problems with the existingproducts, and went back to basics. The result was two prototypeunits that we believe deliver far greater accuracy than the currentgear adapters on the market.”

The function of the gear is to operate as a torque multiplier, butthe ratios have to be exactly right to achieve the correct torqueand the specified speed from the Class 4 tool. At the same time,the gear has to be able to function reliably in a subseaenvironment at extreme temperatures and pressures. It also has tobe easy to handle. Norbar was able to meet all of theserequirements.

The design of the gear to match the accuracy requirements was notrivial matter. Inherent gearbox inefficiencies mean that thenumber of turns that the input has to make to achieve onerevolution of the output is not the same as the torquemultiplication ratio. A key aspect of the design, then, was toengineer each gear stage to give an exact velocity ratio whichwould deliver the required torque multiplication at an accuracy ofbetter than ±5%.

The company’s newly developed torque multiplier is designedto withstand the corrosive environment and is pressure compensatedto allow operation at typical subsea pressures. It is designed tobe suitable for use with the standard Class 4 torque tools that,operated by ROVs, are used to remotely actuate the wet valves. There is also a restriction on the weight that ROVs can manipulateso considerable design work has gone in to keeping the tool weightdown to an acceptable level.

The design recognises that there are two standard tool lengths ingeneral use, with different companies preferring either one or theother. With the Norbar design, the nominal length can be quicklychanged from short to long by adding or removing an adjustmentshaft under the adapter sleeve. The result is a tool that is highlyversatile.

As well as the improved accuracy and length options, the multiplierbuilds in a host of special features that will make it even moreattractive in the subsea torque tools market. These include alifting handle that has been developed from the ground up to makethe tool as easy as possible to manoeuvre. Attention to detail isalso demonstrated in the fact that the tool is coloured orange– the last colour to fade at increasing depths of water.

The new torque multiplier is currently under test withNorbar’s Norwegian customer serving the North Sea Oil market,but the expectation is that the product will prove an idealsolution in this demanding application. “It’s been asignificant investment on our part, but if we get it right then themarket potential is huge,” says Bloor. “It seems tohave been favourably accepted, and we’re confident that theextensive testing it is currently undergoing will prove ourdesign.”

Norbar will then be able to offer a standard, high accuracysolution to the various subsea valve tool manufacturers worldwide,enabling those companies in turn to offer tools of significantlysuperior performance and accuracy to the multitude of oil and gascompanies across the globe with subsea operations.

Source:

Norbar

UPDATE 1-Valero says no impact from Del....

leiyu5 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:29:31 +0200

(Updates with Valero saying no impact to production)

NEW YORK, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Monday there was no impact to production from a valveleak near the fluid catalytic cracker unit at its 210,000 barrelper day Delaware City, Delaware refinery.

"There was a minor leak in our Delaware City refinery that was notunit-related. The event had no impact on production," Teri Levy, aspokeswoman for Valero, said in an email.

Earlier, Valero said in a filing with Delaware's Department ofNatural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) that a valvenear the refinery's cat cracker leaked a total of 150 gallons ofgasoline into a gravel area on Saturday. (Reporting by HaithamHaddadin; Editing by David Gregorio)

Valve Squashes Left 4 Dead PS3 Rumors

leiyu5 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:28:57 +0200

Valve This Saturday we've reported about the PC/X360 shooter

Left 4 Dead possibly winging its way

to the PlayStation 3The scoop, which was actually a blurb in the latest issue of OPM,indicated that Electronic Arts would take on the task of portingthe game to Sony's console.

As it turns out, the story was bogus, at least according to Vavle'sDoug Lombardi, who made the following statement to clarify things:"There is no PS3 version of Left 4 Dead currently inproduction." Nicely said.

So, once again, there isn't a PS3 edition of Left 4 Dead indevelopment. Not yet anyway. Still, who knows, eh? Maybe they'llget to work on it someday.

Source

Valve's Lombardi Explains Half-Life's As...

leiyu5 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:28:24 +0200

August 5, 2008 Lombardi:

Doom Single-Player Mode Helped Birth

Half-Life

Valve's Doug Lombardi says the success of

Half-Life

and its sequel paid dividends in both resources and inspirationthat continue to be invested in new titles and technology,permanently setting the company's quality bar -- but how did

Half-Life

make its ascent in an era where everyone was chasing

Quake

"We've been very fortunate in the success of our early games, andbeing careful to make sure that every game after

Half-Life

sort-of lived up to a quality bar that was set by that," Lombardisaid in a recent interview with Gamasutra.

The breakout success of the original

Half-Life

was especially notable considering it debuted in an era where

Quake

-chasing and the burgeoning multiplayer space was the focus formany.

But Valve co-founders Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington, Lombardisaid, "really wanted to go back to their single-player experienceof

Doom."

"They wanted to go back and take a look at what they felt when theyplayed

Doom

in single-player, and expand on that, and put more story, and moreacting, character development, and that type of stuff," Lombardisaid.

"So, it was a good fortune of timing, to be zagging while everyoneelse was zigging, or whatever the clich?is, that I think we hit asweet spot for people."

The era's less-than-ideal connectivity, Lombardi said, "made it apain in the ass" to play many multiplayer games, and

Half-Life

happened to arrive at a time when there was an itch needing to bescratched.

"And then I think there's also that idea of your first game, oryour first album in the music industry, that puts you on the maptends to be a hallmark that people remember you by," he added.

"They also have a reminiscence, or whatever the right word is forit, but there's a certain charm about the first game that youplayed from a certain company, if you've followed that company, orthat band, or that studio, or whatever. "

Half-Life was a great game - not to take anything away from it - but I thinkthat all those factors sort of contribute to people keeping it inits special place."

Belkin TuneCast Auto for iPod and iPhone

leiyu5 — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:57:28 +0200

ipod Belkin has updated its TuneCast Audio adapters to make them compatible with the Apple iPhone 3G. The Belkin TuneCast Auto for iPod and iPhone 3G have been certified by Apple's Works With iPhone program and should retail for around £49. The TuneCast Auto plugs in to the cigarette lighter in your vehicle, with the other end attaches to your iPod or iPhone. You can use the device to tune your car stereo to an unused radio frequency and play songs stored on your iPod through it. While it's possible to buy adapters enabling iPods and other portable audio devices to work directly with in-car entertainment systems, this can prove pricey. Two years ago, the EU lifted restrictions allowing music fans to liberate the songs on their MP3 players and start listening to them via their such audio adapters.
Belkin, Griffin and others now sell car radio adapters to do so. The Belkin TuneCast Auto for iPod and iPhone has an RRP of £49.99 and can be bought from a range of retail stores. It works with first and second-generation iPhones as well as the iPod touch, the iPod mini and later versions of the iPod video.

Apple rumours: 4GB iPod shuffle

leiyu5 — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:57:00 +0200

ipod Techradar.com: Apple is rumoured to be prepp’ing 4GB iPod shuffles to be announced later next month, with a range of shiny new colours and price cuts also expected.While we tirelessly file the news under “Apple’s August ‘08 rumour mill”, we have to say that this particular rumour sounds very much like a no-brainer to us.A well-priced 4GB iPod shuffle (in addition to the currently available 1GB and 2GB models) could well be the perfect gadget stocking filler for your tech-shy Nan this coming Christmas

iPhone 2.0.1 firmware out for iPhone and...

leiyu5 — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:56:40 +0200

ipod Apple has released the 2.0.1 firmware update for the iPhone and iPod touch, and as you can see above, it brings the much-awaited "Bug fixes" feature to bear. We first heard about bug fixes way back at WWDC '07, and since then there's been much speculation on Apple blogs of all kinds as to just what effects a feature like "bug fixes" will have on the market. We're just kidding of course -- "Bug fixes" could mean anything. But the update is surprisingly large (242 mb) so as soon as we get it installed, we'll pick it apart.
It looks like the day of reckoning is here -- "bug fixes" is out, and may all the various Gods have mercy on our souls. The 2.0.1 software update for the iPhone and iPod touch is available in iTunes right now.

Retailers Selling EGO iPod Speaker Cases...

leiyu5 — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:56:14 +0200

ipod The EGO ice and iceBar2 waterproof iPod speaker cases from Atlantic Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of media storage solutions and iPod accessories, are now available at Best Buy and Bed Bath & Beyond, the company announced today.Consumers can share their iPod music this summer with Atlantic’s EGO line of portable, shatterproof, waterproof iPod speaker, which makes sharing safe and easy, according to the company.Allowing consumers to take their iPod Nano safely anywhere – including the shower – Atlantic’s EGO iceBar2 Speaker System for iPod Nano is a lightweight, pocket-sized, fully sealed sound system, available at Bed Bath & Beyond. The iceBar2 features neodymium speakers, corner bumper guards, an external power button and a jack port on top and is complete with all three iPod Nano generations. With this, users can listen privately by inserting earphones and have the best listening experiences, officials say.

In an iPod Nano world, some rivals lure...

leiyu5 — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:55:40 +0200

ipod NEW YORK -- It's easy to understand the appeal of Apple Inc.'s iPod Nano music and video player: It's slim and simple to use, and it has a crisp 2-inch LCD screen. Its brand name is considered synonymous with hip tech gear.But what if you want a player that looks different from those wielded by the Nano army, costs less, includes features like an FM radio or voice recorder, and lets you drag and drop songs from your computer desktop instead of going through Apple's iTunes software?I tried out a handful of options and found three to highlight. All include a bevy of features and support multiple file types including MP3 and Windows Media (WMA) tunes, MPEG4 videos and JPEG photos. These players are not perfect, but it is comforting to know there is multimedia life off Apple's planet.iRiver Lplayer: Owing to its diminutive hotness and fairly strong performance across the board, iRiver's Lplayer ($100-$130) was my favorite of the bunch.The sleek little device comes with 4 or 8 gigabytes of flash memory storage. Its face consists solely of a 2-inch screen whose sides can be pressed to control the device. The only buttons -- for power and volume -- are tiny and located discreetly on one side. There's also an easy-to-miss hold switch on the Lplayer's back.The controls were a little confusing at first, as I initially assumed clicking the middle of the screen would serve as a sort of "enter" or "play" button (it doesn't). But once I got used to it, I liked the simplicity.The Lplayer's screen is bright, and photos and videos looked fairly crisp. I would have preferred better image quality, but it was good enough that I enjoyed seeing a 15-minute video while commuting home.My music sounded pretty good on the Lplayer, and while I wouldn't want to read a novel on the tiny screen, its support for files in the "TXT" text format make it a good place to keep simple notes.I'm usually not a fan of included media player software, but I liked the clean, uncluttered look of the iriver software and found it fairly easy to use.Though this device was the fattest of the bunch, being a bit larger than a Zippo lighter meant it also was the easiest to hold in my palm. Its battery can handle 12 hours of music playback (3 1/2 hours of video playback) -- still far less than the up to 24 hours of audio (or five hours of video) that the Nano boasts, but enough for a plane ride or a day spent out and about.Sansa Fuze: Of the mini-multimedia players I tested, the Sansa Fuze ($80-$130) looks most like the current-generation Nano. But where the Apple device draws you in with a crystal-clear LCD, the Fuze offers a subpar, 1.9-inch display.The Fuze's screen was plenty bright, but images did not look crisp and were plagued by what looked like slim vertical lines across the face. This made it annoying to view photos and videos, and would turn me off from watching something longer than a YouTube-length clip. The Fuze got points for its more traditional set of controls and rubbery-feeling clickwheel, which made it easier to operate than the others. I had no problem scrolling through tunes or the device's main menu, and could navigate faster than on the other players I tested.The Fuze also scores with its microSD slot that lets users expand the player's flash memory capacity (included memory ranges from 2 to 8 gigabytes). This is important to me, as I tend to swap microSD cards between my cell phone and digital camera and like being able to move photos and MP3s with ease.I encountered a strange problem with JPEG photos on a microSD card, though, as the Fuze first told me it didn't support the file type. But it does: It soon proceeded to show me the photos.

That iPhone Nano Rumor ...

leiyu5 — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:54:56 +0200

ipod That old rumor – that Apple would introduce a stripped-down version of the iPhone – is being floated again. This Sunday, Daily Mail has run a story citing sources close to Apple who claim the company will release iPhone Nano by Christmas. The gadget would allow for listening to music and phone calling, but won’t offer mobile Internet connectivity, according to the report. It’s supposedly destined for the prepaid market.Do I buy this idea? Well, it is a possibility, though it would be surprising to see Apple step into the prepaid market; such a move could cheapen its brand. On the other hand, such a phone may be exactly what the prepaid market needs to revamp its image. Today’s prepaid phones tend to be un-cool, and there’s a perception that only people with poor credit sign up for prepaid service. Equipped with iPhone nano, prepaid carriers could turn into cool kids on the block, and start making real dent in the postpaid wireless market.An iPhone Nano also makes sense for another reason: Many people like to carry smaller phones. Though cellular radios aren’t as easy to compress as music players, I have seen several super-small phones, such as the modu device. Apple took four years after the first iPod came out to release a nano version, and three years to introduce iPod mini, the size of a business card. But though it’s only been a year since the first iPhone came out, it is possible the company will roll out its phone versions at a much faster pace. After all, different cell-phone buyers have different preferences. Some crave smaller size. Many want a physical keyboard. If Apple wishes to accommodate everyone, it’s got to roll out a lot more versions of the phone than it did of the music player.

DJ-1800 supports music on iPhone, iPod t...

leiyu5 — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:54:02 +0200

ipod DJ-1800 is a self-contained DJ system for the Mac. It doesn’t require a mixer or CD player because it uses the digital music already stored on your Mac — just hook your system up to speakers and you’re ready to go.

U.S. Federal Agents Given Power To Take...

leiyu5 — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:53:12 +0200

ipod Washington (dbTechno) - The Department of Homeland Security has revealed new border search policies, stating that federal agents now have the power to take your laptop, or any other media device such as an iPod, for no reason.Federal agents in the U.S. now have the power to take these devices from you for a period of time, even if they have no suspicion at all that you did something wrong.The whole idea behind this new push is to help prevent terrorism in the U.S. and around the world.Officials, once they take your laptop or media device, can then share the content on it with other agencies to try and figure out what type of data is on it and such.These new policies have gone into effect starting on July 16th, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Many are shocked by these new policies, calling them an abuse of power, invasion of privacy, etc.This is due to the fact that there is no protection on personal data of citizens, including medical or financial records.