Consumer Technology World Brief
There are hundreds of millions of regular televisions packing HDMI ports, and Google’s new Chromecast device offers a way to put some brains into TVs by giving them access to web-based content. Having a Chromecast dongle connected to your TV means you can stream videos straight from a Google Play, Netflix or YouTube app, or mirror the content in any open tab in Google’s Chrome browser using a tab casting feature. Chromecast is backed by Google, whose relationships with content providers and developers mean that the Google Cast technology powering it will soon be popping up in even more apps. Not to mention, there’s the price. At USD 35, it’s almost a third of the cost of Plair and also Roku 3 and Apple TV, the current most popular devices that bring internet video to your TV. Sure, it’s not as fully featured as some of its competitors, but it does provide a lot for just USD 35, and it’s a platform that’s likely to improve dramatically as more apps start to support the technology.
The battery powered BMW i3 electric vehicle is a step in the direction of making cars out of fabric, along with other industrial products we traditionally think of in terms of bending steel and pouring concrete. Using computers and high-tech machines to weave different patterns, manufacturers can make much thinner and lighter surfaces which in turn last longer and support much more weight than traditional materials. Carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, called CFRP for short, doesn’t exactly grow on trees, but it is essentially a textile. Professional race cars have used it for years because it’s strong and light. The Boeing Co. also uses it to make passenger jets. According to BMW, the BMW i3 makes more extensive use of so-called CFRP than any other mass-produced car. The CFRP is cut and stamped into the appropriate sizes and shapes, instead of cutting and bending metal. In terms of material costs it’s expensive to manufacture cars out of CFRP, but the material is so much easier and lighter to work with, the net effect is much more economical. The release of the BMW i3 contains revolutionary ideas that it is almost certain will be followed by other car manufacturers soon enough
North America Review
President Barack Obama’s decision to delay implementation of part of his healthcare reform law will cost USD 12 billion and leave a million fewer Americans with employer-sponsored health insurance in 2014. The report by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office is the first authoritative estimate of the human and fiscal cost from the administration’s unexpected one-year delay announced July 2 of the employer mandate – a requirement for larger businesses to provide health coverage for their workers or pay a penalty. The delay intensified doubts about the administration’s ability to implement Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement and stirred Republican calls for a similar delay in another Obamacare mandate that requires most individuals to have health insurance in 2014. State and federal officials are racing to set up new online health insurance exchanges, where lower-to-moderate income families that lack health insurance will be able to sign up for federally subsidized coverage beginning on October 1. The poor will also be able to sign up for Medicaid coverage in 23 states that have opted to expand the program.
U.S. college students will likely pay a reduced interest rate of 3.86 percent on their student loans for the new school year, after lawmakers on Wednesday finally passed a compromise bill that would reverse a recent rate hike. The action followed months of partisan bickering, with Democrats and Republicans blaming each other for a politically embarrassing delay that had the potential to cost students and their parents thousands of dollars. The legislation replaces a system in which Congress fixed interest rates every year and substitutes it with a market-based mechanism tied to the government’s cost of borrowing and capped to protect borrowers in the event of a severe spike in rates. The interest rate would roughly work out to 3.86 percent this year for undergraduates and 5.42 percent for graduates. Supporters of the bill say it gets politicians out of the business of setting student loan rates and provides certainty for students and their families.
Asia Review
China plans to invest 2.3 trillion yuan (USD 375 billion) in energy saving and emission-reduction projects in the five years through 2015 to clean up its environment, the China Daily newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing a senior government official. The plan, which has been approved by the State Council, is on top of a 1.85 trillion yuan investment in the renewable energy sector, underscoring the government’s concerns about addressing a key source of social discontent. China has set a target of reducing its carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 40-45 percent by 2020 from the 2005 level, and raising non-fossil energy consumption to 15 percent of its energy mix, Xie Zhenhua, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), was quoted as saying. As part of broader plans to curb pollution, the government will also roll out tiered power pricing for eight energy intensive industries, while sectors that struggle with overcapacity will face higher power tariffs. The government will also gradually expand a carbon trading pilot program to more cities starting from 2015, with the aim of creating a national market, he said.
An oil spill that prompted evacuations from one of Thailand’s most popular tourist spots threatens the country’s tourism and fishing industries, Thailand’s deputy prime minister has warned, amid concerns about the long-term effects of the leak. Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi said his country was ill-equipped to properly contain the leak, and authorities should seek assistance from neighboring countries such as Singapore, if necessary. PTT Global Chemical, Thailand’s largest petrochemical producer, admitted a leak had occurred after the waters at Ao Phrao (Phrao Bay) on the popular tourist island of Koh Samet were blackened with oil on Sunday, prompting evacuations of tourists. The company admitted that an estimated 50,000 liters of crude oil had leaked from an offshore pipeline around the area of Rayong’s Map Ta Phut deep sea port Saturday. The clean-up effort had relied heavily on spraying the oil with dispersant, which made it sink below the water — out of sight, but potentially harming marine life.
Europe Review
The International Monetary Fund on Monday approved a further 1.7 billion euros (USD 2.3 billion) in funds for Greece’s bailout program after completing the fourth review of the cash-strapped euro zone state. Greece last week adopted the last piece of legislation its international lenders required to release the next batch of rescue loans, after two months of wrangling over unpopular measures to overhaul the economy. The total funds from the IMF, the European Commission and the European Central Bank comprise 5.8 billion euros. The European Union announced the move earlier on Monday, saying Greece would now need to make only 1.6 billion euros from privatizations, down from 2.6 billion euros. But Athens will now have to recoup that money in 2014 to ensure it stays on course to lower its debt. Subject to implementation of further reforms, Athens stands to receive another 1 billion euros from international lenders in October. Greece’s rescue, approved in March 2012, will total 173 billion euros over four years, the IMF said. It is meant to help Athens recover from a sovereign debt crisis and return to markets, and protect the country from a possible exit from the euro zone.
EU antitrust regulators sharpened their scrutiny of how Google ranks its web search results, asking rivals whether their lower rankings affected the number of visitors to their sites, a European Commission questionnaire showed. The two-page document seen by Reuters came after the EU competition authority demanded more concessions from the world’s most popular search engine earlier this month to allay concerns that it blocks competitors in search results. Google, which has more than 80 percent of the European search market, reiterated comments made two weeks ago in response to the Commission’s ultimatum.” Our proposal to the European Commission clearly addresses their four areas of concern. We continue to work with the commission to settle this case,” its spokesman Al Verney said. The company could face a fine as much as USD5 billion if it does not resolve the three-year long EU investigation.