2007 Shelby GT500 Road and Track
By Larry Hendrick | October 15, 2007
If the 500 HP Shelby GT500 wasn’t enough for you, and the GT500KR’s 600HP didn’t float your boat, the new Road and Track option might be your thing. Set to be an add-on soon, this minor tweaking sets this as the power option for the “more power” crew.
Tags: Ford, Road and Track, Shelby GT5002007 Shelby GT500 Road and Track - 2006 SEMA Auto Show
In supercharged Shelby GT500 guise, the Mustang packs more horsepower for the dollar than anything in the solar system. Unfortunately, it also packs a lot of weight. What’s a GT500 lover to do? Add more sauce. Enter Ford Racing and the Shelby GT500 Road and Track.
This one’s the real deal. Nearly all of the parts shown on the Shelby GT500 Road and Track will soon be available for any power-crazed GT500 owner. In case it’s not obvious by the car’s unwieldy name, the Road and Track has mods intended to increase performance without compromising livability too much.
Most of the Road and Track’s parts are fugitives from Ford Racing’s prototype shop. A Ford Racing Super Pack elevates the GT500’s stock 500 horsepower to a dizzying 600 in the Road and Track with the help of a blower upgrade, headers, exhaust and a reflashed engine controller. Jamie Allison, manager of Ford Racing’s Performance Parts division, says they’re “still working out the details of the Super Pack” and that an entry-level Power Pack, good for 50 hp over stock, will be available in January.
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links for 2007-10-12
By Larry Hendrick | October 12, 2007
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sure, but can you give me directions to the nearest bathroom?
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now if that wireless power will hit the market, i can ditch all the cables.
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the matrix in hi-def downloaded in two seconds? now that’s an improvement, if they’ll just let us play.
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links for 2007-10-06
By Larry Hendrick | October 6, 2007
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News about a British Telecom program to have customers turn their access points into hot spots.
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Motorola has jumped onto the WiMax bandwagon, and this trial will give them much needed information about deploying the technology.
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WiMax is taking over the headlines the last few weeks, becoming the real deal … maybe.
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IBM Lotus Symphony Review
By Larry Hendrick | September 24, 2007
I was excited when the news broke about IBM releasing their branch of OpenOffice as a free download. Not for the reason you think—yes, free is nice, but I wanted to see what they had done with the interface. Like different distributions of UNIX, I imagined all sorts of additional tweaks implemented by the crew at IBM.
OpenOffice is one of the tools in my bag, so I’m familiar with how it looks and works. What changes or improvements did IBM implement in their version of the open source Microsoft Office competitor? That was the question I wanted to answer.
What I Like
As soon as I opened up the software for the first time, I liked the overall appearance of the application. The look is new (for me), and the overall feel is nice. They didn’t crowd all the options onto the toolbar, opting instead to use a single icon toolbar at the top and a sidebar for currently relevant options.
The normal functions are present on the toolbar, but with a little something extra—a tab. This is definitely different than my version of OpenOffice.
Opera introduced tabbed browsing several years ago, and now it’s a standard feature on browsers. This is the first time I have seen it in a word processor or a spreadsheet. In my brief time using the software, I can see several advantages.
- You can open multiple documents in the same frame.
- You can open a combination of program types.
- You can rearrange the tabs with drag and drop.
- You can drag and drop between applications.
- It’s a clean interface for multiple document types.
What I don’t Like
The first project I tried required merging several .csv files. Prowling the toolbars didn’t reveal an Import function, and after digging in the help files with no luck, so I opted to Open the file. That brought up an import options menu similar to the one in Excel under Import, and it worked for the first file.
The problem occurred when I tried to Import, Merge, and/or Open the second file, adding it to the bottom of the already present data. I wanted both files in one spreadsheet, but it was proving elusive. Every thing I tried opened an new tab for the second file. I couldn’t find any information in the Help file, so I ended up doing a Copy and Paste.
For two files as small as I was working with, Copy and Paste was adequate, but if you need to blend two large spreadsheets with thousands of lines of data … no way!
This Beta version from IBM isn’t going to replace Office for hard-core users. If you need any of the advanced features of Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, you’ll need to keep your copy of Microsoft installed. But, it offers another choice to home and small business users who only need the basic functions from these programs.
I plan to use Symphony for a while to discover other hidden trinkets.Later, I’ll let you know what I’ve found.
Topics: Business, Technology | No Comments »
Full Disclosure for Muni-WiFi
By Larry Hendrick | September 21, 2007
June 12, 2005 was the date I wrote my first article about the Municipal WiFi problem. That article asked twenty-five questions that needed to be answered about Muni WiFi, many of which remain unanswered to this day.
I addressed the topic of money (business model) and Muni WiFi in March of 2006 with an article titled Muni WiFi … A Fairy Tale. This article presented the case for the pricing structure for Internet services, and was a result of my working for an ISP for many years. All total, I have written or referenced 122 articles on the subject, bringing us to this TechNewsWorld two-part article. It includes many quotes from Glenn Fleishman, journalist, and David P. McClure, President and CEO of United States Internet Industry Association. They are both very knowledgeable on the subject of Municipal WiFi.
“BIG-CITY WIFI IS DEAD” … screams the opening sentence of the TechNewsWorld article, catching the attention of anyone with an interest in the wireless spectrum. Looking at the major cities with projects that are now on the rocks—Chicago, Houston, and San Francisco—the article’s participants discuss the reasons for the failure of this technology to deliver on the promises. McClure includes up the fact that the smaller cities, that have deployed the service in limited fashion, won’t reveal their subscriber numbers, which are extremely short of the original projections.
“It’s a ‘last 30 feet’ technology, not a ‘last mile’ technology” which is the same technical argument I’ve made for the last two years. Wifi was introduced as a wireless Internet technology for small areas. The technology took on a completely new meaning when companies selling the technology used the phrase “digital divide” as an into to meetings with government officials. That’s where the over-promise, under-deliver part of the story begins.
Cities bought the story hook, line, and sinker. They were going to blanket their cities with Wireless Internet, and provide it to the poor for free or at a reduced cost). Using trial installations in parks and libraries, Earthlink proved the technology would cover small areas with no obstacles.
In the TNW article, In-Stat senior network analyst, Daryl Schoolar, brings up the total lack of a need to cover these type areas anyway.
” … Instead muni-networks are building out coverage in parks and other public areas where In-Stat has yet to see much interest from end-users in using the network. They are spending millions of dollars to cover all those square miles where people have very little interest in the coverage,”
And to conclude, read what David P. McClure had to say (emphasis is mine):
E-Commerce News: Wireless: What’s Eating Citywide WiFi, Part 2
McClure characterized the muni WiFi experience of recent years as “a bad use of technology in pursuit of a socialist dream of free bread for the masses. Added to that was the nonsense that WiFi would somehow ‘heal the digital divide,’ spur business development and tourism, and do it all at no cost to consumers.” “I could drone on and on, but the reality is that our job was to expose muni WiFi for the hoax it was, and our job is done. City after city is taking a close look at reality and dumping their plans in favor of more realistic wireless Internet ventures. And we have moved on to battle other hoaxes plaguing our industry — the nonsensical ‘network neutrality,’ for example, and efforts by states and municipal governments to heap billions of dollars in local taxes on your broadband bill,” he added.
Topics: WiFi | 2 Comments »
0-200mph—Who’s the Big Dog?
By Larry Hendrick | September 4, 2007
Looking at the header of this website gives you an indication that I like cars, and I don’t deny it. I fell in love with cars at a very early age, and never looked back.
I have always preferred fast and straight, though, over going round and round, especially with the time investment at the drag strip in my youth. I understand and appreciate the merits of the round track enthusiasts, but give me quick starts and high speed finishes every time.
Road and Track magazine wanted to see which cars could reach 200mph in the quickest time and had six contenders show up for the challenge.
WOW! is all I can say about these cars, and I think the winner will surprise you. Enjoy …
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links for 2007-09-01
By Larry Hendrick | September 1, 2007
Topics: General | No Comments »
EarthLink pays $5 million to delay Houston Wi-Fi buildout
By Larry Hendrick | August 29, 2007
That didn’t take long.
Earthlink has agreed to pay the City of Houston $5 million dollars for missing deadlines in the Muni WiFi buildout. I did miss one part in my prediction—Earthlink has agreed to continue the project with a nine month extension.
EarthLink pays $5 million to delay Houston Wi-Fi buildout | Tech news blog - CNET News.com
A day after EarthLink said it would lay off nearly half its workforce, the company has agreed to pay the city of Houston a $5 million penalty fee for missing its first deadline in building the city’s municipal Wi-Fi network.Houston Mayor Bill White announced the settlement with EarthLink at a Houston City Council meeting on Wednesday. EarthLink, which had agreed to blanket nearly 640 square miles of Houston with Wi-Fi service, failed to meet its first deadline by not signing an agreement with CenterPoint Energy to lease its utility poles for the Wi-Fi project.
Of course, I’m not holding my breath …
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No happy ending for Earthlink’s Fairy Tale
By Larry Hendrick | August 29, 2007
Today I am predicting that the City of Houston will soon be $5 million dollars richer!
Earthlink is in the process of making key decisions on the company’s strategy for remaining in business. Yesterday they announced half their employees would get a pink slip before the end of the year, and they will close many of their remote offices.
There are three questions in front of Earthlink that must be answered.
- Will they continue in the Municipal WiFi business?
- Will they proceed with their current contracts?
- Will they default and move in another direction?
Project Scope
Let’s look at a few facts to see if we can speculate on what Earthlink is thinking.
- The Houston WiFi project covers 640 square miles
- The estimated cost of the project is $50 million dollars
- The City of Houston will
subsidizepay Earthlink $500,000/year as anchor tenant - Earthlink was to begin the project several months ago
- The contract calls for completion by 2009
- Earthlink has not signed the contract with Centerpoint Energy for utility pole access
- The penalty for Earthlink’s failure to meet the contract is $5 million dollars
- Earthlink’s President says “no profit in the foreseeable future” with Muni WiFi
The scope of this project is unmatched anywhere in the United States, and the price tag is huge. However, looking at other WiFi projects, the $50 million dollar price tag is probably low. Every other city WiFi project has ultimately required the installation of twice as many access points as originally planned, but I don’t want to focus on that aspect—$50 Million is still a lot. A more accurate price tag is $100 million dollars, but what’s a few million among friends.
Experience indicates the project will lose money for a number of years, lacking the revenue to cover operating expenses, even by Enron modern bookkeeping methods of depreciation and finance.
Not a Money Maker
The amount of the annual losses and for how long are debatable, but Earthlink could show an operating loss of several million dollars each year, for five years. (I personally think the numbers will be much higher.) The $500,000 from the City won’t cover 25% of the annual losses, and the city is only required to participate for five years.
At the end of five years, Earthlink is out a minimum of $50 million for installation plus $10 million for operations, leaving stockholders in a continuing state of hysteria. The company is already losing almost a quarter million dial-up customers each year and the quarterly financial reports are printed in red.
Municipal WiFi isn’t the savior Earthlink executives were praying for, and if they want to keep their jobs, they will need to rethink the company’s direction.
My Prediction
Earthlink will weigh their $50 million dollar investment (minimum) and huge operating losses against a $5 million dollar breach-of-contract penalty, and choose to abandon the project. They will pay the penalty to the City of Houston, rather than risk losing the company.
Topics: WiFi | No Comments »
links for 2007-08-29
By Larry Hendrick | August 29, 2007
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more news from the Samsung 4G forum
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the big event for American WiMax takes place next month in Chicago. The news will probably repeated information we already know, but you can never tell.
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A couple of New York cities have signed agreements with e-Path Communication to deliver Muni WiFi to their cities. I guess the lessons from Earthlink haven’t sunk in yet.
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more speculation on what Earthlink will do with its current WiFi contracts. We’re all waiting … holding our breathe … not!
Topics: Business, WiFi | No Comments »