| Seattle ready to help seniors become tech-savvy
Q: I am a 75-year-old low-income man trying to cope with a dilemma regarding my computer. I have Windows XP Service Pack 1 and I was having problems getting online. Is there any good Samaritan organization that could volunteer to not only help me but to help others in my position? My son is in England, and my daughter is in Massachusetts. I rely on my computer to cross the miles and keep me in touch with them. — Adelbert (Ted) Acey A: As it happens, the city of Seattle offers some help. The city sponsors programs at local community and senior centers to provide seniors with access to computers and training for little or no cost. The training covers e-mail, Internet navigation, word processing and financial applications. You can find a list of programs and sites at: www.cityofseattle.net/tech/seniors/computers.htm.
'Project Green Fed'' helps Arkansans recycle old electronics for free
A state-wide free electronics recycling program from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) and UNICOR, a division of Federal Prison Industries, Inc., has restarted.The program, known as Project Green Fed, is designed to re-use components of old electronic equipment, as well as reduce the amount of electronic materials being disposed of in landfills.This program, according to the ADEQ, offers Arkansas residents free shipping and recycling for a wide array of electronic products including computers, monitors, printers, televisions, cell phones, fax machines, video game systems, cameras, rechargeable batteries and audio visual equipment.Interested participants must provide their own box. ADEQ officials state that specifications for the box used for shipping may be found at www.unicor.gov/recycling/greenfed/.
Toshiba Announces Another Battery Recall
As many as 10,000 batteries Sony-made in December 2005 are now being recalled by Toshiba Toshiba announced plans to recall 10,000 notebook battery packs due to possible fire hazards. Even though only 5,100 of the Sony-made batteries are faulty, Toshiba wants to make sure all defective batteries are collected. The offending batteries were created solely for Toshiba. So far, three fire incidents were reported to Toshiba -- one in Australia and two in Japan. Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Omori said no one was injured in any of the incidents. A number of companies were forced to recall batteries do to serious safety concerns, highlighted after an IBM ThinkPad burst into flames, along with other reported incidents of fire. Korean Air and QANTAs temporarily banned the use of Dell and Apple notebooks, regardless of what kind of internal battery was used.
Replacing battery will fix problem
Q. My PC now flashes a start-up message from a company called "Phoenix." Hitting the F1 key gets me past this, but my other problem is that the computer keeps thinking that it's 11:01 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2002. A. Phoenix Technologies happens to be the name of a company that makes BIOS (Basic Input Output System) chips, which govern the start-up operations of a computer. So a message with that name on it can only mean a BIOS issue. The date problem, in turn, reveals what kind of issue is involved. The tiny battery that preserves the BIOS's own memory -- a tiny stash used to store basic parameters -- has worn out, and so the computer can't remember what day it is after a reboot. (This memory sometimes is identified by the abbreviation "CMOS," in case you were confused when hearing people talk about "sea moss" inside a computer.) BIOS batteries aren't expensive, but you have to get the right one for your machine.
FINE CUTS DEEP
WARRNAMBOOL'S Midfield Meat Processing was yesterday fined $40,000 after a trainee worker chopped off a thumb and three fingers in January last year. Midfield Meat Processing, a division of the Midfield group of companies, yesterday pleaded guilty in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court to two charges of breaching the Occupational Health and Safety Act. In imposing the fine, Magistrate Michael Stone said it was a serious accident and the company had failed to protect the welfare and safety of its staff. Mr Stone said trainee Nelson Kuol had lost function in his hand and in discussing the impact of the injury remarked it was highly unlikely the injured worker would be a successful pianist. Mr Stone said Midfield had been a good corporate citizen and had an exceptional safety record with no prior convictions.
OLPC XO Laptop goes into Mass Production
One Laptop per Child (OLPC) announces that the XO laptop goes into mass production.
The rollout of the first XO laptops based on the release of the final Beta-4 (B4) engineering model is scheduled for October.
The XO Laptop B4 machines feature the AMD Geode LX processor, improved keyboard and touch pad, many electrical and mechanical enhancements, and an individualized brightly colored XO logo on the back. Children will be able to select from a wide range of colors for the logo so they can readily identify their laptop in a crowded classroom.
XO Feature Highlights: Technologically revolutionary display is fully readable in bright sunlight. The display is among the highest quality of any laptop currently being produced regardless of cost and is so clear that it comes close to a paper-like reading experience for users.
'Toyota to delay launch of new hybrids'
TOKYO: Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. will delay by one or two years the rollout of new high-mileage hybrids with lithium-ion batteries because of safety concerns, reported a newspaper.
Toyota's decision was prompted by worries that the batteries could overheat, catch fire or even explode, the Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported in its online edition, quoting unnamed Toyota executives.
It said such fears were heightened by problems with similar batteries made by Sony Corp. for laptop computers which prompted a massive recall last year.
The Japanese auto giant, which is enjoying brisk sales of its fuel-efficient vehicles, was planning to launch a dozen hybrids using the new lithium-ion battery technology in the US market between 2008 and 2010, the report said.
Partnership takes General Motors closer to Volt plug-in hybrid
Traverse City, Mich. -- General Motors is getting ever closer to producing its Volt plug-in hybrid, a vehicle that may be built at its Lordstown plant. The automaker announced a partnership deal here Thursday at the annual Management Briefing Seminars with A123 Systems, the company that makes lithium-ion batteries for DeWalt and Black & Decker tools. The Volt, a concept car shown in Detroit in January, runs on electric power and uses a small gasoline engine to recharge its batteries. GM is designing the car to go 40 miles on a charge before needing the gasoline engine. For most drivers, 40 miles would be enough to handle daily commutes. Developing batteries small yet powerful enough to run vehicles is the biggest challenge facing several automakers.
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