This is a short post. Rushing my Final Year Project prototype presentation. Will be back with more auto posts after I’m done!
Google’s IM long-anticipated IM service Google Talk is out. Head over to Kah Soon for screenshots.
What I like about it is it’s open to other third party IM clients as it’s based on the open source Jabber/XMPP protocol. A list of supported clients is available here. I’m going to use it with my Trillian Pro.
This is something which I’ve never thought would happen. Telekom Malaysia, recently rebranded as TM has opened up it’s last mile POTS access. This means other broadband providers can offer internet access through areas covered by TM phone lines instead of just being limited to Streamyx and sometimes unreliable wireless broadband service. Click here to read the rest of TM opens last mile, Jaring first customer
I’ve stumbled upon this new way of making combustion engines called Round Engine, or it’s more techy-sounding name Variable Geometry Toroidal (VGT).
At first I thought it’s some kind of rotary engine but it’s not. I will talk about how it’s different later.
VGT Technologies Inc likens their VGT engine to a pushing merry go round, while normal engines are paddling bicycles. Click here to read the rest of Variable Geometry Toroidal Engine (Round Engine)
Carbon fibre is a black fabric weave held together by a transparent resin and weighs one-third to one-fifth the weight of similiar-strength steel. Carbon fibre has had it’s place for a long time in applications such as aerospace and automotive but it is becoming increasingly popular in other fields as well. Click here to read the rest of Carbon Fiber
Fuel efficiency and less pollution is all the rage these days with cars. Honda brings us their updated IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) system to the 2006 Civic Hybrid.
The Hybrid i-VTEC system provides three stages of valve timing which are the low-rpm, high-rpm and cylinder idle mode. The IMA system is an improved version over the previous version, with battery output increased by 30% while retaining the same size. The electric motor employs coils with high-density windings and high-performance magnets to attain that power. The battery is recharged using regenerative hydraulic braking. Click here to read the rest of Honda Hybrid i-VTEC System
Michelin invented the radial tyre fifty years ago. The first tubeless tyre was invented 100 years ago. Now the tyre has been reinvented again.
The next step in tyre technology has been unveiled. The Tweel is a simple looking hub and spoke design which eliminates the need for air pressure.
How does it work? Click here to read the rest of The Michelin Tweel
Welcome to the next step in engine technology. Camless engines use solenoid valves instead of the conventional camshaft, cams, gears, rocker arms combination. Solenoid valves are driven electronically allowing completely freedom of valve control. A computer controls the opening and closing of the valves instead of cam lobes actuating rocker arms. The abscence of all that mechanical bulk allows for a lighter and more compact valvetrain package. It also means you don’t need a timing belt anymore.
Camless engines have been around for the past 5 years in testing phases and used in competitions but I do not know of any that have been put into production cars yet.
It’s the next logical step from the current variable valve timing and cam profile phasing technologies that try to go around the limitation of a camshaft’s fixed timing properties. With the flexibility of the valve being electronically controlled, you can have maximum torque at all engine revs and the best fuel mileage possible. A racing cam is shaped to optimize engine output at high speeds without regard for the way it roughens up an idle. With camless valvetrains, we don’t have to live with that. Click here to read the rest of Camless Solenoid Valve Engines
It’s been three months now since the move to Jaring, and I’m pleased to say that Jaring absolutely rocks! I have not had a single downtime for the entire three months since my server shifted it’s co-location to it’s datacenter in Bukit Jalil, and only two occasions of the TMNet-Jaring link through Eastgate going down, where traffic was routed internationally instead of through local peerings. That caused a minor slowdown instead of being totally down! BGP4 actually works in this datacenter Click here to read the rest of Jaring Rocks My Socks
Perodua used to have an order tracking lookup page here. What you do is you put in your VSO (Vehicle Sales Order) number and you can check out the status of your order. This VSO is available if you made your Perodua vehicle booking through a Perodua branch instead of a Perodua dealer.
But as of 29th June 2005, the page now generates a 404 Object Not Found Error.
Why? With the long waiting list for the Perodua Myvi, it’s definitely beneficial for Myvi bookers to be able to check on their orders online instead of bugging their Sales Agents every single day. Is this a temporary glitch or is it permanent?
Mambo is quickly becoming the defacto CMS because of it’s extremely easy to use interface, wealth of add-ons and templates and also because of the security issues that plagues the Nuke series of CMSes.
Parti Keadilan Rakyat launched it’s new website yesterday. I was suprised that they actually used a proper CMS for the site. Definitely looks better than the world’s best flash animation.
Another popular local website which have switched to Mambo include Lowyat.net.
Links:
MamboServer.com - Official Mambo Homepage
OpenSourceCms - Has demo versions of almost every open source CMS Out there installed for you to try out
