Sony Corp stocks baught by DIB

Mumbai: Dubai International Capital, owned by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has made a "substantial investment" in Japanese electronics and entertainment firm Sony Corporation, the Dubai firm announced without giving the exact amount of investment. Dubai International Capital had said in July that it might buy stakes of up to $1.5 billion in one or two publicly listed companies in Japan. A $1.5 billion investment would be equivalent to 3 per cent stake in Sony, which has a market value of 5.52 trillion yen ($50.9 billion). Dubai International Capital's announcement follows a report by the Nikkei business daily about possible Chinese government investment in Tokyo market.

China's new sovereign wealth fund, which manages about $200 billion of foreign reserves, was likely to invest in Japanese stocks gave a brief boost to the yen and lifted Tokyo stocks, the report said. The investment could well be within five per cent as anyone buying more than five per cent of a listed company in Japan is required to report the stake to regulators within five business days. The announcement, however, boosted Sony shares which closed 4.6 per cent higher at 5,500 yen on Monday, outperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index IELEC, which rose 1.95 per cent. Sony, which makes the PlayStation 3 game console and Bravia flat TVs, is in the final year of its three-year turnaround plan focussing on core operations such as the consumer electronics business. Tokyo-based Sony, already owned 52.6 per cent by foreign investors as of end-September, also reported a third quarter operating profit thanks to strong sales of PCs and digital cameras and a weaker yen.

Get ready for new TV era.

Since the first days of television, the method of beaming pictures into our living rooms hasn’t changed much. But on Feb. 17, 2009, television stations across the country will hit the off button on this time-tested technology and switch to new transmitters, sending computerized digital signals through the air. When the change comes, the estimated 30 million televisions that use traditional antennas will go to snow without a digital converter box. The cable industry is spending $200 million to educate customers, and Congress has set aside $1.5 billion to help subsidize the purchase of converter boxes.

Still, half of American viewers don’t know the storm is coming, according to a poll conducted last month by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing. For the 1 in 5 American households that still use rabbit ears or antennas on the roof, “the day of reckoning is coming,” said Barry Umansky, a communications professor at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

Not enough spectrum for all those signalsThe switch to all-digital television, and a similar switch in the wireless communications industry, is partly a repercussion of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when police and fire communications channels were clogged by too much traffic. The Federal Communications Commission first ordered the eventual transition in 1996, but Congress didn’t set a deadline until the the 9/11 Commission reported that first-responder systems needed a major upgrade.

The problem, said Umansky, a longtime broadcast industry lawyer, is that “America’s seemingly wide-open skies are chock full of radio signals, and there just aren’t enough frequencies for all the people who need to use them.” By taking back the analog frequencies, the government will “allow the nation’s airwaves to be used by firefighters, police and other first responders to help the nation when there might be a natural or manmade disaster,” said Todd Sedmak, communications director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

iPhone in China?

News that Apple was talking with China’s largest mobile carrier, China Mobile, sent apple’s stock soaring 11.2% this afternoon [Tuesday]. An executive from China Mobile said that they had not made any concrete progress with Apple yet, but noted that both companies hope to bring the iPhone to the world’s largest developing market as soon as possible.

Many analysts say that the prospect of the iPhone entering the Chinese market yields endless possibilities for the company. The potential market size there is huge, and would be equivalent to another AT&T. The increase is stock price is probably warranted given the potential for Apple in the Chinese market, although many feel the large jump in share price wasn’t justified.

Green Lunar Station

Astronauts will probably miss out on the luxurious quarters and gourmet meals planned for space tourists, but moon living may be cushier than expected. Luna Gaia, a habitat designed by an international team of scientists, engineers and graduate students, provides up to a dozen astronauts with fresh vegetables, fish, spacious rooms and clean drinking water (albeit recycled from their own urine).

The group designed the self-sustaining habitat, which harvests solar energy and reuses all of its waste, while attending the summerlong Space Studies Program at the International Space University in Strasbourg, France. Now, with interest in the moon accelerating thanks to NASA's focus and Google's new Lunar X Prize, Luna Gaia is proving to be more than just an academic exercise. In the past year, the team has presented the plan to several space programs, including NASA, which may incorporate ideas from Luna Gaia into its own lunar outpost, planned for sometime after 2020. "It's a really good stepping- stone toward designing an outpost on the moon," says William Marshall, a physicist at NASA's Ames Research Center.

According to the plans, Luna Gaia will be a complex divided into linked, studio-apartment-size pods. Situated in a crater to limit its inhabitants' exposure to solar radiation, it would include private and social areas, labs and exercise rooms, and greenhouses in which astronauts could grow the food necessary for a balanced diet. Filters, plants and bacteria will turn wash water and urine into potable water. Algae and other greenery turn carbon dioxide into oxygen. Overall, the group estimates, these systems would make Luna Gaia 90 to 95 percent sustainable, meaning fewer service trips, longer.

6 Steps to Clean Lunar Living:

FIND A BIG CRATER
Designs call for Luna Gaia to be built in a mile-wide crater near the moon's north pole. The crater wall casts a shadow that protects the astronauts from solar radiation.

GO SOLAR
A dozen mirrors, each 100 feet wide, sit on top of the crater's rim, an area that's nearly constantly bathed in sunlight. These direct light onto another set of mirrors that focus the beam on a water supply, creating steam that drives a turbine and generates electricity for the base.

INFLATE YOUR BEDROOM
Luna Gaia will consist of several inflatable modules made of Vectran, a flexible material that's more durable than Kevlar and can be compressed in transit to help keep delivery costs down. The greenhouses will be transparent, but living quarters will be covered with a layer of regolith, or lunar soil, to provide added protection from radiation.

GO FISHING
Tilapia are high in protein and thrive in a crowded tank. Astronauts will also dine on hydroponically grown wheat and a variety of vegetables, such as spinach and potatoes. The same algae that cleans up the crew's water will be a good source of protein.

URINATE OFTEN
Urine runs first through an ion-exchange filter that removes some contaminants and then into the algae tanks, where the algae drink it up and release water vapor that a condenser liquifies. This water either runs back to the crew quarters for washing or is further purified to make it drinkable.

REUSE EVERYTHING
Several different strains of bacteria break down feces into water, minerals and ammonium. These materials are converted into nutrient-rich fertilizer and pumped into the plant, fish and algae chambers.

Los Angeles auto show 2007

Audi Cross CabrioletThe TDI diesel-powered, oddly SUV-like Audi Cross Cabriolet concept car.

BMW 128i and 135iBMW's baby performance coupe, the 1 Series. The 128i and 135i both go on sale this spring. They'll each run on some variation of a 3.0-liter inline six—the 128i will get 230hp; the 135i, 300 hp. With 128i prices starting under 30 grand, the 1 Series is meant to bring new drivers into the BMW fold.

Chevy BeatThis cartoonish concept, first revealed last spring at the New York Auto Show, is actually going to see production. Well, a vehicle based on the Beat will see production, as GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz announced Wednesday at the show. GM held an online vote to select one of three concept cars to put into production, and the Beat won. Good thing it did, Lutz said—that's the one they intended to build all along.

Chevy Equinox100 fuel-cell Equinoxes like this one will be tested by everyday drivers in New York, D.C. and L.A. as part of Chevy's Project Driveway market-research initiative.

Ferrari F430 ScuderiaThis lighter, 510hp variation on the F430 made its North American debut at the L.A. show.

Honda FCX ClarityWednesday morning at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Honda unveiled the FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicle. It's an entirely hydrogen-powered, zero-emissions vehicle set to hit streets—or rather, the streets of L.A., where Honda will begin to roll out the FCX in limited numbers—this summer.

Jaguar XFThis, the 2009 Jaguar XF, is the car that's supposed to save the beleaguered Jaguar brand.

Lexus IS-FLexus gets into the sport-sedan game with this beast, which is powered by a 5-liter V8 and has a top speed of 170 mph.

Mini ClubmanThis expanded variation on the Mini raised possibly the only philosophical question of the auto show: If a Mini gets bigger, is it still a Mini?

Nissan GT-RThe mythical, Porsche-killing, $70,000 2009 Nissan GT-R arrives in America at last. Its 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V6 kicks out 480 hp and slingshots the GT-R from 0 to 60 in less than four seconds.Rear shot of the GT-R.

Porsche 911 GT2 This 530hp upgrade on Porsche's flagship ride is the meanest 911 yet.

LamborghiniThe Reventòn's downright belligerent appearance was modeled on the F-22 Raptor fighter jet.

Smart CabrioletThe Europeans are coming! In January, in fact. Here's the Smart ForTwo Passion Cabriolet. It's roomier than it looks, really.

Chevy Tahoe HybridThanks to its two-mode hybrid technology, this 6.0-liter, full-size SUV was named Green Car of the Year yesterday at the auto show. Is this a sign of the apocalypse? Perhaps.

Volvo RechargeTo my mind, this could be the car of the future. A "hot hatch" based on the C30 platform, the Volvo Recharge Concept is a plug-in hybrid powered by wheel motors and equipped with a small flex-fuel engine that can use any number of fuels—ethanol, biodiesel, whatever—to charge the battery. Too bad it's still very much a concept.