Barence writes "Garmin is recalling 1.25 million of its nüvi satnavs after batteries overheated. According to Garmin, the issue only affects devices containing batteries manufactured within a set date range by a third-party supplier and that have a specific printed circuit board design. 'It appears that the interaction of these factors can, in rare circumstances, increase the possibility of overheating, which may lead to a fire hazard,' the company said in a statement. 'Although there have been no injuries or significant property damage caused by this issue, Garmin is taking this action out of an abundance of caution.' Perhaps Garmin should also issue a software update that diverts drivers to their nearest fire station?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Swiss luxury watch brand Hautlence has announced a new agreement under which New York-based Totally Worth It will distribute Hautlence timepieces in the U.S.A. and Canada. Launched in 2004 and based in Neuchâtel, Hautlence produces innovative and imaginative timepieces in small numbers. Totally Worth It distributes several niche brands in North America.

Alexis Sarkissian, founder and chief executive officer of Totally Worth It, said in a media release: “Rarely opportunities arise to represent exceptional brands such as Hautlence and for experienced professionals to distinguish themselves and grow while providing personalized service to the trade and the most demanding collectors.”

Sarkissian is a former former president of Roger Dubuis with twenty years of watch industry experience. His goal is to represent “the best brands that will create passion and reaction from retailers, consumers and press.”

Hautlence – the name is an anagram for Neuchatel – was born out of the founders’ frustration with what they saw as a lack of original thinking in watchmaking. Like MB&F, Hautlence openly and proudly works with a select group of about 50 outside collaborators, known as “the College.” You can learn more about the brand at its official website: www.hautlence.com.

The Hautlence HL08. Technical information appears below the image.

TECHNICAL DATA

Movement
Hand-wound, manufacture-made HL08 caliber with jumping hours and retrograde minutes, 24 jewels, 21,600 vph, Côtes de Genève, hand-chamfered bridges, individually numbered and engraved with 3N varnish, 40-hour power reserve

Functions
Jumping hours, retrograde minute and small seconds

Case
Polished 18K white gold, 43.5 x 37 mm
Sapphire crystal with chamfered corners
Engraved sapphire crystal
Water-resistant to 30 m

Dial
Black opaline
Intermediary plate with skeleton segments divided into separate 10-minutes zones, hour and seconds frames
Jumping-hour disc in tinted semi-opaque mineral glass
Black small seconds disc

Bracelet/Strap
Hand-sewn Louisiana alligator with 18K white gold buckle

Other versions
HLc03: Round case with jumping-hour and retrograde-minute functions, dial can be personalized, 41mm

Limited Edition of 88 pieces.

Lucien Piccard Inc. and affiliated companies LP Watch Group and Charles Winston Luxury Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Florida on July 14. Documents filed with the court show that together, the three companies have about $25 million in liabilities and $22.5 million in assets. Chapter 11 gives companies facing creditor pressure time to reorganize their business.

Lucien Piccard was founded in Switzerland in 1923. In recent years, the Hollywood, Florida-based LP Watch Group launched new brands LP Italy, LP Swiss, and DuFonte by Lucien Piccard. The LP Italy “Stratosphere” watch (shown below) won the JCK 2005 award for most innovative new design. Reports indicate that the brand spent heavily on advertising and marketing during 2007-2009. In 2007, LP Watch Group became a sponsor of the American Le Mans auto racing series. The Group also sponsored the Executive Women’s Golf Association.

The latest Microsoft operating system may be selling seven copies a second, but it's no match for the behemoth Windows XP, still the most popular OS in the world despite recent nefarious attempts (we kid) to invoke spontaneous shutdowns, slow hard drives and trigger blue screens. In fact, a Microsoft exec admitted today that practically three-quarters of business computers still run the nine-year-old OS on hardware averaging 4.4 years old, and Computerworld's now reporting Microsoft will extend XP's lifespan through 2020 as a result. "Going forward, businesses can continue to purchase new PCs and utilize end user downgrade rights to Windows XP or Windows Vista until they are ready to use Windows 7," an official Windows blog post reads. We've heard the reluctance to upgrade is due to a reliance on older software and the cost of additional IT, but it probably doesn't hurt that Microsoft doggedly keeps distributing the OS despite the other choices on offer. Perhaps the futuristic Windows 8 will finally win the workplace over, but it seems Redmond's hedging its bets on this one. Look on the bright side: this way, when intelligent robots battle for control of the moon, at least the wrathful victors will still be vulnerable to the blue screen of doom.

Update: So it seems as if that 2020 date is incorrect, according to Microsoft's PR team. We're presently waiting for an official update of some sort, and will let you know if / when we get it. Don't worry about the robots -- we've got top men working on Plan B.

Microsoft says 74 percent of work PCs still use Windows XP, extends downgrade rights (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Electronista, Computerworld  | Email this | Comments

eldavojohn writes "ZFS is licensed under the CDDL and is considered to be open source, but NetApp is sending threatening legal letters to startups who look to offer ZFS on NAS appliances. This assault on Coraid has a few people worried about the future of ZFS as NetApp rears its ugly head yet again. The CEO of Coraid replied to NetApp's demands, saying, 'We made the decision to suspend shipment after receiving a legal threat letter from NetApp Inc., suggesting that the open-source ZFS file system planned for inclusion with our EtherDrive Z-Series infringes NetApp patents.' Will NetApp effectively destroy any future ZFS might have enjoyed?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The job market may look bad here, but if you're in China, and you happen to be white, all you need is a suit and tie. An increasing number of Chinese companies are willing to pay any price to have a few fair-skinned faux employees walking around. From the article: "'Face, we say in China, is more important than life itself,' said Zhang Haihua, author of Think Like Chinese. 'Because Western countries are so developed, people think they are more well off, so people think that if a company can hire foreigners, it must have a lot of money and have very important connections overseas. So when they really want to impress someone, they may roll out a foreigner.' Or rent one."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The Australian government just found the infrastructure for its A$43 billion national broadband project and eliminated its largest competitor in one fell swoop -- pending shareholder and regulator approval, Telstra will receive A$11 billion of that money in exchange for its entire landline network. Telstra will decommission its monopoly of copper cables to make room for the government's fiber and migrate its customers to the resulting 100Mbps National Broadband Network (NBN) as those light-bearing threads roll out. While Telstra might become a smaller player in the internet and cable business without a land network of its own, it may get even larger in the wireless space -- the company says it's received "written confirmation from the Prime Minister" that it can bid on a chunk of precious LTE spectrum should the deal go through. Press release after the break.

Continue reading Australia to pay Telstra A$11 billion for entire copper network

Australia to pay Telstra A$11 billion for entire copper network originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Jun 2010 15:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Motorola means business when it comes to its upcoming breakup and it is throwing cash and moving debt around around like crazy. The split will form a new Motorola Mobility which will encompass the struggling mobile phone division along with the profitable home hardware division that manufactures set-top boxes and DSL/Cable modems. The remainder of Motorola, which is responsible for two-way public safety radios, handheld scanners, and telecommunications network gear, will be rolled into the new Motorola Solutions. The Mobility company will get a much needed shot in the arm with an infusion of cash that will total $3 to $4 billion and the removal of pension liabilities and other encumbering debt. The Solutions company will shoulder the burden of this split by assuming these pension and other liabilities and will receive any remaining cash reserves. With that much cash in hand and momentum with its DROID series of smartphones, Motorola Mobility has an opportunity to make some waves in the mobile marketplace. For competition sake, let’s hope they do.

Read

Toshiba and Fujitsu confirmed on Thursday that the two Japanese companies will be merging their mobile phone business units. As part of the merger, Toshiba will spin off its mobile division into a new company with Fujitsu acquiring a majority stake in this newly formed venture. The resulting company will become Japan’s second largest mobile phone maker with an estimated 18.7% market share. Details are expected to be finalized in July with the merged company beginning operations in October of this year.

Read

Ulysse Nardin customers in the U.S. can register their newly-purchased timepieces online and receive an automatic warranty upgrade. The new international warranty is valid for 3 years from the date of purchase (extended from the original 2 years), and customers who register their watches receive a free welcome gift and become members of the company’s Anchor Club.

Anchor Club members will also receive information about products, new developments, Ulysse Nardin achievements, and events around the world. Timepieces may be registered at http://www.ulysse-nardin.ch.