Mercedes debuts airbag-laden S-Class ESF hybrid concept

Engadget: "Apparently not content to simply build a hybrid vehicle that's both energy-efficient and luxurious, Mercedes has now gone the extra mile with its new 2009 S-Class ESF concept, which packs more than a dozen different safety features including airbags inside and out. That latter outside-the-car airbag is actually a giant braking bag that deploys under the car when it "senses an imminent crash," which not only creates some added friction to slow the car down, but lifts the front of the car up about 80mm to compensate for brake dive. Other uncommon safety features include curtain airbags between the seats, airbags in the seatbelts, reflective tires, and "inflatable metal structures" throughout the vehicle, which apparently both saves space and increases crash protection. Unfortunately, there's no word on any further improvements to the hybrid side of things, but Mercedes' existing S400 Hybrid isn't exactly too shabby of a place to begin with."

FF: "Airbag deploys under the car? seems fun~ :)"

Hong Kong second best Asian city to live in

The Standard: "Hong Kong ranks second behind Osaka in Asia among the world's easiest cities to live in.

But Hong Kong ranked far behind the 13th place Osaka secured in the Economist Intelligence Unit's liveability poll. coming in at joint 39th with Madrid.

Singapore was even further back at 54th, while Seoul was four places behind the city-state.

Vancouver is the world's easiest city to live in while Harare is the toughest.

Canadian and Australian cities hold six of the top 10 slots in the Economist Intelligence Unit's liveability poll, which ranks cities on five factors: health care, stability, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

''At the other end of the ranking, most of the poorest-performing locations are in Africa or Asia, where civil instability and poor infrastructure present significant challenges,'' said the survey's authors.

In ratings ranging from zero (intolerable) to 100 percent (ideal), Vancouver scores 98 percent, ''benefiting from strong Canadian infrastructure,'' while Harare languishes on 37.5 ``thanks to the unfolding crisis in Zimbabwe.''

At the top end of the global easy-living scale, Vienna is in second place followed by Melbourne, Toronto, Perth, Calgary, Helsinki and Geneva, with Sydney and Zurich in joint ninth place.

Tokyo is at joint 19th with Frankfurt.

European cities where life is generally not hard include Stockholm and Hamburg, Germany, in 14th place, as well as Paris in 17th spot, Frankfurt in 19th, Copenhagen in 21st and Berlin in 22nd.

''With the exception of high scores in Australasia and some Asian centres, most of the better-scoring locations are based in the more developed regions of western Europe and North America,'' said the study."

FF: "For living YES, but i wanna go clubbing in London :)"

Windows 7 box art confirmed, product page now live on MS Store

Microsoft Store: "There's a new product page for Windows 7 on the Microsoft Store. And while there's no word on official pricing yet, there are pictures showing what the Windows 7 retail packaging will look like. And wouldn't you know it, it looks exactly like the leaked images that were first found floating around the web last month.

The product page also has a list of reasons to buy the new operating system, including the fact that it's faster and more responsive than Vista, allows users to stream media over a network, and has a a new and improved taskbar. No surprises there, but I have to agree, these are all pretty good reasons to upgrade from Windows Vista, as are the other highlights listed on the product page. Whether they'll be enough to get holdouts to upgrade from Windows XP remains to be seen."

FF: "The boxes of the newest version of Windows... so exciting :)"

Michael Jackson's children unmasked for the first time

Mirror: "Here's real piece of pop history – as one of Michael Jackson’s three children is unmasked for the first time.

Jacko’s head might be partly hidden under his brolly. But elder son Prince Michael I, 12, faced up to full scrutiny as the two walked through the parking lot at a Los Angeles recording studio.

His fresh-faced daughter Paris Michael, 11, was also maskless.

The pair, born to Jacko’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe, got shy as they left later – once more wearing the masks that usually keep them shrouded in mystery.

Enough was seen, though, to show they resembled each other but not the superstar singer, who begins his residency at London’s O2 Arena on July 13.

Prince and Paris surely won’t be on such display at any of the 50 gigs – while also kept from prying eyes will be seven-year-old Prince Michael II, aka Blanket, who is much darker than his siblings.

But Jacko still insists he fathered all three ..."

FF: "well well well, I think he needs unmasked to play Cooking Mama"

Windows 7 release date: October 22nd

Download Squad: "Microsoft has announced that Windows 7 will be commercially available on October 22nd, 2009. In other words, that's the date when you'll likely be able to walk into a store and either buy a computer with the operating system preloaded or buy a boxed version of the software to install on your existing computer.

The company has been indicating that it hopes to have Windows 7 out in time for the holiday shopping season, and an October launch certainly fits the bill. But if you're in the market for a back-to-school computer this fall, it looks like you're going to have to stick with Windows Vista, XP, OS X, or Linux."

FF: "I want my new laptop preloaded with Windows 7"

Facebook Cheat code: ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A enter

Rubbishcorp: "If you enter the Konami code ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A ENTER after logging into Facebook (not in a text box) you’ll get a lens flare effect anytime you click, scroll or type anything. Also, if you scroll to the bottom of the page on the left language selection, you can choose ‘English (Pirate)’ to change Facebook to pirate.

The Konami Code, known in Japan as the Konami Command (コナミコマンド), is a cheat code that appears in many Konami video games. The code also appears in some non-Konami games. The code was first used in the 1986 release of Gradius for the Nintendo Entertainment System but was made famous in North America in the NES version of Contra, for which it was also dubbed the “30 Lives Code”. While pausing the game or during the title screen, the player could press the following sequence of buttons on the game controller."

FF: "Its fun, i want more cheat code on Facebook~"

Microsoft: web to 'overtake TV by 2013'

techradar: "New research by Microsoft suggests that in just four years' time, TV will no longer be the dominating force in home entertainment, with internet set to overtake as the main source of content for consumers in the home.

"Based on current growth trends, Microsoft projections estimate that internet consumption will outstrip traditional TV in June by 2010, averaging 14.2 hours per week against 11.5 hours for TV," The report, titled 'Europe logs on: internet trends of today and tomorrow', suggests.

If the rather precise report is right (why June?) this means that in 2013, Joe Public will be wiling away 2.5 days a month on the internet.

Interestingly, the report also says that internet use on PCs will drop from 95 per cent to 50 per cent in five years.

This prediction points to a move away from computers to web-enabled TV sets, mobile phones and games consoles.

When it comes to mobile web browsing, it is expected that 30 per cent of all mobile phone users in 2013 will watch some sort of video on their handsets. This will be up from 19 per cent in 2008.

The growth of video-capable handsets will be massive too, with Microsoft predicting that 76 per cent of phones will have video capabilities by 2013, up from 31 per cent in 2008.

With all this time spent surfing the web, it's lucky that Microsoft also predicts that 3D internet will soon be a reality, "with consumers able to virtually experience a holiday resort before they book, students will be able to attend virtual lectures and shoppers will be able to see how an armchair would look in their living room before they buy it."

So, it's exciting (virtual) times ahead, if the futuroligists at Microsoft have anything to with it."

FF: "Yes, FTV will become the main source of content for HK people~"

Hong Kong Tenants Play ‘Hardball,’ Pushing Rents to 2-Year Low

bloomberg: "Raif Cabbabe said his property agent thought he was crazy to offer only HK$20,000 ($2,600) a month for a two-room apartment in Hong Kong’s trendy Soho district. The flat went on the market two months earlier for HK$45,000.

Bargaining for the 900-square-foot (84-square-meter) home worked. Cabbabe said he sealed the deal in November at HK$25,000 for the 2-year-old pad, which has a 250-square-foot terrace. Since then, prices have fallen further, with January capping six straight months of declines, according to data from real estate agency Centaline Property Agency Ltd.

“The property market has fallen off a cliff, so people are playing hardball now,” said Cabbabe, 28, a steel trader who moved to Hong Kong from Australia. “My friends renegotiating their rents are telling their landlords, we’ll just walk away if you don’t give us a discount.”

Rents began falling in the city in August, a month before the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. sparked off a global banking crisis. Home leases may fall as much as 15 percent to 20 percent this year, said analysts including Simon Lo at Colliers International Ltd. Hong Kong slid into its first recession since 2003 in the third quarter, leading companies to rein in costs by firing workers.

Unemployment in Hong Kong jumped 0.5 percentage points to 4.6 percent in the three months through January, the largest increase in a decade, as companies such as Citigroup, HSBC and PCCW Ltd. cut staff. Gross domestic product may shrink 2 percent to 3 percent in 2009, Financial Secretary John Tsang said yesterday. He said the government will refund taxes, suspend property rates and boost spending on infrastructure to mitigate the slump. "

FF: "Property market its time to fall, where banks including HSBC Holdings Plc and Citigroup Inc. have their head offices, dropped around 96 percent in March from a year earlier"