california Archive

  • California license plates may go digital, turn into billboards

    California license plates may go digital, turn into billboards

    Posted on June 21, 2010 | No Comments
    Just when you think that there's no way you could have any more distractions while driving, California comes up with yet another way to put billboards on the highways and streets. Of course, the state's budget crisis is well known, and lawmakers are currently discussing the possibility of changing to digital license plates, and then allowing companies to buy advertising time on cars.

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  • Motorola’s Jha: moving headquarters to Cali not a ‘driving priority’

    Motorola’s Jha: moving headquarters to Cali not a ‘driving priority’

    Posted on May 4, 2010 | No Comments
    Rumors have run rampant that the head of Motorola's soon-to-be-independent Mobile Devices division, Sanjay Jha, has plans to high-tail back to the Californian home from whence he came (where his family still resides, coincidentally) once the split wraps up. That may still be the case, but it looks like it's not necessarily happening any time soon coming off comments this week from the dude himself. In comments to shareholders on Monday, Jha said that "the mobile devices headquarters is in [Chicago suburb] Libertyville, and that will continue at the point of the split," qualifying the statement by saying that he'd "evaluate [their] needs" afterward but that doesn't "know" that relocating the business "is a driving priority right now." Moving the business clearly has personal benefits for Jha -- not to mention likely brings a refreshed Motorola access to a greater pool of high-tech talent in the Valley -- but regardless of what happens, he says that he doesn't think the company will "dramatically change [its] space in Chicago." Might not be a bad idea to fly all the engineers away from those nasty Chicago winters for a couple months, anyway, right?

    Motorola's Jha: moving headquarters to Cali not a 'driving priority' originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 04 May 2010 19:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Get excited: The Chevy Volt hits California late next year

    Get excited: The Chevy Volt hits California late next year

    Posted on December 2, 2009 | No Comments
    Man, this thing is actually going to come out. GM said today that it's going to release the Chevy Volt late next year in California, giving the Golden State first dibs on the car.

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  • California approves new TV energy regulation: Energy consumption to be cut in half by 2012

    California approves new TV energy regulation: Energy consumption to be cut in half by 2012

    Posted on November 19, 2009 | No Comments
    Looks like California approved the new energy standards for televisions. The Consumer Electronics Association is predictably upset, whinging on about “constraining” innovation and choice, while environmental groups are predictably thrilled. The state's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, hailed the decision, and said that it will make California a “world-leader” in “the fight against climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

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  • California Energy Commission delays TV regulation meeting to ‘consider’ submitted opinions

    California Energy Commission delays TV regulation meeting to ‘consider’ submitted opinions

    Posted on November 5, 2009 | No Comments
    More developments in the absolutely gripping California Energy Commission vs The World drama. The CEC has delayed a meeting wherein it was to discuss the possible implementation of a ban of sorts on the sale of energy-hogging televisions. The Consumer Electronics Agency (it organizes CES every year) has been fighting against the measure, arguing that any such regulation would necessarily raise TV prices, stifle innovation, etc.

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  • Shock: TV association complaining about possible new California green regulations

    Shock: TV association complaining about possible new California green regulations

    Posted on October 19, 2009 | No Comments
    This California TV regulation thing isn't going to happen without a fight, no sir. Even though a bunch of LCD makers have said that they wouldn't have too much of a problem complying with whatever the California commission comes up with, the LCD TV Association has just applied the brakes, saying that any such regulation will ultimately result in “TVs that have fewer features.”

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  • Green: California getting closer to banning power-hungry TVs

    Green: California getting closer to banning power-hungry TVs

    Posted on October 15, 2009 | No Comments
    Uh oh, another vaguely political post on CrunchGear. As you already know, the Consumer Electronics Association, the trade group that organizes CES, is fighting tooth and nail against possible regulations that would see California essentially ban the sale of power-hungry HDTVs. This mostly affects plasmas because they consume the most electricity of the different types of TVs out there.

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  • California Cool Cars regs put the kibosh on radio, cellphone, and GPS reception

    California Cool Cars regs put the kibosh on radio, cellphone, and GPS reception

    Posted on October 13, 2009 | No Comments

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    We've seen plenty of tech over the years meant to mitigate our destruction of the environment -- from greener autos to Grateful Dead-themed cellphones -- most of which don't really ask us to tone down our consumer impulses all that much. But how about these new "Cool Cars" regulations recently adopted by the California Air Resources Board? By the year 2016, all autos sold in the state must have windows that prevent 60 percent of the sun's energy from entering the vehicle. To achieve this, windows are given a coat of glazing that contains microscopic specs of reflective metal oxide -- which will seriously hamper reception for your GPS, cellphone, and (this is of special interest to Engadget readers) white collar criminal-style work release ankle bracelet. As you can imagine, companies like Garmin are fuming -- although we suppose that if they play this right they can make a killing in the external car antenna business. It just goes to show you -- when it comes to environmental catastrophe, everyone's a victim.

    [Via AutoBlog]

    California Cool Cars regs put the kibosh on radio, cellphone, and GPS reception originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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