Yes, we are back!

Sorry to keep you waiting... Gentlemen, starts your engines. Inazuma Cafè is open again! In few hours, we start again our production of good staff!

Waterless car cleaner and polisher for alloys

Its been raining on and off the past couple of days but the hose pipe ban is still on in several parts of the UK. If you want to wash your own cars, the Mantis waterless car cleaners would be ideal.

The guys at JML Direct sent me over some more of their great products - this time the Mantis Perfect Wheels – a car cleaner and polisher for alloys. This waterless alloy cleaner promises to be tough on your grubby wheels and gentle and as it is non-acidic, it won’t damage your wheels or your driveway.

So I followed the directions - I first sprayed the rims and left the foam to work into the dirt and brake dust. I used the Mantis Wheel Brush to loosen and remove the dirt and grime.

After a few minutes I wiped it off and then buffed the rims with  with the Mantis Microfibre Mitt .

Check out the results:

Before

Shiny Rims Afterwards

Perfect Wheels works for all wheel types including chrome, alloy, steel and even wheel covers. You can get Mantis Perfect Wheels (£9.99) and the Mantis Wheel Brush (£7.99) from ASDA and online at www.mantis-performance.com.

Living the Networked Life in New York City

Derek Kuhn

Last week, we demonstrated our latest concept car, built on a Porsche 911 Carrera S, at AT&T’s Living the Networked Life Event in New York City. The car has been on the road since we unveiled it at CES — it even went to Spain for MWC. We ran out of time to ship it to New York, so Mark Rigley, manager of the concept development group at QNX, and I drove it from Ottawa to SoHo. It was my first time driving the Porsche anywhere outside of a ball room, and it turned out to be a great drive.

Mark is super protective of the car, as he’s entitled to be, and he and the team have done a great job putting it together. But wouldn’t you know it? He let me drive and, as I’m pulling off Interstate 81 in Cortland NY, we get rear-ended. No — for real. I pull over, Mark jumps out, and I’m checking the side mirror to open the door safely in traffic but I’m mortified. Turns out that the Porsche’s rear valance is strong like a bull, and we emerge with just a series of scuff marks.

We drove through Binghamton, Scranton, and Poconos to get to the city. Traffic got faster and denser as we entered New Jersey, but Mark, to my surprise, let me drive again! We arrived at the hotel and handed the car off to a professional detailer before it was parked on site.

After setting up the car, we were ready. Soon we were joined by press, analysts, and AT&T partners and executives who all came out to see an important part of the car’s story — the use of AT&T’s WATSON speech engine. The Porsche is a great way to illustrate how helpful WATSON can be in an environment like the car.


Derek (seated in the car) with Mazin Gilbert of AT&T and Jordan Crook of TechCrunch.

The event was a big success and featured a presentation from Krish Prabhu, president and CEO of AT&T Labs Research; it also included demonstrations from AT&T Labs and AT&T Foundry. The demos included a smart door that recognizes you before you reach for your keys, and a smartphone application that performs language translations in real time.

The car will be on the road in coming weeks, including a stop at the CTIA Wireless show in New Orleans, from May 8 to 10. If you're there, be sure to check us out in the Solutions Showcase.
 

Warming up Electric Cars

Standard cars usethe excess engine heat to regulate the cabin temperatures. However, this can prove to be quite challenging in Electric Vehicles which draw energy from the battery and end up reducing the the driving distance (sometimes up to 30%).

An interesting article on The Txchnologist takes a look today at the equipment and the solutions that are being tested to regulate the temperature of the cars: Madam, I’m ADAM: Cool Ideas for Warming Up Electric Cars.
 

Gone Tanning!!!

Scusate, ma mi prendo qualche giorno di riposo. Non so se riuscirò ad aggiornare il blog, chissà.  Vi offro l'occasione di sfogliare i vecchi post. Sono convinto che molte cose belle vi siano sfuggite! Comunque sia: stay tuned! Torno presto.

Sorry guys, but it's time for a break! I haven't got a clue if I'll be able to update the blog, who knows? It's a good chance to flip over the old posts. I'm confident that you missed a lot of good staff! However: stay tuned! I'll be back!

The aristocratic motorcyclist on stage

Vi avevo detto che il 6 aprile a Parigi ci sarebbe stato un evento da non perdere. Tramite il blog di Lorenzo "Eroticolor",  aristocratico artista motociclista, si raggiungono le foto di Carl Rigdahl... Questi francesi, quando si parla di cool e di moto classiche, tocca lasciarli stare... (English trasl. at the end of the post)

I told you that on April, 6th, in Paris, there would have been an event worth a visit. Through the blog The aristocratic Motorcyclist, you can get Carl Ridahl's album on Facebook... If you talk about cool lifestyle, French are really good.

Beware of... the flowers?

Gusto raffinato e talento fotografico. Ma Spyke sostiene di aver iniziato a fotografare durante un viaggio in Egitto solo nel 2008. Ecco una selezione di belle immagini dall'album di Beware of the flowers!

TRIUMPH T 120 1973

Embè, quando il Maestro Roberto Totti ci si mette, non ce n'è per nessuno.

Il disgelo!

Roma, 21 aprile 2012... Arditi cazzari in partenza... Inazuma report