New effort to ease travel anxiety: assuring your bag fits in bin

MIAMI: Air travelers are all too familiar with carry-on bag anxiety: the feeling sparked by last-minute and sometimes seemingly arbitrary decisions that a piece of luggage is too large to fit in the overhead bin.

On Monday, the world's aviation trade organization, which also focuses on weighty issues such as flight safety and airline profitability, announced an "optimal size" standard and an effort to get world airlines to sign on to the move.

The goal is to give airlines and passengers assurance that compliant bags can board the plane, no questions asked.

"It'll reduce fights between gate agents and passengers," Thomas Windmuller, a vice president of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said at the group's annual meeting in Miami.

However, the new size is slightly smaller than many current standards. At 21.5 inches (55 cm) by 13.5 inches (35 cm) by 7.5 inches (20 cm), including wheels, that is slightly smaller than the 22 inches by 14 inches by 9 inches that United Airlines , American Airlines and Delta Air Lines currently allow.

IATA worked with plane makers Boeing and Airbus to find a size guaranteed to fit in bins of planes with 120 seats or more, at least a 737 or A319. Travelers on smaller regional aircraft still take the risk of bags being barred from boarding.

IATA said it is talking with major luggage brands, including Tumi and Samsonite, on making bags at the new size, which it expects will be available this year.

Manufacturer Crown Luggage of China has already produced sample suitcases, which IATA handed out at its three-day event.

The new bags carry an IATA "Cabin OK" tag to tell gate agents and flight crews that the luggage is compliant. Each tag also has a unique tracking number that will allow owners to locate a lost bag via a website, okoban.com.

Thomas Windmuller, a vice president of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), holds a carry-on bag which conforms to a new minimum size announced by the group in an effort to get world airlines to sign on to the standard, at the group's annual meeting in Miami...

REUTERS/JOE SKIPPER

To read more check: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/lifestyle/new-effort-to-ease-travel/1904280.html

What happened to Ferrari's pace?

Ferrari had an upgraded engine and was the closer to Mercedes in practice than at any time this year. Yet it didn't even get a podium in Canada. BEN ANDERSON evaluates its weekend and prospects

The Canadian Grand Prix was a big race for the Ferrari Formula 1 team. The Scuderia has received widespread praise for closing the monstrously large deficit to Mercedes from last season, and becoming the nearest challenger to the Silver Arrows this year.

But the momentum built up over the first four races of the campaign, which included an unexpected victory for Sebastian Vettel in Malaysia and a near-win for Kimi Raikkonen against the brake-by-wire-less Mercedes in Bahrain, has stuttered since May's Spanish GP, where Ferrari brought a substantial aerodynamic upgrade to the SF15-T but was well beaten by Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in the end.

Read more at: http://plus.autosport.com/premium/feature/6542/what-happened-to-ferrari-pace/?_ga=1.89194075.137143633.1433800168

Amazon, Google race to get your DNA into the cloud

NEW YORK: Amazon.com Inc is in a race against Google Inc to store data on human DNA, seeking both bragging rights in helping scientists make new medical discoveries and market share in a business that may be worth US$1 billion a year by 2018.

Academic institutions and healthcare companies are picking sides between their cloud computing offerings - Google Genomics or Amazon Web Services - spurring the two to one-up each other as they win high-profile genomics business, according to interviews with researchers, industry consultants and analysts.    

    That growth is being propelled by, among other forces, the push for personalized medicine, which aims to base treatments on a patient's DNA profile. Making that a reality will require enormous quantities of data to reveal how particular genetic profiles respond to different treatments.

Already, universities and drug manufacturers are embarking on projects to sequence the genomes of hundreds of thousands of people.

The human genome is the full complement of DNA, or genetic material, a copy of which is found in nearly every cell of the body.

    Clients view Google and Amazon as doing a better job storing genomics data than they can do using their own computers, keeping it secure, controlling costs and allowing it to be easily shared.

    The cloud companies are going beyond storage to offer analytical functions that let scientists make sense of DNA data. Microsoft Corp and International Business Machines are also competing for a slice of the market. The "cloud" refers to data or software that physically resides in a server and is accessible via the internet, which allows users to access it without downloading it to their own computer.

    Now an estimated US$100 million to US$300 million business globally, the cloud genomics market is expected to grow to US$1 billion by 2018, said research analyst Daniel Ives of investment bank FBR Capital. By that time, the entire cloud market should have US$50 billion to US$75 billion in annual revenue, up from about US$30 billion now.

For complete story check: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/technology/corrected-amazon-googl/1894772.html

Car lover's dream, McLaren F1 supercar to be sold at auction

NEW YORK: Deep-pocketed car lovers will have a chance to buy a rare McLaren F1 when it goes on the auction block this summer, as part of a sale of a private collection of some of the world's finest sports and supercars.

The 1998 orange, three-seater F1 "LM-Specification" car is one of the highlights of The Pinnacle Portfolio, a collection of more than 20 post-World War Two cars that is expected to fetch a total of more than US$65 million in a standalone sale on Aug. 13 by RM Sotheby's at California's Monterey 2015 Classic Car Auctions.

"It is the single largest private collection that has ever been brought to auction," Ian Kelleher, managing director of RM Auctions, said in an interview.

He expects the McLaren F1 to fetch more than US$12 million.

The collection, which spans 57 years of automotive history and design, boasts some of the finest sports and racing automobiles of the 1950s and 60s and includes Porsches, Ferraris, a 1993 Jaguar XJ220, bookend Bugatti Veyrons and the final Enzo gifted to the late Pope John Paul II.

The McLaren, which is on display at Sotheby's New York headquarters in Manhattan, is one of two that were brought back to the factory and upgraded to the Le Mans race specifications.

The 2005 Ferrari Enzo that was given to the late Pope John Paul II by former Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has an inscription under the hood and was auctioned on the Pope's behalf with the proceeds going to tsunami victims.

The bookend Bugatti Veyrons, chassis No. 001 and No. 300, are the first and last of the production run.

For complete story visit: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/lifestyle/car-lover-s-dream-mclare/1891528.html

Bridgestone unveils new tire offerings

Bridgestone Americas Inc. has unveiled next-generation versions of its Potenza and Ecopia tires.

The fuel-efficient Ecopia EP422 Plus provides 23 percent better rolling resistance than its EP422 predecessor, according to the Nashville, Tenn.-based tire maker, which is targeting the tire for fitment on Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima and Ford Fusion, among other models.

The all-season tire comes with a 70,000 mile treadwear warranty and improved ride comfort, Bridgestone said during a ride-and-drive event this week in Phoenix.

The tire will be available in April in 43 sizes, ranging from 15- to 18-inch rim diameters in H, T and V speed ratings.

The Ecopia EP422 Plus will be supported with in-store and digital ad materials, the company said, as well as a TV commercial featuring comedian Kim Jeong.

The Potenza RE-71R is, according to company officials, an improvement over the Potenza RE11A performance tire, providing better gripping performance and hydro evacuation tread design.

The summer performance tire will be available in 33 sizes from 15- to 19-inch rim diameters in V and W ratings. The tire is targeted to owners of Honda S2000, Mazda Miata and BMW 3 Series, among others.

Read more at: http://www.rubbernews.com/article/20150402/NEWS/150409993/bridgestone-unveils-new-tire-offerings

Apple Introduces 15-inch MacBook Pro with Force Touch Trackpad & New iMac with Retina 5K Display

CUPERTINO, California―May 19, 2015―Apple® today updated the 15-inch MacBook Pro® with Retina® display with the new Force Touch trackpad, faster flash storage, longer battery life and faster discrete graphics, delivering even more performance and capabilities to the MacBook Pro line. Apple also today introduced a new $1,999 configuration of the 27-inch iMac® with Retina 5K display featuring a breathtaking 14.7 million pixel display, quad-core processors and AMD graphics, and lowered the price of the top-end iMac with Retina 5K display to $2,299.

The updated 15-inch MacBook Pro features the amazing Force Touch trackpad that brings a new dimension of interactivity to the Mac®. With built-in force sensors and a Taptic Engine that delivers haptic feedback, the Force Touch trackpad allows you to click anywhere with a uniform feel and customize the amount of pressure needed to register each click. The new trackpad supports a range of new gestures, including the new Force click, and APIs are available for third-party developers to incorporate Force Touch capabilities into their apps. The updated 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display also features up to 2.5 times faster flash storage than the previous generation, with throughput up to 2GBps, and offers an additional hour of battery life, with up to 9 hours of wireless web browsing and up to 9 hours of iTunes® movie playback.* In addition, MacBook Pro with Retina display discrete graphics deliver up to 80 percent faster performance using new AMD Radeon R9 M370X graphics for editing video in Final Cut Pro® X, rendering 3D images in pro graphics apps or playing high-resolution games.**

To read more go to: https://www.apple.com/pr/library/2015/05/19Apple-Introduces-15-inch-MacBook-Pro-with-Force-Touch-Trackpad-New-1-999-iMac-with-Retina-5K-Display.html

Michelin and The Weather Channel Team Up for a S.A.F.E.R. Summer Driving Season

 

                                     

As National Tire Safety Week (May 24-30) kicks off the summer travel season, Michelin and The Weather Channel (Weather) have teamed up to provide motorists with critical information about the weather's impact on ensuring a "S.A.F.E.R." journey ahead.

Michelin experts and The Weather Channel meteorologists will take advantage of Weather's exclusive and popular "Road Ready" digital and broadcast platforms to provide motorists with driving tips for various weather conditions and other safety advice.

Safety starts with tread depth. Drivers cross in and out of pop-up summer downpours. Insufficient tread-depth results in less grip and longer stopping distances, especially on wet roads. Check your tires' tread depth before you hit the road.

Air pressure matters. Tires don't carry the weight of your vehicle, the tires' air pressure inside does. Underinflated tires provide less traction, reduce fuel efficiency, wear out prematurely, and most importantly, incur hard-to-see irreparable damage that compromises performance and safety.

As a general rule, your tire pressure will gain or lose 1 PSI (pound per square inch) for every 10° F change in temperature — and motorists can see dramatic temperature swings in a single day of summer driving. Check your tires' air pressure when tires are "cold"' in the morning and compare to the placard on the doorjamb before hitting the road for vacation travel.

Ease your load. Overloading your vehicle can create excessive heat inside your tires, which can cause severe damage that leads to tire stress and failure. Follow the manufacturer's loading recommendation on the vehicle information placard on the doorjamb or in the vehicle owners' manual.

Rain means slow down. Drive with two hands in wet weather, slow down before turning and maintain a consistent speed. Under deceleration, the front contact patches of your tires get larger, and are better able to handle cornering forces, providing better traction.

For more information and additional tips on safe driving, visit: www.michelinman.com // http://michelinmedia.com/c2/weather-channel-safe-driving/