CNN ran a news segment on a new protype car, the XH150, that was unveiled yesterday at the Detroit auto show.  AFS Trinity Power Corp built its car using existing battery and electronics technology to show what the Big 3 could conceivably deliver to the market: a car that drives 150 miles per gallon. If you drive like many folks, under 40 miles a day, you won’t have to pay for gas. The only ergonomic hitch is that you do have to plug the car up everynight to charge it up. After you’ve driven more than 40 miles, the car converts to gas; it can drive highways too. Estimated cost is still TBD, but they only expect to charge a premium of about $8,700 over the price of hybrid cars that start at $25K. Very promising. If none of the Big 3 move to license Trinity’s patented technology, they will move to raise VC funding. If that’s the case, I hope they relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area so the company can build upon the new auto manufacturing hub taking root in Silicon Valley (ie: Tesla Corp.).  Nevertheless, this car could be available in as little as 3 years and if gas today in CA cost $3.50/gallon, I believe this type of benefit would be widely embraced like the Prius.

Never mind that it’s supposed to be Year of the Rat. Basex recently picked Information Overload as its 2008 Problem of the Year.

Email, phone calls, IMs, twits and tweets, LinkedIn Questions, Facebook pokes… Interruptions such as these contribute to the Information Overload problem that research firm Basex pinned at $650B in loss productivity. We take pleasure in Basex’s prediction but not because we’re gluttons for punishment. Rather their call to attention is an indication of how serious the problem is and perhaps a prelude of better things to come.

As we get ready to ring in 2008, I challenge myself and all of you out there to make email and IM etiquette part of your New Year’s resolutions. Check out a few tips that Basex suggest to help manage information overload. These include:

-“I will not e-mail someone and then two seconds later follow up with an IM or phone call.”
- “I will read my own e-mails before sending them to make sure they are comprehensible to others.”
- “I will not overburden colleagues with unnecessary e-mail, especially one word replies such as “Thanks!” or “Great!”, and will use “reply to all” only when absolutely necessary.”

To all of our friends and family of Ignite, we’d like to take the opportunity to wish you a happy, healthy, and very Happy New Year!

Cheers,

-The sirens of Ignite