Hisense previews 2013 TV lineup that includes a 110-inch 4K set, Google TV and glasses-free 3D

Hisense gave us a tease of its TV future late last year with reasonably-sized 4K sets. We now know that it's bringing a lot more to CES -- and we do mean a lot. Its 2013 lineup will include the XT900 line, which brings 3D-capable 4K displays to 65-inch, 85-inch and slightly staggering 110-inch sizes. If extreme resolution isn't top on the list, there's still the 55- and 65-inch XT780, which port Hisense's Google TV interface from a set-top box to the set itself. Glasses-free 3D rounds out the previews: while just a concept, the 60-inch GF60XT980 is promising through its combination of face tracking and a 2160p display to avoid the usual 3D eyewear while preserving detail. Unspecified models across the entire mix carry MHL-capable HDMI ports to handle devices like the Roku Streaming Stick. Prices and ship dates will have to wait until closer to release, Hisense says, but many more details (including a snapshot of the XT780) await after the break.

Continue reading Hisense previews 2013 TV lineup that includes a 110-inch 4K set, Google TV and glasses-free 3D

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Browns, Kelly to meet again for 2nd straight day

Oregon's Michael Clay, left, holds up the championship trophy as head coach Chip Kelly looks on after the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football game against Kansas State Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, in Glendale, Ariz. Oregon defeated Kansas State 35-17.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Oregon's Michael Clay, left, holds up the championship trophy as head coach Chip Kelly looks on after the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football game against Kansas State Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, in Glendale, Ariz. Oregon defeated Kansas State 35-17.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Oregon head coach Chip Kelly, right, signals a 1-point safety to the referee during the second half of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football game against Kansas State, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Oregon head coach Chip Kelly tosses a football to a Kansas State player during warmups before the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football game, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

Oregon head coach Chip Kelly address the media, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Oregon will face Kansas State Thursday in the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football game. (AP Photo/Matt York)

CLEVELAND (AP) ? The Browns have Chip Kelly's interest. Now they need his signature.

The team is expected to meet with Oregon's innovative coach again Saturday and hopes to complete a deal to make him Cleveland's sixth coach since 1999. The sides met for a reported seven hours in Arizona on Friday and came close to reaching an agreement but parted company agreeing to talk a second time.

Kelly also met with the Buffalo Bills, and he intends to keep a scheduled meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles, who weren't going to pursue the 49-year-old when it was learned a deal with Cleveland was near. It's possible Kelly and his agent, David Dunn, are meeting with the other teams to gain leverage with the Browns.

Kelly nearly jumped to the pros last year with Tampa Bay but decided at the last minute to return to Oregon, where he has been coach since 2009.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner plan to hire a coach before they seek a general manager to pair with him. The Browns have also promised that their next coach will have final say and control over the club's 53-man roster, perks that will likely limit their talent pool when looking for a GM or pro personnel director.

Kelly went 46-7 in four years at Oregon, where his high-tempo, warp-speed offense averaged nearly 50 points per game this season. He has no pro coaching experience, but some of his offensive principles are being used by New England and Washington. Patriots coach Bill Belichick met with Kelly in the offseason and has adopted a few of the Ducks' offensive wrinkles into his schemes this season.

Following Oregon's win over Kansas State in Thursday night's Fiesta Bowl, Kelly said he hoped to have the interview process "wrapped up quickly and figure out where I'm going to be."

All indications are that he's headed to Cleveland, where he'll inherit a young roster that showed some promise this season.

Haslam and Banner have been in Arizona all week. They camped out there early to get first crack at Kelly and conducted at least four other known interviews before meeting with him.

Cleveland has also spoken with former Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton, Syracuse's Doug Marrone and Penn State's Bill O'Brien, who removed himself from consideration Thursday and said he would return for his second season with the Nittany Lions.

The Browns are not commenting on any candidates or interviews until they hire a successor for Pat Shurmur, who was fired after going 9-23 in two seasons.

Haslam and Banner believe Kelly can fix Cleveland's franchise, which has made just one playoff appearance in 14 years. Saturday was the 10th anniversary of the Browns' last postseason game, a 36-33 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the decade since, the Browns have had nine double-digit loss seasons and changed coaches four times.

Cleveland's current run of at least 11 losses in five straight seasons is the second-longest streak of futility in NFL history. Only the Oakland Raiders (2003-2009) have had one longer.

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-01-05-FBN-Browns-Kelly/id-a1796649826c4ab2822e910f209f53b5

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Sports Shorts: Youth basketball free-throw championship Jan. 19 ...

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Youth basketball free-throw championship set for Jan. 19

All boys and girls ages 10 to 14 are invited to participate in the local level of competition for the 2013 Knights of Columbus Basketball Free-Throw Championship. The competition for Portsmouth area contestants (includes Greenland, New Castle, Portsmouth, Rye) will be held on Saturday, Jan. 19 at the Portsmouth Middle School gym.

Registration is 1 to 2:30 p.m. Competition is 1:30 to 3 p.m. Winners will progress through local, district and state competitions. All contestants will compete in their respective age divisions and will be recognized for their participation in the event. Participants are required to furnish proof of age and written parental consent.

For entry forms in advance or additional information, contact Graham Kent at 431-7542.

North Church gets victory

PORTSMOUTH ? Brad Jones scored 15 points in leading North Church to a 58-43 victory over Seaport Fish in the Portsmouth Recreation Department boys high school basketball league on Thursday.

Brian Jones (12 points) and Rich Riley (10) also played well for North Church. Joseph Ricci (14) led the way for Seaport Fish.

Co-Rec Volleyball offered

The Hampton Parks and Recreation Department is offering a Co-Rec Volleyball program, open to both men and women age 18 and up.

Sessions are held on Monday evenings from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the upper gymnasium at Hampton Academy. The cost to participate is $6 per night on a "pay as you go" basis.

The current schedule runs now through May 13, with the exception of Jan. 21, Feb. 25 and April 22. The schedule is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances such as inclement weather and school cancellations or functions.

There is no need to register for the Co-Rec Volleyball program, although a signed waiver needs to be on file in order to participate.

Waivers are available online at www.hamptonnh.gov, or at the recreation office, located in the town office building at 100 Winnacunnet Road in Hampton. For more information call 926-3932.

Original Patriot Davis dies

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) ? Former Patriots offensive guard Jack Davis has died at the age of 80.

Davis, an original member of the team when it was formed in 1960 as the Boston Patriots of the American Football League, died on Jan. 1 in Palm Harbor, Fla., the club announced Friday.

He played one pro season, appearing in 14 games for the Patriots. The name of the team was changed to the New England Patriots in 1971 when it moved to the suburb of Foxborough.

Seacoast Mavericks auction

The Seacoast Mavericks' inaugural Hot Stove Dinner and Silent Auction will be held on Friday, Jan. 25 at the Residence Inn's Harbor Events in Portsmouth starting at 6 p.m. The event will be headlined by Boston Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Sam Fuld, a Durham native.

Tickets are available at www.seacoastmavericks.com or by calling 431-6700.

First Tee offers winter event

The First Tee of New Hampshire, a state-wide values education and life skills program for youth, using golf as a platform, is holding a winter fund-raiser on Thursday, Jan. 10.

The event will be held indoors on the Simulator at Pease Golf Course in Portsmouth from 6 to 9 p.m. It will be played in scramble format; golfers are welcome to bring friends, form a team or attend solo. This three-person team event features contests, prizes and a cash bar.

The fee is $35 per person. Call 964-3033 to reserve a spot or visit www.TheFirstTeeNH.org for more information.

Spartans AAU basketball tryouts today

The Spartans AAU basketball team will hold tryouts today at the New Heights gymnasium on Campus Ave. in Portsmouth.

Times are as follows: girls in grades 9-12, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.; boys in grades 9-12, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.; boys and girls in grades 7-8, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; boys and girls in grades 3-6, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

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Source: http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20130105-SPORTS-301050328

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Samsung introduces its CES audio hardware, claims a world first

Samsung's New Digital Audio Line-up Brings Easy Wireless Connections and Rich, Pure Sound to Any Listening Environment

Samsung will emphasize connectivity and usability across its 2013 AV products, including the industry's first soundbar that enables Bluetooth connectivity with a TV

2013 International CES
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today announced the expansion of its digital audio line-up with new devices that easily turn any home entertainment setup into an optimal sound environment. The company's 2013 AV products feature a number of wireless connectivity enhancements, including the industry's first soundbar that can connect with a TV using wireless Bluetooth technology.

"With the advances in picture displays, consumers also need to be able to complement their viewing experience with high quality home theater products"
Products highlights include:

Samsung's Vacuum Tube Soundbar (model HW-F750) is the first soundbar to feature a built-in vacuum tube to maximize sound quality, and is the world's first soundbar that can wirelessly connect with a TV via Bluetooth.
Samsung's Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker (model DA-F60) brings advanced sound quality with an apt-X codec, while offering the simplicity of Near-Field Communications (NFC) connectivity.
Samsung's 7.1 Channel Home Theater System (model HT-F9750W) was created to be the perfect counterpart for Samsung's 2013 TVs, with a Gallium Nitride (GaN) amplifier that delivers pure sound, and design and usability features that bring home a totally seamless experience.
Samsung's Premium Blu-ray Player (model BD-F7500) features advanced upscaling capabilities, allowing users to experience ordinary SD and HD content in superior resolution.
"With the advances in picture displays, consumers also need to be able to complement their viewing experience with high quality home theater products," said Sunny Lee, Executive Vice President, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. "Today's product introductions prove that consumers can enjoy premium sound and cutting-edge design without sacrificing convenience, simplicity or ease of use."

As testament to Samsung's leadership in innovation, design and engineering, the Samsung HW-F750 Soundbar and Samsung BD-F7500 Smart Blu-ray Player have each been awarded a 2013 CES Innovation Award. The new line of home theater products will be on display at Samsung's booth, located at #12004 in the Central Hall at the 2013 International CES, which will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) from January 8-11, 2013.

Warmer, immersive sounds without hassle or distortion

Samsung's Vacuum Tube Soundbar (model HW-F750) resolves consumers' desire for pure power and warm, natural sound by integrating a vacuum tube amplifier into a soundbar for the first time.

Additionally, the HW-750 offers the ultimate in convenience with its SoundShare function, which enables users to wirelessly connect the soundbar to a TV via Bluetooth. Meanwhile, the product's gyroscope sensor gauges height, rotation and slope to optimize sound quality, whether the soundbar is placed in a horizontal or vertical position. Combined, these features virtually eliminate restrictions on where consumers can place the HW-750 in their homes.

Adding to the product's ease of use, users can activate the new AirtrackON function, which automatically powers on the soundbar when the TV is turned on, and allows users to control the HW-F750 with a TV remote control. The HW-F750 sports a slim design and separate, wireless subwoofer, making it an ideal companion for the premium design of any Samsung Smart TV. With its stylish, metal design, the product combines the best that vintage and modern technologies have to offer.

The ultimate in portable wireless sound

Samsung's Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker (model DA-F60) offers sound quality and simplicity, whether consumers are at home or on the go. The speaker's integrated Near-Field Communications (NFC) connectivity makes it easy for consumers to pair the speaker with other NFC devices, such as a smartphone or tablet, by simply tapping the two devices together. Additionally, support for Samsung's SoundShare feature means users can employ the DA-F60 as a TV speaker using wireless Bluetooth connectivity.

The DA-F60 incorporates neodymium magnets and a passive radiator to produce results typically found in high-end Hi-Fi audio systems, including tuned low-frequency reproduction and virtually no distortion even at high volumes. Users will also enjoy improved performance and a high-quality experience with the built in apt-X codec technology, which boosts the Bluetooth speaker's extensive dynamic range, particularly at the top end.

Weighing only three pounds, the Samsung DA-F60 is an ideal audio companion that combines both fidelity and portability to reproduce full-range audio outside the home.

A superb combination of the highest quality audio and picture

Samsung's 7.1 Channel Home Theater System (model HT-F9750W) was created to be the perfect counterpart for a Samsung 2013 TV, with design and usability that bring home a totally seamless experience. The new TV Sound On feature allows users to instantly activate the system's 1,330-watt sound while muting the internal TV speaker with a single click of the remote control. This flagship HTS incorporates Samsung's proprietary vacuum tube and digital amplifier, as well as the latest in Smart TV features to create the best entertainment experience available.

For a larger-than-life experience comparable to that of a movie theater, the HT-F9750W offers the multi-dimensional sound of a swivel speaker, coupled with a new DTS? Neo fusion codec ? exclusive to Samsung ? that further enhances vertical sound to deliver unprecedented sound quality to the home. A Gallium Nitride (GaN) amplifier can handle a sound range beyond the typical audible frequency range. Paired with a vacuum tube pre-amplifier, consumers will enjoy true, natural sound with minimal distortion. A Ceramic Polypropylene Injection Diaphragm (CPID) speaker expands sound resolution so every note is distinct.

The exceptional picture quality of the HT-F9750W is immediately noticeable, even on the Ultra-High Definition (UHD) TV sets coming to market in 2013. Samsung's 4K Scaler Processor generates true-to-life pictures with vivid colors, and also upscales high-definition content to UHD-level picture quality.

The Blu-ray component of the HT-F9750W can run multiple apps simultaneously, and also offers Samsung's latest Smart Hub? and AllShare? features. This 1,330-watt system is an excellent addition for any audiophile looking for the finest home entertainment experience.

Enhanced picture performance and speed

Samsung's Premium Blu-ray Player (model BD-F7500) enhances the joy of watching your favorite movies by transforming ordinary SD and HD content into a superior resolution, such as that delivered by Ultra High Definition (UHD)-supported televisions. This slim player offers a dual-core processor and Samsung's Smart TV technologies including Smart Hub? and AllShare?, so that users can enjoy unparalleled picture performance through an intuitive, streamlined user interface.

The BD-F7500 is an aesthetic study in black and silver, simultaneously modern, yet classic. Its minimalist high-gloss black finish contrasts with the unit's aluminum trim, and complements the same design qualities found on many high-end flat-panel displays that feature black lacquered finishes set off by silver bezels.

The BD-F7500's video processor includes a proprietary Samsung algorithm that improves the visual quality of block-based low bit-rate coded images and reduces blocking artifacts. This feature is especially important for maximizing the visual quality of content streamed from the Internet, as well as improving the quality of picture sharpness. Furthermore, the unit's 900MHz x 2 high-performance dual-core chipset boosts the unit's image processing capacity so consumers can enjoy the highest picture quality and the fastest web-browsing speed.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/05/samsung-ces-audio-hardware/

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Dot Earth Blog: New Shade of Green: A Stark Shift for Onetime Foe of GMOs

In case you missed the coverage and commentary yesterday (the Twitter flow is here), you can now watch Mark Lynas, the British writer and environmentalist who once helped drive Europe?s movement against genetically engineered crops, apologize for those actions and embrace this technology as a vital tool for ending hunger and conserving the environment. He spoke yesterday at the?Oxford Farming Conference?at Oxford University. (Many other fascinating presentations are now online.)

An excerpt from Lynas?s prepared remarks is below. Here?s his remarkable preamble:

For the record, here and upfront, I apologize for having spent several years ripping up GM crops. I am also sorry that I helped to start the anti-GM movement back in the mid 1990s, and that I thereby assisted in demonizing an important technological option which can be used to benefit the environment.

As an environmentalist, and someone who believes that everyone in this world has a right to a healthy and nutritious diet of their choosing, I could not have chosen a more counter-productive path. I now regret it completely.

The arc of Lynas?s fascinating career is in some ways neatly encapsulated by two acts at Oxford ? throwing a cream pie in the face of Bjorn Lomborg, the skeptic of eco-calamity, at a book signing there in 2001, yelling ?pies for lies? (see photo below), and now echoing more than a few of Lomborg?s assertions in his lecture at the Oxford Farming Conference on Thursday.

In doing so, he has displayed an encouraging ? and still rare ? capacity to shed dogma in favor of data. His valuable 2011 book ?The God Species? (a host of reviews here) was the first big sign of this transformation.

After ?The God Species? was published, Lynas explained his shift this way in an interview with Keith Kloor:

Well, life is nothing if not a learning process. As you get older you tend to realize just how complicated the world is and how simplistic solutions don?t really work? There was no ?Road to Damascus? conversion, where there?s a sudden blinding flash and you go, ?Oh, my God, I?ve got this wrong.? There are processes of gradually opening one?s mind and beginning to take seriously alternative viewpoints, and then looking more closely at the weight of the evidence.

In reading the text of Lynas?s speech yesterday, I asked him if he?d reassessed the pie assault. His reply showed just how willing he is to endure slings and arrows from old allies by invoking another name that is anathema to many traditional greens:

Bjorn was always the perfect gentleman about that incident. I have apologized properly over email to him, and we?ve had a couple of phone conversations since. These days I read his stuff with interest but I do think he could make his case more strongly by avoiding his own tendency to confirmation bias and being rather selective with his sources, to say the least.

I only recently discovered the work of Julian Simon, who was Lomborg?s original inspiration, and I think it should be required reading for all enviro types ? some vital wisdom there.

Before we get to Lynas?s talk on genetics and agriculture, it?s worth posting my reply on Simon:

Simon was too demonized for sure (his relevant work is online). But he was wrong on one thing ? the need for more people to make more progress (more geniuses), as I wrote here:??Julian Simon?s 20th century notion that?population growth was good?because it raised the odds of generating a fresh batch of breakthroughs was half right; you just don?t need the extra billions if you expand access to education and tie brains together with communication (and?translation).?

Read on for an excerpt from Lynas?s speech (as prepared for delivery), but please read or listen to the whole thing, and then to dig in to ?The God Species,? as well:

When I first heard about Monsanto?s GM soya I knew exactly what I thought. Here was a big American corporation with a nasty track record, putting something new and experimental into our food without telling us. Mixing genes between species seemed to be about as unnatural as you can get ? here was humankind acquiring too much technological power; something was bound to go horribly wrong. These genes would spread like some kind of living pollution. It was the stuff of nightmares.

These fears spread like wildfire, and within a few years GM was essentially banned in Europe, and our worries were exported by NGOs like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth to Africa, India and the rest of Asia, where GM is still banned today. This was the most successful campaign I have ever been involved with.

This was also explicitly an anti-science movement. We employed a lot of imagery about scientists in their labs cackling demonically as they tinkered with the very building blocks of life. Hence the Frankenstein food tag ? this absolutely was about deep-seated fears of scientific powers being used secretly for unnatural ends. What we didn?t realize at the time was that the real Frankenstein?s monster was not GM technology, but our reaction against it.

For me this anti-science environmentalism became increasingly inconsistent with my pro-science environmentalism with regard to climate change. I published my first book on global warming in 2004, and I was determined to make it scientifically credible rather than just a collection of anecdotes.

So I had to back up the story of my trip to Alaska with satellite data on sea ice, and I had to justify my pictures of disappearing glaciers in the Andes with long-term records of mass balance of mountain glaciers. That meant I had to learn how to read scientific papers, understand basic statistics and become literate in very different fields from oceanography to paleoclimate, none of which my degree in politics and modern history helped me with a great deal.

I found myself arguing constantly with people who I considered to be incorrigibly anti-science, because they wouldn?t listen to the climatologists and denied the scientific reality of climate change. So I lectured them about the value of peer-review, about the importance of scientific consensus and how the only facts that mattered were the ones published in the most distinguished scholarly journals.

My second climate book, Six Degrees, was so sciency that it even won the Royal Society science books prize, and climate scientists I had become friendly with would joke that I knew more about the subject than them. And yet, incredibly, at this time in 2008 I was still penning screeds in the Guardian attacking the science of GM ? even though I had done no academic research on the topic, and had a pretty limited personal understanding. I don?t think I?d ever read a peer-reviewed paper on biotechnology or plant science even at this late stage.

Obviously this contradiction was untenable. What really threw me were some of the comments underneath my final anti-GM Guardian article. In particular one critic said to me: so you?re opposed to GM on the basis that it is marketed by big corporations. Are you also opposed to the wheel because because it is marketed by the big auto companies?

So I did some reading. And I discovered that one by one my cherished beliefs about GM turned out to be little more than green urban myths.

I?d assumed that it would increase the use of chemicals. It turned out that pest-resistant cotton and maize needed less insecticide.

I?d assumed that GM benefited only the big companies. It turned out that billions of dollars of benefits were accruing to farmers needing fewer inputs.

I?d assumed that Terminator Technology was robbing farmers of the right to save seed. It turned out that hybrids did that long ago, and that Terminator never happened.

I?d assumed that no one wanted GM. Actually what happened was that Bt cotton was pirated into India and roundup ready soya into Brazil because farmers were so eager to use them.

I?d assumed that GM was dangerous. It turned out that it was safer and more precise than conventional breeding using mutagenesis for example; GM just moves a couple of genes, whereas conventional breeding mucks about with the entire genome in a trial and error way.

But what about mixing genes between unrelated species? The fish and the tomato? Turns out viruses do that all the time, as do plants and insects and even us ? it?s called gene flow.

But this was still only the beginning. So in my third book The God Species I junked all the environmentalist orthodoxy at the outset and tried to look at the bigger picture on a planetary scale. [The full text is here.]

Source: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/04/new-shade-of-green-stark-shift-for-onetime-foe-of-genetic-engineering-in-crops/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Video: Sideshow: Photoshopped photo-op

Famed Roman shipwreck could be two

??A dive to the undersea cliff where a famous Roman shipwreck rests has turned up either evidence that the wreck is enormous ? or a suggestion that, not one, but two sunken ships are resting off the Greek island of Antikythera.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/hardball/50367473/

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Clean tech venture capital plummets in 2013 | MIT Technology Review

Going down: venture activity in clean-technology companies has peaked and appears on the way down. Startups are turning to alternate sources, such as corporate investors and family foundations.

It?s no secret that times are tough for funding clean technology startups. But innovators are adapting to the many things that have changed since the go-go years of the mid to late 2000s.

Research company the Cleantech Group yesterday released data showing just how much venture investors have soured on clean technologies, with the amount of money invested into clean-tech startups plummeting 33 percent last year to $6.46 billion.

Even though fewer startups are being funded, innovation in energy and environment continues, albeit under very different business conditions. Here are some thoughts on the business and technology trends shaping this year.

A smaller investor pool. Back in the mid 2000s, nearly all generalist venture capital firms had an investment in the clean tech category with solar and biofuels getting most of the money. Now, the venture investing is left primarily to specialist companies, as others have fled.

The Cleantech Group?s numbers reflect this. In addition to a lower total amount invested, the number of deals fell over 30 percent, too, and the average deal sizes are lower. Many venture capital companies ?got burned? in previous years when they underestimated how much capital is required to bring an energy-related startup to an IPO or sale, says Sheeraz Haji, the president of the Cleantech Group.

Corporate investors, such as ABB or General Electric, have helped fill the funding needs for startups, but these ?strategic investors? are cautious and there?s been a decline in their involvement over the past year, says Haji. Meanwhile, raising money on the public markets via an IPO is effectively shut and a number of companies cancelled stock offerings. SolarCity did have a successful IPO but had to scale back how much it sought to raise, which its chairman Elon Musk blamed on investors skittish of clean tech.

The continued marriage of energy and IT. Energy has traditionally meant drilling, but it?s becoming increasingly high tech.?This is driven in part by investment patterns. Wary of funding companies that will require big sums of money and long technology development periods, VCs are putting their money into ?capital-efficient? startups geared at energy efficiency. One hundred and forty of the 700 deals Cleantech Group recorded last year were in energy efficiency.

A number of companies have rightly estimated that buildings could be more efficient by analyzing data or using sensors to cut back on wasted energy. One startup called Stem analyzes building energy consumption patterns and electricity rates and then uses an on-site battery to lower electricity bills. (See A Startup?s Smart Batteries Reduce Building?s Electric Bills.)?

But this area has become overcrowded. There are now dozens of building and utility data analytics companies and Haji notes that some, such as Serious Materials, have had to abandon plans to offer energy management services to building owners. Investment dropped 21 percent in energy efficiency, which is also hurt by muted electricity prices.

A more promising area is using embedded computation and communication, such as networked sensors, to make energy more efficient, a form of what people call the Internet of things. An example in the area of sensors is Enlighted, a lighting company that uses light and motion sensors to improve lighting controls and save energy. General Electric, meanwhile, is pushing heavily into the ?industrial Internet? by equipping everything from jet engines to medical devices with controllers and sensors to analyze data and improve equipment performance.

Cheap Fossil Fuels Give and Take away. Natural gas has rapidly displaced coal in power generation and super cheap natural gas in the U.S. makes it harder for solar and wind to compete on price. (See What Mattered In Energy Innovation This Year.)?

But the domestic fossil fuel boom is creating the need for better analytical tools in exploration and monitoring the entire distribution system, Haji says. And the drilling technique behind the U.S. oil and gas boom?fracking?creates the need for water treatment technologies. Cheap natural gas also makes stationary fuel cells and natural gas vehicles more attractive.

Solar has become a commodity business and investment has plummeted, but other areas such as energy efficiency and waste-to-energy are attracting more interest.

Meanwhile, more companies are trying to make use of natural gas to make chemicals and even fuels. For example, Siluria has a process for making the chemical ethylene from natural gas rather than oil while Calysta Energy and Primus Green Energy, once a biofuel company, are using natural gas to make liquid fuels. (See Biofuel Companies Drop Biomass and Turn to Natural Gas.)

Efficiency, not electrification, is the name of the game in cars. Electric vehicles are coming, but expect a long transition. The shorter range and high cost of battery-electric vehicles limits their appeal to a small audience of people, while hybrids offer better fuel economy without range limitations. Sales data from big automakers indicate that consumers a showing preference for plug-in hybrids over all-electric cars. (See Consumers Voting for Plug-in Hybrids Over EVs.)

But as automakers looks to meet more stringent fuel economy standards in the U.S. and other countries, electrification is just one tool among many. Expect to see more advances in the internal combustion engine and efficiencies gained through lighter materials and more aerodynamic body designs.?

By the end of this year, BMW is expected to release the i3 plug-in hybrid that uses a carbon fiber body, a sign that alternative materials have attracted serious attention from auto manufacturers.?

?

Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/view/509556/for-energy-startups-a-glass-half-full-or-empty/

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