After Adobe's recent acquisition of analytics giant Omniture for $1.8 billion, there was a lot of speculation that Adobe was beginning a foray into the advertising. Now we've got some more clues, since Adobe's partnering with Gigya, a company that distributes widgets and advertising. Now, Adobe's got its fingers in every part of the process, from content creation to ads to analytics.
Adobe's new Distribution Manager lets developers share their Flash widgets on 70 sites, tracks traffic for the widgets, and serves ads. Destinations include Facebook, MySpace and iGoogle, amongst others. It also supports mobile devices, including Windows Mobile and Symbian phones. The iPhone is also (sort of) supported, but without Flash, the widgets have to be part of approved app store apps. Developers can follow their traffic and ads with - what else? - an Adobe Air app.
Another show, another pair of special editions from Lotus. This time around it's the Elise Club Racer and the Exige Cup 260, two lightweight specials based on the company's core product range.
We brought you details and photos of both a few weeks ago in the ramp-up to the show, but stopped by to have a closer look at the pair while we were there checking out the race-spec Evora.
The battle has been raging since time immemorial. From Point A to Point B, which is faster: a big exotic supercar or a nimble li;' hatch? Fiat's two performance divisions, Abarth and Ferrari, ask why you can't have the best of both worlds with the new Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari.
The special-edition 500 packs a 180+hp 1.4-liter 16-valve turbo four, a retuned suspension, paddle-shift transmission, 17-inch rims, Brembo brakes and unique touches in every nook and cranny of the diminutive retro hatchback, from the Sabelt seats and Jaeger instruments to the 430 Scuderia paintjob and carbon fiber everything. It's a package that punches far above its weight, but we're waiting for our invitation to flog it around Fiorano against the new 458 Italia.
The Volkswagen R20 returns some brawn to the styling of the body Golf after a lengthy flirtation with smaller, svelter lines. And we, for one, are happy about it. Things get started right up front with the lower grille and it's Audi-RS-and-R8-reminiscent openings and strakes. From there it's an easy flow back over a body a-bulge with just the right taste in creases and lines. We're still waiting for a less hipster tailpipe treatment to return, but we're happy with the car nevertheless. The interior gets the trim-and-texture treatment to identify it as a 270-hp flyer, and the seats complete the job by letting your butt feel what your eyes can see. Speaking of feeling, those earlier 60-mph runs were a little off: the manual gets to 62 in 5.7, the DSG in 5.5. Should we get it, we have a feeling we'll enjoy it.
The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is intended to redress the awkwardness – and low volumes – of the McLaren Mercedes SLR. Based on a first look at it, the supercoupe's chances are very good. That door handle is down by one's shins, but overcome that low hurdle and the reward is a cozy trip to the Sixties with millennial ergonomics.
For all that bonnet, the 6.3-liter 571 horsepower engine is shoved way, way back, good for a 4753 weight distribution. It'll do the business to 62 mph in 3.8 seconds, and has a good chance of making you feel like quite the champ while doing it. Speaking of looking good, the carbon rotors and yellow calipers promise to look awesome at a standstill and on the trot. And with the updated interior, you won't have to drive with the doors up to stay cool in this gullwing, unlike the Sixties original.
We warned you the specs would be "staggering." And really that's all you need to know. Fine, we'll tell you a little more. First of all, despite the gumption, it's not a diesel. The Mulsanne generates all that thrust barely off-idle from a gasoline-powered 6.75-liter twin-turbo V8. 505 horsepower, too. The engine is all new, made from aluminum and lightweight internals including a forged crankshaft. It also features cam-phasing (variable valve timing) and variable displacement (cylinder deactivation). One benefit of all that tech is that the staggering torque number is available across the rev range, another is better fuel economy, as if that really matters to Bentley prospects. All that power gets routed through an eight-speed transmission (with paddle shifters) before hitting the massive rear wheels (2654520 standard, 2654021 optional).
Not convinced? How do (optional) 16.54-inch front carbon ceramic brakes – the largest ever fitted to a production car – with eight-piston calipers grab you? Probably like using a bank vault to anchor a Smart ForTwo. In fact, with the standard 20-inch wheels, there's about one pinky of clearance between the rotors and the rims. Don't fret though, as we'd imagine most owners will be taking the twenty-ones leaving plenty of space for two pinkies. Rear ceramic brakes are limited to just 15.5 inches and only four-pistons.
Now, being the unrepentant suckers for more power that we are, you'd imagine our favorite part of the new Mulsanne is the torque rating. And you'd be wrong. Our favorite part is that the new Driver Dynamics Control system has a mode simply called, "Bentley." That's cool. Imagine if your car had a setting for "Bentley." Keep dreaming. In addition to "Bentley," there's also "Sport" and "Comfort," but we can't imagine taking the Mulsanne out of "Bentley." But there is a fourth way. "Custom" allows you to tune the steering and suspension through the new multimedia system. Oh, and you can set the Driver Dynamics Control from the key fob.
Actually, we should spend a moment discussing this new key fob, for it ain't your rich great-uncle Archibald's Bentley key fob. Example: from the key fob you can set radio stations, phone books, seat position (including hotcold ventilation and massage), steering wheel, seat belt position and even the rear window blinds. Think of it like this: you can program your fob with separate settings ranging from schlepping to 711 for Slurpees to storming Gold Beach. The Muslanne also sports the world's most powerful OEM stereo amp – 2,200 watts – though we'd imagine if you can afford the still-not-priced Mulsanne, you can afford to pay someone to enjoy music for you. And one more thing: if you're sitting in back, you have door-mounted controls to not only lower you window, but the one across from you as well.
Some automakers celebrate their birthdays with special editions. Some celebrate with big parties. Mini has celebrated its 50th anniversary at the Frankfurt Motor Show with not one, but two new performance-oriented models. Now that's more like it.
Okay, so they also unveiled a couple of special editions, called Camden and Mayfair. And they're throwing a little shindig at their show stand later on. But forget those for a minute and feast your eyes on the Coupe Concept and Roadster Concept. We've already brought you details on both, but the jubilant BMW division took the wraps – or rather, the cake – off the pair at a press conference here at the show. And while they were at it, they confirmed that both are headed for production, expanding the Mini line-up to no less than six models: hatch, cabrio, Clubman, the upcoming crossover and the Roadster and Coupe in question.
Whether the hounds-tooth interior on the Roadster makes it to production, however, remains to be seen. It'll take them a little while to gear up the Oxford factory, but given that both are essentially the same as the existing models below the belt-line, it shouldn't take all that long.
BMW hosted a lengthy press conference during which cars zoomed all around its raised track, and at the end the Vision EfficientDynamics Concept silently took the stage. It's a glass-topped Hot Wheels with two engines, a deep dish seventies-looking steering wheel and matching contoured wheels. Around the back corners the design elements get a little busy, but taken as a whole the EfficientDynamics Concept comes together well. Give it a more demure paint job and its built-in details will stand out beautifully. If this is the real future of eco, then sign us up schnell.
Brabus E V12 Black Baron -- Click above for high-res image gallery
Among the more intricate of Brabus' creations is this, the E V12 "Black Baron." Based on the latest E-Class, the dark lord is refitted with a twin turbo, 6.3-liter V12 with 800 hp and an electronically-limited 811 lb-ft (even though the engine actually produces 1,047 lb-ft), a ram-air system and a tuned ECU.
Underneath is a fully-adjustable suspension and much bigger brakes and tires. To reach the car's electronically-limited 217 mph top speed, the car's aerodynamics have been improved at the obvious expense of the car's looks. Unless, of course, you think those wheel spats look good. We don't. If you need to go faster, the car is estimated to be able to hit 230 mph sans the electro-nanny. And it still gets 15 mpg.
For a while now, I've been hiding my desktop icons and using a taskbar toolbar instead. It's a lot tidier, and one somewhat useful benefit is having the recycle bin always close at hand -- without having to windows + D.
The only downside to using the desktop as a taskbar toolbar is that the recycle bin won't move in front of Libraries or your user folder. If you want the bin in full view, you're stuck displaying at least three icons -- two of which you don't need if you already have Explorer pinned.
TechSpot's Matthew DeCarlo points out that if you use the QuickLaunch (or any custom folder of your choosing), you can simply drag the recycle bin icon off your desktop, onto the toolbar, and ba-da-bing, you've got a functioning bin like the one in my screenshot.
Here's the short and sweet way to pull this off: Right click in some empty space on your taskbar and choose toolbars -> new toolbar from the menu Paste %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch into the "folder" box and click select folder. Drag the recycle bin icon from your desktop onto the newly-created toolbar. Position the bin icon so it's first in line. You're done! All that's left to do is to grab the slider and place the toolbar where you want it, and shut off the title and text labels if you want a seamless look. To do that, right-click the slider and untick show title and show text.
One note: this doesn't look all that hot if you have a vertical taskbar since the toolbar icons are left justified while your taskbar icons are centered.
