Der Halbleiterproduzent Infineon hat von dem sich erholenden Speichermarkt prächtig Gewinn abgeschöpft. Sicherlich ist man von Glanzeiten noch ein ganzes Stück entfernt, aber mit 14 Mio. Gewinn in einem Quartal kann man schon mal wieder arbeiten und Investoren beruhigen.

Allerdings hatte Infineon im letzten Jahr mit einem Verlust von ca. 884 Mio. Euro abgeschlossen und so ging es auch im Q1 und Q2 2009 ähnlich weiter.

A team of researchers has implemented support for ‘trusted computing’ in a commercially available version of the open source operating system Linux, breaking new ground in the global drive toward more secure computing environments.

The latest release of openSUSE, a Linux version sponsored by software maker Novell, comes packaged with software that allows users to set up a trusted computing (TC) environment on their computer, enhancing security beyond the antivirus programs and firewalls that frequently prove inadequate at keeping bugs, viruses and spyware at bay.

Promoted and developed by major chipmakers and software companies in the international Trusted Computing Group, trusted computing uses both hardware and software to create a trusted and secure environment, whether on a home PC, a web server, in a data centre or over a corporate network. At the core of the technology is the trusted platform module (TPM), which is a chip that, among other security-boosting features, generates and manages cryptographic keys, verifies the identity of the computer on a network and protects software and data from malicious changes.

Awakening the dormant chip

Many new laptops and increasing numbers of desktop PCs and servers already have TPM chips as standard, while chipmakers such as Intel and AMD have started incorporating the technology directly into their latest generation of processors. However, most TPM chips are currently lying dormant, awaiting activation with the arrival of software that can make use of their enhanced security features.

“The hardware is there… what is needed are operating systems and software to exploit it,” says Herbert Petautschnig, a researcher at Austrian technology group Technikon.

Technikon led a consortium of 23 research and business partners, including AMD, IBM, HP, Infineon and Novell, in developing open source software and applications for TC environments as part of the EU-funded OpenTC project. The group’s implementation of TC support in openSUSE version 11.2 involved building a trusted software stack (TSS) for Linux, developing universal virtualisation layers (including improvements to the Xen hypervisor virtual machine monitor) and creating TC and TPM management software. It constitutes a pioneering implementation of TC technology.

“openSUSE is now the first operating system to offer full TC support,” Petautschnig notes. “Until now, TC had been implemented for specific applications, such as Microsoft’s BitLocker hard drive encryption in Windows Vista and Windows 7 or the fingerprint reader on some HP laptops… With the OpenTC platform we are extending the TC environment to the full operating system and beyond,” the project manager adds.

Unlike traditional security technology that operates only at the software level and only starts protecting a computer after it is loaded, TC technology provides security from the moment the power button is pressed. As the system boots and runs, the OpenTC platform continually monitors the computer for changes and ensures that only trusted, verified software is functioning. In a networked environment, it verifies the identity and integrity of the computer. And it allows different pieces of software and data to be “compartmentalised” so there is no exchange between them even as they share the same computing and/or network resources.

Safer online transactions, trusted corporate networking

OpenTC developed several proof-of-concept applications for the technology. In one, called private electronic transaction (PET), the team showed how it can verify and secure online transactions, such as accessing a bank account. In another, they showed how TC compartments can provide secure remote access to corporate networks, both keeping company information safe on an employee’s home PC and ensuring that the employee’s personal information, photos and games are not visible to their employer.

The ability of TC technology to keep data and processes safely isolated from each other can be extended to enable virtual data centres. As demonstrated by IBM in the OpenTC project, TC software could be used by data centre operators to provide virtualised resources to different clients while sharing the underlying physical infrastructure, thereby ensuring different companies’ data remain separate and secure.

The logical next step, which members of the OpenTC consortium plan to explore in a new project, is to extend TC to cloud computing to enhance the security of services and computational resources provided over the internet. Another project, TECOM, a follow-up initiative to OpenTC that has also received EU funding, will aim to develop TC solutions for embedded platforms, focusing particularly on smart phones and mobile computing applications.

Several of the project partners are commercially exploiting the results of the OpenTC project internally. Petautschnig says they are also open to investor interest to support further development of TC technology. Consortium members are also active in standardisation efforts, helping to extend trusted computing to mobile platforms and the Java programming language, for example.

Despite controversy, a bright future

In the past, TC technology has stirred controversy, not least over its potential for abuse by software and hardware makers to restrict what computer users can do and its applications for digital rights management. However, Petautschnig believes the future for trusted computing systems is bright as the technology starts to be seen as an essential tool in the fight against an intensifying onslaught of hack attacks, viruses and spyware bombarding the world’s computer users.

“Most people will not know that TC components are running on their computers keeping them safe. Conversely, at present most do not know what information is being leaked and stolen by spyware and viruses running on their machines,” Petautschnig notes.

In this concluding part, I will provide some pointers on what we might expect from Infineon in wireless semiconductors for handsets.

Infineon is in an enviable position with four of the top five handset makers as customers. Déjà vu? You recently heard it in this space in the context of ST-Ericsson. However, in addition to the above, Infineon also supplies to Apple and RIM – the two smartphone makers on a roll even in this year’s market turmoil. Sure, Infineon only provides a few parts to a just a few of the devices coming out of these vendors. But it has the reach to coax the big guns into buying exciting parts and solutions it can offer in the future. Infineon should leverage this reach.

Although the company does not have all the pieces, Infineon’s management understands the convergence trend. It is a concern that the road map does not show any signs of building a complete portfolio for convergence. Forming partnerships or JVs to fill the holes in its portfolio should be an important priority. The time is ripe for action on this front.

Infineon hopes to gain a lot by riding the trend to save costs using single-chip solutions. AsThe Economist points out, the industry has been driven for a long time to provide more capabilities at the same price. And Infineon notes that advances in technology have pushed costs low enough such that 50% of the world’s population now own a mobile phone. Further reductions in cosst will bring a phone within the reach of the still unserved. Infineon needs to cash on this renewed push to provide features at lower prices.

As mobile devices are the only mode of connectivity for many in developing countries, users would be inclined to use higher data rate services and once they get the taste of the value provided, will be inclined to upgrade – say from a GSM phone to a GPRS phone or from a GRPS phone to a low-cost 3G phone. Infineon is well positioned to ride this wave. It faces stiff competition from ST-Ericsson and MediaTek, which will likely lead to pricing pressures and lower margins.

A combined communication processor or a discrete baseband+application processor — whichever direction the industry takes, Infineon will have to depend on others to compete. We noted else where that Marvell is losing to Qualcomm at RIM. Infineon has to battle Marvell and Qualcomm to hold onto and increase the number of its design wins at RIM.

Although Near Field Communication (NFC) is still a nascent market, Infineon has strong presence in it. The company provides solutions to improve the security of transactions. This augurs well if the recent churning in machine-to-machine (M2M) space sees sustained uptake. With its expertise in power management and security, Infineon is positioned well in this area. However, recent moves by Qualcomm in the M2M space portend a tough competition.

With the company’s financial distress becoming less acute, increasing share at customers looks to be the priority, and the prospects are encouraging even if not outright rosy. It appears that Wireless Solutions will have to do a lot of the heavy lifting to pull Infineon out of its current slump, but it just might happen.

[Originally for Sramana Mitra on Strategy.]

In the previous post, we looked at Infineon’s strengths in wireless. However, Infineon’s portfolio is still incomplete in the area of connectivity solutions, which are playing a major role in the convergence trend.

Infineon remains a minor player in Bluetooth. Infineon lacks much of the IP related to connectivity solutions. Infineon’s Bluetooth and GPS solutions use third-party software stacks. As a result, Infineon does not offer any combo chips for connectivity. There are none promised in the future, either. Most other major vendors offer combo solutions that provide space and power consumption savings.

After Broadcom acquired Global Locate, Infineon had to look elsewhere to offer a GPS solution. The company now partners with Epson to offer a GPS/A-GPS solution. Xposys integrates Epson’s GPS expertise with Infineon’s renowned RF know-how. Xposys has been winning praise for its higher sensitivity and lower power consumption. However, Xposys is a software-based GPS solution and its success depends on performance in the real world.

Lost Chance

Because Infineon’s deficiencies in connectivity extend beyond GPS, it could have partnered with the likes of Atheros with presence in multiple connectivity technologies. Infineon has near zero presence in the fast-growing wireless LAN market. Infineon’s play in WLAN for mobile devices is limited to providing Low Noise Amplifiers and RF transceivers. Infineon’s earlier plan to provide Atheros’s Wi-Fi solution alongside its baseband was not successful. This was bad execution considering that a similar approach by Qualcomm had worked, and Atheros’s Wi-Fi solution has been shipped in a multitude of dual mode 3G designs. Atheros provides solutions for all major connectivity options: Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. With their complementary portfolios, Atheros and Infineon would have made great partners. The combination would have had a complete portfolio except for an application processor. Alas, with Infineon partnering with Epson for GPS, such an alliance is unlikely now.

Application Processor

Another important piece of a mobile phone that is absent from Infineon’s portfolio is the application processor. Flash memory is the most expensive piece of silicon in a mobile phone. Where they are discrete parts, application processor is in a close race with baseband IC for the second spot on a BoM.

In the iPhone, its most popular design win to date, Infineon’s baseband processor and RF transceivers work in conjunction with Samsung’s (or is it Apple’s own?) application processor. Even if speculation of Apple working on a home-grown application processor proves to be false, Apple is unlikely to switch to a combination application processor+baseband processor approach anytime soon. Performance is at the heart of iPhone, not cost concerns. Infineon might be able to hang in there for a little longer.

Infineon could lose if Qualcomm’s efforts to have a piece of iPhone hardware were to bear fruit. It would be interesting to see if Qualcomm can entice Apple with an irresistible part. This is more likely with a combo communication processor, if Apple were to introduce a lower-priced, reduced performance model in the iPhone lineup. In the meantime, Infineon should partner with an application processor provider to be able to complete with other major players.

In sum, the lack of internal IP for complete connectivity and of an application processor will hurt Infineon’s chances of design wins. Partnerships are necessary to close the holes and provide complete platform solutions.

Infineon is a formidable force in RF transceivers and is one of the predominant baseband suppliers. Forward Concepts ranks them #3 globally in total baseband (2G, 3G). Although Infineon’s visibility increased tremendously after design wins in the iPhone, it has been a longtime supplier of RF solutions to LG, Nokia, Samsung, and Sony-Ericsson. The company shipped its billionth RF transceiver in November 2007.

Infineon rightly predicted early on that handset market would polarize towards low-cost devices and high-end smart phones. Providing single-chip platforms for low cost phones is a forte of Infineon. The investments paid off. Infineon earlier this year shipped its 100 millionth single-chip solution. The technical superiority of this platform received a strong vote when Nokia chose Infineon as a baseband supplier for its EDGE platforms. Infineon competes directly with ST-Ericsson for low-cost phone designs.

High-end phones from Apple and RIM have been using Infineon’s 3G baseband and RF solutions. LG, already a big customer of Infineon’s single-chip phone platform for low-cost devices, announced the coming of a slew of smart phones in the next 18 months. Alongside ST-Ericsson, Infineon is likely to have scored some design wins for some of these phones.

On the Winning Side

The wireless semiconductor space has witnessed an abundance of activity in the past few years. On some occasions, winners were picked based on technological prowess. On others, winners were picked just by virtue of past associations. There were other times when action taken by others enriched or depleted a company’s revenue. Infineon was on the winning side, mostly.

– Infineon is one of the companies that stand to gain from the consolidation in baseband market. Acquiring LSI mobility gave it a strong foothold in the baseband space and some top handset makers as customers. Infineon is just one of four companies to have more than a 5% share of the baseband market. Infineon now boasts of supplier relationships with several major handset vendors.

– Nokia’s multi-sourcing strategy gave more power to Infineon, which is among those players poised to gain from TI’s exiting the merchant baseband business.

– Not long ago, Motorola held the second spot among top handset makers. Samsung then displaced Motorola. Thanks to Infineon acquiring LSI mobility, Samsung is now a major customer of Infineon’s HEDGE solution. Samsung’s market share gains will translate in part to Infineon’s gaining market share.

– Handset market polarization towards low-cost phones and high-end smartphones matches Infineon’s strengths well.

Is this a coincidence or strategic thinking on Infineon’s part? Either way, it augurs well for sustained growth of the company’s WLS division.

Lost 3G at Nokia

Infineon used to supply just GSM platforms to Nokia which, at the time of diversifying its sourcing vendors, extended the relationship and added Infineon as an EDGE platform supplier. Nokia is known to have thoroughly evaluated various vendors before picking suppliers for various technologies. Not wanting to repeat the mistake of putting all its eggs in TI’s basket, and with Infineon already supplying GSM and GPRS parts, Nokia chose not to source 3G parts from Infineon. Instead, Broadcom and Qualcomm were chosen to provide Nokia’s 3G baseband needs. Interestingly, Infineon licenses its 3G stack to Broadcom. This is a loss due to strategic more than technical reasons.

Innovation

Infineon announced improved versions of all of its single-chip solutions. These integrate baseband, power management, RF transceivers, FM radio and in some cases media players and external memory card support. Packing its renowned strengths in baseband, power management, and RF into a single solution results is an offer that is hard to resist for any cost conscious phone designer. Although most of these are meant for the GSM and EDGE markets, such tightly integrated platforms will have a good uptake in price-sensitive 3G markets that do not demand all the bells and whistles of advanced phones.

Infineon announced developing a Software Defined Radio platform, XMM™ SDR 200, that can support multiple standards using the same baseband part. It gained a design win for use in satellite/terrestrial hybrid phones from SkyTerra and TerreStar. While this could go the way of earlier announced GSM/Wi-Fi mobile platform, the SDR platform with its low power consumption might be a hint of things to come.

In sum, Infineon continues to be a strong player in RF transceivers, baseband, and phone-on-a chip platforms for low-cost phones. In the next post, we will continue with the portfolio analysis and concentrate on what ails Infineon’s wireless business.

[Originally for Sramana Mitra on Strategy.]

Continuing with our detailed analysis of European players in wireless semiconductor space, let’s take a look at some recent developments at Infineon Technologies AG.

Infineon ranked tenth among top semiconductor suppliers in 2008. But of late, the company has been in the news more for the financial storm it is wading through than for the quality of its performance. This post delves into related moves on the organizational front. Subsequent posts concentrate on product portfolio, strategy, and outlook.

Profitability has been eluding Infineon for a while. But the company has expended much effort in controlling expenses, and the results are encouraging. The cost-reduction program IFX 10+ reorganized 14 core business units into five divisions. Communication solutions were split across Wireless Solutions (WLS) and Wireline Communications (WLC). The severity of the financial distress led to the offloading of the WLC division, which  was earlier cited as a growth engine.

Infineon drastically reduced its workforce in Q2, although insiders admit that even at this level, the company is still overstaffed. There are plans to slash another 4,000 jobs, including contract workers. From a cost perspective, this effort is commendable, even more so given the difficulty of working around European labor laws. Infineon exited the German employers’ union in November 2008 in order to hire and lay off with more flexibility.

Realizing the drag of manufacturing on revenue, Infineon announced that it is going fab-lite. In-house manufacturing will henceforth be limited to areas where the company’s advanced manufacturing technology gives a competitive advantage: power and automotive semiconductors. Manufacturing at 65-nm and lower geometries will be contracted out.

In this gloomy scenario, the wireless market has been a consolation for Infineon. It is encouraging to see that WLS is at the forefront of Infineon’s recovery efforts. WLS’s share of total revenue has been steadily increasing during the past year, culminating in 30% in the most recent quarter ending on June 30.

In sum, the worst seems to be over in terms of Infineon’s financial woes. It remains to be seen how effectively the company puts its cash on hand to use. If reports of Russian holding company AFK Sistema’s interest in buying a 20% stake in Infineon is to come true, then these troubles  should be a thing of past and the company can go full steam ahead in implementing its vision and strategy.

In the next post we will begin analyzing Infineon’s wireless portfolio.

[Originally for Sramana Mitra on Strategy.]

Seven of the world leading chip makers are collaborating on chips which contain transistors with features just 32 billionth of a metre wide.

IBM, Toshiba, AMD, Samsung, Chartered, Infineon and Freescale formed the alliance to cut development costs. More transistors on a chip equal more processing power, but the development process is extremely expensive.

The seven companies have agreed to work through 2010 design, develop and produce the chips using tiny circuitry. Chips built using the 32-nm process can have more than one billion transistors on them. The group’s chips could be used in everything from memory, computers, graphic cards, set-top boxes to game consoles.Intel, the worlds largest suppliers of chips to the computer industry is not part of the alliance.

The 2009 season was quite a different then the years previous. I would be racing a 600cc Yamaha instead of the 400cc v4 Honda I raced the last three years. A decision I made in order to enter into AMA Supersport races as well as the AFM Championship. In racing things must be planned out perfectly and this season was no different. I got the YZF-R6 less then a month before the first AFM race and made a mad scramble to order parts and get them on the bike in time to enter in the first AFM round. There was a lot of work to do to it before it could be raced and I was unable to get it together before the first AFM round, so I raced last years bike, the v4 Honda in 450 superbike. Why the hell not I would be starting from the front row because of my points from last year. Being the frugal fool I am and haven spent my last dime on parts for the 600 I couldn’t afford practice Saturday, and even had to run shagged tires from last season. Surprisingly I was still able to take the hole shot and lead the first lap on a day where the wind and the wet were ugly enough to send half the paddock packing up and going home. I finished fifth and was seconds off my laps times from last season. Photos from the weekend.

The second round I stepped up to riding the Yamaha. The bike was beautiful with her new paint courtesy of Wal-Mart spray paint, my father and myself are pretty good. The bike setup was crude, a showroom stock street bike with spec AMA Dunlops was my weapon for the weekend. The weekend didn’t go smoothly… a small crash in the first morning practice started my weekend off with no love for the Dunlops. The bike was only scuffed up, but I was still left with the feeling of walking a tight rope. My first race on the 600 I finished 32nd after starting 37th doing 1:54s. Not competitive times to say the least, but I am not easily discouraged and still had yet to feel any comfort on the machine. Some Photos of the weekend.

Round three was much more fun. I Rode the whole weekend on the same Dunlops I raced the AMA round with and learned a TON. Riding on shagged tires sure teaches you what NOT to do. I entered 600 superbike this time as well as production, the more track time the better as I desperately wanted to redeem myself after a lousy AMA performance. I finished 27th and 30th respectively. My lap times didn’t improve much but I did become a lot more consistent. I had changed my gearing, and started playing with my suspension. I remember it was a great weekend of making friends with the people in my classes. One fast umbrella girl even chased me down during the superbike race. Some photos of that weekend.

The next round took place at ThunderHill, a track in northern California in the town of Willows. ThunderHill is a fast, sweeping track with tons of run off. I gave up on the Dunlops and tried the Pirelli’s I had run in previous seasons on the 400, tires I felt could be predictable. Turned out to be a great idea just in time too as I had added another race to the schedule, 750 production, in which I finished 18th out of 27 and did a 2:02.5. In 600 production I finished 23 of 33 and did a 2:02.2. Finishing 600 superbike with a 25th of 31 and only doing a 2:03.3. Things finally started clicking after this weekend and I knew what I needed to work on and where I was weak. Some pictures of that weekend.

The next weekend was even better. Again at ThunderHill and again on the Pirelli’s. This time instead of wasting money practicing on Saturday I entered the vintage race and spent the day trying to tune my rd350 to race against my father. My dad has been dominating the vintage class for two years now and I figured I’d help take him out. I didn’t get the vintage bike past tech, so I had to sit out all Saturday and focused on the three races I had Sunday. I still enjoyed just watching Tim walk away from the rest of his class, as well as watching the clubman and Formula AFEMME races, an all women’s class. Turns out resting instead of practicing isn’t a bad deal since in 750 prod I finished 10th of 21. In 600 prod I finished 14th of 26 and in 600 superbike I got 12th out of 25. Best of all I got down to the 1:56.8, close to six seconds off my best time at Thunder hill in a little under a month. That’s progress baby! The shots of the races. Did I mention I ran off in 600 production on the first lap and had to fight back up to the front with only 5 laps to do it? I’m talking dead last here, peep the pics.

My last race of the season took place back at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma California. I was tight for money, and coming down with a serious cold but I had to try out my new toy. I had recently strapped a Auto tune onto the bike, a piece of electronic wizardry that allows the bikes to tune itself on the fly using reading from the bike’s stock sensors. I had also come to understand my front suspension better and made a few adjustments to the forks. Again I attempted to race my father in the vintage class and at least offer some sort of a challenge. I got my 1973’ RD350 past tech inspection this time and actually made it through a practice session on the bike. Sadly before the race I found the gas tank had sprung a leak and I couldn’t go out spewing gas all over. Another Saturday spent watching the other racers go by. By the time Sunday morning came my illness had set in and I was feeling fatigued from the moment I awoke. No matter I was only going to do 600 production, I could make it I felt. I was gridded 11th and finished 7th out of 24 and did a 1:47.7, nearly seven seconds off my lap times from the beginning of the season. I was happy with my result but I knew I could have done much better. I was tired during the race, something I’ve never experienced before. Typically I’ll feel powerful and light, but that Sunday I remember being sluggish and unable to push. I couldn’t battle for position and when engaged in passing I didn’t have much to fight with besides being smooth and stuffing people on the brakes. The Pictures from the race.

The MODE Racing sponsored GOTO:Racing Nissan GTR has had quite the success in its first 2 events.  Running SCCA World Challenge times while testing at Infineon and taking a first place finish at its first race at Thunderhill.  While Brian Lock is the main driver for the GTR, his brother Chris Lock was also able to take home the track record for TT while at Thunderhill.  Here is their forum post documenting their experience, http://www.nagtroc.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32917.

Here is a link to in-car video from the race.

http://www.vimeo.com/6272132

MODE Racing owner, Billy Brooks, is one of a very few to have over 1.5 years experience, engineering and driving, the latest iteration of the GTR, the R35, in the US.  Being able to get his hands on a JDM version while working for COBB Tuning, 3 months after the release in Japan and 6 months before US release, he has been able to fine tune quite a few parts for this super car.  MODE Racing has provided GOTO: Racing with these soon to be released parts:

-MODE Racing Secondary Oil Cooler

-MODE Racing Transmission Oil Cooler

-MODE Racing Rear Differential Oil Cooler

-MODE Racing Replacement Intercooler Couplers with T-bolts

-MODE Racing Splitter

-MODE Racing Rear Diffuser Vanes

Along with a few other parts that will be mentioned later after further testing.  Lets just say that we will be offering a few parts for the GTR that others have not.  We will continue to update you on the development of this car, but in the meantime, here are a few threads to keep you busy:

http://www.nagtroc.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=29989

http://www.nagtroc.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32672&st=0#entry448892

http://www.nagtroc.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32899

http://www.nagtroc.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32917

http://www.nagtroc.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=33009

http://www.nagtroc.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32981

Congratulations and good luck on the Lock’s future endeavors with the car.  We will make sure to keep everyone up to date on the car’s progression.

Although there’s nothing funner than traveling around shooting pictures of cool cars, I have to admit I’m looking forward to the break I’ll have this weekend after five consecutive weeks of events. Perhaps my Miata will get a much-needed wash? Maybe a drive in the hills? Anyways, before the end of the week, I wanted to wrap up my Formula Drift Sonoma coverage with one more batch of random photos from the event. Continue reading at Speedhunters.

—Mike Garrett

Happy Sunday kids! Time to get up from your nap to have another nap while watching the SNOREnoma Grand Prix. Although Will Power and Nelson Philippe will tell you this weekend has been anything but boring… *more on that later*

I had another post that I uploaded and then forgot to go live… :rolleyes: I guess I’ll go back and edit that and see if there is anything worth even posting.

I’ve reached maximum velocity this summer as far as my time, patience, skillset is concerned. I’ve been working for a month straight now, between my 9-5 day job (or 8:30 – 6…7pm… “depending on the day” job), the wedding photographer gig, (we are in our busy season now) and the waning part of the racing season. I work and sleep, and when I can find the time and opportunity, I eat in there somewhere. I was going to fly to Chicago next weekend, but have opted to cover the junior open wheel formulas arriving in my hometown instead, and watching Chicago via computer.

Just a handful of races to go and a uber tight points battle which will likely go right to the final checkered flag. Our newest writer over at OWW did a little points battle scenario article last week, if you haven’t done so already, give it a look-see…

So… here we are, Snorenoma… The last of the road courses. The last of the opportunities for anyone other than a red car to make some noise. I would have put my money on Will Power but he is sitting in a hospital right now concussed, tooth chipped and back broken, somewhere down the hall from the equally concussed with two busted up legs Nelson Philippe. Frightening looking crash, which believe it or not could have been so much worse had either E.J or Will hit a few inches either way. My heart breaks for both of them. This is not the way for anyone to end the season, but especially for these two who’s future season (2010) is now in jeopardy. I wish them both a speedy recovery. According to IMS radio, Nelson could be released later today, while Will is still undergoing some tests and being fitted with a back brace.

What else is in the news.. ah yes, Danica. Not unlike any other race weekend, it’s been all about the Princess this weekend. Apparently she is staying put. And staying at AGR. (what is it with the AGR drivers using Ganassi as a bargaining tool?) Apparently she thinks just as highly of Kevin Savoree as I do (I just choked a little at the fact that Danica and I share a commonality…) (besides being bitches… ) and with him stepping away from the running of the team, she has decided (allegedly) to stick around.

ok… going to make sure all of my windows are working…

water-bottle filled, coffee hot and sugary, ass cams loaded. (ok, they are only ass-cams when the drivers get in their cars on the grid, but still… it’s a fun viewing moment) Timing and scoring loaded. I’ve got Justin Wilson, Robert Doornbos, Oriol Servia and Dario FROchitti as my incar choices.

START YOUR ENGINES! (nice job Stacy somebody who plays basketball I think)

Viewing enhancements so far, E.J’s snake putting the squeeze on Jack Arute, much to E.J’s amusement.

Installation laps have begun… clean safe race boys and gals! It’s been a weird weekend in my world so far, so I could use some “happy” today.

Wow… lined up nicely. Good job kids!

Green Green Green!!
Yellow Yellow Yellow!!

Holy Clusterfuck batman!

Andretti into Rahal, into Patrick?
Dixon into Kanaan, into Viso

Servia manages to thread the needle and miss everyone, as does Mario Moraes.

commercial for repairs.

*did you hear how dejected Arute sounded when reporting that Danica was in for repairs… LOL!…*

Rahal toast. Thanks for coming out. (not from crash damage, but rather he broke his drive shaft)

EJ behind the wall. (unlucky bastard)
Dixon manages somehow not to go down a lap, despite sitting limp in the middle of the track for an eternity, and is not dead fucking last (lucky bastard)

Restart on Lap 3. Briscoe all over Franchitti like a fat kid on a smartee.

Lap 7, Wilson in for sticker reds, and running his own little off-sequence race. (not like he has anything to lose at this point)

*commercial*

Montagny complaining about the car. replaced the nose cone, but something still not right.

Doornbos chrome horns Hunter-Reay

Notice how humble and calm Rahal becomes when it’s “his” mistake that takes him out of the race?

Mutoh bringing the heat on Helio… Go get him Hideki!!

*commercial – Lap 13*

Mutoh takes a peek. Nope.
Moraes takes a peek on Wheldon. Yes! gets it done for P5 (picked up 7 spots on lap 1)

Back on Lap 15.

nothing really happened… I caught up on twitter….

*commercial Lap 18*

Two by Two battles according to timing and scoring: Mutoh on Helio, RHR on BobbyD, Antinucci on Matos, Conway on Carpenter, Montagny on Dixon

Back from commercial Lap 21

Everytime I see Montagny’s car, I think I’m watching the Lights race… (he is all over Dixon btw)

*another commerical Lap 23* (thankfully I’m watching a nonstop feed so I dont’ see any of them)

Mutoh keeps poking his nose in there, but can’t get it done on Twinkletoes.

Back from commercial Lap 23, Dixon in for pitstop and alternates. That’s one way to get the other drivers off your ass.

Andretti the Least in as well for fuel and alternates.

Ooooh, almost collects Dixon on his outlap! dang. that was close.

Wheldon in Lap 26th.

Rahal getting strapped into his car again on lap 27 to get back in the race. (oh btw… EJ’s car is unrepairable, so he will not be back in the race today)

eeek… lots of close calls on pitlane.

RHR sticks his nose in where it doesn’t belong, and gets it taken off by Oriol Servia. Comes in for a new nose and back out.

I’m so confused by all of these pit stops! Ahhhh!!

Holy battle between Wilson and Dixon on Wilson’s outlap. Antinucci got him as well.

I’ll wait until T&S cycles through to see where everyone is…

The Princess is getting inhaled by everyone, ON camera! woot! Thanks for coming out.

back from commercial Lap 34…

This has actually been an interesting race. These kids are feeling racy out there today. (lots of button bushing me thinks)

Kanaan just got around Doornbos for 10th. (on camera no less!)

Dixon takes a look on BobbyD, but can’t get it done!

LOL! Ganassi “not paying attention to the 9″ nice.

Castroneves is all over Briscoe. Apparently there are no team orders to help push his teammate closer to the championship….

*commercial Lap 38* (halfway point)

I’ve decided, definitively, that I don’t like Castroneves.

oops… we came back a while ago… playing on twitter again.

Montagny and Antinucci made contact on lap 41, Montagny into the pits on lap 44. (left suspension damage)

*commercial Lap 45*
Franchitti still out front, with Briscoe and Castroneves but a whisper behind.

Mutoh & Moraes still holding their own battling 4th & 5th

Twinkletoes is going to take Briscoe out. I can feel it in my gut…

We are on lap 49 now… much off roading and locking up throughout the field.

Moraes locks it up through the runoff, Kanaan locks it up, goes off roading in turn 9 and loses several positions.

Wilson bringing the heat on Matos. Matos hit’s the button too funny.

Final pit stops happening.

Nice! Wilson gets around Castroneves, clean. Kanaan on the other hand does not make the clean pass and gets into Twinkletoes, who now has damage… or not… hard to tell.

*commercial Lap 56*

Franchitti got in and out very quickly. Pulled off a 6 second lead but now Briscoe is reeling him back in very quickly.

Mutoh reeling in Castroneves again.

Back from commercial lap 59…

Franchitti out front with 17 to go. Briscoe only a second and a bit back, Twinkletoes not a factor 9 secs back, but Mutoh just made mincemeat of him! Sweet pass!

So, there is a huge chunk of debris on track… no yellow… someone hints at debris at other races, and we have 10 laps of yellow… Race control is weird!

Moraes around Twinkletoes now! Woot!
so glad I have two feeds going! I’m seeing all the passes that Versus is missing until later… LOL!

*commercial lap 64, with 13 to go*

Conway now on the hunt on the ass end of the injured Castroneves

back with 10 to go.
Wilson is stalking Servia now for 7th. (great drive by him today after starting dead fucking last)

Twinkletoes is beached in the middle of nowhere land and Hunter-Reay is dead stick on the track.

Full course caution

Castroneves right front suspension problems, went for a hard bumpy right. Day’s done. Thanks for coming out.
Hunter-Reay’s engine just died. Caput. Day done. Thanks for coming out.

*back from commercial, still yellow*
6 to go…

Gonna be a 5 lap shoot out.
Green next time by
The 5 cars behind the leaders have nothing to lose, so look for insanity on the restart!! (Mutoh, Moraes, Conway, Servia, Wilson)

Franchitti shot from a cannon, Briscoe had no chance. Everyone else on the button, and dicing.

Dixon has decided to get racy all of a sudden.

Conway around Moraes, around Mutoh! Moraes around Mutoh! Wilson does some drifting, stalling, burnouts! sweet!

who cares about the leaders! There is some racing going on behind them!

Conway no more juice in his button! This could be bad news for him!
Maybe not, Moraes isn’t anywhere close!

Wow, Conway on the podium!

Dixon runs out of talent and drops to 14th on the last lap! ooooh… strike that… Andretti the Least ran out of talent and spun Dixon. Suckage there.

Boy Howdy! That was a fun race! Glad I watched.

Ok… off to write this puppy up.

Here is an excellent article from the VC dispatch at Wall Street Journal.

“Though demand for mobile phones is at an all-time high, Sequoia Communications Inc., a developer of components for the devices, has found itself unable to raise additional venture capital and is closing its doors, according to an investor.

The San Diego company had raised about $64 million from nine venture firms over several rounds beginning in 2001, VentureWire records show.

Luis Arzubi, a general partner with Tallwood Venture Capital, which participated in three funding rounds for Sequoia, said the company felt the pinch from the world’s economic slowdown, competition from name-brand tech companies and the difficulty of keeping the company’s components in compliance with the rules and protocols of numerous overseas markets.

“The company was running behind its original schedule,” Arzubi said. “Venture capitalists are very cautious, and afraid of throwing good money after bad.”

The company developed a transceiver for mobile phones that worked well, he said, and had signed up customers. Sequoia was about a year away from breaking even when investors pulled the plug, he said.

Transceivers are one of many electronic components that enable wireless communication. They are capable of tuning in, modulating and broadcasting standard cell signals. Transceivers also exist in other electronics and are used to pick up and broadcast other types of signals.

Semiconductor giants such as Qualcomm Inc. and Infineon Technologies AG also build transceivers, and they have more resources to bring to bear on the process, Arzubi said. They also have a diversified line of products, which Sequoia did not.”

Read the fulla article here.

“Вхождение АФК «Система» в капитал крупного европейского производителя микроэлектроники — немецкой Infineon — станет одной из основных тем сегодняшней встречи президента России Дмитрия Медведева и канцлера Германии Ангелы Меркель. Источник в «Системе» подтвердил, что переговоры ведутся на политическом уровне, а сама АФК не принимает в них непосредственного участия, хотя и следит за их ходом. Речь идет о судьбе немецкого производителя микрочипов Qimonda, который на 77,47% принадлежит компании Infineon.”

http://www.vedomosti.ru/

SONOMA, Calif., August 10, 2009—The Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation and Shoot For a Cure Moto Sport has just announced that their next wildly popular RUN, WALK and WHEELATHON series of events is coming to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California on Thursday evening, August 20. The event takes place stop in their on a specially designed course at Infineon Raceway… a once in a lifetime opportunity for race fans to actually Run (3.1 Miles); Walk (1.5 Miles); or Wheel (1.5 Miles) the track! All of the money raised will fund paralysis research helping the almost 6 million people in the United States who have some form of paralysis.

Event brochure: http://onyourmarkevents.com/Applications/infineon.pdf

Infineon Raceway has donated the use of their site and other logistical considerations.  We expect to welcome many participants, including Indycar drivers and personalities, and a responsive crowd to cheer us all on.

The event’s awards ceremony and after party will be held immediately following the race.   There will be opportunities for celebrity autographs and photos, and lots of other surprises.

The Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation (SSPF) helps individuals overcome spinal cord injuries and other neurological disorders by funding scientific research, medical treatment, rehabilitation and technological advances.  This research benefits stroke victims and people diagnosed with ALS, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. SSPF funds its national Day at the Races program and quality of life grants to organizations throughout the country benefiting people with paralysis and other life challenges. It also provides college scholarships for people with spinal cord injuries/paralysis. The Foundation works tirelessly in its advocacy efforts both locally and nationally on behalf of the disabled.  The SSPF maintains a Web site at http://www.samschmidt.org/.

Up and down, the Börsenrapp.

Wir haben offenbar zur Zeit eine Teilung des Marktes in Deutschland aber auch global. Global wenn man sich ansieht, wie tief Deutschland in der Exportfalle sitzt. National, wenn man bedenkt, wie unfähig Politiker und Beamte mit den Belangen der Unternehmen und Arbeitnehmer umgehen. Der IWF sieht die Weltwirtschaft langsam aus der Talsohle kommen, was schon seit Tagen auch an der Wall Street zu beobachten ist, der zur Zeit noch wichtigsten Börse mit Leitfunktion für die Weltwirtschaft.

In Deutschland dagegen verharrt der Dax wie der Hase vor der Schlange, er ozilliert um die 4800 Punkte seit Wochen. Da helfen auch keine Nachrichten wie die von der Erwartung, der Export würde 2010 mit 10 % wieder zu legen, denn zu vor ist er mit 18 % förmlich abgeschmiert, wie es in der Formel 1 Sprache heißt.

Damals machte man sich auch noch Hoffnungen.

Jahrelang das Sorgenkind des neuen Marktes, Infineon, hat nun in der Krise Auftrieb erhalten und vermeldet bessere Zahlen und Geschäftserwartungen. Eines dieser Lichter im dunklen Tunnel der deutschen Wirtschaft. Wer hätte das gedacht? Jede Krise hat wohl auch immer angenehme Überraschungen parat.

Und auch bei VW scheinen sich die Bäder ziwschen kalt und warm schneller zu verändern, als dass man als Blogger das wahrnehmen kann. Gestern noch Patient, heute schon wieder gloabal auf Vereinigung aus. Soll will VW mit Suzuki zu mindest Sushi essen, also im Bereich “Kleinwagen” kooperieren.

Das haut einen glatt um. Eisbärlogik

Und auch im Bereich Maschinenbau und Pharma sieht es besser aus, als bisher angenommen. Das wird unsere Kranken freuen, denn damit gehen uns nicht die vielen bunten Pillen aus, die man hier so gegen alles nimmt, von der Fettsucht bis zu den Schweißfüßen. Den Pillendrehern mag das Recht sein, Kohle ist Kohle, ob in Yen, Dollar oder Euro.

Der Markt bleibt geteilt. Denn was des einen Freud ist des anderen Leid. So meldet die allseits so beliebte Bahn einen Einbruch von Gewinn und Umsatz. Und auch die Kurzarbeit soll dort ausgedehnt werden, dabei sind “Jim Lukas, der Lokomotivführer” und seine deutschen Kollegen noch nicht einmal an der Börse notiert. Man kann und darf spekulieren, ob es jemals eine Bahnaktie geben wird. Und Beipiele der Art geibt es viele, doch zur Zeit freuen sich alle an den Lichtlein im Tunnel, nur die 1 bis 1,5 Millionen Nochbeschäftigten, die demnächst sich bei der Agentur für Arbeit anstellen müssen, bei denen herrscht jetzt schon Polaraeskälte. Da braucht man  schon ein dickes Fell, so wie es Knuth unser Berliner Eisbärjüngling hat.

Racing in the wine county on Father’s Day. Changing the order of the races didn’t seem to have an effect on the way the drivers went about racing. Sonoma is  a interesting track with “right turns.” If you get heckled over NASCAR only going left, tell them about this track. Watkins Glen is another road course.

Even though this race at Infineon could of been called a tamed race, there was still plenty of action on the track. They were going three and even four wide through the corners without wrecking, most of the time. Most of the spins came in turns 5 and 11, which is normal.

Before I get to the winner, there are some drivers who deserve some recognition. Marcos Ambrose, who had trouble with an engine during final practice, had to start in the back of the pack. He would work his way up to the third position. Also, as much as I don’t like him, Jimmie Johnson dun good after a “too fast entering pit road.” He came back to a forth place finish.

Kasey Kahne came from a  place position to the lead, and on lap 108 the yellow flag comes out. Kasey and Tony Stewart would battle it out, and with a Green White Checked, they did just that. On the restart, Kasey would hold on to win the race.

With ten races left until the Chase for the Cup, the top twelve drivers are…

1) Tony Stewart 2364

2) Jeff Gordon -84

3) Jimmie Johnson -157

4) Kurt Bush -280

5) Carl Edwards -313

6) Ryan Newman -318

7) Denny Hamlin -355

8 ) Greg Biffle -372

9) Kyle Bush -402

10) Matt Kenseth -407

11) Mark Martin -438

12) Juan Pablo Montoya -447

I guess we will have to see if your favorite driver will finish in the Chase. They head to Loudon, New Hampshire at 1:30 pm, on TNT for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301.

And so NASCAR arrives at a road course – Infineon Roadway in Sonoma, to be exactly. All of a sudden, the drivers would encounter right hand turns and have to work out how to deal with them: it was going to be a through the looking glass experience for many of them.

Brian Vickers led the field to the first of the side-by-side rolling restarts under NASCAR’s new rules that apply here just as they do to ovals. Vickers sprang away as the green flag came out, but the rest of the field looked like clumsy, lurching giants crawling around the unfamiliar tight turns. It looked less like NASCAR, more like a 20-year-old touring car race. But of course the unfamiliarity and the potential for mistakes and accidents is all a crucial part of the appeal about sending NASCAR out on the road.

No problems for Vickers, while further back Carl Edwards was making notable progress, up nine places by lap 3 toward the back of the pack and Juan Montoya – an obvious road course specialist with his F1 experience – up eight places from 17th by lap 5 and into the top ten.

Sam Hornish made an early pit stop on lap 7, suffering vibrations after locking his brakes and flat spotting his tyres while making a move on AJ Allmendinger for 17th. Allmendinger himself suffered a flat on lap 10 that sent him off onto the dust and gravel at turn 8, limped back to the pits for a tyre change and then incurred a pit lane speeding penalty for his problems. But the first ‘routine’ pit stop was from road specialism Marcos Ambrose who came in on lap 13 to get himself off sequence with the intention of using the clear space he came out into at the back of the back to make up some time and jump a few places when the leaders came in.

The first lead change took place on lap 17 when Kyle Busch muscled Brian Vickers into a mistake and reaped the rewards. And the first yellow was on lap 21 when David Ragan got into one of the tyre stacks defining the final U-shaped corner, causing Jeff Burton to spin behind him. The same corner was going to see spins from Boris Said (a street ‘ringer’, imported for this event) with the help of a little tap from Denny Hamlin, and later on lap 29 Patrick Carpentier and Clint Bowyer also spun out but recovered without triggering a yellow.

While several cars pitted under the first yellow, the leaders opted to stay out – preferring instead to stick to the all-important fuel plan that would allow them to reach full distance on just two stops. hence, Busch gave up the chance to put under yellow only to pit under green four laps later on lap 28, and the rest of the field gradually cycled through the pits as well. Tony Stewart inherited the lead for 3 laps before pitting on lap 31, allowing Kasey Kahne to take over for three laps before he too pitted and Denny Hamlin took up the baton. Kurt Busch briefly made a move stick on Hamlin on lap 38, only to then overcook it on the next turn, lock his brakes and allow Hamlin to take the lead right back.

Marcos Ambrose came in again on his off-sequence strategy on lap 41 having worked his way up to 3rd, and was soon setting the fastest laps again after dropping down to 26th as a result. There were some eye-catching but harmless incidents including Elliot Sadler sliding off the track coming out of turn 10 on lap 43, sustaining some rear damage that caused him to get penalised; David Reutimann getting spun around by Jimmie Johnson just before the esses on lap 44; and AJ Allmendinger in the wars again spun around by the leader Denny Hamlin in the U-turn as he went a lap down for the second time having just got his lap back.

He got the lead back with the free pass a few minutes later with the second caution of the afternoon on lap 53, this time for debris on the track at a critical corner. Hamlin stayed out ahead of Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano and Boris Said – 19 cars in all decided not to pit – but among those opting to come in at the mid race point were Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson – and Jeff Gordon, who got a pit lane speeding penalty for being too fast on entry and got sent to the back of the lead lap for his troubles.

It was a rough restart, with Brandon Ash knocked into a spin on lap 58 when he tried to turn across Greg Biffle who had the inside line of the double file restart, and Matt Kenseth clouting Mark Martin at the next turn completely wrecking the rear left wheel of the number 5 in the process.

Brian Vickers pulled off a neat overtaking move down the inside of Juan Montoya – not know for allowing anyone to pass him under any circumstances for 8th place, and the Colombian hastily ensured Dale Earnhardt Jr couldn’t follow him through as well. But Vickers hit disaster just seconds later when the group came up on an accident involving Kyle Busch, who had locked his brakes and ploughed into the back of the 77 of Sam Hornish Jr. Vickers braked and went off road avoiding hitting either car, only to then hit Busch as he attempted to rejoin the race. It was a fair disaster for all concerned and had certainly wrecked the potentially race winning strategy of both Vickers and Busch: Vickers was left 38th and last on the lead lap, while Busch was a lap down in 40th.

Hamlin gave up the lead for pit road on lap 67, his second and final refuelling stop of the afternoon, only to get beaten out of the pits by Kurt Busch who had come in at the same time. Others cycling through pit stops included Boris Said (who got a penalty for speeding on exit), Juan Montoya (complaining of a loose car), Jeff Gordon (whose crew dropped a left-rear lug nut, delaying the exit) and Dale Earnhardt Jr (who also had a lug nut issue, albeit more minor.)

That left Tony Stewart in temporary charge at the front, ahead of Kasey Kahne, Robby Gordon, Marcos Ambrose and Kevin Harvick. Kahne was next in on lap 71, and Stewart himself on lap 75. Ambrose came in on the following lap, and when he returned to the track he emerged alongside Bobby Labonte – too close. The two made contact and Labonte was spun around and off onto the gravel. As he hunted around to find the track again, be got lost in the cloud of dust and emerged pointing the wrong way into the oncoming traffic, triggering a hasty yellow – the third caution of the day.

Unfortunately the caution meant that those drivers who had yet to pit – including Robby Gordon who had inherited the lead – now came in and emerged well down (Gordon restarted in 25th). Scott Speed found himself on point, ahead of Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin; Kahne immediately got the better of Speed at the restart, and Speed subsequently got barged to one side by impact with Joey Logano before finally opting for pit lane and his overdue pit stop.

Things were getting feisty out there as the race headed into its last 30 laps. Ryan Newman got spun around after suspected contact with Hornish, and Paul Menard also spun going into the final U-shaped corner. Finally it was a multi-car accident sparked by Boris Said getting into the U-corner too hot and collecting both Sam Hornish and David Gilliland on lap 83 that brought out the fourth caution of the day. Said and Gilliland drove away from the scene of the crime but Hornish had suffered serious frontal damage on the 77.

At the restart on lap 87 Kasey Kahne led Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Juan Montoya, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin all threatening behind in the top six. Kahne got a good jump, while Montoya pulled off a gutsy move on Stewart to claim second only to lose it again to a smart piece of driving by Smoke on the next lap. Further back, however, there was trouble: a heart-stopping moment when Macros Ambrose nearly got driven into the tyres protecting the pit lane blend wall by Denny Hamlin, and then Jimmie Johnson got loose bouncing over kerbs and tapped Kurt Busch into a spin that sent him into the tyres in the esses on lap 90, bringing out the fifth yellow. This time, no one was pitting.

Not such a great restart for Kahne this time around, but he held the lead from Stewart while behind them Montoya and Johnson battled hard for third place, only narrowly avoiding disaster, only to see Marcos Ambrose get the better of both of them. Further behind and the fun was really getting going, with Greg Biffle and Brandon Ashe both spun around and hitting the wall causing major bodywork damage further back. After a breathless few minutes, NASCAR threw the sixth yellow on lap 96 for debris and everyone could breath again – while dreading yet another mayhem-inducing double file restart.

The wild ride resumed on lap 99, and fun broke out all over the place as a combination of dust and dirt kicked onto the track and tyres worn slick at the end of their lives. Kyle Busch threatened to bring out a quick caution by spinning around and stalling mid-track, but managed to get going again; multiple cars had impacts and spins on lap 101, among them Dale Earnhardt Jr and David Ragan; David Stremme spin near the entrance to pit road on the next lap., and Casey Nears spun with a little help from Patrick Carpentier on lap 106. But finally it was Scott Speed’s spin on lap 108 after contact with Boris Said that summed the seventh and final yellow of the afternoon.

From here on it was sudden death, under green-and-chequered conditions – two laps to go or the instant the next caution came out, whichever came first. But it meant that poor old Kasey Kahne had to endure and pull off his fourth straight restart in the lead at Sonoma, and just because it was two laps to go didn’t mean they were spared the double file line-up.

Kahne delivered: he kept the lead ahead of Stewart while Ambrose had to battle with Johnson to maintain third. None of them seemed to have anything in reserve, and that’s how they crossed the finish line, having avoided a final caution for a crash involving Mark Martin and two other cars at the end of the penultimate lap. The race continued to the end without a yellow and the fans certainly got their money’s worth.

NASCAR really should do road races more often, you know.

Race results

FIN ST  CAR DRIVER              MAKE       PTS/BNS  LAPS
1   5   9   Kasey Kahne         Dodge      195/10   113
2   4   14  Tony Stewart        Chevrolet  175/5    113
3   3   47  Marcos Ambrose      Toyota     165/0    113
4   11  48  Jimmie Johnson      Chevrolet  160/0    113
5   24  11  Denny Hamlin        Toyota     160/5    113
6   17  42  Juan Montoya        Chevrolet  150/0    113
7   20  44  A.J. Allmendinger   Dodge      146/0    113
8   26  33  Clint Bowyer        Chevrolet  142/0    113
9   13  24  Jeff Gordon         Chevrolet  138/0    113
10  8   19  Elliott Sadler      Dodge      134/0    113
11  38  55  Patrick Carpentier  Toyota     130/0    113
12  33  113 Max Papis *         Toyota     127/0    113
13  34  99  Carl Edwards        Ford       124/0    113
14  23  26  Jamie McMurray      Ford       121/0    113
15  27  2   Kurt Busch          Dodge      123/5    113
16  1   83  Brian Vickers       Toyota     120/5    113
17  7   39  Ryan Newman         Chevrolet  112/0    113
18  10  17  Matt Kenseth        Ford       109/0    113
19  12  20  Joey Logano *       Toyota     106/0    113
20  25  96  Bobby Labonte       Ford       103/0    113
21  30  98  Paul Menard         Ford       100/0    113
22  2   18  Kyle Busch          Toyota     102/5    113
23  21  07  Casey Mears         Chevrolet  94/0     113
24  9   08  Boris Said          Ford       91/0     113
25  6   1   Martin Truex Jr.    Chevrolet  88/0     113
26  35  88  Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Chevrolet  85/0     113
27  29  09  Ron Fellows         Chevrolet  82/0     113
28  15  16  Greg Biffle         Ford       79/0     113
29  16  29  Kevin Harvick       Chevrolet  76/0     113
30  41  34  John Andretti       Chevrolet  73/0     113
31  42  00  David Reutimann     Toyota     70/0     113
32  32  171 David Gilliland     Chevrolet  67/0     113
33  40  6   David Ragan         Ford       64/0     113
34  36  31  Jeff Burton         Chevrolet  61/0     113
35  14  5   Mark Martin         Chevrolet  58/0     113
36  22  7   Robby Gordon        Toyota     60/5     113
37  31  187 Scott Speed *       Toyota     57/5     113
38  18  77  Sam Hornish Jr.     Dodge      49/0     106
39  39  12  David Stremme       Dodge      46/0     101
40  28  43  Reed Sorenson       Dodge      43/0      98
41  43  102 Brandon Ash         Dodge      40/0      94
42  19  66  Dave Blaney         Toyota     37/0       3
43  37  204 P.J. Jones          Toyota     34/0       2

Sprint Cup standings

Serious damage was done to Mark Martin and Jeff Burton’s campaigns, both of whom lose three places after Sonoma. Denny Hamlin was the biggest winner, while Juan Montoya climbs two spots and into the Sprint Cup top twelve for the first time.

    +/- DRIVER             POINTS   BEHIND  ST  P   W   T5  T10
1   --  Tony Stewart        2364    Leader  16  0   1   8   12
2   --  Jeff Gordon         2280    -84     16  0   1   8   11
3   --  Jimmie Johnson      2207    -157    16  0   2   7   10
4   --  Kurt Busch          2084    -280    16  0   1   4   8
5   +1  Carl Edwards        2051    -313    16  0   0   4   8
6   -1  Ryan Newman         2046    -318    16  1   0   5   8
7   +3  Denny Hamlin        2009    -355    16  0   0   4   6
8   -1  Greg Biffle         1992    -372    16  0   0   5   8
9   --  Kyle Busch          1962    -402    16  1   3   4   5
10  +1  Matt Kenseth        1957    -407    16  1   2   4   6
11  -3  Mark Martin         1926    -438    16  3   3   4   8
12  +2  Juan Montoya        1917    -447    16  1   0   0   7
CHASE FOR THE Sprint CUP - CURRENT CONTENDERS
13  +2  Kasey Kahne         1914    -450    16  0   1   2   5
14  -1  David Reutimann     1877    -487    16  2   1   3   4
15  -3  Jeff Burton         1871    -493    16  0   0   2   6
16  --  Clint Bowyer        1852    -512    16  0   0   3   6
17  --  Brian Vickers       1794    -570    16  4   0   2   6
18  +2  Marcos Ambrose      1704    -660    16  0   0   2   4
19  --  Jamie McMurray      1669    -695    16  0   0   0   3
20  -2  Dale Earnhardt Jr.  1640    -724    16  0   0   1   3
21  --  Casey Mears         1617    -747    16  0   0   0   2
22  --  Martin Truex Jr.    1590    -774    16  1   0   0   3
23  +4  Elliott Sadler      1570    -794    16  0   0   1   2
24  +1  Joey Logano*        1551    -813    16  0   0   0   3
25  -2  Kevin Harvick       1537    -827    16  0   0   2   2
26  -2  Sam Hornish Jr.     1496    -868    16  0   0   0   3
27  -1  Reed Sorenson       1487    -877    16  0   0   0   1
28  +1  Bobby Labonte       1474    -890    16  0   0   1   1
29  +2  A.J. Allmendinger   1467    -897    16  0   0   1   3
30  -2  David Ragan         1447    -917    16  0   0   0   1
31  +1  David Stremme       1362    -1002   16  0   0   0   0
32  -2  Michael Waltrip     1338    -1026   15  0   0   0   1
33  --  Paul Menard         1337    -1027   16  0   0   0   0
34  --  Robby Gordon        1273    -1091   16  0   0   1   1
35  --  Scott Speed*        1093    -1271   15  0   0   1   1
36  --  John Andretti        999    -1365   14  0   0   0   0
37  --  David Gilliland      941    -1423   15  0   0   0   0
38  --  Regan Smith          734    -1630   8   0   0   0   0
39  --  Joe Nemechek         592    -1772   12  0   0   0   0
40  --  Dave Blaney          551    -1813   13  0   0   0   0
41  +4  Max Papis*           502    -1862   7   0   0   0   0
42  -1  Brad Keselowski      479    -1885   4   0   1   1   2

desert horses: Mustang babies~~Ridgecrest BLM, CA

SAFER horse rescue, Sonoma, CA. http://www.saferhorse.com/ One of my good friends and fellow horseowner is on the board of directors of Saferhorse. I know another woman on the board. IF you wish to donate to a legitimate horse rescue, …

SAFER horse rescue, Sonoma, CA. http://www.saferhorse.com/ One of my good friends and fellow horseowner is on the board of directors of Saferhorse. I know another woman on the board. IF you wish to donate to a legitimate horse rescue, …

Perhaps the biggest challenge on the TNT schedule is the road course in Sonoma, CA. This race has resulted in some memorable moments for the TV network. This Sunday, the challenge comes around again. So far, TNT has been nothing short …

SAFER horse rescue, Sonoma, CA. http://www.saferhorse.com/ One of my good friends and fellow horseowner is on the board of directors of Saferhorse. I know another woman on the board. IF you wish to donate to a legitimate horse rescue, …

SONOMA, CA – JUNE 19: Brian Vickers, driver of the #83 Red Bull Toyota, wins the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway on June 19, 2009 in Sonoma, California. …

Dope

Thanks to AL LAGURA for the video

Hier c’était donc la journée de roulage organisée par Fatlace à Infineon Raceway

Les photos dans le post ici : Karting photos

L’expérience va être renouvelée une fois par mois. Dope.

Plus de photos bientôt et si le Flip à survécu une vidéo

]]> http://gigaom.com/2009/06/08/atts-new-network-may-not-help-your-old-iphone/ Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:30:20 +0000 Stacey Higginbotham http://gigaom.com/2009/06/08/atts-new-network-may-not-help-your-old-iphone/

Apple (s aapl) unveiled the new iPhone today, and once again the device is inspiring lust while the network inspires loathing. While a lot of sites are hacked off that AT&T (s T) will not support tethering (using your phone as a modem) and MMS picture messaging on the iPhone 3G right away, owners of older 3G iPhones in the U.S. may have a bigger beef. Sources are telling me — and AT&T doesn’t deny — that the network upgrades AT&T announced two weeks ago won’t boost the old 3G iPhone’s data connections to the promised 7.2 Mbps speeds.

AT&T said today that the latest iPhone, which will be in stores on June 19, will be able to use the soon-to-be-launched HSPA networks, which could theoretically reach speeds of 7.2 Mbps down. From its release:

iPhone 3G S will be compatible with High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 technology, which offers theoretical peak download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps, though actual speeds will vary as these capabilities become available. AT&T plans to begin deploying HSPA 7.2 later this year, with completion expected in 2011.

What it doesn’t say, however, is whether or not the existing 3G iPhone will be compatible with the network upgrades. I asked AT&T about this last month, and was sent a link to the AT&T web site noting that the original iPhone is HSPA compatible in the 850 MHz spectrum band that AT&T is using to augment its 3G coverage. When I specifically asked if this meant the device could reach HSPA 7.2 speeds, however, I was not given an answer. I asked the question again today and was again pointed to the aforementioned link on the web site.

The original iPhone 3G won’t, according to various people I’ve spoken with, be able to zip along at the fastest speeds offered by the network upgrade because of its hardware limitations. The Infineon chip inside the phone has the capability to offer HSPA in three bands, including the ones AT&T is using, but the antennas and power amplifiers inside the phone may not give it the boost it needs to offer those speeds without consuming too much power, or even at all.  Apple has so far not responded to my requests for comment. Readers may be able to help us by letting us know if they can run the iPhone 3G at speeds close to 7.2 Mbps on other HSPA networks around the world.

As for the complaints about the new iPhone, AT&T spokesman Seth Bloom says AT&T plans to offer tethering, but “has no announcement at this time,” and notes that MMS support will come later this summer. “We absolutely will offer MMS on iPhone 3G S in the late summer once we complete some system upgrades that will ensure our customers have the best experience with MMS. These upgrades are unrelated to our 3G network.”