Innovative Application Crawls Your Playlist and Automatically Tells You When Those Bands Are Playing a Concert Near You

Concertimatic is now available through the Apple App Store® for iPhone® and iPod Touch® owners. Imagine never missing your favorite bands when they come through town again. With one tap, Concertimatic reads your iTunes® library for your list of artists and then combs through concert listings in your area through a variety of websites. This produces a chronological list of concerts, tailored specifically for you.

The application eliminates the labor and time of searching through sites like Pollstar, Jambase and others, automatically letting you know about shows you’re interested in.

You can buy concert tickets on the phone of course, but you can also email the concert information to yourself or friends to then complete the purchase on a computer. It also has links to the band’s page on iTunes® just to make sure you haven’t missed their latest release or are looking to fill out your library before the show. The app’s default is to know where you are, but allows you to change your location if you are planning a trip and want to see who is playing in that town. Some people are willing to travel great distances to see their band, so Concertimatic offers a range option from one mile up to 200.

“I’m very excited about this new app. After six months of developing and testing, this new tool will mean that you will never again say, ‘If I had known that they were coming through town, I’d have gone!’” said Duncan King, founder of Concertimatic. “This simple tool, made possible by the new 3.0 OS, allows you to worry about one less thing. Up until now, there hasn’t been an app like this that reads your playlist and tells you in a matter of seconds when those bands are coming — all for less than a dollar.”


Potentially Life-Saving Invention Inspired by Children’s Real Life Experience of Devastating Forest Fires

Sony Europe announces that its partnership with a young team called Forest Guard has reached a vital stage as the youngsters have the enormous satisfaction of seeing their forest wildfire detection system idea deployed in their local forest for testing.

The team of six, whose idea won the Climate Actions part of the global FIRST(R) LEGO(R) League Children’s Climate Call competition in Copenhagen, Denmark back in May 2009, impressed Sony executives so much that the company offered to partner with the team to bring their idea to life. The team will also return to Copenhagen during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) to show the system to the world’s leading authorities on climate change at the Bright Green Expo, 12-13 December 2009.

Their idea uses a network of solar-powered CCTV cameras and citizen fire watchers over the web to obtain advance warning of wildfires before they manage to spread. The team have been working hard with Sony engineers over the summer resulting in an initial version of the system that is ready to be tested in the team’s local Tahoe National Forest in California. The University of Nevada, Reno is offering the project local support with Dr. Graham Kent and his team helping test and maintain the network of cameras.

“We are so pleased we could bring our technology and engineering skills to this project and help this young team’s idea become a reality”, says Morgan David, Divisional Director, Research and Development (R&D) at Sony. “To apply technology to help solve the problems of climate change is at the heart of Sony’s philosophy and we will continue to collaborate with the Forest Guard initiative and support this project.”

The Sony designs and software for the Forest Guard proof of concept will be released into the public domain and a white paper will also be made available so that the technology is available to all scientists, governments and NGOs working to combat wildfires globally.

Forest Guard are acutely aware of the need for detecting forest wildfires early. In September forest fires once again broke out near to them destroying 50 homes and 10 businesses in their local area. The families of Forest Guard members, Ayden, Bobby, Faith and Drew, were evacuated from their homes as the fire continued to burn closer to their properties.

Recounting the experience, eleven year old team member Ayden says: “The smoke was bellowing high from the trees, like a big black cloud. Soon after we were home, we were told to evacuate. My stomach knotted up. We went to my aunt and uncle’s house and after a few hours, the fire was put out and we went home. The next day I passed the destruction left by the fire; along the highway we could see all the trees and homes that had been destroyed.”

The team are also keen to highlight the environmental impact these devastating fires have – the carbon dioxide emitted during these fires can equal that produced by several million cars on the road in a year and CO2 emissions by forest fires are expected to increase by 50% by 2050 if something isn’t done.

It is these experiences that are bringing members of Forest Guard to Denmark during COP15 in December. They will be exhibiting with Sony at the Bright Green exhibition held next to COP15 to showcase how their idea can make a difference globally to both people’s lives and carbon emissions. H.R.H The Crown Prince of Denmark, the US Secretary of Commerce and the US Ambassador to Denmark are dignitaries set to attend Bright Green alongside General Manager of LEGO Education Jens Maibom and world famous inventor Dean Kamen.

A documentary following the story of the Forest Guard idea that gives a close insight into how their lives are affected by the devastating impact of forest wildfires is currently being filmed and will be shown on national broadcast channels.

For more information about Sony’s environmental initiatives go to http://www.sony.eu/eco

Source: Sony Europe


Pedalers On Track to Achieve a Total of 32,000 Watt Hours to Light Up The 2010 Numerals This New Year’s Eve; Live Updates Now Available at the Virtual Smart Power Lab

Pedalers at the Duracell Smart Power Lab are well on their way to generating approximately 32,000 watt hours that will power the iconic 2010 numbers for 30 minutes during the New Year’s Eve Ball drop ceremony. The new Duracell Smart Power Lab, which opened on Monday, November 23, 2009, is free to the public and located just above the Charmin Restrooms in the heart of New York City’s Times Square.

PROCTER & GAMBLE SMART POWER LAB

“The countdown to New Year’s has begun! Our partnership with the public to light up 2010 is a larger than life symbol of our commitment to do what we do best – delivering power when people need it most,” said Craig Bida, Duracell Brand Manager. “We had a great start and want to welcome anyone in the New York City area to visit the Duracell Smart Power Lab to join us in powering in the new decade.”

In the coming month, Duracell will host a variety of special guests at the Smart Power Lab, where VIPs will participate in power generation – pedaling one of six Duracell Power Rovers to contribute to the almost 1,000 pedaling hours needed to power the 2010 numerals. This week’s special VIP pedalers included “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” stars Chaske Spencer and Peter Facinelli, actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and the Volunteers of America’s Sidewalk Santas.

“I had the chance to test drive one of the Duracell Power Rovers while appearing on the Rachael Ray Show on Monday, November 23, and it was a blast,” said actor Peter Facinelli. “It’s exciting to be part of something as iconic as the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square. When I watch the ball drop this year, it will be that much more meaningful.”

Ensuring that consumers outside of New York City can share in the experience, Duracell also announced that the Virtual Smart Power Lab is up and running at powerlab.duracell.com. Site visitors can find updates of the power collection, see photos of the Power Rovers, take a tour of the Lab and more. And, to guarantee that all moments are captured for the Virtual Smart Power Lab, Duracell has enlisted the help of three correspondents. Nationally recognized comedians Erik Rivera, Jane Condon and Wali Collins will post interviews with celebrities who have pedaled for power, photos of consumers getting in on the action and real-time blog updates that give the inside scoop as to what’s happening at the Lab.

Powering 2010

New Yorkers and tourists alike will have the chance to literally help power the 2010 numerals by visiting the Duracell Smart Power Lab, hopping aboard a Power Rover and pedaling. The rovers operate through rotary technology, so with each push of the pedal, human energy is captured, converted into usable power, and then routed and stored at Duracell Battery Centers. The journey ends at One Times Square, where the stored power will light up the 2010 numerals as the New Year’s Eve Ball drops and the clock strikes midnight.

Learn, Recharge and Play

In addition to the opportunity to help light up the New Year, Lab guests can stop by to try out Duracell’s latest Smart Power offerings that address the ever-growing and ever-changing power needs of the modern consumer. Visitors can also recharge their mobile electronic devices – such as cell phones, BlackBerrys, digital cameras, iPods, MP3 players, portable gaming devices and more – at Duracell Charging Stations set up throughout the venue. Additional activities at the Lab include playing the latest titles from Microsoft Xbox 360© and capturing a photo with a life-size replica of the 2010 numerals.

The Duracell Smart Power Lab is being held in conjunction with the annual Charmin Restrooms in Times Square, which has returned for the fourth consecutive year. Guests will enjoy two floors of fun: the first offers a free, clean and family-friendly place to “enjoy the go” with 20 clean, deluxe, ADA compliant, family-friendly and fully-staffed restrooms and the second provides a place where they can interact with the latest charging gadgets, re-charge their own devices or help generate the energy needed to illuminate the 2010 numerals.

Hours of Operation

The Duracell Smart Power Lab and Charmin Restrooms are open now through December 31 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday. They are located at 1540 Broadway in Times Square between West 45th and West 46th Streets. The Smart Power Lab and Restrooms will close at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve and 3 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, and will be closed on Christmas Day.

Source: Procter & Gamble


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