The MP3 standard has become such a reference that no one ever thinks it may still evolve.
The Fraunhofer institute shall announce during CEBIT a news version, the Surround MP3. This new version would bring 5.1 sound support whithout being much bigger in size.
Those MP3 would be compatible with current readers. A few months would be needed to have readers compatible with those new functionalities.
Lausanne (Switzerland) is experimenting a new type of automatic transportation along the Léman Lake where the Mac has found a place to shine, as it is the very heart of the system. A G4 is used as a server for general organization, an iMac serves as an interactive box from which you place your order for a car, and the vehicles are auto-piloted by an iBook which detects obstacles and manages the opening of the doors.
What's most interesting with this project are the reasons for choosing that platform: the reliability of the hardware, even in a damp or highly electromagnetic area, and the reliability of Mac OS X.
The development tools (Xcode) have also been appraised for their efficiency compared to the competition.
But the most attractive thing is that such a solution costs 4 times less than a solution which components would have been drawn from the classic industry according to the creator of the project.
Even though the project, it seems, has a hard time passing to the stage of production, it seems that
the city of Lausanne and EDF (French Electricity supplier) , the new owners of this toy, are determined to insert these tiny cars in the urban traffic as soon as possible. And more, several cities seem interested by this futuristic type of transportation. It also needs to be legalized for the road and also find sponsors who will be able to produce cars wearing their colors.
It is good to see that the Mac has a place in the industry, even for the most peculiar applications. Let's hope that the passage to production doesn't have it out of the technical plans.
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