THE WORLD LARGEST YATCH "AZZAM"

AZZAM

When you talk about a big yatch, you talk about Azzam (Arab. "resolute") it is a private yacht built by Lürssen Yachts. Azzam was launched on 5 April 2013 at 180 metres (590 ft) in length as the largest private yacht in the world. She has a beam of 20.8 m (68'4") and an unusually shallow draft of 4.3 m (14'1").

Engineer Mubarak Saad al Ahbabi directed the construction of Azzam, with technical engineering by Lürssen including design by Nauta Yachts and interior design by Christopher Leoni. Following a year of engineering, the yacht was built in three years, which is a record building time according to Superyacht Times. Azzam possesses the ability to travel at high speed in warm and shallow waters while providing luxurious and sophisticated accommodations.

Among many other features, the yacht has a main salon with a length of 29 m and a beam of 18 m with an open plan and no pillars. She will travel in excess of 32 knots powered by a combination of two gas turbines and two diesel engines with a total power output of 70 MW (94,000 hp) through four pump-jets, two of which are non-movable round water outlets in the middle of the stern, and two with thrust vectoring capabilities using moveable duct water outlets positioned on either side of the non-movable ones.

The yacht was delivered on 9 September 2013.
At an estimated cost of $605M, she is more expensive than the second largest motor yacht, Eclipse.
Azzam was commissioned by Khalifa Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates. The yacht is currently listed for charter without the price. According to Motor Boat & Yacht magazine, the yacht is not available for actual charter, and the charter listing, similar to Roman Abramovich's Eclipse, is aimed to evade European taxation (charter yachts are exempt from property tax).

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G650:THIS BUSINESS LADY IS A WONDER OF THE 21st CENTURY

Gulf stream g650

When you talk about elegance,style and speed, you talk about this lovely lady here THE GOLF STREAM G650.The Gulfstream G650 is a twin-engine business jet airplane produced by Gulfstream Aerospace.The model is designated Gulfstream GVI in its type certificate.Gulfstream began the G650 program in 2005 and revealed it to the public in 2008. The G650 is the company's largest and fastest business jet with a top speed of Mach 0.925.

the g650 0n a runway

The Gulfstream G650 was formally launched as an internal company project in May 2005, and publicly unveiled on March 13, 2008. At the public announcement occasion, company executives stated the new model would become Gulfstream's largest, fastest and most expensive business jet on entry to the market. The G650 has a cruise speed of Mach 0.85 to 0.90, with maximum speed of Mach 0.925 and a range of up to 7,000 nmi (13,000 km). It can be equipped with a full kitchen and bar and may be equipped with a variety of entertainment features including satellite phones and wireless Internet. The jet uses two Rolls-Royce BR725 engines, each producing a maximum thrust of 17,000 pounds-force (75.6 kN). Gulfstream states that with a weight of less than 100,000 pounds (45,400 kg), it is able to land at small airports avoiding the busy airports around the world.

Cockpit of The g650

 To provide better usage of the internal volume, Gulfstream designers rejected the usual circular fuselage cross-section in favor of an oval which uses a flatter lower portion.The cabin is 8 feet 6 inches (2.59 m) wide and 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) high. The fuselage is of metal construction; composite materials are used for empennage, winglets, rear pressure bulkhead, engine cowlings, cabin floor structure and many fairings. The eight oval cabin windows on each side of the fuselage are 28 inches (71 cm) wide. The wing uses greater sweep (36 degrees) than previous Gulfstream aircraft (for example, the G550 wing has 27 degrees of sweep). It does not use leading-edge high-lift devices, and tracks for rear-mounted flaps are completely enclosed within the airfoil contour. The wing's leading edge is a continuously-changing curve, and the airfoil varies continuously from root to tip (the tip incorporates winglets).
The aircraft controls are completely fly-by-wire, with no mechanical control between pilot and flight surfaces. The surfaces are moved by dual hydraulic systems. More airliners today are using fly-by-wire, but only one other current business jet (Dassault Falcon 7X) is so equipped. The G650 shares its yokes and column with the G550 in an effort to receive a common type rating.
The wing design was completed in 2006. A total of 1,400 hours of wind tunnel testing was completed by 2008. A pressure-test fuselage was built and tested, including an ultimate-pressure test of 18.37 psi. The G650 taxied under its own power for the first time on September 26, 2009. A public rollout ceremony was later held on September 29, 2009.The G650 had its maiden flight on November 25, 2009.

Flight testing for the maximum operating speed of Mach 0.925 was announced as completed on May 4, 2010. Gulfstream reported on August 26, 2010 that the G650 hit a maximum speed of Mach 0.995 during a dive as part of its 1,800-hour flight test program. In April 2011, a G650 crashed during flight testing. The G650 test aircraft were grounded until May 28, 2011, when the remaining test aircraft were allowed to return to flight testing. On September 7, 2012, the G650 received its type certificate from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Its first delivery was to an American customer named Preston Henn on December 27, 2012. As at today it is priced at $72million. Making it the most expensive plane in the world...WHAT A LUXURY..

A sketch of g650 from the top

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Ever Heard of "AGERA":The world's Super Car from Sweden?

As technology continues to strive in satisfying the taste of its consumers and new inventions emerge,a one brand name that keeps trilling me with its innovation is KOENIGSEGG..Koenigsegg automobile is a Swedish manufacturer of high-performance sports cars, also known as hyper-cars, based in Ängelholm.
COMPANY HISTORY
The company was founded in 1994 in Sweden by Christian von Koenigsegg, with the intention of producing a world-class supercar. Many years of development and prototyping led to the company's first street-legal production car delivery in 2002.

Christian von Koenigsegg in his days as a kid.

The initial design of the Koenigsegg CC was drawn by Christian von Koenigsegg. He then took his sketches to Industrial Designer David Crafoord in order for him to realize the sketches into a 1:5 scale model. David then laid his personal touch to the design brief and finished the model. This model was later scaled up in order to create the base plug for the initial Koenigsegg prototype that was finished in 1996. During the next years the prototype went through extensive testing and several new prototypes were built. Von Koenigsegg got the idea to build his own car after watching the Norwegian stop-motion animated movie Pinchcliffe Grand Prix in his youth.^[3] He took his first steps in the world of business in his early 20s running a trading company called Alpraaz in Stockholm, Sweden. Alpraaz exported food from Europe to the developing world. The success of this venture gave von Koenigsegg the necessary financial standing to launch his chosen career as a car manufacturer. Initially, Koenigsegg Automotive was based in Olofström. In 1997 the company needed larger facilities and moved to Margretetorp, just outside of Ängelholm. However, on 22 February 2003, one of the production facilities caught fire and was badly damaged. From 2003 and on Koenigsegg has converted two large fighter-jet hangars and an office building into a car factory. Since the factory is located on the still-active Ängelholm airport, clients can arrive by private jet next to the factory. Koenigsegg controls and uses the former military runway for shakedown runs of production cars and high speed testing. The Koenigsegg badge was designed in 1994 by Jacob Låftman, based on the heraldic coat of arms of the Koenigsegg family. The shield has been the family's coat-of-arms since the 12th century when a family member was knighted by the Germany-based Holy Roman Empire.

CEO of Koenigsegg , Christian von Koenigsegg

In 2006 Koenigsegg began production of the CCX, which uses an engine created in-house especially for that vehicle. The CCX is street-legal in most countries, including the US.
Apart from developing, manufacturing and selling the Koenigsegg line of supercars, Koenigsegg is also involved in "green technology" development programmes beginning with the CCXR ("Flower Power") flexfuel supercar and continuing through the present with the Agera R. Koenigsegg is also active in development programs when it comes to plug-in electric cars' systems and next-generation reciprocating engine technologies. In March 2009 the Koenigsegg CCXR was chosen by Forbes to be one of the ten most beautiful cars in history. In December 2010 the Koenigsegg Agera won the BBC Top Gear Hypercar of the Year Award.
 

Christian von Koenigsegg and his AGERA

 

THE AGERA

The Agera  is the result of Koenigseggs endless pursuit for perfection. 
Although sharing the same values and philosophies as previous Koenigsegg models, the Agera takes the Koenigsegg experience to a completely new level. Similar to all previous Koenigsegg hypercars, the new Agera is the brainchild of Christian von Koenigsegg. The Agera sets new benchmarks for hypercars when it comes to control, handling, speed, comfort, practicality and sheer driving enjoyment, while combining these features with clean, efficient and beautiful design. The Agera name set the tone for the new project. Agera means “to take action” in Swedish. It is also short for the ancient Greek word Ageratos which means “ageless”. These are both suitable meanings for a car that is building the future of Koenigsegg.
 THE ENGINE

Koenigsegg differs from other low volume hypercar manufacturers by the fact that we develop and produce our own engines in-house. Most observers and/or competitors consider this to be more or less impossible, or way too expensive to even consider. Koenigsegg has proved them wrong, year after year. Not only are the engines developed in-house, they also have class-leading characteristics in many important areas. They are the lightest and most compact hypercar engines in the world, weighing only 197kg complete with flywheel, clutch, dry sump system, Inconel exhaust manifold and turbo. The low engine weight is quite astonishing as the Agera engine also has class-leading power and torque characteristics. The Koenigsegg 5 litre V8 bi-turbo engine develops more than 960 hp on 95 octane regular fuel. The Agera has over 1000 Nm of torque from 2500 rpm and 1100 nm from 3500 to 6000 rpm, showing great flexibility. These are extraordinary numbers considering the size and reliability of the engine and they are obtained with no sacrifice of either drivability or flexibility. This is truly downsizing without compromise. These characteristics make it one of the most flexible and easy-to-use hypercar engines in the world.

To give a hint of how different the Agera engine is compared to other production car engines, it is easy to look at the Brake Mean Effective Pressure value (BMEP) in the cylinders during maximum power output. The best production diesel and petrol engines from other leading manufacturers have a maximum BMEP of around 22 bar. The Agera engine has a BMEP of 28 bar, when running on 95 octane fuel. This shows how extreme the Agera engine is when compared to any other production engine in the world. The reason the Agera can obtain such high cylinder pressures is due to some proprietary and critical factors, such as:

• The unique shape of the combustion chambers, improving the resistance against detonation.
• High cylinder head clamp load, enabled by a specially designed engine block. This has proven to give a zero failure rate to combustion overpressure, even considering the extreme cylinder pressures.
• A unique engine block design, where the cylinder sleeves are used to further stiffen the aluminium block.
• A connecting rod design that reduces TDC dwell time and thereby enables higher mean pressures without detonation.
• Exhaust manifold and intake plenum trumpets designed to ensure the absence of peak RPM resonance and back pressure.
• An efficient ejector pump system reducing the crankcase pressure and aerodynamic losses.

Koenigsegg engines also meet all required emission standards around the world. This is nothing short of astounding, given their size and power output.
Furthermore, no other production engine in the world, regardless of car type, has the same amount of power potential compared to its EU cycle average CO2 emissions (310g of CO2) or cycle fuel consumption (14,7 litre per 100 km / 16MPG). However, what makes Koenigsegg most proud is how drivable, smooth, responsive, torquey and reliable the Agera engine is – especially given its extreme performance.
The Agera engine complies with the most stringent environmental regulations in the world, EU5 and LEV2, and delivers a significant power increase compared to previous Koenigsegg engines.
Fuel consumption, and thus CO2 emissions, have been lowered. This is an astonishing feat for a 900+ hp hypercar. Turbo response is of vital importance when it comes to driving pleasure and the possibility of controlling massive amounts of power. Koenigsegg has coupled the latest generation turbo technology with a patent-pending and proprietary response/back pressure reduction system, invented by Christian von Koenigsegg, to really give the Agera engine a competitive edge when combining maximum power while complying with the strictest emission regulations in the world.
The large air-to-air intercooler on the left side of the engine exchanges enormous amounts of fresh air, eliminating the need for water in the intercooling system, thereby saving weight and avoiding heat soak issues during extended performance driving.Following the Koenigsegg tradition, the engine has dry sump lubrication in order to lower the engine as far as possible in the chassis whilst maintaining full control of the crankcase oil, even given the massive g-forces that can be generated. The large 80-litre fuel tank ensures a long driving range due to the relatively low average consumption. The Agera follows the previous generations of Koenigsegg vehicles with its fuel tank being well protected, built centrally into the carbon fibre monocoque chassis. Since the fuel is placed centrally within the car, the weight distribution does not change regardless of whether the tank is full or empty. Thanks to the safe fuel tank position, the challenging US high-speed rear impact test was passed at the very first attempt. The Agera has four intelligent return-less fuel pumps to deliver the correct amount of fuel at any given time. This reduces the energy needed to operate the fuel pumps and eliminates the waste of excessive fuel transport. The Inconel/Titanium patent-pending exhaust system is key element in the Agera achieving its remarkable emissions and power levels. The exhaust system uses a completely new principle created by Christian von Koenigsegg. The new technology drastically reduces back-pressure and gives earlier catalytic light-off than any other turbo exhaust system. At the same time, the acoustics of the exhaust have been examined carefully in order to maintain Koenigsegg's typical, thunderous growl. The newly developed 7-speed gearbox for the Agera features a world’s first dual clutch system for a single input shaft gearbox.

THE PERFORMANCE

Agera in motion

In order to keep the gearbox light, compact, strong and reliable, Koenigsegg chose to develop a new gearbox type in partnership with Cima, one that enables the use of a combination of both a dry and wet clutch systems in order to get class-leading shift times. First, there is the normal twin-disc dry clutch that operates in a traditional fashion. Then there is a hydraulically operated wet clutch-brake inside the gearbox that is engaged during each upshift in order to slow down the input shaft as the gears are changed and prior to the normal synchronization. This cuts the synchronization time by two thirds as the gear is pre-synchronized. The result is a very sporty, smooth and extremely fast shift.
Compared to a traditional DCT system, this gearbox is lighter, smaller, has less moving parts and gives a more distinct shift feel with almost no interruption to acceleration. Furthermore, the electro-hydraulic shift mechanism actuates the shift forks directly with no intermediate mechanical parts. This brings down the inertia of the shift mechanism and any potential slack is minimized since the shortest possible path of engagement is achieved. The entire transmission weighs only 81kg, which is by far the lightest 7 speed hypercar transmission in the world. The transmission can also be set in full-auto mode. The small size and very low weight, considering the longitudinal 7 speed layout, made it possible to maintain the shortest-in-class rear overhang, thereby giving an excellent central mass position and maintaining neutral behaviour in extreme conditions. The Koenigsegg Electronic Differential (E-Diff) is both lighter and faster when compared to traditional E-Diff solutions. The difference lies in the fact that Koenigsegg has retained a limited slip differential with plates and ramps that have a built-in amount of analogue limited slip functionality. Consequently, the active hydraulic element can be more compact and therefore faster and lighter compared to traditional E-Diff solutions. The analogue part of the functionality also has zero processing time as it reacts directly. The analogue system is supplemented by a digital active system.
Koenigsegg has therefore obtained one of the lightest and fastest E-Diff solutions on the market. The algorithms that control the E-Diff - also developed by Koenigsegg - take inputs from throttle angle, g-force, steering wheel angle, yaw angle, car speed, engine rpm, selected gear, plus the prevailing weather conditions. The manner in which the car analyses and then reacts to this data makes the Koenigsegg E-Diff unique. It ensures that the Agera is very safe on the limit, with improved performance and feel.
The Koenigsegg E-diff works in harmony with a new traction control system, the fastest reacting system in the industry with auto-adapt functionality for different road conditions and driving styles as well as a number of manual settings.

ALL THIS SUMS UP TO A CAR THAT MOVES FASTER THAN A BOEING 747 TAKING OFF!!! 

 A BOEING 747 top take off speed is:296km/h, while an Agera's top speed is 443km/h!!..WHAT THE HELL!!!. I BET THE DUDES TAKING OFF IN AN AIRPLANE IN FAST AND FURIOUS 6 ARE IN FOR A CHASE!! LOL...AND PLEASE I PLEAD THIS DEMON ISNT FOR LEARNERS OR THIS MAY BE THE STORY OF YOUR SPEED DEMON.....

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PlayStation scoops three T3 gadget awards

Sony PlayStation has beaten off the other consoles to win three gadget awards, including an entry into T3's hall of fame.
The magazine's awards night involves a panel of expert judges who decide on the years best games, phones, laptops, and even cars.
The HTC One (M8) won Phone of the Year and the Samsung Galaxy S5 was Highly Commended.
Comedian Richard Ayoade was also voted the Tech Personality of the Year.

It was a mixed bag for Apple though, while they picked up the Laptop or Tablet of the Year award for the Macbook Pro, complete with retina display, their recent £3 billion purchase of Beats by Dre didn't bring them Headphones of the Year, which was won by Philips Fidelio S2.
Apple would have also been consoled (get it?) by winning the Design Innovation Award for their Mac Pro.
It's the second time in a row that HTC have won the main phone award, after they previously won with the HTC One.
Elsewhere the BMW i3 took Car of the Year for its first ever mass-produced zero-emissions vehicle.

Here's the full list of winners.

Gadget of the Year: Sony PlayStation 4
Highly commended: GoPro 3
Phone of the Year: HTC One (M8)
Highly commended: Samsung Galaxy S5
The Gaming Award: Sony PlayStation 4
Laptop or Tablet of the Year: Apple MacBook Pro with Retina display
TV of the Year: Samsung HU8500
Highly commended: Sony Bravia X9005B
Highly commended: LG LB730v
Car of the Year: BMW i3
Brand of the Year: Netflix
Camera of the Year: GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition
Fitness Wearable of the Year: Jawbone UP24
Highly commended: TomTom Runner Cardio
The Design Innovation Award: Apple Mac Pro
The Sound Award: Denon Coccon Stream
Highly commended: Cambridge Audio Minx Xi
Highly commended: Sonos Play 1
The Entertainment Award: Sky+ HD
The TechLife Home Award: Philips Hue
Headphones of the Year: Philips Fidelio S2
Tech Personality of the Year: Richard Ayoade
T3 Tech Legend: Sir James Dyson
T3 Hall of Fame: Sony PlayStation

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Angry Birds developer lays off up to 130 jobs to 'reignite growth'

 Rovio Entertainment, the Finnish company developers of the hit mobile game app ANGRY BIRDS is planning on laying off 16% of its staff, admitting that the company’s headcount had swelled based on ‘assumptions of faster growth than have materialised’.
Chief executive Mikael Hed announced the news publicly in a blog post, revealing that a maximum of 130 staff will be affected in Rovio’s native Finland.
“We are an entrepreneurial company and have been exploring multiple areas. We have been building our team on assumptions of faster growth than have materialised,” wrote Hed.
“As a result, we announced today that we plan to simplify our organisation around our three key businesses with the highest growth potential: games, media, and consumer products.”
This may not be good news for Rovio’s educational arm, including the Angry Birds Playground initiative that has seen the company working with the University of Helsinki to develop an educational programme based around maths, science, music and other subjects.
“It is never easy to consider changes like this, but it is better to do them sooner rather than later, when we are in a good place to reignite growth,” added Hed.
“At Rovio we live to delight our fans. This year we have more launches and news than ever. As we consider these painful measures, we keep our eye on always delighting our fans with products they love.”
As The Guardian reported earlier this week, the Angry Birds games still have 200m active players, but that’s down from 263m at the series’ peak at the end of 2012.
Rovio reported revenues of €156m (£128.4m) for its 2013 financial year, a slight increase on the €152.2m from 2012. The company’s profits halved from €55.5m in 2012 to €26.9m in 2013, as it invested in its ToonsTV animation network and the Angry Birds movie, which will be released in 2016.
Rovio added 300 staff in 2013, taking its headcount to 800 at the end of the year. The company has faced unavoidable comparisons with fellow Finns Supercell, which made $892m of revenues in 2013 from just two games with a headcount of 132 staff.
Supercell’s startling success – like that of Candy Crush Saga publisher King – came from “free to play” games that make their money from in-app purchases of virtual items.
Rovio has moved into that market too with games including Angry Birds Go!, Angry Birds Epic and Angry Birds Stella, but has yet to generate a hit as big as those rivals, even if its consumer products business – from magazines and books to sweets and clothing – is more advanced.
Hed has already announced that he will step down as Rovio’s CEO at the end of 2014, to be replaced by former Nokia marketing executive Pekka Rantala. Hed will become a board member, while chairing Rovio’s animation division.

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Toyota Slumps in September, Shifts into Fourth Place

A 60% decline in fleet deliveries last month harmed the No.1 Japanese brand’s sales, while Lexus continued its hot streak.

Toyota sales fell 2.5% on a daily-selling-rate basis in September to 167,279, a tally that placed the automaker fourth in U.S. sales.
Fiat-Chrysler usurped Toyota’s usual third-place position in monthly U.S. deliveries for the first time in three years, WardsAuto data shows.
Toyota’s strong performance in August, when sales rose 10.2%, pulled ahead some September purchases. A 60% reduction in Toyota Div. fleet sales, largely reflecting the transition to the new ’15 Camry, also contributed to the weak month.
Fleet sales made up just 4% of total Toyota Div. sales, says Bill Fay, Toyota Div. group vice president.
“It was a month of transition for us,” Fay tells media today of September.
Sales of both the hybrid and conventional Camry fell last month, 38.0% and 11.8%, as Toyota sold down the ’14 model and launched the ’15 Camry.
Fay says Camry retail sales climbed 15% in September and that only a small sliver, roughly 1,000, were sold to fleets.
The Camry, with 28,507 monthly deliveries, was outsold by rival midsize sedan the Honda Accord for the first time since December 2013, WardsAuto data shows. The Accord racked up 32,956 sales.
Toyota’s second-best-selling car, the C-segment Corolla, also stumbled, down 14.9% vs. September 2013, when the current generation was launching.
Prius sales continued to underwhelm, which Fay blames on Toyota selling out of the ’14 liftback variant in August, low fuel prices and the advanced age of the lineup.
Prius liftback and V wagon sales were down 10.2% last month, bringing their 9-month volume down 16.2%.
Prius C sales slipped 6.8% and that car is off 4.7% calendar-year-to-date.
Deliveries of the low-volume plug-in hybrid Prius plummeted 70.6% in September but the model is up 48.5% for the year.
Toyota will be refreshing the V and C Priuses next year, Fay says. An all-new generation of the liftback also is expected in 2015.
Toyota’s light trucks fared better than the brand’s passenger cars. While just three models were in the black, the 4Runner and FJ Cruiser SUVs and the gasoline-engine RAV4 CUV, their gains were hefty enough to bring Toyota light-truck sales up 12.4% vs. like-2013.
The current-generation RAV4 CUV continues to benefit from higher inventories and strong demand despite almost two years on the market.
Sales of the gas-engine model rose 37.4% from year-ago to 22,599, coming close to the Honda CR-V’s 23,722 September deliveries but nowhere near August’s record-shattering 35,614.
The CR-V is the longtime volume leader in U.S. midsize CUV sales.  
The Tacoma midsize pickup was flat last month, up 0.1%.
Lexus continued its hot streak, with sales up 7.3% on a DSR basis in September to 21,852, its 12^th straight year-over-year gain.
Cars were stronger than light trucks for the brand, despite the 99.8% jump for the GX SUV, sales of which were jump-started by a lower-priced base grade introduced in ’14.
The Lexus car improving the most last month was the refreshed CT 200h hybrid hatchback, up 29.5% to 1,078 units.
Lexus’ highest-volume passenger car, the ES 350, rose 20.9% and the larger GS 350 was up 26.9%.
Both the RX 350 and RX 450h saw rare declines, down 4.5% and 18.3%, respectively, as the midsize CUVs approach six years on the market.
The Scion youth brand saw its worst month in four years in September, with sales on a DSR basis down 22.4% from September 2013. Scion’s previous low-water mark was a 61.1% decline in August 2010, WardsAuto data shows.
All Scion models were in the red last month, with the xB off the least, 8.9%, and the iQ off the most, 55.9%.
Toyota maintains a healthy outlook for the fourth quarter, Fay says, largely due to the launch of the ’15 Camry.
“We’re optimistic for the fourth quarter,” he says. “We’ve had seven straight months with (an industry seasonally adjusted annual rate) over 16 million (units).”
A wide-ranging marketing campaign using the tagline “One Bold Choice Leads to Another” gets under way in Q4, with Fay noting the blitz is similar to the marketing muscle Toyota usually puts behind a full-model change.
Lexus, too, is high on the final quarter of the year, as the brand will launch the all-new RC and RC F coupes in early November and the all-new NX small CUV near the end of 2014.

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Video: Toyota puts tough men to the test in new Hilux advert

Video: Toyota puts tough men to the test in new Hilux advert

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