Geneva 2013: Land Rover to introduce first nine-speed automatic transmission – because eight just wasn’t enough

Land Rover has partnered with ZF, a global leader in transmission technology, to introduce the first nine-speed automatic transmission at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.

The ZF 9HP transmission, considered one of the world’s most advanced transmissions, increases the number of gear ratios from six to nine for significantly improved fuel economy and a reduction in CO2 emissions.

Land Rover says the transmission will also improve response during acceleration, shift quality and the overall drive and refinement of the vehicle.  In addition, the 9HP is also more versatile with a skip-shift function for swifter downshifting under rapid deceleration or for greater driver demands.

A Fast-Off mode measures the rate of throttle release, anticipates the driver wanting more power, then holds the gear if necessary.  

Even more impressive, is that the engineering teams have managed to pull off a lighter load with the additional gears with efficient packaging.  The nine-speed transmission is only about a quarter of an inch longer than the outgoing six-speed and weighs almost 17 pounds less.  

“We are extremely excited about the 9HP which has been tailored exactly to dovetail with the unique attributes of our vehicles,” said John Edwards, Land Rover Global Brand Director, in an official press release statement. “It will add another layer of performance, refinement and efficiency, further enhancing Land Rover’s world class ability.”  

The Land Rover team is working closely with the ZF engineering team to develop the nine-speed transmission for its vehicles. The company already has experience engineering ZP products having integrated the company’s eight-speed transmission with the Range Rover, Land Rover Discovery 4, and Range Rover Sport.  

Marcus Amick has been writing about the world of cars for more than ten years and has covered everything from new automobiles to celebrity wheels. The longtime Detroiter, who now splits his time between Los Angeles and the “Motor City,” has penned works for a number of national publications including Automotive News, Rides magazine and Automobile magazine. Amick also works as a freelance consultant providing insight on automotive and related lifestyle trends.

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The Walking Dead game, Season 1 review: There’s a first time for everything

Telltale Games’ Episodic point-and-click adventure game has redefined the genre and changed the course of gaming.

For a game to earn a score of 10, it doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to dominate with technical aspects or present mind-blowing graphics. It doesn’t even necessarily need to offer gameplay that is smooth and responsive. All a game needs in order to receive a perfect 10 is to fundamentally change the nature of gaming. So, no pressure.

In all the years that we have scored our game reviews, we have yet to give any title a perfect 10. That shouldn’t in anyway be seen as an indictment of the games released over the last few years – far from it, there have been some exceptional games out recently – but when developing our scoring system we purposefully set down very specific guidelines for what denotes a 10 out of 10 score.

For us to give a game a 10, it needs to be a title that we will look back on and see it as a pivotal game that influenced all the games that came after it. You can find flaws in games like Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, but those titles have both shaped the way we look at games. They are important and significant, just like GoldenEye, Mario Kart, and dozens of others throughout the years that will stay with us forever. You can add to that list Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead, Season 1.

Over the last five months, gamers have been given the chance to experience something old with a profoundly new twist. If you judge The Walking Dead’s five episodes on gameplay alone, it will come up as absolutely lacking. The controls are simple and often prone to sluggishness. If you mark it only on technical aspects, the occasional glitch mars the package, and the graphics – while perfectly tailored to encapsulate the comic-inspired world – aren’t groundbreaking by any stretch of the imagination. And yet no one that has played these games should be entirely surprised to see the massive amounts of praise that this game has earned.

Over the course of the five individual reviews that we have written (feel free to catch up if you like: Episode 1: A New Day, Episode 2: Starved for Help, Episode 3: Long Road Ahead, Episode 4:Around Every Corner, and Episode 5: No Time Left), all of us that played the game chatted a bit about the story. We all made different choices, which personalized each of our games, and yet we all came to the same conclusions. From the debut of Episode 1: A New Day, we knew we were playing something special.

The mechanic of making choices in order to alter the way the story played out was well done, but more than that, the game takes a toll on players. Storyline consequences aside, the narrative was so well constructed that when you were asked to make hard choices that could very well affect who lived and died, those choices could not be taken lightly. There was no right or wrong selection, just shades of horror and heartbreak that stick with you.

Whether in games, comics, TV, film, or any other entertainment avenue, The Walking Dead does something many attempt but few are capable of achieving: It demands an emotional response from you. If you play the game to its fullest, speak to everyone and explore everything, the interactions are so well designed that you can’t help but form an attachment to those with you. That makes it all the more emotional when you see your current scenario shattered and one of the characters suddenly die. It is shocking, horrific, and utterly brilliant.

You can ascribe a huge portion of the success of this game down to the writing – and you wouldn’t be wrong – but there is more to it than that. The mechanic of choosing the outcomes of certain events is simple. You just hit a button and your fate is sealed. But the weight of each decision makes those moments radiate with importance, although you may not always know immediately what the consequences of your choices are. This isn’t a game where you choose to go right and you are safe or left and you are in a fight; it is a culmination of everything you have done, good and bad.

It’s interactive storytelling with a central story arc and dozens of ways to get there, but after you finish it, seeing where your characters were at the start, and where they are, and who they are by the finish is an impressive and remarkable feat of storytelling. You’ll mourn characters and often be left shocked at what you just saw. You’ll think you know where the story is going, then realize you had no idea. It challenges you by creating tense and moody atmospheres where no one is safe, and happy endings are the province of fairy tales. And just when you think you’ve seen it all, the game pulls the rug out from under you and you are forced to pick up the pieces and move on.

It’s difficult to go into too much detail on such a story-driven game without spoiling what makes it so amazing. Needless to say, there are moments that you just won’t want to make a choice because there is no good option and you know it. You may also find yourself backtracking through your memory, wondering if the choices you made earlier may have prevented an emotionally draining result that still haunts you. You’ll search and search and try to think of a way to make everything better, but you will never find that solution. But just the simple act of you examining it all, the emotional response you will have, and the intense anxiety generated by something as simple as selecting which button to press are testaments to the transcendence of this game. It is an experience, and one that all gamers should try.

The point-and-click adventure genre has been on its death bed for years. With new, and increasingly more powerful systems at developers’ disposal, abandoning the possibilities of technically impressive gameplay generally feels like a step back. The Walking Dead takes the conventions of the point-and-click genre and matures them. You won’t just choose to examine something, you’ll choose who lives and dies, then deal with the fallout. It can make you physically anxious, and force you to question your actions, while fearing those to come. It is a brilliant piece of gamesmanship, one that will stick with us for years, and likely be remembered as one of the quintessential games of this generation.

But the reason that The Walking Dead earned a perfect 10 from us isn’t just that it is a great story, or because it was able to genuinely illicit an emotional response from us – as all great art does. No, it received a perfect score because this game could change everything. With game development budgets on the rise and technical sophistication becoming almost synonymous with the quality of a game, Telltale Games managed to sneak up and remind everyone that you don’t need all of that to have a memorable gaming experience. You just need to challenge what we know and except, then take us in a new direction that is honest.

The Walking Dead certainly isn’t a “fun” game. You won’t walk away laughing. It is dark and often disturbing, and beautiful and heartbreaking. It is an important game, and will be remembered for what it is: a masterpiece.

(the five episodes of this game were reviewed on both PC and the Xbox 360 via copies provided by the publisher)

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BAE Systems develops world’s first hybrid combat tank for U.S. military

BAE Systems has developed a massive hybrid system for the Ground Combat Vehicle, which will hopefully ease demand for fuel and successfully replaced the U.S. military's M2A3 Bradley tank.

Napoleon said that an army marches on its stomach, but any modern day general will tell you that logistics have become far more complicated since Napoleon’s time, and fuel has joined food as something which an army won’t move without. To that end, BAE Systems has developed a hybrid propulsion system for the Northrop Grumman Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV), which is slated to replace the M2A3 Bradley fighting vehicle. BAE says it will deliver up 20 percent better fuel economy than the standard version of the vehicle, but that this is just one advantage. The big torque numbers produced by electric motors can improve the vehicle’s acceleration, and the vehicle will also be able to operate in pure electric mode for a time, thus remaining much quieter and reducing the heat signature.

The 84-ton GCV will be more than twice the weight of the 33-ton Bradley, and is even heavier than the 64-ton M1A2 Abrams main battle tank which the army currently uses. This is largely because of the amount of armor the vehicle needs, but it also needs to be large enough to transport a 9 man squad as well as the three crewmen  safely. The vehicle’s size, weight and cost are primarily determined by its combat role, and BAE developed the hybrid system as a more practical solution to the challenges posed by such a heavy vehicle. The procurement cost per vehicle will be $13 million, but BAE says the hybrid system will trim fuel and maintenance costs by enough that the lifetime cost of the vehicle will be lowered through its use.

The 1,100kW electric drivetrain brings the combined output of the vehicle to 1,500 horsepower, and the added torque allows it to reach 20mph nearly 3 seconds faster (7.8 seconds) than the purely mechanical version of the GCV. The compact design even allows for 3 to 4 more tons of armor. The GCV will be the first hybrid combat vehicle in the world, although we may see more of them if it proves effective and able to ease the strain of logistics.

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Supposed first Jelly Bean build for Samsung Galaxy Note leaks out

Excitement continues to build around the world for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 -- we're in NYC tonight for the Next Big Thing event -- but what of its predecessor? Owners of the original Galaxy Note are eagerly awaiting word on Jelly Bean for their beloved devices.

XDA Developers forums member eybee1970 has posted what is apparently the first full leaked official build of Android 4.1 for the original Note. However, this is an extremely early build, and flashing to your own devices is discouraged. Contained within are things we would expect to see from Jelly Bean -- Google Now for instance -- but there are things missing, and big nasty bugs within making this one not for the faint at heart. 

Word is, that the official update could be due to drop in December. A software update in early September brought a selection of the Samsung features from the Galaxy S3 and Note 2 to the Note, but we're under no illusions that it's Jelly Bean you folks want. 

Source: XDA via Sammobile

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MacBreak Weekly 322: First Nerd Problem

MacBreak Weekly 322: First Nerd Problem | iMore.com Skip to main content Android BlackBerry iPhone / iPad Windows Phone webOS REGISTER|LOG IN iMore iPhone iPad Forums Apps Accessories Reviews How-To Podcasts Free wallpapers: iPhone & iPad Guides: iOS, iCloud, Siri, photography, jailbreak Free: iPhone apps & games, iPad apps & games Shop Online Cases Chargers Screen protectors Headsets & More Free shipping on orders over $50 MacBreak Weekly 322: First Nerd Problem By Rene Ritchie, Wednesday, Oct 24, 2012 a 1:29 am 6

Apple introduces the iPad Mini and updates their line of computers. With Leo Laporte, Andy Ihnatko, Don Don McAllister, and yours truly. (I'll be on regularly from now on, which is both an honor and a lot of fun.)

Subscribe or download: TWiT.tv

Rene Ritchie

Editor-in-Chief of iMore, co-host of Mobile Nations, Iterate, ZEN and TECH. Cook, grappler, photon wrangler. Follow him on Twitter, App.net, Google+.

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1 5 52 More of: Featured Video, Podcast
More of: Macbreak Weekly, Ipad Mini, ipad mini event, Macs ? PreviouslyApple October 2012 iPad and Mac keynote now available for download from iTunes Next up ?Sonic Jump by SEGA for iPhone and iPad review There are 6 comments. Add yours. DrewBear says: Oct 24, 2012 at 1:40 am - 1 day ago

Congrats on the new gig, Rene. I'd stopped watching MBW regularly because Andy seems to have picked up some of Leo's anti-Apple snarkiness. It just got too annoying to watch. I'll start watching again now that you're there to even things up a bit.

Reply simplylaurakb says: Oct 24, 2012 at 6:25 am - 1 day ago

Yay! I like MacBreak Weekly, and having you on it has definitely improved the show. So glad you're going to be a regular!

Reply Vox says: Oct 24, 2012 at 9:36 am - 1 day ago

I'm sorry to hear that you'll be in MBW as a regular now...I wouldn't watch anything with Laporte in it even if being paid, specially after he went off on Marco without provocation...Laporte lost his touch after the first year of MBW, and his mind shortly after that.

Reply Zodbuster says: Oct 24, 2012 at 9:59 am - 1 day ago

regarding your inquiry about friction stir welding ...
if you bend over etc it's what Apple did to the iPad 3 ( NOW DISCONTINUED ) users, soon to be renamed the iPadduped
iMac super thin... oohs ahhs.. osothin !!
Super.. oh wait.. I just counted the number of times I actually looked at my iMac from the side over the past 2 years... NONE...
but for those who do and there must be a lot of you ?? .APPLE will be releasing an iLAZY SUSAN so the proud new owners can rotate the unit anytime they want.. only $99

Reply blindemboss says: Oct 24, 2012 at 10:37 am - 1 day ago

I also have turned off MBW because of his anti-Apple rants. I'm not an Apple apologist, and I don't mind constructive criticism but if I wanted to hear about Android, I'd turn to an Android show. Plus it's become blatantly clear that Leo is Apple bashing simply to rile up fanboys.

Nevertheless, congrats Rene. Just don't quit your own iMore show! It's so much more balanced, and a refreshing change from the TWIT network. Plus, best of all, you're a Canadian!

Reply KBeat says: Oct 24, 2012 at 10:38 am - 1 day ago

I'm with Vox and DrewBear, I wish you all the best on the show Rene, and you'll certainly add some much needed class and intelligence to the show, but it might as well be called "AndroidBreak Weekly" with Laporte and Ihnatko. The anti-Apple sentiment is strong with those two, especially that nutter Laporte. I'm fine with a little Apple criticism from time to time, iMore offers it when appropriate, but a show for Mac fans shouldn't be positively dripping with it.

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