Philips Fidelio SoundSphere Mini: large sound, small footprint

If you want an audio solution that isn’t going to look too bulky in your home or office environment, it may be worth taking a gander at the Philips Fidelio SoundSphere Mini. The set of speakers can connect to your PC via a USB cable, or you can dock an iPhone using the slide out tray to blast out your tunes. If neither of those options suit you, there’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack for maximum compatibility.

This latest product from Philips is modelled after the DS9800W series, but fits into a more compact package. The company says that this new mini offering has the similar internals to the big brother, packing in a 25mm soft dome tweeter that has been separated from the main speaker cabinet into a separate aluminium arm. That isolates it from any vibrations or other sound waves, providing a better audio experience overall.

Everything is bi-amped and includes a Class D 50Watt RMS, with each driver being powered independently for better sound. Sound like the audio solution you’re looking for? Be prepared to pay £399 for it on Apple’s online store. It should be available right now.

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Department of Commerce slaps large tariffs on Chinese solar panels

By Stephen Lacey

A version of this article originally appeared on Climate Progress.

In a long-awaited decision, the U.S. Department of Commerce has issued a preliminary decision to apply tariffs to Chinese-made solar modules being imported into the U.S. The tariffs range from 31 percent to 250 percent.

The preliminary tariffs were issued after a lengthy investigation by the Commerce Department into whether Chinese companies are “dumping” solar panels into the U.S. market below cost. These tariffs follow a March decision to issue small countervailing duties on Chinese module producers that are getting illegal domestic subsidies, according to the Commerce Department.

Today’s issued tariffs are as follows: Trina, 31.14 percent; Suntech, 31.22 percent; and 31.18 percent for all other Chinese producers that participated in the investigation. For companies that did not participate, Commerce has slapped a massive preliminary tariff of 249.96 percent.

The combination of these new tariffs and the countervailing duties will add substantial cost to imported Chinese solar panels. With panel prices hovering in the $1-per-watt range, it could add around 30 cents to each panel for leading producers, and vastly more for producers that didn’t get involved in Commerce’s investigation.

These are preliminary fines and can be negotiated and changed before Commerce makes a final decision. The solar industry’s trade group, the Solar Energy Industries Association, has called on the U.S. and Chinese governments to negotiate a settlement — potentially resulting in more moderate tariffs:

The solar industry calls upon the U.S. and Chinese governments to immediately work together towards a mutually-satisfactory resolution of the growing trade conflict within the solar industry. While trade remedy proceedings are basic principles of the rules-based global trading system, so too are collaboration and negotiations.

Importantly, disputes within one segment of the industry affect the entire solar supply chain — and these broad implications must be recognized. In addition, the U.S. solar manufacturing base goes well beyond solar cell and module production and includes billions of dollars of recent investments into the production of polysilicon, polymers, and solar manufacturing equipment, products which are largely destined for export. If the U.S.-China solar trade disputes continue to escalate, it will jeopardize these U.S. investments.

Given these broader implications, it is imperative that the U.S., China, and other players in the dynamic global marketplace work constructively to avert or resolve trade disputes that will ultimately hurt consumers and businesses throughout the solar value chain. [my emphasis]

The solar industry has been on edge since last October, when the manufacturer SolarWorld and six other anonymous companies issued a complaint about illegal trade practices. They argued that China’s subsidies were allowing companies to dump panels below cost, thus driving U.S.-based manufacturers out of business.

However, downstream developers have enjoyed falling panel prices — a factor that has allowed the industry to expand 109 percent in 2011. A group of solar companies known as the Coalition for American Solar Energy has been staunchly opposed to tariffs, saying they’ll dramatically drive up the cost of solar installations in the U.S.

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Keller @ Large: Iowa Exposes Country’s Deep Political Divisions

Electoral official count ballots during Republican caucues in Des Moines, Iowa, January 3, 2012. (Photo credit JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

DES MOINES, Iowa (CBS) - It’s easy to make fun of the Iowa caucuses.

They provide the smallest and whitest voter sample of any state in the presidential nominating process.

And when any group of voters sits through months of debates, speeches, meet-and-greets, ads, and other costly forms of political outreach, but still can’t really make up their minds at the end of it, it’s tempting to sit back and say oh, what a bunch of rubes.

But this year at least, that would be wrong.

Keller @ Large: Disappointing Win For Romney

Iowa Republican caucus voters last night told us a lot about themselves and our country that was honest and very much worth listening to.

For starters, the Iowa vote reflected what we already knew – that when it comes to politics, our country is profoundly divided, and the divisions seems to be getting deeper as time goes on.

You don’t need me to tell you about the yawning gulf between left and right, liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans.

That strife is worse and more corrosive than ever.

But how about the divisions exposed last night within the supposedly homogenous state of Iowa itself?

Romney won some of the more affluent cities, Des Moines, Dubuque and Davenport.

But Santorum won the rural vote, and Ron Paul did well among young and blue-collar voters.

Romney and Santorum split the Republican vote between them; evangelical Christians told Romney to take a hike.

Even worse than all those demographic divisions are the signs of apathy, cynicism and despair.

The candidates all ran around claiming this was the most important election of our lifetimes, but Iowa voters disagreed, and failed to turn out in the predicted numbers.

Even among those who did turn out, voter indecision and skepticism was rampant, a fact reflected in the split vote.

The heartland is heartsick over where we are and hesitant to rally behind yet another political messiah.

And who can blame them?

It’ll be up to our political elites to use this campaign to restore some sense of confidence and unity.

And who among us – in Iowa or elsewhere – is brimming with confidence that they can do it?

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.

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