chicago

Recently, Ford has been a dominant force in cabin tech, introducing new features such as weather reports and gas price information in the navigation system, along with Sync, which offers the best phone and MP3 player support available. But its models have been missing something most car enthusiasts crave: sport performance. That changed at the Chicago Auto Show with the announcement of the Ford Taurus SHO. … Read more

Chevrolet has partnered with Goodyear to provide maximum energy efficiency on the road, company representatives say. The extended-range electric vehicle has been designed to make every amp count, this also means lowering rolling resistance by using the best tire possible.

The partnership with Goodyear was announced at the Chicago Auto Show, where Chevy fans got a peek at the electric car.

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt is all about energy efficiency, but that doesn't mean it's boring. The new Energy Efficient Series sound system from Bose is 30 percent smaller, 40 percent lighter, and uses 50 percent less energy than conventional Bose sound systems, company reps say.

The Volt made an appearance at the Chicago Auto Show. Company reps from Chevy and Bose talk up the new sound system.

The price of gasoline may have gone down for now, taking sales of hybrid vehicles with it. But the CAFE rule that mandates auto manufactures average 35 mpg for their fleet of vehicles still applies, meaning more vehicles are being offered with an alternative fuel-capable engine.

At the Chicago Auto Show, GM is displaying 15 of its 20 vehicles available with E85-capable (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline) powertrains. Chrysler and Ford have also trotted out an impressive lineup of flex fuel-capable cars.… Read more

Comic Sans really is a terrible look for a font. It might've been cool to write an essay about Christopher Columbus in it in third grade, but now it makes you seem uneducated. Do like Obama and stick with Helvetica or Georgia. Anyway, on today's show we tackle the hard issues and correct a few mistakes, like coming down too hard on Obama for screwing up the Presidential Oath. Also, a rather large helping of Calls from the Public calling Wilson out on his b.s.--no surprise there! (Wilson's note: Just because Jeff and Justin don'… Read more

As much as I enjoy having the emergency frozen pizza on hand, nothing beats a freshly baked pie. Unfortunately, the high heat required for stunningly delicious thin crust makes home baking a difficult challenge. However, that same limitation proves to be an asset when considering the deep-dish pizza pie. Yes, a hot oven is still necessary, but it is not essential to the final product. Home baked deep-dish pizza is the way to go.

Of course, the right tools make all the difference. If you try baking a deep-dish pizza with a regular sheet pan, well, you can tell just … Read more

I've been pining lately for greater enterprise participation in open source, following the lead set by Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst, and so was excited to see the recent news that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has joined the Linux Foundation. For CME, time is money, with a record 2.2 billion contracts in 2007 worth more than $1.2 quadrillion, all running on Linux (Red Hat Enterprise Linux, in this case).

But what does CME get from joining the Linux Foundation?

By joining the Linux Foundation, CME Group will be able to collaborate with key Linux developer and … Read more

Those nice people at ESPN reported this week that Mark Cuban, who I am told, was given a lot of money by Yahoo for some gizmoid or other, is one of the finalists in the bidding to buy baseball's most charming, unlucky, losersome team, the Chicago Cubs.

There will be those on the waggy side of humorous who will claim that he is the perfect person to own the Cubs as his Dallas Mavericks team is one of the most charming, unlucky, losersome teams in the NBA.

(My prejudices. One, I have Golden State Warriors hats and shirts and … Read more

Update 3:20 p.m PDT March 22: This blog has been updated with additional details about the city's beet-derived de-icer and sensor systems.

CHICAGO--Many Chicagoans pride themselves on surviving extreme weather, and laugh when a rainy day makes headlines in California. (With snow falling at two inches per hour Friday, the second day of spring, can you blame them?)

Seeking more eco-friendly ways to clear snow and ice from more than 9,500 miles of roadways, the Windy City is combining low-tech "green" chemicals with digital sensor systems.

Extract from sugar beet juice is key in … Read more