Month: May 2022

Volta Trucks will launch its electric Class 7 trucks in the US next year

The Volta Zero has been designed for urban logistics use.

Volta Trucks' Zero has been designed from the ground up as a battery-electric logistics vehicle. The driver can enter or exit from either side and sits in a central driving position with eyes at the right height to spot cyclists and other vulnerable road users.

Enlarge / Volta Trucks' Zero has been designed from the ground up as a battery-electric logistics vehicle. The driver can enter or exit from either side and sits in a central driving position with eyes at the right height to spot cyclists and other vulnerable road users. (credit: Volta | Getty Images | Aurich Lawson)

If you live in Los Angeles, you might start seeing some of Volta Trucks' distinctive-looking electric vehicles driving around, as the Swedish startup plans to deploy a pilot fleet of Class 7 trucks in the city next year. After initially focusing on Europe, Volta Trucks revealed on Thursday that, like Prince Akeem, it's coming to America.

The Volta Zero was designed from the ground up to be an electric heavy-duty truck rather than an adaptation of an existing internal-combustion platform. The truck features a central driving position, with a minimum of blind spots, that places the driver at an appropriate height to spot vulnerable road users like cyclists. Range is a route-appropriate 95-125 miles (152-201 km)—the Zero is meant for urban logistics, not long hauls.

But don't think of Volta Trucks as a research project. The batteries and motors are both sourced from leaders in the field, and rather than set up a new factory with plans for world domination, the trucks are being contract-manufactured at the former MAN plant in Steyr, Austria.

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Bundesverwaltungsgericht: Finanzministerium darf Beirat nicht für geheim erklären

Transparenzorganisationen haben das Finanzministerium verklagt, weil es seinen wissenschaftlichen Beirat für geheim erklärt hat. Nun haben sie Recht bekommen. (Politik/Recht, Urheberrecht)

Transparenzorganisationen haben das Finanzministerium verklagt, weil es seinen wissenschaftlichen Beirat für geheim erklärt hat. Nun haben sie Recht bekommen. (Politik/Recht, Urheberrecht)

Larry Ellison chips in a cool billion toward Musk’s Twitter takeover

Musk also hopes to get former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to pitch in.

Oracle Corporation CEO Larry Ellison looks on after Oracle Team USA skippered by James Spithill lost race 1 of the America's Cup Finals on June 17, 2017, in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Enlarge / Oracle Corporation CEO Larry Ellison looks on after Oracle Team USA skippered by James Spithill lost race 1 of the America's Cup Finals on June 17, 2017, in Hamilton, Bermuda. (credit: Xaume Olleros | Getty Images)

Elon Musk has raised $7.14 billion of funding for his $44 billion buyout of Twitter from investors including Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, crypto exchange Binance, and asset management firms Fidelity, Brookfield, and Sequoia Capital.

With the new financing commitments, Musk will cut the margin loan he has taken with a group of lenders by half to $6.25 billion and increase the equity portion to $27.25 billion. The remainder of the purchase price will be paid with debt raised from global banks.

The Tesla chief has been in a whirlwind effort to secure outside backing to join his audacious bid for the social media platform, even as traditional private equity firms involved in leveraged buyouts have largely eschewed the transaction.

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Acer’s next Chromebook is a 14 inch convertible with AMD Ryzen 5000

The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (CP514-3H) is a convertible Chromebook with a 14 inch full HD display, an AMD Ryzen 5000 series processor, and support for up to 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It should be available in North America in the third quarter of 2022 with prices starting at $600. While that makes […]

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The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (CP514-3H) is a convertible Chromebook with a 14 inch full HD display, an AMD Ryzen 5000 series processor, and support for up to 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

It should be available in North America in the third quarter of 2022 with prices starting at $600.

While that makes the laptop a little on the pricy side by Chromebook standards, the new Acer Chromebook Spin 514 isn’t exactly an entry-level device.

The starting price is for a model with 8GB of dual-channel LPDDR4X memory, a 128GB PCIe Gen 3 NVMe SSD and an AMD Ryzen 3 5125C processor. But the Chromebook will also be available with Ryzen 3 5425C, Ryzen 5 5625C, and Ryzen 7 5825C processor options.

The notebook has a 1920 x 1080 pixel IPS LCD display, a 360-degee hinge, and support for pen and finger input. A pen isn’t included, but the Chromebook Spin 514 will work with an Acer USI Active Stylus or other USI compliant pens.

Other features include a full HD webcam with a privacy shutter, stereo upward-facing speakers with DTS Audio, WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 support, and a MIL-STD-810H tested case with aluminum top and bottom covers. There’s optional support for a backlit keyboard, but it doesn’t come standard. A glass-covered touchpad with Corning Gorilla Glass is standard though.

Ports include two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type0C ports, a USB Type-A port, and a headset jack. Acer says there’s also an HDMI port “on select models.”

The Chromebook Spin 514 (CP514-3H) measures 322.6 x 224 x 17.4mm (12.7″ x 8.8″ x 0.6″) and weighs 1.5 kg (3.3 pounds).

It will also be available as a Chromebook Enterprise device with prices starting at $900.

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