power

SunPower on Thursday reported a drop on fourth-quarter earnings, but a sharp increase in annual revenues driven by large solar projects.

Net income for the fourth quarter, which ended December 30, 2007, was $4.8 million, or 6 cents per share. That is a 56 percent decline compared to the same period in 2006.

Revenues for the quarter were $224.3 million, over 200 percent higher than the same period a year earlier.

The company said the jump in revenue was due to strong demand for solar electric equipment and the installation of a few large projects, including the Nellis Air Force Base … Read more

Canon unveiled today three new budget-priced additions to its PowerShot A-series line of point-and-shoot cameras. Two of the models offer basic shooting for $150 or less, while one packs exposure controls and optical stabilization into a sub-$200 package.

The PowerShot A590 IS stands out as the only new A-series PowerShot camera to include optical image stabilization. The 8-megapixel shooter features a 35mm- to 140mm-equivalent, f/2.6-5.5 4x zoom lens that Canon claims can gain up to three stops with its stabilization system. Like previous high-end A-series Canons, the A590 IS supports additional converter lenses to boost the … Read more

Microsoft Office is so jam-packed with features that an entire industry has been created to help people find the ones they need. (An example is Addintools' $30 Classic Menu for Office 2007.) Why would anyone suggest that you add even more functions to Office apps? Because the best free Office add-ins can save you considerable time and trouble, without costing you a red cent. Here are five of my favorite Office helpers.

Poll attendees to find the best time for a meeting Everybody's busy, as anyone who has ever tried to schedule a meeting with more than two attendees … Read more

Aside from his storied history of mastering downloadable software and ensnaring cyber-ne'er-do-wells around the globe, Power Downloader is also a longtime music collector. Since the very first 78rpm record he received as a young boy on Christmas Day untold years ago, Power has combed the stacks of record stores everywhere he travels. From Jerry Lee Lewis, the Beatles, and the Stooges to Arcade Fire, R. Kelly, and The White Stripes, Power Downloader has acquired a gigantic music collection that now also lives on his PC, portable MP3 player, and via software, any connected computer, or iPhone in the world.… Read more

We're only a few weeks into 2008 and you can tell that it's going to be a great year for music. New releases by British Sea Power, Sia (we have her full album stream!) and The Oaks are worthy of the Best of 2008 (let's just hope we remember them at the end of the year). But we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves -- we're still enjoying the Best of 2007. Indie To Go is an iPod-friendly sampler that features topnotch indie newcomers and chart-toppers. Stream the playlist below (while you work), then visit the … Read more

Here's something blasphemous: My favorite booth at Macworld was not Apple's, but Belkin's. It knocked my socks off.

Think back a few years: Belkin was a ho-hum manufacturer of unsexy cables and nondescript PC accessories. Then came the iPod, and the company recognized a good thing when it saw one. Belkin jumped on the iPod shooting star and produced a nice line of interesting, well-conceived accessories. But essentially, the company outsourced its aesthetic to the iPod, piggybacking visually as well as functionally on that core device.

Now, Belkin is turning into a design and innovation powerhouse in … Read more

Schott Solar said Monday it will invest $100 million in a factory in New Mexico to make equipment destined for solar power plants.

The southwestern United States desert is becoming a magnet for solar investment. Utilities need to comply with renewable energy mandates, and large-scale solar installations are considered reliable and relatively cost-effective.

The Schott plant will initially produce receivers for its concentrated solar thermal power plants and 64 megawatts of photovoltaic modules. The facility is expected to begin production in 2009.

Longer-term, the company expects to make a total investment of $500 million in the facility, which will be … Read more

There's a great little feature in Microsoft Word 2003 and earlier versions of the word-processing program that lets you export to PowerPoint an outline of any Word file formatted with headings. I admit that it's a specialized operation that probably doesn't get used all that often, but it's a handy way to work between the two Office apps.

I was all set to tell you how to use the feature in Word 2007 when I realized it has been removed. So all that noise Microsoft made when the new Office System was released more than a … Read more

SunPower and General Electric Energy Financial Services are partnering to build solar power installations generating 8 megawatts in California by the end of the year.

The five projects include what could become the nation's largest solar panel installation on one roof, capable of 2.3 megawatts, at Toyota Motor Sales' Parts Center. Construction is set to start next month.

GE Energy Financial Services is acquiring a majority equity interest in the projects for an undisclosed amount. It will own the systems built and run by SunPower, a maker of high-efficiency solar panels.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company, which … Read more