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KDE in Korea
Following our interview covering KDE in Japan last week, we now turn to South Korea. Cho Sung Jae tell us about the Korean KDE Users Group, including some of the problems of using KDE with Korean and just how fast their broadband is.
조성재, Cho Sung Jae
How did the Korean KDE Users Group start?
The Korean KDE Users Group was started in 1999 by Kabby (Kim Kyoung Heon). But it was not active. In 2006, Kabby recommended for me as Translation coordinator, then our team had activity to bring information about KDE in public.
What does the Korean KDE Users Group do?
The group's work, is mostly translation. Park, "segfault" Joon-Kyu has developed programs like KLDraw and galmuri. He also patched the Hangul encoding environment for Qt 3.x, so we thank him. :) And individually team members give information about KDE around to people.
How many people are part of the group?
I don't know exactly. :) For formal commiters there are 3. Me, Park "segfault" Joon-Kyu, and Park Shin-Jo. But I think that many KDE users in Korea are Korean team members. Because they bring the tips, posts, information about KDE to present about our projects. So I wanna say thanks for some special KDE Users. atie is the Kubuntu Translation contributor. He's translating in Launchpad, sometimes he posts news about KDE to KLDP (The Greatest Linux User BBS in Korea).
barosl is posting about KDE and Hangul (Korean character set) in his blog and is an older translator than me. Ziriz (sounds in English like [ziriz], but in Korean '지리즈') is good fan for KDE. He is resolving the problems in the KDE desktop with Korean. Kim Sung-Joon is also a good user. Hong Chan-Beom is the great brother of KDE team. He's bring the information about parallel computing and Bio-informatics. Hong Won-Beom is anthropologist and is studying about our society (free/open source software society) in Korea. Krisna is the developer of Korean Input System, and he's supporting KDE input method environment. Of course, I also thank every KDE users in Korea.
Why do we rarely hear from Korea in the free software world?
I think the reason is complex to explain. :)
How popular is free software in Korea?
Most people don't know they are using Free Software with Apache, GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, etc. In web programming environment, computer programmers know about Python, Ruby, PHP, MySQL, Apache. (Oh! God! I coundn't stand for this.) For example, in University, many professors in computer science and computer engineering know about free software but can't use. As for students? Maybe they are studying and using. The young people are using Firefox, dev-c++, Qt and GTK in their report. But don't worry. Places which use free software are increasing. Many people engaged in a social movement are studying and using free software. They are making a film with GNU/Linux systems, have meetings to bring information about Free Software. I also engage in the social movement, and am making the nonprofit cooperation to bring people to meet free software. (Of course I have the plan to show KDE project.)
What are the most popular Linux distributions and software in Korea?
As you know, Ubuntu is the most popular distribution in Linux users group, Fedora is the most popular in general. The Firefox is the best well-known program.
Back in 2002 Hancom got a large government contract, is that still in place? http://dot.kde.org/1011075072/
It's bad news for you. Hancom went bankrupt in 2004. (That company was not related with Hannsoft which the biggest software cooperation in Korea.) After that time, the Hancom Linux developer team was moved to Haansoft, then they distributed Haansoft Linux. Until desktop version 2, they used KDE desktop for their distribution, after then they changed their default desktop environment to Gnome to develop a Hangul Word Processor.
What are some of the issues with supporting Korean writing in software?
The input method system, is known as SCIM. SCIM is developed by Chinese developers. But that is not useful on its own for Korean. The difference from Chinese and Japanese, is in the complex input system. In the Chinese and Japanese input method system they write English characters with the same pronounciation then change that to their character. But in Korean we type their character key (with consonant and vowel), then the input method system makes one compound character with those keys. krisna is developing the input method system Nabi, and library for Korean libhangul. SCIM also supports libhangul and the Korean Input system. But that's not as good as it could be for Korean, nabi is the best for us.
Krisna, libhangul developer
krisna There are many issues. There are no typical configuration tools for Input Method Systems. There is a lack of desktop integration with input method system. As you said, the difference of input method system between Korean and C(hina)J(apan). The distributed effort with Korean problem in Korea. No mailing list for Korean Input Method system. The loss of last character key input in Korea when input focus is moved. Maybe that's all.
Hmmm... That's very many things. The other issue is fonts. In Korea, there are few free/open Korean font. Unfonts and alee-fonts. That's all. That's not enough to use in a desktop environment. That problem is caused by the many compound characters. In Korean characters, there are 14 consonants and 10 base vowels. Base vowels are able to compound vowels, there are 11 compounded vowels. One Korean character has 3 sound position for each consonants and vowels. So the total compound characters are about 1.6 million. Could you make the fonts for Korean? Ah! It's too hard to make the set of Korean fonts. So many Korean Linux Users are using two font packages generally, some buy the commercial fonts to use.
In the KDE project, the problem is easily found. In KSpread, Korean characters are not able to be inputed because KSpread's focus tracking system make interrupt for Korean Input Method System. While inputing Korean characters the Input Method System need to keep focus to make the whole compound character and word. But KSpread snatchs the focus from the Input Method. I know there is no evil intention. But I couldn't recommend to people to use KOffice yet.
How well does KDE and KDE distributions support Korean writing?
After developing nabi-0.17, libhangul, Qt library's patches and improving CJK environment, supporting Korean writing is good for KDE and KDE distributions, especially KDE 4. Konqueror's address input form couldn't use CJK characters for web shortcut site's query, except for that all things are good for use. (Thanks for all the KDE developers.) But problems still exist with post codes, phone number format, address format, time showing format, currency mark (Won, ₩), Konqueror's shorcuts, and web environment API supporting. Maybe if these problems are resolved, Korean KDE user numbers will explode.
Are you in contact with KDE users in other oriental countries?
Really Few. Khoem Sokhem, he is in Cambodia. He is good person. I met him in Akademy 2006 in first. After that time we sent some messages. Except for him, I just met some oriental people in conference and events.
How active is the translation community for KDE in Korea?
Actually, I'm meeting many KDE users in offline. (I know that's really old fashioned method.) But they're feeling easy to request. If someone request translation of KDE application by e-mail, I forward the messages to Park Shin-Jo and we're trying to translate them. That's all. (I don't know why my team is active.)
Are there any KDE developers in Korea and how can we get more?
Park, "segfault", Joon-Kyu is developing KLDraw and galmuri. And I'll be the other one. :)
And the Korean developer's environments need to improve. To make free software, they need to be free, but most of them are not. The work is too much to develop free software. Korean company's CEOs don't like them to develop free software. Maybe they think developers have no work to their own jobs for them. So they're increasing the work. If there are no more work, they'll bring jobs which need to use a fixed computer. :(
After this interview, I'll do work as the president of Korea Free/Open Source Software Association. And I need to prepare the site fossa.or.kr and fossa.kr. If I do well in my job, almost all of the above problems will be resolved. Believe it or not. :)
Lastly, is it true you get 100Mbps broadband in Korea?
Yes :)
You can find the KDE Korean Users Group in #kde on the
I get 52kB/s when I'm lucky :/
By me at Tue, 2008/04/29 - 5:00am
Re: 100Mbps??
52kB/S? Consider yourself lucky. There's no ISDN here (no free ports), so we have to live analog with mostly 36kbaud on these old wires. Only some 2km away people get VDSL 50/10 flatrates for even €10 less a month. Damn fiber. *grrrrrr*
By Noob at Tue, 2008/04/29 - 5:00am
Re: 100Mbps??
In Sweden, too, 100 Mbps is getting more and more common.
nyah, nyah, nyah!
By Inge Wallin at Tue, 2008/04/29 - 5:00am
Re: 100Mbps??
I'm Korean, and now in Sweden for an exchange study.
However, the connection between Sweden and Korea is slow....
By Daybreaker at Thu, 2008/05/01 - 5:00am
Re: 100Mbps??
The advantage of being a late adopter ;)
By Chaoswind at Tue, 2008/04/29 - 5:00am
Re: 100Mbps??
Korea was getting broadband about the same time the US was I think.
By Ian Monroe at Wed, 2008/04/30 - 5:00am
Re: 100Mbps??
Probably, but sourkorea began with building their structures only 10-20 years ago. So they had'nt problems with existing structures. Also, soutkorea is mainly small, unlike the wide ranges in the usa, which minimize the cost drastic.
It's a situation found in many countrays who are late adopters. They can start off with the better solutions and must'nt wait for the establishing of a leading technology.
By Chaoswind at Thu, 2008/05/01 - 5:00am
Re: 100Mbps??
I'm using my EVDO phone for network connection in rural area.
By cz at Tue, 2008/05/06 - 5:00am
Re: 100Mbps??
but it's work only in mswindows. :/
By cz at Tue, 2008/05/06 - 5:00am
Interesting reading. thank you.
By dave null at Tue, 2008/04/29 - 5:00am
Asia and OSS
It's really sad that there isn't going on more in terms of Asia and OSS... those people are as resourceful as any, and practically all hardware is manufactured there. So why this gap?
Many developers like Linus Torvalds or Aaron Seigo say that the main reason would be cultural and language barriers ... well, at least the language thing really can't be it, as "the western world" as the main force behind OSS doesn't speak the same mother tongue either.
By Mikey at Tue, 2008/04/29 - 5:00am
Re: Asia and OSS
Well, the western world doesn't have the same language, but at least most of them are used to read and write in English.
By winnie at Tue, 2008/04/29 - 5:00am
Re: Asia and OSS
An very interesting video: The language challenge -- facing up to reality
In the website of the author, there is many more articles about the theme, in many languages also: http://claudepiron.free.fr/articles.htm
In terms of ease to adquire english, first comes the germans, then latin, then slavic, and in the last position the east-asian languages speakers. It takes somewhere like the double of time to learn english to an good level than for an latin, for example. English has two times more words than most languages, because it's dual inheritage, and germans or latins have an handcap here. The structure of the language is more related to german languages, but also to an certain degree to the european languages in general.
As you can probably tell, I'm not an native english speaker, and after many years of study, at least I think that I can be understood in writen medium.
By KTP at Fri, 2008/05/02 - 5:00am
Re: Asia and OSS
I have the same question.
By the way, I think you are doing a very good job by building bridges with these communities.
By nikos at Tue, 2008/04/29 - 5:00am
Re: Asia and OSS
I don't know, could it be cultural indeed? Like people defining themselves primarily as a unique individual in the western world, while in Asia folks leaning more to the collective side of things? OSS after all is about personal initiative and expressing yourself as an individual...
By Donovan at Tue, 2008/04/29 - 5:00am
Good work on the telcos part in ROK. Here in Japan we've been enjoying FTTH 100mps for several years... ;)
Quite surprising about the complex input method for Korean characters. It sounds like they could use some help.
By winter at Tue, 2008/04/29 - 5:00am
Korea internet service
this is korea internet service list
name is
By JJkorean at Fri, 2008/05/02 - 5:00am


text:
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Known to be a city located in Sirohi district of Rajasthan, Abu Road was earlier referred as Kharadi. This small city lies southeast of Mount Abu. The famous Mount Abu is approximately 27 km away from Abu Road. The main road that connects to Mount Abu was built in 1845 during the time when Maharao Shiv Singh of Sirohi was the ruler of the state.
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Trotter to Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens on Friday are expected to announce the signing of forward Brock Trotter, who was leading DU in goals (13) assists (18) and points (31) before leaving the team last week.
DU coach George Gwozdecky on Thursday night declined to say whether Trotter was dismissed from his program or left on his own.
"It has been challenging without him, but I think him being able to accomplish one of his childhood dream of playing professional hockey provides closure for us," Gwozdecky said. "Every single guy in our locker room is excited and proud for him, and I say that with all sincerity.
"As far as our team is concerned, every team goes through challenges . . . and sometimes triumph without adversity doesn't mean a whole lot . . . We're going to move on."
Trotter, a third-year sophomore, is scheduled to join Montreal's AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs.
"Brock is a good kid," DU senior defenseman and team captain Andrew Thomas said. "We always bring in character kids. We'll bring in a character kid over a skilled kid any day of the week. That's what our coaching staff always emphasizes, that's why we're here. It was never a case of his personality or any of that."


text:
Membership will be limited to adults (18+ years of age)and will be available to professional performers, hobbyists, and other serious students of our craft.
A few points.
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- It's my hope that the forums will eventually comprise enough data to be a resource for serious students of our craft.
- I will do my utmost to protect the privacy of members and the conversations presented here. No e-mail addresses (or personal information) will be given out, sold or dispersed in any way without your consent. I require a valid e-mail solely for the purpose of communicating with you personally. If there is a forums outage or addition, it is possible a notification may be sent out. I have only done so once in the year and half the forums have existed. Guests will not be able to access any part of the "members only" sections without registration approval.
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text:
Sony and Nintendo both offer day-one downloads of select new releases - even including major titles like Assassin's Creed III. Why can't Microsoft get it right, too?
My theory? Trying to keep retailers happy. It's easier to negotiate display preference with retailers when your platform does not compete with them via digital sales.
That's my theory and not an excuse for them. I couldn't be bothered either way, data costs way too much in South Africa for full game downloads to be viable for me.
Microsoft seemed to be leading when it game to full game digital downloads earlier this generation. I remember this distinctly because PS3 fanboys swore that digital downloads would NEVER replace the physical format.
I was impressed to see recently released games already available for download on the PSN store. Good for gamers I guess, but this will bring about the death of game stores much quicker than anticipated.
I'm good with digital downloads, but I want to see more Steam like sales on Xbox Live and PSN (looks at full priced 5 year old map packs)
If you call releasing games at £59.99 for download "getting it right", then I suppose you could say Sony do.
I wouldn't though, I think that's a colossal rip off by the various publishers. Sony let them set the prices, I think they need to change that policy and make it fall at least in line with physical copies....if not cheaper. Only then will downloading really take off.
As it is, they take advantage of the lazy or those unwilling to shop around for good deals. Fair enough, it can be played on another console via content sharing, but it's still a lot of money for a single game.
Because they suck and are driven by money. If you disagree with that ten you're blinded by fanboyism.


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text:
REDMOND, Washington – Deep inside Microsoft is the brain of a mad scientist.
You might not think so, given the banality of the company's ubiquitous products: Windows, Office, Hotmail, Exchange Server, Active Directory. The days are long past when this kind of software could light up anyone's imagination, except maybe an accountant's.
But Microsoft has an innovative side that's still capable of producing surprises. In fact, Microsoft spends more than $9 billion a year, and employs tens of thousands of people in research and development alone. While most of that goes toward coding the next versions of the company's major products, a lot gets funneled into pure research and cutting-edge engineering.
Much of that work happens in Building 99 and Studio B here on Microsoft's campus.
Building 99 is a think tank in the classic sense: It's a beautifully-designed building packed to the gills with hundreds of scientists – about half of Microsoft's researchers work here. In the middle is a tall, airy atrium designed by the architect to facilitate collaboration and the kind of chance meetings that can lead to serendipitous discoveries.
Many of the brainiacs who work in Building 99 are researching areas of computer science that may not have relevance to Microsoft's bottom line for years, if ever. Heck, they may not have relevance to anything, ever, but the fundamental premise of basic research is that for every dozen, or hundred, or thousand off-the-wall projects, there's one invention that turns out to be fabulously important and lucrative.
In fact, you only need one hit to make billions of dollars in research pay off, even if you waste the rest of the good ideas. As Malcolm Gladwell argued recently, Xerox, which is often derided for failing to take advantage of a series of amazing inventions at its Palo Alto Research Center, actually saw huge returns from just one invention: the laser printer. Against that, it's not necessarily a bad thing that Xerox PARC was home to hundreds of useless research projects, or that Xerox never figured out what to do with some of its research, like the graphical user interface.
A few hundred yards away, in Hardware Studio B, the rubber gets a little closer to the road. An impressive, multistory curtain of LEDs hangs in the lobby, displaying some sort of interactive art that responds to movement and sounds in the space, while employees enjoy a game of pingpong. The rest of the building is more prosaic, with surplus computers stacked up in the unused back sections of long, windowless corridors.
It's here that hardware engineers carve 3-D mock-ups, create prototypes, test and refine circuitry, and get products ready for the market. A high-concept idea that originates in the rarefied ideas of Building 99 (hey! wouldn't it be cool if your computer were a giant touchscreen table?) may get turned into an actual product in the hardware studio (hello, Microsoft Surface).
Wired recently toured both buildings to see some of the work Microsoft scientists and engineers are doing to invent the computer interfaces of the future.
Muscle Movement —————
Imagine playing Guitar Hero – with an air guitar.
That's exactly what the "Skinput" system being developed by Microsoft researcher Scott Saponas can do. A bracelet of electrodes on your arm senses how you are moving your hand and fingers, and transmits the data wirelessly to your computer, where the game can put it to use.
You might also use it to control your phone: For instance, you could touch your forefinger and thumb together to answer a call, or touch your middle finger and thumb together to pause music playback.
"Our muscles are generating a lot of electrical data we can sense," Saponas says. All the sensor has to do is figure out which electrical signals correspond to which gestures, and you could control your phone, computer or game console just by moving your fingers.
That could be handy, Saponas says, if your hands are otherwise occupied: washing dishes, making pottery, or riding a bike, for instance.
It's an intriguing interface idea, but it has a ways to go before it's practical.
For starters, figuring out which muscles correspond to which finger movements is a computational challenge.
"It would be nice if you had a ring finger muscle and an index finger muscle, but that's not how it works," Saponas says. Instead, there are groups of muscles that work in various combinations to move your fingers more or less individually. Sorting out the electrical signals is an exercise in pattern recognition that Saponas has been working on for several years.
"There's a lot of noise in the data, which is one of the things that makes it difficult," he says.
It's also a bit of a hardware problem at the moment. The Skinput system would look cool on the playa at Burning Man, it's a bit too bulky and aggressive-looking for consumer use just yet. It's also not terribly accurate.
But these are all merely bumps in the road to Saponas, who seems genuinely delighted by his research – and his good fortune in being able to pursue it here. A few years ago, Saponas was a University of Washington graduate student in computer science. He was lucky enough to land an internship at Microsoft Research, where he did work pertaining to his dissertation – and when he got his Ph.D., he got hired on by the company to continue that work.
"Don't tell them, because I like the paycheck, but I would come here even if they didn't pay me," Saponas confides as we leave his office.
And who knows? Something like this might be on the shelves at Best Buy before you know it.
Light Space ———–
Senior researcher Andy Wilson helped start Microsoft's investigations into tabletop displays in 2002. That work culminated, a few years ago, with the launch of Microsoft Surface.
Wilson's still working with tabletops. But now his research extends the computer interface from the tabletop throughout the entire space around it, including the air above the table, adjacent walls and even the floor.
The key to his "Light Space" project is a trio of depth cameras: Cameras that can record 3-D data by sensing how far away each point is. A similar sensor is used in Microsoft's Xbox Kinect, where it helps detect the position and orientation of your body, and can even be used by Kinect hackers to create 3-D maps of rooms.
In Wilson's setup, three depth cameras are trained at different parts of a room to create a real-time map of the space.
"The data you get from the depth cameras is in millimeters," says Wilson. "That allows you to combine the views of the three cameras into a 3-D view we can reason about."
Completing the setup are several high-definition projectors aimed at the tabletop and at a nearby wall. Everything is bolted to a cubical frame about ten feet on a side, made out of silver scaffolding, similar to the metal girders used by lighting designers for holding up stage lights.
The metal cube is kind of a wireframe of a room, and it encloses a brightly lit white table, which stands out against the theatrical darkness of Wilson's lab.
When you step inside the cube, the computer recognizes your arrival, building a 3-D model of your body and of anyone else inside the space.
In Light Space, you can manipulate photos and video windows on a tabletop, just by using your hands. But the 3-D aspect of the space means you can do other nifty things: For example, you can swipe a window off the table and onto your hand, where it becomes a little red dot. You can carry this dot around the room – it follows your hand wherever you go – and when you want, you can throw it onto the wall, where it reconstitutes itself as a window.
Or you can move a window from one screen to another by touching it with one hand, then touching the other screen where you want it to go with your other hand. The screen moves across, as if it were an electrical current zapping through your body.
It's also possible to use virtual space to control things. For instance, Wilson has the system create a "menu" icon on the floor. Depending on what height you hold your hand at above this menu, you can select different menu options. A light shining on your hand changes colors to indicate which option you're selecting, and there's an audible prompt as well.
"With this kind of interaction, can you go to your Zune music library and find the song you want?" says Wilson. "I don't know about that – it's an open question."
But it is cool.
Mouse House ———–
Across a wide open space from Building 99 is Microsoft's Studio B. At the end of a long corridor a pair of double doors lead to the company's model shop.
If you spent any time at all during your childhood assembling models, this place is Valhalla. A half dozen craftsman sit at workbenches here, manufacturing models and mock-ups of hardware concepts. Nearly every tool a model-maker could want is in the shop: Carvable blocks of foam, bits of wood and plastic and metal, knives, scrapers, chisels, glue, screws and, of course, piles and piles of discarded failed masterpieces. There's a paint shop where you can mix and spray any color you can think of onto anything you can get under the hood.
In a closet off to the side, two Objet Eden 350V 3-D printers are humming 24-7, squirting tiny jets of epoxy with an accuracy of 1/1000 inch and then curing it in ultraviolet light, manufacturing three-dimensional plastic objects layer by layer. (During our visit, the observation window on one of the printers is covered with opaque paper, to keep us from seeing what's inside.)
"We take care of anybody with anything tangible," says Karsten Aagaard, a user-experience designer in Microsoft's hardware group.
What that means in practice is that Microsoft engineers with clever ideas, CAD drawings, or manufacturing issues to debug come to the shop looking for help.
"We turn around concepts within hours," says Aagaard. "So we basically are helping them run their schedules in real time."
For example, when developing Microsoft's Touch Mouse, the team carved dozens of possible variations in "Ren board," a kind of soft, low-density foam that is easy to sculpt. It turns out there's an art to designing mice: You can't just compute the perfect curve, or even design it in a CAD program; you have to sculpt it, hold it in your hand, play with it, and try a bunch of variations.
Aagaard has been at Microsoft for 5 years, and before that spent 8 years at Motorola. Before he got into tech, he was a toymaker and builder of custom houses. Now, he spends his days making things that are meant to be picked up, played with and then thrown away.
"A lot of what we do lives for half an hour," says Aagaard. "People look at it and they say, 'We didn't know what we want, but now we do.' We can make stuff really quick and it allows people to move on."
The Wedge ———
Behind the nondescript double doors of Room 1960 – Microsoft's "Edison Lab" – Steven Bathiche, the enthusiastic, polymath head of Microsoft's Applied Sciences Group, shows us the latest technology he's obsessing over.
It's a wedge of clear acrylic.
"Not only is this a new interaction experience, this is also the technology to make it real," Bathiche says, in the middle of a long, rhapsodic, and sometimes quite technical explanation of his experiments with "seeing displays" – monitors that can see you and respond to you. The key to this work, he says, is The Wedge. (You can hear the capital letters in the way he pronounces it.)
The Wedge is a very carefully engineered piece of acrylic. It is essentially a wide, flat prism. Its angles are computed precisely so that light entering at the narrow end bounces around inside, working its way along towards the thick end, and gradually coming out along the long flat side. In effect, it makes light from the narrow end turn 90 degrees while spreading it out across the face of the plastic. If you place a tiny LCD projector on the narrow end, it can throw a monitor-sized image on the flat surface.
The wedge works in reverse, too, so a tiny scanner along the narrow end can capture an image of whatever is placed in front of the screen.
The wedge was designed by a Cambridge University spinoff called CamFPD, which Microsoft acquired and incorporated into the Applied Sciences Group. Now, Bathiche, the CamFPD team, and the rest of the group's engineers and scientists are working to create next-generation displays using this piece of plastic.
When Bathiche started at Microsoft, in 1999, he was the only member of the ASG. He had just completed a master's degree in bioengineering at the University of Washington, after studying electrical engineering at University of Virginia. Like Scott Saponas, he did internships at Microsoft while completing his graduate work, which segued into a full-time job after he graduated.
Bathiche later worked with the Surface Computing Group's Andy Wilson in developing surface computing into a marketable product, Microsoft Surface.
"That's the great thing about Microsoft: There are no walls between groups," Bathiche says.
He developed a reputation for debugging engineering problems with new as well as established hardware products. Over time, his team grew, adding engineers, coders, and scientists of various descriptions. The ASG now numbers about 20 people.
Because the wedge works in both directions, it's possible to create a display that can "see" you at the same time that it's showing an image. What's more, the light emitted by a wedge-based display is collimated – the light waves move in parallel lines – so the display can direct a different image to each eye, or a different image to the person sitting next to you. When the team combined eye-tracking technology with collimated light aimed at each eye, they created "the world's first steerable autostereoscopic 3-D display," as Bathiche calls it.
What that means in plain English: As you look at the display, you see a 3-D image. You might even see your own reflection in a shiny surface within that image. Move your head, and the 3-D effect still works, because the display is tracking your eyes to ensure each one gets the right image. What's more, the person sitting next to you can see a different 3-D image.
I saw a biplane circling a shiny teapot with my reflection. Looking into the same display at the same time, Wired's photo editor Jim Merithew, sitting to my right, saw a skull.
It's an impressive demo, but what's it for? It's not clear yet.
"Our job is to push the boundaries of how people use their computers," says Bathiche.
One way he sees the technology being used is to create more and more sophisticated "windows" into other parts of the world: A sort of hyper-realistic webcam. His ultimate goal, he says, is a 3-D display that incorporates viewpoint tracking. That means it would respond to your head's motion, so you can move left, right, forward and back to see different perspectives on the scene. Bathiche's lab is using the Wedge and other technologies, such as remote cameras that follow your head's movement, to experiment with different ways of making this happen.
It's still a ways off, but Bathiche seems confident he's got the components he needs.
"These are the pieces we need to create the ultimate display, which is kind of like a holodeck window to anywhere in the world," Bathiche says.
Surface 2.0 ———–
You can see how Microsoft's hardware mavens work in the evolution of Microsoft Surface.
Surface started out in Andy Wilson's lab as an experiment with tabletop displays.
By the time it got to market, five years later, it was still a bit impractical. Surface 1.0 was big and expensive ($12,500). One parody of a Microsoft promotional video mocked it as a "big-ass table," showing how it worked much like a touchscreen smartphone or tablet, except much less conveniently.
But if Surface 1.0 wasn't exactly a hit, Surface 2.0 might do better. That's because Microsoft's hardware group, working in conjunction with Samsung, has completely reworked the technology for the table's display and sensor.
Surface 1.0 used a projection screen and infrared cameras, making it thick and boxy. Surface 2.0 uses a new kind of LCD with integrated IR sensors, called PixelSense.1
In an ordinary LCD, each pixel is made up of a cluster of sub-pixels, one each for emitting red, green and blue light. In the PixelSense display, each pixel includes a fourth color, infrared, as well as a tiny infrared sensor. IR light emitted by each pixel is reflected back by objects near or on the screen, then picked up by the sensors, which can tell how far away things are by their brightness.
"Your fingertip looks like a comet," says Microsoft group program manager Pete Kyriacou, who is showing us around a demonstration lab full of Surfaces. Where your finger touches the screen, it's bright white, but the parts of your finger that are further away fade into darkness. Therefore, Surface's software can tell which direction you're pointing.
The new display and sensing technology means that Surface 2.0 is thinner, cheaper, lighter and stronger than the old version. At 40 inches diagonal, it's not much thicker than an ordinary TV. You can even hang it on a wall.
Its high-definition 1,920 by 1,080 pixel display captures images at 60Hz at the same resolution that it displays them. That adds up to a gigabit per second of imaging data, which is pumped into the computer underneath through a custom image processing unit. Otherwise, the guts of the Surface look a lot like a typical computer motherboard, only much larger.
It's also strong. The design specs required that it support up to 180 pounds (heavy dudes at the bar, please don't dance on the Surface). The front of the Surface is a large, 0.7mm thick sheet of Gorilla Glass, which gives it enough toughness to shrug off the impact of a full beer bottle dropped from 18 inches. It's waterproof, too, and even the edges are sealed to prevent your beer from leaking into the electronics underneath.
Surface is interesting enough to developers that more than 350 of them have started creating Surface applications, mostly for use in commercial, retail and hospitality settings. High-profile customers include Red Bull, Sheraton Hotels, Fujifilm, Royal Bank of Canada, and Dassault Aviation (an executive jet company).
Surface 2.0 will cost $7,900 and will start shipping this summer.
"I want people to not really know how this is working," says Kyriacou. "It's an opportunity to take advantage of the technology and do really magical things."
And for that, Kyriacou points out, all the smarts at Microsoft are not going to be enough. Once an idea has come out of the research labs, been prototyped and honed and turned into a product, once it's been revised and its bugs ironed out, then it's effectively out of Microsoft's hands – and in the hands of its developers.
"We want our hardware to take a back seat to what software developers can light up," Kyriacou says.
So get to work, brainiacs!
Note 1. The original version of this story misstated the developer of the PixelSense technology.
See Also:- Spy Geeks Want Holodeck Tech for Intel Analysts
- Opening Soon: Military Holodeck
- Virtual Sets Move Hollywood Closer to Holodeck
- Review: Strong Acting, Holodeck From Hell Boost One-Off Virtuality
- Microsoft Exec Tries to Spin 'Post-PC' Era Into 'PC Plus'
- Google vs. Microsoft Isn't Just a Battle of Products, But a Battle of Ideas
- The Internet of Cars: New R&D for Mobile Traffic Sensors
- Federal Investments in Energy R&D: 1961-2008 (.pdf)
- Op-Ed: Reversing the Congressional Science Lobotomy


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A string of travails has taken a toll on Gov. Jim Gibbons, who had a 28 percent approval rating in a recent poll.
CARSON CITY, Nev., May 24 — Life these days for Gov. Jim Gibbons of Nevada might kindly be described as suboptimal.
In the last few months, Mr. Gibbons, a Republican, announced a plan to turn coal into jet fuel to raise money (problematic, as Nevada has no coal to speak of) and proposed paying for a $3.8 billion shortfall in highway construction money by selling water rights under state highways (it turns out the state did not actually own the rights).
He told a local editorial board he could not pronounce the name of his energy adviser because she was "Indian" — she is Turkish — and vetoed a bill that would stop budget-busting tax breaks for builders of "green" buildings before issuing an executive order to end them anyway (with the exception of four companies).
Mr. Gibbons is the subject of a Federal Bureau of Investigation inquiry into whether he failed to report gifts from a military contractor while serving in Congress. The governor, who would not be interviewed, has denied wrongdoing, and once suggested that Democratic operatives might have paid off newspaper reporters who have written about his troubles with the F.B.I.
And faced with a collapsing public education system and extensive state infrastructure needs, Mr. Gibbons at one point threatened to veto the $7 billion two-year state budget and shut down government largely over his desire for a security center in Carson City — an idea that law enforcement officials dislike — and his plan to save small businesses two hundredths of a percent on their taxes.
The travails have taken a toll.
In a recent Mason-Dixon poll, just 28 percent of the 625 registered Nevada voters questioned said they had a favorable opinion of the governor, who took office in January. Only Congress fared worse, getting a positive opinion from 24 percent of respondents. The poll had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points. Whispers of an unlikely recall campaign, limited largely to cyberspace, are now in the air.
"The amount of controversy associated with the race, the election and now the first six months of office exceeds that of any other governor that we have ever had," said the state's archivist, Guy Rocha. "Does that make him good, bad or otherwise? I can't say. Historically, we just haven't had this."
The governor's spokesman, Brent Boynton, who answered questions via e-mail, said Mr. Gibbons would emerge from his first legislative session victorious if he held the line on taxes and came up with a way to pay for his education plans.
"Many governors have seen similarly low numbers during their first terms and then seen the ratings rise later," Mr. Boynton said. "Governor Gibbons is confident that the numbers were a temporary dip, and we have already seen signs that they are reversing direction."
But for the rest of Nevada, the doings in the capital have significant implications beyond its residents' chagrin. The explosive growth around the state has created dire financing needs for roads and schools in tight budget times, with a part-time Legislature scrambling to end its session before going home for two years.
Further, with Nevada front and center on the presidential primary calendar — its caucus is now set right after Iowa's — the state can live without being the punch line of a national political joke.
"I think this just confirms people's worst images of Nevada," said State Senator Dina Titus, the Democratic minority leader, who was defeated by Mr. Gibbons in the governor's race. "They think it is just the Wild West. Four county commissioners just went to prison, and with the pictures of the governor on the national news, what could be worse?"
While Mr. Gibbons's Democratic critics argue that his troubles are unsurprising, few could have predicted their degree. Mr. Gibbons, a former legislator and largely invisible five-term congressman, gained stewardship of the state with less than 50 percent of the vote.
He took few strong policy positions in that campaign, and instead continually derided Ms. Titus — already an object of suspicion thanks to her Southern accent and tough-edged persona — as tax happy.
Among the more memorable campaign remarks made by Mr. Gibbons, a former combat pilot and veteran of both the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars, was his suggestion that "liberal, tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, hippie, tie-dyed liberals" ought to be used as human shields in Iraq. It all played well with Mr. Gibbons's base of voters in rural and Northern Nevada.
"I think that probably there were some people who didn't expect him to demonstrate a lot of intelligence," said Michael Green, a professor of history at the Community College of Southern Nevada. "And that he might not have much familiarity about state government. But the degree of controversy that has surrounded him, I think, has been a surprise to everybody."
While Mr. Gibbons has clearly lacked the traditional honeymoon of a new governor, in truth, it was not much of a wedding night.
He muddled through a bruising primary and general election, the latter overshadowed by an altercation with a drunken cocktail waitress in a Las Vegas parking lot. Prosecutors eventually dropped an assault case against Mr. Gibbons, citing insufficient evidence.
During the campaign, it was revealed that Mr. Gibbons, whose platform was heavily focused against illegal immigration, had once hired a nanny who was an illegal immigrant.
Mr. Gibbons chose to be sworn into office 12 seconds after midnight on New Year's Eve in his home in Reno, citing ominous nonspecific security threats that aides later said pertained to the execution of Saddam Hussein. But security concerns did not keep his wife, Dawn, from wearing a velvet Giorgio Armani gown for the inaugural balls, which everyone knew about because she put out a news release saying so.
Mrs. Gibbons also announced a ban on alcohol in the governor's mansion, but then concluded that when a wing of your home is named after a local liquor tycoon and the state has a long and storied history of imbibing at official events, it is best not to deny your guests a glass of wine.
But it is Mr. Gibbons's legislative agenda — one that relies heavily on the flexing of his executive muscle — that has confused and at times infuriated lawmakers. His unprecedented order regarding the green tax breaks set off a minor constitutional crisis, and he has had a hard time getting even members of his own party to sponsor his bills, which were not introduced until the session's 11th hour.
"How do I give you a politically correct answer?" said Assemblyman John Oceguera, the Democratic majority leader. "He has a leadership style that is different than I am familiar with."
Republican colleagues are more complimentary, arguing that Mr. Gibbons is new to the job and needs time to settle in.
"Every time they think they have things under control, another shoe drops," said Chuck Muth, a Nevada political consultant and conservative activist. "But at this point I would say that as long as Governor Gibbons stays true to his pledge not to raise taxes, as far as I am concerned he is a good Republican and he did well."
Mr. Gibbons's staff says that he is doing the job he was elected to do and that the people of Nevada will ultimately be pleased with him.
"Every seven minutes, a person moves to Southern Nevada; one hundred cars are added to Southern Nevada roads every day," said Mr. Boynton, the governor's spokesman. "Keeping up with that pace of growth, without adding taxes that harm the economic growth of the region, is a major challenge that the governor is meeting."


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About French Guiana
With a total land area of 91 000 km2, French Guiana is only slightly smaller than Portugal. Situated in the northeast of South America, it has the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Surinam to the west and Brazil to the south and southeast.
The capital of this French Overseas Department is Cayenne; some of the other main towns are Kourou, Matoury, St Laurent and Macouria. French Guiana is administered by a prefecture representing the French Government.
French Guiana has a hot and humid equatorial climate with an average temperature of between 25° to 27°C. The rainy seasons stretch from December to February and from April to July, with a dry season between August and November.
Altogether 95% of the land is covered by equatorial forest and most of the 280 000 inhabitants live along the coast. The two main rivers are the Maroni, that forms a natural boundary with Surinam to the west, and the Oyapock, that marks the border with Brazil to the east.
Europe's Spaceport has helped to bring jobs and wealth to French Guiana. Industry is centred around the spaceport and an estimated 15% of the working population are involved directly or indirectly with the space industry.
Fishing and forestry are also important economic activities. The large reserves of tropical hardwood support an expanding sawmill industry that provides cut logs for export. Agriculture is mainly carried out in the coastal area, the most important crops being rice and cassava.


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The first time my friend showed me Sonic The Hedgehog on his Sega Genesis, he made me put the controller down so I could see how much more attitude Sonic had than my Mario. Sonic, you see, would get pissed if you left him idling.
He was no goofy plumber. He'd tap his toe. He was annoyed.
Since then, Sonic's idle animations have been a trademark, if not a constant in Sonic games. In Sonic Genrations, this fall's hedgehog game, they're back. But there are two Sonics in this game, Classic Sonic from the Genesis era and Modern Sonic from the Dreamcast and beyond. They react a little differently if you leave your controller still.
The round one still has more of an attitude.
Sonic Generations will be out this fall on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo 3DS.
You can contact Stephen Totilo, the author of this post, at email@example.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.


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Bird Sense: What It's Like to Be a Bird
by Tim Birkhead. Walker & Company, 2012
Birds are more like humans than many realize: they are bipedal, they rely primarily on sight and hearing, and most are monogamous. Birkhead, a professor at the University of Sheffield in England, has spent his career studying bird behavior and fills his book with evocative stories and observations about numerous species, including flamingos, parrots and his beloved long-tailed sylph hummingbird. Each chapter is devoted to a particular sense or trait—"Touch," "Hearing," "Seeing"—with "Emotions" being one of the most nuanced. Birds perform increasingly elaborate greeting rituals the longer they have been away from their partner, he writes. Does that mean they experience feelings the same way humans do? Birkhead is reluctant to draw a conclusion, letting the observations speak for themselves.
The Green Paradox: A Supply-Side Approach to Global Warming
by Hans-Werner Sinn. MIT Press, 2012
This English translation of a European best seller lays out German economist Sinn's controversial ideas about how to reduce carbon emissions. European and American politicians, he argues, are too focused on reducing fossil-fuel demand and not focused enough on curbing supply. As a solution, he proposes a "Super-Kyoto" scheme in which consumer countries would form a cap-and-trade system that would limit each government's fossil-fuel purchases—similar to the way ration cards worked during World War II. In addition, the cartel would levy source taxes on producers' capital income, encouraging them to leave more of their resources underground.
DNA USA: A Genetic Portrait of America
by Bryan Sykes. Liveright, 2012
University of Oxford geneticist Sykes sets off on a three-month journey across the U.S., accompanied for a time by his teenage son, who is about to go off to college, collecting spit from volunteers along the way. The result is a beautifully written travelogue and valuable genetics primer that paints an intriguing, anthropological history of the country. Some of Sykes's (not always surprising) results suggest that racial intermixing appears least common in New England, that nearly all Americans whose ancestors arrived as slaves from Africa have European DNA, and that European genes began mixing with those of Native Americans some 10,000 years ago, hinting at a possible European origin for some Native Americans.
Floating Gold: A Natural (and Unnatural) History of Ambergris
by Christopher Kemp. University of Chicago Press, 2012
Kemp has hit on a fascinating yet almost entirely unknown subject: ambergris, a rare by-product of sperm whale digestion that is worth nearly as much as gold. Its value comes primarily from its scarcity: an estimated 1 percent of sperm whales produce it, and circumstances have to be just right for it to wash up on shore. Whereas ambergris is usually fatal to the whales that produce it (it can rupture their intestines, as described in one grim passage), it has been prized by perfume houses for its stabilizing effect and "animalic" scent and by collectors who use it as an aphrodisiac. Kemp's perseverance in unraveling this story is admirable, although the book's pacing is uneven.
Catlin Seaview Survey. Visitors to this Web site can examine sections of Australia's Great Barrier Reef (below) using the survey's new 360-degree underwater viewer: www.catlinseaviewsurvey.com/seaview.htm
High Seas Adventures. This feature from the British Library's 19th Century Historical Collection iPad app offers more than 100 works of nautical literature covering Arctic expeditions, shipwrecks, pirate attacks, and more.
Deep Sea News. An informative blog about the oceans written largely by marine biologists. http://deepseanews.com


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Abstract Ink Tapestry
- Abstract Ink Tapestry
- Handmade
- 100% Polyester
- Reactive dying
- Hand washing recommended
Our vision is for Art + Interior to be a simple and seamless way for people fill their homes with captivating and inspiring pieces of art and accessories.
Our small team travels the world to find the most unique artisinal products that you won't find at your local retail store, and delivers it directly to your door at an affordable price.
We are confident you will find something that you like.
✈ Our products are shipped directly from manufacturers and artisans from around the world and are often made on demand. As a result, our shipping and processing times are a bit longer than what you may be used to.
Please allow 3-5 business days for order processing. You will be sent a shipping confirmation with a tracking code once your order is sent out.
US orders typically take 5-20 business days.
International orders typically take 10-30 business days.
♻ 30 day return window, see our store policy for more details.


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"I now know that behind every number is a person with a beating heart and desperate soul. Those of us fortunate enough to live in a nation that's not completely engulfed by AIDS sometimes have a hard time understanding or relating to those who live so differently than us. After meeting child after child in despair, I began to think: 'What a different world from mine.' But then something happened that changed my mind and heart.
A railroad track ran near the building where we were meeting. Right in the middle of our visit, we could hear the deep rumble and piercing horn of an approaching train. Boys from across the compound began running to the fence. They lined up with excitement, hooking their fingers into the chain link fence and watching the mighty train rush past. They laughed and gestured with glee as it roared by. Their excitement brought a smile to my face as I remembered the same reaction to trains from my own children and grandchildren. Boys will be boys- no matter if they were born in Lynchburg, Virginia, or Markman Township, South Africa.
As I watched them, I saw these children for who they were, children just like my own. They are boys and girls like those we love. They feel, they love, they hurt- just like you and me. The only difference is their families and communities are living with a plague that devours all they hold dear."
I can't begin to say how this changed me. Kids are kids, no matter where they come from. They all want and need to be loved. They all deserve to have a chance. And it clicked with me at that moment- at the heart of it all we are all so much more alike than we are different. I'd heard it a million times before, but had never internalized it. It never had a personal meaning for me. So often we focus on trying to meet the basic needs of kids who have nothing. And they are in desperate need of those basics. But we forget that children are just children who want to laugh, and play and just be kids who can run and watch trains and forget about life for a while no matter their color or where they are from.
I am so thankful to serve a God that was so creative and compassionate that he made children that look like this:
Because as the old song goes, red and yellow, black and white, they are ALL precious in HIS sight. They all have the same sweet, innocent child-like hearts and the desire to love and be loved. And how awesome is that!?
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Asymmetric Nursing Tee - Pink SandRegular price $59.00
or 4 payments of $14.75 with More info
Usually ships in 1-2 days from Melbourne
☆Hurry! Get your FREE $39 Nursing Bra!*☆
Spend $100 or more then click here to choose your Bra and add it to your Bag.Discount applied at Checkout. *Only while stocks last. Excludes Clearance.
- Nursing t-shirt
- Lyocell Cotton blend
- Asymmetrical shape flatters a postpartum body
- Perfect Summer top & gorgeous layering option in cooler months
How this tee works for breastfeeding
Pull up the front top layer and slide the underlayer across, allowing access for fast and discreet breastfeeding without exposing your bust or tummy.
Size & fit
Our model is wearing a size XS (AU 8-10). She is 176cm (5'8") tall.
Fabric & care
- Lyocell Cotton blend fabric
- Soft & breathable
- All day comfort for sensitive skin
- 50% Lyocell / 50% Cotton
Our Size
|AU Size
|Inseam (Pants)
Our Size
|AU Size
|Inseam (Pants)
Our Size
|AU Size
|Inseam (Pants)
Our Size
|AU Size
|Inseam (Pants)
Our Size
|AU Size
Inseam (Pants)
Peachymama sizing has been developed for your after baby body.
If you were say, a standard Australian size 'S' before baby, you'll be a Peachymama size 'S' now. To check, grab a measuring tape...
Free Shipping on orders over $150
Your shipping choices:
- Free Shipping on orders over $150
- $10 Standard flat rate Shipping on orders under $150
- $17 Express Shipping on orders under $150
- $7 Express Shipping on orders over $150
We fulfil your order from our Melbourne warehouse, allow 1-3 days for Express Shipping & 4-8 days for Standard Shipping. It may take a little longer if you're in a remote area.
Normally your order is processed the same day. During busy times your order may not be able to be processed immediately and it may take 1-2 business days to despatch.
We do our best to have your garments delivered to you as quickly as possible, choosing the best possible postal method for your area, whether that be Australia Post or door-to-door courier and we appreciate your patience when this takes a little longer than expected.
Urgent Orders
If you need your Peachymama in a hurry we'll make it happen for you.
We have access to fast couriers that may cost a little extra than our standard services but we'll get the best rate on the day. If you need this, be sure to let us know via FB Messenger, email or call Stacey on 1300 473 224.
General Terms of Delivery
Delivery times only apply to products currently in stock.
In periods of high demand it is possible that an order will be accepted, with insufficient stock to fulfil it. In this case we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and give you the option either to exchange it or obtain a refund.
When required, deliveries must be signed for by either yourself or a trusted friend/neighbour.
We reserve the right not to deliver orders if we believe the address is not secure, for example, to a communal postal address - if this affects an order you place, we will notify you as soon as possible.
Missing Parcel
In an ideal World, tradesmen would always come on time and we'd all get a good night's sleep, but the truth is things happen that may cause a delay in your order being delivered to you.
So, please wait an extra few days and if it still hasn't arrived send us an email.
We use secure postal and courier services. If for any reason you do not receive your package, we will do our best to help track it down however we cannot be held responsible for replacing it.
If you suspect your parcel may have gone missing, contact us and we'll be happy to sort it out for you.
Peachymama's Returns Policy
60 Day Returns & Friendly Customer Service
We want you to be happy with the items you've ordered. But sometimes that's just not the case, perhaps a little too big or the colour isn't quite right. That's why our returns & exchanges process is super easy.
Sales & Clearance
Clearance or Final Sale Items
Sometimes we have end of Season Clearance or Final Sales - you'll know by the way we clearly label them. These are often heavily discounted items and we don't accept refunds or returns on these.
Sales & Promotions
We offer an exchange or store credit only on Sale Items or items purchased as part of a Promotional Offer.
We can't offer a refund on these items.
If you'd like the option to return for a full refund, it's no problem. Just let us know and we'll arrange for you to complete your Order without the Sale or Promotion bonuses.
Free Item Bonus Promotional Offers
Occasionally, we run Promotions where a free item may be included with a garment. If you decide to return the garment for a refund, you will be charged the full price of the Free item and this will be deducted from the total refund payable.
If you decide to exchange the garment for a different size or colour, you may keep the Free item.
Here's where to send your items:
Peachymama Returns
Unit 1/31 Keysborough Close
Victoria 3173
Here's how the process works in 10 easy steps...
Stop! Don't Wash Your Garment Yet.
This is important: We do not refund or exchange garments that have been worn or washed.
To make sure you have the best experience, always check and try on each garment before washing.
We understand that you may wish to wash your new Peachymama garment before you wear it. But please, before you do, check the garment thoroughly for size, fit and faults because once it's been washed we cannot accept it back for refund or exchange.
Check If You're Eligible
To be eligible for a return or exchange please ensure:
- Your request is within the 60 day period from date of shipping confirmation email.
- The garment(s) is in it's original condition and has not been washed.
- The garment(s) has never been worn - apart from trying it on for fit.
- The garment is not a Clearance item.
If you're unsure if your garment is eligible for an exchange or refund - eg. if it's over the 60 days or is a Sale item - please contact us first to confirm before posting your garment back.
60 Days Return
Peachymama's standard return & exchange time limit is 60 days from the day you placed your order.
This will normally give you plenty of time to receive and try on your items.
But we also understand how busy things can get with a new baby so don't panic if you think you may be a little late returning your garment, just send us a quick note to let us know.
Why 'Original Condition' Is Important
Please note that only garments that are in their original condition will be accepted - all tags and labels attached (if delivered with them) and the garment has never been washed or worn, apart from trying it on for fit.
If the garment being returned has been washed, is marked ( eg. make up, deodorant stains, perspiration marks, dirt, etc) or if the garment has any strong odours (eg. perfume or deodorant), we reserve the right to refuse a refund on that item and will not incur the cost of postage back to you.
Please understand that we cannot accept these items because we cannot re-offer them for sale - exactly the same as any other retail store.
Please ensure that your Peachymama swimwear items are tried on over your own underwear. In the interest of hygiene, we may refuse returned items where we reasonably consider that this has not been done.
Multi-Packs & Discount Bundles
Peachymama offers you a wide range of pre-designed multi-packs consisting of some of our most popular items bundled into one easy to buy package.
These multi-packs are normally discounted and so if you decide to return a portion of it, the refund you'll receive will be a) the purchase price of the Multi-Pack minus b) the full retail price value of the items you wish to keep.
Make sense? It just means that the discount you receive when purchasing the multi-pack is no longer applied and the items you keep will be at full retail price.
Incorrect Items or Faults
Here at Peachymama we use high quality fabrics and accredited manufacturers.
However, if on the rare occasion you have been sent a garment with a fault (eg. stitching coming away or fabric flaw, etc) or you have been accidentally sent the wrong garment please contact us and we'll sort it out.
If you find a fault, simply take a photo and send it to us.
But please remember that once a garment has been worn or washed, we can't take responsibility for any flaw or fault. So please thoroughly check your Peachymama garments before you have worn or washed them.
Multiple Returns
We understand you may not get things right the first time, but when it comes to returns and exchanges within the same Order, any additional postage incurred after the first time will be at your own expense.
The Best Way to Return Your Garment
- Check that the garment is in its original condition with all tags & labels attached.
- Neatly fold the garment - please don't scrunch them in a ball as this damages the fabric and if so we will charge a $5 repressing fee.
- Ensure it is clean and free of lint
- Complete the quick returns & exchanges form.
- Place it back in its original packaging or a clean plastic bag.
- Post it back to us.
This is the important part: If the garment being returned has been washed or is marked in any way - eg. make up, deodorant, perspiration marks, dirt, etc, or if the garment has any strong odours (eg. perfume or deodorant), we reserve the right to refuse refund or exchange on that item and will not incur the cost of postage back to the customer.
Return Postage
It is your responsibility to pay for postage when returning an item to us.
Being a small family owned business we're not yet big enough yet to be able to offer free postage for returns & exchanges. We will, however, happily post the exchanged item back to you free of charge.
If the criteria for a refund or exchange is not met for any reason, it will also be your responsibility for the postage back to you.
Peachymama Postal Address:
Peachymama Returns
Unit 1/31 Keysborough Close
Victoria 3173
Ok, So What Happens Now?
- Post your return item to our Postal Address.
- Once it arrives we'll let you know if we have any questions and process your request.
- For exchanges, if the item you want is in stock we'll send it out immediately. If it's a pre-order item, we'll despatch it the minute it comes in. Either way, we'll let you know.
- Any difference in the value of the exchanged item will either be refunded (for an item of lesser value) or additional payment requested (for an item of greater value).
- Any refunds will be via the same payment method you used for purchase.


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The BMW 5-Series (E39 chassis) was introduced in the United States as a 1997 model year car and lasted until the 2004 when the E60 chassis was released. The United States saw several variations including the 525i, 528i, 530i and 540i. -- View the E39 Wiki
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Pictorial discussion of charging, testing, removing, & replacing the BMW E39 battery
This is intended to be a pictorial thread, showing the steps to remove, test, charge, and replace the BMW E39 battery.
[WARNING] This may be too detailed for some for such a simple task! [ / WARNING ]
Note: For how to actually perform an exhaustive battery test, see detailed procedures here:
- DIY how to test a BMW E39 battery & alternator
For one reason WHY you'd want to test your battery, see details here:
- Warning: I charged my battery today & apparently killed my instrument cluster & MID
Even the MID lost it's clock:
So, today, after Autozone tested the battery, in situ, and found the following:
1. The charging system was good
2. The starting system was good
3. The battery was bad
I decided to remove the battery and charge it OUTSIDE the vehicle (far far far away from the vehicle!) ... and then to test out the procedures listed in the how-to-test-a-battery thread, one by one, in exhaustive detail (for the team).
The first step is to loosen the 10mm nut on the negative battery cable & pull the cable loose; then do the same for the positive cable:
Next step is to remove the 13mm bolt that holds the cross brace to the fender well, and the 13mm bolt that holds it to the floor of the trunk.
Notice I used the brace to short the 'cables' and 'almost' shorted the terminals! That would be a very bad thing!
Then remove the 10mm hold-down clamp bolt from the tail end of the battery.
HINDSIGHT WARNING: At this point, I had completely forgotten about the vent!
So, what I did was try to lift up on the battery handles:
Yeah, right! That thing is HEAVY!
I could not, for the life of me, lift the battery directly upward! So I tilted it to the rear and tried to nudge it up, ever so slowly one end at a time.
Eventually, I had tipped the entire thing on its end!
I don't think this is the proper way to remove it, but, it was the only way I could!
Note: I didn't realize it at the time, but the vent, still attached, must have had something to do with the problems I was having!
Eventually, I muscled the thing out of the vehicle!
Note: Reading "1 Stuck Piece" on the BMW label gave me a laugh!
With the battery out of the vehicle, for the first time, I could 'see' the green hydrometer in cell #2, and I could see there was no date stamp on the negative terminal (after brushing off the oxidation with a wire brush).
Looking below, I happened to notice the washer that was under the hold-down clamp bolt ...
So as not to forget it, I placed the washer back on the hold-down clamp bolt:
And, I replaced the hold-down clamp in its original position (as I lose bolts if I don't put 'em back right away).
I looked for the six cell caps, but didn't see any on the top:
The side view told me the manufacturer was "DBMC, Winston - Salem, North Carolina", which turns out to be Douglas' consumer line, which was (apparently) purchased by East Penn Batteries (details here).
Looking all over, I couldn't find a date stamp. Maybe this engraving is the date, hidden in battery code?
Getting to the hidden caps was as simple as peeling up the sticker ...
Even with a green hydrometer, the battery tested at around 10.5 volts, so I put the battery charger on. Guess what. It pegged (again) at something higher than 6 amps.
Yet, the DC voltage was only 11.40 volts, with the charger running (I expected higher).
Suddenly I had the bright idea of checking amperage (maybe the gauge was wrong on the 25-year old charger) ... so I pulled out my Radio Shack ammeter ...
But, I soon realized that ammeter probe was only for AC current, so, after about a half hour, the amperage on the charger meter lowered somewhat and I felt I could risk the Fluke 75 on the 10amp setting.
By now, the charger was reading about 6 amps, which jived with the Fluke DC amperage reading.
At some point, the VOLTAGE on the fluke wouldn't read; it just showed as overloaded. I wasn't sure what that meant (and I didn't snap a picture because I didn't believe the reading)... but ... maybe ... just maybe ... the charger has an intermittent high-voltage spike???
Anyway ... this picture shows why a sharp awl was a 'bad idea'. Do not use a sharp awl to twist the caps out!
For one, the caps don't twist out. For another, you'll puncture the super-thin plastic of the head of the cap, and, well, I'm sure that would allow electrolyte to evaporate out in the wrong way.
Giving up on spinning the caps out (they don't spin out), and on the sharp awl (I punctured the cap head), I used an 1/8th inch screwdriver. I really needed something thinner, but that was all I had.
No matter how careful I tried to be, the cap chipped at the edges.
With all six caps off, I checked the fluid levels and noticed some were below the plastic L-shaped level indicators:
So I got the bright idea of using a 1ml eyedropper to fill but after fifteen of those, I gave up and moved on to a 10ml graduated cylinder to measure how much water was being poured in.
The amount of fluid added was:
Last edited by bluebee; 09-20-2011 at 12:02 AM.
I decided to run out to the store to buy a hydrometer, but, by the time I got the bright idea, it was dark and the stores had all closed.
So, on my trusty computer, I googled to search for decent battery replacements.
What I did wrong was I didn't realize a seach for a "2002 BMW 525i battery" would NOT get the cheapest batteries!
Almost all the batteries were in the 150 dollar range!
What I 'should' have googled for was any decent battery of the following specifications:
- E39 (1997 - 2003) > Good Replacement Batteries for the e39?
Last edited by bluebee; 09-19-2011 at 05:49 AM.
So, was the battery the cause of your cluster problem?
The first thing I did was check the battery because charging the battery was the precipitating event to the cluster blowing out.
Since I like to learn about what I'm doing, I'm still on the topic of the battery.
I did digress a bit to start to check the fuses. The only fuses I've checked so far are those next to the battery in the trunk.
I put the (confusing) trunkbox fusebox information in this existing thread:
- Need help with location of the fuse boxs and overview of fuse positions for 528i?
For fun, I painstakingly annotated this picture of my fusebox, showing exactly which fuses I had in place, so that others may benefit:
I can't easily check the glovebox fuses at night, and my garage is so stuffed I can't open the passenger door; so I will wait until a good battery is in to see what the glovebox and ebox and under-seat fuses have in store for me!
BTW, one question I asked in that thread was:
Q: What is the "onboard monitor" (and could it possibly affect the instrument cluster display?)
Last edited by bluebee; 09-19-2011 at 10:54 PM.
Bluebee's post was too long for me to sit thru, was the charger voltage ever read?
Turning the key on seems like it might have been what killed things. I always charge the battery while it is connected, never had a problem.
This thread is a pictorial thread, just about the battery, as I like to take things one at a time and have some fun (and learning and teaching) with it.
The 'real' problem-solving thread is this one, as you alluded to:
- Warning: I charged my battery today & apparently killed my instrument cluster & MID
But, for here, this is the response:
I no longer have access to an oscilloscope, but the RMS readings from my decades-old Fluke 75 bear out that the charger is apparently still working to spec.
Without the battery in the loop, the 25-year-old half-wave charger reads 12.52 volts RMS, open circuit.
I bounced the unit around and it still read the same (I shook it and tugged at all the wires).
The battery, after charging since about 6pm (almost 12 hours), still reads only 11.39 volts (so it's obviously not taking a charge).
When I hook the charger to the battery, the battery climbs from 13 volts to about 13.3 volts (give or take as it bounces a bit & climbs slowly).
And, the current on the meter seems to be accurate based on the Fluke DMM doublecheck:
I had left the key on after I checked the mileage on the odometer; and that's what (I thought) killed the battery.
But now, I simply think leaving the ignition on just clued me into the fact that I had a suddenly-bad battery.
What I need now to do, when it gets light, is to check the rest of the fuses - but that's for a whole 'nuther thread!
Last edited by bluebee; 09-19-2011 at 11:20 PM.
When my battery died, I just had AAA come out and replace it with one of their batteries. I think it cost me about $125 total and that included labor and the alternator test.
It was worth even more than that because it was 15 degrees out that morning!
hmmm the Duralast battery replacement took me ~20 min including pick up & core drop off.
Cost was 15% off $150. Another Geezer did very well.
94 530i sold (That was difficult for me)
01 530i >144,500+ miles SOLD
06 330XI winter's especially fun drive (SOLD)
10 M3 Sedan (sweet)
13 Nissan GT-R Black Edition (SOLD)
16 Porsche Cayenne Diesel
15 Porsche GT3
16 Porsche GT4
18 Porsche GT3
If history is any indication, I don't think the BB exhaustive investigation is complete yet until an autopsy has been performed.
COD is yet to be determined. Preliminary autopsy indicates electrocution.
As soon as the charger spiked and battery voltage didn't come up, that was a giveaway that the battery went Tango Uniform. I would've been at the battery shop, back, had a new one in and on to another project "days ago"......... Give me a break, talk about over-analysing.
I WANTED to do an autopsy. I really did!
But, they insisted they wouldn't give me back my core charge if I didn't (and, worse yet), they said I'd end up polluting the environment.
So I gave them back my old battery, in trade for the Duralast 49-DL!
Here they are, on the showroom floor, side by side, for a size comparison.
The goal is to learn as much as possible & to teach (with photos) as many as possible
Of course I asked them WHY.
The counter guy wasn't sure, but, he surmised it was because it 'was' smaller in height and length (if only slightly); and, more importantly, it has the vent hose in entirely the wrong position.
In fact, when you install the vent hose adapter that comes with the battery, and then when you put the battery in the vehicle, there is a VERY GOOD CHANCE that the vent hose will collapse unbeknownst to the owner (unless he's aware of this) ...
This is due to the geometry of the battery compartment, where a plastic piece juts out exactly where the collapsible vent hose lies.
So, it 'is' a bit dangerous if you're not aware of this misfit.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with single-minded goal of just fixing it ... but I was trying to both re-write the battery-testing DIY (which I did rewrite based on this experience) and learn from the endeavor. (EDIT: I have plenty of time & the weather out here is phenomenal, day or night, so it's a tropical paradise compared to what some of you have to deal with when testing YOUR batteries!).
Here is a picture, of the problem fixed, for example:
If I thought 'that' were fun, I'd be a mechanic!
I'd bet they don't take pictures of every step, analyze all their options, experiment, research, ask questions, autopsy, and report back and discuss every minute detail. Do they?
I'm trying to learn as many things as I can, and to show others as much as I can. Yes, even the mistakes are instructive.
Here, for example, is the vent hose highlighted that I overlooked when I had removed the original battery:
Since the Duralast vent opening is in the center of the battery, far from the end of the vent hose from the BMW, it wasn't obvious to me, before I did this, HOW that, rather rigid, vent hose was going to reach the middle of the Duralast battery. (Is it obvious to you?)
Knowing the battery is bad shouldn't stop us from having fun learning as much as we can. Especially since our DIY for testing the battery was so lousy before I updated it, based on all the steps performed here (so others benefit, as always).
BTW, here's the Autozone hand-held unit that showed the battery was bad in vitro. I watched the guy input the temperature (he simply guessed), append the CCA (for the load), and add few other variables before running his tests.
I wanted to do an autopsy. It would be fun. But the counter guy talked me out of splashing H2SO4 all over myself!
He told me it's illegal to cut open the battery and not dispose of it properly. And that I'd lose my core charge (although it was only 12 bucks). I hesitated, but, then I just let him have it. Afterward, I felt badly, giving up my redox reaction science experiment so easily ... without a fight.
At least I got a chance to watch and ask questions while he tested it. Here he puts it in a covered 'bomb-proof' door, just in case it explodes under test. Rest assured I made him test the new one too!
I'm always amazed how much must be 'obvious' to you guys that isn't at all obvious to me (like how to make the BMW vent hose, that only reaches to the side of the battery, reach to the MIDDLE of the new battery).
Like this:
The goal is to have fun; LEARN as much as we possibly can; and to TEACH as many as we can.
If all we wanted to do was solve the problem, then I wouldn't be snapping pictures inside an Autozone to give the users an idea of what it's like testing the battery there.
I'd just pay my $115 to Autozone at the counter, and be done with the entire job!
Like this!
Last edited by bluebee; 09-20-2011 at 11:16 AM.
So has the coroner determined how long the battery lived before dying of sudden electrocution? I'm guessing 9+ years based on car's birth?
The dead BMW battery was put in about six years ago, by the dealer, as far as I can remember.
This time I wrote on the battery the date, and I even included a copy of the receipt, taped to the side, for future reference.
For the record, these next pictures show why, I think, Autozone shows the Duralast 49-DL as NOT fitting the BMW E39:
Last edited by bluebee; 09-20-2011 at 01:40 AM.
Considering my environmental variables differ greatly from yours, I'd say my decision to have someone else do what I've been doing for the past 35 years makes sense.
First off:
Ever change a battery in sub-freezing weather, at 6am, right before work? I have and quite frankly, I didn't enjoy it.
Since the Bimmer is my only car, I also didn't feel like walking 6 miles to buy a new one and lug that bettery back under my arm. Done that a few times in my younger years and it wasn't the pleasant experience one might think it to be.
And thirdly:
Why buy a membership to AAA if you don't use it?
Bluebee, I'm glad you're here to educate those that require it and create really cool topics fit for publishing in Bentley, but let's keep the acid in the battery. m-kay?
Last edited by bluebee; 09-20-2011 at 11:20 AM.
For the record, we're still not done, because there is a very real danger that the Duralast 49-DL battery vent tube 'can' get pinched between the very heavy battery and the hard plastic protrusions on the side of the battery compartment.
That would be a very bad idea (see this thread if you don't know why).
So, by way of being excessively clear in a DIY, if you're going to put the 'wrong' battery (technically) into your E39, at least make sure the venting tube extension elbow isn't pinched.
See details starting from post #96 here:
- E39 (1997 - 2003) > Good Replacement Batteries for the e39?
Last edited by bluebee; 09-21-2011 at 02:57 PM.
While we're on the topic of what not to do when replacing the BMW battery with the Duralast 49-DL, see this warning from cn90:
- E39 (1997 - 2003) > 2003 530i battery dead today...
[QUOTE=bluebee;6332297]While we're on the topic of what not to do when replacing the BMW battery with the Duralast 49-DL, see this warning from cn90:
I think those over torquing situation happen more so when the clamp isn't fully seated on the battery post.
Notice the battery post is slightly tapered. If not pressed all the way down and seated properly, people tend to over torque to get it tight.
So another point to mention, although it may be common sense, press down on the clamp until fully seated before tightening the nut.
BTW, for closure on modifying the vent tube setup of the Duralast 49-DL so that it fits in the E39, pleiades & QSilver7 kindly showed me, over here in post #100, how best to route the Duralast 49-DL vent hose and/or to cut the last ¼ inch off the battery vent tube extension elbow so that the vent tube isn't squished between the heavy battery & the rigid vent grid on the side of the vehicle.
Here, for example, is Pleiades' method of routing the vent hose (notice the re-use of the original BMW positive terminal cover as this won't work with the flimsy Duralast terminal cover):
And, here is QSilver7's method of snipping off the last ¼ inch or so of the elbow so that it isn't kinked:
See also:
- Bimmerforums Duralast 49DL battery install - Advice please. (by jamesdc4)
This post #20, from today, shows yet another way to route the vent tube when retrofitting the Duralast 49-DL into the BMW E39:
- E39 (1997 - 2003) > Battery Voltage
Last edited by bluebee; 09-23-2011 at 07:25 PM.
It may be sophomoric to note I read, with a certain weak satisfaction, that I wasn't the only one here who had a difficult time getting the battery out of the trunk!
> E39 (1997 - 2003) > Question about alternator, 02 530
Please read the suggested threads and add value, either by pictures or by descriptions, so the next person stands on your shoulders.
See also: E39 Bestlinks & How to easily find what you need
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EdTechWeekly #186
March 6, 2011
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