Britain

One of the first rules of the game when it comes to energy is that every time you transfer energy from one form into another, a little bit spills out on the way. It is for this reason that I am generally skeptical when I read about a solar-to-electric-to-biofuel-to-battery-to-whatever technology. That being the case, let’s examine the Searaser:

The Storm is coming Nov. 21. Verizon Wireless announced that Research in Motion's "clickable" touchscreen BlackBerry Storm will be available online and at its retail stores on that date for $199.99 after a rebate.

The $50 rebate will require a two-year commitment. The Storm has been generating a significant amount of media buzz -- and, according to Verizon, customer interest -- because of unique features that Verizon and RIM hope will provide some shelter against Apple's popular iPhone 3G.

'Tactile Click Response'

The smartphone race between upstart Apple (AAPL) and incumbents like Research In Motion (RIMM) is well under way. Picking winners has as much to do with what's inside these advanced wireless devices as the fancy features evident on the outside.

Britain is considering setting up a database of all phone and e-mail traffic in the country as part of a high-tech strategy to fight terrorism and crime, its top law-and-order official said Wednesday.

Opposition politicians and civil liberties groups immediately condemned the idea, and the country's terror-law ombudsman said the government must not be allowed to set up a vast "data warehouse."

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said Britain's police and security services need new ways to collect and store records of phone calls, e-mails and Internet traffic.

Organizers of the Frankfurt Book Fair said Tuesday that book sales have stood up so far to the global economic crisis, but acknowledged that the industry is changing.

"The publishing industry is doing well," Gottfried Honnefelder, head of the German Booksellers Association, told reporters as the annual fair opened. "Books are resistant to economic cycles, an indication that they are not luxury items, but basic necessities."

From The Telegraph:

Nokia, the world's leading mobile phone maker, said Thursday that it had added EMI and smaller record labels to its "free" music package to challenge Apple's dominance in the digital music market.

Nokia said Carphone Warehouse, the exclusive retailer in Britain for the first mobile phone to include the "Comes with Music" package, will sell it for pound(s)129.99, or $230, starting Oct. 16.