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Now that stalled tunnel machine Bertha’s front end is disassembled, the damage looks worse than project experts thought — and contractors will miss their goal to resume digging in August. Not only did grit penetrate the rubber bearing seals, but the steel casings around the seals broke apart, sending fragments into the drive gears. Some teeth are cracked in the giant bull gear, which rotates the circular drill face, as well as several pinion gears that are spun by 24 electric motors. The news was revealed Monday morning by Todd Trepanier, administrator for the state’s Highway 99 replacement project, at...

TOKYO — Japanese high-tech firm Hitachi Wednesday unveiled an electric motor that does not use "rare earths", aiming to cut costs and reduce dependence on imports of the scarce minerals from China. The prototype 11 kilowatt motor does not use magnets containing rare earths and is expected to go into commercial production in 2014, the company said. Hitachi started work on the project on 2008. Other Japanese firms, including automaker Toyota, have been working towards the same goal, spurred on by high prices of the minerals. Permanent magnet motors usually contain rare earth such as neodymium and dysprosium and are...

California could become the first state in the nation to require semi-automatic handguns include microscopic equipment for pressing an identifying mark into every bullet fired. Through newly developed technology, the firing pin of a semi-automatic weapon can stamp the gun's make and model onto a bullet shell as it leaves the chamber. The technology could help police investigate homicides and trace gun trafficking. Thirty-three California police chiefs and two county sheriffs support a bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, that would require the markers. "It has the potential to solve some significant crimes in some pretty large numbers,"...

Knight Ridder Newspapers WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - California could become the first state in the nation to require semi-automatic handguns include microscopic equipment for pressing an identifying mark into every bullet fired. Through newly developed technology, the firing pin of a semi-automatic weapon can stamp the gun's make and model onto a bullet shell as it leaves the chamber. The technology could help police investigate homicides and trace gun trafficking. Thirty-three California police chiefs support a bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Paul Koretz, a West Hollywood Democrat, that would require the markers. "It has the potential to solve some significant crimes...

Global revenue for standalone storage systems grew 8.6 percent year over year to reach $3.8 billion in the second quarter, according to market researcher IDC. This growth, an improvement over the first quarter, was mainly due to double-digit growth in network attached storage, or NAS, systems, IDC said Friday. This segment grew 16.1 percent to $2.5 billion. EMC, with $807 million in revenue, retained its position as the top standalone storage systems company. EMC also grew its market share to 21.2 percent from 21 percent a year ago. But the credit for the strongest growth in the quarter went to...

If radio frequency identification (RFID) technology grows at the breathtaking clip so many are projecting, Hewlett-Packard wants to make sure it doesn't miss being out in front. It's been behind the curve before, and doesn't want to be there again. The Palo-Alto, Calif.-based company is dedicating the bulk of a September technology forum to demonstrating RFID chips it is developing with partner Hitachi (nyse: HIT - news - people ), giving attendees a first-hand showcase of the next-generation bar coding technology. Guests will experience everything from retrieving assignments from interactive kiosks to embedded chips in their event badges, the company...

Toshiba says it has become the first manufacturer to commercially release hard drives with perpendicular recording platters, an industrywide innovation that greatly increases the amount of data a drive can hold. The MK4007GAL 1.8-inch drive packs 40GB on a single platter, which is the most for a 1.8-inch diameter hard drive platter to date. The platters can hold 206 megabits per square millimeter. The drive can be found in Toshiba's Gigabeat F41 music player. Toshiba also makes drives for Apple Computer's iPods. Two configurations of the drive exist: a 40GB with one platter and a two-platter 80GB drive. Next year,...

Hitachi unveils 'fastest robot' Pal and Chum impressed with their chat and fast moves Japanese electronics firm Hitachi has unveiled its first humanoid robot, called Emiew, to challenge Honda's Asimo and Sony's Qrio robots. Hitachi said the 1.3m (4.2ft) Emiew was the world's quickest-moving robot yet at 6km/h (3.7 miles per hour). Two wheel-based Emiews, Pal and Chum, introduced themselves to reporters at a press conference in Japan. They will be guests at this month's World Expo. Sony and Honda have both built robots to showcase engineering. Explaining why Hitachi's Emiew used wheels instead of feet, Toshihiko Horiuchi, from...

HONG KONG, Dec 29 (Reuters) - The hard disk drive manufacturing joint venture between Hitachi Ltd. and IBM said on Wednesday it has sued Chinese firm Magicstor Inc., saying it had made multiple patent infringements. In the suit filed in United States District Court, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies seeks monetary damages and a permanent injunction barring Magicstor from making and selling the allegedly infringing products. A spokeswoman at Magicstor, located in the interior Chinese city of Guiyang, had no immediate comment. The suit names Magicstor, its Chinese parent company, GS Magic Inc. and California-based Riospring Inc., according to a statement...