People may look toward a future that doesn't include having to submit themselves to large, intimidating medical equipment. Siemens has taken a good step toward this future, by unveiling the Acuson P10 ultrasound system. The two-piece P10 ultrasound device that has its own built-in display is small and lightweight enough for doctors to carry it around while doing their rounds. Doctors don't have to lug around heavy lap-top based portable ultrasound, nor will they have to move patients into the ultrasound room.

The device was previewed at World Congress of Ultrasound in Emergency Medicine and Critical Care, where it received rave reviews from Emergency Physicians, Emergency Medical Technicians, and other critical care professionals.

The best thing about Siemen's new medical product is that it can be carried around everywhere, thus making it an essential emergency tool that can be stowed in the bag, ready for use. They also power on instantly, and can be used anywhere as long as there is a trained physician or medical personnel who can use the device properly. The Acuson P10 is scheduled for launch in the fall of 2007.

German scientists have struck another innovation in lighting technology. Siemens has announced the completion of its Ostar Lighting LED project which has yielded in a tiny LED lamp emitting 1,000 lumen from its frame.

The idea behind the device is simple. The makers of the Ostar LED have made diodes more efficient in converting electricity into light. This, combined with their high-density lighting chip integration techniques have yielded a possible answer to the energy conservation pleas across the world.

This is so because this lamp consumes only 1 watt to generate 75 lumen. That beats the traditional incandescent light bulb that generates 730 lumen with 60 watts. Even a halogen lamp that requires 50 watts to create 900 lumen can't hold a candle to the Ostar.

Essentially, what this new light brings to the table is less energy consumption, less silica for the bulb and smaller diodes that take up less space, all the while giving homes the brightness that they need. The Ostar Lighting LED ships this summer across the EU and US.

Apple, Acer, Motorola, and Lenovo are among the worst polluters, according to Greenpeace, while Nokia and Dell just barely passed. Greenpeace ranked major electronics companies according to what they were doing to remove the harmful chemicals in their gadgets, phones, and computers. Also, Greenpeace ranked the companies according to their policies about taking responsibility for their products when these are thrown away by their customers (for example, companies should recycle old components as much as possible and they should process and dispose of the chemical waste properly). Like all other piles of garbage, the amount of toxic waste caused by electronics ("e-waste") is growing, and it often gets dumped in poor developing countries.

Greenpeace's rankings (points are out of 10; 10 is the highest possible score):

7: Nokia - Needs to improve recycling program.
7: Dell - Some models still have the worst chemicals, but has a good program of taking back their toxic trash.
5.7: Hewlett Packard
5.3: Sony Ericsson
5: Samsung
4.7: Sony
4.3: LGE
3.3: Panasonic
3: Toshiba
3: Fujitsu-Siemens
2.7: Apple
2.3: Acer
1.7: Motorola
1.3: Lenovo

Greenpeace will update the rankings four times a year. And as for Apple scoring so low, the Greenpeace article had this to say: "It is disappointing to see Apple ranking so low in the overall guide. They are meant to be world leaders in design and marketing, they should also be world leaders in environmental innovation."