BMW, and the press, which will be able to see the first factory version of the system when it begins continuous operation in a few months' time.

ECONOMIST: Re-inventing the wheel

Montefiore Medical Center has amassed a private network of hospitals and clinics and a patient management system that makes it easier to run a profitable operation in the Bronx, which like Brooklyn has a high percentage of poor patients.

WSJ: SUNY to Unveil Plan for Struggling Hospitals

The defence ministry says that to sustain a long-term operation, with a proper rotation system, it ideally likes to have at its disposal three or four ships or aircraft, and up to five army units, for every one deployed at any given time.

ECONOMIST: The army

Mr Wechlin said that besides pure convenience, the system also significantly increases the time the bus can remain in operation as it does not need to go to the depot every few hours for recharging and there is no need to swap batteries.

BBC: Wireless charging - the future for electric cars?

Most non-Americans, along with plenty of Americans, would not share Mr Friedman's view that this highly complex system is a monument to human ingenuity and social co-operation, but instead see it as appalling excess.

ECONOMIST: America's legal system

Venuetastic has financed its operation through Angel investment so far and hopes to expand from the 700 venues in its system when it launched in April 2011 to have a consistent flow of events in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, and Washington, DC by early 2012.

FORBES: Venuetastic Creates a Market For Happy Hour Venues