Germany receives a bit more sunlight than Alaska, since slate.com was comparing apples and oranges.

Here is a really good explanation of US vs German solar energy:
http://www.joewein.net/blog/2011/09/09/solar-energy-usa-vs-germany/

Quote:
"Germany’s annual exposure to the sun is actually not too different from the US east of the Mississippi, except for the Southern sunbelt from Texas to Florida, which does get more sun."

Here are pictures of the car: http://www.streetscooter.eu/news-und-info/bildarchiv.html

All newer IBM Thinkpads use a hidden area on the HD to store the OS and all IBM software and drivers for recovery. If you want Recovery CD's, you have to create it yourself (takes 4 hours). If you call IBM support to ask for Recovery CD's, you need a good explanation like "SUSE Linux deleted the hidden Area".