Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Stanford's nanowire battery leapfrogs Li-ion
XP Service Pack 3 release candidate ready to download
Posted Dec 19th 2007 1:50AM by Thomas Ricker
While Microsoft is quick to downplay XP when comparing it to Vista, the legacy OS continues to shackle the hearts (and systems) of many. Fortunately, Microsoft just opened up their XP service pack 3 release candidate for general download -- that means you. SP3 RC was previously only available by invitation. Now get going, you'll need time to download all 336MBs of the last major update to the six-year old OS.
P.S. This is a "release candidate." The final SP3 release isn't expected until the first half of 2008.
[Via PC World]
While Microsoft is quick to downplay XP when comparing it to Vista, the legacy OS continues to shackle the hearts (and systems) of many. Fortunately, Microsoft just opened up their XP service pack 3 release candidate for general download -- that means you. SP3 RC was previously only available by invitation. Now get going, you'll need time to download all 336MBs of the last major update to the six-year old OS.P.S. This is a "release candidate." The final SP3 release isn't expected until the first half of 2008.
[Via PC World]
Artificial Blood Vessels Grow On Nano-Template
Posted by kdawson on Tuesday December 18, @06:16PM
from the hemo-the-magnificent dept.
from the hemo-the-magnificent dept.
Invisible Pink Unicorn writes "Researchers at MIT have found a way to induce cells to form parallel tube-like structures that could one day lead to tiny engineered blood vessels. The researchers found that they can control the cells' development by growing them on a surface with nano-scale patterning. The work focuses on vascular tissue, which includes capillaries, the tiniest blood vessels. The team has created a surface that can serve as a template to grow capillary tubes aligned in a specific direction. The cells, known as endothelial progenitor cells, not only elongate in the direction of the grooves, but also align themselves along the grooves. That results in a multicellular structure with defined edges — a band structure. Once the band structures form, the researchers apply a commonly used gel that induces cells to form three-dimensional tubes."
Burying a Mainframe In Style
Posted by kdawson on Wednesday December 19, @05:24AM
from the 10-bit-words dept.
from the 10-bit-words dept.
coondoggie writes "Some users have gone to great lengths to dispose of their mainframes but few have gone this far. On November 21, 2007, the University of Manitoba said goodbye to its beloved mainframe computer by holding a New Orleans-style jazz funeral for its 47-year-old IBM 650, Betelgeuse. In case you were wondering what an IBM 650's specifications were, according to this Columbia University site, the 650's CPU was 5ft by 3ft by 6ft and weighed 1,966 lbs, and rented for $3200 per month. The power unit was 5x3x6 and weighed 2,972 pounds. The card reader/punch weighed 1,295 pounds and rented for $550/month. The memory was a rotating magnetic drum with 2000-word capacity (10 digits and sign) and random access time of 2.496 ms. For an additional $1,500/month you could add magnetic core memory of 60 words with access time of .096ms. Big Blue sold some 2,000 of the mainframes, making it one of the first successfully mass-produced computers."
Jackson Slated to Make Hobbit Movie, Sequel
Posted by Zonk on Tuesday December 18, @12:44PM
from the hobbit-two-electric-bugaloo dept.
from the hobbit-two-electric-bugaloo dept.
syrinx writes "Peter Jackson, New Line Cinema, and MGM have agreed to work on two new movies: a film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Hobbit', and a further sequel. From the article: 'The two Hobbit films ... are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, with pre-production beginning as soon as possible. Principal photography is tentatively set for a 2009 start, with the intention of 'The Hobbit' release slated for 2010 and its sequel the following year, in 2011.'" Not sure if it would be possible to nab Ian Holm as Bilbo, but here's hoping.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Ten years of the Toyota Prius - now it comes in cake form
Remember the wonderful 10th anniversary Prius commercial featuring Astro Boy? While Japan got to celebrate the first decade of the iconic hybrid with animated characters, there are other ways to enjoy the party. Like a Prius cake (above). I'm not sure which group Toyota UK is highlighting with the batch of three images to note the anniversary (customers, perhaps?), but I'm certainly a fan of that cake. If you click on the image to enlarge it, you can really see the detail in the decorations. Nice, at least if that is cake as I suspect.
If you've like to see the details of the Prius' first decade, Toyota has thoughtfully provided some of them in a press release. It's after the jump. The two galleries below are, first, Toyota's images that accompany the release and, second, some imaginative visions of the Prius of the future.
Businesses Generally Ignoring E-Discovery Rules
Posted by Zonk on Tuesday December 18, @12:03PM
from the going-to-get-messy dept.
from the going-to-get-messy dept.
eweekhickins writes "A full year after the institution of new federal e-discovery court rules, only a minority of companies are paying attention. Keeping track of every IM, email, and document for a court order that may never come must seem like a tall order. Researcher Michael Osterman said that only 47 percent of companies have some kind of e-mail retention policy in place. 'I don't think it's difficult to understand the rules,' Osterman told eWEEK. 'I just think that it sometimes takes headline shock to make people move on some things.'"
North Pole ice gone by 2012?
In 1897, a little girl named Virginia wrote a letter to the New York Sun asking if Santa Claus was real. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus was the editorial reply.
The New York Sun might have saved Santa Claus from the cynicism of older friends, but 115 years later we might not be able to save Santa from losing his home if the current global warming trend continues unabated. With new data, scientists are more worried than ever, and some scientists believe we might have passed one of the first tipping points in climate crisis.
The acceleration of the Arctic summer ice melt is occurring more rapidly than predicted in years past.
National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) senior scientist Mark Serreze said, "The sea ice cover is in a downward spiral and may have passed the point of no return. As the years go by, we are losing more and more ice in summer, and growing back less and less ice in winter. We may well see an ice-free Arctic Ocean in summer within our lifetimes. The scientists agree that this could occur by 2030."
Recently, NASA climate scientist Jay Zwally stated we do not have nearly that long before we experience an ice-free Arctic during the summer melt season. Zwally, who refers to the Arctic as the canary in the coal mine of climate warming, suggests we only have until 2012 before a complete summertime melt of the North Pole.
The data shows the alarmingly rapid and changing ice melt predictions for the Arctic Ocean:
- In September 2004, the record for 1979 through 2004 estimated a decline of 7.7 percent per decade.
- In September 2005, the estimated decline became 8 percent per decade.
- In September 2007, the estimated decline is now over ten percent by decade. In addition, this year marked an event not remembered before -- the opening of the Northwest Passage.
Greenhouse gases caused by human activities, primarily through fossil fuel and coal CO2 emissions that began with the Industrial Revolution over 150 years ago, are the most likely cause for the accelerated Arctic ice melt today. It is not hopeless but we need to continue to change our lifestyle to a more earth friendly one, and demand that our government do the same in effectively addressing the global warming climate crisis. In the US, we have a presidential election coming up, and we must ask where each candidate stands on climate change. Technologies to capture the CO2 already in our atmosphere and dispensing fine particles to reflect sunlight are some of the ideas being considered as short term solutions.
To view an animation of the Arctic ice melt from June 2007 through September 2007, click here or click on the image at the beginning of this post.
Monster seaweed fields could gobble CO2
Hey you, put down that California roll! Seaweed may be destined for greater things than sushi and sliming up beaches. Environmental scientists at the climate change conference in Bali are suggesting that huge seaweed farms may be a quick way to create "carbon sinks" that suck up CO2. While we're used to thinking of forests as the best way to absorb greenhouse gases, certain types of seaweed can soak up 5 times more carbon than terrestrial plants, and it grows as fast as, well, a weed. There are still bugs to work out - seaweed has a much shorter lifespan than,say, a Douglas fir, and once it dies the CO2 typically goes back into the atmosphere. However, using seaweed as a carbon sink would open up a whole lot of new space to grow in.
Nanosolar begins shipping thin-film solar cells
California-based Nanosolar today begins shipping printed thin-film solar cells after 5 years of development. OK, but what the heck does that mean? Essentially, Nanosolar has developed a way to "print" solar cells by painting CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenide) ink onto the back of flexible material.
The printed panels work as semiconductors and have two benefits:
- They're flexible, which means you can install them in unusual places
- They're much cheaper to produce than traditional solar panels, at just $.99 per watt.
[via VentureBeat]
Waterworld, the sequel: Sea levels rising much faster than expected
By looking back at the last time in the geological record that temperatures warmed as quickly as they're doing right now, the researchers determined that we may be wildly underestimating the rate at which the oceans may rise. Their study suggests that the actual rise in sea level by the end of the 21st century could be around 64 inches, double the IPCC estimate of 32 inches. The end result could be catastrophic for low-lying areas, which would become much more vulnerable to flooding and storm surges.
The report comes follows recent news that sea ice in the Arctic is melting far more rapidly than expected. While that doesn't directly contribute to a rise in sea levels, the loss of sunlight-reflective ice is believed to create a feedback loop which accelerates global warming.
Boy arrested for opening his Christmas present early
From USA Today
Police arrest boy who opened Christmas present without permission
Police charged a 12-year-old boy with petty larceny Sunday after he opened a Christmas present without permission.
"The boy's great-grandmother had specifically told him not to open his Nintendo Game Boy Advance, which she had wrapped and placed beneath the Christmas tree, according to a police report," The (Rock Hill, S.C.) Herald reported. "But on Sunday morning, she found the box of the popular handheld game console unwrapped and opened. When the boy's 27-year-old mother heard about the opened gift, she called police."
"He took it without permission. He wanted it. He just took it," the 63-year-old great-grandmother told the newspaper.
The boy, who has a history of disciplinary problems, was booked as a juvenile and released the same day. His mother plans to ask the state to take custody of him during an upcoming court appearance.
"Yeah, it's strange," a police spokesman said of the case.
Kite-Powered Ship Launched
Posted by kdawson on Tuesday December 18, @03:36AM
from the aeolius-called-left-message dept.
from the aeolius-called-left-message dept.
The Grand Poobah writes "The big-kite technology we discussed last month has officially launched in Hamburg, Germany. Reuters has a writeup of the new technology, which aims to cut fossil fuel use on sea voyages by an estimated 20% by means of a huge computer-controlled kite. The link includes a video."
Monday, December 17, 2007
Bees Can Optimize Internet Bottlenecks
Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday December 17, @03:33PM
from the bee-all-that-you-can-bee dept.
from the bee-all-that-you-can-bee dept.
prostoalex writes "Georgia Tech and University of Oxford scientists claim bees can help up develop a better Internet traffic algorithms. By observing bees, the researchers noticed that bees pass back information on route quality. 'On a basic level, the honeybee's dilemma is a tale of two flower patches. If one patch is yielding better nectar than the other, how can the hive use its workforce most efficiently to retrieve the best supply at the moment? The solution, which earned Austrian zoologist Karl von Frisch a Nobel Prize, is a communication system called the waggle dance.' Any practical applications of that? Well, apparently ad servers, serving banners across a variety of servers, can report back on the time it took to generate the page."
Researchers create light-based quantum circuit that does math
It looks like quantum computing could now be one step closer to some form of practicality, as a team of researchers from the University of Queensland have announced that they've created a light-based quantum circuit that's capable of performing basic calculations. According to ZDNET Australia, that was done by using a laser to send "entangled" photons through a linear optical circuit, which allowed them to create a circuit consisting of four "qubits," (or quantum bits, pictured at right), which in turn allowed them to calculate the prime roots of fifteen, three and five. Somewhat interestingly, the university's research is funded in part by none other than DARPA, which the researchers themselves admit may be due to the technology's potential for cracking otherwise uncrackable codes.[Via Slashdot, image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons]
African "sex tree" endangered by own popularity
In addition to the short-term trauma of unchecked ED in a society where Viagra and its performance-enhancing cousins aren't widely available, the sex tree crisis highlights the larger problem of the growing human impact on Africa's wild areas. Rainforests are key repositories of biodiversity, and an expanding human population threatens to destroy thousands of undiscovered plant and animal species.
Residents of the region are now being trained to harvest wild plants in more sustainable ways, but that doesn't address the basic issue of habitant encroachment that's happening around the world.
To see the video, go here.
How Feds are Dropping the Ball on IPv6
IMHO, Commander Taco tends to side with the techie rather than the practical but I thought this was interesting. If so few orgs are adopting this, it seems to me that this is one of those ideas that may still be ahead of its time. There may be a reason to move in the future but I understand why CIOs are reluctant to move if what we have is meeting the needs. It is kind of like upgrading the plumbing in your house. You could and things may work better but why tear up your house and go through the headache if the toilet still flushes.
BobB-NW writes "U.S. federal agencies have six months to meet a deadline to support IPv6, an upgrade to the Internet's main communications protocol known as IPv4. But most agencies are not grabbing hold of the new technology and running with it, industry observers say. Instead, most federal CIOs are doing the bare minimum required by law to meet the IPv6 mandate, and they aren't planning to use the new network protocol for the foreseeable future."
Tips for a low-carbon Christmas
- Give the gift of time - instead of something plastic flown all the way from China, give your loved one some of your time. You could promise to do the household chores, or take on a project with them.
- Turn off the TV - do you really need to watch Celebrity Santa Claus Boxing or whatever reality TV abomination the writerless networks have come up with this year? Spending time with family or reading a book is less energy-intensive and probaby better for your brain. Hell, hitting yourself in the head with a two by four is probably better for your brain.
- Don't eat brussel sprouts - not because they taste like recycled newsprint soaked in brine, but because they're environmentally unsound. They produce methane, or more accurately cause you to produce methane and that's not fun for anyone.
- Practice random niceness - this is the perfect time of year to greet strangers with a warm smile and a holiday greeting, unless you live in New York. Just kidding, jaded urbanites need friendliness too.
DDR your GBA
5 ways to recycle holiday cards
As the holiday cards start flowing through my mail slot I am taking mental notes on how best to reuse them once the new year arrives. I would rather store them for an entire year than toss them into the recycling bin. Here are some of the solutions I've come across:- Cut them into gift tags. The heavy paper used for cards is perfect for cutting into tags. A pair of scissors is all you need but you can always get a little fancier if you have scrapbook cutters on hand.
- Create geodesic ornaments. With the help of scissors, glue and a jar lid, you can create some really beautiful ornaments to hang around the house. You don't have to be terribly crafty to do this though the result looks rather sophisticated.
- Another craft that is good for all cards you may receive is to create a card box. These can be used to hold treasures or as gift boxes for jewelry.
- Create a postcard by drawing a centerline on the back and adding a stamp.
- Cut out shapes and use to decorate scrapbooks and packages or make a collage.
Video: Paris Hilton runs out of gas (and hilarity ensues)
Soon-to-be hybrid owner Paris Hilton ran out gas recently and, go figure, the paparazzi stalking helped out by picking some up for her. The video above is a Jimmy Kimmel Live routine about the incident that includes footage of the entire incident taken by the paparazzi. In the video, we hear Paris say she "has never put gas in the car" to which Kimmel comments "usually when she runs out of gas, she just buys a new car."
Now it all makes sense. I think this video explains the logic behind Paris' statement that she will buy a hybrid: they get good mileage which, ta da, means more time before you have to buy a new car. If that is not funny enough for you, what Paris does with the, well, just watch. What she does proves that the rising price of gas is not a big concern to super-rich heiresses who drive $200,000 Bentleys.
Electricity Over Glass
Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday December 17, @08:41AM
from the still-no-sandwiches-over-plastic dept.
from the still-no-sandwiches-over-plastic dept.
guddan writes "Running a live wire into a passenger jet's fuel tank seems like a bad idea on the face of it. Still, sensors that monitor the fuel tank have to run on electricity, so aircraft makers previously had little choice. But what if power could be delivered over optical fiber instead of copper wire, without fear of short circuits and sparks? In late May, the big laser and optics company JDS Uniphase Corp., in San Jose, Calif., bought a small Silicon Valley firm with the technology to do just that."
Related Stories
China pulls plug on coal
Not to be left out of the climate crusade, China has done a 180° on its approval of 13 small coal-power plants. Larger centralized plants, according to officials, consume less power and discharge less net pollutants. As they edge ever closer to taking the top spot as the worlds most polluting country, the Chinese government seems determined not to appear as unresponsive to world sentiment as the US -- yet I'm not sure whether Chinese internet users can legally access this website.China's ambitious plan to cut emissions by 10% from 2006-2010 is already looking improbable at best -- although cutting down on coal consumption would obviously help. While they seem to be making an effort, with its economy growing exponentially, it looks like China will opt out of mandatory caps of greenhouse gases in Bali. Of course, so is the US -- how do we keep ending up on the same side of the debate with the Chinese?
How We Might Have Scramjets Sooner than Expected
Posted by Zonk on Thursday December 13, @05:52PM
from the zooom-zippy-fast dept.
from the zooom-zippy-fast dept.
loralai writes "Recent breakthroughs in scramjet engines could mean two-hour flights from New York to Tokyo. This technology, decades in the making, could redefine our understanding of air travel and military encounters. 'To put things in context, the world's fastest jet, the Air Force's SR-71 Blackbird spy plane, set a speed record of Mach 3.3 in 1990 when it flew from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in just over an hour. That's about the limit for jet engines; the fastest fighter planes barely crack Mach 1.6. Scramjets, on the other hand, can theoretically fly as fast as Mach 15--nearly 10,000 mph.'"
Is paper recycling a waste of money?
I am personally invested in my recyclables. I didn't mean for it to get this way but because I spend so much time rinsing and sorting, I get to know the contents of my bin very well. Top this off with the fact that I have to pay extra every month for curbside service and you could say that I believe that I am making good environmental choices.But what if all of my efforts are a waste of time and money? I have heard the argument before that there are more trees now than there were in 1920 and that most virgin pulp comes from tree farms. I hadn't given much consideration to the chemical process used to turn paper back into pulp and the residue it leaves behind. Although there is less paper in the landfills, the recycling process re-bleaches the paper leaving dioxins behind.The actual process of recycling paper can cost up to three times as much as simply bringing it to a landfill.
But rather than throw our collective hands in the air and ditch the bin, there are a few things that we can do. The first is to select paper made with high post-consumer content which guarantees that what we put on the curb is getting used. Secondly, select a product that was not bleached with chlorine. Lastly, try to decrease your household waste to begin with and you won't need to fret over its use once it leaves your home.
Gallery: 5 Reasons to Ditch Unwanted Catalogs
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