Thursday, April 29, 2010
NASA's Space Balloon Smashes Car In Australia
"Of more worldly issues, NASA's latest multimillion-dollar stratosphere-bound balloon launch has gone horribly wrong and crashed into a car, turning it over and narrowly missing two elderly people who were observing the launch. The payload fared worse, reportedly being smashed into a 'thousand pieces.'"
FAA Setting Up Commercial Spaceflight Center
Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday April 28, @08:34PM
from the to-the-moon-with-you dept.
from the to-the-moon-with-you dept.
coondoggie writes"The FAA this week took a step closer to setting up a central hub for the development of key commercial space transportation technologies such as space launch and traffic management applications and setting orbital safety standards. The hub, known as the Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation, would have a $1 million yearly budget and tie together universities, industry players, and the government for cost-sharing research and development. The FAA expects the center to be up and running this year."
Cub Scouts To Offer Merit Pin For Video Gaming
Posted by samzenpus on Thursday April 29, @03:40AM
from the be-prepared-to-play dept.
from the be-prepared-to-play dept.
Hugh Pickens writes"Fox News reports that the Boy Scouts of America — a group founded on the principles of building character and improving physical fitness — have introduced merit pins for academic achievement in video gaming, a move that has child health experts atwitter. 'It could be quite visionary and exciting or it could be a complete sellout,' says Dr. Vic Strasburger. 'I don't see anything wrong with that as long as they're not playing first-person shooter games, violent games, games with a lot of sexual or drug content. The question is, who's going to supervise the scouts?' Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, and Webelos Scouts can earn their pins by spending an hour a day playing games, teaching others how to play better, and researching the best price for games they'd like to buy."
Nanodots Breakthrough May Lead to 'a Library on One Chip'
ScienceDaily (Apr. 28, 2010) — A researcher at North Carolina State University has developed a computer chip that can store an unprecedented amount of data -- enough to hold an entire library's worth of information on a single chip. The new chip stems from a breakthrough in the use of nanodots, or nanoscale magnets, and represents a significant advance in computer-memory technology.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The future of US Army helicopters: pilots optional
By Sean Hollister 
posted Apr 28th 2010 7:13AM
Alzheimer's Memory Problems Originate With Protein Clumps Floating in the Brain, Not Amyloid Plaques
ScienceDaily (Apr. 28, 2010) — Using a new mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that Alzheimer's pathology originates in amyloid-beta (Abeta) oligomers in the brain, rather than the amyloid plaques previously thought by many researchers to cause the disease.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Google Street View Shoots the Same Woman 43 Times
Posted by samzenpus on Monday April 26, @03:22PM
from the get-your-face-out-there dept.
from the get-your-face-out-there dept.
Geoffrey.landis writes"Terry Southgate discovered that his wife Wendy appears on the Google Street View of his neighborhood not once or twice but a whopping 43 times. From the article: 'It seems as if the Street View car simply followed the same route as Wendy and Trixie. However, Wendy was a little suspicious that the car was doing something on the "tricksie" side. Several of the Street View shots show Wendy looking with some concern towards the car that was, well, to put it politely, crawling along the curb. "I didn't know what it was doing. It was just driving round very, very slowly," Wendy told the Sun.' The next best thing to being a movie star-- a Street View star!"
To Learn Better, Take a Nap (and Don't Forget to Dream)
ScienceDaily (Apr. 22, 2010) — It is by now well established that sleep can be an important tool when it comes to enhancing memory and learning skills. And now, a new study sheds light on the role that dreams play in this important process.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Seattle Hacker Catches Cops Who Hid Arrest Tapes
An anonymous reader writes"In 2008, the Seattle Police illegally arrested security consultant Eric Rachner for refusing to show ID. After Rachner filed a formal complaint, he was prosecuted for obstructing, and the police claimed that videos of the arrest were unavailable — until Rachner's research uncovered proof that the police had the videos all along."It's an interesting story of how he figured out how the system in use by Seattle police automatically tracks deletion, copying, or other uses of the recorded stream.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
'Ancestral Eve' Crystal May Explain Origin of Life's Left-Handedness
ScienceDaily (Apr. 21, 2010) — Scientists are reporting discovery of what may be the "ancestral Eve" crystal that billions of years ago gave life on Earth its curious and exclusive preference for so-called left-handed amino acids. Those building blocks of proteins come in two forms -- left- and right-handed -- that mirror each other like a pair of hands.
New Speed Cameras Catch You From Space
Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday April 21, @10:11AM
from the no-place-to-run-or-speed dept.
space
A new kind of speed camera that uses satellites to measure average speed over long distances is being tested in Britain. The "Speedspike" system combines plate reading technology with a global positioning satellite receiver to calculate average speed between any two points in the area being monitored. From the article: "Details of the trials are contained in a House of Commons report. The company said in its evidence that the cameras enabled 'number plate capture in all weather conditions, 24 hours a day.' It also referred to the system's 'low cost' and ease of installation." I can't wait to see the episode of MythBusters where they try to avoid getting a speeding ticket from a satellite.
from the no-place-to-run-or-speed dept.
space
A new kind of speed camera that uses satellites to measure average speed over long distances is being tested in Britain. The "Speedspike" system combines plate reading technology with a global positioning satellite receiver to calculate average speed between any two points in the area being monitored. From the article: "Details of the trials are contained in a House of Commons report. The company said in its evidence that the cameras enabled 'number plate capture in all weather conditions, 24 hours a day.' It also referred to the system's 'low cost' and ease of installation." I can't wait to see the episode of MythBusters where they try to avoid getting a speeding ticket from a satellite.
Being Naughty or Nice May Boost Willpower, Physical Endurance
ScienceDaily (Apr. 21, 2010) — New research from Harvard University suggests that moral actions may increase our capacity for willpower and physical endurance. Study participants who did good deeds -- or even just imagined themselves helping others -- were better able to perform a subsequent task of physical endurance.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Environmental Engineers Use Algae To Capture Carbon Dioxide
April 1, 2007 — Engineers have designed a simple, sustainable and natural carbon sequestration solution using algae. A team at Ohio University created a photo bioreactor that uses photosynthesis to grow algae, passing carbon dioxide over large membranes, placed vertically to save space. The carbon dioxide produced by the algae is harvested by dissolving into the surrounding water. The algae can be harvested and made into biodiesel fuel and feed for animals. A reactor with 1.25 million square meters of algae screens could be up and running by 2010.
US House Passes Ban On Caller ID Spoofing
smarek writes"The 'Truth in Caller ID Act' passed the US House of Representatives on Wednesday. The legislation is trying to outlaw caller ID spoofing. In some cases, this spoofing has led to individuals giving out information that has led to identity theft. Last year the NYPD discovered over 6,000 victims of caller ID spoofing, who together lost a total of $15 million. A companion bill has already been passed by the Senate, and the two are on their way to 'informal conference to reconcile any differences.' The bill that results will most likely pass."PCWorld's coverage notes that callers will still be able to block their information entirely, and that the bill may have negative consequences for legitimate phone-related services, like Google Voice.
An Early Look At Next-Gen Shooter Bodycount
If you ask fans of first-person shooters what feature they'd like to see in a new game, their answers — now and for the past 15 years — probably involve destructible environments. Game developers have tried to satisfy this demand with scripted events, breakable objects, and more crates than you can shake a rocket launcher at. However, Bodycount, an upcoming game from Codemasters Guildford, is aiming to deliver what gamers have wanted for so long: the ability to blast apart whatever you please. Quoting the Guardian's games blog from their hands-on with the game:"... it's not just about effect, it's about access. In Bodycount, you can blow chunks out of thinner interior walls, allowing you to burst through and catch enemies by surprise. You can also brilliantly modify cover objects – if you're hiding behind a crate and want to take out enemies without popping up from behind it, shoot a hole in it. Bingo, you've got a comparatively safe firing vantage. The difference between this and say, Red Faction or Bad Company, is that the destruction isn't limited to pre-set building sections. It's everywhere. This should, of course, grind the processor to a halt, but the team has come up with a simple compromise to facilitate its vision. 'The trick is that we're not running full physics on everything,' explains lead coder, Jon Creighton. ... This is tied in with one of the best cover systems I've ever seen. While in a crouching position (gained by holding the left trigger down), you can use the left analogue stick to subtly look and aim around your cover object, ducking and peeking to gain that perfect view of the war zone. It's natural, it's comfortable and it's adaptive, and it will surely consign the whole 'locking on' mechanic to the graveyard of cover system history."
Monday, April 19, 2010
George Washington Racks Up 220 Years of Late Fees At Library
Posted by samzenpus on Monday April 19, @01:15PM
from the at-least-he-read dept.
from the at-least-he-read dept.
Everyone knows that George Washington couldn't tell a lie. What you probably didn't know is that he couldn't return a library book on time. From the article: "New York City's oldest library says one of its ledgers shows that the president has racked up 220 years' worth of late fees on two books he borrowed, but never returned. One of the books was the 'Law of Nations,' which deals with international relations. The other was a volume of debates from Britain's House of Commons. Both books were due on Nov. 2, 1789."
Cows On Treadmills Produce Clean Power For Farms
separsons writes"William Taylor, a farmer in Northern Ireland, recently developed the Livestock Power Mill, a treadmill for cows. Taylor uses the device to generate clean, renewable power for his farm. Cows are locked into a pen on top of a non-powered, inclined belt. The cows' walking turns the belt, which spins a gearbox to drive a generator. One cow can produce about two kilowatts of electricity, enough energy to power four milking machines. It may seem like a kooky idea, but Taylor could be onto something: According to his calculations, if the world's 1.3 billion cattle used treadmills for eight hours a day, they could provide six percent of the world's power!"
Thursday, April 15, 2010
With 'Ping' clothing, status updates literally tap you on the shoulder
By Sean Hollister posted Apr 19th 2010 7:21AM
Truth in Caller ID Act of 2010 makes Caller ID spoofing a crime
By Joseph L. Flatley posted Apr 15th 2010 3:41PM
Caller ID spoofers, your days are numbered! The "Truth in Caller ID Act of 2010" has just passed the House. The bill -- which has been kickin' around in one form or another since 2007, and which only passed the Senate as recently as this February -- makes it illegal "to cause any caller ID service to transmit misleading or inaccurate caller ID information." As Ars Technica points out, there are some exceptions, including blocking your own outgoing caller ID info, and law enforcement is exempt. This bad boy is aimed at any and all real-time voice service, "regardless of the technology or network utilized," ensuring that VoIP is included. Look for the punitive measures (including flogging) to kick in about six months from now. [Warning: PDF read link]
Stanford researchers harvest electricity from algae, unkempt pools become gold mines
By Joseph L. Flatley posted Apr 15th 2010 12:49PM
While we've seen plenty of stabs at viable green energy, from underwater turbines to the Bloom Box, we're always up for another. Running along the same lines as Uppsala University's algae-based batteries, researchers at Stanford are generating electrical current by tapping into the electron activity of individual algae cells. The team designed a gold electrode that can be pushed through a cell membrane, which then seals around it. The cell, still alive, does what it does best (photosynthesis), at which point scientists harvest chemical energy in the form of electrons. According to Stanford University News, this results in "electricity production that doesn't release carbon into the atmosphere. The only byproducts of photosynthesis are protons and oxygen." Of course, the team has a long way to go before this is economically feasible, but who knows? Maybe there's an algae-powered OPhone in your future...
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Intel's experimental sensor analyzes appliance power consumption from single outlet
By Sean Hollister posted Apr 15th 2010 8:27AM
How Chat And Youth Are Killing The Meeting
From Forbes
Dan Woods, 04.13.10, 06:00 AM EDT
A friend who is a chief technology officer at a successful Internet startup reported a fascinating change. When he worked for a 50-something chief executive, his schedule was crammed with meetings, taking up as many as 30 hours a week. When a new 20-something CEO arrived, meeting time shrank to about 2 hours a week.
The company began to be run through unstructured collaboration. A never-ending management stream-of-consciousness based on e-mail, instant messaging and internal social media became the center of the action. This style of working is taking hold at many young companies.
Can you run a company through e-mail and chat without meetings, without ever getting together in the same room or at the same time? At first, the answer seems to be yes. But there is a lot more going on here.
Meetings have long been known to waste time. Wal-Mart ( WMT -news - people ) has people stand up in meetings to keep them short.
In addition, for more than a decade we have lived in e-mail and engaged in time-shifted communication among ad hoc groups. President Obama refused to give up his Blackberry because this sort of communication is so vital and valuable. Instant messaging and chat systems keep us in touch with close colleagues so that we can have quick interactions. Social media have extended this radically, enabling collaboration to include a much larger number of people. Andy Mulholland, the chief technology officer of Capgemini, calls this "strong collaboration" in his book Mesh Collaboration.
The roots of this working style come from the operations staff. During a Web site launch, for example, the ops team opens an Internet Relay Chat (or IRC) channel and people report in about what they are doing, ask questions and describe problems. The CTO or vice president of ops monitors the channel and makes decisions on the fly as the issues come up, instead of waiting for a meeting to be called. The increase in communication and time savings is dramatic.
The cost: Everyone must be monitoring the IRC channel. Usually, the ops team would make such a channel active and required at moments of intense activity. After the Web site gets launched, the IRC channel goes back to being used only by the ops staff.
Certain 20-something CEOs are happy to be online in a number of instant messaging groups all day in a way that most 50-something CEOs are not. It's not surprising that young executives like IM and older ones don't. But there are some crucial issues that digital natives may ignore at their peril.
The positive part of meetingless management is that it assumes everyone is doing his or her job and checking in if they need help. It is an empowered, management-by-exception model. The meetings that the 50-something CEO held were a way to enforce control, to keep people from working on their own. The digital native CEO says implicitly, "I trust you. Take care of it, and let me know if you need help."
In my friend's startup, this works well because the focus is a Web site, the roles are clear, and there are few competing priorities. The CEO sets the product vision, and the company makes it happen. Google ( GOOG - news - people ), I'm told by insiders, solves conflicts by looking at the data. If a certain change will help one division in France but hurt another in America, they look at the traffic and revenue involved and someone makes the call quickly. The data is king.
But could the meetingless approach work in an organization that had competing priorities or where the data is less clear? Can budgets or financial performance be predicted with any reasonable degree of accuracy? The digital-native CEOs I know are long on guerrilla war bravado and short on process.
To succeed in the long term and at scale, stream-of-consciousness management must be supplemented in the following ways:
--Project managers must monitor the stream of activity and capture knowledge so that what is taking place can be reviewed and analyzed later.
--Checklists or defined processes must be in place so that the staff has guidance and a way to capture what they have learned about how to do their jobs better.
--A mechanism to provide clarity of plans and intentions must exist so that everyone can see what everyone else is doing and conflicts or contradictions can be identified early.
--Some form of conflict resolution must exist so that problems raised are certain to get attention.
--Resources consumed and progress toward defined goals must be monitored as closely as possible and reported frequently.
--There must be a forum for brainstorming and fellowship so that everyone can enjoy each other's company and learn from everyone else.
At my friend's company, everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the tyranny of meetings ended. Will they be happy a year from now? Will the board of directors be happy? Empowerment needs some structure to avoid confusion and at worst chaos. Stream-of-consciousness management must take place within a defined context to succeed in the long term. It is the rare chief executive of any age that gets this balance right.
How Chat and Youth Are Killing the Meeting
dominique_cimafranca writes"Forbes columnist Dan Woods describes a change in the way some companies handle meetings. Owing to instant messaging and younger tech-savvy CEOs, meeting time has gone down from as much as 30 hours per week to as little as 2 hours per week. Woods proposes ways to make this 'meetingless' management effective."
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)