53147377
submission
kodiaktau writes:
University of Manchester scientists have been working on a new composite of latex and graphine to make condoms. Scientists believe that the single atom thick graphine will make the condoms stronger and increase sensation. Dr Aravind Vijayaraghavan a materials scientist on the program says: "This will be achieved by combining the strength of graphene with the elasticity of latex to produce a new material which can be thinner, stronger, more stretchy, safer and, perhaps most importantly, more pleasurable."
The ultimate goal of the project is to increase use and help reduce sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. Teens everywhere rejoice that condoms won't wear out as fast in their wallets.
52541327
submission
kodiaktau writes:
If you would very much like to spend the next couple of hours looking at sharks and where they have been I would highly recommend OCEARCH. The interface is a little slow to load but the information is AWESOME. Each shark in the program is tagged with a Smart Position and Temperature Tag (SPOT). Although the info is sporadic as it is only trasmitted when sharks surface, the info is pretty interesting. There is a profile for each shark captured including a travel path.
OCEARCH is a non-profit that is researching great white sharks and other apex predators and is working to save the worlds shark population.
My money is on Lydia.
52295007
submission
kodiaktau writes:
The US Navy has been working to reduce capital IT expenditures. Navy CIO Terry Halvorsen is planning to make all Navy servers virtualized and to remove some 7,500 desktops moving them into a data center. Some of that work completed in July 2012 included removing 1/3 of its shore-side servers through virtualization. Interestingly the Navy has partnered with VMWare, which will necessarily require licensing fees and could quickly escalate costs as the strategy progresses. Hopefully Halvorsen has set an exit strategy if costs rise to quickly. One would also think he must be looking at open source as an alternative.
49941989
submission
kodiaktau writes:
Hasbro is producing a new series of 6" Star Wars figures labeled the "Black Collection". High quality articulation, paint and accessories are the key selling features. Michael Crawford does a review of the Sandtrooper and Darth Maul figures in the attached story. There will be limited releases of these figures to ensure they are kept at a high value. The initial release character was a limited Boba Fett. First series includes Darth Maul, Sandtrooper, R2-D2, Luke Skywalker. Second series includes Boba Fett, Han Solo, Slave Leia and Greedo. (Han shot first.) These seem to be pretty expensive characters but it would be nice to have something high quality.
48322851
submission
kodiaktau writes:
While not setting a date for the event, AT&T plans to begin selling usage and location information to 3rd parties. This includes browsing habits, mobile app usage, Wi-Fi location, etc. AT&T asserts the data will be anonymous and will protect customer privacy. Subscribers can also opt-out of the program if they wish.
47456785
submission
kodiaktau writes:
The filming was done by a small GoPro camera attached to a balloon, which was released into the air so it could film the fireworks being let off from the ground below. The video itself is in slow motion, to follow the trajectory of the fireworks. Looks like the balloon finally gets hit around 1:39.
46946805
submission
kodiaktau writes:
While uncovering an adult female mammoth carcass, scientists discovered a baby Mammoth Elephant that still contains traces of blood and intact DNA. Interestingly the blood was still flowing at -10C. The discovery brings up the debate of cloning DNA and reproducing a mammoth in a laboratory setting.
46943049
submission
kodiaktau writes:
Five experts including: artist, environmentalist, aviation consultant, data visualization expert and philosopher interpret a flight map showing global flights. While the imagery of the visualization is intriguing, the interpretations are particularly interesting and show how individual background and experience impact they way they view the data.
46776877
submission
kodiaktau writes:
Steve Wilhite, the inventor of GIF (Graphics Interchange Format), will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Webby Awards. The format was created in 1987 and is considered a mainstay of the internet. The format was originally designed to help convey images over CompuServe.
Mr. Wilhite reminds us that the 'g' is soft so the correct pronunciation is Jif, sending shivers up the spines of elocution teachers throughout the United States.
46350507
submission
kodiaktau writes:
In a move to make data more readily available, the United States of America has announced the Project Open Data and has chosen GitHub to host the content.
45971447
submission
kodiaktau writes:
UK govvt passes Instagram act which effectively makes content posted on social media that has become orphaned into the public domain. Corporations now only need to have made a diligent search to find the owner of the content before use.
45219737
submission
kodiaktau writes:
The ACLU has issued a FOIA request to determine how the IRS is using its warrantless ability to read email. The request is based on the antiquated Electronic Communication Protection Act federal agencies can and do request and read email that is over 180 days old. The IRS response can be found at http://www.aclu.org/national-security/irs-response-warrantless-electronic-communications-foia-request. The IRS asserts that it can and will continue to make warrantless requests to ISPs to track down tax evasion. http://www.irs.gov/irm/part9/irm_09-004-006.html#d0e319.
43400167
submission
kodiaktau writes:
McKinney has produced a new video game concept framed up in traditional arcade form with Street Fighter styled game. While the game seems vanilla the most interesting feature is that the winner of the game is given, well, a beer.
43398965
submission
kodiaktau writes:
Reports early Tuesday morning say that a software update to the Space Station caused a communication blackout with Houston control. Remediation of the update has allowed the astronauts limited communication every 90 minutes or so. It is expected that the issue will be resolved today.
42179651
submission
kodiaktau writes:
A quick Scientific American video describes why chimpanzees are stronger than humans. The video explains that chimps have less grey matter or neurons controlling muscles. Humans on the other hand have more refined muscle skill and fine motor control because we have more neurons controlling smaller bundles of muscles. In effect when a chimp engages its muscle mass it is an all or nothing proposition.
