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Space

Submission + - Felix Baumgartner Is Space Diving in Pursuit of Science (txchnologist.com) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: This summer, an Austrian named Felix Baumgartner plans to ride a 600-foot tall balloon halfway up the stratosphere. When he reaches 120,000 feet, he will jump.

What happens next is swathed in mystery, but a few things are certain. For a short time inside his pressurized spacesuit, Baumgartner, a professional BASE jumper, will be the fastest man alive. Thirty seconds after leaping, he’ll exceed the speed of sound in the thin upper atmosphere by traveling almost 700 miles per hour. And if he safely parachutes to the ground between 12 and 15 minutes later, he’ll walk away with at least four new records: the highest skydive, the longest free-fall, the first to reach supersonic speeds in free-fall, and the highest manned balloon ride.
Space

Submission + - Any Exoplanet Possible in a 'Compulsive' Universe (discovery.com) 1

Submitted by
astroengine
astroengine writes: ""Exoplanet discoveries have shown us that if it isn't forbidden by the laws of thermodynamics and Newtonian physics, then it is compulsive," said Virginia Trimble of the University of California at Irvine during the American Astronomical Society meeting in Austin, Texas, last week. It appears that if you can imagine it, without breaking any laws of physics, then any kind of alien world is possible. Does this go for alien life too? "We will ultimately reach that summit with the eventual discovery that life is a condition of the universe," hypothesizes Discovery News' Ray Villard. "In other words, that self-replicating matter is nature's favorite form of self-expression.""
The Internet

Submission + - Harvard Business Review comes out against SOPA (hbr.org)

Submitted by
hype7
hype7 writes: "The Harvard Business Review has come out with an article extremely critical of SOPA. As opposed to a battle of "content" vs "technology", they are characterizing it as a battle of "giants" vs "innovators". From the article: "If you take a look at many of the largest backers of SOPA and PIPA — the Business of Software Alliance, Comcast, Electronic Arts, Ford, L'Oreal, Scholastic, Sony, Disney — you'll see that they represent a wide range of businesses. Some are technology companies, some are content companies, some are historic innovators, and some are not. But one characteristic is the same across all of SOPA's supporters — they all have an interest in preserving the status quo. If there is meaningful innovation by startups in content creation and delivery, the supporters of SOPA and PIPA are poised to lose.""
Science

Submission + - Silver Solution Ink Makes Faster Flexible Circuits (techweekeurope.co.uk)

Submitted by
judgecorp
judgecorp writes: "Silver-based compounds dissolved in ammonia, could make finer and more flexible circuits, according to researchers at the University of Illinois. Existing inkjet based circuit printing systems use particles which are less predictable. The silver-based ink remains dissolved until the ammonia evaporates, and can be delivered through 100nm nozzles. In all senses, it's a better solution."
The Internet

Submission + - PIPA Co-Sponsor Drops Support for the Bill (facebook.com)

Submitted by Tiek00n
Tiek00n writes: Florida Senator Marco Rubio, one of the co-sponsors of PIPA, has dropped his support for the bill, and is encouraging co-sponsor Harry Reid to stop rushing the bill through congress. "As a senator from Florida, a state with a large presence of artists, creators and businesses connected to the creation of intellectual property, I have a strong interest in stopping online piracy that costs Florida jobs. However, we must do this while simultaneously promoting an open, dynamic Internet environment that is ripe for innovation and promotes new technologies." "Congress should listen and avoid rushing through a bill that could have many unintended consequences. Therefore, I have decided to withdraw my support for the Protect IP Act."
China

Submission + - China's Newest Train Hits 500 km/h (singularityhub.com)

Submitted by
kkleiner
kkleiner writes: "What did China get for Christmas? A train set that goes 500 km/h. The experimental bullet train, which can reach top speeds over 310 mph, was debuted on December 25th in Qingdao in Shangdong Province. Inspired by the shape of ancient Chinese swords, the aerodynamic CRH series train can deliver 22,800 kW of power to its load. The sword-train, created by CSR Corp. Ltd. is part of a “faster test train project” aimed at advancing an already impressive national railway system. With this latest feat of engineering, China is again demonstrating its commitment to creating the infrastructure that will sustain the emerging nation in the 21st Century."
Iphone

Submission + - Testing iOS 5 & iPhone 4S Battery Life

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Recently Apple users have complained about shorter battery life on their new iPhone 4S devices, which may actually be a problem with how the new iOS 5 uses GPS to set time zones. While Apple is currently looking into the issue, PCMag's Sascha Segan ran his own tests to see if there was a difference. Taking a Verizon iPhone 4 running iOS 4, an AT&T iPhone 4 running iOS 5, and a Sprint iPhone 4S, all three phones were setup up with no accounts pushing, Bluetooth off and location services on, and the screen on maximum brightness. As the results rolled in, it turns out that there isn't much difference in battery life between the three devices.
HP

Submission + - HP shows prototype ARM-based server (hp.com)

Submitted by Anon E. Muss
Anon E. Muss writes: HP formally announced Project Moonshot today, including the "Redstone" ARM-based server. They also announced plans to build servers based on Atom processors. The server is only a prototype at this point, but the concept looks promising. They're packing hundreds of CPU's in a 4U chassis.

Submission + - Batteries again exploding in airline luggage (chicagotribune.com)

Submitted by SpuriousLogic
SpuriousLogic writes: A United Airlines employee sustained minor injures after a battery shipped in a bag exploded at O'Hare International Airport, officials said.

The employee was taken to Resurrection Medical Center in fair-to-serious condition but officials said the employee sustained, "minor injuries", according to a Chicago Fire Department spokesman.

The explosion occurred as the employee was moving the bag and it burst open, hurting the man's arm, fire officials said.

Officials believe the incident was accidental and no criminal activity is suspected, officials said.

A United Airlines spokeswoman said while flights are not being affected passengers may experience delays retrieving their bags.

Transportation Security Administration officials said the item was checked in the C concourse of the airport. Police and FBI officials are on the scene and are investigating.

The owner of the bag is being interview by law enforcement officials. Officials said the bag was orginally checked in Houston, Texas and had a final destination at O'Hare.
AI

Submission + - John McCarty - Father of AI and LISP - dies at 84 (wired.com)

Submitted by Tx-0
Tx-0 writes: John McCarthy died on Monday at the age of 84, according to Stanford University, where he served on the faculty for almost four decades. In organizing the Dartmouth Summer Research Conference on Artificial Intelligence in 1956, McCarthy not only added a term to the popular lexicon, he founded an entirely new area of research alongside fellow pioneers Marvin Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester, and Claude Shannon. In the years to come, he would go on invent LISP — one of the world’s most influential programming languages — and he played a major role in the development of time-sharing systems.
Privacy

Submission + - Feds Shy Away From Raiding Email Without Warrant (forbes.com)

Submitted by nonprofiteer
nonprofiteer writes: In December, a federal judge ruled that the 4th amendment applies to email and that the feds cannot go after it without a warrant. (We have Smilin' Bob to thank for that — https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/breaking-news-eff-victory-appeals-court-holds). Though the federal judge's decision only applies to the four states in his jurisdiction, it looks like federal agencies are applying it nationally. An internal email written by the IRS general counsel cites the law and says that its collectors can no longer get the contents of suspected tax cheats' email by sending letters to their ISPs, though it can get non-content information, like who they email and how they pay for their accounts.
Crime

Submission + - UK Crimestoppers Faux Pas

Submitted by realitycheckplease
realitycheckplease writes: Crimestoppers UK tweeted about this scam warning this morning. http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/fraud/types-of-fraud/common-scams/postal-scam-email-from-parcel-delivery-service-65455465 — it's a 6 year old scam that was closed down by a UK telephone regular in 2005 (see http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/News-And-Events/News/2009/10/Postal-scam-chain-email-2009.aspx) but about which warnings have continued to circulate. Instead of checking their facts and perhaps putting out an alert that this is an old scam, this quango that acts alongside UK law enforcement is presenting this as a current scam that people need to be aware of. Is propagating such outdated scam warnings on what is often seen as an official law enforcement related website any different to retweeting false tweets about public disorder or terrorist incidents?
Science

Submission + - MIT can now see through concrete walls (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "Up there with invisibility, teleportation, and being able to cancel mid-season TV breaks, x-ray vision is one of the most sought after superpowers — and that seems to be what a couple of researchers from MIT have managed to do. It isn’t quite x-ray vision — it uses microwaves instead — but MIT’s radar array, made by Gregory Charvat and John Peabody, can see through 8-inch concrete walls. Basically, it works just like a normal radar system: 44 antennae send out S-band microwaves (2-4GHz, about 10cm peak to peak). Most of these microwaves — 99.4% — bounce off the solid concrete wall. The 0.6% that make it through bounce off any objects on the other side, and then come back through the wall, losing another 99.4% of the waves. By the time the microwaves return to the array, the signal is just 0.0025% of its original strength. The reflected waves are then amplified, subtracted from the concrete wall's echo using an analog crystal filter, and then converted into moving blobs by a computer. The entire rig is about 8 feet wide, and it is designed to be mounted on a military truck for urban warfare — but it could revolutionize emergency response, too, with the ability to see through rubble and collapsed buildings for survivors."
Facebook

Submission + - Jail Upheld For Nonexistent Riot (eweekeurope.co.uk)

Submitted by
judgecorp
judgecorp writes: "Two Facebook users who attempted to organise riots in their UK home towns during August have lost their appeals against four-year jail terms, which were imposed even though no-one actually showed up, in the real world, for the events. The Lord Chief Justice has said the severe sentences are intended to provide "both punishment and deterrence". Prime Minister David Cameron considered asking for powers to shut down social media during any similar events."

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