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Space

Space Elevator Company LiftPort In Trouble 257

Posted by kdawson from the going-dwn dept.
TropicalCoder writes "The LiftPort Group, founded four years ago with the lofty dream of building a stairway to heaven, has seemingly reached the end the line. The dream was to develop a ribbon of carbon nanotubes 100,000 km long, anchored to the Earth's surface and with a counterweight in space, providing a permanent bridge to orbit. Elevator cars would be robotic 'lifters' which would climb the ribbon to deliver cargo and eventually people to orbit or beyond. Now LiftPort has all but run out of funds, and the State of Washington's Securities Division has entered a Statement of Charges (PDF) against LiftPort Inc. dba LiftPort Group and founder Michael Laine."
United States

Submission + - Putin Threatens US Missile Bases in Europe (forbes.com)

Submitted by
Melugo
Melugo writes: "Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that U.S. plans to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe would force Moscow to target its weapons against Europe. "If the American nuclear potential grows in European territory, we have to give ourselves new targets in Europe," Putin said, according to Corriere. "It is up to our military to define these targets, in addition to defining the choice between ballistic and cruise missiles." It feels like the Cold War all over again. See the rest of the article at: Forbes or a comment on it at alittlebitoffreedom.blogspot.com."
Wireless Networking

Submission + - Turning cars into wireless network nodes

Submitted by
Roland Piquepaille
Roland Piquepaille writes: "Everyday, our cars are using more computing technology, primarily for safety reasons. So why not turning them into computer nodes of a mobile network? This is what UCLA engineers are working on. According to them, this would just need the relatively low-cost addition of sensors to the vehicle's roof and bumpers. They say their mobile ad-hoc networking platform (MANET) would allow 'moving vehicles within a range of 100 to 300 meters of each other to connect and create a network of cars.' Of course, not every driver would like to be part of this network because of privacy concerns. This is why 'the first mobile networks will be implemented in emergency response vehicles such as police cars, ambulances and hazardous materials response units.' But read more for additional details about these upcoming vehicular sensor networks (VSNs)."
The Internet

Submission + - Do We Need Online Reputation? (informationweek.com)

Submitted by Symblized
Symblized writes: A new article from InformationWeek argues that not only does the Web need ways to verify identity, it also needs better ways to measure reputation. The article uses Digg, Wikipedia and eBay as examples and discusses that their models could be applied more widely. Choice quote from a source in the article: 'the idea of a transferable, semantic reputation is identity nirvana.'

High Def Microphone for Mobile Computing 72

Posted by CmdrTaco from the we-just-compress-them-for-vent-anyway dept.
morpheus83 writes "Akustica today introduced the first High Definition Microphone that enables HD voice quality in laptop PCs and other broadband mobile devices. The AKU2103 is a digital-output microphone with a guaranteed wideband frequency response. It is the first digital microphone to guarantee compliance with the TIA-920 audio performance requirement for wideband transmission in applications such as Voiceover-Internet Protocol (VoIP)."
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Can Linus Torvalds Sing?

Submitted by
gbulmash
gbulmash writes: "In my discussions with anti-copyright activists, I have asked what business models would replace those powered by copyright to provide creators with financial incentive to create. Four came up most often: donations, ad revenues, sponsorships, and product placement. I don't include subscription, because paying a subscription fee for the exact same product you can get for free through another channel is technically a donation.

Well, the proof is in the pudding they say. While open source software has been proven viable, open source art... kids aren't hopping buses to Hollywood to pursue dreams of becoming open source rock stars. They're after fame and fortune. So I propose a challenge to those who oppose copyright. Create 5 break-out stars in five different artistic categories who gain that stardom on the strength of works that are licensed into the public domain or via an open source license. Prove your copyright-free business models can create the levels of fame and fortune that will inspire the next generation of artists."
Programming

Python On Planes Supersunday Release 135

Posted by Zonk from the sunday-sunday-sunday dept.
SlashRating©
CowboyNeal
slashdottit! tm
spo0nman writes "The PythonOnPlanes release team has just published PythonOnPlanes-1.3.07 aka. 'the SuperSunday' release. For those in the know PythonOnPlanes is a rapid development framework for Python which uses commonly known design patterns like ActiveRecord, Association DataMapping, Front Controller and MVC. Our primary goal is to provide a structured framework that enables Python users at all levels to rapidly develop robust web applications, without any loss to flexibility.'Major highlights in the release include Active Scrum Manager 1, Sanity Preserver 3.13 and Lart 22.21. This is also the first release with the *PythonOnPlanes Live CD Installer* officially debuting on the x86 platform.'"
Wireless Networking

Submission + - Google Toilet Wireless

Submitted by
James D. Semple
James D. Semple writes: "Is this some sort of joke? I think the idea is ridiculous, Google TiSP is claiming to flush some sort of weighted-RJ45 cable or something down your toilet in order to get Wi-Fi in your bathroom (and the rest of your house?) I'm not sure if this is a joke or not, but its right on the Google.ca homepage!!! http://www.google.com/tisp/ is the formal link... what is this company thinking? Unreal."
Music

Submission + - RIAA Can't Have Defendant's Son's Desktop

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "The RIAA's attempt to get Ms. Lindor's son's desktop computer in UMG v. Lindor has been rejected by the Magistrate Judge. The judge said that the RIAA

"offered little more than speculation to support their request for an inspection of Mr. Raymond's desktop computer, based on ... his family relationship to the defendant, the proximity of his house to the defendant's house, and his determined defense of his mother in this case. That is not enough. On the record before me, plaintiffs have provided scant basis to authorize an inspection of Mr. Raymond's desktop computer."
Decision by Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy. (pdf)"

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