Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Comment Only one viewer? (Score 2) 171

by k2backhoe (#34413632) Attached to: Apple Patents Glasses-Free 3D Projector
As I read the patent claims, it appears that in order to require no eyeglasses and to allow the observer to be located anywhere relative to the screen, the 3D effect will only work with one observer. No claims allow multiple, position-independent viewers. That makes sense from a physics and optics point of view, but it is disappointing.
Science

Submission + - Cooling water with Laser Pulses (arxiv.org) 1

Submitted by k2backhoe
k2backhoe writes: Here is an interesting article claiming, counter-intuitively, that hitting pure water with infra-red laser light can cool it. The Russians hypothesize that this particular wavelength excites a thin layer of water on the surface to become excited and bind endothermically with adjacent H2O. This drops the surface temperature by 2K for a few minutes. Before getting too excited about a new kitchen appliance that does for the fridge what the microwave did for the oven, remember this is was also the Russions that gave us polywater (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polywater) in the late 60s.
Moon

LRO Photographs Soviet Lunar Landers From the '70s 24

Posted by Soulskill from the i-can-see-my-house-from-here dept.
braindrainbahrain writes "Photographs of the Sea of Crises on the Moon taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show the Soviet lunar landers Luna 20, Luna 23 and Luna 24, which landed on the Moon in the 1970s. In addition to the landers, it is possible to see the tracks made by the Lunokhod lunar rover! The Soviet Lunokhod lunar rover predates the first successful Mars Rover by some 30 years. (Note: Very cool old-style artists' drawings of the Soviet craft at the Wikipedia links above.)"
Space

Astronomers Discover the Coolest Known Sub-Stellar Body 60

Posted by Soulskill from the miles-davis's-home-planet dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "Science Daily reports that using the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) in Hawaii, astronomers have discovered what may be the coolest sub-stellar body ever found outside our own solar system. Too small to be stars and with insufficient mass to maintain hydrogen-burning nuclear fusion reactions in their cores, 'brown dwarfs' have masses smaller than stars but larger than gas giant planets like Jupiter, with an upper limit in between 75 and 80 Jupiter masses. 'This looks like the fourth time in three years that the UKIRT has made a record breaking discovery of the coolest known brown dwarf, with an estimated temperature not far above 200 degrees Celsius,' says Dr. Philip Lucas at the University of Hertfordshire. Due to their low temperature these objects are very faint in visible light, and are detected by their glow at infrared wavelengths. The object known as SDSS1416+13B is in a wide orbit around a somewhat brighter and warmer brown dwarf, SDSS1416+13A, and the pair is located between 15 and 50 light years from the solar system, which is quite close in astronomical terms."
The Courts

$74k Judgment Against Craigslist Prankster 182

Posted by Soulskill from the hope-it-was-worth-it dept.
jamie points out an update in the case of Jason Fortuny, the Craigslist prankster who was sued last year for publicly posting responses to a fake personal ad. The Citizen Media Law Project's summary of his case now includes a recently entered default judgment (PDF), fining Fortuny "... in the amount of $35,001.00 in statutory damages for Count I, violation of the Copyright Act; $5,000 in compensatory damages for Count II, Public Disclosure of Private Facts, and Count III, Intrusion Upon Seclusion." He has also been ordered to pay more than $34,000 in attorney and court fees.
Government

Obama Appoints Non-Tech Guy As CTO 252

Posted by Soulskill from the jesse-ventura's-political-return dept.
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "President Barack Obama has named his chief technology officer, and the appointee is not a Silicon Valley name like so many predicted. He is Aneesh Chopra. As the Secretary of Technology for the Commonwealth of Virginia, his job has been to 'leverage technology in government reform, promote Virginia's innovation agenda, and foster technology-related economic development with a special emphasis on entrepreneurship.' But Chopra's not a tech guy. Before he got his secretary job in 2005, he was a managing director at the Advisory Board Company, a public-market health care think tank, as well as an angel investor." O'Reilly Radar is running an article discussing why Chopra is a good choice for federal CTO.

Comment k2backhoe (Score 1) 198

by k2backhoe (#27132989) Attached to: Human Exoskeletons Getting Closer
BOGUS! Sorry, but as nice an idea as this is, the video is a CONCEPT not a product. Watch how the person stands while carrying the supposed enormous weights. The balance (center of gravity) is wrong unless the packs are very light. Additionally, there are too few servos to act torsionally on the legs. There is nothing to act on side to side motion of legs. Compare this with the Japanese versions and you can see that this device is powered by the human, not the motors/pistons. The very idea that the device supports weight even when batteries are depleted is ludicrous. That might help in a stiff-legged march down hill, but will not help once the knee is bent. Sorry, nice video, no credibility.

Slashdot Top Deals

HELP!!!! I'm being held prisoner in /usr/games/lib!

Close