43594641
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Billy the Mountain writes:
A small UK company is bringing new technology online that could reduce the prices of tantalum and titanium ten-fold. According to this piece in The Economist: A tantalising prospect, the key is a technique similar to smelting aluminum with a new twist: The metallic oxides are not melted as with aluminum but blended in powder form with a molten salt that serves as a medium and electrolyte. This technology is known as the FFC Cambridge Process. Other metals include Neodymium, Tungsten and Vanadium
43594431
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kdryer39 writes:
LG has snatched up full rights to HP's webOS (which was last used in now-defunct Palm and TouchPad devices) and will integrate it into their line of "smart" TV's. WebOS was viewed as having a strong software foundation, but HP could not create a viable application ecosystem to keep up with Apple, Google, and Amazon. This poison arrow led to the dismal launch and failure of the TouchPad in 2010 and the resulting opening up of webOS last year.
While set-top implementations are a natural progression, I can only imagine where LG could take the failed OS with a little work and a face lift. Perhaps it can move us one step closer to the "Internet of Things," and have all LG-branded devices in the home sync with each other (and as a result, secretly plot the creation of SKYNET).
43589257
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jollyrgr3 writes:
If William Shatner gets his wish one of Pluto's two new moons will be named Vulcan. News.com.au reports that James T. Kirk (aka) William Shatner picked the names Vulcan and Cerberus. The names still have to be approved by the International Astronomical Union as they have the final say. Full link here:
http://www.news.com.au/world/capt-kirk-aka-william-shatner-names-plutos-two-new-moons/story-fndir2ev-1226585541984
43588645
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CWmike writes:
Analysts are skeptical that Mozilla's push into mobile with Firefox OS would be a game-changer, as Mozilla suggests it will be. 'The chances of Mozilla Firefox OS making good in mobile phones are about as good as WebOS making a comeback in smartphones,' said analyst Jack Gold, referring to the mobile operating system abandoned two years ago by Hewlett-Packard, sold on Monday to Korea's LG Electronics for use in smart TVs. 'They're just plain too late,' Gold added. 'If they had done this two, three years ago...maybe.' On Sunday, Mozilla — best known for its Firefox browser — previewed the first commercial build of Firefox OS and announced commitments from four handset makers and backing from 18 mobile carriers. Mozilla makes it clear it views Firefox OS as a kind of mobile 'Reset' button: On its Firefox OS website, Mozilla touts 'Greater participation in the value chain' and 'Ownership and control over relationships with customers' as two of the four benefits to carriers and other partners. At Mobile World Congress on Monday, carrier officials complained that mobile OS vendors — meaning Google and Apple — made fortunes on their backs, and that Firefox OS may inject enough competition to shake up the current business models. 'We need a more balanced relationship with the OS owners,' Vodafone Group chief executive Vittorio Colao said at the conference. 'With more competition, the relationship will be more balanced, and eventually, the winners will be the ones who have the best products, the lowest prices, and the highest willingness to invest, with us, in the channels.'
43156581
submission
__aajbyc7391 writes:
On Monday, an anonymous hacker hijacked a Montana TV station's Emergency Alert System and warned viewers of an ongoing zombie incident, in which 'the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living.' The phony alert, which interrupted a teen cheaters segment of The Steve Wilkos Show, advised viewers not "to approach or apprehend these bodies as they are considered extremely dangerous.' A short YouTube video of the incident is available here. Serious, the very fact that the Emergency Alert System can be hacked so easily is scary enough!
43156429
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