Comment There's just got to be something wrong... (Score 1) 442
Are you sure you got today's code?
Submission + - New Images of Tumbling US Satellite (perso.sfr.fr)
arisvega writes: An amateur astronomer has recorded images of the out-of-control US satellite as it tumbles back to Earth. Theirry Legault, from Paris, captured the video as the satellite passed over northern France on 15 September. The six-tonne, 20-year-old spacecraft has fallen out of orbit and is expected to crash somewhere on Earth on or around 24 September. The US space agency says the risk to life from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is 1 in 3,200. Mr Legault, an engineer, used a specially designed camera to record the tumbling satellite through his 14-inch telescope, posting the footage on his Astrophotography website.
UARS could land anywhere between 57 degrees north and 57 degrees south of the equator — most of the populated world. Nasa says that most of the satellite will break or burn up before reaching Earth. But scientists have identified 26 separate pieces that could survive the fall through the atmosphere. This debris could rain across an area 400-500km (250-310 miles) wide. Robust, spherical satellite components such as fuel tanks are often most likely to survive the fiery plunge to Earth, say space experts. Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite The "productive scientific life" of UARS ended in 2005 when it ran out of fuel. Nasa said scientists would only be able to make more accurate predictions about where the satellite might land two hours before it enters the Earth's atmosphere.
UARS could land anywhere between 57 degrees north and 57 degrees south of the equator — most of the populated world. Nasa says that most of the satellite will break or burn up before reaching Earth. But scientists have identified 26 separate pieces that could survive the fall through the atmosphere. This debris could rain across an area 400-500km (250-310 miles) wide. Robust, spherical satellite components such as fuel tanks are often most likely to survive the fiery plunge to Earth, say space experts. Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite The "productive scientific life" of UARS ended in 2005 when it ran out of fuel. Nasa said scientists would only be able to make more accurate predictions about where the satellite might land two hours before it enters the Earth's atmosphere.
Comment Women to the Rescue? (Score 1) 533
I attended a talk this year that Jimmy Wales gave at a local university, where he described wanting to actively increase the number of women contributing and editing Wikipedia. Barriers he cited included the fact that "Men are very comfortable making authoritative statements about things they know nothing about."
Submission + - US Wiretap report: 34% increase (networkworld.com)
sTeF writes: According to the 2010 Wiretap Report, released today by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AOUSC) federal and state requests for court permission to intercept or wiretap electronic communications increased 34% in 2010 over 2009 with California, New York, and New Jersey accounting for 68% of all wire taps approved by state judges.
Submission + - Google's Six-Front War (techcrunch.com) 1
wasimkadak writes: While the tech world is buzzing about the launch and implications of Google’s new social network, Google+, it’s worth noting that Google isn’t just in a war with Facebook, it’s at war with multiple companies across multiple industries. In fact, Google is fighting a multi-front war with a host of tech giants for control over some of the most valuable pieces of real estate in technology.
Submission + - Microsoft Seeks Patent for Wiretapping Technology (winbeta.org)
BogenDorpher writes: "Microsoft is looking to attain a patent for technology that allows the company to eavesdrop on VoIP calls, only weeks after the purchase of Skype for $8.5 billion dollars. Apparently, Microsoft applied for this patent back in 2009. Microsoft has been working on intercepting calls on similar voice messaging software such as Microsoft Voice and Unified Communications."
Submission + - Root Uninstaller Holds Your Android Device Hostage (digitizor.com)
dkd903 writes: Root Uninstaller is an Android app developed by Android Text which lets users freeze and unfreeze apps. Freezing apps is kind of like uninstalling an app – Android will treat the app as uninstalled — except that the app is still there and can be unfrozen anytime the user wants.
Root Uninstaller is scamming people into installing a free version of the app, and then holding their phone hostage and forcing them to pay up. Google should do something and ban such apps.
Root Uninstaller is scamming people into installing a free version of the app, and then holding their phone hostage and forcing them to pay up. Google should do something and ban such apps.
Comment Intern Nation (Score 1) 427
Ross Perlin's book presents a fairly comprehensive look at these issues, including illegality, nepotism, classism, etc.
http://www.amazon.com/Intern-Nation-Nothing-Little-Economy/dp/1844676862
Submission + - Does GE Think We're Stupid? 1
theodp writes: Stephen Few never did suffer data visualization fools gladly. After seeing an oil exec (mis)use data viz to put a positive spin on Gulf Oil Spill cleanup efforts, Few felt compelled to call BS on BP. And now it's General Electric that's got Few's dander up: 'The series of interactive data visualizations that have appeared on GE's website over the last two years,' writes Few, 'has provided a growing pool of silly examples. They attempt to give the superficial impression that GE cares about data while in fact providing almost useless content. They look fun, but communicate little. As such, they suggest that GE does not in fact care about the information and has little respect for the intelligence and interests of its audience. This is a shame, because the stories contained in these data sets are important.' Concerned about his strong reactions to poorly designed data visualizations, Few asked his neuropsychologist wife whether he might be overreacting. She, too, agrees that GE's natural gas visualizations are maddening, which one might be tempted to dismiss as predictable, although Eyeo Festival presenter Michal Migurski also declares GE's effort 'one terrible, terrible bit of nonsense'.
Comment Need to see the video to appreciate it (Score 1) 458
Submission + - Google Tags Content Creators: Are Publishers It? (bnet.com)
bizwriter writes: Google announced that it will support authorship HTML tags, a way to associate Web content with the individuals who create it. Suddenly, search engines know when one person was responsible for a body of work, no matter where content appears on the Web. If Google incorporates this into page relevance and ranking, as it is considering, the result could change the balance of power between those who create and those who publish.
Submission + - Power System Failure Cancels 140 Flights (nwsource.com)
dangle writes: Technicians were installing a backup power-supply system for the combined Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air computer system this weekend when a transformer malfunctioned, taking down the system around 3 a.m. Saturday, affecting approximately 12,150 passengers through the cancellation of 140 flights, equalling 15% of the airline's scheduled departures on Saturday.
"We're almost pretty much" back to normal following the transformer malfunction, airlines spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said Sunday. "We should be right on track by the end of today."
"We're almost pretty much" back to normal following the transformer malfunction, airlines spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said Sunday. "We should be right on track by the end of today."
Submission + - Debut of the First Practical 'Artificial Leaf' (ispyce.com) 1
autospa writes: Scientists today claimed one of the milestones in the drive for sustainable energy — development of the first practical artificial leaf. Speaking here at the 241st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, they described an advanced solar cell the size of a poker card that mimics the process, called photosynthesis, that green plants use to convert sunlight and water into energy. "A practical artificial leaf has been one of the Holy Grails of science for decades," said Daniel Nocera, Ph.D., who led the research team. "We believe we have done it. The artificial leaf shows particular promise as an inexpensive source of electricity for homes of the poor in developing countries. Our goal is to make each home its own power station," he said. "One can envision villages in India and Africa not long from now purchasing an affordable basic power system based on this technology."
Submission + - Meet 'Future You.' Like What You See?
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "The WSJ reports that computer scientists, economists, neuroscientists and psychologists are teaming up to find innovative ways of turning impulsive spenders into patient savers and one way to shock Americans into saving more for their retirement is software that lets users stare into a camera in a virtual-reality laboratory and see an image staring back of how they will look in the year 2057. By enabling the young to see themselves as they will be when they are old, virtual-reality technology can transform their urge to spend for today into a willingness to save for tomorrow because to the extent that people can more vividly imagine how badly they will feel in the future with little to no retirement savings, they can be motivated to save more money now. In one test experimental subjects who saw a persuasive visual analog of a 70-year old version of themselves by morphing the shape and texture of his avatar to simulate the aging process reported they would save twice as much as those who didn't (PDF). "An employee's ID photo could be age-morphed and placed on the benefits section of the company's website," says Dan Goldstein of London Business School. "From there, we're just a few clicks and a few minutes away from someone making a lasting decision that can be worth thousands [of dollars].""
Submission + - Record asteroid flyby - 0.85 Earth radii (nasa.gov) 2
An anonymous reader writes: Yesterday (February the 4th), a small 4.5M space rock called 2011 CQ1 passed within a record-breaking 5480KM of Earth — that's 0.85 times the radius of our planet! The rock skimmed above the pacific, and was visible to large amateur telescopes. The asteroid passed so close, that Earth's gravity altered its course by a massive 60 degrees, flinging it out of its original path. This is scary, considering the fact that the near-impactor was only discovered on the same day of the flyby — February the 4th, and its original pass distance was expected to be much further, at around 28,000KM. More info can be found here: http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/css/
I also have some links on the homepage of my site at http://gkastro.tk/.
I also have some links on the homepage of my site at http://gkastro.tk/.
