Antony1Kenobi - Slashdot User

Submission + - Blizzard awaits China's approval for WoW relaunch (goodgearguide.com.au)

Submitted by

angry tapir

on Monday July 20, 2009 @11:48PM

angry tapir writes: "The relaunch of World of Warcraft in China, where it has already been offline for six weeks, still faces an indefinite delay as it awaits government approval for its content. Problems for Blizzard Entertainment, the game's creator, started when it switched to a new local operator for World of Warcraft in China, online gaming company NetEase. New operators of foreign games have to submit the games for government approval, and China has objected to some of the content it found in its latest review of World of Warcraft."

Submission + - Apollo 11 Source Code Released

Submitted by

Smark

on Monday July 20, 2009 @10:14PM

Smark writes: "The Google Code Blog released an article today announcing that the Virtual AGC and AGS project has transcribed the CM (Command Module) and LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) code used during the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. This is to commemorate the 40 anniversary of Man kind's first steps on the moon. The code is viewable at the VirtualAGC Google Code Page. Included in the code is information such as Lunar Landing Guidance Equations, and Command Module Attitude Control."

Submission + - NASA Confirms Jupiter Impact (nasa.gov)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 20, 2009 @08:08PM

An anonymous reader writes: "Following up on a tip by an amateur astronomer that a new dark "scar" had suddenly appeared on Jupiter, this morning between 3 and 9 a.m. PDT (6 a.m. and noon EDT) scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., using NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility at the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, gathered evidence indicating an impact. New infrared images show the likely impact point was near the south polar region, with a visibly dark "scar" and bright upwelling particles in the upper atmosphere detected in near-infrared wavelengths, and a warming of the upper troposphere with possible extra emission from ammonia gas detected at mid-infrared wavelengths." GD — Follow the link to Nasa for a lovely shot of the scar -

Comment Solution (Score -1, Troll) 509

by Antony1Kenobi on Monday July 20, 2009 @07:51PM (#28763825) Attached to: How Apple's App Review Is Sabotaging the iPhone

Here's an idea...if you don't want bad reviews then make an app that doesn't suck.

Submission + - MRO Finds Life-Related Geology on Mars (spaceflightnow.com)

Submitted by BJ_Covert_Action on Monday July 20, 2009 @05:51PM

BJ_Covert_Action writes: The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has detected a set of "clay-bearing rocks lying directly in the path ahead for the Mars rover Opportunity." The rocks are approximately ten miles from the rover's current position which is about the same distance between the rover's current destination and it's position. The clay-bearing rocks are an important geological feature of the Martian surface because the clay is indicative of a warm, wet, non acidic location history on Mars. The rocks could, therefore, be a prime location for discovering signs of past life on the Martian surface.

Interestingly enough, the final landing target of the up and coming Mars Science Laboratory rover has similarly high priority characteristics. However, the MSL is scheduled for launch in 2011, whereas Opportunity could make it to the new rock target formation in as little as 12 months or as many as 18 months. The article on Spaceflightnow also involves a brief discussion relating to some funding issues for future mars missions as well as the expected praise of the Mars rovers' longevity.

Tags: Mars, Martian, lifeonmars, space, spacefossils, geology

Submission + - How They Built it: The Software of Apollo 11 (linux.com)

Submitted by LinuxScribe on Monday July 20, 2009 @03:59PM

LinuxScribe writes: When Apollo 11's Lunar Module landed on the Moon 40 years ago this week, the software that helped take humans to another celestial body was essentially built using paper-tape rolls and thick cardstock that was punched with special holes. It wasn't open source in the sense we know today, but it was built for NASA under contract, then was tested, modified and fine-tuned by NASA engineers in ways that are similar to open source projects nowadays.

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