Comment Re:No more narrator? (Score 1) 612
Hmmmm....I was wondering about that too. Maybe they used xtranormal to hide the identity of the speaker.
Comment Re:B61-11 ground penetrating tactical nuclear miss (Score 1) 612
No, actually I think the how is much more relevant. Are you saying that if there's a good why, than the how (B61 vs GBU-57) is not important? Clearly the country and it's allies would disagree with you.
Submission + - Pentagon: 37,000 Pound Bomb Too Small (wsj.com)
smitty777 writes: According to the pentagon, the 37,000 precision guided Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bomb is just too small. Concerns around Iran's fortification of their nuclear program facilities has the DoD seeking from congress something not quite as subdued as the GBU-57, the largest non-nuke bomb operated by the USAF. This "smaller" was just recently won a prize for its abilit to cut through 60 feet of concrete. The upgrades will cost $82 million in addition to the $330 million already used so far to develop the system.
There is some interesting high speed camera footage of the GBU-57 in this video.
There is some interesting high speed camera footage of the GBU-57 in this video.
Submission + - Researchers predict major earthquake risk in Tokyo (mainichi.jp)
yumesbooms writes: Scientists at the University of Tokyo's Earthquake Research Institute have projected that there is a 70% chance that a M7.0 earthquake will occur directly beneath Tokyo within the next four years, and that there is a 98% chance that such an earthquake will occur within the next 30 years. According to another article by the Asashi Shinbun, the projection is based on the frequency of seismic events in the greater Tokyo area with magnitudes of over M3.0. Researchers say that after the 2009 Thoku earthquake, such seismic events have increased by a factor of about 5.5.
Comment Re:Um... (Score 1) 39
Yes, but I believe arranging the sequence is the trick. That's like saying you have a briefcase with 20 keys...
Comment Re:Um... (Score 1) 39
I think the operational phrase here is "if a sample could be taken". I'm assuming that since the military doesn't want folks to find out what the sequence is, they probably have their own secret strain of algae/moss/bamboo/whatever that's locked away in a lab somewhere. Swab it off the top of the bolt? I'm sure they thought of that.
According to this whitepaper, the DNA sequencing is "unequivocally uncopyable".
Submission + - DoD Using Plant DNA to Combat Counterfeit Parts (wired.com)
smitty777 writes: Highlighting another unique way to use cutting edge DNA technology, the US Department of Defense has a new weapont to combat counterfiet parts: plant DNA. This article discusses how plant DNA can be used to make an almost (1 in 1 trillion) unique code for parts identification. This nifty graphic shows some of the ways this could be done; bolts with DNA-marked coating, invisible barcodes, and flourescing inks are some of the possible applications. In a similar but unrelated project, World Micro has a different solution to detect counterfeit items in the military that have been "blacktopped", where items have been re-surfaced to allow remarking.
Comment Re:SeaMonkey Composer (Score 1) 300
I've tried this pretty successfully in the past. The only problem is that it has trouble with CSS and some of the newer technologies sometimes. Not always that easy to work with.
Comment Amaya (Score 3, Informative) 300
You should definitely try Amaya
Submission + - SOPA Author Violates Copyright (vice.com)
smitty777 writes: Jamie Lee Curtis Taete wrote an interesting piece on the official campaign website of Lamar Smith, the author of the Stop Online Piracy Act. According to the article, the site used an uncredited Wiki Commons image without crediting the original artist DJ Shulte. By not giving attribution to the original author, his website could be shut down by his own legislation, if passed. He must have gotten wind of the story, as his current site has been modified.
Submission + - iPhone 4s Sales Halted In China Over Violent Crowd
adeelarshad82 writes: In the run-up to the release of the iPhone 4S this week in Beijing, things got so out of hand that Apple responded by temporarily suspending sales of the device. Mix devoted Apple fans with professional resellers intent on getting first dibs on the latest iPhone which resulted in eggs being thrown at the store (as seen in the video) after the sale was eventually called off.
Submission + - NASA Open Sources Aircraft Design Software (openvsp.org)
sabre86 writes: "At the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics Aerospace Sciences Meeting in Nashville, NASA engineers unveiled the newly open sourced OpenVSP, software that allows users to construct full aircraft models from simple parameters such as wing span and fuselage length, under the NASA Open Source Agreement. Says the website, 'OpenVSP allows the user to create a 3D model of an aircraft defined by common engineering parameters. This model can be processed into formats suitable for engineering analysis.'"
Comment Re:not totally ridiculous, just too much (Score 1) 543
Hmmm...interesting. I've never thought about it like that before. So, basically it says that the government will protect your ideas to encourage you to make them (and profit from them) in the short term so we can all benefit from them later.
Comment Re:not totally ridiculous, just too much (Score 1) 543
How is it for public interests (not being facetious, I'd really like to know)?
Submission + - Major Financial Groups Share Data to Fight Online (wsj.com)
smitty777 writes: The Wall Street Journal is reporting on an some unprecedented steps being taken by major financial institutions to combat online theft. The intitiatives include a new type of data center that would be used to analyze bank data for potential security threats. Additionally, a quarterly round-table between the rivals to attack security issues was proposed. The article notes that "secuirty threats are pushing the big banks to do something that doesn't come naturally for these secrecy-steeped institutions: share information with one another". This video digs into it a little bit more, and points out that the banks will spend an estimated $1 billion on protection this year, which represents a 12% increase.
Technologically, there has been much discussion of a two factor authentification to improve security. In fact, security officials in Singapore are even hinting at biometric solutions.
Technologically, there has been much discussion of a two factor authentification to improve security. In fact, security officials in Singapore are even hinting at biometric solutions.
