FAA Greenlights Satellite-Based Air Traffic Control System 138

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday November 26, 2008 @10:23PM from the no-clouds-in-the-sky dept.

coondoggie writes "As one of the massive flying seasons gets underway the government today took a step further in radically changing the way aircraft are tracked and moved around the country. Specifically the FAA gave the green light to deploy satellite tracking systems nationwide, replacing the current radar-based approach. The new, sometimes controversial system would let air traffic controllers track aircraft using a satellite network using a system known as Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B), which is ten times more accurate than today's radar technology. ADS-B is part of the FAA's wide-reaching plan known as NextGen to revamp every component of the flight control system to meet future demands and avoid gridlock in the sky."

2329149 comment

Comment Re:Mythbusters anyone? (Score 1) 773

by the pickle on Thursday October 09, 2008 @01:31PM (#25316973) Attached to: Qantas Blames Wireless For Aircraft Incidents

I'm as skeptical as anyone of Qantas's "explanation", which smacks of legal CYA bullshit, but Mythbusters didn't "prove" anything. The test they did is far from universal. They tested one model of aircraft, with one specific set of instruments in it, with a small fraction of available RF spectrum. (NB: I haven't seen the episode, but I'm certain their test was not remotely universal.)

Furthermore, while Qantas is claiming "instrument" interference and Mythbusters demonstrated in one highly specific (and totally unrelated) case that cell phones did not cause interference with an airplane's instruments, I can state with absolute certainty that in *many* aircraft, GSM-based cell phones can and do cause minor to severe audible interference on the communication radios. In fact, of the aircraft types I've flown, I can only think of one in which I've never heard any cell phone-based interference on the radios, and that's more likely due to my lack of time in that plane (only about 3.5 hours, compared to a hundred or more in other types) than any particular immunity to interference it possesses.

Bottom line: Qantas is searching madly for excuses, but that doesn't mean interference can't be a problem. Airbus planes in particular are known to experience lots of random electrical glitches (all screens in the cockpit going dark, total transient electrical failures, etc.) for no apparent reason, and it's exceedingly likely this was another instance of that.

...or the unqualified son of the chief pilot was in the cockpit and deployed the slats at altitude, like in Michael Crichton's Airframe :-p

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Apple Error Leaves iPhone Developers In the Lurch 379

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday April 08, 2008 @04:08PM from the pretty-glass-bricks dept.

canadacow writes "iPhone developers enrolled and active in the iPhone OS 2.0 beta program got a nasty surprise today when Apple inadvertently 'expired' the recently released version. While for a beta program this typically would not be an issue, Apple has yet to release a new deployment of the iPhone OS. So developers like myself who use their iPhone for both actual phone and iPod use are bricked. Of note, this particular expired build is just 11 days old."

586340 story

Mozilla CEO Objects To Safari Auto Install 768

Posted by CmdrTaco on Saturday March 22, 2008 @12:19PM from the hey-wait-a-minute dept.

A reader writes "Do you use iTunes on Windows? If so you may be getting the gift of Safari from Apple whether you want it or not, and Mozilla CEO John Lilly is not happy about it. After his daughter was offered Safari as a 'bonus update' with a recent update to her iTunes software, Mr. Lilly says on his blog, 'What Apple is doing now with their Apple Software Update on Windows is wrong. It undermines the trust relationship great companies have with their customers, and that's bad — not just for Apple, but for the security of the whole Web.' He also pointed out the check box is already clicked when you go to update meaning you have to opt out, not in and that it lists Safari as getting an update even if you don't have it installed." Update: 03/21 21:44 GMT by KD : Corrected the name of the Mozilla CEO; also linked directly to his blog.

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Digg.com Attempts To Suppress HD-DVD Revolt 1142

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday May 01, 2007 @11:26PM from the toothpaste-back-in-the-tube dept.

fieryprophet writes "An astonishing number of stories related to HD-DVD encryption keys have gone missing in action from digg.com, in many cases along with the account of the diggers who submitted them. Diggers are in open revolt against the moderators and are retaliating in clever and inventive ways. At one point, the entire front page comprised only stories that in one way or another were related to the hex number. Digg users quickly pointed to the HD DVD sponsorship of Diggnation, the Digg podcast show. Search digg for HD-DVD song lyrics, coffee mugs, shirts, and more for a small taste of the rebellion." Search Google for a broader picture; at this writing, about 283,000 pages contain the number with hyphens, and just under 10,000 without hyphens. There's a song. Several domain names including variations of the number have been reserved. Update: 05/02 05:44 GMT by J : New blog post from Kevin Rose of Digg to its users: "We hear you."

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Woman Killed In Wii-Related Competition 784

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday January 15, 2007 @03:45PM from the natural-selection dept.

snuffin writes to tell us that a local radio competition to "hold your wee for a Wii" has ended with a Sacramento woman dead from water poisoning. From the article: "An Associated Press interview with another contestant, named James Ybarra, claimed that contestants were initially given eight ounce bottles of water to drink every fifteen minutes, with larger bottles being used once contestants began to drop out. According to Ybarra, 'They told us if you don't feel like you can do this, don't put your health at risk.' He described the victim as 'a nice lady' and that 'she was telling me about her family and her three kids and how she was doing it for her kids.'"

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iPhone Not Running OS X 476

Posted by kdawson on Saturday January 13, 2007 @04:24PM from the but-but-steve-said-it-was dept.

rochlin writes "We know that Steve Jobs has said the iPhone won't accept third-party apps. The iPhone looks to be running on a Samsung provided ARM core processor. That means it's not running on an Intel (or PPC) core. That means it's not running OS X in any meaningful sense (Apple can brand toilet paper as running OS X if they like). Darwin, the BSD based operating system that underlies what Apple has previously been calling OS X, does not run on ARM processors. The Darwin / Apple Public Source licensing agreement says the source would have to be made available if it is modified and sold (paraphrased; read it yourself). A Cingular rep has said the iPhone version of the OS source will not be made available. It will be closed, like the iPod OS and not like Darwin. So if it ain't Darwin, it ain't OS X (in any meaningful way). An InfoWorld article on an FBR Research report breaks down iPhone component providers and lists Samsung as the chip maker for the main application / video cpu. So, that leaves the question... What OS is this phone really running? Not Linux or the source would need to be open."

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