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Comment Re:600 light years... (Score 1) 257

Remember, though, that the mass itself is not really the important part. The question is what is the surface gravity. Using your assumption of identical density (maybe not likely, but I don't know offhand what density is likely), the mass of this new planet in terms of the density rho will be M = rho*4/3*pi*R^3. The gravitational acceleration at the surface will be
a = (G M) / R^2
Combining that with the expression for the mass gives
a = G*rho*4/3*pi*R^3 / R^2 = (G*rho*4/3*pi) R.

All the stuff inside the parenthesis is assumed to be the same for both planets, so if we want to write it in terms of the surface gravity of Earth, g, and radius of Earth, r, then we'd have
a = g*(R/r). Thus, the surface gravity (under the assumption of identical density) is only 2.4 times greater.

Of course, if you're going to visit this place and plan to leave again (maybe not so useful without warp drive, given) then you might also be concerned with the energetic depth of the gravity well. For an object of mass m to escape to interstellar space from the surface will require an amount of energy
E = G*M*m/R
and in terms of the earth value E_earth this would be
E = (E_earth)*(R/r)^2
meaning it will take about 6 times as much energy as getting off Earth.

I was actually just thinking about this issue the other day while playing Mass Effect, because I was wondering if they'd done their numbers right on the planet properties (they had).

Businesses

How To Rob a Bank: One Social Engineer's Story 111

itwbennett writes "Today's criminals aren't stealing money — that's so yesterday, according to professional social engineer Jim Stickley. In an interview with CSO's Joan Goodchild, Stickley explains how he's broken into financial institutions large and small, and stolen their sensitive data. In a companion story, Stickley walks through the steps he takes to fool clients into thinking he's there for fire safety, while he's really proving they are an easy target for a data breach."
AI

Submission + - John McCarthy, AI Pioneer, Dead at 84 (wired.com)

mpearrow writes: Wired has an article about the death of John McCarthy, the inventor of the LISP programming language and possibly the single most important contributor to the field of AI.

Submission + - Lisp Creator John McCarth dead at 84 (techcrunch.com)

johnjaydk writes: The creator of Lisp and arguably the father of modern artificial intelligence, John McCarthy, died last night.

Lisp was (and to some extend still is) a radical leap forward and have had a strong influence on a lot of other languages although many still refuse to see beauty between parens.

AI

Submission + - John McCarthy, creator of Lisp, has died (i-programmer.info)

mikejuk writes: John McCarthy, the man who, among other things, first coined the term "Artificial Intelligence" and who invented the Lisp programming language died, aged 84, on October 23, 2011. The first use of the term "Artificial Intelligence" came in John McCarthy's proposal for a two-month, ten-man workshop to be carried out at Dartmouth College in 1956. This event went ahead, with Marvin Minsky, Claude Shannon, Nathaniel Rochester, Arthur Samuel, Allen Newell, Herbert Simon, Trenchard More, Ray Solomonoff and Oliver Selfridge, and is considered as "the birth" of AI.
McCarthy went on to create LISP. motivated by his
"desire for an algebraic list processing language for artificial intelligence work",
Best known as a way to torment students with brackets it is still considered to be the language of AI and it has influenced languages as different as JavaScript and Clojure.

Transportation

Dashboard Avatar To Replace Car Owner's Manuals 236

cylonlover writes "At one time not all that long ago, cars had a warning light on the dashboard that simply said 'ENGINE.' That's pretty vague. Really, it might just as well have said 'CAR.' Some newer automobiles now have codes that appear on the console, which the driver must then look up in an index in the vehicle's owner's manual. Working with Audi, Germany's Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) Institute of Business Informatics is now working on taking things a step farther, with the development of an on-screen avatar that will talk to drivers, and even understand their spoken questions."
The Internet

Better Copyright Through Fair Use and Ponies 169

Balinares writes "With even harmless parody sites like Peanutweeter now getting shut down by twitchy lawyers in the name of brand dilution concerns, the situation with fair use has become bleak. Yet some companies are learning at last. Variery reports that when parodies of their latest production started popping up online, Hasbro not only allowed it to happen, but started contributing some of their own. Now their My Little Pony reboot has gained a huge following and reached cult status. Fair use does make everything better. That, or it's the ponies."

Comment Re:Not the same thing (Score 1) 771

My girlfriend and I both read and liked the comic, and we were both pretty happy with the movie. We went with a couple of friends who had not read the comic but actually were the ones who suggested seeing the movie. They really did not like it. From talking to them, the problem seemed to basically be one of unfulfilled expectations. They knew it was a movie about superheroes and were expecting a typical superhero movie, which is to say an action-packed movie with pretty light themes. What they got was something that was dark and more dialog and ennui than action, so they were not happy.

Maybe if they'd been expecting something different going in they would have liked it better or perhaps not. Maybe there were other people who it would have suited better, but they decided not to see it assuming it was just another dumb superhero movie. I don't know, but I wouldn't discount the effect of mistaken expectations.

Comment Re:Which is more realistic (Score 1) 945

No ISP has ever done that. Mostly because if they did so they would cease to be a common carrier and be liable for every torrent. Do you see how the system is self-regulating to prevent this issue?

Broadband ISPs are not common carriers. In fact, for the reason you point out, if they were common carriers then I believe we would effectively have net neutrality enforced (just as with phone service), and some have suggested this as a solution.

Security

Submission + - 70% TSA Failure Rate at Some Airports (go.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Nearing the height of last year's Christmas travel season, TSA screeners at Bush Intercontinental Airport somehow missed a loaded pistol, one that was tucked away inside a carry-on computer bag.

"I mean, this is not a small gun," Seif said. "It's a .40 caliber gun."

Seif says it was an accident which he didn't realize until he arrived at his destination. He says he carries the glock for protection but forgot to remove it from his bag. He reported the incident as soon as he landed, shocked at the security lapse.

"There's nothing else in there. How can you miss it? You cannot miss it," Seif said.

Authorities tell ABC News the incident is not uncommon, but how often it occurs is a closely guarded government secret. Experts say every year since the September 11 attacks, federal agencies have conducted random, covert tests of airport security.

A person briefed on the latest tests tells ABC News the failure rate approaches 70 percent at some major airports. Two weeks ago, TSA's new director said every test gun, bomb part or knife got past screeners at some airports.

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