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Space

Rosetta Photographs Its Own Shadow On Comet 67P/C-G 21

Posted by Soulskill from the pretty-pictures dept.
mpicpp notes an image release from the European Space Agency showing the shadow of its Rosetta probe on the comet it's currently orbiting. The probe snapped the picture from a very low flyby — only six kilometers off the surface. The image has a resolution of 11cm/pixel. The shadow is fuzzy and somewhat larger than Rosetta itself, measuring approximately 20 x 50 metres. If the Sun were a point source, the shadow would be sharp and almost exactly the same size as Rosetta (approximately 2 x 32 m). However, even at 347 million km from 67P/C-G on 14 February, the Sun appeared as a disc about 0.2 degrees across (about 2.3 times smaller than on Earth), resulting in a fuzzy “penumbra” around the spacecraft’s shadow on the surface. In this scenario and with Rosetta 6 km above the surface, the penumbra effect adds roughly 20 metres to the spacecraft’s dimensions, and which is cast onto the tilted surface of the comet.
Programming

Study: Refactoring Doesn't Improve Code Quality 247

Posted by Soulskill from the just-makes-you-hate-it-a-bit-less dept.
itwbennett writes: A team of researchers in Sri Lanka set out to test whether common refactoring techniques resulted in measurable improvements in software quality, both externally (e.g., Is the code more maintainable?) and internally (e.g., Number of lines of code). Here's the short version of their findings: Refactoring doesn't make code easier to analyze or change (PDF); it doesn't make code run faster; and it doesn't result in lower resource utilization. But it may make code more maintainable.
Communications

Deutsche Telecom Calls For Google and Facebook To Be Regulated Like Telcos 106

Posted by timothy from the oh-definitely-trust-the-government dept.
An anonymous reader writes Tim Hoettges, the CEO of the world's third-largest telecoms company, has called for Google and Facebook to be regulated in the same way that telcos are, declaring that "There is a convergence between over-the-top web companies and classic telcos" and "We need one level regulatory environment for us all." The Deutsche Telekom chief was speaking at Monday's Mobile World Congress, and further argued for a loosening of the current regulations which telcos operate under, in order to provide the infrastructure development that governments and policy bodies are asking of them. Hoettges' imprecation comes in the light of news about the latest Google Dance — an annual change in ranking criteria which boosts some businesses and ruins others. The case for and against regulating Google-level internet entities comes down to one question: who do you trust to 'not be evil'?

Comment Re:So what, the DC are gonna be gatekeepers now ? (Score 1) 199

If you don't know the full extent of the law you are neither free nor safe.

There's plenty of laws to do with operating vehicles; when you do the theory part of the driving test you learn those. There's plenty of laws to do with dealing in real estate; you'll learn them when training for the job or to pass the necessary certificate.

If you're not in the business of selling houses and just walking down the street then it's simple. Don't punch anyone in the nads, don't take anything that belongs to someone else and don't block other people - stuff you should have learned when you were in kindergarten.

Don't believe everything you hear on Fox news.
United Kingdom

World's First Lagoon Power Plants Unveiled In UK 197

Posted by samzenpus from the power-up dept.
AmiMoJo writes Plans to generate electricity from the world's first series of tidal lagoons have been unveiled in the UK. The six lagoons — four in Wales and one each in Somerset and Cumbria — will capture incoming and outgoing tides behind giant sea walls, and use the weight of the water to power turbines. The series of six lagoons could generate 8% of the UK's electricity for an investment of £12bn. Tidal Lagoon Power wants £168 per MWh hour for electricity in Swansea, reducing to £90-£95 per MWh for power from a second, more efficient lagoon in Cardiff. The £90 figure compares favorably with the £92.50 price for power from the planned Hinkley nuclear station, especially as the lagoon is designed to last 120 years — at a much lower risk than nuclear. Unlike power from the sun and wind, tidal power is predictable. Turbines capture energy from two incoming and two outgoing tides a day, and are expected to be active for an average of 14 hours a day. Friends of the Earth Cymru, said the group is broadly in favor of the Swansea lagoon.

Comment Re:Last straw? (Score 1) 533

Boko Haram are active in Chad. Chad borders Libya, where ISIS operate. Iran is currently in the way between ISIS and the Taliban, but it's debatable whether that makes things better or worse. It's not like two apparent enemies haven't attacked a third party before.

The world's smaller than you think.
Twitter

ISIS Threatens Life of Twitter Founder After Thousands of Account Suspensions 533

Posted by samzenpus from the dont-let-the-door-hit-you-on-the-way-out dept.
Patrick O'Neill writes After a wave of account bannings that marks Twitter's most aggressive move ever against ISIS, new images circulated from militants shows founder Jack Dorsey in crosshairs with the caption "Twitter, you started this war." The famously tech-savy ISIS has met a number of defeats on American-built social media recently with sites like Twitter and YouTube banning the group's efforts in unprecedented numbers.

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