17693638
submission
smooth wombat writes:
In conjunction with the auction of an original Darth Vader costume from the time of The Empire Strikes Back, the BBC interviewed the man behind the mask, David Prowse.
When asked if he had any idea of how successful the film would become, Prowse replies:
"I thought I was doing a load of rubbish, I really did," he laughs. "You were wandering round looking at all these funny creatures and fantastic sets, but you had no idea what it would look like at the finish."
Prowse also notes he and James Earl Jones, the voice of Vader, have never met but have spoken on the phone a few times.
12764554
submission
smooth wombat writes:
Various web sites have tried to make readers pay for access to select parts of their sites. Now, in a bid to counter what he claims is theft of his material, Rupert Murdoch's Times and Sunday Times web sites will become essentially invisible to web users. Except for their homepages, no stories will show up on Google.
Starting in late June, Google and other search engines will be prevented from indexing and linking to stories. Registered users will still get free access until the cut off date.
12599274
submission
smooth wombat writes:
It's been 15 years since Bill Gates wrote his book, The Road Ahead, in which he talks about how technology would shape the future. In the intervening years, technology has changed most aspects of our lives for better or worse. So how did Bill Gates do on his predictions? The Atlantic takes a look at the good and bad of some of his prognostications. Overall, it appears Bill let optimism guide his thoughts, except when it came to the Internet
11729526
submission
smooth wombat writes:
We have all heard how it was the adult industry which initially drove vcr sales and how it is the adult industry which readily embraces new technology. This article from CNN talks about all that and more, including the company who says it is able to bypass Apple's iPad restrictions on adult material. There is even some talk about using AI in the future to have interaction between the porn star and user.
As a side note, the article mentions a new adult movie in the works titled, "3D Zen and Sex" which the producer says "There will be many close-ups. It will look as if the actresses are only a few centimeters from the audience."
11184326
submission
smooth wombat writes:
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled 3-0 that the FCC does not have the authority to require internet providers to provide equal treatment to internet traffic over their networks.
Comcast had challenged a 2008 FCC order which banned it from blocking the use of BitTorrent by some of its subscribers. It claimed it was throttling traffic to protect all of its users from network congestion.
The FCC had argued the rule was intended to prevent providers from favoring one online content provider over another and had used net neutrality guidelines in implementing the rule.
For the legal reasoning behind the ruling, see this article from Leagle.
10353794
submission
smooth wombat writes:
Before the advent of iTunes and MP3s, EMI and Pink Floyd entered into a contract which stated that EMI could not unbundle individual songs from their original album settings. This was insisted upon by the members of Pink Floyd who wanted to retain artistic control of their works which they considered "seamless" pieces of music.
However, with the advent of digital downloads, EMI has been selling individual songs through its online store. Pink Floyd sued, claiming EMI was violating the contract, whereas EMI said the contract only applied to physical albums, not Internet sales.
Judge Andrew Morritt backed the band, saying the contract protected "the artistic integrity of the albums." Judge Morritt also ruled EMI is "not entitled to exploit recordings by online distribution or by any other means other than the complete original album without Pink Floyd's consent."
6690623
submission
smooth wombat writes:
October 29, 1969. A day that will live in infamy. On that day in history, the first known message was sent over a computer network. The person who witnessed the 'birth' of Internet? Leonard Kleinrock, a professor of computer science at the University of California-Los Angeles.
CNN has a short interview with Kleinrock which discusses the importance of his message as well as his take on the pace of modern technology, privacy, his continued work on the development of the internet and other related issues.
That first message sent? It was intended to be l-o-g and sent to a computer at Stanford Research Institute, but at the moment he sent the letter g, the SRI host crashed so all that was officially sent was lo.
6494657
submission
smooth wombat writes:
As a follow-up to this story, artist Shepard Fairey has now admitted he used the original picture the AP claimed he used as the basis for his iconic red, white and blue image of Obama, underlined with the caption "HOPE" and not a different photo as he initially claimed. Fairey said that he tried to cover up his error by submitting false images and deleting others. As a result, his attorneys have said they intend to withdraw from the case and said the artist had misled them by fabricating information and destroying other material.
At the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh on Saturday night for the opening of an exhibit of his works, Fairey said that the error should not be viewed as "premeditated and sinister."
4427215
submission
smooth wombat writes:
With the end of the Cold War came warmer relations with old adversaries, increased trade and a world less worried about nuclear war. It also brought with it an unexpected downside: lack of nuclear fuel to power deep space probes. Without this fuel, probes beyond Jupiter won't work because there isn't enough sunlight to use solar panels which probes closer to the sun use.
The fuel NASA relies on to power deep space probes is plutonium-238. This isotope is the result of nuclear weaponry and since the United States has not made a nuclear device in 20 years, the supply has run out. For now, NASA is using Soviet supplies but they too are almost exhausted.
It is estimated it will cost at least $150 million to resume making the 11 pounds per year that is needed for space probes.
4064519
submission
smooth wombat writes:
While GM might be on the verge of bankruptcy, it has teamed with Segway to produce a prototype product which goes by the name of P.U.M.A., or Personal Urban Mobility and Access. Think of it as a souped-up Segway with an enclosed two-seat compartment. It can travel up to 35 miles per hour and go 35 miles on a single charge.
The price of the vehicle is estimated to be about one quarter of a traditional car. In addition, technology will allow vehicle-to-vehicle communication to help avoid traffic problems and potentially allow the vehicle to navigate itself through city streets. The estimated date for final development is sometime in 2012.
3924749
submission
smooth wombat writes:
If everything goes according to plan, an experiment designed to test if plants can grow in the limited lunar gravity will hitch a ride with a competitor for the Google Lunar X Prize. The press release from Paragon Space Development Corporation outlines its partnership with Odyssey Moon to be the first to grow a plant on another world. In addition to the experiment, Paragon will be helping Odyssey with the thermal control system and lander design. To win the prize, Odyssey must land its craft on the lunar surface by the end of 2014.
More details about the experiment, and obstacles to overcome, may be found in this MSNBC article.
3278119
submission
smooth wombat writes:
Reminiscent of scenes from Minority Report, advertisers are starting to use technology which identifies who is looking at ads on video screens and change the ads accordingly.
Using small cameras embedded in the screens or along the edge, software determines who is looking at ads, for how long, what gender they are, approximate age and in some cases, your ethnicity. If the software identifies you as a young male, they might show ads for video games. For a young woman, cosmetics.
The manufacturers say their systems can accurately determine gender 85 to 90 percent of the time, while accuracy for the other measures continues to be refined.
2048397
submission
smooth wombat writes:
Two children, aged 22 and 25, have been charged with more than 450 computer crimes including interception, disclosure or use of an electronic communication and unlawful use of a computer. The only reason the two were found out is because their dad was found dead in January of this year and the state police investigation found the violations.
The son admitted to installing a key logger program to 'hack' into their dad's email account and they also secretly installed GPS devices on their dad's car because they were convinced he was leading a double life. Their parents marriage was falling apart and they were sure their dad had a mistress on the side.
The children have not actually been charged with murdering their father, only their computer activities which were done with their mother's knowledge. However, according to State Trooper Robert Kirby, "This was not a random crime," he said. "We're not revealing anybody as suspects, but Mister Ingle was killed definitely by someone he knows — well."
1750581
submission
smooth wombat writes:
After a four year search, both the grave and remains of Nicolaus Copernicus have been found. Both a priest and astronomer, it was Copernicus' theories which identified the Sun, not the Earth, as the center of the universe.
From the article:
Polish archaeologist Jerzy Gassowski told a news conference that forensic facial reconstruction of the skull that his team found in 2005 buried in a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Frombork, Poland, bears striking resemblance to existing portraits of Copernicus.
The reconstruction shows a broken nose and other features that resemble a self-portrait of Copernicus, and the skull bears a cut mark above the left eye that corresponds with a scar shown in the painting.
