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Submission + - A Computer-based Smart Rifle with Incredible Accuracy, Now On Sale (npr.org)

Submitted by WheezyJoe
WheezyJoe writes: A story on NPR reports that the TrackingPoint rifle went on sale today, and can enable a "novice" to hit a target 500 yards away on the first try. "The rifle's scope features a sophisticated color graphics display. The shooter locks a laser on the target by pushing a small button by the trigger... But here's where it's different: You pull the trigger but the gun decides when to shoot. It fires only when the weapon has been pointed in exactly the right place, taking into account dozens of variables, including wind, shake and distance to the target. The rifle has a built-in laser range finder, a ballistics computer and a Wi-Fi transmitter to stream live video and audio to a nearby iPad. Every shot is recorded so it can be replayed, or posted to YouTube or Facebook.

Submission + - Your audio amplifier as a stable, efficient, bi-directional power supply

Submitted by plawson
plawson writes: From an article in EDN (http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/electronic-product-reviews/other/4410454/CogniPower-among-the-giants-at-APEC-2013): CogniPower's Predictive Energy Balancing audio amplifier operates on a completely different principle from other switched-mode amplifiers. This new topology offers the efficiency of the most efficient switched-mode amplifiers with the fidelity of a linear amplifier. They enable better sound for cell phones, tablets and portable media players while extending battery life. These amplifiers can be significantly smaller and less expensive than the amplifiers used now. In addition, the technology is scalable from piezo speakers for cell phones to theater speakers. The PEB amplifier is essentially a bidirectional power converter. Once its capabilities as an audio amp are appreciated, it can be operated as a DC/AC or DC/DC converter. Its bidirectionality even allows it to operate as an energy harvesting device. There are many applications for this architecture such as MRI machines, switched-mode power supplies, Point of Load Converters, LED Lighting, Electric Vehicles, Smart Grid, Computers and File Servers, Solar Inverters, AC-AC Converters, etc. How would you apply this technology?

Comment Re:It's about time! (Score 1) 3

by FoolishBluntman (#43498565) Attached to: Boy Scouts proposal would lift ban on gay youths

Although I agree that it's about time the Boy Scouts voluntarily agree to these changes, comparing it to the Catholic church deciding that abortion is okay doesn't make a very valid argument. In fact, a better comparison would be... It's about time, This may seem like ... duh but This is like FoolishBluntman has decided to be more tolerant of other's beliefs.

To Anonymous Coward, Are you saying I should be more tolerant of others like:
The Catholic Church that took several hundred years to acknowledge the earth wasn't flat?
Islamic fundamentalist that think I should be put to death because I don't worship their God?
Any group that wants to control individuals to make sure we are all happy little slaves to do their bidding?

A group, boy scouts, that teaches outdoor and leadership skills has no place dictating sexual orientation.

Submission + - Boy Scouts proposal would lift ban on gay youths (latimes.com) 3

Submitted by FoolishBluntman
FoolishBluntman writes: Boy Scouts proposal would lift ban on gay youths ( about time, my 2 cents)
The Boy Scouts of America announced Friday a proposal to allow gay youths to join the program, a move that, if approved, would mark a dramatic shift for one of the nation's oldest and most traditional youth organizations.

The proposal, which would continue to bar homosexual men from serving as Scout leaders, will be voted on at a May meeting of the organization's national council, Scouting officials said.

"We believe the BSA can no longer sacrifice its mission, or the youth served by the movement, by allowing the organization to be consumed by a single, controversial, and unresolved societal issue," national president Wayne Perry said in a statement announcing the proposal.

The proposed resolution states, "No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone."
...
By Kim Christensen and Jason Felch (La Times)

Submission + - Is NATO forcing Microsoft and NSA backdoors on the French Ministry of Defense?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A few weeks ago April, the French free software advocacy, reported
that a four years contract between Microsoft and the French Ministry
of Defense was concluded in 2009 without any call for tender and seemed to have
neglecting many public procurement principles. April demanded the
suspension of the ongoing renegotiation and transparency about this
issue. This week, The Canard Enchaîné (a French satirical weekly) the
Canard Enchainé shines new light on the file and gives new information
about the reasons leading the army to "capitulate to Microsoft", without the
government services being able to do anything about it. The weekly
newspaper quotes Patrick Bazin, the central director of the Department
of Interministerial Information Systems and Communication (DISIC,
Direction interministérielle des systèmes d'information et de
communication), who campaigns for the renewal of this contract because
of interoperability obligations between allies, to the extent that
"NATO chose Microsoft solutions for its work stations."
Science

Biological Computer Created at Stanford 89

Posted by samzenpus from the meat-machine dept.
sciencehabit writes "For the first time, synthetic biologists have created a genetic device that mimics one of the widgets on which all of modern electronics is based, the three-terminal transistor. Like standard electronic transistors, the new biological transistor is expected to work in many different biological circuit designs. This should make it easier for scientists to program cells to do everything from monitor pollutants and the progression of disease to turning on the output of medicines and biofuels."
Data Storage

ZFS Hits an Important Milestone, Version 0.6.1 Released 99

Posted by samzenpus from the brand-new dept.
sfcrazy writes "ZFS on Linux has reached what Brian Behlendorf calls an important milestone with the official 0.6.1 release. Version 0.6.1 not only brings the usual bug fixes but also introduces a new property called 'snapdev.' Brian explains, 'The snapdev property was introduced to control the visibility of zvol snapshot devices and may be set to either visible or hidden. When set to hidden, which is the default, zvol snapshot devices will not be created under /dev/. To gain access to these devices the property must be set to visible. This behavior is analogous to the existing snapdir property.'"
Power

Solar Impulse Airplane To Launch First Sun-Powered Flight Across America 89

Posted by samzenpus from the guided-by-the-light dept.
First time accepted submitter markboyer writes "The Solar Impulse just landed at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California to announce a journey that will take it from San Francisco to New York without using a single drop of fuel. The 'Across America' tour will kick off this May when founders Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg take off from San Francisco. From there the plane will visit four cities across the states before landing in New York."
Power

Laser Fusion's Brightest Hope 115

Posted by samzenpus from the coming-together dept.
First time accepted submitter szotz writes "The National Ignition Facility has one foot in national defense and another in the future of commercial energy generation. That makes understanding the basic justification for the facility, which boasts the world's most powerful laser system, more than a little tricky. This article in IEEE Spectrum looks at NIF's recent missed deadline, what scientists think it will take for the facility to live up to its middle name, and all of the controversy and uncertainty that comes from a project that aspires to jumpstart commercial fusion energy but that also does a lot of classified work. NIF's national defense work is often glossed over in the press. This article pulls in some more detail and, in some cases, some very serious criticism. Physicist Richard Garwin, one of the designers of the hydrogen bomb, doesn't mince words. When it comes to nuclear weapons, he says in the article, '[NIF] has no relevance at all to primaries. It doesn't do a good job of mimicking secondaries...it validates the codes in regions that are not relevant to nuclear weapons.'"
Electronic Frontier Foundation

DOJ Often Used Cell Tower Impersonating Devices Without Explicit Warrants 146

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the bending-the-rules dept.
Via the EFF comes news that, during a case involving the use of a Stingray device, the DOJ revealed that it was standard practice to use the devices without explicitly requesting permission in warrants. "When Rigmaiden filed a motion to suppress the Stingray evidence as a warrantless search in violation of the Fourth Amendment, the government responded that this order was a search warrant that authorized the government to use the Stingray. Together with the ACLU of Northern California and the ACLU, we filed an amicus brief in support of Rigmaiden, noting that this 'order' wasn't a search warrant because it was directed towards Verizon, made no mention of an IMSI catcher or Stingray and didn't authorize the government — rather than Verizon — to do anything. Plus to the extent it captured loads of information from other people not suspected of criminal activity it was a 'general warrant,' the precise evil the Fourth Amendment was designed to prevent. ... The emails make clear that U.S. Attorneys in the Northern California were using Stingrays but not informing magistrates of what exactly they were doing. And once the judges got wind of what was actually going on, they were none too pleased:"
The Media

What Does It Actually Cost To Publish a Scientific Paper? 166

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the one-trillion-dollars dept.
ananyo writes "Nature has published an investigation into the real costs of publishing research after delving into the secretive, murky world of science publishing. Few publishers (open access or otherwise-including Nature Publishing Group) would reveal their profit margins, but they've pieced together a picture of how much it really costs to publish a paper by talking to analysts and insiders. Quoting from the piece: '"The costs of research publishing can be much lower than people think," agrees Peter Binfield, co-founder of one of the newest open-access journals, PeerJ, and formerly a publisher at PLoS. But publishers of subscription journals insist that such views are misguided — born of a failure to appreciate the value they add to the papers they publish, and to the research community as a whole. They say that their commercial operations are in fact quite efficient, so that if a switch to open-access publishing led scientists to drive down fees by choosing cheaper journals, it would undermine important values such as editorial quality.' There's also a comment piece by three open access advocates setting out what they think needs to happen next to push forward the movement as well as a piece arguing that 'Objections to the Creative Commons attribution license are straw men raised by parties who want open access to be as closed as possible.'"
Robotics

Submission + - Drone came within 200 feet of airliner over New York (cnn.com)

Submitted by FoolishBluntman
FoolishBluntman writes: (CNN) — An unmanned drone came within 200 feet of a commercial jet over New York, triggering an FBI appeal to the public for any information about the unusual and potentially dangerous incident.
The crew of Alitalia Flight 608 approaching John F. Kennedy airport on Monday reported the sighting.
"We saw a drone, a drone aircraft," the pilot can be heard telling air traffic controllers on radio calls captured by the website LiveATC.net.

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