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Power

Submission + - Install Solar Panels, get foreclosed (myfoxdfw.com)

Submitted by
gambit3
gambit3 writes: "According to the Dallas Fox affiliate, the exclusive Valley Ranch subdivision outside of Dallas is threatening to foreclose on a homeowner. His crime? Installing solar panels. They claim it is an eyesore, even though the panels can be seen only from the lawn of one neighbor, and he has no problems with the panels."
Privacy

Submission + - Subpoenas Issued over NSA Warrantless Wiretapping (lawbean.com)

Submitted by
Spamicles
Spamicles writes: "The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to subpoena documents from the Bush Administration related to the government's admitted eavesdropping on Americans' overseas emails and phone calls without getting court approval. In a 13-3 vote, the Committee decided to authorize chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to issue subpoenas for documents related to the NSA warrantless surveillance program. Nearly any request is going to be met with tough resistance from the White House, and the confrontation over the documents "could set the stage for a constitutional showdown over the separation of powers.""
Announcements

Submission + - Air-powered Hybrid Cars To Market In India In 2008 (msn.com) 1

Submitted by djasbestos
djasbestos writes: Motor Development International of France and Tata Motors of India are teaming up to bring a new kind of (nearly) pollution-free hybrid car.

From the article: "Instead of those tiny, tiny explosions of gasoline and oxygen pushing the pistons up and down, like in a normal internal combustion engine, the all-aluminum four-cylinder air engine used compressed air for the job.

"A hybrid version, using a small gasoline engine to power an onboard compressor for a constant supply of compressed air, is claimed to be able to travel from Los Angeles to New York on just one tank of gas."

A similar vehicle developed by Energine Corporation (South Korea) is mentioned, whose design supplants an electric battery for the small gas motor in powering the air compressor. The battery is also used to power the vehicle once it has reached cruising speed.
Power

Submission + - Pitt, Bell Lab Researchers Create New Matter Type

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Bell Labs created a new type of matter which has the properties of lasers and high-grade electrical conductors. This new matter type, called a polariton superfluid, allows the creators to move energy much more efficiently in a super-conductor type setting. However, this has the possibility of being used at room temperature, while previous superconductor designs have needed to be cooled to -280 to -400 degrees Fahrenheit.
NASA

Submission + - Digging Moon Dirt for $250,000--anyone want a job?

Submitted by
nlhouser
nlhouser writes: "How would it feel to be paid a huge pile of money to move a huge pile of simulated moon soil by using an autonomously operating system? Teams from Rancho Palos Verdes, California; Livermore, California; Berkeley, California; Fulks Run, Virginia; Rolla, MO; Berkley, Michigan, Milwaukee; Vancouver and British Columbia, have all registered to find out. The Regolith Excavation Challenge on May 12, 2007, will pay a team to excavate and deliver as much dirt as possible in 30 minutes — administered by the California Space Education and Workforce Institute, part of the California Space Authority in Santa Maria, California. This is one of seven challenges by NASA, and must use less than 30 W of power, while weighing less than 40k and excavate more than 150 kg of the required simulated moon dirt. This challenge is extremely important, as it is the first necessary step toward uncovering what is considered important in the moon's resources in the most economical and quickest way possible. Entitled the NASA's "2007 Regolith Excavation Centennial Challenge Overview", the challenge will be in a specific "head to head" competition format: Each team's excavation system must be fully autonomous Systems will perform in a square sandbox with compressed lunar regolith simulant Mass of the system cannot exceed 40 kilograms 30 Watts of DC power will be provided to the system Each system will have 30 minutes to excavate as much regolith as possible and deliver it to the fixed collector adjacent to the sandbox The total purse of $250,000 will go to the winning teams excavating the most regolith above 150 kilograms Where proposals were the original solution to ongoing NASA programs, recently it was found that "making awards based on actual achievements" resulted in novel and lower-cost solutions. The end challenge to this particular competition is the actual moon atmosphere. Resistance to penetration and blocking properties are due to the planet's exposure to the space environment — not because of the traditional influences of water, wind, or volcanic processes, as on Earth. According to NASA and the Centennial Challenge program, additional challenges are the lunar regolith's properties of weight, power, and time limitations from interplanetary travel. At this time, the lunar excavation requirements are unmet by any of the challenging teams for excavation technologies that are developed for any terrestrial use as they are still heavy, using lots of power, and still require a human operator. What is still needed is something lighter, more power efficient, while still being able to operate autonomously — all will be needed when excavating the real moon dirt in the near future."
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Six-legged hermaphrodite calf born in Nebraska

Submitted by
Skidge
Skidge writes: "A calf born several days ago on a central Nebraska farm is just as frisky as the rest of the newborns there, only the farmer say, "He's a real freak." That's because it was born with six legs and two sets of sex organs. Likely a product of the fusion of twin embryos, cows born like this are rare and generally suffering from many internal problems. This one seems to be fine so far, however. "I'm curious to see what happens," the farmer said."
United States

Submission + - Scientists say Louisiana has less than 10 years

Submitted by
editor.b
editor.b writes: "According to a new series by the Times-Picayune, south Louisiana has much less time than expected. Scientists say that coastal land is now disappearing at the rate of one football field every 45 minutes. In ten years or less New Orleans will be in the Gulf of Mexico."
Editorial

Submission + - Factory soot leads to increased pacific storms.

Submitted by Cryolithic
Cryolithic writes: From the Vancouver Sun

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html ?id=e28e0f63-8add-4f03-aa2e-f64a8499bad5&k=5988

Soot from the factories of Asia is changing weather across the Pacific Ocean and causing storms like the December howler that clobbered Vancouver's Stanley Park, a new study says.

"The intensified Pacific storm track is climatically significant," and is the first time climate scientists have been able to measure the effect of "aerosols" — minute airborne particles — on climate, the team writes.
Space

NASA Can't Pay for Killer Asteroid Hunt 398

Posted by Hemos from the anyone-raid-the-coffee-fund-money dept.
CGISecurity.com writes "NASA officials say the space agency is capable of finding nearly all the asteroids that might pose a devastating hit to Earth, but there isn't enough money to pay for the task so it won't get done. 'We know what to do, we just don't have the money,' said Simon 'Pete' Worden, director of NASA's Ames Research Center." But hey, it's just the potential end of the world, so nothing much to worry about there.
Space

Journal Journal: Rocketeers Find Large Impact Crater In Nevada 29

Journal by SEWilco
While participating in amateur rocket launches in Black Rock Desert (Burning Man site), Ian Kluft KO6YQ noticed rocks with some oddities. Through the Internet he learned the characteristics of impact craters, then found some clues in photographs and Google Maps. Examining the area he got samples of rock with impact patterns in them and other evidence. Previous geological puzzles in the region are well explained as impact structures. Volunteers are finding peculiarities in satellite imagery
Google

Submission + - Is Google making a cell phone?

Submitted by Kuan Yew
Kuan Yew writes: Two months ago Engadget posted pictures of a device they dubbed the Google Switch, a device that was allegedly co-designed by Google and Samsung. Recently, a technologist-turned-entrepreneur called Simeon Simeonov continued the story by suggesting that Google's acquisition of mobile services like Reqwireless and Skia were further hints of a Google phone in development. The question remains, however, is Google really developing a cell phone or is this all part of the great Google hype machine?
Microsoft

Submission + - U.S. DOT ban on Vista

Submitted by Fozzyuw
Fozzyuw writes: My company has just sent out a memo stating that no computers are allowed to be purchased or upgraded to Windows Vista, Office 2007, or Internet Explorer. While being my companies web developer, I've upgraded to IE7 some time ago, but only after Multiple IE allowed me to easily install IE6.

This policy memo was initialed due to the recent action by the U.S. Department of Transpertation placing a ban on these new Microsoft Products stating...

"there appears to be no compelling technical or business case for upgrading to these new Microsoft software products. Furthermore, there appears to be specific reasons not to upgrade."


I think it makes sense for my company to do this. As the old saying goes "If it's not broke, don't fix it". So, are there other companies out there that are enacting a similar kind of policy?
The Courts

Microsoft Attacks Google on Copyright 188

Posted by Hemos from the how-is-blistering-is-blistering dept.
The Microsoft Corporation has prepared a blistering attack on rival Google, arguing that the Web search leader takes a cavalier approach to copyright protection. The attack, such as it were, came from Microsoft's Associate General Counsel who was giving a speech to the Association of American Publishers...who have a copyright lawsuit against Google for the last sixteen months. So, an audience ready to hear about how Bad Google is.

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