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Space

Virgin Galactic's suborbital spacecraft gets FAA blessing->

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes "Space tourism company Virgin Galactic today said its spacecraft developer has been granted an experimental launch permit from the Federal Aviation Administration to begin rocket-powered testing of its spaceships. With the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation permit, Scaled Composites and its SpaceShipTwo craft will be able to test the aerodynamic performance of the spacecraft with the full weight of the rocket motor system on board. Integration of key rocket motor components, already underway will continue into the autumn."
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Comment: Re:Uh....May Fools Day? (Score 1) 209

by MrResistor (#40138249) Attached to: <em>Dungeons &amp; Dragons Next</em> Playtest Released

I didn't like the negotiating aspect. I believe that there should be certain parts of negotiating that are random, just for fun. However, by default, negotiating shouldn't rely on the character abilities or any die rolls. Your ability to gauge deceit and to negotiate should be based on your real life skills. The social aspects should be entirely based on real life skills, as much as possible.

So, what you're saying is that only people with strong social skills should play tabletop RPGs? I think you've missed the point.

Comment: Re:More info and video (Score 1) 282

by Captain Nitpick (#40080393) Attached to: SpaceX's Falcon 9 Successfully Reaches Orbit

Why does the SLS need to exist? It won't be able to do anything that projected private sector products won't be able to do for a fraction of the cost.

The SLS has one thing the currently-projected private sector boosters don't have: maximum payload capacity. The Falcon Heavy is only supposed to hit 53,000 kg to LEO ("only"). SLS is supposed to be around 100,000 kg. It's basically the Space Shuttle, and those were damn powerful engines. They just had the drawback of hauling 68000 kg of orbiter on every trip.

Falcon X might beat SLS, but that's almost purely concept art at this point. But then, my confidence in the SLS project isn't really any higher.

Windows

Aero Glass UI no more on Windows 8->

Submitted by closer2it
closer2it writes "Microsoft has revealed that it has made some big changes to its desktop UI for Windows 8, which includes moving away from Aero Glass — the UI first introduced with Vista. According to the company, this means visual changes that include "flattening surfaces, removing reflections, and scaling back distracting gradients." Despite all of these changes with the interface, the company doesn't appear to be worried about the issue of "learnability." Instead, Microsoft believes that with a little help it won't take long for users to adapt to the new operating system."
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Earth

Scientists Unravel the Mystery of the 'Dark Day' 1

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes "BBC reports that 232 years ago a strange event occurred that remains shrouded in mystery to this day. On May 19, 1780 the sky turned yellow in New England and Canada, animals ran for cover and darkness descended, causing people to light candles and start to pray. By lunchtime night had fallen. With little scientific knowledge amongst the populace, people were afraid and some lawmakers in Connecticut believed it was the day of judgment. "There are some verses in Matthew that might have led them to believe that this is the second coming of Christ," says historian Mike Dash. "At the time, natural events — even birds fighting in the sky — were a sign of God's intentions. The Dark Day would have seemed like a warning to Man." A solar eclipse can be ruled out as there is a record of when these occur — and they only last for a matter of minutes, there is no record of volcanic activity in 1780 making a huge ash cloud an unlikely explanation, and a meteorite is equally unlikely. Now scientists may have found the answer in the trees. Academics at the University of Missouri's Department of Forestry analyzed tree trunks inland from New England, where westerly prevailing winds would originate and found signs of fire-scarred rings in tree trunks dating back to that period in the area that is today occupied by Algonquin Provincial Park. Eyewitness accounts in New England support the forest fire hypothesis as soot was spotted in rivers, and one letter noted that the air had the "smell of a malt-house or a coal-kiln". Whatever the cause in 1780, geography must have exacerbated the fear, says Dash with European settlers living on the edge of a vast unknown continent. "When it goes dark for them, there's no guarantee it is ever going to get light again," says Dash. "In those days it would be quite natural to think it was the Second Coming.""
Google

Researchers Use Google's Search Algorithms To Fight Cancer 52

Posted by samzenpus
from the searching-for-a-cure dept.
MatthewVD writes "German scientists have modified Google's PageRank algorithm to scan tumors and learn more about how cancers progress. PageRank orders results based on how other web pages are connected to them via hyperlinks; the modified algorithm, NetRank, scans how genes and proteins in a cell are similarly connected through a network of interactions with their neighbors. This approach could also yield new therapies to help combat tumors."
Television

A DVR Ad-Eraser Causes Tremors at TV Upfronts->

Submitted by gollum123
gollum123 writes "As with past technological threats, network executives are closing ranks against a Dish Network device that undermines the broadcast business model. The disruptive technology at hand is an ad-eraser, embedded in new digital video recorders sold by Charles W. Ergen’s Dish Network, one of the nation’s top distributors of TV programming. Turn it on, and all the ads recorded on most prime-time network shows are automatically skipped, no channel-flipping or fast-forwarding necessary. Some reviewers have already called the feature, called the Auto Hop, a dream come true for consumers. But for broadcasters and advertisers, it is an attack on an entrenched television business model, and it must be strangled, lest it spread elsewhere."
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Comment: Re:75 ppi... (Score 2) 50

by MBCook (#40000955) Attached to: Plastic Logic Shows Off a Color ePaper Screen

According to Wikipedia, the current eInk Kindles are all about 68 ppi. So this screen would be as good (if not better) than the current Kindles in that department.

Unfortunately, this screen looks like it lacks color saturation, which seems to be a common trait among all color eInk displays. It's a big improvement over previous displays, but I still wouldn't put it in a product yet. People would immediately put it next to LCD displays, and compared to the display on a $60 "might as well sell it at the drugstore" tablet, it would look bad.

Biggest Kickstarter Project Ever Surpasses $10 Million; Cuts Off Funding->

Submitted by
TheGift73
TheGift73 writes "We keep hearing that these new business models and platforms really can't handle "big" projects. While part of the charm and power of these platforms is that they can fund smaller "long tail" projects that might never otherwise see the light of day, there's no reason that they can't do bigger projects as well. A few weeks ago, we told you about the Kickstarter campaign for the Pebble e-watch, which was the fastest growing Kickstarter project ever, surpassing $1 million in just 28 hours, and hitting $4.5 million by the time we got our post out."
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