I agree that specs would be nice. However, as someone who's holding on to a N900 (a peerless mobile device IMHO) I'm just glad that between this and the efforts of the Firefox guys, we may see more open devices that let those of us who are interested in digging around under the hood can look forward to.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/john-cole/brickpi-lego-bricks-with-a-raspberry-pi-brain

You may be interested in BrickPi. :)

Bravo. I wish I had mod-points.

I saw a movie that explored:
The potential effects of interfering with an early-stage civilization. (Prime Directive 101)
The needs of the many and the one.
Xenophobia and the militaristic response to it.
The relative nature of ethical decisions.
The fragility of the utopian Federation image.
Humanity's ongoing battle with it's base drives.

It may have been heavy-handed in places but all of this is pure Trek. I've much more sympathy with those who compained that it revisits old territory a bit too often. This is Trek with a new coat of paint and an adrenaline shot to the heart. Silly, brilliant, thought-provoking and exciting. It leaves the door open for new fans and has enough intellectual fodder for those who want to wonder about the aforementioned issues.

Sorry for the lack of edit, I can't seem to find the option to modify my post...

Tried suggesting it in a UK, NHS hospital to a manager as an alternative to the widely used Photoshop.

Tried suggesting it in a UK, NHS hospital to a manager (M) as a . The hospital runs a *gait analysis* lab, various imaging labs and has a school for long-term stay kids.

As soon as they heard the name it was off the table. The fear of someone seeing the name and making a compaint was enough.

It doesn't matter that GIMP could have saved the taxpayer-funded NHS money and it doesn't matter how competent a tool it is. It's associated with a word that still has widely recognised derogatory connotations. I've shown it to other people outside of the hospital and I still get uncomfortable looks when I mention the name.

My only hope at this point is that some group will do a rebrand.

I'm guessing it's even more effective if one is a screamer.

Never gonna give yourself up?

Theology is a thing of unreason altogether, an edifice of assumption and dreams, a superstructure without a substructure. - Ambrose Bierce
Religions are conclusions for which the facts of nature supply no major premises. - Ambrose Bierce
Camels and Christians receive their burdens kneeling. - Ambrose Bierce

Understanding where religion comes from illuminates why religion is as petty, evil and self-serving as the worst of humanity. The only way one can come to the conclusion that faith-based reasoning is good is if one fails to critically examine it.

Hmmm, 3 digit ID and a comprehensive answer... sometimes correlation does imply causation!

It's not about inventing some intangible or non-factual reward.

Perhaps if I frame the carrot thus:
Simply educate people on the wonders of nature, the way science uncovers these wonders and the value of questioning everything. Hopefully they will start to understand that knowing things is far better than being told. They might follow the logical path to questioning the basis of their own beliefs and if they stand up to any scrutiny.

I think educational programs like Cosmos are excellent 'carrots'. Carl Sagan presents a beautiful picture of our existence and how we came to know what we know through the scientific method. He then goes on to ask questions that the viewer can ponder in their own time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfMZ76gP61k

Nature is pretty astounding when one gets an insight into how much we know about it (and how much we still have to learn).

Hi Professor Dawkins and thanks for offering to answer some of our questions.

In the past, some science educators (Dr. Tyson for example) have criticised what they perceived to be your overuse of the stick in promoting rationalism and fact-based decision making where they considered the carrot to be a better tool. There is some evidence that simply stating the facts may actually be counter-productive: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~nyhan/nyhan-reifler.pdf

Would you mind talking about the efficacy of both approaches to the greater understanding of the value of fact-based decision making?

As someone who has lived with a person suffering from a debilitating mental health issue I hope I'm not the first to say, "fuck you". Your opinion displays a lack of compassion for someone who was being disproportionately hounded by those who wanted to hide their own ineptitude by making him an example.

Mr. McKinnon was formally diagnosed. Your perception that he's some pretender looking for an escape is grossly judgemental. He and his representatives have repeatedly asked for a trial on UK soil.

I hope someone more objective and compassionate than you stands up for your rights if they're ever in peril.
I don't have karma to burn, I don't need a shield to be a decent human being.

I am by no means an expert in this but the question has been asked before here and I agreed with the overall sentiment: Don't break the law.

The Chinese government will ensure that you regret being caught.

Collimation wasn't the issue, the mirror was incorrectly shaped due to a fault in the QA process where a tool used to measure the sphericity of the mirror called a null corrector was assumed to be set up to spec.

More details here for those who are interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope#Origin_of_the_problem

Collimation refers to the arrangement, or alignment, of the optical surfaces and lenses in relation to each other.

NASA has learned a lot from all of their work up until now. Consider the spectacular success in getting Curiosity onto Mars - a remarkably complex and audacious plan.

Testing methods, materials and technology has come a long way; it's not a guarantee that everything will go without a hitch but I'm optimisitic.