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Robotics

Small Robots Could Build Landing Site For Moon Base 199

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the get-serious-about-moving-off-planet dept.
A new NASA-sponsored study suggests that small lawnmower-sized robots could be used to build a landing site for a moon outpost. In order to be efficient a landing pad would have to be close to any structures created, but without an atmosphere to slow down the lunar sand it would sandblast the outpost, creating the need for some sort of protection. By using small robots to either build protective berms or collect rocks to "pave" a landing pad, NASA hopes to provide protection against the sand-blasting effects of a landing on the moon.
Portables

New Netbook Offers Detachable Tablet 209

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the fun-new-toys dept.
Engadget is reporting that a new "Touch Book" being previewed at DEMO '09 in California by the company "Always Innovating" promises a new take on mobile computing devices. Touting 10 to 15 hours of battery life, this ARM-powered netbook weighs less than two pounds, but the true magic comes with the detachable screen that can function as a completely stand-alone touchscreen tablet. The machine is currently running a Linux OS with a touchable 3D UI, the entire screen is magnetic for mounting on a metal surface, and the whole package is being projected for less than $300.
Republicans

Submission + - Gov. Bobby Jindall Attacks Volcano Monitoring (cnn.com)

Submitted by
jlb0057
jlb0057 writes: "

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's swipe at federal spending to monitor volcanoes has the mayor of one city in the shadow of Mount St. Helens fuming.

"Does the governor have a volcano in his backyard?" Royce Pollard, the mayor of Vancouver, Washington, said on Wednesday. "We have one that's very active, and it still rumbles and spits and coughs very frequently."

Jindal singled out a $140 million appropriation for the U.S. Geological Survey as an example of questionable government spending during the GOP response to President Obama's address to Congress Tuesday night.

Perhaps the governor would be less enthusiastic about cutting funds for hurricane tracking? Is this truly the "rising star" of the GOP?"
The Internet

Jurassic Web 430

Posted by CmdrTaco from the set-the-wayback-machine dept.
theodp writes "It wasn't so long ago, but Slate's Farhad Manjoo notes that The Internet of 1996 is almost unrecognizable compared with what we have today. No YouTube, Digg, Huffington Post, Gawker, Google, Twitter, Facebook, or Wikipedia. In 1996, Americans with Internet access spent fewer than 30 minutes a month surfing the Web and were paying for the Internet by the hour. Today, Nielsen says we spend about 27 hours a month online (present company excepted, of course!)." I thought in 1996 all we did was idle in IRC channels while we wrote code in other terminals.
Space

Comet Lulin Closest To Earth Tonight 60

Posted by CmdrTaco from the get-out-your-telescopes dept.
William Robinson writes "Comet Lulin, formally known as C/2007 N3, which is on a visit to the inner solar system, will make its closest approach to earth tonight, about 38 million miles away. To the naked eye, the comet looks like a fuzzy patch of hazy light in the southeastern sky near Saturn, at the tip of Leo the Lion's hind leg. After this brief visit, Lulin will be heading back out to its kin in the Oort Cloud."
Portables (Games)

Assassin's Creed, LittleBigPlanet Coming To PSP 49

Posted by Soulskill from the good-things-come-in-small-packages dept.
Sony unveiled their PSP lineup for 2009 today, and it contains a number of major games and franchies. Assassin's Creed is on the way, as is a portable version of LittleBigPlanet , which will still allow players to share their levels with the community. A Motorstorm game set in Alaska is also coming, and Rock Band: Unplugged is in development as well. "There will not be a peripheral attachment available... Instead, all input is handled by the 'Left,' 'Up,' 'Triangle,' and 'Circle' buttons. The player can switch between guitar, drums, bass, and "vocals" (although he won't physically be singing, merely tapping buttons) using the L and R shoulder buttons. ... The player can actually choose to switch instruments at anytime, but switching prematurely will cause him to lose his multiplier."
The Military

Superguns Helped Defeat the Spanish Armada 501

Posted by kdawson from the nobody-expects-the-spanish-armada dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "With the discovery last year of the first wreck of an Elizabethan fighting ship off Alderney in the Channel Islands, thought to date from around 1592, marine archaeologists are revising their ideas on how the English defeated the Spanish Armada. Replicas of two cannon recovered from the Alderney wreck were recreated in a modern foundry, and tests carried out showed that the Elizabethans were throwing shot at almost the speed of sound. Elizabeth's 'supergun,' although relatively small, could hit a target a mile away. At a ship-to-ship fighting distance of about 100 yards, the ball would have sufficient punch to penetrate the oak planks of a galleon, travel across the deck, and emerge out the other side. Tests on cannon recovered from the Alderney wreck also suggest that the ship carried guns of uniform size, firing standard ammunition. 'Elizabeth's navy created the first ever set of uniform cannon, capable of firing the same size shot in a deadly barrage,' says marine archaeologist Mensun Bound from Oxford University, adding that that navy had worked out that a lot of small guns, all the same, all firing at once, were more effective than a few big guns. '[Elizabeth's] navy made a giant leap forward in the way men fought at sea, years ahead of England's enemies, and which was still being used to devastating effect by Nelson 200 years later.'"
Music

Music Industry Conflicted On Guitar Hero, Rock Band 140

Posted by Soulskill from the we-all-know-how-quick-they-are-to-adapt dept.
Wired is running a story about the friction between the music industry and music-based games, such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Despite the fact that these games are very successful and are drawing a great deal of attention to the music represented in the games, the industry is not pleased with the licensing arrangements that allow the games to use their songs. Quoting: "Putting the brakes on music gaming would hurt everyone in the ailing music industry. Instead of demanding greater profit participation, Warner should be angling for creative participation. Thirty years ago, Hollywood took a similar threat — the VCR — and turned it into a new source of revenue, building customer loyalty in the process. The music industry could use new games the same way — but its track record suggests that it won't."
Google

Google Debunks Maps Atlantis Myth 82

Posted by kdawson from the carry-on-speculating dept.
prxi writes "Recently speculation spread that Atlantis may have been located on Google Ocean. Now Google has posted a blog entry, written by two oceanographers, explaining what exactly caused the strange markings off the coast of Africa. The authors also note that we have better maps of the surface of Mars than we do of our own oceans, and go into detail on what would be required to obtain a fine-grained map of the ocean floor. Apparently it's only 200 ship years of work, or around the cost of a modern stadium, give or take."
Games

Resident Evil 5 Dev Talks Demo Feedback 114

Posted by Soulskill from the bigger-guns-more-zombies dept.
MTV's Multiplayer blog sat down with Jun Takeuchi, producer for Capcom's Resident Evil 5, about the feedback they've gotten from the game's demo, which has been downloaded over 4 million times. He comments on the changed control scheme, which has generated a lot of discussion and criticism, by suggesting that their decision will become clear once the full game is out. "We understand that there are many people who want to run and shoot at the same time, but it's not the right alignment for the game." He also says the finished game will have shorter loading times, and he briefly discusses the media-fueled race controversy over the fact that Africa's zombies have dark skin. Takeuchi says, "People will be able to play the game and see what it is for themselves." Kotaku recently ran a preview of Resident Evil 5.
Microsoft

Submission + - Economic Rescue Via Microsoft (nydailynews.com)

Submitted by jlb0057
jlb0057 writes:

Looking to brush up on your job skills to survive the recession?

Microsoft wants to help.

Beginning in selected states, including New York, users can receive free or low cost access to Microsoft's training resources — some of which are now available at Elevate America's new Web site, including career guidance and links to tutorials on Microsoft Office applications.
Businesses

Submission + - MIPS Joins Linux Foundation (cnn.com)

Submitted by jlb0057
jlb0057 writes:

The Linux Foundation (LF), the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced that MIPS Technologies (NASDAQ: MIPS) has become a member of the Foundation. MIPS Technologies is a leading provider of industry-standard architectures, processors and analog IP for digital consumer, home networking, wireless, communications and business applications. By joining the Linux Foundation, MIPS Technologies will help drive growth and promotion of Linux among its customer base and beyond. MIPS Technologies joins a leading group of companies who are experiencing business success and market expansion based on customer leverage of Linux and open source technologies.

Comment FTA: (Score 0) 172

by jlb0057 (#26958499) Attached to: Vista Capable Lawsuit Loses Class-Action Status

Judge Pechman said the plaintiffs could continue with the lawsuit on a case-by-case basis.

This would seem to effectively kill the lawsuit. Most who would bring an individual suit likely are either running a different OS already or are oblivious to the "Vista capable" issue.

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