Comment It's just an autogyro (Score 1) 86
The working prototype is a helicopter with an added prop on the front.
This is not a new concept. Autogyros are very old tech.
Comment Re:cool (Score 1) 90
At current, the only license required is from the FCC, an amateur radio technician's license for the 2W transmitter.
However, due to media hype over "drones," there's a lot of legislation in process that would ban anybody flying any RC aircraft that is capable of capturing any kind of images.
The Academy of Model Aeronautics (http://www.modelaircraft.org) is working strenuously with state and federal government organizations to bring some reason into the situation.
However, due to media hype over "drones," there's a lot of legislation in process that would ban anybody flying any RC aircraft that is capable of capturing any kind of images.
The Academy of Model Aeronautics (http://www.modelaircraft.org) is working strenuously with state and federal government organizations to bring some reason into the situation.
Comment Re:Not a replacement yet (Score 1) 340
Moving energy around through ships and pipelines would be akin to the internet running through a "vast network of little tubes."
1. The existing electrical grid has sufficient capacity to power both houses and vehicles for the foreseeable future. As the inevitable transfer from fossil fuels to electricity happens, adding more capacity is well within the capability of existing technology.
2. Edison and Tesla argued strenuously over the advantages and disadvantages of AC vs DC for power transmission. Edison opted for DC, but lost handily because AC can be stepped up and down with transformers and is much easier to handle than DC.
Resistance loss happens regardless of DC vs AC. Both are subject to Ohm's law, E=IR. Voltage equals Current times Resistance, so the voltage drop across any conductor is equal to the current traveling through it times its resistance.
Energy loss in conductors is far less than the energy required to transport a similar amount using trucks, pipelines, or ships, and even that is improving as we develop better and better conductors, and eventually, superconductors which will have no loss at all.
Comment Re:Not a replacement yet (Score 3, Informative) 340
Moving energy around in trucks is wasteful and slow compared to moving it through the already established electrical grid.
The only reasons we stay with liquid fuels are that battery and charging technology doesn't yet supply the needed mileage range and quick recharge rate.
And to keep oil companies and gas stations in business.
United States Begins Flying Stealth Bombers Over South Korea 567
skade88 writes "The New York Times is reporting that the United States has started flying B-2 stealth bomber runs over South Korea as a show of force to North Korea. The bombers flew 6,500 miles to bomb a South Korean island with mock explosives. Earlier this month the U.S. Military ran mock B-52 bombing runs over the same South Korean island. The U.S. military says it shows that it can execute precision bombing runs at will with little notice needed. The U.S. also reaffirmed their commitment to protecting its allies in the region. The North Koreans have been making threats to turn South Korea into a sea of fire. North Korea has also made threats claiming they will nuke the United States' mainland."
Festo's Drone Dragonfly Takes To the Air 45
yyzmcleod writes "Building on the work of last year's bionic creation, the Smart Bird, Festo announced that it will literally launch its latest creation, the BionicOpter, at Hannover Messe in April. With a wingspan of 63 cm and weighing in at 175 grams, the robotic dragonfly mimics all forms of flight as its natural counterpart, including hover, glide and maneuvering in all directions. This is made possible, the company says, by the BionicOpter's ability to move each of its four wings independently, as well as control their amplitude, frequency and angle of attack. Including its actuated head and body, the robot exhibits 13 degrees of freedom, which allows it to rapidly accelerate, decelerate, turn and fly backwards."
Comment All aircraft currently run on solar energy. (Score 1) 590
All of the energy stored in hydrocarbon fuels is originally solar. In that sense, airliners are currently powered by solar energy.
Comment Avoid the ripoffs, buy them directly (Score 2) 549
from the Chinese manufacturers. Prices start at around ten bux. For 825 listings of various 'in ear' aring aids, run a search at aliexpress.com.
I would definitely try a couple of these devices before I'd shell out thousands of bux to Philips or Siemens for a device that was probably made in China anyway.
Submission + - The Maths-formula that lead to the financial crash (bbc.co.uk) 1
jools33 writes: "This is a fascinating story from the bbc of how a mathematical formula revolutionised the world of finance — which ultimately could have been responsible for its downfall. The Black-Scholes mathematical model, introduced in the 70s, opened up the world of options / futures / derivatives trading in a way that nothing before or since has accomplished, its phenominal success and widespread adoption lead to the discoverer winning a nobel prize in economics and yet it could ultimately have been responsible for the financial crisis of the past few years. Its interesting to ponder how algorithms and formulas that we work on today could fundamentally influence humanity's future."
Submission + - Travel Light to China 1
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "What may once have sounded like the behavior of a raving paranoid is now considered standard operating procedure for officials at American government agencies, research groups and companies as the NY Times reports how businesses sending representatives to China give them a loaner laptop and cellphone that they wipe clean before they leave and wipe again when they return. “If a company has significant intellectual property that the Chinese and Russians are interested in, and you go over there with mobile devices, your devices will get penetrated,” says Joel F. Brenner, formerly the top counterintelligence official in the office of the director of national intelligence. The scope of the problem is illustrated by an incident at the United States Chamber of Commerce in 2010 when the chamber learned that servers in China were stealing information from four of its Asia policy experts who frequently visited China. After their trips, even the office printer and a thermostat in one of the chamber's corporate offices were communicating with an internet address in China. The chamber did not disclose how hackers had infiltrated its systems, but its first step after the attack was to bar employees from taking devices with them “to certain countries,” notably China. "Everybody knows that if you are doing business in China, in the 21st century, you don’t bring anything with you," says Jacob Olcott, a cybersecurity expert at Good Harbor Consulting. "That’s ‘Business 101’ — at least it should be.”"
Submission + - BT Corn: insects rapidly becoming resistant (msn.com)
DrHeasley writes: BT corn, which contains the DNA for Bacillus thuringensis toxin, was once hailed as the final solution for insect predators on this valuable crop. Now it turns out that insects, and evolution, are smarter than we thought, and the corn that contains the built in pesticide is no longer reliably protected.
Comment Innocent until proven guilty (Score 1) 758
IANAL, but:
To convict you, the RIAA must prove that the files you have violate copyright, you don't have to prove that they are legal - that would be Napoleonic law, which is unconstitutional, although the current supreme court might disagree.
The RIAA would face the same difficulties being discussed here. If a way cannot be found to prove your music is legal, I doubt that they'd be able to find a way to prove that it's illegal.
Comment Oral silicone not sufficiently toxic (Score 1) 25
You could probably drink it. Outside of some diarrhea, it'll go right through you.
Best guess is that they beat it do death in revenge and used the silicone story as a coverup.
Submission + - Netscape's Andreesen offers new browser (msn.com)
DrHeasley writes: Rockmelt, available for the first time Monday, is built on the premise that most online activity today revolves around socializing on Facebook, searching on Google, tweeting on Twitter and monitoring a handful of favorite websites. It tries to minimize the need to roam from one website to the next by corralling all vital information and favorite services in panes and drop-down windows.
"This is a chance for us to build a browser all over again," Andreessen said. "These are all things we would have done (at Netscape) if we had known how people were going to use the Web."
"This is a chance for us to build a browser all over again," Andreessen said. "These are all things we would have done (at Netscape) if we had known how people were going to use the Web."
Comment Urey-Miller (Score 1) 145
'nuff said.
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