ImYY4U - Slashdot User

Comment Amazing... (Score 0) 614

by ImYY4U on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @02:18PM (#37181734) Attached to: 5.8 Earthquake Hits East Coast of the US

I didn't think there were any fault line anywhere near Washington DC...so how could this Earthquake happen? Hmm...kind of coincidental how on Monday night there was a 5.3 magnitude earthquake that struck in southeast Colorado...

Also, why on Earth would they evacuate the Pentagon AFTER the earthquake? Does that make any sense at all?

Submission + - Fukushima Robot Operator Writes Tell-All Diary (ieee.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @01:37PM

An anonymous reader writes: An anonymous robot operator at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant has kept a blog describing in candid detail his day-to-day life at the crippled facility, including robot training exercises and actual radiation-survey and clean-up missions. The blog was recently deleted, but some copies existed around the web and IEEE Spectrum has translated and published portions of it in English [http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/industrial-robots/fukushima-robot-operator-diaries]. The blog shows that although the operators use remote-controlled robots, they have to work in areas of high radiation, using protective gear and shielded trucks. They also rely on a great deal of improvisation, and there have been a few incidents that put the robot missions at risk.

Submission + - Libyan Rebels Are Flying Their Own Mini-Drone (wired.com)

Submitted by suasfan22 on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @01:18PM

suasfan22 writes: The Libyan revolutionaries are more of a band of enthusiastic amateurs than experienced soldiers. But it turns out the rebels have the kind of weaponry usually possessed by advanced militaries: their very own drone.

Aeryon Labs, a Canadian defense firm, revealed on Tuesday that it had quietly provided the rebel forces with a teeny, tiny surveillance drone, called the Aeryon Scout. Small enough to fit into a backpack, the three-pound, four-rotor robot gave Libyan forces eyes in the sky independent of the Predators, Fire Scout surveillance copters and manned spy planes that NATO flew overhead. Don't worry, it's not armed.

Submission + - NASA Tries To Save Hubble's Successor From Budget (talkingpointsmemo.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @12:47PM

An anonymous reader writes: NASA is trying to save the Hubble's successor the James Webb Space Telescope from the budget ax.

Submission + - United Pilots To Use iPads For Navigation (breitbart.com)

Submitted by bonch on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @12:05PM

bonch writes: Pilots of United and Continental will ditch flight manuals and charts in favor of 11,000 iPads containing the same data in app form. Replacing 38 pounds of paper materials, the iPads will run an app called Mobile FliteDeck from Jeppesen, a provider of software navigation tools. Alaska Airlines adopted iPads back in May. United estimates a savings of 326,000 gallons of fuel a year due to the lighter load.

Submission + - Using tablets becoming popular bathroom activity (networkworld.com)

Submitted by alphadogg on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @11:55AM

alphadogg writes: With the market flush with hot-selling tablet computers, it shouldn't bowl anyone over to learn that many users are taking the plunge and bringing their devices to the bathroom. According to a new survey published by Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples Inc., 35% of tablet users copped to using their iPad or other tablets while in the bathroom, while a whopping 78% of tablet users said they used their tablets while lying in bed. And in a data point sure to further damage techies' reputation for social skills, Staples Advantage also reported that 30% of tablet users said they used their tablets while at restaurants.

Comment So... (Score 0) 181

by ImYY4U on Thursday September 04, 2008 @07:49AM (#24871789) Attached to: Virtual Telescope Zooms In On Milky Way Black Hole

How exactly do we get "pictures" of a black hole, if light can't escape? Isn't a picture of a black hole basically just a picture showing nearby light and stars etc. spinning around the event horizon?

Thinkpad X300 With SSD Performance Evaluation 133

Posted by Zonk on Thursday April 17, 2008 @05:11PM from the solid-gone-man dept.

Ninjakicks writes "Hard drives are typically one of the more significant performance bottlenecks in any system today. An evaluation of Lenovo's new ultra portable Thinkpad X300 notebook shows a fast solid state hard drive can substantially improve the performance of a system. This is especially true of a low-end, low power processor and integrated graphics, in addition to reducing overall power consumption. Despite its 1.2GHz CPU the Thinkpad X300 is actually able to outperform some desktop replacement notebooks equipped with dual 7200RPM hard drives in RAID 0 in productivity benchmarks, and in data transfers. Interesting results, especially considering the X300's ultra portable form factor."

Google Earth 4.3 Offers a Number of New Features 133

Posted by Zonk on Thursday April 17, 2008 @04:34PM from the it's-the-only-globe-we've-got-why-not-check-it-out dept.

GoogleWatch writes "Google's all excited for Earth day, and just in time there's a new version of Google Earth available. 4.3 offers up revamped navigation controls, 3-D photo-realistic buildings in major cities, and time-lapse views of sunsets and sunrises. Also new in Google Earth 4.3 is access to the street view movies found in Google Maps. Just click any of the camera icons and the familiar street view window will pop up. The sunrise and sunset movies are also quite impressive. Fly to a location you'd like to see and click the "sun" button in the toolbar. That will bring up a small timeline graphic and you can either hit play or drag the timeline slider to watch the day unfold."

Do the Blind Deserve More Effort on the Web? 663

Posted by Zonk on Thursday April 17, 2008 @03:47PM from the some-effort-would-be-a-good-start dept.

dratcw writes "An article was posted this week to ComputerWorld, detailing the frustrations faced by blind people struggling to use the Web. The piece shows how little progress has been made and the inadequacy of solutions such as Microsoft's Narrator screen reader. While the article generated many positive comments, one reader said the disabled should 'get a grip' and maintained they 'have no more right to demand that others provide for their needs than I, as a diabetic, have a right to demand that sugar no longer be used.' Should Web sites and software makers do more, or does the reality of today's economics dictate that the blind/disabled will continue to struggle and learn to live with it?"

Japan's Cyborg Research Enters the Skull 120

Posted by Zonk on Thursday April 17, 2008 @03:06PM from the datajack-is-just-around-the-corner dept.

RemyBR writes "Researchers at Osaka University are stepping up efforts to develop robotic body parts controlled by thought, by placing electrode sheets directly on the surface of the brain. The research marks Japan's first foray into invasive (i.e. requiring open-skull surgery) brain-machine interface research on human test subjects. The aim of the research is to develop real-time mind-controlled robotic limbs for the disabled. 'To date, the researchers have worked with four test subjects to record brain wave activity generated as they move their arms, elbows and fingers. Working with Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), the researchers have developed a method for analyzing the brain waves to determine the subject's intended activity to an accuracy of greater than 80%.'"

Darwin's Private Papers Get Released To The Internet 237

Posted by Zonk on Thursday April 17, 2008 @02:24PM from the uncle-charles-is-one-of-my-heroes dept.

bibekpaudel writes "ScienceDaily reports that a wealth of papers belonging to Charles Darwin have been published on the internet, some for the first time. Some 20,000 items and 90,000 images were posted today to http://darwin-online.org.uk/. The new site is the largest collection of Darwin's work in history, according to organizers from Cambridge University Library 'This release makes his private papers, mountains of notes, experiments, and research behind his world-changing publications available to the world for free,' said John van Wyhe, director of the project. The collection includes thousands of notes and drafts of his scientific writings, notes from the voyage of the Beagle when he began to formulate his controversial theory of evolution, and his first recorded doubts about the permanence of species."

Growing Plants on the Moon May Be Feasible 254

Posted by Zonk on Thursday April 17, 2008 @01:11PM from the we-carry-a-harpoon dept.

Smivs writes "European scientists say that growing plants on the moon should be possible. Scientists in the Netherlands believe growing plants on our sister satellite would be useful as a tool to learn how life adapts to lunar conditions. It would also aid in understanding the challenges that might be faced by manned bases. 'The new step, taken in the experiments reported at the EGU, is to remove the need for bringing nutrients and soil from Earth. A team led by Natasha Kozyrovska and Iryna Zaetz from the National Academy of Sciences in Kiev planted marigolds in crushed anorthosite, a type of rock found on Earth which is very similar to much of the lunar surface. In neat anorthosite, the plants fared very badly. But adding different types of bacteria made them thrive; the bacteria appeared to draw elements from the rock that the plants needed, such as potassium.'"

US Army Furthers Development of Robotic Suits 233

Posted by Zonk on Thursday April 17, 2008 @11:12AM from the ellen-ripley-is-a-lesson-to-us-all dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The BBC reports on advancements in the US military's robotic exoskeleton program. It's being spearheaded by Sarcos, a research laboratory in Utah. The firm has designed the XOS exoskeleton for US Army use, a lightweight frame that gives the user greater strength and endurance. 'With the exoskeleton on and fully powered up, Rex can easily pull down weight of more than 90 kilos, more than he weighs. For the army the XOS could mean quicker supply lines, or fewer injuries when soldiers need to lift heavy weights or move objects around repeatedly. Initial models would be used as workhorses, on the logistics side. Later models, the army hopes, could go into combat, carrying heavier weapons, or even wounded colleagues.'"

Some 12% of Consumers 'Borrow' Unsecured Wi-Fi 469

Posted by Zonk on Thursday April 17, 2008 @10:27AM from the other-88-percent-are-lying dept.

alphadogg writes "Despite the fact that it's often considered an illegal act, a sizeable percentage of the UK/US internet-using population 'borrows' unsecured Wi-Fi access. This is according to a study conducted by the group Accenture. 'The Accenture study found that computer users are still engaging in some unsafe computing practices. Nearly half of all respondents said that they used the same password for all of their online accounts, and only a quarter of them have ever encrypted files on their computers.'" My guess is the actual figure is higher than that.

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