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Open Source

Submission + - The open source technology behind Twitter (opensource.com)

Submitted by caseyb89
caseyb89 writes: If it weren't for open source technology, you wouldn't be able to tweet. Chris Aniszczyk, Open Source Manager at Twitter, shares how open source is vital to Twitter's success. He states that using open source is a "no-brainer" for Twitter because it "allows us to customize and tweak code to meet our fast-paced engineering needs as our service and community grows." Twitter also established an open source office about a year ago to support a variety of open source organizations that are important to them. Aniszczyk will discuss Twitters open source usage in his keynote at LinuxCon.
Government

Submission + - Monitoring weapons bans with social media (thebulletin.org)

Submitted by __aaqpaq9254
__aaqpaq9254 writes: Kirk Bansak has a great article outlining a coming revolution in non-proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and bio-weapons, courtesy of smart phones and social media. Early theory on arms control foresaw "inspection by the people" as a promising method for preventing evasion of arms control and disarmament obligations and serves as a starting point for understanding "social verification." As Rose Gottemoeller recently stated: "[Cell phone-based] sensors would allow citizens to contribute to detecting potential treaty violations, and could build a bridge to a stronger private-public partnership in the realm of treaty verification." Exciting stuff for techies and activists.
Hardware

Submission + - Camera-toting EyeRing could help blind people to "see" objects (gizmag.com)

Submitted by cylonlover
cylonlover writes: Generally speaking, the vast majority of augmented reality applications that enhance the world around us by overlaying digital content on images displayed on smartphone, tablet or computer screens are aimed squarely at the sighted user. A team from the Fluid Interfaces Group at MIT's Media Lab has developed a chunky finger-worn device called EyeRing that translates images of objects captured through a camera lens into aural feedback to aid the blind.

Feed Engadget: NAA verifies new US record for human-powered helicopter flight (video) (engadget.com)

From feed by feedfeeder

A team at the University of Maryland has been taking human powered flight to new heights. Or, rather, lengths, by setting a new US record for flight duration of 49.9 seconds with its Gamera II rotorcraft. The benchmark event actually took place in June, but only received the all important plaudits from the National Aeronautic Association on August 9. Gamera II builds on its predecessor (unsurprisingly, Gamera I) by featuring improved transmission, rotor design and a redesigned cockpit. Not content with smashing the previous craft's record of 11.4 seconds, the team plans to fly a further refined version of the copter with longer blades and other fine tuning later this month. The 49.9 second flight has also been submitted to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale for World, rather than American-record verification. The guys at Maryland might want to keep an eye over their shoulders though, as it looks like someone else already has their eyes on that prize. Video evidence after the break.

Continue reading NAA verifies new US record for human-powered helicopter flight (video)

Filed under: Transportation

NAA verifies new US record for human-powered helicopter flight (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Aug 2012 19:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PermalinkGizMag | Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center |Email this|Comments
Hardware

Submission + - Colour printing reaches its ultimate resolution (nature.com)

Submitted by
ananyo
ananyo writes: "The highest possible resolution images — about 100,000 dots per inch — have been achieved, and in full-colour, with a printing method that uses tiny pillars a few tens of nanometres tall. The method could be used to print tiny watermarks or secret messages for security purposes, and to make high-density data-storage discs.
Each pixel in these ultra-resolution images is made up of four nanoscale posts capped with silver and gold nanodisks. By varying the diameters of the structures (which are tens of nanometres) and the spaces between them, it’s possible to control what colour of light they reflect. As a proof of principle, researchers printed a 50×50-micrometre version of the ‘Lena’ test image, a richly coloured portrait of a woman that is commonly used as a printing standard (abstract).
Even under the best microscope, optical images have an ultimate resolution limit, and this method hits it."
Businesses

Submission + - How Will Amazon, Barnes & Noble Survive The iPad Mini? (ibtimes.com) 3

Submitted by
redletterdave
redletterdave writes: "For about a year, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble were almost completely alone in the 7-inch tablet market. It was nice while it lasted. The past few months have seen Google and Microsoft unveil their 7-inch tablet offerings — the Nexus 7 and Microsoft Surface, respectively — and it looks like Apple is about ready to get into the mini tablet game, too. If Apple releases its first "iPad Mini" next month, what can Amazon and Barnes & Noble do to keep the Cupertino colossus at bay, as well as the other new competitors in the 7-inch tablet game?"

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