172192713
submission
RobHart writes:
During the night, the entire Optus mobile network went down and remains down. This is the second largest mobile network in Australia and it is the first time a network has gone down nationwide.
It is affecting the trains in Melbourne and any business across Australia that uses the Optus service for phones or data.
69301603
submission
RobHart writes:
My friend has had both retinas detach, twice. He is legally blind but partially sighted. He has a number of devices that help him read (either by magnifying the text or as text to speech) — but none are really portable. What do Slash Dotters recommend (if anything) in terms of a tablet and software that will make it possible for him to do email and read at least some web sites?
54263959
submission
RobHart writes:
Following election promises to create a "better, cheaper, sooner" NBN, the new Australian government has reneged, announcing instead n NBN to cost $12bn more and take four years longer. The critical change is that the new network is based on Telstra's aging and unreliable copper network rather than fibre to the home as has already been delivered during the NBN roll out to date.
20042082
submission
RobHart writes:
The European Space Agency (ESA) has released detailed information about the Earth's gravitational shape, based on data from the ESA's GOCE satellite (Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer). The link includes an interesting animation of the data, using an appropriately distorted Earth.
13628392
submission
RobHart writes:
I am teaching a "physics of flight" unit to grade 11 Physics students. Part of the unit will have the students running tests on several aerofoils in a wind tunnel. I also want to expose them to a Computational Fluid Dynamics package which will allow them to contrast experimental results with those produced by the CFD package. There are a number of open source CFDs available (Windows or Linux based are both fine), but I don't have much time to evaluate which are the simplest to use in terms of setting up the mesh, initial conditions etc — a very important issue as students do not have much time in this unit. I am hoping that the Slashdot community can provide some guidance here.
13474940
submission
RobHart writes:
It is reported that the proposed filters are seen as too toxic a policy to take to the next federal election — due later this year. This is according to the Greens communications spokesman Scott Ludlam.
13066164
submission
RobHart writes:
ABC (the Australian Broadcasting Commission) has reported extensively on a bright spiraling light that was seen in Eastern Australia just before dawn. They have just broadcast a report from an Australian astronomer who has suggested that the light was probably the successful Falcon 9 launch, which would have been over Australia at that time on its launch trajectory.
12787654
submission
RobHart writes:
The LA Times is reporting that the Gulf oil leak appears to have been plugged by the "top kill".
"Thad Allen, who is coordinating the government response, says the well still has low pressure, but cement will be used to cap the well permanently as soon as the pressure hits zero."
