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Comment The best mechanical pencil (Score 1) 712

by chardson (#41841549) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: The Search For the Ultimate Engineer's Pen
I know you're really here looking for pens, but I gotta point out that the TUL mechanical pencils I have are my favorite writing tool. The weight is well balanced, the grip is just right, and it just works. http://www.amazon.com/TUL-0-7mm-Mechanical-Pencils-Pack/dp/B002VL6960/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1351778004&sr=8-2&keywords=tul+mechanical+pencil Beyond that, truth be told, you could do a lot by amassing the right stationary.
Earth

First Measurement of Magnetic Field In Earth's Core 34

Posted by timothy from the best-place-to-try-it dept.
An anonymous reader writes "A University of California, Berkeley, geophysicist has made the first-ever measurement of the strength of the magnetic field inside Earth's core, 1,800 miles underground. The magnetic field strength is 25 Gauss, or 50 times stronger than the magnetic field at the surface that makes compass needles align north-south. Though this number is in the middle of the range geophysicists predict, it puts constraints on the identity of the heat sources in the core that keep the internal dynamo running to maintain this magnetic field."

Comment Re:Kinect vs. $5k Hokuyo UTM-30LX Laser RangeFinde (Score 2, Interesting) 60

by chardson (#34280054) Attached to: US Robots Win Big Down Under
Odds that the Kinect will work outdoors should be quite low, as it relies on an array-based infrared system. Alternatively, a laser range finder uses a highly focused pulse of light at (nearly) a single point, which performs better in natural sunlight. It seems quite likely that Kinect will be popular in the near future for indoor robotics and robotics education, but indoor/outdoor robustness is strongly desired these days and scanning LIDARs won't disappear until robust Flash LADAR becomes common
Australia

Submission + - U.S. Robots Win Big Down Under 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: US teams dominated the MAGIC 2010 autonomous robotics competition, mapping and neutralizing simulated bombs at the 250,000 sq. meter Royal Showgrounds in Adelaide, Australia. Leading the pack with a team of fourteen robots was Team Michigan, principally from the University of Michigan, followed by the University of Pennsylvania, and RASR. This contest marks the beginning of practical robots that not only think for themselves, but also actively coordinate with a human commander.
Security

Many Hackers Accidentally Send Their Code To Microsoft 220

Posted by Soulskill from the not-the-brightest-cookie-in-the-shed dept.
joshgnosis writes "When hackers crash Windows in the course of developing malware, they'll often accidentally agree to send the virus code straight to Microsoft, according to senior security architect Rocky Heckman. 'It's amazing how much stuff we get.' Heckman also said Microsoft was a common target for people testing their attacks. 'The first thing [script kiddies] do is fire off all these attacks at Microsoft.com. On average we get attacked between 7000 and 9000 times per second.'"
Space

Submission + - LCD "engine" for spacecraft attitude control! (www.jaxa.jp)

Submitted by
Bruce Perens
Bruce Perens writes: "Japan's IKAROS satellite, which earlier performed the first successful demonstration of a solar sail, has broken more new territory. Liquid-crystal displays, yes — like in your video monitor — were fabricated into strips on the edges of the solar sail. By energizing some of the LCDs and changing the reflective characteristics of parts of the sail from specular to diffuse, JAXA scientists successfully generated attitude control torque in the sail, changing the spacecraft's orientation."

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