Archive for July 10th, 2007
Fark Headline – Over 50 tunnels have been found under the U.S.-Mexico border, proving once and for all that Bugs Bunny has gotten out of control in his quest to reach Albuquerque
Straight from KTRE: “Mexican officials discover another drug tunnel in border city of Tijuana
MEXICO CITY (AP) – Police in Tijuana, Mexico, have discovered a narrow tunnel under the border into the US.
Officials say it was used to smuggle drugs and possibly undocumented migrants.
More than 50 tunnels have been discovered under the US-Mexico border. Increased border surveillance following 9-11 is thought to have prompted drug smugglers to go underground to avoid detection.”
Space Diving Could be the Future for Astronauts and Extreme Dare-Devils
Straight from Gizmodo: “Does the idea of leaping out of a spaceship with just a specially adapted spacesuit and parachute thrill you? Thanks to a group of space scientists, the day you find yourself awaiting the order to jump 120,000 feet above Earth could be closer than you think. And it’s not just an idea for extreme sports fans, as the two men behind the idea reckon that Space Diving could be used as a safety function for astronauts whose ship has malfunctioned.Orbital Outfitters, run by Rick Tumlinson, a longtime civilian space booster who founded the Space Frontier Foundation, and Jonathan Clark, a former NASA flight surgeon, has already started to develop the equipment it thinks is needed to achieve the feat. Clark, whose wife Laurel perished in 2003’s Columbia disaster, believes that the smaller the body is attempting re-entry, the less the chance it has of breaking up—hence the thinking behind space dives being used for NASA emergencies.
The 120,000-foot jump is seen as mere baby (space) steps, as Rick and Jonathan are aiming to make the 150-mile survival jump reality. This would involve falling at speeds of over 2,500 mph before a special drogue chute opens to stabilize their descent on entry to the Earth’s outer atmosphere.
By the time the jumper reaches our planet’s denser atmosphere, he or she will be travelling at more manageable 120mph. Then the conventional chute opens, allowing the brave individual a more-or-less normal landing back on land, and it’s back to the bar for a celebratory beer with your friends—that is, if you landed close by where you told them you’d meet up.”
Bigelow Aerospace Deploys Genesis 2 Space Module
Straight from Slashdot: “Space.com is reporting that Bigelow Aerospace has successfully launched its Genesis 2 Space Module. This is significant as Bigelow Aerospace is one of a few private groups currently developing space technologies. The module was launched in a compact form and upon achieving a stable orbit will be inflated using compressed air. Bigelow’s website is reporting ‘the second experimental pathfinder spacecraft has been successfully launched and inserted into orbit.’ The module has a variety of things on board: Scorpions, Hissing Cockroaches, Ant colonies, and even a Bingo game.”
Mars Rover Ready for Risky Descent into Crater
Straight from Slashdot: “After months of scoping out the terrain, the robotic geologist Opportunity is ready to drive down into Victoria Crater on the Meridiani Plains of Mars. Mission managers acknowledge the hardy rover may never come back out, but say they think the potential for discovery is worth it. ‘The rover has operated more than 12 times longer than its originally intended 90 days. The scientific allure is the chance to examine and investigate the compositions and textures of exposed materials in the crater’s depths for clues about ancient, wet environments. As the rover travels farther down the slope, it will be able to examine increasingly older rocks in the exposed walls of the crater. ‘”
The United States Space Arsenal
Straight from Slashdot: “When China tested a missile on its own satellite in January, the nation’s aggressive statement immediately raised eyebrows among the world’s other space-faring nations. Popular Mechanics looks at the implications of a conflict in space — including debris that could render space unusable for decades — and examines the United States’ own space arsenal.”
Ubuntu Linux Validates As Genuine Windows
Straight from Slashdot: “Another crack in the Windows Genuine Advantage wall. A user at UbuntuForums.org managed to validate an Ubuntu installation as a genuine copy of Microsoft Windows and get to the download page of Windows Defender, using IE4Linux and Wine. (Here is an OGG video of the process.) Along with the advancement of LiveCD technology, this could spell the end of Microsoft’s control over who gets their updates.”
AMD considering getting out of fabrication business
Straight from Ars Technica: “2007 has not been kind to AMD. The company saw its workstation market share slip, has taken on $2 billion of new debt, lost almost $1.2 billion over the past two quarters, has been unable to close the gap with Intel when it comes to CPU performance, and has been the subject of recent rumors that Barcelona will be delayed. AMD has been in cost-cutting mode for the past several months and, according to IDG News Service, is considering getting out of the fabrication business. Currently, AMD operates two fabs: Fab 30 and Fab 36. Fab 30 is in the process of being fitted to handle 300mm production, and when the transition is complete, it will be rechristened Fab 38. It hasn’t come cheaply, either—the chip maker has invested over $2.5 billion to expand its 300mm capabilities. AMD has also been talking up a new 45nm plant in Malta, NY, that would come online in 2009.
Speculation is building in the analyst community that AMD will attempt to further cut costs by outsourcing more—or all—of its chip making as early as 2008. One Citigroup analyst is predicting a “transformational move” that would result in AMD’s lower-end CPUs being manufactured by a third party and possibly selling off part or all of its Dresden, Germany facility. Another report from Goldman Sachs outlines the investment firm’s belief that the company will leave manufacturing completely in the hands of third parties.”
Noobz brings homebrew to *all* PSP Firmware with Illuminati exploit!
Straight from PSP Updates: “If this isn’t one of the biggest updates in awhile for PSP gamers then I don’t know what you’re waiting for – go get a DS. However on a serious note, some PSP gamers love their PSP and all the “great features Sony has to offer”, so much that they update their precious system firmware as to not miss a beat. Updating your PSP’s firmware to the latest firmware has come at a cost, as some are left stuck without the glory of homebrew. All thats about to change, as Archaemic and Noobz have made some major progress on bringing homebrew to the newer firmware PSP’s.
Homebrew working on all PSP firmware (even 3.50) with a Lumines UMD and Illuminati exploit!
I couldn’t believe it either. Many of us are sitting next to our favorite puzzle game Lumines right now. With this new PSP exploit, the blissfully sweet puzzle game can now be forged like a double edge sword. Giving PSP owners, on ANY firmware the ability to play homebrew applications, games and emulators till our hearts content or till we explode from nostalgia. So without further ado check out the simple steps for running the Noobz ‘Hello World’ app, which in the future will transform into HEN (Homebrew Enabler) and a downgrader. Amazing!”
The Lumines based downgrader for the 3.50 PSP firmware has been released.
The SoundExchange Billion Dollar Administrative Fee
Straight from Slashdot: “On June 7th, Yahoo, RealNetworks, Pandora, and Live365 sent letters to US lawmakers emphasizing they owe SoundExchange ‘administrative fees’ of more than $1 billion dollars a year. These fees would be paid for the ‘privilege’ of collecting the increased CRB royalties effective July 15th, unless the Internet Radio Equality Act passes Congress. SoundExchange, the non-profit music industry entity, admits the levied charge of $500 per ‘channel’ is supposed to only cover their administrative costs. Last year, SoundExchange collected a total of $20 million dollars from the Internet radio industry. Under the new ‘administrative fee’ RealNetworks, which hosted 400,000 unique subscribed channels in 2006, would owe an annual administrative charge of 200 million dollars in addition to the retroactive 2006 rate hike per song played.”
Mystery solved: Mars had large oceans
Straight from MSNBC: “Since 1991, planetary scientists have floated the idea that Mars once harbored vast oceans that covered roughly one-third of the planet. Two long shore-like lips of rock in the planet’s northern hemisphere were thought to be the best evidence, but experts argued that they were too “hilly” to describe the smooth edges of ancient oceans.
The view just changed dramatically with a surprisingly simple breakthrough.
The once-flat shorelines were disfigured by a massive toppling over of the planet, scientists announced today. The warping of the Martian rock has hidden clear evidence of the oceans, which in any case have been gone for at least 2 billion years.”
Plasma rocket breaks endurance record
Straight from NewScientistSpace: “A revolutionary plasma rocket engine has been tested for a record time of more than four hours at a test facility in Costa Rica. Scientists at the Ad Astra Rocket Company hope the engine will eventually be cheaper to operate than conventional models and will reduce travel time for space missions.The company, led by Costa Rican-born, former NASA astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz, hopes to use its rocket engines to boost commercial spacecraft into higher orbits, stabilise space stations, and then to power a trip to Mars within two decades, cutting the travel time by about a third to around three months
The engine works by stripping electrons from hydrogen atoms and accelerating the resulting plasma in an electric field. Expelling the plasma out of the back of the engine generates thrust. The technique is known as Variable Specific-Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) technology, and was conceived in the 1970s.”
Mount and Unmount ISO,MDF,NRG Images in one click on Ubuntu
Straight from Only Ubuntu Linux: “AcetoneISO is CD/DVD image manipulator for Linux.Using this tool it is very easy to Mount and Unmount ISO,MDF,NRG Images”
40% Efficiency Solar Cells Developed
Straight from Slashdot: “A story published at Physorg.com discusses recently published research into the fabrication of solar cells that surpass the 40% efficiency milestone. Such devices would be the high water-mark to date, and hint at the possibility of even more effective technology. ‘In the design, multijunction cells divide the broad solar spectrum into three smaller sections by using three subcell band gaps. Each of the subcells can capture a different wavelength range of light, enabling each subcell to efficiently convert that light into electricity. With their conversion efficiency measured at 40.7%, the metamorphic multijunction concentrator cells surpass the theoretical limit of 37% of single-junction cells at 1000 suns, due to their multijunction structure.’”
