Thursday, June 17, 2010
Droid apps
Starting soon I'll be doing some posts about droid apps. We heard enough about the iphone apps from everywhere, but really who cares. You have to switch to ATT to get it. Droid is going everywhere. My wife just got one we can't wait to start checking out things on it.
Friday, June 4, 2010
SpaceX launch follow up
It worked. There was talk that at the end it started to spin or something, then the feed cut off, but for the most part it worked great and has probably brought us into a new chapter in space exploration. I'm guessing less than 30 years before we are mining the moon and the asteroid belt for materials.
Here is a link to the launch for those that missed it. Hopefully CNN doesn't move it anytime soon.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/04/spacex.rocket.test/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher
The cut off just after the second stage fires though.
Here is a link to the launch for those that missed it. Hopefully CNN doesn't move it anytime soon.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/04/spacex.rocket.test/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher
The cut off just after the second stage fires though.
Space X launch
Watching the space X launch today, it was aborted earlier right before liftoff. They have now restarted the countdown. If NASA had been running this it would take a few days to figure out the problem and get another window. Since they aren't, it has been only an hour since the last attempt.
T - 12:00 minutes.
T - 12:00 minutes.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
BP Oil
I can't help but thinking that BP planned this whole thing to drive up oil prices once again. Yes, right now they aren't bad, but just wait, something else will happen and suddenly we'll have a short supply while demand is up (right, because almost 10% of the population is out of work and those that are still working are barely getting by). Not many people are going to go anywhere not knowing what the economy is going to do.
So they are still going to make a ton of money and spend a little to get it cleaned up. The feds are probably even going to help, which means spending even more of our money that doesn't help us out. Okay, so it would clean up the gulf, but this isn't the feds problem. BP caused this, they can fit the whole bill for it. Until the fed stops their spending more than they bring in, the economy is never going to recover.
So they are still going to make a ton of money and spend a little to get it cleaned up. The feds are probably even going to help, which means spending even more of our money that doesn't help us out. Okay, so it would clean up the gulf, but this isn't the feds problem. BP caused this, they can fit the whole bill for it. Until the fed stops their spending more than they bring in, the economy is never going to recover.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
GM to have fuel cell in produce by 2015
General Motors Co. is testing a new hydrogen fuel cell system that is expected to be ready for production in 2015.
The system is half the size of the one used in the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell test vehicle. Additionally, it is 220 pounds lighter and uses about one-third less platinum, GM said.
“The smaller size allows you to package it in any number of vehicles, from a sedan to a crossover,” even compacts, said GM spokesman Alan Adler in an interview.
The system is half the size of the one used in the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell test vehicle. Additionally, it is 220 pounds lighter and uses about one-third less platinum, GM said.
“The smaller size allows you to package it in any number of vehicles, from a sedan to a crossover,” even compacts, said GM spokesman Alan Adler in an interview.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Kepler update
This is a little late, the news came on January 4th that Kepler has found 5 planets orbiting other stars.
http://kepler.nasa.gov/news/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=16
From the press release:
NASA's Kepler space telescope, designed to find Earth-size planets in the habitable zone of sun-like stars, has discovered its first five new exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system. Kepler's high sensitivity to both small and large planets enabled the discovery of the exoplanets, named Kepler 4b, 5b, 6b, 7b and 8b. The discoveries were announced Monday, Jan. 4, by the members of the Kepler science team during a news briefing at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington.
"These observations contribute to our understanding of how planetary systems form and evolve from the gas and dust disks that give rise to both the stars and their planets," said William Borucki of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. Borucki is the mission's science principal investigator. "The discoveries also show that our science instrument is working well. Indications are that Kepler will meet all its science goals."
Known as "hot Jupiters" because of their high masses and extreme temperatures, the new exoplanets range in size from similar to Neptune to larger than Jupiter. They have orbits ranging from 3.3 to 4.9 days. Estimated temperatures of the planets range from 2,200 to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than molten lava and much too hot for life as we know it. All five of the exoplanets orbit stars hotter and larger than Earth's sun.
http://kepler.nasa.gov/news/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=16
From the press release:
NASA's Kepler space telescope, designed to find Earth-size planets in the habitable zone of sun-like stars, has discovered its first five new exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system. Kepler's high sensitivity to both small and large planets enabled the discovery of the exoplanets, named Kepler 4b, 5b, 6b, 7b and 8b. The discoveries were announced Monday, Jan. 4, by the members of the Kepler science team during a news briefing at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington.
"These observations contribute to our understanding of how planetary systems form and evolve from the gas and dust disks that give rise to both the stars and their planets," said William Borucki of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. Borucki is the mission's science principal investigator. "The discoveries also show that our science instrument is working well. Indications are that Kepler will meet all its science goals."
Known as "hot Jupiters" because of their high masses and extreme temperatures, the new exoplanets range in size from similar to Neptune to larger than Jupiter. They have orbits ranging from 3.3 to 4.9 days. Estimated temperatures of the planets range from 2,200 to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than molten lava and much too hot for life as we know it. All five of the exoplanets orbit stars hotter and larger than Earth's sun.
Fusion
Everyday we are getting closer to fusion power. Today an article on MSNBC tells about a new experiment that they believe will finally achieve fusion. http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/01/28/2187974.aspx
Problem with this method is that how to capture and use the energy. It probably never will be able to, but it is a good method for learning about atoms and atomic physics. Farther down in the article it tells about 4 other methods that are being tested.
The most known what is ITER, http://www.iter.org/default.aspx. This method uses a big donut shaped device to produce plasma and shape it into a narrow band. This produces heat which heats water into steam and turns generators.
Another is the LDX at MIT. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35126008/ns/technology_and_science-science/
This is similar to the ITER project but defers in the way the plasma is shaped.
Another is the project run by Emc2 Fusion. http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/12/1136887.aspx
This to me sounds like another one for experimenting and not actual energy production.
One project that uses a combination of the first one and normal fission (found nuclear power plants), problem is the waste. https://lasers.llnl.gov/about/missions/energy_for_the_future/life/how_life_works.php
Problem with this method is that how to capture and use the energy. It probably never will be able to, but it is a good method for learning about atoms and atomic physics. Farther down in the article it tells about 4 other methods that are being tested.
The most known what is ITER, http://www.iter.org/default.aspx. This method uses a big donut shaped device to produce plasma and shape it into a narrow band. This produces heat which heats water into steam and turns generators.
Another is the LDX at MIT. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35126008/ns/technology_and_science-science/
This is similar to the ITER project but defers in the way the plasma is shaped.
Another is the project run by Emc2 Fusion. http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/12/1136887.aspx
This to me sounds like another one for experimenting and not actual energy production.
One project that uses a combination of the first one and normal fission (found nuclear power plants), problem is the waste. https://lasers.llnl.gov/about/missions/energy_for_the_future/life/how_life_works.php
iPad
While the iPhone is neat and you can do lots of things on it, I can't get past the price of it. It's a phone/PDA with too many strings attached. So unless your business is paying for it which I know a lot are (would be nice here too) the only other people that are buying into it are people that have to keep up with the crowd or are complete Apple freaks.
Now, as for the iPad (which is a bigger iTouch (which is an iPhone without the phone)) this is something those Apple freaks are just freaking out about. They think this is the coolest gadget in years and is going to change everything. Problem is that tablets have been around for years. Most major PC makers are on their 2nd or 3rd generation of them and with Windows 7 and multi-touch they are so much better. So Apple is a little late to the game.
And if history shows us anything, they will have problems with it when it first launches just like the iPhone. But of course they fix those fairly quickly. As with any software or hardware vendor, it is impossible to know what your customers are going to try with your product, so they put it out there and listen. I'll let the freaks and Jones get them first and deal with the problems.
When I first heard about it I thought, "Great, another hyped up product we don't need." But after hearing that they will have a $499 version with only WiFi and you don't need to switch cell carriers my wife and I thought this might be the thing for our oldest girl. The great thing about the iPad is that the OS is built with it in mind. PC versions adapt Windows to work on it and it just doesn't quite feel right. It will be interesting to see what happens when it goes on sale in 60 days.
Now, as for the iPad (which is a bigger iTouch (which is an iPhone without the phone)) this is something those Apple freaks are just freaking out about. They think this is the coolest gadget in years and is going to change everything. Problem is that tablets have been around for years. Most major PC makers are on their 2nd or 3rd generation of them and with Windows 7 and multi-touch they are so much better. So Apple is a little late to the game.
And if history shows us anything, they will have problems with it when it first launches just like the iPhone. But of course they fix those fairly quickly. As with any software or hardware vendor, it is impossible to know what your customers are going to try with your product, so they put it out there and listen. I'll let the freaks and Jones get them first and deal with the problems.
When I first heard about it I thought, "Great, another hyped up product we don't need." But after hearing that they will have a $499 version with only WiFi and you don't need to switch cell carriers my wife and I thought this might be the thing for our oldest girl. The great thing about the iPad is that the OS is built with it in mind. PC versions adapt Windows to work on it and it just doesn't quite feel right. It will be interesting to see what happens when it goes on sale in 60 days.
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