4 Drone Sensors That Changed Warfare

4 Drone Sensors That Changed Warfare—and What Happens When They Come Home -- Popular Science

After more than a decade of military surveillance, Afghanistan is among the most closely observed nations in the world. As the war progressed, manned observation aircraft gave way to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which can stay aloft far longer than anything carrying a pilot. Military technology often filters into civilian use. By congressional order, the FAA is preparing to open the skies over the United States to UAVs, making it likely that these sensor-laden drones will be coming home, flying overhead in U.S. airspace.

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My Comment: And the next generation of UAVs will probably be just as revolutionary.

The Essential Guns, Gadgets, And Gear Of Spec Ops

Colt M4A1 Carbine with SOPMOD Kit
The M4A1 has been the standard for special operations since its release in 1994. The A1 model has a slightly heavier barrel compared with the standard M4, and full auto capability. The Special Operations Peculiar Modification (SOPMOD) Kit provides additional items such as the M203 Grenade Launcher, a Picatinny Rail System for attachments, forward hand grip, Trijicon's 4x ACOG sight, EOTech's holographic sight, Aimpoint's Close Combat Optic (CCO) sight, Insight Technology's PEQ-2 or PEQ-15 Aiming Laser, and the Insight Flashlight.

The Essential Guns, Gadgets, And Gear Of Spec Ops -- Popular Mechanics

Special operations forces wear body armor made of revolutionary materials, carry armor-puncturing knives, and don visions systems that can combine visual data with infrared and feeds from UAVs overhead.

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Does Wine Kept Under Sea Taste Better Than The Stuff Stored In A Chateau?

Photo: Finished product: The 'Neptune' branded wine from Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion which was aged under the sea

The Test Proving Wine Kept Under Sea Really DOES Taste Better Than The Stuff Stored In A Chateau... After 11 Bottles Found In 200-Year-Old Shipwreck Sell For £90,000 -- Daily Mail

* French trio aged two barrels of identical wine for six months - one under sea and the other in chateau cellar
* Lab tests revealed sea wine had undergone different process of osmosis, giving it a mellower taste than traditionally aged barrel
* Comes after 11 bottles of champagne from 2010 Baltic shipwreck sold for £90,000 at auction

Bottles of wine found in shepwrecks often sell for a fortune. But does the sea hold the secret to truly great vintages?

To find out a trio of French wine lovers - a vineyard manager, a barrel maker and an oyster farmer - teamed up to test the myth, above and below water.

Barrels of a 2009 Bordeaux wine were stored in two locations - one was to be kept in chateau cellars, the other sunk among the prized oyster beds of the Bay of Arcachon, on the Atlantic coast.

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My Comment: As a wine maker, I find this news fascinating.

Apple Will Unveil First New Products Since Steve Jobs' Death

Last summer: Then-CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iCloud syncing service at the 2011 event

Apple Will Unveil First New Products Since Steve Jobs' Death At Keynote Conference Today - So What Can We Expect To See? -- Daily Mail

During Steve Jobs' last years at Apple, current CEO Tim Cook was often seen alongside his chief.

Now, nine months since the founder's death, today is the day Apple will describe their changes to Apple's operating systems - iOS, which powers the iPad and iPhone range, and the Mac operating system 'Mountain Lion'.

By the end of today's conference in San Francisco, Apple fans and the business world will have been given a good glimpse of how Apple has coped with the loss of its biggest inspiration and evangelist, and the changeover in leadership.

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My Comment: With Steve Jobs gone .... it's not going to be the same.

Flame And Stuxnet 'Link' Found

Source code was shared between the teams making the malware attacks, researchers said

Flame And Stuxnet Makers 'Co-Operated' On Code -- BBC

Teams responsible for the Flame and Stuxnet cyber-attacks worked together in the early stages of each threat's development, researchers have said.

Flame, revealed last month, attacked targets in Iran, as did Stuxnet which was discovered in 2010.

Kaspersky Lab said they co-operated "at least once" to share source code.

"What we have found is very strong evidence that Stuxnet/Duqu and Flame cyber-weapons are connected," Kaspersky said.

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My Comment: Here is some interesting news.

Watching Tiny 'Living' Machines Self-Assemble

Vallée-Bélisle and Michnick have developed a new approach to visualize how proteins assemble, which may also significantly aid our understanding of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, which are caused by errors in assembly. Here shown are two different assembly stages (purple and red) of the protein ubiquitin and the fluorescent probe used to visualize these stage (tryptophan: see yellow). (Credit: Peter Allen)

Researchers Watch Tiny Living Machines Self-Assemble -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (June 10, 2012) — Enabling bioengineers to design new molecular machines for nanotechnology applications is one of the possible outcomes of a study by University of Montreal researchers that was published in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology June 10. The scientists have developed a new approach to visualize how proteins assemble, which may also significantly aid our understanding of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, which are caused by errors in assembly.

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My Comment: Faster please.

Most Africans Will Have Smartphones In Five Years

In Five Years, Most Africans Will Have Smartphones -- Joe Evans, Tech Crunch

Feature phones are not the future. Of course that verges on tautology; of course everyone will have a smartphone, until everyone has something smaller and better and even more integrated into the fabric of our lives, like Google Glasses or cybernetic jawbone/retinal implants or whatever Charles Stross dreams up next. But when, exactly?

I’ve spent a good chunk of my life wandering around and writing about the developing world, and as lots of folks have recently argued, that’s still feature-phone territory, and will stay so for the foreseeable future. OK. Fair enough. But when precisely does the foreseeable future end? Because when the smartphone revolution hits the developing world, that’s when things are going to get really interesting, because it will also be their computer revolution and Internet revolution, all at the same time.

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My Comment: This is the best news that I have read all day.

Eye In The Sky

Hyper-real: 3D mapping services used by C3 Technologies (as purchased by Apple) will form the main part of the software giant's new mapping service

Beware The Spy In The Sky: After Those Street View Snoopers, Google And Apple Use Planes That can Film You Sunbathing In Your Back Garden -- Daily Mail

Software giants will use military-grade cameras to take powerful satellite images

Spy planes able to photograph sunbathers in their back gardens are being deployed by Google and Apple.

The U.S. technology giants are racing to produce aerial maps so detailed they can show up objects just four inches wide.

But campaigners say the technology is a sinister development that brings the surveillance society a step closer.

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My Comment: Should we be surprised by this development .... I think not. The question that should instead be asked is .... what took them so long.

The Google - China Conflict Escalates

A Chinese national flag flies in front of Google China's headquarters in Beijing on Thursday. Jason Lee/Reuters

Google Fights Back in China -- L. Gordon Crowitz, Wall Street Journal

The company is telling users when 'state-sponsored attackers' are compromising their accounts.

Two giants on the world stage are battling over the future of information. One is an authoritarian regime suppressing access to modern technology. The other is an information company fighting back without support from its home country. The conflict between China and Google is shaping up as the first war of the digital era.

Google recently launched a pair of counterattacks, last week informing Gmail account holders when "state-sponsored attackers" compromise their emails. Gmail users get this pop-up message: "Warning: We believe state-sponsored attackers may be attempting to compromise your account or computer. Protect yourself now." Users are told how to do so, including with a new login process.

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My Comment: Chen Guangcheng, the blind legal activist who took refuge in the U.S. Embassy and was eventually allowed to come to the U.S., sums it up best ....

.... "I think even over the last few years as the Information Age has developed so quickly, China's society has gotten to the era where if you don't want something known, you better not do it."

The Biggest Cost For Facebook

Data store: Facebook’s data center in Prineville, Oregon, is one of several that will help the company cope with its always growing user base. Facebook

The Biggest Cost of Facebook's Growth -- Technology Review

Running the world's largest social network will be a technical and financial challenge as it grows.

Facebook is the gateway to the Internet for a growing number of people. They message rather than e-mail; discover news and music through friends, rather than through conventional news or search sites; and use their Facebook ID to access outside websites and applications.

As the keeper of so many people's social graph, Facebook is in an incredibly powerful position—one reason its IPO this week is expected to be the largest ever for an Internet company.

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My Comment: Those data centers are not cheap.

'Prime Suspect' In Bee Colony Deaths Is Found

Photo: Bee populations have been falling rapidly in many countries, fuelled by a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder

'Prime Suspect' In Bee Colony Deaths Is Found - A Parasitic Mite That Spreads Viruses While Feeding On The Insects' 'Blood' -- Daily Mail

* Study into impact of mite on 'fresh' territory - Hawaii - has revealed devastation it can cause in bee colonies
* Mite carries deadly virus
* It is 'prime suspect' in worldwide colony deaths

Parasitic mites have 'turbo-charged' the spread of a deadly virus that is killing honey bee colonies around the world.

Bee populations have been falling rapidly in many countries, fuelled by a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder.

Many suspects have been named for bee colony collapse, including popular pesticides.

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My Comment: A parasitic mite has always been the prime suspect. It's good to know that they are now isolating the specific cause.

The U.N. Wants To Tax Web Sites

U.N. Could Tax U.S.-Based Web Sites, Leaked Docs Show -- CNet

Global Internet tax suggested by European network operators, who want Apple, Google, and other Web companies to pay to deliver content, is proposed for debate at a U.N. agency in December.

The United Nations is considering a new Internet tax targeting the largest Web content providers, including Google, Facebook, Apple, and Netflix, that could cripple their ability to reach users in developing nations.

The European proposal, offered for debate at a December meeting of a U.N. agency called the International Telecommunication Union, would amend an existing telecommunications treaty by imposing heavy costs on popular Web sites and their network providers for the privilege of serving non-U.S. users, according to newly leaked documents.

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My Comment: So typical of big government bureaucrats .... tax and regulate something that brings enormous benefits to billions of users.

Here Comes 'Big Brother'

Surveillance: The new BRS Labs AISight software is used with devices are installed in places like train stations or public buildings where they scan passers by to see if they are acting suspiciously

New Surveillance Cameras Will Use Computer Eyes To Find 'Pre Crimes' By Detecting Suspicious Behaviour And Calling For Guards -- Daily Mail

* Computerised detectors look for 'abnormal' behaviour
* When suspicious individuals are seen, guards called
* BRS machines have been trialled in numerous locations
* 288 cameras to be installed on subway in Sn Francisco

A new generation of computerised 'Big Brother’ cameras are able to spot if you are a terrorist or a criminal - before you even commit a crime.

The devices are installed in places like train stations or public buildings where they scan passers by to see if they are acting suspiciously.

Using a range of in-built parameters of what is ‘normal’ the cameras then send a text message to a human guard to issue an alert - or call them.

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My Comment: The military - counter-terrorism applications are huge.

New Ways To Hear ET

Despite there being no 'intelligent' signal detected coming from Gliese 581, the new technique could prove useful to future SETI projects (Source: M Kornmesser/ESO)

New Way To Hear Signals From ET's Home -- ABC News (Australia)

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence has a powerful new tool at its disposal, Australian scientists report.

For the first time, a group led by astronomer Professor Steven Tingay from Curtin University have used a sensitive type of radio telescope, known as a very long baseline interferometer, to listen out for radio signals coming from a distant planet.

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My Comment: One planet down .... billions more to go.

Thinking About Wine Can Help You Relax

Just the thought of a glass of wine could be enough to help you relax because of the power of positive thinking Photo: Alamy

Thinking About Wine Can Help You Relax, Scientists Claim -- The Telegraph

Just the thought of a glass of wine could be enough to help you relax because of the power of positive thinking, scientists have claimed.

People are so suggestive that simply believing an alcoholic drink will make us feel better or socialise more easily at a party will greatly raise the chance of making it so, researchers said.

This is because of the phenomenon of "response expectancies", or the way in which we predict how we will behave in different situations.

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My Comment: I will definitely drink to that.

Quantum Computers Move One Step Closer

Image Caption: SFU physicist Mike Thewalt and grad student Kamyar Saeedi with a sample of highly isotopically enriched silicon - its unique properties could advance quantum computing. Credit: SFU

Quantum Computers Move One Step Closer -- Red Orbit

The quantum computer is a futuristic machine that could operate at speeds even more mind-boggling than the world’s fastest super-computers.

Research involving physicist Mike Thewalt of Simon Fraser University offers a new step towards making quantum computing a reality, through the unique properties of highly enriched and highly purified silicon.

Quantum computers right now exist pretty much in physicists’ concepts, and theoretical research. There are some basic quantum computers in existence, but nobody yet can build a truly practical one—or really knows how.

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My Comment: Bottom line .... are are still a long way from having a real quantum computer.

Looking At Nature For Inspiration In Developing New Body Armor

A mantis shrimp in the lab of David Kisailus. (Credit: Carlos Puma)

Armored Caterpillar Could Inspire New Body Armor -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (June 7, 2012) — Military body armor and vehicle and aircraft frames could be transformed by incorporating the unique structure of the club-like arm of a crustacean that looks like an armored caterpillar, according to findings by a team of researchers at the University of California, Riverside's Bourns College of Engineering and elsewhere published online June 7, in the journal Science.

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My Comment: This is interesting science .... but I assume that it will take a long time to develop such discoveries into practical applications.

Bing Signs Encyclopaedia Britannica To Expand Search Results

What the Encyclopedia Britannica search results look like on Bing.
(Credit: Bing)

Bing Plugs Encyclopedia Britannica Into Its Search Results -- CNet

Move over Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Britannica has come to Bing. In a new partnership, the search engine will be linking to query results from one of the world's most trusted encyclopedias.

In the quest for knowledge, Microsoft's Bing announced a partnership with Encyclopedia Britannica today. Now, alongside all other results -- like Wikipedia and Web pages -- users will see a box of information with an image linking to results from Britannica's online encyclopedia.

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Update: Bing Gets Smarter, Partners With Encyclopedia Britannica (But It’s No Challenge For Google’s Knowledge Graph) -- Tech Crunch

My Comment: This is a smart move for both sides.

Space Shuttle Enterprise Arrives At The Intrepid Sea, Air And Space Museum.

New Yorkers Turn Out For Docking Of A Space Shuttle — Close Up -- Geek Mom/Wired

There was an impromptu party on Manhattan’s West Side yesterday to welcome the space shuttle Enterprise to its new home aboard New York’s biggest floating attraction, the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.

Taking advantage of the beautiful spring weather, New Yorkers and tourists alike, flocked to the shoreline on foot, on bicycles, pushing strollers and holding older kids by the hand. They came to watch the Enterprise as it made the final leg of its journey from JFK Airport to midtown. The Enterprise — yes, it was named after the iconic star ship! — was built in 1976 as a prototype. It never flew on its own.

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My Comment: An end to an era.

Getting Ready For A Manned Mars Mission

The Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator Project will test inflatable decelerators and advanced parachutes in a series of rocket sled, wind tunnel, and rocket-powered flight tests to slow spacecraft prior to landing. This technology will allow NASA to increase landed payload masses, improve landing accuracy and increase the altitude of safe landing-sites. (NASA)

Rocket Sled Tests Are Technology Pathway to Safely Land Humans, Habitats and Cargo on Mars -- Mars Daily

Traveling 300 million miles through deep space to reach the planet Mars is difficult; successfully landing there is even harder. The process of entering the Red Planet's atmosphere and slowing down to land has been described as "six minutes of terror."

During the first four minutes of entry, friction with the atmosphere slows a spacecraft considerably. But at the end of this phase, the vehicle is still traveling at over 1,000 mph with only 100 seconds left before landing. Things need to happen in a hurry. A parachute opens to slow the spacecraft down to "only" 200 mph, but now there are only seconds left and the spacecraft is approximately 300 feet from the ground. From there, the spacecraft may use rockets to provide a gentle landing on the surface, airbags to cushion the impact of a free fall or a combination of rockets and tethers to lower a rover to the surface.

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My Comment: We are still a long way from flying to Mars, but it is interesting to see how we are preparing for that eventual mission.