 |
Friday, 31 March 2006
Later That Fool
It's been way too long since we last did this, but, in case you missed it, we posted a an Easter Egg stripto go with new Hatbag.
Giving It All They've Got
The Falcon 1 rocket that failed last week? If it had been the second flight instead of the first, apparently, Scotty would have been buried at sea instead of in space.I'd failed to make the connection, but the contract to send the ashes of James Doohan and Mercury 7 astronaut Gordo Cooper into orbit was for the second flight of the Falcon (Turns out this was reported at the time, I just missed it).
The SpaceX team is hoping to fly the second Falcon 1 within six months.
Making The Cut
I have to admit I was a bit disappointed yesterday to read that Apple had announced it is shipping Final Cut Studio 5.1.Don't get me wrong; I'm all for new software and all, even if it's something I won't use myself. So I'm not disappointed that it's shipping; I'm disappointed about the announcement. FCS 5.1 is the first Universal Binary version of the suite, and, I believe, is the first major Apple "pro" software to be released for the Intel chip. For that matter, I think it's the first major new Apple Universal software since the January MWSF. So it seems like this is exactly the sort of thing that would be announced in a Stevenote if there were one coming soon -- say, for example, an anniversary event.
It's not a sure sign that there's not any sort of announcement coming in the next few weeks, but it's certainly more of a bad sign than a good one in terms of the prospects of seeing a major new product in the first part of April.
NASA Kids' Club
I first got involved in the NASA Kids' Club over three years ago. At the time, Kids Club was a project of the Marshall Science Directorate, and it was being transitioned over to Education. I ran the Kids site singlehandedly for months as they worked to figure out exactly what that transition would look like. At the time, the target date for having the new version up and running was September.As it turned out, the transition ended up being more complicated than anticipated. After studies of what to save and what to ditch from the old site, it was decided to completely start from scratch. My Kids' Club duties became watching the gradual death of the site.
Work began on the new site, but it was clear that it was going to take longer than initially anticipated. Eventually, the deadline became September again, but this time '04 instead of '03. The deadline would remain September, but the four would turn into a five. As completion of the work neared, it was decided to hold off until a major announcement of its launch could be made.
My involvement in the new Kids Club has been semi-limited. I've participated in several ways, from editing to content meetings to providing a very little bit of artwork; but I don't really feel much ownership for any of it besides this maze I drew for the non-Flash version (meaning that next to no one will see it).
That said, while the official announcement is still pending, after years of a lot of work by a lot of people, the NASA Kids Club is now online.
Thursday, 30 March 2006
Apple Fools
This week's new Hatbagis actually somewhat topical, or at least timely. Go check it out. Please.
Apple Versus Apple Update
Per The AP:LONDON (AP) -- Lawyers for Apple Computer Inc. on Thursday asserted the company's right to distribute music through its iTunes music store, rejecting claims by The Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd. that doing so violated a 1991 trademark agreement.
Apple Computer lawyer Anthony Grabiner said the "distribution of digital entertainment content" was permitted under the agreement, in which the two companies promised not to tread on the other's sphere of business.
Grabiner said "even a moron in a hurry" could distinguish between the computer company's online music business and a record label like Apple Corps.
"Data transmission is within our field of use. That's what (the agreement) says and it is inescapable," he said.
Holy Starship!
In a vein somewhat similar to New Voyages producing the fourth season of TOS, and yet, also not like that comes the fan-film version of the greatest 1960s television crossover that never happened -- Star Trek Vs. Batman. In three 15-minute episodes, the crew of the Enterprise finds itself in 1967 Gotham City.
Dying Legacy
Cult of Mac has a link today to an article about a teacher who is retiring -- and the Apple II lab that's being retired with him. As the school had gradually bought new equipment to replace the Apple IIs, they'd been placed in a storage room, which was later pressed into service as this guy's classroom. When he got the room, rather than ditching the computers, he got them all running and networked them. Which his retirement, though, nobody seems to want to take on maintenance of the Apple II lab.Wednesday, 29 March 2006
There's A Giant Black Spot On The Sun Today
From a Space.com story about today's eclipse:Superstition accompanied this eclipse's path, as it has for generations.
One Indian paper advised pregnant women not to go outside during the eclipse to avoid having a blind baby or one with a cleft lip. Food cooked before the eclipse should be thrown out afterward because it will be impure and those who are holding a knife or ax during the eclipse will cut themselves, the Hindustan Times added.
In Turkey's earthquake-prone Tokat province, residents set up tents outside despite assurances from scientists that there was no evidence of any link between eclipses and tremors.
Apple Versus Apple Note
Following the Apple Corps versus Apple Computer lawsuit that started in a London courtroom today, I was struck by something kinda sad.I went back and did some research about the settlement that was reportedly almost reached two years ago before falling apart, which was said to have involved a "mind-boggling" amount of money.
Back in 1985, Michael Jackson bought The Beatles' catalog of songs for $47.5 million. In today's dollars, that's somewhere between $65 and $135 million. Counting past settlements, the proposed 2004 settlement almost certainly would have boosted the amount of money Apple Computer has paid Apple Corps to well over that amount.
In other words, thanks to Steves Jobs and Wozniak, with everything The Beatles accomplished -- all their brilliant songs -- the most valuable thing they ever created may well have been the name of their label.
That's just kinda weird.
Expedition 13
Per NASA:Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams launch today at 9:30 p.m. EST aboard a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Joining them for several days before returning home with Expedition 12 is Brazil’s first astronaut Marcos Pontes. Live coverage of the launch on NASA TV begins at 8:45 p.m.
Tuesday, 28 March 2006
The Answer
I'm not going to say flat-out that I'm too dumb to understand this article; the problem could just be my unwillingness right now to do anything more than skim it. On the flip-side, I really may just be too dumb.That said, I thought I'd share it for those that might appreciate the following bit:
This unexpected connection with physics has given us a glimpse of the mathematics that might, ultimately, reveal the secret of these enigmatic numbers. At first the link seemed rather tenuous. But the important role played by the number 42 has recently persuaded even the deepest skeptics that the subatomic world might hold the key to one of the greatest unsolved problems in mathematics.
A New Day For Dawn
Per Spaceflight Now:Less than a month after falling victim to budget and technical concerns, the Dawn asteroid explorer was brought back from the grave Monday by a decision to restore funding to the mission and launch the probe by next summer.
NASA announced the reinstatement, a complete reversal of the decision three weeks ago to kill the mission, after an appeal from project officials at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The objections prompted yet another review of Dawn, which had undergone a series of investigations since October that assessed the state of the mission after various problems and cost overruns came to light.
Monday, 27 March 2006
More iPhone Rumors
MacOSRumors has a mock-up image showing what an Apple iPhone might be like, looking very much like an iPod in the front with a phone keypad that slides down from behind the iPod facade (which is fun to say).It's a nice idea, but it seems sort of behind the times. Personally, I would love to see an iPod-based iPhone in which you do actual old-school dialing with the scroll-wheel, but that's beside the point. With all the rumors pointing towards a touch-screen-based video iPod coming soon, why on Earth would Apple have a pull-out keypad on an iPhone. A touch-screen iPhone could look like an iPod, but switch easily into phone mode, with the keypad appearing on the touch screen. The result is a device that's easy to use and has a very simple formfactor, both of which are high priorities for Apple.
I'm not entirely convinced the iPhone will be a future generation of iPod, but, if the two lines have common ground, I would hope that the MOSR mock-up is a product of limited thinking.
Failed Falcon
Friday's launch of the first Falcon 1 rocket? Eh, not so much.After months of delays, the rocket did, indeed, launch. Turns out a bit more delaying wouldn't have been a bad thing.
A few seconds shy of half a minute into flight, a fuel leak caused a fire around the top of the main engine, causing the engine to cut off prematurely. The rocket tumbled into the ocean about 41 seconds after lift-off.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk has said the company will not give up after Friday's failure. (In fact, he hopes to fly again within six months.) Still, it's a rather inauspicious beginning to the new era of spaceflight. SpaceX has announced a lot of plans for the future, from an orbital crew vehicle to a much more powerful launch booster. But first they gotta get something off the ground.
Live Long And Prosper
Since Shatner's birthday was recently noted on the ATW Board, it seems only fair to mention that Leonard Nimoy turned 75 yesterday.Here's hoping he enjoyed some tasty salsa.
To iBe Or Not To iBe
It's now less than a week until April 1, and still no news of an Apple 30th anniversary announcement. Which makes Dave sad, for several reasons.That said, there's continuing evidence that a big announcement looms just beyond the horizon, the latest being that retailers are beginning to try and move out their iPod stocks.
Apple Versus Apple
Apple's going to court this week. Against Apple.The lawsuit filed by The Beatles' Apple Corps record label against Apple Computer is scheduled to go to court in London on Wednesday, the third time the two companies have met in court.
A 1991 settlement prohibited Apple Computer from "distributing content on physical media," according to a report posted at MacNN, which means it seems like they have a decent chance of winning.
Personally, though, I would like to see the two figure out a way to put aside their differences and work together for mutual benefit, which would be much more helpful all around. (Of course, I'd also like to see Steve Jobs acquire the Beatles catalog owned by an increasingly financially troubled Michael Jackson.)
Friday, 24 March 2006
iLaw Update
Per MacNN:The US government is backing Apple's stance on a draft French law that may force the company either to open up its FairPlay digital rights management (DRM) technology in iTunes or pull out of the country. US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez backed angry protests by Apple, saying that companies need to protect their intellectual property: "But any time something like this happens, any time that we believe that intellectual property rights are being violated, we need to speak up and in this case, the company is taking the initiative," Gutierrez said on CNBC. "I would compliment that company because we need for companies to also stand up for their intellectual property rights."
Take ... Uh... Whatever
UPDATE: Make that today, 3 p.m. CSTSpaceX's Falcon 1 could be an important milestone in ushering in a new era in commercial spaceflight, if it ever gets off the ground. Months after the first attempt, they're ready to try it again. The fourth launch attempt is scheduled for 3 p.m. CST today.
Thursday, 23 March 2006
Five Words. Just Five Words.
Users of the ATW Board may find the concept behind this week's new Hatbag somewhat familiar.
Trek Rereleases
After years of the Star Trek seasons being horribly overpriced compared to box sets of most other television shows, Paramount was kind enough recently to give fans a break, marking down the first three seasons of TNG and DS9 so that they were only mildly overpriced compared to box sets of most other television shows.There was speculation, though, that maybe there was more to the markdown than just Paramount being nice, as hard as that is to believe. This year, after all, is the 40th anniversary of Star Trek, so could it be that they were just trying to eliminate some inventory in order to release special new anniversary editions of the shows?
Now comes evidence that that's exactly the case. In the UK, at least, Paramount has announced