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Sunday, 30 April 2006
Compassion
Every once and a while, I'll mention a cause I support financially, but usually just when they're offering something cool, so it's less about the cause than the opportunity -- the Save the Saturn V bricks, for example, come to mind. As a rule, though, I'm pretty slow to proselytize on the blog.
Today, though, is Compassion Sunday, when the child sponsorship group Compassion International asks its sponsors to participate in an awareness campaign. So, yeah, I support Compassion, and think it's a decent cause.
OK. Sermon over.
Saturday, 29 April 2006
Apple Versus Apple Update
Per MacNN:A judgment in the Apple Computer versus Apple Corps court battle will likely be handed down on Monday, May 8th. Both sides have been arguing their cases since late March when Apple Corps, which is owned by the former Beatles and their heirs, filed a suit against Apple Computer for breaching a $26 million settlement in 1991. Apple Computer agreed to veer away from the music business, while Apple Corps was awarded rights to the name for "creative works whose principal content is music." Apple Computer was allowed to use of the name for "goods and services... used to reproduce, run, play, or otherwise deliver such content." The presiding justice Edward Mann will decide whether to grant an injunction preventing Apple Computer from using its logo within iTunes, according to Macworld UK.
Friday, 28 April 2006
The Other Coupland
In one of the little throwaway bits that populated his book Microserfs, Douglas Coupland included something along the lines of "If there were two of me, which would win?"Well, in a case of life imitating art, there now are two of him, as life imitates art. Yeah, it's kinda meta.
Anyway, Wired has an interesting feature about the two Douglas Couplands.
Jobs At Disney Update
Per MacNN:Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple and Pixar today at Apple's annual shareholder's meeting in Cupertino said he has no interest in becoming an executive at Walt Disney, but rather plans to spend more time at Apple once he is free of his duties as Pixar's executive officer. Disney recently agreed to acquire Pixar for $7.4 billion, which will simultaneously place Jobs on Disney's board of directors and make him the company's largest shareholder, once the deal is complete. An Apple shareholder asked Jobs at the meeting if he had any interest in becoming the Michael Eisner of Disney, according to the Associated Press. Jobs responded, saying that "it's not because I want to be a senior manager at Disney. I don't want to do that." Jobs added that Robert Iger -- the current CEO of Disney -- "is the best person to run Disney."
Also, per MacRumors:
Apple today held its annual shareholder meeting. While Apple kept to its policy of not discussing upcoming products, Apple's CEO Steve Jobs said that the upcoming products are "the best I’ve ever seen in my life". He also reportedly replied "we hear you" when one shareholder requested that the company make the "ultimate media center," including personal video recorder functionality.
Jobs also mentioned a new TV ad campaign to launch next week, although the campaign's topic (iPod, Mac, etc.) was not specified.
Thursday, 27 April 2006
The New Adventures
This week's new Hatbag strip carries on the story arc started last week.And thanks once again for the help with the comics directory rankings. Last week I set a goal of breaking the top 400, which, as of this morning, we had done on Buzzcomix, where we're currently 397.
While Buzzcomix and TopWebComics had been very similar in their ranking up through about 500 or so, moving up has been much slower on the latter after that, and we're currently 463 on TopWebComics.
Anyway, again, we really appreciate the help.
Congrats, Crip!
Per NASA:Former NASA astronaut Bob Crippen, pilot on the first space shuttle mission in 1981, has been honored with the nation's highest award for spaceflight achievement, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Twenty-eight astronauts have been honored with the award, 17 of them posthumously. Crip's recognition is well-deserved, and I'm glad to see him receive it.
Happy Anniversary, Stennis
I'm late posting this, but happy anniverary to Mississippi's Stennis Space Center, which on Sunday celebrated 40 years of rocket engine testing."At the time the Mississippi Test Facility (as it was then called) was built, it was the largest construction project in Mississippi and the second largest in the United States."
What's going to be really cool, though, is when, in the next few years, things get old-school at Stennis. The first engine test at Stennis in 1966 was of five J-2 engines, on a Saturn rocket stage developed to go to the moon. Before too long, it appears Stennis will once again begin testing J-2 rocket engines, once again developed to go to the moon.
Cylons All These Years
I've talked on here and with friends several times over the past years about things that I would watch as a Battlestar Galactica spin-off series -- the fight on Caprica (now wrapped up) or a good "Battlestar Pegasus" spin-off, in which, instead of running like BG is doing, the BP would actually engage the Cylons.Anyway, SciFi has apparently agreed with me in general if not in specific -- a BSG spin-off series is in the works. But, rather than a real spin-off stemming from characters or events in BSG, it's going the route of all modern sci-fi: the prequel. "'Caprica' will be set more than 50 years prior to the events of 'Battlestar Galactica' and focus on the lives of two families -- the Adamas ... and the Graystones. Humankind's Twelve Colonies are at peace and on the verge of a technological breakthrough: the first Cylon. As 'Battlestar Galactica' is about a lot more than space battles, 'Caprica' will be as much family drama as sci-fi tale."
So my first thought is that I can see it being a decent mini-series or short-term show. The concept, on the surface, just doesn't seem to have enough meat to sustain it for a long period of time.
That said, though, who would have thought that "Battlestar Galactica" would be one of the best shows on television? I'll reserve judgment until I've seen the show. I wouldn't be surprised if they surprised me.
Wednesday, 26 April 2006
STS-121 Update
Since I've already run one big picture today, and since I did a slightly different version of this yesterday, I'm having to fight the temptation to run this as a giant picture today. Darned if it isn't pretty, though.The larger image, and others, can be found at the KSC STS-121 Multimedia page.
Today In History
Twenty years ago today...
Ripping Blu-Ray
iPodHub is reporting that Apple is asking studios to include iPod video content on Blu-ray discs. The story doesn't specify what sort of content they're talking about, whether it would be the movie itself or just some sort of special feature. If it's the movie, that'd be kind of cool -- you could buy a movie, watch it on your TV in high-def, and then also "rip" a copy to your iPod. The story makes the case that Apple is in a strong position to make it happen, because both Disney and Sony are already in the Blu-ray camp. While it may be very possible to talk Disney into including the iPod versions, Sony might be a bit tougher, even if they are using Blu-ray, since providing iPod content could potentially compete with the PSP (particularly since it would mean you could get an iPod version of a movie for free, and have to pay for a separate PSP version). In Apple's favor, though, is the fact that the battle of the high-def discs is shaping up to be a new VHS/Betamax war, and the iPod versions could be another weapon in Blu-ray's arsenal.Tuesday, 25 April 2006
STS-121 Update
(Of course, there could still be issues to be worked out down the road. But it's nice to see the assembly process begin.)
Dark Star
UPDATE: The link has been fixed. Thanks, Jordan.It's an idea that's long been the topic of speculation, but there's been little to no actual, you know, evidence for it.
Now, though, a group of astronomers are saying that the highly unusual orbit of the KBO Sedna provides physical evidence that our sun has a companion star.
It's a counterintuitive idea on the surface; as a layman it's hard to believe astronomers could miss an entire star in our backyard, but apparently it's possible. The article speculates that the search for such a star may be gaining momentum.
Monopoly Voting
You know, in this day of retro kitsch, what would be cool is if the Monopoly board game, given its love of pop-culture special edition, came out with a new version that used all sorts of iconography from the Monopoly board game. Like, one of the properties could be Boardwalk, and it could have bunches of Rich Uncle Pennybags stuff and everything. Wouldn't that be cool?Anyway, right now, though, they're working on the Monopoly Here and Now edition, which features properties based on real locations from real cities. They're letting people go to the Web site and vote for which locations they want to be included. The reason I'm posting this is that I'm lobbying for the ATW community to go and cast their vote for Johnson Space Center to be picked to represent Houston. While you're there, check out some of the other cities and the choices offered. (It's interesting to me that two of the three choices for New Orleans are the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. In my opinion, they should have offered choices that were not, you know, a subset of other choices. I was also disappointed that the Seattle area won't let you vote for Microsoft HQ, which would be an amusing Monopoly location.)
Ad It Up
Since everyone's reporting it. Per Apple Insider:Apple Computer may soon disrupt the purity of its iTunes interface by introducing visual advertising spots that would appear within the ubiquitous jukebox application.
Citing content partners who have been briefed on the matter, AdAge is reporting that the company's current plans call for the ads to appear only in the lower-left corner of the iTunes library.
The ads would display "while users listen to podcasts from their computers rather than from portable devices."
Participate
Going to Blockbuster this weekend, I made one of those cool finds that made me happy -- I bought previewed copies of the first season of Knight Rider and the entire series of Buck Rogers for $13 each. Not only that, but they were on a buy-two-get-one-free sale, so we also bought the Bewitched movie for Nicole, who liked it enough to get it for free.So I opened it up last night, and in an amusing twist -- at least, I'm asuming this is what happened -- someone had accidentally stuck in a flyer that should have been in Good Night and Good Luck for the "Participate" group that is the political tie-in to George Clooney's movies (or, at least, that's my layman's understanding, the link provides better info).
I'm assuming it was supposed to be in GN≷ it didn't say anything about any particular movie, it just read: "Movies have the power to inspire you. You have the power to act! To find resources, information and ways to take action on the issues presented in this film visit www. participate.net"
Uh, the issues presented in Bewitched? Like I said, I'm assuming it belong in another box. But, what I like best about it is that, basically, by being switched from one box to another, the flyer went from fighting the ideas of McCarthyism to supporting a witch hunt.
Yeah, I'm A User
Tron!Tron! Tron! Tron! Tron!
I'd heard quite a while back that a new Tron comic book series was in the works, but then it seemed to go away. Anway, turns out the first issue hits shelves tomorrow. The series will continue the story of the Tron 2.0 video game, following the adventures of Alan (Bruce Boxleitner) Bradley's son Jet. The cover artwork looks pretty cool, and the first few pages of the preview they posted look pretty promising, too.
Man, I loves me some Tron.
Monday, 24 April 2006
Shenzhou VII Update
China announced a while back that its next manned spaceflight, Shenzhou VII, would not be launched until 2008, creating a longer gap between flights than occurred between the first two, but an early 2008 launch could have meant a delay of only two years and two months, which wouldn't have been terribly much longer.Now, though, they've announced that the mission won't launch until Sept. 2008 after the Beijing Olympics, nearly three years after Shenzhou VI.
The third Soviet spaceflight came just over one year after the second. The third U.S. spaceflight was only seven months after the second, and used an entirely different launch vehicle. The Chinese program has the advantage of access to modern technology and decades of spaceflight history, and yet flies a program that, going full steam, is equivalent to NASA's flight rate when the fleet is grounded.
I don't understand why anyone takes the Chinese space program seriously, when they clearly don't themselves.
Colorful Fruit
Sync Magazine has a brief profile of Rob Janoff, the guy that created the six-color Apple logo.You know, I was so disappointed when the changed from the old logo -- somehow "I bleed in one color" just didn't have the same ring to it -- but, yeah, I've gotten used to the new one over the years, and have reached the point where the old one looks less Apple-y. That may just be that I've gotten used to seeing it, or it may be how Apple has changed over the years.
Going Native?
Per MacNN:Apple may be planning to implement the Windows API (Application Programming Interfaces) directly in Mac OS X 10.5, which would allow Mac users to run Windows XP applications natively in Mac OS X without rebooting and without the need for virtualization software. Robert Cringely, in his latest column, also reiterated that Apple may migrate Mac OS X to a faster kernel, abandoning the older Mach microkernel presently in use. Apple and Microsoft in 1997 agreed to a five-year patent cross-licensing agreement, which ended in August of 2002 -- 10 months after Windows XP began shipping. The columnist believes Apple may be planning to utilize Microsoft's own Windows API, coupled with a faster kernel under the hood to offer users the ability to run Windows XP applications natively from their Mac OS X desktop, with the optional ability to dual-boot into Windows Vista once it ships in 2007.
So, what do you think? Is this something you would even want Apple to do, or not?
Prime Concerns
Finally, some good news on the Robot Holocaust front. Oh, sure, it's easy to believe that our nation's military is utterly unprepared for the threat posed by a robot uprising, but some comfort can be taken from this bit of information from Michael Bay on Ain't It Cool News about the upcoming Transformers movie:He flipped through the stack as he was telling me that he has the full support of the US Armed Forces for this film and has met with them repeatedly to discuss how they are portrayed in the movie. With a smile, Bay said that if the world ever had a giant robot problem how we see the Armed Forces deal with them in TRANSFORMERS is how we'd see them deal with them in real life.
Friday, 21 April 2006
Down At The BU
OK, here's something I never thought I'd say:You know what might be a really cool place to work? Microsoft.
Alias: Lost Trek
Sheesh. OK, what do I think about the news that J.J. Abrams will be directing a young Kirk and Spock movie? You know, I'm really not sure.First off, of course, I'm kinda dubious. There's been too many announcements about stuff that has just completely fallen through, so I'm taking this with a grain of salt. I'll believe it when they install the seatbelts in the theaters.
Second, I'm curious. There's been a lot of attention lately paid to the Harve Bennett Starfleet Academy script, which recently got leaked. In retrospect, was that just coincidence? Is this based on that? The rough description -- "...will center on the early days of seminal "Trek" characters James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, including their first meeting at Starfleet Academy and first outer space mission." -- sounds a lot like the Bennett treatment, but, of course, that may just be because it's pretty vague. I can't believe that Abrams and Lindelof would work directly from a decade-plus-old script, but it could be a retooled version.
Third, I love me some Kirk and Spock. I really do. But I'm not sure what I would think of this version. They would have to be darned sure that in the casting, the acting, the lines, the way they're written, everything, it's really Kirk and Spock. Frankly, I think as much as I love TOS, if I had to choose between either this or the Jendressen(sp?) Band of Star Trek Brothers concept going forward, I would choose the latter.
My only experience with Abrams has been with Lost, which I do enjoy. Never seen the Alias. Guess I'll have to go see MI:3 now. For a while there I was keen on the idea of giving Brian Singer a shot at the franchise since he's expressed a real interest in it, though the more I see of the upcoming Supes movie, the less ardently I feel that way. I'm glad to see a name being brought on, but it takes more than talent to make good Trek. You really have to "get it." And I don't know enough about Abrams to know if he does or not.
Anyway, that's my two bits. I'll be curious to hear from the rest of the ATW crowd.
Thursday, 20 April 2006
Godspeed, Scott Crossfield
Test pilot Scott Crossfield has made his final flight.
Psychohistory
So, yeah, this week's new Hatbag strip is now online.And thanks for the help last week with the comics directory rankings. With everyone's votes, we've reclaimed enough lost ground to make it up into the top 500 on each listing. I'd love to see if we can make 400 by next week. Again, the votes are really appreciated, y'all.
Would You Like Meat On That?
Ah, you gotta love Hardee's.So, yeah, you can now go in and order a burger with a third of a pound of meat. Topped with more meat.
The meat-on-meat Philly Cheesesteak Thickburger, launched Tuesday, features one-third of a pound of Angus beef, along with both Swiss and American cheeses, green peppers and onions. And piled atop all of that is thinly sliced steak meat.
"We actually found in this case, the only way to make a burger taste like a cheesesteak was to literally put the steak on it," said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for the St. Louis-based chain.
OK, so, yeah, I want one of those.
The Fix
Apple fans may or may not have heard that the company is building a second campus in Cupertino over the next three to four years to consolidate various locations its spread into after outgrowing its Infinite Loop headquarters.But, with the lack of "true video iPods" and non-Pro MacBooks lately, anyone going through serious Stevenote withdrawal is welcome to check out the video of Steve announcing the new campus to the Cupertino City Council. That said, I think I'll pass.
Shipping Windows
You very rarely see an Apple product offered for less than the price Apple sells it for. I'm not entirely sure how that works -- my understanding was that Apple set the minimum price, but, on the flip side, every once and a while you do see someone (Amazon, Buy.com) sell something a bit cheaper.Regardless, what you do see is retailers, particularly catalog and online retailers, trying to outdo each other with special little bonuses that make that Apple-set price a better deal. For example, when I bought my iMac, I got it from the place I did because they threw in an extra half-gig of RAM, without having to mess with a rebate or installation fee.
I read yesterday that the same company, Expercom, has an offer on the MacBook Pro that may very well be a first -- Buy a Mac from them, and they'll throw in Windows.
Their price on the MBP is $30 higher than Apple (though they offer 1 cent shipping and don't charge sales tax; the latter of which makes it a better total price than Apple's [though I'm not saying that you shouldn't, of course, pay appropriate sales tax on any online purchase when you file your taxes]). But, for that price, your laptop comes with BootCamp and the latest version of Windows XP Pro pre-installed, and with a licensed XP disc in the package.
So, yeah, as of now, Macs are shipping with Windows. Who woulda thunk it?
Their product description, by the way, ends with: "We don't support Windows XP - and neither does Apple. We'll install it for you, but, hey, we're Mac people, so we can't help answer Windows questions!"
Tuesday, 18 April 2006
Star Wars Kid Settlement
You know what? There's just not a whole lot of interesting stuff -- to me, at least -- in the news today, and I'm really not in the mood for blog-fodder-scouring. Somebody say something interesting on the board. (Or, for Lain the literalist, please come up with some interesting content that could provide the groundwork for discussion, and then share it with us on the board.)
In the meantime, in the lack of anything worthwhile, it turns out the Star Wars Kid has reached a settlement in a lawsuit against his former schoolmates: "The settlement annuls a civil trial set to begin on Monday that would have scrutinized one of the world's first and most-publicized cases of cyber-bullying."
Monday, 17 April 2006
Shoeless Yuri
I hate resorting to do big quote posts in a row, but I found this bit about why Yuri Gagarin was chosen for the first manned spaceflight interesting:He was hand picked for one of humanity's greatest ever solo missions - the Soviet Union's bid to stake the hammer and sickle flag in the heavens. But, 45 years after Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, the real reason why he was chosen for his country's high honour has finally emerged. Contrary to popular myth, the deciding factor that won him the single seat in Vostok I ahead of five other candidates was not his physical toughness, his psychological resilience or even his impeccable proletarian credentials. Instead, it was the fact that he took his shoes off when climbing into a prototype of the craft for a look around. Touched by such a show of respect, the head of the space exploration programme, Sergei Korolev, decided that Gagarin should be the man for the historic 108 minute flight into space in April 1961.
Antimatter, New And Improved
Per NASA:Most self-respecting starships in science fiction stories use antimatter as fuel for a good reason – it’s the most potent fuel known. While tons of chemical fuel are needed to propel a human mission to Mars, just tens of milligrams of antimatter will do (a milligram is about one-thousandth the weight of a piece of the original M&M candy).
However, in reality this power comes with a price. Some antimatter reactions produce blasts of high energy gamma rays. Gamma rays are like X-rays on steroids. They penetrate matter and break apart molecules in cells, so they are not healthy to be around. High-energy gamma rays can also make the engines radioactive by fragmenting atoms of the engine material.
The NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) is funding a team of researchers working on a new design for an antimatter-powered spaceship that avoids this nasty side effect by producing gamma rays with much lower energy.
...
Another significant advantage is speed. The Reference Mission spacecraft would take astronauts to Mars in about 180 days. "Our advanced designs, like the gas core and the ablative engine concepts, could take astronauts to Mars in half that time, and perhaps even in as little as 45 days," said Kirby Meyer, an engineer with Positronics Research on the study.
Winter Wonderland
The Mars rover Spirit has reached a location mission planners believe will be safe for spending the Martian winter, providing enough sunlight for the rover to keep its batteries charged. Just as Mars' orbit is longer than Earth's, so is its winter -- Spirit will have to spend the next eight months in the limited area of Low Ridge Haven. Despite the fact that this means Spirit will be confined for a period of time almost three times as long as the original mission duration, controllers are excited -- being stuck gives them the luxury to conduct in-depth investigations and longitudinal studies they couldn't afford to do when the next destination was calling.
Friday, 14 April 2006
Today In History
On this date 25 years ago, the first space shuttle mission came to a successful conclusion at John Young and Bob Crippen returned Columbia to Earth on its STS-1 flight.
STS-121
Per Spaceflight Now:During wind tunnel tests earlier this week, NASA subjected a full-scale mockup of a shuttle external tank section to aerodynamic forces greater than a real tank would experience during launch. In one series of tests, unmodified foam insulation used to prevent ice buildups around external fittings suffered only minor damage while a redesigned "ice/frost ramp" suffered major foam loss.
The redesign is being considered in a bid to remove as much insulation as possible from the tank to minimize the threat of debris shedding during launch. The old ice/frost ramps, which insulate the fittings used to hold two pressurization lines and an electrical cable tray in place, featured long, sloping ramps to smooth the flow of air.
But those very ramps, it was believed, were susceptible to cracks and failure, providing a potential source of debris that could strike a shuttle during launch. The redesigned ramps are much more blunt. But in initial wind tunnel tests at the Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tullahoma, Tenn., the old design fared better than the redesign. During two sets of test runs this week, the new design suffered major foam loss.
"That's exactly what testing is all about," said one official. "This is where you want to find a problem, not on launch day."
Thursday, 13 April 2006
Bad iPod News?
Per Think Secret:The roll-out of Apple's forthcoming video iPod has been delayed substantially after the company encountered problems with the display and touch-screen interface, Think Secret has learned. As late as early February plans were in motion for Apple to deliver the most innovative iPod to date in April, possibly a tie-in with its 30th birthday, sources said.
...
Sources speaking on condition of anonymity say issues emerged with the technology that have sent Apple and the display's manufacturer back to the drawing board to find a solution. As such, a more definitive release date is unknown at this time, but sources say Apple expects the new iPod to be ready by calendar Q4, in enough time for the holiday buying season.
It remains unclear whether Apple is planning a smaller update to the current iPod, which was introduced six months ago, in the interim.
Write Off
First off, consider this your weekly notice that the latest new Hatbag strip is now online.That said, while you're here, I've got a favor to ask, too. For a while there, we were doing pretty well in the top comics directory rankings, but then there were some problems with the buttons and all, and, anyway, long story short, we've now fallen like several hundred places. If y'all would be willing to vote for Hatbag with the two little buttons on the bottom left side of the page, we'd sure appreciate it. Thanks.
STS-121
For what it's worth, STS-121 commander Steven Lindsey says he's "pretty optimistic that we're going to make July" for the launch.
Still Alive, Old Friend?
Per SyFyPortal:... And now that many observers have buried his project, Jendresen is talking again ... not just about where he thinks Star Trek should go, but quite possibly where Star Trek will go in a movie project that isn't as dead as people think.
...
"So the notion was to do a prequel to the original series and fill that void with, ostensibly, a trilogy," Jendresen said. "Three films, which all would deal with Kirk's progenitor, a man by the name of Tiberius Chase."
The goal of the trilogy was to begin to establish reasons "to form the United Federation of Planets, a reason to have this deep-seated desire and mission statement to go boldly where no one has gone before."
So how does one go about doing that? By going for the golden crown -- the Earth-Romulan War.
"We wanted to reveal the actual cause of that war, which was surprising to all involved at the time," Jendresen said without offering details. "We simply wanted to reveal the truth behind that startling incident."
By the time the script was delivered, DeLine was gone and new personnel were in place. And since the project moved into the inactive status, it was easy for others with connections to Hollywood to declare the project dead, even if it really wasn't, Jendresen said.
"Essentially, what's being said is true," Jendresen said. "This is 'dead' because it's not moving forward. It's like a shark. It has got to keep moving or it's dead."
But Hollywood has a knack of bringing things back from the dead, and that includes Star Trek projects. And Jendresen still believes there is at least a decent chance that "The Beginning" will come to fruition on the big screen.
”There is a producer at Paramount who has been championing this and the notion that we have the opportunity to plug the gap with this trilogy." Jendresen said, without providing names. "We have a chance here to fill in the canon, and to create a continuum ostensibly from the beginning from 'Enterprise' all the way out to the future.
Wacky Things Are Happening To Rambo
I'm really interested in the new Rocky Balboa movie. I don't know that I've seen any of them but the first one all the way through, but I'm intrigued by the next one, which sounds like it's more of a sequel to what I liked about the first one than the others. It also looks like it deals honestly with the fact that it's been 30 years since the first one. The teaser trailer was also kinda cool.It sounds like the same may be true of the next Rambo movie, but, for some reason, the fourth Rambo has struck me as more of a case of sequelitis than the sixth Rocky has. Still, the idea that it, like First Blood, is a domestic piece, seems to be a good sign. That said, while I'm definitely planning to go see Rocky Balboa, I wasn't so certain about Rambo IV.
Until now, that is. Five years since he last appeared in any movie or TV show, I'd go see Avery Brooks in just about anything. But Avery Brooks in a Rambo movie? As little as I'm a fan of the genre, yeah, I'd like to see what Brooks does with it. I just hope it's a decent part.
Apple Versus Apple Note, Maybe?
OK, maybe it's just coincidence that Apple Corps is preparing The Beatles' catalog for digital download while awaiting the verdict of the Apple v. Apple case. I mean, they're waiting for a verdict, not a settlement. And that verdict is supposedly coming soon ("after Easter;" though, technically, that includes anything from Monday through the end of time).Plus, if it's not coincidence, it could be revenge. What better way for Apple to show up Apple than to offer up The Beatles catalog somewhere other than iTMS.
But wouldn't it be cool if it meant something was going to be worked out between the two?
Addendum: Whatever the relevance, the "Apple v. Apple Note" headline for this item applies -- it was revealed during the court proceedings.
Wednesday, 12 April 2006
Twenty-Five Years!
On April 12, 1981, commander John Young and pilot Bob Crippen made what has been called the "boldest test flight in history" -- STS-1, the first flight of the space shuttle Columbia.
The First iPod Emmys
Per the National Television Academy:The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences today announced the nominees for the first Emmy Award to be presented for original entertainment programming created specifically for non-traditional viewing platforms, including computers, mobile phones, iPods, PDAs and similar devices. The new Emmy Award will first be presented at the 33rd Annual Creative Arts Daytime Emmy Awards, hosted by Meredith Vieira, on Saturday, April 22 at New York City’s Marriott Marquis.
Poyekhali!
On this date 45 years ago, the era of human spaceflight began with the launch of Vostok 1, manned by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.
Shrinking Xena
It turns out that 2003 UB313 (or, if you prefer -- sigh -- "Xena") is only slightly bigger than Pluto, according to new images from the Hubble Space Telescope (In which the world is only 1.5 pixels across). Previously it had been believed that due to the objects brightness it had to be substantially larger than the ninth planet, but now scientists are saying it must be much more reflective than initially believed, possibly the second-most-reflective object known.Still no word from the IAU as to whether this KBO will be dubbed a planet. I would hope this would help the non-planet case, but, since it's still apparently slightly larger than Pluto, it probably won't make much of a difference.
Leopard Rumors
Per MacOSRumors:Apple's next-generation operating system architecture is not just being optimized for Intel's best compilers. It's also playground to numerous promising technologies and projects that have had to be put off during past major-release development cycles. And Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" isn't just being optimized for Intel-based desktop or laptop computers with tons of cores as we described in last week's article about Leopard's impressive thread-farming technology....
It's also being optimized for Intel chips that will power Apple's "iPhone" and several other new devices that will tremendously widen the breadth of Cupertino's product offerings. And they will all run essentially the same, unified Leopard codebase. This means adapting not just to different processor types (Intel's Xscale and/or other embedded architectures for example) but also to different input types -- for example, smoothly handling a pen interface instead of a keyboard and mouse. And voice input is another classic example of an area where Apple has often been strong but has never fully lived up to its potential. We expect to see a lot of things like that, at long last, change in the Leopard era; more soon.
Uh, OK. An OS that will work on anything from a PowerMac (Mac Pro?) to a cell phone? Um, does that not seem kinda unlikely? I mean, would anybody want an OS on one of those that would run on the other? Hrm.
Moving On Up
Debating getting a new Intel Mac, but need more of a reason? It appears that, in the ultimate in upgradability -- particularly from normally expansion-stingy Apple -- the very processor itself in the new Mac mini and ICD iMac can be replaced, and that Intel's upcoming Merom 64-bit processor fits into the slot filled by the Intel Core chip in the Mac mini. (Not sure whether the same is true for the Intel iMac.)I don't know the limitations of this, but it sounds like it could increase the lifespan of a new Mac even longer. (In fact, the MacBook Pro CPU is soldered to the motherboard, preventing the same thing from being done.) Interesting stuff.
Tuesday, 11 April 2006
To The Moon! Zoom! Bang!
Per NASA:NASA will send an impactor spacecraft to the moon with the launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, scheduled for October 2008. The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite will travel independently of the orbiter and crash into the lunar surface to search for water ice.
First, the craft will direct the upper stage used to leave Earth orbit to crash into a permanently-shadowed crater at the lunar south pole, creating a plume visible to Earth-based observatories. Next, the satellite will observe the plume and fly through it using several instruments to look for water. At the end of its mission, the satellite will itself become an impactor, creating a second plume visible to lunar-orbiting spacecraft and Earth-based observatories.
An interesting bit of history, though, per Wikipedia: "The [Lunar Prospector] mission ended on 31 July 1999 at 9:52:02 UT (5:52:02 EDT) when Lunar Prospector was deliberately targeted to impact in a permanently shadowed area of the Shoemaker crater near the lunar south pole. It was hoped that the impact would liberate water vapor from the suspected ice deposits in the crater and that the plume would be detectable from Earth; however, no such plume was observed."
Doing some further reading, I found a New York Times article that appears to be the only one out now that acknowledges the old mission in discussing the new. It says the problem with Prospector may have been the shallow impact angle, something I would assume has been compensated for with LCROSS.
To Venus, Orbiting
The European Space Agency's Venus Express spacecraft has reached our sister world and has entered orbit. Based on ESA's Mars Express spacecraft, Venus Express is the first visitor to the clouded world in 16 years. While it will take almost a month for the spacecraft to draw closer to the planet into its final orbit, it will begin scientific operations this week, while it's still far enough out that it can image the entire planet at once. By June 4, Venus Express should begin its true science operations phase, which will last two days. (Er, at Venus, at least -- that's 486 Earth days.)Monday, 10 April 2006
Following Footsteps
Per ynetnews.com:Since the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster three years ago that claimed the life of Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, Assaf Ramon has said he hoped to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious father.
Last week, he took the first step towards realizing that dream: After completing the exhausting first-stage trials, Ramon was notified that he'd passed the initial test and has been accepted one of the IDF's most exclusive courses, figther-pilot training.
About a year after losing his father, then-16-year-old Ramon said he wanted to be an astronaut.
"Israel must send another astronaut," Ramon confidently told Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's leading daily. He said that his first step to outer space would be to emulate another of his father's accomplishments: to serve as a combat pilot in the Israel air force.
I, Woz
Speaking of anniversary interviews (which I'll be doing in a couple of posts, if you're reading this top-down), The Seattle Tiems has an interesting Q&A with Steve Wozniak, who, as always, comes across as just a really decent and humble guy.The article also reveals that Wozniak has an autobiography, "I, Woz," coming out this fall, which I will definitely be reading.
Free TV
So Disney's going to be offering four shows, including Lost and Desperate Housewives, online for free beginning next month. Lost, of course, is one of the regular video bestsellers on the iTunes Music Store. (Right now, for example, the last two episodes of Lost hold the top two spots on the Today's Top Videos list, and an episode of Housewives holds the fourth slot.)It's hard to get upset about a company offering content online for free, but I'm curious why. Also, while it doesn't say how the shows will be made available, it does say they will be supported by advertisers. Does that mean they will have commercials in the downloads? And, for that matter, will they even be downloads? If not, I think I'd still rather pay the two bucks to get them commercial-free and downloadable.
Anyway, at first glance, this appears to be a real blow against iTMS, coming, interestingly, from Steve Jobs wearing his mouse cap. I'll be interested to read more details.
Looking Back On The Beginning
Wednesday marks the 25th anniversary of the launch of the first space shuttle mission, STS-1. To mark the occasion, collectSPACE has posted a really interesting interview with John Young and Bob Crippen, the commander and pilot of Columbia on that first flight.Used tags: collectspace, history, nasa, space, space_shuttle
Back On Earth
Per NASA:
Commander Bill McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev, the 12th crew of the International Space Station, landed in the steppes of Kazakhstan in their Soyuz spacecraft at 7:48 p.m. EDT Saturday after about 190 days in space.
With them was Marcos Pontes, the first Brazilian astronaut, who flew to the space station with the Expedition 13 crew and spent about eight days doing experiments. He was aboard under a contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos).
Apple Rumor Round-Up
Various and sundry:Friday, 7 April 2006
"Sugar Coating Reality"
So the NASA Kids Club made NASA Watch yesterday, and, naturally for the post-Cowing-coddling era, in a negative way. And, really, it wasn't the Kids Club, per se, but a kids' feature that was written around Return To Flight that is linked to from the new Kids Club. (Point being, the material has been online for the better part of a year, but NASA Watch is just now noticing it.)The piece quotes an item from this list of Space Shuttle facts:
There have been six Space Shuttles. The names are: Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour. Three of them -- Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour -- are still working.Responding to the item, Cowing writes:
Editor's note: Its great that NASA has this kids website online - and more should be created. But NASA needs to be a little more honest with ts audience. I am not advocating scare tactics with regard to kids, but two of the Space Shuttles are not "working" because they were destroyed during their missions - killing all aboard. Perhaps a note to the kids about how risky space travel can be - and how this inspires NASA to try and make it safer - and that important things such as exploration can sometimes lead to loss of life. There's news about Iraq on TV every night - and most kids cartoons feature a lot of violence - so its not as if they are isolated from the realities of life. But to ignore two fatal accidents is not how you honor sacrifice - or inform the next generation.I'm not going to argue that NASA should try and cover up the fact that two shuttles were lost, or even hide that from children. I would argue, however, that that list of brief shuttle facts is not the place to do it. Adequately explaining what happened and when and why would take more time and space than would be appropriate for that. If NASA were trying to cover up the lost shuttles, it would have been easy to say "Today, there are three space shuttles." The way it's handled doesn't get into what happened to the other two (it is mentioned later that Enterprise never flew), but it opens the door for readers to find out on their own. Just my two cents (and, natch, my opinions are only my own.)
Short Trek
Apparently, this never made any of the Trek news sites that I visit, which kind of surprises me, but New Voyages has only not only the trailer for their upcoming Walter-Koenig starring episode To Serve All My Days, but also a vignette, Center Seat.Just watched the TSAMD trailer, and the guy they've got playing young Chekov is a pretty decent likeness for Koenig.
Thursday, 6 April 2006
The Blind Shall See
Per TrekToday:A new device that works like Geordi LaForge's VISOR is allowing a woman to "see" even though she lost both her eyes in a car accident.
The Seoul Times has an extended article on a device previously discussed at News 14 Charlotte, which has allowed Cheri Robertson to perceive light with her brain.
"I just call myself the robo-chick," said Robertson, who was blinded at age 19. Determined to try to see again, she became the 16th person in the world to have special electrodes implanted in her brain. The surgery took place in Portugal, though American neurosurgeons hope to pioneer it in the United States in the next five years.
"I said, Oh my God, I can see it. I can see it,' and I was just so excited!" Robertson recalled when the camera attached to her specially designed glasses began to send signals to the computer strapped to her waist that stimulates electrodes in the brain. She can perceive flashes of light and the outlines of objects.
Boot (To The Head) Camp
We at Hatbag are very pleased, in honor of Apple's Boot Camp announcement, to offer our first dual-boot Hatbag this week.
Boot Camp Fallout
Various and sundry news bits:- Want a PC laptop to run your Windows version of Photoshop? Buy a Mac. Benchmarks show that Photoshop runs faster in XP on a MacBook Pro than on other Windows laptops.
- Dual-booting Windows on your Mac not good enough for you? Parallels Workstation will let you run them both at the same time, via a "virtual machine."
- Per Mossberg: "I've been testing Windows on a new iMac for several days and except for a couple of trifling annoyances, it runs perfectly, just like a stand-alone Windows PC." (Isn't that an oxymoron?) "In Windows mode, the iMac was blazingly fast -- far faster than my two-year-old H-P Windows computer. And every function of Windows I tested, including Web browsing, email and music playback, ran flawlessly."
- Microsoft is still undecided as to whether it will support Windows on a Mac.
- Less excited about Boot Camp, perhaps, are game porters, who are uncertain what dual booting will mean for them.
- Turning things around, how likely are Mac apps on PC computers?
- And, of course, this linkpost wouldn't be complete with an apocalyptic look at whether Boot Camp is the beginning of the end of Apple: "Bootcamp marks the beginning of the end for Apple as the renegade for the design set and the beginning of Apple as a dominant player in the global desktop PC game. It will become absorbed."
Maybe Boot Camp does run Windows perfectly, like a PC, after all.
Apple Versus Apple Update
Per MacNN:With the conclusion nearing of Apple Computer vs. Apple Corps lawsuit in London, the High Court judge said that he is unlikely to rule before Easter. The Associated Press reports that lawyers for both sides squared off in London's High Court on Wednesday in the closing stages of the trial: "In one corner, Apple Corps Ltd.'s lawyer Geoffrey Vos said Apple Computer Inc. is a 'Johnny-Come-Lately' that is attempting to steal the British company's trademark and increasingly encroach on its territory. In the other corner, Apple Computer lawyer Anthony Grabiner said the Cupertino, Calif.-based company is doing nothing wrong and music lovers are smart enough to tell the difference between the use of the apple logos." According to the report, presiding judge Edward Mann reserved his judgment for an unnamed date, but said that it was unlikely to be before the Easter, which is April 16th.
Zany To The Max
Ah, another of those conundrums of being me:Do I buy volume one of Animaniacs on DVD when it comes out on July 25 in hopes of reliving some of the Animaniacs goodness of my (relative) youth, or do I shy away out of fear that I wouldn't enjoy it as much now and it would tarnish those memories? Ah, decisions, decisions.
In other DVD news, there's a new special edition of Highlander II coming out, but it appears to be the last special edition repackaged. Alas.
Wednesday, 5 April 2006
Trip To Space, $3
Well, kinda. Actually, it's no cheaper than $54, but that's still not half bad for a trip into orbit.Space Shot has created an online game, with a prize of a suborbital spaceflight. While billed as a game of skill, there's more than a little element of chance, and it's barely a game. For $3, you predict the next day's weather in Central Park. Contestants compete in pairs; if your prediction proves more accurate than your opponent's, you advance to the next level. Reach Level 18, and you win a trip into space on the in-development Rocketplane XP (Hey, haven't those letters already appeared on the blog today?).
While the result seems to be a concerted effort to send more meteorologists into space, it is cool to see another program to give average folks a chance to fly.
A Night In The Airlock
Updated 12:38 p.m.Per Spaceflight Now:
The incoming and outgoing crews of the international space station have settled in for a week of hand-over work, along with an overnight "camp out" test aimed at making preparations for future spacewalks more efficient.
...
This evening, McArthur and Williams will spend the night in the space station's Quest airlock module as part of a test to demonstrate how future space shuttle assembly crews can use the module to more efficiently purge their bodies of nitrogen to prevent the bends during excursions in low-pressure space suits.
Per Florida Today:
Two U.S. astronauts cut short a "campout" on the International Space Station on Tuesday after an alarm indicated potentially risky conditions inside the outpost's American airlock.
...
However, two alarms went off after the astronauts went to sleep. The second indicated carbon dioxide levels might be too low in the airlock, prompting ground controllers to stop the "campout" five hours into a planned 8.5-hour sleep period.
Engineers think the warning signals were false alarms. They are not sure what set them off and are trying to determine the cause, Herring said.
Mac Does Windows
After months of speculation, the moment of truth has arrived: Intel Macs canboot Windows, Apple style.All the guesswork we've seen since the initial Intel announcement aside, I'll be curious to see what this means, both for the Mac in general and for myself personally. To be honest, I'm not rushing to download Boot Camp since I don't have XP nor any software to run on it. That said, over the years, there have been times that I wished a particular app would run on the Mac, though those are fewer and further between as time goes by.
That said, I can see where it could potentially be a drawing card for current PC users considering a switch.
Anybody in the ATW audience plan on trying this out?
No, Thank You
One of the fringe benefits of the Houston trip was that on Monday I made my way into town and was able to watch Thank You For Smoking, which is in limited release (read: nowhere near Huntsville).Good, funny stuff.
I liked the book better, natch (and there was one plot change that sort of jarred me out of the story a bit), but they did a decent job of boiling it down into a decent flick.
As You Wish
The Princess Bride was one of the first movies I bought on DVD after getting a DVD player.Then, the Special Edition came out, and The Princess Bride was perhaps the first movie that I owned two copies of on DVD.
So now there's another new version coming out, and, yeah, I'll probably buy a copy of that, too, making it, I believe, the first movie I'll own three copies of on DVD.
I love me some Princess Bride.
That said, I am not buying both "editions" of the new set. (I'll probably go with the Buttercup edition.)
Monday, 3 April 2006
Greetings!
This is being blogged from the Apple Store in The Galleria in Houston, Texas, which is one giant mall.
The Apple Store therein, however, less impressive than others I've been to. Oh well.
Hope everyone's having a good day.
later, wdh
Saturday, 1 April 2006
Happy Anniversary
Thanks for 30 great years of changing the world!
Sunday, 30 April 2006
Compassion
(Read Entry)Saturday, 29 April 2006
Apple Versus Apple Update
(Read Entry)Friday, 28 April 2006
The Other Coupland
(Read Entry)
Jobs At Disney Update
(Read Entry)Thursday, 27 April 2006
The New Adventures
(Read Entry)
Congrats, Crip!
(Read Entry)
Happy Anniversary, Stennis
(Read Entry)
Cylons All These Years
(Read Entry)Wednesday, 26 April 2006
STS-121 Update
(Read Entry)
Today In History
(Read Entry)
Ripping Blu-Ray
(Read Entry)Tuesday, 25 April 2006
STS-121 Update
(Read Entry)
Dark Star
(Read Entry)
Monopoly Voting
(Read Entry)
Ad It Up
(Read Entry)
Participate
(Read Entry)
Yeah, I'm A User
(Read Entry)Monday, 24 April 2006
Shenzhou VII Update
(Read Entry)
Colorful Fruit
(Read Entry)
Going Native?
(Read Entry)
Prime Concerns
(Read Entry)Friday, 21 April 2006
Down At The BU
(Read Entry)
Alias: Lost Trek
(Read Entry)Thursday, 20 April 2006
Godspeed, Scott Crossfield
(Read Entry)
Psychohistory
(Read Entry)
Would You Like Meat On That?
(Read Entry)
The Fix
(Read Entry)
Shipping Windows
(Read Entry)Tuesday, 18 April 2006
Star Wars Kid Settlement
(Read Entry)Monday, 17 April 2006
Shoeless Yuri
(Read Entry)
Antimatter, New And Improved
(Read Entry)
Winter Wonderland
(Read Entry)Friday, 14 April 2006
Today In History
(Read Entry)
STS-121
(Read Entry)Thursday, 13 April 2006
Bad iPod News?
(Read Entry)
Write Off
(Read Entry)
STS-121
(Read Entry)
Still Alive, Old Friend?
(Read Entry)
Wacky Things Are Happening To Rambo
(Read Entry)
Apple Versus Apple Note, Maybe?
(Read Entry)Wednesday, 12 April 2006
Twenty-Five Years!
(Read Entry)
The First iPod Emmys
(Read Entry)
Poyekhali!
(Read Entry)
Shrinking Xena
(Read Entry)
Leopard Rumors
(Read Entry)
Moving On Up
(Read Entry)Tuesday, 11 April 2006
To The Moon! Zoom! Bang!
(Read Entry)
To Venus, Orbiting
(Read Entry)Monday, 10 April 2006
Following Footsteps
(Read Entry)
I, Woz
(Read Entry)
Free TV
(Read Entry)
Looking Back On The Beginning
Young and Crippen remember STS-1. (Read Entry)
Back On Earth
(Read Entry)
Apple Rumor Round-Up
(Read Entry)Friday, 7 April 2006
"Sugar Coating Reality"
(Read Entry)
Short Trek
(Read Entry)Thursday, 6 April 2006
The Blind Shall See
(Read Entry)
Boot (To The Head) Camp
(Read Entry)
Boot Camp Fallout
(Read Entry)
Apple Versus Apple Update
(Read Entry)
Zany To The Max
(Read Entry)Wednesday, 5 April 2006
Trip To Space, $3
(Read Entry)
A Night In The Airlock
(Read Entry)
Mac Does Windows
(Read Entry)
No, Thank You
(Read Entry)
As You Wish
(Read Entry)Monday, 3 April 2006
Greetings!
(Read Entry)Saturday, 1 April 2006