Category: technology

The Money Is In Batteries

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Seriously, the expansion of batteries, whether in hybrids, military, laptops, etc. makes this an area where the rewards, and the potential for investors is nearly unlimited.

DOD officials offer $1 million prize for wearable power innovations
by Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

7/5/2007 – WASHINGTON (AFPN) — A typical dismounted troop going out for a four-day mission carries as much as 40 pounds of batteries and rechargers in his pack. Defense Department officials want to reduce that load significantly, and they’re dangling a $1 million carrot to entice people to help them do it.

They launched their “wearable power” prize competition July 5 to come up with new innovations to lighten warfighters’ loads.

The goal, explained William Rees, deputy undersecretary of laboratories and basic sciences, is to reduce the weight for the power system that drives radios, night-vision devices, global positioning systems and other combat gear, including a recharging system, to about 2 pounds per day.

“The mantra is four days, 4 kilograms,” he said.

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PICTURE: Piasecki flies X-49A SpeedHawk compound helicopter-03/07/2007-Washington DC-Flightglobal.com

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FWIW, the counter-torque is done with rudders in the propulsion propeller.

I’m thinking that allowing the main wing to pivot might allow for greater hover capability.

Neat stuff though.

PICTURE: Piasecki flies X-49A SpeedHawk compound helicopter
By Graham Warwick

Piasecki Aircraft has flown the X-49A experimental compound helicopter for the first time. The modified Sikorsky YSH-60F, with wings and tail-mounted variable-thrust ducted propeller (VTDP), made the 15min flight on 30 June at Boeing’s Wilmington, Delaware test centre.

The first flight involved hovering, pedal turns and slow forwards and sideways flight using the Piasecki-designed VTDP for anti-torque, directional and trim control, says vice-president John Piasecki.

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Death Rays Due in a Few Years

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Unlike the chemical lasers used in the Boeing 747 demonstrator, solid state lasers are much more likely to be tactically usable.

Cooling could be a real bear though.

Northrop Grumman demonstrates high-power laser building block
By Graham Warwick

High-power solid-state lasers could be fielded within four years if the US military funds its growing interest in directed-energy weapons, believes Northrop Grumman. The company says it is on track to demonstrate a lethal 100kW-class solid-state laser late next year.

“With funding, we could put a 25kW laser out there in less than two years and 100kW in three to four years,” says Mike McVey, vice-president for directed-energy systems for Northrop Grumman Space Technology. A 10-20kW laser could blind sensors while a 100kW weapon would allow an airborne platform to take out radar sites and destroy vehicles, he says

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I Used to Work On This

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When I was at Lockheed in Grand Prairie, I worked on VT-1. the missile in the what was then called the Crotale NG (it’s apparrently now called the Crotale III).

Thales Unveils New-Generation Surface Radar (Subscription Required)

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•A longer range version of the Crotale very-short-range missile system. Designated the Mk. 3, the system will have a range of 15 km. and 9,000 meters altitude—a 50% increase over the existing missile. Combined with Shikra in a ground-based air defense network, the Mk. 3 can detect targets at a range of 108 km., including UAVs and cruise missiles 30-40 km. away—twice the performance of competing radars—Thales engineers say. Its VT1 hypervelocity missile will enable the Mk. 3 to reach targets at 15-km. maximum range within 30 sec.—up to half the time needed for weapons like the Amraam, MICA or Derby converted from air-launched weapons, they say.


The Crotale Mk. 3 will afford a 50% improvement in range and ceiling compared with existing versions of the very-short-range air defense system.

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Yep….that’s VT-1. I recognize my old friend.

FWIW, I started work on VT1 in 1996, regarding some issues of contention between the prime contractor (then Thomson CSF, now Thales) and Loral Vought (Became Lockheed Martin Vought Systems, then Lockheed Martin Missiles and fire control).

I would have figured that it would have been finished well before this.

Senior execs targeted in ‘precision’ malware attacks

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Evil techno geeks vs. evil MBAs. Hopefully, there is a way for BOTH of them to lose.

This is very smart on the part of the scammers. Most exploits are found because they are millions of copies floating around the web. In this case, they might not be found until well after the criminals have put a few million bucks in Zurich.

Senior execs targeted in ‘precision’ malware attacks
By John Leyden
Published Monday 2nd July 2007 12:36 GMT

Hackers are targeting senior managers of large firms – along with members of their families – in a new wave of highly-focused email attacks.

On 26 June, net security services firm MessageLabs intercepted more than 500 individual email attacks targeted against individuals in senior management positions. The attack email often featured the name and job title of the intended victim in their subject lines. Chief investment officers accounted for 30 per cent of the attacks, 11 per cent were directed against chief executives.

Other job titles among the top 10 targets included chief information officers, chief financial officers, directors of research, directors of development, and company presidents.

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New Sensor Detects Submarines?

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I think that this technology is probably oversold, otherwise we would not see it in Aviation Week.

If it worked, it would be so classified, we wouldn’t even hear rumors of it.

New Sensor Detects Submarines(Subscription Required)
New Sensor Detects Submarines
Aviation Week & Space Technology
07/02/2007, page 13

Edited by Edward H. Phillips

Printed headline: Hide and Seek

Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a sensor that measures the motion generated by sound waves under water. A series of the device could be configured in compact arrays and deployed by the U.S. Navy to detect enemy submarines. According to Francois Guillot, a research engineer at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering in Atlanta, the sensor is capable of detecting small sounds despite the surrounding noise of the ocean, and it provides clear directional information. In addition, the sensor can be modified to measure water deformation, or shear, associated with a sound wave. The research is being supported by a grant from the Office of Naval Research.

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OK, This is Insanely Neat

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I know that whenever I Mapquest something (actually Yahoo), I frequently know a better way to get there once presented with the map.

Now you can fix it before printing.

WOOT!

Google embarasses MapQuest

Driving directions redux
By Cade Metz in San Francisco → More by this author
Published Friday 29th June 2007 20:26 GMT
Mobile computing: Opportunities and risk – Free whitepaper

You’ll never use MapQuest again. With a new addition to its Google Maps service, Google has completely reinvented the notion of online driving directions, letting you adjust routes with a simple drag and drop.

In the past, when you asked services like MapQuest or Google Maps for driving directions, you took what they gave you. Now, thanks to Google’s latest brainstorm, you can customize your directions on the fly. If you’re dead-set on avoiding a particularly-congested part of town, for instance, you can drag your driving route a little this way or that – and Google will automatically change the turn-by-turn directions.

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Space nuke boffin: NASA Moonbase needs nuclear rockets | The Register

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If you reference some of the links off this page, a nuclear powered engine of this type does give a higher ISP 875 vs 350 for the very efficient SSMEs.

Of course, other technologies, Ion and plasma are much higher (a quick google gives an ISP of 3300 for early ion drives).

Of course, Ion and plasma are low thrust, and cannot be used for ascent or descent, but neither can NERVA class motors, as their exhaust is radioactive.

Space nuke boffin: NASA Moonbase needs nuclear rockets
By Lewis Page
Published Saturday 30th June 2007 07:02 GMT

One of America’a top nukes-in-space boffins says it’s time to consider nuclear-powered rockets again. He reckons atomic boosters could cut the cost of NASA’s upcoming Moonbase plan.

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This guy runs the premier RTG battery (nuclear batteries) manufacturer in the US, The Center for Space Nuclear Research, and he is someone who has a hammer, and sees everything as a nail.

But Howe reckons that there’s more to nukes in space than just providing electricity. He says that nuclear power should be used for propulsion, too. According to an article in New Scientist, his plan is to update a 1960s design called Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA) to carry payloads from Earth orbit to the Moon.

NERVA-type rockets use a fission reactor to heat up hydrogen and blast it out of the thrust nozzle at extremely high speed, faster than can be achieved by normal chemical-powered boosters. This allows a nuclear-driven spacecraft to achieve more with a given amount of liquid fuel, or “reaction mass.” The NERVA test programme had its problems – not least the fact that the reactor tended to come apart and fire itself out of the exhaust – and was terminated in 1972 during NASA budget cuts.

Howe and his team reckon that the greater efficiency of nuclear drive would allow each Moon shot to carry an additional eight tons of payload, which would mean fewer launches being needed. He thinks the savings from a lower number of launches would more than offset the cost of updating the original NERVA design, perhaps yielding overall savings of as much as $2bn.

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Gangs of San Jose

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Rival criminals gangs on the net, sabotaging each other.

On the bright side, no one is being shot gangland style, which implies, contrary to the hype that the Russian Mafia, the Cali Drug Cartel, and al Queida are not involved.

Additionally, any effort spent going after each other is time NOT spent going after us.

This is the real second life.

Rival malware gangs wage turf war
By Dan Goodin in San Francisco
Published Sunday 1st July 2007 07:02 GMT

Security researchers have uncovered evidence of a turf war between rival criminal enterprises connected to two of the most sophisticated malware toolkits in current use.

Like competing gangs in the Mafia – for those who followed the HBO series The Sopranos, think the New York-based Lupertazzi crime family and its sometimes enemy the DiMeo crime family, which Tony Soprano ran from New Jersey – the malware groups are fighting for turf and control.

But rather than clashing over who gets to skim money off a garbage collection contract or a major construction project, the cyber criminals are battling to own tens of thousands of compromised computers.

Enter the propagators of a piece of malware Symantec dubs Trojan.Srizbi (http://www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2007-062007-0946-99&tabid=1), one of a handful programs spread by the MPack attack kit (http://www.theregister.com/2007/06/18/hijacked_sites_install_malware/). A trojan that makes infected computers part of a botnet that churns out spam, Srizbi is also known to uninstall competing spam malware being spread by another nasty piece of malware dubbed the Storm Worm.

“The Storm Worm criminals appear to have taken exception to that,” says Lawrence Baldwin, a malware researcher who has recently observed Storm zombies DDoSing the server Srizbi uses to download installation files. Baldwin is unable to estimate how much traffic the Storm bots are sending to the Srizbi server, but he says attempts to get an infected machine in his lab to update the Storm malware makes him believe the attack is significant.

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Pratt Whitney considers geared open rotor concept-28/06/2007-London-Flight International

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Previously, P&W had previously said that the geared turbofan would make propfan/un ducted fan technology irrelevant.

Pratt Whitney considers geared open rotor concept

By Victoria Moores

Pratt & Whitney has begun studies of open rotor engine architecture despite its long-standing pursuit of geared turbofan (GTF) technology, and does not rule out shifting to a propfan configuration if this path is favoured by the airframers.

The company is developing a GTF engine to power the next generation of regional and single-aisle aircraft. This engine’s low-pressure spool operates at high speeds for peak efficiency, while its fan operates at slower speeds to maximise efficiency and significantly reduce noise.

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PICTURES – Cirrus unveils single-engine personal jet

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That plane is dirt cheap. Even assuming that the range drops by half with a full load of people and luggage, it’s a very good deal.

PICTURES – Cirrus unveils single-engine personal jet
Cirrus Design has taken the wraps off its first jet, and the manufacturer of the popular SR22 piston-single light aircraft is bracing for a major sales boost.

Seating up to seven people, “the-jet” has its single Williams FJ33-4 turbofan mounted above the fuselage and exhausting between the V-tail, in a similar arrangement to the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft.

“We’re not going to be a smaller business jet. We’re trying to be a bigger SR22,” said CEO and co-founder Alan Klapmeier at the 28 June event.

…

As for price, Klapmeier says: “Our goal is to have it be about $1 million”. The final price is uncertain, he cautions, since the certification date is unknown along with many other factors.

The fuel capacity will be “well over 1,000lb”, depending on the number of passengers, and range will be more than 1,000nm with only one pilot aboard and less than that when carrying seven people.”

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Completely NO Surprise

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Actually, I know people who work for the Redmond Borg™, and there is a level of real stupidity there that drives them crazy.

Microsoft security engineer makes top-10 worst jobs list

By Lewis Page
Published Wednesday 27th June 2007 11:39 GMT

Summer’s here, and ’tis the season to be compiling lists. One of the most eagerly awaited is the Ten Worst Jobs in Science, issued by Popular Science magazine. This year the roster of horrible occupations has gained widespread attention because it includes “Microsoft Security Grunt”.

Working at the Microsoft Security Response Centre (MSRC), according to the PopSci writers, is “like wearing a big sign that says ‘hack me’… It’s tedious work… to most hackers, crippling Microsoft is the geek equivalent of taking down the Death Star, so the assault is relentless.”

PopSci places a job on the Redmond battlements at number five, worse than whale-dung analyst, corpse-maggot expert, Olympic drug tester and zero gee health-effects guinea pig.

The only things worse than standing between Windows users and the ravening haxor hordes were being a rubbish-dump researcher, elephant vasectomist, oceanographer – because the oceans are getting so polluted – and at number one, hazmat diver. (“They swim in sewage. Enough said.”)

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DARPA Wants A Few Good Men

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These are the guys who invented the internet.

DARPA RFP

Description

Request for Information
Routing Protocols and Management (RPM) for High Capacity Networks

– Request for Information Word Version 01 – Posted on Jun 22, 2007

General Information
Document Type: Special Notice
Solicitation Number: Reference-Number-SN07-39
Posted Date:
Original Response Date: 06 August 2007
Current Response Date:
Original Archive Date:
Current Archive Date:
Classification Code: A — Research & Development
Naics Code: 541710 — Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences

Contracting Office Address

Other Defense Agencies, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Contracts Management Office, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA, 22203-1714, United States

Description

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION – Routing Protocols and Management (RPM) for High Capacity Networks

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Strategic Technology Office (STO) is requesting information on revolutionary ideas and approaches to map administrative, business, and war fighting mission requirements to the supporting networks and information systems. The requested information is sought to determine if industry has ideas that warrant specific project-oriented investment by DARPA in this area. No funding has currently been allocated to this effort. A Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) and/or other solicitation may or may not result from the findings of this Request for Information (RFI).

Introduction

Modern communications networks were designed and developed when memory and processing power were limiting factors rather than plentiful and generally ubiquitous throughout the network. Today’s environment finds memory and processing power available even at the tactical edge of the Global Information Grid (GIG). Routing Protocols and Management (RPM) for High Capacity Networks is considering methods to re-think and potentially redesign some of the basic concepts that have shaped today’s Internet technology. The goal of any DARPA program in this area is to improve transfer speeds, network routing efficiency, reliability, simplify network configuration, and reduce cost.

Problem Definition

Modern communications networks were designed and developed when memory and processing power were limiting factors rather than plentiful and generally ubiquitous throughout the network. Today’s environment finds memory and processing power available even at the tactical edge of the Global Information Grid (GIG). Routing Protocols and Management (RPM) for High Capacity Networks is considering methods to re-think and potentially redesign some of the basic concepts that have shaped today’s Internet technology. The goal of any DARPA program in this area is to improve transfer speeds, network routing efficiency, reliability, simplify network configuration, and reduce cost.

Problem Definition

DARPA is interested in ideas that will lead to the development of new addressing schemes (e.g., a structured hierarchical addressing system) to supplement the current IP scheme. New addressing schemes should make the network faster, cheaper, or easier to administer. Additionally, we hope to implement a prioritization system to allow higher priority traffic faster service through the network, along with the authentication system such a system requires.

This RFI seeks ways to enhance network prioritization and authentication for priority users; create multipath route discovery and distribution; lower manpower requirements for network configuration; and efficiently connect Dense Wave Division Multiplex (DWDM) networks and conventional IP networks. The program assumes the existence of DWDM switched networks and seeks to make the connection between a normal IP network and a DWDM switched network as simple and efficient as possible.

The long-term goal is to develop new systems that use network capacity as efficiently and inexpensively as possible. Ideas that require modifications to addressing schemes (e.g., modifying IP), changes to the Domain Name Server (DNS), or other established Internet Standards are acceptable as long as these changes can be justified.

DARPA is interested in responses describing the solution with low granularity, at the device or process level, rather than at the macro or enterprise level. DARPA is interested in autonomic or semi-autonomic systems that require little manual intervention. Finally, simplicity and ability to transition a solution are of interest – large theoretical systems that require extensive training to operate would be of little value as a potential program.

DARPA is not interested in evolutionary improvements to existing fielded or commercial systems, nor funding requests or investment opportunities to bring existing work into production. This RFI seeks potential high-risk, high payoff research opportunities related to Routing Protocols and Management for High Capacity Networks that may provide revolutionary capabilities for the Department of Defense.

Request for Information Focus Areas

In an effort to shape future work on Routing Protocols and Management for High Capacity Networks, DARPA/STO is soliciting position papers addressing the following areas:
1. Concepts and ideas for novel methods to allow multipath route discovery and multipath route distribution; improve network routing efficiency and reliability; simplify network configuration and management; provide for different levels of priority and precedence; and improve authentication/attribution.

2. Technical methods to efficiently and inexpensively interconnect DWDM networks and conventional IP networks. These can be linked to, a part of, or separate from a submission for #1 above.
3. The impact of your proposed idea(s) on the personnel needed to operate networks
4. Potential metrics to measure the effectiveness of what you propose

Workshop

DARPA will hold a workshop for selected RFI respondents in the vicinity of Arlington, VA in October 07. The workshop may include an overview of previous DARPA programs, historical assumptions, today’s requirements and challenges, invited presentations, submitter presentations, discussions, and Q&A. Respondents interested in attending should visit the registration website at https://www.enstg.com/Signup/default.cfm?ThisCode=NEX74474

INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDERS
This announcement contains all information required to submit a position paper. No additional forms, kits or other materials are needed.

DARPA appreciates responses from all capable and qualified sources including but not limited to universities, university affiliated research centers, federally-funded research centers, private or public companies and Government research laboratories.

Position papers have the following formatting requirements:
a) A one page cover sheet that identifies the title, organization(s), responder’s technical and administrative points of contact – including names, addresses, phone and fax numbers, and email addresses of all co-authors;
b) An executive summary with a one page limit summarizing the key ideas;
c) A single overview briefing chart graphically depicting the key ideas;
d) A technical response to one or more of the 4 RFI Focused Areas posed above in question/answer format, with a 10 page limit in 10 point font;
e) An optional list of citations including URLs if available;
f) An optional briefing if the submitter wishes to be considered to present at the workshop;
g) The above should be submitted as MS Word, PDF, and/or MS PowerPoint documents.

Respondents are encouraged to be as succinct as possible while at the same time providing actionable insight.

Respondents must submit one original and one paper copy of the full response and one electronic copy of the full RFI response (in Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, and/or Microsoft PowerPoint on a single CD ROM). Disks must be clearly labeled with RFI SN07-39 the offering organization, and points of contact. The full RFI response (original and designated number of hard and electronic copies) must be submitted to: DARPA/STO, Attn: Dr. Timothy Gibson, 3701 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714. Responses to this Request for Information (RFI) are due no later than 2:00pm, Local Time, Arlington, VA, on 06 August 2007. ANY INQUIRIES ON THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION AND/OR WORKSHOP MUST BE SUBMITTED TO RPM07-39@darpa.mil. NO TELEPHONIC INQUIRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED.

DARPA will host a web site in support of RFI SN07-39, Routing Protocols and Management (RPM). The web site will contain information supplementary to this document such as Question & Answer lists in the event that clarifications are needed. The URL for the web site is http://www.darpa.mil/sto/solicitations/RPM/index.html. In the event of any discrepancies between material published on this web site and FedBizOps, FedBizOps takes precedence.

DISCLAIMERS AND IMPORTANT NOTES

This is a Request for Information issued solely for information and new program planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. No proprietary or classified information should be submitted. Respondents are advised that DARPA is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received, or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this RFI. It is the respondent’s responsibility to ensure the material has been approved for public release by the organization that funded the research.

In accordance with FAR 15.201(e) responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted glby the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.

Submissions may be reviewed by: the Government (DARPA and partners including but not limited to AFRL and OSD-NII); Federally Funded R&D Centers (such as MITRE and Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Lincoln Laboratories); and Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) contractors (Booz Allen Hamilton and SRS Technologies).

Point of Contact

Timothy Gibson, Ph.D., Program Manager, Email timothy.gibson (at) darpa.mil

Point of Contact
Timothy Gibson, DARPA Program Manager, Phone 000-000-0000, Fax null, Email Timothy.Gibson@darpa.mil

Wanker of the Day: Patent Troll Edition.

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Daniel Leckrone, the Chairman of TPL Group.

The TPL Group describes itself as:

TPL has been “purpose built” to deliver an array of services that are fundamental to streamlining the development and commercialization of proprietary products and technologies. By consistently delivering innovation and opportunity, TPL has earned a reputation of being a trusted partner that can enable constructive licensing programs as well as new product development programs that leverage the IP assets within its patent portfolios.

These folks are patent trolls, and Mr. Leckrone is their chief.

Misnamed Patent Reform Act would stifle innovation

By Daniel E. Leckrone
San Jose Mercury News
Article Launched:06/27/2007 01:31:51 AM PDT

While U.S. patent law has been effective in protecting the intellectual property of inventors, which has fueled productivity growth and the U.S. economy for more than two centuries, the so-called “Patent Reform Act” introduced in Congress this year proposes major changes to the law governing how patents are obtained and enforced. Ironically, these changes are being promoted by the most powerful and prosperous high-tech corporations – the “Patent Goliaths” – which came to power based on the patent system as it now stands.

In mounting their full-scale invasion of the territory protected by patent laws, the Goliaths continue to amass political support which, if not effectively challenged, will lead to an unwarranted degradation of the legendary patent system established by the U.S. Constitution. Even the lethargic Department of Commerce has vigorously opposed most of the sweeping changes proposed by this act, as the Department of Commerce explained in its recent 11-page letter to House Judiciary Subcommittee Chairman Howard Berman, a lead sponsor of this misguided legislative effort.

….

The author is a patent troll, and he has an interest in keeping his “automatic injunction” shakedown legal.

The rise of patent trolls, in mobile phones, internet connectivity, etc. the Euros and Japanese are increasingly eating out lunch. You can’t make a move in the US these days without getting approval from lawyers.

It not only prevents innovation generally, it makes it prohibitively expensive for the small inventor to actually bring a product to market, because of fears that it might violate a undeveloped, and frequently completely obvious, patent held by the parasites.

There is no need for an injunction with patent trolls. They have no intention of developing a market, they are just getting money for someone else’s work.

This means that they can be made whole at any time by damages with interest.

There is no irreparable damage, so no need for an injunction.

Of course, this means that any company can tell the patent troll to take it to court rather than paying their blackmail, and this is what he fears.

This is NOT Piracy

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I understand that people like to call ANY threat to profits “Piracy”, but this ain’t it.

This is like GM chipping cans of motor oil so that only Delco cans work in your car.

Can cryptography prevent printer-ink piracy?

By Erica Ogg

Story last modified Wed Jun 27 10:37:34 PDT 2007

In the computer printer business, everyone knows the big money comes from the sale of ink cartridges.

Most of these cartridges are made by printer manufacturers and sell for a substantial premium. Some come from unauthorized sources, sell for substantially less and attract the attention of antipiracy lawyers.

Cryptography Research Inc. (CRI), a San Francisco company, is developing chip technology aimed at helping printer manufacturers protect this primary source of profit. The company’s chips use cryptography designed to make it harder for printers to use off-brand and counterfeit cartridges.

“We’re not saying we can end piracy, but our system is designed to recover from failure,” said Kit Rodgers, CRI’s vice president of business development.

Not all ink-cartridge remanufacturing is illegal–much of it is, in fact, legitimate–but pirated ink-cartridge technology cuts substantially into original manufacturers’ profits.

There are three main ways the $60 billion-a-year worldwide printing industry loses money:

• Used cartridges get refilled and sold as “new”– instead of as remanufactured.

You will note here that this will potentially block ALL non OEM cartridge remanufacturing. In fact, most non OEM remanufactured cartridges are sold as remanufactured such and are legal.

There are already laws against fraud.

• Cartridges get illegally replicated through reverse engineering.

You need to explain to me how it’s illegal. Every non OEM ink manufacturer has to reverse-engineer the cartridges, and I don’t see court cases, except in the case of fraudulent labeling.

• Printers get hacked or physically altered to use any type of ink.

Umm…You’re telling me that my use of an ink refiller on my machine is piracy?

And here is the kicker:

In a high-profile 2003 case, Lexmark International, the company that makes printers for Dell, took printer-supplies specialist Static Control Components to court for selling a chip that allowed Lexmark printers to accept any kind of ink cartridge. Lexmark ultimately lost the case, but it hasn’t stopped others from trying fiercely to protect their business.

What they are trying to do is block legal competitors to their markets.

ES&S Gives Up Source Code In California

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These machines are expensive, slow, and not trusted. Just dump them.

E-voting vendor succumbs to California source code demands

By Dan Goodin in San Francisco
Published Thursday 28th June 2007 01:50 GMT

Electronic voting machines vendor Election Systems & Software Inc. has finally given in to demands by California’s Secretary of State office that it submit the source code used in one of its products. But it made it abundantly clear it is unhappy about the requirement.

ES&S complied with the demand in an overnight package that was received yesterday by the office of Secretary of State (SOS) Debra Bowen, about three months past due date. Of the four e-voting firms selling products to California counties, only ES&S failed to meet the deadline.

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MiG-35 Details Given

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My money is on India going with Russia, they already have a lot fo the support infrastructure there.

Also note that the Mig-35, Su-27 variants, Typhoon, Rafale, and Gripen are all offering AESA upgrades.

The USAF is billing as a great ace in the hole, and it seems not so tough to do.

Bangalore air show: MiG-35 makes debut at Aero India

RSK MiG chose Aero India to display the MiG-35 publicly for the first time. A land-based version of the Indian navy’s MiG-29KUB, the aircraft was first flown last month. The MiG-35 is being offered to meet the Indian air force’s requirement for 126 multirole fighters.

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The MiG-35 is first Russian aircraft fitted with an active electronically scanned array radar. The Phazotron-NIIR Zhuk-MA was publicly revealed by removing the aircraft’s nosecone. The Zhuk-MA’s antenna consists of 160 modules, each with four receive-and-transmit modules. It is believed to offer a 160km (85nm) air target detection radius and 300km for surface ships. ….

The MiG-35 is powered by two RD-33MKBs that can be fitted with KliVT swivel-nozzles and a thrust vectoring control (TVC) system. …..

HP Ships Hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD Drives

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I’m still betting (for bragging rights only) on HD-DVD, and it’s interesting that a Blue-ray early adopter, HP, is now hedging its bets.

This runs the opposite indication as Blockbuster’s decision to go Blue-ray.

FWIW, my advice is to sit tight until one or the other conclusively wins in the next 18-24 months.

HP coughs up surprise update to desktop PC range

By Kelly Fiveash
Published Tuesday 26th June 2007 11:46 GMT

HP has quietly snuck through an update to its home desktop PC range with the computer giant now officially shipping its media centre systems with hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD drives.

The firm has added the drives to both its Intel (m8010y) and AMD (m8100e) processor-powered Pavilion media centre models.

HP’s decision to adopt the Blu-ray format, which is already backed by Sony as well as many of the Hollywood studios, alongside high definition DVD could satisfy consumers who are stuck with having to make a choice between the two competing formats.

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Can the Paperless Office Be Far Behind?

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In the early 1990s, the concept of the “Paperless Office” was all the rage.

In fact, the opposite happened. Paper use soared with the introduction of computers, prompting many wags to say. “We’ll have a paperless toilet before we have a paperless office.“

We now have a paperless toilet.

Paperless toilets rolled out in Britain

By HELEN PIDD

This was the best toilet experience of my life. I went for an innocent loo break between sushi courses and ended up road-testing the lavatorial equivalent of Nasa’s Space Shuttle. In place of the toilet roll, there was a control panel.

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Conformal radar arrays are now being prototyped

1 Comment

With an array this large, resolution could be very good, and it’s likely that it might have significant stealth detection capabilities.

The resolution of a radar is proportional to the size of the antenna, and the resolution attained here should be sufficient to pick up almost anything.

Conformal radar arrays are now being prototyped(Subscription Required)
Aviation Week & Space Technology
06/25/2007, page 51

David A. Fulghum
El Segundo, Calif.

Radars could be mounted on football-field-size plastic sheets

Printed headline: Beyond Big

Conformal radar arrays that a year ago were only concepts are now being prototyped. Large apertures are being designed as skin to hug the complex curves of aircraft wings and fuselages.

A massive structure under construction by Raytheon will form one side of a three-football-field-long airship. About six million elements will make up the 6,000-sq.-meter antenna, says Mark Hauhe, a senior fellow working on advanced radar concept demonstrators.


Third-generation AESA radars may be hundreds of yards long and use electrical components lithographed to a lightweight plastic-like material that is folded to form radiating elements.Credit: RAYTHEON CONCEPT

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