] Even as NASA engineers debated possible damage, a flight
] director e-mailed Columbia's astronauts to say there was
] "absolutely no concern" that breakaway foam that struck
] the space shuttle might endanger its safe return. The
] shuttle's commander cheerily replied, "Thanks a million!"
]
] Flight director J.S. "Steve" Stich conveyed his assurance
] to Columbia's commander and pilot on Jan. 23, according
] to documents disclosed Monday. At the time, engineers
] inside NASA continued to debate and study whether foam
] that smashed against Columbia's wing on liftoff might
] have fatally damaged materials protecting the shuttle
] during its fiery descent.
]
] Such materials included the wing's reinforced carbon
] panels and insulating tiles covering other parts of the
] spacecraft.
]
] "Experts have reviewed the high speed photography and
] there is no concern for RCC or tile damage," Stich wrote
] to Columbia's commander, Rick D. Husband, and pilot,
] William C. McCool. "We have seen the same phenomenon on
] several other flights and there is absolutely no concern
] for entry. That is all for now. It's a pleasure working
] with you every day."
]
] Husband, a veteran shuttle astronaut, replied two days
] later, on Jan. 25, "Thanks a million, Steve! And thanks
] for the great work on your part."

I'd no idea the crew was even told of the foam strike. Suffice it to say if ground control felt compelled to email video clips of the incident, the crew had to know SOMETHING was up - astronauts aren't exactly mentally challenged. Wouldn't have taken them very long to put 2 and 2 together.

Laughing Boy

E-mails: 'Absolutely no concern' over Columbia foam strike

] The Recording Industry Association of America, citing
] substantial sales declines, said it will begin Thursday
] to search Internet file-sharing networks to identify
] users who offer "substantial" collections of MP3-format
] music files for downloading. It expects to file at least
] several hundred lawsuits seeking financial damages within
] eight to 10 weeks.

Several hundred lawsuits? Well, I see the RIAA has changed business models. No more traditional sales - we'll just wait until they steal it and then wring them dry.

Music labels to sue hundreds of music sharers

Interesting read on how Google certainly has become a very influential entity and why more and more people are beginning to be disgruntled with it.

Is Google's growth provoking a backlash? Industry observers are beginning to think so. A few years ago, they note, it was difficult to find anyone who didn't worship Google, but now many people have a beef with the firm. Some of the complaints are obviously self-serving and maybe even dismissible -- such as those from the Chinese government, say, or the Church of Scientology. But the ire of other groups has more heft. In recent months, the question of how Google should index blogs has become a hot topic online. Google has been attacked by some critics who say the search engine gives blogs too much weight, and others who say it's not giving blogs their due. Then there are webmasters and people in the "search engine optimization" industry, folks whose livelihoods depend on ranking well in Google. With so much riding on the whims of one firm, these people are constantly, pedantically, obsessed with and irritated at Google, sometimes, as in Massa's case, to the point of litigation.

The Google Backlash

] Samsung is trying to bridge the gap with the first DVD
] player aimed specifically at HDTV owners. According to
] the company, the $299 player optimizes standard DVD video
] performance to make better use of the capabilities of new
] high-definition displays. In short, it brings DVD video
] closer to high-definition clarity.
]
] Ordinary DVD players and all basic TV sets
] use what's called standard definition video, which splits
] the image into 480 horizontal lines. The Samsung is the
] first DVD player to use a smart digital imaging chip to
] fine-tune the image and to "upconvert" the video to 720
] or 1,080 lines, both of which are considered
] high-definition. It's a technological cheat, though,
] because the chip is adding resolution that doesn't exist
] on the disc.
SNIP
] But how does the Samsung stack up to full high-definition
] TV? I compared a DVD copy of Star Wars, Episode II:
] Attack of the Clones with an HBO HD broadcast, and the
] player performed admirably.
]
] Make no mistake, the HD broadcast was superior. In
] Amidala's and Anakin's sappy frolic in the field, I could
] make out individual weed stalks in the foreground that
] were lost in the DVD video. But the DVD player held its
] own, and, to many eyes, would appear close enough to HDTV
] to make it worthwhile.
]
] Of course, a new format for true high-definition DVD
] discs will arrive eventually. But today's DVDs are likely
] to remain the format of choice for years to come. This
] player and its successors will help you get
] the most out of them.

This is VERY good news for us video philes. I was afraid that todays DVDs; a format facing obsolesence thats less than 10 years old ("What do you mean I have to purchase all new copies of my DVD's?") would be the biggest hurdle in getting consumers to adopt the new Hi-Def format. To see just how bad of a "problem" this would have been, go into an appliance store and view a HD program next to an NTSC (current television format). Those 480 lines of resolution your brain has been "filling in" all these years, suddenly become apparent, don't they? While pixel interpolation like this is, as he says, no substitute for true high definition media, this should bridge the gap until the old DVD's are phased out.

Laughing Boy

Higher-definition DVD player: A resolutionary idea

] I've modified an Epson LQ-500 dot matrix printer into a
] musical instrument. The project has now evolved into two
] different versions. The original project had two
] independent sound generators: a tape based sound
] generator similar in concept to a mellotron and tones
] generated from the print head. The new version of the
] software is written with the concept of turning the
] printer into an instrument without any physical
] modifications to the printer. Since the tape mellotron
] setup does require some modifications to the printer, it
] is not part of the new version.
]
]
] Most of the changes to the printer operation are done by
] changing the software. The printer is controlled by a NEC
] 7810 microprocessor that runs off code on an EPROM inside
] the printer. I have reverse engineered most of the basic
] operation of the printer and now have control of the
] paper feeder motor, the print head, the lights, the error
] beeper, and can read the buttons.

Dot Matrix Synth

] While most people are familiar with the black boxes in
] aircraft, which also serve as event data recorders, few
] motorists know there are similar devices in their
] vehicles as part of the system that controls air bags.
] Only 36 percent of the 38,000 people surveyed by the
] Insurance Research Council were aware of EDRs.
]
]
] But at least 10 million vehicles have them, estimated
] Philip W. Haseltine, president of the Automotive
] Coalition for Traffic Safety, a lobbying group in
] Arlington, Va.
]
] The most sophisticated EDRs collect pre-crash information
] including the speed of the vehicle, whether the driver
] was accelerating or braking and whether the seat belts
] were buckled.
]
] The collection of such information has excited a wide
] range of groups for different reasons, and EDRs have the
] potential to become one of the more controversial issues
] in the auto industry.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, I don't want my every (driving) move recorded. On the other hand, maybe people will start to realize that they're accountable for what they do in their vehicles. The story this guy is about, who was doing 114 in a 30 and killed two girls, makes me lean toward the accountability end. But coupled with a GPS and suddenly every move you make is recorded. Now that's scary.

Cars' `Black Boxes' Hold Crash Data, New Privacy Issues

] Cable operators say they may soon be able to offer
] services that would crush their satellite and phone
] competitors following introduction this week of a simple
] device that could free up massive amounts of bandwidth.
]
] These devices, about the size of two cigarette packs,
] could enable cable systems to transmit lots of
] high-definition TV (HDTV), video phone connections, video
] on demand and far faster high-speed Internet connections.
]
] "It allows you to dream, create and do things differently
] than you've ever done," says Comcast Cable President
] Steve Burke.
]
] Operators envision buying millions of these converters
] or similar ones planned by Motorola and others
] and putting them on virtually every TV owned by
] their nearly 72 million customers. Then operators can
] stop transmitting analog signals and go all-digital.
]
] That's a big deal. Analog TV channels consume about 65%
] of the bandwidth on most modern systems and
] operators can squeeze as many as eight digital channels
] into the bandwidth that each analog channel now fills.
]
] That's key for adding HDTV.

Adios analog.

Laughing Boy

Device could change cable

] Gallagher said there are a number of advantages to
] MRAM, the first of which is that it uses magnetic—
] rather than electronic—charges to store bits of data.
] This is done by controlling the spin of captured
] electrons. According to Gallagher, this technology
] could lead to portable devices that not only can
] store more data, but also access it faster, all the
] while using less battery power.

] Also, unlike electronic memory chips, the non-volatile
] MRAM chips can retain data even when power to the device
] is turned off. That means that PCs and other computers
] could boot up immediately similar to turning on a light
] switch, Gallagher said rather than having to wait for
] software to load up. That also will save power, since a
] device does not need a constant flow of power to keep the
] data intact.

IBM, Infineon Make Memory Advances

] Investigators into the space shuttle Columbia accident
] said Thursday that they have uncovered flaws in the
] shuttle's system of explosive bolts that could do
] catastrophic damage to the remaining spacecraft.

*sigh* so much for flights resuming this year. :(

USATODAY.com - Inquiry finds new threat to shuttles

] Wired magazine is planning to publish the underlying code
] for the Slammer worm that slowed Internet traffic to a
] crawl in January, raising questions over whether such
] articles inspire future hackers or educate potential
] victims.

Do they really think that anyone who wants access to the code can't get it?

Wired magazine story to detail Slammer Web attack