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So are we as a society to develop new technologies without concern for the risks and oversight of those that produce the technologies? In the early 1900's, radiation was touted as a cure and radiation drinks were available (http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/bbdb0b4511b8 4010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html). It wasn't until people became harmed by it later (one man's jaw fell off) from such uses of radiation that regulations came about and limited the use of radioactive substances. Had regulation been present to limit the uses of radioactive substances to certain things prior then many lives would not have been damaged by cancers and other things.

Naturally, we are so arrogant today that we tend to think that we could never be so gullible. We should not be so irresponsible that we sacrifice safety for technology. The benefits outweigh the drawbacks or so we say - at least until we find out later that nanotechnology has dangers associated with it just like radiation, chemicals, microwaves, radar, and nearly any other technology. Unfortunately, safety often interferes with technological uses and thus it interferes with potential money streams. Get the money first and deal with the lawsuits later.

It is disturbing just how naive the public can be. There have been a number of drugs that have been released that were later found to be damaging to people - Elan's Tysabri for multiple sclerosis patients is just one example of a drug that killed people. It wasn't just greedy lawyers and people trying to make a buck that killed MS patients in the Tysabri case - it was Tysabri and Elan released it to the public and pulled it off of the market after it killed people. There have been plenty of other drugs by other companies that have harmed people in other ways which were later discovered.

Regulations do not kill an industry but they can hinder it. I would rather see a regulated industry, just like pharmaceuticals, transportation, and etc., in the US than a potentially dangerous non-regulated one. If we aren't going to take any precautions then I'd rather let another country be the laboratory. They can have the benefits or suffer the consequences. What good is being rich from a new technology if it kills you or causes debilitating diseases?

All that anyone is asking is that we proceed cautiously. No one really knows yet if nanotechnology misuses can kill us or harm us. But then the same could be said of any of the other technologies that have been developed. Benefits don't always outweigh the risks - especially if we don't even understand the risks yet.

Unfortunately, I don't think the FDA in it's current form is adequate for such a job.

Track Anyone With a Cell
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/how20/f88b973910a9a01 0vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

  Cue the Mission Impossible theme. I'm working a top-secret operation, and my support team is monitoring my every movement. OK, so I'm just going to the hardware store, but my girlfriend, Jen, is tracking me. Using a $100 kit from Mologogo (with a $6-a-month data plan), I've turned a prepaid cellphone into a GPS tracking device. Every few minutes, the phone transmits my location within 100 meters to mologogo.com, which posts it to a Google map that Jen can access from any computer. She can view my most recent spot or my past 100 recorded locations as little pushpins stamped with date and time.

The key to this project is the government's Enhanced 911 program, which will soon require all cellphones to transmit a GPS signal so that police can locate callers in need. So far, only Nextel, Boost Mobile and BlackBerry allow third-party companies to build software that uses that signal, but other carriers will follow suit this year.

Since Mologogo launched in October, its 1,000-plus members have found plenty of uses for it: following marathon runners, keeping track of the kids, planting a phone in the car in case it's stolen, watching a boyfriend's every move . . . Uh-oh.

      1. Go to mologogo.com and order a starter kit, which includes a phone preloaded with the tracking application, as well as two chargers, a USB cable and $10 in prepaid credit--nearly enough for the first two months of data service. Activate the phone following the included instructions. Make sure you choose the Mobile Data plan.
      2. Create two accounts at mologogo .com, one for the phone and one for the person tracking it. In each account, add the other as a "friend."
      3. Set up the Mologogo software on your phone at Main Menu> Java> Apps> More> Mologogo. Enter the account information you got from the Mologogo site.
      4. Give the phone to someone. Sign on to the site and see where they are.

Wait, no, I'm wrong.

You can get ~1000w/m^2 of light for about 8 hours a day with a good tracking system on a good day in the right area, dropping down to next to 0 at night. In space it's ~1200w/m^2 24/7. So on average you can only get ~1/5th or 200w/m^2 but that's an average over the total day not the max net power per given area which is what the grandparent was talking about.

EX: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/energyefficiency/7c53 0b4511b84010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

~pi * (32/2)^2 ft^2 in m^2 = ~74 m^2 = 25-kilowatt giving you ~338w/m^2 of electricity.

Note: The system is about 40% efficient per area of the mirrors, but there is a shadow of the sterling engine in the middle, which reduces the efficiency per unit area.

Anyway, while the average output is important the fact that the max power output follows max power demand is vary useful. A 1000MW power plant does not average 1000MW over a year it's simply the maximum power output, which you try and map to max demand. There is a large gap in AC usage in the summer between 2PM and 2AM. So while the average power output is important if you want to go 100% solar and ignore things like wind it's not really all that important from an adoption standpoint because 2AM electricity is worth much less than 2PM electricity due to supply and demand.

See here I like "Better" and "I Feel Fantastic"; "Todd the T1000" ain't bad either.

Well, a 3-day event involving Bush, his inauguration as a matter of fact cost $17 million dollars for security. Now when you consider that they're spending apparoximately $6.1 billion on upgrading his helicopters (increase floor space, and communications... specifically adding secure lines with constant access), Marine One if you're curious. I'd say it's quite a bit more then a hundred times.... interesting article on the Marine One upgrade if anyone is interested Popular Science

Because energy companies have all the infrastructure in place to continue profiting off of petroleum. Switching over to alternative fuels would require massive restructuring of their operations and investment in new infrastructure.

"If knowledge is power, then the intellectual-horsepower rating of tomorrow's vehicles is going to be tarmac-shreddingly high."

"And European culture is generally more tolerant of restrictions on individual freedom. A case in point: In a European Airbus, if the pilot pulls the stick back so far that the plane is about to stall, the stick effectively locks up. If an American-made Boeing jet is about to go outside the envelope, a cockpit alarm sounds, but the stick still responds."

Just a couple of quotes that seem custom-made for this discussion from an interesting review of technologies for intelligent cars in Popular Science.

And a review from Impact Labs describes some details of actual hardware and software solutions currently being developed with a goal "to be able, within the next two years, to drive from downtown San Francisco to downtown Los Angeles with 100 percent autonomy--without any human intervention whatsoever."

Wow, I never heard anything about this... Not really much we can do but start developing some really hardcore sunscreen if that's the case, or put giant shields at a gravitationally neutral point in space between the earth and sun to diffuse the UV rays.

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/how20/6a278ca927d0501 0vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

the origami will be a pda/mp3/swimming spy bot/handheld gaming device

Peak Oil could be 2005/2006, but remember, just because its peaked doesn't mean economies that can afford to pay for it wont get their fix.

Betting against the bull can hurt, I want to see all these gloomy peak-oilists short sell stock and make billions on the impending downfall peakers predict.

I fail to understand why people fear peak oil and get all gloomy, like humanity will just give up and die out and not find other ways such as:

microbes

nuclear

wind

ocean current

fusion

shale oil

tar sands

mile deep rigs

etc.

Got this article from /. : Intelligence: Behold the All-Seeing, Self-Parking, Safety-Enforcing, Networked Automobile. This is quite interesting because we (several people in my project team) were just discussing this during lunch. Well, it started out with vacations and where people were going, then it somehow got to how long it takes to drive from seattle to sf and la. It became what was the longest drive you took alone. Then it got into the subject of cruise control which lead to automated driving. I believe this issue has been discussed prior on this site, but several new interesting points came up. As I mentioned before, the number of car accidents will probably drop dramatically. Even though cars don't have human instincts, they also dont have human faults such as not paying attention, talking on the cell phone, falling asleep, drinking alcohol, etc. and also mentioned before was who is actually responsible for car accidents? Car manufacturers or the person that purchases/riding in the car? One of the stories brought up on how messed up our judicial system can be is someone enabled cruise control in his trailer and then went back to make himself some coffee. This car of course continued going straight and eventually hit a shoulder. He sued the manufactuerer that cruise control didn't state that it wasn't automatic steering and he actually won. My god! Common sense tells me there's no such thing as automatic steering! [This was proven to be just a rumor later on] But another valid point brought up was would insurance rates go up or down? One of my colleagues then said, "It depends on who." I mean there probably won't be any insurance required for passengers anymore (since there's technically no more drivers, unless you plan on overriding to manual driving). However manufactuers will probably need to purchase high premium insurance in case any accidents that do occur and any potential lawsuits they may receive, which in turn will reflect on the price tag of the car.

Learning even some snippets of another language while trying to communicate with someone else (especially in a harmless context such as a game) would make us all smarter. Howzat?

you can be sure the US Gov will be interested in data for its program to put weapons in space...that do the same thing (with smaller rods) to earth.

If you think that's bulky try walking around with this! Rip Records Straight to your iPod

Only in the alcoholic beverage industry would spend millions on R&D and scientists to engineer the perfect champaigne bubble, or how to make the perfect beer tap. IT doesn't come as a surprise they would try to engineer the perfect wine. :)

Popular science did a cool article where they had pro racers race in Forza motorsport, and then on the actual track.

The consensus was that it's easier to take corners at speed in the game because there's a lower penalty for crash.

This will help provide some much needed incentive for companies to invest in space beyond satellites and the dreams of a few nutty billionairs. We need more SpaceShip1 s and genuenly American pioneers like this guy...http://www.popsci.com/popsci/aviationspace/e 08989c49db84010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

Quite humorous that you should say that, It's the second listed in PopSci's "How Earth-Scale Engineering can Save the Planet." http://www.popsci.com/popsci/aviationspace/3afd8ca 927d05010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html Note: list starts on page two. There are a number of facinating ideas here as well.

According to Popular Science, there's already a mind-controlled bionic arm out. It allows for better movement than previous prosthetic limbs as well.

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/bown2005/personalheal th/19e6ee82ea447010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

"Welcome to the future of prosthetic limbs: true mind control. For the first time ever, an amputee need only think about a movement--picking up a glass, for instance--and the 12-pound Neuro-Controlled Bionic Arm dutifully coordinates the task. Electrodes intercept the limb's residual nerve firings and feed them to a computer embedded in the forearm, which then commands six motors to move the device's shoulder, elbow and hand in unison. Thanks to hand sensors, the wearer can even gauge pressure and fine-tune his grip.

For now, the prototype arm fits just one man, Jesse Sullivan. This year, Sullivan demonstrated the device at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, where doctors are working to refine it. A faster, more durable commercial version should be ready by 2008, but the ultimate goal is a robotic limb that functions as well as, if not better than, its human analogue."

It isn't as good as an arm that allows for feeling, but hey, think of what happens when a bionic arm that allows you to feel has an error. Ouchies.

that article has been on Popsci for this whole month... what about all the other cool articles on there? are they going to be posted here too? like Can We Stop Storms? With brutal hurricanes on the rise, scientists turn to far-out technologies to fight them off... http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/c955700641f87 010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

"printer friendly" link... http://www.popsci.com/popsci/printerfriendly/scien ce/0a03b5108e097010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/printerfriendly/scien ce/0a03b5108e097010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

Printer (and user) friendly!

Here it is if you wanna check it out.

No no.. the Sikorsky X2.

Life imitates Star Trek yet again. Hope they can use this for other things besides vaccines. I Can't stand shots. http://www.popsci.com/popsci/bown2005/personalheal th/8407ee82ea447010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

Anyone know where I can get this outlet? Google reveals nothing.

However, Silicon Dioxide you will.
And while you're at it, here's how you can make some: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/how20/765f9b616d0e601 0vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

On a side note, I'm amazed some dork hasn't posted a "1. 2. 3. PROFIT!", overlord, or soviet russia post. It must be a new era for slashdot...

"Alas, for Kansas's educational reputation, the damage may be done. "We've heard anecdotally that our students are getting much more scrutiny at places like medical schools. I get calls from teachers in other states who say things like 'You rubes!'" Williamson says. "But this is happening across the country. It's not just Kansas anymore."

Can you trust that photo?

There are already some torpedoes that can be used as anti-torpedo torpedos, plus they are working on new ones... just google for anti-torpedo torpedo. In any case, something like that may have less relevance with the advent of new supercavitating torpedoes. They currently exist and have speeds in excess of 200 miles/hour (about 300 kph). Right now, they are only good for straight line running, but the U.S. (and others I'll warrant) are researching how to get them to turn at high speed.

Once one of these is fired at you from 5 miles away, you probably wouldn't have time to launch an anti-torpedo torpedo and have it intercept. That's probably why they want something like this.

For far better info than the anemic (and completely flash based) gc.org site:

http://www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/discussion.htm l -- DARPA's GC message boards
http://www.tgdaily.com/2005/10/08/darpagrandchalle nge2005/ -- Was updated throughout the actual event. Best coverage I've seen yet.
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/darpachallenge/ -- Popular Science's rather disorganized site

I'm still looking for "highlight" video myself... or pretty much any non-bland video (seeing them cross the finish line is nifty and all, but that was not a challenging part of the race). I particularly want video of Alice trying to take out some reporters!

Here is a link to the new scientist article that someone mentioned. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg186249 45.800 Here is a link to a guy who is an actual cyborg. This person lost both of his arms and now he can robotic arms just by thinking about it. Not necessairly related but it shows it's possible. http://www.popsci.com/popsci/technology/generaltec hnology/c83d87fd92c26010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.h tml Also here is the article: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/medicine/6123dc8a2507 6010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html So yeah. Basically science is quickly approaching the realm of Iron Man.

Here is a link to the new scientist article that someone mentioned. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg186249 45.800 Here is a link to a guy who is an actual cyborg. This person lost both of his arms and now he can robotic arms just by thinking about it. Not necessairly related but it shows it's possible. http://www.popsci.com/popsci/technology/generaltec hnology/c83d87fd92c26010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.h tml Also here is the article: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/medicine/6123dc8a2507 6010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html So yeah. Basically science is quickly approaching the realm of Iron Man.

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/darpachallenge/1b7a1e 7eef0d6010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html Apparently, the teams all ready have traveled four times as far than last year. It is great progress for a year.

That makes sense, i'm definitely no radar expert.. Popular Science ran an article I read a while back, managed to find the link: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/printerfriendly/autom otivetech/57591196aeb84010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd .html
From the article:
" Dodging a boulder in the middle of the path shouldn't be too hard. But recognizing whether the large object is in fact a boulder or a clump of tumbleweed or a moving Grand Challenge competitor will be. Ditto distinguishing the edge of a desert path from the rough country that lies next to it, or recognizing "negative spaces" like ditches or potholes. "

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/09a7dd9a0cc36 010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd/3.html

"So Thrun pioneered what's known as probabilistic robotics. He programs his machines to adjust their responses to incoming data based on the probability that the data are correct. In last year's DARPA race, many derailments occurred when a 'bot's sensors provided faulty information, causing it to, for example, mistake a tumbleweed for a rock and stop in its tracks. Thrun's car didn't go off the cliff mentioned above, because its software ignored the bad GPS data (which it judged to have a significant probability of error) and responded instead to the more accurate laser readings. (If the car hadn't made the right choice, Thrun or a colleague would have hit two giant red buttons next to the wheel to disable the AI.)

By early July, Thrun's car had navigated 88 miles of last year's route. It would have logged more, but the pace car got a flat tire after its (human) driver failed to avoid a bump in the road."

My understanding of the Danger hiptop is this: To put programs you write yourself on a Danger hiptop, you must become a registered developer, and even then you can not share your programs with other users unless they are also registered developers, or unless Danger gives its official stamp of approval that your application will be THE representative application for its category (calculator, etc.) in their commercial catalog.

Exactly what aid did FEMA deny or not produce that was requested by the Mayor or Governor?

The levee system was only recently completed. It was only designed to deal with the storm surge of a category 3 storm. One that could withstand this storm was only considered last year.

I'm not making excuses for anyone. I am sure there are foul ups all around, however, to act as if this is all the fault of the federal government is wrong.

If we really want to blame someone, let's blame the guy that thought it would be ok to build a city below sea level next to the ocean.

Seems the ISS is getting the same treatment.

It's being used for mushroom farming?

I always wanted "mushrooms from God"!

Popular Science had an article about it last April: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/22040b4511b84 010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

It's sad when these tragedies are announced and still happen.

I wouldn't be so quick to trust my life to aluminum.

aluminum does corrode. astonishingly easily too.
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/how2/article/0,20967, 693558,00.html

aluminum corrodes very fast when in contact with other metals. it also corrodes under normal environmental conditions.

you might have heard of "CD rot" and "LD rot" and to a lesser extent, "DVD rot". That's when the aluminum reflective layer corrodes, degrading the CD/LD/DVD to the point where it's unplayable. Modern manufacturing techniques have gotten better, but it can still happen.

If I were to trust my life to something, i'd rather pick titanium over aluminum.

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/aviation/article/0,20 967,1075786,00.html

"David Keith never expected to get a summons from the White House. But in September 2001, officials with the President's Climate Change Technology Program invited him and more than two dozen other scientists to participate in a roundtable discussion called "Response Options to Rapid or Severe Climate Change." While administration officials were insisting in public that there was no firm proof that the planet was warming, they were quietly exploring potential ways to turn down the heat.

Most of the world's industrialized nations had already vowed to combat global warming by reining in their emissions of carbon dioxide, the chief "greenhouse gas" blamed for trapping heat in Earth's atmosphere. But in March 2001 President George W. Bush had withdrawn U.S. support for the Kyoto Protocol, the international treaty mandating limits on CO2 emissions, and asked his administration to begin studying other options."

Plenty of rant about monopolies and why they're bad, but no info about how they came up with the $10B number.

Don't get me wrong - I'm sure it's at least this much. Hell, if something as simple as an email virus is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars of productivity lost from users around the world having to press the Delete key, then yeah. MS and all the spyware/malware/worms/virii that comes with it would be in the billions, easy. That's what you get with a monoculture. Reminds me of the Gros Michel banana.

But without some sort of info about where the $10B estimate comes from, it's not very useful. You don't know if there are a roomful of industry insiders running simulations on huge mainframes, or some idiot with a dartboard. There is a difference. Hopefully.

going blind? not likely. metal burning you? nah but metal does retain heat longer which would suck for volunteers. effecting pacemakers? hardly, this doesn't penetrate skin. the beams do not keep on going. also i don't think that most iraqi citizens will be able to associate a little burning pain with a miscarriage or anything else since they probably don't even know about radiation and therefore can't make the gross leap from microwave to x-ray/gamma(or even UV).

no, i think non-violently resolving a situation has more benefits than all these imagined downsides mentioned in all the posts on slashdot

like this piece about a kosovo riot in a story about non lethal weapons where high-density foam was shot to disperse a crowd http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/article/0,209 67,448832-1,00.html
"The nonlethal rounds achieved a tremendous effect: Everyone backed up immediately and settled down," Brown recalls. "By the rules of engagement, my soldiers could have chosen to shoot people. We would have had a very bloody day, and it would have had a terrible effect on everyone in Kosovo."

a reporter for popular science in a may2003 article

bullshit this is not something to be alarmed about. even a popular science reporter willingly got hit by this thing, twice!

in an old five page artical about the army developing non lethal weapons the fifth page describes it http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/article/0,209 67,448832-5,00.html

When an engine is properly designed to advance timing and boost pressure when running high octane fuel (like the 110 octane of E85), then you can get some surprising gains:

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/automotive/article/0, 20967,1069364,00.html

This saab 2.0L engine gains about 20-25% more power when running E85 than straight unleaded. With no loss of milage.

Ethanol is also a rather potent fuel-systems cleaner. In a car with a lot of straight gasoline mileage, this can be a problem as the varnish deposits from the fuel will start to break loose when the ethanol starts to dissolve them, and they can clog up fuel filters and injectors. After a few thousand miles of running ethanol blend, or after running an even stronger fuel deposit solvent through the engine, that problem is solved.

I found out the above in college when I moved, and had to start using 10% blend. Mileage tanked for 2-3 months, and then bounced back to where it was before.

are you talking about something similar to this popular science article?