Slashdot Mirror

New submitter schrodingersGato writes "Researchers at the Los Alamos campus of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory achieved a record-setting 100.75 Tesla magnetic field. To do this, scientists placed a resistive magnet (a sophisticated electromagnet) coupled to massive bank of capacitors within another magnet fixed at a 'lower' magnetic field. A short-lived pulse two million times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field was generated. The magnet itself made an eerie sound as it was energized (video). Prepare for the birth of Magneto!"

crookedvulture writes "Commodore has revealed the Amiga mini, a small-form-factor system that runs a custom Linux distro dubbed Commodore OS Vision. A trailer for the OS hardly inspires confidence, and the rest of the system doesn't help. While the Amiga mini features a high-end Intel desktop CPU and modern conveniences like Blu-ray, USB 3.0, and 802.11n Wi-Fi, it's stuck with one of the slowest graphics chips Nvidia makes. Some of the other specifications are head-scratchers, too. The mini comes with a whopping 16GB of RAM but only a terabyte of storage. You'll have to pay extra to get an SSD, which makes the $2500 asking price particularly onerous. The case, Blu-ray drive, and power supply are being made available separately, but at $345, they're hardly a bargain. Add this to the list of nostalgia-baiting remakes that don't live up to their inspiration." Update: It looks like Commodore has dropped the price after receiving a lot of negative feedback.

xwwt writes "Wil Wheaton is working with Felicia Day on a new show called Tabletop, which will air on the YouTube Channel Geek and Sundry. The show will be about board games and gaming in general. This is how he describes it: 'My ulterior motive with Tabletop is to show by example how much fun it is to play boardgames. I want to show that Gamers aren't all a bunch of weirdoes who can't make eye contact when they talk to you, and that getting together for a game night is just as social and awesome as getting together to watch Sportsball, or to play poker, or for a LAN party, or whatever non-gamers do with their friends. I want to inspire people to try hobby games, and I want to remove the stigma associated with gaming and gamers.' The first show airs April 2nd."

New submitter EuNao writes "TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design), the organization based on 'ideas worth sharing,' launched a new initiative this past week. It is called TED-Ed, and it aims to engage students with unforgettable lessons. There are many places in the world where a wonderful teacher or mentor is teaching something mind-blowing, but as it stands now not many people have access to that powerful experience. Ted-Ed aims to bring that engaging experience to everyone who has an internet connection. Here are summaries and links to the nine videos that were initially released."

sl4shd0rk writes "Hackers can now build applications directly on their Android devices with the beta release of AIDE. The Android IDE is at beta version 7, and already allows editing and compiling of apps as well as integration with LogCat. AIDE is even compatible with projects started on Eclipse so you can move a project over and work on it. Finally, a reason to get yourself that Transformer keyboard dock?" sl4shd0rk also provided a screencast which is attached. InfoQ has a short interview with the developers. Mildly interesting is that it does the compilation on device instead of shipping the work off to some network service or other. The app is, like a lot of Android stuff, only free cost with no corresponding source code at the moment.

New submitter 0111 1110 writes "Attempting to emulate Double Fine's success to fund another currently dead genre of computer game, Brian Fargo of Interplay fame has started a kickstarter project for a sequel to Wasteland, his1988 post-apocalyptic RPG which inspired Fallout. It will be turn-based and party-based, with a top-down perspective and 2D graphics. Fargo has managed to attract many of the original developers, such as Alan Pavlish and Mike Stackpole, as well as Jason Anderson, who was a designer for Fallout, and Mark Morgan, who did the music for Planescape: Torment and both of the original Fallout games. Fargo's goal has been set at $900,000. Anything above that will be used for additional game content. At $1.5 million he will offer an OS X version. An interview with Fargo by Rock, Paper, Shotgun provides some additional insight into what he and his group are planning, as does a video interview with Matt Barton."

suso writes "A design flaw in the VTE library was published this week. The VTE library provides the terminal widget and manages the scrollback buffer in many popular terminal emulators including gnome-terminal, xfce4-terminal, terminator and guake. Due to this flaw, your scrollback buffer ends up on your /tmp filesystem over time and can be viewed by anyone who gets ahold of your hard drive. Including data passed back through an SSH connection. A demonstration video was also made to make the problem more obvious. Anyone using these terminals or others based on libVTE should be aware of this issue as it even writes data passed back through an SSH connection to your local disk. Instructions are also included for how to properly deal with the leaked data on your hard drive. You are either encouraged to switch terminals and/or start using tmpfs for your /tmp partition until the library is fixed."

An anonymous reader writes "News from the world of AmigaOS that the Beta version of Timberwolf (a.k.a. Firefox) was made available last month." Timberwolf is a port of Firefox to the AmigaOS (the name change is for similar reasons to Debian's use of Iceweasel name) and has been under development for quite some time. The AmigaBounty project page has screenshots and even more info for those interested. There's a video of the browser in action, but beware of the cheesy soundtrack.

Riskable writes "As a follow-up to my previous Slashdot story, Gate One is now out of beta. Packages can be downloaded here. There's also a live demo: press the ESC key on this page to have a terminal running lynx drop into view, Quake-style! I've also posted a video overview and the documentation can be found here. Some pertinent changes since the beta: Added the ability display images inline within terminals, key-based SSH authentication, a WebSockets authentication API (for secure embedding), dramatically improved terminal emulation, an overhauled bookmark manager, support for international keyboard layouts, and a web-based log viewer that lets you export logs to self-contained HTML playback files."

theodp writes "After a 17-month wait, 20-year-old Dharun Ravi went on trial Friday for using a remote webcam to spy on an encounter between his roommate and another man in their Rutgers dorm room. The roommate, Tyler Clementi, killed himself days later, jumping off the George Washington Bridge and igniting a national conversation on cyberbullying and gay teen suicide. Ravi is charged with multiple counts of bias intimidation as a hate crime, invasion of privacy and hindering apprehension; he faces up to 10 years in prison and deportation. Defense lawyers on Friday argued that Ravi's actions were the mark of an ignorant teenager, not a hateful homophobe. 'He may be stupid at times,' said Ravi's lawyer. 'He's an 18-year-old boy, but he's certainly not a criminal.' The New Yorker recently offered an in-depth look at the case and the questions it raises. BTW, this might be a good time for Microsoft to retire that Hallway commercial ('Jason gets stranded in the hallway when his roommate is 'tutoring' lady friends in their dorm room. Luckily, with Windows 7, his laptop can now work like an HD DVR. So Jason can entertain himself while waiting. And waiting. Aaand waiting some more.')."

eldavojohn writes "As the presidential race heats up, the smear ads on TV are also increasing. But Microsoft isn't going to site idly by and let the politicians engage in all that song and dance — and Microsoft really does employ both song and dance. Their Youtube channel appears to be slowly transforming from trade show videos and launches into a marketing attack or propaganda campaign that only targets Google (both videos I've watched seemed to have nothing positive about Microsoft in them). Under a month ago, they launched a spoof called GMail man, a creepy guy that flips through all your GMail and serves up super personal ads that are wrong (although they never say if Hotmail engages in targeted marketing). And a few days ago Googlighting shows up to spread fear and uncertainty about Google Docs. Most amusing to this viewer was that I found no such trace of 'Googlighting' on Bing's video service."

eldavojohn writes "As the presidential race heats up, the smear ads on TV are also increasing. But Microsoft isn't going to site idly by and let the politicians engage in all that song and dance — and Microsoft really does employ both song and dance. Their Youtube channel appears to be slowly transforming from trade show videos and launches into a marketing attack or propaganda campaign that only targets Google (both videos I've watched seemed to have nothing positive about Microsoft in them). Under a month ago, they launched a spoof called GMail man, a creepy guy that flips through all your GMail and serves up super personal ads that are wrong (although they never say if Hotmail engages in targeted marketing). And a few days ago Googlighting shows up to spread fear and uncertainty about Google Docs. Most amusing to this viewer was that I found no such trace of 'Googlighting' on Bing's video service."

eldavojohn writes "As the presidential race heats up, the smear ads on TV are also increasing. But Microsoft isn't going to site idly by and let the politicians engage in all that song and dance — and Microsoft really does employ both song and dance. Their Youtube channel appears to be slowly transforming from trade show videos and launches into a marketing attack or propaganda campaign that only targets Google (both videos I've watched seemed to have nothing positive about Microsoft in them). Under a month ago, they launched a spoof called GMail man, a creepy guy that flips through all your GMail and serves up super personal ads that are wrong (although they never say if Hotmail engages in targeted marketing). And a few days ago Googlighting shows up to spread fear and uncertainty about Google Docs. Most amusing to this viewer was that I found no such trace of 'Googlighting' on Bing's video service."

HerbieTMac writes "Political science professor Francis Fukuyama builds and flies his own personal surveillance drones. His current model requires ground visibility but he is working on the HAM license that would allow fully remote operation. His YouTube videos (video 1 , video 2) are particularly impressive." I had no idea that Francis Fukuyama had such technical interests.

HerbieTMac writes "Political science professor Francis Fukuyama builds and flies his own personal surveillance drones. His current model requires ground visibility but he is working on the HAM license that would allow fully remote operation. His YouTube videos (video 1 , video 2) are particularly impressive." I had no idea that Francis Fukuyama had such technical interests.

theodp writes "'We were all foolish enough to go on this adventure,' Google co-founder Sergey Brin told the assembled Brainiacs at Google's Solve for X event last week, recalling the time he and Google co-founder Larry Page took their Gulfstream on a $100K journey to watch a 2008 Soyuz launch in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. 'If the rocket blows up, we're all dead,' Sergey overheard a Russian guard say. 'It was incredibly close,' Sergey continued. 'We drove in toward this rocket and there were hundreds of people all going the other way. It was really an astonishing sight. If you ever have the opportunity, I highly recommend it. It's really not at all comparable to the American launches that I've seen...because those are like five miles away behind a mountain, and the Russians are not as concerned with safety.' Sergey received film credit for the recently-opened Man on a Mission, a documentary on the Russian Soyuz mission that wound up putting Ultima creator Richard Garriott into orbit (for $30 million) instead of changing the course of Google history."

karthikmns writes "It turns out that Google uses the number of o's in a lol to weigh how funny a video is. In a blog post Google explains how they came up with an algorithm to gauge a video's comedic potential. So if you want to watch funnier videos, make sure to add some extra o's or help them by visiting their Comedy Slam and voting."

DrDevil writes "A member of the computer hacking group Anonymous has hacked into a telephone conference between the FBI and Scotland Yard (London Police) and posted it on the internet. The Daily Telegraph has a comprehensive article on the hack. The audio of the call can be heard here." Reader eldavojohn snips as well from the AP's story as carried by Google: "Those on the call talk about what legal strategy to pursue in the cases of Ryan Cleary and Jake Davis — two British suspects linked to Anonymous — and discuss details of the evidence gathered against other suspects."

Hugh Pickens writes "As millions of fans sit glued to their sets next Sunday, one part of the game they will not see is the massive deployment of federal and local law enforcement resources to achieve what is being called the most technologically secure Super Bowl in history, an event that has been officially designated as a National Security Special Event (PDF). At the top of the list are gamma-ray cargo and vehicles scanners that can reportedly see through six inches of steel to reveal the contents of large vehicles. 'We can detect people, handguns and rifles,' says Customs and Border Protection Officer Brian Bell. 'You'd be a fool to bring something into that stadium that you shouldn't. We're going to catch it. Our goal is to look at every vehicle that makes a delivery inside the stadium and inside the secure perimeter.' Next is the 51-foot Featherlite mobile command center for disaster response that will support the newly constructed $18 million Regional Operations Center (ROC) for the Marion County Department of Homeland Security that will serve as a fusion center for coordinating the various federal agencies involved in providing security for the Super Bowl. One interesting security measure are the 'Swiveloc' explosion-proof manhole covers (video) that Indianapolis has spent $150,000 installing that are locked down during the Super Bowl. In case of an underground explosion, the covers lift a couple of inches off the ground — enough to vent gas out without feeding in oxygen to make an explosion bigger — before falling back into place. Finally the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI has installed a network of cameras that will be just a click away for government officials. 'If you had the right (Internet) address, you could set up a laptop anywhere and you could watch the camera from there,' says Brigadier General Stewart Goodwin."

An anonymous reader writes "The protests against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement continue to spread in cities across Europe. The protests began in Poland, where thousands have taken to the streets and opposition politicians have worn Guy Fawkes masks in protest against the country signing the agreement last week. The scenes from Poland and France are remarkable, demonstrating the widespread anger over the decision to join ACTA. A full rundown of protest plans can be found here."

theodp writes "'Sticks and stones will break my bones,' the old nursery rhyme goes, 'but names will never hurt me.' Unless, of course, you're on Google+. While touting what it calls a move toward a more inclusive naming policy for Google+, the search giant's Name Policy would still make Sister Aloysius Beauvier smile. Names like 'Doctor Stan Livingston,' 'Bill Smithwick DDS,' and 'Rev. Jim Copley, S. P.' are cited as examples of violations that could cost you your Google+ privileges. And since new Google account users are reportedly now forced to join Google+, one wonders if the Name Policy might even preclude one from establishing one of those adorable dear.sophie.lee or dear.hollie accounts."

mdsolar writes with this excerpt from the Sydney Morning Herald: "Radiation-blurred images taken inside one of Japan's tsunami-hit nuclear reactors show steam, unidentified parts and rusty metal surfaces scarred by 10 months of exposure to heat and humidity. The photos — the first inside-look since the disaster — showed none of the reactor's melted fuel or its cooling water but confirmed stable temperatures and showed no major ruptures caused by the earthquake last March, said Junichi Matsumoto, spokesman for plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company." Here's a video.

First time accepted submitter gentryx writes "Researchers at the Japan Institute of Science and Technology have build a miniature Wipeout track (YouTube video) using high temperature superconductors and quantum levitation. Right now this is fundamental research, but in the future large scale transportation systems could be built with technology akin to this. I have a different vision: let Nintendo sell this as an accessory for the Wii U. I'd buy several of these tracks, let the gliders race through the whole house and track them on our TV!" Update: 01/05 22:08 GMT by S : As many readers have pointed out, this is CGI.

hypnosec writes "Microsoft's Flight Simulator series, which was in dormant state until now, will see a re-launch this spring and that too for free. The name of this series will be simply Flight, and players will have free access to the digital sky with this simulator. In other words, it will be available as a free download; however, the user would need to buy additional content to enhance their experience. The content that can be purchased includes aircraft as well as new environments. Microsoft states that the most amazing part of this game is the user can experience some real life locations like Big Island of Hawaii along with 'region-specific weather patterns, foliage, terrain and landmarks.'" [Video demo here.] I'd like to know where the ESRB finds "crude humor" or "mild violence" in there.

First time accepted submitter jehan60188 writes with this excerpt from an article from Hack a Day: "The 28th Annual Chaos Communication Congress just wrapped things up on December 31st and they've already published recordings of all the talks at the event. These talks were live-streamed, but if you didn't find time in your schedule to see all that you wanted, you'll be happy to find your way to the YouTube collection of the event. The topics span a surprising range. We were surprised to see a panel discussion on depression and suicide among geeks ... which joins another panel called Queer Geeks, to address some social issues rather than just hardcore security tech. But there's plenty of that as well with topics on cryptography, security within web applications, and also a segment on electronic currencies like Bitcoins.'" The CCC wiki has a list of mirrors with downloads in multiple formats (including WebM).

wiredmikey writes "New research from Kaspersky Labs has revealed that the platform dubbed 'tilded' (~d), which was used to develop Stuxnet and Duqu, has been around for years. The researchers say that same platform has been used to create similar Trojans which have yet to be discovered. Alexander Gostev and Igor Sumenkov have put together some interesting research, the key point being that the person(s) behind what the world knows as Stuxnet and Duqu have actually been using the same development platform for several years." An anonymous reader adds a link to this "surprisingly entertaining presentation" (video) by a Microsoft engineer, in which "he tells the story of how he and others analysed the exploits used by Stuxnet. Also surprising are the simplicity of the exploits which were still present in Win7." See also the report at Secureist from which the SecurityWeek story draws.

New submitter brunozamborlin writes "I just published a short video that shows how a very cheap contact microphone can be used to recognize different types of fingers touch and transform any surface into an interactive board. In the video we put the microphone over different surfaces such as kitchen tables and balloons and through realtime gesture recognition we show how we can play different virtual music instruments using a technique called physical modeling . A mobile version would be definitely possible." The project's Web page shows several more examples. Update: 12/31 15:17 GMT by T : Bruno Zamborlin points out that the surfaces don't need to be flat; instead, they simply need to be rigid.

An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at Notre Dame have created a nanoparticle paste, which acts as the main ingredient in solar cells that are very easy to construct. In a short video clip, they can be seen assembling a functional solar cell with little more than a heat gun, tape, and some binder clips. The paste is made from a mix of t-butanol, water, and a mix of cadmium selenide with cadmium sulfide nanoparticles. So far, the experimental devices are not nearly as efficient as standard solar cells, but they were just developed. If the materials were slightly less toxic, it might even be a project that kids could do at home."

bmsleight writes "Android is nice, but I do not want to pay to print or be beholden to the cloud to do everything or chroot. I just want a tablet that can run a MythTv-client, OpenOffice.org and good old apt-get instead of an app market. I have a Joggler — which costs £60 — I'd like something similar but with a battery, a bigger screen, and other modern tablet features. So, what's the best tablet for running a real GNU/Linux distribution (ideally Debian)? Bonus points for the best apt-get-able distribution that works with a tablet."

EagleHasLanded writes "The Berkeley Pit, an abandoned open pit copper mine in Butte, Montana — part of the largest Superfund site in the U.S. — is filled with 40 billion gallons of acidic, metal-contaminated water. For years the water was believed to be too toxic to support life, until Andrea and Donald Stierle, a pair of organic chemists at the University of Montana, discovered that the Pit is a rich source of unusual extremophiles, 'many of which have shown great promise as producers of potential anti-cancer agents and anti-inflammatories.' In the course of their ongoing investigation, the two self-described 'bioprospectors' have also discovered an uncommon yeast, which might play a significant role in cleaning up the site. In the meantime, the Pit has become a tourist attraction in Butte, which charges $2 for the opportunity to take in the view from the Viewing Stand."

alphadogg writes "A Cornell University professor is calling the controversial Carrier IQ smartphone software revelations a privacy disaster. 'This is my worst nightmare,' says Stephen Wicker, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Cornell. 'As a professor who studies electronic security, this is everything that I have been working against for the last 10 years. It is an utterly appalling invasion of privacy with immense potential for manipulation and privacy theft that requires immediate federal intervention.'" Read on for a grab-bag of other news about the ongoing story of Carrier IQ's spyware. Federal intervention is already on the menu; new submitter mitcheli writes "Following the video from Trevor Eckhart on Youtube after the filing of the Cease and Desist letter and subsequent reply by the EFF and apology letter (as reported on Slashdot), Senator Franken of the Subcommittee on Privacy Technology and the Law asks some rather pointed questions."

Franken has more reason, apparently, to look into this than might legislators in other countries; an anonymous reader submits news that Cambridge researchers have found the software to be confined to (or at least only confirmed in) American customers' phones. From their report: "We performed an analysis on our dataset of 5572 Android smartphones that volunteers from all over the world helped us create. From those 5572 devices, only 21 were found to be running the software, all of them in the US and Puerto Rico. The affected carriers we observed were AT&T, Boost Mobile and Sprint.
We found no evidence of the Carrier IQ software running on Android devices in any other country."

Another anonymous reader suggests that "Apart from anything else, the fundamental mistake that Carrier IQ made was attempting to silence a developer using a heavy-handed legal threat. Certainly this was the tipping point in terms of bring the whole incident to the public's attention."

Like apparently begets like; reader adeelarshad82 writes "Not surprisingly, the Carrier IQ controversy has resulted in some legal action. Class-action lawsuits have been filed in California and Missouri that accuse Carrier IQ, as well as Samsung and HTC, of violating federal wiretap laws. The California case was filed on behalf of four smartphone users with HTC and Samsung devices and accuses the companies of violating the Federal Wiretap Act, which prohibits the unauthorized interception or illegal use of electronic communications, and California's Unfair Business Practice Act."

Finally, GMGruman writes with the cautionary note that Carrier IQ and Facebook pose "the least of your privacy threats": "[S]o far these forms of monitoring anonymize the data, so an individual's actual privacy is not invaded. And while people fret over these potential invasions, a more pernicious privacy invasion is under way, one that monitors actual individuals and then uses that information to try to direct their behavior. For example, car insurers give monitoring boxes to customers to track their driving behavior and offer a discount if it is 'good.' Of course, the flip side is higher rates or no coverage if the black box decides you are "bad." And, as this blog post points out, this is just one of many such 'Big Brother corporation' efforts out there that give significant power to insurers and others who have a history of abusing personal information, such as for redlining and coverage denial."

After years of beautiful concept cars, envy-inspiring demos, and missed production targets starting in 2008, high-efficiency car startup Aptera is liquidating its assets. A pointed excerpt from Wired's account: "The truth is, Aptera always faced long odds and has been in trouble for at least two years. The audience for a sperm-shaped, three-wheeled, electric two-seater was never anything but small. It didn’t help that production of the 2e — at one point promised for October 2009 — was continually delayed as Wilbur ordered redesigns to make it more appealing to the mainstream. Aptera had a small window in which to be a first mover in the affordable EV space, and that window closed the moment the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt hit the market. At that point, Aptera teetered on the brink of irrelevance." As a compulsive driver, I had been hoping to one day drive one of these to save gas money.

theodp writes "The Atlantic talks to creative director Tom Jenkins about his short film Address Is Approximate, which tells the whimsical story of a toy's journey to the California coast. Jenkins' personal project, described a 'Toy Story for the Internet age,' uses stop-motion animation and Google Street View to bring an after-working-hours office space to life. Film critic Larry Page gives it a thumbs-up."

Hugh Pickens writes "James Fallows writes that you don't have to idealize everything about the Occupy movement to recognize the stoic resolve of the protesters at UC Davis being pepper sprayed as a moral drama that the protesters clearly won. 'The self-control they show, while being assaulted, reminds me of grainy TV footage I saw as a kid, of black civil rights protesters being fire-hosed by Bull Connor's policemen in Alabama. Or of course the Tank Man in Tiananmen Square,' writes Fallows. 'Such images can have tremendous, lasting power.' We can't yet imagine all the effects of the panopticon society we are beginning to live in but one benefit to the modern protest movement is the omnipresence of cameras (video) as police officials, protesters, and nearly all onlookers are recording whatever goes on bringing greater accountability and a reality-test for police claims that they 'had' to use excessive force. 'What's new is that now the perception war occurs simultaneously with the physical struggle. There's almost parity,' writes Andrew Sprung. 'You have a truncheon or gun, I have a camera. You inflict pain, I inflict infamy.'"

Lauren Weinstein writes "Viacom has just released a video calling for support of global Internet censorship via SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act). A truth annotated version of this approximately seven-minute video is now available." Reader quantumplacet writes with word that the Business Software Alliance (probably for reasons other than this video) has withdrawn its support for SOPA, claiming that "Valid and important questions have been raised about the bill." Writes quantumplacet: "While the BSA has a long history of focusing on the worst offenders and mostly ignoring casual piracy, this still represents a dramatic turnaround as the organization has been a SOPA supporter since the act's inception. BSA President Robert Hollyman posted on the company blog that 'Due process, free speech, and privacy are rights that cannot be compromised. ....Some observers have raised reasonable questions about whether certain SOPA provisions might have unintended consequences in these areas.'"

An anonymous reader writes "French researchers have demonstrated a robot that controls its own arm as well as a person's arm to manipulate objects in a collaborative manner, IEEE reports. Electrodes attached to the person's arm allow the robot to make the elbow and hand move to perform tasks. The tasks are currently simple (dropping a ball through a hoop, as shown in one of their videos), but the researchers say more complex ones are possible. They also say the approach has therapeutic benefits and their goal is to 'develop robotic technologies that can help people suffering from paralysis and other disabilities to regain some of their motor skills.'"

SharkLaser writes "Minecraft, the most widely known and best selling indie game in the history, is now finished. Minecraft creator Notch tweeted yesterday that Minecraft has gone gold and will be released at the end of the week at the first Minecon, a gathering of Minecraft fans. So far over 4 million people have bought the game, generating over 50 million dollars in revenue. Minecraft has also had a rapid modding community around the game, developing gems like the Millenaire mod, Builders and Tornadoes. Minecraft also brought back the interest in voxel based engines, introducing games like Ace of Spades (build, make tunnels, capture the flag FPS) and Voxatron [note: you might want to turn down your volume for this video]. It also opened up many ways for new indie developers, as Minecraft showed development can be funded solely by making something new and giving out early access to the game for those who are interested in the project. The upcoming Steam-like IndieCity-platform will also employ similar feature where, in addition to normal indie game store, players can look at unfinished projects and choose to support their development."

After his amateur rocket flight in the desert (to 121,000 feet!), you asked rocket enthusiast Derek Deville about the project. Derek's responded to a selection of the best of those questions; read on below for his replies. Education
by Maladius

Where/how did you learn the information needed in order to pull off a feat like this? Related: How long have you been working on these types of projects?

Derek Deville: I got started in High Power Rocketry in 1996 after finding out about Tripoli, the national hobby rocket organization. I started attending Tripoli launches in West Palm Beach (I live in Miami) and quickly got certified Level 1 and 2. With that I could fly rockets up to "L" power (5,120 N-s) which have about 5 lbs of propellant. I started a chapter of Tripoli in South Florida and got a waiver to fly to 25,000' in a tomato field about 20 miles south of Miami. Shortly thereafter I got my Level 3 certification which opened the door to any size rocket. For the next 7 years I flew rockets almost every month, logging hundreds of flights with every increasing size and power. I took a hobby course introducing me to making my own propellant. That got me hooked.

I started talking to all the guys that were making the biggest hobby motors and started tinkering with even larger motors of my own. By 2000 I was making "P" motors with about 50lbs of propellant in them. This was on the high end of what the hobby was doing. I wanted to take it even further. I started doing a lot of research with AIAA and reference textbooks. I connected with several of the hobby rocket motor manufacturers such as Paul Robinson, Frank Kosdon and Gary Rosenfield. I also connected with some of the related scientific community such as Professor Terry McCreary and Charles Rogers. From these folks and my independent studies I was able to further my understanding of propulsion science.

In 2001 Korey Kline found me through my hobby exploits and invited me to join Environmental Aeroscience Corp (eAc) in developing a hybrid propulsion system for SpaceShipOne. It was the opportunity of a lifetime. For several years we fired some of the biggest and best hybrid rocket motors ever made. Hybrids use a solid fuel grain and liquid oxidizer such as Nitrous Oxide. In some ways these are similar to solids, but mostly they are a breed all their own. In 2004 after completing our work with Burt Rutan, Korey and I were asked to join the Civilian Space Exploration Team. We originally intended to make a large hybrid for them for their SpaceShot, but they weren't able to control the dispersion to the satisfaction of the FAA, so we switched to a solid.

Korey insisted that a full scale motor be test fired. During that process we learned a lot. We made an "S" motor that flew to space in March 2004. That was and remains the largest successful amateur motor ever made. The Qu8k motor is one third scaled down version of that motor. Because of the CSXT experience, I had even more data for my motor design and was able to go into Qu8k with higher confidence.

Theory vs Practical Experience
by Toonol

How much of the design of your rockets come from trial and error, and how much from more formal principles of rocketry? Or, in other words, how much of the planning comes from deliberate application of physics, ballistics, etc., and how much from past experience?

DD: The vast majority of the Qu8k design came from deliberate application of design principals. This is particularly true for the propulsion system, flight simulation and vehicle structure. The important thing that comes from past experience is knowing what the failure modes are so that I can design and test as necessary to prevent them. There are aspects of the rocket that come from rules of thumb generated from many years of experience. One example is the area of venting necessary for the payload section. I can ballpark the required area but it doesn't take into account all the variables. It is a function of the volume of the payload section, how quickly the rocket changes altitude (outside pressure) and what pressure the nose retention system can tolerate. All I can do in a case like that is make a best guess.

Thoughts on N-Prize, doable?
by foolish_to_be_here

I'm very impressed. Great job. Question: Do you have any comments on an N-Prize sort of launch? Do you feel it is achievable at even one orbit? If so are you part of a team?

DD: I am not part of any N-prize team. I do not think that the goals are achievable as defined. The tracking portion alone is a mammoth undertaking, and from my rocket experience I know that the expense of a launch vehicle will far exceed the stated budget.

Balancing work, family, and play?
by thermopile

I was impressed and somewhat humbled by all the different activities you had featured on your website. Do you ever sleep? In all seriousness, how do you (appropriately) balance work, family, and play time? In looking at your website, you seem to do at least two of those (family + play time) very well.

DD: Thank you so much. I am passionate about all three. My family is the top priority. A lot of the groundwork for my current ‘play' came before the family. I am a little OCD so when I get into something I really commit. Work had been engrossing for the past two years and I had to back-burner hobbies. I saw a break in work coming and took advantage of that to do Qu8k. This project was conceived in July and the work was done between August and September. Now I'm back to working and family. I can't wait for the next opportunity to do more rockets.

Machinery
by vlm

I looked at your website pictures; clean shop (cleaner than mine, anyway); Curious what type of equipment you used to build it. I see a Bridgeport-style knee milling machine, a large unidentifiable lathe with a quick change toolpost. Chinese or classic American heavy iron? Nice smoke off the carbide (carbide, unlike HSS, can be pushed hard enough to make the cutting oil burn without wearing the cutting edge) Looks like all manual machines, no CNC? TIG welding the aluminum or ? Did you CAD it all up or build as you get parts? Is something like this rocket light enough to manhandle around the shop or are their engine cranes involved, or a custom cradle of sorts?

DD: The machine shop is at my employer Syntheon. We have a Haas Mini Mill CNC but it was not used for any of these parts. We did all the CNC work on the ProtoTrac which looks just like a standard mill but has a controller attached. The manual mill and lathe were the primary tools. As you can see we had to get creative to work with 8 foot long parts. The CAD model is fully featured. The models were being refined during the fabrication due to the short timeline. The motor is the only part that started to get too heavy to handle comfortably. Once the propellant was poured it weighed 256 lbs. I actually ended up injuring my back from moving it too much. And yes, TIG welding for the fins.

Passive vs active stabilizing
by jd

For low-altitude rocketry, passive stabilizing is just fine. When you start getting to the heights your rocket is reaching, it's hard to imagine that this is still the case, yet your diagrams on your website show no active mechanism for keeping the rocket upright, the base fins for stability and that's about it. (Actually, given the wind sheer, it would be almost as bad to be blown horizontally yet remain vertical. To fix that, you'd need full-blown guidance.) To be fair, though, the diagram is hellishly crowded and you may well have kept the details to what would be the most interest/use to the most people.

So, are you using active mechanisms in your current rockets and, if not, are you planning on adopting any in future projects?

DD: For the type of Class 3 waiver that I was flying under, you can't use active guidance. Anything other than simple fin stabilization requires a full blown launch license which needs a range destruct and so much more.

I make sure that I have at least 1.5 calibers of stability at all Mach numbers and at least a 7:1 thrust ratio off the pad to keep things pointed straight up.

Temperature/Pressure
by Maladius

I noticed you said the temperature at its lowest was -32C, and the pressure was only 93 Pascals. Did you need special electronics/cameras in order to operate under these conditions?

DD: Since the exposure time was low, the only thing I was concerned about was the pressure. I tested the electronics function in a vacuum chamber before the flight.

Accuracy and difficulty
by planckscale

To what accuracy is the thrust nozzle lathed? In the rocketry movie October Sky, I recall that the nozzle/motor was the most important build. Which component required the most math/sweat/swearing?

DD: The nozzle was outsourced to a company that could CNC lathe graphite. They hold +/- .005 but that wasn't critical. I could easily tolerate two or three times that on the throat diameter given the overbuilt nature of my motor casing. This is a function of the type of propellant used and for me I my propellant is relatively insensitive. As a general rule though, we held tight tolerances on all the parts.

The thing that gave me the most grief was the fin can. The tube for the fin can needed the ID turned which required a lathe much bigger than what we had, so I had to outsource that at great expense. Then the welding of the fins caused the tube to deform and I ended up spending hours grinding on this finely machined ID to make it fit over the motor. To make matters worse, this was one of the last parts fabricated so I was working on it right up until the shipping deadline.

Rocket Assists
by jd

There are a lot of projects that aim to give rockets an assist at the start. NASA has experimented with ski ramps (and is back to them again) but has also played with turbine-assisted ramjets and variants thereof. ScaledX opted for a hybrid liquid/solid fuel motor, to get the controllability of liquid fuels with the oomph and reduced weight of solid. Have you considered any non-standard design or are you more in the "keep it simple" camp?

DD: I have worked with hybrids a lot. I prefer solids for simplicity. The objective of this launch was success. I did everything I could to reduce risk wherever possible. I have concepts for more exotic mixed propulsion systems in the future, but flying them without ground testing is crazy and I don't have access to the right test facilities now.

Oldest and newest flight technologies
by deathcloset

I (and many others) have been thinking about balloon-assisted launch systems recently. Balloons seem like an excellent and flexible launch element which could offer a ton of altitude and avoidance of at least some friction. Have you heard of or considered this?

DD: I am familiar with these schemes. I have not explored this at all. As tricky as it is to get this right while on the ground, I can't imagine doing it in the air.

Spinning
by notKevinJohn

Of all the rocket launch videos I have seen, your had by far the least amount of spin on the way up, no doubt due to precision engineering/machining on your part. Have you ever considered launching a camera with a wide angle lens that could see 360 degrees around rocket and then removing the spin from the resulting video with software?

DD: I haven't thought of that method, but have discussed several other methods. I think the main issue is that with any system, if the camera is panning rapidly, with any normal exposure time the view will be blurred by motion. I recently saw this roll stabilizing system which I think shows great promise. And yes, lots of effort went into making the fins as straight as possible to reduce roll.

Potential range
by mattr

23 miles is a great feat, congratulations!

I'm a layman but having read about the stroke victim in Antarctica I got curious about the application of aerospace technology to emergency transport, rescue, communications, observations, and whether focus on these issues could help attract funding to civilian engineering teams.

For example, it is apparently 5430km from Wellington, NZ to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, and more like 6000km from Australia. What would it take (team, cost, time, technology) to build an emergency aid rocket, or rocket-assisted aircraft that could be set on stand-by to deliver for example a medicine, part or surgical tool to the Pole Station? Since the South Pole is not actually west of anywhere you can't take advantage of the Earth's rotation. Is it even possible to reach the Pole with a suborbital vehicle? If it was something like a scaled up, navigable version of your current rocket, what kind of stresses, temperatures would the payload experience (would medicine have to be kept warm? would anything mechanical get warped by the vibration/shock?)

DD: Wow, that's a whole lotta question. The first thought that comes to mind is that I don't want to be in the station the rocket is pointing at in case something goes wrong. The next thing is that I don't think an unguided rocket would have the accuracy required. I think you could get there with a big enough rocket, but I don't think it would be cost-effective.

Developing interest in rocketry?
by Registered Coward v2

As an old-school rocket hobbyist — one of the good outcomes was furthering an interest in science and engineering. Personally, model rocketry influenced my decision on which university to attend (one of the professors there was heavily involved with the NAR) and design to study Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. How can we foster the same interest today, given the attacks on rocketry by various well meaning, but misguided, agencies?

DD: Things have been looking up for rocketry. Recently Tripoli (the other national rocketry club) along with the NAR successfully sued the BATFE to get APCP (our most common propellant) taken off the explosives list.

I hope that the video of Qu8k can be shown in schools and used to inspire kids to dream big. I am working with the Symbyosis Foundation on a student payload project. They will be soliciting payload ideas from high schools and universities. The top concepts will get funded and get a chance to fly onboard the next flight of Qu8k. If anyone reading this can help spread the word, please direct interested parties to symbiosis-foundation.org/speer/speer.html.

Limits on GPS for Civilian Use
by PhunkySchtuff

How do you get around the restrictions on civilian GPS. While I'm sure this was taken into account, civilian GPS receivers are limited to speeds quite a bit below the speed achieved, and altitudes of around half of the achieved altitude:

"The U.S. Government controls the export of some civilian receivers. All GPS receivers capable of functioning above 18 kilometres (11 mi) altitude and 515 metres per second (1,001 kn) are classified as munitions (weapons) for which U.S. State Department export licenses are required."

3,516 km/h is just over 975 m/sec and you estimate an altitude of more than twice the restricted altitude.

Even if it's a soft fail in the GPS module and it cuts back in when the "out of spec" conditions are no longer experienced, it would still make it difficult to record the maximum altitude if you're 18+km above that which a regular GPS will register.

DD: When these Cocom limits are properly implemented as an "and" condition then the data will resume when the speed drops below 1000 knots even if over 18km. The gps data dropped out for me way before these limits were hit so it's safe to say this wasn't the problem for me. It was a concern before the flight and I had intentionally selected hardware the I believed had proper implementation. There are ways to get permission to have these limits removed, but I don't think that I'll be worrying too much about gps for altitude data on my next flights. I am starting to work with some folks to create a low cost radar system that I think will work better for altitude measurement. I think the main role of gps in rockets will be to assist in recovery which worked wonderfully for Qu8k as we were able to drive straight to the rocket on the ground.

controlled airspace?
by element-o.p.

What, if any, notifications, waivers, etc. were required to penetrate controlled airspace in the launch area? At the very least, you would have penetrated Class A airspace (between 18,000MSL and 60,000MSL over the entire contiguous 48 states), so I presume you had to have FAA approval?

DD: I had a Class 3 waiver that ran concurrent with the BALLS rocket launch waiver which extends to 150,000 feet. Together we were required to make several notifications to the FAA. As a matter of fact, two representatives of the FAA were present during portions of this year's BALLS launch.

next launch?
by rastos1

Three questions regarding next launch: Where? When? May I come? (Well, in fact it's too far away for me, but I'd love to ;-) )

DD: There will definitely be a next launch! I am not sure if it will be an exact repeat of Qu8k, a stretch version, a two-stage version or something completely new and even bigger. It may even be more than one of the mentioned possibilities. Only time will tell. If you would like to contribute in some way please contact me and let me know what you can offer and I'll keep you informed as things move ahead.

First time accepted submitter Gortu writes "We are describing and demonstrating a 3D Volumetric Projector (YouTube video); in short words: a device that enables mixed reality. The 3D projector has very poor quality, we just have 10 rotational voxels (as we are using only 10 regular LCD projectors), but is proof of concept for developing a commercial solution."

theodp writes "Federal prosecutors will not charge a Texas judge seen lashing his teenage daughter with a belt on a YouTube video taken seven years ago and posted online last week, closing the door on the possibility of criminal charges in the case. The viral video, uploaded by now 23-year-old Hillary Adams, shows her father, Aransas County Court-at-Law Judge William Adams, whipping her with a belt for downloading music when she was 16 (full video, requires login). 'F*****g computers,' the judge tells his now ex-wife on the video. 'I told you I didn't want one in the god damn house. See all the problems they cause?' Judge Adams issued a statement asserting that his daughter released the tape to retaliate against him for withdrawing his financial support."

theodp writes "Federal prosecutors will not charge a Texas judge seen lashing his teenage daughter with a belt on a YouTube video taken seven years ago and posted online last week, closing the door on the possibility of criminal charges in the case. The viral video, uploaded by now 23-year-old Hillary Adams, shows her father, Aransas County Court-at-Law Judge William Adams, whipping her with a belt for downloading music when she was 16 (full video, requires login). 'F*****g computers,' the judge tells his now ex-wife on the video. 'I told you I didn't want one in the god damn house. See all the problems they cause?' Judge Adams issued a statement asserting that his daughter released the tape to retaliate against him for withdrawing his financial support."

eldavojohn writes "Stanford's OpenSim software is a human motion modeling package that is currently making the rounds at museums where 'visitors walk across a pressure-sensitive floor and are presented at the other side with color-coded print outs of their weight distribution, identifying even slight imbalances that might be putting undue stress on their limbs and joints.' This project can also help with planning surgery (video). The work has been published in IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering (note that this is a different effort from the virtual world of the same name). Although Stanford's press release says it is now open source, I cannot find what license they are using, nor can I access their SVN browser after registering."

The Bad Astronomer writes "A few months ago I was sent a really weird video showing a cloud snapping around suddenly, far faster than wind could explain. I asked a meteorologist about it, who told me it was due to ice crystals re-aligning when the cloud's electric field discharged. It's pretty amazing to watch, and a great example of how many cool things happen right in front of us that we never notice."

Joren writes "Bad Lip Reading is an independent producer known for anonymously parodying music and political videos by redubbing them with his humorous attempts at lip-reading, such as Everybody Poops (Black Eyed Peas) and Gang Fight (Rebecca Black). According to an interview in Rolling Stone, he creates entirely new music from scratch consisting of his bad lip readings, and then sets them to the original video, often altering the video for humorous effect and always posting a link to the original off which it is based. Although his efforts have won the respect of parody targets Michael Bublé and Michelle Bachman, not everyone has been pleased. Two days ago, Universal Music Group succeeded in getting his parody Dirty Spaceman taken down from YouTube, and despite BLR's efforts to appeal, in his words, 'UMG essentially said "We don't care if you think it's fair use, we want it down."' And YouTube killed it. So does this meet the definition of parody as a form of fair use? And if so, what recourse if any is available for artists who are caught in this situation?"

Joren writes "Bad Lip Reading is an independent producer known for anonymously parodying music and political videos by redubbing them with his humorous attempts at lip-reading, such as Everybody Poops (Black Eyed Peas) and Gang Fight (Rebecca Black). According to an interview in Rolling Stone, he creates entirely new music from scratch consisting of his bad lip readings, and then sets them to the original video, often altering the video for humorous effect and always posting a link to the original off which it is based. Although his efforts have won the respect of parody targets Michael Bublé and Michelle Bachman, not everyone has been pleased. Two days ago, Universal Music Group succeeded in getting his parody Dirty Spaceman taken down from YouTube, and despite BLR's efforts to appeal, in his words, 'UMG essentially said "We don't care if you think it's fair use, we want it down."' And YouTube killed it. So does this meet the definition of parody as a form of fair use? And if so, what recourse if any is available for artists who are caught in this situation?"

Joren writes "Bad Lip Reading is an independent producer known for anonymously parodying music and political videos by redubbing them with his humorous attempts at lip-reading, such as Everybody Poops (Black Eyed Peas) and Gang Fight (Rebecca Black). According to an interview in Rolling Stone, he creates entirely new music from scratch consisting of his bad lip readings, and then sets them to the original video, often altering the video for humorous effect and always posting a link to the original off which it is based. Although his efforts have won the respect of parody targets Michael Bublé and Michelle Bachman, not everyone has been pleased. Two days ago, Universal Music Group succeeded in getting his parody Dirty Spaceman taken down from YouTube, and despite BLR's efforts to appeal, in his words, 'UMG essentially said "We don't care if you think it's fair use, we want it down."' And YouTube killed it. So does this meet the definition of parody as a form of fair use? And if so, what recourse if any is available for artists who are caught in this situation?"

Of all the upgrades that distinguish the new iPhone 4S from its predecessors, probably the feature that's gotten the most attention is the voice-based personal assistant app called Siri, which allows a user to accomplish certain tasks almost entirely by voice. A few days ago, as reported by TechCrunch, a team of Android developers came up with an Android equivalent to Siri called Iris (spell that backwards). It took them only 8 hours to have a working, if imperfect, app to play with and submit to the Android Market. This quick video review of Iris says the app is unpolished, but shows promise. For now, it generates some accurate results, and some amusing ones.

You asked William Shatner questions, and Shatner replied. It's not the first time he's answered questions for Slashdot (that was in 2002), but Shatner's given a bit more insight this time into what makes an 80-year-old actor-author-sportsman-father-filmmaker tick as fast as ever. Did he mention that he's got a one-man show about to open? And a new album? Note: Typically Shatner, he's also chosen to ignore (or transcend) the usual Slashdot interview structure, and written his answers in his own style, which is why the format looks a little different from most of our interviews. Thanks, Bill. (Read on for his answers.)

How has technology changed acting for you?
by wired_parrot

TV and movie productions have become more technically elaborate over the years, evolving from what were essentially filmed theatrical productions, to elaborate and technically demanding productions that require a large industry of people to support it. In your view, how has technology changed the role and experience of acting since you started?

Do you think young actors today have it easier?
by elrous0

In your early days, there were only a few major television networks, and it was much more difficult to move back and forth between television and movies. Today, with so many cable shows, the internet, and with actors moving much more freely between movies and television, do you think young actors have it easier? Or do you think that the proliferation of reality television and the "noise" of so many channels/series has actually made things harder for scripted actors?

The cerebral characters you've played vs. pure action heroes?
by jd

Are there times you wish you'd had a quieter, more sedate career like, say, Roger Moore or Bruce Lee, or is there a part of you that craves the geekier, more cerebral hero roles you've played?

Uniforms
by milbournosphere

Mr. Shatner: I recently watched my way through The Original Series and you were constantly pulling your uniform shirt down. I've also heard that the red uniforms from the movies were quite cumbersome to design and wear. Which was more uncomfortable to you, the uniforms from the original television episodes or the red command uniforms from the movies?

Favorite non-Star Trek roles?
by loftwyr

Outside of the Star Trek series, you've had a large number of regular, one-off and recurring roles. What would be your favorite role prior to the beginnings of Star Trek and after the original ST series run? If different, what was your favourite one-off?

Boston Legal
by gurps_npc

You seemed to have a great relationship with Mr. Spader - was that all fantastic acting, or did you become friends - as in you still see/speak with him even after the show ended?

Do you still practice archery?
by WillAdams

(Back in 1995 or so you were still noted as an archer and had been for quite a while.)

If so, how often, using what equipment? Still using a compound or have you gone back to using a recurve or longbow? If you do still shoot, do you travel w/ your archery gear? Any issues in doing so? Or amusing anecdotes?

Tek and a vision of the future
by The Bastard

Mr. Shatner, it's been 22 years since TekWar was first published; seventeen since the television series gave us a "common" visualization of Tek itself. Since those two milestones, I've found it intriguing how our technological advancement seems to be aiming towards the development of Tek. And not just advancement with computers and the Internet, but within the neuroscience and brain-computer interface fields also. It is within the realm of possibility that Tek--or similar digital drug--will exist within a couple of decades.

Could you talk about how the concept of Tek came about? Was it just a "crazy idea" that hit you while riding one of your horses, or did you sit down by yourself or others to develop a vision of the future and build a story around that? Also, looking around at people addicted to using smartphones everywhere, what are your thoughts regarding a form of Tek coming into existence in the next decade or two?

The Captains
by doramjan

Do you have any insights from your interviews with the other Captions from the documentary The Captains that didn't make the cut? Please share, if so. I found that documentary fascinating and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

Henry Rollins
by mrmud

Henry Rollins tells a great and funny story about working with you on a musical project. What is your perspective on the story?

Commodore VIC-20
by GIL_Dude

When I was a kid, your commercial for the Commodore VIC-20 convinced me that I had to have one (because Captain Kirk was advertising it!). I used it to learn some programming (both BASIC and assembler) and it was the early foundation for what I do today. The question: Did you actually use one of them day to day or was it just something they hired you to advertise and they gave you one and it sat in the corner?

Canadian politics?
by kabrakan

You've jested about this in the past, but do you have any thoughts on running for a political seat in the Canadian government? We'd love to have you (but hey, anyone can do better than the current guy in the top seat).

Inspiring the next generation?
by techmuse

Growing up, Star Trek was one of the things that got me interested in engineering and the sciences. It made me want to see the future, or create it myself. What do you think should be done to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers?

The growing "anti-smart" person culture
by PotatoHead

There is a growing "anti-smart" person culture out there now. When you were playing Kirk, kids could get a real chemistry set, for example. Now it's a lot different, and that desire to "boldly go where no man has gone before" seems blunted, constrained and discouraged. Much better to play in the sand box with the other kids.

When you were playing Kirk, I was a free range kid doing all manner of things, and yes that includes blowing stuff up. Now free range kids are increasingly rare as we consider that bad parenting, or they are "at risk," or some other fear based thing. Have you noticed these changes? What do you think about them?

Mortality?
by optimism

Mr. Shatner: Recently I saw you in the Raymond Kurzweil documentary Transcendant Man, where you emphatically said that you do not want to die. This year, you have exceeded the average life expectancy of a male for ANY country in the world. Iceland is highest at 80.2 years; you are now 80.5 years.

So my question(s): Are you still fighting the battle for physical/mental immortality? If so, how? If not, can you describe the process you have gone through to accept your mortality and ultimately death?

Cxu vi ankoraux estas Esperantisto?
by Yekrats

Bill, you're well known in the Esperanto world as the star of the pre-Star Trek thriller Incubus, written and performed in Esperanto.

Cxu vi ankoraux regas vian Esperanto-kapablon de tiu filmo? (Have you still retained your Esperanto ability from that movie?)

Cxu vi uzis gxin iel ajn poste? (Have you used it an any way afterwards?)

Shuttle Enterprise
by wideBlueSkies

Mr Shatner, can you share what your thoughts were when you found out that NASA decided to name the 1st shuttle as The Enterprise? Can you offer any insights into the general thoughts of the rest of the cast or Gene himself? How was it for you, knowing that part of the show had such an influence on that segment of the world, meaning the fans and the space community, that they actually honored the show by naming a real spacecraft after it?

Also, how the hell did you get mixed up with the Charlie Sheen roast? You're the last guy I expected to see... but your "who's the warlock now? Bitch" was indeed the highlight of the night.

Will you ever tour?
by buanzo

Mr Shatner, It's an honor to at least have the chance of asking you something. Thank you for your time. And for everything. Have you considered touring, as a stand-up comedian or whatever, specially outside U.S. and Canada? You know, you have a gigantic fanbase in, ehem, Argentina.

William Shatner replies:

Performing a role is always the same. You take a deep breath, you speak words, you hit marks, and you listen to what other people say. What has changed is the amount of light that is necessary to get your image on film — which by now is candlelight. So that it’s not any harder and certainly not any easier to be an actor. Yes, there is more need for content, but so much of that content doesn't require experience, talent, the ability to speak English or in fact, the ability to stand upright (e.g. The Jersey Shore). There is a great deal of fun in doing stunts. It makes for a lot of physical activity. You have to remember to do your pushups but sitting in a chair and talking about how you feel is also entertainment, at least for the actor. Now if you have a thinking man’s action hero, that would be ideal.

Wardrobe is certainly a consideration in many instances. It is possible to be beautifully dressed and to be your character especially if you get to keep the expensive wardrobe. The Star Trek wardrobes were made of stretch material so if your lunch was more than bread and water, you had to keep pulling those shirts down because they tended to ride up.

I don't think of favorite roles like 'This was my favorite thing to do, and that isn’t.' I just wish they hadn't cancelled Shit My Dad Says because I could bicycle to work.

It’s best to be friendly with the people you are working with and that goes for everything including acting. If you dislike a person and you have to say 'I love you,' it certainly makes things difficult. I have remained friends with most of the people I have worked with through the years.

Right now I am working on my new album, Seeking Major Tom, my new book, Shatner Rules, a new DVD of the documentary The Captains, and I want all you people in Canada to come to my one man show that starts on October 19th in Vancouver and goes through to Montreal a couple of weeks later, in between, visiting all the major cities.

I am involved in many sports. I think of myself as an athlete. But instead of archery these days I am competing on horseback and I am having just as much fun.

When I wrote Tek Wars, there was a strike that prevented us from working on a movie so I built a detective story of the future. I love to watch TV and it seemed to me that was the drug of the future and low and behold, you can't tell the color of peoples' eyes anymore because they are looking down fixated on their texting.

I enjoyed making The Captains tremendously. The insights garnered from the various actors and my own epiphany I thought made an interesting film. It can seen October 20th on Movie Central in Canada at 9pm MT/8PT and the DVD can be purchased on the United States only right now (as of October 18th).

I have a new album out called Seeking Major Tom and to my great disappointment, Henry Rollins is not on it, otherwise [would] have had another funny story to tell about working with me.

I used to try to assemble computers way back when and they came out looking like a skateboard. I soon gave it up.

There's a large group of people who want me to be the Governor General but other than throwing a party for the king and queen, I don't know what else he does.

Star Trek helped inspire a whole generation of scientists and engineers with the magic of today's electronics I would think people of all kinds would try to find ways of working with around about computers and I also think that with the NASA program put on hold, it is a shame that we can't inspire the younger generation that way.

Death is increasingly fascinating to me the closer I get to it and if I could reach Kurzweil's Singularity, I would don the Iron Man's suit although come to think of it, how do you sleep? Do you sleep on your back? But since that is not possible, I live in a balancing act of terror and acceptance every day.

If anyone asks you to star in a movie shot entirely in Esperanto, say 'Kiam Kaj Kiel Multa?'

In the documentary The Captains, I meet all the actors and share heartfelt thoughts about what it took to do the series. How proud we all are of being in the show and Star Trek’s place in our culture. By the way, did I mention how you can get a DVD of The Captains? Amazon.com.

I had the best time at the Charlie Sheen Roast which I incorporate into my one man show which opens October 19th. Did I mention that earlier?

You asked William Shatner questions, and Shatner replied. It's not the first time he's answered questions for Slashdot (that was in 2002), but Shatner's given a bit more insight this time into what makes an 80-year-old actor-author-sportsman-father-filmmaker tick as fast as ever. Did he mention that he's got a one-man show about to open? And a new album? Note: Typically Shatner, he's also chosen to ignore (or transcend) the usual Slashdot interview structure, and written his answers in his own style, which is why the format looks a little different from most of our interviews. Thanks, Bill. (Read on for his answers.)

How has technology changed acting for you?
by wired_parrot

TV and movie productions have become more technically elaborate over the years, evolving from what were essentially filmed theatrical productions, to elaborate and technically demanding productions that require a large industry of people to support it. In your view, how has technology changed the role and experience of acting since you started?

Do you think young actors today have it easier?
by elrous0

In your early days, there were only a few major television networks, and it was much more difficult to move back and forth between television and movies. Today, with so many cable shows, the internet, and with actors moving much more freely between movies and television, do you think young actors have it easier? Or do you think that the proliferation of reality television and the "noise" of so many channels/series has actually made things harder for scripted actors?

The cerebral characters you've played vs. pure action heroes?
by jd

Are there times you wish you'd had a quieter, more sedate career like, say, Roger Moore or Bruce Lee, or is there a part of you that craves the geekier, more cerebral hero roles you've played?

Uniforms
by milbournosphere

Mr. Shatner: I recently watched my way through The Original Series and you were constantly pulling your uniform shirt down. I've also heard that the red uniforms from the movies were quite cumbersome to design and wear. Which was more uncomfortable to you, the uniforms from the original television episodes or the red command uniforms from the movies?

Favorite non-Star Trek roles?
by loftwyr

Outside of the Star Trek series, you've had a large number of regular, one-off and recurring roles. What would be your favorite role prior to the beginnings of Star Trek and after the original ST series run? If different, what was your favourite one-off?

Boston Legal
by gurps_npc

You seemed to have a great relationship with Mr. Spader - was that all fantastic acting, or did you become friends - as in you still see/speak with him even after the show ended?

Do you still practice archery?
by WillAdams

(Back in 1995 or so you were still noted as an archer and had been for quite a while.)

If so, how often, using what equipment? Still using a compound or have you gone back to using a recurve or longbow? If you do still shoot, do you travel w/ your archery gear? Any issues in doing so? Or amusing anecdotes?

Tek and a vision of the future
by The Bastard

Mr. Shatner, it's been 22 years since TekWar was first published; seventeen since the television series gave us a "common" visualization of Tek itself. Since those two milestones, I've found it intriguing how our technological advancement seems to be aiming towards the development of Tek. And not just advancement with computers and the Internet, but within the neuroscience and brain-computer interface fields also. It is within the realm of possibility that Tek--or similar digital drug--will exist within a couple of decades.

Could you talk about how the concept of Tek came about? Was it just a "crazy idea" that hit you while riding one of your horses, or did you sit down by yourself or others to develop a vision of the future and build a story around that? Also, looking around at people addicted to using smartphones everywhere, what are your thoughts regarding a form of Tek coming into existence in the next decade or two?

The Captains
by doramjan

Do you have any insights from your interviews with the other Captions from the documentary The Captains that didn't make the cut? Please share, if so. I found that documentary fascinating and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

Henry Rollins
by mrmud

Henry Rollins tells a great and funny story about working with you on a musical project. What is your perspective on the story?

Commodore VIC-20
by GIL_Dude

When I was a kid, your commercial for the Commodore VIC-20 convinced me that I had to have one (because Captain Kirk was advertising it!). I used it to learn some programming (both BASIC and assembler) and it was the early foundation for what I do today. The question: Did you actually use one of them day to day or was it just something they hired you to advertise and they gave you one and it sat in the corner?

Canadian politics?
by kabrakan

You've jested about this in the past, but do you have any thoughts on running for a political seat in the Canadian government? We'd love to have you (but hey, anyone can do better than the current guy in the top seat).

Inspiring the next generation?
by techmuse

Growing up, Star Trek was one of the things that got me interested in engineering and the sciences. It made me want to see the future, or create it myself. What do you think should be done to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers?

The growing "anti-smart" person culture
by PotatoHead

There is a growing "anti-smart" person culture out there now. When you were playing Kirk, kids could get a real chemistry set, for example. Now it's a lot different, and that desire to "boldly go where no man has gone before" seems blunted, constrained and discouraged. Much better to play in the sand box with the other kids.

When you were playing Kirk, I was a free range kid doing all manner of things, and yes that includes blowing stuff up. Now free range kids are increasingly rare as we consider that bad parenting, or they are "at risk," or some other fear based thing. Have you noticed these changes? What do you think about them?

Mortality?
by optimism

Mr. Shatner: Recently I saw you in the Raymond Kurzweil documentary Transcendant Man, where you emphatically said that you do not want to die. This year, you have exceeded the average life expectancy of a male for ANY country in the world. Iceland is highest at 80.2 years; you are now 80.5 years.

So my question(s): Are you still fighting the battle for physical/mental immortality? If so, how? If not, can you describe the process you have gone through to accept your mortality and ultimately death?

Cxu vi ankoraux estas Esperantisto?
by Yekrats

Bill, you're well known in the Esperanto world as the star of the pre-Star Trek thriller Incubus, written and performed in Esperanto.

Cxu vi ankoraux regas vian Esperanto-kapablon de tiu filmo? (Have you still retained your Esperanto ability from that movie?)

Cxu vi uzis gxin iel ajn poste? (Have you used it an any way afterwards?)

Shuttle Enterprise
by wideBlueSkies

Mr Shatner, can you share what your thoughts were when you found out that NASA decided to name the 1st shuttle as The Enterprise? Can you offer any insights into the general thoughts of the rest of the cast or Gene himself? How was it for you, knowing that part of the show had such an influence on that segment of the world, meaning the fans and the space community, that they actually honored the show by naming a real spacecraft after it?

Also, how the hell did you get mixed up with the Charlie Sheen roast? You're the last guy I expected to see... but your "who's the warlock now? Bitch" was indeed the highlight of the night.

Will you ever tour?
by buanzo

Mr Shatner, It's an honor to at least have the chance of asking you something. Thank you for your time. And for everything. Have you considered touring, as a stand-up comedian or whatever, specially outside U.S. and Canada? You know, you have a gigantic fanbase in, ehem, Argentina.

William Shatner replies:

Performing a role is always the same. You take a deep breath, you speak words, you hit marks, and you listen to what other people say. What has changed is the amount of light that is necessary to get your image on film — which by now is candlelight. So that it’s not any harder and certainly not any easier to be an actor. Yes, there is more need for content, but so much of that content doesn't require experience, talent, the ability to speak English or in fact, the ability to stand upright (e.g. The Jersey Shore). There is a great deal of fun in doing stunts. It makes for a lot of physical activity. You have to remember to do your pushups but sitting in a chair and talking about how you feel is also entertainment, at least for the actor. Now if you have a thinking man’s action hero, that would be ideal.

Wardrobe is certainly a consideration in many instances. It is possible to be beautifully dressed and to be your character especially if you get to keep the expensive wardrobe. The Star Trek wardrobes were made of stretch material so if your lunch was more than bread and water, you had to keep pulling those shirts down because they tended to ride up.

I don't think of favorite roles like 'This was my favorite thing to do, and that isn’t.' I just wish they hadn't cancelled Shit My Dad Says because I could bicycle to work.

It’s best to be friendly with the people you are working with and that goes for everything including acting. If you dislike a person and you have to say 'I love you,' it certainly makes things difficult. I have remained friends with most of the people I have worked with through the years.

Right now I am working on my new album, Seeking Major Tom, my new book, Shatner Rules, a new DVD of the documentary The Captains, and I want all you people in Canada to come to my one man show that starts on October 19th in Vancouver and goes through to Montreal a couple of weeks later, in between, visiting all the major cities.

I am involved in many sports. I think of myself as an athlete. But instead of archery these days I am competing on horseback and I am having just as much fun.

When I wrote Tek Wars, there was a strike that prevented us from working on a movie so I built a detective story of the future. I love to watch TV and it seemed to me that was the drug of the future and low and behold, you can't tell the color of peoples' eyes anymore because they are looking down fixated on their texting.

I enjoyed making The Captains tremendously. The insights garnered from the various actors and my own epiphany I thought made an interesting film. It can seen October 20th on Movie Central in Canada at 9pm MT/8PT and the DVD can be purchased on the United States only right now (as of October 18th).

I have a new album out called Seeking Major Tom and to my great disappointment, Henry Rollins is not on it, otherwise [would] have had another funny story to tell about working with me.

I used to try to assemble computers way back when and they came out looking like a skateboard. I soon gave it up.

There's a large group of people who want me to be the Governor General but other than throwing a party for the king and queen, I don't know what else he does.

Star Trek helped inspire a whole generation of scientists and engineers with the magic of today's electronics I would think people of all kinds would try to find ways of working with around about computers and I also think that with the NASA program put on hold, it is a shame that we can't inspire the younger generation that way.

Death is increasingly fascinating to me the closer I get to it and if I could reach Kurzweil's Singularity, I would don the Iron Man's suit although come to think of it, how do you sleep? Do you sleep on your back? But since that is not possible, I live in a balancing act of terror and acceptance every day.

If anyone asks you to star in a movie shot entirely in Esperanto, say 'Kiam Kaj Kiel Multa?'

In the documentary The Captains, I meet all the actors and share heartfelt thoughts about what it took to do the series. How proud we all are of being in the show and Star Trek’s place in our culture. By the way, did I mention how you can get a DVD of The Captains? Amazon.com.

I had the best time at the Charlie Sheen Roast which I incorporate into my one man show which opens October 19th. Did I mention that earlier?

darkjohnson writes "Lately we've been inundated with 100k' balloon flights and amazing video footage from space — the flights usually taking better than an hour to achieve apogee. Derek Deville took a shortcut to 121k' using a 'home made' Q rocket motor and a ton of engineering genius. On September 30, 2011 at 11:08am, Qu8k (pronounced 'Quake') launched from the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to an altitude of 121,000' in 92 seconds before returning safely to earth.This small documentary on the flight is probably one of the most brilliant Amateur Rocket videos out there right now." The launch was an attempt to claim the Carmack Prize. (And Deville evidently likes to launch another kind of rocket, too.)