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The Tech Behind Preventing Airplane Bird Strikes

Posted by timothy on from the harder-than-it-seems dept.

the4thdimension writes "CNN is running an article covering the technology used at Sea-Tac for preventing airplane bird strikes, like the one that occurred weeks ago to the now famous Flight 1549. The hardware used ranges from low-tech pyrotechnics, to netting, to lasers, to avian radar. Using a combination of all these technologies, Sea-Tac believes they save hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in avoiding dangerous bird strikes."

6 of 242 comments (clear)

  1. You are kidding arent you ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    You are kidding arent you ?

    Are you saying that this linux can run on a computer without windows underneath it, at all ? As in, without a boot disk, without any drivers, and without any services ?

    That sounds preposterous to me.

    If it were true (and I doubt it), then companies would be selling computers without a windows. This clearly is not happening, so there must be some error in your calculations. I hope you realise that windows is more than just Office ? Its a whole system that runs the computer from start to finish, and that is a very difficult thing to acheive. A lot of people dont realise this.

    Microsoft just spent $9 billion and many years to create Vista, so it does not sound reasonable that some new alternative could just snap into existence overnight like that. It would take billions of dollars and a massive effort to achieve. IBM tried, and spent a huge amount of money developing OS/2 but could never keep up with Windows. Apple tried to create their own system for years, but finally gave up recently and moved to Intel and Microsoft.

    Its just not possible that a freeware like the Linux could be extended to the point where it runs the entire computer fron start to finish, without using some of the more critical parts of windows. Not possible.

    I think you need to re-examine your assumptions.

    1. Re:You are kidding arent you ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      I think you are confused. LINUX is an Operating System, as is Microsoft Windows. One operating system does not rely on another to function. LINUX does not need Windows to boot nor does it need any Windows drivers, and vice-versa. Thus a LINUX system is completely Microsoft Windows free.

      It's a pity that the moderation system doesn't have a "-1 Are you for real?" moderation.

    2. Re:You are kidding arent you ? by sexconker · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Whoosh!

  2. Re:Tech? Pfft. by JCSoRocks · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Or Dick Cheney. He enjoys shooting unwitting animals in the back. Even without Cheney a shotgun and some dogs are still pretty effective.

    --
    You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
  3. No, that's not the real secret. by Polarina · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Simply, extinct all bird life on Earth. The human race has already proven that it possess the technology to evaporate specific animal species.

  4. Cheap reference time! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    There is the little matter of the difference in speed between the plane and the bird too...

    Well, I didn't know THAT! *launch* YAAAAAAAAAA!!

    I guess I'll have to know these sorts of things when I'm a king...