GUIs are already 3d, sort of
on
3D User Interfaces
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· Score: 2, Insightful
If you get right down to it, aren't our current interfaces already 3 dimensional to some degree? Certain windows are located on top of or in front of other windows. That level of depth is a 3rd dimension. Although they are displayed as 2 dimensions, a third one is there...
Can anyone explain the seemingly horizontal waves that are running through all of the rings? They seem to be fairly uniform and direction and size. However, the orientation does not seem to be radial from the planet itself or any other object... Any conjecture out there as to what has caused this? They almost seem like an artifact in the images themselves.
Also, is anyone else a little disappointed that these are the best images we're going to get of the rings or are there going to be better pictures in the future? This is the closest the spacecraft is going to get to the rings, yet I really was hoping to see the individual components of the rings themselves. I've seen the intro to Voyager, and I wanted to see tumbling boulders...
Shouldn't devices like this be deployed all over outside the station or shuttle as well? Wouldn't a device like this allow close examination of a leading wing on the shuttle?
Imagine putting these about 50 feet away from the ISS while construction manuevers are taking place. That would provide an incredible view of the action.
Happened to run across these two other articles on the subject. The first one compliments Hohei's altruism. The second describes how he missed the ball on this one.
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/minatos_magic_magn etic_motor.php
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/magic_motor_makes_ me_a_mook_015104.php
Comments?
Good points here, until you got to the possible launch risks of SRG or RTG power plants. NASA has been launching SRGs for some time now. In a couple of cases, they actually did crash on launch. In one case, the nuclear material was retrieved intact and reused on a future vehicle. In another case, the material was lost at the bottom of the ocean, but no trace of the radioactive material was ever detected.
Probably the main reason NASA went solar instead of nuclear on this mission was weight. They were concerned about getting the lander to actually land successfully and more weight would have caused the parachute to slow it down less and put more stress on the balloons, etc, etc...
Sooner or later, the dust is gong to accumulate on the solar panels and the battery will no longer be able to charge. At that point, the mission is over.
If the main ramp is blocked, have the thing turn around and go down another ramp. I understand that it's a more complicated procedure, but they've done it before, right? Why take days to try and remove the air bag, more days to try and decide what to do, and then more days to actually do it? I don't understand why they didn't just say, ok the main path is blocked, send the command to turn it around and go down another ramp...
Why does NASA always play it so safe with these kind of operations? I understand the need to be cautious since we can't exactly send out a repair crew if something goes wrong, but does it really take 12 days to get off the damn lander?
They've checked all their systems and everything's green, right? Send the command to fire the explosive straps keeping the thing and place and stand it up already! They only have a guaranteed 30 days to go out and take pictures, so let's start as soon as possible!
The real question is why not use a nuclear generator like they did back on the Viking missions. A Stirling Radioisotope Generator (SRG) works by using radioactive material to heat an element that drives a generator. These devices can last for years, produce plenty of power, and are so safe that the radiation doesn't even pass through paper.
This is the same technology that could be used to make your laptop battery last for years rather than hours. Too bad the politicians freak out at the scary N word.
I'm running DSL with SBC Yahoo and I've noticed that they tend to limit my bandwidth on a particular port after a couple days of intense usage. So after getting 100+ kbps, it will drop to about 5 kbps. If I change the port on the application, I get my regular fast speeds again (for a while...)
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If you get right down to it, aren't our current interfaces already 3 dimensional to some degree? Certain windows are located on top of or in front of other windows. That level of depth is a 3rd dimension. Although they are displayed as 2 dimensions, a third one is there...
No, you can display a line with 1 dimension, length. A point can have coordinates, but by itself with no position, a point is zero dimensions.
Can anyone explain the seemingly horizontal waves that are running through all of the rings? They seem to be fairly uniform and direction and size. However, the orientation does not seem to be radial from the planet itself or any other object... Any conjecture out there as to what has caused this? They almost seem like an artifact in the images themselves.
Also, is anyone else a little disappointed that these are the best images we're going to get of the rings or are there going to be better pictures in the future? This is the closest the spacecraft is going to get to the rings, yet I really was hoping to see the individual components of the rings themselves. I've seen the intro to Voyager, and I wanted to see tumbling boulders...
Shouldn't devices like this be deployed all over outside the station or shuttle as well? Wouldn't a device like this allow close examination of a leading wing on the shuttle? Imagine putting these about 50 feet away from the ISS while construction manuevers are taking place. That would provide an incredible view of the action.
Happened to run across these two other articles on the subject. The first one compliments Hohei's altruism. The second describes how he missed the ball on this one. http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/minatos_magic_magn etic_motor.php
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/magic_motor_makes_ me_a_mook_015104.php
Comments?
I stand corrected... I guess it's just political reasons for limiting the mission by going with solar rather than and RTG.
Good points here, until you got to the possible launch risks of SRG or RTG power plants. NASA has been launching SRGs for some time now. In a couple of cases, they actually did crash on launch. In one case, the nuclear material was retrieved intact and reused on a future vehicle. In another case, the material was lost at the bottom of the ocean, but no trace of the radioactive material was ever detected.
Probably the main reason NASA went solar instead of nuclear on this mission was weight. They were concerned about getting the lander to actually land successfully and more weight would have caused the parachute to slow it down less and put more stress on the balloons, etc, etc...
If you use Maestro, you can download the actual original images as first seen by Spirit and the scientists at NASA.
Sooner or later, the dust is gong to accumulate on the solar panels and the battery will no longer be able to charge. At that point, the mission is over.
If the main ramp is blocked, have the thing turn around and go down another ramp. I understand that it's a more complicated procedure, but they've done it before, right? Why take days to try and remove the air bag, more days to try and decide what to do, and then more days to actually do it? I don't understand why they didn't just say, ok the main path is blocked, send the command to turn it around and go down another ramp...
Why does NASA always play it so safe with these kind of operations? I understand the need to be cautious since we can't exactly send out a repair crew if something goes wrong, but does it really take 12 days to get off the damn lander?
They've checked all their systems and everything's green, right? Send the command to fire the explosive straps keeping the thing and place and stand it up already! They only have a guaranteed 30 days to go out and take pictures, so let's start as soon as possible!
The real question is why not use a nuclear generator like they did back on the Viking missions. A Stirling Radioisotope Generator (SRG) works by using radioactive material to heat an element that drives a generator. These devices can last for years, produce plenty of power, and are so safe that the radiation doesn't even pass through paper. This is the same technology that could be used to make your laptop battery last for years rather than hours. Too bad the politicians freak out at the scary N word.
I'm running DSL with SBC Yahoo and I've noticed that they tend to limit my bandwidth on a particular port after a couple days of intense usage. So after getting 100+ kbps, it will drop to about 5 kbps. If I change the port on the application, I get my regular fast speeds again (for a while...)