ThinkPad X200 Tablet Save Extra 5%Listen now: Download today's podcast
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EPISODE 853 |
Microsoft launches online store: Is there deeper meaning here?
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=10849
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10097239-75.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/153874/microsoft_opens_online_store_im_not_impressed.html
PSP outsells PS3 and Nintendo (Wii and DS) outsell anything you can think of
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081114-october-npd-sales-the-console-market-is-all-about-pricing.html
Nintendo’s Wii Speak a new front in war against used games
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081113-nintendos-wii-speak-a-new-front-in-war-against-used-games.html
Google brings speech recognition to phones
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/technology/internet/14voice.html
http://www.iphoneatlas.com/2008/11/14/google-iphone-app-already-lists-voice-function-but-its-not-there/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10092525-2.html?tag=mncol;title
Universal Music Group: We're still selling tunes, amazingly
http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20081114/universal-music-group-were-still-selling-tunes-amazingly/
Obama to deliver weekly address via YouTube
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10097321-38.html
Lawmaker plans bill on Web neutrality
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE4AC7SU20081114
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081114-is-government-regulation-needed-to-ensure-net-neutrality.html
GirlInYourShirt: $75 buys your start-up marketing for a day
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/13/girlinyourshirt-75-buys-your-startup-marketing-for-a-day/
DNA strands modified into tiny fiber-optic cables
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/11/14/135213
Purified urine to be astronauts’ drinking water
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE4AD3MB20081114#
Voice mail
Eric from Michigan: Wii Fit!
Chris from Austin: the girl and the netbook
This is Kevin Yeaux from openSUSE again. We’re on our way to our first
release candidate for openSUSE 11.1 on November 27th, but there was some
other big news today: Banshee, the open-source music player sponsored by
openSUSE/Novell, just released it’s 1.4 version.
The biggest news in here is for owners of the T-Mobile G1 Android phone:
full support for the phone’s music playing capabilities. Full automatic
or manual synchronization, cover art, and the ability to import music
purchased on the Amazon MP3 store into your computer.
The other major news is that there is a beta release of Banshee 1.4 for
Mac OS X. Also included are many areas of UI polish and bugfixes.
Banshee is a Mono-based open-source media player that supports music,
movies, podcasts, features Last.fm integration, and more. Banshee is the
default music player for openSUSE.
For more info, see http://www.Banshee-Project.org and
http://abock.org/2008/11/13/banshee-14-hits-the-streets-packed-with-awesome/
Thanks, and *love* the show, ya’ll.
–
Kevin
**********
I think I can explain why RIM went with the suretype keyboard on the new BlackBerry Storm. I have the Pearl, which has the same double lettered keyboard.
I can type so much faster on this phone than I can on any other; even my friends with full QWERTY phones can’t nearly keep up with me. And I think I know why: You can just hit the general direction of the key you want, the area you are aiming for is twice the size of a normal key. The phone software does an excellent job of guessing what you mean, and it learns new words as you type. It also has the added bonus of doing punctuation for you! On a touchscreen, that would be even more usefful.
Good job!
Ryan from Fresno
**********
This is in response to the netbook email you guys received in episode 851. Upon hearing the email, I recalled a recent Kotaku.com article (http://kotaku.com/5083584/the-number-one-location-for-portable-gaming-is-home). I wouldn’t be surprised if people bought these netbooks and just used them around the house. I think Kotaku puts it best saying ” ‘portable’ can be defined as ‘will work on the toilet or in bed’ “.
Love the show! Not a long-time listener, but hope to be a… future long-time listener…?
-Alex M.
Berkley, MI
**********
In addition to having a trademark on a word (CBS ) or a logo (think about the CBS Eye) you can also protect what is called Trade Dress . Remember this branch of law is about protecting indicators of source-that is the mark by which consumers know your products from someone else’s. Pretty much anything that can be tied to a specific good or service, or a source of those goods and services, is protectable. That includes how that good or service looks/is packaged. Need easy examples?
Think about how all McDonalds look the same on the inside. Or how, even without the label, you’d know what a Coke bottl e looks like (or a Mrs. Butterworths for that matter.) These aren’t names or logos per se, but you’d know what the goods/services were anyway. This Trade Dress can apply to both the packaging of the goods, or the goods themselves. Usually the Office will not say something is inherently distinctive (and instantly protectable under TM law) but will require a showing of acquired distinctiveness (meaning you have to show that consumers have come to associate the trade dress with your products only).
Now I know what you’re thinking-isn’t it incredibly dangerous to grant Trademark protection to how a good is shaped etc? Isn’t there a possibility that the Office would be granting a Patent in perpetuity for a design or invention that should only be protected by Patent’s limited term? And you’re right-it is tricky business. This is why the good people at the USPTO get paid to do what they do. It is a very tricky job to separate those elements of packaging/the goods that are protectable to those that are functional or patentable etc-but this is what is done. It is incredibly complex at times and would bore the Buzz audience beyond repair to explain it in full detail-so go look it up if you want to know more.
So let’s get back to Lego-Apparently they were granted a EU Trademark for the design of their blocks (which is to say that the EU office originally thought that there was something about the Lego block in its appearance that made it distinct from other building blocks and that consumers would recognize it as a lego block based on its shape alone). Mega Block , which brought the cancellation suit, must have said something like “wait a minute! This a patent/functional thing and the EU should have never granted protection for this design. We should be able to make competing blocks and the protection is baring us from doing so.”
(For a point of reference think about how the coke bottle, while protected, doesn’t prevent Pepsi from putting soda in a bottle the way that the protection here might prevent Mega Block from making toys.)
What has happened is that that court has agreed and cancelled the protection for Lego. This will get appealed, clearly, and we’ll have to see what happens.
Also-this analysis involved a little guesswork because I”m not that familiar with how EU trademark law works-but it works roughly the same.
For the record-I didn’t find any trade-dress protection for the Lego block in the US.
-Anon.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
Episode 852 |
BlackBerry Storm gets release date
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2008/11/13/verizon-announces-blackberry-storm-release-date-november-21st-199/
Microsoft Live becomes social network
http://home.live.com/
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-and-now-windows-live-is-a-social-network/
The flap over Twitterrank and the social echo chamber
http://blogs.zdnet.com/collaboration/?p=164
http://blogs.zdnet.com/collaboration/?p=163
End of a snarky era: Gawker shuts down Valleywag
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10095984-36.html
http://valleywag.com/5085562/valleywag-clusterfuck-faq
Spam sees big nosedive as rogue ISP McColo knocked offline
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081112-spam-sees-big-nosedive-as-rogue-isp-mccolo-knocked-offline.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10095730-83.html
EU court rejects Lego trade-mark
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7726700.stm
Worldwide Wrath of the Lich King launch nerfs credit card systems
http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/207893/worldwide-wrath-of-the-lich-king-launch-nerfs-credit-card-systems/
Move over Wii Fit, EA announces EA Sports Active
http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2008/11/13/move-over-wii-fit-ea-announces-ea-sports-active
Korean geniuses invent lithium batteries with eight times the juice
http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/13/korean-geniuses-invent-lithium-batteries-with-eight-times-the-ju/
Boot Windows Vista In Four Seconds
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/11/12/2249253
Voice Mail
“Anonymous”: Google terrifies me!
Rafa: On the flu
Dan: Hobobook
E-mail
Hey buzzards!
First off love the show!
This email is in response to the voice mail about online video. I wanted to point out that you shouldn’t be mad at cbs as all the shows they produce are online. If you will notice all the shows that warner brothers produces, ie “the mentalist” “cold case” and “without a trace” are not online anywhere. Same goes for the shows produced by abc studios for cbs- “criminal minds” and “ghost whisperer”. Instead of cbs you should be mad at the company that produces the show .
Just my two cents.
Stephen
Charlotte, nc
**********
Maybe this explains why Apple’s Cinema Displays are so expensive:
http://www.macobserver.com/article/2008/11/13.4.shtml
Steve Jobs was just waiting for the verdict to come in before he
released new models at a lower price.
-Andres (Austin, TX)
**********
Hey JaMoTo
This was regarding what Ken said in 851 I live downtown Chicago and I see net books every day around the Merchandise Mart and I actually saw one when I was Noodle Company this past weekend. So they’re out there I actually don’t have one but my laptop is close VGNS-360 Sony Vaio running Ubuntu 8.10
Thanks I love the show!
Zach in Chicago
**********
Lee from Boston writes:
Regarding Episode 851 and the discussion of the many press releases,
pitches and the like that use the phrase “in these troubled times”.
I’ve decided to put together a new economic metric, the Buzz Phrase
Index (BPI) — I’ll be tracking the number of hits that a Google
search for the phrase “in these troubled times” yields. We’ll see how
this curve compares to the national and international economic
situation over the next year or so.
Details will be on my blog at http://www.tlex.com/wordpress
A search on November 13, 2008 yielded 334,000 hits.
**********
I’ve come across a few Netbooks (Asus EeePC’s) out here in the wilds of
Dublin…
The GameSoc lads here in DIT have all got laptops, at the moment four of
them are equipped with XP-running EeePC’s. But that is tech-savvy crowd.
However my uncle who is not at all tech-savvy bought an EeePC for my
cousins. They’re running the EeePC linux operating system and really
loving it.
So there you have it, wild.
-ANkh, the Computer Engineering Student, Dublin, Ireland.
**********
Hurricane Electric:
Hey! People have heard of us! You have execs from the company in the
buzz army! Since I am a director for the company, I feel obligated to
point out we are the 8th largest ISP in the world for IPv4 and the
largest ISP for IPv6 in the world. Anyhow, just thought I would touch
base again as an offer of assistance if you need anyone from the IP
backbone industry…
–Reid
Director, East Coast Operations
he.net
It looks like Wii Fit will outsell Grand Theft Auto IV this year, Apple's already sold 10 million iPhones, people are lining up for the T-Mobile G1 Android phone (much to our surprise), and just when we started to think the economy might be turning around after all, we got the news about Yahoo laying off some 1,400-plus people. Ouch.
Listen now:
Download today's podcast
|
EPISODE 836 |
T-Mobile delivers the G1 (aka Android) phone
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10072545-94.html
http://news.cnet.com/2300-1039_3-6247193-1.html
Google’s open-source Android now actually open
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10071093-92.html
Yahoo profit drops; at least 1,430 to lose jobs
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10071637-93.html
Wii Fit on track to outsell GTA IV this year
http://gigaom.com/2008/10/21/wii-fit-on-track-to-outsell-gta-iv-this-year/
Apple officially surpasses 10 million iPhones sold in 2008
http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/10/21/apple-officially-surpasses-10-million-iphones-sold-in-2008
eBay goes pro-elephant, bans ivory sales--after the holidays
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081021-ebay-goes-pro-elephant-bans-ivory-salesafter-the-holidays.html
Boxee adds support for Hulu, CBS video
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10072002-2.html
New media player searches for spoken words in videos
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10069806-2.html
Device answers phone and stops telemarkerters
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7682111.stm
Robotic surgery on a beating heart
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/21/1914255
VOICEMAIL
Anonymous DMCA: Couric clip was about Clinton
Jeff from Nashville: on laws and politicians
Congratulations on the nomination. If the Buzz Brigade (still not sure I like the moniker) is discouraged, then maybe we should find a show done by one of the community in some obscure category and vote for that show. If only we could think of one. 
Chris, the nominated podcaster
**********
Tom mentioned that if you lose purchased content on a PS3 you were pretty much zitty out of luck, and there was no easy way to back it up. If you format an external drive, ( I used a $40 Seagate 120gig FreeAgent Go) FAT32, you can add the needed PS3 directories and copy your content. Of course, you have to use something such as Acronis to do this, as XP and Vista won't do it .
Thanks for the heads up on LaLa, and I really hope you guys are right about the amnesty part of it...Not that I am admitting anything. This e-mail will self destruct in 5...4...3...2.
Mr. Foolish
**********
I love that you complain about the cost of a MacBook Air, but don’t
know how much it costs.
Most computer users do not edit images or video. The MacBook Air is
perfect for any lawyer, banker, stock broker… paper pushers. You
always filter every product through your own usage, which is extreme
and NOT the norm.
Terrie
**********
Hey Jamoto +1,
Here is a pic of a Segway-bound Brazilian I saw in the wild at Burning
Man this year. The woman, with her fabulous pink tutu and umbrella, rented
it for $350 for the week. Due to a lack of rain, the playa dust was
uncharacteristically deep and terrible to bike in, making a Segway an
ideal vehicle this time round. As long as you didn’t run out of juice on
the way out, of course.
http://flickr.com/photos/catlaine/2827716966/in/set-72157607102831140/
Cheers.
Cat
PS <3 the show
Microsoft and Yahoo are dead, over, done, in the ground, and Yahoo has moved on to Google, and that's the end of it. Or is it!? Also today, spitting crosses the line, cell phones cause serious (like, for real) addiction in some Spanish teens, Metallica retracts its redaction of some blogger reviews, and MySpace is getting a new design. Phew. Finally.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
EPISODE 745 |
Analysts don’t rule out a Microsoft-Yahoo deal just yet
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9967862-7.html
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080612-microsoft-yahoo-deal-really-seriously-dead-this-time.html
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/our-agreement-to-provide-ad-technology.html
http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?&ReleaseID=316450
Potential MySpace redesign leak hints at new features
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/06/potential-myspa.html
http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9967731-2.html
comScore: Facebook matches MySpace
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/06/13/comscore-facebook-matches-myspace
Metallica retracts retraction
http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?item=600942
Spit will be worse than spam
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/12/136232
Mod chips legal in the U.K.
http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/08/06/12/2037223.shtml
Universal to appeal promo CD ruling
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/06/universal-to-ap.html
Spain treats child phone addicts
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7452463.stm
Real racing in the virtual world
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7440658.stm
Final Skynet satellite launched
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7451867.stm
‘I’m NOT the 'Wii Fit' girl!’
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9967527-1.html
Screen grab: Woz hacks Kathy Griffin’s iPhone… on TV
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/13/video-woz-hacks-kathy-griffins-iphone/
VOICE MAIL
Alex
Molly cursed me!
Paul Verizon
Here's our data plan?
Eric Michigan
About the paperclip.
FORUMS
IMPORTANT Q: …are we electing a Mayor yet?
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6035_102-0.html?forumID=97&threadID=297787
My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nothing.
http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/science/orderingplanets.htm
--Brian
Damn, seems our government wants to be just like yours…
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/06/12/tech-copyright.html
--Dave
hi Buzz Crew,
Tom, the theory of your “cycles” you’ve been talking about on past 2
or 3 episodes it’s one of the basic theries in economics and it’s
called “business/economic cycles”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_cycle - here you can red more
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Cyclee.jpg - and a
nice graph
Greetings
--Thomas the programmer from Poland
http://www.subbrilliant.com/blog/?p=104
Hello BOL crew,
I just viewed the "poster" for the BOL meetup tonight at http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/780695...And I just gotta say, I am a little frightened because it reminds me too much of this...
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/5509/bolzombiesew6.jpg
Maybe it's just me. Anyways, thanks for the great podcast!
--Alfred Hom
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
EPISODE 717 |
MicroHoo is dead, long live MicroHoo
http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9935100-56.html
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9935250-7.html
http://kara.allthingsd.com/20080505/
yahoo-execs-reaction-i-need-some-prozac/
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9935751-7.html
Grand Theft Auto IV simplifies game purchasing
http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/
idUSN0430077120080505
Apple losing money in new movie deal
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9934405-7.html
Cuba lifts ban on home computers (yes, they had that)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7381646.stm
Spam reaches 30 year anniversary
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7380788.stm
Xobni revamps in-box: Adds social networking twist to Outlook
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/006890.html
Google Audio CAPTCHA defeated
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/02/1426253
RIP E3
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6190307.html
Wii and Wii Fit to be featured at select Westin hotels
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=15903
Are you calling yo’ momma fat?
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9934623-1.html
VOICE MAIL
Desmond in Ga.
The memristor infinite loop?
Windows feedback panel/Vista Ultimate
Dear Your Highnesses,
Concerning the Windows Feedback panel program and Windows Vista Ultimate, I wish everyone who is a Vista hater would just take a chill pill. I was beta tester for Vista and will be using my free copy of Vista Ultimate to build a HTPC for my children. Yes even children are cable of using and understanding Vista. Vista is a wonderful Operating system, PERIOD!!!!
--Mark Brewer
Dayton, Ore.
Down the road from the Spruce Goose
P.S.
I'm loving my 20 inch iMac that I got 3 days ago, Leopard rocks my world!!!!!!
P.P.S.: Must remember to take my medication.
Hard Drive Crusher comment
‘ello JaMoTo,
Actually, there are several better (and much cheaper) ways to destroy a hard disk:
1.) Get a gun. A large gun. Shoot the hard drive.
2.) Pour gasoline on the hard drive. Light the hard drive on fire.*
3.) Electric drill. 'Nuff said.
4.) Sledgehammer + muscle = DESTRUCTION
* Well, actually, with the price of gas, it might be cheaper to buy the $11,000 disk crusher.
Love the show, --Fletcher from Minnesota.
“I Voted” in the Buzztown elections
So I’ve been trying to get myself excited by the prospects of the upcoming mayoral election. Truth-be-told I think I prefer the current, social collective groove we have going on now but when the times change we must either adapt or die. So how to get fired up? Well we need a reward! One of my favorite parts of election day is the bestowing of the “I VOTED” sticker so I took the liberty of designing what I hope will become the official Buzztown “I VOTED” sticker.
I know you don’t like to accept attachments via e-mail, so I poked around the wiki to see if I could post it there but I guess I’m a bit dense and didn’t see a way to do it. The sticker is attached but I’d be happy to post it somewhere if you’d rather. In addition to the jpg file of the individual sticker, I’ve attached a template suitable for printing on Avery brand Round Inkjet Labels, model 8293.
http://www.uploadimage.org/images/yqxmuf5chiqpue5bqtve.jpg
Keep up the good work y’all
--Jason Tollefson
Production Planner
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Indiana Jones and the Tickets to the Baseball Game
Your Royal Monarchs,
This strikes me as the kind of story you would possibly, maybe talk about if it was a slow day on Monday. In any event, it’s interesting and has to do with the new Indy movie. They’ve got this weird little ad on the schedules for May showing a picture of Indiana Jones on May 22. Here is the link to the Mets page:
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=nym
Now originally, I was looking at the (go) Nationals(!) schedule, and they have the same pic-but no game being played. The Mets do. I figure that’s gotta stink, to be forced into advertising for something that is happening the same time as they game you are trying to sell.
Also, as of the writing of this email, you can’t click on Indy or anything-and it doesn’t say that it’s for the Indiana Jones movie-so you’d have to know that what was going on. Also, you’d have to go hunt down tickets on your own. Kind of a weird ad, I think, and a bit atypical for Net advertising which is why I thought, even if it isn’t Buzzworthy, it’d be interesting to pass along.
That and the New Indiana Jones movie is going to be awesome!…right?
–
--Frank J. M. Lattuca, Esq.
Buzztown Mayor, ‘08
Dirty dirty keyboards
Dear Tom, Molly, and Jason,
In reference to podcast 716 last Friday, you referred to the U.K. study about the filthiness of our keyboards. As a microbiologist, I agree that chucks of lunch and dust bunnies aren’t probably doing anything for the cleanliness of your keyboard and may attract bacteria, but most of the harmful bacteria are coming from….gasp….us touching the keyboards with our filthy fingers. Most often, bacteria get on our digits by picking of our nose, sneezing on our hands, and the dreaded fecal-oral transmission, aka not washing our hands after using the facilities. Bacteria are on and in almost every nook and cranny of our bodies, so it comes down to quality, not quantity of what the bacteria that is on that keyboard. I am always appalled by those local tv news studies that say there is bacteria on our toilet seats, cell phones, keyboards, etc. No crap (excuse my pun). The little guys are everywhere. My recommendation: keep your fingering out of your nose, use a Kleenex when you sneeze, wash your hands after using the restroom, and don’t let anyone use your keyboard that you refer to as “Dirty Larry,” the guy around the office who you never see wash his hands when he is in the can.
Sincerely,
--Andy the Microbiologist
--Molly
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
EPISODE 664 |
Apple's reaction to DoubleTwist.
Steve Jobs shoe.
Help for Rush.
Interesting take on saliva cancer.
Hey Buzz crew,
See this thread for a whole-buncha information on the wayward satellite, chances of hitting Earth, info on the anti-satellite missile, controversy surrounding the shoot-down, etc.: http://forums.cnet.com/5208-10152_102-0.html? forumID=97&threadID=281569&messageID=2690146
*Disclaimer: Shalin is not a missile expert, Shalin is not a satellite expert, Shalin is not an anti-satellite missile expert either. But Shalin does know some aerospace stuff that maybe helpful to understand regarding the shoot-down of the wayward satellite.
Anti-Satellite weapons are not new.
Although they haven't had as much use or testing as conventional weapons, anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons are not new--they've been around for decades. The last known tests the U.S. performed were in the 80s. ASAT weapons were basically conceived as strategic solutions to threats (use of space as a battleground) during the Cold War.
As far as why three are being fired--one as a first shot and two "second chances" seems the likely logic to me. Guidance systems are more sophisticated these days, so I would actually expect the first shot to be successful.
I don't think they'll be fired all at once. If they don't hit the target, they'll likely be directed back through the atmosphere to burn up, self destruct, or both.
More info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-satellite_weapon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASM-135_ASAT
http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/asat/overview.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegis_Ballistic_Missile_Defense_System
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/weaps/aegis.htm
It's disappointing to me that this shoot-down is going forward 'cause it'll just create more debris up there that isn't really helpful.
Best,
Shalin
Hey Tom and Molly,
I've been a long-time listener, but quiet responder, of the show and after listening to Ep. No. 663 regarding the falling satellite and Molly's fears. Well, you guys managed to bring out a "well actually" funny-bone reaction. So here goes:
This message could be kinda long, so I won't be miffed if it doesn't make it onto the podcast. ;-)
I work for an aerospace company in Exton, Pennsylvania called Analytical Graphics (www.agi.com) that makes software that's used by engineers for just this sort of situation. It's called, appropriately enough, Satellite Tool Kit and outputs amongst other things a great 3D immersive view of what's going on so you can get that really cool "Dr. Strangelove" effect of riding the satellite all the way down to impact. Think Google Earth with lots more math and science.
Predicting the impact for these types of events is tricky, and involves equal parts of science and mystic voodoo, and a healthy dose of luck. While many things can affect where the object will eventually come down, there is, however, a property of the orbit of the vehicle, called it's Inclination, that can pretty much tell us that it won' likely come down on either the North or South Poles, ensuring that Santa and a whole bunch of penguins won't have to evacuate. Christmas and Bumble Happyfeet are safe for another year.
To further complicate the issue, the military intends to shoot the thing down (similar to what the Chinese did about a year ago), voicing a variety of reasons:
There is a distinct chance that the propellant tanks filled with Hydrazine (nasty, nasty stuff) would survive reentry, spilling their contents onto the house of some unsuspecting HD DVD owner, further compounding his already mounting sense of misery. These tanks are built Ford-tough and have a better chance of reentering intact than Apple has of releasing Beatles songs on iTunes by the end of the Year. (Wanna take that bet, Molly?)
Despite the 70 percent chance that the thing would come down in an Ocean, the remaining 30 percent land mass happens to be fairly well populated, raising the eyebrows of plenty of people--tax-paying people, who've played more remote odds on the Super-bowl and won !!! 'Nuff said.
Just my personal opinion here: It's an election year, and people are getting bored of the same-old-same-old. There's no doubt that our exiting administration would like to do so with a little panache, and since the Chinese did something similar about a year ago, no doubt bruising some egos in the process, what better way to leave the stage than with a good ol' shoot-em-down demonstration of where your tax money has gone into the Missile Defense System. To Molly's fear of what happens if they miss: I'd be more concerned about not getting your money's worth on the guidance system of the missiles.
So, the decision of our fine military minds is to shoot the thing down with a barrage of SM-3 missiles from a Navy ship floating off somewhere in the 70 percent impact-area. All in the interest of public safety of course. But since this is a newer, Joint-Forces, military, they'll probably have to do it something along these lines:
The Navy will shoot the missiles from one of its ships. Recruitment will go up: "Join the U.S. Navy & shoot down stuff the US Air Force sent into orbit" A Marine will push the button. OOrah !! Semper-Fi !! Keep'n it simple with a big boom result !! The Air Force will point to the right target. "Second star to the left and straight on 'til morning". Thanks, Tink!! Or: No!! Not that one!! The one on your right!! NOOoooo!! Your other right!!
The Coast Guard will clean up the pieces--again. (Those guys never get to do the fun stuff)
You'll notice that the Army was left out of the deal, probably because those poor guys get enough target practice on a daily basis and have better things to do than take pot shots at falling space junk.
One final serious note:
The comparison between the Chinese missile launch on their own satellite about a year ago and what's gonna happen here is a natural one to make. The big difference is one of altitude. They hit their bird high enough that pieces from that explosion still continue to remain in orbit and will continue pose a hazard to other (expensive) hardware probably for decades to come. This shot will drop most of the debris within the first 90 minutes, with most of the remaining stuff to come down a few days later.
So if you want to put an Al Gore "green" spin on this, what the military is doing is "better" for the environment by "releasing" the Hydrazine safely at a high altitude in a cacophony of explosive delight. The pieces will produce a nice oooooh-ahhhhhh effect for hours to come, and we'll have proven that Missile Defense works!! Everybody happy!!
You can see some animations we produced on the Web site: http://www.agi.com/corporate/mediaCenter/topStories/display.cfm?id=202 There's a media link at the bottom in case you want a snap, or the video.
Love the show and sorry for the run-along e-mail !!!
Cheers,
Frank
Hello Jamoto,
Purposely destroying a satellite using a missile already happened on September 13, 1985 when an ASM-135 ASAT air-launched missile carried by a F-15 Eagle fighter jet was aimed at the malfunctioning Solwind P78-1, a Satellite launched in 1979. ASAT stands for anti-satellite weapon.
On January 11 2007, China also destroyed a defunct orbiting weather satellite.
This time, the missile will be launched from the USS Lake Erie that will be located in somewhere in the Pacific ocean.
As per a CNN article, "The Pentagon said the U.S. Navy plans to try to shoot down a faulty spy satellite with a modified antimissile missile on Wednesday. It would be the first such maneuver in more than two decades-- and the first ever using sea-based missiles."
As you mentioned in Episode 663, the reason they're doing it is to prevent the the dispersion about 1,000 of hydrazine. The article says: "[...]the fuel tank probably would survive re-entry and could disperse harmful or even potentially deadly fumes over an area the size of two football fields. Hydrazine is similar to chlorine or ammonia in that it affects the lungs and breathing tissue."
They also say: "The satellite is about the size of a school bus and the missile will be aimed at its fuel tank, which is about 3 or 4 feet long."
At a cost of $40 million to $60 million for the whole destruction operation, I'm sure (read: hope) that they know what they're doing.
References:
Wikipedia articles:
- ASM-135 ASAT Missile: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASM-135_ASAT
- Anti-Satellite Weapon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-satellite_weapon
- USA 193 Sattelite (the one being destroyed): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_193
CNN Article:
- U.S. to shoot down satellite Wednesday, official says:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/02/19/satellite.shootdown/
Love the show,
Giorgio from Montreal
While I'm always glad to see anyone stand up to the evils of DRM, I am hesitant to recommend or support the method that doubleTwist is using. DRM protected AAC is already a lossy compression format. When you (or an application) plays that back and then re-encodes it to another lossy format (MP3), you are transcoding.
This results in a significant and noticeable loss in audio fidelity. In today's world of cheap storage and affordable audio gear, we should be moving towards maintaining higher quality.
That said, I applaud DVD Jon's efforts and hope this will only provide yet another chink in the armor of the evil Dr. M.
Matthew Kivett
I'm now listening to the Kojo Nnamdi show podcast from their "Tech Tuesday" brodcast where they talked about the digital TV transition:
http://wamu.org/programs/kn/08/02/19.php#19289
The expert on the show indicated that when the transition takes effect those currently having "basic" cable would need a converter box. My understanding is that this is not correct; that analog broadcasts would continue to work on cable for a while longer than the over-the-air transition. When even the "experts" give wrong information, how is a consumer supposed to deal with it?
Mike
Chris from Pennsylvania
Hi Buzz crew,
JaMoTo it is! I've updated the Web site with the new name. Just as a reminder, the turtle map is here:
http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=80623
And you can find a photo of JaMoTo here:
http://www.seaturtle.org/cgi-bin/imagelib/index.pl?photo=3777
You can see the very small transmitter attached to her back (carapace) in the photo. Tom should enjoy this. The transmitter sends a signal every time it breaks the surface of the water, which is hopefully received by one of a number of satellite-based receivers orbiting overhead. The received messages are relayed to ground stations where her position is calculated using the doppler effect (slight shifts in the frequency of the transmission as the receiving satellite passes quickly overhead).
An update on her progress. JaMoTo has stayed close to the nesting beach since she last nested (and we tagged her) on February 13. This is a sign that she will return to the beach and lay eggs at least one more time this season. Leatherback sea turtles usually nest every 9 to 10 days, and will lay four to seven nests, during the nesting season. We expect that she will come ashore to nest again either tomorrow night or the night after (Thursday or Friday night in Gabon time).
That's all for now.
cheers,
Michael
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