A WTO panel ruled that China violated some global trade rules by imposing duties on U.S. electrical steel, a victory for the Obama administration.
From Technology Review RSS Feeds: Statistics Unmask Phony Online Reviews
Computer analysis spots the fingerprints that fraudulent raters leave behind.
Searching for hotels in cities they’ve never visited, people often turn to customer-written reviews on websites such as TripAdvisor. But how do they know those reviews weren’t written by the hotel manager, or by someone paid to post fake opinions online? The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has issued fines when it has uncovered such “opinion spam,” but there’s no easy way to spot it.
From Geeks are Sexy Technology News: Online Retailer Charges a 6.8% Tax to IE Users
The people running this Australian-based online store are my new heros. If a visitor purchases a product on the site while using IE 7, he gets charged an additional 6.8% tax on top of his order.
And while being on the subject of Internet Explorer, there is still 1% of our visitors that use IE 7 and 1% that use IE 6. Guys, now would be the perfect time to upgrade. Seriously.
From Gizmodo: 9-Year-Old School Lunch Blogger Silenced By Politicians
For the past two months, one of my favorite reads has been Never Seconds, a blog started by 9-year-old Martha Payne of western Scotland to document the unappealing, non-nutritious lunches she was being served in her public primary school. Payne, whose mother is a doctor and father has a small farming property, started blogging in early May and went viral in days. She had a million viewers within a few weeks and 2 million this morning; was written up in Time, the Telegraph, the Daily Mail, and a number of food blogs; and got support from TV cheflebrity Jamie Oliver, whose series “Jamie’s School Dinners” kicked off school-food reform in England. More »
from Gizmodo
From Engadget: China conducts its first crewed spaceship docking, gives southeast Asia its place in space
Believe it or not, the only countries to have docked a human-helmed spacecraft in the first 50 years of spaceflight were Russia and the US. That small community just got bigger, as China’s Shenzhou-9 has successfully docked with the Tiangong-1 module put in orbit for just such a test. The link-up is being used for experiments in the short term, but it’s a key step in a program that will ultimately lead to a full-fledged Chinese space station. On top the wider ambitions, the docking also marks a victory for gender-neutral space travel: Liu Yang, one of three crew members, is the country’s first female spacefarer. China’s space program has a long road ahead, but it’s clear the International Space Station won’t be alone for much longer.
from Engadget
From Geeks are Sexy Technology News: This is Amazing: LEGO Inception
An academic team project, spanning 12 weeks, representing approx 1000 hours work. This project represented approx 120-160 hours per person, and one quarter of their final semester workload.
All content originated by BA(Hons) VFX : Visual Effects + Concept Design students, Pedrom DADGOSTAR, Hollie PRICE, Jack MILTON, Simon STIRRUP, Sam SERRIDGE, Jack BOSWORTH and Sidney THIBAULT.
A great project people, especially given the challenges the film posed. Fantastic team work, great technical solutions and professional approach throughout.
Rendered on Workstation Specialist’s great WS2610 systems… Including dynamic / particle effects simulations…
[VFX]
From Autoblog: Video: Watch Top Gear complete a world record double loop
The Top Gear team has made a bit of history at the Top Gear Festival in Durban, South Africa, as a stunt driver pulled off a double loop in front of a crowd of over 15,000. The event involved a 26-foot tall double loop track that looks to have come right out of a Hot Wheels box, except that it weighs over eight tons. The stunt vehicle of choice was a custom-made buggy with a throttle lock that could travel at a constant 24-26 mile per hour speed that the math geeks said was necessary for a successful “Deadly 720.”
Scroll below to watch a nearly two-minute video that starts with cheering crowds and the trio of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammondand ends with the buggy stunt. We’re thinking the best part of the video was the in-buggy view of the double loop.
from Autoblog