For everything from family to computers…
What you’re looking at is the real-time geographic tracking information of flight ZA236 as it was coming back to its home base in Washington state. It flew across the United States, drawing this gigantic Boeing logo. More »
from Gizmodo
Things are NOT looking good for Airbus (and its parent company EADS) with 2nd aircraft to develop cracks in its wings! >.<
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Last month, engineers found small cracks in the wings of Singapore Airlines’ A380s. Now, Qantas has been forced to ground one its A380s because of the same problem. More »
from Gizmodo
Wow… even FAA is joining the 21st century!! o.O
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It took awhile, and the price tag is quite a bit steeper than previously thought (shocking, right?), but the FAA is finally getting the funding it needs to bring the nation’s air traffic control system up to date. Congress just passed the bill to make it happen, allotting $11 billion to the FAA to upgrade the nation’s 35 busiest airports air traffic controls from radar to GPS. The deadline for the conversion is June 2015, and when complete, it’ll allow for more precise positioning of aircraft — GPS pings for the planes’ locations every second, while radar updates their locations every 6 to 12 seconds. With such technology enabled, airplanes will be able to take-off and land more closely together while utilizing steeper descents than is currently possible to conserve fuel. So, now that we’ve got the new traffic control system to improve airline punctuality, we just need the FAA and the FCC to team up and eliminate the “Terrible 10,000 feet” and flying might actually be fun.
from Engadget
Finally!! Â I can’t believe that the Congress members were allowed to profit from their intimate and oftentimes proprietary information and not be held accountable! Â That’s ludicrous!!
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The bill would explicitly prohibit members of Congress, top aides and senior administration officials from using nonpublic information to trade. Passed 96-3, the act now goes to the House.
from News
Whoa!! That is just pure craziness!!! o.O
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Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories have successfully created a self-guided bullet prototype that is able to home in on a laser-designated target from more than a mile away.
The laser-guided bullet looks more like a small missile or dart than a conventional bullet. Regular bullets are held on course by their spin. The laser-guided bullet uses fins instead, so it doesn’t spin, it flies and its trajectory can be altered via the fins mid-flight.
The magic happens on board the bullet itself. An optical sensor collects information and relays it to an 8-bit central processing unit, which controls the electromagnetic actuators that adjust the fins. According to researchers Red Jones and Brian Kast, the tiny size of the bullet actually makes this feat relatively easy to perform (the bullet is more easily controllable than a cruise missile).
As far as precision goes, there is no comparison. Over a range of half-a-mile, a conventional bullet might be off target by as much as 10 yards. The laser-guided bullet will spread by as much as eight inches.
Click here to view the embedded video.
[PhysOrg via Geekosystem]
from The UberReview
