Dr. Smeegee - Slashdot User

Submission + - Govt to use Full Disk Encryption on ALL computers

Submitted by

Saqib Ali

on Thursday December 28, 2006 @10:11AM

Saqib Ali writes: "To address the issue of data leaks from stolen or missing laptops, US Government is planning to use Full Disk Encryption (FDE) on all of the Government owned computers. On June 23, 2006 a Presidential Mandate was put in place requiring all agency laptops to fully encrypt data on the HDD. The US Government is currently conducting the largest single side-by-side comparison and competition for the selection of a Full Disk Encryption product. The selected product will be deployed on Millions of computers in the US federal government space. This implementation will end up being the largest single implementation ever, and all of the information regarding the competition is in the public domain. The evaluation will come to a end in 90 days. You can view all the vendors competing and list of requirements."

Submission + - Robots crawl the tubes under the city.

Submitted by

Johan Louwers

on Thursday December 28, 2006 @08:52AM

Johan Louwers writes: "Robots will crawl tubes in a short while to investigate power cables running in the tubes to make sure they are still undamaged or in need for a repair. The Robotic Cable Inspection System is developed by Alexander Mamishev a assistant professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington. Making use infrared thermal analysis and acoustic partial discharge analysis the robot will be checking mile after mile of cable while crawling his way in the tubes."

Submission + - Hypersonic space planes promise 2 hour flights to

Submitted by

secretsather

on Wednesday December 27, 2006 @07:35PM

secretsather writes: "Two hour flights to the other side of the world may seem like a scene from a science fiction movie; but the technology is in place, and a plane that can do just that is currently in development.

While it currently looks like a scene from a flight simulator, the Astrox space plane is the real deal, and the Astrox Corporation says it could revolutionize the transportation industry.

Traveling as fast as Mach 25 with at least 30 minutes of space shuttle-like views while in orbit is the highlight of this plane, and The Astrox Corporation, along with their partners, are claiming to have finally overcome their largest problem, mixing fuel.

How do you mix fuel in the engine of an efficient, hypersonic space plane that travels at 17,500 miles-per-hour? Mechanical engines won't perform well at these hypersonic speeds, and moving parts start shutting down before Mach 10. By using an inward-turning scramjet engine, The Astrox Corporation, along with their partners, has successfully designed and tested a combustor for the Astrox space plane.

The scramjet engine uses no moving parts, and is shaped like a rectangular funnel. Air enters the engine at an astonishing 2,200 MPH, mixes with fuel, undergoes ignition, and is combusted within one millisecond!

"The combustion is fast, so that's not the problem, but before combustion can occur, you have to mix your fuel with the air quickly. This is more difficult when the air's traveling at such high speeds," said Astrox President Ajay Kothari. "Hypersonic space planes could revolutionize the transportation industry, much like jet planes did for subsonic commercial aviation 50 years ago."

The research team has currently tested the combustor at Mach 2 in a supersonic wind tunnel, and Kothari plans to test both his design and the combustor in a small, model space plane before marketing their vehicle design.

http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2006/12/27/hy personic-space-planes-promise-2-hour-flights-to-th e-other-side-of-the-earth/"

Slashdot Top Deals