Kadin2048 - Slashdot User

Submission + - USAF developing new "SR-72" supersonic spy (airforcetimes.com)

Submitted by

Kadin2048

on Wednesday June 20, 2007 @01:00PM

Kadin2048 writes: "According to an Air Force Times article, the famed Lockheed Martin "Skunk Works" may be hard at work on a new supersonic spy plane (with 'artist concept') for the U.S. military, to replace the SR-71 "Blackbird" retired a decade ago. Dubbed by some the SR-72, the jet would be unmanned and travel at about 4,000 MPH at as much as 100,000 feet, with "transcontinental" range. Some have speculated that new high-speed spy planes could be a U.S. response to anti-satellite weapons deployed by China, in order to preserve reconnaissance capabilities in the event of a loss of satellite coverage. Neither the Air Force nor Lockheed Martin would comment on the program, or lack thereof."

Submission + - No Windows on OLPCs (officially)

Submitted by

Kadin2048

on Thursday May 03, 2007 @01:10AM

Kadin2048 writes: "Despite reports last week in major news sources indicating that the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project was in negotiations with Microsoft to bring Windows XP to the low-cost platform, Walter Bender, president of Software and Content at OLPC, said in an interview with Ars Technica, "We are a free and open-source shop. We have no one from OLPC working with Microsoft on developing a Windows platform for the XO.""

Submission + - The Problem With Driver-Loaded Firmware

Submitted by

Kadin2048

on Sunday December 31, 2006 @10:59PM

Kadin2048 writes: "If you've gone to a big-box store and purchased a wireless card recently, you might have had some trouble getting it to work under Linux, or any non-Windows OS for that matter. One reason for this is that more and more manufacturers are producing hardware that are useless without proprietary firmware. While these new designs allow for lower parts counts and thus lower cost, it presents a serious problem for F/OSS software because it can sometimes guarantee no out-of-the-box compatibility. Jem Matzan has produced a detailed article, "The battle for wireless network drivers," on the subject, including interviews with manufacturers' representatives and OS developers, including Theo de Raadt. The bottom line? In general, Asian hardware manufacturers were far more responsive and liberal about firmware than U.S. manufacturers (Intel included). Look for more firmware issues in the future, as not only wireless hardware, but regular wired Ethernet cards, take the driver-loaded firmware approach."

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