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Submission Summary: 0 pending, 68 declined, 39 accepted (107 total, 36.45% accepted)

Submission + - New Linux-based laptop for computer 'virgins'.

Submitted by
Smivs
Smivs writes: "The BBC are carrying a report on how people confused and frustrated by computers can now turn to a laptop called Alex built just for them. Based on Linux, the laptop comes with simplified e-mail, web browsing, image editing and office software. Those who sign up for Alex pay £39.95 a month for telephone support, software updates and broadband access.

The Broadband Computer Company, who developed Alex and which is based in Newcastle, has been working on this project for three years, and didn't immediately adopt a Linux solution — in fact, the first big trial was based on Windows. But the company's Chief Technology Officer Barney Morrison-Lyons says that was never going to be the right route: "The biggest problem with Microsoft is badly-written software — the operating system allows you to write software badly unlike Mac or Linux." Mr Hudson, one of the company's founders, said the company also intends to launch an application store for Alex for customers who want to add more features and functions to their computer. "People who love Linux will be keen to develop for this," he said."

Submission + - Vegetarian spider found

Submitted by
Smivs
Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting on a spider that dines almost exclusively on plants . It is the first-known predominantly vegetarian spider; all of the other known 40,000 spider species are thought to be mainly carnivorous. Bagheera kiplingi, which is found in Central America and Mexico, bucks the meat-eating trend by feasting on acacia plants. The jumping arachnid, which is 5-6mm long, has developed a taste for the tips of the acacia plants — known as Beltian bodies — which are packed full of protein. To reach this leafy fare, the spider has to evade the attention of ants, which live in the hollow spines of the tree, but the crafty Bagheera kiplingi has found a way to evade the ants and safely reach it's food."
Announcements

Submission + - UK's oldest computer to be 're-booted'.

Submitted by
Smivs
Smivs writes: "Britain's oldest original computer, the Harwell, is being sent to the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley where it is to be restored to working order. The computer, which was designed in 1949 was built and used by staff at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, Oxfordshire. It first ran in 1951 and was designed to perform mathematical calculations. It lasted until 1973. When first built the 2.4m x 5m computer was state-of-the-art, although it was superseded by transistor-based systems. The restoration project is expected to take a year. Although not the first computer built in the UK, the Harwell had one of the longest service lives. Built by a team of three people, the device was capable of doing the work of six to ten people and ran for seven years until the establishment obtained their first commercial computer. "We didn't think we were doing anything pioneering at the time," said Dick Barnes, who helped build the original Harwell computer."
Space

Submission + - New planet 'goes round star the wrong way'

Submitted by
Smivs
Smivs writes: "BBC News is reporting that Astronomers have discovered the first planet that orbits in the opposite direction to the spin of its star. Planets form out of the same swirling gas cloud that creates a star, so they are expected to orbit in the same direction that the star rotates. The new planet is thought to have been flung into its "retrograde" orbit by a close encounter with either another planet or with a passing star. The work has been submitted to the Astrophysical Journal for publication. Co-author Coel Hellier, from Keele University in Staffordshire, UK, said planets with retrograde orbits were thought to be rare. "With everything [in the star system] swirling around the same way and the star spinning the same way, you have to do quite a lot to it to make it go in the opposite direction." Professor Hellier said a near-collision was probably responsible for this planet's unusual orbit. "If you have a near-collision, then you'll have a large gravitational slingshot from that interaction," he explained. "This is the likeliest explanation. But it might be possible you can do it by gradually perturbing the orbit through the influence of a second planet. So far, we haven't found any evidence of a second planet there.""
Space

Submission + - Earth could collide with other planets

Submitted by
Smivs
Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting an article in Nature magazine in which Astronomers calculate there is a tiny chance that Mars or Venus could collide with Earth — though it would not happen for at least a billion years. The finding comes from simulations to show how orbits of planets might evolve billions of years into the future. But the calculated chances of such events occurring are tiny. Writing in the journal Nature, a team led by Jacques Laskar shows there is also a chance Mercury could strike Venus and merge into a larger planet. Professor Laskar of the Paris Observatory and his colleagues also report that Mars might experience a close encounter with Jupiter — whose massive gravity could hurl the Red Planet out of our Solar System."
Space

Submission + - e-Merlin 'Super-telescope' switched on

Submitted by
Smivs
Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting on the successful switch-on of one of the world's most powerful telescope arrays. Seven radio telescopes (around the UK) have been linked with optical fibres. The new data-link upgrade has replaced the older microwave technology that once connected the telescopes and was only able to return a fraction of the data that was being recorded.
Over the past six years, a huge project has been underway to swap the older microwave links for hundreds of kilometres of optical fibre cables, which are buried beneath the ground.
Tim O'Brien, from the e-Merlin project, said: "It will be a revolution in terms of what we can do with our astronomy. It is like moving from a dial-up connection on the internet to a broadband one. It means we will now be able to get all of the signal back from the telescopes. We'll be able to do in one day what would have previously taken us three years to do."
This extra data will allow astronomers to see objects in the Universe in much finer detail than was previously possible, and it will also enable them to study parts of the cosmos that have never been seen before."
The Media

Submission + - Wafer-thin speakers for 'talking billboards'. 1

Submitted by
Smivs
Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting on paper-thin speakers which could revolutionise advertising and P.A. systems. Engineers claim their new ultra-thin speakers, as well as looking good and being easy to conceal, will also deliver clearer, crisper sound. The loudspeakers could replace public address systems in passenger terminals and shopping centres. They could also be used as speaking posters to deliver adverts. The system, dubbed flat, flexible loudspeaker (FFL), started life as a piece of tin foil and some baking paper. These materials were first used to produce sound by Warwick University professor Dr Duncan Billson. "The sound produced by FFLs can be directed straight at its intended audience. The sound, volume and quality does not deteriorate as it does in conventional speakers which means that public announcements in passenger terminals could be clearer, crisper and easier to hear.""
Robotics

Submission + - Nano-motors for Microbots

Submitted by
Smivs
Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting on the development of tiny motors the size of a grain of salt which could power surgical Microbots. Some surgical procedures are hindered by the size or inflexibility of current instruments. For example, the labyrinthine network of blood vessels in the brain prevents the use of catheters threaded through larger blood vessels. Researchers have long envisioned that trends of miniaturisation would lead to tiny robots that could get around easily in the body. The problem until now has been powering them. Conventional electric motors do not perform as well as they are scaled down in size. As they approach millimetre dimensions, they barely have the power to overcome the resistance in their bearings. Now, research reported in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering has demonstrated a motor about 1/4mm wide, about the width of two human hairs."
Announcements

Submission + - Rare venomous mammal filmed

Submitted by
Smivs
Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting that footage of one of the world's most strange and elusive mammals has been captured by scientists. Large, and with a long, thin snout, the Hispaniolan solenodon resembles an overgrown shrew. It can inject passing prey with a venom-loaded bite. Dr Sam Turvey, a ZSL (Zoological Society of London) researcher involved with the programme, told BBC News: "It is an amazing creature — it is one of the most evolutionary distinct mammals in the world. "Along with the other species of solenodon, which is found in Cuba (Solenodon cubanus), it is the only living mammal that can actually inject venom into their prey through specialised teeth. Little is known about the creature, which is found in the Caribbean, but it is under threat from deforestation, hunting and introduced species. Researchers say conservation efforts are now needed. The mammal was filmed in the summer of 2008 during a month-long expedition to the Dominican Republic — one of only two countries where this nocturnal, insect-eating animal (Solenodon paradoxus) can be found (the other is Haiti). The researchers from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Ornithological Society of Hispaniola were able to take measurements and DNA from the creature before it was released."
Earth

Submission + - Hawaii driles hit magma chamber 1

Submitted by
Smivs
Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting that drillers looking for geothermal energy in Hawaii have inadvertently put a well right into a magma chamber. Molten rock pushed back up the borehole several metres before solidifying, making it perfectly safe to study. Magma specialist Bruce Marsh says it will allow scientists to observe directly how granites are made. "This is unprecedented; this is the first time a magma has been found in its natural habitat," the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, professor told BBC News. "Before, all we had to deal with were lava flows; but they are the end of a magma's life. They're lying there on the surface, they've de-gassed. It's not the natural habitat. It is hoped the site can now become a laboratory, with a series of cores drilled around the chamber to better characterise the crystallisation changes occurring in the rock as it loses temperature."
Announcements

Submission + - Oldest human brain discovered 1

Submitted by
Smivs
Smivs writes: "The BBC report that Archaeologists have found what could be Britain's oldest surviving human brain. The team, excavating a York University site, discovered a skull containing a yellow substance which scans showed to be shrunken, but brain-shaped. Brains consist of fatty tissue which microbes in the soil would absorb, so neurologists believe the find could be some kind of fossilised brain. More tests will now be done to establish what it is actually made of. The skull was discovered during an exploratory dig at Heslington Eastin, an area of extensive prehistoric farming landscape of fields, trackways and buildings dating back to at least 300 BC."
Space

Submission + - Black Hole at center of Milky Way confirmed

Submitted by
Smivs
Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting that a German team have confirmed the existance of a Black Hole at the center of the Milky Way. Astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso). The black hole is four million times heavier than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal. According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing — including light — can escape them."
Input Devices

Submission + - The Mouse turns 40

Submitted by
Smivs
Smivs writes: "The humble computer mouse celebrates its 40th anniversary today. On 9 December 1968 hi-tech visionary Douglas Engelbart first used one to demonstrate novel ways of working with computers. The first mouse that Dr Engelbart used in the demo at the Fall Joint Computer Conference (FJCC) was made of wood and had one button. Much of the technology shown off in the demo inspired the creation of the hardware and software now widely used. The mouse, which was built by Bill English, helped Dr Engelbart demonstrate how text files could be clipped, copied and pasted as well as showing ways of using computer networks to collaborate on projects or co-edit documents. A day of celebration is planned in California to mark the 40th anniversary; with many of the researchers behind the original demo reunited to mark the event."
Input Devices

Submission + - Logitech make 1 billionth Mouse

Submitted by
Smivs
Smivs writes: "Logitech has hailed as a major landmark the production of their one billionth computer mouse. The news comes at a time when analysts claim the days of the mouse are numbered. "It's rare in human history that a billionth of anything has been shipped by one company," said Logitech's general manager Rory Dooley. "Look at any other industry and it has never happened. This is a significant milestone."
The computer mouse will achieve a milestone of its own next week when it turns 40. It was 9 December 1968 when Douglas C. Engelbart and his group of researchers at Stanford University put the first mouse through its paces."

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