Month: September 2011

So, you know I have been asking you to “Plus 1” the site, because it will help the site, well, soon you will be able to “Plus 1” (or recommend) Adsense ads, interesting… not sure if that will catch on, but interesting!

Here’s the letter they sent me this morning:

“Hello,

In the next month, we’ll introduce the +1 button and personal recommendations to display ads. The +1 button will begin to appear on AdSense for Content and AdSense for Mobile Content display ad formats — image, animated gif, and Flash. +1s will be one additional signal to help determine an ad’s relevance and we’ll continue to show the ads that will generate the most revenue for you.

We previously launched the +1 button on Google search and for publisher sites to make it easier for people to share and discover content across the web. Soon, your users will be able to endorse specific ads and make the ads more likely to appear to their social connections. We believe that these recommendations could help your readers notice ads on your site more, leading to higher returns for you over time.

If you prefer not to show the +1 buttons on display ads on your pages, you can opt out in your account. For more information please visit the Inside AdSense blog.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense team”

Looks like our past heroes of spaceflight find our current space program as embarrassing as we do! We will never attract the Vulcan’s attention this way, guys!

Neil Armstrong: US space program ’embarrassing’ – Aging moonmen denounce NASA, Obama

“The first and last men to walk upon the moon have testified at a Congressional hearing that NASA is a national disgrace.

The US space program is ’embarrassing and unacceptable,’ said Neil Armstrong, who on July 21, 1969 first set foot on the surface of the earthly companion that, in his testimony, he referred to as Luna.

‘Today we are on a path of decay,’ testified fellow ex-astronaut Eugene Cernan, who said goodbye to Luna on December 14, 1972, bringing the curtain down on the US Apollo program.

Being 81 and 77 years old, repectively, and having achieved much in their careers, Armstrong and Cernan have nothing to prove nor favor to curry – and their comments reflected that freedom.

‘Our choices are to lead,’ Armstrong said, ‘to try to keep up, or to get out of the way. A lead, however earnestly and expensively won, once lost, is nearly impossible to regain.’

‘Now is the time to overrule this Administration’s pledge to mediocrity,’ said Cernan.

Armstrong decried NASA’s downward spiral. ‘We will have no American access to, and return from, low Earth orbit and the International Space Station for an unpredictable length of time in the future,’ he said. ‘For a country that has invested so much for so long to achieve a leadership position in space exploration and exploitation, this condition is viewed by many as lamentably embarrassing and unacceptable.'”

I agree guys! It is a crying shame!

So, OK, that is supposed to be IMPOSSIBLE!!! But, it seems it isn’t… impossible, that is. So, Warp drives, anyone?!?

Strange Particles May Travel Faster than Light, Breaking Laws of Physics

“Nothing goes faster than the speed of light. At least, we didn’t think so.

New results from the CERN laboratory in Switzerland seem to break this cardinal rule of physics, calling into question one of the most trusted laws discovered by Albert Einstein.

Physicists have found that tiny particles called neutrinos are making a 454-mile (730-kilometer) underground trip faster than they should — more quickly, in fact, than light could do. If the results are confirmed, they could throw much of modern physics into upheaval.

‘The consequences would be absolutely revolutionary and very profound,’ said physicist Robert Plunkett of the Fermilab laboratory in Batavia, Ill., who was not involved in the new study. ‘That’s why such a claim should be treated very carefully and validated as many ways as you can.’

The results come from the OPERA experiment, which sends sprays of neutrinos from CERN in Geneva to the INFN Gran Sasso Laboratory in Italy. Neutrinos don’t interact with normal atoms, so they simply pass through the Earth as if it were a vacuum.

After analyzing the results from 15,000 particles, it seems the neutrinos are crossing the distance at a velocity 20 parts per million faster than the speed of light. By making use of advanced GPS systems and atomic clocks, the researchers were able to determine this speed to an accuracy of less than 10 nanoseconds (.00000001 seconds).

‘According to relativity, it takes an infinite amount of energy to make anything go faster than light,’ Plunkett told LiveScience. ‘If these things are going faster than light, then these rules would have to be rewritten.’

Previous studies have found that certain materials can travel faster than light through a medium. For example, certain particles are able to move more swiftly than light when travelling through water or oil. However, nothing should be able to move faster than light through a vacuum.

‘It’s really thought to be an absolute speed limit,’ said Michael Peskin, a theoretical physicist at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, Calif. ‘Quantum field theory, the mathematical theory on which basically all results in particle physics are based, has the property that signals cannot travel faster than the speed of light through a vacuum. It’s really an absolute prohibition.'”

UPDATE: Oh yeah, by the way, this faster than light particle has time travel implications as well!

‘Faster Than Light’ Particles Make Time Travel Possible, Scientist Says

3D… well, meh. But longer than 15 minute video for “in good standing members = good!”

YouTube Now Converting 2D Videos To 3D, Removes 15 Minute Limit For Verified Users

“I hate 3D videos. Chances are, you hate 3D videos too. And yet, the electronics-making world insists on shoving 3D display technology into everything from TVs to smartphones, regardless of the fact that there’s still next to no worthwhile 3D content out there. Besides Avatar — but seriously, I could barely make it through that movie without nodding off the first time.

But wherever video trends go, Youtube will follow. YouTube has been playing around with 3D video support for some time now, with the biggest holdback being that only a very, very small chunk of the population owns a camera capable of capturing that extra dimension. Looking to get more 3D content onto their site, YouTube is today rolling out a Beta of a 2D to 3D conversion system. They also removed the 15 minute video limit for all verified users.

As opposed to traditional 3D video capturing setups which requires two simultaneously captured videos to be merged with fancy software trickery, Youtube’s new conversion tool measures the motion and color of a single video to simulate depth and hobble together a hacky, 3D-ish video. Youtube admits that it’s not on par with shooting 3D video the proper way — but hey, it’s a Beta. You’ll still need 3D glasses (or at least a glasses-free 3D display) to watch the videos properly.

YouTube also made another rather notable announcement, though they more so just mentioned it in passing: they’re removing the 15 minute video length limit for anyone who is in good standing (read: anyone who hasn’t uploaded porn or bootlegs) and has been ‘verified’ (read: anyone willing to cough up their phone number). Finally, the hour-long Director’s Cut of your Chip & Dales Rescue Ranger fan music video can have a home online!”

In a sly move, perhaps to destroy Linux once and for all, Microsoft’s new Windows 8 will have a secured boot process tied to the BIOS itself. So, if a vendor creates a machine that complies with Windows Secure boot, it will not be able (without hacking the BIOS) to dual boot Windows and Linux.

The key is the new UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) secure boot, with includes a registered operating system signed by a trusted Certificate Authority. This has some upsides: for instance, Windows 8’s fast booting is due in part to this, and malware won’t be able to hijack your OS. But, M$ being M$, they consider Linux as malware, in effect, so you are doomed. Well, OK, an exaggeration, but you see what I mean.

Linux could incorporate UEFI Secure Boot, but there are roadblocks to doing it. Not the least of which is the requirement that the signed OS certs must be proprietary. But, the Linux developers will probably figure something out… so, I am not too worried. However, if you have a “home-grown” distro, you may really be shut out. Also, M$ has promised to support older BIOS systems as well, for backward compatibility.

I guess I do… I have WAY too many. But, it is a way to secure your “name” so that folks don’t misrepresent you.

——–

So, you know I blog here at:

https://www.DrBill.CC

(For Computer Curmudgeon)

And, my Video Show is at:

https://www.DrBill.TV

But, do you know about:

https://www.drbillbailey.biz/

Same as my “main site” which is the .net, because I was/am a web host (for a few select sites), and, now, a network of shows.

https://www.drbillbailey.com/

Same as my “main site” which is the .net, because I was/am a web host (for a few select sites), and, now, a network of shows.

https://www.drbillbailey.info/

Same as my “main site” which is the .net, because I was/am a web host (for a few select sites), and, now, a network of shows.

https://www.drbillbailey.net/

The “Official Main Site!”

https://www.drbillbailey.org/

Same as my ministry site, Word of Faith Ministries, which is:

https://www.wofm.org/

And, of course:

https://www.drbillbailey.tv/

Same as my Dr. Bill.TV site! Wow! Do I collect sites, or what? Sigh. Oh! And, I almost forgot about the .US site, which is:

https://www.drbillbailey.us/

Again, same as the .net site. US being the United States based site, of course… oh well.

Be sure to watch the video! It is actually kinda cool.

Introducing Engadget Distro!

“Say hello to Engadget Distro. At its most molecular level, it’s nothing more than a series of ones and zeros, cobbled together in a compiler and made to look like words and images on Apple’s iPad. But in reality, it’s something far greater — something that the entire Engadget staff couldn’t be more proud to have their names on. Distro is the week in technology news, distilled down and reformatted into a beautiful, offline view that can be enjoyed anywhere. You know, like one of those regional jets still awaiting their rightful Gogo injection. We’ve got a team of designers and editors toiling around the clock to assemble our best long-form feature content and reviews, re-wrapping it in a fashion that takes full advantage of a little thing called ‘multitouch.’

As of now, we’ve got plans to launch Distro on the iPad soon (as in, super soon!), but you can bet we’re already hammering away on versions for the other major tablet platforms. Rest assured, we’re as eager to finish them as anyone, and yes, they’ll all be absolutely free of charge. For those who find themselves a touch overwhelmed with the sheer torrent of news that occurs in this space each and every day, Distro offers a relaxing, peaceful alternative. Sort of like morphine, but available sans a prescription. We’ll be showing off a sneak peek during tonight’s live Engadget Show (tune in here!), and we’ll be sure to keep you abreast of our launch date as it draws closer.”

Plus, I kinda like the name… my Linux background showing!

Wow! You knew they had to start somewhere!

29 years ago, a smiley was born :-)

At 11:44 a.m. on September 19, 1982, a man named Scott Fahlman posted a message to an electronic computer-science department bulletin board at Carnegie Mellon University. And with that simple action he did something wonderful: He became the individual who would later be credited as the inventor of :-), an ASCII-based emoticon.

Thanks to the efforts of Microsoft Director of Identity Partnerships Mike B. Jones — who worked at Carnegie Mellon University when the original post was made — and a small team of dedicated individuals, we know that the following is the message Fahlman sent:

19-Sep-82 11:44 Scott E Fahlman :-)
From: Scott E Fahlman

I propose that the following character sequence for joke markers:

:-)

Read it sideways. Actually, it is probably more economical to mark
things that are NOT jokes, given current trends. For this, use

:-(

If you’re curious about the exact context of the message, then you can actually read through the full “joke” message thread in which it was posted or Fahlman’s “Smiley Lore :-)” post which explains the thoughts that led to the use of the emoticon.”

Yep… it once cost $15.00 a month to get in at the door, but as of October, it is free to play!

DC Universe Online free to play

“Sony Online Entertainment is changing its pay model to allow gamers to play DC Universe Online for free!

The massively multiplayer online game lets users become heroes and villains in the DC Universe and was previously $15 per month.

The new tiered structure is now free for everyone to play, premium content is unlocked if you purchase $5 of in-game items and the $15 ‘Legendary’ game pass is an all-access membership.

The new pricing structure will take effect in October.”