Computers and technology

That SpaceX Falcon 9 hot fire: the movie

15 March 2010

Sorry folks for the radio silence. I have what you would accurately call a bona fide family emergency and was away all weekend trying to sort out my head to be able to deal with the stuff that life’s throwing at me. But enough excuses. By now you’ve all probably heard about Falcon 9’s successful static testfire of the SpaceX rocket’s engines. This is an important milestone where the rocket is filled with fuel, locked down on the launch pad and it’s engines fired up to make sure it’s working as planed. There a similar test last Tuesday that failed because of a balky valve. But that was fixed and Saturday’s test was perfect by all accounts. It was big news for SpaceX, CEO Elon Musk and all the upstart company’s supporters. It was hot fire and hugs all around. Word has it that the success was not only enjoyed at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, but also at the Department of Defence and the offices of United Launch Alliance, Boeing Co. and all other firms harbouring ambitions to grab a slice of the White House’s proposed $6 billion in funds to develop new commercial rocket capabilities. Commercial supporters need SpaceX to succeed in order to keep the commercial dream on track. Still many technical and political hurdles remain before that’s going to a locked-down reality. Word also has it that with this critical test out of the way, the long-awaited maiden launch of the Falcon 9 and the Dragon capsule qualifying unit is now on track for mid-April. Whether it lifts off before or after President Barack Obama’s Space Summit meeting at Kennedy Space Center is unclear. If before it will definitely give ‘em something to talk about. In any case, it was an important milestone for SpaceX. Here’s the official video of nine Merlin 1C engines firing up.

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Posted in Art, Barack Obama, California, Commercial, Falcon 9, Kennedy Space Center, MIT, Object, Space, SpaceX, led, obama, radio, un, videoComments (0)

Inside NASA’s high-stakes Hubble repair mission

15 March 2010

The "IMAX: Hubble 3D" film--a feast for the eyes--details the risks and rewards of keeping the Hubble Space Telescope functional.

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Posted in Hubble Space Telescope, Object, Space, unComments (0)

The iPad developer’s challenge

15 March 2010

Applications meant for the iPhone may look similar to their iPad brethren, but they present new challenges to the people creating them.

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Posted in Object, People, iPhoneComments (0)

Web guru Tim Bray takes Google Android job

15 March 2010

The co-inventor of XML likes Google's philosophy overall, and especially how it applies to competing against the 'Disney-fied walled garden' of Apple's iPhone.

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Posted in Apple, Google, Object, iPhone, ledComments (0)

Digg 2.0 unveiled at SXSW, ‘faster,’ ‘instant’

14 March 2010

At Digg's packed South by Southwest party Saturday night, CEO Jay Adelson surprised the audience by announcing a revamped version of the service with a big slate of new features.

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Posted in Art, Object, slate, unComments (0)

#OMGConan: The big Digg party Twitter hoax

14 March 2010

At about 8 p.m. central time Saturday night, the word spread on Twitter like wildfire that Conan O'Brien was joining Internet TV network Revision3. But it was actually a hoax that hundreds participated in.

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Posted in Art, Internet, Object, Twitter, time, tv, unComments (0)

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That SpaceX Falcon 9 hot fire: the movie

Posted in Art, Barack Obama, California, Commercial, Falcon 9, Kennedy Space Center, MIT, Object, Space, SpaceX, led, obama, radio, un, videoComments (0)

Inside NASA’s high-stakes Hubble repair mission

Posted in Hubble Space Telescope, Object, Space, unComments (0)

The iPad developer’s challenge

Posted in Object, People, iPhoneComments (0)

Web guru Tim Bray takes Google Android job

Posted in Apple, Google, Object, iPhone, ledComments (0)

Digg 2.0 unveiled at SXSW, ‘faster,’ ‘instant’

Posted in Art, Object, slate, unComments (0)

#OMGConan: The big Digg party Twitter hoax

Posted in Art, Internet, Object, Twitter, time, tv, unComments (0)

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