Minimum Wage Machine
http://blakefallconroy.com/18.html
Blake Fall-Conroy Sculpture : The minimum wage machine allows anybody to work for minimum wage. Turning the crank will yield one penny every 4.97 seconds, for $7.25 an hour (NY state minimum wage). If the participant stops turning the crank, they stop receiving money. The machine’s mechanism and electronics are powered by the hand crank, and pennies are stored in a plexiglas box. Tags: #art #salaire (...)
Power of Arduino and Raspberry Pi combined in $99 Android/Linux PC
►http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/04/power-of-arduino-and-raspberry-pi-combined-in-99-androidlinux-pc
“With UDOO, we want to combine the winning characteristics of Arduino and Raspberry Pi in one single board. The simplicity of Arduino in managing sensors, combined with the flexibility of a microcomputer based on ARM are integrated in UDOO, giving you a powerful prototyping board able to run Linux or Android,” UDOO project coordinator Bruno Sinopli, a Carnegie Mellon professor in electrical and computer engineering, said in a video on UDOO’s Kickstarter page.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/435742530/udoo-android-linux-arduino-in-a-tiny-single-board
#diy #bidouille
The Evolution of Beirut’s Souk al-Ahad | Al Akhbar English
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/evolution-beirut%E2%80%99s-souk-al-ahad
Beirut’s Souk al-Ahad, the Sunday Market, has for 20 years been a treasure trove of all imaginable bric-a-brac and second-hand everything, from clothes to electronics to antiques. Recent months have seen the numbers drawn to the market multiply considerably, swelling the entire enterprise with heaving crowds.
Article accompagné d’une collection de photos:
http://english.al-akhbar.com/photoblogs/souk-al-ahad-i-people-and-treasures
How ’Minority Report’ Trapped Us In A World Of Bad Interfaces | The Awl (Stéphane Deschamps)
http://www.theawl.com/2013/02/how-minority-report-trapped-us-in-a-world-of-bad-interfaces
Arrêtons de consacrer autant d’énergie aux trucs qui en mettent lpein la vue : l’interface est avant tout destinée à permettre à l’utilisateur d’effectuer une action. Annotations : I spend a lot of time trying to repackage Steven Spielberg’s …
http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Screen-Shot-2013-02-22-at-10.46.18-AM.jpg
Source : The Awl - Stéphane Deschamps
#interfaces #Minority_Report #Steven_Spielberg #The_Future #technology #John_Underkoffler #Jaron_Lanier #Christian_Brown #Columnists #Design #Film_Frets #Gadgets #Interfaces #Minority_Report #Movies #Steven_Spielberg #Technology #tom_cruise #Uncategorized
10 companies profiting the most from war
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/03/10/10-companies-profiting-most-from-war/1970997
10. United Technologies (UTX) — aircraft, electronics, engines
Arm sales: $11.6 billion, total sales: $58.2 billion
Gross profit: $5.3 billion, total workforce: 199,900
United Technologies makes a wide range of arms — notably military helicopters, including the Black Hawk helicopter for the U.S. Army and the Seahawk helicopter for the U.S. Navy. The company was the biggest employer in the top 10 though arms sales accounted for just 20% of revenue. UTX also produces elevators, escalators, air-conditioners and refrigerators. International sales comprised 60% of the company’s revenue in 2012.
9. L-3 Communications (LLL) — electronics
Arm sales: $12.5 billion, total sales: $15.2 billion
Gross profit: $956 million, total workforce: 61,000
Some 83% of L-3 Communications sales in 2011 came from arms sales, but this was down from what it sold the prior year. The company has four business segments: electronic systems; aircraft modernization and maintenance; national security solutions; and command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Among many products manufactured, the company has become a major provider of unmanned aircraft systems.
8. Finmeccanica — aircraft, artillery, engines, electronics, vehicles and missiles
Arms sales, $14.6 billion, total sales: $24.1 billion
Gross profit: $ -3.2 billion, total workforce: 70,470
Italian company Finmeccanica makes a wide range of arms, including helicopters and security electronics. Nearly 60% of the company’s sales in 2011 were in arms. Finmeccanica lost $3.2 billion in 2011. The Italian company is currently fending off allegation that it paid bribes to win an approximately $750 million contract to provide 12 military helicopters to the Indian government in 2010. The then-head of the company, Giuseppe Orsi, was arrested in February but has denied wrongdoing. Other executives, including the head of the company’s helicopter unit, have been replaced, and the company has delayed the release of recent financial results.
7. EADS — aircraft, electronics, missiles and space
Arm sales: $16.4 billion, total sales: $68.3 billion
Gross profit: $1.4 billion, total workforce: 133,120
The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS), based in the Netherlands, had sales in 2011 roughly in line with the prior year. Arms sales comprised just 24% of the company’s revenue. EADS and BAE Systems unsuccessfully attempted to merge for $45 billion in 2012, which would have created the world’s largest aerospace company. The deal collapsed in October after German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed concerns about the merger.
6. Northrop Grumman (NOC) — aircraft, electronics, missiles, ships, space
Arm sales: $21.4 billion, total sales: $26.4 billion
Gross profit: $2.1 billion, total workforce: 72,500
Northrop Grumman’s 2011 arms sales comprised about 81% of total sales even after a sharp decline in arms sales year over year. The company attributed the decline to reduced government spending on defense projects. Nevertheless, the company was more profitable than in the prior year.
5. Raytheon (RTN) — electronics, missiles
Arm sales: $22.5 billion, total sales: $24.9 billion
Gross profit: $1.9 billion, total workforce: 71,000
Raytheon, based in Waltham, Mass., is one of the largest defense contractors in the U.S. The company makes the Tomahawk Cruise Missile, among others. Arms sales comprised about 90% of the company’s sales in 2011 though they as a total they were lower than in the prior year. The slide hasn’t let up. Total sales in 2012 fell 1.5%, and Raytheon is expecting sales to fall 3% in 2013, a projection which doesn’t take into account the effects of mandated budget cuts. The company can rely on overseas customers to somewhat offset weak sales at home. As of January, approximately 40% of the company’s backlog was booked overseas. The company expects approximately a 5% increase in international sales in 2013.
4. General Dynamics (GD) — artillery, electronics, vehicles, small arms, ships
Arm sales: $23.8 billion, total sales: $32.7 billion
Gross profit: $2.5 billion, total workforce: 95,100
With 18,000 transactions in 2011, General Dynamics was the third-largest contractor to the U.S. government. Of those contracts, approximately $12.9 billion worth went to the Navy, while an additional $4.6 billion went to the Army. The company’s arms sales in 2011 comprised 73% of total sales. Arms sales in 2011 were slightly below 2010 levels. The company makes a host of products, including electric boats, tracked and wheeled military vehicles, and battle tanks. The company announced layoffs in early March, blaming mandated federal budget cuts.
3. BAE Systems — aircraft, artillery, electronics, vehicles, missiles, ships
Arm sales: $29.2 billion, total sales: $30.7 billion
Gross profit: $2.3 billion, total workforce: 93,500
BAE Systems was the largest non-U.S. company based on arms sales. Arms sales represented 95% of the company’s total sales in 2011 even though they were lower as a total of overall sales compared to the prior year. The products BAE sells include the L-ROD Bar Armor System that shields defense vehicles and the Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer that provides sophisticated simulation training for military pilots. In 2013, the company said its growth would likely come from outside the U.S. and Great Britain — its home market. BAE noted that its outlook for those two countries was “constrained,” likely due to the diminished presence in international conflicts and government budget cuts.
2. Boeing (BA) — aircraft, electronics, missiles, space
Arm sales: $31.8 billion, total sales: $68.7 billion
Gross profit: $4 billion, total workforce: 171,700
Boeing was the second-largest U.S. government contractor in 2011, with about $21.5 billion worth of goods contracted. The Chicago-based company makes a wide range of arms, including strategic missile systems, laser and electro-optical systems and global positioning systems. Despite all these technologies, just 46% of the company’s total sales of $68.7 billion in 2011 came from arms. Boeing is the largest commercial airplane manufacturer in the world, making planes such as the 747, 757 and recently, the 787 Dreamliner. The company is also known for its space technology — Boeing had $1 billion worth of contracts with NASA in 2011.
1. Lockheed Martin (LMT) — aircraft, electronics, missiles, space
Arm sales:$36.3 billion, total sales: $46.5 billion
Gross profit: $2.7 billion, total workforce, 123,000
Lockheed Martin notched $36.3 billion in sales in 2011, slightly higher than the $35.7 billion the company sold in 2010. The arms sales comprised 78% of the company’s total 2011 sales. Lockheed makes a wide range of products, including aircraft, missiles, unmanned systems and radar systems. The company and its employees have been concerned about the effects of the “fiscal cliff” and sequestration, the latter of which includes significant cuts to the U.S. Department of Defense. In the fall of 2012, the company planned on issuing layoff notices to all employees before backing down at the White House’s request.
Pfou ... y’a même pas notre fleuron national Dassault !
Le #lobbying qui précède les juteux contrats.
US military : Arms and the man for change - FT.com
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/6eb497f4-1677-11df-bf44-00144feab49a.html#axzz2NKsuzBEx
Top 10 contractors to US defence department by size of contracts awarded in 2009
http://im.ft-static.com/content/images/11268248-167a-11df-bf44-00144feab49a.img
Erreur concernant les sommes dépensées en lobbying par Raytheon : millions et non milliards. http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientlbs.php?id=D000000175&year=2009
Tomgram: Jeremiah Goulka, C-130 Math and a Cargo of Pork
http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175659
La majorité des dollars que la compagnie [Lockheed] dépense sur le lobbying est de l’argent des contribuables. Selon son rapport annuel 2011, « 82% de nos 46,5 milliards $ net de chiffre d’affaires vient du gouvernement américain, dont 61% du ministère de la Défense. » Et n’oubliez pas qu’une partie significative des 17% de ses ventes aux clients internationaux en 2011 a été effectivement payée par l’oncle Sam sous la rubrique de l’aide militaire étrangère. Seulement 1% de ses ventes cette année-là étaient des « clients commerciaux US et autres. » Son PDG a gagné 20.538.981 $, tandis que la société a payé seulement $ 722 millions en impôts nets fédéraux et étrangers dans la même année.
►http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/04/drones-industry-uav-market-budget-cuts
Defense cuts have forced commanders at Southern California’s Naval Base Ventura County to idle planes and cancel troop deployments, but you’d never know it from looking at the nearby defense contractor Northrup Grumman; its stock price has risen 9 percent in less than a month, buoyed by brisk sales of drones such as the Fire Scout unmanned helicopter, which will be deployed at the base this summer.
La Mission Très haut débit dévoile son plan pour la fibre optique
http://www.latribune.fr/technos-medias/telecoms/20130122trib000744109/la-mission-tres-haut-debit-devoile-son-plan-pour-la-fibre-optique-.html
Le principal motif de satisfaction des collectivités locales viendra sans doute du long chapitre consacré à la « question centrale et stratégique pour la soutenabilité financière des projets de déploiements de réseaux #FTTH (#fibre jusqu’à l’abonné) notamment publics » que constitue le sort du réseau #cuivre de boucle locale historique, celui de France Télécom, le bon vieux réseau téléphonique qui sert actuellement de support à l’ADSL. Car le projet de feuille de route dit explicitement qu’« il n’est pas économiquement pertinent de maintenir durablement deux réseaux parallèles », le cuivre et la fibre, et qu’il faudra examiner avec l’opérateur historique « les conditions opérationnelles, juridiques et financières de telles opérations d’extinction du cuivre », laquelle se fera « de manière progressive et organisée. »
Plan que l’on l’on pourra comparer notamment à celui de l’Australie, en déploiement depuis 2010 : le National Broadband Network
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Broadband_Network
The National Broadband Network (NBN) is a national wholesale-only, open-access data network under development in Australia. Fibre broadband connections are sold to retail service providers (RSP), who then sell Internet access and other services to consumers. The NBN was subject to political and industry debate for a number of years, before construction actually commenced.
Hollande et Ayrault lèvent le voile sur le « plan numérique »
http://www.franceinfo.fr/politique/hollande-et-ayrault-levent-le-voile-sur-le-plan-numerique-898489-2013-02-
annonces faites alors qu’à Londres on rendait un classement :
►http://reflets.info/tres-haut-debit-la-france-toujours-championne-deurope-de-lautosatisfaction
Pendant ce temps,
Très haut débit : un rapport sénatorial tire la sonnette d’alarme
http://www.01net.com/editorial/587807/tres-haut-debit-un-rapport-senatorial-tire-la-sonnette-d-alarme
Le rapport prône entre autres un relèvement des tarifs d’abonnement à internet pour faciliter les investissements, alors que « la France a le coût le plus bas du monde ». Surtout, l’Etat doit exercer effectivement « ses responsabilités de régulateur et de financeur pour assurer l’égalité territoriale ». Pour le sénateur Hérisson, « il ne faudrait pas se retrouver dans la situation où les collectivités locales, qui ont développé des compétences avérées en matière numérique, font les investissements à la place des opérateurs ».
#THD Yves Rome par ailleurs président de l’AVVICA, réagit vite http://www.e-alsace.net/index.php/smallnews/detail?newsId=12327 aux annonces de jeudi dernier évoquées là ►http://seenthis.net/messages/117924
autre réaction deux semaines plus tard : http://www.localtis.info/cs/ContentServer?pagename=Localtis/LOCActu/ArticleActualite&cid=1250264988853#
Le résultat ? Les opérateurs se concentrent sur les zones denses (148 en France) et ciblent les logements où le THD est déjà accessible par le câble : « Du gaspillage », dénonce Hérisson. Il y a pire, relève le Sipperec, un syndicat de communes qui fédère 87 localités de la proche banlieue parisienne (Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne...) : « Un logement sur six dans ces zones urbanisées se situe dans une poche de basse densité ou dans des quartiers pavillonnaires, où le câble est absent et le haut débit peu performant », explique Sylvain Raifaud, du Sipperec. Or, dans ces zones peu rentables, déplore-t-il, « nous n’avons pas droit au financement public ». Le reste du territoire n’échappe pas davantage aux critiques : les collectivités qui prennent l’initiative de développer des réseaux THD, souligne le rapport sénatorial, le font « aux risques des finances publiques ».
http://www.ecrans.fr/La-fibre-une-optique-lointaine,16021.html
« L’économie numérique dans notre pays représente déjà 5% de la croissance, 5% du PIB, 1 million de salariés. Mais il nous manque encore des outils essentiels. Et notamment des infrastructures. » François Hollande le 20 février, à Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme)
http://www.liberation.fr/economie/2013/02/27/reperes_885199
Très haut débit : et si la fibre optique s’arrêtait à la porte des logements ?
http://www.latribune.fr/technos-medias/telecoms/20130313trib000753745/tres-haut-debit-et-si-la-fibre-optique-s-arretait-a-la-porte-des-logements
Qu’est-ce qu’un #fablab ? - openp2pdesign.org
http://www.openp2pdesign.org/2013/spaces/what-is-a-fablab
Massimo Menichinelli explique simplement et en 10 points ce qu’est un FabLab. Tags : internetactu2net fing internetactu #infolabs fablab
How to Write Code That Embraces Change
http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-write-code-that-embraces-change
Writing code, which is easy to change is the Holy Grail of programming. Welcome to programming nirvana! But things are much more difficult in reality: source code is difficult to understand, dependencies point in countless directions, coupling is annoying, and you soon feel the heat of programming hell …
Source: Web development tutorials, from beginner to advanced - Patkos Csaba
Story of Stuff « The Story of Stuff Project
http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-stuff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM
►http://www.colibris-lemouvement.org/comprendre/croissance-ou-decroissance décrit ce film ainsi :
"« The story of stuff », d’Annie Leonard, nous dévoile le cycle de vie de tous ces objets que l’on consomme au quotidien sans vraiment savoir d’où ils viennent ni où ils vont. Elle explique d’une façon ludique mais sérieuse comment fonctionne l’économie globale matérialiste et ses conséquences sur l’économie, l’environnement et la santé."
Cheers, des glaçons qui vous avertissent quand vous buvez trop | Ça devrait intéresser pas mal de monde, par ici !
http://www.actinnovation.com/innovation-sante-2/cheers-glacons-qui-vous-avertissent-quand-vous-buvez-trop-5336.html
http://vimeo.com/56772409#
Chaque cube surveille le nombre de gorgées à l’aide d’un accéléromètre et mesure le temps passé à boire. Ils émettent chacun une lumière de couleur différente, faisant ainsi passer votre boisson du vert à l’orange puis au rouge. Cette dernière couleur indique qu’il est temps de ralentir un peu.
Et quand y a plus de pile, comment tu fais pour savoir que t’es en train de te murger ?
Et tu peux même plus le faire savoir au copain…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/09/led-ice-cubes-alcohol-prevent-blackouts-dhairya-dand_n_2440825.html
As a precaution, if the drinker continues beyond the red level, the LED ice cubes are also capable of electronically transmitting a text message warning to a friend through the IR channel. A specific phone app allows users to designate emergency contacts.
Et, en prime, en intro de l’article du Huff cite une fourchette encore plus laide que celle de @reka …
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/931877/thumbs/r-HAPIFORK-large570.jpg?8
Beirut Digital District: High-Tech Development or Gentrification?
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/beirut-digital-district-high-tech-development-or-gentrification
Two streets away in Khandaq al-Ghamiq, brothers Hassan and Ahmad Khalife run a butchery that their grandfather had a license for since 1936. They know very little about the ambitious project a stone’s throw away. “Everyone in the neighborhood keeps hearing rumors that land in the area is being bought up quietly, but we don’t know what they want to use it for. Whatever it is, it is intended for another class of people, not for us,” said Hassan.
“People are worried it’s going to be like another Solidere,” said his brother “They fear that the people who live here will be pushed out by whatever is coming.”
Post-Christmas Recycling Saves Outdated IPods From Dump - Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-26/post-christmas-recycling-saves-outdated-ipods-from-dump.html
While Green Citizen is trying to offset gadget waste, Kao said that still isn’t a match for a consumer culture that encourages people to seek the latest and greatest technology. About 80 percent of U.S. electronic waste ends up on container ships and then ditched in developing countries, where companies hire workers to extract the core minerals without any environmental or worker-safety oversight, he said.
“It’s going to get worse and worse,” Kao said. “Initially, I tried to fight it, but you can’t.”
Aujourd’hui, j’ai trouvé encore plus lourdement sexiste qu’un informaticien de base, un photographe à gros objectif ou un vendeur de magasin de bricolage : un vendeur de matériel pour audiophile .
A la base, je venais chercher : une nouvelle cellule ou un stylus pour ma platine vinyle (dans le temps on disait tête de lecture pour la cellule et saphir/diamant pour le stylus), un nouveau tapis (en caoutchouc ou liège) pour remplacer le mien en feutre (le feutre n’est pas antistatique, c’est donc pénible de voir le tapis systématiquement coller aux disques).
Le gars n’a eu de cesse de me prendre de haut, de considérer que forcément ma platine est mal réglée, et merdique de surcroît (une entrée de gamme dans le genre platine de salon, avec un bon rapport qualité prix pour tout le monde, sauf pour lui), que le seul moyen de me sauver est de lui ramener ma platine, lui laisser une semaine et dire amen à son devis de réglage et d’installation de cellule.
Je passe les détails de la condescendance, les yeux au ciel et le sourire méprisant... Au final, il a donc refusé de me vendre un tapis en caoutchouc et le saphir de mon choix ou même celui de série d’origine ! Sans son intervention et sa main d’œuvre, pas de salut : c’est sur je ne saurais pas changer moi-même ma tête de lecture. Il ne m’a jamais demandé ce que j’attendais de mon écoute de disque par exemple (je n’ai pas des goûts poussés en terme de son, je ne veux pas être DJ et je suis très contente de mon « tourne-disque pourri » aha !), ni si le reste de mon matériel nécessitait autre chose que la cellule que je voulais... ni, bien sûr si j’avais l’habitude le faire moi-même.
Pourquoi me poser des questions, môsieur sait
et n’est pas à un paradoxe prêt : ma platine c’est de la merde mais il peut en faire un bolide !
Il m’a bien fait scier. Refusant de me retrouver dans la même situation face à un autre vendeur, retour @home et recherche sur la fabrication de tapis #diy (ces trucs coutent un pont en plus !) et possibilité ou pas d’en trouver d’occasion en caoutchouc pour trois fois rien.
Voici du coup, quelques liens de casual hacking pour dire merde aux audiophiles à la con :
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PCMvqMhvCow/TdQm4hcvGVI/AAAAAAAAAI8/--gGV8MMH5c/s320/MATDIY8.jpg
http://vinylreprise.blogspot.be/2011/05/diy-cork-turntable-mat-in-30-minutes.html
http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?t=25713
http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?t=15112
http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?f=87&t=42740
http://db.audioasylum.com/mhtml/m.html?forum=tweaks&n=181424&highlight=carborundum&search_url=%2Fcgi
http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/januse.html
http://www.tnt-audio.com/gif/janus.jpg
Purpose and Function of the Turntable Mat
http://www.soundfountain.com/amb/ttmat.html
Mon favori, fait avec un matelas de yoga :
http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g397/mmadden27/DSCN1309.jpg
Construis toi-même ta platine :
http://www.decdun.me.uk/tt/mytt.JPG
http://www.decdun.me.uk/turntables.html
http://attitube.com/diy-record-player/diy-record-player
http://attitube.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/glider_front_full_02-963x1024.jpg
Va dans un magasin de DJs, tu auras plus de chance de tomber sur un vrai passionné.
Niveau cellule, je te recommande la shure m44-7 (excellent rapport qualité/prix). Merci pour les liens.
Pas la première fois que j’entends un témoignage de ce genre sur les vendeurs de matériel audio, que le client soit fille ou garçon. Bosser dans l’audio donnerait-il un complexe de supériorité ? :)
Je suis informaticien de base, je viens d’en apprendre de belles sur moi.
@stephane : ne me dis pas que tu n’as jamais assisté à ce genre de scène dans les métiers de l’informatique. Mais ne t’inquiètes pas pour la réputation de ton métier, ce type a battu un peu tous les records de « ma bonne dame » et du mépris technologique.
@0gust1 Merci pour le conseil. J’ai été voir mais à priori la shure est trop lourde pour le bras de ma platine. @alexcorp Parler de cette façon à quelqu’un, quel que soit son sexe ou son genre, vraiment, pour moi c’est inadmissible. Dans ce cas, je pense qu’il s’est particulièrement lâché avec moi par sexisme, mais je ne peux assurer qu’il aurait été génialement ouvert avec un homme qui aurait eu la même demande, mais son attitude n’aurait, je crois pas atteint ce degré supérieur de condescendance.
Is yours a “blood camera”? Report details electronics companies’ progress on conflict minerals - Imaging Resource
http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/08/17/is-yours-a-blood-camera-conflict-minerals-report-details-companies
The answer, in part, is for companies using these metals to trace their sources, allow outside auditors to verify the information, and provide this information to the buying public so that they can avoid buying conflict electronics. That is exactly what’s happening at some of the world’s leading electronics manufacturers and a report just released by the Enough Project casts a critical eye over these efforts.
New Era In Space Exploration Taking Off : Entrepreneurs Step In Where Big Government Left Off | Singularity Hub
http://singularityhub.com/2012/07/26/new-era-in-space-exploration-taking-off-entrepreneurs-step-in-where-
(puisqu’on termine par l’EPFL, ça montre que le titre est faux, mais les infos sont intéressantes)
Just like the rise of electronics hobbyists in the 1970’s and the proliferation of garage manufactured personal computers, the do-it-yourself #DIY movement is now (...) with new ways to affordably spark the commercial space revolution. (...)
PhoneSat is a small (10 cm) cube #satellite project that makes use of smartphones as the central processing unit. With the computing power equivalent to big mainframe computers a couple of decades ago and with a wealth of sensors, cell phones are essentially supercomputers in our pockets – easy to hack and modify to serve many applications and uses. <http://vr-zone.com/articles/nasa-phonesat-project-to-launch-nexus-one-satellite/15619.html>
Similarly, ArduSat has raised money in #Kickstarter to make available open source platforms using a 1-2 kg cube satellite powered by an Arduino CPU. <http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/575960623/ardusat-your-arduino-experiment-in-space> (...)
Made in Space is riding on the rise of #3D printing technology as the next disruptive phenomenon in the manufacturing industry. They plan to 3D print in space parts that would otherwise have to be launched from Earth, cutting the cost and wait time for broken systems waiting for parts in space. (Apollo 13 could have used such a 3D printer to fit their square CO2 filter into their round hole.) For interplanetary exploration, this would allow missions to just bring their own 3D printers, and make use of available materials (or even dirt) to manufacture what they need to live and survive once they reach their destinations. <http://madeinspace.us>
The microthruster program at EPFL in Lausanne is developing a micro engine for nano-satellites that can potentially send a satellite to the moon in six months using two shot glasses worth of fuel.
<http://news.softpedia.com/news/100-Milliliters-of-Fuel-Are-Enough-to-Reach-the-Moon-263442.shtml>
French persons translating “digital” as “digital” instead of “numérique” are ignorant - you know who they are ! http://serendipity.ruwenzori.net/index.php/2012/06/26/numerique-not-digital-sacrebleu
Digital Rubbish: A natural history of electronics / Jennifer Gabrys
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/d/dcbooks/9380304.0001.001/1:2?g=dculture;rgn=div1;view=fulltext;xc=1
Where does all the electronic detritus go once it has expired? The theory of waste developed in this book describes processes by which electronics end up in the dump, as well as what happens to electronic remainders in their complex circuits prior to the dump.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/d/dcbooks/images/9380304.0001.001.jpg
un #livre repéré par @reka
#électronique #informatique #histoire #environnement #pollution
A California Desert Town on the Way Up ... to Space - NYTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/science/space/a-california-desert-town-on-the-way-up-to-space.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
the Mojave Air and Space Port, once a Marine auxiliary air station during World War II, now an incubator for the tinkerers and dreamers in the New Space movement. Adherents believe that the next phase of space exploration will be led by nimble, ambitious entrepreneurs — a new generation of people like Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, who helped create the electronics industry in a garage — and that this is their moment to come together and make it happen.
Chain reaction: toxic soil kills bees, threatens food production
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/chain-reaction-toxic-soil-kills-bees-threatens-food-production-20120416-1x2w
New research by entomologists at the University of California suggests selenium - a trace mineral used as a superconductor in the electronics industry - can kill bees foraging for pollen from plants in heavily polluted areas
iFixit’s Kyle Wiens on How to Dismantle the War on DIY Electronics
http://motherboard.vice.com/2012/3/19/ifixit-s-kyle-wiens-on-how-to-dismantle-the-war-on-diy-electronics
Anyone planning on buying a new iPad should know what they’re getting themselves into by now. In recent years, Apple and other hardware manufacturers have made it liquid-crystal clear that they’re not fond of the idea that customers can tear open and fix products without the help of licensed repair specialists. Even if it’s as easy as ordering a part online and following a few instructions gleaned from a Google search, hardware companies generally seem to prefer we keep the hood closed.
’Mass suicide’ protest at Apple manufacturer Foxconn factory - Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9006988/Mass-suicide-protest-at-Apple-manufacturer-Foxconn-factory.html
Around 150 Chinese workers at Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, threatened to commit suicide by leaping from their factory roof in protest at their working conditions.
The workers were eventually coaxed down after two days on top of their three-floor plant in Wuhan by Foxconn managers and local Chinese Communist party officials.
Foxconn, which manufactures gadgets for the likes of Apple, Sony, Nintendo and HP, among many others, has had a grim history of suicides at its factories. A suicide cluster in 2010 saw 18 workers throw themselves from the tops of the company’s buildings, with 14 deaths.
Predicting the Future of Computing
►http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/06/science/20111206-technology-timeline.html
2117
Cyborg Viruses
Humans will become so integrated with electronics that more people will die from computer viruses in a year than from biological viruses.
Submitted by David Gibson / Salt Lake City, Utah
Our readers predict this will occur around 2117, having moved this date 335 times. Do you want to move this event?
la #prédiction la plus lointaine :
2212 : A.I. Government
For the first time, a municipality will be governed by an artificial intelligence.
Submitted by Kona Livingston · Kihei, Hawaii
Our readers predict this will occur around 2212, having moved this date 1242 times. Do you want to move this event?
heise online - Bundesregierung hält an Export von Überwachungssoftware fest
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Bundesregierung-haelt-an-Export-von-Ueberwachungssoftware-fest-1392507.html
Die Bundesregierung sieht trotz Berichten über das blühende Geschäft deutscher Firmen mit dem Verkauf von Überwachungssoftware an Diktaturen keinen Handlungsbedarf.
http://previous.presstv.ir/photo/20110816/mehjoo20110816154733420.jpg
Big Brother 2.0: 10 New ways that the government will be spying on you and controlling your behavior http://www.presstv.ir/usdetail/194235.html
In a world where everyone is a “potential terrorist”, we are told that things like liberty, freedom and privacy are “luxuries” that we can no longer afford.
The following are 10 new ways that the government will be spying on you and controlling your behavior....
–1 Are you ready for “electronic skin tattoos”? One team of researchers has created an extremely thin, extremely flexible “smart skin” that will open up a whole new world of possibilities. Wearing “skin-mounted electronics” might seem like a great idea to tech geeks, but it also could create a whole lot of new problems. The following is how an article in one UK newspaper described this new breakthrough....
The “epidermal electronic system” relies on a highly flexible electrical circuit composed of snake-like conducting channels that can bend and stretch without affecting performance. The circuit is about the size of a postage stamp, is thinner than a human hair and sticks to the skin by natural electrostatic forces rather than glue.
Yes, this kind of technology would be a great way to connect wirelessly to the Internet and it would be helpful for doctors that need to monitor their patients, but the potential for abuse is also there.
Once this type of technology becomes widespread, governments will be able to monitor the location and activities of their citizens like never before.
In addition, this type of technology could one day become mandated by governments. For example, someday you may be required to have an “electronic skin tatoo” in order to prove your identity or to participate in commerce.
Also, it is not too far of a stretch to imagine that “skin-mounted electronics” could be used to control large populations. Just remember, if you connect yourself physically to the Internet that also means that the Internet is connected to you.
–2 According to a shocking document obtained by Oath Keepers, the FBI is now instructing store owners to report many new forms of “suspicious activity” to them. According to the document, “suspicious activity” now includes....
– paying with #cash
– missing a hand or fingers
– “strange odors”
– making “extreme religious statements”
– “radical theology”
– purchasing weatherproofed ammunition or match containers
– purchasing meals ready to eat
– purchasing night vision devices, night flashlights or gas masks
According to WorldNetDaily, this document is part of a “series of brochures” that will be distributed “to farm supply stores, gun shops, military surplus stores and even hotels and motels.”
–3 The U.S. military has developed an invisible #pain_ray"that is remarkably effective. The following is how a recent article posted on Alternet described this weapon....
It sounds like a weapon out of Star Wars. The Active Denial System, or ADS, works like an open-air microwave oven, projecting a focused beam of electromagnetic radiation to heat the skin of its targets to 130 degrees. This creates an intolerable burning sensation forcing those in its path to instinctively flee (a response the Air Force dubs the “goodbye effect.”)
Sadly, this weapon is already being used in American #prisons. How long will it be before it is used on the general population?
–4 Be careful about what you put up on #Facebook or #Twitter. Law enforcement agencies all over the globe are now focusing on social media as never before. For example, the #NYPD has just created a special “social media” unit dedicated to looking for criminals on Facebook and Twitter.
–5 #Facial_recognition technology has now come of age. With the millions of security cameras that are going up all over the world, such technology is proving to be very useful for law enforcement authorities. In fact, police in London are using it to track down people that were involved in the London riots. The following is an excerpt from a recent CBC report that described these efforts....
Facial recognition technology being considered for London’s 2012 Games is getting a workout in the wake of Britain’s riots, with officers feeding photographs of suspects through Scotland Yard’s newly updated face-matching program.
Facial recognition technology is rapidly going to become part of our everyday lives. In fact, now even Facebook is using it. Eventually it is going to become very difficult to avoid the reach of this technology.
–6 “Smart meters" are going into homes all over North America and Europe. These smart meters monitor your home every single minute of every single day and they transmit very sophisticated data about your personal behavior back to the utility company. They are already being used by police all over the United States in drug cases. If a smart meter catches you using an “unusual” amount of energy there is a good chance that your home will be raided. The European Parliament has set a goal of having #smart_meters in the homes of 80 percent of all electricity consumers by the year 2020, and Barack Obama is working very hard to get them into as many American homes as he can.
–7 Our children are being trained to accept being under surveillance almost constantly. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is spending huge amounts of money to install #surveillance cameras in the cafeterias of U.S. public schools so that government control freaks can closely monitor what our children are eating.
–8 Perhaps you thought that only Tom Cruise had to worry about #pre-crime. Well, now “pre-crime” is popping up in the real world too. The Florida State Department of Juvenile Justice has announced that it will begin using analysis software to predict crime by young delinquents and will place “potential offenders” in specific prevention and education programs.
–9 According to the ACLU, state police in Michigan are now using “extraction devices” to download data from the #cellphones of motorists that they pull over. This is taking place even if those pulled over are not accused of doing anything wrong.
The following is how an article on CNET News described the capabilities of these “extraction devices”....
The devices, sold by a company called #Cellebrite, can download text messages, photos, video, and even GPS data from most brands of cell phones. The handheld machines have various interfaces to work with different models and can even bypass security passwords and access some information.
–10 #LRAD sound cannons are already been used by law enforcement authorities to disperse large crowds inside the United States. So how much “damage” can sound do? Well, it turns out that sound can actually do a whole lot of damage. The following is how Alternet describes these cruel weapons....
The Long Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD, built by American Technology Corporation, focuses and broadcasts sound over ranges of up to hundreds of yards. LRAD has been around for years, but Americans first took notice when police used it in Pittsburgh to ward off protesters at the 2009 G-20 summit. It is generally used in two ways: as a megaphone to order protesters to disperse; or, if they disobey, as an “ear-splitting siren” to drive them away. While LRAD may not be deadly, it can permanently damage hearing, depending on how it’s used.
LRAD sound cannons do not discriminate. When they are being used to disperse protesters, any innocent bystanders in the area will be affected as well. If anyone gets too close to an LRAD sound cannon while it is in use, permanent damage can result. Small children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable. Sadly, the use of LRAD sound cannons is becoming more common. In fact, they have even been used to break up college block parties.
UN Close to Ban on West’s Toxic Waste Exports
http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/220-trade/50877--un-close-to-ban-on-wests-toxic-waste-exports-.html
He said a private US company will, for example, list waste as “exports” when sending them to a developing nation so they can avoid paying taxes and other fees. The UN has estimated that, worldwide, up to 50 million tons of electrical and electronic goods which had come to the end of their lives were being thrown away every year – of which only 10 per cent is recycled – and often end up in landfills in developing countries.
Up to 1.2 million second-hand televisions, refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners were estimated to have entered the Philippines between 2001 and 2005, and, according to a study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Philippine Board of Investment, 60-70 per cent of it came from Japan.
An investigation by CBS News at a landfill in Manila found an increasing prevalence of tuberculosis among workers and their children, which a doctor treating them attributed to chronic exposure to burning copper from the electrical goods. One community youth leader had brought more than 200 people suffering from TB to a health centre.
The chemical, which coats much of the e-waste burned by the women and children at the dump, polyvinyl chloride plastic, is even more dangerous due to its emission of carcinogenic gases, according to scientists.
Global ban on exports of toxic waste advances - The Denver Post
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnewsold/ci_19166891
More than 170 countries agreed Friday to accelerate adoption of a global ban on the export of hazardous wastes, including old electronics, to developing countries.
(...) “I’ve been working on this since 1989 and it really does look like the shackles are lifted and we’ll see this thing happen in my lifetime.”
The deal seeks to ensure that developing countries no longer become dumping groups for toxic waste including industrial chemicals, discarded #computers and #cellphones and obsolete ships laden with asbestos