A hoop of superconducting magnets several kilometres wide and similar to a particle accelerator could hurl satellites into space — or perhaps weapons around the world — at a fraction of current launch costs, suggest the findings of a report funded by the US air force. Their interest stems from the ring’s potential to launch small, 10-kilogram satellites into orbit, though researchers were not told what kind of satellites the military had in mind. Any payload lofted with such a ring would need to withstand a staggering 2000 times the force of gravity as it accelerates to over 23 times the speed of sound — before hitting a ramp into the heavens
Jon Lech Johansen, known as DVD Jon
after he cracked CSS encryption at the age of 15, has now reverse-engineered Apple’s FairPlay DRM — but not to crack it. Instead Johansen’s company, DoubleTwist Ventures, wants to license the tech to media companies shut out by Apple from playing their content on the iPod. And, soon, on the iTV. Johansen could end up selling a lot of hardware for Apple
A 29-year old Swede, who was the first to be convicted under last year’s new file-sharing laws, has been cleared on appeal. The court of appeal did not consider the screen dumps provided by the Antipiracy Bureau enough evidence to be able to convict the man. Since the crime does not carry a high enough punishment under Swedish law to allow for a search of the defendant’s house, this means it will be virtually impossible to prove file-sharing crimes in the future
International security expert Bruce Schneier claimed processing power has increased to such a degree that data has become a pollutant
Alton Verm, an unbelievably stupid man from Texas, is fired up because the Conroe Independent School District uses the book Fahrenheit 451
as classroom reading material. He wants to ban a book about book burning because It’s just all kinds of filth
. Not that he’d know, because he hasn’t even read it — via yourhoustonnews.com
Academics may be given limited access to books banned under terrorism laws, Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock says. His comments came after the University of Melbourne removed three books from its library, fearful it may be breaking laws which prevent the distribution of literature which praises terrorism or terrorists — via The Age
Yahoo is set to allow third-party developers to use its consumer e-mail programme create new web services
A flexible material that automatically repairs damage and also pinpoints where it has been wounded has been developed by US researchers. They say it could eventually prove useful for airplane maintenance
Dell has started a US recycling program that features free home pickup of any Dell computer or peripheral. Dell already offers similar programs in Europe and Canada. After enduring tough criticism over the years from environmental groups, tech companies have started offering more ways for consumers to properly dispose of computer gadgets and to conserve electricity while using computer gear. Among tech companies, environmental advocacy group Greenpeace has singled out Dell and mobile-phone maker Nokia for their ecologically conscientious policies
A woman in Surrey, England couldn’t figure out why her car wouldn’t start. An Automobile Association patrolman arrived on the scene and the two realised that the woman’s dog had swallowed the car’s immobiliser chip fob. The immobiliser contains an RFID chip that must be within a certain proximity of the steering column for the key to work. The patrolman put the dog in the front seat, turned the key and the car started right up — via Boing Boing
The format war on next generation DVD may be over before it has begun, thanks to a breakthrough by a British media technology company. New Medium Enterprises claims to have solved a technical production problem that makes it possible to produce a cheap, multiple-layer DVD disk containing one film in different, competing formats
The British Library has called for a serious updating
of current copyright law to unambiguously
include digital content and take technological advances into account
Amcom Telecommunications said it would start selling high-speed ADSL2+ broadband services in the final quarter of this year, at least 15 months after the telco first started talking about the technology
LiveScience is reporting out of NextFest on a Japanese-built power suit that amplifies the strength of its wearer. The onboard computer is hooked up to sensors that monitor natural movements, then it inflates cuffs to boost lifting power. The Power Assist Suit could be used by hospital workers to move heavy patients
Paypal settled a suit with Maryland and 27 states. Among other things, they’ll conspicuously advertise a contact phone number and staff it 14 hours a day and be much more forthcoming about when they will debit your bank account. For those of you who think Paypal Sucks, well, starting soon it sucks just a little less
It seems the alien invasion of the Earth has just started! A 50m insect has been spotted roaming the German countryside! Let the I, for one, welcome our new giant insectoid overlords
joke contest begin! A moderator at a Keyhole forum identifies the bug as a thrip, about 1mm long, squished under a glass plate during scanning — via Slashdot
A gay couple flying from Paris to JFK on American Airlines were told by the crew and purser that they weren’t allowed to touch or kiss each other. When they questioned this, the captain came out of the cockpit and threatened to divert the plane. American Airlines says this was all according to procedure, because kissing of any kind isn’t allowed on AA flights — via Boing Boing
Symantec claimed this week that Microsoft is withholding information about its new Vista operating system in an attempt to create an unfair advantage for its own security software
Google has launched an Australian version of its video hosting site, Google Video, which will feature a range of content from local media groups
Yahoo has acquired Jumpcut, a site that provides simple-to-use online video-editing tools, its latest bid to enhance its web video services
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