Hasta La Gadget!

This is it. My favorite annual Shooting Challenge of the year. You go out into the grass and muck and photograph bugs.

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NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) will soon bring a much-needed data link speed increase between satellites, spacecraft and Earth using laser beams, according to Nature. ESA will get the ball rolling on July 25th when it launches the Alphasat, which will communicate at 300 Mbps with the German Tandem-X satellite over an experimental optical communication terminal. NASA’s LADEE Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (which launches September 5th) will take a different tack, however. That mission will communicate directly with the Earth all the way from the moon’s orbit, thanks to an atmosphere-penetrating AM-style modulated infrared laser beam and eight ground telescopes. The use of lasers helps both missions avoid radio interference in space and on earth, while bringing six times greater speed from the moon than a radio-based system. Just to be on the safe side, though, NASA does have a backup radio link for LADEE — as good as lasers are, they can’t cut through a solid cloud layer.

Filed under: Science, Internet, Alt

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Via: The Register

Source: Nature

One of the longest standing experiments has finally yielded a result. Started in 1944, it only took 69 years but the tar-like pitch at Trinity College Dublin has finally dropped.

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Ford‘s advanced MyFord Touch infotainment systems are the focus of a new class-action lawsuit that’s been filed, noting that they’re defective and don’t work as advertised. The lawsuit also states that Ford knew that the infotainment system had issues, but sent them out to the public anyway without telling customers.

The MyFord Touch dashboard infotainment system was introduced in Ford and Lincoln vehicles a couple of years ago, and many drivers have reported dealing with glitches and freezing menus. Ford has issued several firmware updates to the system in the past and are even bringing back physical controls due to driver demand, but it seems that isn’t stopping a particular group.

The group behind the lawsuit is Center for Defensive Driving, which is a non-profit organization that offers free educational presentations on defensive driving to the public (and they also happen to be partially funded by Ford, which is a little ironic). It seems that they’re fed up with Ford’s infotainment offerings, despite the company’s attempts at fixing it.

Of course, Ford is well aware of these issues. Last year, the car maker reported that for every 1,000 vehicles, approximately 400 of them experienced issues with the MyFord Touch system — a rather disappointing ratio that isn’t quite the majority of their vehicles, but makes up almost half of them.

We’ve spoken with Ford on the matter, but they said that the company does “not comment on pending litigation.” As for what the Center for Defensive Driving hopes to get out of the lawsuit, a monetary reward will most likely take place, but no figure has been estimated yet. However, CDD President Chris Knox said that Ford should discontinue the MyFord Touch system instead of trying to improve it.

VIA: Automotive News

Ford sued over defective MyFord Touch infotainment systems is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
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This is the back of the box of the Lego Back to the Future set, which I got last week. While I’m still disappointed with how they made the hood, it’s still a nice set. That car’s front is easily fixable if you get some extra pieces—and the third movie’s car actually looks nice.

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