ECN Editors
Get off the fence on net neutrality
August 24, 2010 9:49 am | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | CommentsSince I last wrote about Net Neutrality, things have gone from unsettling to downright precarious. On August 9, when many Americans were on vacation, Verizon and Google announced “A joint policy proposal for an open internet,” which was breathtaking in its brazenness and frightening in scope.
New government mandate: FM chips in all mobile phones
August 18, 2010 7:04 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsFor years, radio broadcasters and artists have duked it out over performance rights. Enter the highly-contentious Performance Rights Act, which would expand copyright law to include all public performances of copyrighted sound recordings. And it’s gotten even wilder: an amendment would mandate that all mobile phones contain FM radio chips.
Israel approves purchase of F-35
August 16, 2010 7:27 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsAs reported by Defense Talk, Israel has agreed to purchase 20 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters in a deal worth an estimated 2.75 billion dollars. At $96 million a piece, this would be the most expensive weapons deal ever signed by Israel. As the Swiss Army Knife of fighter jets, and the bulwark of the free world for the next 40 years (not to sound hyperbolic)...
The future, according to Michio Kaku
August 11, 2010 7:01 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsWhen Michio Kaku speaks, people listen. The theoretical physicist boasts an impressive resume: B.S. from Harvard, Ph.D. from Berkeley, co-creator of string field theory, best-selling author, and radio host. And so it came to pass that on the third day of NI Week, Dr. Kaku regaled the masses with his earthly wisdom.
Common ground
August 9, 2010 5:31 am | by Alix Paultre, Editorial Director | Articles | CommentsI recently came across an interesting news item in Wired about how the EU was adopting the Universal Charging Solution (UCS) cell-phone power interface. USB has been a kind of power lingua franca for smart phones, but that ubiquitous interface is burdened by a plethora of connector styles.
Air Force experiments with ''gesture recognition'' technology
July 29, 2010 10:09 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsWired has a piece discussing the Air Force Research Laboratory’s experiments with motion sense technology. Using a device similar to Nintendo’s “Power Glove”, the folks over at Wright Patterson AFB feel that “gesture recognition” can help fly planes. According to the labs, “Warfighter productivity is limited by the need to operate equipment via physical keys, switches, and buttons...
iPhone “jailbreaking” exempt from DMCA
July 28, 2010 6:26 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsThe feds have just dropped a bomb: The Library of Congress has added exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that make “jailbreaking” legal. Apart from fundamentally altering Apple’s business model, the ruling has re-opened the schism between supporters and opponents of digital rights management.
Regulations and responsibility
July 20, 2010 7:54 am | by Alix Paultre, Editorial Director, ECN | Articles | CommentsIs the designer responsible for the effects of the device created? Is the manufacturer? What about the salesperson or the marketing department creating the demand? Is the user ultimately responsible? Every tool and technology, no matter how mundane, has effects beyond the intended function.
Commercial spacecraft makes first crewed flight
July 19, 2010 7:08 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsBack in December, we reported on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, the world’s first commercial spaceship. Christened the VSS Enterprise, the vessel is a sub-orbital spacecraft capable of ferrying two pilots and six passengers into the thermosphere (an apogee of about 110 km). On July 15th, the Enterprise completed its first crewed flight.
UK Drone draws inspiration from Celtic mythology
July 16, 2010 11:21 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsFor proof that unmanned systems represent the future of warfare, check out BAE Systems’ new Unmanned Combat Aircraft System (UCAS), Taranis. Resembling something out of The Terminator, Taranis (named after the Celtic God of Thunder) is a sight to behold.
Blizzard avoids PR nightmare, comparisons to China
July 13, 2010 11:46 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsBlizzard Entertainment has narrowly avoided a public relations nightmare: an unfavorable comparison with Communist China. The game publisher recently announced plans (then shelved them) to require real names (“Real ID”) on its forums. Meanwhile, China has vowed “to reduce anonymity” on the internet.
HB-SIA achieves first solar-powered night flight
July 9, 2010 12:20 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsBack in April, we reported on the Impulse HB-SIA, a solar-powered aircraft piloted by balloonist Bertrand Piccard. Powered by 11,628 monocrystalline silicon cells, the HB-SIA is an impressive piece of work. Yesterday, the craft achieved an important milestone: the first solar-powered night flight.
F-35 soars past cost overruns, controversy
July 8, 2010 6:35 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsDespite cost overruns, delays, and controversy, the F-35 program is surging forward. Recently, Lockheed Martin received a $522 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense towards development of the “Joint Strike Fighter.” One thing’s certain—for better or worse, we’re putting all our eggs in one basket.
National Space Policy downplays role of NASA
June 30, 2010 9:02 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsOn Monday, President Obama officially announced his National Space Policy. There were few surprises, but in this case, no news is bad news. NASA has never been so irrelevant to the National Space Policy. It’s right there in NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden’s statement (emphasis mine)—NASA is pleased to be an integral part of President Obama's National Space Policy.”
The F-35’s international flavour
June 23, 2010 6:14 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsThe United States’ “premier air superiority fighter,” the F-22 Raptor, is banned from export. The F-35 (and its fifth generation rival, the PAK-FA) is not. Thus, it’s no surprise that allies have climbed aboard the Joint Strike Fighter program. For all intents and purposes, the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act killed the F-22 Raptor.
Nintendo's 3DS: First-hand impressions
June 22, 2010 5:49 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsAt the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Nintendo officially unveiled the 3DS. And from the media’s reaction, you’d think Nintendo reinvented the electron. The 3DS uses autostereoscopy to produce 3D images without the need for special glasses—or so claim their marketing gurus. Does it live up to the hype? Read on for my first-hand impressions.
Navy’s F-35C makes inaugural flight
June 7, 2010 10:27 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsThe F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program achieved an important milestone yesterday, with the inaugural flight of the Navy’s carrier-based variant. The F-35C Lightning II is due to replace the Navy and Marine Corps’ F/A-18 Hornet. According to Lockheed Martin, the first F-35C Lightning II carrier variant took off from Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base at 11:46 a.m. and logged a 57 min flight.
India’s Rustom UAV up for final approval
June 4, 2010 11:06 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsAccording to LiveFist, India’s Rustom UAV has reached the government's apex Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for final financial approval. The medium altitude long endurance (MALE) drone is being developed for the Indian Army, Air Force, and Navy, and will carry out surveillance up to 250 km (155 miles) away.
A remarkable display: SID 2010
June 2, 2010 12:46 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsSeattle: home of Microsoft, Starbucks, grunge rock, the Mariners, and in 2010, the Society for Information Display (SID) Conference. This year’s show was a remarkable display (no pun intended) of eye candy and emerging technologies. Among the many developments, 3D, energy efficiency, and advanced touchscreens took center stage.
Changing times
June 1, 2010 5:12 am | by Alix Paultre, Editor in Chief | Articles | CommentsThe good news is that the current business in the electronic component and subsystem industry will probably continue to improve, but the bad news is most of the jobs lost in the Great Recession aren’t ever coming back. At recent events such as Embedded Systems and the Electronic Distribution Show, every company I spoke to was doing double-digit business percentages over last year...
U.K. Reapers surpass 10,000 hours over Afghanistan
May 21, 2010 8:03 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsOur cousins across the pond have achieved an historic milestone: the RAF’s Reaper program logged more than 10,000 hours over Afghanistan. In-theater since October 2007, the Reaper is the only Remotely Piloted Air System (RPAS) operated by the U.K.
EOD system fires pencil-sized rockets at IEDs
May 18, 2010 6:45 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsImagine how much cooler “The Hurt Locker” would’ve been if they had this: Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems has developed an EOD system that fires ‘pencil-size’ rockets at suspected IEDs. You read that right—it fires rockets at improvised explosive devices; this would’ve made for quite the different movie.
Bring sunglasses
May 18, 2010 5:51 am | Articles | CommentsThe lighting industry is going through a sea change, and the future has never been brighter. This year’s Lightfair conference and expo was held from 12 to 14 May, and highlighted not only the latest in lighting technologies and designs, but also how deeply solid-state lighting (SSL) has penetrated the market.
PS3 firmware update could cripple Air Force research program
May 13, 2010 12:03 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsLast month, Sony essentially neutered the PlayStation 3 by removing its “Install Other OS” functionality. This precipitated a huge customer backlash (and, as of this writing, at least two class-action lawsuits), but there’s one foe Sony hadn’t anticipated—the United States Air Force.
Wireless energy transfer for UAVs
May 5, 2010 8:34 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsLasers have been described as the “holy grail” of weapons—who wouldn't want to be like Luke Skywalker? But while researchers have pondered everything from “pain rays” to the “Zeus” anti-IED system, the folks over at LaserMotive are pushing something else entirely—power beaming for UAVs.
