Source: http://gizmodo.com/5805482/the-worlds-first-64gb-microsd
The 64GB MicroSD comes with a Class 6 rating meaning transfer speeds of 6MB/s. Kingmax didn't announce any pricing or release date yet, so we still have to wait a little on this one. Also, color me jaded but I totally thought 64GB on a microSD was weak sauce when I first heard it. [CrunchGear]
There was only a small problem: There was no plan.
Kennedy was talking in front of a special joint session of the US Congress. Back in NASA's headquarters, James Webb—the space agency's administrator—was probably feeling dizzy, thinking about the titanic challenge that was in front of him and his team—a tiny fraction of the 400,000 people that the Apollo program would employ at its heyday. Even while he previously conceded to Kennedy that it could be done, the fact is that NASA had absolutely no idea about how to put a man on the Moon. In fact, they couldn't even begin to imagine the scope of such an endeavor.
The proof is that their first estimated budget of seven billion dollars was changed to $20 billion after things started to clear up a bit—finally reaching a grand total of $25.4 billion in 1973. And that's just for the Apollo program. Add the Mercury and Gemini programs that had to happen before the first Saturn left the launch pad.
But it had to be done. The feeling worldwide was that the Soviets were way ahead in the space race, which was exactly right. Only twenty days before Kennedy's speech, NASA had launched Alan Shepard into space, the first US man to reach space. And, unlike Yuri Gagarin more than a month earlier, Shepard didn't even orbit Earth. He was just launched like a cannonball.
The United States couldn't afford a Red Moon. Even worse, Kennedy was also feeling the pressure from the Bay of Pigs fiasco, which happened about a month earlier. He needed a big announcement like this, even if it was something completely crazy in retrospective.
From that point, NASA had to develop everything from scratch, from the Saturn V rockets and the now iconic lander to entire computers and the method for manned orbital rendezvous. Imagine that. None of that technology existed. None of those procedures were known at the time. While all these things may seem like the most logical thing now, at the time they didn't know much about them. It all was stuff that belonged to science fiction comic books.
Kennedy made another beautiful speech at Rice University, in September 12, 1962. NASA was ramping up the effort, just having tested the Saturn C-1 engine for the first time. Earlier that year, they put John Glenn into orbit on board the Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7, a first for the United States. The Soviets were still winning. The most famous paragraph is this:
We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.
What is less known is that Kennedy actually proposed a joint lunar mission with the Soviet Union. It happened in a speech before the 18th General Assembly of the United Nations, in September 20, 1963:
Finally, in a field where the United States and the Soviet Union have a special capacity—in the field of space—there is room for new cooperation, for further joint efforts in the regulation and exploration of space. I include among these possibilities a joint expedition to the moon.
We don't know to what extend Kennedy was being serious about that, but it obviously never happened and both countries kept their manic race to put their flags on our satellite. The United States won the race with months to spare. The final price tag was $195 billion in 2011 dollars and the life of three astronauts, the Apollo 1 crew. It was an stunning achievement. Something unparalleled in the history of humankind. The kind of adventure that inspired everyone around the world, that put the United States ahead in the technology race, with millions of kids signing up to be engineers, aspiring to be as great as the hundreds of thousands of heroes who put another a handful of heroes on the Lunar surface. In fact, you can argue that the US and the entire world are still riding the Apollo wave.
So celebrate this moment and celebrate this man, who inspired an entire country to achieve what was thought unachievable. No matter the reasons that lead to this adventure, no matter where you are from, May 25, 1961 is a date to be proud of, the day in which humankind really started the giant leap that Neil Armstrong talked about.
We can do with a lot more of that these days.
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/25/droid-incredible-2-review/
Continue reading Droid Incredible 2 review
Droid Incredible 2 review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comme! ntsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/25/sony-announces-vaio-sa-series-ultraportable-puts-vaio-f-series/
Continue reading Sony announces VAIO SA series ultraportable, puts VAIO F series up for pre-order
Sony announces VAIO SA series ultraportable, puts VAIO F series up for pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 17:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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SonyStyle (F Series), SonyStyle (S Series) | Email this | Comments
Source: http://gawker.com/5805211/the-amazing-new-york-paintings-made-on-an-iphone/gallery/
[Images via Jorge Colombo]
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/25/samsung-galaxy-tab-10-1-may-ship-with-android-3-1-on-board-said/
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 may ship with Android 3.1 on board, said to be 'a few days away' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 04:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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thegadgets.net | Samsung, @SamsungMobileUS (Twitter) | Email this | Comments
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/25/asus-preparing-an-ultraslim-eee-pc-with-a-twist-for-computex/
ASUS preparing an ultraslim Eee PC 'with a twist' for Computex originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 06:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Notebook Italia, ASUS (Facebook) | Email this | Comments
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/25/cray-xk6-supercomputer-smashes-petaflop-record-humbly-calls-its/
Cray XK6 supercomputer smashes petaflop record, humbly calls itself a 'general-purpose' machine originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 06:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Cray | Email this | Comments
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/25/samsungs-af315-all-in-one-3d-pc-targets-the-sophitsticated-woma/
Samsung's AF315 All-in-One 3D PC targets the sophisticated woman and those who aspire to be one originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 07:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Samsung | Email this | Comments
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/25/google-backs-alta-wind-energy-center-boasts-400-million-clean/
Google backs Alta Wind Energy Center, boasts $400 million clean energy milestone originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 08:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/25/getaround-car-sharing-service-goes-live-rent-out-your-ride-with/
Getaround car sharing service goes live, rent out your ride with an iPhone app and car kit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 08:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkTechCrunch | Source: http://lifehacker.com/5805067/sensor+size-compares-and-converts-digital-camera-measurements
Many point-and-click cameras often report their sensor size as a ratio, e.g., 1/1.8", or in millimeters, making it hard to compare different cameras. Sensor-Size's calculator will get you the simpler diagonal measurement—the larger the measurement, the higher photo quality you can expect from that camera.
The site also offers a table that compares sensor size and other features of best-selling digital cameras. As you'd expect, digital SLR cameras like the Nikon D300 DX and the Canon EOS 40D have very high sensor sizes. There are also a few compact cameras with above average sensor sizes, like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 or the Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR.
If you're in the market for a new camera, check out the site before buying.
You can contact or follow Melanie Pinola, the author of this post, on Twitter.
The Cray XK6 is supposed to be the first 'general purpose' supercomputer that uses GPU technology and the first buyer is the Swiss National Supercomputing Center. The XK6 will range from $500,000 to $1 million and serve as further proof of the larger role GPUs are playing in computers. [Seattle Times]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/5805228/wolframalpha-is-my-new-doctor
WolframAlpha launched a medical tools feature today so you can stay at home and play doctor. It aggregates survey data from the CDC to give you a search tool that lets you see how various symptoms (and combinations of them) correlate with various diseases. It also breaks down that data to show distribution actoss a variability of patients' attributes, like age, weight, height, and body mass. It's oddly kind of fun. And I found out I'm probably not having an aneurism! Which was a relief.
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/24/google-and-sprint-team-up-to-take-your-digital-dollars-with-new/
Google and Sprint team up to take your digital dollars with new NFC payment system? (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 15:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Bloomberg, All Things D | Email this | Comments
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