Black Hole Record Shattered

In athletic events such as swimming or running, a world record will often stand for several years before it’s broken. The same thing usually holds true for astronomical records as well.

On October 17, astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory announced that a black hole in the galaxy M33 contains 16 times the mass of the Sun. For two weeks it was the heaviest known black hole of its type. Such black holes are known as "stellar-mass" black holes, because they have masses typical of stars.

But in a paper to be published on November 1, another team is announcing a stellar-mass black hole with at least 24 times the mass of the Sun, and perhaps as many as 33 solar masses.
Read More@ NASA - Record ShatteredviaNASA-home

Scientists Discover Record Fifth Planet Orbiting Nearby Star

PASADENA, Calif. - Astronomers have announced the discovery of a fifth planet circling 55 Cancri, a star beyond our solar system. The star now holds the record for number of confirmed extrasolar planets orbiting in a planetary system.

The newly discovered planet weighs about 45 times the mass of Earth and may be similar to Saturn in its composition and appearance. The planet is the fourth from 55 Cancri and completes one orbit every 260 days. Its location places the planet in the "habitable zone," a band around the star where the temperature would permit liquid water to pool on solid surfaces. The distance from its star is approximately 116.7 million kilometers (72.5 million miles), slightly closer than Earth to our sun, but it orbits a star that is slightly fainter.
Read More @ NASA - Fifth Planet

Compiz Fusion gets new filters and toys

"Compiz Fusion, the merger of Beryl and Compiz 3d desktop managers for Linux, has added a few new toys for the adventurous Linux geek.

First, a colorize filter that frankly doesn't look very useful to us. Ok, so it might be fun to tint everything green, red, or blue for a few minutes but, beyond that it just seems like it would get annoying.

The second, "Shift Window Switcher" is actually pretty sharp. Shift adds Windows Vista style 3d tab switching to the already slick Compiz Fusion package."

Read more @ DownloadSquad

Spitzer Finds Evidence for Planets with Four Parents

How many stars does it take to "raise" a planet? In our own solar system, it took only one -- our sun. However, new research from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows that planets might be forming in systems with as many as four stars.

The system is still relatively young, at 10 million years old. One of its two pairs of stars is known to be circled by a dusty disk, which contains materials that are thought to clump together to form planets. When Spitzer set its infrared gaze on the disk, it detected gaps. How did the gaps get there? One possible answer is that planets are growing in size and carving out lanes in the dust.

Spitzer found two gaps in the disk. The inner gap is about as far away from its central stars as Mars and the asteroid belt are from our sun. The outer gap is about as far away from its central stars as Jupiter is from the sun.

HD 98800 is located 150 light-years away in the constellation TW Hydrae.

More Details & High Res. Pics @NASA - Spitzer

Zoomable Images

Spitzer Space Telescope :

Some of our images are too big to appreciate on a computer monitor... but now you can zoom in and see all the detail. This is definitely a must see.

Check it out at @ Zoomable Images Via Spitzer Space Telescope

Install Missing Codecs with Codec Installer

Windows only: Freeware app CodecInstaller searches your computer for commonly used codecs and displays which codecs you have installed and which codecs you need. CodecInstaller can even download and install missing codecs. Additionally, you can point CodecInstaller at a specific file and CodecInstaller will tell you exactly which codecs you need to play the file. CodecInstaller requires the .NET 2.0 runtime and is a free download for Windows only.

Download CodecInstaller [JockerSoft via Freeware Genius] via LifeHacker

Tech Links

Linux:
Bash Tutorial - Learn to automate Command Line Operations
Turn a Windows Partition into a Virtual Machine
Analyze your Bootup, then optimize it

Windows:
Add FireFox-like Tabs to Any App with WinTabber

How to Map a Very Faraway Planet

Scientists using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope were able to create the first-ever map of the surface of a planet beyond our solar system. The planet, a hot and cloudy gas giant called HD 189733b, is located 60 light-years from Earth in the constellation Vulpecula. It is so far away that even the best telescopes can't distinguish the light of the planet from that of its star. So how did astronomers see this planet's cloudy surface?

They used Spitzer's infrared vision to observe the HD 189733 system as the planet, HD 189733b, first crossed in front of its parent star, then passed behind, as illustrated in this movie. HD 189733b is what is known as a transiting planet, which means that it is inclined in such a way that it eclipses its star from Earth's point of view. This planet is also thought to be tidally locked to its star, meaning that one face, termed the day side, always "looks at" its fiery hot sun.

Read More @ NASA - How to Map a Very Faraway Planet

Check out the video trailer.

Spitzer Finds Water Vapor on Hot, Alien Planet

A scorching-hot gas planet beyond our solar system is steaming up with water vapor, according to new observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

The planet, called HD 189733b, swelters as it zips closely around its star every two days or so. Astronomers had predicted that planets of this class, termed "hot Jupiters," would contain water vapor in their atmospheres. Yet finding solid evidence for this has been slippery. These latest data are the most convincing yet that hot Jupiters are "wet."

Read More @ NASA's Spitzer Finds Water

Coming to DVD FINALLY !!

Possibly the greatest TV series of the 80s ...



Read more @ YesButNoButYes

Compiz Fusion Development

Wow!!!

Mars as Art

Click Image for Full Res.

Images from Mars missions are striking and unusual.

Check it out@Opportunity view of Endurance Crater via NASA - Home

Securely control Ubuntu from Windows with VNC + SSH

Like I need to say more.

Read it all @ UbuntuSwitch

Picture of the Year

That dot in the center of the image is the Earth. It’s us. Cassini was nearly one billion miles from us when it took this image, orbiting a giant ball of gas as exotic and alien as any place we can imagine. From such a terribly removed location, the entire Earth is reduced to a single point of light, just one among an anonymous many as seen from our robotic proxy as our generation, for the first time in all of history, seeks out our neighborhood and takes a really good look.

That’s why this is the best astronomy image of 2006. And it’s one of the best of all time.

Hubble Catches Jupiter Changing Its Stripes

Massive Jupiter is undergoing dramatic atmospheric changes that have never been seen before with the keen "eye" of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

Jupiter's turbulent clouds are always changing as they encounter atmospheric disturbances while sweeping around the planet at hundreds of miles per hour. But these Hubble images reveal a rapid transformation in the shape and color of Jupiter's clouds near the equator, marking an entire face of the globe.

The planet is wrapped in bands of yellows, browns, and whites. These bands are produced by air flowing in different directions at various latitudes. Lighter-hued areas where the atmosphere rises are called zones. Darker regions where air falls are called belts. When these opposing flows interact, storms and turbulence appear.

Between March 25 and June 5, Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 captured entire bands of clouds changing color. Zones have darkened into belts and belts have lightened and transformed into zones. Cloud features have rapidly altered in shape and size.

Read More @ information on Jupiter VIA NASA - Home

Scientists Now Know: We're Not From Here!

"Imagine the shock of growing up in a loving family with people you call "Mum" and "Dad" and then, suddenly, learning that you are actually adopted!

This same sense of shock came as scientists announced that the Sun, the Moon, our planet and its siblings, were not born into the familiar band of stars known as the Milky Way galaxy, but we actually belong to a strange formation with the unfamiliar name of the Sagittarius Dwarf galaxy"!

Read more @ ViewZone

Where on Earth was Middle Earth?

Makes sense to me ...
Read more @ StrangeMaps

Chandra Gets New View of Doomed Star

Eta Carinae is a mysterious star located a mere stone's throw -- astronomically speaking -- from Earth at a distance of only about 7,500 light years. In the 1840s, Eta Carinae survived a massive eruption, briefly becoming the second brightest star in the sky. The latest composite image from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope shows remnants of that titanic event, hinting that the star may be drawing closer to its ultimate explosive demise.

Read More@ Remnants of Eta Carinae Via NASA - Home

OS X stlye widgets with screenlets

Linux only: Open-source app Screenlets runs Mac OS X-style widgets on the Linux desktop. Practically identical to Dashboard widgets and Windows Vista gadgets, Screenlets are small under-the-desktop apps including RSS readers, weather reports, sticky notes, etc. that add a great deal of functionality and convenience mixed with a dash of eye-candy. Screenlets play very well with Beryl and include a bunch of location preferences like always on top, always underneath, etc. Additionally, with the widget plugin for Beryl, you can hide and show your Screenlets exactly the same way you can with Mac OS X widgets.

Read More @ - Lifehacker

Hero: Phoenix Feeley

"A woman arrested for exposing her breasts has accepted a $29,000 settlement from the city, her lawyer said.

Jill Coccaro, 27, was arrested on a topless stroll two years ago, despite a 1992 state appeals court ruling that concluded women should have the same right as men to take off their shirts.

Coccaro, who now goes by the name Phoenix Feeley, remained in custody for 12 hours before she was told prosecutors were not going to pursue charges".

I think she sets a good example. I'm tired of living under these tryannical "anti-topless" laws. Let women swing free!!!

Read more @ CNN

How To Clean Up A Windows SpyWare Infestation

"I recently upgraded my dedicated racing simulation PC, so I was forced to re-install Windows XP SP2, along with all the games. As I was downloading the no-cd patches for the various racing sims I own, I was suddenly and inexplicably deluged with popups, icons, and unwanted software installations. I got that sinking feeling:
I had become the unfortunate victim of a spyware infestation... "

Read more @ CodingHorror
(Be sure to read ALL the comments. Great info)

Cassini Finds Saturn Moons Are Active

Saturn's moons Tethys and Dione are flinging great streams of particles into space, according to data from the Cassini mission to Saturn. The discovery suggests the possibility of some sort of geological activity, perhaps even volcanic, on these icy worlds. The particles were traced to the two moons because of the dramatic outward movement of electrically charged gas, which could be mapped back to the moons' orbits in the magnetic environment of Saturn. Known as plasma, the gas is composed of negatively charged electrons and positively charged ions, which are atoms with one or more electrons missing. Because they're charged, the electrons and ions can become trapped inside a magnetic field.

Saturn rotates in just 10 hours and 46 minutes. This sweeps the magnetic field and the trapped plasma through space. Just like a child on a fast-spinning merry-go-round, the trapped gas feels a force trying to throw it outwards, away from the center of rotation.

Soon after the Cassini spacecraft reached Saturn in June 2004, its instruments revealed that the planet's hurried rotation squashes the plasma into a disc, and that great fingers of gas are being thrown out into space from the disc's outer edges. Hotter, more tenuous plasma then rushes in to fill the gaps.

For More Information go to http://www.nasa.gov/cassini

Give Ubuntu a SpeedBoost

Why? There is absolutely no need to tweak Ubuntu since it runs very well with the default installation. BUT there are some things that can be done to make it run just a little bit faster and smoother.

So that’s why. And since it works so great for me why not share my setup with others just like me and hopefully help you get a greater experience out of your computer and Feisty installation.

Read more @ XSOL.se via LifeHacker

Create .iso disk images and generate MD5 checksums in Ubuntu

The Ubuntu Guide web site runs down how to turn your CDs/DVDs and folders into .iso disk images. The process even demonstrates how to create your own MD5 checksum files. This surprisingly simple process makes it easy to create digital backups of all those installation CDs you've accumulated:

Turn a CD/DVD into an .iso
sudo umount /dev/cdrom
dd if=/dev/cdrom of=file.iso bs=1024
Turn a folder into an .iso
mkisofs -r -o file.iso /location_of_folder/
Generate an MD5 checksum file
md5sum file.iso > file.iso.md5

Read more @ UbuntuGuide via LifeHacker

Tony Died. Here's Why.

Tony died.

He was shot in front of his family the moment Meadow walks into the restaurant. The final scene is viewed from Tony's perspective (as is most of the show) and the reason it cuts to black when it did was because he was shot and killed at that moment. The bullet travels faster than sound... and it enters Tony's head before he ever hears it.

Everyone who complains that the ending was meaningless just hasn't given the show the benefit of the doubt. If you stuck with the show this long you must understand the symbolism of the complete silence during the credits. It's the first time a show has ended without music.

So, if you think the ending was meaningless or a lame attention grabber, think again. Because there is meaning here... and it's spectacular.

OK, at first I was really angry. The only thing I saw that was right, was that in the last scene we are seeing through Tony's eyes. The key to understanding the last scene comes from a phrase by Bobby that was repeated a couple times: "I bet you don't hear it when it happens."

The guy at the bar is also credited as Nikki Leotardo. The same actor played him in the first part of season 6 during a brief sit down concerning the future of Vito. That wasn't that long ago. Apparently, he is the nephew of Phil. Phil's brotherNikki Senior was killed in 1976 in a car accident. Absolutely
Genius! David Chase is truly rewarding the true fans who pay attention to detail.

So the point would have been that life continues and we may never know the end of the Sopranos. But if you pay attention to the history, you will find that all the answers lie in the characters in the restaurant. The trucker was the brother of the guy who was robbed by Christopher in Season 2. Remember the DVD players? The trucker had to identify the body. The boy scouts were in the train store and the black guys at the end were the ones who tried to kill Tony and only clipped him in the ear (was that season 2 or 3?).

Absolutely incredible! There were three people in the restaurant who had reason to kill Tony and then it just ends. This was Chase's way of proving that he will not escape his past. It will not go on forever despite that he would like it to "don't stop". Not the fans! Tony would like it to keep going but just as we have to say goodbye, so does he. No more Tony and I guess we are supposed to be happy that Meadow didn't get clipped as well (she would have been between the shooter and Tony) since she is the only one worth a crap in that family.

Read more @ VideoStoreGF

Thirteen things to do after you install Ubuntu

The Linux on Desktop blog offers 13 installations that will make your new Ubuntu desktop feel and work a little more like Windows.The list includes utilities every computer user needs, like a PDF reader, RAR unarchiver, the Flash plugin, DVD ..
Read More @ LifeHacker

Use multiple search engines in one place with Sputtr

Search multiple search engines and search services all from one place with Sputtr.

Sputtr's layout looks like a simple keyboard - and you use it kind of like a keyboard, too. Just type in what you're looking for and then click on the icon that represents the search service you'd like to use, anything from Google to Reddit to MySpace and much more. Over 30 different search options are available for you to use; I'm definitely adding this to my list of good search tools.

Read More @ LifeHacker @ Sputtr

Puddles of Water Found on Mars

A new analysis of pictures taken by the exploration rover Opportunity reveals what appear to be small ponds of liquid water on the surface of Mars.

The report identifies specific spots that appear to have contained liquid water two years ago, when Opportunity was exploring a crater called Endurance. It is a highly controversial claim, as many scientists believe that liquid water cannot exist on the surface of Mars today because of the planet’s thin atmosphere.

Read more @ NewScientist

M81 Galaxy

This little beauty can be seen well in a 8'' to 10'' telescope.This is a face-on Spiral Galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major and is quite a sight to see.With a filter and sharp optics you can distinctly see the spiral arms and concentrated center.Use a wide angle 2'' diameter lens and you can see It's sister Galaxy M82 in the same eyepiece.Iv'e seen this in 6'' Reflector's and with dark skies & the right atmosphere had no problem seeing the spiral shape,but the difference between 6 & 10 quite a bit to compare.

Pics courtesy of Nasa - Spitzer @ http://sirtf.jpl.nasa.gov/

Linux Command Line Reference

Pixel Beat compiled a list of of commonly used terminal commands. Linux/Unix, Mac, and Cygwin users should take note since most of these commands are not platform specific. The guide covers many commonly used but easy-to-forget commands, like managing archived (zipped) folders, mounting hard disks, file searching, networking, using wget, and much more.

tar c dir/ | bzip2 > dir.tar.bz2 -- Make archive of dir/
bzip2 -dc dir.tar.bz2 | tar x-- Extract archive (use gzip instead of bzip2 for tar.gz files)
tar c dir/ | gzip | gpg -c | ssh user@remote 'dd of=dir.tar.gz.gpg -- Make encrypted archive of dir/ on remote machine
find dir/ -name '*.txt' | tar c --files-from=- | bzip2 > dir_txt.tar.bz2 -- Make archive of subset of dir/ and below

This is a useful list to have bookmarked for those, "How do I..." moments.
Read more @ LifeHacker

Download Divx Pro For Free Today!

"For a limited time only...no not used cars, not poorly designed cleaning products, it's the Divx Pro bundle available free for the downloading. The bundle includes the Divx Pro Codec 6.6.1, Divx Content Uploader, Divx Converter 6.2.1 6.(MPEG2/DVD), Divx Player 6.4.3, and Divx Web Player".

Read more @ Divx.com via DownloadSquad

Rare Cyclone Brushes Arabian Peninsula

NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured this image of Gonu as it was moving northwest through the central Arabian Sea. Taken on Mon., Jun. 4 at 0323 UTC (11:23 p.m. EDT on Sun., Jun. 3), it shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity looking down on the storm. TRMM reveals the tell-tale signs of a potent storm. Not only does Gonu have a complete, well-formed symmetrical eye surrounded by an intense eyewall (innermost red ring), this inner eyewall is surrounded by a concentric outer eyewall (outermost red and green ring). This double eyewall structure only occurs in very intense storms. Eventually the outer eyewall will contract and replace the inner eyewall.

Read More @ NASA - Home

Switching to Ubuntu Podcast

"It's been an interesting year so far for operating systems. Microsoft released its first major upgrade in 5 years with Windows Vista, and Ubuntu Linux continued on its way toward world domination with the release of Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn. Even Michael Dell's running it on his home computer (and shipping it on yours).

With that in mind, we bring you the first in a limited edition Download Squad Podcast. Collect them all. Trade them with your friends. Today we speak with Download Squad's Grant Robertson and Alex Hung, two guys with a boatload of Windows and Mac experience who have been trying out Ubuntu Linux.In the coming weeks we'll speak to other members of the team about switching from Windows to OS X and switching from Windows XP to Vista. We hope to offer you a little insight and advice. But mostly, we hope that you can learn from our mistakes".

Listen @ DownloadSquad

If you don't have 32 minutes to spare, check out Grant's excellent advice for anyone thinking about trying out Ubuntu:

And here's the rest of podcast #1:

How to Delete an Undeletable File

"Have you ever run into a situation where you wanted to delete a file, but Windows simply wouldn’t allow you to do it? Personally, these things happen to me all the time, especially when I’m at a client’s house trying to get their machine clean of spyware.

The main reason behind this is that the explorer.exe process locks files that are in use, effectively preventing you from deleting them. Usually, these files should not be touched, but sometimes, situations arise when you really need to get rid of some troublesome ones.

Fortunately, there are a few easy solutions around this problem".

Read more @ GeeksAreSexy

Adaptive optics pinpoints two supermassive black holes in colliding galaxies

Santa Cruz (May 17th, 2007) Astronomers have used powerful adaptive optics technology at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii to reveal the precise locations and environments of a pair of supermassive black holes at the center of an ongoing collision between two galaxies 300 million light-years away.

The new observations of the galaxy merger known as NGC 6240 reveal that each of the black holes resides at the center of a rotating disk of stars and is surrounded by a cloud of young star clusters formed in the merger, said Claire Max, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Read More @ W. M. Keck Observatory

The Long and Winding Road

In the coming evenings, sky watchers can acquaint themselves with the MESSENGER spacecraft mission to Mercury. Late afternoon on Tuesday, June 5, 2007, MESSENGER will fly within about 210 miles (340 kilometers) of the surface of the planet Venus, and get a gravity kick toward its ultimate destination, the sun-baked planet Mercury.

Both Venus and Mercury will be well-placed for viewing during dusk the week before MESSENGER's encounter with Venus. Go to a location away from bright lights with a good view of the western and northwestern horizon.

Read More @ NASA - Home

Holy Crap! MythBuntu !!!!

I think I'm going to vomit, I'm so excited by this. Check it ...



Seems like there's a new Ubuntu-based Linux distribution coming out at least once a month. Last month it was Ubuntu Studio, a distro designed for creative professionals interested in audio, video, and image editing. This week we saw the alpha release of Mythbuntu, a distro for those who'd rather consume media than create it.

HELL YEAH!!!
Read more @ DownloadSquad

Mount and Unmount ISO, MDF, NRG Images Using AcetoneISO (GUI Tool)

AcetoneISO is CD/DVD image manipulator for Linux.Using this tool it is very easy to Mount and Unmount ISO,MDF,NRG Images

Features
* Mount and Unmount ISO, MDF, NRG (if iso-9660 standard)
* Convert / Extract / Browse to ISO : *.bin *.mdf *.nrg *.img *.daa *.cdi *.xbx *.b5i *.bwi *.pdi
* Play a DVD Movie ISO with most used media players
* Generate an ISO from a Folder or CD/DVD
* Generate MD5 file of an image
* Encrypt an image
* Split image in X megabyte
* Compress with High Ratio an image
* Rip a PSX cd to *.bin to make it work with epsxe/psx emulators
* Service-Menu support for Konqueror
* Restore a lost CUE file of *.bin *.img

Read more @ UbuntuOnly

NASA Mission Checks Health of Greenland's Ice Sheet and Glaciers

A NASA-led research team has returned from Greenland after an annual three-week mission to check the health of its glaciers and ice sheet. About 82 percent of Greenland is made up of a giant ice sheet. During the Arctic Ice Mapping Project, researchers measured critical areas of the island's ice sheet as well as its glaciers and monitored changes that may be connected to global climate change.

Past measurements from the team have shown that areas of ice along the Greenland coast have been thinning while inland areas have thickened. However, when these changes are taken as a whole, Greenland has experienced a significant loss of ice.

Read More@NASA - Home

NASA Space Telescope Gives Scientists Depth Perception

Astronomers now have a new "eye" for determining the distance to certain mysterious bodies in and around our Milky Way galaxy. By taking advantage of the unique position of NASA's Spitzer's Space Telescope millions of miles from Earth, and a depth-perceiving trick called parallax, they were able to pin down the most probable location of one such object. The findings will ultimately help astronomers better understand the different components of our galaxy.

This great distance gives astronomers a great advantage. They can use Spitzer in the same way that a human brain uses two eyes to tell how far away objects are, a principle called parallax. With two eyes, we have two perspectives, which our brains combine to give us depth perception. In space, Spitzer acts as one eye, while a ground-based telescope acts as the other. With two very wide cosmic eyes, astronomers can determine the location of bodies within and just outside our galaxy.

Read More@NASA - Home

Top 10 Ubuntu Apps

Ubuntu 7.04 has quickly become the operating system of choice for millions of people around the world - whether they're Linux newcomers, Windows and Mac defectors or pony-tailed system administrators who wear watches displaying the time in binary. While Ubuntu comes jacked with useful applications out of the box, there's a big selection of free, thriving Linux desktop software which matches or betters their Windows and Mac counterparts in terms of features.

Today we've chosen our favorite ten Ubuntu software applications that are exclusive to GNU/Linux. Add them to your Ubuntu desktop to make your install pop.

Read the list @ LifeHacker

World's Most Prolific Spammer Arrested

"He's one of the top 10 spammers in the world," said Tim Cranton, a Microsoft Corp. lawyer who is senior director of the company's Worldwide Internet Safety Programs. "He's a huge problem for our customers. This is a very good day."

A federal grand jury last week returned a 35-count indictment against Soloway charging him with mail fraud, wire fraud, e-mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.

Read more @ CNN

I've personally almost completely stopped receiving spam emails and my website (SouthFloridaDaily.com) has received no spam comments in the last few days, whereas it would receive at least 10-15 per day.

Top 10 Microsoft Alternatives

My favorite list! Includes such gems as:
#5: Replace Outlook and Hotmail with Gmail
#6: Replace your Microsoft Office Suite with OpenOffice
#9: Replace Microsoft Disk Defragmenter with Disk Defrag

Read the complete list @ LifeHack

Create a PDF Printer in Ubuntu

Add a PDF virtual printer to Ubuntu similar to CutePDF for Windows in 5 simple steps. The Arsgeek weblog describes how. Just install cups-pdf, then add a Postscript printer using the Gnome printing dialog.

The printer turns your current document into a PDF and places it into a folder called "PDF" in your home directory. While outlined specifically for Ubuntu, the process is extensible to any flavor of Linux.

Read More @ ArsGeek via LifeHacker

Spitzer Nets Thousands of Galaxies in a Giant Cluster

In just a short amount of time, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has bagged more than a thousand previously unknown dwarf galaxies in a giant cluster of galaxies.

Despite their diminutive sizes, dwarf galaxies play a crucial role in cosmic evolution. Astronomers think they were the first galaxies to form, and they provided the building blocks for larger galaxies. They are by far the most numerous galaxies in our Universe, and are an important tracer of the large-scale structure of the cosmos. Computer simulations of cosmic evolution suggest that high-density regions of the Universe, such as giant clusters, should contain significantly more dwarf galaxies than astronomers have observed to date.

Read More@ NASA - Home

Daily Linkage for 5/29/07

Windows Longhorn Resurrected and Available For Download - Softpedia
Dock Any App (Linux) to the System Tray with AllTray - Lifehacker
Top 20 Free Apps to Increase Productivity - Lifehack
20 Ways to Use GMail Filters - Lifehack

Can Google and Linux Topple Microsoft?

In early March, the chief information officer of the Federal Aviation Administration , David Bowen, was reportedly considering forsaking Microsoft Windows and Office in favor of the Linux operating system and the Web-based Google Apps Premium office suite.

Could this be true? Might an office suite upstart topple the giant of giants? Does a Web-based suite of applications have enough punch to do the job? Perhaps. Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Apps Premium does offer a strong set of collaborative word-processing and spreadsheet tools, in addition to e-mail and calendar capabilities.

"We built the [applications] from the ground up to focus on collaboration," said Mike Bradshaw, who leads Google's federal enterprise division. "They're providing a new type of functionality to the space that people have been looking for."

Read More @ TechNewsWorld

Holes on Mars??!!

Black spots have been discovered on Mars that are so dark that nothing inside can be seen. Quite possibly, the spots are entrances to deep underground caves capable of protecting Martian life, were it to exist.

Read more @ NASA.gov

Take your music open-source with Ogg Vorbis

Wired News reports on how to incorporate the Ogg Vorbis file format into your music library. Why Ogg Vorbis? The Free Software Foundation explains:

The use of MP3 is restricted by patents, while Ogg Vorbis is not. Unlike MP3, there are never any licensing costs for using Ogg Vorbis, and you do not have to worry about anyone suing you for using it without a license. You might have heard about Microsoft's recent loss in a $1.5 billion suit over their use of MP3.

Read more@ LifeHacker

Undelete Plus! Free !!

"We’ve all gone through that sinking feeling. You empty your Windows recycling bin, only to realize 5 seconds later that you really needed that file you’ve just wiped from your PC. There’s no robust undelete functionality built into Windows - so what choices do you have?

[One great choice would be Undelete Plus.] It has a distinct advantage in that it has a version which does not need installation. This means you can pop it onto a thumbdrive and it becomes a mobile file recovery device. Also, because it is not installed on the hard disk, you minimize the use of it, maximizing the chances of data recovery".

Read more @ FriedBeef

Firefox Controls are Ugly in Ubuntu

For some reasons, web controls are rather ugly in Firefox when it is run under Linux. (as a reminder, I am talking about running Firefox under Ubuntu Linux 7.04, Feisty Fawn and Gnome)
It is particularly the case with radio buttons. It looks like this:

Fortunately, I found a solution in ubuntuforums.org to fix this problem.
First close Firefox if it is running. Then open terminal and run this commands, one by one.

wget http://users.tkk.fi/~otsaloma/art/firefox-form-widgets.tar.gz

tar -xvzf firefox-form-widgets.tar.gz

sudo cp /usr/lib/mozilla-firefox/res/forms.css /usr/lib/mozilla-firefox/res/forms.css.bak

cat firefox-form-widgets/res/forms-extra.css | sudo tee --append /usr/lib/mozilla-firefox/res/forms.css > /dev/null

sudo cp -r firefox-form-widgets/res/form-widgets /usr/lib/mozilla-firefox/res

rm -rf firefox-form-widgets

Now start Firefox again. It should look like this now:


Read More @ OS Novice

Obvious Priority

When is Nasa going to dedicate a mission to Europa.This is obviously our No. 1 chance of finding life outside of earth.With Nasa detouring around with pluto missions,Cassini,and Mars,Europa seems to get put on the back burner.I wonder whether going to Pluto at the stupidist time we can send a spacecraft(They missed ideal launch by about 13 yrs.)is more important than a earth sized moon with a global ocean almost certainly housing some kind of life.It's time to put priority straight and get this in motion.

To learn about this moon check it out@ Galileo Project: Europa

Shadow Rings

The Cassini spacecraft surveys Saturn's outstretched ring system in the infrared from a vantage point high above the planet's northern latitudes. Nearly the full expanse of the main rings is visible here -- from the C ring to the outer edge of the A ring (in the upper left corner).

Ring shadows are visible on the planet at lower left, and two large storms swirl near center.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 52 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 (red channel), 890 (blue channel) and 728 (green channel) nanometers. The view was acquired on April 5, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 81 kilometers (51 miles) per pixel.

Read More@http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov .

Power Supply Showdown!

450w-500w PSU Battle Royal
"You guys asked, "What about regular mid-range PSUs?" So we bought five power supplies and then tested them to see if they would do what they were advertised to do. A melting fiery mess proves you get what you pay for. 5 PSU enter, 1 PSU leave".

Read more @ HardCop

Giving Birth

MISSION NEWS
Baby Stars Hatching in Orion's Head

A new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows infant stars "hatching" in the head of Orion, the famous hunter constellation visible from northern hemispheres during winter nights. Astronomers suspect that shockwaves from a 3-million-year-old explosion of a massive star may have initiated this newfound birth.

The region featured in the Spitzer image is called Barnard 30. It is located approximately 1,300 light-years away and sits on the right side of Orion's head, just north of the massive star Lambda Orionis.

This can be seen in almost any Telescope.

Read More @ NASA - Home

More Trent Reznor

More with Trent Reznor from the Australian Herald Sun.

On Record Executives: "F--- you people. Stay out of my f---ing show. If you wanna come, pay the ticket like anyone else. F--- you guys". They're thieves. I don't blame people for stealing music if this is the kind of s--- that they pull off".

Read the whole thing @ News.com.au

Converting to Open Source

I'm in the process of converting every app I use to an open source version. The main idea being that once I convert all my most-used apps to Open Source versions, my eventual complete conversion to Linux will be that much smoother since most Open Source Apps have Linux versions available.

Hopefully, I won't have too steep of a learning curve since I'm doing it at work as well. Wish me luck. I'll let you know how it goes.

300 Easily Installed Fonts For Ubuntu

"Ubuntu comes with loads of fonts pre-installed, and if you've goosed the power of your Ubuntu install with Automatix, you've already added several more. For the casual graphic designer though, more fonts are always welcome. Ubuntu Blog has compiled an incredible roundup of easily installable and freely available fonts for Ubuntu; all of which can be downloaded and installed with just a quick cut and paste at the command line".

Read more @ DownloadSquad

Details on Dell's New Ubuntu Systems

"Dell runs down exactly what you're gonna get when you buy a system with Ubuntu pre-installed. In short: a subset of peripherals that have mature Linux drivers, and no proprietary audio/video formats, including WMA, WMV and Quicktime. Ooph".

Read more @ Direct2Dell via LifeHacker

Open Source As Alternative

"How do you avoid paying for a Final Cut or Visio license and support the open source community all at once? Find a free open source alternative to expensive commercial software at osalt.com.

Choose a commercial app (like Photoshop) and see free alternatives (like Paint.NET and Gimpshop) listed by operating system availability and user rating. Most popular commercial app lookups include Visio, Norton Ghost and Nero Burning Rom (their top OS alternatives include Dia, PartitionImage and Infrarecorder.)"

Get some apps @ OSAlt.com (via LifeHacker)

Linux Users Should Avoid ATI Cards

"We need to digg ATI some bad press. Unlike NVIDIA, they refuse to provide driver support for Linux. They can't continue to get away with this: Many Windows users are starting to want Linux compatible hardware, because they have "the switch" in mind".

Read More @ Digg

Visual Subst

Mount any folder on your computer as a drive! The most common use for this would be to avoid having to pop a cd in every time you want to use an application that requires a disk (games like Call of Duty are notorious for this behavior). Just copy the disc to a folder on your hard drive and use Visual Subst to mount it with a drive letter. Good to go!

Download it @ NTWind.com

Robert's AstroPhotoBlog

Great daily astronomy images!

Read More @ Aminus3

GLOBAL WARMING

NASA Finds Vast Regions of West Antarctica Melted in Recent Past 05.15.07

A team of NASA and university scientists has found clear evidence that extensive areas of snow melted in west Antarctica in January 2005 in response to warm temperatures. This was the first widespread Antarctic melting ever detected with NASA's QuikScat satellite and the most significant melt observed using satellites during the past three decades. Combined, the affected regions encompassed an area as big as California. It's a fact we can't ignore.

Read More @ NASA.gov & JPL

Hero: Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails

from his website:

"As the climate grows more and more desperate for record labels, their answer to their mostly self-inflicted wounds seems to be to screw the consumer over even more. [An example] that quickly comes to mind:

The ABSURD retail pricing of Year Zero in Australia. Shame on you, UMG. Year Zero is selling for $34.99 Australian dollars ($29.10 US). No wonder people steal music."

Read More @ NIN.com

Your Blog is Your New Resume

"... Are resumes becoming a thing of the past? Web designer Joshua Porter believes this might be true, and suggests using your blog as a better job-finding tool instead.

Basically, his premise is that your blog is a better representation of who you are then your resume is, and can give a truer picture of what your skills might really include. Conversely, however, if your blog is dedicated to your love of Knight Rider, then it's probably a good idea to separate your private and professional blogging profiles".

Read More @ Bokardo Via LifeHacker

BitTorrent pirate loses appeal in landmark case

Authorities believe a Hong Kong man who lost his appeal today in the territory's highest court is the first in the world to be convicted of downloading pirated movies using BitTorrent file-sharing technology.

Chan Nai-ming, who used the alias 'Big Crook' on the peer-to-peer BitTorrent network, was found guilty in October 2005 of copyright infringement and attempting to distribute three Hollywood movies using the popular file-sharing software.

Read the Whole Story @ ABC.net.au

Telescopic Tourists

A new breed of obsessed stargazers is crisscrossing the globe to visit
legendary observatories. Destinations include remote deserts, mountaintops
-- even the South Pole.

Read More @ The Wall Street Journal

The Ultimate Linux Reference Guide for Newbies

The most used and basic commands listed in a nicely formatted table which you can print out or bookmark for quick reference.

Read More @ LXPages.com

Get help at the Linux command line

For those of us who need some extra command line help (CLI):

whatis -- Display a summary of a command (rather than the entire manual)
apropos -- Display a list of commands that pertain to (are apropos to) a keyword
whereis -- Display information about the location of a command: the executable, the source code (if any), and the man pages.
which -- Display which version of a command will execute (for when there are two, or more, commands with the same name installed on the system).

via LifeHacker

Track software serial numbers at Keyfiler

"Webapp Keyfiler keeps track of the software licenses you've bought in a secure online database. Keyfiler offers fields for the software name, company, serial number, licensor and options to store single-user or multi-user licenses. The default connection to Keyfiler is https (encrypted), which prevents sniffers from stealing your serials. However, the free version only supports up to 10 licenses. Personally I prefer a KeePass database to store my software licenses (not its intended purpose, but it works), but Keyfiler could be an easy way to, ahem, share your license info with friends and coworkers, provided you share your login".

Via LifeHacker

Torvalds and Moglen agree: MS patent claims are 'FUD'

If Microsoft actually WANTED us to not infringe their patents, they'd tell us. Since they don't, that must mean that they actually prefer the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt). -- Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux

Read More @ Linux.com

Congress May Outlaw 'Attempted Piracy'

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is asking Congress to make 'attempted' copyright infringement a federal crime. The text of the legislation as well as the official press-release is available online.

Read More & Get The Links @ SlashDot

Looks like it's time to go full time with Ubuntu and drop commercial software altogether. Too much corporate greed...

Will Dell Be Bad For Ubuntu?

Within the next few weeks we should see Dell shipping Ubuntu-equipped computers to consumers. The announcement has created a lot of excitement around the internet as it is the first time that a desktop Linux distribution will be available from a manufacturer this size. Dell has fallen on tough times as of late but still has the potential to have a profound impact on Linux users and the results of this deal will be closely watched by everyone in the industry.

Read More @ XYZComputing

List of BitTorrent Clients

A pretty complete list of BitTorrent clients for Mac, Windows, Java & LINUX! Just to give you an idea, here's a quick list of just the Linux clients. I've never even heard of 90% of these!

Deluge, Yet ABC, BitTornado, BitTorrent, KTorrent, torrentflux, Hydranode, Transmission, Rufus, mldonkey, BT++, Flash! Torrent, CTorrent, BT Queue, Anatomic P2P, rtorrent, TorrentVolve

Via Slyck

Ubuntu Studio 7.04 - Linux For The Creative

Ubuntu Studio is a multimedia editing/creation flavor of Ubuntu, built for the GNU/Linux audio, video, and graphic enthusiast or professional. It is an official derivative of the Ubuntu open source operating system and comes with applications such as Ardour2, Wired, Hydrogen, Blender, Inkscape, Pitivi, and many more, as well as a beautiful dark theme.

For creative individuals out there that are sick and tired of dealing with Windows security issues, crashing, outrageously expensive software, etc etc. Looks like your day has finally come.

Via HowToForge.com

Microsoft Claims Software Like Linux Violates Its Patents

"...there's a shadow hanging over Linux and other free software, and it's being cast by Microsoft. The Redmond behemoth asserts that one reason free software is of such high quality is that it violates more than 200 of Microsoft's patents. And as a mature company facing unfavorable market trends and fearsome competitors like Google, Microsoft is pulling no punches: It wants royalties. If the company gets its way, free software won't be free anymore".

Via CNN.com

UBUNTU KALZIUM

Ubuntu application to keep things in perspective when in doubt.(PSE)

HOTTEST PLANET FOUND !

Spitzer Telescope in Pasedina Calif. set It's sights on HD 189733b,the surface of a giant, gas planet.Located 60 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula. HD 189733b is the closest known transiting planet, which means that it crosses in front and behind its star when viewed from Earth. It races around its star every 2.2 days.The observations reveal that temperatures on this world are fairly even, ranging from 650 degrees Celsius (1,200 Fahrenheit) on the dark side to 930 degrees Celsius (1,700 Fahrenheit) on the sunlit side. For more

Wine 0.9.37 Released

Wine is a project which aims to allow a PC with an x86 architecture processor running a Unix-like operating system and the X Window System to execute programs that were originally written for Microsoft Windows. Alternatively, those wishing to port a Windows application to a Unix-like system can compile it against the Wine libraries in the form of Winelib.

Translation: You can run your Windows programs under Linux! Legally!

Wikipedia Info | Download!

Stephen Hawking & Black Holes

On Black Holes & Singularities. Absolutely fascinating.

3D Desktop! TouchScreen and XGL on Linux

Holy Cow! I think I'm going out to buy a touch screen TONIGHT!!
My apologies for the music.

Top 10 Ways to Recycle Your Old Computer

"If we kept all the computers we purchased over the past decade, the office would be impassable. Laptops and desktops, both office-owned and personal, tend to fizzle and die with their warranties. While this passing is predictable, the disposal of their bodies and inner workings provides a dilemma for many owners.

Unfortunately, you can't burn those computers and scatter their ashes over some Rocky Mountain pass. Those machines are filled with toxic chemicals, carcinogens and heavy metals that will, eventually, leech into the ground and find a way into some water source. Fortunately, you have access to several dozen creative recycling solutions for that old computer. The ten most popular solutions are listed [after the jump], along with links to resources that provide step-by-step instructions on how to conduct each process."

Via RewardPrograms.org

Stop Spam From Foreign Countries

It's known that most spam (particularly malware such as keyloggers) originates overseas (Estonia, Moldavia, China, Poland, etc.) By blocking email from most of the undeveloped world, I've successfully reduced spam by 95 percent in the past year. In Outlook, click Actions > Junk E-Mail > Junk E-Mail Options. Click the International tab, then the Blocked Top-Level Domain List button. Now select the countries you wish to block.

Via LifeHacker

You Can Switch to Linux!

"...I’m intrigued by the prospect of a free, open operating system, one that’s available for everyone to use and modify to suit their own purposes. Rather than a monolithic operating system vendor telling me that I’m not allowed to do something, there’s an entire community of developers who are working to make whatever features I want possible! To me, that’s the essence of what computing should be about—enabling choice".

Via MaximumPC

Ubuntu Torrents

Don't fret Torrent user's. Firefox's Foxtorrent works great on Ubuntu. Just download the Ext. from Firefox,It's that easy & best of all,It's all free.

Astronomy Pictures

This is a pretty good site for Astronomy pictures.It's not as good as Nasa's,but they have a much wider variety of pictures ranging from all the Messier objects to globular clusters and a great collection of galaxies.

Via Caltech.edu

Playoffs

Hey Hockey fan's. Ready to see Buffalo's speed against Ottawa's tough defense,this should be a pretty exiting series.We'll see.

Your new NetVibes Office

NetVibes, the popular personalized portal, works great as an RSS reader, but if you’re using it only for this purpose, you’re missing out. With the huge number of available modules, you can use it to increase your productivity or even do serious work. Create a new tab, slap on the following Netvibes modules, and you’ve got yourself a lightweight and always available online office environment.

via Mashable

Quote: James Dyson

From the inventor of the Dyson Vacuum:

I made 5127 prototypes of my vacuum before I got it right. There were 5126 failures. But I learned from each one. That’s how I came up with a solution. So I don’t mind failure. I’ve always thought that schoolchildren should be marked by the number of failures they’ve had. The child who tries strange things and experiences lots of failures to get there is probably more creative…

We’re taught to do things the right way. But if you want to discover something that other people haven’t, you need to do things the wrong way. Initiate a failure by doing something that’s very silly, unthinkable, naughty, dangerous. Watching why that fails can take you on a completely different path. It’s exciting, actually. To me, solving problems is a bit like a drug. You’re on it, and you can’t get off.

Take Ubuntu for a non-invasive test drive with Wubi

Wubi is an unofficial Ubuntu installer for Windows users that will bring you into the Linux world with a few clicks. Wubi allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu as any other application. If you heard about Linux and Ubuntu, if you wanted to try them but you were afraid, this is for you.

via CutlerSoftware

Inside of a Hard Drive

Simple operations performed by a hard drive with no cover, so that you can see what it looks like inside.
This experiment was performed on an old hard drive, do not try this with newer expensive hard drives, it is a bit risky.

Ubuntu Introduction

A good demonstration of what can be done with Linux.

Things I can do in Linux that I can't do on Windows

"Since I often hear from friends and people on the Internet about things they can't do in Linux that they could on Windows, I thought I'd write up a list of things I can do in Linux that I can't do in Windows."

Via dmartin.org

Astronomers Astonished by 'Monstrous' Star Explosion

Scientists have detected a stellar explosion that is the brightest and
most energetic ever recorded, and which could be the first evidence of
a new type of supernova fueled by an antimatter engine.

Via Space.com

SandBoxie

Windows only: Freeware application Sandboxie provides a safe "sandbox"
for you to test out new software without making any permanent changes
to your system.
http://www.sandboxie.com/

Tweako.com

101 Ubuntu Tutorials and growing!
http://tweako.com/section/ubuntu

Firefox Extension: Tabscope

Shows a popup on tabs and enables you to preview and navigate tab contents through popup. Major features are:

* Real-time preview of tab contents
* Navigate (Back/Forward/Reload/Stop) through popup
* Scroll pages or frames in preview with mouse wheel
* Click links or buttons directly in preview

Download Tabscope

Astronomy Lesson

Warning: Over 78 minutes long!

Rangers Lose

Damn it.

Ubuntu Starter Guide

For anybody out there that's trying to figure out the latest version of Ubuntu.

101 Free Apps

Great list of free applications that every nerd needs.