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Hints That Steam May Soon Be On Linux

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Earlier today, PCGamesN was looking around in the Steam Content Description Record Database and found an entry for a Linux based beta of the Steam client. Entries in this database usually become live projects shortly after being posted. This is creating a lot of buzz in the gaming community and would be a big step forward for Linux gaming.Tux from Linux

This would be pretty amazing and it gets me thinking about Linux, and I have to say that I personally use Linux from time to time but it is not my preferred OS. I have a pretty good understanding of the environment and can manipulate pretty much anything I want or need to. I have used Kdevelop to write applications have spent hours tweaking things and playing around but I can’t seem to move completely over to a Linux based OS no matter what distro I try out.

There it is, the problem is exactly what I just mentioned, I personally believe that there needs to be a greater unification of Linux distributions in order to really streamline and push the platform into the main stream . I am by no means saying that we should just demolish all the current flavors of Linux, just offer one version that’s massively supported and I think it will improve the Linux environment in it’s entirety. The bottom line is greater Linux support needs to happen, we need another strong competitor in the OS market and I think it’s time to push Linux harder than we ever have before.

With touch support and solid performance numbers, there is really no reason why Linux can’t have a greater presence in today’s mobile and gaming world. Android has been very successful and it’s a Linux based OS. In a world where Apple seems unshakable, Android is a pretty good measurement  of success and shows the possibilities of Linux. Video game developers have done some testing on Linux and have actually found that there are some pretty strong performance gains when running on Linux based machines. Even hardcore Linux users must admit that having more support would be nice and that no matter what happens on the front lines, there could always be a smaller niche distro that they could stick to if they don’t like the direction of the newly unified OS.

I have to stop and ask myself there are any possible negative impacts that could arise from an unification effort and mainly I see issues with an open platform becoming less open and seeing what makes Linux unique start to become a bit watered down. With any rise in popularity you can also see a rise in malware to go with it, as malware developers target operating systems that are likely to affect a larger audience.

Either way I am excited to see where this goes and will be keeping an eye on this projects progress.

The official entry in the Content Record Database can be found here.

 

Mount Fuji May Erupt Soon

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Japanese scientists caution that the magma chamber of Mount Fuji has already surpassed the the pressure that caused caused the massive volcano to erupt over 300 years ago in 1707. The pressure needed to trigger an eruption is only 0.1 megapascals and the current pressure has been around 1.6 mega-pascals. The earthquake that caused the recent tsunami is said to have increased the pressure on the magma chamber of mount Fuji quite a bit and any tectonic shifts will continue to increase the likelihood of a massive eruption.Mt Fuji

Mount Fuji is sitting on a fault line that if an earthquake were to occur, would surely bring about an eruption.If mount Fuji were to erupt, it would be catastrophic and result in the loss of many lives and an economic cost of up to $31 billion.

Scientists will be keeping a close eye on the volcano by monitoring seismic data and looking for visual cues like stream and gas emitting from the volcano. Mount Fuji is over 12,000 feet high and is known as an active stratovolcano which sits about 60 miles south west of Tokyo.

It has been long speculated that the volcano would soon erupt but even with the best of technology, it’s just too hard to predict. With hundreds of thousands at risk, it brings to light the importance of research in this field. Let us not forget the super volcanoes that lay quietly among us. These super volcanoes will have a massive global impact, so understanding Earth’s geological processes is extremely important.  It is also crucial to exercise evacuation plans and prepare the public in case of an major eruption to reduce the loss of life.

35 Years of Voyager

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September 5th,  2012 marks the 35th anniversary of the launch of Voyager 1 which is now the most distant human-made object and the second longest operating spacecraft.

The mission of the Voyager spacecraft both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, was to explore Jupiter and Saturn. After major success, the mission was extended to have Voyager 2 explore Uranus and Neptune. Currently the only data we have from Uranus and Neptune came from Voyager, no other spacecraft have since explored these two planets.Voyager

Today, 35 years later these two spacecraft are still functioning and sending back information to Earth from billions of miles away, much farther away from the sun than Neptune and Pluto. The mission of both spacecraft today is to explore interstellar space and has been named the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM) .

The VIM has three phases, termination shock, heliosheath exploration, and interstellar exploration. The spacecraft were in an area that was primarily controlled by the suns magnetic field and surrounded by supersonic solar wind, this is the termination shock phase. The spacecraft are now in the heliosheath phase, the outer reaches of the suns solar winds and magnetic influence.  Soon the spacecraft will begin to move into an area where interstellar winds become more prominent and push back and slow our suns solar winds to a sub-sonic speed, eventually there will be no influence and the spacecraft will then be considered to be in interstellar space. The point where deep space begins and our suns influence ends is called heliopause, reaching heliopause is the ultimate mission of Voyager and the spacecraft should have enough power and fuel to last until approximately 2025, which should allow for enough time to reach this disatance.golden recordVoyager

Voyager also contains a 12 inch gold plated copper disk that contains sounds and images from Earth. The sounds are of wind, thunder,birds and other animals. Human speech from different parts of the world and pictures form different cultures are also included on the disk. For a complete list of the disc contents including samples, head here.

For complete details on VIM click here.

 

 

Harvard Scientists Work with Cyborg Tissue

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Cyborg TechnologyScientists at Harvard are hard at work using nano-wires that reach into tissues and and read electrical signals created by cells.  The idea is to merge nano-electronics with living tissue in a way that you would barely be able to tell the difference between the living tissue and the electronic components. This could lead to major advances in medical science and provide us with amazingly precise information about cell structure and how each cell interacts with each other.

Harvard’s scientists are also trying to create a ‘Cyborg Tissue’ by  integrating nano-electronic device arrays with synthetic tissue. Basically, innervating it or supplying the synthetic tissue with nerves. Imagine how this could be tied into human tissue and how we might somehow be able to have cyborg hands or limbs that can transmit the sensation of touch to our brains. The possibilities seem endless and the research is inspiring to say the least.

Is anyone else hearing terminator music in their head?

For more information about this research head here.

Apple Wins $1 Billion

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A jury in San Jose California, ruled that Samsung’s smart phones violate six patents held by Apple. Samsung will have to pay over $1 billion dollars.  Some of the violations include UI design and and specific touch control features including tap to zoom.Apple Logo

Samsung sought $421 million in a counter-suit and despite wining a few arguments, was not awarded any money.

I think this will take some time for us all to digest and the impact on the smartphone market remains to be seen. This could potentially stunt the growth of innovation by competitors of Apple, which is never a good thing, but on the other hand it forces companies to be different, way different, and forces them to create something truly unique to their brand. Let’s just hope for the latter.