Above short sample clip covering topics on “But why use Linux as a BIOS” and the infamous "The DRM BIOS Issus (eg. EFI , etc)” presented by Ronald G Minnich.
“”The Magenn Power Air Rotor System (MARS) is an innovative lighter-than-air tethered device that rotates about a horizontal axis in response to winds , efficiently generating clean renewable electrical energy at a lower cost than all competing systems.
This electrical energy is transferred down the tether to a transformer at a ground station and then transferred to the electricity power grid.
Helium (an inert non-reactive lighter than air gas) sustains the Air Rotor which ascends to an altitude for best winds and its rotation also causes the Magnus effect. This provides additional lift, keeps the device stabilized, keeps it positioned within a very controlled and restricted location, and causes it to pull up overhead rather than drift downwind on its tether.
All competing wind generators use bladed two-dimensional disk-like structures and rigid towers. The Magenn Power Air Rotor system is a closed three-dimensional structure. It offers high torque, low starting speeds, and superior overall efficiency thanks to its ability to deploy higher. The closed structure allows Magenn Power to produce wind rotors from very small to very large sizes at a fraction of the cost of current wind generators.
Magenn Power is currently in the prototype phase of our Magenn Air Rotor System . Magenn Power plans to ship their first official product, a 4 kilowatt version in 2007.””
And from its informative FAQ, there will be even a backpack-sized units too:
“”Backpack size or small units may be available in one to two years. Magenn Power is looking to license this technology and may not manufacture it ourselves.””
Guess there will be lotsa potential and alternative for its size and mobility deploying in a rural area, sea, tall building , powering SOS radio/beacon or Wi-Fi device doubled as antennal, serving advertisement banner or even as old skool barrage balloon …etc :)
It also interestingly mentioned how Cartographers and Artists tweaked their works too.
So what are you waiting for? More Panoramas tips and trick at Panoguide’s How to…, especially life easier using freeware Autostitch program which automatically do image stitching perfected for lazy geek wannabe (like me) out there. :)
Above fast forwarded short clip was a spiced up with text-to-speech voice with the following summaries:
“”Retrieving the stylus of a pen-based device takes time and requires a second hand. Especially for short, intermittent interactions many users therefore choose to use their bare fingers instead. Although convenient, this increases targeting times and error rates. We argue that the main reason is the occlusion of the target by the user’s finger. We propose a pointing technique we call Shiftthat is designed to address this issue. When the user touches the screen, Shift creates a callout showing a copy of the occluded screen area and places it in a non-occluded location. The callout also shows a pointer representing the hotspot of the finger. Using this visual feedback, users guide the pointer into the target by moving their finger on the screen surface and commit the target acquisition by lifting the finger. Over large targets, in contrast, no callout is created and users enjoy the full performance of an unaltered touch screen. In our user study, participants acquired targets faster when using Shift than when using the traditional offset cursor technique.”” - Patrick Baudisch
“”Photography lost its innocence many years ago. In as early as the 1930s, shortly after the first commercially available camera was introduced, Stalin had his enemies "air-brushed" out of photographs. With the advent of high-resolution digital cameras, powerful personal computers and sophisticated photo-editing software, the manipulation of digital images is becoming more common. Here, I have collected some examples of digital tampering in the media, politics, and the law.”” – Hany Farid