Solar Plane Set to Soar Over Europe Wired

Eric Raymond is flying across Europe in an aircraft powered by the sun’s rays to prove that “solar airplane” is not an oxymoron — but a viable means of air travel. Raymond’s eight-country tour of the continent in Sunseeker II starts Monday would be the first trans-European flight in a manned solar plane. The environmentally friendly aircraft developed by Solar Flight will highlight the potential for electric aircraft to shape air travel, and may even point to design efficiencies that could benefit fossil-fueled planes.    “If we can inspire people to re-examine the way they think about transportation and travel — to help them envision transportation modes that are not only cleaner and less destructive, but that provide a pleasant experience — then we will feel we’ve succeeded,” Eric Lentz-Gauthier, a member of the Swiss team, told Wired.com. But, science and progress and greeness and all that aside, what’s it like up there, soaring silently? Incredible, said Lentz-Gauthier. Absolutely incredible.

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How the Internet Got Its Rules New York Times

Today is an important date in the history of the Internet: the 40th anniversary of what is known as the Request for Comments. Outside the technical community, not many people know about the R.F.C.’s, but these humble documents shape the Internet’s inner workings and have played a significant role in its success. When the R.F.C.’s were born, there wasn’t a World Wide Web. Even by the end of 1969, there was just a rudimentary network linking four computers at four research centers: the University of California, Los Angeles; the Stanford Research Institute; the University of California, Santa Barbara; and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The government financed the network and the hundred or fewer computer scientists who used it. It was such a small community that we all got to know one another.

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Twitter makes its commercial debut thanks to Sprint VentureBeat

Twitter continues to expand into the mainstream. It’s already being used by a number of celebrities, it’s all over news channels and its founders have even started making the rounds on various television shows like The Colbert Report. Now, Sprint has released a commercial, running across the country, that features the service — and also pokes a little fun at it. “233,000 people just Twittered on Twitter,” Sprint says before continuing, “26 percent of you viewing this have no idea what that means.” You can probably expect that 26 percent number to shrink as the commercial continues to air and people Google Twitter.

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Beware the perils of caffeine withdrawal CNN

Susan Todd loves her daily coffee fix. “I can drink four or five cups, easily, comfortably,” said Todd, 59, of Clinton Township, Michigan. But if she skips her regular dose of caffeine, Todd warned, watch out. “I feel lousy all over. It’s not that anything hurts,” she explained. “I just feel sluggish, and a cup of caffeine will cure that.” Todd is among the estimated 80 to 90 percent of North American adults and children who consume caffeine products every day. Experts estimate about half that number will experience headaches and other symptoms from caffeine withdrawal syndrome.

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Fonera 2.0 powered by Linux Heise Online

The upcoming Fonera 2.0 802.11g wireless router from FON uses Linux as its embedded OS and includes several new features. The Fonera 2.0 allows FON community members, refered to as Foneros, to share their internet connection, in effect providing a ‘public’ hot-spot, in return for reciprocal free roaming Wi-Fi access from other Foneros. FON even provide an opportunity to make money because non-members can buy Wi-Fi access by purchasing a FON Access Pass. Whenever this happens FON credit the owner of the hot-spot with 50 per cent of the revenue (via PayPal). FON is supported by BT and the new BT Home Hub wireless routers, are also FON capable. In addition BT FON members have access to BT Openzone Hotspots. A Fonera enabled router provides two separate secured Wi-Fi channels, one that is encrypted for private use and a second for use by registered FON users with the correct authentication. The private network allows users to access their computers and files on their local network as well as the internet. Foneros who connect via another users router are only provided with internet access. The Fonera router supports WEP 64bit/128 bit, WPA, WPA2 and WPA mixed authentication and automatically updates itself online with any new security updates.

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Student loans body hunts overseas defaulters The Local

The Swedish student loans body (CSN) has announced that it is to intensify its work to track down defaulting debtors resident overseas. The hunt will be extended to a further 10 countries in 2009 and make use of new means to track down the defaulters, according to the newspaper Sydsvenskan.

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GM in “intense” bankruptcy prep: source Reuters

General Motors Corp is in “intense” and “earnest” preparations for a possible bankruptcy filing, a source familiar with the company’s plans told Reuters on Tuesday. A plan to split the corporation into a “new” company made up of the most successful units, and an “old” one of its less-profitable units, is gaining momentum and is seen as the most sensible configuration, said another source familiar with the talks. The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.

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Vermont legalizes gay marriage with veto override Associated Press

Vermont on Tuesday became the fourth state to legalize gay marriage – and the first to do so with a legislature’s vote. The House recorded a dramatic 100-49 vote, the minimum needed, to override Gov. Jim Douglas’ veto. Its vote followed a much easier override vote in the Senate, which rebuffed the Republican governor with a vote of 23-5. Vermont was the first state to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples and joins Connecticut, Massachusetts and Iowa in giving gays the right to marry. Their approval of gay marriage came from the courts.

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Actor Kal Penn joining Obama administration in Valerie Jarrett’s shop Chicago Sun-Times

Actor Kal Penn, who stumped around the country for the Obama presidential campaign, is going to leave Hollywood to work in the Obama White House, EW.Com is reporting. The White House confirmed to the Chicago Sun-Times that Penn is joining the Obama administration.

April, 2009

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