Group items tagged discoveries - Advanced Concepts Team

NASA Invents New Technique For Finding Alien Life - International Business Times - 0 views

www.ibtimes.com/...y-martians-mars-mars-rover.htm

nasa space

shared by santecarloni on 10 Feb 11 - No Cached

Beam Me Up: Could Lasers Launch Rockets? - 1 views

news.discovery.com/...aser-launch-rocket-110215.html

rocket technology MAD NRG fuel

shared by Joris _ on 16 Feb 11 - No Cached

Joris _ on 16 Feb 11

another hill to climb (in reference to a metaphor of a recent post)

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">another hill to climb (in reference to a metaphor of a recent post)</div>

...

Cancel

Why I don't care very much about tablets anymore - 5 views

arstechnica.com/...re-very-much-about-tablets.ars

inf

shared by Francesco Biscani on 22 Feb 11 - No Cached

Francesco Biscani on 22 Feb 11

There it goes :)

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">There it goes :)</div>

...

Cancel
Ma Ru on 22 Feb 11

"So a new tablet will never be exciting the way that a new, luxury gel ink pen will be exciting" Man, I immediately felt like ordering some new luxury gel ink pens!

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">"So a new tablet will never be exciting the way that a new, luxury gel ink pen will be exciting" Man, I immediately felt like ordering some new luxury gel ink pens!</div>

...

Cancel
LeopoldS on 22 Feb 11

like also this one: "Some of the really savvy new media efforts like Flipboard are exciting, but after the initial "wow" factor wears off, these apps mainly serve to remind me that there's already too much good stuff to read out there, and that my life is slipping away from me in an infinite stream of interesting bits about smart animals, dumb criminals, outrageous celebs, shiny objects, funny memes, scientific discoveries, economic developments, etc.. I invariably end up closing the app in a fit of guilt, and picking up one of the truly fantastic dead tree or Kindle books that I'm working my way through at the moment, so that I can actually exercise my brain (as opposed to simply wearing it out)."

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">like also this one: "Some of the really savvy new media efforts like Flipboard are exciting, but after the initial "wow" factor wears off, these apps mainly serve to remind me that there's already too much good stuff to read out there, and that my life is slipping away from me in an infinite stream of interesting bits about smart animals, dumb criminals, outrageous celebs, shiny objects, funny memes, scientific discoveries, economic developments, etc.. I invariably end up closing the app in a fit of guilt, and picking up one of the truly fantastic dead tree or Kindle books that I'm working my way through at the moment, so that I can actually exercise my brain (as opposed to simply wearing it out)."</div>

...

Cancel

Mysteries of Lake Vostok - 05 January 2011 - New Scientist - 2 views

www.newscientist.com/...tok-on-brink-of-discovery.html

life extreme environment antarctic

shared by pandomilla on 25 Mar 11 - No Cached

Bitcoin P2P Currency: The Most Dangerous Project We've Ever Seen - 10 views

launch.is/...dangerous-project-weve-ev.html

bitcoin p2p money disruptive

shared by Luís F. Simões on 16 May 11 - No Cached

LeopoldS liked it

After month of research and discovery, we’ve learned the following:1. Bitcoin is a technologically sound project.2. Bitcoin is unstoppable without end-user prosecution.3. Bitcoin is the most dangerous open-source project ever created.4. Bitcoin may be the most dangerous technological project since the internet itself.5. Bitcoin is a political statement by technotarians (technological libertarians).*6. Bitcoins will change the world unless governments ban them with harsh penalties.
...

Cancel
The benefits of a currency like this:a) Your coins can’t be frozen (like a Paypal account can be)b) Your coins can’t be trackedc) Your coins can’t be taxedd) Transaction costs are extremely low (sorry credit card companies)
...

Cancel
An individual with the name -- or perhaps handle -- of Satoshi Nakamoto first wrote about bitcoins in a paper called Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.
...

Cancel
...1 more annotation...
* We made this term up to describe the “good people” of the internet who believe in the fundamental rights of individuals to be free, have free speech, fight hypocrisy and stand behind logic, technology and science over religion, political structure and tradition. These are the people who build and support things like Wikileaks, Anonymous, Linux and Wikipedia. They think that people can, and should, govern themselves. They are against external forms of control such as DRM, laws that are bought and sold by lobbyists, and religions like Scientology. They include splinter groups that enforce these ideals in the form of hacktivism, such as the takedown of the Sony Playstation Network after Sony tried to prosecute a hacker for unlocking its console.
...

Cancel

Ma Ru on 17 May 11

Sounds good!

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Sounds good!</div>

...

Cancel
...9 more comments...
pacome delva on 18 May 11

wow it's frigthening! it's the dream of every anarchist, every drug, arm, human dealer! the world made as a global fiscal paradise... the idea is clever however it will not replace real money because 1 - no one will build a fortune on bitcoin if a technological breakthrough can ruin them 2 - government never allowed parallel money to flourish on their territory, so it will be almost impossible to change bitcoin against euros or dollars

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">wow it's frigthening! it's the dream of every anarchist, every drug, arm, human dealer! the world made as a global fiscal paradise... the idea is clever however it will not replace real money because 1 - no one will build a fortune on bitcoin if a technological breakthrough can ruin them 2 - government never allowed parallel money to flourish on their territory, so it will be almost impossible to change bitcoin against euros or dollars</div>

...

Cancel
Nicholas Lan on 18 May 11

interesting stuff anyone read cryptonomicon by neal stephenson? similar theme.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">interesting stuff anyone read cryptonomicon by neal stephenson? similar theme.</div>

...

Cancel
Luís F. Simões on 18 May 11

:) yes. One of the comments on reddit was precisely drawing the parallels with Neal Stephenson's Snowcrash / Diamond Age / Cryptonomicon. Interesting stuff indeed. It has a lot of potential for misuse, but also opens up new possibilities. We've discussed recently how emerging technologies will drive social change. Whether it's the likes of NSA / CIA who will benefit the most from the Twitters, Facebooks and so on, by gaining greater power for control, or whether individuals are being empowered to at least an identical degree. We saw last year VISA / PayPal censoring WikiLeaks... Well, here's a way for any individual to support such an organization, in a fully anonymous and uncontrollable way...

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">:) yes. One of the comments on reddit was precisely drawing the parallels with Neal Stephenson's Snowcrash / Diamond Age / Cryptonomicon. Interesting stuff indeed. It has a lot of potential for misuse, but also opens up new possibilities. We've discussed recently how emerging technologies will drive social change. Whether it's the likes of NSA / CIA who will benefit the most from the Twitters, Facebooks and so on, by gaining greater power for control, or whether individuals are being empowered to at least an identical degree. We saw last year VISA / PayPal censoring WikiLeaks... Well, here's a way for any individual to support such an organization, in a fully anonymous and uncontrollable way...</div>

...

Cancel
tvinko on 18 May 11

One of my colleagues has made a nice, short write-up about BitCoin: http://www.pds.ewi.tudelft.nl/~victor/bitcoin.html

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">One of my colleagues has made a nice, short write-up about BitCoin: <a href="http://www.pds.ewi.tudelft.nl/~victor/bitcoin.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.pds.ewi.tudelft.nl/~victor/bitcoin.html</a></div>

...

Cancel
LeopoldS on 18 May 11

very nice analysis indeed - thanks Tamas for sharing it!

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">very nice analysis indeed - thanks Tamas for sharing it!</div>

...

Cancel
pacome delva on 20 May 11

mmm I'm not an expert but it seemed to me that, even if these criticisms are true, there is one fundamental difference between the money you exchange on internet via your bank, and bitcoins. The first one is virtual money and the second one aims at being real, physical, money, even if digital, in the same way as banknotes, coins, or gold.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">mmm I'm not an expert but it seemed to me that, even if these criticisms are true, there is one fundamental difference between the money you exchange on internet via your bank, and bitcoins. The first one is virtual money and the second one aims at being real, physical, money, even if digital, in the same way as banknotes, coins, or gold.</div>

...

Cancel
nikolas smyrlakis on 20 May 11

An algorithm wanna-be central bank issuing untraceable tax free money between internet users? not more likely than the end of the world supposed to take place tomorrow, in my opinion. Algorithms don't usually assault women though !:P

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">An algorithm wanna-be central bank issuing untraceable tax free money between internet users? not more likely than the end of the world supposed to take place tomorrow, in my opinion. Algorithms don't usually assault women though !:P</div>

...

Cancel
LeopoldS on 21 May 11

well, most money is anyway just virtual and only based on expectations and trust ... (see e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_supply) and thus if people trust that this "money" has some value in the sense that they can get something of value to them in exchange, then not much more is needed it seems to me ...

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">well, most money is anyway just virtual and only based on expectations and trust ... (see e.g. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_supply" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_supply</a>) and thus if people trust that this "money" has some value in the sense that they can get something of value to them in exchange, then not much more is needed it seems to me ...</div>

...

Cancel
pacome delva on 23 May 11

@Leopold: ok let's use the rigth words then. Bitcoin aim at being a currency ("physical objects generally accepted as a medium of exchange" from wikipedia), different than the "demand deposit". In the article proposed by Tamas he compares what cannot be compared (currencies, demand deposits and their mean of exchange). The interesting question is wether one can create a digital currency which is too difficult to counterfeit. As far as I know, there is no existing digital currency except this bitcoins (and maybe the currencies from games as second life and others, but which are of limited use in real world).

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">@Leopold: ok let's use the rigth words then. Bitcoin aim at being a currency ("physical objects generally accepted as a medium of exchange" from wikipedia), different than the "demand deposit". In the article proposed by Tamas he compares what cannot be compared (currencies, demand deposits and their mean of exchange). The interesting question is wether one can create a digital currency which is too difficult to counterfeit. As far as I know, there is no existing digital currency except this bitcoins (and maybe the currencies from games as second life and others, but which are of limited use in real world).</div>

...

Cancel
nikolas smyrlakis on 23 May 11

well of course money is trust, and even more loans and credit and even more stock and bond markets. It all represents trust and expectations. However since the first banks 500 years ago and the first loans etc. etc., and as well the fact that bonds and currencies bring down whole countries (Greece lately), and are mainly controlled by large financial centres and (central) banks, banks have always been on the winning side no matter what and that isn't going to change easily. So if you are talking about these new currencies it would be a new era, not just a new currency. So should Greece convert its debt to bitcoins ;P ?

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">well of course money is trust, and even more loans and credit and even more stock and bond markets. It all represents trust and expectations. However since the first banks 500 years ago and the first loans etc. etc., and as well the fact that bonds and currencies bring down whole countries (Greece lately), and are mainly controlled by large financial centres and (central) banks, banks have always been on the winning side no matter what and that isn't going to change easily. So if you are talking about these new currencies it would be a new era, not just a new currency. So should Greece convert its debt to bitcoins ;P ?</div>

...

Cancel
pacome delva on 23 May 11

well, from 1936 to 1993 the central bank of france was owned by the state and was supposed to serve the general interest...

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">well, from 1936 to 1993 the central bank of france was owned by the state and was supposed to serve the general interest...</div>

...

Cancel

Found: first 'skylight' on the moon - space - 22 October 2009 - New Scientist - 2 views

www.newscientist.com/...irst-skylight-on-the-moon.html

moon

shared by Francesco Biscani on 28 Oct 09 - Cached

pacome delva liked it

A deep hole on the moon that could open into a vast underground tunnel has been found for the first time. The discovery strengthens evidence for subsurface, lava-carved channels that could shield future human colonists from space radiation and other hazards.
...

Cancel

First Discovery Of Life's Building Block In Comet - 0 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...090817143602.htm

bio

shared by Francesco Biscani on 18 Aug 09 - Cached