Windows Phone Starter: Windows Mobile Sucks-Slightly-More-Than-6.5 (Sorry, Classic) [Windows Phone]

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Microsoft's not being real forthcoming about what exactly Windows Phone Starter is. But! It seems to be a very mildly stripped version of Windows Mobile 6.5 (officially aka "Windows Phone Classic") for developing countries, much like Windows Starter.

Microsoft wouldn't specifically elaborate on what's missing from 6.5 in Starter 6—just saying it comes in two versions, with Office Mobile 2010 and without—but it's possible, given the language they used that it won't be available for 3G phones. (I know, WTF?) Luckily, it's nothing most people will have to worry about. Just stick with Win7 Phone, and pretend like all this version craziness doesn't even exist. That's one of the bright sides of Windows Phone 7—there's just one. [All About Microsoft via Unwired via Engadget]


Announcing the New Point of Inquiry, Featuring Michael Mann | The Intersection

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mann_treeringIt’s live here, and here’s part of the show description:

For the scientists who study global warming, now is the winter of their despair.

In the news, it has been climate scandal after alleged climate scandal. First came “ClimateGate,” then “GlacierGate,” “Amazon Gate,” and so on. In public opinion polls, meanwhile, Americans’ acceptance of the science of global warming appears to be declining. Even a freak snowstorm now seems to sow added doubt about this rigorous body of research.

In response to growing public skepticism—and a wave of dramatic attacks on individual researchers—the scientific community is now bucking up to more strongly defend its knowledge. Leading the charge is one of the most frequently attacked researchers of them all—Pennsylvania State University climatologist Michael Mann.

In this interview with host Chris Mooney, Mann pulls no punches. He defends the fundamental scientific consensus on climate change, and explains why those who attack it consistently miss the target. He also answers critics of his “hockey stick” study, and explains why the charges that have arisen in “ClimateGate” seem much more smoke than fire.

Once again, the show is here, and you can subscribe on iTunes for further episodes…

Update: The show airs just in time, apparently; Joe Romm documents yet another unfair and bogus attack on Mann, this time from the Wall Street Journal….


Pump Seal for Asphalt Service

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I am doing a application job for pump with asphalt serive.Since the pump is going to be steam traced.I hav conflict with seal selection.I wud like to select seal plan API 32 but my boss say we go with 52 Is it possible to Select plan 32..Secondly i want to use steam turbine single stage as driver so

Hide and Seek with Janus

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Hide and Seek with Janus. Click for larger. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

The folks at Cassini almost got me – almost. I saw this image as a thumbnail and was thinking “gee that’s Janus, seems awful big?”. A second look and the little moon stood out pretty easily against the larger moon Rhea and behind the rings.

I especially like this particular look at the rings.  You need to see the image larger to appreciate it fully, give the image above a click.

You can see the image and caption in their original context at the NASA page and here’s some excerpts:

The small moon Janus is almost hidden between the planet’s rings and the larger moon Rhea.
The northern part of Janus can be seen peeking above the rings in this image of a “mutual event” in which Janus (179 kilometers, or 111 miles across) moved past Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across). Mutual event observations such as this one, in which one moon passes close to or in front of another, help scientists refine their understanding of the orbits of Saturn’s moons.
The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 2.7 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Janus and about 3.1 million kilometers (1.9 million miles) from Rhea. Rhea is a slightly overexposed in this image.
This view looks toward the northern, sunlit side of the rings from just above the ringplane.

JooJoo Shipments Delayed Until March 25th [Joojoo]

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If you've preordered a JooJoo and wonder where it's been, Fusion Garage has just revealed that shipments will be delayed until March 25th.

Evidently, their previous announcement promising February shipments was a bit premature, though I'm not sure anyone is shocked by the delay, given the controversy of the whole situation.

Earlier this month, Fusion Garage's JooJoo Internet tablet went into full production with an anticipated on-time delivery to consumers at the end of February. Last week, the company became aware of a manufacturing issue involving JooJoo's industry-first 12.1 inch capacitive touch screen which Fusion Garage was quickly able to diagnose and rectify. The company now forecasts the JooJoo will be sent to consumers on March 25.

The manufacturing issue centers on fine tuning the touch sensitivity of the capacitive screen. Fusion Garage will be providing all pre-order customers with a free JooJoo accessory to compensate for the delay in the delivery of their JooJoo.


Nikon D3s Review: A Light Stalker [Review]

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A $5000 camera is not within reach for most people. So this Nikon D3s review is a bit different—it's a peek at the near future of photography where shooting in any lighting condition is possible. It's really exciting.

ISO Is the New Megapixel: A Case Study

Nikon effectively declared the pixel war over with D3 two years ago: Its $5000 flagship shot a mere 12 megapixels—less than many point-and-shoots—and began the low-light arms race. The D3s again forsakes more megapixels for more light, sticking with 12 megapixels, and it's a tiny miracle of engineering.

The D3s isn't a thoughtless product rehash—as you might expect given that Nikon's simply tacked an 's' onto the end of the D3. Unlike the D300s, which didn't progress all that far in the two interceding years, the D3s is steady evolution at its best: It offers roughly double the low-light performance as the original D3.

What All This Low Light and ISO Business Means

A brief explanation of low-light digital photography and ISO is in order (click here for the long explanation). The focal point of engineering with the D3s, and other cameras of this caliber, has been boosting their ability to pick up more light (because a photo = light). That photo directly above with a 100 percent crop in the loupe? Taken at night at ISO 102,400.

The D3s uses a completely new sensor that refines elements of the original D3's sensor, like a new gapless microlens architecture that directs more available light onto the sensor's photodiodes. With film, ISO speed is a standard that indicates how sensitive the film is to light—higher speeds are more sensitive. With digital cameras, when you set the ISO speed, it's supposed to be equivalent to the film standard. In low-light conditions, you boost the ISO, so you don't need a long exposure time or wide open aperture. The problem with cranking up the ISO is that when you boost the camera's sensitivity to light (the signal) you're also boosting its sensitivity to noise—which can be sexy with film, but isn't really with digital photos. The D3s shoots up ISO 102,400, far beyond any film you could buy at Walgreen's. (Does Walgreen's still sell film?) At that level, you're talking night vision, practically, though the resulting noisy ass photo's nothing you'd want to print.

So, here's what the D3s offers, practically. In the most common DSLRs that people own, or with the latest crop of Micro Four Thirds cameras, the borderline for what we'd call good ISO performance is around ISO 800. In the original D3, it was ISO 3200, orders of magnitude better.

The D3s doubles the low-light performance of the D3: ISO 6400 photos look just about as clean ISO 3200 photos taken with the D3 (they look good), and ISO 3200 photos are whistle clean to all but the most trained eye, especially if they're down-res'd to web or print size. ISO 12,800 is the new ISO 6400—the outer limit of acceptably printable. In short, the D3s is the best low-light camera we've ever used, a leap beyond last-generation's low-light killers. You can basically shoot in any lighting condition. That's incredible.

It's Built for Photographers

The D3s is built for war zones, and being slung in the mud at 40mph. It weighs nearly 3 pounds, without a lens. Yet it's well-balanced and supremely comfortable to hold, with the best ergonomics in its class—Canon's 1D Mark IV feels surprisingly awkward by comparison—so we could shoot for hours on end in the closest thing to gadget blogging's war zones, CES and the iPad launch, and slug people who got in our way. (The dual CF card slots and ginormous battery help with shooting for hours. We didn't quite reach the 4,200 shots it's spec'd for, but we definitely shot a couple thousand photos per charge.)

It feels like what a pro camera should feel like, with almost all of the controls you need at your fingertips—the addition of a dedicated live view button versus the original D3 definitely helped there, though a more natural way to change the ISO setting while using the camera's vertical grip would be nice.

It is a photographer's camera, though, to be sure. Even as it shoots a crazyfast 9 frames per second at full-resolution RAW and its 51-point autofocus proved fast and accurate for us at trade shows, Nikon continues to lag behind Canon when it comes to video, with it feeling more tacked on than any of Canon's shooters—it's still 720p video using the bleh Motion JPEG codec—it's functionally better than the D300s, though, with improved autofocus in live view mode. That said, given that Nikon's announced its first 1080p-shooting camera, we're hopeful for the seemingly inevitable D700s on the video front, anyway.

Most of our testing took place at CES and the iPad event, which are marked by shitty and ever-changing light conditions, and we've never felt more comfortable shooting handheld without a flash or tripod. It's truly liberating. Light is your bitch—you can shoot wherever, whatever you want. (Especially with a fast lens, but even "slow" lenses suddenly feel eminently more usable.) While auto white balance was never quite perfect, the pop and saturation of the D3s's colors are just about unbeatable. It's the ultimate gadget-shooting-in-crappy-conditions camera. Here's some of posts we used the D3s to shoot:

• iPad Hands On
• iPad Liveblog
• Slayer Espresso
• E-Ink Is Dead, Pixel Qi Just Killed It
• Ballmer CES Keynote
• CES We're Here

(You can also check out our previous hands on with a pre-production unit for more samples. And for a more technical review, DPReview's got you covered.) A note: You'll notice I don't have a ton of sample photos, and that's because somehow hundreds of them completely poofed from my hard drive.

The D3s doesn't operate under any new philosophy, but it does remarkably take the game a step further, revealing with more clarity a world where camera performance doubles roughly every two years. Much like processors, where the tradeoff is more power or more efficiency, the choice is more megapixels or better performance. (But newspapers and monitors are only so big.)

We're running through Canon's answer to the D3s, the 1D Mark IV at this very moment, so we're intensely interested to see who's wearing what pants at the end of this. Either way, it shows that competition is a very good thing: Everybody wins.

Nikon D3s Review: A Light StalkerThe best low-light camera we've ever used
Nikon D3s Review: A Light StalkerFast and accurate 51-point AF to go with its 9FPS rapid fire
Nikon D3s Review: A Light StalkerSolid ergonomics
Nikon D3s Review: A Light StalkerWould prefer a more accessible ISO button
Nikon D3s Review: A Light StalkerThere's still a major disconnect with video, which lags behind Canon quality and otherwise
Nikon D3s Review: A Light StalkerIt's $5000, so this amazing low-light performance is out of reach for most people for a few more years (not really a knock against the camera, just a general frowny face)

[Nikon]


In-Store Gaming Kiosks Through the Ages [Retromodo]

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I never owned a Nintendo 64, and that was totally fine. See, I lived within biking distance of a Blockbuster.

Despite its gradual decline on account of downloadable demos and general console popularity (if you don't have one, one of your friends does), the in-store kiosk is still going strong—walk into any Best Buy or GameStop, and you can play a Wii, a PS3, and an Xbox, or even a PSP and a DS. And just like in the 80s and 90s, the kiosk's chances of the coveted trifecta of retail demo gaming (switched on, connected to working controllers, and playing a non-demo version of a game without time limits) hover at around 10%.

Anyway, Kombo's rounded up visual history of some of the most memorable console demo stations, and I defy any of you to make it through without suffering through at least two military grade Circuit City line-battle flashbacks. It's my turn, you turd. [Kombo]


Tattoo-Removing Lasers Also Remove Grime From Classic Works of Art | 80beats

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laser-cleaned-artIt sounded like a good idea at the time: You’d had one too many at the pub, one thing led to another, and you ended with someone’s name tattooed on your back. When you rushed out as soon as possible for laser removal of the unfortunate ink, the practitioners were actually using the same techniques that some art restorers employ to remove dirt and grime from masterpieces. And according to a new study in the journal of the American Chemical Society, Accounts of Chemical Research, laser ablation is getting better and more widespread in the art world.

Salvatore Siano at the Applied Physics Institute-CNR in Florence, Italy, tried out the method on a few classic works of art to record the results scientifically. He cleaned parts of a wall painting from a church in Siena, Italy, and also worked on Lorenzo Ghiberti’s gilded bronze panels Porta del Paradiso, or Gate of Paradise, and Donatello’s Renaissance bronze statue of David [BBC News]. While others have experimented like this over the last decade, he says, the Gates of Paradise was the first widely recognized masterwork to receive the treatment. He also notes that treating paintings poses the greatest challenge, but says that the laser cleaning showed great results–in the image above, the angel on the right was cleaned with laser ablation, while the two angels on the left received traditional cleaning.

Art restoration has always been tricky, as conservationists try to remove buildup without damaging original material; it can be tough to separate the original layers from the gunk with a scalpel. Laser ablation, in which dirt and other materials crusting the surface are heated with the laser and vaporized, may avoid some of the problems associated with chemical treatments or other traditional restoration techniques. But Siano notes that a laser in unskilled hands is a dangerous thing. “The pulse duration is really crucial because it determines the time for the localised heating. Sometimes a long heating is harmful and sometimes a short heating is harmful,” explained Dr Siano [BBC News].

While he and his colleagues practice their skills and consider ways to use this method on the delicate pigments of easel paintings, they have stumbled upon an interesting way to clean metals: putting them underwater. “In water you can increase the effect of the laser; it’s a kind of underwater micro-explosion or micro-fragmentation” [BBC News].

Related Content:
80beats: New Imaging Technique Shows Parthenon Was Once Brightly Painted
80beats: Beauty and the Brain: Men And Women Process Art in Different Ways
DISCOVER: The Natural History of Art explores the field of “evolutionary aesthetics”
DISCOVER: The First Masterpieces wonders why our ancestors started painting their caves
DISCOVER: Secret Science in Art finds physics at work in masterpieces
The Loom: Science Tattoo Emporium, the ever growing collection of nerdy ink

Image: Salvatore Siano


Space Policy: No Love On The Hill

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NASA Plan Falls Flat In Congress, Aviation Week

"Objections to it fall into two broad categories -- the lack of a clear objective in space for the new program, and the "faith-based" belief, in the words of one House member, that a commercial route to orbit for U.S. astronauts is better than the government-managed Ares I and Orion vehicles. Members also are irritated over delays in getting specifics of the broad-brush plan released Feb. 1, and the apparent lack of consultation outside a small administration circle in the decision to make such a "radical" change away from a space policy Congress has endorsed."

NASA budget plan may not pass committee as is, Florida Today

"Congressional hostility toward the administration's plans for NASA was so great that three lawmakers who don't serve on the science committee attended Thursday's hearing just to give Bolden a piece of their mind."

Two posts about denialism, climate change and otherwise | Bad Astronomy

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Because I love to write about climate change and watch the misinformation and noise fly in the comments, I will direct your attention to two very interesting articles about denialism:

1) My friend and noted skeptic Steve Novella writes about the meaning of scientific consensus and denialism, whether that’s over global warming or vaccines.

2) An article on lies.com likens global warming denialism to the O. J. Simpson trial, saying that when faced with overwhelming evidence, Simpson’s lawyers attacked the court process instead of the actual case. It’s a fascinating analogy and one that strikes me as being very apt.

lalalala_beavercanthearyouI’ll add as a bonus a link to something I wrote a while back: the difference between skepticism and denialism. I wrote it a year or so ago, and don’t see anything I would change today.


Hole In The Donut Travels

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post thumbnail

Barbara Weibel once lived the ordinary “must work” life. Her whole world changed forever when diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease. Following extensive treatment, and at 50-something years old, Barbara traded a desk for a backpack. She hasn’t looked into the rearview mirror since.

HLV Legislative Language Is Bubbling Up In The Senate

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Keith's note: There is apparently some draft legislation floating around the Senate that addresses the development of Heavy Launch Vehicles (HLV) using Orion and Shuttle hardware at NASA. This thread at NASAspaceflight.com discusses a posting of some draft language on FlightGlobal. Take particular note of postings by "51D Mascot" i.e. Jeff Bingham, staffer on the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee, who notes that the most recent draft of this legislation is dated 22 Feb 2010.

Navy SEALs’ New Combat Sub Actually Keeps Water Out This Time [Defense]

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Apparently when a Navy SEAL takes a minisubmarine to a combat zone, his ride is an open system, meaning they literally spend hours with their bodies exposed to the water. Sounds terrible! Fortunately, they just got an upgrade.

The Navy has been trying to get the SEALs into a new Swimmer Delivery Vehicle (SDV) for some time, but until now they've been stuck with the waterlogged Mark 8 SDVs that have been around since the 70s. Northrop Grumman had been working on an Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS), but that $885 million project went down in a blaze of cost overruns and battery mishaps.

Enter the S301 SDV, a modified research submarine that can transport up to eight SEALs along with some limited gear. Even better, the development cost was a fraction of the ASDS. And, pending current trials in Hawaii, it actually works. [The Register via DVice]


Endangered Frogs Encouraged to Get Amorous in an Amphibian “Love Shack” | Discoblog

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Lemur_leaf_frog_3We know that dim lights, a little Marvin Gaye, and a lot of red wine usually do the trick to get humans in the mood for some nookie. But what encourages endangered frogs to get it on?

Apparently, they are a fussy lot, and demand that the temperature be just right and that the humidity and day length be just so; only then will they kick off their slippers for a little bit of action. So, the Bristol Zoo obliged a few endangered frogs by building them a love shack, a specially designed “AmphiPod” with controlled natural conditions that will hopefully encourage the endangered frogs to breed.

Scientific American reports:

In addition to mimicking the frogs’ natural habitat, AmphiPod will also help to protect them against disease, including the deadly chytrid fungus that is rapidly devastating frog populations around the world.

Right now, the AmphiPod is housing the lemur leaf frog (Hylomantis lemur) from Panama and Costa Rica, and Madagascar’s golden mantella frog (Mantella aurantiaca). The leaf frog has already lost almost 80 percent of its population to the deadly chytrid fungus while the golden mantella’s home is being destroyed due to rapid deforestation.

Bristol Zoo authorities will be watching the love shack closely to see if these amphibians get amorous. If the scheme seems to work, other frog couples from different endangered species could be given honeymoons in the love getaway.

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Related Content:
DISCOVER: Frogs Legs Up
80BEATS:A Gentleman Frog That Takes Monogamy & Parenting Seriously
80beats: Frogs Pee Away Scientists’ Attempts To Study Them
Discoblog: Video: How Male Frogs Kick up a Frog Froth to Protect Their Young
80beats: Commitment-Phobic Men Can Blame Their DNA
DISCOVER: Sex and the Female Agenda
DISCOVER: Sex and Control
DISCOVER: Mating Like an Animal: The Real Story

Image: Bristol Zoo


What Burt Meant To Say

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Burt Rutan Issues Clarification on Wall Street Journal Remarks

"To my friends in the Press... Since the WSJ chose to cherry-pick and miss-quote my comments to Cong Wolf and since the blogs have taken that to further mischaracterized my comments, I am forwarding the Wolf memo in its entirety, in the hopes that some of this gets corrected."

Space Pioneer Burt Rutan Blasts NASA Plan, WS Journal

"Commercial space pioneer Burt Rutan has sharply criticized Obama administration proposals to outsource key portions of NASA's manned space program to private firms."

Social Media Do’s and Don’ts at USA

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UNITED SPACE ALLIANCE POLICY SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE
Company Policy A-33, Basic 02/05/10

POLICY

It has been the long standing policy of United Space Alliance (USA) and its subsidiaries to keep the public informed about company plans, programs, and accomplishments. With the evolution of social media tools and platforms, USA employees have access to participate directly in the free and open discussion of company, industry, and national issues. However, in doing so, employees must understand that their actions can have very real consequences for themselves, the company, and USA's customers.

The purpose of this document is to provide guidance and policy to employees with regard to creating or contributing to blogs, wikis, social networks, virtual worlds, or any other kind of social media platform. These guidelines are designed to provide helpful, practical advice and to protect USA employees, the company, and USA's customers. Accordingly, these guidelines are a reflection of USA's standard way of doing business and are based on good common sense for Internet usage. As technologies continue to evolve, these guidelines also need to change. When in doubt, employees are encouraged to seek additional advice from their managers or from Communications and Public Relations (C&PR).

DEFINITIONS

Social Media (Other associated terms are Web 2.0, New Media, Social Networking) - Social Media is the term commonly applied to various interactive Web-based platforms and tools that encourage and facilitate the creation and distribution of information and content generated by the user community. Types of social media platforms include online media sites; blogs; microblogs, such as Twitter; social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn; virtual worlds, such as Second Life; photo and video sharing sites, such as YouTube and Flickr; social bookmarking sites, such as Delicious and Digg; and wiki sites, such as Wikipedia.

Social Media Activities - The general term "social media activities" refers to the posting, creating, contributing, or forwarding of any comments, content, or status updates to any social media platform, including blogs, wikis, social networks, microblogs, virtual worlds, or any other kind of social media.

GENERAL

a. Guidelines for responsible engagement

1. Know and follow USA's Business Code of Conduct. (See also CP-A-02, Ethics and Business Conduct, and FPP-C-01-01, Ethics and Business Conduct).

2. Know and comply with USA policies regarding time charging and use of company equipment (see Section 3). Also know and comply with any and all restrictions for the use of customer-provided equipment and in customer facilities.

3. USA employees are personally responsible for the content they publish on blogs, social networks, wikis, or any other form of user-generated media. Use common sense and discretion to protect privacy and personal security.

4. Show proper consideration for others' privacy.

5. In online social networks, the lines between public and private and personal and professional can be blurred, so honesty and openness are critical. When commenting on matters relating to USA or the space industry, employees should disclose that they have a vested interest in the issue and, when necessary, appropriate, or relevant, state their role at USA. Unless the employee is an official company spokesperson, he/she should always clearly indicate that he/she is speaking for himself/herself and not on behalf of USA, but be mindful that even when stating that opinions are his/her own, he/she will still be perceived as an affiliate of the company.

6. Do not discuss company, third-party, proprietary, restricted (technical or otherwise), or export-controlled information in any form to unauthorized persons. Refer to USA's company policies and procedures for guidance on the release of such information. Violating these restrictions could result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.

7. For security, export control, and privacy reasons, do not post any photographs taken inside a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and/or USA facility without first obtaining permission through the USA Information Release Request process found in FPP-C-02-06, Information Release Requests. Further, FPP-C-01-12, USA Employee Conduct Policy, prohibits the use of personal recording devices of any type without the prior consent of Human Resources (HR) and all the parties that are recorded. Violating these restrictions could result in disciplinary action up to and including termination and, in some cases, could lead to individual civil or criminal liability.

8. Do not release or promote the further external distribution (e.g., "reTweet") of any company or customer information that has not been previously approved for public release. Do not disclose any company or customer information about work in progress that has not been previously approved for public release.

9. Remember that all employees are required to sign a Report For Work Notice and Employee Agreement when hired wherein each employee agrees not to disclose information concerning work in progress at USA to anyone not authorized to receive it. This agreement extends to sharing information in a social media context.

10. Do not release or promote the further distribution of information that is untrue or deceptive.

11. Respect copyright and fair use disclosure laws. Properly cite all works referenced.

12. Show respect for all participants in the social media realm. Do not use ethnic slurs, personal insults, or obscenity or engage in any conduct that would not be acceptable in USA's workplace. Remember, each employee is a representative of all USA employees.

13. Try to add value to every exchange. Provide worthwhile information and perspective. USA employees are the company's best and most respected ambassadors, so keep in mind that what they post will reflect on USA, its customers, and the aerospace industry as a whole.

14. Use good judgment. Remember that there may be consequences to what is published. If the employee is uncomfortable about anything he/she is about to post, consult with a manager or with C&PR. Ultimately, the employee has sole responsibility for what he/she posts through any form of online communication.

15. Caution should be exercised with respect to promoting personal political views directly to elected officials. USA employees are generally prohibited from engaging in lobbying activities on behalf of USA without the express approval of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). If engaging in discourse with an elected official, they should clearly indicate that the opinions stated are their own and do not represent those of USA.

16. Do not use USA's logos or trademarks without permission.

17. Seek the counsel of C&PR if asked to provide an endorsement of any product, service, or company. An endorsement is any statement offering a blanket or generalized judgment, opinion, testimonial, or other comment concerning the quality, performance, characteristics, or other features of a product, service, company, or individual. When poorly worded or executed, an endorsement may unintentionally disparage a product or service provided and can be construed as an interference with another entity's business. Also, depending on how the endorsement is used, it could create a conflict of interest. If making a personal endorsement, indicate that the endorsement is the employee's personal view and does not represent the view or opinion of his/her employer.

b. Policies about and relating to the use of social media

1. Social media initiatives

C&PR has the responsibility and authority for company-level internal communications and all external communications and marketing activities. Information Management (IM) has responsibility and authority for computing system functionality, integrity, and security. To ensure that social media initiatives are in line with ongoing communications activities and IM standards, all proposals for the use or development of internal or external social media platforms for official company purposes must receive the concurrence of C&PR and IM before using such platforms.

2. Time charging

Participation in personal (non-company-sanctioned) social media activities, even those relating to the discussion of space industry issues, must be done on personal time. Employees must also comply with any restrictions in place for use of social media within any customer facilities.

The sponsoring organization for any official or company-sanctioned uses of social media interfaces shall provide additional charging instructions for any activities performed on behalf of the company.

3. Use of company-/Government-owned equipment

In accordance with other policies relating to the use of company computing resources, employees may not use their work computers to participate in personal (non-company-sanctioned) social media activities without express written consent of management. Individuals interacting with social media platforms in an official capacity on behalf of the company may use their computers for such official purposes as identified by the authorizing organization but only as their activities relate to that identified and authorized activity.

Related company policies and functional procedures include

(a) CP-D-01, Operations, Use, and Monitoring of Computer Resources and Telecommunications Equipment
(b) CP-D-02, Internet Usage Policy
(c) FPP-D-01-02, Information Technology (IT) Resource Control and Use

4. Contacts by the news media

Members of the news media actively use and develop contacts through social media platforms. All interactions with the news media through social media are subject to the same company policies that govern traditional media activities. This includes interactions with citizen journalists and bloggers. If asked to provide any information regarding company, customer, or industry events, issues, or activities on or off the record, employees are advised to contact C&PR for counsel or to refer the reporter to C&PR for response, per company policy.

Related company policies and functional procedures include

(a) CP-A-10, Public Release of Information
(b) FPP-C-01-07, Release of Company Information to Media
(c) FPP-C-02-06, Information Release Requests

5. Other policies relating to the use of social media
Numerous other company policies may also relate in some way to participation
in social media activities. Those policies include, but are not limited to,

(a) CP-A-08, Control of Sensitive Information
(b) CP-A-09, Government, Privately Owned, and Copyrighted Information
(c) CP-A-11, Employee Communications
(d) CP-A-22, Use of Copyrighted Material
(e) FPP-D-01-01, Documentation Administration and Control
(f) FPP-C-02-05, Compliance with Export Laws And Regulations

Employees with questions not covered by the policies should contact the appropriate organization for guidance.

RESPONSIBILITIES

a. The director of C&PR is responsible for implementing the provisions of this policy statement and the issuance of the supplemental directives, procedures, and instructions. The director of C&PR is also responsible for managing the development and implementation of USA's company-level internal and external social media activities.

b. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for ensuring that Information Technology resources are protected and that those responsible for conducting official company social media activities have the necessary access to conduct company business.

c. All managers are responsible for ensuring that their employees are aware of these guidelines and for providing appropriate counsel to employees, including referring them to C&PR, regarding these guidelines.

d. All employees are responsible for ensuring that their conduct complies with all applicable policies and procedures and with USA's Business Code of Conduct. They are also responsible for the content they publish on blogs, wikis, or any other form of user-generated media. Approved:

Original approval obtained

Richard O. Covey
President and Chief Executive Officer

CHANGE HISTORY

REV EFFECTIVE
DATE
DESCRIPTION
Basic 02/05/10

Motor HP Conversion Formula

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What would be the typical EFF and PF for motors when doing a conversion? I found this.. but I'm not sure if its valid

1HP=746 watts.

HP=IxVxPFxEFF/746,where PF( Power Factor)=.86 and EFF ( Motor Efficiency)=.81. Using this formula current can be calculated as follows for a 1

The First Clips Shot on the Canon T2i Look As Good as the 7D [Photography]

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The Canon T2i dSLR sounded extremely exciting, as it promised to bring 1080P video (with decent frame rates) to Canon's sub-$1000 dSLR line. Photographer Dan Chung was among the first to test it out, and the results look fantastic.

As it turns out this little camera is a really competent performer and the footage I've shot so far looks pretty much the same as my 7D to my eye...The footage you see here is shot at 1080p/25 frames a second and not graded with only minor adjustments of gamma, sharpening and a little smoothcam in Final Cut Pro...In terms of video image quality I think it is too early to make definitive judgments...[but] I think this camera is cheap enough that there is now little reason for pros who have not yet bought a HD-DSLR to not put their toes in the water and see if they like shooting video.

Note that Chung accentuated the frame rate by shooting almost exclusively with long dolly movements.

But if Chung's hands-on wasn't enough, here's another beautiful clip from another photographer named Drew Painter. [DSLR News Shooter via planet5D]