Funny Anime scene

Why you should never trust a friend 100% on dating tips.

Nuclear Battery Power?!

Something we could have in the future.

MU Researchers Create Smaller and More Efficient Nuclear Battery

Mizzou scientist develops a powerful nuclear battery that uses a liquid semiconductor

Oct. 07, 2009

Story Contact(s):
Kelsey Jackson, JacksonKN@missouri.edu, (573) 882-8353

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Batteries can power anything from small sensors to large systems. While scientists are finding ways to make them smaller but even more powerful, problems can arise when these batteries are much larger and heavier than the devices themselves. University of Missouri researchers are developing a nuclear energy source that is smaller, lighter and more efficient.

“To provide enough power, we need certain methods with high energy density,” said Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at MU. “The radioisotope battery can provide power density that is six orders of magnitude higher than chemical batteries.”

Kwon and his research team have been working on building a small nuclear battery, currently the size and thickness of a penny, intended to power various micro/nanoelectromechanical systems (M/NEMS). Although nuclear batteries can pose concerns, Kwon said they are safe.

“People hear the word ‘nuclear’ and think of something very dangerous,” he said. “However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pace-makers, space satellites and underwater systems.”

His innovation is not only in the battery’s size, but also in its semiconductor. Kwon’s battery uses a liquid semiconductor rather than a solid semiconductor.

“The critical part of using a radioactive battery is that when you harvest the energy, part of the radiation energy can damage the lattice structure of the solid semiconductor,” Kwon said. “By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimize that problem.”

Kwon has been collaborating with J. David Robertson, chemistry professor and associate director of the MU Research Reactor, and is working to build and test the battery at the facility. In the future, they hope to increase the battery’s power, shrink its size and try with various other materials. Kwon said that the battery could be thinner than the thickness of human hair. They’ve also applied for a provisional patent.

Kwon’s research has been published in the Journal of Applied Physics Letters and Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry. In addition, last June, he received an “outstanding paper” award for his research on nuclear batteries at the IEEE International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems in Denver (Transducers 2009).

http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2009/1007-mu-researchers-create-smaller-and-more-efficient-nuclear-battery/

Win a free copy of Halo 3:ODST

A contest from the Star.

Win a copy of Halo 3: ODST!

You read the review, now play the game. Just answer two simple questions and you stand a chance to snag a copy of Halo 3: ODST for the Xbox 360, courtesy of Gamer’s Hideout Sdn Bhd (www.gamershideout.com.my).

Submit your entries by Oct 26 to techcentral@istar.com.my. Only one entry per contestant, please. Multiple entries will be disqualified.

Don’t forget to include your full name as per MyKad, MyKad number, address and contact number.

Here are the questions:

1. Which of the following actors provides the voice for the character Buck in Halo 3: OSDT? a. Adam Baldwin b. Nathan Fillian c. Joseph Staten d. Nolan North

2. Tie breaker: Come up with the wackiest, most original acronym for the letters ODST.

Rules & Regulations:

1.This contest is open to all residents of Malaysia.

2.Prizes are not exchangeable for cash and the organiser reserves the right to exchange the prize with that of a similar value without prior notice.

3.Staff of Star Publications (M) Bhd or its affiliate companies and their immediate families are not eligible to participate.

4.The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entertained.

5.The winner will be notified via e-mail.

6.The prize will only be mailed if the winner is from outside the Klang Valley. TechCentral will not be liable for damage and/or loss during the transit.

7.For more information, please e-mail us at techcentral@istar.com.my

http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2009/10/9/prodit/20091009114932&sec=prodit

Haruhi movie coming soon

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya season 2 was one of the most anticipated series because most fans were expecting The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya to be shown as it has been three years since the original season one anime aired in 2006.

However, fans were disappointed when the series had instead shown 'Endless Eight' which is made into eight episodes with only few differences in each episode. This equals to two whole months of the same episode leaving no time for Disappearance.

Fans rejoice as the movie has been confirmed to air in spring 2010.
The news is below.

Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya Film Announced for 2010

The final episode of the "renewed" airing of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya anime series ended on Friday with a teaser of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (Suzumiya Haruhi no Shōshitsu) film. The film will open in Japanese theaters in the spring of 2010. More details will be provided on the anime franchise's official homepage at a later date.

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is the title of the fourth volume in Nagaru Tanigawa and Noizi Ito's original Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series about an eccentric, assertive girl who creates her own school club for her strange antics. The main story in this volume has yet to be animated. The first indications of animation plans for this light novel volume came in December 18, 2007, when the anime's official website "disappeared" with a cryptic announcement of a new Haruhi Suzumiya project; December 18 is a reference to the pivotal date in the fourth volume. That 2007 announcement was also the first public indication that Yutaka Yamamoto (director of first and 12th Haruhi Suzumiya episodes, Lucky Star, Kannagi) was not going to direct the production of new Haruhi Suzumiya animation.

Bandai Entertainment released the initial run of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya anime series in North America. Little, Brown Young Readers is publishing the second light novel volume this week, and Yen Press will ship the fourth volume in Gaku Tsugano's manga adaptation later this month.

[via 2channel]

Images © 2009 Nagaru Tanigawa, Noizi Ito/member of SOS

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-10-08/disappearance-of-haruhi-suzumiya-film-announced-for-2010

Why Streamyx must buck up

A reason for Streamyx to offer better speeds and prices when wireless technology is still lagging.

Mobile broadband whacking fixed-line access

GENEVA: More people are using cellphones and other portable devices for high-speed Internet access than are signing up for fixed-line subscriptions to the Web, according to just-published United Nations figures.

Mobile broadband subscriptions worldwide are expected to reach 600 million, leapfrogging the estimated 500 million fixed-line subscriptions by the end of this year, the International Telecommunication Union said.

“There was a 50% increase in mobile broadband subscriptions just over the past year,” said Susan Teltscher of ITU’s statistical bureau.

The agency expects growth to continue at this rate for several years, she said.

Most mobile broadband connections are still considerably slower than fixed-line alternatives, and offer a more limited range of services at a higher price. Experts say that competitive advantage could soon tilt in mobile’s favour, too.

Industry representatives at ITU’s Telecom World tradeshow in Geneva last week are touting two next-generation technologies as potential nails in the coffin for fixed-line broadband.

The first is LTE, or long-term evolution, which cellphone companies are considering as the replacement for 3G some years down the line.

In the other corner is WiMAX, a standard being pushed by the computer industry that works like WiFi but over much greater distances.

Russia-based company Yota has unveiled a dual-use phone that runs on both WiMAX and standard cellphone networks. Users can browse the Web at ultra-high speeds in those Russian cities already covered by Yota, or connect at slower cellphone speeds elsewhere, chief executive Denis Sverdlov said.

The biggest winners from the emergence of mobile broadband are likely to be poor countries. Fixed-line phones are still scarce in the developing world, forcing those who want high-speed data services to resort to mobile technology.

Voice-only mobile subscriptions already outstrip the number of regular phone connections in most poor countries: Almost 7 in 10 people around the world now have a cellphone subscription of some kind, the ITU report found.

Meanwhile, fixed-line telephone subscriptions continue to decline and are expected to drop to about 1.1 billion — less than one for every five people on the planet — this year, the report said. — AP

http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2009/10/7/technology/20091007102839&sec=technology

Change your Hotmail Password

For those who use Windows Hotmail..

Neowin has received information regarding a possible Windows Live Hotmail "hack" or phishing scheme where password details of thousands of Hotmail accounts have been posted online.

An anonymous user posted details of the accounts on October 1 at pastebin.com, a site commonly used by developers to share code snippets. The details have since been removed but Neowin has seen part of the list posted and can confirm the accounts are genuine and most appear to be based in Europe. The list details over 10,000 accounts starting from A through to B, suggesting there could be additional lists. Currently it appears only accounts used to access Microsoft's Windows Live Hotmail have been posted, this includes @hotmail.com, @msn.com and @live.com accounts.

Neowin has reported this immediately to Microsoft's Security Response Center and to Microsoft's PR teams in the UK and US and we are currently awaiting feedback on the situation. As this is a breaking story please check back frequently as the story will be updated as soon as more information becomes available.

If you are a Windows Live Hotmail user Neowin recommends that you change your password and security question immediately.

Thanks to Chris for the news tip

Update: According to BBC News, Microsoft is currently "investigating the situation and will take appropriate steps as rapidly as possible."

Update 2: Microsoft has now fully confirmed our reports. According to a Microsoft spokesperson "over the weekend Microsoft learned that several thousand Windows Live Hotmail customer's credentials were exposed on a third-party site due to a likely phishing scheme. Upon learning of the issue, we immediately requested that the credentials be removed and launched an investigation to determine the impact to customers. As part of that investigation, we determined that this was not a breach of internal Microsoft data and initiated our standard process of working to help customers regain control of their accounts."

For all media inquiries please contact tom.warren@neowin.net

http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/10/05/thousands-of-hotmail-passwords-leaked-online