$25 Million in Prizes Is Offered for Trip to Moon

$25 Million in Prizes Is Offered for Trip to Moon

The group whose $10 million prize spurred privately financed rocketeers to send a small piloted craft to the cusp of space in 2004 has issued a new challenge: an unmanned moon shot.

With the audacious new contest comes a much bigger prize: up to $25 million, paid for by Google, the ubiquitous Internet company.

The “Google Lunar X Prize” was announced yesterday in Los Angeles at the Wired magazine’s NextFest. The contest calls for entrants to land a rover on the moon that will be able to travel at least 550 yards and send high-resolution video, still images and other data back home.

The X Prize Foundation saw the new contest as one of “the grand challenges of our time that we can use to move people forward,” said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, chairman and C.E.O. of the foundation.

The prize for reaching the moon and completing the basic tasks of roving and sending video and data will bring the winner $20 million, according to the contest rules. An additional $5 million would be awarded for other tasks that include roving more than 5,500 yards or sending back images of artifacts like lunar landers from the Apollo program.

Carnegie Mellon University immediately announced that a roboticist on its faculty, William L. Whittaker, would be pulling together a team to seek the prize. Why would anyone sign up for a challenge that will almost certainly cost more than the prize will bring? John M. Logsdon, the director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, said: “There are a variety of reasons to do it, including ego gratification, including loss-leader reputation building, including a fascination with doing things in space. I don’t think they’re driven by the amount of the prize.”

Dr. Logsdon said the goal was realistic once a launch vehicle is obtained. “Russia and the U.S. did that sort of thing 40 years ago,” he said. “The technologies aren’t easy, but with all the experience in industrial robots and sensor devices, I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t put together a robotic machine that could meet these requirements.”

The $20 million grand prize will be available until Dec. 31, 2012, and then will drop to $15 million for two years. The contest would be likely to end after that time, though Google and the foundation would be able to extend it.

The new contest follows the path of the original Ansari X Prize, which was won by SpaceShipOne, a manned spacecraft designed by Burt Rutan’s Scaled Composites and financed by Paul Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft.

That prize was paid for through a special insurance policy secured by Anousheh Ansari, a telecommunications entrepreneur in Texas and a board member of the X Prize Foundation who has since orbited the Earth aboard the International Space Station. Mr. Rutan is designing a second generation spacecraft called SpaceShipTwo that will be used by Sir Richard Branson’s space tourism company, Virgin Galactic.

The new X Prize, Dr. Diamandis said, grew out of research performed last year for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a contest that the space agency would sponsor. The research suggested that six or seven contenders could be expected to try for the prize, but NASA ultimately backed away from financing the project, Dr. Diamandis said.

Then, in March, Dr. Diamandis pitched the idea to Google’s co-founder, Larry Page, who sits on the board of the X Prize foundation. “Sounds like a lot of fun,” he told Dr. Diamandis. The multimillion-dollar project, Mr. Page said, would be “doable,” but his Google co-founder, Sergey Brin, would have to sign on as well. This also happened quickly, Dr. Diamandis said.

NASA has announced plans to return astronauts to the moon as early as 2020. But without the need to keep humans alive or to make a return trip, the X Prize trips would be comparatively simpler.

A number of successful entrepreneurs from the world of computing and the Internet, like Mr. Allen, have pursued childhood fascination with space with efforts to create real spacecraft. Elon Musk, a founder of PayPal, has developed rockets through his company, Space Exploration Technologies, and Jeffrey P. Bezos, the founder of Amazon .com, is developing rockets at a facility he owns in West Texas.

Roger D. Launius, curator at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, expressed enthusiasm for the new competition, which he said “might unleash a kind of furor of innovation” and heighten interest in space exploration.

“It’s certainly a challenge that is worthy,” Mr. Launius said. But he also expressed worries that the robotic adventurers would head to the site of the Apollo 11 landing, a prospect he said was troubling since “the last thing I want to see happen is to see Tranquility Base disturbed.”

By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Keyword : $25 Million in Prizes Is Offered for Trip to Moon

Computer Training Course

Computer Training Course

There are several types of computer training course available to the person seeking to learn about computers today. In fact, the whole arena of computer training can be so intimidating that it is good to take your time in selecting what courses you are wanting to take. In this article, we will examine the outline of a computer training course that would appeal to the computer newbie. This course outline is not meant to be all inclusive, nor is it meant to be professional advice for someone looking to enter into the computer technology field. It is simply a broad outline of which subjects are suggested, and in what order, for someone to learn about computers. That being said, let's take a look at our suggested computer training course.

To start, it would be a good course of action to look at classes teaching the basics of how to operate a computer. Information for this computer training course should include things like the basics of using an operating system, how to save information on a hard drive, floppy drives (although they are quickly becoming obsolete), and CD / DVD ROM drives. It is a good idea in the computer training course to also learn some basics about the internal operation of the computer (i.e., what makes it tick, how it works). It may seem like it is best to leave information on how the memory works and what RAM actually stands for to the professionals ... however, this would be a mistake.

It is important even for the average home computer user to understand some of these basics, as it will impact how they use the computer and their expectations of performance under certain work loads and software compatibilities, among other things.

Moving on from the basics, a computer training course should teach more advanced concepts as well. Some of these concepts would include back-up procedures, file maintenance, and data recovery. Security issues are also on the rise, with the increased usage of the Internet, and safeguarding your computer against viruses and other attacks should also be covered in a computer training course. All of these are items that the average computer user should be aware of how to operate. Just knowing this information can save you in the long run from calling that professional for a service call that could literally cost you as much as the computer did in the first place!

Last, but certainly not least, every personal computer user should learn how to install and replace the basic plug-and-play circuit boards or cards that are in every personal computer. A computer training course would simply not be complete without this information. There are many parts that are truly user-replaceable, but unless you know how, you will end up paying that tech big bucks for a simple part swap. Things like that newest video card, an upgraded modem card, installing a firewire card, network card or extra USB port card are very simple.

Unfortunately, unless you are selective in your outline of courses, many basic computer training courses will fail to train you in these aspects of computer maintenance.

by Javier Salces
Keyword : Computer Training Course

Computers In Libraries Won't Replace Books Anytime Soon

Computers In Libraries Won't Replace Books Anytime Soon

The idea of a paperless society has been the dream of computer enthusiasts for many years. Along with the "cashless society", the hope that computers would replace the written word has resonated through sections of American society for many years. Although home computer usage has grown incredibly in the last 15 years making this seemingly possible in the near future, government agencies are slow to catch up. Libraries will have shelves of books for many years too come.

With home computer and Internet usage at an all time high it is no surprise that public libraries are struggling to make ends meet. Research that would have in the past required the use of a library can now be done much faster using a home PC and a few hours on Google. Couple this with the fact that library computers are generally out of date and over crowded, home research becomes the obvious choice. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in association with the American Library Association (ALA) recently funded a study that shows the demand for computer and Internet services has stretched existing library resources to capacity. The study also shows that "more than 73% of libraries reported that they are the only source of free public access to computers and the Internet on their communities". Although there is clearly great demand for these resources, there is little growth ahead. During peak usage hours it is not uncommon in some communities to have an hour wait time for computer access, and only 25% of all libraries report they have the computers to meet demand according to the ALA. Most libraries have not had a substantial increase in computers or technology since 2002.

This lack of technology is doing the most harm to the poor. Americans who have home computers and a fast Internet connection may not realize that large portions of society are cut off from the potential this technology can bring. Many Americans are now at the point where they could not imagine not being able to access the Internet, and the knowledge that would be denied is enormous. As a bastion of knowledge it has fallen to libraries to upgrade their capabilities and help more people access the information they need.

Cost is an issue in upgrading the existing public library technology infrastructure. Tax revenue is still the primary method of funding public libraries, but local government taxes have not been enough for a long time. It has become necessary to increase fines associated with library use and solicit donations in order to make ends meet and provide information services to patrons in need of a computer. Even using older refurbished laptops and desktops that have been donated or purchased has not offered enough saving to allow libraries to catch up to demand.

A new method of cutting costs and reducing computer wait time is wireless networking. By using wireless and Satellite Internet more than 17% of libraries claim they can reduce wait time by becoming a "Wireless Hot Spot" and allowing patrons to access the Internet from their own laptops as well as the library's. This solution also solves many bandwidth issues libraries are having, but not all. Considering that some libraries still use dial-up Internet access any improvement in this area would be helpful.

by Jon T Norwood
Keyword : Computers In Libraries Won't Replace Books Anytime Soon

Top Tips For Better Maintaining Laptop Batteries

Top Tips For Better Maintaining Laptop Batteries

Neglecting the care and maintenance of your laptop battery will seriously impair the ability to use the laptop when you need it away from an AC power supply. Investing in a little time and effort will repay you many times over by prolonging battery life and laptop use while mobile.

Laptop owners frequently omit to read and care for laptop batteries and make two very simple mistakes. In the first instance they use the laptop battery power in continuous conjunction with the AC power supply. Eventually they find the laptop will not power up when they come to use it. The second instance is to use battery power with no regard to the effect of repeatedly discharging the battery only partially.

What do you do when you try to switch on your laptop and all you get is dead silence? First step: remove the battery and then connect to the AC power supply alone. If the laptop powers up you know you have a problem with the laptop battery. A process known as purging is often enough to resolve the battery issue and we'll show you what to do later on.

Partially discharging the battery repeatedly teaches the battery that it does not need to charge itself fully when AC power is connected. When you come to rely upon battery power and you do not have a full charge, then your use of the laptop when away from an AC power supply is curtailed. The battery "memory" is reduced when incompletely discharged and this produces the shortening effect which is known as "battery fade".

Many laptop owners have experienced battery fade when they eventually come to use their computers on battery power alone. You can deal with this phenomenon quite simply but first you need to establish what type of laptop battery you have in your machine and take the time to review the care instructions issued with the laptop.

Here are some tips for you but you will need to check whether you have a NiCad (Nickel Cadmium) or HiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) battery for your laptop and check the manufacturers instructions.

The first tip is to ensure that you completely discharge your laptop battery. You do this by powering the laptop up using battery power alone and with the AC power disconnected. Allow the laptop to run the battery down completely until you get the battery low warning. Reconnect the AC power and allow the battery to be recharged from this state, for the period the manufacturer advises for recharge (as long as 12 hours).

The second tip is to purge your batteries. Purging is where you disconnect the AC power completely and also stop the laptops sleep or hibernation feature from being initiated. Allow the laptop to discharge the battery until it has itself powered off due to lack of power. Reconnect the AC power supply but do not power the laptop up and allow the battery to regain a charge for the next 24 hours. If you have NiCad batteries, perform this once a month and for NiMH every three months.

These two simple procedures will ensure that you are able to prolong the life of your laptop battery and make sure you can get the most out of mobile computing. Reading the battery care instructions will take only a few minutes. The return on this simple investment is not simply the money you will need to expend to replace otherwise perfectly good laptop batteries but the enhanced use and productivity to be gained from using your laptop when you need it and wherever you happen to be.

by Robert Pierre
Keyword : Top Tips For Better Maintaining Laptop Batteries