Mir
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What economic sanctions mean for Russia's space program
The shockwaves created by these sanctions will impact every strata of Russian society with far reaching consequences for Roscosmos and the continued safe operation of the International Space Station.
How to incinerate the International Space Station
There will be no green pastures or Florida beaches for the ISS when it retires at the end of the decade. We're going to kill it with fire.
Ubuntu 13.04 available Thursday, brings a streamlined footprint to the forefront (update)
From an end user's perspective, it's always nice to see developers take a step back and focus on streamlining their code, rather than simply piling on new features. Apple used the strategy to great success with Snow Leopard, and now Canonical is set to follow suit with Raring Ringtail, also known as Ubuntu 13.04. The latest version of the popular Linux distro is set for general availability tomorrow, which follows a beta release and a controversial amount of secrecy. Raring Ringtail is characterized as "the fastest and most visually polished Ubuntu experience to date," with a particular emphasis on a smaller memory footprint and greater responsiveness. Much of the streamlining effort was in preparation for Ubuntu's future life in mobile, and to coincide with that effort, developers will find a preview SDK for app development and the ability to test apps within the MIR display server. The release is now a mere hours away, and yes, it'll be a good day. [Image credit: WebUpd8] Update: Aaaaaand, it's live!
Canonical announces Mir, a custom display server that will serve up future versions of Unity
The X Window Server has been serving Linux users faithfully for the better part of a decade. And Ubuntu has been using the standard-issue display server to push its GUI to monitors across the globe since its color scheme was more sludge than slick. Canonical originally planned to replace the aging X with another display server called Wayland, but the developers apparently couldn't bend the compositing-friendly protocol to their cross-device whims. So, Mir was created. The goal for Mir is to easily scale from the TV, to the desktop, to tablets and phones while providing "efficient support for graphics co-processors." That means Canonical is relying heavily on GPU acceleration, which will require the cooperation of manufacturers like NVIDIA, AMD, Qualcomm and others. As part of the cross-form factor convergence, Unity will be getting a rewrite entirely in QT and QML (the current version uses a Nux-based shell on the desktop). The Unity Next project will incorporate several core components from the Ubuntu Touch interface, inching the Linux OS closer to its goal of a truly unified codebase. Mir should make its debut on the mobile variants of Ubuntu soon, with Canonical aiming to get the UI unified and stable in time for the next LTS in April of 2014. For some more technical details check out the source links.
Engadget's back to school guide: mid-range
Feature Index | On the cheap | Money's no object So you're off to college / university / whatever they call it in your neck of the woods, and you've got a bit of a budget, but you're still looking to lay down a nice bit of cash. Luckily for you, we've got a huge list of recommendations that won't break the bank, but still deliver where it counts. These items were chosen with price range in mind, but of we kept an eye on the specs and capabilities in order to give you the best range of options within this budget. Laptops Netbooks Mobile Phones E-reader Dock / Alarm Printer Digital Cameras Laptop Bag Television Fun Stuff!
Urine recycling equipment passes tests, no one willing to take the first sip
Thank heavens -- the $154 million water recycling system, which is designed to convert sweat, moisture and urine into an ingestible fluid, um, works. According to NASA, the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) managed to get through three rigorous testing sessions, and apparently that was good enough for officials to leave it in orbit. So yeah, theoretically we now have a way to keep long-term space cadets hydrated for months, but is anyone really going to volunteer to pinch their nostrils and toss back the first shot? Our sources point to "no."
International Space Station crew 'thrilled' to receive new urine recycling equipment
If we've learned anything from The Ice Pirates, we've learned that in space -- and increasingly on our planet as well -- water is the most valuable substance. Among the host of upgrades that the International Space Station is set to receive over the next couple weeks is a water purification system that will recycle urine for use as drinking water. Similar technology has been used in the Salyut and Mir space stations to process water collected from the cabin's atmosphere (the result of perspiration, aspiration and A/C condensation) but until now claiming back as much as 92% of water consumed by astronauts was just a wonderful dream. The project is part of a 15-day shuttle mission aimed at increasing the number of astronauts the craft can hold from three to six.
