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Ronald Reagan library adds 250 iPod touch tour guides
Ronald Reagan would have celebrated his 100th birthday this past week, and the Presidential Library that bears his name has been updated with a US$15 million renovation. The Library has a variety of new exhibits and new technology, including 180 video screens, two teleprompters, a green screen and 250 iPod touches. More than a static display, the iPod touches are your virtual tour guide through the library and museum. The iPod touch provides an audio narrative of various exhibits throughout the building. Besides providing additional information about the museum, the iPod touch also lets you record video and take pictures of your experience. When the tour is over, these images and video clips are uploaded to a central server from which you can download your memories or share them with your friends on Facebook or Twitter.
Air Force pushing for ground-based, satellite-killing lasers
In a proposal that would surely bring a tear to the late Ronald Reagan's eye, Air Force officials are attempting to co-opt $5.7 million from the 2007 budget for developing high-energy lasers that could be used to destroy enemy satellites (because, you know, al Qaeda is launching birds left and right). So far a subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee has "shot down" the program, which would build on a 1997 Pentagon study of a two-million-watt laser, although the full committee could reinstate the provision following analysis of the entire bill. While certain military interests have pushed for anti-satellite weapons since the Cold War, concern over the space junk that destroyed sats would create has kept the international community from serious pursuit of any "Star Wars"-like programs. Although we're always keen on new military tech (hey, it gives us something to write about), we're gonna have to side with the Doubting Thomases on this one, because the impending "ROBO-ONE in the Space" satellite is simply too important to risk even a single stray laser strike.
