Posted on 05/13/2008 5:50:09 AM PDT by period end of story
Computer users now can fly through the universe, viewing stars, planets and celestial bodies as an astronomer would, with Tuesday's introduction of the Worldwide Telescope by Microsoft.
The virtual service combines images and databases from every major telescope and astronomical organization in the world.
Microsoft says it is providing the resource for free in memory of Jim Gray, the Microsoft researcher who disappeared last year while sailing his boat to the Farallon Islands on a trip to scatter his mother's ashes. The project is an extension of Gray's work.
"I never imagined (the telescope) would be so beautiful," said Alexander Szalay, an astronomy professor at Johns Hopkins University who worked with Gray on astronomy projects for more than a decade.
Gray was an expert in databases, and he came to be accepted as "a card-carrying member" of the astronomical community for his work in bringing astronomical data online, Szalay said.
Point your cursor at a constellation, and the telescope will load all the objects near it and display them across the bottom of the screen. Pick one, and you'll be taken to it. Zoom in and out, view it through filters of different wavelengths - an infrared view, say, or x-ray - and right-click to pull up its name and more detail. Track the object's location in the sky - its ascension and declension - at the bottom right corner of your screen.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
This was already available, to a degree, with a program called Celestia.
Ping for viewing
The bloodsuckers over at M-soft don’t do anything for free. They prolly take some personal information from you if you use this. There’s a motive there. There is no heart at M-soft to do goodness out of.
Tanks but no tanks.
Thats stupid, almost every free program wants some form of personal info on you. I guess they are all bloodsuckers as well.
No, it’s not stupid. It’s a pragmatic opinion based on the past history of M-soft. I don’t trust them. You can trust them if you like.
If past history is any guide, this would indicate that Microsoft now owns all the stars so depicted.
We'll see.
Like what past history? MS has never been known to release your personal information, while tons and tons of free programs from small companies have been known to. Say what you will about the stability of a few of their products, MS has ran a clean operation for consumers.
I did not say I was afraid that M-soft would release personal information. I said what I said, which is that I don’t trust them and I don’t like the way they do business, based on past experience.
*
This is a great resource. This will make evenings outside with my Questar much easier, as opposed to flipping through star charts.
Then what you are saying is you don’t like them because a lot of others don’t either because it is the cool thing to do, rather than real evidence that they have harmed you in a real personal way. Like I said MS may have some programs that are open to attack from malicious software, but their end business practices for consumers have been on the up and up, unless you have evidence that needs to be brought to light that they purposely and maliciously pursued a negative business relationship with you.
ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US !!!
I can name quite a few negative business practices for the end user -- the whole OEM Windows refund business, unconstitutional licenses, blocking valid eBay sales of their products, etc.
But this looks pretty cool. Don't forget that MS has also written kiddie porn detection software and given it away for free to police departments, with free support. I know from people who lived around there that MS is VERY free with the charity money for local needs. Microsoft has done some horrible things, but it isn't all bad.
I wish Micro$oft would get its head out of the sky (or its lower orifice) and provide us with a better operating system than Vista.
I can name quite a few negative business practices for the end user — the whole OEM Windows refund business, unconstitutional licenses, blocking valid eBay sales of their products, etc.>>>
Your boys at Apple do the exact same thing.
I have collected countless freebies over the years that doesn't ask for squat.
If you're going to make such sweeping statements then don't be a bedwetter when you're considered a shill.
| Cool (Free!) Astronomy-related Software: Please FReepmail other suggestions |
|
 |
|
bookmark
The quality of Microsoft products is inversely proportional to Bill Gate’s wealth.
 |
||
| · join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post new topic · | ||
Then dont be a bedwetter>>
And don’t be an asshole. Anyways you know it is true that the vast majority of free programs ask during installation for some form of information, denying that in and of itself is stupid.
Did I stutter the first time?
You're not only a Redmond shill, but a bald faced liar too.
Bold faced liar? LOL, prove me wrong then. Show me where a program, any program doesnt ask for, whether its optional or not, for your email addy, name, address or any mixture of personal info. You know I am not wrong, calling me a liar, bedwetter or what have you will not change that point. Go on and retort with some other nasty name dickhead, it will not prove your point.
Uh, would you like to begin with a list of Linux distros?
*snicker*
Martin, this is kinda-sorta along the lines of astronomy: have you ever heard of Orbitron? It’s very slick, and can track the Space Station, Hubble, probably every known satellite. Good for star gazers and hams who work the hamsats, etc. You can get the orbital data updated automatically or manually.
Good start now let me list a couple of free programs,free programs that ask for some sort of personal info:
AVG
iTunes
Quicktime
realmedia
DivX
Cucusoft
Yahoo Messenger
ICQ
Interestingly enough they are all different things, not the same thing with different nuances repackaged under a dozen different names.
For one thing, nobody who's remotely computer savvy uses Real Player. They were busted as spyware years ago. But I suppose it fits your criteria.
And as for iTunes, let me hear a rousing DUH! A frickin' pay service has to ask for personal info.
Really, son, get with the program.
Worth repeating. Celestia rocks.
Works on Linux, OSX, and MS-Windows
Really? I have several thousand free programs on my computer, none of which asked for anything at all.
Hey didnt say I used them just say they ask for that info, and beyond that your little outs arent outs at all. You can still use those programs without needing to subscribe to any service.
Doubt it.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Cool, something for home.
Do you actually think someone is going to take the time to type up the names of thousands of programs just to placate a Redmond drone?
ANd do you think for one second the man actually has thousands of programs on his computer? While bucking every trend in the computing univerese with none of them asking for any info? You my friend are the anti-intelligence if you believe that.
Are you calling the man a liar?
I know nothing about him, but I do know that the internet's been around for several years, and thousands of programs have come (and gone), and even if you only get one download a day, or one a week or month, then in a decades time you amass more than you can count.
So how old are you? Have you been computing before 2003, your signup year? Some of these guys around here have hammered at a keyboard since before the Internet was thoughts on paper. How do you dare to presume to know anything about them?
I've already been quite critical of some of Apple's business practices. I only like Apple so far as their products and services are better.
Although I don't remember Apple blocking eBay auctions, especially not signing up as an account to block legit auctions and then having eBay cleanse the account of the resulting negative ratings, and then deleting it once that was known.
And how dare you presume to know anything about me. All I know is that you are a dick and can not prove anything and neither can he. I have made my case, whether you choose to continue attacking thats your perogative.
Almost any program from the Free Software Foundation that doesn't actually deal with such data? I don't remember Firefox asking me for anything. Thunderbird did, but then it is an email program, but it doesn't send anything back to Mozilla. Handbrake is awesome and didn't ask for anything.
The bar you have put for personal info is pretty low. It's like Word asking for your initials so it can put it into documents when asked is a privacy problem. The question is how many applications actually send any of your info home. Worse, how many applications phone home without your knowledge, and even worse, despite your expressly setting the application to not phone home (Windows Update)?
If you have a Linux install it is quite possible to have thousands of free programs on your computer, as that is mostly what a Linux distribution is -- the kernel plus all of the the supporting applications from the small telnet client to the whole GUI shell.
No, I think you've had enough. 
Well yeah if you look at it like that then certainly.
Out of those, it's kind of obvious that you would have to enter your information in a program that needs it in order to do the job you use it for, such as Yahoo Messenger and ICQ. How else are the programs supposed to do their job? Am I supposed to configure my email client without telling it what my email address is? As mentioned, iTunes is a pay service, so, yes, you'd have to put in some information. It is not right to include those in such a list.
For the free versions of the other applications I agree, they are harvesting information.
The point was that it asks for your info, even iTunes, whether you use it or not. In fact that is what is extremly irritating about downloading from Apple, or any big company like that or MS et al.
Mozilla doesn't ask you anything for its products. Handbrake asks nothing. For the most part, you have to go to open source software to not be asked.
not holding against it, never said it was bad for those type of clients to ask for that info. Just using them as example of free programs that want personal info, never took a moral position on it at all. Either way, to admit defeat there probably isnt a vast majority of free programs that ask for any sort of info, some will just take it, others dont bother at all. Either way I have no way to poll all programs to determine if I am right or wrong, it really was a stupid argument to begin with to be honest with you.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.