Posted on 05/13/2008 5:48:52 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.
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