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With its new Surface Tablet, Microsoft didn’t just break the mold. It smashed it into a million little pieces, chucked them all into the furnace and set the temperature to obliterate. There really is no precedent for what Microsoft did this week. What was once recognizable is gone. The expected is no more. There are no rules, only supply and the possibility of demand. Microsoft finally built the tablet it wants to use for its platform: an ultra-thin, superlight, kick-stand-sporting, brainiac-cover wearing, touch screen wonder that elicited dozens of “I wants” in Mashable’s live blog chatter. Surface is still wrapped...

Iran's new surface to surface missile, Qiam 1 (Rising), has been successfully test fired, the country's Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi says. "Being a new class of Iranian missiles, Qiam 1 has been equipped with new technical specifications and exceptional tactical powers," the general said during this week's Friday prayers in Tehran. "Qiam 1 is part of the new generation of the Islamic Republic's surface to surface missiles with liquid fuel and completely designed and built domestically," General Vahidi noted. He explained that the missile is equipped with a smart navigation system, which decreases the possibility of it being targeted by...

BEIRUT, May 26 (KUNA) -- The Lebanese army announced on Wednesday that it launched surface-to-air missiles at Israeli fighter jets that had violated the Lebanese airspace. A statement issued by the army directorate said that the two Israeli jets penetrated Lebanese airspace over the town of Kfar Kila in the south, heading to Shaka town.

Excerpt - Microsoft Corp. has taken the wraps off "Surface," a coffee-table shaped computer that responds to touch and to special bar codes attached to everyday objects. The machines, which Microsoft planned to debut Wednesday at a technology conference in Carlsbad, Calif., are set to arrive in November in T-Mobile USA stores and properties owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Surface is essentially a Windows Vista PC tucked inside a shiny black table base, topped with a 30-inch touchscreen in a clear acrylic frame. Five cameras that can sense nearby objects are mounted beneath...

Only an excerpt, because the full article is heavily linked, and posting just the text here doesn't present it accurately. "An alternative approach to the problem is a formal 'detection and attribution' analysis which seeks to establish the role of a potentially forced signal in the midst of climate 'noise'. This is where the new Santer et al paper comes in. Here, the authors examine the model simulations for the 20th Century that were coordinated for the IPCC AR4 and which now form a very valuable database that can be used in addressing issues such as those which concern us...

NORFOLK (NNS) -- More than 700 Sailors on two surface ships “surged” April 18 as part of the Global War on Terrorism Surface Strike Group (GWOT SSG) 06-2 from their homeports in Norfolk, Va. and Mayport, Fla. The amphibious transport dock USS Trenton (LPD 14), homeported at Naval Station Norfolk and the guided-missile cruiser USS Hue City (CG 66) homeported at Naval Station Mayport deployed. The guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) homeported at Naval Station Norfolk will depart at a later date to join the group. As a surface strike group, Trenton, Hue City, and James E....

LONDON, February 4 (IranMania) - Iran secretly tested a new surface-to-surface missile (SSM) on January 17, seeking to establish the measurements needed for long-range missiles, the German daily Die Welt reported in its issue to appear on Saturday. The test, conducted by members of the Revolutionary Guard led by Yahya Rahim Safavi, was successful, according to Western diplomats cited by the newspaper, which did not indicate the location where the test took place, said AFP. Archived Picture - Iran secretly tested a new surface-to-surface missile (SSM) on January 17, seeking to establish the measurements needed for long-range missiles, the German...

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- More than 1,000 Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyers USS Mahan (DDG 72) and USS Mitscher (DDG 57), and the frigate USS Hawes (FFG 53), returned to their homeport at Naval Station Norfolk Nov. 15 from supporting the global war on terrorism. Cmdr. Stephen Evans, commanding officer of Mitscher, had many things to say about the ship’s successful time and accomplishments at sea. “This was a fantastic deployment,” he said. “We deployed to the Mediterranean as part of the standing NATO Maritime Forces Group 2, where we operated daily with our NATO allies. We worked on our...

You may or may not have pondered why your breakfast cereal tends to clump together or cling to the sides of a bowl of milk. Now there is an easy explanation. Dubbed the Cheerio Effect by scientists, this clumping phenomenon applies to anything that floats, including fizzy soda bubbles and hair particles in water after a morning shave. The effect has been known for some time, but an explanation for non-scientists has been lacking. Dominic Vella, a graduate student now at Cambridge University and L. Mahadevan, a mathematician from Harvard University, decided to change that. In a study that appears...

LOS ANGELES - In a stroke of luck, the NASA (news - web sites) rover Opportunity has discovered a basketball-size metal meteorite sitting on the surface of Mars, the mission's main scientist said Tuesday. Opportunity came upon the meteorite last week while it was taking a look at a spacecraft shell that was jettisoned before landing after protecting the rover during its plunge through the martian atmosphere. Tests performed during the weekend confirm it is a nickel-iron meteorite, said Steve Squyres, a Cornell University scientist who is the principal investigator for NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers mission. "I didn't see this...

http://www.globalterroralert.com/islamicarmy1204.wmvhttp://www.globalterroralert.com Globalterroralert.com (12/10/04): The Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI)--which has openly worked in conjunction with the Ansar al-Sunnah Army and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Al-Qaida faction in Iraq--has released a new full-length propaganda video featuring footage of IAI guerilla training courses, the fabrication and use of improvised explosive devices as roadside bombs, and even several failed attempts to shoot down U.S. military cargo aircraft with mobile, shoulder-launched Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) launchers. The missiles used appear to be SA-7 Strellas.

Cassini photos thrill, mystify scientists BY WILLIAM HARWOOD Posted: July 3, 2004 New pictures of Saturn's enigmatic moon Titan, taken by cameras aboard the Cassini probe that are capable of penetrating the thick smog-like haze that blankets the frigid world, show strange looking surface features and a deck of methane clouds the size of Arizona. But so far, the instruments have not detected reflections from the surfaces of lakes or small seas of liquid hydrocarbons many scientists believe must form in the ultra-cold environment. Piercing the ubiquitous layer of smog enshrouding Titan, this combination of images from the Cassini visual...

Source: American Geophysical Union Date: 2004-06-15 USA's Built-up Surfaces Equal Ohio In Area WASHINGTON - If all the highways, streets, buildings, parking lots and other solid structures in the 48 contiguous United States were pieced together like a giant jigsaw puzzle, they would almost cover the state of Ohio. That is the result of a study by Christopher Elvidge of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Geophysical Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, who along with colleagues from several universities and agencies produced the first national map and inventory of impervious surface areas (ISA) in the United States. As calculated...

Spirit has 'brief outing' on Martian surface January 15 2004 at 12:39PM By Reuters By Steve Gorman Pasadena - Nasa scientists sent the robotic rover Spirit out for its first spin on Martian soil on Thursday, commanding the six-wheeled vehicle to roll off its landing platform 12 days after it arrived on the Red Planet. Radio signals instructing Spirit to make its initial excursion were beamed to Mars at 8.30am and confirmation that the rover had ventured onto the planet's surface came with a return transmission about an hour and 40 minutes afterward. Moments later, mission controllers received the first...

Rover Ready to Roll Onto Martian Surface By ANDREW BRIDGES, AP Science Writer PASADENA, Calif. - NASA 's Spirit rover has fully unfolded itself and stretched up to its full 4-foot, 11-inch height, making it ready to drive off the lander that delivered it to Mars, the space agency said. The rover could reach the martian surface as early as Wednesday morning. "It now stands at full height and all six wheels are in their final position," mission manager Jennifer Trosper said during a news conference at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Saturday. The unfolding was one of the most...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 August 15 Sedimentary Mars Credit: Malin Space Science Systems, MGS, JPL, NASA Explanation: High-resolution imaging of an area in the Schiaparelli Basin of Mars on June 3 by the MGS Mars Orbiter camera produced this stunning example of layered formations within an old impact crater. On planet Earth, such structures would be seen in sedimentary rock -- material deposited at the bottom of ancient lakes or oceans...

Most people will tell you what they think on any given issue. They certainly believe their opinions matter just as much as anybody else. If you decide to go talking like you've been working in government for 20 years then you better know what you are talking about. Too many Americans are skimming the surface and then letting their own bias tilt them in the way that their biases percieve what theu think is reality. Weeks before the war in Iraq started I had a conversation with a man who is 27 years old. Thats 6 years older than me...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 June 24 The Sun's Surface in 3D Credit: G. Scharmer (ISP, RSAS) et al., Lockheed-Martin Solar & Astrophysics Lab. Explanation: How smooth is the Sun? The new Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope, deployed in the Canary Islands only last year, allows imaging of objects less than 100-km across on the Sun's surface. When pointed toward the Sun's edge, surface objects now begin to block each other, indicating true...

Astronomy Picture of the DayDiscover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 March 29 The Shadow of Phobos Credit: Malin Space Science Systems, MGS, JPL, NASA Explanation: Hurtling through space above the Red Planet, potato-shaped Phobos completes an orbit of Mars in less than eight hours. In fact, since its orbital period is shorter than the planet's rotation period, Mars-based observers see Phobos rise in the west and set in the east - traveling from horizon to horizon in about...

Pariah Against A Prophet By Marc Miyake, Amritas.Com Many conservatives regard Chomsky as a linguist who falters out of his field. Unfortunately, they are giving Chomsky too much credit. Chomsky's linguistics are as warped as his politics. As someone with a PhD in linguistics, I think I am qualified to judge his professional credentials. Prior to Chomsky, linguists engaged in a lot of data collection to understand the diversity of human language. I'm vehemently anti-PC, but in this case, I think the word 'diversity' is justified. There's a lot out there, and someone's got to catalog it. However, Chomsky...