According to the University of Chicago’s theory seminar calendar, on Tuesday of next week (November 10), the legendary Laszlo Babai will be giving a talk about a new algorithm that solves the graph isomorphism problem in quasipolynomial time.
Author Archives: mea
Microsoft and Red Hat Team Up to Offer Linux on Azure Cloud
Jason Zander, Microsoft’s corporate VP and head of its Azure business, said since Microsoft began allowing Linux on its Azure cloud platform, about one in four customers are running one variant of Linux or another, and in China that figure rises to about one in two. “We have a lot of enterprise customers who want an enterprise version of Linux and who have a relationship with Red Hat already.”
Source: Microsoft and Red Hat Team Up to Offer Linux on Azure Cloud | Re/code
MIT Drone Autonomously Avoids Obstacles at 30 MPH
CSAIL says Barry’s software runs 20 times faster than existing obstacle detection software. Operating at 120 frames per second, the open-source software allows the drone to detect objects and map its environment in real time, extracting depth information at 8.3 milliseconds per frame.
Source: Watch: MIT Drone Autonomously Avoids Obstacles at 30 MPH – Robotics Trends
Barry wrote about the system in his paper “Pushbroom Stereo for High-Speed Navigation in Cluttered Environments” (PDF) and says he needs to improve the software so it can work at more than one depth and dense environments.
Why I Hate Frameworks
“Well, the problem with hammers is that there are so many different kinds. Sledge hammers, claw hammers, ball-peen hammers. What if you bought one kind of hammer and then realized that you needed a different kind of hammer later? You’d have to buy a separate hammer for your next task. As it turns out, most people really want a single hammer that can handle all of the different kinds of hammering tasks you might encounter in your life.”
Source: The Joel on Software Discussion Group (CLOSED) – Why I Hate Frameworks
BusyBox: The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux
remove systemd supportsystemd people are not willing to play nice with the rest of the world. Therefore there is no reason for the rest of the world to cooperate with them.
Source: busybox – BusyBox: The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux
NASA releases first images of Cassini’s dive through the geyser of Enceladus
The reason scientists are excited about the data being returned from the geyser is that it may include elements of life beneath the surface of Enceladus. Cassini is not designed to detect life directly. However, it could pick up its building blocks.
Source: NASA releases first images of Cassini’s dive through the geyser of Enceladus | Examiner.com
Midwest Start-Up Achieves Rare $1 Billion Valuation
Uptake’s model is to partner with well-known companies in various industries — from construction to mining to aviation — and create software and special algorithms that help these customers collect and understand huge amounts of data. The company is already producing positive cash flow, according to a person with knowledge of the financials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Source: Midwest Start-Up Achieves Rare $1 Billion Valuation – The New York Times
A Tower of Molten Salt Will Deliver Solar Power After Sunset
Solar power projects intended to turn solar heat into steam to generate electricity have struggled to compete amid tumbling prices for solar energy from solid-state photovoltaic (PV) panels. But the first commercial-scale implementation of an innovative solar thermal design could turn the tide. Engineered from the ground up to store some of its solar energy, the 110-megawatt plant is nearing completion in the Crescent Dunes near Tonopah, Nev. It aims to simultaneously produce the cheapest solar thermal power and to dispatch that power for up to 10 hours after the setting sun has idled photovoltaics.
Source: A Tower of Molten Salt Will Deliver Solar Power After Sunset – IEEE Spectrum
Quantum Study Suggests ‘Spooky Action’ Is Real.
The scientists placed two diamonds on opposite sides of the Delft University campus, 1.3 kilometers apart.
Each diamond contained a tiny trap for single electrons, which have a magnetic property called a “spin.” Pulses of microwave and laser energy are then used to entangle and measure the “spin” of the electrons.
Source: Sorry, Einstein. Quantum Study Suggests ‘Spooky Action’ Is Real. – The New York Times
A potential weakness of the experiment, he suggested, is that an electronic system the researchers used to add randomness to their measurement may in fact be predetermined in some subtle way that is not easily detectable, meaning that the outcome might still be predetermined as Einstein believed.
Point-and-shoot weapon stops drones without destroying them
The tool is a point-and-shoot system, and has a range of some 400 meters. It gains control of the drone, immobilizing it so no remote action can occur. It does so by either disrupting remote control or GPS navigation.
The drone then either lands in the vicinity or flies back to its starting point, and effectively suffers no damage.
Source: Point-and-shoot weapon stops drones without destroying them