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Carbon nanotechnology in an 17th century Damascus sword

In medieval times, crusading Christian knights cut a swathe through the Middle East in an attempt to reclaim Jerusalem from the Muslims. The Muslims in turn cut through the invaders using a very special type of sword, which quickly gained a mythical reputation among the Europeans. These 'Damascus blades' were extraordinarily strong, but still flexible enough to bend from hilt to tip. And they were reputedly so sharp that they could cleave a silk scarf floating to the ground, just as readily as a knight's body.

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Uncovering Namibia's sunken treasure

A team of international archaeologists is working round the clock to rescue the wreck of what is thought to be a 16th Century Portuguese trading ship that lay undisturbed for hundreds of years off Namibia's Atlantic coast.

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Moon dust

Boulder, CO, USA–The Apollo Moon missions of 1969-1972 all share a dirty secret. "The major issue the Apollo astronauts pointed out was dust, dust, dust," says Professor Larry Taylor, Director of the Planetary Geosciences Institute at the University of Tennessee. Fine as flour and rough as sandpaper, Moon dust caused 'lunar hay fever,' problems with space suits, and dust storms in the crew cabin upon returning to space.

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10 amazingly alternative operating systems and what they could mean for the future

This post is about the desktop operating systems that fly under the radar of most people. We are definitely not talking about Windows, Mac OS X or Linux, or even BSD or Solaris. There are much less mainstream options out there for the OS-curious.

These alternative operating systems are usually developed either by enthusiasts or small companies (or both), and there are more of them than you might expect. There are even more than we have included in this article, though we think this is a good selection of the more interesting ones and we have focused specifically on desktop operating systems.

As you will see, many of them are very different from what you may be used to. We will discuss the potential of this in the conclusion of this article.

Enough introduction, let’s get started! Here is a look at 10 alternative operating systems, starting with a familiar old name…

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Linux Where You'd Least Expect It

OK. You've heard of Linux. It's another operating system for a computer. But why use it when you can choose between Windows and Macs? Unless you run business-class servers, Linux isn't really something consumers really need to hear about, right?

Well, if that's what you think Linux is, you couldn't be further from the truth. Look around you. Linux is everywhere, but you may not know it. However, you'll have to look at the fine print to be sure, because manufacturers usually don't openly advertise with labels announcing "Linux Inside."

For instance, Linux probably drives your HDTV and the set-top box. Linux is now regarded as the de facto operating system of choice by many manufacturers of electronic toys and video and telephone equipment, along with many things that involve hand-held devices and remote controls.

"The only way to find that Linux is inside is to look for the fine print in product materials. That's where you might find reference to Linux. No manufacturer tends to tell consumers that," Jim Ready, founder and CTO of MontaVista Software, told LinuxInsider.

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River Dance

The 10 Manliest Sea Shanties

It’s the 19th century. You’re a young man seeking adventure and a test of your manhood. You decide to sign up on a ship to see exotic foreign lands. You take the trip to the coast. You find a big coastal town and you walk through the docks admiring the ships. Finally, you spot one that you like. You walk on deck and a tall man dressed in black coat confronts you. It’s the captain.

“What do you want lad?”

“I want to sign on board sir,” you say.

He looks you up and down, and says “Aye. But first I need to give you a test.”

You’re not worried. You were expecting this and, in fact, hoping for it. You want to show the captain what you can do. After all, you were always the strongest out of all your friends. You could climb up any rock or tree since you learned how to walk. And you also knew a bit about navigation from your grandfather. You were eager to show what a great addition to the crew you’d make.

“How well can you sing?” the captain asks.

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How to get Windows 7 for free?

If you want to grab an early copy of Microsoft Windows 7 for free, and all above board and legal as well, then you can in late October. Of course, there is a catch or two...
For some people, early reports that Microsoft is going to be stripping out the email, photo gallery and movie maker functions from the upcoming Windows 7 operating system might be enough to turn them off the idea.
Others, of course, will just want to get their hands on a copy as early as possible to see what all the fuss is about.

Microsoft has now confirmed that it will be giving away free copies of Windows 7 in October. So what is the catch?

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Steam candle creation

Sherwood Forest's secret oil

Forget bouncing bombs, the Enigma machine and radar - Sherwood Forest oil was the best kept wartime secret.

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Top 10 Most Amazing Prison Escapes

Top 10 Most Amazing Prison Escapes

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Top Fighters Across the Globe

When stealth became a buzzword that every air force in the world wanted to achieve, the greatest minds in aviation were brought together to answer one question:

“How do we sneak up on the enemy and jam a rocket up their ass without being seen on radar or by the naked eye?”

That’s actually what they said, word for word. We have the transcripts from the US, Russian, Chinese, and British war rooms.

In reality, what they said is nothing compared to the amazing uber-technology they created. Take a peek:

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1986 FBI Miami shootout

The FBI Miami shootout was a gun battle that occurred on April 11, 1986 in Miami, Florida between multiple FBI agents and two heavily-armed and well-trained gunmen. The firefight claimed the lives of special agents Gerald Dove and Benjamin Grogan, as well as the two robbery suspects, William Russell Matix and Michael Platt. In addition, five other agents were severely injured during the gunfight.

The incident is infamous in FBI history and well-studied. Despite outnumbering the suspects 4 to 1, the agents found themselves pinned down by rifle fire and unable to respond effectively. Although both Matix and Platt were hit several times in the firefight, both fought on regardless and continued to injure and kill the officers. This led to the introduction of more powerful handguns to prevent a repeat of this action.

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Shoot the Moon

If you were on the moon, which is a vacuum, and tried to shoot a gun, would it fire? After all combustion needs an atmosphere with oxygen... or does the casing of the bullet create its own atmosphere? If so, the bullet would travel farther in the reduced gravity, but would it travel faster than it does on the earth?

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12 Spectacular Aircraft Photos

Here is a collection of amazing civilian & military aircraft photos, from around the world.

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Hnefatafl

Tafl games were a family of ancient Germanic and Celtic board games played on a checkered or latticed board with two teams of uneven strength. The size of the board and the number of pieces varied, but all games involved a distinctive 2:1 ratio of pieces, with the lesser side having a king-piece which started in the centre. The king's objective was to escape to (variously) the board's periphery or corners, while the greater force's objective was to capture him. There is also some controversy over whether some tafl games (i.e. Hnefatafl and Tawlbwrdd) may have employed dice.^[1] Tafl spread everywhere the Vikings traveled, including Iceland, Britannia, Ireland, and Lapland.^[2] Versions of Tafl, comprising Hnefatafl, Alea Evangelii, Tawlbwrdd, Brandubh, Ard Ri and Tablut, were played across much of Northern Europe from earlier than 400 CE until it was supplanted by Chess in the 12th century.^[3]

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Anyone here ever played this game? I'd be very interested to learn more about playing this.

Kim Jong Il

Town Meeting, Wasilla, Alaska

One of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.

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Storozhevoy

Storozhevoy (Сторожевой, Storoževoj in Russian - meaning "Vigilant" - Soviet frigates were given adjective names) was a Soviet Navy 1135 Burevestnik class anti-submarine frigate (NATO reporting name Krivak). The ship was attached to the Soviet Baltic Fleet and based in Riga. It was involved in a mutiny in November 1975.

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Hurricanes, as seen from orbit

Hurricane Ike just rolled across Cuba, and soaked parts of Haiti - both regions still reeling from recent Hurricane Gustav. Ike appears to be weakening now, but is headed tward the Gulf Coast of the U.S., and may yet strengthen. The crew aboard the International Space Station was able to take a photo of Ike from 220 miles overhead last Thursday - one in a long series of great NASA photographs of hurricanes from space. Here are some of the best, from the past several years. (25 photos total)

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Ten things you don’t know about the Earth

Good advice from the 70s progressive band. Look around you. Unless you’re one of the Apollo astronauts, you’ve lived your entire life within a few hundred kilometers of the surface of the Earth. There’s a whole planet beneath your feet, 6.6 sextillion tons of it, one trillion cubic kilometers of it. But how well do you know it?

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How to get a cool, ray-traced animated screen saver for your Ubuntu Linux box

I stumbled on a beautiful screen saver for my Ubuntu box today called Eternity which features several flavors of Ubuntu plus a default animation as well. The screen saver is called Eternity and the flavors are plain old vanilla Ubuntu, Ubuntu Studio and oddly enough, the Ubuntu Satanic release.

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Just Ask Anybody!

Just Ask Anybody is a Google Custom Search Engine that searches over 75 Ask-An-Expert and Ask-A-Librarian Web sites. Got a reference question you need answered? Check it out!

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Eyewitness to History

Eyewitness accounts from creating an Egyptian mummy to Nixon's departure from the White House.

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Indian Well - Chand Baori

Chand Baori is a famous stepwell situated in the village Abhaneri near Jaipur in Indian state of Rajasthan.

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How to Fall Out of a Plane and Live, and Other Survival Tips

What to do when you're trapped in the desert, hit by lightning, stranded at sea, etc.

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Coney Island to Close

It’s a sad day for me as I can remember when I was a kid growing up in Queens, NY, my parents would take me to Coney Island for its Famous Nathan Hot Dogs, Amusement Park and Boardwalk. Coney Island says good-bye after 36 years.

The owner of Coney Island’s Astroland said yesterday she is calling it quits and the historic amusement park will close for good on Sunday September 7th.

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The Race to Save the Hubble Telescope

If mission specialist Michael Massimino is worried about performing death-defying repairs on the world’s most famous (and expensive) telescope, he does a convincing job of hiding it. Snug in the electric-orange space suit that he will wear aboard the space shuttle Atlantis, he riffs genially about his Brooklyn upbringing, the search for a great slice of New York pizza, and the absurdities of NASA lingo. He discusses some technical issues about the suit with his crewmates. He reflects on the history around him in this corner of Houston’s Johnson Space Center, where Apollo communications equipment was tested four decades ago. In short, he exudes effortless competence and exactly zero fear.

Massimino will need that moxie and know-how when he and his crew blast off this month from Cape Canaveral and rendezvous with the Hubble Space Telescope 360 miles above Earth’s surface. Once the astronauts secure the orbiting 12-ton observatory to Atlantis, they will embark on five arduous space walks to install a new camera and spectrograph and fix two other malfunctioning instruments to upgrade Hubble’s vision. The crew will also swap in new batteries and gyroscopes, attach a protective blanket, and repair the guidance system.

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Top 10 Men Who Were Really Women

In modern days, transvestitism (dressing as a member of the opposite sex) has become a fairly commonplace occurrence. But in the past it was not only frowned upon, it was often seen as sinful. Due to laws which prevented women from performing in various parts of society, some women decided to live their lives as men. Some had successful lives, while others suffered as a consequence. Saint Joan of Arc dressed as a man to protect her virginity whilst living amongst soldiers and it proved to be her downfall when a kangaroo court found her guilty of heresy and executed her. But Saint Joan was not out to deceive and her trial was overturned and her good name restored. Unfortunately this was not true for some women in the past. For this list I have selected women who sought to disguise their true sex completely; that excludes the likes of George Sands who was known to be a woman and caused scandal by her transvestitism, and the female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read as their crews knew they were women.

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New fingerprint method

LONDON (Reuters) - It's a discovery that would make even Sherlock Holmes proud. British scientists have developed a new crime-fighting technique that allows police to lift fingerprints from bullets even if a criminal has wiped down a shell casing.

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Authorities in Britain and the United States used the method to re-open three cold cases, including a U.S. double murder that police are now optimistic of solving, said John Bond, the physicist who developed the technique.

"In one case there was enough evidence that could lead to an identification of an offender," said Bond, a researcher at the University of Leicester and consultant at Northamptonshire Police in Britain.

The conventional method of taking fingerprints has been around for more than 100 years and involves creating a chemical reaction with the sweat left behind on an object to produce an image police can use.

But if a criminal wipes away the sweat, there is little left to react with the chemical and regular methods are useless, Bond said in a telephone interview.

The new technique allows police to outwit a criminal and produce a fingerprint even if there is no sweat impression to work with.

The British experts focused on hair-width bits of corrosion that sweat often leaves on certain metals in bullets and bombs.

They cover the metal with a fine powder and apply a strong electrical charge that makes the dust stick to the corroded areas, producing a potential fingerprint, Bond said.

"That very fine powder only sticks to the metal where it is corroded, which means it is only sticking where the fingerprint is and means you see the image of the fingerprint," said Bond, whose team has published its findings in the Journal of Forensic Sciences and the Journal of Applied Physics.

The technique is not foolproof and some people do not secrete enough salt in their sweat to corrode the metal to the point police can get a print, he added.

But for some seemingly dead-end cases it can provide crucial evidence and point to the person who loaded a gun used in a crime, Bond said.

Detective Christopher King of the Kingsland Police Department in Georgia sought the British team's help to crack an unsolved 10-year-old double murder case and said the method had helped reignite the investigation.

"The results are surprising but to say that I am pleased would be an underestimate," he said in a statement. "I feel very optimistic."

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Gaddafi: Africa's 'king of kings'

A meeting of more than 200 African kings and traditional rulers has bestowed the title "king of kings" on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

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The Most Alien-Looking Place on Earth

Socotra Island: you have to see it to believe it

We covered some otherwordly places before (see, for example, Bolvian Salt Lake, or The Richat Structure), but this island simply blows away any notion about what is considered "normal" for a landscape on Earth.

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10 of the Best Animated GIFs on the Net

Some are cool, some are silly and a few are just plain odd but the animated GIF has come a long way in a short space of time. Here are 10 of the best on the net at the moment. Prepare to be ever so slightly amused, preoccupied and maybe dazzled.

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Google Chrome, Google’s Browser Project

Today there was a comic book in my mail, sent by Google and drawn by no less than Scott McCloud, creator of the classic Understanding Comics. Within the 38 pages, which I’ve scanned and put up, in very readable format Google gives the technical details into a project of theirs: an open source browser called Google Chrome. The book points to www.google.com/chrome, but I can’t see anything live there yet. In a nut-shell, here’s what the comic announces Google Chrome to be:

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