Cross-Platform Video Conferencing Now Available with Skype
I've been keeping my eyes open for a cross-platform video conferencing solution that works as well as iChat on the Mac. I love iChat. My mom can figure it out.
I've tried to find something that works cross-platform so I could chat with friends on pcs. There are some solutions that are capable, but they usually require a lot of hoop-jumping, firewall-wrangling, preference-setting nonsense. Something fun to try once, but not something you're going to want to go through with each person you want to video chat with.
Anyway, so Skype just released a beta that is supposed to just work. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but if it works like their voice capabilities, I'm pretty hopeful. If you have a PC and a video camera and want to try it out let me know.
Download Video-Enabled Skype 2.0 Beta for Mac
Update: I tried it with my brother. It works ok, definitely not as nice as iChat but the best cross-platform solution I've tried yet. The audio is really good, but it seems like it starts to get a bit choppy after a while. We just hang up and reconnect and all is well again. Also after my brother I tried chatting with my mom and I couldn't get her video. She's on a mac too. Then I couldn't get video with my brother anymore. I rebooted and was able to get video again. Anyway, so it's buggy, but it does work, and when it works it works fairly well. You can read lips.
Anousheh Ansari Blogs from Space
Anousheh Ansari, fourth space tourist to the International Space Station writes on her blog about her trip to space. Kinda intersting.
The time went by really slowly, but finally the moment arrived and they were ready to open the hatch. Mike and Misha called me closer and told me to take a good whiff because this would be the first time I would smell “SPACE.”
They said it is a very unique smell. As they pulled the hatch open on the Soyuz side, I smelled “SPACE.” It was strange… kind of like burned almond cookie. I said to them, “It smells like cooking” and they both looked at me like I was crazy and exclaimed:”Cooking!”
I said, “Yes… sort of like something is burning… I don’t know it is hard to explain…”
Relativity drive: The end of wings and wheels?
This must be what they used in Star Wars for those hovering vehicles.
Relativity drive: The end of wings and wheels?
"Roger Shawyer has developed an engine with no moving parts that he believes can replace rockets and make trains, planes and automobiles obsolete ... The device that has sparked their interest is an engine that generates thrust purely from electromagnetic radiation — microwaves to be precise — by exploiting the strange properties of relativity. It has no moving parts, and releases no exhaust or noxious emissions. Potentially, it could pack the punch of a rocket in a box the size of a suitcase. It could one day replace the engines on almost any spacecraft. More advanced versions might allow cars to lift from the ground and hover."