An article about the Silicon Valley solar panel manufacturer Nansolar appears in the New York Times which highlights how their technology will change the economics of solar power:
While many photovoltaic start-up companies are concentrating on increasing the efficiency with which their systems convert sunlight, Nanosolar has focused on lowering the manufacturing cost. Its process is akin to a large printing press, rather than the usual semiconductor manufacturing techniques that deposit thin films on silicon wafers.
Nanosolar’s founder and chief executive, Martin Roscheisen, claims to be the first solar panel manufacturer to be able to profitably sell solar panels for less than $1 a watt. That is the price at which solar energy becomes less expensive than coal.
Anyone whose head was touched by this beam, heard a painfully loud sound. Anyone standing next to them heard nothing. But those hit by the beam promptly fled, or fell to the ground in pain.
It turns out that the device also functions as a pretty effective psychological operations (PSYOPS) tool:
LRAD can also broadcast speech for up to 300 meters. The navy planned to use LRAD to warn ships to get out of the way. This was needed in places like the crowded coastal waters of the northern Persian Gulf, where the navy patrols. Many small fishing and cargo boats ply these waters, and it’s often hard to get the attention of the crews. With LRAD, you just aim it at a member of the crew, and have an interpreter “speak” to the sailor. It was noted that the guy on the receiving end was sometimes terrified, even after he realized it was that large American destroyer that was talking to him. This apparently gave the army guys some ideas, for there are now rumors in Iraq of a devilish American weapon that makes people believe they are hearing voices in their heads…
It appears that some of the troops in Iraq are using “spoken” (as opposed to “screeching”) LRAD to mess with enemy fighters. Islamic terrorists tend to be superstitious and, of course, very religious. LRAD can put the “word of God” into their heads. If God, in the form of a voice that only you can hear, tells you to surrender, or run away, what are you gonna do?
And if it strikes you as strange that we should celebrate the birthday of the semiconductor, you’ll probably get an even bigger state of cognitive dissonance from this funeral held for a mainframe computer. [Via BoingBoing]
All we need now to complete the set is for someone to legally marry their laptop … I’ve proposed to mine, but she says I’m too demanding of her time and resources already. 🙁 </3
As the end of the year approaches, it’s time for wrap-ups and commemorations of the year’s passing. Merriam-Webster dictionary has marked this year by commemorating “w00t” as the Word of the Year for 2007. As a reward, the word has been added the Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary, but it won’t yet be added the the official lexicon, at least not yet.
So, wordsmiths, the source I’ve heard of this word has been that it’s a contraction often used by D&D players, “Wow, I found loot!” What’s your opinion on the origin?
(a w00t shoutout to Dailytech) (image from flickr user MikeNeilson – do you know how many party pics I had to go through to find this?)
Presenting the fact and fiction of tomorrow since 2001
The US military continues to develop and deploy non-lethal weapon systems like the 
As the end of the year approaches, it’s time for wrap-ups and commemorations of the year’s passing.