Página de Shonta Douglas

Diagnostics Tests Find No Wheel Stall on Spirit

During the last set of drive commands uploaded to the Martian rover Spirit, engineers have encountered a problem in one of the rover's wheels, which jammed when the time came to spin. The entire drive attempt was therefore stopped by the robot's onboard computer, so as not to make its situation even worse than it was. As such, mission managers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which control the two components of the Martian Exploration Rovers (MER) program, decided to upload a set of diagnostic instructions on Tuesday, so as to assess the condition of the rover. Their research found that the wheel that stalled during the Sol 2092 (Saturday, November 21) drive attempt, the right-rear one, was functioning according to specifications on November 24 (Sol 2095). The diagnostic showed that the wheel was free of obstructions, which made the engineers wonder what could have been that prevented it from moving during the full maneuvers. A number of other tests were conducted in addition to the one related to the wheel, including a rotor resistance one, an assessment of the rover's steering capabilities, and a small backward rotation of the right-rear wheel alone. A short, forward commanded motion was also uploaded. The right-rear wheel is not the same wheel that stalled on Sol 1899 (May 6), the JPL ...

Vista to Windows 7 Upgrades Fail Because of Intel Storage Driver

For the development process of Windows 7, Microsoft has worked closely with hardware manufacturers in order to ensure seamless compatibility and support for the latest iteration of the Windows client. This strategy has put Windows 7 light years away from Windows Vista in terms of incompatibility issues, but still, there are exceptions “designed” to confirm the rule. According to Microsoft, there are users that experienced failures when upgrading from Vista to Windows 7 because of an Intel storage driver. The Redmond company noted that the upgrade process would fail with the following error message: “\$windows.~bt\windows\system32\drivers\iastor.sys. Status: 0xc0000359. Windows failed to load because a critical system driver is missing or corrupt.” The machine would subsequently be rolled back to Vista. At fault for the error message and failed upgrades are incorrect versions of the iastor that are referenced during the move to Windows 7.Microsoft hasn’t produced an update or a hotfix designed to resolve this particular issue. Users affected by this specific problem will have to manually resolve it in order to be able to upgrade from Vista to Windows 7. Fortunately enough, the Redmond company did detail the necessary steps in KB 20083...

Introducing Syncables 360 v6 for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile

Mobile-phone users that own a BlackBerry or a Windows Mobile-based handset can now enjoy an upgraded syncing solution available for their devices, Syncables 360 v6. According to Syncables, a leading developer and provider of content mobility and syncing software, the new version of the app comes as a significant upgrade, enabling users to easily sync content between their mobile phones, social-networking sites and computers. The new version of the software, Syncables 360 v6, comes with full Windows 7 compatibility, and also enables users to perform two-way syncing of media between their Windows-based computers and their Blackberry or Windows Mobile devices. At the same time, the application also brings to the table an upgraded user interface and also includes Flickr to its integrated websites, along with YouTube, Facebook and SmugMug. “Syncables 360 is a major enhancement to our award winning sync software and an ideal upgrade for millions of consumers using lighter versions of Syncables,” Vice President of Products Ola Ajayi said. “The addition of mobile phone syncing, along with the integration of Flickr, further establishes Syncables as the central hub for consumers to easily manage and share their digital content across their PCs, laptops, notebooks, netbooks, mobi...

Kim Kardashian Reveals Drastic Weight Loss with New TwitPic

A few months back, Kim Kardashian, former socialite and Paris Hilton hanger-on turned successful fashion and accessory designer, reality star and businesswoman, found herself in the middle of a controversy on the amount of retouching her magazine photos needed to look this good. Because of it, the star decided to lose weight with QuickTrim and working out – which is why she can now brag about amazing results like this. Just the other day, Kim unveiled a brand-new snap of her before some promo shoot. Dressed in a pink-and-white swimsuit and with a very intense tan on (fake, most likely), the star is seen striking her best pose, with one leg in front of the other and abdominal muscles well clenched to show the kind of progress she’s been making in the gym. The photo is, according to Kim herself, who uploaded it on her Twitter page, meant to show that QuickTrim actually works, especially if combined with regular workout routines. It is also supposed to illustrate that one can be fit without being skinny, which is precisely how Kim looks right now. Unfortunately, as her own followers point out, it could have helped if she hadn't resorted to tricks to look this good. For instance, the photo seems to be taken from a high point so that it makes her look thinner than she...

Sprint Receives Approvals for Acquiring iPCS

Sprint Nextel Corp. announced on Wednesday that it had received all of the required regulatory approvals to complete the already-announced purchase of regulatory iPCS, Inc. According to the company, the Federal Communications Commission approved on November 24 the “transfer of the spectrum license held by a subsidiary of iPCS.” At the same time, Sprint Nextel also announced that, on November 23, the Public Service Commission of West Virginia “granted the joint petition of Sprint Nextel and iPCS for prior consent and approval of the acquisition and ownership of iPCS by Sprint Nextel.” These are said to be the only state public service commission approvals needed for the conditions to the tender offer to be satisfied. The tender offer Sprint Nextel announced for the acquisition of all outstanding shares of the common stock of iPCS expired on Wednesday, November 25, at midnight EST. At the same time, the company also stated that the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period that was applicable to the transaction had expired on November 10. “All other terms and conditions of the previously announced tender offer for all outstanding shares of the common stock of iPCS, which is being conducted through a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sprint named Ireland Acquisition Corporation, r...

Not X-Com, but a New Spec Ops Seems to Be in Production by 2K Boston

2K Boston has been suspected of developing a new X-Com since 2007, when it launched BioShock. In March, further evidence was brought in the form of additional rumors when Ken Levine, the studio's creative chief, said that he was “probably the world's biggest X-Com [fan].” In more recent developments of the story, in the later days of October, the resume of a former 2K employee proved that the studio was in fact working at the time on another installment in the X-Com sci-fi series for the PC and Xbox 360. But the X-Com project also had its foundations shaken in August, when the studio announced that its “next big project” was going to be a “shooter.” Now, it looks like, if another X-Com will indeed be made, it won't be the next title to be released by 2K Boston. A “mysterious new 2K games shooter” was mentioned on Kotaku, and eventually a trailer for the game appeared on the advertising video site Adland.tv. Entitled “2K Games Spec Ops Trailer by Marco Brambilla & Tronic,” the clip has since been removed from the net, but it's now being hosted by other sites. The game seems to take place in a rather contemporary period, in what appears to be the ruined city of Dubai. Tronic is a New York creative agency that specializes in...

Office Home & Student $79.99, and Other Discounts from the Microsoft Store

Microsoft managed to fall in line with the rest of the retail world gearing up for Black Friday and the holiday shopping season, and introduced a range of discounts. In this regard, customers will be able to enjoy a steep discount of $70 and buy Office Home & Student for as low as $79.99. The Redmond company has also cut $80 off of Office Small Business Edition for online shoppers that will buy products from the Microsoft Store. But in addition to Office 2007 discounts, the Microsoft Store offers customers extra special offerings, although none of them related to Windows 7, unfortunately. “Here are just some of the deals they will be featuring during this holiday season: free Lenovo S10 netbook when you buy a Lenovo T400 or X301 notebook, or A600 All-in-one desktop PC. Free shipping on everything for a limited time. Free 3-month subscription to Xbox LIVE when you buy an Xbox Elite Console—or get 30% off selected Xbox accessories. Get $50 off an HP Photosmart Printer. Save $50 when you buy an Xbox Premium Console and Beatles Rock Band together. 30% off select headsets for that gamer on your list. Save $50 on any monitor when you buy any desktop or laptop in the store (Netbooks not included),” said Brandon LeBlanc, Windows Communications Manager on the Windows Client Communica...

Best Buy Mobile Unveils Holiday Deals on Android Phones

Best Buy Mobile, the mobile specialty retail unit of Best Buy, announced on Wednesday that it planned on offering great deals for its customers during the holiday season. According to the company, users will have the possibility to enjoy new deals on some of the most popular smartphones on the market, as well as on the Sprint MiFi device. What the new offer will consist of includes five mobile phones powered by Google's Android operating system that are currently available from three carriers in the United States, and that will be priced at $99 each on contract. According to the retailer, the Android handsets included in the deal are the HTC Hero and Samsung Moment from Sprint, the myTouch 3G and the Motorola Cliq from T-Mobile, and the DROID ERIS by HTC from Verizon Wireless. At the same time, the retailer also announced a series of other price cuts that users would be able to benefit from during the holiday season, one of which applies to the Sprint MiFi device. On Black Friday, November 27 and Saturday, November 28, Best Buy Mobile customers will be able to purchase the device for free upon the signing of a two-year contract agreement with the carrier. In case you are not familiar with the MiFi, you might want to know that it enables you to create a personal Wi-Fi hot spot, so as to connect ...

AT&T Unveils Its Black Friday Deals

Mobile-phone carrier AT&T announced on Wednesday that it planned on coming up with a series of appealing offers to its users on the Black Friday. According to the company, its users will be able to enjoy reward cards, devices for a penny, some of the most popular smartphones, and free Quick Messaging Devices, with new deals that will become available as soon as Friday, November 27 is here (at 12:01 a.m. EST, to be more precise). AT&T users will enjoy a weekend full of “AT&T Reward Cards and giveaways of popular devices and smartphones,” with online promotions set to rotate until Cyber Monday. Moreover, the carrier also plans on launching some of the most appealing online U-verse deals of the year on the Black Friday, it seems. Take a look at the list below to choose the day during which you want to enjoy the new offer from AT&T. On Friday, the Black Friday that is, the carrier will have “incredible deals on some of the most popular touch screen devices.” on Saturday, the Pearl 8110 and Curve 8310 will be offered for free, the Curve 8320 will be priced at $49, while the Curve 8900 will go for $99. However, it should be mentioned that all of these purchases will require the signing of a two-year contract agreement. As soon as Sunday will arrive, other deals will be put in place...

Viewing and Editing Images with Nero

As plenty of users know, among the applications included in Nero multimedia suite, there is also an image viewer that doubles as an image editor as well. PhotoSnap Viewer is the tool that loads up the images for viewing purposes. Modifying an image can be easily be done by quickly snapping to editing mode of the application.The purpose of the image viewer in Nero may seem quite simple at first, that of loading up images and showing them to you, but as it is the case with all photo viewers nowadays, this sort of software must have a few more features than this basic one. In the case of Nero PhotoSnap Viewer, the options are as simple as they can be, since it addresses the average user and not a professional one. But even so, the application manages to provide information about the currently loaded image, lets you zoom in and out up to a certain point, rotate the picture by 90 degrees to the right or left, and of course, send it to the printer.Picture information reading is one of the most important features in Nero PhotoSnap Viewer, especially for a photography aficionado, as it gives the size of the picture, resolution and metadata details like orientation, software used to modify it, last modification date, or EXIF specific data. As far as supported graphic formats go, the viewer is perfectly capable of loading all popu...

India conmemora primer aniversario de los atentados de Bombay

AFP - BOMBAY, India (AFP) - India empezó a conmemorar el jueves el primer aniversario de los sangrientos atentados de Bombay, el 26 de noviembre de 2008, con una serie de ceremonias en homenaje de las 166 personas asesinadas por el comando armado que perpetró la acción.

Clima: China revela sus planes a diez días de la cumbre de Copenhague

AFP - PEKÍN (AFP) - China, uno de los países más contaminantes del planeta, anunció el jueves por primera vez una meta cuantificada de sus reducciones de gas de efecto invernadero, tras los objetivos anunciados la víspera por Estados Unidos, a diez días de la conferencia de Copenhague sobre el clima.

Los astronautas del Atlantis finalmente tuvieron pavo por Acción de Gracias

Agencia EFE -

Washington, 26 nov (EFE).- Los astronautas del transbordador Atlantis, que ya iniciaron el camino de vuelta a la Tierra, tuvieron una grata sorpresa al saber que a pesar de estar a cientos de kilómetros de casa también tenían pavo para celebrar hoy el día de Acción de Gracias, informó la prensa local.

Al menos un muerto en tiroteo en universidad húngara

Reuters - BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Un estudiante abrió fuego el jueves en una universidad de la ciudad de Pecs, en el sur de Hungría, causando la muerte de un estudiante y dejando otras tres personas heridas, dijo un portavoz de la institución.

Mickey Mouse y Spiderman surcan el cielo de Nueva York en el día de Acción de Gracias

Agencia EFE -

Washington, 26 nov (EFE).- Snoopy, Spiderman, Mickey Mouse, y otros personajes infantiles surcan hoy el cielo de Nueva York en el tradicional desfile de Acción de Gracias, que desde 1927 patrocinan unos reconocidos almacenes neoyorquinos.