Month: January 2017

The next Star Wars Film will be called . . . .

Dan Uff January 23, 2017 0

Early Monday, Disney and LucusFilms have announced the name of the next Star Wars film: Star Wars: THE LAST JEDI.

(TheVerge): Directed by Rian Johnson, the film is said to take up immediately after the final shot of J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens, when Daisy Ridley’s Rey was handing Luke Skywalker his old lightsaber. Skywalker, it would seem, is the last Jedi of the title, and while it’s not clear what the plot of the film is in any sense, the title alone could indicate the film will be largely centered around Mark Hamill’s character. But as my colleague Sean O’Kane points out, the word “Jedi” can be used when talking about either a single Jedi or a group — which could make the title a hiding-in-plain-sight reference to Rey, or others, joining Luke as guardians of peace in the galaxy.

According to the backstory revealed in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Luke had spent the years since the Rebels defeated the Empire trying to establish a new Jedi order. One of his students was the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, who turned to the Dark Side of the Force, slaughtered the rest of the students, and changed his name to Kylo Ren. Skywalker went into hiding after the murders, leading to the search for him that made up most of Awakens.

If the new film’s name sounds familiar to some fans, that’s because it has already been part of the Star Wars universe. In 2013 authors Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff wrote a novel called The Last Jedi, which followed a lone Jedi that had gone underground after the events of Revenge of the Sith. Ironically, The Last Jedi was that book’s second choice for a title at the time, as the name the authors had originally preferred was already part of series canon.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens on December 15th.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2IY9yv_MIk&w=640&h=360]

Space / Science

SpaceX won’t attempt landing after next rocket launch

Dan Uff January 23, 2017 0

(recode): Over the past year, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 missions have become major online spectacles, mostly because each launch has been followed by an attempt to land the rocket after takeoff. But the landing part of the show will be missing from SpaceX’s next launch, scheduled for January 30th. This mission will be an expendable one, according to a tweet from CEO Elon Musk, meaning the company won’t attempt to land the Falcon 9 post-launch.

It’s the first time in a while that SpaceX hasn’t tried a landing. The company has been attempting these “experimental” rocket landings since the start of 2015, and they’re becoming more and more routine. Ever since SpaceX landed its first rocket at the end of December 2015, every single one of the company’s Falcon 9 launches has been followed by an attempt to land the vehicle — either on a floating drone ship at sea or on a ground-based landing zone. And of those 10 attempts, seven have landed successfully.

But SpaceX is foregoing the landing attempt this time around because of the parameters of its next launch. The upcoming mission is tasked with sending a communications satellite, called EchoStar 23, into a super high orbit called geostationary transfer orbit. It’s a highly elliptical path that’s more than 22,000 miles above the Earth’s surface, and getting a satellite to such an altitude requires a lot of speed, which eats up a lot of propellant during launch. On top of that, EchoStar 23 is a pretty heavy satellite, weighing in at more than 12,000 pounds. Heavy satellites need more propellant to get to orbit, so getting such a massive device to such a high altitude is going to use up a lot of the Falcon 9’s supplies.

To read the rest of the article, click here.

Samsung releases cause of Galaxy Note 7 Fires

Dan Uff January 23, 2017 0

Samsung’s Leadership Team, Independent Experts Discuss Investigation, Path Forward

SEOUL – JANUARY, 23, 2017 – Following several months of in-depth investigations, Samsung Electronics today announced the cause of the Note7 incidents and measures to prevent a recurrence during a press conference held in Seoul, Korea. DJ Koh, President of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics, shared detailed results of the investigation and expressed his sincere apology and gratitude to Galaxy Note7 customers, mobile operators, retail and distribution partners and business partners for their patience and continued support.

Koh was joined by executives from UL, Exponent and TUV Rheinland, leading independent industry groups that conducted their own investigation into various aspects of the Galaxy Note7 incidents.

Speakers included:

Sajeev Jesudas, President, Consumer Business Unit, UL
Kevin White, Ph.D, Principal Scientist, Exponent
Holger Kunz, Executive Vice President Products, TUV Rheinland AG

Speakers discussed the findings of the investigations in depth and unveiled new measures Samsung has taken to respond to the incidents.

Based on what the company learned from the investigation, Samsung implemented a broad range of internal quality and safety processes to further enhance product safety including additional protocols such as the multi-layer safety measures and 8-Point Battery Safety Check. Samsung also formed a Battery Advisory Group of external advisers, academic and research experts to ensure it maintains a clear and objective perspective on battery safety and innovation. Battery Advisory Group members include:

Clare Grey, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry, University of Cambridge
Gerbrand Ceder, Ph.D., Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, UC Berkeley
Yi Cui, Ph.D., Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University
Toru Amazutsumi, Ph.D., CEO, Amaz Techno-consultant

“For the last several months, together with independent industry expert organizations, we conducted thorough investigation to find cause to the Galaxy Note7 incidents.” Koh said, “Today, more than ever, we are committed to earning the trust of our customers through innovation that redefines what is possible in safety, and as a gateway to unlimited possibilities and incredible new experiences.”

For additional information, visit http://www.samsung.com/us/explore/committed-to-quality/.

How to Reset the Mac Dock to Factory Settings

Dan Uff January 22, 2017 1

For some of us, the Dock helps us get our work done faster by providing shortcuts to the most frequently used programs. But what if, for some reason, you want to reset the Dock to its original settings and look when you first booted your Mac. With macOS Sierra and the Terminal, that is now possible.

Here's how: