Vista Beta 2, up close and personal

Up in Redmond, Microsoft developers proudly talk of dogfooding the software they write. Running beta software is the only way to learn what works and what doesn’t. A copy of Windows Vista running on a test machine in the corner isn’t likely to get a serious workout. To find the pain points – another popular Microsoft expression – you have to run that beta code on the machine you use every day.

In that same spirit, I’ve spent the last three months running beta versions of Windows Vista on the PCs I use for everyday work. February and March were exasperating. April’s release was noticeably better, and the Beta 2 preview – Build 5381, released to testers in early May – has been running flawlessly on my notebook for nearly three weeks.

Read more and see a screenshot slideshow of the new OS...

Plan for cloaking device unveiled

So far, cloaking has been confined to science fiction; in Star Trek it is used to render spacecraft invisible.

Professor Sir John Pendry says a simple demonstration model that could work for radar might be possible within 18 months' time.

Two separate teams, including Professor Pendry's, have outlined ways to cloak objects in the journal Science.

See

Encyclopedia > Moller Skycar

The Moller Skycar is a prototype personal VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft — a "flying car" — called a "volantor" by its inventor Paul Moller, who has been attempting to develop such vehicles for many years.1 The Skycar demonstrated limited tethered flight capability in 2003. More tethered flight tests are now scheduled for an undisclosed date sometime after mid 2006. Moller is currently upgrading the Skycar's engines, and the improved prototype is now called the "M400X". Download high resolution version (400x616, 66 KB)Poster for Skycar Illustration by me --Terrible Tim 15:35, 29 Jul 2004 (UTC) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (400x616, 66 KB)Poster for Skycar Illustration by me --Terrible Tim 15:35, 29 Jul 2004 (UTC) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Moller_M400_hover_test. ... Image File history File links Moller_M400_hover_test. ... Prototypes or prototypical instances combine the most representative attributes of a category. ... Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) describes airplanes that can lift off vertically. ... Airbus A380 An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ... The Waterman Aerobile at the Smithsonian. ... Paul S. Moller (b. ...


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