Massive Solar Flare Causing Communications Problems In China

Nasa’d

A recent solar flare, the strongest in four years, is apparently giving China a bit of a headache. Astronomers there have reported a disruption in radio communications in the country’s southern regions. The Sun giveth, and the Sun taketh away.

Nasa says the flare was of the X-class, which is the most powerful class of flare. The sudden jet of solar… stuff flew off the star at a cool 560 miles per second. Per second! The airplane you use to visit Mom & Dad for the holidays has a max speed of 560 miles per hour.

If the flare were to travel around the circumference of the earth it would do so in about 44 seconds. My PC takes longer than that to cold boot.

Irony: Smartphones Can Save The Honeybees

Here’s an interesting use for old smartphones: monitoring bee activity. According to research done at the UK’s Nottingham Trent University, it may be possible for smartphones to monitor activity in beehives. Many smartphones have accelerometers built-in making them able to feel the vibrations of the hive. Those vibrations can aid beekeepers detect signs that the old Queen is about to leave the hive. Alerting the beekeeper of this can give them time to setup another home nearby, curbing the swarming phenomenon. Swarming is understood to be the reason many bees are dying in the US.

Once the vibrations are detected, the smartphone can send an SMS to the keeper — as long as there’s service, of course.

Dr Martin Bencsik from Nottingham Trent University’s School of Science and Technology said, “The data we have gathered from our investigations is absolutely fascinating. The application of these devices, and the method we have developed for deciphering the information that they gather could provide a key to slowing the dramatic rate of decline in honey bee populations across the world.” This idea could help the honeybee population, unless of course, those rumors of cell phones waves killing the bees is true.

The Scosche goBAT II Can Charge Two USB Devices

Portable battery packs are starting to become commonplace. You can buy them at major grocery stores now. But how about one that can charge two USB devices? Oh yeah, that gets the juices flowing to the ol’ tech boner, doesn’t it?

Inside the goBAT II is a 5000mAh rechargeable lithium ion battery that outputs to two USB ports: one for 10 Watt port for power-hungry devices like the iPad and another 5 Watt port for most other gadgets. It even works with Scosche’s free reVIVE charging app that indicates how long charging takes and notifies the owner via email when the charging is complete. The $90 battery pack just went up for sale on Scosche.com.

Magna’s AcoustiVision Turns Rear-Windows Into Subwoofers

A new technology called AcoustiVision hopes to put some Boom Boom Pow into your rear window. All car subwoofers rattle the entire car — rear window included — but Magna says their technology can use the rear window to make sound. AcoustiVision uses two exciters at the base of the window with power fed from amps in the trunk, which are said to boost a stereo signal from 12 to 200 volts. After the system is connected, the two exciters use the glass as a membrane to vibrate the window, moving air to create sound.

If the system works as well as my Detroit cruiser then it could mean getting rid of those huge speaker boxes in the trunk. “It is a whole new way to generate sound in a car,” said Magna product director Greg Rizzo. “There are still tweeters up front but the glass replaces a big subwoofer in the trunk.”

Magna hasn’t landed any contracts from any big automakers yet, but says that AcousticVision could be ready for production by 2015.

To Celebrate Washington’s Birthday, Direct2Drive Gives 20 Percent Off

Washington’s Birthday, commonly known as Presidents Day, falls this Monday, and Direct2Drive, the IGN-owned direct download store, celebrates with a 20 percent off sale. All the games in its catalogue will be 20 percent off this weekend, and this weekend only. What’s the tie-in?

To be honest there’s barely any connection, but Direct2Drive has highlighted some of the games that feature some of this country’s finest presidents. Honest Abe leads the American civilization in Civilization V; John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon are slumming around Call of Duty: Black Ops; and Martin Sheen, America’s president in The West Wing, provided the voice of the Illusive Man in Mass Effect 2.

What to get, what to get…