BP: "The solution will not be televised" / UPDATED

BP: "The solution will not be televised" / UPDATED: "

Update: BP's official Twitter account just posted word that yes, the spew-surveillance internet video feed will continue during Wednesday's attempt to stop the flow. Not this account, maintained by pranksters, but the legit one. Though it's not like the presence of a live video feed in and of itself will make things any better, stop the destruction, or clean up what's already devastated. And for the record, I don't agree with Markey's outrage over a web video 'blackout.' After all, if the attempted fix doesn't work, I wish these bastards all the luck in the world trying to hide that...

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(YouTube link). BP today announced that it plans to disable the happy-fun live internet video feed of oil spewing at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico while BP engineers try to stop up the well using a procedure they call 'top kill.' Rep. Edward Markey, chairman of the House subcommittee on energy and the environment, was not amused:

'It is outrageous that BP would kill the video feed for the top kill. This BP blackout will obscure a vital moment in this disaster,' Markey said in a statement. 'After more than a month of spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico, BP is essentially saying to the American people the solution will not be televised.'

And in related news, Federal government inspectors overseeing oil drilling in the Gulf 'accepted meals and tickets to sporting events from companies they monitored,' reported the Interior Department's inspector general.

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Goodbye, ISS! Goodbye, Atlantis! Goodbye, Tinman! [Image Cache]

Goodbye, ISS! Goodbye, Atlantis! Goodbye, Tinman! [Image Cache]: "

Sadness. Atlantis is coming back home. Her last flight. Here is a video of her last goodbye to the International Space Station, where the STS-132 mission crew installed a module and changed six batteries. More »







International Space Station - Space Shuttle Atlantis - Space - Technology - Space Shuttle

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The Devolution of Facebook Privacy [Facebook]

The Devolution of Facebook Privacy [Facebook]: "

What you're looking at is a tidy visualization of what Facebook's default privacy settings looked like back in 2005. What follows is that same image, recalibrated for 2010. It's worse than you think. More »

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Android You Can Drive My Car: Google Teaming Up with GM

Android You Can Drive My Car: Google Teaming Up with GM: "

Wouldn’t it be great if you could unlock your doors, start your car, and sync your car’s GPS system to Google Maps all from your Android handset? So does General Motors, and that is exactly why they are currently mulling over the idea with Google. A report at Motor Trend says GM is in negotiations with Google to use Android as the basis of their own in-car computer system similar to Ford and Microsoft’s Sync. It, of course, would one-up Sync in many areas, allowing functions such as keyless entry and remote start to be triggered from your handset.

This would also mean an in-dash version of Google Maps and Navigation, all but eliminating the need for car docks or other GPS devices (including GM’s current OnStar navigation). The possibilities are really quite endless. Aside from directly syncing your media and phonebook for hands free calling, imagine apps that let you directly link to your car’s ECU to monitor vitals such as horsepower and torque or to track and graph fuel economy.

Of course, the deal would be strictly with GM, but we can hope the tech would make its way to third-party installs for use in domestic and foreign cars alike. I know a huge community of auto-buffs who would love a device like this to let them tweak the emissions-handicapped ECUs and unleash their car’s full potential.

[Motor Trend via Android and Me]

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Droid Does: Rubik’s Cube In Under 25 Seconds

Droid Does: Rubik’s Cube In Under 25 Seconds: "

I’ve always taken those Motorola Droid ads from Verizon with a grain of salt: I found it hard to believe that it did everything that the iPhone (or any of its competitors) don’t. It still can’t make me breakfast, do my laundry, or type these articles for me, but it can solve a Rubik’s Cube in under 25 seconds. ARM released a video a little more than a week ago showing the Droid sitting comfortably inside of a Lego-comprised contraption.

Using the Droid’s ARM-based processor, it assisted the mechanical mastermind in solving a Rubik’s Cube in under 25 seconds. Validity, you scream? Well, it does look like some software on the Droid was pre-configured to solve a specific cube setup (which is supported by the fact that they modified the cube before putting it inside of the machine) but let’s not rain on the parade too long – it’s still pretty cool. How long does it take you to solve a Rubik’s Cube?

[via Gizmodo]

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