Helicopters make a lot of noise because of a physical phenomenon called blade-vortex interaction. Eurocopter engineers have developed a new kind of rotor blade that attenuates this problem. It’s called Blue Edge, and—as you can hear—it works beautifully:

The new blade shape is combined with another technology called Blue Pulse, which adds three flaps to the edge of the rotor blades. These flaps move up and down at 15 to 40 times per second, using piezoelectric motors that also help to reduce the blade-vortex interaction. [Autopia]

NASA can put humanoids on the Moon in just 1000 days. They would be controlled by scientists on Earth using motion capture suits, giving them the feeling of being on the lunar surface. The results could be amazing.

Imagine sending every scientist to the Moon

Back in the Lunar exploration days, scientists had to tell astronauts what to do up there, and how to identify interesting things during the limited time they had. For Apollo 15, the first mission that carried the Lunar Rover, astronauts were trained in field work by Caltech geologist Leon Silver.

That helped them to move faster and look at the ground with a critical science eye, knowing what they were looking for. The result: Their findings and samples were a lot more valuable to scientist back on Earth, confirming theories that weren’t confirmed till then.

Now imagine these NASA C-3POs roaming our satellite, controlled by all kind of scientists using telepresence suits down here, all looking for interesting things using high definition visors, and able to move just like they would move on planet Earth. It won’t work for Mars, but with a communication delay of only three seconds, it will work beautifully on the Moon.

A realistic scenario

The 1000-day mark is quite plausible, since the mission would be a lot simpler than a human-based one. It will also be quite cheaper than the real thing. First, you don’t have to care about life support systems, which will make spacecraft manufacturing a lot less complex. The whole system would also weight a lot less, reducing the need for the development of a huge rocket, and again reducing the costs.

What about the human factor I’m always defending? Well, we know that, sadly, we’re not going to get astronauts anywhere any time soon, so this is definitely the best alternative. It won’t be as inspiring as humans going back to the Moon or establishing a semi-permanent colony, but it could have an extremely positive effect on science.

Whoever did this at NASA should put together an actual budget as soon as possible. And while you are at it, make it possible for regular people to use one, maybe at the Johnson Space Center or some selected museums through the world. That will definitely inspire people.

Someone did a real version of Buzz Lightyear, just in time for Toy Story 3. And to spook me once again, like Real Mario and Untooned Homer. Christ. Why don’t they stick to folder art? [Raoninery – Thanks David Keyes!]

Instead of hiding dust-ball-hunting spaghetti cable monsters behind furniture, I’ve decided to embrace chaos and transform it. Actually, my wife has. These decorative cable clips seem perfect for it, and simpler than squiggling cords on the wall. [PA-Design via Unplggd]

I like my Swiss knife, but I like the Guppie better. Any multi-tool that makes me look like a Real Man, ready to go back to the Jurassic and kill a dinosaur, is a winner.

Made by Columbia River Knife & Tools, the Guppie includes an adjustable wrench, screw driver with multiple magnetic heads, menacing knife, LED flashlight, and a beer bottle opener—it can open other bottles and jars, but I am a Real Man. According to designers Launce Barber and Tom Stokes, the design is made so everything is ready to use in the shorter time possible, right out of the pocket.

For absolute Real Man effect, hang it from your belt using the built-in carabiner, and allow your butt crack to show a bit over your pants.[CRKT via Core77]

Microsoft is going to withdraw their complain against Cryptome, after shutting them down yesterday. Cryptome published Microsoft’s no-longer-secret guide to help governments to uncover your online secrets. Host Network Solutions says the site will be back online later today. [ReadWriteWeb]

It took a little longer than we expected but it happened: 10,000,000,000 songs sold through iTunes. Crazy.

Futuristic ships that look more spaceship than boat fascinate me. However, I can’t deny that, if I had to get a yacht over a sailboat, I would go for this amazing tug boat, completely remodeled inside and out.

The original tug boat went to sea in 1967. It got bought in 2004 and put through years of interior and exterior remodeling, which included a spa, a gym, sauna, whirlpool bath, and luxurious suites. Then it was reborn under the name Ariete Primo, a kick ass ship that you can use to go to lusty beaches in the Pacific or push oil tankers in the Indian Ocean. [James List]

Microsoft has a 22-page document which outlines how they store all your private data in their online servers. The document also tells government agencies how they can get it. But, oh surprise, they don’t want you to see it:

Microsoft Spy

The document was unearthed by Cryptome, the site who previously unveiled similar papers by Facebook, Skype, and other online giants. When Microsoft learned about it, they sent their rabid law dogs to tear Cryptome apart, Digital Millennium Copyright Act in one hand, iron bar in the other. So far they have managed to coerce Cryptome’s host company to take down the site the pages aren’t taken down. Network Solutions complied with Microsoft’s barking, passing along the message to Cryptome that, if they don’t take down the “secret” material, they would take down the whole site.

Obviously, Microsoft and Network Solutions don’t give a damn about public interest. Make no mistake: Knowing what Microsoft can disclose and how, no matter if you are a criminal or just some innocent dude using Microsoft’s services, should interest you. [Microsoft Spy via Business Insider]

The joy didn’t last long. According to an iPhone developer, the new “Explicit” option available this morning on the App Store submission software is now gone. He just got off the telephone with Apple, who confirmed the removal.

According to the developer, Apple said that, while they are thinking about it, “it’s not going to happen anytime soon.”

A study on cellphone location data—made over users calling every two hours on average—says that human moves are predictable 93% of the time. And here I was, thinking that I was better than a bacteria.

The study—published last week in Science magazine—found out that no matter how far humans travel, they almost always do it in a predictable manner. For cellphone users who stayed within an area with a radius of six miles, they could predict their moves with 97% to 93% accuracy. As they increased the radius, the predictability stayed at 93%.

It seems logical, since we are animals that like to adopt certain customs. But while I don’t need cellphone location data to predict that Matt would visit Momofuku Milk Bar every two days, or that I would be eating buttery steak at El Almacen every week, this study could be extremely useful for architects designing urban spaces, engineers creating transportation networks, or—perhaps the most logical—telecommunication companies planning cellphone tower locations and bandwidth capacity. [Science via Ars Technica]

Here’s to the crazy one. The mercurial. The rebel. The market maker. The lucky guy with the new liver. The one who sees things differently. He’s not fond of rules and bad typography. And he has no respect for mediocrity.

You can praise him, disagree with him, quote him, disbelieve him, glorify or vilify him. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore him. Because this guy created the personal computer market, he introduced the first commercial computer with a graphic user interface, was booted from his own company, then came back, saved it from death, reinvented one of the best operating systems on the planet, reinvented the music player, kicked the record companies on the balls, failed to reinvent TV, reinvented the cellphone OS as we know it, got a cancer that means almost-certain death, recovered, and he’s back in business, hopefully for a long time, and trying to change the computing world once again.

He invents. He sometimes has a very bad temper. He healed. He came back. He created again. And he keeps inspiring. Or at least, he inspires me.

Happy 55th birthday, Steve.

For those of you who didn’t get the above:

I like the idea of this titanium iPhone body replacement. And that’s why it’s too bad it is just a nice, hyper-realistic 3D render or painted plastic body. Update: Great. Engadget just published a video, but is it really titanium?

First, the guy says this case costs not much more than the price of an iPhone. But the making of a custom, very intricate titanium part like this is a complicated and expensive process, one that would require ultra-precise CAD work and manufacturing. For CNC you will need a very high resolution machine, and molding is not available to mere mortals. Only someone at an aerospace company, a high end prototyping shop, or a factory would be able to pull this off. That’s why you don’t see custom iPhone bodies in the market—I want them, please—unless they are Chinese mass produced plastics.

One reader below who says he’s worked in a titanium forging plant says this:

There is no way in hell that people would want to know the cost of a custom made highly detailed solid titanium part…lets just say if you don’t like the cost of phones now, you will 100% hate the cost after they are made of unibody titanium.”

But the most important thing is the fact that there is not such a thing as a “special titanium alloy that is RF transparent.” Titanium makes radio signal reception and emission very difficult. It’s a radio insulating material, which is why the Titanium PowerBook G4 had such a crappy Wi-Fi reception. Sadly, the alleged alloy simply doesn’t exist. And if it does, you would only find it at Boeing or Lockheed Martin’s secret development facilities. Or Area 51.

If he discovers such a thing, I suggest he patents the hell out of it and sells it to the military. They would love it. There’s the issue of having the mute button in the wrong orientation too, but it’s ok. If you can create objects from nonobtamium, you can rearrange the circuitry inside the machine too.

But despite all that, it’s quite nice little fantasy case.

Update: As the video shows, the case is real. However, knowing how titanium insulates against radio signals, we find very hard to believe it’s made of this material. [Modmyi via Engadget]

This is the most accurate, highest resolution true color image of planet Earth to date. And at 2048 x 2048 pixels, you should put it in your desktop background now. You can get America too:

Click on the images to get the high resolution version.

Oh, you are beautiful, you little blue marble you. [NASA via Twitter]

That’s what this RBC/ChangeWave’s surveys says. Back in April 2007, fewer people were interested in buying the original iPhone compared to those wanting to buy the iPad on February 2010. Does this mean the iPad would be a bigger success?

Not necessarily. It may mean that, but we don’t really know for sure. First, back then the iPhone was completely unknown. A new, unproven product, with no user base whatsoever. Today, the iPhone and iPod are well known, so one could even argue that—given their massive popularity—a higher percentage of people would be interested in buying the iPad. In other words, who knows. Let’s wait until Apple actually makes the iPad available on their site.

There are other interesting data points. One is the version people are most interested in: The lowest end and the highest end win, with 19% each. With the 64GB Wi-Fi getting only 8% and the 16GB Wi-Fi and 3G version getting 9% of the interest.

Another interesting one: 68% of the people interested in it want to surf the internet, 44% for email, 37% for eBooks, 28% for the reading magazines and other periodicals, and only 24% for watching video. [Digital Daily]

Every time I see any Cylon-themed object, I get nostalgia of those perfect nights watching the series in bed, and I want to see it again. This Cylon Teddy Bear is the last straw. Starbuck, here I go. [Instructables]

Some people thought I was unfair to Flash, calling it an unnecessary piece of power-sucking crap that has no real use beyond online video and advertising. So here’s the question: Apart from video, what are exactly your top Flash sites?

Flash is not going to be used in Windows Phone 7, the iPod touch, the iPad, and many other mobile devices, but it is coming to Android and Pre.

Some people seem to be very upset about it because they think the lack of Flash on these devices is going to limit their enjoyment of the web. However, if you take out Flash-containered video players and advertising delivery (both dedicated promotional sites like Nike.com and banners) what are other web sites that you people can’t live without? Remember that video sites like YouTube and Vimeo are already replacing Flash players with HTML5 and h.264. It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the video sites—including the porn pages, which are already delivering all their content for iPhone and other personal media players—follow suit.

Are you talking about Flash-based games like FarmVille and poker, or is there something else? What non-video Flash-based site is so important that you can’t live without?

Please name them in the comments, and explain why.

Actually, the Ampex VR-3000 backpack—only $42,000 for the basic recorder without accessories—with BC-300 BW Camera—just $12,685—was the only camcorder available. It changed TV forever, moving the entire broadcast television industry from film to video.

The video format—invented by Redwood City-based Ampex in 1965—was called 2-inch Quadruplex, and used four magnetic heads to record both PAL and NTSC standards using different speeds. [Wikipedia]

Adobe spends considerable money trying to make us believe that Flash is an indispensable part of the Web. But like a friend said on Twitter, this Nexus demo video shows why Flash is not worth it in any mobile device.

He is right. It’s not only the battery consumption, but the incessant zooming and scrolling, and the loading times. Why would I like to look at a Flash-based web site on the tiny screen of my Windows Phone 7 or my iPhone? Especially when I avoid them on my desktop computer in the first place.

So here’s the question: Beyond YouTube—already available as dedicated apps in all cellphones—and other Flash-based movie playback—which will be soon replaced by HTML5 H.264 embedding—when was the last time you thought “OH, I NEED FLASH TO RUN THIS MUST-SEE SITE!”? Unless you want to play inane Flash-based games like Farmville and enjoy Flash-based ads in your browser, what does Flash really bring to the web today?

Do the test: Open your browser, go through your bookmarks, and make a list of actual content delivered by Flash only, the content you actually consume on a daily basis. If you are like most of the people I know, beyond YouTube and porn, you will come back mostly empty-handed.

We are in the Web 2.0 era, people. Let’s move on to more interesting things. [Redmond Pie via Twitter]

Ed Note: This is just Jesus’s opinion, and most of us disagree. – JC

10 billion. We can count up to 10 billion. But we won’t. Because it’s boring. But Apple’s doing it, in their 10 billion song countdown. I remember when everybody laughed at the iPod and iTunes. Nobody is laughing now. [Apple]