Google's Chromium Netbook: why?

Image by okubax via FlickrThe CR-48, a prototype based on Google's Chromium OS, was released to select people. It is interesting experiment, but it seems to be ultimately pointless.

First, it's a "netbook" size item, so it's small enough to carry around, but it's NOT small enough to fit in a pocket. So you pretty much have to open it to use it.

Second, it virtually REQUIRES internet connection, WiFi or 3G. Apparently it will come with 100MB of 3G connectivity (through Verizon) free for 2 years or something.

Third, all the apps, storage, and so on are online. It just run web apps. It has virtually no internal storage. Everything is stored in the cloud.

So why does this thing even exist? Android can do web apps, and do it better, though it will probably need it in tablet form, not smartphone form.

Is it for people who HATE computers? People who hate computers won't touch it in ANY form. It's like making candy for sugar-phobics. Eeek.

It is fast to boot up, mostly foolproof, and much much simpler than a PC or Mac. So it is aimed at an audience that have NOT stepped up to a PC or Mac, but want Internet connectivity somehow. The question is, how big is that audience?

Wikileaks: really making government more accountable?

Image via WikipediaWikileaks supporters are claiming world-wide conspiracy to shut down Wikileaks for embarrassing governments worldwide. They claim we all should save Wikileaks because it is making governments more accountable.

But which governments needs to be held more accountable? Compared to hundreds of other governments and organizations, the US government is positively wide-open and transparent even BEFORE Wikileaks leaked out all this ****.

Everybody knows that when you attack a problem, you attack it where it does the most good, not where it do very little good.

For example, let's say there's a certain type of preventable accident that kills about 30 people a year, vs. 30000 people a year. Which type of accident should you try to really prevent, if it's about the same cost? The 30000 people kind, of course. Any one who go after the 30 people type will be ridiculed for being crazy and stupid.

Yet that's what Wikileaks is doing: making an already quite-open US government "accountable" when there are bazillion governments and agencies that NEEDS to be held accountable. Government in China, Iran, and so on needs some exposure. Who really makes the decisions there? What lead to those decisions? Who really ordered the Tiananmen Square massacre? What is the real GDP of China? Who really won the election in Iran? Who ordered the crackdown? What are the casualties during all those protests? Etc.

What Wikileaks really is: a media bully with delusion of gradeur.

Wikileaks: Does nothing useful except controversy

So called WikiLeaks and Julian Assange's efforts to leak huge amounts of US documents only serves to make US look bad, and does nothing really to help the situation.

While I agree that US must have accountability for its actions, much of the leaked documents only serves to embarrass US and allies, and  therefore, does not really improve the situation.

In fact, only Western countries would allow such leaks to continue. All the leaks do is destabilize the situation.

I'd be far more impressed if he managed to leak North Korea documents, or Iranian documents. As is, he's just a gossiper who managed to dig up some juicy stuff.

Another day, another "scam": Hexagonal Water Revitalizer

A local TV station is showing "Water Revitalizer" which supposedly produces a purer "hexagonal water" which is supposedly better for you. (in case you are in the SF Bay Area, it's on the ICN channel, I think it's 26-4 or something like that)

First of all, there is no such thing as hexagonal water. It's something invented by quacks as "pseudo-science" to explain the hexagonal shape crystals the water forms when it freezes, and claims if you can generate hexagonal water it's better for you. Why? Nobody can actually explain.

Chemically it's exactly the same as normal water. It doesn't go through any sort of filter or purification in this special pitcher. All it does, as far as I can tell, is it uses induction to 'spin' the water (kinda like that Nu Wave oven demo). How that generates hexagonal water? No ****ing clue.

Yet you can find one for sale on Amazon for $500 USD ?!?!?!  AND books that touts the supposedly benefits.

It's gotten so bad, even WIRED magazine have an article busting this scam.

I *hate* idiots, I really do: the people defending Four Loko drinks

People "defending" Four Loko are claiming it's all politics when it comes to Four Loko, on how the government is a conspiracy to defend the big alcohol makers, and so on. Here's one such example, placed under "humor"

http://hubpages.com/hub/Alcohol-and-Caffeine-Deadly-Mix-If-In-Aluminum-Can

Four Loko is a malt liquor (12% alcohol), flavored with fruit so it tastes sort of like a juice drink, AND reinforced with caffeine (156 mg, about a cup of coffee), usually served cold and cheap.

This is a deadly combination, as the combo is designed to make you drink more.

1) Convenient package -- pop open a can and chug, no mixing required
2) Gives a heavy buzz... malt liquor is cheap and high alcohol content
3) Cold drinks in a can -- chug and chug some more, esp. with the fruity flavors
4) Stimulants keep you awake -- so you can chug some more

Before you know it, you have alcohol poisoning... severe overdose of alcohol, and a visit to the ER, or heaven.

Pharmanex scanner... money making machine or just a scam?

Image via Wikipedia
Just the other day I got an offer that some body is bring some sort of machine from UC (that's University of California) to do some sort of health scan for free. I was already skeptical.

So the machine arrived... It's about the size of two large shoes stacked on top of each other. It's labelled Pharmanex S2. There's a "blue-laser" on one end. I was supposed to wash my hands and have it scan me for my antioxidant levels.

I scored terrible, as I guesed I would. And I expected, the lady operating the machine started promoting some vitamins called Lifepak Nano. I thanked her and left, and pulled out my Moto Droid to look up the company.

There's plenty of information, but they all just copy each other. The gist is simple: Pharmanex is owned by NuSkin, the cosmetics MLM. (I am somewhat familiar with Nu Skin as my aunt was a distributor once upon a time)  Pharmanex "BioPhotonic" scanner is real.

What does it do? It supposedly scans your skin for presense of skin keratonids, an anti-oxidant. It supposedly is an accurate measure for your overall body antioxidant level, supposedly higher is better. And of course, their Lifepak Nano will help boost you antioxidant level, so suppose you take our supplements for a month, come back and get another scan, we guarantee your score will be better!

There's an itch in my brain that this starts to sound very scammy, as there is no third-party research in any sort of major review that supports the conclusions. Nothing on WebMD, Mayo Clinic, or such. Any such reviews are cited either from PharmanexUSA.com or the few places that have one of these machines.

The science is real... up to a point. Raman Spectroscopy is a way to scan tissue for presence of certain stuff. The original method was developed to scan for Lutein, that thing good for your eyes, without poking a needle into your eyeball and suck out some fluids.

The only test that supposedly proves this machine is useful is a study funded by Pharmanex itself in a clinical trial in China (2006?) on about 100 people. Supposedly 100 people get blood drawn AND skin tested by this scanner and there's a correlation between the levels of skin antioxidant and the blood antioxidant. However, this test had not been duplicated at all.

Furthermore there is no proof that high levels of antioxidant in your body is better for you.
Thus, this machine is basically a self-justifying proposition. This machine "proves" you need more vitamins.

You can probably get better score by just drinking a cup of carrot juice very day for 3 weeks.

So it's not a scam per se... The only thing they guarantee, that you'll score better on their machine, is absolutely true. Whether it will actually help your overall health, well, they did not make any promise about that at all. That would be illegal under FDA guidelines.

China's new anti-ship missile is a paper-tiger

A while back Yahoo published this little story:


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100805/ap_on_re_as/as_china_us_carrier_killer


This is sensationalism, because they did not ask any REAL experts, or something who actually has a brain.

First of all, what exactly is Dong Feng 21? or "East Wind 21"? It is a "ballistic anti-ship missile".


Or to describe it... it goes up OUT of the atmosphere, like an ICBM, then dives at the the target at hypersonic speeds from above.


Sounds impressive, until you consider the problem of such an idea.

ICBM only works against FIXED targets... such as CITIES. Do you know why? Because once the warhead enters the atmosphere, it can no longer communicate. It is surrounded by ionized air caused by the re-entry. Every spacecraft suffers through this "blackout" period upon re-entry. No matter what the size. Which basically means once the weapon enters atmosphere, it is BLIND and can no longer make course corrections. It can MAKE some, but it would not know where to go. It may as well not make any. That way it cannot be jammed.


Which also means it is a sitting duck when coming back down through the atmopshere. And there's no disguising it. It's visible for hundred miles. You can't hide it. People will see you coming. 


Which basically means if the target moves, changes course once the missile enters the atmopshere, the missile is virtually GUARANTEED to miss, because it takes several minutes for the missile to come back through the atmosphere. 

Also, how is the missile going to get the course correction? From satellites. Yes, China has a series of radar satellites to keep track on things, and they can be used to keep tabs on the US CVBG... and perhaps, pass final target corrections to a DF-21. However, how many of those do China have?

You have to also keep in mind that a ballistic missile is visible for HUNDREDS of miles, as it reaches up, WAY UP, and there are plenty of satellites on ALL sides that are keeping track of any sort of ballistic launches.


Does China have anti-satellite capabilities? Yes, but so does the US. And any attempt at hitting the satellites is pretty much declaration of war.


So in conclusion, DF-21 is, at best, a one-shot weapon, and will never work again... sort of like the Al Qaeda attack against the US on 9/11, and that's the BEST case.


What's the worst case? It's a paper tiger that will never work, and is an empty threat.

Finally... consider this fact... Soviet Union had been working on how to kill US CVBG's for DECADES... until fall of Berlin Wall. They never bothered with a ASBM. Instead they just work on faster regular super-sonic anti-ship missiles... and better bombers.


And the physics around this problem has NOT changed. So, does China actually have a chance in making DF-21 work? Only against a FIXED target.  Maybe they can hit CVBG while it's in port in Japan, but they can sneak a nuke near the ship much easier.

 

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