WhatTheQuack

Not sure if this has already been said but here's my explanation. This live feed is called HDEV (High Definition Earth Viewing experiment) which has been operating almost continuously since march last year. It can be viewed here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/iss-hdev-payload HDEV consists of a small pressurized box with four commercially available video cameras pointing in different directions. Because of bandwidth limitations from the ISS's downlink (about 3mb/s upload) only one camera can operate at a time as to not saturate the bandwidth which is required for other uses, so there is usually a few seconds of downtime as the system is switching cameras, which happens on an automatic time based cycle. Also the ISS requires a direct link to the ground to transmit these images, as a satellite link would not have the required bandwidth and/or latency that a direct link has. Because it is not politically viable to have ground receiving stations in every country under the ISS's orbit path, there are some sizable dead - zones where the HDEV cameras cannot steam to the ground, and therefore the imagery stops. These are over large areas of western Russia, and most of Asia. My theory is that the live feed was cut purely by coincidence as the ISS passed into these dead-zones, or HDEV was switching cameras. NASA would not have cut the feed intentionally as I doubt anyone there is monitoring it 24/7, as it is designed to automatically switch cameras. As for the 'UFOs' they are likely to be other satellites, such as part of the Iridium constellation (one of the largest) or part of a GPS network, based on their speed relative to the ISS, and apparent size (GPS satellites orbit approximately 50 times higher than the ISS, so will look like tiny white dots), so there is absolutely nothing strange here. As for them being referred to as 'UFOs', while being blatant clickbait, is actually correct, as I doubt the journalist took the time to identify the satellites. See the first reply on this page for more info on HDEV's control system: http://space.stackexchange.com/questions/4771/why-arent-the-iss-hdev-cameras-left-on-at-night TL;DR Most likely just satellites

Hello LTT, I have had my iPhone 4S for several years now, and running iOS 8 it feels old and tired, so I am looking for a new phone. I have decided that I will switch to android, mainly because my budget won't allow for another iPhone, and I like the less restrictive nature of it. My budget is £170 (SIM free) but I am willing to go slightly over that. My plan for phone upgrades is to get a fairly cheap android phone now, and wait until Google's Project Ara launches in the UK. At which point, I will decide if an Ara phone is worth buying. So I am looking for a phone to last me 1 - 2 years. Currently, I am torn between two phones: the Motorola Moto G, and the OnePlus One (If I can stretch my budget that far). I think I will prefer the smaller size of the Moto G, especially coming from an iPhone, but the OnePlus One seems better in almost every other way apart from price. Another feature that I like about the Moto G is the FM radio, however its not a deal breaker for me that the OnePlus One doesn't have one. Also I am somewhat worried about the lack of MicroSD upgrades on the OnePlus One, as I can likely only afford a 16GB model. TL;DR Help me decide on an android phone for around £170, OnePlus One or Moto G, or some other recommendation.

Strange, this does not cause a crash on my mac, it just shows boxes instead of the characters. However the text on the google crash report site does

This is a comment. (but seriously though, you are awesome for doing this ) EDIT: Holy balls @killers993 , we posted almost the exact same thing at the same time!

I think can believe these claims, here's why: Some devices, specifically Apple iPhones and iPads (I assume other devices do this too) use the USB data lines to determine what the device is connected to via a series of resistors in the charging circuit at the other end. This is the bit that I don't fully understand, somehow the device uses these resistors to determine how much current it is allowed to draw from the charger, and this determines the charging speed. So this cable, I guess, has a different resistor configuration which the device reads as it being allowed to draw more current than usual, so it charges faster. I leaned this because as part of my AS Product Design course, I am making a table which will be able to charge USB devices, and apparently it isn't as easy as just hooking up a 5V supply to the USB ports... This video goes into more detail:

I thought of an alternative idea, which would be to just use a 12v PSU for the LEDs, and use a cheap usb car charger to adapt the 12v supply to a USB charging port. That way I won't need to mess around with mains voltage wiring to get 2 PSUs running on one wall plug.

Ah, okay. I suspected that this may be the case. So would I be better off using a 12v psu for the LEDs, and buying a cheap USB charger for the 5v supply?

Haha! I will go into more detail of its functionality when I start the build log. Speaking of which, where would be the best place to post it? I'm not sure it really counts as a PC build. So, capacitors? Sorry, I'm a total electronics noob, I will have to talk to my Product Design teacher about that.

Hello LTT, I am currently studying Product Design (amongst other things) at AS level at college (UK equivalent of high school I believe). As my project, I will be making a 'smart' table; I know, its dumb. The table will feature an integrated Raspberry Pi controlled lighting system, and the ability to charge devices over USB. Because the LEDs will require a 12V supply; and the RPi and charging ports require a 5V supply, I will be using a molex power supply to provide both voltages simultaneously. So my question is, can an iPad be charged from a usb port which is simply wired to a 5V 2A supply via the USB port's power pins? And don't worry, a build log will be coming soon... TL;DR: My question is, can an iPad be charged from a usb port which is simply wired to a 5V 2A supply via the USB port's power pins?

Awesome, thanks for your input guys! I have decided that I will wait for reviews and see if Project Ara is for me, or whether I should wait for a second generation product. Since Ara is supposedly being launched at the end of this year, do you think I should replace my iPhone 4s now? Or should I hold on to it until I know more about Ara?

How do you mean? Because there is a small utility for that called SoundSwitch

Nuclear fusion power, so that it is viable for use everywhere. (I know it has already been invented, but we haven't actually got more power out than has been put in)

Hello LTT, I am considering a Google Ara phone to be my next phone (I currently have an iPhone 4s ) and I wanted to know how the community feels about this phone concept. Personally I think it will be awesome, if Google can get more manufacturers to make modules for the Ara system. However I will be waiting for reviews before I commit to buying one.

Definitely Squad (Kerbal Space Program developer) They are incredibly open to their community (which I would say is not far behind this one in terms of friendliness) and have even hired modmakers who's mods they like, to make content for the game. I think Squad is underrated because most people have never heard of them, and because until fairly recently, were not even a game developer, but were an advertising company

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