Two on Pioneer 10
Pioneer 10: Farewell to an Old Friend
http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_pioneer_10_030306.html
Pioneer 10
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1972-012A
Pioneer 10 was launched by NASA in 1972 on a two-year mission to Jupiter. Nearly 31 years later, its mission finally came to an end with the last signal received on January 22, 2003. The spacecraft exceeded everyone's expectations, including two people from the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute. In a news article from Space.com, they describe their experiences working with Pioneer 10 from afar, and they conclude by bidding it farewell. The Pioneer 10 homepage on NASA's Web site has detailed information on the spacecraft's mission and accomplishments. Descriptions of the final attempts at communication are also given. [CL]
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Communications Engineering and Design: The Premier Magazine of Broadband Technology [.pdf]
http://www.cedmagazine.com/
Communications Engineering and Design (CED) magazine offers a wide range of free resources on broadband technology, fiber optics, and much more. One of the most interesting sections of the monthly publication is the inDEPTH feature, a series of reports from CED's editors. Past inDEPTH topics include digital television encryption and wireless technologies. Standards and regulatory issues are posted online to keep broadband industry representatives up to date. The magazine also has market news and analyses, research highlights, and occasional Web casts.
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Making Educational Software and Web Sites Accessible
http://ncam.wgbh.org/cdrom/guideline/
The World Wide Web is a tool that has a myriad of uses for any type of person, so it should be accessible to everyone. In order to help Web designers and software authors accommodate people with disabilities, this site offers a series of guidelines that explains how to effectively serve these types of users. Following a discussion of different disabilities, assistive technologies, and general accessibility tips, eight main guideline topics are addressed in depth. Techniques for using images, multimedia applications, and mathematics illustrations, among others, are given to create a more universally useable online experience. Originally developed in 2000, this material was updated and added to in January 2003. [CL]
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Technik.net: Tons of Hardware Information
http://www.technick.net/public/code/index.php
Although most of the resources on this site will probably only be used by experienced hardware designers, a substantial amount of other information is provided that is ideal for beginners. An impressive collection of how-to guides and tutorials covers everything from mouse cleaning to basic soldering to printed circuit board fabrication. A complete online handbook, titled Batteries in a Portable World, explains how rechargeable batteries and chargers work. For the advanced electronics designer, circuit diagrams of several common devices are given. Additionally, tables describing "the function of each wire in a cable or each pin in a connector," also called pinouts, are available for many common interfaces. [CL]
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Cryptographic Toolkit [.pdf]
http://csrc.nist.gov/CryptoToolkit/
The Cryptographic Toolkit is being developed by a subgroup of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), who work to implement and promote cryptographic technologies and efficient practices. The purpose of the toolkit is to "enable US Government agencies and others to select cryptographic security components and functionality for protecting their data, communications, and operations." Several documents make up the Cryptographic Toolkit, providing guidance and standards for encryption, digital signatures, and password usage and generation, to name a few. Four main encryption algorithms are discussed in detail, as well as modes of operation to properly use them. [CL]
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AIAA Wright Flyer Project [QuickTime, .mpg, .avi, .pdf]
http://www.wrightflyer.org/
December 17, 2003 marks the 100-year anniversary of the Wright Brothers' successful flight into the history books. In honor of the famous achievement, the Los Angeles section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics started the Wright Flyer Project. The goal of the project, which began almost twenty years ago, is to build a replica of the Wright Flyer that is identical to the original in every way possible. One replica is already complete, but another is being constructed to actually fly at the centennial celebration. A complete overview of the project, technical papers, and video clips are all available on this Web site. [CL]
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The Secret Guide to Computers
http://www.secretguide.net/
Self proclaimed as "the world's only complete computer tutorial," The Secret Guide to Computers could very well be just that. With information about hardware, software, the Internet, computer maintenance and repair, and programming, the guide certainly lives up to its reputation. Perhaps the only shortcoming of the site is that, even though it provides excellent overviews of many topics, many details are left out. This limitation could be explained by the guide's target audience, namely inexperienced users, who only want to understand topics rather than be experts on them. Regardless, The Secret Guide to Computers is an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to learn about fundamental issues of the digital age. [CL]
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Singular: A Computer Algebra System for Polynomial Computations [.dvi, .gz, .ps, .pdf, .hlp]
http://www.singular.uni-kl.de/
Developed by mathematicians at the University of Kaiserslautern in Germany, Singular is a "Computer Algebra System for polynomial computations with special emphasis on the needs of commutative algebra, algebraic geometry, and singularity theory." The software is available for free online in Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX versions. The authors of Singular offer extensive documentation, examples, and suggested applications to give users a proper introduction. Registration is not required to download the software, but it is necessary to receive support and updates. [CL]
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