"Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, died Saturday, weeks after heart surgery and days after his 82nd birthday on Aug. 5. Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 spacecraft that landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, and he radioed back to Earth the historic news of 'one giant leap for mankind'. He spent nearly three hours walking on the moon with fellow astronaut Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin." Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Such a great man. The world lost a true legendary hero today. This man will be an inspiration for generations to come.
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Member since:2005-06-29
Member since:2011-05-12
We just went to the movies and while I was standing in the parking lot I noticed the moon only to find out moments later Neil Armstrong passed away.
I think that looking at the stars or looking at pictures of the Earth is a great way of putting things in to perspective.
Chances are we are the only intelligent live in this part of the galaxy and instead of being happy and doing science stuff to reach out to the stars and the mysteries of live, the universe and everything we make up all these things that make us unhappy. Money, borders, patents, rules, religion.
Just think about it how insane money is. Money doesn't exist, we made it up and then we spend our lives acquiring it, killing others for it, saying we can't help others because we don't have enough money or don't want to spend it.
One day a killer astroid will come at us and we can't stop it, because we don't have enough money.
If aliens visit us one day, no matter how smart they are they'll never figure out what we are doing here and why.
Neil was lucky, for a brief moment he escaped the madness and walked on the f*cking moon! It's hard to top that.
"It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much -- the wheel, New York, wars and so on -- whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons." -- Douglas Noel Adams
Member since:2011-05-19
Hear hear.
The guy had nerves of steel.
He saved the Gemini 8 mission after a thruster stuck open, rolling the spacecraft so rapidly that the astronauts' vision became blurry.
He ejected from an out-of-control LLRV that could've killed him.
And he guided the Eagle to its lunar landing, with just 25 seconds of fuel to spare. Not only that, but the computer overloaded twice and then directed the LM at a boulder field that could've destroyed it. And to top it all off, a premature fuel warning that made him think he had even less fuel than the little he had.
Member since:2006-01-15
Member since:2005-07-06
[...]
He ejected from an out-of-control LLRV that could've killed him.
I'm not sure if ejecting out of soon-to-crash vehicle is a fitting example to "nerves of steel"... what does that make the people on passenger aircraft, who have no means to eject, not even a parachute? (especially those in the 20s or, partly, 30s - when airlines had safety record fairly comparable to space missions)
Member since:2007-03-26
Very true.
I know Dr Who is only make believe, but I'm reminded of a scene where the Doctor refers to the moon landings as the most watch piece of video footage ever; and I quite believe that to be the case. Regardless of age, gender, race or even personal interests: nearly every single person on the globe will have at some point seen Armstrong's iconic first steps. And with good reason too!
I don't know if I'll ever live to see anything as pioneering nor extraordinary as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's lunar antics, but if -as a planet- we do take up manned space flight again, Armstrong will definitely an inspiration to everyone involved.
RIP
Member since:2007-10-26
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
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OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
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Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Member since:
2011-05-12
A great man has left us.