AOL Staff

 

Posts by AOL Staff

Hurricane Sandy Takes Out 25 Percent Of Cell Towers

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Federal regulators say Hurricane Sandy knocked out a quarter of the cell towers in an area spreading across ten states, stretching from Virginia to Massachusetts. And the situation could get worse before it gets better, according to an Associated Press report.

Many cell towers that are still working are doing so with the help of generators and could run out of fuel before commercial power is restored, the Federal Communications Commission says.

Just how widely residents of the East Coast dependency on high speed mobile communications is illustrated in a map, developed as part of the FCC’s Eight Broadband Progress Report, released in June 2011. The map shows census block areas of the U.S. with access to mobile services of at least 3 Mbps download and 768 kbps upload (in dark green) and areas with or without services of at least 768 kbps download and 200 kbps upload (in orange.)

View the full map

The landline phone network has held up better in the affected area, the FCC says, but about a quarter of cable customers are also without service

 /  Published October 31, 2012 at 10:00 AM

Women@NASA: Teenage Mom Excels In Math And Science

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As a young girl I was mischievous, imaginative, and strong-willed. I was considered a tomboy by my family and friends because I enjoyed outdoor activities and taking things apart. I enjoyed playing with action figures and would hide my sisters Barbie dolls so that she wouldn’t have a choice but to play what I wanted. But my favorite times were spent working with my dad on projects, whether it was changing the oil on our vehicles, working on an air conditioner, putting a sprinkler system in or simply mowing the lawn. My time with him provided ample opportunities for me to ask “How” or “Why” and taught me hard work, perseverance, integrity and to always put forth my best effort in everything I did.

Both my parents encouraged me and gave me the needed ‘push’ to excel when I felt overwhelmed and wanted to give up, always re-instilling the character traits they worked so hard to teach me. I was often told “you will reap what you sow.” I knew when I got older I wanted to get married and have kids and a home, but I hadn’t put much thought into how I was going to get there. Being a goal oriented individual, I figured I needed to focus on school to see my dreams come to fruition. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 30, 2012 at 7:00 AM

Pentagon Issues Buying Rules For Zombie Apocalypse (Hint: Parody)

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Everyone knows the global zombie apocalypse is coming soon. I’m here to tell you the military acquisition community needs to take it as seriously as the CDC does. If we’re going to survive the Day / Night / Return / Dawn / Shaun of the Living / Evil / Walking Dead, we’re gonna need some rules. For the convenience of my fellow military technologists, I respectfully offer the following:

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This story comes courtesy of our colleagues at Breaking Defense.
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Rule 1: Small Business
More than 1.05 million people are employed in the US aerospace and defense industry. These individuals are often found in big companies and are regularly described as having “big brains.” This concentration of larger than average cranial volume makes these companies prime zombie targets. The most reliable projections indicate complete zombification of all major defense contractors within 28 hours of the initial outbreak. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 26, 2012 at 4:35 PM

You Can Call Me Ray: A Smartphone For Visually Impaired

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Smartphones have made juggling multiple single-purpose gadgets a thing of the past for many, but the blind and visually impaired often use a raft of devices built with eyes-free use in mind

However, according to our AOL colleagues at Engadget, Qualcomm and Project Ray are aiming to consolidate phone calls, text messaging with voice read-out, navigation, object recognition, audio book reading and more for the visually impaired in a system built on an off-the-shelf Android phone. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 24, 2012 at 12:15 PM

Women@NASA: Temporary Job Turns Into Lifelong Career

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Growing up I was aware of the Apollo moon landings but never dreamed of working for NASA. I grew up in a small rural Ohio community and spent most of my time with the animals or exploring the woods. My love for animals and nature led me to consider careers as a veterinarian or marine biologist. I loved science, math and music. While my career is based on science and math, music remains a big part of my life outside work. In college, I could not quite decide on a major. I didn’t want a job where I did the same thing every day-that would be too boring. I wanted something ever-changing to keep me active and engaged. Following my love for science and math, I graduated with a B.S. in Occupational Health and Safety.

Looking for my first “real job”, a mentor suggested I apply at NASA Lewis (now Glenn) Research Center. When I was hired as an industrial hygienist, I truly expected to stay only five years before moving on to private industry. However, once I got here I found many opportunities that kept me active and engaged. My assignments have changed every 3 to 5 years allowing me to learn new things and stretch myself. I’ve been with NASA over 25 years now and I haven’t gotten bored yet. Being part of NASA, supporting aerospace research, development and innovation, has been extremely rewarding. I have seen a Shuttle roll-out, two launches and a landing and I got goose bumps and teary-eyed each time. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 23, 2012 at 7:00 AM

Women@NASA: Contributing To The Future Of Aerospace

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When my second-grade teacher asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up, I said that I wanted to be the first female astronaut. Boys in the class quipped that girls couldn’t be astronauts, but my teacher replied that I could be whatever I wanted to be. At that moment, I decided that I would work hard and do what it would take to follow my dream of working for NASA, a dream I’d had for as long as I can remember.

Years later, I mentioned my love of fighter jets, like those in the Top Gun movie, to my freshman Algebra 2 teacher. She recommended that I consider becoming an aerospace engineer. From that point on, I was determined to work for NASA as an aerospace engineer. I knew the path I needed to follow, so I took math, science, and drafting classes that prepared me to attend an engineering college. Looking back, I was fortunate to have teachers, many of them female, who were strong in math and science and really pushed me to excel. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 16, 2012 at 7:00 AM

Cyber Chief Alexander Addresses Intelligence Gathering

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This feature showcases one video each Friday that captures the essence of innovation, technology and new ideas happening in government today.

Gen. Keith B. Alexander, Commander of US Cyber Command and Director of the National Security Agency addressed a standing room only crowd at the just-concluded 2012 GEOINT Symposium Oct. 11. The symposium is the nation’s largest intelligence event of the year. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 12, 2012 at 2:00 PM

Study: Is Email Encryption An Asset Or Liability?

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Despite encryption, a study released today identifies standard email as the number one way unauthorized data leaves a federal agency.

According to the study, 80% of Federal information security managers fear data loss through encrypted email, and 58% state that encryption makes it harder to detect data leaving. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 10, 2012 at 1:00 PM

Women@NASA: Career Encourages ‘Never Stop Learning’ Attitude

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I am the deputy managerof the Science and Technology Chief Engineers office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. I consider myself lucky to have the privilege of working on so many exciting space projects and programs. It is amazing to look at the technology that I work on each day – especially compared to my life growing up on a rural farm in North Alabama.

I don’t ever remember thinking I was poor while growing up. We always had plenty of food that we raised on the farm, and everyone in that rural area seemed to be in a similar situation. I was always taught that you work hard regardless of what your job is. Growing up with seven siblings, I worked on the farm – picking cotton, milking cows and cleaning out chicken houses. My first real job was at a chicken processing plant and I was glad to get it. Later, I worked at a cotton mill and washed dishes at a nursing home to put myself through junior college. All jobs, no manner how menial, are important. They provide a sense of accomplishment if you do the work to the best of your ability. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 9, 2012 at 9:00 AM

A Discussion About Big Data

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In this video, Tiffany Shlain, founder of The Webby Awards, Jeff Jonas, of IBM, and Mari Maeda, of DARPA, discuss ways data can change the world.


It was taken at The Economist’s Ideas Economy: Information 2012 event in San Francisco, California. The session was moderated by Kenneth Cukier, data editor for The Economist. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 5, 2012 at 1:00 PM
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