Space Diving Suit in the Works
It seems the future is indeed happening now, as the list of sci-fi inspired gadgets finding their way to real life is growing longer. Scientists are working on a futuristic space diving suit inspired by famous science fiction franchises Star Trek and Iron Man.
Star Trek has already served as inspiration for current efforts to develop a food replicator and a medical tricorder. The space diving suit seems like a natural addition to the list, right?
After Felix Baumgartner’s impressive and record-shattering space jump from 127,852 feet above the Earth, I’m sure many people out there have been wondering if they would do it too. And the space diving suit will allow all wannabe daredevils who were in awe of Baumgartner’s feat to do it themselves.
Known as the RL Mark VI, a name that doesn’t get more science-fiction than that, the space diving suit is being developed by Baltimore MD based Juxtopia and Solar System Express. RL is an acronym for Robert Lawrence, a United States Air Force major who was also the first African-American astronaut. Lawrence died in a test flight in 1967.
The RL Mark VI will be designed to withstand extreme pressure changes and temperatures. Emulating models seen in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek films to the last detail, the space diving suit will be equipped with an augmented reality HUD (heads-up display) that will show the divers their vital signs and various technical details about the outside conditions.
The suit will also be provided with rocket boosters and directional thrusters to help stabilize the descent and direction. The invention will be first tested by a robot. The companies still have to work out a lot of technical details, but expect the suit to be ready and in mass production by 2016.
If successful, the enterprise will make space diving one of the most popular extreme sports, at least for those with deep pockets. While the suit itself is not expected to be very expensive, the trip to the jumping point in space will be. The space diving suit will reportedly allow space jumps from different altitudes: near space, suborbital space and low-Earth orbit. An artist’s rendition of how the suit would work can be seen in the video below.
What do you think of the RL Mark VI? Would you be willing to do a Captain Kirk impersonation and try performing a space jump?
[Image via DVICE]
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Guide to Setting up A VPN in Windows 7
It’s probably a good idea for you to consider getting yourself a Virtual Private Network (VPN) setup when you find yourself connecting to free wireless hotspots on a regular basis. With a VPN, you will have a free and protected tunnel through the Internet. Your data will be safe and no one will be able to get a sniff of what you are doing. In other words, you will have complete privacy.
Types of VPNs You Can Establish
There are different types of VPNs to use, and you need to choose one according to your needs. You may go for a VPN service which provides you safety in terms of protecting your data through encryption and it also hides your location. This has a great level of security and it’s normally a preferred choice due to easy accessibility.
There is also the option of getting a third-party VPN like Combo. This type of VPN establishes secure connections between computers. You can also set up your own VPN, which may be either incoming or outgoing.
With an outgoing VPN, you can remotely access another network or machine. With a wireless router, you can establish an outgoing connection to gain access to a media server, your office computer, as well as other devices remotely. With an incoming session, other computers will be able to access your computer.
Establish a VPN through the Built-In VPN Client Available In Windows 7
- When you proceed to the Network and Sharing Center (Go to Control Panel > Network and Internet), you’ll see an option there to “Set up a new connection or network.” Your next step will be to “Connect to a Workplace”. Once the network wizard is set up, go to “Use my Internet connection (VPN)”. This will initiate the process.
- With a 3G card installed, you will probably be prompted to utilize the 3G card as opposed to creating a “new” connection. However, you will need to click on the option offering to make a “new” connection. This will allow you to use your current Internet connection. An easier route to this point is to click on your computer’s Start button and then type “VPN” to run a search. You will be taken straight to “Set up a virtual private network (VPN) connection”.
- Feed the network domain name or the IP address of the VPN in the Internet address field. This information can be delivered by the network administrator. You can feed in the IP address of your home router if you are connecting to your home router. It’s the destination name field that will display the name that a user will see.
- The next screen that you are prompted to will ask you for a username and password. Leaving this blank means that you will be prompted to a box where you will need to feed in your information while establishing the actual connection.
- If you selected “Don’t connect now” at the earlier stage, you will see a “Connect now” option. You can either close this window, or connect. When you want to make a connection, all you need to do is go to the ‘systray’ and click on the network icon.
- Enter your username and password for the VPN network in the VPN connection box.
- If you experience connection failure, click on ‘Properties’ where you will need to change the server configuration. Go to the “Security” tab in the ‘Properties’ window, and make sure the “Type of VPN” is set to Automatic. Also check with the administrator to make sure whether it should be set to SSTP, PPTP, L2TP/IpSec or IKEv2. If you still experience failure, you should uncheck “Include Windows logon domain” which is available under the Options tab.
- Save the properties, then select ‘Connect’ in order to launch the connection. You should now be connected to a VPN server.
Experiencing failure is usually a sign that something small is not being configured correctly. You will only need to tinker around with the configuration a bit in order to sort things out.
[Image via harshvaghela]
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