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Tag: Test

  • Facebook Tests Privacy Checkup So You Don’t Make a Complete Ass of Yourself

    Facebook tests new features and little tweaks all the time, and the majority of them never make it to primetime (meaning a global rollout). But here’s one that we think would be rather helpful.

    The company is testing a new “privacy checkup” warning that asks users if they are sure they want to continue posing publicly. Maybe you turned your post settings to public to announce your big job promotion (congrats!) and then never turned it back to “friends only.” Yikes. Now you’re about to tell the word about the huge rager you’re having Friday night at your out-of-town boss’ beach house.

    Oh noes!

    Anyway, you get the point. It’s great the Facebook made the sharing of posts so granular, allowing users to easily switch up the privacy protocol every single time they post. But it would be nice to be reminded of your current post privacy settings, wouldn’t it?

    Sociobits grabbed a screenshot of the test, in which a cute little dinosaur says:

    Sorry to interrupt. You haven’t changed who can see your posts lately, so we just wanted to make sure you’re sharing this post with the right audience. (Your current setting is _______, though you can cvhange this whenever you post.)

    There’s also a learn more link, which reiterates the point:

    Every time you post on Facebook you can decide who sees what you share. It looks like you haven’t changed who can see your posts in a while, so we’re just checking that your privacy is set the way you want. You’ll still able to change the audience any time you post something.

    “We frequently test new ways to help ensure people are sharing with who they want to on Facebook,” said a Facebook spokesperson.

    I only wish they would go further, and warn you whenever you make a second post from a recently-changed privacy setting. So many careers, friendships, and romances could be saved by a little more attention payed to who you’re posting to.

    Image via Sociobits, h/t The Daily Dot

  • NASA To Feed Jet Engine Crayons… For Science

    Recently NASA engineers at the Dryden Flight Research Center, feed crayons and cereal to a jet engine. No, the engine tests aren’t to see how well the Pratt & Whitney F117 turbofan engines hold up against a toddler. The tests are actually to test new sensors to help with managing the health of the engines while in flight.

    “The point of tossing cereal and crayons into the engine is to trigger some small change for the sensors to detect, without harming the engine,” said Dave Berger, a leader of the Vehicle Integrated Propulsion (VIPR) test series. “Once the sensitivity of the sensors is established, we will end with a real-world scenario by introducing volcanic ash, which really can – and does – tear up an engine.”


    Photos courtesy of NASA.

    The need for such an experiment and new sensors came to the forefront during the 2009 Icelandic volcano eruptions that disrupted air traffic worldwide for weeks. The overall tests on the engine will eventually lead to the introduction to volcanic ash which will destroy the engine.

    “Being able to take an overhauled engine and run it all the way to the end of its life through research experiments is a unique opportunity,” said Berger.

    In true NASA fashion, they also had to design and build two support structures for the experiment. The first was a 24-foot diameter water platform designed to sit below and in front of the research engine during ground testing, the second was a piece of support equipment that is an emission sensor rig designed to sit just behind the engine and sweep across the engine’s exhaust path in order to collect exhaust gases for emissions data.

    Based at Dryden, VIPR is funded by NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, which manages the Aviation Safety Program.