BeoHawk, a new quad-rotor helicopter that is being developed at USC's iLab, has taken its first flight. This flight was a major milestone for Aerial Robotics Team's goal of competing in the AUVSI International Aerial Robotics Competition. This year's competition focuses on retrieving a USB flash drive in high security office building. The robot will have to avoid security guards, security cameras, laser trip wires, and weight-sensitive floors while stealing the flash drive. The competition will be held at the University of Puerto Rico this coming August. Visit USC Robotics Society's website to learn more about this project.

Another view of the BeoHawk: USC ART Quad-Rotor Helicopter

YouTube clips: First RC Flight & Blowing Flash Drive Test

There comes a time in each man's life where he must grow up, and become a man. Often times, in modern society, this means moving out of his parent's house and finding a place of his own.

While I haven't found a place of my own yet, it has come time for me to move out of my parent's house. Besides packing up essential belongings and moving them to my home at USC, this means that I have had to turn off my pride and joy - the server that lived in the closet of my old bedroom. The websites that were hosted on this once-formidable server have been moved to a new account at Dreamhost. Besides javconcepts.com, this includes teamshad.org and a few other projects. They will live at Dreamhost until I have a place of my own in which I can set up the server again. Long live my old closet server. And here's too 100% up-time, issue-free hosting on my new Dreamhost account!

This November marks one year since I've switched to the iPhone. Besides being an amazing phone, the iPhone has an App Store that offers thousands of new programs. With such a wide selection, many of the apps can be hit or miss. The following is a list of apps that have stood the test of time on my phone and find themselves frequently used.

Built-in Apps

5. Maps - Thanks to Google's Maps, I always know where I am in the world. Even though Maps doesn't have turn-by-turn directions (yet), it has helped me find my way back home many times.

4. iPod - 32GB of music, always in your pocket? Yes, please! And this iPod has Genius playlists, unlike my old 30GB iPod.

3. Calendar - With professors canceling class and so many random personal events, I would be a mess without Calendar. Syncing with my Mac makes it easy to keep this calendar up to date.

2. Phone - Did you know the iPhone can make phone calls too? I forget sometimes too. Amazing contact management and Visual Voicemail help to remind me why the iPhone is, at its a core, a solid phone.

1. Messages - During the school year, there is a good chance that either I am in class or the person I am trying to contact is in class. Phone calls do not work in these situations, which is why text messaging can be so much more effective. Plus, the inline chat-style display of messages makes using this app a breeze.

Social Apps

5. Wikipanion (free) - You can never go wrong with an encyclopedia in your pocket. I most often use this app to find a quick definition of something or to learn more about a topic that a professor has mentioned in class.

4. AP Mobile (free) - As my only link to real news, the Associated Press has an important job. AP Mobile pulls through with a customizable homepage and decent images to complement the articles.

3. Twitterrific (free) - Although I secretly despise Twitter and hope that it disappears in the near future, the service is still an entertaining alternative to a boring lecture. Twitterrific is one of the most beautiful apps on the iPhone and can follow links, pictures, and YouTube videos all from within the app.

2. Facebook (free) - The iPhone Facebook app is finally useful now that version 3 has been released. With most of the Facebook's basic features showing up in the app, I find myself needing to run to the real Facebook less often.

1. Google Reader (free) - Although Google Reader is only a web app with a link on my springboard, it is by far my most used social app. Google Reader provides an excellent RSS reading experience. Being able to star items and then view them on my laptop later makes using Reader a real pleasure.

If you're at a computer right now, check out Hulu's live coverage of the Michael Jackson Memorial. The memorial service, taking place just down the road from USC at the Staples Center, will provide a public farewell for the King of Pop, with performances from Stevie Wonder and Mariah Carey and appearances by Martin Luther King, Jr's children and Brooke Shields. The memorial is following a private funeral that was held this morning for friends and family at the Forest Lawn cemetery.

USC's Association of Computing Machinery kicked off their first Mobile Hackathon yesterday afternoon. The Mobile Hackathon is a week long programming content that is primarily focused on Apple's iPhone. The week includes information session from USC professors and Apple engineers.

Starting on Saturday, April 11, Hackathon teams will start programming a mobile application with the to-be-announced content theme. The contest continues through the night until 5pm on Sunday. ACM will judge the different mobile applications, and award prizes to the best ones!

If you are a USC student, it is not too late to register! Head over to the Mobile Hackathon website to learn more.