NASA sheds light on tech needed for space travel

The technologies needed back in the days of the Apollo space missions were well understood. But with NASA's current missions, it faces a broader and more complicated list of priorities.

The National Research Council this week laid out a roadmap for the technologies not yet developed NASA will need over the next five years. The long list addresses energy storage and power generation, human health and safety, materials and sensors, propulsion, and imaging.

Micron CEO Steve Appleton dies in plane crash

Micron's chief executive officer and chairman of the board Steve Appleton died earlier today in a plane crash in Boise, Idaho.

Appleton, who was 51, was flying an experimental fixed-wing plane at the time of the accident.

"Steve's passion and energy left an indelible mark on Micron, the Idaho community and the technology industry at large," the company said in a statement.

Appleton had been with Micron since 1983, and previously served as a production manager, director of manufacturing, vice president of manufacturing, and chief operating officer.

Tokyo store's female android looking for love

Ah, Valentine's Day. It's just around the corner, so have you thought about how you'll express your love for your favorite inanimate object? Humans are so passe.

Japanese retailers have a suggestion. They're setting geek hearts aflutter with a pretty, ageless female android who's looking for love.

Plasma torch is effective for destroying bacteria on raw chicken

Nobody wants to eat poultry with Salmonella and die. Good thing some food researchers at Drexel University have figured out how to use plasma to blast the bacteria off raw chicken so that not only is your food safe, but so is your kitchen.

Smart headphones know left from right; switch audio for you

For some of us, mixing up the left and right headphones doesn't really register. For hardcore music lovers, gamers and those with more discerning ears, the idea of mixing up left from right headphones is sacrilege. The problem of an accidental switch while distracted is a soon a thing of the past with headphones that automatically switch channels when placed in the wrong ear.

Get ready! J.J. Abrams has ANOTHER sci-fi TV show heading our way

Just when you thought television couldn't get any more J.J.-riffic—what with Alcatraz,Person of Interest and Fringe unspooling weekly—NBC is getting back into bed with theStar Trek mastermind to plot a Revolution.

Horror movie-type mushroom found that devours plastic

You may have heard, but there are some folks out there who aren't too pleased with all the plastic we have in clogging our landfills and killing our wildlife. Luckily, now all these anti-our-giant-and-oh-so-necessary-3-friggin'-liter-bottles-of-sugar-water might be able to throw a party replete with tofu cubes and spring rolls: a mushroom has been found in the Amazon that might simply eat it all. Yep.

RIM tries to entice Android developers with free PlayBook tablets

Desperate times call for desperate measures. For RIM, things are so rocky, the company's now resorted to begging Android developers to port their apps to BlackBerry App World in exchange for free PlayBooks.

Sheryl Sandberg: Facebook's Highest-Paid Employee

Mark Zuckerberg may be the face of Facebook. But Sheryl Sandberg can take much of the credit for the company's success. As chief operating officer -- and the self-described "grownup" in the room -- she was also the highest-paid employee at the social networking site. Her salary and stock awards last year: a cool $30.87 million, putting her on pace to be one of the wealthiest self-made women in the worldonce the company goes public.

Sandberg, who's second in command at Facebook, is often not just the grownup in the room, but also the only woman, which she finds mind-boggling. As she told an audience at TED in Washington, D.C., "One hundred and ninety heads of state; nine are women. Of all the people in parliament in the world, 13% are women. In the corporate sector, women at the top, C-level jobs, board seats, tops out at 15-16%. The numbers have not moved since 2002 and are going in the wrong direction."

Solar power cheaper than fossil fuels for 1.3 billion people

Here in the U.S., we're used to thinking about solar power as one of those happy eco-friendly things that we'd all totally be using except for the fact that it's so much more expensive than fossil fuels. In the developing world, though, it's exactly the opposite: solar power is gaining ground with 1.3 billion people simply because it's the cheapest way to go.

Florida highway pileup kills at least 10 people

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A long line of cars and trucks collided one after another early Sunday on a dark Florida highway so shrouded in haze and smoke that drivers were instantly blinded. At least 10 people were killed.

When rescuers first arrived, they could only listen for screams and moans because the poor visibility made it difficult to find victims in wreckage that was strewn for nearly a mile, police said.

Authorities were still trying to determine what caused the pileupsouth of Gainesville on Interstate 75, which had been closed for a time before the accidents because of the mixture of fog and heavy smoke from a brush fire that may have been intentionally set. At least a dozen cars and six tractor-trailers were involved, and some burst into flames.

What the Top 1% of Earners Majored In

We got an interesting question from an academic adviser at a Texas university: could we tell what thetop 1 percent of earners majored in?

The writer, sly dog, was probably trying to make a point, because he wrote from a biology department, and it turns out that biology majors make up nearly 7 percent of college graduates who live in households in the top 1 percent.

According to the Census Bureau's 2010 American Community Survey, the majors that give you the best chance of reaching the 1 percent are pre-med, economics, biochemistry, zoology and, yes, biology, in that order.

Teens migrating to Twitter _ sometimes for privacy

CHICAGO (AP) — Teens don't tweet, will never tweet - too public, too many older users. Not cool.

That's been the prediction for a while now, born of numbers showing that fewer than one in 10 teens were using Twitter early on.

But then their parents, grandparents, neighbors, parents' friends and anyone in-between started friending them on Facebook, the social networking site of choice for many — and a curious thing began to happen.

Suddenly, their space wasn't just theirs anymore. So more young people have started shifting to Twitter, almost hiding in plain sight.

Megaupload’s Kim Dotcom Loses ‘Call of Duty’ Top Spot

At last the real reason Kim Dotcom was arrested becomes apparent. It had nothing to do withMegaupload’s copyright infringement; it was all about his standing in Call of Duty 3. Since he has been incarcerated without bail, he has lost his standing as the #1 player in the world. If you can’t beat ‘em fair and square, have ‘em locked up. 

Ironically, Megaupload might have made it even harder to reach that top spot by facilitating free downloads of games such as Modern Warfare 3.

Spartacus, Episode 1: The Things That Made Us Go

Run! Spartacus and his rebels are on the loose! In the Season 2 premiere of Spartacus: Vengeance, we see that no Roman is safe — not even those spending their hard-earned coin at a brothel!
It's war between Spartacus' unwashed gang and the Romans, mainly Gaius Claudius Glaber and new pup Seppius, whom we foresee will be equally annoying and entertaining. Also, what's with the Folgers-ad-worthy banter and chemistry between him and his sister Seppia? Meanwhile, after the rebels go on a bordello killing spree, Crixus learns that his love Naevia is being sold from dominus to dominus as a sex slave. We also see Oenomaus running around incognito in a hooded robe, Lucretia has survived her abdomen wound but isn't quite sane, and Glaber is forcing his wife Ilythia to hang out in Capua while he seeks to defeat Spartacus.

Top 10 All-Inclusive Beach Resorts

Nothing says R&R quite like an all-inclusive beach vacation, where indulging in all you can eat, drink, and do, while soaking up sun, surf, and sand, are the sole tasks at hand. Skip out on a typical trip’s logistical inconveniences (complicated planning) and stress-inducing stream of expenses (lodging, meals, drinks, activities, tips, etc.), at one of these best all-inclusive beach resorts. 


Le Blanc Spa Resort, Cancun, Mexico (Photo: Courtesy of Le Blanc Spa Resort)Le Blanc Spa Resort
Cancun, Mexico

Best for: Romantics, spa lovers
This lux, adults-only oasis brings sophistication to Cancun’s white-sand Caribbean Sea beaches. The 260 rooms come with customized touches like pillow menus and in-room aromatherapy, complete with 24-hour butler service. Three pools (two with swim-up, ocean-view bars), nightly entertainment, eight restaurants and bars, a fitness center (with personal training sessions included), and the Zen-inspired Le Blanc Spa are met by activities like scuba diving demos, beach volleyball, and yoga. Stay three nights or more for complimentary use of the spa’s hydrotherapy facilities, a massage, and resort credit of up to $1,500. High-season rates from $406 per adult, per night; www.leblancsparesort.com. 

Ultimate Battlefield 3 PC mod serves drinks, fires on command

Hands down, this is the best Battlefield 3 PC case mod I've ever seen. Created by Brian "Bodakker" Carter, the mod has two things PC gamers would fawn over: a mini fridge for a cold soda or beer and a rotating mini chain gun. Um, the totally heavy-duty military-looking case and flip switches are cool, too.

Giant solar flares are a great way to clean up space junk

The latest issue of NASA's Orbital Debris Quarterly News (I kid you not) is hot off the presses, and it includes a fascinating article on how increased solar activity can help to sweep Earth's orbit clean of space junk.

James Cameron plans move to New Zealand farm

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Hollywood director James Cameron is planning to move onto a New Zealand farm.

Cameron has successfully applied to buy 1,067 hectares (2,636 acres) of farmland in New Zealand. In an application filed with the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office, Cameron says he and his family "intend to reside indefinitely in New Zealand and are acquiring the property to reside on and operate as a working farm."

Apple is Building New ARM SoC In-House, Possibly for iPad 3

iPad 3 looks to be a major bump, will likely be Apple's first LTE modem, may pack its first homemade core, too

Apple, Inc. (AAPL) announced the original iPad in January 2010, and it hit the market in April 2010.  The polished device was undeniably a game-changing product that turned an often-overlooked niche (tablets) into a booming market.   It was about this time last year that Apple sent out its occasions to a special event.  That event -- on March 1 -- turned out to be late Apple CEO and co-founder Steven P. Jobs' last major product announcement -- the iPad 2.

The iPad (first gen.) sold 15 million units in 2010.  The iPad 2 sold 40 million units in 2011 [1][2][3][4], keeping Apple far ahead of would-be Android tablet competitors.  Now excitement is mounting for the iPad 3.

AA to Cut 13,000 Jobs, Close Alliance Facility

American Airlines parent company AMR Corp. said Wednesday it would cut 13,000 jobs and close its Fort Worth Alliance Airport maintenance hub as part of a five-year plan to save $3 billion per year.

NBC 5's Scott Friedman was the first to break the story early Wednesday morning that the Fort Worth-based airline would cut as many as 15,000 jobs nationwide.

Jobs, $200 Million Expansion Coming to Arlington GM Plant

More jobs and a $200 million expansion are coming to the General Motors assembly plant in Arlington.

Officials with GM announced the plans during a news conference Tuesday morning.

The expansion will bring a stamping plant to the Arlington facility that produces Chevrolet Tahoes and Suburbans, GMC Yukons and Cadillac Escalades.

Farmers Insurance to Raise Texas Rates by 10 Percent

Farmers Insurance will raise homeowner premiums by nearly 10 percent, according to a report in the Dallas Morning News.

The increase will go into effect on March 16 for 350,000 customers who have either a Texas Family Home Policy or a Next Generation Home Policy.

Robber Leaves After Seeing Only Fake Jewelry

A retired Dallas teacher said she learned a tough lesson after a robber stormed her front door Tuesday morning.

Sarah Dews, 73, said the armed man assaulted her after realizing she didn't have any jewelry in her home near the Dallas North Tollway.

Polo Club Founder Adopts Girlfriend Amid Civil Suit Over DUI Death

A wealthy Florida polo club founder has adopted his longtime adult girlfriend in what attorneys believe may be a legal maneuver to protect his financial assets as he faces a trial for a drunk driving incident that killed a 23-year-old.

John Goodman, 48, formally adopted Heather Laruso Hutchins, 42, in October 2011. The couple started dating in 2009. Goodman is the founder of the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Fla.

West Palm Beach Judge Glenn Kelley wrote in a court order that the twists in the case "border on the surreal and take the Court into a legal twilight zone."

Feds Arrest Streaming Sports Site Operator for Copyright Infringement

While most people caught streaming copyrighted content usually operate one or two websites, this guy operated nine of the sixteen seized by the Department of Justice this week. 

A 28-year old man from Comstock Park, Michigan, has been arrested and charged with criminal copyright infringement. Yonjo Quiroa is the alleged operator of nine of the sixteen streaming related domain names that were seized a few hours ago as part of ‘Operation Fake Sweep’.

Apple Invents Solution To Foxconn Suicide Epidemic

iNett, Back to work.

Treasure hunter says he found $3B WWII wreck

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A treasure hunter said he has located the wreck of a British merchant ship that was torpedoed by a German U-boat off Cape Cod during World War II while carrying what he claims was a load of platinum bars now worth more than $3 billion.

If the claim proves true, it could be one of the richest sunken treasures ever discovered.

But an attorney for the British government expressed doubt the vessel was carrying platinum. And if it was, in fact, laden with precious metals, who owns the hoard could become a matter of international dispute.

Negative Woman

Stare at the red dot on this woman's nose for thirty seconds. Then, look over at a blank white space (a piece of paper or an empty browser tab will do). Did you see the "correct" version of the image? Here's how it works: stare long enough at an object and the eye's photoreceptors (particularly the color-sensitive cone cells) lose sensitivity from overstimulation. Divert the eyes to a blank space, and the surrounding cone cells send out a much stronger signal. The brain interprets this discrepancy as looking at the precise opposite colors, in what is known as a 'negative afterimage.' Nifty, no? LINK

Meteor Streaks Across North Texas Sky - small BOOM!

People from Oklahoma City to Austin reported seeing a flash of light in the sky Wednesday night.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the light was a meteor. People reported seeing it about 8 p.m.

A Grand Prairie resident who lives near Joe Pool Lake said the meteor had a reddish-white ball in the middle and a tail that resembled a sparkler. He said it lasted three to four seconds.

Deepcool Gamer Storm Dracula VGA Cooler Review

Legit Reviews has the Deepcool Gamer Storm Dracula VGA cooler in house today for a little review action. If your product is named Dracula, has a four part fan bracket and can take up four PCI slots, it better be bad ass. 

Today we take at the flagship GPU cooler from Deepcool, the Dracula. The Dracula is part of Deepcool's Gamer Storm line and is designed for those that want some serious cooling performance. This GPU cooler is massive and takes up four PCI slots when installed. Join us today we put the Dracula on the notoriously hot running NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 to see how it handles the heat compared to another aftermarket cooler.

Seagate Technology Reports Second Quarter Financial Results 2012

Seagate Technology reported financial results for the quarter ended December 30, 2011. The company shipped 47 million disk drives and reported revenue of $3.2 billion, gross margin of 31.6%, net income of $563 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.28. On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes the net impact of certain items, Seagate reported net income of $581 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.32 for the quarter ended December 30, 2011.

Google Must Pay $660k For Offering Google Maps For Free

Who knew that offering Google Maps for free was an unfair and abusive practice? 

A Paris Court earlier this week ordered Google France and its parent company Google to pay plaintiff Bottin Cartographes 500,000 euros (about $660,000) for providing its free mapping services to businesses across the country. The court also required Google to pay a 15,000 euro fine for its practice.

cute Girl - Full Boost - 1300hp TT Z06 Vette

Turn Your Smartphone Into a First Person Shooter

Here is an interesting way to play your first person shooter games on your cell phone. Thanks to TheWeazmeister for the linkage!

Cruise bookings fall after Concordia shipwreck

NEW YORK (AP) — The frightful images of a sinking Italian cruise ship have scared off some cruise passengers, at least temporarily, during the industry's peak booking season.

Travel agents — who book more than two-thirds of cruise passengers worldwide — have been nervously watching bookings ever since the Costa Concordia, which is owned by Carnival Corp, ran aground on Jan. 13.

On Monday, they got a new reason to be nervous: bookings fell significantly for Miami-basedCarnival Corp. following the Costa accident. Attention is now focused on Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which reports earnings on Thursday. An increase there could show that passengers are fleeingCarnival over safety fears. A decrease could indicate an overall distrust of all cruise lines.

Apple Boycott Urged Over Foxconn Investigation

Several high-profile media outlets are calling for a boycott of Apple products, amid new reports of mistreatment of workers at the company's manufacturing chain in China.

The New York Times first ignited media interest last week with a series of articles describing terrible working conditions at factories belonging to Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn. The company has several factories in mainland China where it produces components for an array electronic devices, including the Apple iPad.

Cartel Assassin, Accused of Slaying 75, is Captured

In a cartel known for its bloodlust, he might be the biggest killer of all.

Enrique Aurelio Elizondo Flores, variously called “El Arabe” (“The Arab”) or “The Raven,” has confessed to heading a cell of assassins responsible for the deaths of at least 75 people, according to the state investigative agency of Nuevo Leon and reports which appeared first in the Mexican media. If the body count is accurate, it might place Elizondo as one of the most horrifically efficient murderers of all time. But this isn’t just a random serial killer. Elizondo is a member of the notorious Los Zetas cartel.

Report Unloads on ATF for Mexican ‘Gunwalking’

Days before Attorney General Eric Holder is once again hauled before Congress to testify for Operation Fast and Furious, a new report sheds light on whether high-ranking officials knew, or have been honest about, one of the biggest failures in Justice Department history: a disastrous plan by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to allow gunrunners to “walk” firearms into the hands of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel.

Israeli Nukes Triggered Fukushima Quake, Crackpot Claims

Seismologists at the U.S. Geological Survey, the International Seismological Center, and NASA have come to a consensus about last year’s cascading tragedies in Japan that left at least 16,000 dead and half a million homeless. A massive, 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit just off the country’s coast on Friday, March 11, the scientists say. The quake triggered huge tsunami waves, and those, in turn, catalyzed a series of nuclear accidents whose consequences will affect Japanese residents for decades.

Jim Stone, a self-professed former National Security Agency analyst with an “engineering background,” has a different explanation: The whole thing was a deliberate and dastardly act of nuclear war.

Antec Announces the High Current Gamer M PSU Series

Antec, Inc., the global leader in high-performance computer components, announces the High Current Gamer M series, a mid-range wattage class of hybrid modular power supplies. The High Current Gamer M series is an extension of the HCG PSU line issued in late 2010 but features hybrid modularity, allowing for cleaner systems by reducing cable clutter behind the motherboard.

Antec‘s new desktop PSU series provides quiet, efficient power in 400W, 520W, and 620W models, accommodating casual gamers, home office and corporate consumers. The High Current Gamer M Series is the perfect combination of power and cabling that supply extreme levels of power and superb efficiency.

Laser-guided homing bullets can nail targets from a mile away

The U.S. Army has been very pleased with its fancy new XM25s, the gun that can shoot "smart" bullets at enemies behind cover. But the XM25's bullets are only smart in onedimension, while Sandia National Labs has just tested a prototype laser-guided bullet that can steer itself and home in on targets.

M61 "Counter-Rocket" gatling gun-on-a-truck shoots down mortars like skeet

Mortars pose a significant threat to infantry as even if they aren't always lethal, they drop out of the sky and can effectively pin a squad down. Well, some crazy military engineers decided to take the Phalanx M61 (pictured above) that protects naval vessels from anti-ship missiles and toss it on the back of a truck to counter mortars before they can land.

Remote-controlled flying people let you play real-life superhero

What's that in the sky? Neo flying around your city, and you're in The Matrix!? Or did someone just create a real, working Iron Man suit? None of the above. The real answer is far simpler.

This 'iPnoho6' probably wasn't found in a Redwood City bar

Apple has made a habit of leaving their prototype iPhones in Silicon Valley bars, but somehow I doubt that the iPnoho6 is something that disappeared from the secret labs in Cupertino.

12 things you didn't know you desperately needed a 3D printer for

As technology evolves, so do our households. We now have all kinds of standard tools to make our lives better and easier, like vacuum cleaners and dishwashers and washing machines and dryers. And pretty soon, 3D printers are going to be part of the household kit, making all kinds of things you didn't know you needed until you printed them out.

Brendan Dawes bought himself a Makerbot back in December of 2010, and since then he's been keeping track of every single thing he's used it for. Keep in mind that this is just one guy making whatever he wants to make, and all of the randomly handy stuff in the gallery below is a tiny little sample of what's possible. And if you're sold on the concept and want a Makerbot for your very own, it'll run you about $1,100 for the kit. PHOTOS

Everything I Make With My Makerbot, via Core77

Meet the house that fits in your pocket

The Basic House is a temporary housing solution so portable it can be folded up to fit in your pocket. Created from a metalized polyester material, when unfolded it self inflateswith body heat or from the heat of the sun to provide an instant shelter.

GloSpex light-up shades come from an alternate cyberpunk reality

This picture isn't really communicating the greatness that's going on here (there's a video inside for that), but here's the gist: Kevin Donahue is an inventor who has patented a "one-way see-through illumination" system. Read: these shades light up like something out of a cyberpunk wet dream without blinding you.

Lightsaber sneakers turn your feet into a Jedi vs Sith battle

Here at DVICE we tend to be suckers for anything Star Wars related. When I saw these ultra-cool sneakers with the built-in lightsabers, I thought these would be the perfect finishing touch for any true Star Wars geek's costume. So imagine my disappointment when I discovered that they only come in kids sizes.

Segway style vehicle could replace wheelchairs for the disabled

The animated film WALL-E showed us a disturbing future in which lazy humans get around via tiny personal hovercrafts, but in reality some disabled people could actually use such a device. The very real Chariot just might be that device.

A Swarm of Nano Quadrotors

So what do you do for a living? I'll bet it isn't as cool as a job making tiny killer robots that sound like a swarm of bees.  Thanks to Jeff Schultz for the link!

Sony’s Hirai Will Replace Stringer as CEO in April

Sony, Sony, Sony. It was just a few months ago that you were slamming journalist for reporting that Hirai was replacing Stringer and here it is the rumors were true. 

The 51-year-old Hirai, currently executive deputy president, was widely expected to succeed Stringer. The Welsh-born Stringer, one of the few foreigners to lead a major Japanese company, will retain his post as chairman of the board, Sony said in a statement.