weekly

Too busy booking vacation tickets to the latest super-Earth to keep tabs on Crave this week? Well, plenty happened here on this planet while you were packing for HD 40307g, my friends.

- Ancient Egyptian d20 die emerges; did they play Dungeons & Dragons in the Ptolemaic Period?

- Brahms meets the touch screen at Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra.

- Hold tight to your tush. Butt-shaking theater seats have arrived.

- Start honing those Velociraptor impressions. "Jurassic Park 3D" is near.

- Pee power to the people!

- Obama victory photo scores big win on Facebook. … Read more

Besides President Obama, the big winner on Election Day was big data.

Big data's patron saint -- FiveThirtyEight blogger Nate Silver -- won the battle to predict the outcome of the contest between Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Where breathless pundits brandishing equivocating polls shouted from the rooftops over the last few weeks that the race for the White House was a "toss-up," or "too close to call," Silver and other poll aggregators sat back and calmly told anyone who would listen that the math told another story: Obama's re-election was never … Read more

Too busy lamenting the demise of Buckyballs this week to keep up with Crave? Don't despair; these stories should renew your hope:

- "Sandy CrisisCamp": Helpful "hurricane hackers" are on the case.

- Amputee set for epic climb with thought-controlled bionic leg.

- Samsung's solar-powered school lights up African village.

- Get your kicks on tomorrow's Route 66. … Read more

Just before Hurricane Sandy started to pummel the East Coast this week, Microsoft managed to grab the tech headlines with the official debut of Windows Phone 8.

The launch of the next-generation mobile operating system, which came on the heels of last week's splashy Windows 8 debut, got people talking with its support for multicore processors and mobile payments, and its tighter relationship with the Windows platform. And as with Windows 8, Window Phone 8 uses live tiles instead of icons. (Though Microsoft is already being sued for those tiles, over patent-infringement claims.)

So far, Windows Phone 8 has … Read more

Too busy being peeved about the fourth-generation iPad this week to keep up with Crave? These stories will catch you up -- and lower your blood pressure.

- The blood brain barrier has never looked so beautiful.

- Best home decor ever: Iron Man stained glass windows!

- Ever seen a bipedal robot walk a tightrope? Now you have.

- Robot Hall of Fame: Wall-E, BigDog, Nao, PackBot, come on down!

- A hoodie jacket with built-in goggles: Nope, that's not creepy at all.

- Full bladder? App pinpoints the best time to go mid-movie.

- "Star Wars" and My Little Pony, together at last! … Read more

Confirming one of its worst-kept secrets, Apple took the wraps off the iPad Mini during a press event on Tuesday.

The new device, a 7.9-inch version of its 10-inch iPad tablet, comes in six pricing configurations. In addition to the 16GB tablet with Wi-Fi at $329, the 32GB tablet with Wi-Fi is $429, and the 64BG version is $529. For devices with Wi-Fi and 4G cellular connections, the 16GB tablet is $459, the 32GB is $559, and the 64GB is $659. These devices are shipping two weeks after their Wi-Fi-only counterparts.

The iPad Mini could prove to dramatically expand the base of customers for Apple, … Read more

Bust out the boogie shoes! It's time to do everyone's favorite new dance: "Evolution of nanostructural architecture in 7000 series aluminum alloys during strengthening by age-hardening and severe plastic deformation." Through mixing it like metal? Read on to catch up on the Craviness you might have missed this week.

- See the big 24-mile dive -- from Fearless Felix's point of view. And, of course, in Lego form.

- Big step in wheelchair innovation: a stair-climbing model.

- Could you be holding an iPad Mini by November 2?

- This license plate frame outwits red light cameras. Must-have accessory or cheating? … Read more

You're sweating in your bulky radiation suit, your dosimeter is freaking you out, and you're trying to close a valve that might just save a large portion of the population from some very nasty fallout.

Wouldn't it be nice to have some robotic help?

Japan's robot start-up Cyberdyne is modifying its Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) power suit for use by first responders in nuclear accidents.

The exoskeleton is being improved to help workers who have to wear heavy radiation protection clothing. Japan is still struggling with radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was severely damaged last year during one of the country's most powerful earthquakes. … Read more