rockets

It's getting harder for developers to make their software stand out in the crowded peer-to-peer file-sharing field. SafeFiles' Rocket Torrents Pro has an angle that will appeal to many users, especially parents. It's an award-winning, adware- and spyware-free BitTorrent utility that does pretty much everything the others do: search for, find, and download files on P2P networks. It supports live media streaming and is iTunes compatible. It offers the usual download resume function, download speed boosters, and security tools to keep you safe. It's in the last category, security, that Rocket Torrents Pro really excels. It claims … Read more

Editors' note: Though T-Mobile is billing it as 4G technology, HSPA+ is a 3G technology based on existing 3G standards.

BARCELONA, Spain--On a chilly morning at Mobile World Congress, T-Mobile USA promised that it would phase in a nationwide HSPA+ network in 2010. Speaking at a press conference at the carrier's glass-fronted pavilion, T-Mobile USA CTO Cole Brodman said the service, which is currently live in Philadelphia, will start to roll out to other cities in the next few months. Though Brodman didn't reveal a specific cities or set a timetable, T-Mobile spokesman Peter Dobrow said the high-speed … Read more

Jet Car Stunts is an exceptional arcade driving game in which (as you might guess) you drive a jet-powered car through a series of stunt-inducing tracks.

This app makes terrific use of the iPhone and iPod Touch interface, with four customizable touch-screen buttons (accelerate and brake/reverse, and jet engine and hand-brake/air-brake) and accelerometer control for both steering and (when you're airborne, which is often) your pitch and roll. The game is split between two different but equally well-developed modes: 11 speed-heavy Time Trial levels with more traditional race-type tracks, and 25 architecturally inspired Platforming levels that focus … Read more

Microsoft on Wednesday announced that it is selling off its Folio and NXT businesses to Massachusetts-based Rocket Software.

Folio, which now goes by the name of Rocket Folio, is a suite of four publishing tools, while NXT (now Rocket NXT) handles publishing Intranet documents. The two businesses came as part of Microsoft's acquisition of Fast Search and Transfer in 2008, a deal that was valued at $1.2 billion. Terms of Wednesday's deal have not yet been disclosed.

As part of the acquisition, Rocket Software will be taking over customer service duties, along with billing. An FAQ page … Read more

P2P Rocket is a mediocre file-sharing program that lets users access the Gnutella and eDonkey networks. Although it works, it doesn't offer any compelling reasons to choose it over other popular file-sharing programs, and it has performance issues too.

P2P Rocket's interface is fairly intuitive, sharing the conventions of most P2P interfaces. It offers both basic and advanced search options, allowing users to fine-tune their search results. For the most part, the program worked as well any other Gnutella client. We did find that after the program had been open for a while, its interface stopped loading completely … Read more

It is always fun when serious people offer a confessional.

On Microsoft's Bing blog, director Stefan Weitz decides to tell everyone who will listen that he has been an "avid rocket launcher since 1975."

I am not aware what effect this might have had on his parents, his neighbors, or the local police and fire services as he was growing up, but I can find no evidence that he was ever arrested for such avid launching.

Weitz is now, however, vexed that science is not cool in school.

So he and his friends at the Bingdome have … Read more

PROMONTORY, Utah--"This is the world's biggest solid rocket motor."

Those eight words, with which Kevin Rees described the Ares 1 rocket to me on Monday, are at once entirely understated, and hugely consequential. Rees is the director of test services for ATK, the primary rocket contractor on NASA's Constellation program.

Since 1981, the Space Shuttle has been NASA's main program. But now, with just a few more Shuttle launches left, the space agency--and the huge ecosystem of contractors who support it--are seriously turning their attention to Constellation, the next program. Constellation is expected to … Read more

One of the best features in Windows 7 is its revamped taskbar and its program-pinning. Combining the utility of customization, big and legible icons, and stylish preview windows, it radically changes the Windows interface. Until it's released, Windows XP users will have to get by with third-party docking programs.

One of the most popular Windows dock replacements, ObjectDock, replaces the taskbar with a colorful, animated dock similar to the taskbar in Mac OS X. It displays icons for currently running programs and hosts quick-launch icons for your favorite programs. As you pass the cursor over each icon, ObjectDock magnifies … Read more

The Obama administration's fiscal 2010 NASA budget request includes $630 million in additional near-term funding for development of follow-on rockets and spacecraft needed for the agency's post-shuttle moon program, officials said Thursday. But most of the increase is from the administration's economic stimulus package, and projections through 2013 show a $3.1 billion reduction in overall funding for the program compared with 2009 projections.

Unveiling NASA's $18.7 billion 2010 budget on Thursday, acting Administrator Chris Scolese said the Obama administration had ordered an independent review of NASA's plans to replace the space shuttle with … Read more