nasa

Buzz Out Loud 739: One tingly pinky

Microsoft finds that we're all in increasing RSI pain thanks to laptops and mobile devices ... which they continue to support with mobile versions of Windows. Um. Thanks for the info? Also today, the space station toilet is fixed, an iPhone patent filing lists some actual features, Comcast is up-front with some slightly reasonable sounding throttling plans, and Microsoft says it's not running a call-in "save XP petition," even though everyone is calling in asking them to save XP. That is just sad. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 739

Happy Birthday! X86 Turns 30 Years … Read more

NASA spawns smart twin in 'Second Life'

First it started tweeting, then it bore a twin.

NASA is trying all manner of Web 2.0 software to promote its science to the tech-savvy crowd. Months ago, the media director at the space agency's Jet Propulsion Lab began sending out Twitter messages, or 140-character digital notes, about the Phoenix Lander mission to Mars. Now, NASA has created a so-called cybertwin for the Phoenix rover in the virtual world Second Life.

Even though the term "cybertwin" sounds very Web 1.0, the technology is based on techniques in artificial intelligence, such as natural language processing. Instead … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 738: OS X 10.6: Liger, lolcat, or Cougar?

Rumor has it that there will be code details about OS X 10.6 at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference next week. Bold prediction, considering it's a developer's conference. Geniuses. Now, what cat to name it after? Also, Bill Gates gives his last speech on the road to his nearly-full-time-job-retirement; Oklahoma City has a sweet Wi-Fi mesh network that you can't use (unless the password is "password"); and you can now get your Outlook e-mail on an LG enV(2).

Listen now: Download today's podcast Episode 738

Mac OS 10.6 debuting next week? … Read more

Google signs $146 million lease for new NASA campus

NASA and Google said Wednesday that the search giant will build a new high-tech campus at the space agency's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif.

As part of the 40-year agreement, Google will lease 42.2 acres of open field at NASA Ames close to its own headquarters in Mountain View for as much as $146 million over the life of the deal. By the end of 2013, Google said it will start construction on 1.2 million square feet of offices for research and development, in an effort to accommodate its growing staff of about 20,000. … Read more

Phoenix Mars Lander Web site hacked

The Web site for the Phoenix Mars Lander mission was hacked over the weekend with readers of the main news article redirected to an overseas Web site, a spokeswoman for the mission said on Monday.

Someone was able to access the site Friday night and change the "read more" link to connect to an outside site that was in a foreign language, said Sara Hammond, spokeswoman for the mission being led by the University of Arizona. She was not sure what language it was.

Several hours later another attempt to hack the site was made and site administrators … Read more

Mars lander's robotic arm makes contact

The Phoenix Mars Lander's robotic arm touched the planet's terrain for the first time on Saturday.

The effort, which came seven days after the lander touched down, is part of NASA's efforts to scoop up Red Planet specimens for experiments on the lander.

A behemoth "footprint" was left behind by the robotic arm's touch in the King of Hearts area of Mars. The mark, which was captured by the camera attached to the lander, looks like it could have been made by the mythological Himalayan snowman. In reference to this, NASA dubbed the impression … Read more

NASA to put Buzz Lightyear on International Space Station

Talk about cross-promotion.

One of the closest things to Disney World's Orlando, Fla., home, is NASA's Kennedy Space Center. This is relevant because on Friday, it was announced that among the objects expected to be blasted into the sky with the planned Saturday launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery is a figurine of Toy Story space ranger Buzz Lightyear.

Disney World, of course, is where the new Toy Story Mania ride has just opened.

The idea behind putting Buzz Lightyear aboard the Space Shuttle has to do with the "Toys in Space" initiative NASA and Disney … Read more

Satellite images link polluted clouds to lack of rain

New methods of using satellites to examine clouds are helping scientists to understand how pollution influences rainfall.

Researchers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have used a group of satellites known as the Afternoon Constellation, or A-Train, to peer into the chemical composition and behaviors of clouds.

"Typically, it is very hard to get a sense of how important the effect of pollution on clouds is," Anne Douglass, deputy project scientist for NASA's Aura satellite, said in a statement. "With the A-Train, we can see the clouds every day and we're getting confirmation on … Read more

NASA taking open source into space

Open source is such a natural for government agencies, it should come as no surprise that NASA is now developing an open-source project called CosmosCode. The goal? "To provide a common access point for individuals, academics, companies, and space agencies around the world using, contributing to, or supporting re-usable, modular, extensible, or standards driven space exploration software.

It's a great way to combine the private and public sectors to break new ground in space exploration, perhaps leaning toward the type of model that John Lilly describes in a recent post about hybrid projects that exist for profit (money) … Read more