nasa

NASA 'nanosats' to form smart network in space

NASA Ames Research Center said Thursday that it has teamed with M2Mi to develop tiny satellites called nanosats that will go into building new low-Earth orbit telecommunications systems for use in the commercial sector.

"NASA wants to work with companies to develop a new economy in space," Ames Center Director Pete Worden said in a statement.

NASA signed its third official research and development agreement with M2Mi, a software and GPS sensor company that has an office at NASA's Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif. But the space agency has been working with M2Mi for at least … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 705: Why court the pwnage?

In the news today, Safari saves your bacon with a hole-patching update, and NASA says it's better at math than teenagers (which we fervently hope is true). Yahoo and Google get closer to a deal, which we fervently hope is just going to happen, already, so we can quit speculating, and we're planning our summer road trip to Pittsburgh. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 705

NASA statement on student asteroid calculations http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/apr/ HQ_08103_student_asteroid_calculations.html

Yahoo-Google deal advances http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9920997-7.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120839839184321833.html… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 704: Monster in Blue Jeans

I have never had so much fun reading a legal response than I did the note from the head of Blue Jeans Cables to Monster Cable. See the episode for the full story. We also determine that politicians across the world are nuts, and I'm not good math. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 704

Comcast to spearhead creation of P2P Bill of Rights http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080415-comcast-to-spearhead-creation-of-p2p-bill-of-rights.html

Defiant Psystar back selling Leopard computers http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9919432-37.html

So exactly who or what is Psystar? We dig a little http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/04/15/ so_exactly_who_or_what_is_psystar_we_dig_a_little.html… Read more

Semiautonomous orbs rock Yuri's Night

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Corey Fro is chasing a large metal orb across the pavement at the NASA Ames Research Center here. He is desperately trying to make sure that the orb doesn't crush a nearby robot.

The orb in question is being remotely directed by a kid wielding an Xbox-like wireless controller, but it's the kid's first time using the device, and he really doesn't have any idea what he's doing.

And that's why the orb has rolled away and is bearing down rapidly on the unsuspecting and defenseless robot a few yards away. … Read more

NASA Ames' director talks Yuri's Night, Google, and more

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF.--In April 2006, NASA announced that it was bringing in University of Arizona astronomy professor and former brigadier general Simon "Pete" Worden to be the director of its NASA Ames Research Center here.

Since then, Worden has brought a fresh perspective to the helm of one of NASA's most important research facilities, demonstrated through initiatives such as giving a keynote address to the International Space Development Conference from the virtual world Second Life. (Note: My wife works at Second Life publisher Linden Lab).

But along with administrators at several other NASA facilities, Worden has … Read more

Correction: Etsy artists will not go into space, but their artwork will

OK, this makes more sense.

CNET News.com reported earlier on a collaboration between crafts site Etsy and the NASA Ames Research Center on a new contest that encourages members of the Etsy community to design NASA-inspired handmade goods. The announcement was made at the PSFK Conference in New York during a panel discussion featuring NASA's Andrew Hoppin and Etsy founder Robert Kalin.

In an unintended verbal gaffe, Kalin said, "We'll send the two winners into space." The audience, along with this reporter, assumed he meant that the Etsy crafters who won the contest would get … Read more

NASA testing Lunar Chariot

It has six wheels, all-wheel-drive, all-wheel-steering, and it's a concept of a 2020 model year car. Oh, and it's designed to drive on the moon. NASA has been working on a vehicle, the Lunar Chariot, for astronauts to use on a planned return to the moon in 2020. The design for the Lunar Chariot was influenced by the Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which proved the usefulness of having multiple driven wheels over an incredibly hostile landscape. With its all-wheel-steering, it can drive in a crab-like sideways motion, further improving its mobility over difficult surfaces. The Chariot lacks … Read more

NASA, Etsy partner on 'space craft' contest

This post was updated at 11:51 AM PT in order to correct a misstatement that was made in the announcement. The winning artwork from the Etsy-NASA contest, not the artists, will make a trip into space. Read the correction post here.

NEW YORK--What does a marketplace for handmade crafts have to do with a NASA project in virtual world Second Life?

A lot, apparently, according to a panel at Thursday's PSFK Conference that paired Robert Kalin, founder of the Brooklyn-based handmade goods site Etsy, and Andrew Hoppin, co-founder of NASA Co-Labs at the NASA Ames Research Center. The … Read more

Killer Download: The dark side of Firefox

We've looked at and reviewed Windows and Firefox themes before at CNET Download.com, but after getting a new computer at home, I figured it was time to revisit new themes. Though a Firefox theme is hardly a must-have Killer Download, I would argue a working (or nonworking) environment in which you feel comfortable makes all your computing more enjoyable. Once I got the new system online, along with my usual security downloads and other useful utilities, I decided a little browser customization was in order.

Most of my regular computing at home including e-mail, writing, and other work-related … Read more