The northern lights dance with a comet[ Sat, 23 Mar 2013 00:23:53 GMT ]Talk about dancing with the stars: The glow of the northern lights danced through the night sky this week, thanks to a solar storm that swept past Earth over the past few days. Comet PanSTARRS, which is appearing a little bit farther north in western skies every evening, adds some extra sparkle.The time around the equinox is considered the peak of the aurora season, because this time of year strik...

Northern lights dance with a comet[ Sat, 23 Mar 2013 00:29:31 GMT ]Talk about dancing with the stars: The glow of the northern lights danced through the night sky this week, thanks to a solar storm that swept past Earth over the past few days. Comet PanSTARRS, which is appearing a little bit farther north in western skies every evening, adds some extra sparkle.The time around the equinox is considered the peak of the aurora season, because this time of year strik...

Sequestration forces NASA to hold up educational and outreach efforts[ Sat, 23 Mar 2013 04:20:40 GMT ]NASA is putting the brakes on its educational and public outreach efforts, due to the continuing standoff over the federal budget and the resulting sequestration of the agency's funds.The cutbacks in NASA's activities, including social-media initiatives, were outlined on Friday in a pair of memos from NASA Headquarters in Washington. The independent SpaceRef website published both memos, including...

Reports about East Coast meteor flood in, setting off a media scramble[ Sat, 23 Mar 2013 06:33:09 GMT ]A Friday night flash of light in the skies over the East Coast sparked a rash of meteor sighting reports, followed by a mad dash to track down photos and videos of the event.The American Meteor Society logged more than 300 reports from a region ranging from North Carolina to Washington to New York to New England to Canada. Hundreds more registered their observations on Twitter. One Twitter user,...

Meteor sightings flood in from East Coast, setting off a media scramble[ Sat, 23 Mar 2013 06:38:48 GMT ]A Friday night flash of light in the skies over the East Coast sparked a rash of meteor sighting reports, followed by a mad scramble to track down photos and videos of the event.The American Meteor Society logged more than 300 reports from a region ranging from North Carolina to Washington to New York to New England to Canada. Hundreds more registered their observations on Twitter. One Twitter u...

Senate embraces Internet taxes[ Sat, 23 Mar 2013 00:04:34 GMT ]Senators vote 75 to 24 to glue an endorsement of Internet sales taxes onto a Democratic budget bill, despite opponents predicting the idea is antibusiness and a "bureaucratic nightmare." [Read more]

Q&A: MacFixIt Answers[ Sat, 23 Mar 2013 01:25:17 GMT ]Readers ask about the feasibility of fixing a broken MacBook trackpad, and other Mac-related questions. [Read more]

Windows Blue is aimed at Intel 'Haswell' ultrabooks[ Sat, 23 Mar 2013 01:35:15 GMT ]Microsoft and Intel will deliver better power efficiency on devices running on Windows Blue. [Read more]

Smartphone wind meter has no electronics[ Sat, 23 Mar 2013 14:00:00 GMT ]Vaavud is a Kickstarter gizmo that helps you share wind data for the best times to fly, sail, or show off in a storm. [Read more]

What's more 'practical,' a Ferrari or a high-end hi-fi?[ Sat, 23 Mar 2013 14:36:00 GMT ]Exotic cars are showcases of brute-force technology, but have minimal value as cars; high-end audio systems are considerably more useful, says the Audiophiliac. [Read more]

Tracking the universe's first light[ Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:19:20 EDT ]How cute was our universe as a baby? We now know better than ever -- the picture of our early universe just got sharper, and tells scientists with greater precision many important facts about how the universe evolved.

Sapphire in your next phone screen?[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 08:44:33 EDT ]The next wave of smartphones and tablets might have super-sturdy screens fashioned from the human-made version of a gemstone.

Nigerian tech hub solves social ills[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 08:44:58 EDT ]Nigeria's CC Hub is a state-of-the-art space for creative and tech-savvy people to collaborate, part of Africa's social tech revolution.

Open that iPad before you buy it[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 08:36:14 EDT ]If you're handing over cash for a heavily discounted iPad from some random guy in a McDonald's parking lot or at a gas station, then yes, you should consider your purchase a risk.

That iPad box might be filled with a fake[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 08:45:37 EDT ]If you're handing over cash for a heavily discounted iPad from some random guy in a McDonald's parking lot or at a gas station, then yes, you should consider your purchase a risk.

Google's working on a smart watch, too ... of course[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:29:56 GMT ]Samsung revealed that it's been "preparing the watch product for so long" and rumors about Apple's plans to build a smart watch are a dime a dozen — so it shouldn't be surprising that Google might be planning to put something on our wrists as well.The Financial Times' Tim Bradshaw writes that, "according to a person briefed on the project," Google's Android unit is developing a smart watch which ...

Pre-caffeine tech: Dongle jokes, freaked-out dogs! [ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:32:34 GMT ]Our pre-caffeine roundup is a collection of the hottest, strangest, and most amusing stories of the morning.You can now secure your Apple ID with two-step verification.Google's working on a smart watch, too ... of course.Facebook's testing a way to nag you until you update your status. And Facebook also added weather forecast feature ... so you never need to leave! Drones crash (a lot) ... but the...

Library of Congress preserving first message from space[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:12:28 GMT ]By Robert Z. PearlmanSpace.comThe first audio message to be relayed from outer space will be preserved as part of the National Recording Registry alongside Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon," Simon and Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence," and Chubby Checker's rendition of "The Twist," the Library of Congress announced Thursday.The space-based message, which was a recording of then-President Dwig...

On the moon, NASA probe sees where sun never shines[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:38:58 GMT ]By Space.comSome parts of the moon haven't seen the sun in millions, and even billions, of years but an unmanned NASA spacecraft is shedding light on these lunar lands of permanent darkness.A new video from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio explains just how the agency's powerful Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is collecting data on the moon's coldest, darkest c...

Iceland volcano's eruption fueled ocean blooms[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:04:48 GMT ]By Charles Q. ChoiLiveScienceThe explosive volcanic eruption Iceland saw in 2010 may have disrupted life in the air above Europe, but it apparently enriched life in the Atlantic Ocean, researchers say.After nearly two centuries of dormancy, the volcano Eyjafjallajökull (AYA-feeyapla-yurkul) erupted many times over the course of 10 weeks three years ago. These outbursts spewed a giant plume of ash ...

HBO eyes new partnership with providers on streaming service[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:44:56 GMT ]The company could offer a cheaper option for cable customers who want HBO Go but don't have television service. [Read more]

FCC Chairman announces resignation[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:06:41 GMT ]FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced Friday that he will step down from his post after four years of service. [Read more]

Sharp: We'll get the rest of Qualcomm's investment by June[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:22:10 GMT ]The U.S. chipmaker is set to become Sharp's biggest shareholder when it follows through with the remainder of its $120 million investment. [Read more]

Lawmakers intro legislation on warrantless GPS tracking[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:43:53 GMT ]A bipartisan group of lawmakers are trying to make warrants mandatory for tracking suspects with GPS devices. [Read more]

Microsoft ready to update Windows 8 built-in apps[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:56:29 GMT ]The company appears ready to roll out the set of expected updates to its full set of core, Microsoft-developed Windows 8 applications, as rumored earlier this month. [Read more]

Tracking the universe's first light[ Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:19:20 EDT ]How cute was our universe as a baby? We now know better than ever -- the picture of our early universe just got sharper, and tells scientists with greater precision many important facts about how the universe evolved.

Sapphire in your next phone screen?[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 08:44:33 EDT ]The next wave of smartphones and tablets might have super-sturdy screens fashioned from the human-made version of a gemstone.

Nigerian tech hub solves social ills[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 08:44:58 EDT ]Nigeria's CC Hub is a state-of-the-art space for creative and tech-savvy people to collaborate, part of Africa's social tech revolution.

Open that iPad before you buy it[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 08:36:14 EDT ]If you're handing over cash for a heavily discounted iPad from some random guy in a McDonald's parking lot or at a gas station, then yes, you should consider your purchase a risk.

That iPad box might be filled with a fake[ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 08:45:37 EDT ]If you're handing over cash for a heavily discounted iPad from some random guy in a McDonald's parking lot or at a gas station, then yes, you should consider your purchase a risk.

Drones crash (a lot) but the military's safety lessons may help civilians[ Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:15:45 GMT ]Around 9:30 on the night of May 1, 2011, an Air Force Predator that had been in the air for 18 hours began losing altitude, finally crashing near a U.S. base at Jalalabad, Afghanistan.The soldiers who brought the craft back to camp had to cut off its wings so it would fit in their vehicles. Cause of crash? Engine failure, clogged oil filter.Five years earlier, over American soil, a similar inciden...

Twitter celebrates 7th birthday, 200 million users[ Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:08:10 GMT ]It's been seven years since Twitter creator Jack Dorsey first tweeted. And in the time that has passed, the social network has gathered over 200 million users who generate over 400 million tweets each day.To mark the social network's birthday, the folks at Twitter made a video covering some of the key moments in Twitter's history.The year 2007 brought the hashtag — the invention often credited to ...

Holy land: Medieval monks drained wetlands to build[ Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:21:30 GMT ]By Stephanie PappasLiveScience A medieval monastery in Belgium went to major effort to drain wetlands on its land, building structures on artificially raised soil, a new study finds.Archaeologists excavated the Boudelo Abbey, once part of the medieval county of Flanders, in the 1970s. Until now, however, they had no idea that an extensive drained wetland surrounded the site. "They placed these abb...

Adulation for Richard III is fit for a king[ Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:55:31 GMT ]By Stephanie PappasLiveScienceMore than a month has passed since archaeologists announced they'd found the bones of Richard III under a parking lot in Leicester, and the headlines have mostly moved on. But for many, the lure of King Richard III is just beginning.Richard III enthusiasts, or Richardians, as they are known, have societies in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The discover...

Planck probe's cosmic 'baby picture' revises universe's vital statistics[ Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:08:57 GMT ]The European-led team behind the Planck cosmology probe on Thursday released the mission's first all-sky map of the cosmic microwave background — a post-big-bang "baby picture" that suggests our universe is slightly older than scientists thought.The map traces subtle fluctuations in temperature that were imprinted on the deep sky when the cosmos was just 370,000 years old. Scientists say the impri...

Huawei Premia 4G now available at MetroPCS[ Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:09:21 GMT ]The carrier's second Huawei 4G LTE smartphone runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and features a 4.0-inch display. [Read more]

The iPhone tops J.D. Power satisfaction rankings -- again[ Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:09:39 GMT ]It's the ninth consecutive time that Apple's iPhone has led all other smartphones in customer satisfaction. Samsung wasn't No. 2, but it was close. [Read more]

YouTube vice president touts paid subscriptions[ Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:17:50 GMT ]The online video site sees paid subscriptions as a way to generate more revenue for content creators but remains mum on specific details. [Read more]

HTC One's camera takes on iPhone 5, Lumia 920, Galaxy S3[ Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:50:13 GMT ]Four heavy-hitting smartphones get their chance to impress in color, close-up, and low-light situations. The results are telling. [Read more]

Epson Moverio BT-100 head-mounted display: In-depth hands-on[ Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:55:00 GMT ]Google Glass glasses aren't the only iGlasses. [Read more]

Spoof Steve Jobs biopic is coming [ Tue, 19 Mar 2013 20:39:47 EDT ]Forget Ashton Kutcher and Aaron Sorkin. The next Steve Jobs biopic you see will star the "I'm a Mac" guy and come from the twisted minds of Funny or Die.

What's more popular in bed than TV?[ Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:07:27 EDT ]If you fall asleep in bed every night with the TV on, you're apparently a dying breed.

Seven lives changed by Twitter[ Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:06:38 EDT ]Twitter turns 7 on Wednesday, and in some ways, it's like a lot of 7-year-olds.

Meet Google's answer to Evernote[ Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:06:25 EDT ]Android users, take note: Google Keep — a long-overdue app for creating lists and reminders — has arrived.

Seven years, seven lives changed by Twitter[ Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:41:47 EDT ]Twitter turns 7 on Wednesday, and in some ways, it's like a lot of 7-year-olds.

No GPS tracking without warrant, ACLU demands[ Tue, 19 Mar 2013 18:28:23 GMT ]The ACLU is in federal appeals court Tuesday, arguing that law enforcement should be required to obtain a warrant from a judge before attaching a GPS tracking device to a suspect's car. The Department of Justice says that the case in question didn't merit a warrant because there was more than enough "reasonable suspicion" and "probable cause" about the suspects for the device to be attached to the vehicle.

Mating of ocean giants: It's squid pro quo[ Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:04:44 GMT ]Though they roam the deep sea around the globe, enigmatic giant squid are all part of the same species, new research finds.

Samsung TV upgrade kit costs $300 (and that 85-inch UHD TV costs $40K!)[ Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:43:31 GMT ]Samsung held an event Wednesday in New York to announce TV-related news both big and small, including details of its Smart Evolution kit for older TVs.

S. Korea on alert after hackers strike TV, banks[ Wed, 20 Mar 2013 08:28:44 GMT ]South Korean police were investigating a hacking attack on an Internet provider that brought down the servers of three broadcasters and two major banks on Wednesday, and the army raised its alert level due to concerns of North Korean involvement.

Congress warned: Pay for asteroid defense, or pray[ Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:18:51 GMT ]Congress got the word from NASA on Tuesday about its options for dealing with the threats posed by asteroids and comets: Lawmakers can either provide adequate funding for detecting and characterizing near-Earth objects, and diverting them if necessary — or they can pray.