NASA didn’t completely dump the idea of manned extra-terrestrial flight. It just needed some space. Before the agency resumes its manned missions sometime in 2021, NASA will need somewhere to put the astronauts. A new generation of reusable spacecraft, capable of zipping beyond the current limits. Something like the Orion Capsule. More »
WIMBLEDON, England — Top-seeded Novak Djokovic dropped a set against No. 28 Radek Stepanek before coming back to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 Friday, reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Djokovic is trying to become the first man since Roger Federer in 2007 to win consecutive titles at the All England Club.
The modern use of the term Islamist is a Western creation, but it was adopted by many with the intent of providing a more accurate label for Muslims seeking to integrate their faith into public life.
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For the first time in NBA draft history, the same college, champion Kentucky, produced the top two picks: Anthony Davis by New Orleans and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist by Charlotte.
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Degrassi Community School is gearing up for a Chaz Bono cameo.
According to The Canadian Press, Bono will make an appearance on Season 12 of MuchMusic’s “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” which airs on Teen Nick stateside. In the episode, Adam, a transgender character on “Degrassi,” will compete in a battle of the bands contest, which Bono will judge. Adam spots Bono and approaches him to discuss girl troubles and struggling with his identity as a transgender teen.
“There are a lot of trans kids and teens and to have representation of themselves really means a lot,” Bono explained to The Canadian Press. “At that age there wasn’t anything [for me]. I didn’t know about transgender people or that there was a possibility to transition or anything. And it made it really difficult to figure out what was going on with me.”
These last few weeks have been consequential ones for the Obama Presidency and the 2012 campaigns. Both the SCOTUS SB1070 and yesterday’s Affordable Care Act decisions went the President’s way. The President broke the logjam on immigration reform with his courageous decision to grant temporary legal status to DREAM eligible youth. Polls continue to show him winning the election, and there was some evidence this week that he may be gaining ground in the battlegrounds, potentially making Romney’s challenge even harder.
But I think the lasting political impact of these last few weeks will be on the perception of Obama as a leader and the overall efficacy of his first term. We’ve seen a President these last few weeks, one taking decisive action for the nation, overcoming significant opposition, sticking to his guns and battling for his core beliefs. Mitt Romney on the other hand has been largely invisible, and when he has popped up on the national stage has sounded strangely incoherent and baffled by the changing landscape of the race. His performances have been anything but re-assuring about his own style of leadership.
The validation of the ACA opens the possibility for the President to make a much stronger case for the positive impact of this time in office. He has dramatically improved the American health care system; made the border safer and the immigration system better; is winding down, peacefully, our military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has overseen and nurtured a critical moment of modernization and democratization in North Africa and the Middle East; on his watch America has adopted a far-sighted national energy strategy that is reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy while making prudent investments in a better and cleaner energy future; he has helped lead the world through a tumultuous global financial period, avoiding a world financial collapse; his aggressive actions have all but destroyed Al Qaeda, and Bin Laden is no longer a threat to the world; took a far-sighted and momentous civil rights step by embracing marriage equality; and he has mobilized the global community to confront Iran in unprecedented ways, bringing them to the negotiating table and further isolating and weakening them on the global stage.
It’s been a few months since Orbotix’s pearlescent smart ball finally started making its way out into the real world, and the team behind it has just announced that another major retailer will be carrying their slightly-pointless gadget.
Move over, Brookstone — the Sphero is now available in Apple’s online store and in a handful of their carefully-crafted altars of consumerism.
The Sphero, if you’ve managed to miss our previous coverage, is a small robotic ball that you can control from your smartphone or tablet. In addition to being able to take the thing for aimless drives around the house, users can fire up (or even develop) apps for the Sphero that turn it into a mobile gaming accessory rather than just a $129 toy.
And really, I imagine that’s where most of the fun will come from down the line. Orbotix is currently criss-crossing the country to drum up developer support for the Sphero, so with any luck the smartphone-controlled-robotic-ball-that-could will only get better with time.
Still, its usefulness is downright questionable, but the pint-sized robo-sphere has managed to please both preschoolers and presidents alike. That’s got to count for something, right?
Government-helmed China Movie Channel’s site M1905 announced this week that it’s joining forces with Jiaflix — a consortium comprised of Hollywood-types like former Columbia exec Sid Ganis — to launch a movie streaming service in China. The still unnamed offering is set to stream both Chinese and international films, including a deal struck with Paramount that will bring the studio’s back catalog and future releases to the service. The fruits of the partnership are set to launch in the fourth quarter of this year, bringing streaming to a number of platforms, including smartphone and tablets. Jiaflix and China Movie Channel added that they’ll have a plan in place to combat potential piracy through the service, but have yet to spell out what such a plan of action would entail.
Government-backed movie streaming service coming to China in Q4, bringing Paramount titles along originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Venture Shift, a gathering of top VCs and angels exploring what is happening in the seed to later stages and hosted by Vator and Bullpen Capital is taking place in San Francisco on July 19th and you are invited. It’s a forum to talk about the startup-formation process, “exit” dynamics, and the strategies that create the “best” companies. Last year, the event sold out with more than 400 attendees.
Register now with the discount code “UBERGIZMO” to get 15% off your ticket.
This year has brought many changes to the venture industry. Firstly, the JOBS Act – poised to enable start-ups to crowdsource funds from non-accredited investors, expand Regulation A and loosen IPO onramp provisions — was enacted this year and will become a reality in 2013. In addition, Facebook is scaring away potential tech IPO hopefuls from going public. Who’d thunk?
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: MobileBeat 2012 – July 10-11 – San Francisco, Vator Splash LA – Los Angeles, June 7,
Imagine how much easier life would be if we had sensors on all of our stuff. You could just raise your hand and the lights would go off, clap your hands to turn the TV on and off, and snap your fingers to run a bath.
But let’s start small, get real, and focus on smartphones instead, because a new technology is coming that will equip it with a sensor of its own: the Sensordrone.
It’s basically a teensy-sized sensor that fits on your keychain so you can use it to add a wealth of uses for your smartphone. There are a lot of apps out there that need a decent sensor to function, and if you’ve been looking for one–then you’ve just hit the motherload.
With Sensordrone, you can run apps that detect gas leaks, measure light intensity, carbon monoxide levels, humidity levels, temperatures, capacitance, and so much more.
It’s currently up for backing on Kickstarter, where a minimum pledge of $175(USD) will get you your very own Sensordrone.
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