Hasta La Gadget!

Welcome to the weekend, everyone! We’re about ready to dive into the weekend ourselves, but not before we deliver the evening wrap-up. As with every other day this week, today gave us some more news about Apple’s patent trial with Samsung, with Judge Lucy Koh interviewing each and every one of the jurors to make sure they weren’t being swayed by any outside influences. Apple’s senior VP of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller took the stand today to convince the jury that the iPhone’s design was unique, while the company’s legal counsel did its best to make sure that Samsung didn’t share any iPhone sales numbers. Judge Koh also said that Apple wasn’t allowed to keep its customer survey results a secret, so Samsung did get a bit of news that could help it out as the trial progresses.

Speaking of Samsung, it seems that the company is gearing up to announce something, but we’re not entirely sure what. At first, Samsung said that the Galaxy Note 2 will be getting a reveal at its August 29 press event, but later backtracked on the statement. The company did begin teasing its planned reveal for its August 15 event, however, and that one seems to be Galaxy Note related.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus both received Ice Cream Sandwich today, while the HP TouchPad is now (partially) running Jelly Bean thanks to an unofficial port of CyanogenMod 10. HTC was in the news a bit today, as it warned that in Q3 it will experience an drop in revenue of up to 23%. On the more optimistic side of things, it appears that the HTC One X+ may be heading to T-Mobile soon, so at least there’s that.

After hearing that Microsoft was planning to drop the Metro branding for Windows 8 and Windows RT earlier in the day, the company went ahead and officially ditched the branding this afternoon. A pair of Sony cameras were leaked today, and OUYA has announced that it will be partnering with iHeartRadio to bring streaming radio to everyone who buys the Android-based game console.

EA had its fair share of headlines today, announcing The Sims 3 Seasons and filing a lawsuit against Zynga for copyright infringement. Electronic Arts claims that Zynga ripped off The Sims Social with The Ville, and the publisher didn’t have any problem accusing Zynga of theft in the complaint it filed. Finally, NASA is gearing up for Monday’s Curiosity rover landing, and you can bet that tensions are high as we head into the weekend.

As always, we have a few original articles we encourage you to check out, such as these interviews with Colin Farrell and Bryan Cranston from Total Recall, which is in theaters today. We also take a closer look at the leak of the final build of Windows 8, and wonder why stuff like this surprises anyone anymore. Enjoy the weekend, folks!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: August 3, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

NASA may have shuttered its Space Shuttle program, but we knew that wasn’t the end of manned American trips to space. Today, NASA shelled out 1.1 billion dollars to three private firms who have been working on spacecrafts of their own: Boeing, Sierra, and SpaceX. More »

NASA is pumping more than $1.1bn into three commercial space flight companies, including SpaceX, as part of its Commercial Crew Program. Boeing, SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Corporation will together share a new bounty  to help explore reusable space craft that can put astronauts into Earth orbit, with the goal being crewed orbital demonstration missions by the middle of this decade.

Boeing takes away the biggest purse, with $460m, while SpaceX is shortly behind with $440. Sierra Nevada grabs $212.5m. All three companies will need to demonstrate that their craft can meet NASA’s full mission safety requirements, with certification expected to take place in a future phase of the program.

“NASA will build on its rich human spaceflight history by investing in commercial development of fully integrated crew transportation system designs under the next round of funded SAAs, Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap)” NASA

NASA’s three selected partners narrows the field down from seven in the previous round, which together shared a $50m bounty. SpaceX is the furthest along so far, having already managed to dock its unmanned Dragon capsule with the International Space Station earlier this year.

“This is a decisive milestone in human spaceflight and sets an exciting course for the next phase of American space exploration,” SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk said in a statement today. “SpaceX, along with our partners at NASA, will continue to push the boundaries of space technology to develop the safest, most advanced crew vehicle ever flown.”

Musk says that SpaceX aims to undertake a manned flight by 2015, outfitting Dragon with seats for seven astronauts and “the most technically advanced launch escape system ever developed” that will include abort possibilities whether on the launch pad or in orbit. There will also be a propulsive landing system for ground touchdowns on the capsule’s legs.

The Commercial Crew Program isn’t the only project NASA has on the go to push the limits of space flight, however. Operating in parallel is development of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle spacecraft and Space Launch System, a crew capsule and heavy-lift rocket that, the agency says, “will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.”

NASA injects $1.1bn into private space craft companies is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

NASA has reportedly picked Boeing and SpaceX as the two companies to receive primary funding for the “Commercial Crew Program.” The news was reportedly leaked to NBC News’ Jay Barbree, but all parties involved have refused to comment until NASA makes the official announcement later today. While Boeing and SpaceX are likely to take home the bulk of $1 billion in funding, Sierra Nevada has been picked as the “standby” candidate — with a mandate to step in if either primary partner fails. If true, then it means that Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has been cut out of the race entirely — although disappointment is easier to take if you’re a billionaire… we’ve heard.

Update: NASA’s confirmed its picks, with back-up choice Sierra Nevada picking up $212.5 million, while Space X and Boeing got $440 million and $460 million, respectively. To celebrate, SpaceX’s crafted another stargazing video — it’s right after the break.

Continue reading Boeing, SpaceX win NASA ‘space taxi’ funding race (updated)

Filed under: Transportation, Science

Boeing, SpaceX win NASA ‘space taxi’ funding race (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 06:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Matt Heverly has one of the coolest jobs in the Solar System: he drives rovers. On Mars. He drove NASA’s Opportunity rover for four years and now he’s getting ready for the biggest mission in the history of NASA’s planetary exploration—driving the $2.6-billion car-sized Curiosity rover after it lands this Sunday (I will be covering this amazing event live, crossing my fingers, from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California). More »