In lasers we trust: NASA researches 5kW galactic trash disposal system

Space junk is a growing problem — 200,000 pieces and counting — and as the amount of earth’s orbital debris increases, so does the chance some satellite will be involved in a cosmic collision. As this would cause much gnashing of teeth and woe for the affected terrestrial parties, some researchers from NASA’s Ames Research Center have pitched the idea of removing said junk with a laser — once again proving that everything’s better with lasers. The idea is to use a 5kW ray, like the one we’ve got at the Starfire Optical Range, to slow our galactic garbage enough to burn it up in earth’s atmosphere. Current estimates say such a laser could eliminate ten pieces of junk a day, promising us a future of neat and tidy skies.

In lasers we trust: NASA researches 5kW galactic trash disposal system originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 01:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OCZ buys Indilinx, probably has designs on building its own SSD controllers

Indilinx, the company responsible for designing the Barefoot SSD controller, has today agreed to hand its future over to the capable lads and ladies of OCZ Technology in exchange for $32 million in common OCZ stock. The companies have announced a definitive agreement for the chipmaker’s acquisition, which OCZ is performing in order to gobble up a set of 20 yummy patents and patent applications while also expanding its presence in embedded, hybrid storage and industrial markets. Indilinx will continue its current operations, including providing controllers and firmware to other OEMs, and OCZ too will continue to use others’ wares, namedropping its long-term partner SandForce as among the outside companies that will be supplying it with SSD goodies. So it’s business as usual unless and until this partnership spawns some lightning-fast combination of software and hardware that forces us to hear that cursed “exclusive” word again. Ah well, best of luck of luck to them.

Continue reading OCZ buys Indilinx, probably has designs on building its own SSD controllers

OCZ buys Indilinx, probably has designs on building its own SSD controllers originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 23:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP TouchPad coming June, webOS for PC beta by year’s end

We may have to wait until summer to purchase a webOS slate, but it won’t be summer’s end — PreCentral reports that the company has confirmed a June release date for the HP TouchPad. At the enterprise-oriented HP Summit in San Francisco, CEO Leo Apotheker finally offered the month of release, and also reportedly said that the company’s full-force webOS on PC initiative will begin in a humble way — the beta will run in a web browser, and we’ll see it by the end of the year.

HP TouchPad coming June, webOS for PC beta by year’s end originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft reportedly kills off Zune hardware, will focus on software instead

Details are still emerging on this one, but it looks like Microsoft has finally killed off the Zune — or the hardware side of things, anyway. According to Bloomberg, a “person familiar with the decision” has confirmed that Microsoft won’t be producing any new Zune media players, and that the company will instead focus solely on the Zune software that already has a foothold on the Xbox 360 and Windows Phone devices (it’s not clear if the name will stick around). Microsoft will apparently continue to sell its existing Zunes as long as it has stock of them. More as we get it.

Microsoft reportedly kills off Zune hardware, will focus on software instead originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Business Insider  |  source@dinabass (Twitter), Bloomberg  | Email this | Comments

Picnik is better with friends

Posted by Thomas Kang, Software Engineer

Picasa Web Albums has expanded the collaborative albums feature to support collaborative editing using Picnik. Now you can invite friends and family to contribute to an album either by uploading photos of their own or by editing any existing photos in that album.

Your original always stays safe and sound as your collaborators make edits to add funny speech bubbles, give you pointers on editing techniques, or pitch in to help you touch up your hundreds of vacation photos. If they edit one of your photos in Picnik and save the changes, it will save back to your album as a new image, and their name will show in the sidebar to give them credit for the new version.

To enable collaborative editing, simply share an album with your friends, and be sure to click on the checkbox to let the people you share with contribute to your album. Soon you’ll start seeing all the cool new images they create from your photos.

We’re sure that there are many fun uses for this new feature, so if you discover something that was helpful to you, we’d love to hear about it. Happy editing!

Google Previews Updated Blogger Interface at SXSW

blogger update

Tumblr and Twitter may be the hot sharing sites in 2011, but millions of bloggers got their start on Google’s free Blogger, a site that hasn’t had major visual refresh since 2004. Google previewed Blogger’s redesign at SXSW, and it looks like the classic blues and oranges are out in favor of whiter and wider writing tools. No word on launch date, but Google says it’s coming in 2011.

Continue reading Google Previews Updated Blogger Interface at SXSW

Google Previews Updated Blogger Interface at SXSW originally appeared on Switched on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 showcased on video, doesn’t look all that inadequate to us

We have no small amount of respect for Samsung for coming out and admitting that its Galaxy Tab 10.1 slate won’t necessarily be the best thing since sliced Apples, but we wouldn’t go so far as to describe it as “inadequate,” which is what company VP Lee Don-Joo recently called it. It’s a handsome, svelte and undeniably powerful device, a set of qualities that is in full show during AndroidHD‘s 11-minute long video of a day spent in the company of a Tab 10.1. Now, this isn’t a hands-on video so much as a commercial made by someone other than Samsung. You can tell Sammy didn’t author it because nobody tries to fit this Galaxy Tab inside a pocket. Jump after the break for the ocular feast.

[Thanks, Taylor]

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 showcased on video, doesn’t look all that inadequate to us

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 showcased on video, doesn’t look all that inadequate to us originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 04:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tiny Endangered Kittens Born From Frozen Embryos

black footed kitten photo Photo: Susan Poag via The Times-Picayune

Scientists at the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans have made a genetic-breakthrough of the most adorable proportions — successfully producing two endangered kittens via in vitro fertilization. With sperm taken from a male African black-footed cat in 2003, the team inseminated an egg in 2005. The embryo remained frozen until last December, when it was finally transferred to a surrogate female named Bijou. Less than three months later, the tiny, fluffy duo were born….Read the full story on TreeHugger

WiFi-only Xoom headed to Staples for March 27th release?

If you’re still holding out for a Motorola Xoom, here’s some good news. The folks at Droid Life snagged a picture of a Staples ad depicting March 27th as the targeted release date for the slate. In addition, the tablet appears to be retailing for 600 bucks — one the cheapest models money can buy. A Xoom, TI-Nspire and a new pack of pens, all from one place? Man, that really was easy.

[Thanks, Hector N]

WiFi-only Xoom headed to Staples for March 27th release? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 14:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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West Coast not at risk of fallout

Canadians on the West Coast are becoming more concerned about potential radioactive contamination after authorities in Japan raced to combat the threat of multiple reactor meltdowns.