.::REALITYRECALL::.

On Wednesday, the Space Shuttle Discovery will lift off for the final time. Named for three separate British ships (Captain James Cook’s HMS
Discovery, Henry Hudson’s Discovery, and Captain George Nares’s HMS Discovery),
the shuttle will have seen 39 missions in 26 years.

In honor of the ship's retirement, we've pulled together
some of the Discovery's most exciting moments in its quarter-century of space
travel. 

August 30, 1984: The shuttle's maiden voyage is the twelfth shuttle mission, overall. The launch is originally scheduled for June 25, but is pushed back due to a number of technical concerns. The mission, lead by Henry Hartsfield, Jr. (his second spaceflight) lasts just over six days.

April 12, 1985: Utah Senator Jake Garn tags along on Discovery’s fourth flight, becoming the first sitting member of Congress in space.

June 17, 1985: STS-51-G payload specialist, Sultan Salman al-Saud, grandson of King Ibn Saud, becomes the first Saudi citizen, first Muslim, and first member of a royal family in space.

September 29, 1988: Deemed “Return to Space,” the seventh Discovery mission is the first U.S. spaceflight since 1986’s Challenger explosion. The flight is also the first to include an all-veteran crew since Apollo 11 in 1969.

April 24, 1990: The Discovery launches a 24,500 pound telescope called the Hubble, the largest and most advanced space telescope to date.

October 29, 1998: Discovery passenger Senator John Glenn becomes the oldest man in space, at age 77. Fellow passenger Pedro Duque, meanwhile, becomes the first Spaniard in space.

October 11, 2000: Discovery’s 28th flight is the 100th shuttle launch overall. The mission lasts 12 days and includes four space walks.

July 26, 2005: The Discovery marks another disaster. This time deemed “Return to Flight,” the shuttle is the first to lift off since the 2003 Columbia disaster.

August 28, 2009: The payload of STS-128 includes, among other things, a treadmill called C.O.L.B.E.R.T., named after television’s truthiest newscaster.

April 5, 2010: At 15 days, STS-131 becomes the longest mission for the Discovery to date. For the first time ever, four women are in space simultaneously. This is also the first time that two Japanese astronauts are in space at the same time.

November 3, 2010: The 39th flight is scheduled to be the Discovery’s last. The mission will last 11 days.

It’s out, right on schedule and it’s a biggie. The new Fall 2010 Xbox Live Dashboad update is being rolled out right now in preparation for Kinect to hit shelves on November 4th (or November 10th in Europe). The update includes Netflix search, Zune music, an ESPN entertainment hub, and much much more. Since you probably overslept anyway and don’t have time to do the update before heading into the coal mines, why not check out our in depth preview of the update from a few weeks ago. Go ahead, don’t cost nothin’. Otherwise, Major Nelson has the full breakdown in the link below.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Xbox 360 Dashboard update is out! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 05:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So cute story… Point me to the author, please!

This being “fun fact day” because everybody’s been revealing their last-quarter results in the past 24 hours, Major Nelson has thrown out some numbers on his blog to show everyone how well the 360 is doing. Here we go:

• The are 42 million consoles sold in 35 countries.*
• In the last year alone there has been an 157 percent increase in the time spent watching movies and television on Xbox.
• 42 percent of Xbox LIVE Gold members in the US are watching an average of an hour of television and movies on their Xbox, every single day or more than 30 hours of digitally distributed television and movies a month.
• The 25 million members of Xbox LIVE around the world are each spending more than 30 hours per month on the service – that means cumulatively Xbox LIVE members are now logging more than one billion hours a month on the service.

He also says that the new dashboard update, which has been in beta for a little while now, will go live to the public “in the very near future,” which I would assume means “by the time Kinect is released next week.”

*My personal calculations put lifetime Xbox 360 sales at 44.6 million. I think Major Nelson is a quarter behind.

Your contacts are often scattered across multiple email accounts and social sites. Here’s how to seamlessly combine them all by using Google Contacts as your unified address book. More »

Microsoft just beat analyst expectations, announcing $16.20 billion in revenue for the first quarter of its 2011 fiscal year, with $5.41 billion in profit. Microsoft cites Office 2010, the sustained “PC refresh cycle,” and 38 percent growth in the Xbox 360 biz for its good news, with overall revenue up 25 percent over the same quarter last year and a 51 percent gain in profit. The Xbox 360 has been at the top of the console heap for four months running, which can’t hurt. Microsoft will have an earnings call to discuss its results at 5:30PM EDT, so we’ll be keeping our ears peeled for Steve Ballmer to pull a Steve Jobs, hijack the call, and rag hard on the competition — if only we lived in a world of such beautiful symmetry.

Microsoft announces a record first-quarter revenue of $16.20 billion, $5.41 billion in profit originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New court documents filed in a case against Toyota Motor Corp. claim the auto giant bought back cars with sudden acceleration defects and failed to report the problem to federal regulators.

Mac: Hi PC, I’m not feeling so hot today…
PC: Oh, I know ALL about that. I think you have a virus!

You could almost hear the collective gasp when Apple announced that it was no longer going to be supporting Flash on its upcoming devices. Like a scene from Monty Python’s Holy Grail, it seemed the bell had tolled for Flash and designers and developers were going to be dragged into the street to await the body wagon.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The reality is that Flash is far from dead..

..and if one listens carefully I think you can hear developers whispering “I feel happy.” So with HTML5 adoption still a way off, what are some things that Flash can do better than HTML5? Come along as we showcase 10 examples from the ActiveDen marketplace demonstrating why Flash is not quite dead.

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1. HTML 5 can’t interact with a webcam.

With privacy and security concerns at the forefront, it’s unlikely that HTML5 will support webcam interaction any time soon. Augmented Reality Surprise Cake gives a good idea of what can be done with Flash’s webcam integration.

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2. HTML5 video cannot be used on a 3D plane.

Along with snakes, HTML5 video cannot be used on a plane. 3D, like joke telling, is better left to the experts. XML 3D Video Showcase shows what you can do with a few images and Flash’s powerful 3D engine.

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3. HTML5 cannot record audio from your microphone.

While there may be plans in motion for HTML5 to support audio recording from your microphone, currently the best option is to use Flash. Sound Recorder shows how easy it is to record WAV files from your computer’s microphone.

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4. HTML5 cannot do any sort of web conferencing.

Who doesn’t want to see their coworkers’ smiling faces during their next online conference? Since video streaming is not part of HTML5’s core standard, you’ll have to use Flash to make sure your coworkers are not working in their underwear on their head (I’m looking at you Roger!) Web Video Conference is a web-based application that allows you to create multiple rooms for audio and video conferencing.

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5. HTML5 cannot add dynamic objects to go over the video, like captions, titles, or navigational items.

Feel like localizing your next video for a foreign audience? While Safari 5 has recently added the ability to add captions to your HTML5 video, Sequential XML Playlist Video Player shows what can be done with not only captions but also titles and navigational items in Flash.

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6. HTML5 cannot record from your webcam.

It may go without saying that since HTML5 can’t interact with your webcam that it also can’t do any recording from your webcam. You’ll have to use Flash and an application like Record Camera To FLV to record all the crazy things your cat does while you’re at work.

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7. HTML5 cannot create desktop apps.

I know what you’re thinking “HTML5 is for the web so of course it doesn’t do desktop apps. Duh!” Well let me just say this – you are absolutely correct. And why do you have to be so angry all the time? Desktop Reader App is just one of the many desktop apps that can be put together within Flash.

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8. HTML5 can’t handle video with alpha channels.

Ahh alpha channels. You have to be one of my favorite types of channels. This fireSmoke file gives you a glimpse at what you can do with animations and alpha channels.

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9. HTML5 doesn’t yet support Peer-2-Peer.

While P2P is in the HTML5 spec, it hasn’t been turned on in any of the browsers yet. Flash has built in P2P frameworks that help you share all your beautiful files with the world. Multi User File Sharing System is just one of the many P2P apps available.

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10. HTML5 Doesn’t do Full Screen Mode.

Who doesn’t love a full screen? If you want to put your widescreen monitor to its best use, you’ll have to use Flash since HTML5 currently stops browsers from going into full screen mode. .Full Browser Flash Image Viewer with Video Player. shows what can be done when you have the full screen to work with.

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Wrapping Up

While none of us are rabid Flash fanbois (except for Lance, maybe), we thought you would like to take a closer look at what’s currently not possible with HTML5. Of course, you could make the case that it’s me who should be dragged out into the street and left for dead. But after all, isn’t that what comment forms are made for? =)

It’s easy to forget at this point, but Android wasn’t a Google creation. Google bought the company in 2005 for an undisclosed sum (estimated to be around $50 million) and, well, let’s just say things worked out pretty well for them. How well? Google’s vice president of corporate development, David Lawee, told attendees at the Stanford Accel Symposium this week that the acquisition was quite simply Google’s “best deal ever.” Lawee further went on to note that he did have some initial skepticism about the deal, and recalls saying “I hope this guy does something” after seeing Andy Rubin around the building for two years. The fact that Rubin actually stayed after the acquisition eventually did inspire some confidence, however, with Lawee adding that it’s obvious when a deal doesn’t work out “because the people leave.”

Google exec calls Android acquisition its ‘best deal ever’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 20:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mozilla, creators of Firefox, announced today that they are forced to delay their up and coming version, Firefox 4. In May, the browser giant announced that the release date for the new version would be next month, although recent circumstances have pushed them to delay the release.

Currently, Firefox 4 is…

On Monday, Scott Naturals Tube-Free toilet paper will go on sale in Walmarts and Sam’s Clubs across the Northeast United States. If it sells well, it’ll expand nationally, and then globally. Personally, I just don’t know what to think anymore. More »

When you search for pizza on the internet, most often you want to find a good pizza place nearby. Google Maps is great at this, but today Google’s rolling out a new Place Search feature for better local search via Google.com. More »

By now you’ve seen our photos of the PlayStation Phone, and likely you’ve also heard the scattered reports of debunkings and cries of “fake!” — it wouldn’t be a scoop without it. Only here’s the thing: the PlayStation Phone in the photos we ran last night, and the device reported on back in August is most definitely real. We’re not saying that because we want to believe or because we’re gingerly trying to nab pageviews: we’re saying it because we know it to be true. This is a device which has been confirmed through multiple, trusted sources. And we’re not just talking good tipsters — some of our information comes from people much more closely connected to the project. Even since last night we’ve received more info about the phone — learning that its codename is “Zeus,” and it was last seen running Android 2.X (not 3.0, which we suspect will be the shipping version). It should be obvious by comparison of our original mockup to the real photos we’ve just uncovered that the handset we described in August is the same handset now fully revealed. Prior to last night, we had never seen an actual image of the phone. It should also be obvious that the device pictured in those photos is a prototype running early software (which would explain the A / B button mention in the photo above) with hardware that was likely hand-built, or at the very least created in a very small batch.

Based on what we’ve heard about the secrecy of this plan, it makes sense that even Sony’s own employees wouldn’t be privy to information on the phone, the marketplace, and the collaboration with Google. The alleged Sony response to the device makes that somewhat clear — reports state that an employee originally told a publication that the images were fake, only to backtrack and deliver the standard corporate line that the company “doesn’t respond to rumor and speculation.” It’s possible that whomever was originally questioned either didn’t know of the device’s existence, was lying about its existence, or simply had their response taken out of context. And that brings us to our point — while there will be plenty of speculation on whether or not what we’ve shown you is real, we would never run the images or the information without a healthy sense that we were bringing you fact, and not fiction. We don’t like to boast, but as the guys and girls who brought you the first pictures and review of the Nexus One, the first details and images of the Dell Venue Pro (aka Lightning), the first pictures of the new MacBook Air, the first photos of the iPad, and the first photos of the iPhone 4, we feel pretty confident in our abilities to deliver the goods. Of course, this story is just beginning — so hold on tight.

The PlayStation Phone is still real originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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James Cameron has reached a deal to direct the sequels to his blockbuster sci-fi flick Avatar, which will be due out in December 2014 and December 2015.

Not much more to tell you that you didn’t already pick up from the headline. Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci told Dow Jones Newswire that it will be launching its first line of tablet PCs in New York City on November 23rd, priced from $299 to $699 each. That’s all the man said, leaving us to speculate on the OS (though Android’s been heavily rumored) and whether we’re looking at the launch of an Acer 5-, 7-, or 10-inch tablet (or all of the above) priced with or without carrier subsidies. Still, with Android Gingerbread already on the lawn of the house that Google built we can expect to see a whole slew of Google sanctioned tablets launch before CES 2011 gets underway in January.

Acer tablet PC line launching on November 23rd, priced from $299 to $699 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 07:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Bruce DiBello, Software Engineer

Today, whenever you open an email in your Gmail inbox and then archive or delete it, you’re taken back to your inbox. Many of you have asked for the ability to instead go to the next conversation. Keyboard ninjas will already be familiar with the “]” and “[“ keyboard shortcuts for archiving and going to the next/previous conversation. For everyone else (and for people who frequently mute or delete conversations rather than archive them) we’re offering a new feature in Gmail Labs called “Auto-advance,” which automatically opens the next conversation after you archive/delete/mute the one you’re on.

To get started with “Auto-advance” go to the Labs tab in Settings, enable it, and click the “Save changes” button. By default, “Auto-advance” will advance to the previous (older) conversation in your inbox — perfect for people who read their newest mail first. If you usually read your oldest email first and would rather advance to the next (newer) conversation, you can change the direction from the General Settings tab.

Hopefully this will save you some time the next time you have to deal with a crowded inbox. Try it out and let us know what you think.