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NASA has been relying on the Russians to get astronauts to the International Space Station since the shuttle program was retired in 2011, and it looks like it will be doing so for at least a few years longer. The space agency confirmed today that it's been forced to extend its contract for crew transportation services with Rocosmos until June of 2017, a move that comes at a cost of some $424 million. In announcing the news, NASA also reiterated that it is "committed to launching U.S. astronauts aboard domestic spacecraft as soon as possible," and says that it should be able to do so by 2017 provided it receives all of the funding outlined in the Obama administration's 2014 budget. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden further adds that he's "pleased with the progress our commercial crew providers are making," and remains confident that (again, funding-provided) they will be helping it carry astronauts into space "in just a few short years."
[Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls]
Source: NASA
Earlier this year, Native Union introduced their new SWITCH wireless portable speaker into a market that is already saturated. However, we still agreed to sit down and take a look at it for any of you considering purchasing such a device.
The SWITCH is more than just your small party wireless sound system; it serves both as an external battery and as a conference call unit. It comes with a full duplex microphone that allows all participants to converse simultaneously for up to 16 hours. The battery life is quite impressive, considering it features three speakers, “including an active sub-woofer with an enhanced bass-reflex system.” This results in an unexpectedly crisp and distortion-free sound, even at high volume, making it the perfect candidate for a small apartment, office, or picnic gathering.
The SWITCH has a simple, yet practical and appealing design, with an intuitive multifunctional button and a large volume control wheel. After some extensive use, it remains tight and there is no sign of looseness. The brick-like shape of the device lets you use it in a vertical or horizontal postion, depending on the needs. To top it off, the rubbery material coating that comes in several colours gives it a high-quality feel.
Native Union is selling the SWITCH for what initially seemed like a hefty price tag: $149.99. Getting to play with the product, however, made us feel like the price was somewhat justifiable, especially for someone that will use all of its features. As mentioned before, it would work great for personal use, but also in a corporate environment, where both conference calls and socializing events take place.
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From time to time, I wish I had one of those tiny city cars that could park almost anywhere, because it would make living in the city a lot easier. However, most of the time, these tiny cars are a bit boring to drive because of their lackluster performance. Renault sought to change this with their new concept car.
If you can believe it, the Twizy Sport F1 Electric concept borrows technology used in Formula 1 race cars. This single-seater race car comes with a front splitter, side pods, a rear wing, and a diffuser to give it a sporty look. It uses a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) to recover lost power, which is similar to the one used by Renault F1 cars. It allows this little car to push out almost 100hp, making it as fast as the Mégane Renault Sport 265 (which has 265 horses!).
The car even comes equipped with an F1-style steering wheel, which would provide access to the vehicle’s various functions.
I’m curious to see if or when they’ll use this technology in a production vehicle. I’m sure that many city dwellers would be interested in driving one.
[via designboom]
"I think the consumer is going to be driving this train for quite a long time."
-- Casey Rae, deputy director, Future of Music Coalition
In 2003, the iTunes Music Store established an environment for downloadable music at exactly the time when consumers needed a safe and stable online music store. iTunes sold a million songs in the first week, 10 million in five months and 25 million songs after eight months.
But the consumer demands of one era do not necessarily hold sway in a different cycle. iTunes is facing powerful competition from Amazon, Google and Microsoft in the pay-per-download business. Meanwhile, streaming platforms like Spotify, Rdio and YouTube are establishing a widespread attitude that music is free, and that downloading from a store isn't as compelling as accessing a service. Apple is still making plenty of sales in the music store (15,000 downloads per minute), but users are also flocking in different directions.
With the state of music industry still in flux, 2013 could be as pivotal as 2003, and the next 10 years could be as eventful as the last 10.
It’s the next big thing in sleeping technology! Hoodie Pillow Cases are the pillow case with a hood and a pocket. There’s a headphone cord portal to keep your wires from tangling up and what hoodie wouldn’t be complete without a set of drawstrings to pull the hood tight?
Pop your iPod right in the pocket, pull the hood over your eyes and bliss out. Or use the pocket to hold a remote or reading glasses. This pillow case is made of sweatshirt material (of course) and fits standard pillow sizes. Available in black or red.
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