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NASA's next step into the dark beyond is with their Orion capsule, which is looking to enter its first test flight in 2014. NASA's Apollo missions are behind them, so the space agency are looking into the future with their Orion spacecraft and Delta IV rockets to send man into space.

Part of the process is to make sure that the Orion capsule will survive the extreme temperatures of re-entry, and even though Orion is one of the most advanced spacecraft ever designed, testing is still necessary.

The Apollo missions most important part of surviving re-entry is thanks to its heat shield which protects the ship during re-entry. The Orion capsule takes it a step further where it's composed of two parts: a Titanium skeleton that is bolted to a carbon fiber skin. This takes nearly 3,000 bolts to hold the skeleton to the skin, after this the heat shield is shipped to Textron Defense Systems just outside of Boston, where they'll add the final layer of albative material.

The XDA Developers forums are built with some geniuses at work, where this time a user with the name of 'alephzain' who is claiming that they've discovered a hole in multiple Samsung devices that gives access to all physical memory.

This hole can be used to access devices to remotely wipe them, brick the device, or worse, access user data without the user noticing. Alephzain tested the vulnerability out on a Samsung Galaxy S III to root his device, but noticed that the flaw is also on the Galaxy S II, Galaxy Note II, the Meizu MX and other devices sporting an Exynos 4210 and 4412 processor, using Samsung kernel sources.

Samsung haven't come out and confirmed the vulnerability, but it is already being exploited. The post on the forum notes the following devices are at risk: Samsung Galaxy S2 GT-I9100, Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-I9300, Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE GT-I9305, Samsung Galaxy Note GT-N7000, Samsung Galaxy Note 2 GT-N7100, Verizon Galaxy Note 2 SCH-I605 (with locked bootloaders), Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 GT-N8000, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 GT-N8010.

I'm sure by now you've read about the very, very sad tragedy in the US with the Newtown school shooting - but it looks like Anonymous are back because of it.

Westboro Baptist Church are known for their hateful way of pushing their beliefs, even going as far as doing so at funerals. The WBC have shown up at funerals of veterans and other venues to try and convert grieving families with their anti-gay message. The group says that, and wait for it - the world's tragedies are linked to homosexuality and a so-called "homosexual agenda". The WBC announced they planned a picket at the Sandy Hook Elementary School after the shooting spree killing 26 children and teachers.

Anonymous splashed back by dumping personal information of WBC members which included phone numbers and home addresses. The hacker collective also released a new video talking about the WBC, where they said "from time to time you have received this message, our attack protocol has past been executed and your downfall is underway".

Sony have unveiled the PS3 Lunch Box, which is a special edition item as an appreciation from Sony Computer Entertainment for the continued support on long-running, and very successful games such as the Final Fantasy and Metal Gear series.

The PS3 Lunch Box will see a release in Japan, and is called a 'bentou', or a Japanese meal box. This particular device is a juubako, or a nest box type bentou. The top of the Lunch Box looks like your standard PlayStation 3.

This isn't any standard lunch box, either, as it has been claimed that the PS3 Lunch Box was made with the highest woodworking and laser etching techniques available to designers. The cool-looking lunch box can have any food inside of it, as it has been stated to be safe to put any food in it as it won't damage from spills easily.

Every season, Google performs a bit of cleaning to keep its product line sleek and efficient. Each season comes with various products being killed off and it's become a tradition that I look forward to. Which of Google's products didn't make the cut for this winter's cleaning? Read on to find out.

As posted by Google on their blog:

ORIGIN PC, a boutique manufacturer of laptops and desktops, has announced today that they are bringing back ready-to-ship models for the holidays so that you can get that new system on time to game on Christmas Day. The systems are like most pre-configured system in that they have already been built and can be shipped out next-day.

According to the press release, "These high-performance systems are available while supplies last and offer the same unmatched quality and performance as every custom ORIGIN PC without the wait and without any compromise. Every RTS system is put through the same rigorous benchmarking and testing and built and supported in the United States. With included popular PC games, features such as professional overclocking and award winning Lifetime 24/7 Support, the ORIGIN PC RTS system makes the perfect holiday gift."

You can choose ready-to-ship models from the MILLENNIUM, EON15-S and EON17-S lines of computers. The EONs are both laptops, while the MILLENNIUM is a desktop gaming rig.

Apple's PR better kick into gear here soon. A Chinese woman who was attempting to buy more than the two-per-customer limit of iPhone 5s was tased outside of the store after she didn't leave the store because she didn't understand the request by the store manager, who asked her to leave.

She had apparently already bought 2 iPhone 5s last Friday and attempted to buy more. This resulted in her being told she had reached the two-per-customer limit on iPhone 5s, so she went online and ordered two. She returned to the store, where she had previously made a video of customers she believed had been sold more than two iPhones.

They, of course, wouldn't sell her the extra devices, and the store manager asked her to leave. She says she didn't understand the request, and since she didn't leave, the manager asked a police officer to escort her out. "The officer approached her, told her she wasn't welcome in the store, and she refused to leave," Nashua police captain Bruce Hansen told WCVB TV.

40 years ago today, the last men to walk on the surface of the moon blasted off and headed for home. Apollo 17 was the last of the Apollo missions to the moon, a feat we have not ventured to repeat since.

After three days exploring the Taurus-Littrow lunar valley, Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan (pictured above) and Harrison Schmitt lit the engine on the upper (ascent) stage of their lunar module "Challenger" and launched off the surface at 5:55 p.m. EST (2255 GMT) on Dec. 14, 1972. The word "Ignition" which was voiced by Schmitt was the last words ever spoken by man on the surface of the moon.

Schmidt was also the first geologist and professional scientist to fly on an manned NASA mission. Eugene Cernan, commander of the mission was the last human to leave a footprint on the surface and with his words "Lets get off" an era came to an end.

If you are a Google+ fan (we are!) then things got really exciting for you today. Google launched many new features for the service today including the ability for Android users to back up the full sized photos taken by their phone.

While Google+ has always allowed users to backup their Android phone generated photos, the size was capped around 4 megapixels. Today's update removes that constraint and allows any size image to be uploaded. The caveat being that free storage is limited to 5GB with additional storage space being available for purchase.

This new backup feature is no doubt partially the result of Android 4.2's new "Photo Spheres" feature which creates 360 degree panorama's. This update allows users to share these extra large images on their Google+ photo stream.

Raspberry Pi, an ARM based micro computer that runs Linux, has seen a huge surge in its user base since its release. The reason for this is no doubt its price point of $35, which gets you a fully capable Linux machine with 512mb of memory, USB, Ethernet, and SD Storage. Well the Pi just got cheaper, with the model A costing a mere $25.

The Raspberry Pi model A is a slimmed down version of the model B. The model A features only 256mb of memory, and lacks an ethernet chip and jack. The Raspberry Pi Foundation did this because they know that not all projects will need the networking hardware and that by removing the Ethernet chip, they save 200mA of power consumption with the model A consuming just 100mA of power.

The model A has not yet been released for sales yet, but some boards did wind up in the hands of Limor Fried of Adafruit Industries as well as Pete Wood of Design Spark. Both of whom has released videos covering the new little ARM board.

Fans of over-sized phones will be happy to hear that Samsung's Galaxy Note III will come with a huge 6.3" screen. That is almost an entire inch larger than its predecessor, and over an inch larger than the original Galaxy Note.

For comparison, a Nexus 7 tablet is only 0.7 inches larger and the new iPad Mini a mere 1.25 inches larger. Samsung has not released any other specification on the Galaxy Note III but we know that it will sport an Organic Light-Emiting Diode (OLED) display. Moving to an OLED will cut power consumption, improve pixel density, and color vibrancy will be much better.

Researchers from ABI Research say that we are in the beginning of what has been dubbed the "Phablet" era, with Phablet being a cross between Phone and Tablet. Researchers are estimating that "Phablet" sales will broach the 208 million mark by 2015, with the driving source being people who want the full tablet experience but do not want to carry around their phone and tablet. "The larger screen sizes make a significant difference to the user's experience when compared to conventional-sized touch screens between 3.5 to 4 inches." said ABI analyst Joshua Flood.

Teenage boys across the world have just let out a collective sigh after Mountain View-based search giant Google updated their image search algorithm which now makes it much harder to find pornographic images through Google.

Even with SafeSearch disabled, the new algorithm puts up a brick wall, and Google have said that they are not censoring any adult content, but there should be some people that would disagree with that right now.

A Google spokesperson has said that they are just trying to show the explicit images to those who are intentionally searching for them instead of a minor stumbling across something they shouldn't. The algorithms Google are using try to work out which images are best to display for the search query a user enters, so that if someone is on the hunt for adult images, they might have to be more specific with their search.

Rockstar have teased gamers across the world by saying that they'd love to create one Grand Theft Auto game with all of the previous games' cities. During an interview with Digital Trends, Rockstar North head, Leslie Benzies said he sees players being able to travel back and forth to revisit places they explored in previous games. Benzies continues:

There was talk of a return to Vice City, where Benzies said:

Close your eyes, now imagine you're sitting in a restaurant and the waiter brings you the biggest salt shaker you've ever seen. Imagine that the grains of salt are as big as your fist. That's how big this rumor is, and that's how big the salt is going to be for you to believe this.

Bright Side of News* are reporting from their latest trip to the UAE that Intel could acquire NVIDIA - yes, you read that right. This has been a rumor for quite sometime, especially over the years when AMD were acquiring ATI.

NVIDIA are a much smaller company than Intel, and Intel will struggle in the graphics department in the coming future. Sure, they'll do well, but AMD's APUs have some great graphics attached, and NVIDIA's mobile solutions in their Tegra range are also great. NVIDIA are already involved in a technology licensing deal with Intel, and the acquisition talks are just an extension of this.

Microsoft made a very weird, and foolish decision when they said they wouldn't sell, or support any game sporting a Mature rating in the US or 16+ PEGI rating in Europe through the Windows Store.

Considering the software giant sells plenty of Mature-rated games on their Xbox 360 console, as well as publishing many themselves, it truly was a weird decision. Customers have slammed this decision for a while, and thanks to their backlash as well as members from the gaming industry itself, Microsoft have announced that they've reversed this foolish decision.

The Redmond-based company confirmed this week that they will be expanding their commitment to the Windows Store games, and will now support PEGI 18-rated titles in Europe. Ted Dworkin, Director of Program Management for the Windows Store took to the company's blog, saying:

NORAD, the site famous for tracking Santa has used Google Maps since 2007, but this year that has changed. NORAD is instead using Bing Maps, as well as apps built for Windows 8, Android, iOS, and Windows Phone. The reason for this change is that Microsoft is the new lead partner for the site, which tracks Santa every Christmas.

If you want to track Santa in 3D, like you used to be able to with Google Earth, NORAD is using Cesium. NORAD hasn't completely ditched Google, though, as they are still pushing, and utilizing, their YouTube channel. The YouTube logo is also at the bottom of every page, along with Facebook and Twitter.

NORAD sent the following to SearchEngineLand regarding the split:

Skywatchers across the globe are in for a major treat tonight as the Geminid meteor shower peaks tonight along with a new unnamed meteor shower. With the moon at its new phase tonight the skies will be as dark as possible for the breathtaking event which is expected to produce around 100 "shooting stars" an hour.

To view the event you simply need to lay on your back and watch the constellation of Gemini. The meteors will seem to magically appear from that constellation. The action will be taking place all night with things really heating up starting at 10:00 local time and going into full effect around 2am. "Meteors from the new shower (if any) will be visible in the early evening, with the Geminids making their appearance later on and lasting until dawn," Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, said in a statement.

For those of you unfortunate enough to have cloudy skies tonight like me, NASA will host a live web chat overnight from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. EST (0400 to 0800 GMT), complete with live video of streaking meteors captured by a special camera at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. It will all happen here:

Almost everyone owns an HDTV by this point, lets face it, HDTV has become one of those must have things that we can't live without. Those of us who are not satisfied with a plain old run of the mill HDTV will be happy to hear that Sharp will be releasing a monstrous 60" HDTV with 4k resolution in February of 2013.

With a resolution of 3,840,2,160 pixels, it offers much more detail than current HD 1080p TVs and even besets Apple's famed retina displays. First previewed at CES 2012, the 60″ LCD dubbed "Integrated Cognitive Creation," (or by its product number, LC-60HQ10) is sure to wind up in the homes of early adopters world wide.

With a price tag of $31,000 (£19,000), Sharp is building these to order as no doubt it won't be expecting many to be sold. We are predicting that CES 2013 is likely to hold some much more cost effective systems at the same size or larger than this offering from sharp.

Cooling becomes a major issue as our beloved electronic gadgets shrink in size. We want things smaller, thinner and lighter and that causes a few problems for engineers. General Electric has just unveiled a new breakthrough technology that has the potential to push the miniaturization process forward by orders of magnitude.

Dubbed Dual Piezoelectric Cooling Jets, or DCJ,the system works by activating each piezoelectric element in an alternating pattern. This creates a "bellows" of high velocity jets of air that are many times more efficient than traditional fan cooling technology. An added benefit is that the DCJ system is much thinner than existing fan technology and is virtually silent.

"DCJ was developed as an innovative way to dramatically reduce the amount of pressure losses and loading characteristics in aircraft engines and power generation in gas and wind turbines," explained Peter de Bock, lead research in the electronics cooling arm of GE's Global Research division.

A couple of months ago, we reported that a team of physicists were going to see if The Matrix were more real than meets the eye - well, we've gotten a little further now and another team of physicists have found another way to experiment if we're all living within a computer.

There has been a philosophical thought experiment that has for quite some time shown that it is more likely that we're actually living in a machine - yes, that the real world is not so "real". This theory goes onto a path that any civilisation which would get as far as a 'post-human' stage would end up with the ability to run simulations on the scale of a universe. Considering the scale of what is out there, billions of stars, suns, worlds, and more - it is not only possible, but it is likely that it has already happened.

Then we tumble further down the rabbit hole, and it is statistically possible that we're (the human race, our universe) is within a chain of simulations within simulations. Inception springs to mind, so does The Matrix. The alternative to this is that we are the first civilisation, within the first universe - and this is virtually impossible.