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NASA drops robot into volcano to help study fissure

Michael Hatamoto | Science, Space, & Robotics | Jan 12, 2015 11:47 PM CST

The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has started testing its VolcanoBot 1 robot in Hawaii, sending it into inactive fissures located inside the active Kilauea volcano. The small two-wheeled robot is less than seven inches tall and around one foot long, with the ability to help researchers create 3D fissure maps.

"We don't know exactly how volcanoes erupt. We have models but they are all very, very simplified. This project aims to help make those models more realistic," said Carolyn Parcheta, JPL postdoctoral fellow.

NASA hopes to refine the VolcanoBot 1's abilities, which could be rolled out for future missions on planets and moons besides Earth. There is specific interest in exploring craters on the moon and Mars, with Earth-based experiments helping perfect hardware before sending them into space.

Continue reading: NASA drops robot into volcano to help study fissure (full post)

GGF LANs CoolerMaster build is a monster

Chris Smith | Modding | Jan 12, 2015 11:26 PM CST

The model of the RAM sums this whole system up - beast. This promotional build completed by Stuart Tonks at GGF LAN contains Cooler Master's HAF Stacker 935 + 915 cases, complete with all the goodies you could hope for when it comes to a complete PC build - unless you want to go to a LAN party, that is.

Featuring two ASUS GTX780 Poseidons in SLI, an Intel i5 4670K and complete with full CM Storm gaming peripherals, the main feature is this crazy case - the Cooler Master HAF Stacker, in which Tonks has crammed nine HDDs and two SSDs.

Complete with a cool red and black color scheme, this is another great looking PC build to throw into the wide variety that Tonks now has under his belt.

Continue reading: GGF LANs CoolerMaster build is a monster (full post)

CNN and FAA sign drone research agreement, bringing unique news angles

Michael Hatamoto | Drones | Jan 12, 2015 10:50 PM CST

The CNN news organization and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have agreed to create a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRDA) to see how drones can be used for news gathering and reporting.

CNN previously had an agreement with the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), with CNN, GTRI and FAA working together - and could help create a roadmap for wider drone use in news reporting.

"Our aim is to get beyond hobby-grade equipment and to establish what options are available and workable to produce high quality video journalism using various types of UAVs and camera setups," said David Vigilante, CNN Senior Vice President, in a statement. "Our hope is that these efforts contribute to the development of a vibrant ecosystem where operators of various types and sizes can safely operate in the US airspace."

Continue reading: CNN and FAA sign drone research agreement, bringing unique news angles (full post)

Sony needs rejuvenation, as company looks beyond slumping TV, mobile

Michael Hatamoto | Business, Financial & Legal | Jan 12, 2015 10:37 PM CST

Sony Pictures grabbed all of the headlines during late 2014 due to its data breach, but Sony as a whole is in significant need of a company-wide revival. Company CEO Kazuo Hirai took over in April 2012 and every option is on the table, according to financial investors, including business unit spinoffs and joint ventures.

Since Hirai took over, the company has cut 15,000 jobs and has endured six forecast earnings cuts - with an estimated $1.9 billion net loss for its fiscal year which ends in March.

"Electronics in general, along with entertainment and finance, will continue to be an important business," Hirai told journalists at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last week. "But within that there are some operations that will need to be run with caution - and that might be TV or mobile, for example."

Continue reading: Sony needs rejuvenation, as company looks beyond slumping TV, mobile (full post)

Marvel releases new 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' trailer

Ben Gourlay | Celebrities & Entertainment | Jan 12, 2015 9:03 PM CST

Marvel and Disney Studios are keen to keep the 'Avengers' juggernaut going and remind moviegoers that the sequel to the 2013 box office smash is just a few months away, today releasing a brand new trailer brimming with explosive footage.

There's a lot riding on 'Age of Ultron' not only is is the second highest grossing film of all time, raking in $1.5B worldwide and with a huge estimated budget of $250 million and an advertising budget probably the same, but also has the future plans for the prosperity of multiple valuable properties and the whole Marvel brand in its care.

'Avengers: Age of Ultron' will be released on April 23rd 2015 in Australia and New Zealand and on the 1st of May in the USA.

Continue reading: Marvel releases new 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' trailer (full post)

Apple Watch Edition gold 42mm 32GB with no band will cost around $2499

Anthony Garreffa | Wearable Computing & Fashion | Jan 12, 2015 8:35 PM CST

In what should come as a total lack of surprise, the larger Watch from Apple will be more expensive than the smaller Watch. Apple has said that the Watch pricing will start at around $349, but what about the larger versions of its wearable? BGR is reporting that the two variants, the 38mm and 42mm, will come with differing pricing, but they are guestimating the following prices:

I think we will see a small change between the prices and sizes too, but that gold edition is hitting scary territory. 99% of consumers will not spend that much money, but for those who are sitting in the 1% category, $2499 isn't too much to dump down on the first-generation Watch from Apple, right?

Continue reading: Apple Watch Edition gold 42mm 32GB with no band will cost around $2499 (full post)

Hooray! Minecraft: Pocket Edition tops 30 million downloads

Michael Hatamoto | Gaming | Jan 12, 2015 7:03 PM CST

Minecraft: Pocket Edition has topped 30 million downloads, as the paid premium game reaches an impressive milestone. The mobile version of the game is available on Google Android, Apple iOS, Microsoft Windows Phone and Amazon Kindle Fire for $7.

To help celebrate the milestone, Minecraft fans are welcome to visit this reddit thread and submit questions, which will be answered during a live question and answer session later this week.

Also, more than one million desktop gamers played Minecraft simultaneously, Mojang noted, with the milestone reached at a non-peak time.

Continue reading: Hooray! Minecraft: Pocket Edition tops 30 million downloads (full post)

iPhone demand in December helped TSMC, Foxconn report record revenue

Anthony Garreffa | Mobile Devices | Jan 12, 2015 6:48 PM CST

It looks like Apple may have sold up to as many as 69 million new iPhones over the holidays, but when you compare this to the same period of last year, it is up 18 million - a nice spike.

TSMC has announced revenues of around $2.17 billion for December alone, while Foxconn has made $16.24 billion in the same period - both of which, are impressive, record-breaking numbers for the two companies. The sudden spike in revenues is mostly thanks to the massive surge in iPhone demand, which is seeing both companies manufacturer various technologies, pieces and parts of the new iPhones.

We should see official numbers from Apple on January 27 when it will kick off its quarterly results conference call.

Continue reading: iPhone demand in December helped TSMC, Foxconn report record revenue (full post)

Australians warned of ISIS attack email scam

Chris Smith | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Jan 12, 2015 6:25 PM CST

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is warning everyone to be careful when receiving emails that have anything to do with an "ISIS threat," after numerous reports of people becoming infected when opening emails containing the subject "ISIS attacks in Sydney?" have surfaced.

The Australian Government's Stay Smart Online service statement reads "new emails referring to ISIS terrorism activities carry a malicious attachment that can be used to infect your computer," further commenting that "clicking on the attachment could result in malicious code being installed that allows an attacker to take control of your computer."

The body of the email in question goes on to mention "ISIS has warned Australian Police today about new attacks in Sydney," further stating that "attached the places in word file which ISIS planning to attack in Sydney this year 2015."

Continue reading: Australians warned of ISIS attack email scam (full post)

ISIS rebranded as 'Daesh', as countries adopt name terrorists despise

Ben Gourlay | Business, Politics & Money | Jan 12, 2015 6:20 PM CST

In a report from Australian broadcaster SBS, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has decided to take the lead of United States, French and Arabic Governments in refusing to refer to ISIS or 'Islamic State' but 'Daesh'.

In explaining his decision, the Prime Minister noted that "Daesh hates being referred to by this term and what they don't like has an instinctive ­appeal to me... I absolutely refuse to refer to it by the title that it claims for itself [Islamic State], because I think this is a perversion of religion and a travesty of governance... I would strongly counsel people against ever using the presumptuous title that they have given themselves.'

Mr Abbott's decision follows a the similar adoption of the acronym from the United States and French Governments, which attempts to remove the Islamic religion from the equation, whilst de-legitimising the terrorist organisation who despise the title and have even promised to remove the tongues of those who speak it. At a Pentagon news conference last month, Lieutenant General James Terry explained the meaning further:

Continue reading: ISIS rebranded as 'Daesh', as countries adopt name terrorists despise (full post)

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