Here Comes The Giant 27-Inch ‘Coffee Table PC’

Lenovo 

Lenovo to Release Giant 27-inch ‘Coffee Table PC’ -- Time/AP 

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Dismayed that family members are spread out over the house, each with a separate PC or tablet? Lenovo has something it believes will get them back together: a PC the size of a coffee table that works like a gigantic tablet and lets four people use it at once. Lenovo Group Ltd., one of the world’s largest PC makers, is calling the IdeaCentre Horizon Table PC the first “interpersonal computer” – as opposed to a “personal computer.”

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My Comment: For family games and entertainment .... I can see this being a hit.

A New Way To Look For Signs Of Life In The Cosmos Being Launched By British Astronomers

The night sky above Paranal in Chile, where NGTS will be built. In the foreground is the Very Large Telescope. Photograph: Yuri Beletsky/European Southern Observatory British Astronomers Launch Advanced Planet Search To Look For Signs Of Life -- The Guardian Robotic telescopes in Chile's Atacama desert will conduct Next Generation Transit Survey to analyse atmospheres for clues The art of hunting planets has come so far that astronomers can now list hundreds of alien worlds that orbit stars so faint they are not even visible as pinpricks in the clear night sky. Little is known of these far-flung planets. The most conspicuous are huge, the size of Jupiter, and scorched from circling so close to their suns. Others are giant iceballs, or waterworlds, or even rocky like Earth. But the finer details are a mystery, the stuff of speculation more than science. Read more .... My Comment: This is what I call exciting work.

Smartphone Sales To Hit 1bn A Year

Despite soaring sales of smartphones, research suggests one in five owners will rarely, if ever, use them to access the internet. Photograph: Lee Jae-Won/Reuters 

Smartphone Sales To Hit 1bn A Year For First Time In 2013 -- The Guardian  

Accountant Deloitte predicts the smartphone will become a mass market phenomenon and an everyday object worldwide.

The smartphone is predicted to become a mass market phenomenon this year, with annual shipments soaring to 1bn globally for the first time, although a fifth of the devices will rarely be used to go online.

In 2013 the smartphone will become an everyday object worldwide, according to a study by accountants Deloitte, bringing the number of active phones with either a touch screen or an alphabet keyboard to 2bn by the end of the year.

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My Comment: It's easy to see the day when almost everyone has a smart phone .... and the cost of communicating will be almost free.

Sunsets From Around The World

Palette of purple: From the burning red clouds of the Austrian mountains to the soft-coloured skies of Thailand, these are the sunsets of a lifetime 

Why Sunset Really Is The Most Beautiful Time Of Day: Incredible Images Of Early Evening Light From Across The World -- Daily Mail 

These stunning pictures of sunsets across the globe truly prove the old adage of 'red sky at night, shepherd's delight'.

A selection of breathtaking snaps that have captured scarlet skies, brilliant hues of lavender and rich blue wisps of cloud cannot fail to draw gasps of wonder from everyone who sees them.

The images of the jaw-dropping beauty are the product of a technician who was determined to capture sunsets from across the globe.

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My Comment: The Hawaiian sunset is my favorite.

Japan Bluefin Tuna Sells For $1.76 Million

Japan Bluefin Tuna Sells For Record $1.76 Million -- NBC/AP 

A bluefin tuna sold for a record $1.76 million at a Tokyo auction Saturday, nearly three times the previous high set last year — even as environmentalists warn that stocks of the majestic, speedy fish are being depleted worldwide amid strong demand for sushi.

In the year's first auction at Tokyo's sprawling Tsukiji fish market, the 222-kilogram (489-pound) tuna caught off northeastern Japan sold for 155.4 million yen, said Ryoji Yagi, a market official.

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My Comment: Now that is a big (and expensive) fish.

A 'Flower' On The Surface Of Mars?

Does this image taken by Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager show a "Martian flower?" (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Finds ‘Flower’ On Surface Of Mars -- The Slide 

NASA has released a series of new photos taken by its Curiosity rover that appear to show a “flower” on the surface of Mars.

NBCNews.com’s photo blog reports that the photos were taken as part of an effort to capture 360-degree images during Curiosity’s trek through Mars’ Yellowknife Bay.

New Jersey-based journalist and photographer Ken Kramer has assembled the Curiosity photographs, adding color to give a realistic view of what the rover is seeing on the planet’s surface.

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My Comment: I doubt that it is a 'flower' .... but it is an interesting geological anomaly.

Astronomers Estimate That at Least 100 Billion Planets Populate the Galaxy

A new analysis of data from NASA's Kepler mission finds evidence for at least 100 billion planets in our galaxy. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) 

Planets Abound: Astronomers Estimate That at Least 100 Billion Planets Populate the Galaxy -- Science Daily 

Look up at the night sky and you'll see stars, sure.

But you're also seeing planets -- billions and billions of them. At least. That's the conclusion of a new study by astronomers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) that provides yet more evidence that planetary systems are the cosmic norm. The team made their estimate while analyzing planets orbiting a star called Kepler-32 -- planets that are representative, they say, of the vast majority in the galaxy and thus serve as a perfect case study for understanding how most planets form.

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My Comment: Only a 100 billion?

More Secrets From A Famed Roman Shipwreck

Archaeologists secure an amphora from the Antikythera wreck.(Photo: Ephorate of Culture/Greece) 

Famed Roman Shipwreck Reveals More Secrets -- USA 

Today Ancient artifacts resembling the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient bronze clockwork astronomical calculator, may rest amid the larger-than-expected Roman shipwreck that yielded the device in 1901.

 Marine archaeologists report they have uncovered new secrets of an ancient Roman shipwreck famed for yielding an amazingly sophisticated astronomical calculator. An international survey team says the ship is twice as long as originally thought and contains many more calcified objects amid the ship's lost cargo that hint at new discoveries.

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My Comment: The ancient Romans were advanced .... more than what we give them credit for.

Early U.S. Flu Season Accelerates

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Early Flu Season Accelerates; No Peak Yet, CDC Says -- NBC 

The nation’s early flu season continued to grow in the U.S. this week, with no sign yet of a peak in the spread of coughing, achy, feverish illness, health officials said Friday.

"I think we're still accelerating," said Tom Skinner, a CDC spokesman.

Twenty-nine states and New York City reported high levels of flu activity, up from 16 states and NYC the previous week. Flu was widespread in 41 states, up from 31 states, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of the week ending Dec. 29, 2,257 people had been hospitalized with flu, and 18 children had died from complications of the illness, CDC reported.

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My Comment: Take the flu shot and washing my hands is my remedy.

Will This Be The U.S. Military's Future Means To Ship Materials And Soldiers?

A concept of the airship on the battlefield, where it could be used to transport tanks and soldiers directly onto the front line

Thunderbird 2 Flies Again: The Astonishing Airship Set To Revolutionise Haulage, Tourism... And Warfare -- Daily Mail

* The Aeroscraft can carry three times more than the biggest military cargo planes over thousands of miles
* Heavily backed by the U.S. military, it is now at the prototype stage and is set for its first test flight * It is capable of vertical take off and landing and doesn't even need a landing strip

A radical new kind of airship funded by the US military is about to make its first test flight - and it looks uncannily like the Thunderbird 2 craft from the classic TV show.

The Aeroscraft airship will carry three times as much as the biggest military cargo planes over thousands of miles, use a third of the fuel, and it doesn't even need a landing strip.

It could also have major implications for cargo haulage, and almost everything now laboriously transported across the planet's surface by boat, train and lorry could within years be carried through the skies, its makers claim.  

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My Comment: It's an old concept but with a modern twist. I wish them well.

Is This Samsung's Galaxy S4?

The image that website Sammobile claims is the new Samsung Galaxy S4 

 Is This Samsung's Galaxy S4? Pictures Claiming To Be New Flagship Handset Leaked Online -- Daily Mail 

* New images claim o show the next version of Samsung's best selling Galaxy Handset - which could go on sale next year
* Image shows sleek design with no button - but does not appear to show rumoured 'bending' screen
* Could be revealed at the CES event in Las Vegas next week

The latest version of Samsung's hugely popular Galaxy S mobile phone has been spotted, according to one online site.

An image obtained by Sammobile shows the new gadget sporting a 5 inch display, and a new design with no buttons on the case. The handset is also believed to have a quad core processor and a 13 megapixel camera.

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My Comment: I guess we will have to wait for a few weeks to find out if this story is accurate.

An Alternative To GPS?

A U.S. Army 2nd Lieutenant Uses An Army Issued Smartphone To Pull Up A Map For Afghan Villagers United States Army via Wikimedia

New Ground-Based Indoor Positioning Tech Is Accurate Down 
To Just A Few Inches -- Popular Science

Locata's technology goes where GPS can't, delivering a signal one million times stronger than those beamed from satellites.

 Indoor navigation is most certainly the holy grail for positioning system makers right now. Satellite-based location technologies like GPS work wonderfully out under the open sky, where signals bounced from satellites to receivers on the ground are unhindered by man-made structures or natural obstructions. Take that same technology into the subway or a large shopping mall, and the signal goes dead. But a new ground-based positioning system called Locata could soon replace or augment satnav using radio signals that are a million times stronger than GPS signals, indoors or out.  
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My Comment: The military will love this .... if it works.

What's On Darpa's 2013 Wish List?

U.S. Navy Diver DARPA wants a new dive suit that automatically monitors the diver's physiology and adjusts his or her air mixture accordingly. U.S. Navy

On DARPA's 2013 Wish List: Extreme Diving, Portable Brain Reading, And Gravity Vision -- Popular Science

The Pentagon's mad scientists want to bring brain scans to the smartphone, swarming satellites to space, and self-healing software everywhere.

DARPA solicitation days are like Christmas morning for technology nerds, occasions whose bounty defense tech geeks look forward to precisely because we have no idea what we are going to get. And in case you thought DARPA might scale back its far-out R&D ambitions in light of impending defense budget cuts, be advised: the DoD’s blue-sky researchers fear no fiscal cliff (in fact, it has likely already developed a self-assembling hypersonic vehicle that will automatically scramjet the agency to safety should any cliff, fiscal or otherwise, be autonomously detected). So what does DARPA want in 2013? Read on.

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My Comment: I call this the "golly-gee' stuff from Popular Science.

The Most Amazing Bowling Story Ever

The Most Amazing Bowling Story Ever -- DMagazine  

In a bowling alley one night, Bill Fong came so close to perfection that it nearly killed him.

When Bill Fong approaches the lane, 15-pound bowling ball in hand, he tries not to breathe. He tries not to think about not breathing. He wants his body to perform a series of complex movements that his muscles themselves have memorized. In short, he wants to become a robot.

Fong, 48 years old, 6 feet tall with broad shoulders, pulls the ball into his chest and does a quick shimmy with his hips. He swings the ball first backward, then forward, his arm a pendulum of kinetic energy, as he takes five measured steps toward the foul line. He releases the ball, and it glides across the oiled wooden planks like it’s floating, hydroplaning, spinning counterclockwise along a trajectory that seems to be taking it straight for the right-hand gutter. But as the ball nears the edge of the lane, it veers back toward the center, as if guided by remote control. The hook carries the ball back just in time. In a heartbeat, what was a wide, sneering mouth of pins is now—nothing. He comes back to the table where his teammates are seated—they always sit and bowl in the same order—and they congratulate him the same way they have thousands of times over the last decade. But Fong looks displeased. His strike wasn’t good enough.

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My Comment: If you have ten minutes to spare, read this story. The incredible part is at the end.

1,000-Year-Old Jewish Documents Discovered In Afghanistan

Documents from a collection of discarded religious Jewish, discovered inside caves in a Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan, which date back from the 10th century are displayed to the media during a press conference on January 3, 2013, at the national library in Jerusalem. (AFP Photo / Menahem Kahana) 

Collection Of Ancient Jewish Manuscripts Found In Afghanistan Fox Cave -- RT 

Israel's National Library has acquired 1,000-year-old Jewish documents discovered in Afghanistan. The collection of 29 pages includes writings by Saadia Gaon, and has been compared in significance to the 19th-century discovery of the Cairo Genizah. ­

The rare documents were discovered by villagers near the Iran-Uzbekistan border in a cave believed to be the home of a family of foxes. The manuscripts include religious writings, as well as letters and civil contracts written in Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic and Persian, and in a variety of alphabets.

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My Comment: I am impressed that these documents are still in good shape .... after 1,000 years.

New Map Tracks The Location Of Drone Flights Across The U.S.

Newly Released Drone Records Reveal Extensive Military Flights in US -- EEF.org 

Today EFF posted several thousand pages of new drone license records and a new map that tracks the location of drone flights across the United States. These records, received as a result of EFF’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), come from state and local law enforcement agencies, universities and—for the first time—three branches of the U.S. military: the Air Force, Marine Corps, and DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).

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My Comment: Bottom line .... they are everywhere.

Video Tour Of The International Space Station

Video Tour Of The International Space Station -- Slate 

Before she came back to Earth in a ball of fire surrounding her Russian re-entry capsule, astronaut Sunita Williams took time out of her packing for the trip home to give a nickel tour of the International Space Station. When I clicked this, I figured I’d watch for a minute or two … and found myself watching the whole thing, because it was simply fascinating.  

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My Comment: Yup .... I also spent the next 25 minutes watching it.

The Rise Of E-Books

The Nook tablet is seen during a demonstration at the Union Square Barnes & Noble in New York in this 2011 file photo. The share of US adults reading a digital book jumped in 2012 while the share of those reading a traditional book fell, accoridng to a new survey. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters/File 

Digital Reading Rises, While Books Fade -- Christian Science Monitor  

Share of adult Americans reading an e-book jumps from 16 to 23 percent in a year, Pew survey finds, while traditional book reading falls from 72 to 67 percent.

The tastes of the reading public are turning digital. A Pew Internet Research Center survey released Thursday found that the percentage of Americans aged 16 and older who read an e-book grew from 16 percent in 2011 to 23 percent this year. Readers of traditional books dropped from 72 percent to 67 percent. Overall, those reading books of any kind dropped from 78 percent to 75 percent, a shift Pew called statistically insignificant.

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My Comment: My favorite e-book library is here.

A New Trend Called Rooftopping

Daring photographer Tom Ryaboi snaps the Toronto skyline from the top of skyscrapers 

Rooftopping? It's Just Jaw-Dropping! Vertigo-Inducing Pictures Taken By Rooftopper Who Wants To Take Photography To New Heights -- Daily Mail 

* Photography craze of Rooftopping sees thrill seekers climbing to dizzying new heights for the perfect picture

If the thought of walking along the edge of skyscrapers completely unprotected turns you queasy, it's probably best you look away now. Daring photographer Tom Ryaboi snaps the Toronto skyline from the top of skyscrapers as a pioneer of the heart-stopping photography movement rooftopping. To achieve these breathtaking photographs, he often has to evade security guards, dogs - and even urban falcons defending their nests.

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My Comment: The pictures are vertigo-inducing. My suggestion to those who are foolish to want to try it .... do not do it on a windy day.

What Global Warming?

Colder: Since 1977, the mean annual temperature has been steadily rising but starting in the early 2000s that has been falling

What Global Warming? Alaska Is Headed For An Ice Age As Scientists Report State's Steady Temperature Decline -- Daily Mail 

* Since 2000, temperatures in Alaska have dropped by 2.4 degrees Fahrenheit
 * Scientists reviewed weather reports from 20 climate stations operated by the National Weather Service located across Alaska
 * 19 of the 20 weather stations reported falling temperatures
* An ocean phenomenon has disrupted a storm regulating system thus allowing cold winter storms to linger longer and bring a deep chill
* Local residents have noticed the colder temps but say its no big deal since they are already bundled up for 20-below zero temperatures

New research from the Alaska Climate Research Center shows that since the beginning of the 21st century, temperatures in the snow covered land of Alaska are actually getting colder - bucking the overall global warming trend.

In the Last Frontier, where temperatures can get as cold as 50 degrees below zero, local residents have experienced the increasing chill and scientists now confirm that the Northwest state is indeed seeing a temperature drop.

A new report from the research center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks reveals that the 49th state of the union has cooled by 2.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 2000.

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My Comment: Dittos in Montreal (where I live) and for what my relatives (who live in Russia) are telling me this winter.