Sky

Buzz Out Loud 1485: Steve Jobs building the mothership? (Podcast)

Steve Jobs pitches the city of Cupertino on a gigantic, circular "office complex" with its own power supply and, of course, a totally gorgeous design. Our question: does it come with its own Arc reactor? Also, World IPv6 Day is actually about preventing riots in the streets. Now do you care? And we found out right after the show ended that the Facebook profile pic tattoo story is a hoax. So now we hate the Internet, but we're still a little relieved.

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Windows Phone Mango to deliver new SkyDrive features

Perhaps in response to Apple's little iCloud announcement yesterday, Microsoft posted new details about a couple of features coming to its cloud-based SkyDrive storage service with the Windows Phone Mango update.

This includes: The option to share photos stored on SkyDrive via e-mail, text, and IM and the ability to upload videos to the cloud. Previously, Microsoft revealed that the Mango update would also bring Office document storage and sharing. … Read more

SkyScreamer: Extreme swings thrill and terrify

I would like to install a swing set in my backyard. And I want it to be the SkyScreamer. At 236-feet in height, it may run afoul of my local zoning laws, but I don't care. I want to feel the 43 mph wind in my face as I rocket through the air.

Most extreme amusement park rides wrap you up in a cocoon of carts with cushioned safety accessories for an encapsulated experience. The just-opened SkyScreamer at Six Flags St. Louis strips a lot of that away and just dangles you out there with the clouds and birds. It's like a ski lift with a lot more adrenaline.

This is what you have been training for since those early days on the playground with your momma pushing you on a swing. It makes the swing ride at the state fair blush and tuck itself back into its trailer. It would have completely changed the feel of Hitchcock's "Vertigo," had it been around in 1958.

SkyScreamer's manufacturer, Australia-based Funtime Group, already claims the title for the world's tallest tower swing ride, the 384-foot StarFlyer in Vienna, Austria. The Six Flags version may be shorter, but it is still high enough up to scare the pants off of you. Just remember, you must be at least 48-inches tall to ride.

… Read more

Microsoft beefs up Office Web Apps

Microsoft tweaked its Office Web Apps earlier this week with a few enhancements designed to make Excel and PowerPoint a bit more user friendly.

Excel aficionados can now insert, delete, and rename individual worksheets in a workbook, just like you can in the desktop version. To do this, open your Excel file in the online editor. Then simply right-click on a tab for an existing worksheet. You'll see the three familiar options to Insert, Delete, or Rename. Inserting adds a new worksheet in front of your current selection. Deleting asking for your confirmation to permanently get rid of the … Read more

Photopic Sky Survey: See stars like never before

Space: the final frontier. This is the voyage of two men--father and son--who traveled the globe to capture the night sky like never before.

The recently completed Photopic Sky Survey is one of the most ambitious true-color glamour shots of the universe ever created, detailing countless galaxies and hundreds of millions of stars within. Capturing the 5-gigapixel (5,000 megapixel) image was a painstaking effort for Nick Risinger, the creator of the project, who stitched together 37,440 exposures to create the final shot. The breathtaking panorama is also the result of some serious globe-trotting, as he set off on a "45,000 miles by air and 15,000 by land" journey with his retired father, visiting most of the western states in the U.S., as well as the Cape of South Africa.

With the navigational help of a computer to ensure accuracy, Risinger broke the sky down into 624 areas (each 12 degrees wide) and specifically captured each portion through 60 exposures. Four short, medium, and long shots with each camera were taken to help reduce noise, satellite trails, and other inaccuracies. Some serious hardware was used in the survey: … Read more

What the universe looked like 11 billion years ago

It's hard to imagine what the universe looked like 11 billion years ago, especially when I have trouble imagining what I want to do this weekend.

Scientists with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey are helping out by creating what they say is the largest 3D map of our universe. They did so by relying on ancient light emanating from quasars situated many eons away.

Quasars are extremely bright, remote objects that are often referred to as a "galactic nucleus" and emit incredible amounts of energy. A total of 14,000 quasars were tapped to create the map, and mapmakers used them in conjunction with interstellar hydrogen gas clouds that absorb light as it travels to Earth.

The detail in the map is based on wavelengths of quasar light that are absorbed by hydrogen gas clouds, revealing specific wavelengths of light and the distance between each. The result is a stunning 11-billion-year-old cosmological model. … Read more

2012 Mazda3 reaches 40 mpg with SkyActiv tech

At the 2011 New York auto show, Mazda unveiled the revised and slightly reshaped Mazda3. You'd have to do a double take to spot any of the subtle cosmetic differences between the new 2012 model and the outgoing 2011, but pop the hood and you you'll find yourself staring at an entirely new drive train. Actually, you'll find yourself staring at a bright blue cosmetic engine cover, but beneath that is an all new drive train that uses Mazda's SkyActiv efficiency technologies.

Starting with the power plant, the 2.0-liter SkyActiv-G engine uses gasoline direct injection … Read more

Gaze at the stars and play the arcade classics: iPhone apps of the week

In a CNET News story yesterday, our very own Josh Lowensohn explored Apple's recent patent application for an interesting touch-screen concept. The patent details separate smaller displays outside of the regular iPhone touch screen. According to the patent filing, these separate displays could be used in tandem with the main iPhone touch screen or used by developers to show added information in apps and games. Josh is careful to point out that patent applications don't necessarily mean a company will use an idea in a future product, but they are nonetheless interesting to consider.

Obviously, adding separate screens would open up all kinds of options for apps, but I wonder if these areas would be used by Apple for showing things like battery life, current time, camera information, or other more generic smartphone-related uses. But if these added touch-screen areas could be used by app developers, it would open up a huge number of possibilities for more interesting on-screen controls and other information widgets related to what's happening on-screen.

Even without knowing whether this will come to light, what sort of uses can you envision for extra displays around the main iPhone screen? Let me know your ideas in the comments.

This week's apps include an app for star gazing that uses augmented-reality technology and an app that lets you play classic arcade and console games from the golden age of gaming.… Read more

Windows 8 screenshots reveal ribbon interface

Images from a pre-beta version of Windows 8 reveal that Microsoft is apparently expanding its use of the ribbon interface to replace traditional pull-down menus and toolbars.

Following Microsoft's release of the latest pre-beta build of Windows 8 to select partners recently, screenshots of certain features in the upcoming OS were allegedly posted online. In particular, images displayed on enthusiast site Within Windows by "Windows 8 Secrets" co-authors Rafael Rivera and Paul Thurrott show the ribbon interface reaching Windows Explorer.

Introduced with Office 2007, the ribbon interface has been loved by some and reviled by others. But … Read more