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'R2D2s of the sea' sails across Pacific for science

As you read this, four wave-propelled robots are making their way across the Pacific Ocean in a record-setting journey that will hopefully lead to new scientific discoveries. But they need your help.

With the support of Virgin Oceanic and Google Earth, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company Liquid Robotics launched four of its Wave Glider ocean robots on November 17 to embark on a PacX (as in Pacific crossing) expedition, where they are expected to collect 2.25 million pieces of data about the ocean. The Wave Gliders feature a wing system that uses wave motion to propel the robots, while solar panels power the various sensors used to collect data. … Read more

Ocean-faring robots set sail on Guinness record attempt

SAN FRANCISCO--Four robots left the Golden Gate today on an across the globe mission to set a world distance record and demonstrate new data-gathering tools that could help save the planet.

The robots, known as Wave Gliders, were built by a Silicon Valley startup known as Liquid Robotics. And starting today, the four autonomous sea-faring craft are heading out on journeys to Australia and Japan with the intention of setting the Guinness World Record for the longest distance traveled on the surface of the Earth by a robot.

The four Wave Gliders are thought to be capable of traveling across … Read more

Canada's top carriers readying Galaxy Nexus

Nearly one month has passed since Samsung and Google took to the stage to debut the Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich, and here in the States, we still don't know much about carrier support or release dates. However, our friends to the north will have their choice of carriers, as three of Canada's service providers have already signed up to sell the Galaxy Nexus.

Bell has tapped for the smartphone's release for "early December" and is currently taking reservations for the Galaxy Nexus. Although the provider has yet to lock in a firm date, … Read more

Alaska Airlines flies planes fueled by cooking oil

The Alaska Air Group is joining the commercial aviation biofuel movement.

The airline launched two flights yesterday running on a blend consisting of 20 percent biofuel and 80 percent petroleum-based fuel. The sustainable biofuel used for the blend was made from cooking oil.

One flight was via a Boeing 737-800 plane from Seattle to Washington, D.C., and the other a Bombardier Q400 plane headed from Seattle to Portland, Ore. Both planes were flown as part of a program to fly more than 75 flights on a cooking oil-based biofuel blend within the coming weeks on Alaska Air's Alaskan … Read more

Branson invests in mobile-payment startup Square

Richard Branson, the energetic founder of the Virgin Group, has given an undisclosed sum to mobile payment company Square, which raised $100 million in funding back in June 2011. That round valued Square above $1 billion.

Square's founder Jack Dorsey tweeted this morning that Branson's investment in Square is an example of an "entrepreneur helping entrepreneurs."

"I'm very passionate about helping people start and grow successful businesses, and Square is an incredible technology that inspires and empowers everyone to be an entrepreneur," says Branson in today's press release. Try as she might, … Read more

Get 20 percent off any Virgin Mobile smartphone

I've made no secret of my disgust over smartphone voice/data pricing. Sure, you can buy an iPhone 4 for $99, but you'll be on the hook for at least $55 per month for a full two years. For most users, it's more like $70-80 monthly.

Virgin Mobile is among a small but growing number of carriers that offer more affordable solutions. For as little as $35 per month, with no contract, you can get voice and unlimited data via Sprint's 3G network. Of course, you'll pay a little more for your phone, but that'… Read more

HTC Wildfire (Virgin Mobile)

The HTC Wildfire S is a compact Android 2.3 Gingerbread phone with a 3.2-inch HVGA (480x320 pixels) touch screen. It features the Swype virtual keyboard, a 5-megapixel camera, and runs off a 600MHz processor. We're planning to review this phone, but in the meantime, you can check out CNET's review of the T-Mobile version of the Wildfire S here: HTC Wildfire S (T-Mobile).

Virgin Mobile's Samsung M575 comes to Best Buy

Another budget phone for Virgin Mobile has entered the arena: the slide-out Samsung M575.

We've seen it before as Virgin Mobile's Samsung Restore. This no-contract QWERTY slider has a 2.4-inch LCD screen, a 2-megapixel camera and camcorder, and threaded text messaging and e-mail.

It also has a browser, Bluetooth support, a music player, and a microSD card slot that can hold up to 32GB external storage.

The 3G-capable M575 sells for $79.99, starting today, with text-and-talk plans that begin at $30 per month.… Read more

Virgin Galactic to give NASA suborbital rides

With the shuttle program retired, NASA is turning to Virgin Galactic to hitch rides to the edge of space.

Richard Branson's private venture, which aims to be the first commercial space carrier, said it has signed a deal to give the agency up to three charter flights on SpaceShipTwo. The contract could be worth as much as $4.5 million.

The space plane, whose assembly hangar at the Mojave Air and Space Port was unveiled last month, will carry at least one science mission with a flight test engineer to monitor experiments. … Read more