For-profit asteroid mining missions to start in 2016

Sci-fi? Mining startups plan to prospect for asteroid belt minerals beginning in 2016, but the big goal is air and water for future space travel, not gold.

LONDON — Mining in space is moving from science fiction to commercial reality but metals magnates on this planet need not fear a mountain of extraterrestrial supply — the aim is to fuel human voyages deeper into the galaxy.
Within three years, two firms plan prospecting missions to passing asteroids. When even a modest space rock might meet demand for metals like platinum or gold for centuries, it is little wonder storytellers have long fantasized that to harness cosmic riches could make, and break, fortunes on Earth.

But with no way to bring much ore or metal down from the heavens, new ventures that have backing from some serious — and seriously rich — business figures, as well as interest from NASA, will focus on using space minerals in interplanetary "gas stations" or to build, support and fuel colonies on Mars.
There may be gold up there, but the draw for now is water for investors willing to get the new industry off the ground.
Governments believe it has a future; NASA has a project that may put astronauts on an asteroid in under a decade and on Mars in the 2030s. And if the costs seem high, grumblers are told that one day the new skills might just save mankind from sharing the fate of the dinosaurs - if we can learn how to stop a massive asteroid smashing into Earth.
"We are dreamers," declares the web site of Deep Space Industries (DSI), next to an image of a wheel-like metal station hooked up to a giant floating rock. But what the U.S.-based start-up firm calls the first small steps in a "long play" to develop the resources of space are about to happen.
A priority is using hydrogen and oxygen, the components of water locked in compounds on asteroids, to refuel rockets.

New at the nursery: Tomato + potato = TomTato

One well-designed plant, meeting all your garden needs.

It’s a tomato plant! It’s a potato plant!
It’s Super—no, wait, it’s a tomato plant grafted onto a potato plant.

Thompson & Morgan

The TomTato™, is shown in a Thompson and Morgan YouTube video.

This summer, the British seed company Thompson and Morgan unveiled a new kind of plant: A TomTato™. It is, literally, a plant that grows both tomatoes and potatoes.

It’s made possible by good ol’ graft: A healthy tomato plant is grafted onto a healthy potato plant, and voila, the two become one. Both tomatoes and potatoes are nightshades, and, even more specifically, part of the genus Solanum. (Common eggplants are in that category, too, but Thomson and Morgan haven’t announced any plans to unleash an EggTato.)
The director of Thompson and Morgan, Paul Hansord, spoke to Modern Farmer today, and described just what it’s like to have a TomTato in your backyard:
You plant in the spring and start getting tomatoes by July. The TomTato produces massive trusses of fruit. Lots of vigor. You’re going to get abundant tomatoes through the summer. And when they finally settle down, the potatoes will be ready to harvest.

Over a decade of farming work went into the TomTato, according to Hansord. Growers started experimenting with grafting the tomato and potato plants together, but producing a robust living thing by that process turned out to be harder than it seemed.
“It’s very important not to have any viruses; both plants are susceptible,” Hansord told ModFarm. “You also need to make sure the tomato and potato stems are the exact same width.”
According to Hansord, the plant has been enormously successful. And it’s little wonder. Tomatoes and potatoes, from the same greenery: At a childlike level, it seems almost like magic. “But tomatoes are red! And potatoes! are! brown!,” some inner, amazed voice wants to shout. Yet here they are, together as one.
The TomTato is a reminder, albeit a very real, flowering, red-brown one, that modern farming—and perhaps, even agriculture itself—transfigures plants into tools, and those tools into food. Those tools, then, become just ordinary human products, subject to trademark protections and all the other frillery we bestow upon brands: Coca-Cola, Harley-Davidson, TomTato.

Last month, when The Atlantic compiled a list of the 50 greatest technologies since the wheel, “the green revolution” ranked 22nd. That specific set of advances—encompassing breakthroughs in synthetic fertilizer to old-fashioned breeding techniques—were made only in the mid-20th century, and possibly saved the lives of more than a billion people.
But unlike many of the products of the green revolution, the TomTato can be yours—if you’re a gardener in Britain. Thompson and Morgan’s website lists the plant as available for £14.99, or, roughly, $25.
Below, a fauxhawked representative of the nursery explains the wonders of the TomTato.

Puerto Rico bioluminescent lagoon goes nearly dark

A Puerto Rican lagoon that attracts tourists who set out to see its waters glow has gone dark for at least eight days.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A glowing lagoon off Puerto Rico's northeast coast has gone nearly dark and biologists on Tuesday were trying to find out why.
Theories range from an increase in construction runoff to inclement weather to people clearing mangroves to allow larger boats into the area.
"We have been compiling data," Carmen Guerrero, secretary of the Department of Natural Resources, said in a phone interview as she headed toward Las Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve with a team of scientists to investigate the problem. "There are a lot of factors that could be at play."
The bioluminescent lagoon, often referred to as a bay, attracts tourists who set out in kayaks or boats by night from the neighboring city of Fajardo to see waters that glow when microscopic organisms are disturbed. A greenish light swirls off hands and arms as visitors trail them through the water.

But the bioluminescence has dropped so much that tour operators have had to cancel trips and reimburse visitors, Guerrero said.
Fajardo city Mayor Anibal Melendez told reporters that the lagoon has been dark for at least eight days.
"We've never seen anything like that," he said.
Melendez blamed the problem on runoff from the construction of a nearby water and sewer plant, and he has asked that the plant be moved elsewhere, though officials involved with the plant deny it's the cause.
Alberto Lazaro, president of the state Water and Sewer Authority, said the plant is needed because people are discharging sewage into the lagoon and nearby ocean. He said the project, which is to be completed by 2016, had been approved by the territory's Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is providing the funding.
"These agencies have certified that it will not adversely impact the environment," he said in a statement.


http://news.msn.com/science-technology/puerto-rico-bioluminescent-lagoon-goes-nearly-dark

15 years of the International Space Station

On Wednesday, Nov. 20, the ISS celebrates the 15th anniversary since its first module was launched. The station was built by the combined effort of five space agencies and is divided into two: the Russian Orbital Segment and the United States Orbital Segment, which is used by many countries. The station is used as a research laboratory conducting experiments in fields such as biology, physics and meteorology.

Xbox One a great game player, and more

Microsoft wants you to think of Xbox One as more than a game machine. Still, if you're considering buying one, you probably have one thing in mind: games.

What is the Xbox One?
If you're a video-game aficionado, you know the answer: It's Microsoft's latest game console, and it arrives in North America and Europe on Friday. To gamers, Xbox means cutting-edge adventures such as "Halo" and "Gears of War," and well as the brand that brought online competition to the masses through Xbox Live.
But Microsoft wants you to think of Xbox One as more than a game machine. You can use it to watch movies on Netflix and Hulu Plus. You can hook it up to your cable box to watch live TV. You can Skype your grandma and share family photos through the SkyDrive storage service. (Discloure: Microsoft publishes MSN News)
Still, if you're considering buying an Xbox One this week, you probably have one thing in mind: games.
The Xbox One is a chunky black box that's a little larger than its predecessor, the Xbox 360. It arrives with a respectable library of 22 titles, all sold separately. By and large, they look just as pretty as their counterparts on Sony's PlayStation 4, which came out last week.
Both the Xbox One and the PS4 are state-of-the-art game machines, and for some, the difference will come down to price. At $500, the Xbox One costs $100 more.
The most significant distinction between the two is the re-engineered Kinect camera that's packaged with every Xbox. Like the one for its Xbox 360 predecessor, it lets you use voice commands and gestures to navigate on-screen menus and some apps, but it's much more precise and responsive than before. On the PS4, a similar camera sells for $60, but Sony's pitching it as an accessory rather than an essential part of the experience.
Setting up the Xbox was easy. You connect the Kinect to the Xbox and the Xbox to the TV. You sign in or create a free Microsoft account, download some software updates and calibrate the Kinect. Despite earlier threats that the console would need to be always connected to the Internet, Microsoft now says constant connection isn't necessary after the initial setup.
On-screen menus are simpler and less cluttered than the Xbox 360's.
Related: One-third of gamers would go carless to be first to get new consoles
The "Home" section is dominated by a large image of your most recently opened game or app. Smaller icons show the four apps you used before that. To the left is your user profile. To the right are links to available games and Xbox Live recommendations.
The most innovative button on the Home page is called "Snap." It lets you shift one app to the upper right corner of the screen while using another app. For example, I played "Forza Motorsport 5" on the main screen while a live broadcast of a college football game ran in the Snap window. If the gridiron action got interesting, I could quickly switch it to the main display.
The other main sections of the user interface are "Pins," where you can arrange icons for your favorite apps, and "Store," where you can buy new games, movies and music.
The entire interface can be navigated by voice command with the Kinect. To watch live TV, for example, you say, "Xbox, watch TV." To play a game like "Killer Instinct," you say, "Xbox, go to 'Killer Instinct.'"
After a few hours, I got pretty good at getting the machine to follow my orders. As a longtime Xbox user, however, I still found it easier and more intuitive to use the Xbox One's handheld controller, which looks and feels similar to previous Xbox controllers.
You can also navigate the on-screen menus using Xbox SmartGlass, a free app for iOS, Android or Windows 8 devices, including Microsoft's Surface tablet. If you're in the middle of a game, SmartGlass can display additional instructions or the Achievements you've earned. It's far from essential, but it could be interesting to see what developers do with that second screen.
The Xbox One uses custom-designed chips from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. It cannot play games for the Xbox 360, but Xbox One owners probably will want only state-of-the-art titles anyway. After initially threatening a digital-rights scheme that would have blocked games previously played on other Xbox Ones, Microsoft reversed course and now says you'll be able to buy, sell and trade used games as much as you want.
Microsoft promises eight times the graphical performance of the Xbox 360. The images in the games I tried are on par with the PS4's — as detailed and realistic as anything yet produced by a living-room console.
"Forza Motorsport 5," the latest auto racing simulator from Microsoft's Turn 10 Studios, takes full advantage of the Xbox One's graphic oomph. You can see the attention to detail in every car. From the driver's seat, you can read every instrument on the dashboard. The beauty extends to the gorgeous environments, from the Bernese Alps to the streets of Prague to famous racetracks like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"Ryse: Son of Rome," an original adventure from the German studio Crytek, revels in the glory of ancient Athens. But gamers are more likely to be stunned by its copious gore, as centurions hack and slash their way through hordes of barbarian invaders.
"Ryse" tries to incorporate voice commands as well. At times, you're expected to orally order your legions to charge the enemy or block incoming attacks. But you can accomplish the same things by pressing buttons, which I resorted to after the troops ignored my shouts a few times.
And therein lies the test for Microsoft's Kinect-centric strategy. I've been using the Kinect to explore the Xbox One's menus — but when I'm immersed in a game, it feels more like a gimmick.
However you decide to control it, though, the Xbox One is a versatile, powerful machine that should be able to deliver inventive high-definition games for a long time. Between it and the PlayStation 4, the new generation of gaming is off to a roaring start.

Did Samsung Really Pay Apple In Coins?

While the image of Samsung paying Apple in coins seems truly humorous, the question is, did it actually happen? Did Samsung truly seek revenge on Apple for the $1 billion dollar fine by paying them back in nickels?
The answer? No.
While the website The Blade Brown Show has no indicator that it is a parody site, what is written there can barely be taken as factual news. In addition to the "Samsung pays Apple $1 billion in coins" story, The Blade Brown Show also features some other outlandish stories such as one about GTA V having to cease sales because of musical copyright infringement.

Gaming Sound and such

Gaming-grade headphones and keyboards stand out

AP Photo: Ron Harris

The Rig gaming headset from Plantronics is photographed on Nov. 18, 2013, in Decatur, Ga. It allows the user to connect a mobile phone to its mixer and toggle between phone calls and gaming audio.

 

  2 days ago By Ron Harris of Associated Press

At the end of the day, the gaming experience comes down to sight, sound and control.

ATLANTA — Gaming on a PC is an endeavor that can be tinkered with forever. You can add memory, faster hard drives, liquid-cooling plumbing, chassis fans and much more.
I took a look at a few devices that can augment sight, sound, and control while gaming.
Plantronics RIG headset and mixer ($129):
It's a wired headset with the added functionality of a stereo input for your mobile phone. That way, you can take calls and keep gaming if you can't be bothered to pause.
Overall, I found the fit to be good. The 40-millimeter drivers in the headset carried a good range of bone-rumbling bass during sessions of "Crysis."
There are separate volume controls for the game on the PC and for my mobile phone, when the phone is attached with a single audio cable. These controls are nicely backlit, so you can find them even in a dark environment.
The unit comes with both an in-line microphone on the cable and a detachable boom microphone. The boom mic is used more during game play while a smaller mic on the headphone cord is the better approach for phone conversations.
The weighted mixer, which balances the sound from the gaming and phone conversations, stays put when I need it to, and it has plenty of length on the cord to position where I need to. The RIG is comfortable and smartly styled, and it sounds great.

AP Photo: Ron Harris

A gaming keyboard from Roccat.

Roccat Isku FX keyboard ($100):
The keyboard is where the magic happens in PC gaming. Sure, you can get an Xbox-like controller for your PC gaming, but a true gaming-grade keyboard offers granular control for lighting, smart macros for toggling weapons and configurable hotkeys for menus, maps and other in-game content.
The Isku FX has all of that and some twists:

• Programmable "thumbster" keys rest about an inch below the space bar. This came in handy during a "Far Cry 3" session. Normally, to heal myself from a serious wound, I would have to hunt for the "Q'' key in the corner using my left ring finger. I'd often press the nearby "W'' or "1'' key by mistake because it isn't a natural move for me. I can program a "thumbster" key for the "Q'' and access it comfortably with my thumb.
• The keys have programmable backlighting zones. I turned my main W-A-S-D keyboard section — the keys used to move my game characters — into glowing green color. Although it isn't beneficial during play because I stare at the screen instead, it branded my setup visually as a primary gaming kit for added nerdiness.

I would have preferred a shorter or detachable wrist ramp, which is the part below the keys where my hands rest. But I got used to the feel of it in short order.

AP Photo: Ron Harris

A USB-powered monitor from AOC.

The AOC e1659Fwu external USB monitor ($139):
I include this not because it augments the gaming experience, but because it augments the other stuff you can keep an eye on while you're gaming.
It was useful to plug in this monitor into a USB 3.0 port and have my Facebook and Twitter feeds open on it. The display, which measures 16 inches diagonally, works as a second screen on the side, so you can devote your main monitor to the game. I don't like windowed gaming and prefer to play in full-screen mode, but during the scenes in between active play, I always wonder if someone is trying to ping me online.
Having my social media accounts up and active on the AOC display is a quality add-on. I can also use it to display a media player with a playlist of ambient background music.
The AOC can be used in horizontal or vertical mode. A kickstand keeps the monitor propped up during game play. It folds easily so you can store the unit for later. This accessory is fairly priced and nicely designed.

Smartphone Kill Switch

Carriers reject kill switch for stolen smartphones

By Terry Collins of Associated Press

Lost and stolen mobile devices — mostly smartphones — cost consumers more than $30 billion last year.

SAN FRANCISCO — Samsung Electronics, the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, has proposed installing a built-in anti-theft measure known as a "kill switch" that would render stolen or lost phones inoperable, but the nation's biggest carriers have rejected the idea, according to San Francisco's top prosecutor.
District Attorney George Gascon said Monday that AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless, United States Cellular Corp., Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. rebuffed Samsung's proposal to preload its phones with Absolute LoJack anti-theft software as a standard feature.
The wireless industry says a kill switch isn't the answer because it could allow a hacker to disable someone's phone.
Gascon, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and other law enforcement officials have been demanding that manufacturers create kill switches to combat surging smartphone theft across the country.
Almost 1 in 3 U.S. robberies involve phone theft, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Lost and stolen mobile devices — mostly smartphones — cost consumers more than $30 billion last year, according to a study cited by Schneiderman in June.
Samsung officials told the San Francisco district attorney's office in July that carriers were resisting kill switches, and prosecutors have recently reviewed emails between a senior vice president at Samsung and a software developer about the issue. One email in August said Samsung had pre-installed kill switch software in some smartphones ready for shipment, but carriers ordered their removal as a standard feature.
"These emails suggest that the carriers are rejecting a technological solution so they can continue to shake down their customers for billions of dollars in (theft) insurance premiums," Gascon said. "I'm incensed. ... This is a solution that has the potential to end the victimization of their customers."
Samsung said it is cooperating with Gascon, Schneiderman and the carriers on an anti-theft solution but declined to comment specifically about the emails.
"We are working with the leaders of the Secure Our Smartphones (SOS) Initiative to incorporate the perspective of law enforcement agencies," said Samsung spokeswoman Jessica Redman. "We will continue to work with them and our wireless carrier partners toward our common goal of stopping smartphone theft."
Although the popular Samsung Galaxy smartphones are shipped across the country without LoJack as a standard feature, users can pay a subscription fee for the service.
CTIA-The Wireless Association, a trade group for wireless providers, said it has been working with the FCC, law enforcement agencies and elected officials on a national stolen phone database scheduled to launch Nov. 30.
The CTIA says a permanent kill switch has serious risks, including potential vulnerability to hackers who could disable mobile devices and lock out not only individuals' phones but also phones used by entities such as the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and law enforcement agencies.
"The problem is how to you trigger a kill switch in a secure manner and not be compromised by a third party and be subjected to hacking," said James Moran, a security adviser with the GSMA, a United Kingdom wireless trade group that has overseen a global stolen mobile phone database and is helping to create the U.S. version.
Last year, about 121 million smartphones were sold in the U.S., according to International Data Corp., a Massachusetts-based researcher. About 725 million smartphones were sold worldwide, accounting for $281 billion in sales, IDC said.
Samsung Electronics Co., with its popular Galaxy S4 smartphone, shipped 81 million phones — more than the next four manufacturers combined — during the most recent sales quarter for a market share of 31 percent, IDC reported in October. Apple Inc. shipped 34 million iPhones for a market share of 13 percent.
In June, Gascon and Schneiderman held a "Smartphone Summit" in New York City to call on representatives from smartphone makers Apple, Samsung, Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. to adopt kill switches that would be free to consumers.
That week, Apple said such a feature, an "activation lock," would be part of its iOS 7 software that was eventually released this fall.
In July, prosecutors brought federal and state security experts to San Francisco to test Apple's iPhone 5 with its activation lock and Samsung's Galaxy S4 with LoJack.
Treating the phones as if they were stolen, experts tried to circumvent their anti-theft features to evaluate their effectiveness, and that work is continuing.
One Silicon Valley technology security expert said he thinks Apple's activation lock is the first kill switch that meets law enforcement's desire to protect iPhone users and other smartphone manufacturers should follow suit.
"Thieves cannot do anything with the device unless they have the user's ID, which they don't," said Ojas Rege, vice president of strategy at Mobile Iron, a technology software security company in Mountain View, Calif.
"The activation lock addresses this issue without the carriers having to do anything," Rege said, adding that he does not believe resistance to implementing kill switch technology is fueled by profits.
"That is not the number one priority for manufacturers. They're driven by creating the next great feature for their smartphones," he said.

Call of Duty Ghosts

Activision appears to have accidentally revealed the names of four DLC packs coming to Call of Duty: Ghosts.

Onslaught, Devastation, Invasion and Nemesis will be released throughout the next 12 months, a newly leaked poster suggests.
Their initials spell out ODIN, Thor's dad, but perhaps more relevantly the name of Ghosts' orbital strike platform.
The image was found in an email to Call of Duty fans (thanks, MP1st) although was later quickly removed by Activision.
As usual, you'll be able to pay upfront for all four packs as part of Ghosts' Season Pass. Doing so offers a small saving, and you'll also unlock the Team Leader DLC: an exclusive pack of cosmetic items.
"Ghosts, in and of itself, is a fine game," Dan Whitehead wrote in Eurogamer's Call of Duty: Ghosts review. "It ticks all the boxes and then blows the boxes up in glorious 1080p resolution (on PS4 at least). Those who only ever play COD will be more than happy with it, but those who have grown weary of the series will see more of their ambivalence justified."

 http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-11-21-call-of-duty-ghosts-four-dlc-packs-named

           On a further note, being a call of duty fan myself, the game is great. It has its flaws just like any other game nothing game breaking though. The few complaints i have is that the spawn points are pretty jacked up, weapon classes are kind of spotty, and the campaign is relatively short. I know most people don't play call of duty for the campaign, but to them i say shame on you for not experiencing the entire content you purchased for 60 bucks.

Sony already replacing broken PS4 gaming consoles!

Sony have promised to replace broken consoles and will release a hardware update for all of the devices sold so far!

Sony have taken action after reports of brand new PlayStation 4 consoles experiencing hardware issues.
The company have promised to immediately replace any consoles experiencing failures.
Speaking to  GameInformer, a SCEA representative said: “We understand the frustration of consumers that have had a problem and are working with them and our retail partners to help troubleshoot issues and ensure affected units are exchanged.
"SCEA is exchanging units with new replacements for those who call our support line. The exchanges are immediate with expedited shipping."
Sony said "less than 1%" of consoles have been experiencing problems, rising from the 0.4% they cited last week.
The company are blaming a range of problems and damage during transport - and deny that there is a single consistent glitch in the device.
On top of this, less than a week after the PS4 was launched in the US and Canada, Sony are rolling out an upgrade.
The 1.51 update will fix a few minor bugs and refine the interface, making it clearer when you're downloading both a game and a patch at the same time.
It will be a mandatory download when you connect to PlayStation Network.
“With this minor required update, stability of system software has been improved,” Sony’s Eric Lempel explained.

Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/playstation-4-sony-replace-broken-2811939#ixzz2lI3sokXr
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