Aurora
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NASA’s Juno mission discovers Jupiter is really weird
NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter has sent back a ton of data about our solar system's largest planet. The results from the orbiter's first big data-collection pass, which took place last August, are finally in and it's clear that Juno's five-year journey to the planet was worth the trip.
Tesla's Autopilot lawsuit ends with a ho-hum settlement
Tesla's lawsuit over the alleged theft of Autopilot trade secrets is coming to a quick end. The electric car maker has settled its lawsuit against Sterling Anderson, who was accused of violating his contract by making off with Tesla technology and forming a competing self-driving startup, Aurora Innovation, with the help of both former Tesla engineers and Google's Chris Urmson. The deal has Tesla withdraw its claims without asking for damages, court costs or any findings of guilt. In return, though, Anderson and Aurora are not only paying $100,000, but will face some very close scrutiny.
DARPA successfully flew a model of its 24-fan electric plane
DARPA's experimental Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft, the XV-24A LightningStrike, cleared another developmental hurdle by completing its subscale flight tests in early March, according to its manufacturer, Aurora Flight Sciences.
NASA rocket will form artificial clouds in space
When you watch a rocket launch, it's usually to enjoy the show put on by the rocket itself. With one of NASA's next launches, however, you'll likely be more interested in what's left behind. When one of two Black Brant IX rockets blasts off for an aurora science mission between February 13th and March 3rd, it'll form artificial clouds in space, around 60 to 100 miles above the Earth. The vehicle will deploy a small amount of trimethyl aluminum that should react with the atmosphere and produce white puffs that will help scientists track auroral winds.
Hubble photographs Jupiter's dramatic auroras
The wispy, glowing veil sitting on top of Jupiter in the image above is actually a humongous aurora captured on cam by Hubble. A team of astronomers are using the telescope's ultraviolet instruments to study nature's light shows on the poles of the gas giant. They timed their study to coincide with Juno's arrival on the planet, since one of their goals is to determine how different solar wind conditions and other factors affect Jupiter's auroras. The spacecraft is in charge of measuring various solar wind properties, while they continue capturing images and videos almost every day during the duration of the mission.
Alienware banks on VR with the new Aurora desktop
Alienware's last Aurora, the R4, is most (in)famous for the "ALX" option, which adds fins that flip open when the machine gets hot. Dell has just relaunched the Alienware Aurora desktop that sadly lacks that geeky option. In exchange, you do get a smaller, tool-less mid-tower that retains the minimalist gaming design flare that the original was known for. It also packs a punch with powerful CPU options and optional dual graphics cards, including NVIDIA's latest GeForce GTX 1080.
DARPA's wild 24-fan aircraft flies for the first time
DARPA's plan for a 24-fan VTOL aircraft (vertical takeoff and landing) sounds ridiculous on the surface, but it really does work -- at least, in testing. Aurora Flight Sciences has flown a small-scale demonstrator version of the LightningStrike vehicle to show that its aerodynamics and flight control systems are working. It's only a fifth the size of the full prototype arriving in 2018, but it proves that the concept is already viable. The bigger challenge may be translating this to the finished machine. The prototype is expected to haul at least 4,000lbs of cargo and travel at up to 400 knots (460MPH), which is no mean feat for brand new VTOL technology.
Mars probe finds super-active auroras and mystery dust clouds
As much as humanity knows about Mars, the planet is still chock-full of surprises. Just ask NASA: University of Colorado researchers using its MAVEN probe have discovered phenomena in the Martian skies that you would never see on Earth. For one, there are auroras that are so energetic (their electrons are 100 times more powerful than a spark of house current) that they plunge far deeper into the atmosphere than back home, or even other places on Mars. Scientists suspect that the Sun is to blame -- Mars doesn't have a protective magnetic field like Earth does, so the solar wind sometimes hits with full force.
Firefox's revamped interface is now available in Aurora releases
You no longer have to grab one of Firefox's ever-changing nightly builds to try the browser's new Australis interface ahead of its official launch. Mozilla has just released a new Aurora version that includes Australis' simpler, more customizable layout; it also brings the easier, account-based sync system. The new Firefox edition is still quite rough, but curious web surfers who were only waiting for more reliable code can start downloading today.
Stick and Rudder: 2013's essential Star Citizen stories
What say we recap 2013 from a Star Citizen-focused perspective? It was a huge year for Cloud Imperium's space sim sandbox, and no, I'm not just talking about the ever-increasing crowdfund windfall.
Star Citizen trailer pushes spaceships like a car dealer
The latest trailer for Chris Robert's Star Citizen takes the form of a modern automobile ad transported to the far future. Instead of the latest Ford or Chevy model, a perky, inoffensive narrator introduces viewers to the Aurora, made by Roberts Space Industries – the 2944 model comes with all kinds of neat options. The on-screen Aurora model begins to cycle through its various configurations in a sequence that dutifully apes modern advertising efforts, but also subtly demonstrates the level of customizability found in the ships of Star Citizen. The upbeat, modern-yet-indistinct soundtrack that accompanies our narrator as he test drives the ship is a nice satirical touch, but the drive itself is clearly an excuse to show off the game's extraplanetary vistas - nebulas and galaxies trump the Autobahn any day. If this ad posing as an ad has sold you on the Aurora, the good news is that you can buy one right now. The bad news, however, is that your $45 pledge won't result in a spaceship until Star Citizen has launched. There's no official word on when that might happen, though the developer expects its debut during 2014.
In-character Star Citizen Aurora ad released
It's been a while since we've seen one of Star Citizen's in-character ship trailers. Fortunately Cloud Imperium released another one over the weekend. The focus this time is on the Roberts Space Industries Aurora, which is something of a newbie ship in terms of gameplay but is nonetheless highly customizable as you'll see when you watch the vid. The clip clocks in at a smidge under two minutes in length and shows off various loadouts followed by in-engine footage of the Aurora departing from a planetary hangar before blasting into orbit and braving an asteroid field. Have a look-see after the break!
Alienware brings Ivy Bridge-E to its Aurora gaming desktops
Here's a nice update for those of you who like your high-performance gaming rigs coupled with tiny glowing extraterrestrial heads. Alienware today let it be known that it'll be upgrading its Aurora line with new processors. The flagship desktop is getting those new Ivy Bridge-E chips, letting users configure their machines with up to six cores and a 15MB of cache, bringing overclocking speeds of up to 4.3GHz. Also new for this week's Intel Developer Forum are NVIDIA GeForce 700 AMD 8900 series graphics options. The new configurations are available today through Dell's site, starting at $1,399.
Stick and Rudder: Star Citizen celebrates $9 million with Auroras, space suits, and LTI
You know, Star Citizen occasionally seems too good to be true. Take this past week, for example. It saw not one, not two, but three major news releases focused on the fledgling space sandbox, all of which were well-received by most in the community and all of which generated even more buzz and positive word-of-mouth for Chris Roberts' crowdfunded juggernaut. I'm certainly not complaining, mind you; it's just that Cloud Imperium's game is doing a damned fine job of turning a cynic hardened by years of sub-standard MMO releases into a wide-eyed game-loving kid again. So let's talk after the cut about the Aurora, our new space suits, and lifetime insurance, shall we?
Star Citizen's Aurora revealed, Roberts explains further crowdfunding goals
Star Citizen is still fairly early in its development stage, but at least one in-game asset has now officially passed through the entire design process. That element is the Aurora, which is Star Citizen's base ship and one that most players will use to begin their spacefaring careers. The Aurora was designed by Star Wars and Star Trek concept artist Ryan Church. The Star Citizen website is now chock-full of in-engine images and in-character design specs. Cloud Imperium is also running a limited promotion focused on a special model Aurora called the LX. CEO Chris Roberts explains the reasoning behind another fundraising initiative over and above his famously successful Kickstarter campaign. "Star Citizen is going to cost approximately $20 million to make. We have this covered already between the incredible funding we've received from you and the commitments from investors," he says. "But here's the truth: I've been holding off on closing investors because your commitment means we won't need as much money as we originally expected. Every dollar we make from crowdfunding means one less we'll take from outside investors." If you're not up to pledging for the spiffy new Aurora, though, don't worry. "You will be able to earn credits to buy this ship in game once we go live," Roberts writes. "So please do not feel obligated to do anything. Everyone has given more than enough. This is purely a "for the fun" sale/event to hopefully push our funding along." [Thanks Eric for the tip!]
Mozilla opens Firefox Marketplace for Aurora builds of Android, gives mobile a taste of web apps
Mozilla's love of web apps is more than obvious; we just haven't had a real chance to try the Firefox Marketplace that represents a large part of the company's app strategy. The doors are at last open for a peek, although Mozilla has chosen the unusual path of giving mobile users the first crack: Android users willing to live on the bleeding edge of an Aurora build of Firefox can browse and run those web apps in Mozilla's store. Everyone else willing to venture into the Marketplace will have to wait until their own Firefox builds receive a matching update, including that rare group with access to Firefox OS. We're not quite in a rush to try a first wave of apps in an alpha-grade browser. Should you be the sort who thinks that even beta releases are too sluggish, however, your gateway to the Marketplace awaits at the source links.
Pivothead review: video recording eyewear for (reasonably) discreet POV clips
We won't mince words -- the Pivothead Durango have a decidedly "sporty" style that probably won't win it too many fans. But, if you're in the market for some POV video action, chances are style isn't particularly high on your list of must-have features. They have the appearance of low-key, but bulky Oakley knockoffs. But again, if you're hurtling yourself down a hill on a snowboard, how cool your specs look is probably secondary to recording high-quality video and absorbing a beating. So, we promise, this is the last you'll hear about how unsightly these things are. (And they are just that -- ugly.) Once you head past the break we'll have video samples, photo samples and field tests, but nary a word about how embarrassing it is to walk around in public with these on. Promise. So, join us below as we put Pivothead's video sunglasses through their paces.
Pivothead video glasses offer impressive quality, we go hands-on (sample video)
There's a new adventure video capture company in town, and both Zeyez and GoPro would have good reason to be afraid. You may not have heard of Pivothead -- the company has had a remarkably quiet push to market over the last few months -- but the video recording eyewear startup could very well become a household name after its first products hit the market this April for $349. Aurora, Durango, Moab and Recon may offer distinct exterior designs, but they're virtually identical under the hood. Each model includes an eight-megapixel Sony sensor (that reportedly captures higher quality images than the iPhone 4S cam), a four-element glass lens, 8GB of built-in storage, a 440mAh battery (with about an hour of shooting time) and three video modes: 1080/30p, 720/60p and 720/30p. We had a chance to go hands-on with Pivothead earlier today, and took the glasses for a spin on the streets of New York City. You'll find that sample video, along with our impressions, just past the break.
Addon Spotlight: Grab Bag 7, probably the best grab bag
Each week, WoW Insider's Mathew McCurley brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. Do I need to remind you again that right now is the perfect time for you to tinker with your user interface? WoW feels much more relaxed now. A second cataclysm has been averted, Deathwing has been defeated, and life is feeling pretty good right now. Sit back, relax, and clean up your interface. You'll thank me when Mists of Pandaria comes out. Grab bag Addon Spotlights are some of my favorite editions of the column because the regular format means a lot of words about just one addon. That's great and all, but what about those addons that just don't have many words worth saying about them? These little guys fall through the cracks and land in my grab bag collection sack, thrown into the back of a shady-looking truck and taken off for "processing." It's totally painless -- no one complains too much.
