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US Navy decommissions the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
It's the end of an era for the US sea power, in more ways than one: the Navy has decommissioned the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The vessel launched in 1961 and is mainly known for playing a pivotal role in several major incidents and conflicts, including the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War and the 2003 Iraq War. However, it also served as the quintessential showcase for what nuclear ships could do. Its eight reactors let it run for years at a time, all the while making more room for the aircraft and their fuel.
Original USS Enterprise prop restored to its former glory
There's probably enough material about the tragic afterlives of the USS Enterprise models to fill a small book, at least. Until two years ago, the 1701 prop used for Star Trek (1966) had been left hanging in the Smithsonian's basement gift shop. Now, to celebrate the museum's 40th anniversary, the model has been restored as an exhibit in the Boeing Milestones of Flight hall, which opens Friday. A team, led by the museum's chief conservator Malcolm Collum, collaborated with fans and Industrial Light and Magic to restore the model to its former glories. After all, a 50-year-old prop from a '60s TV show was never designed to last this long.
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online Las Vegas recap
It's been a couple of weeks since my last entry, and to be honest, I'm still recovering. The Official Star Trek Convention was an absolute blast. Thousands of Trek fans descended upon the Rio Suites and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, for four solid days to celebrate all things Star Trek. One of those things, of course, was Star Trek Online. Contrary to its showing in 2012, Star Trek Online was the focus of not just one but two complete formal panels this year. The first featured two of the STO devs in a discussion with actress Denise Crosby, who voiced the characters of Empress Sela as well as Lt. Tasha Yar. The second panel was co-hosted by Massively and Trek Radio and featured a panel of STO devs who talked about the game and gave us some great sneak-peeks at Season Eight works in progress!%Gallery-196194%
Visualized: Enterprise cruises around Jersey on its air, land and sea triathlon
On our last episode of "Spot the Enterprise," the grizzled shuttle prototype was being unloaded from a wheeled transporter after a private 747 flight. Now it's arrived on a barge at New Jersey, and onlookers on cruise ships, beaches and Coney Island were treated to a glimpse of the wayfaring craft. After a quick layover, it'll begin the final stage of its comeback tour by sailing up the Hudson River where it'll thrill crowds forever more at Manhattan's Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Big show-off.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: NY Design Week, a hybrid Porsche and recycled sportswear
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Want a sneak peek into the future of design? This week Inhabitat hit NY Design Week to uncover the best and the brightest in green interior and furniture design. At ICFF we spotted an ethereal series of 3D printed Hyphae lamps and we were wowed by the iTree -- a massive iPod sound system made out of an entire tree trunk! We also saw LED technology take on surprising new forms - like Light and Contrast's tiny flower-shaped lamps and Peteris Zilbers' quirky mood broom lamp (yes, it's shaped like a broom). We'll continue with the New York Design Week coverage throughout next week, so come back to Inhabitat in the coming days for more fresh new design finds, and read on beyond the break for more in the here and now.
Visualized: Space Shuttle Enterprise disembarks the 747 en-route to its watery retirement home
Two weeks after arriving into JFK on the back of a Boeing 747, the Enterprise has been hoisted from the back of the jet and onto a wheeled transporter. From there, the prototype spacecraft will be taken down the Hudson river on a barge, where it'll end up exhibited on the flight desk of the USS Intrepid (CV-11). The museum will open on July 19th, while the plane that carried it has one more historic flight to carry out -- taking the Endeavour to the California Science Center before both are retired. [Image Credit: Dennis Jenkins / Collectspace.com]
Microsoft Office for iOS gets blurrycam treatment in weird party-room
What you see before you is a single image purporting to be Microsoft's new Office app for iOS. We can certainly believe such an app exists, and according to The Daily, the UI is similar to OneNote with an added dash of Metro. You'll be able to produce and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files locally and online, but the app is still to run the Cupertino's approval gauntlet. The report also claims an Android version is isn't in the works and but that a Metro-styled refresh of OneNote is due in "the coming weeks." That said, we're not sure what sort of place doesn't take the plastic off its carpets, leaves big "product of Spain" crates lying around with leopard-print plushies and USS Enterprise logos hanging on the wall -- but perhaps we've underestimated Redmond's capacity for a good party. Update: We incorrectly reported that an Android version was forthcoming, we've edited to correct our mistake -- please accept our sincere apologies.
Rise and Shiny recap: Star Trek Online
I'm not a tough guy, but the first thing I want to do when someone wishes ill on one of my first impressions is to reach through the screen and punch his lights out. There were at least a few people who did this to me when I said I would be visiting Star Trek Online. It was as though they were warning me to stay away from that scary old house on the hill. "Don't go up there, see? That's Old Man Cryptic's house! If you do, don't say I didn't warn ya!" Duly noted, oddball. I long ago made a rule to revisit games, even if I hated them when I first played them. MMORPGs change -- they have to. They have to adjust to a growing (or shrinking) playerbase, adapt to a questioning (or screaming) audience, or react to market influences (or games that do it better). Despite understanding all of this, I was worried that the five bucks I spent on the STO special edition from Amazon would be wasted. I found something I did not expect, that's for sure. Join me after the cut to find out more.
Used ink cartridges repurposed as sci-fi movie mementos
We've seen ink cartridges enlisted to provide light and as the basis for a bike path, and so many other things that it makes us wonder if we missed the boat by using them to, you know, print stuff. Apparently the kids at the Ink and Media Blog feel the same way, so rather than throw out the used cartridges, they handed 'em off to an artist named Faith Pearson, who used 'em to recreate scenes from her favorite sci-fi movies. They look great and sure as hell beat the C-SPAN re-enactments that we did last summer using Popsicle sticks and a broken Lego Mindstorms kit. Hit the source link to see for yourself.
Dream Cheeky's USS Enterprise webcam exudes charm and class
Now that it's legal for George Takei to get married in Iowa, what better way to celebrate than by letting your "Trek flag" fly in your home or office? The USS Enterprise-themed USB webcam features an adjustable focus, and the red engine lights (or whatever they are) actually, you know, light up. For maximum realism, we guess. And the cable is adorned with the Star Fleet Insignia although, sadly, it will not function as a communicator. It is just a TV series, you know. No word on release date or price, but we're keeping our eyes peeled.
