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Lockheed Martin's laser can stop a truck from over a mile away
Lasers have staggering range, can attack land or air-based targets and are dirt-cheap to fire, making them ideal for a military with one eye on the budget. Now, Lockheed Martin has worked out that the technology could also be used for stopping a car without resorting to lethal force. The company has been testing out a new fiber-optic laser, called ATHENA, which was able to burn through the engine manifold of a truck that was over a mile away.
Report: Orion test flight pushed back to 2014, manned flight delayed until 2021
Even something as exhaustively planned as the test-flight of the Orion spacecraft isn't immune to a slipping timeline. It's reportedly been pushed back from next year to 2014 -- when we're expecting to see the capsule launch from Cape Canaveral, loop around the planet twice at 3,700 miles (the furthest any spacecraft has journeyed since the '70s) before splashing down in the Pacific. This unmanned test was designed to see if the vehicle's heat-shield, flight-software and parachutes all work before lives are risked on board. It's also signified a pushing back of the first launch from 2016 until 2021. This means there's nine more years before someone calls us up as a crew replacement -- at least that's how our dream goes.
Martin says its jetpack is 'practical,' offers crappy computer animation as evidence
Ever wonder what a jetpack is good for, besides fulfilling dreams and fighting Nazis? Well, Martin wants you to know there are, in fact, practical applications for its $86,000 personal propulsion system. According to the aviation company everyone from emergency responders to search and rescue teams to military personnel could find a place for the dual-engine craft in their arsenal of tools. Sure, we could see how their ability to get in and out where the size of a helicopter or plane might be prohibitive would prove handy, but their high cost and limited carrying capacity make them a tough sell. That doesn't mean we don't enjoy seeing the (poorly) rendered vision of our future filled with jetpacks in the video after the break. Come to think of it, we could see this coming in handy for our CES coverage... excuse us, we need to make some phone calls.
Martin Jetpack priced at $86,000, mere mortals will soon be able to buy one too
Tired of the limited legroom, bad food, and worse movies you have to put up with during a flight? Well, it's time to bust out your company credit card and get yourself a Martin Jetpack, which has just become the first commercially available jetpack. Driven by a pair of washing machine-sized fans strapped to your back, this personal transporter will give you a pretty cool 30 minutes of flight time and comes with a bunch of redundancy systems to ensure any mistakes don't turn fatal. The rotors are built out of a carbon / Kevlar composite and are powered by a two-liter V4 two-stroke engine capable of delivering 200hp (or 150kW). Good old gasoline is the fuel of choice here and private individuals are expected to be offered the chance to fulfill every geek and geekette's dream later this year. Just make sure you have $86,000 lying around to fund it.
Kevin Martin's last day at the FCC is the 20th
Of course we saw this coming with Obama's inauguration right around the corner, but now Kevin Martin has sent his official letter of resignation to his buddy George. This makes his official last day as chairman of the FCC January 20th. He has had the position for four years, and oversaw many of the decisions made by the agency that impacted us like the DTV transition date and the lack of progress of a two way digital cable solution. There's no word on what the eight year veteran of the FCC will do next though, and of course we'll also have to continue to wait for the official appointment of his successor.
Comcast bringing more HD to Florida's Treasure Coast
Barely a month after Comcast tossed a slew of HD channels down Jacksonville's way, we're now hearing that a handful will soon be coming to Florida's fabled Treasure Coast. More specifically, Discovery HD, USA Network, Sci-Fi HD, Animal Planet HD and History Channel HD should be live in Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties by 6:00AM EST tomorrow morning. Furthermore, HGTV HD and Food Network HD -- which is already available to Indian River subscribers -- will be available across the Treasure Coast on the morning of February 1st as well (according to Comcast spokeswoman Marta Casas-Celaya, anyway). So for those of you camped out in the area, be sure to fire up your HD DVR tomorrow bright and early and report back with your findings, would ya?
Japanese hardware sales, Feb. 12 - Feb. 18: Cool stuff edition
Perhaps naught ever changes in the land of the rising sun, but this week felt especially mired in consistency. Christmas-colored arrows would tell you otherwise, but in fact the only changes in rank were the Game Boy Micro and the GBA SP swapping out the number seven and eight slots, respectively.So, what to do without our usual fountain of inspiration from which to draw? Part of our jobs include scouring the internet for days, nay, weeks straight, searching far and wide for things to make you, our readers, feel cool and well-informed. In our trek across digital lands we find many awesome things that may not relate to the DS directly, and yet, we wished we could share them with you regardless. Now's our chance! You may have seen these three web-gems before, but for those who haven't, we do hope you enjoy. Now click that "Continue reading" link. Do it. - DS Lite: 136,846 64,331 (31.98%)- Wii: 63,618 14,932 (19.01%) - PSP: 34,505 2,330 (7.24%) - PS3: 20,676 2,755 (11.76%) - PS2: 16,192 159 (0.99%) - Xbox 360: 5,210 399 (8.29%) - Game Boy Micro: 953 69 (7.81%) - GBA SP: 843 137 (13.98%) - Gamecube: 347 36 (9.40%) - DS Phat: 153 32 (26.45%) - GBA: 40 4 (11.11%)[Source: Media Create]
