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ICYMI: Mousetrap for memory, balloon space launch and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-30194{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-30194, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-30194{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-30194").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A virtual reality simulator putting mice through a pretend maze is analyzing memory formation that should benefit humans. A newish space launch company plans to inflate stadium-sized balloons for a gentle flight to the stratosphere, with actual flights scheduled for 2017. Meanwhile researchers built a tractor beam using high-amplitude sound waves to move small objects, which is just as cool as it sounds.
ICYMI: Cameras on Cops, VR beam onto Enterprise and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-467571{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-467571, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-467571{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-467571").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The Department of Justice just announced it will give $23 million to 32 states to help buy more body cameras for police officers. A virtual reality tour that would create all 42 decks of the Starship Enterprise is being crowdfunded. And an overfunded IndieGoGo campaign for a lamp that is exactly modeled on the moon is still available for your bedtime with tots enjoyment.
'Star Trek' virtual tour will recreate every deck of the Enterprise
You've probably seen a few attempts at recreating worlds in game engines, but never at this level of detail. Artist Jason B is working on the Enterprise-D Construction Project, an Unreal Engine-based virtual tour that aims to reproduce all 42 decks in the Enterprise from Star Trek: The Next Generation. While it's not quite photorealistic, the attention to detail in this digital starship is already uncanny -- the bridge, shuttle bay and other areas feel like lived-in spaces, just waiting for the crew to return. Jason is drawing on as much official material as he can to get things pixel-perfect, and he's only taking creative liberties in those areas where there's no canonical content.
'Star Trek's' Uhura will join a NASA mission (but not to space)
Making geek dreams come true, Star Trek's original Lt. Uhura, Nichelle Nichols, announced a few days ago that she's going on a mission for NASA. But don't get your hopes up for Nichols getting into space -- she's actually flying on the agency's airborne observatory SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy), which studies things like the birth and death of stars, black holes in galactic centers and how new solar systems come together. Due to its unique observation location, it can detect things far out of reach for ground-based telescopes. Nichols says she'll be flying on September 15th, and she might even be able to share her experience live on her celebrity philanthropy site, Starpower. This isn't her first time on a NASA mission: she also flew on the first-generation Kuiper Airborne Observatory back in the '70s. SOFIA is an upgraded mission, which uses a customized Boeing 747 and six instruments for capturing the cosmos, including cameras, a photometer and spectrometers. [Thanks, Kristy]
Finally, an official Bluetooth 'Star Trek' communicator
Star Trek fans have settled for toy prop replicas, DIY projects and the occasional off-brand (but functional) Starfleet comm-badge--but the age of compromise is almost over. In January of 2016, you'll finally be able to buy an official, screen-accurate, Bluetooth-enabled Star Trek Original Series Communicator.
Learn Klingon from the comfort of your own planet
Can't figure out how to pronounce Qapla' or properly conjugate majQa'? Not sure what those words even mean? Well buy' ngop because Duolingo is gearing up to teach you. The language learning app has announced that it is working on a new course for a very alien tongue: Klingon. The company just needs to find somebody that actually speaks it first. The Federation-to-Klingon lessons aren't technically part of the core Duolingo framework as, say English-Italian is. Rather, it's being coordinated as part of the crowdsourced Language Incubator program. If you think you've got the linguistic chops to help develop this course (or just want to be notified when it's ready) head over to Duolingo and volunteer.
'Star Trek Online' honors Leonard Nimoy with in-game Spock statues
With the recent passing of Leonard Nimoy, multiple generations of geeks found themselves at a deep loss. It makes sense then that the folks behind Star Trek Online would erect effigies to immortalize the man perhaps best known for his role as Mr. Spock in the Star Trek universe. Should you travel to the planet Vulcan (Spock's home world), New Romulus, or even Earth in the game, you'll see memorials for him. The former two have statues with different quotes ("Live long and prosper" on Vulcan, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" on New Romulus), while our home planet is hanging black flags of mourning at its spaceport for the next week.
'Star Trek' star Leonard Nimoy passes away at 83
The Star Trek and sci-fi world at large suffered a great loss today, as Leonard Nimoy has passed away at the age of 83. Best known for his role as human/alien Spock in the TV and movie series, he had been hospitalized two days ago for chest pains. His wife Susan Bay Nimoy told the New York Times her husband died of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which he attributed to an old smoking habit. In recent years, he'd returned to our TV sets on Fringe playing the scientist William Bell, and made a cameo appearance as Spock Prime in Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013.
Onyx communicator lets you live out your 'Star Trek' dreams for $99
Don't deny it -- at some point, you watched Star Trek and wondered when you could simply slap a device on your chest to speak with your crew. You won't have to wait hundreds of years, thankfully. OnBeep has just unveiled the Onyx, a clothing-worn communicator that lets you chat with groups just by pressing a button. The Bluetooth add-on lets you securely message up to 15 people once using your Android phone or iPhone as the home base; you can also see where they are and whether they're available. The saucer-shaped design isn't nearly as discreet as Captain Picard's badge, but it's light and won't wreck your favorite shirt.
Almost all the sci-fi spaceships you know are on this massive chart
If you regularly follow geek culture, you've probably seen early versions of Dirk Loechel's spaceship comparison chart, which shows the relative sizes of vehicles from science fiction games, movies and TV shows. Well, it's finished -- and it's even more authoritative than the last time around. Get the full-size version and you'll see Babylon 5's Vorlon Planet Killer, Mass Effect's Normandy and seemingly everything in between. The chart even includes a real vessel, the International Space Station -- at 328 feet long, it seems downright puny next to its make-believe counterparts. Some story franchises have better representation than others (EVE is full of colossal ships), and you won't see moon-sized spacecraft like Star Wars' Death Star, but it's otherwise hard to imagine a more complete view of sci-fi transportation.
Live from Expand: David Gerrold
We've got lots of lingering Tribble-related questions, and thankfully we've got just the man to answer them. David Gerrold created the frisky furry creatures for the original Star Trek series, the Sleestak creatures who menaced the Land of the Lost and has gone on to win numerous awards for his science fiction novels. November 10, 2013 4:00:00 PM EST Follow all of Engadget's Expand coverage live from New York City right here!
Star Trek Into Darkness released on iTunes ahead of DVD
I'm not a die-hard Star Trek fan, so all you Trekkies out there will have to forgive me for saying this -- I thoroughly enjoyed Star Trek Into Darkness. While a few friends of mine, all seasoned Star Trek aficionados, had a laundry list of complaints about the movie, I found it to be everything an action movie should be. If you haven't yet seen the movie, or if you'd like to catch it again, the title is available for purchase via iTunes: US$14.99 will get you the movie in standard definition, but if you'd like the full, immersive movie experience, you can download the film in HD for $19.99. What's notable here is that the film is available on iTunes three weeks before it will be available anywhere else. The film will be available on DVD on September 10. Head over to iTunes if you'd like to relax for a few hours with a solid and incredibly enjoyable flick from the always talented J.J. Abrams. Here's a trailer to whet your appetite.
Lovefilm bringing Star Trek, other CBS shows to the UK and Germany
CBS may have teamed up with Netflix in the US to satisfy those of us with an Enterprising bent, but the company has taken a different tack in the UK and Germany. Instead, the firm has signed a deal with Lovefilm to bring CBS and Showtime-owned shows to Amazon's streaming network. The press release promises that users will be able to watch classic Star Trek, Voyager, The Good Wife, Dexter and Californication instantly, although a brief check of the UK site reveals that you may need to wait a short while more before you can immerse yourself in the Delta quadrant / Hank Moody's psyche.
Scanadu Scout tricorder tops $1 million in funding, now comes in black
Scanadu clearly knows to tap into our collective Star Trek dreams, as the company just reached $1 million in funding for its Scout tricorder. The backing so far comes from people in 91 countries, including luminaries like Eugene Roddenberry (who else?) and Steve Wozniak. That figure is more than symbolic, we'd add -- backers who've paid for a Scout can now get theirs in black rather than a clinical-looking white. Should the new color option prove tempting, it's not necessarily too late; as of this writing, there's still a few days left to make a pledge.
Acer shows off Aspire R7 Star Trek edition, we go eyes-on at Computex
No, we're not making this up. We've always thought the Aspire R7 bore an uncanny resemblance to the USS Enterprise, and now it appears that Acer's officially in on the fun, too. Our friends at Engadget Chinese stumbled upon a new version of the starship-esque convertible at Acer's Computex booth today -- the company manufactured just 25 of these special-edition notebooks, one of which it plans to offer up on eBay from June 14th through the 24th, with all proceeds going to charity. This variant is unique enough for us to look past the device's shortcomings, and perhaps place a bid of our own. Star Trek (and industrial design) fans can get their fix in the eyes-on gallery just below.%Gallery-190495% Sanji Feng contributed to this report.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: biospheres, X-wings and energy-creating shoes
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. News that Amazon will add three large biospheres to its downtown Seattle headquarters had the tech world buzzing this week. The domed structures will feature a mix of workspaces and gardens, and they'll be flanked by a public park. Amazon's big announcement wasn't the week's only surprise, though. A multinational consortium announced plans to develop a Dubai-style artificial island with a space hotel and a zero-gravity spa off the coast of Barcelona. And new research finds that "pinkhouses" -- vertical farms that use only pink light -- are much more efficient than those that use the full light spectrum.
Klingons to invade Bing translator, bIjeghbe'chugh vaj bIHegh!
Though some may look down on Star Trek's fictional Klingon language and invoke the infamous phrase uttered by William Shatner -- "Get a life!" -- Microsoft's Bing translation team doesn't see it that way at all. As part of a marketing join-up with Paramount Pictures, the service will be offering translation of the fictional tongue to and from its other 41 languages to support the release of Star Trek Into Darkness. According to the LA Times, the translator was developed with the aid of Klingon-fluent Microsoft engineer Eric Andeen, who said that it's as much about the passion for linguistics as for Star Trek. Originally developed by a language specialist based on a few words ad-libbed in Star Trek: The Motion Picture by 'Scotty' actor James Doohan, Klingon has taken on a life of its own thanks to fans and sites who developed full dictionaries and on-line translators. The Bing project will fire up later today, so why not check it out at the More Coverage link? After all, ghojmeH ta'vaD He tu'be'lu'!
3D Systems will turn you into a Star Trek figure for $70, we go faces-on (video)
When the company that helped invent 3D printing asks you if you want to be turned into a Star Trek statue, the only right answer is: "how soon?" Naturally, we immediately shot off a couple of selfies (front-facing and profile) and ticked off a couple of personal details: I wanted a phaser, naturally, and poor Tim got stuck in a red shirt, to help bring out the natural Riker in that beard of his. Sadly, we only had the option of the Original Series, in the lead up to launch, so you've got to use your imagination. As for the inscription on the base, Engadget Show producer Benjamin (who you can see after the break) asked for "Peace and Long Life," in keeping with his pointy-eared Vulcan theme, and I went with "May the Force Be With You," because, let's face it, I was always more of a Star Wars guy anyway. Tim wanted the simple, but expressive "Khaaaaaaan!" but sadly didn't make it in under the wire, so he'll have to get creative with a Sharpie. Once you send in two photos, fill out the specifics and pay the (admittedly somewhat steep) $70, someone at one of 3D Systems' fulfillment centers will convert your image into a 3D model, import it into the company's software and then print it out using the Projet 660pro. It's a rebrand of the high-end device we saw at work at Laika's Portland studios, printing out faces for the then-forthcoming stop-motion feature ParaNorman. The printer is capable of rendering objects in impressively high resolution, far more than you've been seeing on those consumer printers you've heard so much about.
Must See HDTV (April 29th - May 5th)
This week the NHL joins the NBA in celebrating its postseason, with plenty of games on the schedule for each. There are a number of premieres and finales this week, as well as the debut of individual seasons of Friends on Blu-ray. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames. Star Trek: TNG S3 / The Best of Both Worlds The third season of Star Trek The Next Generation comes home this week remastered in HD, and it should be a good for fans. If you can't live with its cliffhanger ending until the fourth season arrives, The Best of Both Worlds Part 1 & 2 are also being released, edited together as a single episode. either way you get it, judging by the first two seasons, the adjustments should be well-received. ($59.99 and $14.99 on Amazon) The Americans FX's cold war spy drama closes out its first season this week. While it hasn't grabbed the mindshare of other popular cable series yet, the quality of the writing and acting is still there. (May 1st, FX, 10PM) Parks & Recreation It appears that NBC's best remaining comedy will be renewed after this season, so this week's season finale will represent only the start of a vacation for the residents of Pawnee, IN. The Office finally getting yanked from the stage, 30 Rock calling it a series recently and Community... well. Let's just hope we have more PnR to look forward to this fall. (May 2nd, NBC, 9:30PM)
Acer teases May 3rd reveal of a tilt-screen laptop deemed worthy of Star Trek (video)
Our eyebrows are officially raised. Acer has revealed that it's going all-in with a promotional connection to Star Trek Into Darkness, and it's hinting at the May 3rd unveiling of a "unique" laptop that it believes would be at home in Captain Kirk's universe. We doubt that many people will still use Windows 8 in the 23rd century, but there may be some truth to the claims of novelty: a brief clip shows a clamshell design whose display can tilt outward like that of a desktop monitor, most likely to improve the comfort of touchscreen input without going the full convertible route of PCs like the Dell XPS 12. We'll know soon enough whether or not Acer's PC is the stuff of sci-fi or remains firmly grounded in reality.
