station

Space spinach: Getting your greens on the ISS

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has been giving us Earthlings behind-the-scenes peeks into life on the space station. He already showed us how he makes a peanut butter sandwich and how he clips his fingernails without inhaling them.

Now, he turns his attention to the sometimes controversial subject of spinach. Love it or hate it, it's packed with healthy vitamins and minerals. Hadfield posted a video demonstrating how to eat spinach in space.

When you're on the ISS, you can't just pop down to the local space grocery and pick up a nice bag of fresh baby spinach. It first has to be processed into a form that can handle traveling 220 miles from Earth to the International Space Station and not end up flying all over the place in zero gravity once it gets there.… Read more

Podcasts gets a little better, still not the best

Editors' note: This review was updated March 25, 2013, with information on how to subscribe to third-party podcasts.

Apple's Podcasts (for both iPhone and iPad) gives you a standalone app that lets you subscribe to, play, and discover podcasts from any category. The app got off to a very shaky start with several missing features, but a new update might give podcast fans some relief.

The Podcasts interface is easy to navigate. You have a Store button in the upper left where you can search the iTunes App Store for podcasts by category, most popular, and other criteria (the … Read more

Wii U unit sales jump 40 percent -- and still disappoint

The video game industry once again had a down month as console and software sales slipped.

Total industry sales hit $810 million in February, representing a 25 percent drop compared with the same period last year, market researcher NPD said yesterday. Hardware sales were down 36 percent to $244.2 million, and console and portable software sales across the physical retail channel could only reach $352 million -- a 27 percent drop compared with February 2012.

The Xbox 360 once again led the hardware market, earning the top spot in console sales for the 26th month in a row. According … Read more

Space shots: Our beautiful world from far above

Today, the International Space Station gets a change of command as outgoing NASA Commander Kevin Ford transfers leadership of the space lab to Commander Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian astronaut to assume the role. Hadfield and crew will carry out the planned Expedition 35 mission (PDF).

Our gallery below looks back at some the extraordinary images of Earth Hadfield captured with dSLRs during his first few months aboard the space lab (he and Expedition 34 arrived in mid-December). The unique vantage point of the ISS delivers unforgettable vistas, from the astoundingly abstract Australian Outback to a sensational shimmer of gold on the waters of the San Francisco Bay.… Read more

So, what is the PlayStation Vita's real price?

Sony's PlayStation Vita portable has price tags that can't quite get in line.

The 3G-connected model, which originally launched for $299.99, is currently on sale at several Sony retail stores around the country for $199.97, gaming blog Joystiq reported last night. The blog called a host of Sony stores around the country, and a large majority were selling them at that discounted rate.

But there's perhaps more to this than meets the eye. Although some Sony stores are selling the device for less, Sony's own online marketplace is selling the portable for $249.99. … Read more

Four simple ways to overcome the PS4's challenges

It's been weeks since the PlayStation 4 event underwhelmed many people. Myself included. But as time has passed, my mind's become clearer as to why, exactly, I was so disappointed. It's a challenge for the PlayStation 4 to overcome, but it's also a challenge of all "next-gen" consoles.

I hate the term "next-gen" as much as anyone else, but that's what happens when you have one piece of hardware sit out on the market for six or seven years while you anticipate what the Next Big Thing will be. "Next-gen&… Read more

The 404 1,221: Where it's the fungus that kills us (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- The Valve Steam Box is coming.

- How HBO will tackle "Game of Thrones" piracy.

- The Last of Us has a unique plotline with clicking mushroom people.… Read more

Cargo ship attached to station after smooth rendezvous

After recovering from thruster problems and flying a near-perfect rendezvous, a SpaceX cargo ship pulled up to the International Space Station early today and stood by while commander Kevin Ford, wielding the lab's robot arm, locked onto a grapple fixture to secure the spacecraft for berthing.

Operating the Canadian-built arm from a robotics work station in the multi-window Cupola compartment, Ford grappled the Dragon cargo ship at 5:31 a.m. EST, an hour earlier than expected, as the two spacecraft passed 253 miles above northern Ukraine.

Flight controllers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston congratulated the crew … Read more

SpaceX cargo ship cleared for Sunday station capture

With its propulsion system working flawlessly, a SpaceX cargo ship loaded with supplies and equipment bound for the International Space Station was cleared by NASA on Saturday to press ahead for a day-late capture by the lab complex early Sunday.

NASA space station managers and their SpaceX counterparts met Saturday to assess the Dragon capsule's performance following launch Friday and concluded all systems were "go" for a replanned rendezvous and capture by the station's robot arm Sunday at 3:31 a.m. PT.

"The station's Mission Management Team unanimously agreed that Dragon's propulsion … Read more

Pair your YouTube app with an Xbox 360

Want to toss YouTube videos from your phone to your TV? You got it. It's called "Send to TV," and it's a feature of Google's YouTube app that Android users have had for some time.

But now that Google has rolled the feature out to Apple's iOS devotees, and expanded support for more streaming devices, the feature is seeing a second wind.

But how do you do make it all work? Well, I gave it a shot with an iPhone 5 and the YouTube App for Xbox, but it could just as well have … Read more