satellite

Send your own satellite into space

Zac Manchester is taking this whole private space exploration idea into his own hands. A Cornell graduate student in aerospace engineering, Manchester hopes to raise enough money to launch 100 chip-size satellites into space.

He and some collaborators have created a DIY satellite called Sprite, which Manchester calls the "world's smallest spacecraft." The devices measure the size of a couple of postage stamps, and pack solar cells, a radio transceiver, and a microcontroller onto a single silicon microchip.

Manchester's goal? He's trying to raise $30,000 on Kickstarter so he can send as many Sprites into orbit as possible to demonstrate that they can be safely launched and operated. … Read more

Why is my cable box a horrible, energy-sucking beast? (Morrison's Mailbag)

CNET reader Michael writes:

About a year ago I downgraded my cable service for the purpose of getting rid of the huge cable box. The thing is an electricity sucking beast, and worst of all, it gave me a poor picture.

So my question: Why is it that we can now stream media to a cell phone yet we still need a huge clunker of a device to watch a TV? I can understand having a box, but one so large, that filters out all the HD goodness, and takes up precious real estate on my shelf? Have you seen anything on the way to eliminate that antiquated chunk of home theater?

Thanks, Michael

Well Michael, I don't think you're going to like the answer, cause it's equal parts depressing and annoying.… Read more

Major satellite outage affecting ISPs, ATMs, flights

My office today is a bar overlooking the historic Taos plaza in New Mexico and my Internet access comes courtesy of tethered Verizon 3G (don't tell!) service. That's all because my normal ISP has been out of commission since early this morning thanks to a major satellite malfunction that's also impacting all sorts of services, from ATMs to flights in Canada's northern territories.

Telesat's Anik F2 satellite experienced a "technical anomaly" beginning at about 3:30 a.m. PT today, according to a release from the Ottawa-based company. The anomaly is reportedly that … Read more

Car Tech Live 234: Honda Civic Hybrid (podcast)

Hyundai bails on EVs, satellite radio just got more expensive, when is it cheaper to fly? (there's an app for that), and we drive the new (but maybe not new enough) Honda Civic Hybrid.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 234 SHOW NOTES

• Hyundai seems to be bailing out on battery electric cars

• The world's fastest hybrid car is...

• An app to tell you when it really is cheaper to drive.

• Is OnStar spying on you, or just doing business 21st century style?

• CNET Reviews the 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid… Read more

NASA's falling satellite caught on video?

We're generally skeptical of any video of strange lights in the sky, but this one is worth a gander. A family in Okotoks, Alberta--a suburb of Calgary--believes they caught footage of the fiery death spasms of NASA's UARS satellite, parts of which returned to earth early Saturday morning after two decades in orbit.

We can't confirm this video actually shows UARS' final descent. It's certainly out of the ordinary, but it's also not consistent with reports that the satellite likely fell in the Pacific Ocean before reaching Canada. NASA says that other amateur satellite watchers … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1558: Dish and Blockbuster: meh? (Podcast)

Dish and Blockbuster announce their Netflix-killing movie delivery and streaming plan, but it's kind of a letdown unless you're a really happy Dish subscriber. HP puts Meg Whitman in charge and boots Leo Apotheker, which no one seems all that happy about except maybe HP's wildly dysfunctional board. The entire foundation of the world and physics is rocked by the possibility of particles that can travel faster than light, but mostly, you just wish we could go back in time and un-announce that the show's going weekly. Hey, but bonus show Monday! See you then!

Track NASA's crashing satellite to avoid getting hit by space junk

The satellite that once confirmed the existence of a hole in the ozone layer is now tearing a new path across the sky in a final fiery descent back to Earth, and there's a chance it could hit you upside the head.

OK, so the chance that you'll get smacked with space junk this week is only about 1 in 20 trillion, but why risk it? You can track the Thelma and Louise-style ending of the Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite--or UARS for short--on your Android phone or tablet with an app called Satellite AR.

AGI--makers of the augmented reality app that also has the nifty ability to tell you what satellites are currently passing overhead by simply pointing your phone's camera at the sky--have added a temporary button to the app's menu to easily keep track of UARS' demise.

While the odds that you, specifically, will wind up in an involuntary boxing match with UARS are in the trillions, the chance that someone on Earth will be hit by a piece of the satellite is about 1 in 3,200--that's lower than the acceptable threshold of 1 in 10,000 that NASA adopted after UARS was launched.

Netflix splits in two

Watch our for a falling satellite on Friday, AT&T launches its 4G LTE network in five markets, and Netflix splits itself into a streaming video company with the same name and a DVD-by-mail service called Qwikster.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

The 404 906: Where Qwikster delivers the booty (podcast)

Happy birthday to the emoticon, invented 29 years ago today on a computer-science bulletin board at Carnegie Mellon University. Thanks for making parents around the world feel tech-savvy. :)

Before we get into the important Netflix news of of the day, Jeff tells us about his weekend experience at "Sleep No More," an interactive theater experience in New York that's loosely based on the Macbeth story--with a creepy twist. The plot plays out in various acts throughout a three-story abandoned warehouse in Chelsea, so tune in to hear more spoiler-free details and reserve your tickets here!

Next we'll get into the Netflix mea culpa delivered by e-mail and blog post this morning that's giving current Netflix subscribers even more reasons to moan about the recent price hike.

CEO Reed Hastings announced that the company will soon split in two, with the name of the DVD mail rental service changing to Qwikster (not to be confused with Quixtar, QuickStar, Kwikster, Quickster, or Quik-Star), while the video-streaming arm will retain the Netflix name and Web address.

We'll also talk today about a satellite plunging from space, a group of scientists that are poaching PS3 gamers to help find a cure for AIDS, and the last single-space parking meter disappearing in Manhattan today.

The 404 Digest for Episode 906

The emoticon was invented 29 years ago today. Netflix CEO: " I slid into arrogance." PS3 users are helping to find a cure for AIDS. A satellite loosely based on "Donnie Darko" is coming to Earth. World's largest sperm bank refusing donations from redheads. Iguana Fart.

Episode 906 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Toshiba Satellite P745D-S4240 review: AMD A6 processor worth the savings?

Underneath the seemingly predictable veneer of the 14-inch Toshiba Satellite P745D-S4240 are two new stories, albeit ones that might not interest the average person much. The Satellite P series is a new laptop line for Toshiba, although you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between it and the M, A, and L series of Satellite laptops (the P replaces the M and A). Under the hood is a quad-core AMD A6 processor, part of a new line of budget-targeted AMD Vision A-series APUs that include better-than-Intel-integrated graphics to accompany mainstream processing power.… Read more