schwit1 writes: Tracking data suggests that two Earth-observation satellites launched today by China’s Long March 2D rocket were placed in the wrong orbits. Spaceflight Now reports: “The two SuperView 1, or Gaojing 1, satellites are flying in egg-shaped orbits ranging…
Avatar-Style Manned Robot Takes First Steps In South Korea
An anonymous reader quotes a report from ValueWalk: A robot designed by a veteran of science fiction blockbusters which bear a striking resemblance to the military robots seen in the movie Avatar has taken its first baby steps. The robot…
Vera Rubin, Pioneering Astronomer Who Confirmed Existence of Dark Matter, Dies At 88
Mikkeles quotes a report from CBC.ca: Vera Rubin, a pioneering astronomer who helped find powerful evidence of dark matter, has died, her son said Monday. She was 88. Vera Rubin found that galaxies don’t quite rotate the way they were…
Apple Tops Holiday Sales With 44 Percent of All New Device Activations
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Mac Rumors: Apple’s iPhone and iPad were the most popular mobile devices gifted during the holidays this year, according to new data shared by Yahoo-owned mobile analytics firm Flurry. Flurry examined device activations…
Amazon Patents System To Defend Drones Against Hackers, Jammers and Arrows
As Amazon prepares its drone-based delivery service Prime Air for the United States, the company has been looking for ways to keep its drones safe while they’re flying to and from their destinations. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark…
China Plans To Land Probes On Far Side of Moon, Mars By 2020
China has revealed some ambitious plans for space domination in the 2020s. On Tuesday, China set out its plans to become the first country to land a probe on the far side of the moon, in around 2018, and launch…
Apple Working With Consumer Reports on MacBook Pro's Battery Issue
Last week, Consumer Reports concluded that it won’t be recommending Apple’s new MacBook Pro models. The American magazine published since 1936 by Consumers Union, a nonprofit organization, cited inconsistent battery issues for not recommending the MacBook Pro for the first…
Microsoft Could Be First Tech Company To Reach Trillion-Dollar Market Value: Analyst
Microsoft’s $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn could help the Redmond company become the first technology giant to reach a market value of $1 trillion, or so thinks a notable analyst. Analyst Michael Markowski believes that Microsoft will be able to…
Apple Publishes Its First AI Research Paper
When Apple said it would publish its artificial intelligence research, it raised at least a couple of big questions. When would we see the first paper? And would the public data be important, or would the company keep potential trade…
The Farmer Who Built Her Own Broadband
An anonymous reader writes from a BBC article: “I’m just a farmer’s wife,” says Christine Conder, modestly. But for 2,300 members of the rural communities of Lancashire she is also a revolutionary internet pioneer. Her DIY solution to a neighbour’s…