As much as we love Smartphones, they are a pretty inefficient technology. We typically focus on charging as the main point of energy consumption, but new research from MIT suggests the real inefficiencies happen far from your outlet. Cellular base stations, the facilities where electricity is turned into radio signals, suck up an astounding $36 billion worth of electrical energy a year. You may think that all that juice helps to make your phone blazing fast, but it doesn’t. According to researchers at MIT much of this … Read More → "MIT breakthrough could double smartphone battery life"

Today marks the 12th anniversary of “continuous presence in space” aboard NASA‘s International Space Station. The first component of the ISS was launched into space in 1998, but it wasn’t until two years later when the first humans officially set foot into the Space Station — cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei K. Krikalev, and NASA astronaut Bill Shepherd.
via Slash Gear

Read More → "International Space Station sees 12 consecutive years of habitation"

Is it jewelry? Or a computer peripheral? Actually, the USB Bracelet (€30; roughly $40) is a little of both.
via Uncrate

More here 

Behind everything electronic is a chip. And while many manufacturing jobs have gone overseas, the chip industry is still an economic juggernaut in the U.S.

The semiconductor chip industry now employs about 244,800 people in the U.S., according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. The industry added jobs three times faster than the rest of the U.S. economy (3.7 percent versus 1.2 percent for the overall U.S. economy, according to recently released 2011 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The job count is based on direct jobs created by semiconductor companies. … Read More → "U.S. semiconductor chip industry employs 244,800 workers"

Two days ago, we showed one of the best rover selfies ever, which came from amateur astronomer Stuart Atkinson, who stitched together raw images beamed back from Curiosity. But the pictures used there were only thumbnail versions of the high-res pics. The above image represents the full-sized 5,400-pixel-wide version generated from the complete set of photographs. The detail is so stunning you can zoom in on Curiosity’s “eye” at the … Read More → "High-res Curiosity Rover self-portrait is mind-blowing"

Researchers at Stanford University have developed an experimental solar cell made entirely of carbon. In addition to providing a promising alternative to the increasingly expensive materials used in traditional solar cells, the thin film prototype is made of carbon materials that can be coated onto surfaces from a solution, cutting manufacturing costs and offering the potential for coating flexible solar cells onto buildings and car windows.

Stanford graduate student Michael Vosgueritchian, … Read More → "First true “all-carbon” solar cell developed"

The HMS Bounty, a 180-foot sailboat, is shown submerged in the Atlantic Ocean during Hurricane Sandy approximately 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, N.C., Monday, Oct. 29, 2012. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Tim Kuklewski.

This Washington Post article by Ian Shapira  … Read More → "What happened to the HMS Bounty? After Hurricane Sandy sinks tall ship, many questions remain"

We know this headline sounds like some sort of sick joke, but it’s not: Disney has just purchased Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion in cash and stock, and it’ll be pushing out Star Wars Episode VII by 2015.

Here’s what George Lucas said about the deal today:

“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next. It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that … Read More → "Disney buys Lucasfilm, releasing Star Wars Episode VII in 2015"

Just in time for election season, XKCD’s Randall Munroe has busted out another of his amazing, wall-sized infographics, this one depicting the swings to the left, right and center of the senate and the house, through all of US electoral history.
via Boing Boing

Click here for full-size image</ … Read More → "XKCD’s massive map of Congress’s political leanings since the start"

If you regret having to pack away your bike when winter strikes, then pack your bags and move to Holland. A couple of local governments in the bike-crazy country are planning to turn bike riding into a year round affair, by heating their bike paths to keep them free from ice and snow.

The bike paths will use a form of passive temperature regulation called an … Read More → "Dutch plan deluxe heated bike paths for winter riders"