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Fax machines gather dust in parts of the world, consigned to history since the rise of email. Yet in Japan, a country with a hi-tech reputation, the fax is thriving.

At Japan’s talent agency HoriPro Inc, Yutaro Suzuki is busy writing up his next project proposal. Not typing, but writing by hand.

HoriPro is one of the largest and oldest agencies in the country and Suzuki publicises almost 300 singers and actors. But behind this glamorous profile, he cordially writes detailed schedules by hand.

“It takes longer … Read More → "Japan’s love affair with the fax machine"

Artist Robert DuGrenier creates blown glass shells for hermit crabs. The shells come in a variety of colors and coatings, including gold and platinum.
via Laughing Squid

< … Read More → "Blown glass hermit crab shells"

Endurance, performance and time. These are the holy-grail for any Olympic athlete. To possess even the smallest advantage in these areas could mean Gold. And everyone wants Gold.

So if you can’t get the edge from performance enhancing drugs, what else can you do to push ahead of the competition? We’ve all heard about the advances in hardware that athletes … Read More → "3 completely crazy high-tech Olympic training techniques"

NASA has thrown open the doors to the Kennedy Space Center, though only to Google’s Street View cameras, allowing anyone with a browser to wander through the Florida facility. The vast Vehicle Assembly Building, Atlantis shuttle and Launch Pad 39A are all navigable, offering a hitherto unseen opportunity to explore.
via Slash Gear </ … Read More → "Kennedy Space Center gets Street View treatment"

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has a lot of information, acquired from telescopes, satellites, rovers, spacecraft, and pretty much anything you can point at space. They have so much, it’s almost unmanageable. So the lab collaborated with CalTech to start JPL Infographics, a crowd-sourced data-visualization challenge. They’ll supply the info, you create the graphic.
via Read More → "NASA wants your infographics"

I’m by no means an expert, but I have some experience with robotics. My first job out of college was working on robots at NASA, and my undergraduate degree project was on robotic navigation. I spent my teenage years participating in FIRST Robotics, programming software bots to fight in virtual tournaments, and working on homemade underwater ROVs. And I’ve watched plenty of Robot Wars,BattleBots, and Killer Robots Robogames.

If all that experience has taught me anything, it’s that the robot … Read More → "What if there was a robot apocalypse? How long would humanity last?"

It would cost $682 million for a real-life Batman to fund his world-saving lifestyle, thanks to the price of high-tech cars, gadgets, his mansion and training, a new infographic says.

The infographic, created by MoneySupermarket.com, looks at how much it would cost to run Batman’s empire. The main conclusion? It’s not easy on the wallet.

In fact, Batman’s collection of vehicles alone cost about $80 million. His Tumbler/Batmobile alone has a price tag of $18 million due to its jet engine, front-mounted machine guns, remote-control system and GPS … Read More → "How much would it cost to be Batman in real life?"

Mars Rover Curiosity is the latest in a robotic chain of explorers created by scientists and engineers, with each new iteration building on past Mars rovers’ successes and failures. Mars Rover Curiosity is similar to rovers that have gone before. But it’s the most advanced rover ever, and the instruments it carries to analyze Mars will give us more insight than we’ … Read More → "The ten instruments that Mars Rover Curiosity will use to investigate the red planet: A rock-analyzing laser, a neutron bombarder, and more"

In four days, NASA’s Curiosity rover will hopefully survive its “seven minutes of terror” and land safely on the surface of Mars. What comes next for U.S. space exploration?

Techland decided to ask famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson during Gizmodo and io9′s First Comes the Dream event at the American Museum of Natural History, where Dr. Tyson presides as director of the Hayden Planetarium.

With the success of SpaceX, some people are questioning the need to fund a government space program. Why do we … Read More → "Neil deGrasse Tyson on the future of U.S. space exploration after Curiosity"