Senate panel backs space shuttle extension

NASA bill would boost big-rocket project, slow down commercialization

A key Senate committee on Thursday approved an authorization bill that would allow NASA to add one more space shuttle mission before retiring the fleet, and press forward with ambitious plans to send astronauts to an asteroid and on to Mars.

After months of debate and criticism, the Senate's Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed the NASA authorization bill by a unanimous vote. The bill will now move up to the full Senate for review.

"NASA is an agency in transition. We've had to take a clear, hard look at what we want from our space agency in the years and decades to come," committee chairman John D. Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va., said in a statement. "I've made my views on this matter very clear: NASA's role cannot stay static. It must innovate and move in a new direction."

The extra shuttle mission would fly in 2011, after two more flights currently planned for November 2010 and February 2011.

In addition, the new authorization bill directs NASA to begin work immediately on a huge, heavy-lift rocket — which would be vital for any asteroid or Mars missions by astronauts — instead of waiting until 2015 as proposed by President Barack Obama in the space vision he announced earlier this year.

The bill would also advance the development of spacecraft for deep space missions to as early as 2016, rather than 2025 — the goal that Obama set for the first crewed mission to arrive at an asteroid.

It also allows the extension of the International Space Station's program through at least 2020, as Obama previously proposed.

 

NASA

The external fuel tank for the shuttle Endeavour's launch, scheduled for no earlier than Feb. 26, arrives at the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday. Endeavour's mission is the last shuttle flight currently on NASA's schedule, but a bill approved by a key Senate panel would provide for one more flight in mid-2011.

 

Apple Calls News Briefing On iPhone 4

Apple has announced a special press conference about its problematic iPhone 4 prompting speculation of a recall.

An Apple spokesman declined to give further details, including whether the conference will address the new model's reception problems.

But Apple watchers speculated that the company will offer a solution.

"Given the intense pressure and scrutiny Apple has come under on the problem with the iPhone 4, it's going to be about some kind of fix or compensation for the owners of the phone," said Ed Snyder, an analyst with Charter Equity Research.

Apple launched the phone last month to great fanfare as it boasted of a design that put the antenna in a stainless steel band around the phone's frame.

But it has been plagued with user complaints about dropped calls when the phone is held in a way that covers part of the antenna.

Antenna-design experts have said that the phone design, while cutting-edge, was risky because it exposes the antenna to touch.

What started out as a small number of users complaining about reception has now ballooned into a full-scale public-relations issue.

Critics say Apple has created a public relations headache for itself by appearing to dismiss or ignore the problem, allowing a minor issue to be turned into headline news.

On Monday America's Consumer Reports magazine - America's equivalent to Which? - said it could not recommend the iPhone 4 and suggested it had a hardware defect.

It was the first time the product-quality watchdog failed to recommend an Apple phone.

A recall of the device is unlikely, because since the problem does not affect safety and only occurs for some users in certain situations.

But there are rumours Apple could give away its £19 rubber 'bumper' case, which it believes could solve the reception problem.

The press conference will be held on Friday at 6pm UK time.

 

Download-the-windows-7-sp1-public-beta-right-now

It’s hard to imagine that Windows 7 could get even better but Microsoft is steadily working towards the first service pack. The beta of course comes first and is now available for public consumption. The 1.2GB pack fixes a bunch of bugs along with adding a few new features geared towards enterprise users.

Of course since SP1 is still in beta, you’re kind of on your own as far as technical support goes. Well, there’s always Google, but Microsoft isn’t going to help much. So if you’re curious what Microsoft has improved and don’t mind installing a beta service pack on your machine, hit up the link and let the fun begin.

Microsoft-adds-Facebook-to-Outlook

Washington - Microsoft added Facebook to Outlook on Tuesday, giving users of its popular email program the ability to view status updates, pictures and wall posts from their friends on the social network.

Outlook now lets email users view the profile picture and activity of their Facebook friends in a box called the "People Pane".

"You can view your social network as you look through your email to stay connected with your friends, family, and colleagues," Paco Contreras Herrera, a group product manager for Microsoft Office, said in a blog post.

Microsoft integrated two other social networks, MySpace and LinkedIn, into Outlook in February using what it calls the "Outlook Social Connector".

"The Outlook Social Connector doesn't add another social network into the mix; rather it offers busy people the convenience of accessing them in Outlook," Contreras Herrera said.

"We expect more partners down the line," he added.

Outlook 2003 and 2007 users can download the latest version of the Outlook Social Connector from the Microsoft Download Centre while Outlook 2010 users can get it through Microsoft Update.

Swiftkey beta brings new keyboard, world class predictive text to Android

The software and language engineers at Swiftkey have been toiling on this app for the past two years, and at long last, it's being made available for precisely nothing to anxious Android users. Hot on the heels of Swype's own beta, the Swiftkey beta is now available to download directly from the App Market, and once installed (along with language packs of your choice), it can be used in place of your stock Android soft keyboard. We've never been the biggest fan of Google's factory keys, and while we still feel that Swiftkey's letters are a tad on the skinny side, it's definitely an improvement. But that's not where the magic's at -- this software has an uncanny ability to guess what your next word will be, and it actually looks at your prior SMS list (if allowed) in order to "learn" how you converse. In our early tests, we're pretty darn impressed, and yes, it's definitely worth the $0.00 price tag. Get your download on right now, or hop past the break for a video demonstration if you still need convincing.

White House's electric-vehicle production campaign

Today
HUD Secretary Sean Donovan and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will launch ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations for electric vehicles in New York City.

Thursday
President Barack Obama will visit LG Chem-Compact Power's new plant site in Holland.

Thursday
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis will visit Celgard in Charlotte, N.C., where a $49-million advanced-battery and electric-vehicle grant is helping the company expand its manufacturing operations and build a new plant.

Thursday
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will visit Baker Equipment in Richmond, Va., which is converting conventional gasoline vehicles to propane.

Friday
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu will visit Delphi Automotive Systems in Kokomo, Ind., where an $89-million battery-manufacturing grant is helping Delphi expand.

Friday
Deputy Secretary of Transportation John Porcari will visit East Penn Manufacturing in Lyon Station, Pa., where a $32-million battery manufacturing grant is helping the company expand to manufacture battery technologies for hybrids.

Friday
White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley will visit SBE in Barre, Vt., where an $8.5-million battery-manufacturing grant is helping the company build an $18-million plant that produces "power ring" capacitors.

Facebook launches panic button for child safety

London: Social networking website Facebook has agreed to adopt a panic button aimed at improving the online safety of its younger users, a child protection group said on Monday.
The launch of button, which follows a long campaign by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), will allow children and teenagers to report suspicious behaviour and get help, advice and support about staying safe online.
The application is particularly aimed at users aged 13 to 18 and will appear on their profile page when they add or bookmark the button, CEOP said. “We know from speaking to offenders that a visible deterrent could protect young people online,” said Jim Gamble, chief executive of CEOP, adding that the button should provide reassurance to parents whose teenagers use the site.
Pressure to introduce such measures intensified towards the end of last year after 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a man posing as a teenager whom she had met through Facebook.
“Together we have developed a new way of helping young people stay safe online,” Joanna Shields, Facebook’s vice president for Europe, Middle-East and Africa, said of the link-up.
“It is only through the constant and concerted efforts of the industry, police, parents and young people themselves that we can all keep safe online.”