Paul Allen slams Gates in new memoir
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen
/ David McNew/Getty ImagesWe'll have to wait for the answers until April 17 when it goes on sale but a new book written by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen portrays -presumably now ex-buddy - Bill Gates as a not-so-nice guy who sought to chisel his rightful share of the company.
Journey planned to the center of the Earth
File this one away under the rubric of "thinking big."
A half century after scientists failed on their first attempt to penetrate the Earth's mantle, geologists Damon Teagle of National Oceanography Center in Southampton, England and Benoit Ildefonse from Montpellier University in France say it's time for a second try. And unlike their predecessors, they have the technology to turn that challenging endeavor into a reality
Continue »MacBook Heist Scorecard: Geek 1, Goober 0
What was the worse offense: Stealing someone else's laptop computer or being such a god-awful dancer?
One and a half months ago, somebody walked off with Mark Bao's MacBook Air, which had been left unattended in a Bentley University lounge. Normally, this episode would have been entirely unremarkable except for a victim understandably frustrated, angry - and out-of-pocket to the tune of $1,000-plus. But Bao wasn't your typical 18-year-old freshman. He knew his way around a keyboard - and then some.
He had taken the precaution of installing online backup software (called BackBlaze) on the computer and that now allowed him to gain entry into the purloined machine's browser history as well as to view its hard drive where he could track any updates. "It was still backing up files when I logged in on Sunday," he said in an email to CBSNews.com.
The person absconding with Bao's computer almost immediately used it take a self photograph. "Wow. The first thing that MacBook thieves do REALLY IS take pictures on Photo Booth. I didn't think they were that dumb!" Bao wrote in a tweet.
That wasn't all.
"From the files on the computer and some legwork, I was able to track down who (the thief) was, his Facebook page, his email, and the (now) infamous videos," Bao noted.
Ah yes, that gem of a YouTube video with someone "dancing" to Tyga's "Make it Rain." Bao found the video hilarious. So hilarious, in fact, that he just had to share. After the video got uploaded to YouTube, it became a sensation (at last look, tallying over 700,000 views.) That's not the kind of publicity anybody would want and naturally enough, it led to a direct Facebook appeal asking for mercy from any further cyber-humiliation. The note read:
The person in the video has since returned the computer to campus police and admitted that he took it, according to university spokeswoman Michelle Walsh. She said Bentley was considering pressing trespassing and larceny charges but that no decision had yet been taken. The university is still discussing the matter with the Middlesex County District Attorney's office.
As for Bao, he has since bought a replacement laptop and plans to sell the old machine and then donate the proceeds to Japan relief. For the moment, he's undecided whether to take down the video or leave it up for posterity (though keeping it up there may qualify as cruel and unusual punishment in this case.)
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Church head: "Gay cure" iPhone app not offensive
Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International
/ Exodus InternationalHit "publish" and fame could come knocking - whether you want it or not. Just ask Alan Chambers, who heads Exodus International, a global Christian ministry. Both he and his organization, now find themselves at the epicenter of a cyber-controversy after sponsoring an iPhone application aimed at helping "those struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction to live a life congruent with biblical teaching." Since then, more than 150,000 people have signed their names to an online petition urging Apple to pull the app because it violates the company's prohibitions against objectionable content. Last night, Apple did just that and pulled the app. CBSNews.com spoke with Chambers from his offices in Orlando, Fla. to get his follow-up reaction.
Continue »Space laser proposed to zap space junk
Orbital Debris-Debris Collision Avoidance
/ arxiv.orgWhat to do with all the space junk now in orbit around the Earth? Each year, that question grabs a headline or two before disappearing.. But that doesn't mean the problem is getting any closer to resolution.
Study: How men lost penis spines
Showing his spine
/ istockphotoHad human development taken a different turn, the male penis likely would still have small, hard spines similar to those found in certain primates.
Continue »NASA scientist: Evidence of alien life on meteorite
Richard B. Hoover: Fossils of cyanobacteria found in meteorites
/ Journal of CosmologyIn what's sure to rekindle the debate over the question of life beyond Earth, a scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center says he has fossil evidence of bacterial life inside of a rare class of meteorites .
Writing in the March edition of the Journal of Cosmology, Richard B. Hoover argues that an examination of a collection of 9 meteorites - called CI1 carbonaceous meteorites - contain "indigenous fossils" of bacterial life.
Continue »Air Force's mystery space plane again heading into space
The first X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle taxis on the flightline March 30, 2010, at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Fla
/ U.S. Air ForceIntrigue continues to shroud a small prototype unmanned space plane that the U.S. Air Force hopes to launch on Friday from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The first X-37B returned to Earth in December after finishing its 225-day journey. That mission, too, was classified and the military said little other than that it was pleased as punch with the results.
So what's the project all about? The sometimes fevered speculation that's accompanied the project from the start has been annotated by the usual questions: Will the X-37 serve as the prototype for a new kind of James Bond-like spy ship? Could it sneak up on rival countries' satellites and zap them with a laser?
On Wednesday, the Union of Concerned Scientists, which has been critical of the program, added its voice to the debate, registering a public complaint about the vehicle's practical use. "Because of its weight and relative lack of maneuverability, the space plane is not well-suited for a number of missions," wrote Laura Grego, a scientist with the group's Global Security Program "For example, it would have a harder time carrying payloads into orbit, maneuvering in space, rendezvousing with satellites, and releasing multiple payloads. Yes, the space plane may offer more flexibility and is potentially reusable, but that comes at a very high price compared with the alternatives. We have not seen an analysis that shows why it is worth that high price."
In the past, Air Force officials have rejected suggestions that the X-37 project was designed with the intention of "weaponizing" space. And they're still on message. In its most recent statement, the Air Force said that the program was designed to test reusable technologies for future American space exploration as well as for "operating experiments" which researchers can later examine back on Earth.
That and 25 cents won't be enough to get you on the subway. So it's still watch and wait.
UK publishes classified UFO documents
`Spaceship' sketch creating crop circles released by Britain's National Archive
The British government has released 8,500 pages of previously classified documents detailing its decades-long effort to respond to public's insistence on the existence of unidentified flying objects.
Continue »Does Facebook cause friends to fight?
You leave an update on your page. Nothing really inflammatory or controversial - or so you might think at first blush. But before you know it, that seemingly innocent post triggers a breathless flame war between Facebook friends publicly tearing each others' responses to pieces in the mother of all cyber-slap-downs..
Science as you've never before seen it
When it comes to offering knock-out images from the world of science , the annual competition sponsored by the Wellcome Collection in London has generated a trove of amazing photos. Now in its 11th year, the event has consistently produced breathtaking shots of human and animal biology over the years - and 2011 is no exception. As a review in the Londonist put it, "if you've ever wondered why people go into the sciences, the Wellcome Image Awards will give you 21 good reasons." We agree.
Explaining this Internet thing in the 1990s (video)
It's always great sport mocking other peoples' naivete when you have the luxury of 20-20 hindsight. (Remember the "information superhighway?") Fact is that if your humble scribe was so smart, I would be clinking champagne glasses on Larry Ellison's yacht just about now. Still, it's fun to revisit just how wonderstruck we were only a few short years ago when this Internet thing first appeared on the scene.
Alchemy gaining respect, centuries after its heyday
17th century chemist Robert Boyle
Our medieval ancestors had any number of habits we now find odd - among them their pursuit of a formula to turn base metals into gold. That's one reason why we often equate the word "alchemist" with "charlatan." But the often-derided practice is now getting a second look from historians, who say the popular image we have of alchemy does not accurately comport with the reality.
Continue »Wael Ghonim: A "One-Off" for Silicon Valley?
Wael Ghonim over Egypt flag
/ CBS/APWael Ghonim, the Google product manager who helped pull together the popular demonstrations that forced Hosni Mubarak to step down as Egypt's president, is the hero of the hour. But not everywhere. For many in Silicon Valley, he's their worst nightmare.
Continue »
Twitter Said in Talks with Possible Buyers Facebook, Google
The Twitter homepage
/ Getty ImagesThe Wall Street Journal, which reported the negotiations, also quoted anonymous deal makers putting an estimated $8 billion to $10 billion on Twitter, a company with an estimated $45 million in annual revenues which also lost money last year due to hiring expenses and infrastructure investments.
Separately, Kara Swisher from the tech blog All Things Digital reports that the venture firm Andreessen Horowitz has invested more than $80 million in Twitter through stock purchases in private secondary markets. That comes on the heels of a $200 million round of funding Twitter raised late last year with Kleiner Perkins as the lead investor
