Matt's Favorites: Commercial Space Confab, Biggest Hack Ever, And Much More
So what's the latest and greatest along the fabulous frontiers of high technology? Well, let's take a look at what I found today on the Intertubes...
* Legions of scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs are gathering in Silicon Valley this week to discuss the rise and impact of the commercial space industry. The Space Frontier Foundation's annual NewSpace conference runs from through in San Jose, Calif. Among the many speakers are NASA deputy chief Lori Garver and Commercial Spaceflight Federation president Michael Lopez-Alegria.
* Court documents revealed Thursday in federal court in New Jersey said the five men from Russia and Ukraine were able to hack into the computer systems at the Nasdaq, J.C. Penney, 7-Eleven, and JetBlue Airways, among other companies. Obtaining around 160 million credit and debit card numbers, the individuals allegedly were able to steal more than $300 million from at least three of the targeted companies, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
* Elsewhere in space, a sharp-eyed Mars orbiter has spotted NASA's Curiosity rover from orbit.
* If you're aboard this ambitious mission to Mars conceived by British scientists, you're on way more than a mere flyby. Not only will you be able to return to Earth after your Martian vacation, you'll have artificial gravity and magnetic shielding from harmful radiation on the way. Aside from your daily cup of tea, what more could you ask for?
* In our final look at space tech today, kids, NASA's Kepler spacecraft unfortunately most likely won't bounce back completely from the malfunction that stalled its planet-hunting efforts two months ago.
* China says it will spend $275 billion to tackle air pollution over the next five years, a state newspaper reported Thursday, highlighting how the issue has become a priority for the leadership.
* Google's Chromecast is already hard to get. The new video-streaming device, which was announced Wednesday, now has a wait time of up to four weeks.
* Yikes: The U.S. government has demanded that major Internet companies divulge users' stored passwords, according to two industry sources familiar with these orders who spoke to CNet's News.com. This represents an escalation in surveillance techniques that has not previously been disclosed.
