space

Tactics used to make new hard drives more efficient could cause problems for Windows XP users. It may mean any new drive bought after next year could be noticeably slower to use on the operating system. The issue involves the way hard drives are ... broken down into individual sectors. Until now, it has always been standard for hard drive sectors to be 512 bytes in size. However, not all of each sector is used for storing data. Instead, there is a marker to denote the start of the sector: a space used for codes which are used to check if there is any error with the sector and its contents, and a ... (view more)

There's nothing hotter in the computer world than the "Netbook" . These slim, light, 8.9" and 10.2" systems feature impressive speed and abilities, so long as you're not looking for a Crysis fix on-the-go. And yet, industry powerhouse Apple doesn't ... seem to want a piece of the pie. Earlier this year, Apple COO Tim Cook referred to netbooks as "much less powerful" than the minimum requirements of the average user. Even with sales of Acer's Aspire One, HP's Mini-Note, and Lenovo's IdeaPad soaring, Apple's execs could only muster this in describing their own feelings about the market: "We are ... (view more)

After showing the world it could safely conduct the Olympics, China has again drawn the attention of the global community. As if the country's steady economic incline hasn't been noticeable enough, the emerging superpower can now add space walking ... to its growing list of achievements. China's Zhai Zhigang is being welcomed home as a hero this week after he made a 20 minute spacewalk Saturday afternoon. The exploration was part of a larger operation called the "Shenzou VII mission", which began on September 25. Understandably, the Chinese are ecstatic. After Zhigang and crewmates Liu Boming and ... (view more)

British businessman and publicity hog Richard Branson recently revealed the first of two aircraft capable of carrying tourists into space. The new, high-altitude jet will act as a sky-bound home base for spacecraft that take two crew and six ... passengers on sub-orbital flights. Dubbed "Eve", the aircraft was recently unveiled amidst space fans and engineers a Mojave Desert hangar. Branson's Virgin Galactic is behind the project, which contracted aerospace designer Burt Rutan to complete both Eve and the spaceship that will launch from Eve. Although the number of space nuts having already paid $ ... (view more)

Well, it was going to happen eventually, but it seems that space tourism isn't really that far away after all. News agencies are reporting that Google co-founder Sergey Brin recently put a down payment on one such trip with an outfit called Space ... Adventures. BBC news reports that Brin paid a $5 million down payment to reserve his seat on a flight that will take him and one other passenger to the International Space Station in 2011. Said Brin, "I am a big believer in the exploration and commercial development of the space frontier and am looking forward to the possibility of going into space ... (view more)

Microsoft is launching an online service giving users access to images from space telescopes. It could mean yet another battle with Google, which has its own service, Google Sky. Bill Gates says the WorldWide Telescope project should be online by ... the end of the month. The free service is based on Microsoft's Visual Experience Engine, the same technology which runs the Microsoft Virtual Earth mapping software. By combining this software with thousands of images taken from space cameras, the service effectively acts as an interactive telescope. Where appropriate there will also be links to ... (view more)

Google was the big loser in a recent bidding auction for the 700 MHz spectrum, which is being abandoned by television networks as the entire industry moves to digital format under Congressional order. Now, Google is trying to get the Federal ... Communications Commission (FCC) to allow mobile devices to use what is called the 'white space' that exists between TV channels. (Source: slate.com ) While the regulatory board is reportedly intrigued by Google's proposal, many doubts remain. White space is used as a barrier between television channels to prevent signals from one broadcast interfering ... (view more)

Only a matter of weeks after its coronation in front of the tech-happy, HD faithful, Sony is now taking some serious heat for not packing enough space into its Blu-ray discs. Launching the complaint is Hideo Kojima, famed designer behind upcoming ... PlayStation 3 heavyweight title Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. In an interview with Famitsu, mogul Kojima lambasted Sony for being a bit shy on the storage for its Blu-ray disc format. In that interview, Kojima was adamant that the game, which should be a titan, was simply not going to fit on Sony's HD hardware. "There's not enough space ... (view more)

Have you ever found that you need just a smidge more space between two paragraphs in your MS Word document? I just bet you have, at one time or another, wished for a quick and clever way to add a 12 point space before a paragraph, just another ... little trick to file away in your repertoire. Well, your wish has been granted! Follow the steps below to insert that extra space before a paragraph. Simply place your cursor anywhere in the paragraph and click on CTRL + 0 (zero). Need that same space above multiple paragraphs? Not a problem: follow the steps below: Highlight all paragraphs and use CTRL ... (view more)

I am sure there have been times in your life when you had an MS Word or PowerPoint numbered or bulleted list when you decided that you really did need a blank space half way through it. I'm right aren't I? I knew it! I also know that you probably ... tried several times to insert that blank visual space and finally decided to give it up. I know this because a lot of folks have written to me to ask me how to make it happen! There are ways to make this happen but most of them are slow and laborious. As you all know, I am all about saving time and keystrokes and so I will show you today how to ... (view more)