space

Are our friends across the pond getting tired of social-networking sites?

New figures from Nielsen Online, cited by the Guardian in an article Thursday, suggest that they just might be.

Facebook, according to the numbers, experienced a 5 percent drop in U.K. traffic between December and January--as did MySpace.com. Bebo, a smaller presence in the U.S. but wildly popular in the U.K., saw its unique users drop 2 percent in the same period.

If anything, this could mean that after rapid expansion, social networks have reached a saturation point. "It was inevitable that early growth … Read more

MySpace Music is the name News Corp. executives are tentatively using for a proposed music service that they are pitching to record executives, two sources told CNET News.com.

The news that News Corp., MySpace's parent company, has approached the four top music labels was first reported over the weekend by the blog PaidContent. Here are a few new details on what News Corp. is running past the music companies.

News Corp. has tested the record industry's interest in a site that would offer music in several different ways, including ad-supported downloads and streaming to PCs, according to … Read more

Sources told CNN that the U.S. Navy was preparing to launch a missile Thursday from an Aegis cruiser to destroy a failed U.S. spy satellite before it has a chance to reenter the Earth's atmosphere. The 5,000 pound satellite that shut down almost immediately after its launch in December 2006 is filled with rocket fuel that could disperse deadly fumes over the size of about two football fields. Plus, U.S. intelligence could be compromised if the satellite was found by another nation.

Read the full CNN story: "Sources: Navy to shoot down failed satellite Thursday"… Read more

You really have to hand it to the United States. After putting up a remarkable ruckus in November when a Chinese rocket annihilated an old satellite and spread undetermined amounts of debris orbiting Earth, the United States government has decided to do the same to a malfunctioning spy satellite that could rain sizable and toxic debris somewhere on the planet if not destroyed. And China's government urges caution.

The situation is hard to grasp. According to the International Herald Tribune, China and Russia have recently called for a ban on all space weapons, which the United States has opposed. … Read more

Beware, SpiralFrog and Imeem. A powerful new player is eyeing your ad-supported music turf.

MySpace.com is in talks with the four major record labels about starting a free-to-consumer music service, a source with knowledge of the talks told CNET News.com on Monday night. So far MySpace and the labels are just talking, the source said, but PaidContent, the blog that broke the news, reported that the music companies are being offered an equity stake in the News Corp.-backed start-up.

A MySpace spokeswoman declined to comment Monday evening.

There are conflicting reports about whether the new music service … Read more

Which missile is the U.S. planning to use to shoot down that ailing satellite, and how does it work? There's an interesting, technically thorough statement available from the Center for Defense Information. They've posted all manner of details about guidance systems, maneuverability, motors, and explosive mechanisms over on Wired: "Inside America's satellite-killing missile"

Employees of video-sharing site Revver said they breathed a sigh of relief Thursday after management informed them that the company had been acquired by LiveUniverse, a little-known online entertainment network.

Representatives from both companies declined to comment, but two Revver employees and an executive at a company that had inquired about bidding on Revver said managers there had informed them the sale was done. The blog NewTeeVee was first to report the acquisition.

In a report earlier this month, CNET News.com cited sources who said the beleaguered Revver was asking for between $300,000 and $500,000 and the … Read more

The classified satellite that is expecting to come crashing to Earth in the next few weeks will now be used for target practice. The National Security Council said Thursday that President Bush has asked the Pentagon to come up with a plan to destroy the satellite while it's still aloft. Many observers say a shoot-down is unnecessary because such objects falling to Earth typically burn up when re-entering the atmosphere or, if they make it through, would miss any habitation by a wide margin. Speculation holds that the spacecraft must be part of a new generation of spy satellite.… Read more

It just got a little easier to have that weightless feeling in California, if you're willing to spend $3,500.

NASA Ames Research Center, based in Silicon Valley, has teamed up with Las Vegas-based Zero Gravity (Zero-G) to host commercial flights that allow passengers to experience several minutes of weightlessness. Under the agreement, called the Reimbursable Space Act Agreement, NASA will let Zero-G park its aircraft, a modified Boeing 727-200 called G-Force One, on the Moffett airfield and take off from its runway. Under contract with NASA, the two organizations will collaborate on research and astronaut training this fall.… Read more