Geek culture

Kepler 22-b: NASA confirms another Earth?

NASA has found a planet outside our solar system that looks to be an awful lot like Earth--or maybe even better, given that its climate is roughly like a balmy day in Key West.

The planet, Kepler-22b, is the first confirmed planet within the "habitable zone," meaning that liquid water could exist on the surface and support life. It is almost 2.5 times the size of Earth and 600 light years away, so you may want to start saving your frequent flier miles now if you want your great-to-the-29th-power grandchildren to have a shot at vacationing there.

Scientists estimate the temperature on the surface of the planet to be about 72 degrees, according to the Associated Press. Kepler-22b circles a star very similar to our own sun, although it does it in a slightly shorter period, with one Kepler 22-b year lasting about 290 days.

Scientists say it's likely the planet has water and land, but can't yet rule out the possibility that it is an entirely gaseous planet, which would severely limit its potential as an intergalactic vacation destination.… Read more

Tamagotchi 15th anniversary pet can still die

Fifteen years is a pretty good life span for many pets. Tamagotchi is celebrating the birth of its digital critters with a limited-edition anniversary model.

In case you missed the Tamagotchi craze, they are little egg-shaped gadgets with small screens that house electronic pets. Each one starts from an egg, and has to be fed, cleaned up after, and disciplined as it goes through its virtual lifecycle.

Bandai's Tamagotchi spawned the sale of 78 million units and taught a lot of kids about the virtual joys, tribulations, and sorrows of digital parenthood.

Tamagotchi may be 105 in dog years, but it has learned a few new tricks along the way. The Tamagotchi iD L 15th Anniversary Model features a full-color screen with new characters and games.… Read more

The 404 959: Where we lower our carrier IQ (podcast)

Today's 404 podcast topics include who to blame for the Carrier IQ bug, a digital rape whistle for shaming street harassers, a preview of tomorrow's Xbox Live update, and a quick game of "guess-the-Apple-iOS-dev-code-names!"

We're also running a contest all week, so send in your creative 404-related video voice mails to the404(at)cnet(dot)com for a chance to win an 16GB Apple iPad 2 or an 4GB Xbox 360/Kinect bundle! Thanks to Target.com for the prizes.

Video submissions should be thirty seconds or less, with you declaring lifelong loyalty to The 404. Or whatever.

Leaked from 404 Podcast 959:

Facebook increases status update character limit to 63,206. iHollaback is the new rape whistle: Shaming street harassers with cellphone pics. Here are a few funny code names Apple used for iOS version updates. Xbox Live update comes with 40 entertainment services and Live TV.… Read more

Give your homely headlamp a sexy makeover

Headlamps are undeniably useful, but they are typically dull-looking entities with an emphasis on function rather than fashion. That's changing with Princeton Tec's Spectrum program for customizable headlamps.

Princeton Tec gave me the opportunity to customize a $35 Fuel light. I could have gone with something tasteful, like black and gray. Instead, I went '80s retro with a mix of pink, green, yellow, orange, and blue. It's the Cyndi Lauper of headlamps.

The Fuel has four LEDs that spit out 43 lumens. There are three brightness settings and a flashing setting. It runs on three AAA batteries and goes for up to 146 hours.

The headlamps are hand-assembled in the U.S. to your color specifications. The online design process gives you a very accurate idea of what the final product will look like.

There are 10 colors to choose from, ranging from screaming orange to subdued gray. You can select different colors for each individual part, including the body, battery door, end cap, and bracket.… Read more

President Obama travels through time in Google Maps

I've seen some bizarre Street View images on Google Maps, but this time the satellite feature has leaked government secrets about Air Force One's flight arrangements: time travel.

Well either that, or Air Force One commercial airplanes can fly faster than the speed of light. This image from the unofficial Google Maps blog shows the official USAF aircraft emerging out of a crack in time. If I had to guess, I'd say around 99 percent of us don't have access to this technology.

Not sure what's going on in East Lake-Orient Park, Fla., that … Read more

The 404 958: Where we lied our way into this job (podcast)

Our guest today is Emily Dreyfuss from CNET's newest tech gossip podcast, Rumor Has It!

We're learning all kinds of stuff from Emily, like to how to defeat an oncoming shark attack, the best way to win a burger-eating competition, and the backstory behind the Carrier IQ keylogging controversy.

Leaked from 404 Podcast 958:

How Carrier IQ was wrongly accused of keylogging. Controversy, confusion over Carrier IQ. Congress lifts five-year ban on the sale of horse meat. Thanks Obama! Rumor: Apple TV sets will be mighty pricey.… Read more

Indiana Jones raids Zynga's Adventure World

While fans of the Indiana Jones franchise wait to see if Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Harrison Ford will pursue a fifth installment in that movie franchise, Indy fans on Facebook can spend a little time visiting Dr. Jones through Zynga's Adventure World.

Indiana Jones and the Calendar of the Sun is a spinoff of Adventure World, Zynga's puzzle-based social game. The chapter is part of a collaboration between Lucasfilm and Zynga to bring Indiana Jones to online mini-games for the first time. … Read more

1960s IBM standard-issue wall clock tops Don Draper's wish list

One of my favorite products on the Schoolhouse Electric & Supply site is a replica of IBM's standard-issue wall clock from the '60s, sure to make it onto Don Draper's holiday wish list this year.

This run is technically the first, as Schoolhouse Electric hit up IBM to make these iconic clocks available to all of us who didn't work in IBM offices, warehouses, and schools during the mid-20th century.

They're all assembled by hand in the company's factory in Portland, Ore., and each clock is bound by a spun-steel case with the original graphic hands and domed glass lens.

As is usually the case with historical relics, getting your hands on one of these will empty your wallet--the IBM standard-issue wall clock retails for $235 in the Schoolhouse Electric marketplace.

(Via A Continuous Lean)… Read more

Beware the vain robot

"Does this aluminum exterior casing make my butt look big?"

In the future, you may find yourself having to reassure your robot companion that it looks great, as engineers in Madrid have developed a robot that can recognize itself in the mirror.

Meet Qbo, an open-source robot built on Linux that has learned to identify itself and other objects. The project started as a "what if" experiment by Qbo creator Francisco Paz and his team of engineers at TheCorpora. Qbo is already equipped with two cameras to give it stereoscopic vision and features facial and object recognition software, so the group wondered it they could teach Qbo to recognize itself.

As you'll see in the video below, Qbo first identifies a penguin (the Linux penguin, of course) and then wheels over to the mirror where it can't recognize itself at first. However, after its human friend says, "This is you, Qbo," the robot is quickly able to learn and identify its reflection in the mirror. … Read more