Browser War veteran Marc Andreessen, developer and co-founder of Netscape, looks to be gearing up for another go at Internet Explorer with his backing of RockMelt, a startup that’s said to be working on a brand new browser. Since losing out to IE back in the ’90s, Andreessen has gone on to start and finance a variety of different software endeavors and has done pretty well by them. He’s now a pretty heavy-hitter in Silicon Valley, and he’s got an idea for what to do in the browser market.

From the New York Times:

…Mr. Andreessen suggested the new browser would be different, saying that most other browsers had not kept pace with the evolution of the Web, which had grown from an array of static Web pages into a network of complex Web sites and applications. “There are all kinds of things that you would do differently if you are building a browser from scratch,” Mr. Andreessen said.

That evolution that Andreessen is speaking about is that so much more of computing is done through a browser now, thanks to the point where technology is at. Microsoft may have secured almost all of the interest in browsers to be had from Netscape, but Mozilla punched a huge whole hole in those figures in ’04. With so many companies leaping in to what’s looking like BW II, Andreessen and RockMelt may be positioned just right to offer something new.

New York Times, via Maximum PC

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You’re looking at the future of NASA’s manned space program. For the first time in a quarter-century, there’s a new manned space vehicle poised for launch. The first version of the Ares I rocket is now stacked up in NASA’s vehicle assembly building at Cape Canaveral, in preparation for a launch scheduled for “no earlier than October 31, 2009.” Let’s hope that’ll be a happy Halloween.

The experimental launch is called Ares I-X, and there won’t be any humans on board yet — people don’t get to ride this horse until 2015. On this first test flight, NASA scientists will be simulating the first two minutes of the mission of the 1.8 million-pound vehicle, observing how well it can be controlled, demonstrating staging and separation, determining how well it holds up under aerodynamic, thermal and vehicle loads, and then testing the reentry dynamics of the first stage.

If all goes well with this test launch, NASA will be on its way toward its goals for the Ares program: “to return to the moon for ambitious exploration of the lunar surface and then to travel to Mars and destinations beyond.” We especially like that “destinations beyond” part.

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Those cool cats at DARPA have done it again, with a 10-gram robot that flaps its wings like a bird. The first wireless robot this small that can carry its own power supply, this nano flying machine will be able to spy on bad guys someday.

There’s still a lot of work to do. It flies in wind a whole lot better than a mosquito, but still can only withstand breezes of around 5 mph. And, it has an endurance problem, and can only stay in the air for 20 seconds before its batteries must be recharged.

What’s next? We’re thinking DARPA will figure out how to put tiny missiles on this little sucker, making it extra lethal.

Via Boing Boing

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Attending this year’s KansasFest was Vince Briel, a man so in love with the Apple I that he sells licensed kits so that you could build your own, just like Steve Wozniak did. Called the Replica 1, each one goes for a modest $149 (quite a bit less than the $666.66 it originally launched for in 1976), though you’ll need at least a little bit of soldering skills and know-how of the inner workings of computers to put together its 88 components.

Luckily for you and me, Computer World has an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to putting together Vince Briel’s Replica 1. Other than having a little piece of history on your desk, the mileage you get from it may depend on your knowledge of programming (or ability to read Internet guides).

Replica 1, via Computer World

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When we saw that Verbatim TUFF-’N'-TINY USB drive making the rounds in the blogosphere the other day, we figured it was a small drive. But the 8GB drive, about the size of your fingernail, arrived at our doorstep today, and it’s so small, we can’t believe it. When Verbatim named it TINY, they weren’t kidding around. It’s useful, too, inserting easily into any USB slot, and quickly attaching to your keyring without adding hardly any bulk at all.

After we marveled at its tininess (and especially its paper-thinness), we didn’t have the heart to test its TUFFness by slamming it with a hammer because it’s so cute. But we did notice it’s exceptionally rigid, and it would take a hell of an impact to do any damage to it. Besides being apparently tough, it’s plenty fast, too, writing a gigabyte of files in less than two minutes.

Take a look at the gallery below and see if we were able to convey to you just how puny this USB drive is. It’s almost too small, easy to lose in your pocket. Just the novelty of cramming 8GB (it actually shows up as 7.44GB) into such a minuscule form factor is well worth the $50 price of admission. For those of us who remember 8GB worth of storage taking up the space of a small refrigerator, this is hot stuff.

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Put a huge 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen and quick-like-a-bunny Snapdragon 1 GHz processor on a cellphone, and you have a handset we would certainly call “high end.” The 11mm-thin HTC Leo, available in the next month or two, brings the serious features, including an autofocusing 5-megapixel camera with a built-in 2-LED flash, GPS, Bluetooth 2.1 and a 3.5mm headset jack.

You’re familiar with HTC, aren’t you? It’s the same Taiwan company that makes the HTC Dream, Also known to most as the Android-packing T-Mobile G1.

The downside? It’s going to be running the so-so Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, but maybe future refinements to that OS will make it worthwhile to carry such impressive and slim hardware. We especially like Leo’s WVGA resolution, great for watching movies, and also able to browse the Internet with aplomb, fitting an 800-pixel-wide window in full page width.

Take a look at another pic of this HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access, same as the iPhone 3GS) phone’s back end, prettier than the front:

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The annual iPod rollout is rumored to be on its way next month, and the breadth of the changes to Apple’s multimedia players is becoming apparent. The biggest new revelation is that the iPod touch and nano are about to get themselves on-board cameras, revealed by case manufacturers who apparently didn’t get the memo that this stuff is secret.

Nice. In one swoop, iPods suddenly gain a significant additional reason to carry them around all the time. The thing about having a camera or camcorder on a music player that you have with you all the time is that, well, it will turn out to be the most useful camera you own. Why’s that? Because a camera sitting at home in a drawer doesn’t take any pictures.

Jump for the iPod touch case, and more proof from another source, Cult of Mac:

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Japanese company Nendo has designed this slightly awesome wireless home speaker that also works via Bluetooth. Available in black or white, the Music Cage comes in, sadly, just one size, has sweetly retro chrome switches (its best feature, IMHO) and can be either stuck on a table or suspended from the ceiling.

Just don’t use it if you’ve got one of these in the house, as you might find your feathered friend tries to use it as his home — and something tells me that the inlay on the cage will be mighty hard to clean.

Nendo Via Dezeen

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Designed by Jinsu Park, the Color Picker is a brilliant concept for anyone with an artistic bent. Using a scanner, it detects the exact shade of anything you point it at before mixing the inks from a RGB cartridge to reproduce the color.

While electronic versions of the idea have been around for some time now — let’s not forget the Inkdropper tool on Photoshop — this is the first non-virtual version that I can think of.

Via designboom

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Rather like hangovers, occasionally a product comes along and whacks you between the eyes with such force that it leaves you reeling and useless for days to come*. Such are the oxymoronic qualities of the Rotgutonix that I’m torn between thinking, “preposterously clever idea” and, “only a tool would carry one of those around with him.” As such, my ability to analyse spanky bits of technology today may be severely impaired.

The Rotgutonix looks and works rather like a pregnancy test. Remove the top, stick the “nib” bit in your drink** and lo and bloody behold, you can discover whether the drink that Pedro the beverage technician down your local liquor emporium has just served you is the real deal or not. It currently only works with six brands of booze — all of them big favourites in designer Emilio Alarcon’s native Spain*** — but there are plans to increase the tester’s range.

*Let us praise the Lord as I’m off on my holidays tomorrow.
**This is not a euphemism.
***As a former resident of Madrid, where gut rot, or garrafon, was a way of life in some of the more dubious bars I used to frequent, I can see that Alarcon’s product has got a point.

Curiosite Via Engadget

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Japanese cell phone giant KDDI has just released a new handset from Sharp for business users that immediately brings to mind visions of the ruggedized Panasonic Toughbook laptop series. The E06SH is built like a tiny tank and boasts a number of features including a waterproof body and fingerprint authentication.

In addition to its sturdy hull, the unit also features a barcode scanner, remote locking and unlocking of the phone, WiFi, GPS navigation, and a 2 megapixel camera. Pricing has not been disclosed, but if you lean more towards “sci-fi tricorder” design rather than the new slim smartphones, this phone is as sexy as it gets.

Via MyCom Journal

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Standing tall at its fully assembled height of 327 feet, the Ares I-X is one of the largest rockets ever process in the Vehicle Assembly Building’s High…

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Some time ago I took a look at the state of Bluetooth technology and threw out some theories on why it hasn’t been accepted by music listeners. While Bluetooth earpieces for phones have become as common as Crocs, when it comes to headphones, most people opt for a model that sports a dangling cable.

The unpopularity of Bluetooth headphones vexes many in the industry as well. In fact, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group offered to send me a few pairs of recent Bluetooth headphones to check out the current status of Bluetooth audio tech. I must say, I was impressed by advances in engineering and design in the three models I used: a pair of Sony ear-covering cans (DR-BT50), a remarkably compact pair of Sony Ericsson earbuds (HBH-IS800), and some Samsung noise-cancelling headphones (SBH600).

So am I ready to throw away my corded headphones, swearing allegiance to wireless audio forever? Not quite. Hit the jump for what’s still holding Bluetooth audio tech back, and what headphones need to do before they’re ready for the big time.

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I don’t know too much about what lightwriters use to leave cool-looking streaks in the dark (lights, I imagine), but the “halo” by designer Aissa Logerot has got to be the classiest way to do it. It looks like a spray can, acts like a spray can, and feels like a spray can — but it isn’t one.

From the designer:

halo is a handy light specially dedicated to light-writting. Graffiti artists can conserve their own gesture they have with a spray can. It is possible to change the color and the brightness of the led to change the graffiti’s styles. If the light doesn’t have enough battery, the user must shake it to have energy again.

Check out more of the LED can down below.

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