This Is the Closest View of Mars Yet

The Mars Curiosity Rover has touched a Martian rock for the first time. And, in the process, it gave us the closest, most detailed view of the Red Planet (a tiny part of it) yet, using her Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera at ten, two and one inches from the rock.

The target was the pyramid-shaped rock of unknown origin, named Jake Matijevic in honor of the Mars Rover surface operations systems chief engineer who recently passed away.

The origin and composition will be known soon: the rover examined Jake Matijevic with its Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS), one of the instruments at the end of its multi-use robotic arm. Then it used its ChemCam (Chemistry and Camera instrument) to shoot laser pulses to determine the rock's chemical composition.

According to NASA, the dark, relatively smooth rock "was selected as a desirable target because it allowed the science team to compare results of the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument and the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument, both of which provide information about the chemical elements in a target." More here.

Minuscule Voice Recorder Guarantees No One Will Know You’re a Snitch

When you're involved in a sting operation, or just trying to collect some incriminating evidence, the last thing you want is the perps realizing you've been recording everything. And since the days of sneakily recording a conversation with a phone in your pocket are long gone, this ridiculously tiny voice recorder could be the next best thing.

The Edic-mini Tiny B22 is just over an inch in size and weighs roughly the same as a large coin. But its built-in ultra sensitive microphone can record sounds up to 30 feet away, and the company claims that with a fresh cell-sized battery it can record for up to 24 hours, non-stop. And if you're planning a particularly long stakeout, a voice-activated mode is promised to almost triple that to 70 hours. It's just too bad it's crippled with a USB 1.1 port which makes offloading files incredibly slow, and a $440 price tag that will probably have most people just risking their lives with a cheap smartphone app. More here.

Apple Can’t Trademark Its Music Icon Because Of MySpace

In a hilarious court ruling, Apple got denied a trademark on its orange music icon (the one that's on iOS devices) because trademark judges said consumers might confuse the logo with one owned by MySpace. Hah!

Yes, My_____ or ____space or whatever it's going to be these days, is screwing with Apple's plans. Take a look at the two logos to see if there are similarities beyond being orange

Backstory on the MySpace logo: It was issued to a music service called iLike in 2008 and was acquired by MySpace in 2009 before being shuttered earlier this year. Apple tried to argue that no one has ever confused the two logos (which is probably true) but the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board disagreed saying:

In view of the facts that the marks are similar, the goods and services are related and are encountered by the same classes of consumers, we find that applicant's double musical note and design for "computer software [..]" is likely to cause confusion with the registered mark comprising a double musical note and design [..] for listening to MP3's and for sharing MP3's and music playlists with others.

iPhone 5 vs .50 Cal

Do You Use Your Phone At Concerts?

In some ways, it's a cardinal sin. In other ways, it's understandable. There's a whole world of difference between tweeting between sets to try and inflame your friends' jealousy, and holding your gargantuan phablet above your head for three or four songs at a time, blocking the view of those behind you, and capturing video that is so low quality that no one will want to watch it. Ever. You might wish you'd never even bothered to shoot it in the first place.

What's OK according to your personal smartphone concert etiquette? One quick shot as the headliner comes out on stage? No pictures, but texts, tweets, and Facebooking between sets? Unconditional and violent death to all phone-wielders?

How To Find Out If the Web Services You Use Every Day Are Making Money

A lot of business is done on the Internet, but the model for making money there isn't as straightforward as "sell a thing, make a profit." So how do the web services you use every day make money? The aptly named "How Do They Make Money" has some answers.

Often, the answer is subscribers, advertising, and freemium, but other factors are in the mix too. Even with all those options, a lot of these services aren't profitable. Which ones aren't might surprise you. How Do They Make Money has a breakdown of revenue type and profitability of nearly 50 different prominent Internet companies, and lets you arrange them by the kind of income they have, or the service they provide.

It's a neat little distraction, but it's worth noting that the site doesn't cite its sources, so if you're in this for anything more than mild amusement, you're going to have to go vet the facts yourself see here  How Do They Make Money

Twitter Is Finally Going To Let You Download All Your Old Tweets

Maybe you tweet mostly about lunch, or other seemingly inane things, but your Twitter stream forms something of a journal for most users. It is a micro-blog, after all. Now, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo is saying you'll be able to download all your past tweets by the end of the year.

For the moment you have to use third-party services if you want to keep tweets on hand for posterity, and if you reached the 3,200-tweet API limit before you started, some of those early ones are effectively lost. From the sounds of it, Twitter's official backup tool could bail those folks out.

That's not the only thing coming either. In addition to tweet-downloading, Twitter is also looking into ways to allow third parties to republish large collections of tweets that might be relevant to breaking news or a live event, and include things like live polls, or other live-updating information. Despite API changes that screwed many third-party clients, it looks like Twitter is still planning on adding some interesting functionality to their surface. Whether they can fill the hole they've created, though, is yet to be seen. More here.

iPhone 5 jailbroken, but not yet ready for public consumption

You knew that the hackers of the world would be anxious to jailbreak their fresh new iPhone 5's, and the feat's been accomplished just a day after older hardware running iOS 6 was similarly set free. Grant Paul posted the picture you see above on Twitter, confirming his new, elongated iPhone is, indeed, running Cydia. Unfortunately, the jailbreak isn't available to the rest of us just yet, but it shouldn't be long before the masses gain access, too. Viva la liberté! More here.

You Can Now Slap a Quarter Terabyte of Storage In Your Camera

It took a few months longer than its 256 GB compact flash card, but Lexar has finally announced a matching 256 GB SDXC card that makes it oh-so-easy to lose or misplace a quarter terabyte of photographs. To put that in perspective, if you were shooting full resolution, full quality JPGs with the Sony RX100, you'd be able to snap just under 80,000 shots before needing to swap out your card.

The Professional 400x 256GB SDXC UHS-I is a Class 10 card that boasts a guaranteed sustained transfer speed—at least when reading data—of 60 MB per second. Just make sure you're using it with a card reader that can keep up. And, not surprisingly, when it's available next month Lexar expects you to cough up $900 for the privilege of rarely having to delete photos off your camera. More here.

Matias Quiet Pro Claims to be the 'Wworld's Quietest Mechanical Keyboard'

Canada's Matias Corporation has made something of a name for itself with its tactile keyboards, but those have primarily appealed to those who also enjoy (or at least accept) the sound of a mechanical keyboard in addition to its feel. The company's hoping to bring a few more into the tactile fold with its new Quiet Pro, though, which it claims is the "world's quietest mechanical keyboard." That, Matias says, comes without any sacrifices to tactile feedback, and is said to be the result of more than two years of work. As usual, the keyboard comes in both PC and Mac specific models (all-black and silver & black, respectively), each of which boasts three USB 2.0 ports and laser-etched keys with beveled keytops as opposed to the increasingly common flat variety.

Not surprisingly, you can also expect to pay a bit of a premium over your average keyboard -- each model will set you back $150, with US models available today (UK, German and Nordic versions are promised for January). More here.

Suitcase Laptop Support Gives You a Standing Desk Wherever You Travel

The next time you've got time to kill at the airport—whether at the hands of inclement weather or a never ending security line—you can still stay productive with this laptop stand that turns your suitcase into a miniature office.

When moored to your suitcase's extended handle it creates a three-legged desk that can support a laptop up to 13 pounds in weight. So as long as you've upgraded your hardware in the last ten years, you should be ok. And when no longer needed the $40 aluminum stand folds away a like a tripod—or a monopod at least—so it won't fill up a plane's overhead compartment during your flight. More here.

Apple’s Shake-To-Charge Patent Trades Calories for Battery Life

Its larger form factor and bigger battery mean the iPhone 5 should last longer on a single charge. But to overcome the fact that battery technology still basically sucks, Apple has applied for a 'shake to charge' patent that uses electromagnetic induction to convert everyday motions into extra battery life.

In Apple's system a small lubricated magnet would move across a series of printed coils inside an iPhone or iPod, inducing a small current which could be used to generate power and charge the battery. What sets Apple's design apart from the various radios and flashlights that already use this approach is the flat coils which can be easily printed using modern circuit production techniques. Just don't expect this to be the flagship feature on the iPhone 5S. Smartphones use far more power than this induction system could ever replenish, even with continuous vigorous shaking. But as their components get more energy efficient, somewhere way down the line this could be a plausible alternative to plugging in your phone every night. More here.

Samsung Building 128GB Flash Memory Chips For Next Year’s Superphones

There might just be a 128GB memory option when it comes to upgrading to the Galaxy S4 next year or the S5 the year after, thanks to Samsung now mass producing 128GB memory chips for use in mobile devices.

Samsung's newest 128GB eMMC NAND chips read data at 140MB/s and can write at up to 50MB/s, plus they're designed to fit the same slimline form factors as its current 16, 32 and 64GB memory chips. No mention's been made of any devices that'll use them yet, so keep your eyes open for a whole new level of onboard storage complete with unprecedented RRPs. More here.

When Did Handheld Vacuums Get So Beautiful?

If you haven't shopped for a handheld vacuum since the Dustbuster owned the market, you're apparently in for a real treat. Vorwerk's new Kobold VC100 looks like a piece of contemporary art you'll want to frame and hang on your wall, instead of the old lowly workhorses you kept hidden behind a dresser.

It sucks (in the best way possible) for up to 20 minutes on a single charge, but with two suction settings you can probably expect even less cleaning time if you use it full throttle. You will have to fork over almost $170 for this functional masterpiece, but think how much better your life will be with this on display in your living room, and your shirt free of Doritos crumbs. More here.

Toshiba Intros Camileo BW20 Waterproof Camcorder

Toshiba might have missed the summer vacationers by just a bit, but with the beautiful fall season just around the corner in the US, it's that period to introduce a new Camileo to the group. This time out it's the the follow-up to the company's rather colorful BW10 from last year. Enter the adequately named BW20.

Aside from nabbing a numerical bump on its moniker, the BW20 brings the same 1080p video recording found on its predecessor, plus improved waterproof capabilities that now allow the camcorder to handle up to 16 feet below water. Perhaps, the most interesting fact here is the BW20's new price tag, which is now $130 -- 20 bucks less than the BW10. More here.

iOS 6 now Available to Download for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

Cupertino's newest hardware may have us purring, but Apple hasn't left those of us with existing hardware out in the cold. iOS 6 should be appearing as an available update right now, or at least very shortly -- depending on how taxed those servers get. It'll be compatible with every iPhone since the 3GS, iPod touch 4G / 5G and this-and-last-year's vintage of the iPad. Given the inexorable march of technology, some of the newer features won't work on the older devices, but you can use ourcompatability checker to determine what new things you'll be able to do in the next few hours. More here.

Twitter Revamps its iPad App for Expanded Content, Adds Header Photos and ImageStream

Twitter's iPad app is sometimes the neglected stepchild of its mobile app family: newer features usually come to the Android and iPhone versions first and are handed down to the iPad later, if they come at all. The company is making amends for that in style with a major update to the iPad version as of today. Whether you like them or not, expanded tweets are now baked in and will optionally show some photos, videos and web links within the timeline rather than disrupting the entire experience.

You'll soon notice a much more visual spin on people's profiles, regardless of whether or not Apple's slate factors into the daily routine. Both the Twitter site as well as the official Android and iOS apps now show a header photo behind the bio to provide a little more color than avatars and background pictures can manage. If you're on one of the mobile platforms, you'll also see a photo stream in the profile that will help relive memories without hunting down individual tweets. More here.

iPhone 5 Promo Parody

Laser Bike Light Creates Your Own Tron-Like Virtual Lane

The best way to stay safe while biking is to stay visible to those you share the road with. And while concepts for laser-based systems that create a highly visible virtual lane around your bike have existed for years and years, they're finally real (and cheap!) now.

A Korean company called Slancio makes this rear safety light that includes a requisite set of flashing red LEDs, but also a pair of lasers that produce a thin set of lines on the road on either side of your bike. Not only do they add to your visibility at night, they also create a safe space around your bicycle that most drivers and other riders will subconsciously stay clear of. More here.

Amazon Kindle Fire HD Torn Down, Proves an Easy Fix

Interested in what makes your new Kindle Fire HD 7-inch tick? The crew at iFixit certainly is. As is the repair shop's custom, it just tore down Amazon's new reader tablet to gauge its repairability as well as look for any surprises. In the case of the revamped Kindle Fire, the fixable design is the main surprise -- despite being skinnier than its ancestor, the tablet is easy to open and its components (usually) easy to replace. 

The choice of hardware makers, include an LG Display LCD, the expected 1.2GHz TI OMAP 4460 processor and Samsung flash memory.  More here.