Horizon highlights – Rising and falling stars edition
Our regular roundup of sci-tech stories from across the Web includes: Why the father of the Internet wants an Internet for outer space. Is it time for our most-renowned telescope to power down? And a famous name in an industry that makes few people famous. Let’s kick it off:
Prototype: If no one sees it, is it an invention?
"In December, Johnny Chung Lee, then a PhD candidate, posted a five-minute video on YouTube that became an Internet sensation.... Contrast this with what might have followed from other options Mr. Lee considered for communicating his ideas. He might have published a paper that only a few dozen specialists would have read. A talk at a conference would have brought a slightly larger audience. In either case, it would have taken months for his ideas to reach others." [via NYTimes]
Game theory: The grammar of fun
"Despite the rapid growth of the video-game industry – last year, sales were higher than either box-office receipts or DVD sales – designers are largely invisible within the wider culture. But Bleszinski, who is known to his many fans and occasional detractors as CliffyB, tends to stand out among his colleagues." [via The New Yorker]
Crackdown: Turkey tightens controls on Internet speech
"The country's courts and governments have banned 850 websites this year, including YouTube and Blogger." [via CSMonitor International]
Aging imaging: Is it time to say goodbye to Hubble?
"Nearly $1 billion may seem like a lot of money to spend on an ageing satellite, but the 11-tonne Hubble Space Telescope is no ordinary orbiter. The probe has long been the flagship of modern astronomy, returning stunning images of the cosmos and enhancing our understanding of phenomena from star birth to the effects of dark energy." [via New Scientist]
Sky net: A better network for outer space
"Why Vint Cerf wants to put Internet-style networking in space." [via Technology Review]
The big picture: Beautiful 17-gigapixel, 96.5 gigabyte image of Yosemite
"An artist has released a 17-gigapixel image of Yosemite National Park that he says is the largest stitched-together panorama available." [via Wired Science]
