What do you get when you have a bunch of geeks together? Usually a few pranks! That was the biggest news topic that I have heard regarding the CES 2008 show. Gizmodo, a gadget-based blog brought with them this year a TV-B-Gone and tested it out on every television they could find. Everything from displays to product releases had problems with their televisions shutting off.

I think the idea behind TV-B-Gone is extremely funny, but this was not the right time to use it. Companies rely on events like CES to get the early adopters to accept their projects and help them become successful. If you cannot properly show your product, you might lose business...lots of it! I would not be surprised if a law suit does not come out of this...

Today's news: Gizmodo Pulls a Mean Prank at CES 2008

When you think of 80-hour work weeks, many clients, and a lot of stress, you probably think of Doctors. At this time of year, I think of Accountants and tax preparers! Thats, right Tax Season is among us, and starting today, you can start filing your taxes via e-file.

Individual tax returns are not due until April 15, 2008, but why not get them done ahead of time? There are a couple really great advantages to getting them sent in early. First, you will not have to stand in the dreaded post office lines the night of the deadline. Second, early filers usually get their refunds back earlier than others. I think those are reasons enough to get your taxes in early!

Today's news: Today's start of e-filing kicks off 2008 income tax season

If you are looking for a great last minute gift for your audiophile family member or friend, it might be great to buy them an iTunes gift card! I have seen these sold in my stores around town, so it should not be too difficult to find one.

Speaking of iTunes...Apple announced the top selling Albums and Singles for the year. The top selling album was Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long, while the top selling single was Fergie - Big Girls Don't Cry. The list did not represent the style of music I normally like or own. I own 2 of the top 10 albums, and only have 2 songs from the top singles list...does this mean I am getting old?

Apple also released a list of the editor's choice for Albums and Singles. I still did not own a lot from this selection, but at least this list was better spread out between genres.

If you are interested in seeing more "Best of 2007" charts, you can find links on the main page of the iTunes Store (in iTunes). Have a great holiday!!!

Today's news: Apple - Best of 2007

Getting close to the end of the year, you start to hear about the "best of" for the year in many categories. This year is the first time I have heard of the "Word of the Year", but the dictionary company, Marriam-Webster, has decided to have people vote on what they thought the word of the year was! People that visited the dictionary's website were able to vote on a list of the 20 most popular words of the year.

The word that won -- Woot! I have used this word for awhile now. I usually use it for its correct definition -- hurray/joy, but I also use it to talk about the website Woot.com. It is a great word, and I am happy more people are starting to use it in their daily language!

Today's news: Word of the Year - 2007

InterPlanetary Ventures has formed an international team to compete in the Google Lunar X Prize race to the moon, a competition to be the first private group to send a robotic rover to the moon. The team includes organizations and individuals from many different countries, promoting international cooperation in space by working together in the development of a spherical robotic rover and an automated moonbase to complete the contest requirements.

Point Richmond, California November 26, 2007 -- InterPlanetary Ventures has formed an international team to compete in the Google Lunar X Prize race to the moon, which includes $30,000,000 in prizes for competition winners. The InterPlanetary Ventures team includes working groups in Sweden, India, Sri Lanka and the United States, and individuals in several other countries, promoting international cooperation in space exploration and development.

The Google Lunar X Prize is bringing together teams from the private sector to finally do what no one has done before, move private enterprise into space beyond earth orbit. Speaking on the future of space exploration, Nicolas Peter, a research fellow at the European Space Policy Institute commented “It will involve industry, universities and other non-governmental organizations. This adventure will be driven primarily by a quest for knowledge, involving not only the hard sciences but arts and humanities as well.”

That describes the InterPlanetary Ventures team and their goals for this project. The team is lead by Kevin Myrick, founder and CEO of InterPlanetary Ventures. Myrick is currently a student in the Space Studies Masters program at the University of North Dakota. He directs the teams Consultants group, aerospace professionals working on the spacecraft and lunar lander systems. Myrick is also organizing related arts programs, including exterior spacecraft design contests and a special visual display project to be executed from the moon.

The group from Sri Lanka is lead by Rameesha De Silva, Mechanical Engineer and Researcher at the University of Moratuwa. His group is working on robotic hardware systems. The Swedish group is lead by Alessandro Saffiotti, professor of Computer Science at the University of Örebro, and Director of the AASS Mobile Robotics Lab. His group is working on robotic software systems.

The group from India is lead by Sayandeep Khan, Director of Student Activities for InterPlanetary Ventures. His group, which includes members from Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS), the Space Generation Congress (SGC) and the Science Popularization Association of Communicators and Educators youth program (S.P.A.C.E. India) is developing research and development applications for the rovers and automated moon base.

The robotic players on the team include a Spherical Robotic Rover with High Definition Video cameras to capture video of its travels on the moon. The lunar lander will also play a key role on the team, expanding to become an automated lunar exploration and development base. A second rover, equipped with high definition cameras and prospecting gear will complete the robotic members of the team.

InterPlanetary Ventures is based in Point Richmond, California, USA. Their mission is to get more people supporting space exploration and development, and to do whatever it takes to assist in the development of the technological and financial infrastructure required to support humanities expansion into the solar system.

Article written by: Adam Hugo
Today's news article: InterPlanetary Ventures