shuttle

We've reviewed a steady stream of low-cost desktops over the past few weeks, and with the posting of our eMachines T3646 review this morning, we finally achieved critical mass. Click on through to our roundup of five budget desktops, which includes systems from Dell, eMachines, HP, and Shuttle. You won't find Wi-Fi or graphics cards on these systems, but you might be surprised at what kind of system you can get for the same price as a game console.

We finally finished our review of Shuttle's KPC K-4500, the Foresight Linux-based small form factor desktop that Shuttle announced a few weeks back. This review covers the lowest end complete system. Shuttle also offers a bare-bones K45 model (with no operating system) as well as a few others with higher-end hardware and Vista Basic.

As for this model, tread lightly if that $229 price tag makes you think it'll be good for the kids or the non-tech inclined. Not that the Foresight Linux operating system is hard to use, it just might require your help to maintain (try … Read more

Small PC maker Shuttle drew an outsize share of attention at the Consumer Electronics Shows earlier this year when it announced a $199 Linux-based desktop PC.

Shuttle said Monday that it still plans to offer the KPC for $199, in addition to a $299 upgraded version. A $99 bare-bones version will also be available. The company is taking preorders on its Web site, and says the KPC should begin shipping in mid-April.

The $199 KPC will get you an Intel Celeron 430 processor, 512MB of memory, and an 80GB hard drive. That version will be available at retail--the only outlet … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Asus' Eee PC and Everex's CloudBook aren't the only ones pushing down the price of affordable, open-source PCs.

Shuttle introduced its $199 KPC Linux PC here on Tuesday. The company didn't have it on display on the actual floor of the convention halls here at the Consumer Electronics Show (too late did I find out you had to zip over to a private suite at the Bellagio for a look-see), but booth representatives were happy to talk details. "It's meant for simple tasks," said sales rep James Wonpu.

It'll have an … Read more

For those of you who made plans to visit NASA's Kennedy Space Center today to see the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis, you'd better hope you can keep your hotel room another day.

That's because the space agency announced this morning that it has decided to delay Atlantis' launch until at least Saturday because "of a problem with a fuel cutoff sensor system inside the shuttle's external fuel tank," according to a NASA press release.

The shuttle program managers expect to have a meeting Friday afternoon at Kennedy Space Center to decide what … Read more

If you enjoyed the first round of Photosynth'd pictures of NASA shuttle Endeavor, you'll probably enjoy these. Taken in space by the crew of the International Space Station, the newly uploaded shots show off the underside of the space shuttle, which the Microsoft Labs team is touting as a "first-hand look at what you might see on a space-walk." Of course, when it comes to the underside of space shuttles, astronauts are usually inspecting these things for damage while hurtling hundreds of miles an hour above the Earth. You can do this from the comfort of … Read more

NASA is allowing the public to view a real-time video and audio feed of the upcoming launch of the Endeavour mission.

According to the agency's latest update, the crew is on board, the hatch is closed, and the agency is more or less waiting to begin the countdown to launch.

You can find the feed by going here and following the link for NASA TV. The shuttle is scheduled to launch at 6:36 p.m. Eastern time.

In a move to replace manual inspection, NASA has built wireless scanners to automatically detect cracks or imperfections in the thousands of heat tiles that protect the space shuttle.

The space agency said on Tuesday that it will use the wireless scanners for its first mission Wednesday, when Endeavour launches from the Kennedy Space Center.

Thermal heat shields are critical to space flight. The space shuttle Columbia, for example, exploded during re-entry into the atmosphere in February 2003, when a hole in its outer surface caused the craft to break apart under extreme temperatures.

In the past, NASA said its … Read more

Enthusiasts of Microsoft 's Live Labs project Photosynth get a new environment to explore this morning. In addition to art galleries, town squares, and various buildings in Britain, users can now explore shuttle Endeavour before its launch on Wednesday. For those unfamiliar with Photosynth, it's a new technology that groups together a collection of photos taken in the same location into a 3D environment. Users can zoom in and out of various parts to take advantage of higher resolution shots that show more detail, while getting an idea of where they are spatially. In the case of the space … Read more