launch

The system console lists much of the output of running programs as they perform various tasks, which includes errors and warnings that are not otherwise shown to you. For instance, if you can't start up Web sharing on your system but don't see any error messages, then you can check in the Console utility to see if any console messages are generated there when you try to enable Web sharing.

Even if you do not know what the error messages mean, you can copy them and ask people about them to get more insight into how to troubleshoot … Read more

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--A towering Atlas 5 rocket flashed to life and vaulted into space Saturday, putting on a spectacular weekend sky show as it boosted NASA's $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory rover on an eight-and-a-half-month, 352-million-mile voyage to the Red Planet.

Equipped with a nuclear power pack, a robot arm, and a suite of sophisticated instruments, the mobile laboratory, dubbed Curiosity in a student naming contest, is expected to spend at least two years looking for organic compounds and signs of past or present habitability in the layered terrain at the heart of a 100-mile-wide crater.… Read more

Samsung's highly anticipated Galaxy Nexus smartphone will make its U.S. debut on Verizon before the end of the year, a company spokeswoman told CNET in an e-mailed statement.

"The Galaxy Nexus will be available later this year," the spokeswoman wrote. "Samsung/Google/Verizon Wireless are on track to launch the handset but we don't yet have a firm date."

The Android-based Galaxy Nexus has so far earned high marks from reviewers. In his review of the handset, CNET editor Kent German said that the "Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a big step forward … Read more

When you open a document or click a link in OS X, the system launches a program that can read it. While OS X provides options to change the programs associated with documents, there is no option to clear all application associations for a file type.

The resource that OS X uses to associate file types (e.g., TXT and PDF) or protocols (e.g., HTTP or FTP) with applications that can handle them is the launch services database. When an application is launched for the first time, the system scans its file-handling abilities and stores them in this database … Read more

Peugeot is capitalizing on the familiar "renew, reuse, recycle" campaign by adding "regenerate." The French car maker will debut the all-new 208 in Europe in the spring of 2012, replacing the 206 and 207 models.

The automaker also introduced a new range of three-cylinder engines promising fuel economy of 83.1 mpg (2.83 l/100km) using the diesel engines. The 1.0- and 1.2-liter VTi gas engines, also available, offer an estimated 65.7 mpg (3.58 l/100km).

The 208 has been completely redesigned. The controls are positioned around a small steering wheel, … Read more

I've been waiting for the moment when famed Renaissance painter Raphael and an Apple product finally meet in a triumphant clash of art and design.

Sound the trumpets and cue the "Hallelujah" chorus! That day has arrived in the form of a 2011 MacBook Air slathered with 20,000 Swarovski crystals arranged as Raphael's two cherubs against a silvery background of glittering angel tears.… Read more

With rumors flying that Barnes & Noble will soon be unveiling its next-generation Nook Color, we've been waiting to get word on just when the new device will hit. Well, according to The Digital Reader Blog, that day will be November 7--or so its sources say.

We'll soon see what Barnes & Noble has up its sleeve and whether the new Nook Color will be called the Nook Color 2 or something else altogether. The new tablet will presumably have an upgraded processor and perhaps an upgraded screen and some additional design refinements. … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Putting to rest any doubts about whether the iPhone 4S would have as much consumer appeal as the previous models, crowds gathered in cities far and wide to get the device on its launch day.

First-day buyers today lined up at Apple retail locations and its carrier partner stores to get a first crack the latest iPhone. Some camped out overnight in San Francisco, while others in New York had set up shop even before the phone was announced.

Some even traveled around the world to get one, including Martin Gizemijter, who flew 11 hours from the Netherlands to … Read more

Bridget Carey just got back from the launch of the iPhone 4S at the Apple store here in Manhattan, so we pull her into the studio to tell us about all the kooks lined up for first dibs.

Despite all the problems users are experiencing with iOS 5 updates, everyone in line at the store left with a 4S, though Bridget tells us not many users were anxious to test out Sprint or Verizon's network. Where's Wilson today? Guess.… Read more