nevada

Dream Chaser space plane to begin NASA flight tests

In another sign of ever-increasing commercial spaceflight activity, Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser space plane has arrived at NASA for testing.

Wrapped in plastic, the craft arrived at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., where it will eventually undergo its first autonomous free flight Approach and Landing Test (ALT).

Part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program along with SpaceX and Boeing, the Dream Chaser is designed to launch vertically on top of an Atlas 5 rocket, dock with the International Space Station, and then return to Earth like a glider, landing on a runway. … Read more

Google Glass expected to arrive in 2013

CNET Update is listening to songs for tech reporting:

Before Mobile World Congress bombards us with new smartphone announcements, we take a look at Friday's tech headlines:

- Sources tell CNET that Google Glass will go on sale in 2013

- HTC offers $100 credit for old phones, if you purchase a new HTC One

- To beat the MWC rush, LG announces Optimus F5 and F7 mid-range smartphones

- Nevada becomes the first state to allow online gambling

- Billboard Charts now include YouTube views in song rankings

- Songza finds the music to fit your mood, activity … Read more

Nevada becomes first state to allow online gambling

The state known for its lady luck has become the first in the nation to forge into the online gambling world.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval signed an online gambling bill today that legalizes Internet gaming, according to the Associated Press.

"This is an historic day for the great state of Nevada," Sandoval said, according to the Associated Press. "Today I sign into law the framework that will usher in the next frontier of gaming in Nevada."

For years, the U.S. has maintained strict laws against online gambling and went after any sites providing Internet poker … Read more

Company test pilots on call for first commercial flights to orbit

The first American manned spacecraft to reach orbit in the wake of the shuttle's retirement will be crewed by company test pilots -- not NASA astronauts -- in part to give space agency managers better insight into flight readiness and safety, officials said Wednesday.

Assuming NASA gets the funding that managers say they need -- a big "if" in today's political environment -- Space Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, hopes to launch a manned version of its Dragon cargo ship in the mid 2015 time frame, followed by a crewed flight to the International Space Station later … Read more

Zynga looks to foray into online gambling in Nevada

We've heard of betting with virtual currency in Zynga Poker, but how about playing with some bona fide dollar bills?

Zynga made its first move to create real-money gambling games in the U.S. by filing its initial application with the Nevada Gaming Control Board yesterday, according to the Wall Street Journal. Now, the board has to decide whether Zynga will be allowed to hold a gaming license in the state.

The social-gaming giant has made no secret that it'd like to get into the world of real-money gambling. In fact, in October it announced a deal with … Read more

NASA awards manned-spacecraft contracts

After an intense competition, NASA announced contracts Friday totaling up to $900 million to be divvied up between three companies -- SpaceX, Boeing, and Sierra Nevada -- to continue development of commercial manned spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

While it is far from clear whether Congress will provide enough funding to keep all three companies in the mix, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, a former shuttle commander, said the program was critical to America's future in space.

"Today we are announcing another critical step towards launching our astronauts from U.S. soil on … Read more

How Nevada became America's Nuclear Age ground zero

MERCURY, Nev. -- From the side that faced away from the blast, you might never even have bothered to look at this concrete dome. But walk around the other side, and there's no question something extraordinary happened here.

Welcome to the Nevada National Security Site, formerly known as the Nevada Test Site. As part of Road Trip 2012, I've come to visit this 1,375-square-mile expanse of harsh desert and even harsher mountains that begins about 75 miles north of Las Vegas. Here, from 1951 through 1992, a total of 928 nuclear weapons exploded, many of them sending … Read more

BlackBerry 10 touch-screen phone could debut next year

RIM is looking to a host of new products to help it recover in 2013, according to details reportedly found in a leaked product road map.

The company is set to kick off the year by launching both touch-screen and traditional QWERTY keyboard phones in the first quarter, according to enthusiast site BlackBerryOS.com. The BlackBerry London will be RIM's first touch-screen phone, the site says, while the BlackBerry Nevada will carry on with a physical keyboard.

Both phones will sport the BlackBerry 10 OS, which is finally slated to debut in the first quarter of 2013 following a … Read more

Google's self-driving cars win big in Nevada

Nevada is known as being one of the most lenient states when it comes to gambling, fireworks, and getting married; and now it's extending that easygoingness to driverless cars.

As of today, Nevada is the first state to let Google's self-driving cars on the roads. The state's Department of Motor Vehicles issued the tech giant the first license to see just how these cars act and react on busy streets and highways, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

"We're excited to receive the first testing license for self-driving vehicles in Nevada," a Google spokesperson … Read more

Where should CNET Road Trip go in California?

Summer is just two months off, but over here at Geek Gestalt, with bright sunshine outside (and windows to keep the chilly wind out) it already feels like it's just around the corner.

That's also in large part because I've started the planning for Road Trip 2012, my seventh-annual journey to highlight some of the best destinations around for technology, military, architecture, science, nature, and so on.

For five of the past six years, the project has taken me all around the roads of the United States, giving me the opportunity to visit the Pacific Northwest, the … Read more