I’ve been using Windows Vista since Friday, and I’ve been very pleased with it. It looks beautiful, it’s fast and it’s been very stable (knock, knock), but the new User Account Control security measures are ridiculous. What UAC does is ask you if it is okay to do something, basically every time you want to open a window or perform an action. This means that you get bombarded with pop-up windows that ask you if you want to Cancel or Allow the action, even for things that you just clicked on yourself. What’s especially annoying is that the pop-up window disables your entire desktop and has a black background, so your screen is constantly flashing to black. I switched the feature off after one day of frustration, but now Windows keeps telling me that my system is not secure, which I suppose it isn’t anymore. More »

Nine days … seven astronauts … ONE space station. For ten days millions across the globe have followed the adventures of Stephanie, Mike, Steve, Piers, Mark, Thomas and Lisa … as NASA TV brought us 24/7 live images from cameras inside and outside the International Space Station. More »

Now that Space Shuttle Discovery has safely entered orbit it is a lot of fun to watch NASA TV online and watch live feeds of the many cameras on and inside the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle. There are also nice animations, voice-over explaining what is happening and you can listen in on the conversations between Mission Control Houston, Discovery and the ISS. In the coming 10 days there will be a lot of live broadcasts from space; check out the STS-121 Television Schedule for all the times and details. The streaming video is of very good quality. More »

Back in November, I asked here if Google could please add map details outside the US and UK on Google Maps, and from this week it has finally happened: most of Europe’s street maps are now available. In addition, Google Maps received a huge satellite update. More »

The purpose of the mysterious 3,600-year-old Bronze Age sky disc of Nebra, which caused a world-wide sensation when it was brought to the attention of the German public in 2002, is no longer a matter of speculation. German scientists have discovered that the disc was used as an advanced astronomical clock. More »

CNN’s Business 2.0 has a great story about the future of private space ventures and the incredible multi-billion dollar opportunities that lie ahead. More »

Today the United States National Archives and Google have launched a pilot program to make the National Archives available for free online through Google Video. The non-exclusive agreement will enable researchers and the general public to access a diverse collection of historic movies, documentaries and other films. More »

Three years after the start of the U.S.-oriented news.google.com, Google launched a Dutch version of their news portal on 26 January. Surprisingly, this has upset Dutch newspapers, who believe that Google should have asked them for permission to index their articles. More »

Last week science fiction writer Ray Bradbury challenged the city of Los Angeles to build monorails to relieve the congested freeways; sometime in the next five years, he wrote, all traffic across L.A. will freeze. More »

Tourists in Leiden will soon be able to use their cellphones as a city guide. Using the network of Wireless Leiden, visitors will be able to hear tourist tips while out on the town, in their own language. Information on restaurants, shops and cafes will also be available. More »