NASA Mars Rover Opportunity Ran a Marathon in 11 Years
Marathons are grueling events, pushing almost any human to their breaking point. But when you're completing the same distance on the surface of Mars, well that's something unique; even if you're a robot. As mentioned by The Verge, NASA's Opportunity rover has completed a 26.219 journey on the Red Planet in just over 11 months--a first of its kind.
While much of the attention on Mars exploration is now focused on Curiosity, it's easy to forget NASA placed two other rovers--Spirit and Opportunity--on the planet back in 2004. While Spirit has now gone dormant, the Opportunity rover is still soldiering on, outliving its life expectancy by more than 10 years. Still, something could go wrong at any moment.
App Store Update: March 25
Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.
Note: The prices and deals compiled below are accurate at the time we published this story, but all are subject to change.
Beast Towers – ($0.99 Launch Sale, Normally to be $1.99)
The App Store's newest tower defender casts you as the keeper of a castle and your invading foes are wave of human would-be heroes. Summon beasts to put an end to their advance into your halls!
Microsoft Won’t Interfere With Minecon
Minecon 2015 is coming up in July and Microsoft, which acquired Minecraft and its studio Mojang late last year, is vowing to keep its distance.
There's been much speculation about what Microsoft's acquisition of Minecraft for $2.5 billion last November could mean for the game's future, including the annual Minecraft convention, Minecon.
Speaking to GamesBeat, a Microsoft spokesperson assured that Minecon 2015 would be run by Mojang the same way it has in the past, stating, "We’re playing a supporting role; we want to listen, learn, and be inspired by the community that has made Minecraft great."
New Juggernaut Revealed
Warning: Beware of spoilers for Amazing X-Men #18!
In Amazing X-Men by Chris Yost and Jorge Fornes, "The Once and Future Juggernaut" storyline has been teasing a new Juggernaut, and now in the last of its four chapters in issue #18, we have our new unstoppable champion of Cyttorak.
Before we get to the identity of the latest Juggernaut, here's a bit of history.
Here’s When You Can Download the Latest Vita Update
A software update is coming tomorrow for PlayStation Vita owners which should bring several enhancements to the handheld.
According to a post on PlayStation Blog, update 3.50 for PS Vita adds support for streaming in 60 frames-per-second for enhanced Remote Play.
Additionally, the update adds enlarged text and increased contrast options to make the device more accessible to a wider range of consumers.
PlayStation 4's software system update 2.50 rolls out tomorrow as well, and will allow users to finally suspend and resume their games at will. Social features, including enhanced Facebook integration, are being included in the update, too.
Watch Us Stream Dark Souls 2 on PlayStation 4
Bloodborne is all the rage these days but that's not the only Souls experience we're getting this year. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin is headed to PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, and PC on April 7th. Since more Souls is always a good thing, we're going to play it today for your enjoyment…live.
To watch us die in horrible ways, tune in today at 1PM PT (4PM ET / 9PM GMT / Thurs, 8 AM AET).
You can see our streams on:
RadioShack Attempting To Sell Customer Info
RadioShack recently filed for bankruptcy and has begun the process of closing down about 2,000 stores. It'd be a typical affair, if not for the millions of customer names, addresses, and emails the company is selling as part of its "assets."
Bloomberg is reporting that private data belonging to 117 million RadioShack customers – including 65 million names and addresses and 13 million emails – are up for sale as part of the retail chain's bankruptcy auction.
This is all according to Hilco Streambank, an asset monetization service, which also states that any attempt to seal a deal on the private data would probably be blocked by the bankruptcy court.
Kentucky Wildcats Play Super Smash Bros. to Unwind
They're currently busy chasing a National Championship in the NCAA tournament, but that doesn't prevent the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team from taking the occasional video game break to recharge.
Choosing to forgo network connections and HDMI cables, they've brought along a Nintendo 64 and a copy of 1999's Super Smash Bros. to do so.
It's become something of a ritual for the team. In fact, it's so important to them that an entire Wildcats TV episode was dedicated to it. You can view the full episode below.
According to the team members, they mostly play in hotel rooms while on the road. Roster favorites among them tend to be standouts like Pikachu, Fox, Yoshi, Mario, and Luigi.
Idris Elba Up for Star Trek 3 Villain Role
Idris Elba is in early talks to play the villain in Star Trek 3.
Variety reports that the Pacific Rim and The Wire actor would be the latest high-profile thesp to take on the antagonist role in the rebooted Trek series, following in the footsteps of Eric Bana and Benedict Cumberbatch.
It’s not clear what the role might be, nor whether or not it will be a new character like Bana’s Nero or a figure from the classic series as was Cumberbatch’s Khan. According to Variety, early chatter indicates that the Klingons will be the main villains in the film, though that is not confirmed. But would Elba really want to be saddled with all that prosthetic make-up?
Rosetta Stone Coming to Xbox One
Language learning tool Rosetta Stone is coming to Xbox One via a Discover Languages app.
The app will teach English and Spanish "by way of immersive simulation", says the announcement on the Rosetta Stone website. "Virtual travel experiences teach you the vocabulary and grammar necessary for real-world interactions.
Chatting with characters in locations like the Discovery Zone and the Training Zone will help teach you the languages. You will receive "study recommendations, cultural tips, phrase books, and of course, more games!"
If interactive apps on the Xbox is your kind of thing, IGN released its own Xbox One App recently.