Items tagged with Star Trek
Sometimes life is stranger than fiction. Some of the ashes of James Doohan, who played Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the original Star Trek series, are reportedly aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The secret has been kept for twelve years and Doohan’s family has only now deemed it safe to reveal it. The ashes of Doohan were placed on the ISS by video game developer Richard Garriott. Garriott was a private astronaut who participated in a 12-day mission on the ISS in 2008. Doohan’s family sent Garriott part of Doohan’s ashes prior to his visit to the ISS. Garriott printed out three photographs of Doohan and laminated them with the ashes he had received. He managed to...
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Perhaps the most significant role that Sir Patrick Stewart ever played was the one of Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation. That series ran for many years and was among the most popular of all Star Trek franchises. The series spawned multiple movies for the big screen. After many years away from the Star Trek universe, Stewart came back to Start Fleet to rehash his role in Star Trek: Picard that airs on the CBS All Access streaming platform. Unlike Netflix, the CBS streaming platform releases new episodes of shows weekly. This week, Patrick Stewart tweeted that the season finale of the first season of Picard was happening this Thursday. To celebrate the end of the first season,...
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Does the new United States Space Force logo go where no logo has gone before? Many have argued that the US Space Force logo resembles Star Trek’s Starfleet command logo. Their similarities have been the subject of both jokes and outrage on social media. President Donald Trump revealed the new logo of the US Space Force on Twitter. Many Twitter users were quick to accuse the designers of “ripping off” the Star Trek creators. Both logos feature a delta symbol in their centers and ellipsis. Also, look at John's tweet too! https://t.co/kV4awqAORr — Miriam Kramer (@mirikramer) January 24, 2020 It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the Space Force emblem is a Star Trek copycat,...
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Has Starfleet boldly gone where no man has gone before? A dune that is shaped like the Star Trek logo has appeared on the surface of Mars. A picture of the dune was captured by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The image was taken by the MRO’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera. The HiRISE is the largest reflecting telescope that has ever been carried into deep space. According to NASA, it “makes observations at near-infrared wavelengths to obtain information on the mineral groups present.” Scientists are then able to accurately calculate the topography of Mars. The HiRISE has photographed hundreds of swaths and provides scientists with...
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We all know that Lenovo builds PCs, but did you know it also builds starships? Well, it does now. Lenovo is boldly going where it has never gone before, that being the Star Trek universe with a custom PC molded after the iconic USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). It's apparently a powerful PC, compete with an optional PC in case Scotty wants to beam some original Star Trek episodes. Lenovo posted a short teaser video on Twitter and YouTube. The clip is only 14 seconds long, though that's more than long enough to get excited about its upcoming PC. There are several closeup shots of the system, followed by a full view of the rig. Check it out below... Unfortunately, Lenovo didn't post any specs to social...
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Starships that can cloak make an intriguing plot device in the Star Trek universe, especially in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. While "invisibility cloaks" have been bandied around on the big screen for decades, their use in real life hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype. However, researchers from Pennsylvania State University think that they have a way of turning science fiction into science fact. Unlike cloaking devices in Star Trek, Pennsylvania State is using what it calls an acoustic ground cloak. This cloak would be used underwater to in effect make an object undetectable when scanned via sonar. This is achieved by scattering sound waves, spreading the energy around the...
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IBM is boldly going where no company has gone before. IBM just announced that Ubisoft’s Star Trek: Bridge Crew VR game will incorporate Watson's interactive speech and cognitive capabilities.IBM Chief Developer Advocate Willie Tejada, remarked, “For the first time, Watson will power the technology that makes it possible for gamers and fans of Star Trek to interact with the crew. We are only just seeing the impact of virtual and augmented reality and IBM is committed to providing developers with the tools they need to innovate and be competitive in this AI and Cognitive era.” Watson will allow players to give interactive voice commands to virtual members of Starfleet. They will also be able to...
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In more ways than just one, Star Trek was able to predict the future, though at the time of the show's airing, the ideas may have seemed outlandish. A universal translator? Anyone with a smartphone or PC can take advantage of that these days. A Tablet-style computer? Well, we don't need to elaborate there. We've even seen examples of the Holodeck come to fruition. Toy Replica Of The Star Trek Tricorder - credit: Flickr user keithius And now, thanks to the Qualcomm-funded X Prize competition, we're able to add Tricorders to that list; at least, the kind of Tricorder that focuses on medical applications. The team of Final Frontier Medical Devices managed to take the top prize of $2.6...
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If you’re a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation, then you’re no doubt familiar with everyone’s favorite know-it-all whipping boy: Ensign Wesley Crusher. Played by venerable child actor Wil Wheaton, Wesley Crusher was at times an annoyance to trekkies, but for the most part redeemed himself over the course of the show’s run. The folks over at NASA also have a soft spot for Wheaton, as they have announced that an asteroid found traveling amongst the constellation Canis Minor has been named in his honor. What was previously known as Asteroid 391257 has been renamed to 391257 Wilwheaton. NASA didn’t just name the asteroid after Wheaton for his sci-fi credentials, but also for his “long track...
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The Star Trek 50th anniversary celebrations just keep on comin’. Now, Microsoft Rewards is offering bonus points for select Star Trek movies and television shows. The company is “thrilled to celebrate 50 years of Star Trek with this bonus Microsoft Rewards offer, giving you the chance to relive your favorite moments from the classic franchise.”Customers can earn 500 points for selected movie rentals, 3,000 points for selected movie purchase, and 4,000 purchases on television series purchases. This offer excludes single TV episodes, games and music. Customers could even pre-order Star Trek Beyond or the tree-movie collection. The offer is only available in the United States and for a limited...
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Attention Starfleet! You can now communicate like a member of the USS Enterprise with the ThinkGeek exclusive Star Trek TNG Bluetooth ComBadge. ThinkGeek’s website states, “We've had a screen-accurate prop replica ST:TNG badge in our closet for a while. The only thing it was missing was the ability to emit the classic communicator chirp sound effect when we pressed it. And then we found out an audio company is making a fully-functioning officially-licensed communicator badge.” The Star Trek TNG ComBadge hooks up to smartphones through Bluetooth. It has a built-in microphone for hands-free calling and users can touch it once to answer or finish calls; play or pause audio; or access Siri, Google...
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Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Star Trek “like” button. It’s September mission: to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek and to boldly go where no social media site has gone before. Facebook is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Star Trek with some fun, temporary features. Some people who have mentioned liking Star Trek on their Facebook page or status updates will be greeted by the USS Enterprise and be able to add a custom Star Trek frame to their profile picture. The legendary spaceship was constructed by hand-cutting and piecing together paper. The Facebook team then took pictures on a high quality camera of their creation. Facebook has also decided to incorporate...
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Back in July, we brought you the news of a “real life” Star Trek Communicator that was patterned after the prop used in Star Trek: The Original Series. Produced by The Wand Company, the Communicator is little more than a glorified Bluetooth handset, but it damn sure does look good in the process. It should come as no surprise that Google engineers are also big fans of Star Trek, and there is likely no bigger fan on campus than Google Chief Software Engineer Amit Singhal. Singhal describes himself as a Trekkie at heart; one that is even able to recite several episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation line-for-line from memory. And given his penchant for all things Star Trek, he and his team even...
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When I think of stairlifts, I instantly think of the movie Gremlins. In one rather hilarious scene, a Gremlin damages a stairlift, causing its to malfunction, which ends up launching the evil Mrs. Deagle out a second story window. Stairlifts are a handy aid for those that can’t physically navigate stairs without the help of others, but than can be an unsightly addition to your home decor. One English company, however, is using technology to do away with stair-based mobility systems in favor of one that more closely resembles an elevator (or a Star Trek Turbolift to the eyes of some). Terry Lifts has designed the Lifestyle Lift that can be installed into a corner of a room (installation takes...
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Is that a tricorder in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? While we’ve seen handheld devices that mimic the look and feel of Star Trek Communicators, the handheld SCiO will truly make you feel like a member Dr. McCoy’s medical team. The SCiO turns science fiction into science fact by shrinking mass spectrometry technology used in traditional lab settings into a device small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. While [pricey] handheld spectrometers have been available for researchers, the SCiO is the first such device marketed directly at consumers after having a successful funding run via Kickstarter. To get the SCiO down to a price point that is attractive to consumers, Consumer...
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If you’re a fan of Star Trek (and what true techie isn’t?), The Wand Company has just announced what could possibly be one of the greatest smartphone accessories that we’ve seen in quite some time. The company has built a true-to-life Communicator — yes, that Communicator which we saw Captain Kirk whip out on numerous occasions when leading his away team on the surface of uncharted planets. Part of what makes the Communicator so special is that it acts as a Bluetooth handset that connects to your smartphone (hands-free calling and music streaming is supported). So even though the Communicator is after all a prop modeled after an object from a nearly 50-year-old television sci-fi series, it at...
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Developer Arc Games has decided to pay tribute to Leonard Nimoy by erecting three in-game memorials to the fallen actor in Star Trek Online, executive producer Stephen Ricossa announced. It’s a classy gesture to the man who spawned generations of fans through his character Spock, the pointy-eared half-Human/half-Vulcan. One of the memorials is an in-game stone statute of Spock that replaces the central structure on the fountain on Vulcan. Underneath is the inscription, "Live Long and Prosper." The same statue will also be added to New Romulus, but with the inscription, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few," an homage to Spock's efforts of building toward Romulan...
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"Of all the souls I have encountered in my journey, his was the most… human." As a person that grew up watching reruns of the TOS, and watching the feature films over and over again (with particular emphasis on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home), the news of Leonard Nimoy’s passing has hit me to the core. Leonard Nimoy, most famously known for his portrayal of Spock, died today at the age of 83. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) According to a report in The New York Times, Nimoy died in his own home, with the cause of death listed as end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Nimoy’s long career spanned many genres including music, photography, writing and acting,...
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Star Trek’s universal translator is coming closer to fruition, and we have companies like Microsoft and Google to thank for the advances in this field. Microsoft’s Skype Translator, which is currently in beta, translates Skype video chats in both English and Spanish. Now, Google will soon update its Translate app for iOS and Android with two new features that we first told you about over the weekend. The first new feature is the new conversation mode that makes real-time translation and conversations “flow faster and more naturally.” Users first select the two languages that will be spoken and then hit the microphone icon to begin speaking. The app will automatically recognize which language...
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Paramount Pictures isn’t wasting anymore time now that it has found a new director for the third movie of the rebooted Star Trek film series. The studio announced that “Star Trek 3” is set to be released on July 8, 2016 – marking the 50th anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series which aired on September 8, 1966 on NBC.The news comes a day after Justin Lin, director of several of the “Fast & Furious” films, was announced as the movie’s new director after Robert Orci stepped down. Orci, who helped write the scripts for the previous two reboot films, took the captain’s chair after J.J. Abrams left as a result of his commitment to direct Disney’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. Paramount...
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Microsoft has been updating and improving on Cortana, its personal assistant for the Windows Phone and a popular character from the Halo franchise, since it was rolled out. Microsoft’s response to Apple’s personal assistant Siri has continued to improve and expand with Bing integration and Cortana being brought to Nokia phones. Now, Microsoft is giving its personal assistant the ability to speak Klingon and use pictures. Windows Phone users who ask Cortana questions about Halo, where it is an artificial intelligence that helps the franchise’s protagonist Master Chief, or other topics will receive a response and now a picture. For example, if you ask Cortana about Halo, it will...
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A group of motivated (and distraught) Star Trek fans have banded together to completely restore the Enterprise D Bridge set that Paramount had destroyed after it finished filming Star Trek: Generations. The non-profit group reckons it will need precisely $240,000 to get the job done, the exact amount it's seeking on crowd funding site Indiegogo, which is just a fraction of the $600,000 the set originally cost in the 1990s. If the group is able to raise enough funds and restore the Enterprise, it will open the project to the public for meetings, movie showings, fundraisers, tours, fan filming, and anything else they (and you) can think of. "We will not just be restoring it, we will UPDATING it...
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