Space Tourist's Computer Skills Could Prove Handy
625641
By Traci Watson  The next tourist on the International Space Station could prove to be very useful.
148311
If you canât manage a trip abroad to learn a foreign language, the Internet and a broadband computer connection may do the job, too.
331998
Developing some fluency in foreign languages is getting to be as important as taking along a laptop on an overseas trip.
151631
The renowned physicist has always had a hankering for space travel. He'll start with a brief zero-gravity flight in April. By the Associated Press.
208476
A group of space futurists is devising ways to do everything from bounce objects off comets to send tourists to Mars.
526616
Space travel should make human beings more aware of the fragility of the Earth's environment and intensify efforts to preserve the planet, &quot;space tourist&quot; Anousheh Ansari said before her trip to the International Space Station.
323375
ORLANDO, Feb. 6 -- She prepared for the 950-mile drive from Houston with the discipline of someone who had flown 13 days in space. The steel mallet, folding knife and rubber tube were all catalogued on a handwritten list, police say. She had maps, she had bus schedules and she had a disguise....
50526
It was a staple of 1960s science fiction that the future would involve flying cars and holidays on the moon. While the mass-production flying car hasn&#39;t yet hit the showrooms, the prospects for space tourism have taken a few steps closer.
454768
A recent article in New Scientist magazine, entitled â Mysterious signals from 1000 light years away,â implies that the UC Berkeley SETI@home project has uncovered a very convincing candidate
89164
By Nolan Rosenkrans, Philadelphia Daily News  Feb. 23--Despite the remarkable technical feat of space travel and the high-level skills that astronauts need, being one isn't quite as prestigious as it used to be.
363472
Humanoid devices will be used to encourage interest in science and technology.
464435
At NASA's planned lunar base, the first residents may mine the surface, build telescope arrays, and perform on TV. But first they'll have to learn how to walk.
679868
Data from the far reaches of outer space have been streaming into Dan Reisenfeld&#39;s computer at the University of Montana since late Wednesday.
660589
(InfoWorld) - What makes a great geek vacation? Well, high-speed access from even the most obscure locale is a given. Then throw in some activities to stimulate the brain cells, maybe a dose of electronic entertainment, possibly a bit of techie history, and you're most of the way there. Of course, it also helps if your chosen location is frequented by similarly techie folks and has some out-of-the-mainstream cred, meaning it would make your non-alpha geek friends roll their eyes. Our readers weighed in with their choices. InfoWorld editors share more of their favorites, adding to yesterday's list of top vacation spots.                                                     Mount Everest If you're in search of an adventure getaway that requires you to really get away -- but still don't want to miss that important e-mail message -- there's no reason to mess around at some tropical resort. What you want is to climb the world's highest, most treacherous peak: Mount Everest. At the Base Camp Cyber Cafe, owner and sherpa Tsering Gyaltsen (the grandson of one of Sir Edmund Hillary's sherpa team members) offers satellite-fed 802.11b wireless Internet access at the highest ground-level point on the planet, nearly 18,000 feet above sea level. At about $1 per minute for access, this won't be the cheapest Internet connection you've ever used. But despite Base Camp being situated on a moving glacier on the edge of Everest's Great Ice Fall, at least it's reliable: Service comes via a wireless link between a satellite dish in the nearby town of Namche Bazar and the camp. And there's another good reason to feel good about using the service: Outside of the March-through-May climbing season, the infrastructure provides distance learning opportunities for the sherpa children in town.      Route 128, Boston Anyone who remembers DEC, Lotus, or Wang will enjoy a trip along this tech-heavy highway that runs from Canton to Gloucester in Boston's suburbs. Although more actual work than tourism takes place here, geek highlights include a pilgrimage to the MIT campus and, of course, its science museum. The first modern American factory opened in the town of Waltham; check it out for early examples of mass-produced goods. In Boston, the Museum of Science offers a wealth of exhibits, an IMAX theater, and a planetarium. While you're in town, try the local sport of candlepin bowling. Iceland It's one of the most isolated cultures in the world -- and one of the most wired. Sure, it has a pristine environment with beautiful scenery, an interesting cultural      history, fjords, hot springs, and plenty more to make for a fascinating vacation destination. But on top of all that, broadband connectivity is as plentiful as, well, ice. In fact, Iceland leads the world in per-capita broadband adoption. So wherever you go, chances are you'll be plugged in. Iceland is not a very big place, most of its interior is uninhabitable, and much of its population lives in the capital city of Reykjavik, but there is much to see and do around most of the perimeter of the island, from skiing to rafting to nature-watching. The Visit Iceland travel guide contains lots of good background info for Icelandic activities. If you want to get around, you might want to consider booking flights rather than driving. Roads hug the fjord-pocked coastline, meaning some places that can take upward of nine hours to drive to are but a 45-minute flight away. Also a short flight away: Finland, the extremely tech-friendly Scandinavian country that's home to IT companies such as Nokia. Defcon in Las Vegas      If you've ever wondered how the world's elite cybersecurity professionals get away from it all, look no further than the Defcon computer security conference, which takes place around the end of July every year in Las Vegas. Even with outside temperatures topping nearly 120 degrees, you'll find more black-leather-clad, pierced geeks by the pool at the Riviera Hotel than anywhere outside of a bondage gear trade show. For security wonks, this is a dream come true, whether you're attending lectures and educational sessions about the newest hacking techniques, participating in hacking contests, or shopping for security-themed gear. Where else can you snag a full selection of lock-picking sets, satellite dishes, or a "My kid hacked your Honor Student's e-mail account" T-shirt? When the sun goes down, prepare to experience nightlife, hacker style, with the Black and White Costume Ball; anime and film festivals; and even Hacker Jeopardy -- a live game show featuring experts and volunteer audience members. Just remember: Don't use an unencrypted wireless Internet connection on the premises, or they may project your username and password on the Wall of Sheep, a 20-foot-high screen. Space tourism      You don't have to be an ex-boy bander (ahem, erstwhile *NSync-er Lance Bass) to book a space tourist flight, but you'll probably require a similar cash flow -- and you'll need to learn that the preferred term is "personal spaceflight" so as not to offend your travel agent and/or Mission Control. For the moment, the Russian government is the only outfit offering personal spaceflight, and even with a price tag of $20 million, the Russian Space Agency claims to be booked until 2009. But fear not, intrepid would-be astronauts! The private sector is looking to get in on the action, and at rock-bottom prices to boot, so long as several hundred thousand dollars strikes you as being a bargain-basement price. Richard Branson has jumped to the forefront of personal spaceflight with Virgin Galactic, which he calls "the world's first spaceline," joined by others, including Space Adventures and John Carmack's (yeah, the guy who created Doom) Armadillo Aerospace. Presently, private personal spaceflight offers suborbital flights that serve up a couple minutes of weightlessness and a once-in-a-lifetime view. Not quite the same thing as the trips to the International Space Station that the Russian government has been providing, but still far beyond anything that can be experienced on terra firma.SEE ALSO:Top 10 geek vacations
225451
Also: Did huge career pressures aid astronaut's undoing? Read these stories and more from around the Web on News.com Extra.
721802
Dmitry Gorodnichy, an inventor from the Institute of Information Technology in Ottawa, has developed a computer navigation system that relies on the movements of a user&#39;s nose to direct a cursor, New Scientist has reported.
23518
Richard Bransonâs plans for suborbital tourism may sound pie-in-the-sky, but he has details all worked out. When the first space vacations are available, Richard Branson will be there selling them.