Uber still offering rides in Belgium despite court order

Despite seized vehicles, a court order and possible €10,000 fine (per pickup!), Uber says its UberPOP ride-sharing service is remains available in Brussels. In its blog, the company complained that the original lawsuit was filed by Brussels radio taxi companies trying to limit choice, and that “if anyone should be filing lawsuits, it’s Brussels consumers.” Concluding the truculent post, Uber said it would “continue to provide our car-sharing platform,” which we assume means that it’ll carry on operations. We’ll have to see if it sticks to its guns considering the looming fines, and what its opponents’ next move will be.

[Image credit: Uber]

Filed under: Transportation, Internet

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Source: Uber

NASA catches a glimpse of Saturn birthing a new moon

For the first and perhaps the last time ever, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, whose mission is to orbit Saturn, has captured a new moon emerge from the Jovian planet’s rings. As you might know, the birth of a moon is an extremely rare event, and in Saturn’s case, it might never happen again. You see, there’s a theory that the sixth planet from the sun used to have a much larger ring system, which led to formation of numerous natural satellites. After birthing a whopping 62 moons, though, the rings are now too depleted to make more, even if they still look lush from afar. This could be our very last chance to observe how Saturn’s ring particles form a natural satellite that detaches from the planet and ultimately orbits around it.

Scientists estimate that the newborn, which they have named Peggy, is merely half a mile in diameter. That makes it positively tiny compared to the planet’s largest moon, Titan, which has a diameter that measures 3,200 miles, or around half the size of Earth. In fact, it’s so small that Cassini can’t even take a decent picture of it, though NASA plans to observe it more closely when the spacecraft moves closer to the outer edge of the rings in 2016. Sadly, scientists believe Peggy won’t grow any bigger and might be falling apart, so the little one might never get to become a legitimate Saturn satellite.

[Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute]

Filed under: Science

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Via: Gizmodo

Source: NASA, ScienceDirect

House of Cards S2 Blu-ray goes on sale June 19th for those who prefer a hard copy

House of Cards may be most famous for leading the charge of Netflix’s original streaming content, but the show’s producer Media Rights Capital is ready for all avenues. Just like the first season, season two will get a release on physical discs this summer from Sony Pictures. Frank Underwood’s Washington D.C. escapades are ready for viewing in 1080p, and although that’s not 4K, at least your ISP’s connection to Netflix can’t get in the way. One change this year is that there are a few extras on the discs including a behind the scenes look at a table read and dive into Frank’s tendency to directly address the viewer — we’ll have to wait and see if Netflix adds special features to the streaming editions before the next season arrives. There’s no pricetag yet, but the first season started off at about $50 before settling in near $30, and we’d expect about the same for this one.

Blu-ray and DVD Bonus Featurettes:
· “Two Houses” – Exploring differences between the original show & the history of how this project came together.
· “Table Read” – A behind-the-scenes look at table reads cut together with the actual scenes from the show.
· “Direct Address” – Exploring the way Francis talks directly to viewers in both the original & new series
· “Politics for Politics Sake” – Politics is only the back drop in this show, but the themes are universal.
This featurette explores what the show is all about — relationships and power, not just politics.
· “Line of Succession” – A look at the creative process that goes into making an episode.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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