ESPN strikes deal with Fox to carry some Champions League games

Europe’s biggest club football competition, the Champions League, will be hitting the US in strong fashion this year. Thanks to a recently announced agreement with Fox, which owns the rights to the tournament through the 2017-2018 season, ESPN is set to also broadcast matches here in the States. There are a couple of caveats, however — the games acquired from this deal are only going to be available on ESPN Deportes (Spanish-language) and WatchESPN (ESPN3), so don’t expect to catch any of these on the main ESPN or ESPN2 channels. That said, the cross-licensing deal between the two networks is still a great thing for US soccer fans, particularly after the 2014 World Cup, as they will have more ways to watch one of the best tournaments in sports. It’s worth noting that while the Champions League Final won’t be streamed on WatchESPN, it is going to be televised on ESPN Deportes, right alongside Fox.

Filed under: Misc, Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: ESPN

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Uber’s back on the road in Berlin

Last week, regulators in the city of Berlin parked Uber’s ride-sharing service, citing the risk to passenger safety and the need to protect taxi operators. However, today a judge in the Berlin Administrative Court suspended the ban imposed by State Department of Civil and Regulatory Affairs just a few days ago. This means that the UberPOP and UberBlack are back in action until another decision says otherwise, because as you might expect, the local taxi industry won’t be too pleased with the decision.

Filed under: Transportation

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Source: Uber

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Adventures with a homemade standing desk

I, Dan Cooper, am today going to review some cardboard boxes. Not Google Cardboard, nor Luckies’ Cardboard Smartphone Projector (which is coming in a few weeks), but some honest-to-goodness cardboard. More precisely, the box for my Nintendo Wii + Wii Fit starter pack, the packaging for a Dyson DC19 T2 Exclusive and an Image Business five-ream printer-paper box. I should add that I haven’t been paid by any of the above companies, and each one came with the implement it was purchased with — oh, except for the paper box, which my wife brought home from her office one day.

As I’ve grown fitter (and happier), I’ve also learned that the biggest drawback to my continued weight loss is that I sit for around 12 hours each day. That’s not a particularly healthy approach, and I’ve started to develop some serious lower-back issues — not an uncommon complaint among Engadget editors. One of my colleagues suggested that I take up Yoga, but I lacked the patience or acrobatic ability to sit with my legs up a wall for 30 minutes at a time. Then I read Brett Terpstra’s account of how his standing treadmill desk had changed his life, and after reading up on the benefits of them, decided to conduct a little experiment.

After sourcing the boxes from the attic, I propped up my monitors, keyboard and mouse onto the boxes, adding some books for extra height where necessary. It was my way of working out if an adjustable-height desk would work for me, and if it’s something that I’d consider investing in at some point down the road. After all, standing adjustable-height desks either require a great knowledge of DIY (there are thousands on IkeaHackers) or a decent chunk of money (especially in the UK, where some will set you back £1,000), and I didn’t want to splash out without knowing if it was for me.

The first week had the benefit of being one of the most painful in recent memory, and every night I retired to bed exhausted and with legs that ached as if I’d run a marathon. Despite the numerous promises of “vastly increased productivity,” those initial weeks saw my output collapse. I was testy, pained and constantly distracted. The second week, however, things started to pick up, but my willpower was close to breaking at several points. By week three and beyond, the pain had gone, and I’m sure there’s a new indentation on both calf muscles, which I’m hoping is a sign of progress. Six weeks later and my monthlong experiment shows no signs of ending. In fact, the only thing that I’m worried about is the durability of the cardboard, which I hope will last as long as I need it to.

Part of the process has been learning how to manage yourself while at a standing desk, which has changed over time. For instance, I’d originally stand through from 8AM until 6PM, but now I try and take a 30-minute break to sit and eat lunch, which gives me the stamina to power through. I’ve also taken to shifting from one foot to the other almost constantly, and if one leg begins to hurt a bit too much, I give it a 10-minute rest by tucking it up under me and standing on one leg. Like a flamingo. Yes, I’m also glad I work from home.

I’m aware that the next thing that I need to invest in is a soft rubber mat, which is designed to reduce leg fatigue that’s somehow generated when standing on a hard surface. I’m dubious as to how specifically this issue occurs and why it requires an expensive accessory imported from the US, but it’s something I’ll keep researching. One thing a lot of the internet told me was that a standing desk went hand-in-hand with weight loss. I don’t think I’ve seen any notable difference in my weight, but maybe that’ll take a little longer to achieve. I’m not sure if there’s been any tangible health benefit overall, but since it’s almost completely resolved the issues with my back, I’ll keep going.

In fact, at this point, it’s a nailed-on certainty that I’m going to invest in an adjustable-height desk when the cardboard here begins to wither and bend. I doubt I’ll have the cash to try a treadmill desk, but never say never. What I will ask is that if any of you in the UK have any experience with a standing desk that’ll take a desktop dual-monitor setup and the heavy-handed typing of this 90kg lump, I’d be happy to hear your recommendations.

Filed under: Misc

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What you need to know about commercial space flight

In May 2012, the International Space Station’s robotic claw, the Canadarm2, caught and secured the first commercial spacecraft to ever dock with the ISS: SpaceX’s Dragon capsule. The bullet-shaped vehicle flew to the ISS carrying cargo for its crew, making history for the private space sector in the process. SpaceX has grown leaps and bounds since then, signing contracts with NASA and other government agencies and developing more advanced technologies for space travel. It’s even in the midst of designing Dragon version 2, which, unlike its unmanned predecessor, will be able to fit up to seven passengers. While Elon Musk’s company is the most well-known commercial space flight firm today, it’s hardly the only one. The private space industry is huge and it continues to grow; read on to know more about it.

THE RISE OF THE COMMERCIAL SPACE INDUSTRY

Before President Reagan signed the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984, companies could only rely on NASA to send payloads (like satellites) to space. This federal law enabled entities to pay private operators to ferry cargo outside the planet through one-time-use or expendable launch systems. The Launch Services Purchase Act of 1990 opened up even more opportunities for private space firms: it straight up ordered NASA to buy launch services from commercial companies.

It wasn’t until recently that big players started making headlines, though. Perhaps it was the combination of their top execs’ commanding presence (e.g., Elon Musk of SpaceX and Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic) and the demise of NASA’s Space Shuttle program that propelled them into the spotlight. Or maybe it’s all because of all their out-of-this-world (pun totally intended) ideas. The ongoing march of technological progress assuredly doesn’t hurt. Regardless, we hear far more about commercial space flight nowadays than ever before.

Wired called 2012 the year of private space, as it was particularly filled with huge accomplishments and announcements from various companies. In addition to the SpaceX Dragon’s success, several private firms announced their far-out projects. James Cameron-backed Planetary Resources, for instance, revealed its plans to mine asteroids for precious metals; Mars One first revealed its audacious dreams of giving volunteers one-way tickets to the red planet to build the first Martian settlement within the same year. Then there’s Branson’s Virgin Galactic, which started selling tickets for suborbital flights to the general public for only $200,000. A pittance!

HOW NASA BENEFITS FROM COMMERCIAL SPACE FLIGHTS

These commercial spaceflight companies operate independently from NASA, but many of them have existing contracts with the agency to deliver cargo to space. Unsurprisingly, one of those firms is SpaceX, which is working through a $1.6 billion deal for 12 resupply missions. The other is Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp, which has a $1.9 billion contract for eight cargo flights.

The government agency’s also funding several private firms through the Commercial Crew Program, formed to develop a new spacecraft that can ferry astronauts to the ISS. And the US is in dire need of just such a spacecraft: ever since NASA’s space shuttles retired, it’s been paying Russia $70 million per seat on a Soyuz spacecraft to take American astronauts to the space station. That agreement is currently on ice while the US and Russia argue about politics.

NASA funds four different companies under the Commercial Crew Program, with each of them working on a space taxi of their own. According to the latest news out of the CCP headquarters, SpaceX is already preparing to test whether its Dragon V2 manned spacecraft can withstand all the force it’s bound to suffer during launch and reentry. Another company called Blue Origin will soon do an interim design review of its spacecraft’s subsystems, while Sierra Nevada Corporation recently tested the main propulsion and control systems of its creation, the “Dream Chaser.” Then there’s Boeing — yes, the famous airplane maker has a space division — which is currently reviewing whether the parts of its CST-100 spacecraft are tough enough for extensive testing that simulates space travel.

Sadly, Congress has ordered NASA to cut two companies out of the Commercial Crew Program, so all the participants are now vying for the two remaining slots. Boeing has even announced that it’s letting 215 people working on the CST-100 go if NASA drops it from the program. In addition to all these, the agency has contracts with other firms for projects unrelated to manned spacecraft development, like an inflatable module for the ISS that it ordered from a company called Bigelow Airspace.

COMMERCIAL SPACE FLIGHT COMPANIES’ CRAZY PROMISES AND CURRENT PLANS

Most commercial space companies aim to offer rocket launches and space trips for lower prices than ever before. SpaceX’s Falcon rocket launches, for instance, cost just half (sometimes even just a fourth) of what it would’ve cost in the past. In addition to offering affordable rocket launches to anyone, the company has its hands full for the next few years, developing a reusable rocket called Falcon 9R and another one with huge payload-to-orbit capacity called Falcon Heavy. Once, it also showed off a system that allows engineers to design rockets à la Tony Stark: with hand gestures through a Leap Motion controller. It ain’t all sunshine and rainbows at SpaceX, though — Musk recently accused the military of bribery after it granted a contract for 36 rocket launches to rival company United Launch Alliances.

The offices of Virgin Galactic must also be extremely busy (by the way, the company was formed all thanks to a kid who called a children’s show when Branson was a guest). It recently just inked a deal with the Federal Aviation Administration to help it determine clear guidelines for any suborbital space flights that take off in the US — flights that will one day carry celebs like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber.

As mentioned earlier, Mars One still insists that it can make the first ever human settlement on the red planet happen… with a little help from reality TV. Many other low-key companies have plans and ideas of their own, as well, like Blue Origin, which secretly test-fired a new engine in December of 2013.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

The best way to keep up the latest commercial space news is to follow each company’s social media profile. We’ve listed some of them below:

• SpaceX: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
• Virgin Galactic: Facebook, Twitter
• Boeing Defense, Space and Security: Twitter
• Sierra Nevada Corporation: Facebook
• Blue Origin: Twitter
• NASA Commercial Crew Program: Twitter

We’ll also keep our eyes peeled for future news and updates, so make sure to check our space page whenever you visit.

[Image credit: NASA (SpaceX Dragon and Canadarm2), SpaceX (F9R rocket test), RT (Dragon docking w/ ISS), Sierra Nevada Corporation (Dream Chaser)]

Filed under: Transportation, Science, Alt

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