Well, actually no. They still have the same brain they left with, but twin Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity get new software to boost their IQ…

NASA’s twin Mars rovers, nearing the third anniversary of their landings, are getting smarter as they get older.

The unexpected longevity of Spirit and Opportunity is giving the space agency a chance to field-test on Mars some new capabilities useful both to these missions and future rovers. Spirit will begin its fourth year on Mars on Jan. 3 (PST); Opportunity on Jan. 24. In addition to their continuing scientific observations, they are now testing four new skills included in revised flight software uploaded to their onboard computers.

Source: Red Orbit

Mmm… Games and Steak… Drool…

Leave it to the French to cause a revolution. I wonder if the US will open up Area 51 one of these days to public tours…not…

PARIS (Reuters) - The French space agency is to publish its archive of UFO sightings and other phenomena online, but will keep the names of those who reported them off the site to protect them from pestering by space fanatics.

Source: Yahoo News

If your Asian contacts aren’t getting back to you, or if all your Asian customers seem like they’ve disappeared, this is why…

Multinational companies got a nasty holiday surprise when an earthquake disrupted Internet service across the region, reminding everybody just how fragile their IT operations are when a major disruption in the telecommunications infrastructure occurs.

Source: eWeek

It looks like Microsoft is busy promoting the new VISTA operating system. So busy, they’ve enlisted help from bloggers. Question is, where is my bribe?

It wasn’t just Zheng. While not every blogger has spoken up, at least six others have fessed up to getting their “presents.” Of course, the bloggers could send the laptop back … and pigs could fly.

It’s a bribe. Period. You say nice things about us, you get nice things from us. Heck, just say neutral things about us–we’ll give you a killer new laptop and we know that you’ll be inclined to say better things about us.

Source: eWeek