launch

Voices

Private Spacecraft Lifts Off Toward Space Station

Andy Pasztor, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on May 22 at 4:30 am PT

The first private spacecraft aiming to dock with the international space station blasted off from Florida early Tuesday with split-second precision, but the biggest tests for the mission are still days ahead.

News Byte

Sony PlayStation Vita Launches in U.S., Europe

Lauren Goode in News on February 22 at 5:53 am PT

Sony’s new handheld gaming product, the PlayStation Vita, goes on sale today in Europe and the U.S. Following its initial launch in Japan in December, the device was plagued by some reported bugs, including crashes and gameplay lags, but Sony quickly issued a software update to address the issues. As The Wall Street Journal’s Katie Boehret notes in her review of the Vita, the 3G and Wi-Fi capable Vita costs $299; the Wi-Fi-only version costs $249.

Jildy, Whose Patents Google Owns and Facebook Licenses, Launches Its First App

Liz Gannes in Social on December 27, 2011 at 12:28 pm PT

There’s now a body of social search intellectual property that three companies have the rights to use: Google, Facebook and a virtually unknown start-up named Jildy.

News Byte

iPad 3 Debut in February? Hmm, Steve’s Birthday Is the 24th.

John Paczkowski in News on December 8, 2011 at 11:35 am PT

Apple’s next generation iPad could debut a month earlier than its predecessor. Industry sources tell Citi analyst Richard Gardner that the iPad 3, or whatever it’s to be called, will launch sometime in February. That’s a month earlier than Apple showed off the iPad 2, and a month later than the original iPad. As far as specs for the device go, Gardner doesn’t have much to say, though he does believe it will have a display with a resolution significantly higher than that of the current model.

News Byte

Sony’s New PlayStation Portable Will Hit Shelves February 22

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on October 18, 2011 at 4:59 pm PT

Sony’s PlayStation Vita will launch in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and Europe on Feb. 22, missing the critical holiday period by a couple of months. The handheld gaming device, with a five-inch touchscreen and dual cameras, was originally announced at E3 in June and delayed in August. It is expected to be released in Japan by the end of the year. The company said the Wi-Fi model will cost $250; a 3G version will cost $50 more.

Jeff Bezos Pitches His New Kindles: The Full Video

Peter Kafka in Media on September 29, 2011 at 11:43 am PT

Here’s all 52 minutes. Almost Jobsian.

Most — But Not All — Big Magazine Publishers Sign On for Amazon’s Tablet

Peter Kafka in Media on September 26, 2011 at 12:19 pm PT

Conde Nast, Hearst and Meredith are in for Wednesday’s launch. Time Inc. isn’t, and may not get there for a while.

It’s Called Google Propeller and It’s Aimed at Flipboard (and Facebook, Too, Natch)

Kara Swisher in Media on September 15, 2011 at 5:25 pm PT

Whhhheeeeeeeee! Up, up in the sky, its Google’s Flipboard killer, which also might strafe Facebook, too!

Voices

Windows 8: Here Comes Another Football (Comic)

Nitrozac and Snaggy in Voices on September 15, 2011 at 9:03 am PT

Here is the latest comic from our Joy of Tech friends at Geek Culture, Nitrozac and Snaggy. Joy of Tech appears three times a week in the Voices section of this site.

Mossberg on Jobs (Video)

Kara Swisher in Walt Mossberg on August 24, 2011 at 7:51 pm PT

Here’s a video of Walt Mossberg — who perhaps knows the outgoing Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs better than anyone else covering tech — talking about his career. (Also, Mossberg and Jobs chatting it up at the Apple iPad event.)