Branson's Virgin Galactic Completes First Solo Space Flight - PC Magazine

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic on Sunday completed its first manned free flight of a spaceship intended to eventually take customers on commercial space flights.

SpaceShipTwo, also known as the VSS Enterprise, was piloted by Pete Siebold and Mike Alsbury. Virgin Galactic was testing whether the spaceship could successfully release from its mothership and glide back to Earth. The ship did indeed release at 45,000 feet and land safely at Mojave Air and Space Port in California.

The mothership, named the WhiteKnightTwo, had flown 40 times prior to Sunday's free flight, including four trips during which the VSS Enterprise was attached. On July 15, Virgin Galactic flew for the first time with a crew on board.

"The VSS Enterprise was a real joy to fly, especially when one considers the fact that the vehicle has been designed not only to be a Mach 3.5 spaceship capable of going into space but also one of the worlds highest altitude gliders," Siebold said in a statement.

Virgin Galactic space flights are the brainchild of Branson, who heads up the Virgin empire.

"This was one of the most exciting days in the whole history of Virgin," Branson said in a statement. "For the first time since we seriously began the project in 2004, I watched the world's first manned commercial spaceship landing on the runway at Mojave Air and Space Port and it was a great moment. Now, the sky is no longer the limit and we will begin the process of pushing beyond to the final frontier of space itself over the next year."

A seat on Branson's spaceship will cost $200,000 per person, with refundable deposits starting at $20,000. There is interest, however. Virgin Galactic has managed to sell 700 seats thus far.

In September, Boeing announced that it is partnering with Virginia-based Space Adventures to sell commercial space flights. The CST-100 spacecraft can fit seven people, and is expected to be operational by 2015.

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Apple Stock Watch: AAPL Hits Third Record Close In a Row - The Mac Observer

Shares in Apple Inc. closed for a record high for the third trading day in a row, ending the day at US$298.54, up $3.18 (+1.08%), on light volume of 19.9 million shares trading hands.

The stock hit a new intraday high, as well, briefly peaking at $299.50 per share, just shy of the $300 mark. In addition to anticipation for Apple’s upcoming quarterly financial announcement on Monday, October 18th, the company has been getting a steady stream of positive news, such as the iPad being proclaimed the best-selling gadget ever.

Yahoo! Finance AAPL Chart

In addition, Ben Reitzes of Barclay’s Capital bumped his target price for AAPL to $385 per share, up from $340, calling Apple a growth play. He maintained his “Buy” rating on the stock.

In a research note to clients obtained by The Mac Observer, Mr. Reitzes said, “Even at this market cap, we continue to believe Apple is the best growth play in the IT hardware segment — with prospects for significant double-digit organic revenue growth for several more years.”

*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a small share in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.  

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How new Windows Phone 7 ads might work (really) - CNET

When bootleg versions of Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 ads emerged a couple of weeks ago, there was, at the very least, a raising of the eyebrows and a twitch of a toenail.

Here was Microsoft apparently daring to launch an anti-phone, one that somehow returns you to a more human, self-aware, pre-cell-phone state.

This seemed pleasantly ambitious, like a beach vacation on which there will be only 10 other people on the beach and they will all be beautiful, interesting, and love baseball.

Now that two officially sanctioned ads have emerged, different in content from the leaked affairs, but humming the same theme, they do nothing to lessen a sense of, at the very least, hope.

Some might wonder why Microsoft would be telling people to quit obsessing over their cell phones while trying to sell them a cell phone.

But at least the company is offering an emotional truth. It's also offering a look to the OS which, on the face of the phone, is distinctive and seems simpler than a first glance at an Android phone or even the iPhone.

While words such as "always delightful and wonderfully mine" aren't words that have always emerged from Microsoft executive lips, hearing them at yesterday's launch suggested the company knows it must attempt to regain a hold on people's touchy-feely parts. And to do that, ads and product have to hold hands and skip along together like little girls through a cornfield.

These new ads tease the promise of a simpler, more enjoyable, dare one say it, less techie world by offering a phone that is designed to look, feel, and behave in a simpler, more enjoyable, less techie way.

Yes, the iPhone's been doing this brilliantly for a long time now. But the acknowledgment that the human side is vital is, from Microsoft, like a smile emerging from the lips of a Swiss Guard.

The truly difficult part is that this OS is called Windows something.

The Windows name is redolent of function not fun, entrapment not enjoyment. If the intention is to suggest a simple revolution, why use a name that suggests a simple continuation? To truly deliver what the company needs, I wish they had created a new brand to express this new attitude. A brand that could be as strong and independent as its Xbox.

However, if real people see these ads, then pick up the phones and discover that the feeling-- as opposed to the mere functionality-- is delivered, then Microsoft has a chance to make an impact. Really. No, really.

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