Shuttle Orbiter autopsies

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Smithsonian Air and Space:

After flying 148 million miles and orbiting Earth 5,830 times, Discovery, first flown in August 1984, was being decommissioned and readied for its trip to the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in northern Virginia, where it will arrive in mid-April.The three main engines had been removed from the shuttle’s aft end, which was now covered by a tightly fitted mask with three white discs the size of the engine bells. Clear plastic stretched across the crater in the orbiter’s nose, where the forward reaction control system—small thrusters that maneuvered the spacecraft in orbit—had been removed.And this harvesting of the orbiter’s components was only the beginning.

I always wish I had seen one of these launches in person.

Best Buy sells Nearly as many iPhones as Apple

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AllThingsD: Apple’s move to make Best Buy an outlet for the iPhone back in 2008 is proving a wise one — lucrative, too. Over the past few years, the retail chain has become an increasingly important outlet for Apple, extending … Continued

Watch a rare Disney documentary called “The Sweatbox”

Written by

SlashFilm:

Disney is a prolific company with its name on a great many successes, and it likes to hide its missteps and failures. The process of doing so sometimes helps those mistakes become things of legend. Song of the South, with its politically incorrect and racist portrayals of certain characters, is likely the most famous example. Another example might be The Sweatbox, a very rarely-seen documentary about the failed making of an animated film called Kingdom of the Sun, which eventually morphed into The Emperor’s New Groove.The Sweatbox filmmakers John-Paul Davidson and Trudie Styler were given unprecedented access to Disney’s process and the resulting film painted the executives in such a negative light, they more or less made sure the film would never been seen in public.

A harsh look at the process of making movies with some cool behind the scenes footage.

Blackhawk and Mayfair Secretary Trunks

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Would you like a new desk or cubicle? What if you could have one of these two designs? The Blackhawk Trunk is “inspired by the gleaming nose cones and fuselages of mid-20th-century aircraft” and the Mayfair Trunk “spares no detail with handmade distressed cigar leather, a solid wood frame and over 3000 hand-hammered brass nail heads.” Both are gorgeous and would look great in your home or office!

Audio of Apple’s Conference Call March 2012

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On Monday morning Apple told the world what they plan to do with its almost $100 billion in cash – later this year, Apple will begin paying dividends and will buy back shares.

You can listen to streaming audio from the conference call now from Apple’s site.

‘This Is A Work of Non-Fiction’

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One of the colleagues of “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs” creator Mike Daisey disputes his assertion that people don’t expect truth in theater – especially Daisey’s.

The iPad of 1935

Written by

Smithsonian:

The April, 1935 issue of Everyday Science and Mechanics included this nifty invention which was to be the next logical step in the world of publishing. Basically a microfilm reader mounted on a large pole, the media device was supposed to let you sit back in your favorite chair while reading your latest tome of choice.

Don’t show this to Michael Dell. He might think it’s a good idea and start making them.