What if I had bought Apple stock instead? – ” Currently, Apple’s stock is at an all time high. A share today is worth over 40 times its value seven years ago. So, how much would you have today if you purchased stock instead of an Apple product? See for yourself in the table below…..”

Cold Comforts: Antarctic Research Bases Are Seriously Self-Sustaining – “The new Princess Elisabeth station is the delicate flower of Antarctic buildings: small, beautiful, efficient, and blooming only in summer. Designed to be the first carbon-free facility on The Ice, the station employs a sophisticated energy-management system that makes the most of the limited power generated by its 52-kilowatt solar array and 54-kilowatt wind-turbine cluster. The station assigns a priority level to every piece of equipment and electric outlet in the building. Life-support systems and research gear trump dishwashers and portable electronics. In other words, don’t plug in your iPod without asking the station’s brain first…”

Flying cars may soon be a reality – “If the vehicle realizes the capabilities planned, it is possible that by the year 2015 U.S soldiers will have the ability to drive into battle in a flying car, designed to be seated for four that will go 250 miles on a tank of fuel and be able to fly through the air and drive on the ground…”

Is the Perfect Car-Key Copier Good News for Thieves? – “For locksmiths, making a replacement car key without its identifying code can be a grueling procedure. Steve Randall should know—he spent a summer during college working for his father’s locksmithing company, watching experts struggle with the process. Lacking the identification codes, called bittings, that tell them which patterns to cut into blanks, locksmiths must rely on trial and error to make a perfect fit. Inspired, Randall and a friend, Ted Schwarzkopf, recently unveiled a solution: the Electronic Key Impressioner…”

Facebook speak: Teenagers create secret online language – “Teenagers on social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo are creating a secret language to stop adults knowing what they are up to, researchers say….” See also: How to Opt Out of Facebook’s Instant Personalization

U.S. Students Suffering From Internet Addiction: Study – “American college students are hooked on cellphones, social media and the Internet and showing symptoms similar to drug and alcohol addictions, according to a new study…”

Chatroulette: Is new teenage website the most disturbing internet craze yet? – “When writer OLIVIA LICHTENSTEIN’s daughter told her about a ‘cool’ new teen website, she decided to investigate. What she found was the most worrying internet craze to date…”

The secrets of intelligence lie within a single cell – “LATE at night on a sultry evening, I watch intently as the predator senses its prey, gathers itself, and strikes. It could be a polecat, or even a mantis – but in fact it’s a microbe. The microscopic world of the single, living cell mirrors our own in so many ways: cells are essentially autonomous, sentient and ingenious. In the lives of single cells we can perceive the roots of our own intelligence…”

Out for the count: Why levels of sperm in men are falling – “Levels of ‘viable’ sperm in human males are falling – and scientists believe they now understand the cause. Infertility can begin in the womb…”

The Best 7 Wonders of Russia – “There are seven wonders of the world, but most of them were already destroyed either by the hands of humans or by the cruel passing of time. And last year a group of some Russian TV-channels, newspapers and radio stations hold an official opinion poll and discovered what kinds of real wonders Russia has. Anyone could participate in the poll taking votes via internet or SMS services. So, the seven best-looking and really fascinating places were chosen. Here they are…”

Criminal Charges Possible in the Case of the Lost iPhone – “The authorities in San Mateo County in California are considering whether to file criminal charges in connection with the sale of a missing next-generation iPhone belonging to Apple…”

First pictures from the new crater at Eyjafjalajökull (watch for the shock waves):

Inside NASA’s world-class supercomputer center – “If you’re a materials scientist at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, or an engineer at the Johnson or Marshall Space Centers studying Space Shuttle flow-control valves, or any one of countless others in the agency needing a supercomputer, there’s really just one place to go…”

Scientists make cancer cells vanish – “Scottish scientists have made cancer tumours vanish within 10 days by sending DNA to seek and destroy the cells…”

Palm may be forced out of market it launched – “Palm pioneered mobile computing and established the smart phone market, but as it struggles to survive in an arena now crowded with giants, the Sunnyvale company’s story is a reminder of how innovation takes you only so far…”

Earning your sword: the magical inner sanctum of Blizzard – “Ars Technica has been invited to Blizzard’s campus before, but the early birth of my son scuttled our last trip. But for the second invitation, nothing could keep us away. You’ve already read the coverage of StarCraft 2 from the meeting, but we were also given a tour of the Blizzard campus in Irivine, California. If you’re ever put in the position to see where some of the best-loved PC games in the world are made, you take it…”

Mastering multicore – ” MIT researchers find a way to make complex computer simulations run more efficiently on chips with multiple processors…”

Quick end to gulf oil leak depends on robot subs – “The spill initially appeared to be easily manageable after the oil rig sank Thursday about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, but it has turned into a more serious environmental problem. Officials on Saturday discovered the leak, which is spewing as much as 1,000 barrels – or 42,000 gallons – of oil each day…” See also: Oil Leaks Could Take Months to Stop

The Pontiac that was Allergic to Vanilla Ice Cream – “For the engineers among us who understand that the obvious is not always the solution, and that the facts, no matter how implausible, are still the facts … ” See also: the 500-mile email

Self-repairing concrete may crack the problem – “In the short term, the answer to potholes is simple — fill them in. In the longer term, road builders are looking at a new type of material that could be pothole-proof. Officially known as an engineered cementitious composite, or ECC, it is both flexible, so less likely to fracture, and capable of filling in its own cracks…”

How to make a soccer ball:

3D TV sets go on sale, but is there anything to watch? – “The 3D TV revolution hit Britain yesterday as the first sets go on sale, in one of the biggest changes to home viewing since the introduction of colour television…”

Panoramic Wifi Camera – “Panoramic Wifi Camera creates a live panoramic image of a space seen through Wifi radio and other 2.4 GHz radio signals – how they bounce back form the architecture, composing an image, just as light would do…”

Putting the touch into touchscreens – “YOUR eyes tell you that your hand is locked in a vice-like mechanical device, but your fingertips tell you you’re stroking fur. Welcome to the world of haptics, where nothing is quite how it feels…”

Google Street View logs WiFi networks, Mac addresses – “Google’s roving Street View spycam may blur your face, but it’s got your number. The Street View service is under fire in Germany for scanning private WLAN networks, and recording users’ unique Mac (Media Access Control) addresses, as the car trundles along…”

[[[Jump to - Interesting Reading #473 – A World Map 1000 Times Smaller Than A Grain Of Sand, Electric Motorcycles, Don’t talk to aliens, Clever train, Cars that drive themselves and much more…]]]