New Florence. New Renaissance.

Cosmic Collision

"Astronomy textbooks typically present galaxies as staid, solitary, and majestic island worlds of glittering stars. But galaxies have a dynamical side. They have close encounters that sometimes end in grand mergers and overflowing sites of new star birth as the colliding galaxies morph into wondrous new shapes. Today, in celebration of the Hubble Space Telescope's 18th launch anniversary, 59 views of colliding galaxies constitute the largest collection of Hubble images ever released to the public. This new Hubble atlas dramatically illustrates how galaxy collisions produce a remarkable variety of intricate structures in never-before-seen detail."

NASA Hubble Site

Enterprise RSS Day of Action

That's what we are honoring today.

Delta's new economy CozySuite

Delta plans to introduce new economy seats on its long-distance flights

"Intensive  3D  sculpturing  of the backshell  profile has  allowed for better space and comfort only ever dreamt of in the economy cabin before."

"A first for the economy cabin, a seat design offering you a truly relaxed sleeping position. It has a contoured shoulder area specifically profiled for sleeping. The shape was derived from numerous prototype and passenger trials to minimize the step-back of the seats. You do not feel like the seats
are even staggered, allowing interaction between you and other passengers, while reinforcing a high level of privacy."

Not soon enough, though - by 2010.

Product features and Photo Credits: Thompson Solutions

"Dismantling of the Last Mile Barrier"

"GigaBeam, a technology company in Herndon, Va., has come up with an alternative: millimeter-wave technology, which transmits data over wireless connections at one gigabit per second — 1,000 times as fast as a D.S.L. connection."

Read more at New York Times

Technology firms dominate top global brands

Google, Microsoft, China Mobile, Apple and Nokia are in the top 10 global brands in an annual survey by Millward Brown Optimor.

Another 18 technology firms show in the other 90 in the top 100.

Click image to enlarge and read the list

Web 2.0 Expo

The Big Daddy event kicked off today in San Francisco. While people are still arguing about what exactly Web 2.0 is, it is also time to celebrate the hundreds of creative companies launched in the lat few years.

Click below to enlarge the photo below from stabilo-boss.

"Transmedia Storytelling"

FastCompany on the emerging geek leadership in Hollywood

"Today's audience, steeped in media and marketing, sees through crass ploys to cash in. So the Geek Elite are taking a different approach. Rather than just shill their products in various media, they are building on new and emerging platforms to expand their mythological worlds. Viewers watch an episode of Heroes, then follow one character's adventure in a graphic novel. They tune in to Lost, then explore the island's twisted history in an online game."

Greener Planes

In the short term, a revolution in jet engines is about to occur, with radically different designs that use gears to cut fuel consumption, noise and pollutants. And those new engines will power planes built more and more with carbon composite materials, which are lighter and may also be safer than the aluminum they replace.

In the longer term, the fuel itself may change; scientists are looking for an aviation version of ethanol, something that can be made from plants rather than petroleum.

New York Times

Earth Day

In time for Earth Day, Fortune has a nice gallery of 11 green ideas.

You can order the Earth Day poster at this site.

Yahoo! rolls out mobile voice search

"...technology from vlingo, a start-up based in Cambridge, Mass., would allow people who have BlackBerry Curves, Pearls or the 8800 series to scour the Web with their voice, using Yahoo's mobile search engine, known as oneSearch."

San Jose Mercury News