Skype, the VoIP service provider says that it has stabilized its service after two days of disruption following software issues affecting key part of its service. Audio, video and instant messaging services are now running normally.

Up to 10 million calls were being lost at the peak of the problems when “supernodes”,  communication centers that direct all the traffic were crashing off line. Skype engineers have  fixed nearly all the problems with only off-line instant messaging and group video calls remaining limited in their service. Although the exact cause of the problem is not yet known is is not thought to be related to a hostile attack by hackers.

In a post on their blog Skype explained how it relies on millions of individual connections between computers and phones to keep things running. Some of these computers are called super nodes and act like phone directories. Under normal circumstances there are large numbers of super notes available but today many of them were taken off-line by a problem affecting some versions of Skype. To get around the problem engineers are creating new “mega-super notes” as fast as possible to return services to normal.

Skype is now part of the business system for many companies, big and small for keeping in touch with clients all around the world and is described as a “key application of the modern Web” by some of its users. To lose Skype just before the Christmas break has been critical to some businesses who say that they will now have to have a backup system in place.

Most individuals and companies use Skype to save on the cost of traditional telephone calls which makes significant savings for the user. Luckily the problems affecting Skype have not affected or are related to international telephone system so disconnected Skype users have the option to use telephones during the time that Skype was down.

Most people who use Skype and manage the calls to friends, families and business contacts do so for free once the software is installed on their computers and applications. Skype was founded in 2003 by two Swedish entrepreneurs using software developed by Estonian programmers. In October 2005 eBay purchased Skype who in turn sold a majority share to an investor group in 2009. There are now over 600 million user accounts registered.

After spending 220 days in space the unpiloted U.S. Air Force’s X-37B space plane arrived back at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California under the cover of darkness.

The 29th foot long space plane with its small wings and tail fins resembles a small space shuttle but has no room for crew and has a cargo bay with about the same floor area as a pickup truck.

The X-37B was launched on an Atlas five rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Base on 22 April amid speculation about its mission and payload which have not been revealed.

“Today’s landing culminates a successful mission based on close teamwork between the 30th Space Wing, Boeing and the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office,” said Lt. Col. Troy Giese, X-37B program manager from the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. “We are very pleased that the program completed all the on-orbit objectives for the first mission.”

The X-37B (also called the orbital test vehicle, OTV-1) started life as a NASA program before being taken over by the military. For this reason the Air Force talks openly about the craft’s design but will not reveal any information about his precise purpose and what uses the craft might be put to.

Built by Boeing, the X.-370B is the first unmanned vehicle to return from space and make a landing using undercarriage. The only other spacecraft to do this is the manned space shuttle. A sister craft is presently under construction and due to enter service in 2011. While in orbit the X-37B deploys a solar array to charge lithium-ion batteries.

So what was the spacecraft doing during the seven months in space. The Air Force is not saying but amateur spacecraft trackers who have been following the mission since launch have said on the internet that it performed at least for maneuvers while in space. This would demonstrate that it has the ability to launch position and recover small satellites or similar operations.

It might be the thing that any boy would want from Father Christmas and it might be too far-fetched to be believable but the US military is to develop a road going army truck that instantly turns into a helicopter for a quick getaway from dangerous situations.

The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency [DARPA] has launched a $65 million program to develop a flying armored vehicle, capable of carrying four personnel. It will be able to travel 280 miles by land or air or by a combination of the two. It will be able to take off and land vertically, cross rivers and rugged terrain and  avoid ambush. It is expected to lokk like a Humvee with foldaway wings and rotors.

The vehicle will be fitted with automatic flight controls so as not to require a qualified pilot, increasing its flexibility on the battlefield. it will be fitted with machine guns and cannons and fitted with composite armor, to protect the crew from IED blasts and missile attacks. It has already dubbed the ‘Transformer” and a prototype coukd be built by 2016.

A DARPA spokesman said, “We are seeking to combine the advantages of ground vehicles and helicopters into a single unit equipped with the flexibility of movement”.

Terrafugia,  based outside Boston, is the company that has already pioneered a flying car for commercial use. They have been drafted into the DARPA project to help design and produce a prototype armored vehicle. However their commercial vehicle has wings with a 27 feet span and needs a clear stretch of road similar to a runway to take off.

O3b Networks, a satellite network service provider, has announced that it has raised $1.2 billion to build and launch a series of satellites to provide broadband services to Africa, Latin America and other remote amd emerging markets.

The satellites will link local telecoms traffic and internet services to the global fiber infrastructure. The first eight satellites can now be built and launched with the first half of 2013 as the projected launch date.

O3b. is an abbreviation for “[The] Other 3 Billion”, referring to the population of the world where broadband Internet is not available or of inferior quality. The company is based in Jersey, Channel Islands and has awarded the construction of satellites to Thales Alenia Space, whose manufacturing facility is in Cannes, France and the launches will be from the new Sinamary spaceport in French Guiana.

O3b Networks  finance is being provided amongst others by HSBC, ING, CA-CIP and Dexia.  the international finance Corporation and the African development Bank are also involved. Google Inc. is already an existing investor in O3b.

The market for O3b Network’s services is huge. The rapid growth of Internet usage in countries like Brazil, China, Indonesia, Russia and India where users are expected to double to 1.2 billion by 2015. Internet hungry customers in these regions tend to rely heavily on mobile phones rather than computers for their internet usage. However more computers are expected to be used as quality of service improves and local users become more affluent.

O3b Networks already has around 10 customers including ones in Pakistan and the Cook Islands who have already pre-book slots on the satellite constellation to the value of $600m. It will be able to reach these markets where others can’t because O3b’s satellites will be placed in orbit 8,000kms (5000m) from the Earth, four times closer to the planet than regular geostationary satellites.

One of the first Apple personal computers was yesterday sold at auction in London for £133,250 ($210,000). The Apple I was one of a batch of only 200 models ever made and was originally sold for $666.66 when it was introduced in July 1976.

The computer at auction came complete with its original packaging and a letter, answering technical questions about the computer, signed by co-founder and current Chief Executive Steve Jobs. The packaging comes with a return label showing Steve Jobs’ parents address, whose garage was the first Apple Computer Inc. headquarters. The invoice shows ‘Steven’ as the salesman.

The computer was bought at Christie’s, over the phone by Marco Boglione, an Italian businessman and private collector of Apple computers. It is expected that the computer will be returned to working order by the new owner.

The Apple I, unlike other computers at the time, came with a fully assembled circuit board consisting of more than 60 chips but users still had to add a case, power supply transformers, keyboard and the video display. Later an extra board providing a cassette interface for data storage will will was released at the cost of $75. Other computers at that time came in kit form and aimed at hobbyists who would assemble the pieces before it would work.

The computers world designed and handbuilt by Steve Wozniak, friend of Steve Jobs and the other co-founder of Apple computers.

It is believed that between 30 and 50 of the original Apple I computers still exist. There have been reports of these computers being sold for up to $17500. The computer sold yesterday, serial number 82, was offered for sale on eBay in November 2009 at $50,000 but it is unclear if it was actually sold at that time.

The US has placed a big reconnaissance satellite into orbit. Reputed to be the largest satellite sent into space and shrouded in secrecy the satellite was put into orbit by a heavy lift Delta-4 rocket from Cape Canaveral on Sunday evening.

Launched on behalf of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) who have not disclosed the purpose of the satellite, but it is thought to be for eavesdropping on enemy communications.

At the Air Force Association’s Air and Space Conference in September, NRO director, retired Air Force Gen. Bruce Carlson told the audience that the Delta-4 rocket “would launch with the largest satellite in the world on it”.

At present the largest commercial satellite so far launched was the Terrestar-1 telecommunications satellite that weighed in at 15,233 pounds (7000kg). It has an 18m wide antenna-reflector for relaying data and phone traffic and was placed in orbit by an Arianne 5 ECA rocket. The Skyterra-1 satellite launched earlier this month has deployed a 22m wide antenna-reflector and weighs 11900 pounds (5400 kg).

The new secret satellite, known as the NROL-32, is rumored on internet websites to have a larger mesh antenna than the other spacecraft.

The Delta-4 heavy lift rocket, there are for other versions, was designed to meet the needs of the US military. It features three core boosters strapped together and each having a Rocketdyne RS-68 engine burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Sunday’s launch was only the fourth time that the heavy rocket has been deployed.

The National Reconnaissance Office is one of the 16 US intelligence services and designs, builds and operates spy satellites. It also coordinates collecting and analyzing information from aircraft and satellite reconnaissance by the US military and the CIA. The agency is part of the US Defense Department and was established in August 1960.

Construction of the British, Bloodhound 1000mph car is on target will start in the new year with an attempt on the world land speed record planned for some time in 2012. The project was conceived as a way of promoting science and engineering to young people. The car’s development has been accompanied by an educational program in British schools.

To beat the current world land speed record Bloodhound will have to beat a speed of 763mph set by the Thrust SSC in 1997. But the developers of Bloodhound areaiming for much mote and targeting a 31% jump in speed as they aim for the magic 1000 mph.

The Bloodhound SSC [Super Sonic Car] is essentially a private, non-profit making venture but has been given considerable support by the UK government which has loaned the project two Typhoon engines used to power the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.

Aerospace and high tech companies are involved in the project. Lockheed Martin is working on the aluminium alloy wheels that will be turning at 170 times per second and capable of resisting stresses as high as 1.5 tonnes per square centimetre. Hampson Industries will build the rear of the car and Formula 1 engine manufacturer Cosworth has also recently joined the project where one of its engines will be used to drive the onboard liquid oxidizer.

Three people formerly involved with the Thrust SSC are engaged in the Bloodhound project. Driver, Wing Commander Andy Green, chief aerodynamicist Ron Ayres and director Richard Noble, who held the world speed record himself as a driver in the 1980s.

The proposed venue for the speed attempt is Hakskeen Pan, a dried up lake bed in Northern Cape Province, South Africa. With the assistance of the Northern Cape government work has already started in preparing the track for the speed attempt. Three hundred local people are cleaning a 20 km x 1.5 km (12.5m x 1.0m) area by picking up stones and any other debris.

Mr. Noble has already placed an tounge in cheek advert in the London Times newspaper asking for UK volunteers to go out to the Northern Cape and join in the preparations. The advert promises, “no wages, constant heat, tough work, scorpions but inspiring the next generation of engineers as a reward”.

Read about Britains First Electric Supercar

Google started an international outcry after it admitted collecting information from unsecured wireless net works as it’s Street View vehicles roamed residential areas during the creation of its Street View maps.

Google was accused of unlawfully collecting data which included emails, passwords and visited website addresses as its vehicles crisscrossed the length and breadth of the UK.

Now the Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham has announced that the Google have agreed to delete all the personal data that was collected and additionally they will introduce improved training measures on security awareness and data protection issues for their employees worldwide. Also the engineers are required to maintain a privacy design document before launching any new project.

The decision by Google can be seen as a victory for privacy campaigners who were furious that Google had collected this data and have refused to back down over claims that it had unlawfully collected private data even if it was done accidentally.

Google’s senior vice president Alan Eustace, has signed an undertaking on behalf of Google Inc. to initiate improved training measures on security awareness and data protection issues for employees.

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office [ICO] will be allowed to conduct a full audit of the Google’s internal privacy structure, privacy training programs and its system of privacy reviews within the next nine months.

UK members of Parliament had accused Google of deliberately collecting millions of e-mails, passwords and visited websites for their own commercial gain. The Metropolitan Police became involved but have announced that they will not launch a criminal inquiry.

In the US the Federal Trade Commission [FTC] have already ruled out any direct action but have registered concerns that the information was collected in the first place.

Revelations first came to light in May that its cars had collected personal data from unsecured wireless networks while taking photos for its Street View mapping service. Canada was one of the first counties to reveal this information but several countries have also been affected. Google have always maintained that the data collection was caused by the accidental inclusion of coding from an experimental project.