As you may or may not be aware, ICANN the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has opted to open the floodgates, and expand the number of potential web addresses available to us online. While mainstays such as .com, .net, and .org will not be directly affected, we’re about to be introduced to a whole new world of domain names. You’ve probably already seen some new TLD’s or top level domains (the word or letters to the right of the dot) such as .Biz, .TV, .XXX and .Me. If you are still unfamiliar with the basics, you can learn a bit about them here. The norm is about to change, prepare to be subjected to hundreds and potentially thousands of new gTLD’s starting within a year.

Long distance communication has come a long way in the last 150 years. In 1860, the first pony express sent a hand-written message 200 miles per day on horseback. Not even two years later, the foundation was laid for the telegraph to send long distance messages seemingly instantaneously. While it must’ve seemed amazing at the time, it was still a very impersonal form of communication; we still weren’t able to use any of our five senses to communicate.

The telegraph led to the telephone, which amazingly opened our ears and let us hear a loved one’s voice from an incredible distance. Phone lines eventually enabled us to connect to the internet, and we can now not only hear each other, but see eachother in real time from anywhere in the world. The ongoing evolution continues to make long distance communication as personal as ever. The next natural step is to implement another one of the five senses into the equation; in this case, the ability to touch or feel someone via the internet. That possibility is closer than you think.

Skydiving is quite the rush. There’s a certain lemming-like quality to free falling thousands of feet towards the Earth with only fabric encased in a backpack to stop you from a date with gravity. The act of skydiving and the idea of it becoming a sport would have seemed absurd just 100 years ago, when we could barely even get airborne. Now skydiving is the ultimate thrill. Unfortunately he feeling of your stomach up in your throat is only pleasurable for so long, and you’re left looking for that next thrill. In this case, jumping from heights that would make your blood boil. Is space skydiving the extreme sport of the future?

What do lotus leaves, moth eyes, and desert beetle shells have in common? They are all underappreciated pieces of nature that fulfill multiple amazing purposes simultaneously. These three natural objects inspired MIT researchers to look at a modern day staple, glass, and modify it to have life changing capabilities. The future applications are endless.

Carlos Slim Helú has been atop the list of the world’s richest men for the last several years. He keeps a low profile, so not a whole lot is really known about him. Astounde did a little research and uncovered some of the lesser known facts about Carlos Slim Helú, the richest man in the world.

He doesn't always make investments, but when he does, he prefers to earn exorbitant profits.

Spending time in the great outdoors is wonderful; the sights, the smells, the tranquility. It really brings you back to the days of our ancestors whose lives were shaped in the plains. The problem is that in the 21st century, we need to stay connected to the outside world. E-mails, sports scores, breaking news; we like to have our cake and eat it too. Those of us without an RV who don’t want to risk killing our car battery have had to suck it up and survive a few days without a smart device. Even resisting those temptations, it’s still nice to have some music to jam out to while in the mountains.

Materials scientists David Toledo and Paul Slusser wanted to make life more convenient for outdoorsmen in the United States, and potentially bring a scarce resource to people in third world countries. They are on the brink of doing just that. Their start-up company, Power Portal, is in the final stages of prototyping on a product called the PowerPot. The PowerPot will be able to create electricity for anyone with a hot surface and a cool liquid inside.

A collaboration of scientists from around the world have reached an unfathomable goal, one that could drastically change the way that we look at computers forever. North American, Australian, and South African scientists have built a crystal about 1 mm in diameter and consisting of only 300 atoms, that will be able to power a computer to do calculations beyond our wildest dreams.

Mowing the lawn can be a pain with the hot sun, allergies, and your neighbor checking you out. We’ve all see the the vacuum cleaner that cruises around your floor cleaning up pet hair and dust, so why not devise something similar for your lawn? A couple of companies have done just that, just in time for summer.

Being able to see and enjoy all of the beautiful colors and various sights in life may be the greatest privilege that we take for granted everyday. Do we ever take the time to ponder what it would be like to live in darkness? Due to macular degeneration (loss of sight during old age) and other ailments, millions of people around the globe have to deal with this unfortunate truth. Millions of people are unable to see the faces of their loved ones, or a comfortingly familiar landmark or sunset.

Finding a cure for blindness has enthralled humanity for thousands of years. Fortunately, there have been several advancements in the field lately. Many involving a form of stem cell therapy, but others as foreign as using algae to revitalize our eyes. Still to this day, scientists have not discovered one definitive stop-gap measure to restore our vision. A major recent breakthrough could help lead us onto that path.

With cameras going digital in the last decade or two, and with memory storage capabilities skyrocketing, people have been accumulating incomprehensible amounts of photos. Many of our photo collections are unorganized, leaving priceless moments unviewed and completely defeating the purpose of ever taking photos to begin with. A gentleman by the name of Matt Richardson has invented the ‘Descriptive Camera’, which prints a description of the photo taken in lieu of the normal picture we are accustomed to seeing. Could this innovation help us to more effectively preserve our memories?