With the world moving to the internet via computer, TV, or phone, domain names are as becoming more important than ever. Once you own a domain name, all you must do is pay for its renewal each year, and you’ll own it forever. Domain names that receive a lot of traffic are similar to a popular mall or tourist destination; they get access to a lot of visitors, and their wallets as well.

Early-adopters known as domain investors or ‘domainers’ have made a living off of owning premium domain names. Premium generic terms such as credit, jobs, and law reign supreme. Originally based on the core of .com, .org, and .net, the internet is rapidly expanding, creating many more opportunities to own a corner of the web.

Overflowing landfills are a huge problem in the U.S. and worldwide. Scientists may have discovered an innovative way to dispose of much of the plastic, but a lot of trash still remains.

Everything we buy usually comes packaged in some form of non-biodegradable padding or casing, including boxes, bags, wrappers, and foam. We throw it away without even thinking about it, but trash from packaging is adding up. By weight, 50% of all of the trash in the United States is from packaging. The average American throws away their own weight in packaging every 30-40 days! Some of the smarter people in the world have begun to take notice, and are doing some big things about it.

With the news today of Facebook acquiring internet photo site Instagram.com for a cool billion, here’s a comprehensive list of the best things $1 billion can buy you in 2012.

Science is doing some crazy things in the world of genetics these days. Have you heard about the half goat, half spider?

Dragline silk, produced by spiders and used to catch them when they fall, is incomprehensibly strong for it’s weight. It’s stronger than kevlar used in bullet-proof vests. The possible uses are endless. The thing is, spiders are tough to gather and ‘farm for their silk.’ They produce a miniscule amount of this fiber, so we’re unable to harvest it to study and use.

That’s where the goats come into play. Using a form of DNA adjustment called synthetic biology, scientists have taken the gene associated with the production of dragline silk in spiders, and mixed it into the DNA that promotes milk production in goats. They can now obtain drastically more silk in a more controlled manner. Scientists are referring to this technique as advanced farming.

Sending messages has gotten rather boring these days. Pony Express? Yeah right. E-mail? So 20th century. Text messages? Played out. When the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) sent out a challenge to devise a new form of message encryption, a team of scientists at Tufts University stepped up to the plate.

With gas prices an uncertainty and more and more individuals moving to active and healthy lifestyles, people are moving to bikes are a primary form of transportation. Finding a good, safe spot to park a bike has been a problem as they take up a lot of space, and are often the target of theft.

Finding a spot to park your boat is another story altogether. Leaving it docked can be expensive, and buying a trailer is often a pain. Some brilliant minds have sought to address these spacial issues, and have actually created working models of a bike and a boat that can fold up and be worn as a backpack!

Pretty cool stuff coming out of the University of Pittsburgh and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Scientists have been studying one of the strangest behaving materials known to man with some amazing potential future applications.

The internet has become so entrenched in the day to day lives of billions in the world that it often seems even a day without it can lead to withdrawls. In fact, there are now over 2 billion internet users in the world today. When the internet at a particular location becomes slow or inoperational it can be devastating. Business professionals who are on the road often deal with the issue of finding a place to get online; scouring the city and having to deal with paying extreme rates at hotels and restaurants just to keep in touch. For something that has become so necessary, it’s often becoming increasingly difficult to stay connected. An upstart company is taking a game changing strategy and aiming to alleviate our internet woes.

Astounde.com covered an overview of Augmented Reality in February. Augmented Reality is essentially the opposite of virtual reality. AR is placing virtual components into the real world, rather than trying to make a real world in a digital one. AR is still in it’s infancy, but is starting to take a stronghold on our tablets and phones.

One of the most exciting developments using AR is taking place in a new device that can be worn on your face. Technology is shrinking and becoming more powerful than we ever imagined, and that is enabling us to come up with some sensational new applications. Many technology experts believe that 2012 may go down as the year of wearable technology. This evolution of technology and communication has enabled Google to release Project Glass; which is the introduction of what is becoming known as Google Glasses. These glasses have the potential to change the way we live forever.

Many uninformed individuals still think flying cars are the thing of science fiction. If you didn’t see our article from last March, there are several companies working on prototypes of a roadable aircraft that you can park in your garage at home. The company that is furthest along in the process, Terrafugia, successfully completed their first flight with their version of the flying car called the Transition today. Over 100 people have put down $10,000 deposits on the vehicle that’s expected to have a price tag of $279,000. Expect to see the Transition in the air within the next year!