Tech-Stew Podcast E17: Your Screen is Leaking was recorded on Saturday June 9th, 2012.

Summary: 

Facebook's App Center launches, iOS 6 confirmed, Microsoft SmartGlass, touchscreen tacticle keyboards, Windows 8 Release Preview details, a new treament for prostate cancer and more.

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Are you frustrated with sending messages from your smartphone because you mistype on the cumbersome onscreen keyboard?  Those days could be a thing of the past thanks to Tactus Technology, who has demonstrated a technology that allows for a tactile keyboard that appears and disappears on the screen like magic.

The Venus Transit of 2012 has now finished, but thanks to the Solar Observatory, we can view the event in its entirety from a different perspective. 

This transit of Venus was rare.  The next transit won't occur until Dec 11, 2117, so mark your calendars.  The data obtained from this transit will assist scientists in both discovering some unknown secrets of Venus as well as techniques for searching for planets around other stars.

Ray Bradbury, who has wrote books ranging from science fiction to mystery and humor, has died at 91. Shown here at a 1997 book signing. (CREDIT: Steve Castillo, AP)

Ray Bradbury, author of the Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451 and many more classic novels has died this morning in Los Angeles at the age of 91.  Ray Bradbury's work inspired millions ranging from artists to film over the years.

If you are a big Mass Effect fan then you have something to look forward to if you get the Wii U this holiday season.  During the Nintendo E3 press conference they have revealed that BioWare's Mass Effect 3 RPG will be coming to the Nintendo Wii U.  According to the Bioware Twitter feed, Mass Effect 3 will also be a launch title.

Mass Effect 3 is built on the Unreal Engine 3, which is built by Epic Games.  It is likely more Unreal Engine 3 ports will follow to the Wii U in the near future.

Nintendo originally said that the Wii U would only support one of the unique gamepads on one system.  Now during Nintendo's live E3 keynote, they have stated the final version of the console will support two.  What this means is that it will be possible to have even ground two-player games instead of making a friend using the older Wii Remote and Nunchuk.  Details on the cost of the gamepad have not been made public as of yet, nor whether Gamepad-to-Gamepad play will work.

The Wii U Gamepad will consist of a 6.2-inch touchscreen and a stylus for other input options.  It also has an infrared transceiver, accelerometer and gyroscope along with the traditional rumble feature.

Source: Cnet

With all the current buzz related to Space and exploration, none really have definitive plans to set up a colony on Mars.  Enter a new private space venture called Mars One, a company from the Netherlands.  They aim to send four astronauts on a one way trip to Mars in just 11 years.

Zune, a name that once held the hopes of many to outdo Apple in the portable player war, has now been put to rest.  Microsoft made many announcements at the E3 games conference in Los Angeles, among them executives said the company will introduce a new music service, Xbox Music.  Xbox Music will run on the Xbox 360, Windows Phone and Windows 8 computers and come out in the fall.  This will no doubt mean that the Zune name in the Windows 8 Release Preview will be renamed to Xbox Music and similar in the final version..

Microsoft spokeswoman Melissa Stewart confirmed that the Zune brand is going away so Microsoft can use the more well-known name Xbox for its entertainment services, including video.  Stewart says those who created playlists under the old Zune name will still have access to those songs on the new Xbox Music service.  The Zune music service currently has 30 million songs in their library.  By comparison iTunes has 28 million songs.

Microsoft introduced the Zune name in 2006.  This was a time when Apple's iPod and iTunes were becoming popular.  Zune was both a player and a service that allowed users to load their Zune devices with music.

The Zune ultimately became a failure in the market.  It failed to compete with the iPod.  ZuneHD in 2009 did somewhat better, while Apple focused on the iPhone and iPad.  Microsoft then discontinued the player in 2011 and focused on music and video services with the Zune name.  It became part of Xbox and Windows Phone.

Source:  DailyTech