Good Monday morning everyone! I hope your weekend had some elements of rest and relaxation in it and that you are ready for the unknowns of this upcoming week in the world of tech.

Just to get you caught up here are a few things that we noticed over the weekend.

Steve Ballmer says goodbye in tearful farewell video: ‘I had the time of my life’ (GeekWire) – A video leaked last week from the annual Microsoft Company meeting and this one is just of the last few minutes of the event and shows the true passion that Steve Ballmer feels for Microsoft. I mean when you think about it he has been at this company for most of his adult life and has invested a lot into it.  His run there has also had its ups and down but based on tweeted comments I saw across Twitter the employee’s think a lot of him and his passion.

Acer Iconia W4 tablet spotted at event with Bay Trail chip, IPS display (video) (Engadget) – When the Acer Iconia W3 hit the market it got panned pretty hard because of its poor screen.  I had the chance to see one myself at Staples and the screen seemed like it had fuzzy tape over it and it was just horrible.  The size and form factor were fine but that screened just ruined the whole device.  Well rumors were out several weeks ago that Acer was working on the next version of this 8 inch tablet and based on this story from Engadget it is out there and was caught on video. It seems the screen is greatly improved.  I think this is great because a small device like this would be perfect for Modern apps.

Yes there is still an active space program on this planet (Various) – Over the course of the last five days there have been three significant space related events and the future for more looks bright.

  • Soyuz TMA-10M docks with the ISS (NASASpaceflight) – In a trip that took less than 8 hours from launch to docking three crewmen were launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome to the International Space Station to bring the ISS crew compliment back up to six crewmembers.
  • SpaceX Falcon 9 blasts off from California (Reuters) – The Falcon 9.1 rocket, an upgraded version of the Falcon 9, had its first launch from Vandenberg Air Force Station. “The upgraded Falcon 9 v1.1 has engines that are 60 percent more powerful than previous versions, longer fuel tanks, new avionics, new software and other features intended to boost lift capacity and simplify operations for commercial service.” according to Reuters. The rocket carried a Canadian science and communications satellite which was deployed successfully.
  • The First Cygnus Spacecraft Successfully Docked With The ISS (Gizmodo) – The Cygnus spacecraft had to hang out in orbit while the Soyuz TMA-10M made its way to the station but it was successfully docked to the station on Sunday to become only the second private company to have a craft docked to the ISS.

Enjoy your week.