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- Backstage at CES 2009Today
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: Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.comLAS VEGAS — It's the eve of the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, and the floor is a flurry of activity as thousands of vendors set up their wares. Teamsters and union carpenters rub elbows with electronics industry representatives. Forklifts jostle for position in the narrow pathways, which are lined with shrink-wrapped booth parts and gigantic HDTVs displaying test patterns. Wired.com took a backstage tour of the preparations to bring you a glimpse of what, in a few short hours, will be the latest incarnation of North America's largest technology tradeshow.
Left: Microsoft representatives set up the laptops and screens the company will use to show off its latest software and web services.
: Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.comLess than 24 hours before the show opens, construction is still underway on most of the floor. Carpet awaits unrolling, and pallets are stacked high with high-tech gear.
: Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.comThe gigantic Panasonic booth includes a row of partition-enclosed meeting rooms along its back edge. In those rooms the real business of CES will happen: furious dealmaking between manufacturers, distributors
- A Who's Who of <cite>Doctor Who</cite>Yesterday
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: When Matt Smith stepped into Doctor Who's title role as the 11th Doctor this weekend, he went from British character actor to potential entertainment legend.
The 10 actors who preceded Smith during the sci-fi show's 45-year run are forever linked to the part of The Doctor; some even parlayed the BBC role into a lasting place in pop culture history. Each brought something unique to the role of a benevolent alien traveling through the universe in a stolen time machine, fighting for justice against myriad alien foes.
Smith, 26, will take over from current Doctor, David Tennant, who leaves the show at the end of 2009. Smith, pictured, will first play the Time Lord in the 2010 season.
Hop in the Tardis and take a trip through time with this gallery of Doctors.
: 1) William Hartnell (1963 to 1966): Hartnell, a veteran character actor known primarily for playing gruff drill sergeants before becoming the first Doctor, went from hostile, mysterious alien to wise and heroic grandfather before stepping away for health reasons.
Distinguishing characteristic: His original anachronistic costume and hair set the tone for his descendants.
- Times Square Gets Ready to Ring in 2009December 31 2008
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: Photo: Jesse QuinnNew York City is hard at work getting ready for the countdown to 2009. About 1.6 million people shuffle in and out of Times Square every day, but on Wednesday night, they'll all be there at the same time, along with Ryan Seacrest and over a ton of confetti.
Wired.com took a behind-the-scenes tour of the preparations.
Left: Close-up of Billy Elliot sign above Times Square.
Manhattan's Theater District came to be known as "The Great White Way" because of all of bright lights on the area's theater marquees. Today, most signs are powered by LED lights, which are both brighter and more energy-efficient.
: Photo: Jesse QuinnA video feed of the night's events, sponsored by Countdown Entertainment, will be beamed onto the many screens in the square. Each sign will display different advertising spots during commercial breaks.
: Photo: Jesse QuinnControls for the Spectravision sign sit atop the ninth floor of the W hotel on 47th Street. Clear Channel owns the rights to the space above the building, which explains why the structure is accessible only by a series of ladders and si
- 2008's Best Contest Photos You Never Saw, Part 2December 31 2008
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: With an average of over 500 submissions for each of our twice-monthly photo contests in 2008, a lot of great photos got overlooked. In celebration of the year coming to a close, we've gone back and pulled out some of our favorite contest photos that just didn't get the votes we think they deserved.
Click through the gallery to see these resurrected gems.
This is the second installment of missed photos. If you missed the first one, check it out here.
Left:
From Black-and-White contest
Coldplay Rock
by Jeff KazanskyPhotographer's comment:
"Silhouette of Coldplay's lead singer in a concert in Phoenix, Arizona, during the summer of 2006."
: Reflections
by Andrew LynchPhotographer's comment:
"Midtown Manhattan reflected in the U.N."
: Dark City
by Kim ErlandsenPhotographer's comment:
"NYC shot from Hotel Kensington." - Lotus-Designed Biofuel-Burning Snowspeeder to Detect Cracks in Polar IceDecember 30 2008
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: While most Lotuses are bred to tear up the track, the company's newest racer is built to skate across ice and snow. The prototype Concept Ice Vehicle will scout for crevasses as it leads a caravan of explorers in the Moon-Regan Trans Antarctic Expedition.
Planned for November 2009, the journey aims to raise awareness of the impact of climate change, so the CIV's design specs required that it not spoil the southern continent's pristine atmosphere. To that end, Lotus converted a highly efficient BMW motorcycle engine to run on E85 bioethanol.
The 115-horsepower, two-cylinder motor spins the ultralight propeller fast enough for the CIV to glide over small gaps at a top speed of 84 mph, and the independent suspension (a Lotus specialty) helps the craft pull emergency slaloms around larger hazards. It shouldn't come to that: An onboard GPS-enhanced radar system will detect such voids well ahead of time, and the driver can radio the coordinates back to the rest of the crew — if he's not too busy busting out power-slides in the most badass snowmobile ever.
: Engine
Two-cylinder, 115-hp BMW power plant is oil-cooled and modifie