Construction begins this Friday, June 19, on Spaceport America. The project will be the first world’s first spaceport designed to service private space travel companies like Virgin Galactic. The public is invited to the groundbreaking ceremony at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.

New Mexico State University has projected that by Spaceport America’s fifth year of operation, it will employ 2,300 people with a payroll of $300 million. In another study, the Futron Corporation has predicted that by 2020, Spaceport America will employ more than 5,000 people and have total revenues in excess of $1 billion.

A concept image is seen here. Read more at the Spaceport America website.

Nintendo’s Wii can now add another sales record to its already impressive list. According to figures from marketing research company NPD, the Wii is now the fastest-selling game console in history in the U.S. Shipment of more than 20 million units in 31 months on the market set the record. The worldwide sales are over 50 million consoles, according to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, which possibly means that the Wii also has the worldwide record.

The Wii differentiated itself from other game consoles with its remote wireless controller which can detect motion in 3D space, allowing more interaction and new kinds of games. Nintendo has targeted new groups of users with the Wii, including senior citizens and parents. The strategy seems to have helped pave the way to success.

The Fatal1ty Gaming Headset from Creative is being introduced as “professional style” gaming equipment. The 40mm neodymium drivers have a 20 – 20,000 Hz range. When you use the headset with a Creative Sound Blaster sound card, active noise cancellation (known as Silencer technology) is activated. The VoiceFX feature in the Sound Blaster also allows voice morphing when the boom microphone is used. The headset will retail for about $100 on Amazon.com.

Technology museums aren’t nearly as common as art museums. Maybe because technology and inventions just keep marching forward, we rarely take time to think about where we’ve been. A new technology museum just opened which anyone can visit – the online Canon Camera Museum. This Flash-based website lets you wander at will through the virtual museum, viewing ‘exhibits’ on Design, Technology and History of Canon cameras.

According to Wired Science, the U.S. Department of Energy is about to give scientist more time for open research on two of its largest supercomputers. Scientists will have an additional 1.3 billion hours of processor hours available for complex simulations and computations. One of these supercomputers is the Cray XT Jaguar, located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

The Jaguar was named the world’s fasted supercomputer for unclassified use in late 2008. Under the hood it has 45,000 quad-core AMD Opteron processors and 362 tetrabytes of memory, and is capable of processing 1.64 petaflops, which translates to 1.64 quadrillion mathematical calculations per second. The Jaguar’s price tag is about $100 million.

You can see a cool time-lapse video of the Jaguar computer being built here.

Android is Google’s mobile operating system, currently restricted to cell phones. That may not be the case for long. Several consumer electronics companies would like to use the Android OS for other gadgets, including e-book readers, digital photo frames and netbooks. There are even some working prototypes being shown by manufacturers such as Fujitsu.

There is pressure on consumer electronics companies to market devices with more functionality at a lower price. An open source OS that runs on multiple platforms will facilitate development of such devices. Android, which is based on the Linux kernel, is an open source OS with the backing of Google. It remains to be seen if Microsoft can come up with something or if Android will satisfy this new demand.

For the family that has everything, the next great gadget gift may be the Chumby. This little ‘beanbag’ computer plays custom feeds of Internet websites, including sports news, weather, stock updates or any kind of news.

The Chumby is a quick way to get in touch on Facebook or Twitter without turning on a computer. You can also stream video from sites like YouTube. It has a 3.5 inch screen and a built in stereo radio. Basic models start at $199. Found out more on the Chumby website.

The Husqvarna Automower is being advertised as the world’s first fully automated robotic lawnmower. The technology sounds similar to the robotic vacuum cleaners which have become so popular. The homeowner places a wire around the perimeter of the yard (to keep the lawnmower contained), then the mower works it’s way around the lawn in a random fashion. If the robot hits an obstacle (like a rock or tree), it reverses itself and selects a new direction.

Husqvarna claims that the final result is a ‘carpet-like’ lawn, and that it’s so quiet that it won’t disturb the neighbors. The mower is powered by a rechargeable battery, so it’s also emission free.

You can expect to pay $2300 – $2700 USD for this mower. Freedom comes with a price in this case!

The hugely popular Rock Band video game allows would-be rock musicians to perform in a virtual band without ever having to learn how to play an actual instrument. Players can customize their on-screen persona’s hair, clothing, physique and even tattoos.

Now publisher Warner Brothers Interactive has announce a new version of Rock Band based on the LEGO universe. LEGO Rock Band is under development by TT Games, makers of the popular LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Batman, in a partnership with Rock Band creators Harmonix.

Warner Brothers has revealed a sneak peak at five songs from the LEGO Rock Band playlist:
1. Blur – Song 2
2. Carl Douglas – Kung Fu Fighting
3. Europe – The Final Countdown
4. Good Charlotte – Boys and Girls
5. Pink – So What

LEGO Rock Band is slated for a Holiday 2009 release, when it will no doubt be wrapped up under the Christmas tree of many an aspiring rock star who played with LEGO not so many years ago.

Comic-Con International is an annual comic convention held in San Diego, California.  The four-day event was first held in 1970, with about 300 people attending.  This years event, scheduled for July 24-27, is expected to have at least 125,000 in attendance.

Comic-Con originally showcased comic books and science fiction and fantasy in films and on television.  The focus of Comic-Con has expanded over the years to include a wide range of pop culture topics, including animation, horror, anime, manga, video games, fantasy card games, toys and fantasy novels.

In addition to an exhibitor floor, Comic-Con features seminars, panels, workshops, film previews, celebrity appearances, a costume contest and an independent film festival.  The size of the convention is testament to the ever-growing popularity of fantasy and science fiction in pop culture. 

Learn more at the Comic-Con website.