Tech 2.0 for Friday, January 25, 2013

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Contributor: Matt Davenport

Email: mdavenport@kpvi.com

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Published: 1/25 2:51 pm

Updated: 1/25 3:01 pm

The criminal charges continue to mount against a Texas man who had described himself as a spokesman for the hacker-activist group Anonymous. A two-count federal indictment returned yesterday in Dallas charges Barrett Brown with concealing evidence by hiding two laptops from authorities. The 31-year-old defendant was a de facto spokesman for Anonymous. The latest indictment alleges that he concealed the laptops from authorities at the home of an associate identified only as "KM." The indictment doesn't detail what was on the laptops. He already is accused of stealing data from the Austin-based private intelligence firm Stratfor and threatening an FBI agent on the Internet. Brown's attorney, Doug Morris, declined to comment on the new charges.

Researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Cornell University are asking people to enter a recipe contest for meals they'll serve during a simulated mission to Mars. Staff and crew of the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation mission will select finalist recipes, taking popular vote into account. The simulated mission aims to help NASA determine the best way to keep astronauts well-nourished during multiple-year missions to Mars or the moon. Recipe submissions are being accepted online through March 8 at hi-seas.org.

Sports fans looking for a super deal on a new television may intercept one as we approach Super Bowl Sunday. The price-tracking site decide.com reports most sets see a ten to 15 percent price drop in the weeks leading up to the game, with many sales rivaling holiday-season deals. January is one of the best times to buy a new TV as stores clear out inventory of current models to make room for the newer models.

Twitter is going video. The social media giant has launched Vine, a service that allows users to share brief video clips. Just as tweets are limited to 140-characters, videos on Vine are limited to six seconds. The Vine app is available for free from Apple's iTunes App Store. Twitter says versions for other platforms are in the works.