TAKEOVER CONTENT HERE

NASA has been collecting data about the Earth, the solar system, and beyond for over half a century, but it's not always easy to see how all of this data is making our world a better place on the level of people like you and me. The Space Apps Challenge, sponsored by NASA and Innovation Endeavors (an investment firm headed by Google's Eric Schmidt), asked international teams to submit ideas for apps offering solutions to global problems.

There were four types of challenges that teams could work on, including software, open hardware, citizen science, and data visualization. Within these broad categories were specific goals: for example, creating an open-source 3D printing platform that works in space or redesigning the Voyager Golden Record for 2012.

Thousands of people and organizations ultimately participated in the challenge (which gave them just one single weekend to come up with a demo or pitch), and the results are in. Before you say "ugh, I don't care about apps," take a look at these short videos highlighting the winners, because we're pretty sure you'll want to care about these.

As a kid, riding on the Space Mountain roller coaster was a watershed moment. It started my life-long love of imitations of what space might be like, and of roller coasters. I've probably ridden it hundreds of times. So imagine my surprise when I learned a few behind-the-scenes goodies about "the Mountain."

If you're up to snuff on your Samsung history, you'll know that the Korean electronics giant is very keen on slapping the word "Smart" in front of all of its products. From Smart TVs to Smart Touch Remotes to Smart Home appliances including a smartphone-controllable washer and dryer, Samsung's got the connected goods.

The only product that hasn't gone to school and come back enlightened is the camera. This year, Samsung's rolling out the smartness to all of its compact-system-cameras (better known as CSC or mirrorless cameras with lens systems). What that means is all of its flagship CSCs have built-in Wi-Fi and the ability and the ability to instantly share photos and videos to popular social networks. How well does the feature work? I went and found out for you.