Castles in Portugal? Yachts in Greece? Tree-houses in Costa Rica? A bed and breakfast in Italy? Jacuzzi equipped hotel rooms in Miami? So, so passé. This week, Russian firm Orbital Technologies announced its plans for a hotel in orbit 217 miles outside of Earth, which will accomodate 7 guests in 4 cabins with massive windows for expansive, intergalactic views. Since this is a little bit outside of Google Earth’s navigation capabilities, we suggest two days aboard a Soyuz rocket....

Plastics could help build a sustainable future — yes, you read that right Plastic building blocks I study plastic waste with the specific aim of finding interesting ways to remove it from the environment. Since 2009, I have developed a number of building materials made of post-consumer plastics mixed with different waste-stream materials. From agricultural wastes such assugarcane bagasse– a by-product of the sugar industry in Brazil – andcoffee dregs, to concrete waste andconstruction debris, compounded with recycled plastics, there are many ways to obtain materials to produce bricks, roof tiles, plastic lumber and other useful elements for building....

Want to play the guitar without actually having to play the guitar? That’s exactly what you can do with thePocketGuitar, a fascinating device that allows you to play by pushing cords on your smartphone. You’ll get the satisfying sounds and rhythms without actually lugging a full-sized guitar with you. The PocketGuitar allows you to learn the basics of rhythm, cord changes and different styles of strumming without actually using a guitar....

Boris is the wise ol’ founder of TNW who writes a weekly column on everything about being an entrepreneur in tech — from managing stress to embracing awkwardness. You can get his musings straight to your inbox bysigning up for his newsletter! Wow, this has been an exciting week! On Monday, I announced I would transition into a new role at TNW and introduced our new CEO. You can read all about it in the official announcementhere....

Remember the days you spent arduously creating custom mixtapes for that special someone?Opening Ceremony, an uber hip shop in New York City has just released a slew of “Playbuttons“, recreating the special made for you mixtape experience in button shaped mp3 players. This week’s playbutton is the love button, which includes a suite of new, previously unreleased, and exclusive love songs. All proceeds from this playbutton will be donated to musicians on call, a non-profit that brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of hospital patients....