NASA has taken some hits for having decades-old computer technology running the shuttle program and the International Space station. For example, the space agency uses some technology that the moon programs relied on in the 1960s and the space station uses processors more than two decades old. Sounds like a typical government operation? Well, no, when you have scientists explain it.

A silicon.com article reports:

When it comes to spacecraft, design reliability - and not bleeding edge technology - is the watchword, with onboard chips having to undergo extensive testing to prove their robustness and compatibility with the spacecraft's onboard software.

. . . "A spacecraft is not accessible - once it is launched it is there, so you have to be extremely sure that things work," said [Alessandro] Donati, [head of the advanced mission concepts and technologies office at the European Space Agency's Space Operations Centre at Darmstadt, Germany].

Upgrading computing hardware is another task that is normally straightforward on the ground but that becomes an expensive and time-consuming job in space.

Simply put, any upgrade or new technology has to work from the beginning -- always, or else. That's why it takes nearly three years to do a software upgrade. Everything has to be tested and tested again.

But NASA plans to upgrade processors on the space station next year - "the station's first major avionics computer redesign in the 12 years it has been in orbit," silicon.com reports.

Here's something every teenager will just love: The Council for Industry and Higher Education in London released a report on Friday that concluded children should take classes on computer games as a way to improve the United Kingdom's competitiveness in the information technology (or what they call information and communications technology, or ICT) field.

Reports gamrConnect.com:

"The ICT curriculum for schools focuses on using word processing and office productivity tools, rather than engaging children in understanding the computing principles that underpin games, internet services, and green issues they are passionate about."

Such courses should not be seen as "Mickey Mouse", the report said. It added: "The ICT curriculum in schools must be radically overhauled to ensure the pipeline to higher education and employment is improved."

The author of the study? Dr. David Docherty, chief executive of the industry council and chairman of the Digital TV Group. Yep. Readers also are reminded that technology industries pump £102 billion a year into the U.K. economy. See where this is going?

But for parents who have a hard time keeping their child(ren) off video games for, say, less than four hours straight (and who doesn't?), this really will come as a welcome idea. For teenagers, they now have "academic research" to cite when arguing they need to play just a little bit longer. After all, they're supporting the economy.

In a recent article on how chief information officers can become part of an organization's senior leadership team (rather than an order taker who makes sure the e-mail or data center doesn't go down), CIO.com quotes Tom Davenport, professor of management and information technology at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass.:

I hardly get anybody ever who wants to be a CIO, which is probably indicative of something. And if they do want to be a CIO, it's like: "Fine, it'd be useful to rotate through this for a while on my path toward CEO." I think people respect technology, but there aren't that many people anymore who want to be career CIOs.

Of the CIOs in the federal government, how many set out to become a CIO, or did you just fall into it? And for those who were appointed by President Obama, how many really wanted to that CIO post, and if so, when did it occur to you that you did?

I think Davenport has something here. The CIO isn't something an executive, or business student, dreams of being. It's not the traditional path to a high level leadership position, unlike, say, the chief financial officer job. And it still is weighed down by the characterization of the propeller head.

In another sign of just how attached individuals have become to their cell phones, two thirds of adults say they have slept with their mobile device or placed it next to their bed at night, according to a survey released on Thursday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

As expected, younger cell phone users are more likely to bed down with their phone, with 90 percent of 18 to 29 year olds saying they do so. Only 50 percent of 50 to 64 year olds say they curl up with their cell phone.

Sleeping with a cell phone also varies among race. About 62 percent of non-Hispanic whites say they retire to their bedroom with their mobile device in tow compared with 78 percent of blacks and 75 percent of English-speaking Hispanics.

And the trend varies among income levels, with lower-income Americans more likely to keep their cell phone at the ready at night. About 73 percent of people making less than $30,000 a year sleep with their cell phone compared with 70 percent for $30,000 to $49,999, and 61 percent and 64 percent for those who earn between $50,000 and $74,999, and more than $75,000, respectively.

Virginia computers that support issuing new or updated drivers licenses in the commonwealth have been down for a week. Commonwealth officials issued a statement today trying to play down how much inconvenience this caused drivers:

This outage, while significant and particularly so for those attempting to secure a driver's license, was not as widespread as some think. Of the 89 state agencies, 26 were impacted. Of those 26, three had core business functions impacted. State government functions and computer systems continued to operate. Mainframes, networks, PCs, e-mail and phone systems continued to be available. The outage affected 13 percent of the commonwealth's file servers.

OK, but we shouldn't forget the upwards of 45,000 people, according to the Virginian-Pilot in Richmond, who couldn't get a drivers license.

Gov. Bob McDonnell has directed DMV to extend hours at its customer services around the state because the outage impacted an estimated 35,000-45,000 people seeking to obtain or renew their identification. All 74 DMV locations will stay open later Thursday and Friday, and select service centers will offer extended hours Saturday.

McDonnell has called for an investigation into why the computers crashed.