BY KYLER GEOFFROY

A weekly round-up of the best tech, science, and geek-related news from around the web.

 Batman V Superman director Zack Snyder is having fun with his friendly Twitter crossover competition against Star Wars: Episode VII director J.J. Abrams. 

 Space X founder and eccentric billionaire Elon Musk has long-term plans to “establish a city on Mars.” No word yet if he’s taking name suggestions yet. 

 After two years and nearly five miles of driving, the Mars Curiosity rover has finally reached the base of Mount Sharp. One of the rover’s primary goals now is to study the mountain’s clay-rich lower layers that could reveal information about the planet’s  past – a past that may even indicate signs of life. Check out a video on the milestone below:

 Turns out the U.S. would rather side with the Galactic Empire than the Rebel Alliance. At least, everywhere except North Dakota (rebel scum…)

 Clash of the Titans: Apple’s newly unveiled iPhone 6 vs Google’s Nexus 5? And how does the Apple Watch stand up against the smartwatch competition?

 RIP iPod Classic

 Check out the Strati – the world’s first 3D printed car that just made its debut at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago.

 The rise of artificially intelligent journalism. “Automated writing will soon be showing what it can really do, when it merges with another technological advance: individual tracking of billions of consumers, thanks to their purchases, internet browsing habits, mobile communications and such. ‘One day President Obama explained to the media that if Americans made sure their tyres were properly inflated they could save 7% on fuel. This claim went unheeded because folks didn’t want to do the math. But in the future your favourite news website will explain things differently: it’ll know who you are, the make of car you drive and how much it consumes, how far you travel every week, the type of fuel you buy, and so on. It’ll draft an article specially for you, telling you exactly how many dollars you’d save if your tyres were properly inflated,’ Hammond says. The same approach could be used in countless other sectors, from healthcare to politics. ‘One day, there will only be a single reader for each article.'”

 Apple CEO Tim Cook shares why he thinks TV is stuck in the 1970s in a recent interview with Charlie Rose below: 

 A first look at the upcoming Windows 9 multi-desktop display. 

 Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor says the American public should be more concerned about drones. “There are drones flying over the air randomly that are recording everything that’s happening on what we consider our private property. That type of technology has to stimulate us to think about what is it that we cherish in privacy and how far we want to protect it and from whom. Because people think that it should be protected just against government intrusion, but I don’t like the fact that someone I don’t know…can pick up, if they’re a private citizen, one of these drones and fly it over my property.”

 This adorable ‘Chewbacca Dog’ looks ready for next year’s Star Wars: Episode VII.

 7 times Batman bent his “no guns” rule. 

 Will advances in technology lead many of us to live in nomadic, tech-savvy communities? “Living in tiny but technologically advanced mobile houses, we’ll form ad-hoc communities with individuals who share similar interests, in a manner similar to subreddits. ‘Mass digital nomadism will act a little bit like Reddit: agglomerating geeks together in proto-cities (gamers, psychonauts, artists, vegans, nudist, queers), and create super cool homogenous communities,’ said Logomachy’s Guillaume Dumas, adding that this system would make it easier for individuals to find friends and potential partners.”

 PHOTOS: Patrick Stewart surprises child Star Trek fan who has life-threatening illness.

 Audi is set to debut in the near future a semi-autonomous car – one that includes a system that drives itself in stop-and-go urban traffic. Wonder if it will also includes horn-honking and road rage simulation features?

No discussion of the most iconic, influential and important LGBT pop-culture figures would be complete without mention of Ellen DeGeneres. The beloved comedian, actress and host is not only adored by legions of loyal viewers of her daytime talk show, but a recent survey also named her gay men’s favorite celebrity endorser.

After a successful start doing stand-up in the ’80s and ’90s, Ellen left her mark on television history. Her sitcom, Ellen, made headlines when its titular character came out of the closet following DeGeneres’ real-life coming out to Oprah at the height of her show’s popularity. Ellen’s shift into more LGBT-focused content (and, some speculate, waning network support of the gay-friendly content) led to a downturn in ratings, and it was canceled after the following season.

But, we hadn’t heard the last of the funnylady from Metairie, Louisiana. She voiced Dory in Pixar’s Finding Nemo (and will return in an upcoming sequel). Riding a wave of new celebrity-hosted talk shows, Ellen launched her own daytime gabfest in 2003. Eleven years later, the show is still a massive success, beaming DeGeneres’ dancing and silly segments into the living rooms of millions every day.

Put on your dancing shoes and boogie down with some of our favorite Ellen clips, AFTER THE JUMP …

Ellen started by performing her observational stand-up comedy in the 1980s. The clip above, from a 1986 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, marks her first appearance on national television . She became the first female comedian to be invited to chat with Carson on-air following her act.

The landmark 1997 coming out episode of Ellen featured guest spots from Laura Dern and Oprah (to whom Ellen DeGeneres came out to earlier that year). The episode aired to huge ratings following the media storm around Ellen’s coming out on and off screen.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show became a fresh addition to the daytime talk lineup when it debuted in 2003. Not only is the openly-gay host a charming fit for the sunny format, but the show regularly features LGBT performers like Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons, Robin Roberts, Jane Lynch and others discussing coming out and gay themes in their work.

Ellen isn’t afraid to take a stand either, and that’s what makes her such an important media figure. She’s an adorable agitator who can talk about bullying, the Boy Scouts of America and same-sex marriage to a huge mainstream audience. She awarded Constance McMillen (the teen whose school canceled prom instead of allowing her to bring her girlfriend) a scholarship for $30,000, praised Jason Collins, and often discusses her marriage to actress Portia de Rossi. She’s also spoken out against organizations that have attempted to boycott her work or otherwise displayed intolerance. Our favorite stand she took was the emotionally-charged plea to end bullying in the clip above.

In addition to hosting her own show, she’s also been a judge on American Idol, as well as host of the Emmy Awards and the Academy Awards. While hosting the 86th Academy Awards, her second time as emcee, she set a record for the most retweeted image ever with her star-studded selfie.

What are your favorite Ellen moments?