There’s a lot of hype and wonder surrounding high-definition TVs these days, but often it’s the cable or satellite set-top box that’s doing the technological heavy lifting. We opened up a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD Multi-Room to illustrate what it really does. Click here to download a free pdf of the front, back and inside of the 8300HD.Free To Be USBQ: How many USB devices can I hook up to my PC at one time?...
Your electric dream car just got a little cheaper. Tesla Motors announced yesterday that it would cut the prices of all its cars by $2,000, news that may have thrown Wall Street into a fit but could be good news for people waiting to buy one of Elon Musk’s EVs. The major reason for the price cut is the expiring federal tax credit for buying a Tesla, a fact that was already throwing the electric car market out of whack....
Antarctica isn’t for everyone. If we’re being honest, it’s not for humans at all. People are social creatures, and living at a base at the bottom of the world doesn’t offer too many opportunities for interacting with others. Combine that with the near-constant darkness half the year, the isolation, and the confinement, and you’ve got a place that’s pretty hard on human psychology. To deal with it, a new study finds, scientists studying at the ends of the earth enter into a form of “psychological hibernation....
Have you ever wondered what the longest train journey is? Many potential routes, especially through Europe, are cut short due to the different gauge of tracks used by different countries. For example, you can’t easily travel to the UK from Spain or Portugal, due to differently gauged tracks designed to prevent the French from invading by train. A few trains around the world switch gauges, a painstaking ordeal. One of these is the Trans-Siberian Railway, which, unsurprisingly, is one of the world’s longest passenger train services....
XcelAt some point, when you’re a half mile out to sea and at least forty-five minutes from a hot shower, your body will tell you that it’s time to go in. Not like summer or fall, when you quit if the wind changes or the tide gets too high. In February, I turn back only when my hands and feet stop working. My fingers curl up into a claw so I can’t grip the board, or I lose feeling in my feet and can’t stand up....
This past month’s launch of Starlink satellites was a moment long planned Elon Musk and SpaceX. Known as a satellite constellation, the company has sent 60 of a planned 1,2000 satellites into orbit. What they did not expect, though, was backlash from International Astronomical Union and International Dark Sky Association. The Starlink constellations, it turns out, could be threatening the study of the night sky. The IAU has issued a statement saying it is “concerned” about satellite constellations and what they mean for the future of astronomy....
Step aside, drone racing. Here comes the “anti-drone race.“DroneClash, which takes place in the Netherlands tomorrow, challenges its players to destroy the opponent’s drone and knock it out of the sky. While the event certainly looks entertaining, it’s not just aimless destruction. The competition also hopes to advance anti-drone technology.Delft University of Technology’s Micro Air Vehicle Lab, previously known for pioneering work in flapping-wing drones, came up with the event. The people behind DroneClash believe for drones to be truly safe, we must have a way to stop the inevitable rogue operators....
You’ve heard of Barbie, and the company behind her, Mattel. But have you heard of Jack Ryan? You probably didn’t know that a pair of hands that helped design missiles were also responsible for America’s most popular doll, a story detailed on the recent Netflix show The Toys That Made Us. As told in the show’s second episode, which features interviews with those present at Mattel for Barbie’s creation, Jack Ryan graduated from Yale and worked as an engineer at Raytheon until Ruth Handler, then-president of Mattel, tempted him away in 1955 with the position of head of research and development at the fledgling Mattel....
Media Platforms Design TeamNews reports today speculate that Nissan may be reviving the Datsun name. For those not familiar with the brand, Nissans used to be called Datsuns until 1983. Many of us remember an awkward time during the switchover when Datsun cars had a badge with the words “by Nissan” tacked on the bottom. Personally, this move never made any sense—the best cars, the 240Z, the 510 were Datsuns. But the public didn’t seem to care what the cars were called....
Epcot has always been the most curious of Disney World’s parks: a place of slow (and some might say boring) rides that focused more on education than on adrenaline-boosting thrills. This is a park where utopian ideals (the park’s name originally stood for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow”) meet multicultural reverence, with a huge section of the park devoted to miniature recreations of various countries. Epcot has always been a place of shameless futurism, where, for the price of admission, visitors can spend the day exploring contrasting and often unrealistic visions of the world to come....
Paint is a necessary ingredient that makes a house your home. But with tones of paints, brushes, and surfaces—not to mention picking the right color—it can be easy to overlook a small detail and end up with a less than perfect paint job. But if you try to avoid these four common mistakes, you’re on your way to putting down a fresh coat that will make you proud. Mistake #1: Using the Wrong ToolSutiporn Somnam//Getty ImagesPeople often use the wrong tool because they don’t know which tool is correct....
Media Platforms Design TeamAfter a year of uncertainty, Congress finally agreed on a NASA budget. It’s a bipartisan-approved, $19 billion plan that gives NASA a new direction. The decision should quell doubts following President Barack Obama’s move to end the Constellation moonshot program, which his predecessor started. Although the budget is approved through 2013, November elections could reshape Congress and introduce more uncertainty. Here’s a cheat sheet of the legislation.Space Shuttle WorkersThe budget authorizes another Shuttle flight, delaying the vehicle’s retirement by several months....
China has unveiled a new directed energy weapon, one that poses a serious threat to high-tech U.S. military electronics. According to Popular Science the weapon, which resembles existing American arms, can “disable missiles and paralyze tanks”.The unnamed weapon system has been in development for the past six years at the Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology in Xi’an, China. According to Popular Science, the weapon is “small enough to fit on a lab bench” and is ready to be weaponized....
The goal of every painter is to paint neatly and quickly. This can be challenging. My neighbor recently spent an entire week painting his bedroom, and ended up with nearly as much paint on himself as on the walls and ceiling. And in the end, believe or not, his wife decided she didn’t like the color. He’s now spending most of his time outside working on the lawn. Fortunately, there are dozens of tricks, shortcuts and trade secrets devoted to painting, many more than for any other home-improvement activity....
Media Platforms Design TeamOn Sale Date: NowPrice: $250The smartwatch is, by all indications, still on the rise. The concept is both simple (an intelligent wristwatch with functionality enhanced beyond timekeeping) and old (Casio’s line of “computer watches,” Databank, was marketed as early as the ’80s). Tech fads wax and wane, as the smartwatch did a couple of decades ago, but over the past year, the wearable device has returned—and, in our new smartphone-centric reality, proven difficult to execute....
Media Platforms Design TeamWeapons maim the heads and faces of soldiers in cruel ways. Because of this, facial reconstruction is as old as the ancient Egyptians, who fashioned cosmetic noses that could be lashed on to the faces of wounded warriors. Today, the problem persists, but modern medicine has an array of scanning equipment and digital processing tools that bring a high-tech edge to craniofacial prostheses. “We switched from doing things as artists to doing things as technicians,” says Capt....
Unlike your mattress, comforter, and duvet that you’ve likely owned for decades and hauled from one house to another, your pillow should absolutely be changed out regularly. The National Sleep Foundation suggests that you should ideally get a new set every one or two years, that is, unless you’re comfortable with pillows that resemble pancakes. But if your neck and back often feel like a corkscrew, you might be overdue for a pillow replacement....
It’s been more than a month since a devastating hurricane hit the island of Puerto Rico, and almost 80 percent of the island’s inhabitants still don’t have access to electricity. For many residents, this can mean lack of access to refrigerated food, air conditioning, and communications. For hospitals, it can mean the difference between life and death for their patients.A few weeks ago, the governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossello, publicly asked for help from the one man best suited to rebuild an entire electrical grid from scratch: Elon Musk....
Three men escaped Alcatraz in 1962 (with some help from the pages of Popular Mechanics) in one of the most daring prison breaks of all time. The big question that has lingered in the decades since: Did they make it safely, or die in the cold waters of San Francisco Bay?This week a new development is making headlines. A handwritten letter claims to be penned by one of the three escapees....
NASA was set to make history this week with the first all-woman spacewalk. Anne McClain and Christina Koch were scheduled to take part in a spacewalk on Friday, but during mission planning the space station crew ran into a problem: the ISS only has one working spacesuit for that’s appropriately-sized women.Last week, when McClain went on her first spacewalk, she wore a large spacesuit, but reported it was too big and made maneuvering difficult....
