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Buying a truck can be a lesson on the paradox of choice, which says that happiness is inversely proportional to the number of options available. Fewer options = more blissful shopping, basically. Now, consider the the Ford F-150, which offers six different engines, seven trim levels, three different cabs and three bed configurations. And will that be two-wheel-drive, four-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive? That’s some heavy-duty decision making. Well, we’re here to help....

The USS Michael Monsoor, the second of three Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyers, has passed its acceptance trials on its way to joining the rest of the U.S. Navy. But the fate of the three stealth destroyers, the most advanced ships ever designed, remains up in the air as the Navy ponders how to move forward without ammunition for their main guns. The USS Monsoor is named after US Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient Petty Officer Michael A....

With the rapid rate that drone technology is advancing, we shouldn’t be surprised when increasingly complex UAVs hit the scene with fanfare. But the Phoenix, a new drone out of the United Kingdom, is a marvel—and could have major military implications.At 49 feet long and 34 feet wide, the Phoenix looks like a small flying bomb with (relatively) tiny wings covered by solar panels, which makes it plenty imposing on the outside....

Space junk is a growing problem—the European Space Agency estimates that there are over 750,000 pieces of debris in space over one centimeter big. Considering how commercial projects like SpaceX want to increase travel beyond the planet, there’s the chance that it could metastasize over the next several years. The RemoveDEBRIS system, based out of the University of Surrey in England, has been testing a harpoon-based system of removal of since last year....

The U.S. Congress is currently gridlocked over a spending plan for the next fiscal year, and if they don’t reach an agreement by midnight tonight the government will shutdown.But what would that mean for science and tech agencies? A lot of scientific experiments in the U.S. run through some kind of government agency, whether that means awarding grants for research or collecting data from experiments. Without funding, what happens?NASAObviously, the astronauts aboard the space station would keep working, and a ground crew would continue monitoring the station and other important NASA spacecraft....

Another day, another billionaire’s space travel company. This time it is Richard Branson, who is expanding with his third space-based company in Vox Orbit. Vox Orbit’s particular niche will be commercial and government contracts.Based out of southern California, “Vox Space provides the national security community of the USA and allied nations with responsive, dedicated, and affordable launch services for small satellites bound for Low Earth Orbit,” according to its website. However, an insider tells TechCrunch that business “will be roughly 90 percent commercial and 10 percent government....

Media Platforms Design TeamThe hazards of sitting in front of our computers all day include back pain, circulation problems, and even heart disease. One solution is the standing desk, but even that puts pressure on your knees and feet. Another solution is the new LeanChair, a recent Kickstarter project that allows you to lean back while working at your desk.Inspired by leaning boards, which were once used on film sets so actors could relax without ruining their costumes by sitting in chairs, the LeanChair claims it can take 25 percent of your weight off your feet and knees....

The U.S. Navy had its fair share of problems when developing the USS Zumwalt, the stealth destroyer that would be the namesake of a new class of vessels (including ammo that was too expensive to fire). Now the second Zumwalt-class ship, the USS Michael Monsoor, had to head back to its shipyard because of engine trouble.The Michael Monsoor finished its acceptance trials back in February of 2018. But as Military.com now reports, the ship suffered damage to its turbine blades during those trials that will require two of its Rolls Royce-built MT30 marine gas turbine engines to be replaced....

Microsoft’s new Surface Book isn’t the first of its kind, but it is probably the best. Other laptop-tablet hybrids have played around with detachable keyboards, but none of them have quite nailed it. The Surface Book, on the other hand, feels like it could be the future of laptops, and its well-made and clever hinge is one of the main reasons why. iFixit recently got its hands on a Surface Book, and true to form, they ripped it apart immediately....

In 1859, a massive solar storm fried out telegraph lines across the world in what’s become known as the Carrington Event. If it happened today, it could destroy our electrical, telephone, and Internet infrastructure. Recent geological research shows that the solar storms may be more common than thought, with the trace radioactive materials showing up in two core samples from the last 1,300 years. In a paper published in Nature, two giant events just 219 years apart were both revealed to be massive solar storms: the “red crucifix” event of 774, and another massive event in 993 or 994....

Media Platforms Design TeamIt was after midnight on Oct. 22, 2008, when lifelong Alaska fisherman Guy Schroder was woken up in his bunk on board the F/V Katmai. “Guy, we’ve got problems,” crewman Carlos Zabala told the 50-year-old deck boss. “We’ve lost steering.“Schroder rushed up to the wheelhouse of the 73-foot factory cod boat, a vessel he had been working on for just a few months. The captain was at the helm, struggling to control the converted shrimp trawler in 30-foot seas....

Sometimes law enforcement agencies want or need access to the phones of suspects or victims, but with password protection and encryption, they can’t get. Just ask the FBI, which spent more than $1 million to decrypt the phone of the San Bernardino shooter. Fusion reports that one police department is trying a different approach: 3D-printed fingerprints.The police approached researcher Anil Jain, who studies biometric security at the Michigan State University. Officers acquired the phone of a murder victim, and they believe there are clues to the ID of the murderer hidden on that phone....

In Hobro, Denmark, you can circumnavigate the entire globe in under an hour. Or at least a scale model of it. At the Verdenskortet (translating literally as “world map” in Danish), visitors can visit a scaled map of the world, with a series of manmade islands built of dirt and rocks resting in a pond. Built between 1944 and 1969, the map was the handy work of Søren Paulson, a farmer living on family land with an adjacent lake....

Geysers at the South Pole of Saturn’s tiny moon Enceladus hinted that there was an ocean, but never what it might look like. But a new model from a Cornell University led team shows that the ocean likely encircles the entire globe. Essentially, Cassini has been orbiting the Saturn system for more than a decade. In that time, it’s made multiple passes of Enceladus. From photographic examination, the team, led by Cassini imaging team member Peter Thomas, determined that the crust has a subtle wobble, detected through the shifting position of surface features....

Smart City Holdings, a Wi-Fi provider for convention centers across the country, just got slapped with a hefty $750,000 fine from the FCC. The issue at hand? Blocking personal Wi-Fi hotspots on convention premises. To call convention center internet prices a ripoff is a bit of an understatement. Smart City Holdings charges around $80 per day for access to their networks. By blocking personal Wi-Fi hotspots, it forces attendees to pay into this exorbitant scheme....

Media Platforms Design TeamEven at its best, the Golden West Airshow in Olivehurst, Calif., is not one of the country’s premier aviation events. The annual weekend-long celebration of light sport and experimental aircraft usually attracts only a few thousand spectators to Yuba County Airport. This year’s turnout is especially light. High winds have kept some performers away and are preventing small-plane pilots from flying in to the venue, but the show must go on....

What’s the most important invention in history? This is a tough question, as there are a lot of really good candidates. Fire, agriculture, writing, and many other discoveries have completely changed human existence. But perhaps the most important invention of the modern era was the transistor. (Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak argued this case in a 2014 column for Popular Mechanics.)Here, Real Engineering explains how transistors work and how they completely revolutionized the world:View full post on YoutubeTransistors work using the same basic principles of their predecessor technology, the vacuum tube....

U.S. adversaries are already working on something America is reluctant to: Enhanced Human Operations (EHO).EHOs entail modifying the body and the brain itself, creating what some have called “super soldiers.” At a press conference laying the Defense Department’s future research and development strategy on Monday, Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work warned that America would soon lose its military competitive advantage if it does not pursue technologies such employing artificial intelligence.“Now our adversaries, quite frankly, are pursuing enhanced human operations, and it scares the crap out of us,” Work said....

Fixing a hole in the wall is considered an easy DIY task, but to really get it smooth and firm takes some skill with the joint compound and knowing the limits of your repair screen. RYOBI is introducing a new drywall repair kit that will be available in three sizes. Unlike most kits that consist of a mesh screen and some spackle, this kit includes a holesaw that embeds a plug in place of the hole....

Internally, at least, the exorbitantly expensive Apple Watch Edition is identical to the base $350 model. When you drop $10,000-plus on the Edition, you’re paying that much because it’s case is rose gold or yellow gold. It’s a Bentley body and price tag on a Toyota Prius—an expression of exclusivity and conspicuous consumption. (That’s not to say it doesn’t make sense for Apple, though. Wealthy Chinese people will buy these, and gifting them to celebrities makes us covet the Watch more....