• Gadgets

    Charging Ahead

    By Paul Adams Posted on 2.20.2009 12 Comments

    We've all got the drawer. It has an indiscriminate collection of electronic connections, cords, and chargers for devices we haven't used in a decade and couldn't give away on eBay for free. But we guard that drawer with Obamian hope that the next purchase might actually require a serial port connection or that dot-matrix printers might hold the key to cold fusion. We wait for just one occasion to justify our persistence and silence throughout decades of shrieks from our significant others. It's likely that within that drawer are somewhere between six and ten cell phone chargers, one perhaps still connected through its one-of-a-kind connection to that swanky new flip phone you bought in 1999. We understand. We too have such a drawer, or cabinet or garage. But together, today, it's time to let go, just a little bit.

  • Technology

    A Unique View of Egypt

    By Paul Adams Posted on 2.9.2009 3 Comments

    Here are a couple more from our favorite eye in the sky. Both half-meter resolution images were snapped from space by the GeoEye-1 satellite, which also took those fantastic pics of the National Mall on Inauguration Day.

  • Cars

    Eco Driver's Ed: the 2010 Honda Insight

    By Paul Adams Posted on 2.10.2009 9 Comments

    Aggressive driving -- lead-footed acceleration, speeding, excessive braking -- can slash highway mileage by 33 percent, according to government estimates. Honda's Insight hybrid, arriving in April, softens the effects of wasteful driving and tells you when you're indulging in bad habits.

  • Science

    A False Scare Raises a Real Specter of Exploding Batteries

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 2.9.2009 3 Comments

    Most people don't see their cell phones as tiny time bombs, because they're not. But news of an exploding cell phone killing its owner in China has raised concerns once more, despite the fact that the latest reports suggest a homemade zip gun is to blame.

  • Science

    Not Such an Easy Pill to Swallow

    By taylorhengen Posted on 2.9.2009 3 Comments

    The annoying physical exertion associated with lifting a pill to your mouth and washing it down with a Dixie cup full of H20 could soon be history. Much excitement is building around electronic implants that dispense medicines automatically or via a wireless medical network. According to a team of Australian and US researchers, however, remote Intelligent Drug Delivery Systems (RIDDS) are rife with security issues.

  • Science

    Thar She Blows!

    By Paul Adams Posted on 1.30.2009 0 Comments

    Also in today's links: porn aficionados, boys who break the law -- and more.

  • Technology

    What's Happening to the Sun?

    By Paul Adams Posted on 1.27.2009 24 Comments

    For about 50 years from roughly 1650 to 1700, the Sun took a break from its typical sunspot activity. That phase of solar rest coincided with what we now refer to as "The Little Ice Age" -- a period of cooling on the Earth that resulted in bitterly cold winters, particularly in Europe and North America. Scientists attribute the Little Ice Age to two main causes: increased volcanic activity and reduced solar activity. Could it happen again? And are we headed there now?

  • Cars

    Who Killed the Electric Car? Not the Army

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 1.15.2009 11 Comments

    Soldiers may soon get greener rides on-base, after the U.S. Army announced the acquisition of 4,000 neighborhood electric vehicles. The plug-and-chug vehicles come in both sedan and light truck models, and can charge their batteries at any three-pronged household outlet. Estimates put the savings over a six-year service lifetime at 11 million gallons of fuel, not to mention 115,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

  • Cars

    Detroit Becomes Electric

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 1.14.2009 13 Comments

    Two months ago, it was far from clear whether Detroit’s Big 3 carmakers would even exist by the time their hometown auto show rolled around. Thanks to government funds they made it—and as a result, much of the Detroit show seemed to be a performance for Washington; an elaborate sales pitch for the continued relevance and potential solvency of the American auto industry. Hybrids, plug-ins, and pure electric cars, both real and vaporous, were central to that pitch. Meanwhile, Nissan, Infiniti, Porsche and Ferrari skipped town, and boutique electric-car makers Fisker and Tesla and the Chinese automakers BYD and Brilliance staked out sizable plots on the main showroom floor. Here’s a selection of highlights.

  • Gadgets

    What Megazoom Looks Like

    By Sean Captain Posted on 1.9.2009 4 Comments

    Cameras are looking more and more like telescopes. This year's CES saw several megazoom models emerge, including 60X and 70X from Sony and Panasonic camcorders and a 26X still camera from Olympus. (The higher the camera's resolution, the harder it is to extend the range of a lens. The Olympus is a 12MP camera, while the standard-def camcorders are under a megapixel.)

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December 2009: Best of What's New

In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.

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