• Gadgets

    Re-Print

    By Stuart Fox Posted on 3.9.2009 9 Comments

    I just replaced my inkjet printer, a model I’d bought less than two years ago—not because it broke or because I didn’t like the quality, but because it ran out of ink. Sound absurd? I paid $40 for the new printer (which scans and copies too). New ink cartridges for the last one would have cost me $55. Welcome to the economics of inkjet printing: Give away the printers, gouge them on the cartridges.

  • Gadgets

    Microsoft: “Sayonara Vista…Hello 7!”

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 2.9.2009 27 Comments

    Is Microsoft finally admitting that Windows Vista is a lost cause? Well, that’s certainly not the official company line, but it does kind of seem that way to me. The embattled OS’s successor, Windows 7, wraps up a public beta in a few days and speculation is that Microsoft is planning to crown its heir to the Windows kingdom as early as the Fall. By then, Vista will have been on store shelves for less than three years. That’s not a very long time compared to XP, which was top dog for five years before being replaced by Vista—if it was ever really replaced at all.

  • Phoenix Failsafe

    By sway Posted on 10.24.2008 Comments

    Tales of Testing Lauren Aaronson, Associate Editor

  • Entertainment & Gaming

    Building a Better Golf Ball

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 11.24.2008 0 Comments

    Apparently those high tech golf balls really are all the same. Or at least two of them according to a U.S. District court that ordered Titleist this month to stop selling its Pro V1 golf ball by 2009. The court claimed the balls were in violation of a Callaway Golf patent but has yet to rule on damages. And just how much cash could a measly golf ball have generated? According to the suit – more than $1 billion.

  • Mariah Power Windspire

    By sway Posted on 10.27.2008 Comments

    Zoning laws often forbid tall wind turbines. The Windspire captures breezes at 30 feet and below with a design in which blades run up a pole’s length and spin around it. Contoured airfoils make the Windspire the first vertical-axis turbine that can start in slow winds without help from a motor or inefficient scoops or wings. $5,000; mariahpower.com

  • DIY

    Eleven Clever Tips for Digital Camera Owners

    By Paul Adams Posted on 12.2.2008 4 Comments

    As time goes on, more and more people are carrying little cameras with them everywhere they go. I'm one of them. Here are a few camera tricks I've picked up through the years.

  • Science

    The Most Popular Science

    By Paul Adams Posted on 12.5.2008 0 Comments

    Almost a dozen creative ways your digital camera can help you guard against theft, fraud, and moving violations The first fully electric plane is silent, and impressively cheap to fly Five Facebook games that our "Playing Around" columnist deems fantastic Chatting with the man who wants to be your your next-door neighbor on Mars And hey, Stuart Fox is still wondering, where are those genetically engineered flying robot butlers we were promised?

  • Cars

    An American Autobahn

    By Paul Adams Posted on 6.24.2008 26 Comments

    As the host of one of the oldest and most famous racing events in the world, Indiana has always been known for fast cars. For now, those cars are still stuck on the racetrack, but a new study in the journal Transportation Research Record claims the roads are no more dangerous when motorists drive at Andretti-like speeds, providing further data in support of an American autobahn.

  • DIY

    This Finder's a Keeper

    By Paul Adams Posted on 11.10.2008 14 Comments

    So you've lost your eyeglass case. Yes, again. Gets frustrating, doesn't it? Stop wasting time searching for stuff -- build a device that emits signals you can see and hear, so you can find what you're looking for instantly. Attach remote-control car receivers to any items you frequently misplace, and put the cars' transmitters in a control box that can activate the receivers' lights and sound signals. Then when one of the items goes missing, press the corresponding button on the box, and you'll have it back in no time. Or at least until the next time you need it.


138 years of Popular Science at your fingertips.

Innovation Challenges

Make your ideas part of the revolution
Learn morePowered by Innocentive



Popular Science+ For iPad

Each issue has been completely reimagined for your iPad. See our amazing new vision for magazines that goes far beyond the printed page



Download Our App

Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone or Android phone with full articles, images and offline viewing



Follow Us On Twitter

Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed


February 2012: The Future of Fun

Science is reinventing play, from extreme sports to gamification to ridiculous roller coasters to the playgrounds of tomorrow, and this issue is chock full of fun. Also, on a less fun note: Did global warming destroy my hometown?


circ-top-header.gif
circ-cover.gif