Bring Back Our Knobs: Analog Vs. Digital
So what do product designers have against knobs? Several things. First of all, most designers like a smooth, uncluttered look. Tiny buttons blend in better than a bunch of big knobs. (Of course, blending in makes the buttons hard to see, which is ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Formula One Racing Game For Ps3: Expert Test Drive (With ...
F-1 serves an extremely niche market in the U.S., and even the most forgiving simulation of this style of racing is still pretty hard to swallow for all but the most dedicated fans. Contact is essentially suicidal in F-1, breakneck straightaways ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Making Safer Lithium-Ion Batteries
Is there a crisis? Safety has always been an issue for li-ion, since the exceedingly light and reactive lithium-ion metal used in the batteries is inherently fragile, and prone to chain reactions. But overheating batteries and subsequent recalls ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Plus: Top 10 F/X Scenes
It wasn't the first film to use computer-generated (CG) graphics (and many effects were hand-drawn) but the sci-fi video-game fantasy flick Tron was the first to use computer imagery to create a 3D world, making it one of the pioneering CGI ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
The Mysterious Case Of The Disappearing Printer Ink
A: Ink is designed to evaporate quickly ? the faster it dries, the faster your printed page is safe from smudges. It is possible to lose ink out of the cartridges due to evaporation, especially if you have poked holes in your ink cartridges by ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Test Drive: Best Movie Download Sites
Selection: Netflix announced it's Watch Now streaming movie feature for its customers in January. The number of available movies is currently around 1000, but Netflix promises 5000 by the end of 2007. Netflix is currently in the process of ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Lab Test: Digital Camcorders
Our panel of testers (two experts, three video newbies) were asked to examine identically shot clips from all cameras multiple times. It was a double-blind test. Footage was taken in several lighting situations and was rated on color, sharpness ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
The Top 50 Inventions Of The Past 50 Years
In 1956, Wilson Greatbatch grabs the wrong resistor and connects it to a device he is building to record heartbeats. When the circuit emits a pulse, he realizes the device can be used to control the beat; in 1960 the first PACEMAKER is ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Master Class - Guitar Builder Wayne Henderson
"You just get a pile of good wood, and you get yourself a sharp whittling knife," Wayne Henderson explains, "and then you carve away anything that doesn't look like a guitar." The man who arguably is America's greatest guitar builder ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Hack The Vote
She's not alone. Even in one of the most contentious presidential campaigns ever, the debate over electronic voting technology has stood out above the din. This month, electronic voting machines will be tested on a grand scale--in perhaps the ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Jet Packs Finally On Sale: How To Buy Your Rocket Belt
Jetpack International founder Troy Widgery is the first to point out the drawbacks of current short-flight rocket belts. "If something goes wrong, you can get killed," Widgery says. "Thirty-three seconds of fuel makes an inexperienced ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Book Excerpts: Where's My Jetpack? Debunks Sci-Fi Promises
Take a trip back to the future... of our past. Popular Mechanics contributing editor and Resident Roboticist Daniel H. Wilson (who just happens to be the author of the new book Where's My Jetpack?), joins me figure out what ever happened to that ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
