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Bad news for folks with Android phones; there’s a flaw with how the operating system handles certain text messages. It’s called Stagefright, and it could let hackers attack you by just knowing your phone number . The flaw, discovered by mobile security firm Zimperium, has to do with how Android text messaging apps deal with MMS messages (texts that contain pictures, video, or other multimedia elements). Specifically, if hackers bake malware into a video and then just send it to your number, your phone might autoload the video and compromise your system before you can even do anything about it....

Nerves of SteelBY ERIK SOFGEPhotograph by Randy MontoyaThe situation at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico wasn’t dire, but it wasn’t good. For more than two weeks a salt-shaker-size cylinder of cobalt-60 had been irradiating a 3000-sq.-ft. testing facility with enough gamma rays to kill a human in 30 seconds. Used to simulate the radioactive effects of a nuclear weapon on electronics, the cylinder was jammed, unable to slide to a shielded position....

Media Platforms Design TeamBaseball pitchers crop up like wild flowers in every part of the country when spring begins to make itself felt, and there is hardly a village, even a four corners, that does not hold an aspirant for big-league honors who believes that all he requires is systematic practice. Just how to get the practice, however, is often a difficult problem, for a catcher is required for every pitcher, and John may be busy or disinclined at the time Jim wants to pitch....

No need to throw out your bulky roller bags. After spooking air passengers everywhere, an airline trade group has decided to scrap its plans to require smaller carry-on bags, the Associated Press reports. The International Air Trade Association, which represents more than 80 percent of airlines around the world, announced it was canceling its new guidelines for smaller carry-on bags after an “intense” reaction in North America. Launched earlier this month, the guidelines would have limited carry-on bags to 21....

Media Platforms Design TeamRaw coal is dirty: It’s a sulfur-filled, mercury laden, sooty, black rock. And before it can even be used, it must be scrubbed clean-or, with new technologies, converted to a liquid or gas. Liquid coal has been getting a lot of attention in the Senate of late, but bipartisan arguments were cut short this week when the promise of $10 billion in “clean coal” funding was cut from the new energy bill....

Media Platforms Design TeamIf you have ever wanted to hop on your motorcycle and ride for days, just to see how much ground you could cover or where you’d end up, you’re not alone.“There are as many reasons long-distance riding appeals to folks as there are riders,” says Ira Agins of the Iron Butt Association (IBA), a loosely organized group of endurance-motorcycling enthusiasts. “Some do it for the challenge, some want to see a lot of the country in a short amount of time, some simply love motorcycle riding and don’t want to stop,” The IBA offers completion certificates and pins for a list of long-distance motorcycling challenges, and members take to online forums to swap stories and advice....

Media Platforms Design TeamOkCupid hooked up with controversy this week. The online dating site admitted that it manipulated its users in a series of small experiments, and then told everybody to relax and get over it, because “that’s what websites do.“Is he right?You agreed to OkCupid’s terms of service.OkCupid is well-known for studying its users. In fact, co-founder Christian Rudder published his post about the most recent experiments on OkCupid’s Oktrends blog, dormant since its heyday in 2011....

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/v/76lIQtE8oDY?hl=en_US&version=3[/youtube]In 2012 PopMech gave a Breakthrough Award to Tim Hemmes and the team at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Hemmes lost the use of his limbs after a motorcycle accident in 2004; the Pittsburgh docs built a brain-computer interface that let Hemmes move a robotic arm using only his thoughts.Today, an inspiring follow-up: Jan Scheuermann, whose spinocerebellar degeneration left her a quadriplegic, reportedly saw a video of Hemmes and wanted to try the same treatment....

Media Platforms Design TeamMORE BRAND-NEW ALT-FUEL REPORTING TODAY!• REALITY CHECK: Experts See Challenges for Mainstream Plug-ins• PARIS MOTOR SHOW: Honda Insight Hybrid Matches Prius Price & MPGs• DRIVE GREEN: On Rural Farms, Saving Cash & Gas With Poop Power• FROM JALOPNIK: More Live Reveals of New Cars at the Paris Auto Show! PARIS — While it may be a bit early to plunk down a deposit, expect to see Smart brings its new fortwo ED to the United States, possibly as soon as late 2009....

The F-35 has its fair share of issues, and the latest one is somewhat extreme. At random points during flight, the fighter’s radar will just stop working. Fortunately, the problem has a simple solution, one you’ve probably even used before: You just have to turn it off and then turn it back on. Major General Jeffrey Harrigian, director of the F-35 Integration Office, explained the problem being with the fighter’s “radar stability—the radar’s ability to stay up and running,” according to analysts at IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly....

Media Platforms Design TeamThe female voice emanating from the dashboard of the $18,000 Ford Fiesta asks which feature I want to activate.“Services,” I say.“Connecting to services,” the voice says. “Google Maps has sent you a location: 300 West 57th Street, New York, New York. Do you want directions to that location?““Yes,” I say. “Great,” the voice says. “Hold on while I get your location.“How the navigation system “knew” the location of the Popular Mechanics office is a technological marvel now familiar to many drivers of new cars....

Media Platforms Design TeamGot something kicking around in your basement you’d just love to see on the moon? Now’s your chance to get it there. , a Pittsburgh-based robotics firm and a contender for the —where to win a $30 million prize teams must land a robot on the surface of the moon, have it travel 1500 feet over the surface and send images and data back to Earth—is offering payload space on its planned lunar rover for a mere $700,000 per pound, plus a $250,000 cargo integration fee—the first time such an opportunity has ever been offered....

Media Platforms Design TeamLAS VEGAS, January 6 — See this fellow to the right? He’s got his hunting/fishing cap on. He’s got a conspicuously covered beer/soda in his hand. He’s chilling out in his folding camp chair and watching TV on his cell phone.Wait a second.did you say that he’s watching TV…on his cell phone? That guy doesn’t look like he’s in Korea! That’s why LG dressed him up the way they did....

Media Platforms Design TeamFor the first time in Lost history, Jin is more fluent in English than Sun. That’s because his wife, fleeing from not-quite-Locke in last night’s episode, “The Package,” runs into a tree, hitting her head hard enough to knock herself unconscious. When she wakes up, she’s lost the ability to speak English. “She hits her head and forgets English?” Miles asks, incredulous. “We’re supposed to buy that?” But spinal surgeon Jack Shephard has an explanation: In addition to a slight concussion, Sun probably has aphasia....

Media Platforms Design TeamGHAZALIYA, Iraq, July 17 — It’s been another violent day here on my tour of Iraq, with several deaths—four American soldiers, one robot and countless Iraqis. Things started out smoothly enough, but got rocky quick when the Iraqi Army soldiers stationed here mistakenly fired at local leaders who were entering the compound for a scheduled meeting. After apologies from coalition and Iraqi Army forces, the meeting is finally underway, with plans for the pickup and sales of propane gas....

Media Platforms Design TeamThe Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt, Prius PHEV and a host of EVs and PHEVs that are coming to market all include with a Level 1 charger, essentially nothing more than a very smart extension cord, in the trunk. The smaller battery packs used in PHEVs and the Volt can charge completely this way overnight. The Leaf is a different story—it carries a massive 24-kwh pack and takes a lot longer....

Media Platforms Design TeamThe highest European court’s landmark ruling that could force Google to scrub a man’s online past from its search results is a ray of hope for digital privacy. Still, we all know the bigger truth: If we make a mistake online, it’ll probably stay there forever. Some of us are old enough that the big mistakes our high school and college years were not recorded for eternity. But what about teenagers trying to survive adolescence without tweeting something that will wreck their adulthoods?...

The Claim: “Get big arms, a ripped chest, and cut abs—with the Perfect Pushup.” Two devices, which are essentially spinning handles atop a stationary coaster-shaped disc on the floor, work with the natural rotation of your arms and shoulders to “maximize results and minimize stress on your body.” As you descend through the pushup motion, your hands and arms rotate a full 90 degrees, “just like a punch.” All the energy of the pushup is “captured and transmitted” to “right where you want it: The muscles....

Media Platforms Design TeamRenting a car has always been a pain. But it’s getting better. First, companies such as Zipcar and made it simple for urban dwellers to quickly borrow an auto for a few hours or a day. Now new startups are forgoing the expense of buying a fleet of cars and instead taking advantage of the fact that most cars are sitting around for much of the day, doing nothing....

Media Platforms Design TeamJay has been making his own power for almost six months thanks to a PacWind Delta II vertical-axis wind turbine mounted on the side of the Green Garage’s rooftop. But one turbine, albeit a very large one, isn’t nearly enough to keep the lights, air conditioners and numerous shop tools humming along every day, all day. So Jay decided to augment the Delta II with a grid-tied General Electric solar power system....