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Media Platforms Design TeamSearch for images of a famous landmark—say, the Eiffel Tower—and you’ll get a seemingly unlimited amount of photos taken by different people at different times. It’s hard to conceptualize what these pictures mean in our ever-changing world. That it, until someone uses them to reveal how the landscape changes over time.A team of researchers at Google and the University of Washington has a developed a method called time-lapse mining that scours images from photo-sharing services such as Flickr and Picasa to create incredible time-lapse videos of famous places....

Cold Stalls Q: I currently drive a 1992 Chevy Pickup that has 243,000 miles on the odometer and still runs well. I bought it used and I am not sure if the motor has been overhauled. I have had the transmission rebuilt but the motor seems to be running strong. It just stalls when it is really cold after I first start it and try to drive it. Do you have any suggestions to fix the stalling problem?...

After reports from NBC News and the New York Times, the White House has announced today that President Obama will limit police access to overkill equipment, following a rash of protests in which unarmed civilians clashed with police forces so decked out in military gear as to resemble occupying armies.The new restrictions come out of a 116-page, in-depth report compiled by the “Task Force on 21st Century Policing,” a task force Obama created by executive order this past January in the wake of unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, and an accompanying report of recommendations....

In the future, summers are going to be a lot more electrifying.While climate change will alter weather patterns different way in different places around the world, climate modelers generally agree that storms will become more severe as the world gets warmer. According to new research, that includes a lot more lightning—up to 50 percent more across the continental United States if the globe warms as much as many scientists think it will by 2100....

Media Platforms Design TeamThink of something awesome. Like a go-kart or a hot rod. Now think of something that would make it cooler. The answer is, a rocket. A car is insufficiently fast? With a rocket, it can break the sound barrier. A Christmas tree won’t throw itself away? Send it up into the air.Let’s face it: rockets are awesome. Here are some of the best things ever improved with just a simple rocket....

The arrival of lab-grown meat came with much fanfare—here was a way to get real beef or chicken without the environmental or ethical problems inherent in raising and killing livestock. But the first versions of this stuff cost more than $250,000 dollars per pound to make, making them little more than a scientific curiosity.Not anymore. There are still serious roadblocks that will keep lab-grown meat from coming to supermarkets anytime soon, but according to experts, the cost of producing it is dropping drastically....

Media Platforms Design TeamTwo weeks ago, Charles Widmore’s goons shot castaway Kate Austen in the shoulder as she and the rest of the gang made off with his sub. After the sub exploded——Hurley dragged Kate through the ocean and onto the beach. In last night’s penultimate episode of Lost, “What They Died For,” Jack sewed up the wound in her shoulder. “The bullet went straight through, but I have to do this or it’ll get infected,” he told her....

Media Platforms Design TeamMedia Platforms Design TeamMicrosoft Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie, and NYU computer scientist Ken Perlin. (Photograph by Keith Bedford) Microsoft believes that video games can make science and mathematics attractive to middle school students, and yesterday it took a step toward developing the games that could make it happen. Chief research and strategy office Craig Mundie announced yesterday a $1.5 million grant from Microsoft to the Games for Learning Institute, a figure that New York University and seven partner schools plan to match....

RodSt. Croix Imperial | $150This graphite rod was tough enough to stand up to the abuse of novice testers, yet light and responsive enough to satisfy our veterans, performing as well as rods that cost twice as much.2. LineCortland Precision Platinum | $65For a fly line to work, it needs to float. Sadly, some lines start sinking after a day or two of use. Not this one–it’s one of the most durable we’ve ever cast....

Media Platforms Design TeamHow Do They Do It?UC Berkeley professor Jack Gallant and his team use MRI to track blood-flow changes in a subject’s primary visual cortex—the brain’s largest visual processing center—as he or she watches a movie. The researchers then create a model of the visual cortex that matches the blood-flow pattern with the images the subject is viewing. Algorithms are applied to compare the brain signals with a catalog of about 5000 hours of YouTube video....

Media Platforms Design TeamI live out in a rural area and can’t count on plow trucks to clear winter snow from the street, so I do it myself. I’ve been using our old tractor and a scraper blade, but I’m tired of freezing since there’s no cabin. I’ve decided to buy a plow truck. What should I be looking for, and should I consider getting a used one?Although you’re getting a truck for the luxury of staying warm and dry, remember that you’re buying a tool, first and foremost....

Media Platforms Design TeamFor me, there’s nothing quite like driving a really big, torquey vintage engine. Put an old aircraft engine in a car and it’s even better.Early-20th-century plane engines were simply bigger and better-constructed versions of automotive powerplants. All the moving parts were machined to aircraft standards, which were much higher than a car’s for obvious reasons. They had redundant features, such as two ignition systems, in case one didn’t work....

Media Platforms Design TeamStart Button: Windows 8.1 sees the return of the Start Button, allowing users to transition between the Start Screen and Desktop mode. The Start Screen is the customizable touchscreen for Windows, where users can access applications and the Internet from tile-like icons, which they can arrange as preferred. Desktop mode, on the other hand, is the more traditional-looking home screen with the toolbar on the bottom. (Microsoft originally merged the two styles with )....

The head of the U.S. Air Force’s special operations forces wants killer lasers on his planes, and he wants them by 2020.In an interview with Defense Tech, Air Force Lieutenant General Bradley Heithold challenged the defense industry to put a 120-kilowatt laser on the AC-130 flying gunship by the year 2020.The laser, which should weigh no more than 5,000 pounds, will have both offensive and defensive purposes, protecting the aircraft from incoming missiles and burning targets on the ground....

This time-lapse video of sweeping cityscapes by Joe Capra of Scientifantastic is enough to move you. But it’s not enough to show you the raw power of 10K resolution.While Vimeo clips like this one currently max out at 1080p, this footage was shot with an 80-megapixel camera and a mind-boggling resolution of 10328 x 7760. Even if services like Vimeo could support 10K resolution (they don’t even have 4K), the display on which you’re currently reading this probably couldn’t display the footage in all its glory....

A penalty-kick shootout to decide a World Cup soccer match may be one of the most intense and nerve-wracking moments in sports. When two teams are tied at the end of regulation in an elimination game in the World Cup, the outcome of the game is decided with five alternating penalty kicks—and more if necessary. International soccer is so dominated by defense that four of the last six World Cup finals have gone to extra time, and penalties decided the world champion in 1994 and 2006....

Media Platforms Design Team Browse expert reviews and compare info on luxury hybrid sedans at the Media Platforms Design Team Recently, I got a weekend’s worth of alone time in an early prototype of Lexus’ upcoming LS 600h L, the world’s first luxury V8 hybrid sedan. We’ve been tracking this vehicle for some time now, since it represents parent company Toyota’s ultimate extension of its hybrid gasoline-electric engine technology up the socioeconomic ladder....

Media Platforms Design TeamYOKOHAMA, Japan—Electric vehicles have been around for more than 100 years, yet the road to widespread acceptance has been bumpy. But battery technology and the infrastructure to support EVs are improving. And Nissan continues its EV full court press with an ambitious, all-electric vehicle called Leaf that will be available to U.S. and Japanese consumers in 2010. We drove the original EV-02 prototype of this car last year....

On-Sale Date: Spring 2011Price: $40,145Competitors: Chevy Camaro SS, BMW M3, Dodge Challenger SRT8Powertrain: 5.0-liter V8, 444 hp, 380 lb-ft; six-speed manualEPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 17/26What’s New: This new model considerably improves all aspects of the Mustang’s performance. Revised engine internals permit a lofty 7500-rpm redline (the standard 5.0 stops at 7000) and add 32 hp. Chassis upgrades include larger brakes, stiffer springs and antiroll bars; adjustable shocks (with suggested settings for different driving environments); and 19-inch wheels....

Media Platforms Design TeamOn Monday, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon became the first judge to rule against the United States Government and the NSA’s data-mining programs, prompting some privacy activists to call him a hero. The District of Columbia judge ordered the government to stop collecting data and destroy the calling history of the two plaintiffs involved in the case. However, Leon has stayed the injunction in anticipation of a government appeal....