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Media Platforms Design TeamHow has your experience launching a software company influenced the way you approach large engineering projects?I think the high-tech industry is used to developing new things very quickly. It’s the Silicon Valley way of doing business: You either move very quickly and you work hard to improve your product technology or you get destroyed by some other company. And so that’s the approach that I have. I’ve been through many company near-death experiences, starting with [software company] Zip2 and then PayPal....

If you’re not pumped for Pluto, then you haven’t been paying attention. On July 14, the New Horizons probe will end the first leg of its nine-year journey by swooping between Pluto and Charon, observing the four other known moons, and possibly discovering a few more as it goes along. Should you need more excitement, the National Space Society released the trailer below for New Horizons in preparation for the flyby....

If everything goes according to plan—and we mean everything—a Hyperloop system will open up for business in 2018. And Elon Musk won’t be the one behind it.In 2013, Musk, the SpaceX and Tesla Motors chief, famously proposed the pneumatic tube transportation system as a way to ferry passengers between cities at speeds of many hundreds of miles per hour—fast enough to travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles in a half-hour and change....

Media Platforms Design TeamIn the ongoing tug-of-war between motorcycle safety and the wind in your hair, Michigan repealed its helmet law in April. I’m not taking sides there, but this kind of battle has always led me to wonder how people would ride if there were no rules. As it turns out, the answer can be found on the streets of Bangkok. In the Thai capital, as little as 10 baht ($0....

Welcome to PM/AM, Popular Mechanics’ morning briefing on the top science and tech stories for today.Media Platforms Design TeamPhoto credit: The Walking Dead, AMCAlthough zombies have steadily consumed pop culture since George Romero gave the walking dead a cannibalistic appetite, they have yet to invade our reality. But for the sake of preparedness, the U.S. government has a plan—sort of. Foreign Policy reports that the Pentagon actually has a plan in place if zombies try to destroy us all....

Media Platforms Design TeamHardcore mixed martial arts fans may be surprised to learn that PopMech went to an MMA fight in Manhattan Friday night. After all, New York no longer holds the dubious honor of being the only place where MMA is not sanctioned in the United States—it is now the last place where MMA remains unsanctioned in all of North America. However, scrappy organizations such as Victory Combat Sports are taking advantage of a few loopholes to hold MMA events here....

There were no hospitality suites or luxury motor coaches in the infield, and cocktails weren’t served. The food came wrapped in plastic and was eaten standing up. Glamour was in short supply, but the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize Shakedown sessions were car-geek nirvana. And the teams gathered at the Michigan International Speedway early this past summer were there to make history.The $10 million in prizes seemed almost incidental.Forget the press releases saying the X Prize is about inspiring “a new generation of viable, safe, affordable and super-fuel-efficient vehicles....

The Smithsonian’s 3D printing project is an effort to scan the museum’s vast collection and make it printable at home. Now, one of the many crown jewels of the Air and Space Museum’s collection is getting this treatment: Chuck Yeager’s Bell X-1.The X-1 was the first plane to accomplish supersonic flight. It broke the sound barrier in 1947 while piloted by legendary pilot named Chuck Yeager, who needs no introduction to anyone alive in the 40s or 50s, or anyone who’s read The Right Stuff, or anyone who loves flying....

US Airways Flight 1549 took off from LaGuardia Airpot on January 15 at 3:26 pm en route to Charlotte, N.C. Just 3 minutes after takeoff, pilot Chesley Sullenberger (the likely hero of the day) and his co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles ditched the plane in the Hudson River. Thanks to glider plane-like maneuvering, the pilot was able to fly over the George Washington Bridge and land the plane near midtown Manhattan on the Hudson River, where it was visible from Popular Mechanics office windows....

Media Platforms Design TeamIn the original Star Trek (and the many iterations of the franchise to follow), Dr. McCoy or any other physician of the Federation could wave a handheld instrument over his patients and glean an instantaneous readout of vital signs, illnesses, and other information about their physical conditions. “Healthcare today certainly falls far short of the vision portrayed in ,” Paul Jacobs, the head of Qualcomm, says. But by partnering with the X Prize Foundation, his firm hopes to drive medical technology in that direction....

Should you ever find yourself drowning, help may come not from Baywatch-esque lifeguards running in slow motion, but from the sky. A beach in Chile is piloting a program of lifeguard drones that can zip out over the sea and drop a life preserver to struggling swimmers, buying time for the human lifeguard to retrieve them.It could be just the sort of thing to keep someone afloat long enough to survive and to stop them from ingesting water....

Media Platforms Design TeamNew smart thermostats on the market try to give you more control over your thermostat whether you’re at home or away and help you monitor the amount of money you’re burning. You’ve probably heard plenty about the ingenious Nest Learning Thermostat, which back in January. There are other contenders, though, so we decided to take one, the ($221.98 + $86.38 for the Wi-Fi Key), for a spin.PM reviewedVenstar T5800 ColorTouch Wi-Fi ThermostatSetupI’ve been using the T5800 in my fairly large ranch-style home since July....

Media Platforms Design TeamFORD MODEL TOwner: Gene Gates, Pampa, TXThis is it, the car that put America on wheels, Henry Ford’s ubiquitous Model T, alias the Tin Lizzie, Flivver, Detroit Disaster, Michigan Mistake, Tacks Collector, Nagivatin’ Nancy, Old Faithful.With a production run of more than 15 million from 1908 to 1927, the Model T was loved and hated by millions. Archibald Henderson wrote in 1930 that this four-wheeled contraption had more impact on the nation than the telegraph, the telephone, the phonograph, the radio, electric light and power, or rural free deliveryIt is almost impossible to overestimate the value of the Model T in the early 20th century....

Media Platforms Design TeamMore than 3 million cellphones were stolen in the U.S. in 2013, says . Apple users seem to be prime targets: In New York City, for example, half of the devices stolen were iPhones.Consumer ReportsThe No. 1 rule for preventing a snatch-and-grab theft: Stop zoning out. “Pay attention to your surroundings,” San Francisco police officer Albie Esparza says. Don’t let strangers borrow your device, and don’t leave it sitting on a table....

Media Platforms Design TeamAt least two people are dead and four injured from an oil rig explosion off the coast of Grand Isle, Louisiana today. Workers reportedly were cutting a pipe which may have caused the explosion, which sparked in a fire. The production rig, owned by Black Elk Energy of Houston, Texas, was not producing oil at the time, sources says, and no leak is suspected. The timing of this blast is certainly strange....

SAN FRANCISCO – Almost one year to the day since Apple put its breakthrough iPhone into the hands of fanboys across the United States, CEO Steve Jobs appeared to do something very surprising here. It was something that the company’s fearless (and notoriously headstrong) leader almost never does: He made lots and lots of compromises. The sleek, black device introduced at the Moscone Center this morning has been dubbed iPhone 3G, after the high-speed data connection it (finally) offers....

You might not be surprised to learn that Marine and Army tactical ground units have been using lightly militarized all-terrain-vehicles (ATVs) for years. But you might raise an eyebrow at the way Marines think of ATVs. While personal four-wheeler might be a treasured possession, the military is ready to blow up its ATVs at any time.In a recent video demonstrating Marine training with the Polaris RZR-SW at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina a civilian safety instructor says (at 1:10):“If things really get bad, they can turn around, drop a grenade on it, and walk away....

Old-School DigitalMedia Platforms Design TeamKevin O’Hare shows off his steampunk version of the Polaroid: A vintage folding camera that houses a digital point-and-shoot set to “sepia tone,” and a digital photo printer. O’Hare purchased the point-and-shoot camera–a Canon Sure Shot–for $25 on eBay and rigged a lever system that allows him to operate the power and shutter buttons from outside its antique housing.CLICK FOR MORE10 Best Old-Is-New Gadgets from 2008 Steampunk Convention –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> –> RELATED STORIES* PLUS: More Steampunk Mods at Brooklyn’s Bike Kill* EARLIER: DIYer Reverse-Engineers Calculators Into Gonzo Machine Art* VIDEOGAMES: Is Bioshock’s Ratpure the best Steampunk Virtual City?...

On-Sale Date: NowPrice: $34,320 (FWD), $35,720 (AWD) Competitors: Audi Q5, BMW X3, Cadillac SRX, Lexus RX350, Mercedes-Benz GLK, Volvo XC60 Powertrains: 3.5-liter V-6, 273 hp, 251 lb-ft; six-speed automatic, FWD or AWD EPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 19–20/27–28 What’s New: Introduced in 2006, the RDX was Acura’s first premium compact crossover, a snarky little turbo hot rod with gunfighter reflexes and sports car moves. It seemed like a good idea—but too few young urban professionals, the target customers, shared that view....

Media Platforms Design TeamThe only U.S. motorcycle maker older than Harley-Davidson is Indian: the Native American-monikered manufacturer was founded in 1901, while Milwuakee-based Motor Company was formed just two years later. And thus, Indian’s recent revitalization by Polaris Industries was nothing less than a full-frontal assault against its decades-old arch-rival, Harley-Davidson; their new bikes have slightly larger engines and slightly lower MSRPs, while still being positioned as premium big-bore rigs.Enter Victory, Polaris’s (relatively) new bike builder, which was founded in 1997 and has accumulated enough amortized investment in its platform to present its latest stripped-down cruiser for less-than-the-average-Hog....