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When people think about which weapons the U.S. military should fear the most, they tend to think about improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and AK-47 rifles—tools of modern insurgency. Others look at bigger threats (and least in terms of range and power), such as missiles that are aimed at ships or long-range ballistic missiles. That’s why many an eyebrow rose recently when Alan Shaffer, head the development and testing operation and the future chief scientist for NATO, identified not IEDs or ICBMs as the biggest threat to troops abroad, but rather shoulder-fired surface-to-air-missiles....

Media Platforms Design TeamThe Fix-UpA car with serious mechanical flaws is ripe for rejection, or worse, a lowball offer. But even minor problems can give buyers cold feet. Don’t pass off “easy fixes” to the next owner—burned-out dashboard lights, chattering wiper blades, and blown-out speakers make you seem inattentive, while cupped tires and illuminated check engine lights signal a potential lemon. Besides, everyone defines (easy) differently: A BMW owner once assured me a leaking heater core was “a simple repair....

YouTube is quietly working on a tweak to its video interface, marking perhaps the first major change in a decade. The player is getting a sleek new look, but more importantly, it will be transparent (the controls will appear only when you hover over the video.Google is still testing the tech, but you can already see it and try it out. LifeHacker has the skinny on how to change a simple line in the cookies for the site:Chrome users will need an extension like EditThisCookie to modify it....

We get strong winter winds that produce a mysterious thumping noise I can’t track down. Everything seems secure. I’m stumped.—Ed C., Manitowoc, Wisconsin Mystery noises can be maddeningly difficult to track down. They’re almost as bad in a house as they are in a car. Begin on the side of the house that the wind strikes. Look at the sliding doors (if there are any) and objects stored outside that might rock against the house such as a gas grill, loose siding or aluminum trim, a light fixture, an old aluminum awning, or a loose shutter....

Media Platforms Design TeamAudi’s A8 has thus far seemed to enjoy longer life cycles than its competitors. Just look at the last one, which went without a replacement for an astounding 10 years. Compare that to less than seven years for Mercedes’ previous S-Class or BMW’s last 7 Series. Despite its long model cycles, the A8 somehow manages to retain its place as a unique alternative to the two Teutonic giants that fill the majority of executive garages....

Media Platforms Design Team Browse expert reviews and compare info on the Cadillac CTS at the Media Platforms Design Team This is the sedan we’ve been waiting for from Cadillac—a perfectly proportioned design wrapped around a world-class rear-drive chassis. Caddy can now stand proud with BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The new CTS is wider and slightly longer than before and rides on a choice of three suspensions. We prefer the firmest grade, FE3, which offers quicker steering and thicker rollbars....

LONDON—It’s been more than six months since we first laid eyes on the new Jaguar XF. And though there’s considerable debate about its looks amongst the PM auto team, this writer says, well, only a mother could love that nose. Sorry, but it’s true. We’ve even tried creeping up to our test car with fresh eyes each morning, as if the surprise might convince us that the grill is now beautiful....

Hope you aren’t trying to fly by United Airlines this morning, because every single flight in the US has been grounded that’s to an issue with the airline’s reservations system. View full post on TwitterAccording to folks on the FlyerTalk forums, the glitch has to do with United Airlines SHARES system, HP-built software used to make and track reservations that United Airlines adopted after ditching a different system in 2012. The official FAA notification about the outage identifies the problem as “USER REQUEST AUTOMATION ISSUES....

Media Platforms Design TeamThis icebreaking ship, the M/V Aiviq, is about to enter service, heading to Seattle and from there to the Arctic Ocean as part of a flotilla Shell is preparing for drilling operations this summer in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, north of the Alaskan Coast. The new $200 million 360-foot ship has 30,000 hp under the hood and 3-inch-thick steel in its hull. It’s a Polar Class 3 ship, which, according to international standards, means it can operate year-round in second-year ice....

Media Platforms Design TeamLast night’s episode of Lost (“There’s No Place Like Home, Part I”) gave us a glimpse of the show arc’s end and marked the beginning of the end for Season Four. Could the wayward freighter be headed for a demise of its own? On the island, Ben, Locke and Hurley were trying to prevent cold-blooded Keamy and Co. from moving the island at the Orchid time-travel station—which we have been investigating since Lost returned from hiatus and have been assured by insiders will factor into the rest of the finale....

Media Platforms Design TeamThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it will put more stringent restrictions on mountaintop-removal coal mining, capping the allowed salinity levels and metal and mineral content of waterways near mines. While the main environmental concern of mountaintop mining has been the aftereffects on the watershed and downstream runoff, there is a consequence that is often ignored: restoring mined lands left vulnerable to landslides, floods and growth dead zones....

Media Platforms Design TeamIn April 2003, a hiker emerged from Blue John Canyon, near Moab, Utah, covered in blood. It was his own. Aron Ralston had survived an almost unimaginable ordeal: While on a solitary trip through the canyon, a boulder had come loose and pinned the then 28-year-old’s right forearm to the side of the canyon. He was trapped there for five days, with no food and an exhausted water supply, when he made the choice to escape the only way he knew how—by cutting off his own arm....

Media Platforms Design TeamSugar-fed flames consume the refinery’s warehouse and silos on the night of the explosion. The heat weakened steel and melted sugar into glowing rivers. (Photograph by Associated Press) Combustible dust explosions are a volatile threat to the industrial world—many blasts result in wide-spread damage, severe injury and fatality. But as the number of incidents continues to increase, the physics behind these deadly reactions remains surprisingly simple. “Dust doesn’t just spontaneously combust,” says Leland McKinney, a professor at Kansas State University’s grain science and industry department....

Thread is a new power system by Steelcase that solves a pesky problem at airports, conference centers, and other big open spaces: how to get power outlets out in the middle of a room, and not just along the walls.Thread doesn’t require drastic remodeling. Instead, the standing power stations featuring multiple outlets can be plugged into floor panels in the middle of a room. The panels are wired into the building’s power by a 3/16" thick track power system that runs under the carpet....

Make: Magazine and Barnes & Noble are teaming up for an epic collaboration: if you visit your local Barnes & Noble this weekend, you are guaranteed a Mini-Maker Faire will be waiting for you, barring unforeseen circumstances. The Maker Faire events bring together hobbyists of all stripes to show off their technological or mechanical skills, including robotics, homemade jet engines, rocket building, and more. This one is a little smaller scale, or at least something that can fit inside a bookstore....

The 20-ft Fajr-5 rocket leaves its launcher in Gaza in a hurry, gaining speed as it streaks east. Its warhead is carrying 200 pounds of high explosives toward the Israeli capital, 50 miles away, at a speed of Mach 2.8.This attack, on Nov. 17, 2012, should have been unexpected. Hamas debuted its new Fajr rocket artillery—a Chinese weapon copied by the Iranians, who admit to passing the tech to Hamas—just the day before....

When it comes to the question of how to most efficiently mow the lawn, arguments inevitably come down to two main approaches: You either mow in rows, or spirals. With the help of a famous puzzle maker, a few lawn-mowing experts and some simple mathematical calculations, we answer the question once and for all, which one is the better technique?The first factor to consider is distance, and this one is easily ruled out by the first law of mowing a lawn: Don’t go over the same patch twice....

Few things are as useful around the house and shop as a jigsaw. It’s a hacksaw, a fine woodworking tool and a rough-cutting construction saw rolled into one. It makes straight, curved and beveled cuts, and does work that would be difficult to accomplish by hand—such as cutting square holes in a panel. We gathered six of the biggest and toughest jigsaws we could find. Then we tested them using a fresh bimetal Lenox blade in each....

Voracious raptors encircle your studio tram car. The carnivorous Vastatosaurus rex spots you ­as potential prey. Suddenly, a massive, 6000-pound gorilla enters the scene and you’re in the middle of an all-out fight. Welcome to Universal Hollywood’s King Kong 360 3D, an experience that, aided by the world’s largest wraparound screen, will change the face of theme park attractions when it opens this July as part of the larger Studio Tour....

Media Platforms Design TeamOn the eve of the first press day for the NY Auto Show, Nissan unveiled its winning design for the first new taxi (excluding the new Priuses and Ford Escape hybrids that have been adapted as cabs) to hit New York streets since Ford won the contract decades ago with the Crown Vic. It certainly doesn’t look like a Crown Victoria, and, as one other journalist wondered aloud while we waited in line to step inside: Why did Nissan even bother entering the market with the NV200, a commercial/contractor style van that wasn’t likely to appeal to the 600,000 New Yorkers and tourists who ride in cabs each day?...