Posts

Media Platforms Design Team SALT LAKE CITY — Say what you will, but the association between Carroll Shelby and Ford’s Mustang has been a long and profitable one. Now the 2008 Shelby GT500KR marks the newest flagship in that 40-year run of limited-edition iconic rides, with 1750 units headed to production at a fairly staggering $79,995—and that’s before dealer premiums. But it will be the most powerful Mustang ever to hit the dealership....

Media Platforms Design TeamStreetfighter-style motorcycles are incredibly popular in Europe, but their stripped-down, bulked-up aesthetic hasn’t enjoyed the same success in the U.S. So when Kawasaki updated its Z1000 for 2010, it kept a keen eye on injecting its naked liter bike with the supersport-inspired traits that American buyers prefer. Armed with cold-weather gear and a full tank of gas, we attacked some of central California’s most challenging stretches of road to see if the Z1000’s European flavor hits a sweet spot here in the U....

Media Platforms Design TeamMark Kryder, a professor at Carnegie Mellon’s college of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is a legend in the world of computer capacity (click here for more on that underappreciated universe). He’s most famous for his prediction about the exponential growth of hard drives, which is an analog to Intel co-founder Gordon Moore’s famous law about computer processors. We contacted Kryder at the Perpendicular Magnetic Recording Conference in Tokyo to ask him a few questions about the future of the hard drive....

For years, electronics enthusiasts have grabbed old gaming consoles and games, twisting them into a minimalist music genre called chiptunes. The music is a throwback to video game themes of old, with an 8-bit range that can make for surprisingly fun synthesizer music, like this version of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid.” Of course, it goes back a ways: Devo recorded a version of “Some Things Never Change” for the Neuromancer video game....

Media Platforms Design TeamRadio tags and West Nile Virus represent two different sides of an issue that, in today’s world, has become increasingly difficult to ignore: constant surveillance. Separate sessions at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting this weekend addressed why this practice is something to be both wary of and doggedly performed.“People know where you live, dine and shop,” says Daniel Sui, a geographer with Texas A&M....

Media Platforms Design TeamThe Chelyabinsk meteor, seen over Russia in February 2013. Credit: Alex Alishevskikh.The European Space Agency isn’t waiting around to find out what happens when a meteor hits the Earth. They’re already putting together a plan.ESA started working on this problem in response to a 2013 meteor strike in Russia, and recently spent two days creating a contingency plan for what to do if scientists spot an object hurtling toward us, be it a month out or a few hours away....

Media Platforms Design TeamMedia Platforms Design TeamAudi isn’t the first car company you think of for green technology. But the German automaker is exploring virtually every alternate fuel option on the planet. Earlier this month, we drove Audi cars powered by ethanol, clean natural gas, a hybrid setup and clean diesel (hydrogen will eventually be a part of the program as well). But if biofuel and hybrid cars are a short-term solution and hydrogen is the future, Audi’s latest innovation is for the here and now....

Hearing protection is important to me. A lifetime of using firearms, power tools, and gas engine power equipment has reduced my hearing, and I don’t want to lose any more. That’s why I was glad to receive product samples of Flugz ear plugs. The idea seemed logical: Make an ear plug that molds to the shape of your ear canal. Here’s how they work. The Flugz (rhymes with plugs) come in a little pop-top container....

Media Platforms Design TeamHere’s a handsome Colonial-style storage shed that’s one of the most versatile, well-designed backyard buildings we’ve seen. In fact, it’s really two sheds in one: a 10 x 12-ft. toolshed for general storage and an 8 x 10-ft. open-bay extension that’s ideal for keeping firewood stacked and dry. The extension is also great for storing large items that might not easily fit into the main shed, such as lawnmowers, bicycles, patio furniture, wheelbarrows and stepladders....

Media Platforms Design TeamSeen here are the mechanical innards of the SRT Viper GTS-R that campaigned at last weekend’s Sports Car Showcase in Long Beach, California, as part of the IMSA Tudor SportsCar Championship.Any proper gearhead can appreciate the high-end hardware on display in this million dollar plus race machine: the outrageously sophisticated inerter suspension components, which run around $12,000 per corner (also found on Formula 1 cars), the massive carbon fiber intake runners which feed the hulking V10, and the wiring and electrical systems which link up the car’s bespoke electronics systems (which comprise approximately $250,000 worth of the vehicle’s total value)....

Media Platforms Design TeamClick here to listen to PM aviation correspondent Barbara S. Peterson talk about the FAA’s high-tech plans for air traffic control on The Popular Mechanics Show podcast! WASHINGTON, May 23 — I wanted to be sure that I was on time for the FAA’s briefing on rising airline delays, so I booked a flight that would give me plenty of breathing room in case something went wrong—as it so often does when you travel by air these days....

Media Platforms Design TeamGardening is never easy, but those people with a sprawling yard in which to work have a leg up. As more and more Americans live in urban areas, more would-be gardeners find themselves wondering whether they can grow their own food in the limited space they have. They’re in luck: Innovative gardeners can turn almost any space in their apartment or community into an urban oasis.Where to GardenIf there’s a nice, sunny plot of land in front of your building or two-family home that’s currently occupied by grass or weeds, knock on your landlord’s door and ask if you can plant a garden there....

Media Platforms Design TeamIt’s only natural that roots from trees and shrubs grow toward sewer lines. The pipes are a bountiful source of the water, nutrients, and oxygen that roots crave. And when a root finds a leak, it will quickly grow into the pipe and inhibit the flow of waste, causing blockages, broken pipes and other serious headaches for homeowners. Sewage leaks are unsanitary and lead to health problems, and repairing the damage caused by the roots can cost thousands of dollars....

U.S. pilots are lucky enough to have free access to an abundance of flight information via Flight Service Stations since the 1920s. This service is generally used to check weather along a desired route and to file and close flight plans. Now with the proliferation of drones flying in the same airspace as regular airplanes, the service is integrating information on unmanned flights as well, and you can participate.For the majority of its existence, Flight Service for pilots was accessed by a phone call to your local station....

Media Platforms Design TeamIn-vehicle entertainment and information systems—collectively known as infotainment—are quickly becoming as important to buyers as what’s under the hood. Last year, 80 percent of new Fords had some version of Sync, and other automakers are rushing to meet the demand. But there’s a problem: When it comes to gadgets, we’re conditioned to expect hyperevolution, not the years it takes a new car to gestate and hit the market....

MORE BRAND-NEW SPACE COVERAGE TODAY* Q&A: Buzz Aldrin on the Future of Mars & a Space Tourism Lottery* DIGITAL HOLLYWOOD: Fly Me to the Moon Is Next Step for 3DAstronomers hate the moon. It’s so bright that it blinds telescopes like the sun in a driver’s eyes. There’s no atmosphere, and the geology is basically dead. Maybe that’s why, decades after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked there, we have clearer maps of Mars than of our nearest neighbor....

Installing a humidity sensor in your bathroom is a project most DIYers can handle on their own, and one that could save your walls from mildew problems later. Having a modicum of electrical experience is helpful but not necessary, as long as you follow some basic safety standards. Bathroom exhaust fans are vital to controlling air moisture levels while taking a bath or shower. This is important to prevent mildew and mold from taking hold on your walls or ceilings....

You’re driving down a crowded highway and see an upcoming wave of glowing red brake lights. The car in front of you starts to brake, so you brake and cause the car behind you to do the same. Gridlock. A few miles down the road, when the logjam clears, you find that there was… nothing. No accident, no police pullover, no bottleneck, no highway construction. It was just pointless traffic with seemingly no cause....

During the idle days of late summer, fun in the sun often means fun in the water. So it’s the perfect time to test two new cameras on their ability to perform in water and on land. The rough-and-tumble Olympus Stylus 770 SW fears no element — it’s waterproof to a depth of 33 ft., plus shock-, freeze- and crushproof (all up to a point, of course). The FujiFilm FinePix F40fd — with face recognition for up to 10 visages per shot and Fuji’s latest stabilization features — braves the ocean to a depth of 131 ft....

Media Platforms Design TeamNissan’s just-unveiled Juke is being hailed as a compact crossover influenced by motorcycles and rally cars, combining SUV-like elements and Japan-market-inspired styling touches with a jaunty road presence akin to those of small-car offerings like the Ford Fiesta and the Mazda2.Available in three trim levels—S, SV, and SL—Juke seats five passengers relatively high in the cabin, with bolstered front seats and a fold-down, 60/40 rear bench seat. The center console is finished with two-coat glossy paint and is crowned by a stubby shift lever....