HTC unveiled the second-generation of its virtual reality headset, the Vive Pre, on Tuesday at CES. Though the product is still being shipped as a developer kit, the release is significant because we’re only 3 months away from HTC’s promised release date in April 2016. The Vive Pre is similar to the DK1 we featured in our magazine last year, but the design has been tweaked at almost every level....
Willa will hit a relatively unpopulated stretch of the coast, but communities there—especially ones that are small and isolated—are in real danger. A Hurricane Hunter aircraft flying through Hurricane Willa found maximum winds of 120 MPH as it approached landfall, which makes the storm a category three on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. While the storm is expected to weaken just below major hurricane strength before hitting land this evening, winds in excess of 100 MPH could lead to significant damage in small communities along the Mexican coast and countryside....
First of all, there is currently no Category 6 for hurricanes. We measure hurricanes on the Saffir-Simpson scale, which classifies storms from weaker (Category 1) to stronger (Category 5) based on their maximum sustained wind speeds. (If you want to dive a little deeper into what the categories mean, check out this article. Category 5 storms are any with wind speeds of over 157 miles per hour. These storms (along with Category 4 storms) are happening more frequently now than they did back in the early 1980s....
Last year, IBM debuted a 127-qubit computing chip and a structure called the IBM Quantum System Two, intended to house components like the chandelier cryostat, wiring, and electronics for these bigger chips down the line. These developments edged IBM ahead of other big tech companies like Google and Microsoft in the race to build the most powerful quantum computer. Today, the company is laying out its three-year-plan to reach beyond 4,000-qubits by 2025 with a processor it is calling “Kookaburra....
There’s an app for anything and everything, including identifying plants. NatureID is basically a Shazam for plants, and for a limited time, plant parents and nature lovers can score a lifetime subscription on sale for an extra 30 percent off during our Your Bundle, Your Way promo. As you can already tell by the name, NatureID lets you ID various plant species. It harnesses the power of AI to identify plants, diagnose plant diseases, and improve plant care....
Here are our favorite picks for building a mic collection that does it all. Best for drums and amps: Shure SM57-LC Cardioid Dynamic Microphone You’ve almost certainly seen the Shure SM57 before, and that’s no coincidence: this microphone is a heavy-duty, versatile and time-tested gem that can be found anywhere from the podiums of world leaders to nearly every recording studio and live venue in the world. If you’ve ever heard recorded music, you’ve heard the work of an SM57....
The CH-4, built by Chinese Aerospace and Technology Corporation, is a medium altitude, long endurance UAV with a payload of 350kg. Previously, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense released an October 2015 video showcasing its CH-4 drones, in a propaganda move apparently aimed at rebuilding Iraqi morale in the lead up to the Ramadi operations. Judging by the video taken from the CH-4’s camera, the precision guided munition fired at ISIS forces is likely to be an anti-tank missile, such as a HJ-10 derivative....
Astroneer’s concept is, of course, very similar to Minecraft. But instead of being a lone wandering character in the wilderness, you’re a lone astronaut on a planet. Here’s where things get bigger: The planet is one of many, and you could also be one of many. It also comes from a different place: one that’s not about sharp polygons. Like a lot of indy games, the idea began with a core design concept and only a couple of people–in this case just one....
A new study suggests that yes, getting nine or more hours of sleep per night might also be unhealthy. Researchers from around the world gathered data from 116,632 people in 21 countries, each of whom they followed for about 7.8 years to see whether the amount they slept correlated with their overall risk of mortality (their likelihood of dying during the course of the study). They published their results in the European Heart Journal, which showed what epidemiologists call a J-shaped curve....
In the art world, there’s a growing phenomenon called urban sketching, which involves capturing the people you meet, the places you visit, and the things you use and see. The finished product doesn’t even have to be profound. You can draw the kids playing in the park, the cafe you always get your morning coffee from, or even the beat-up truck your dad drives every weekend. Urban sketching is all about drawing parts of your daily life, and with the 2022 Urban Sketching Course Bundle, you can learn more about the craft straight from the pros....
SkiGull, Rutan’s latest design, isn’t out to set any records. Instead, it aims to open almost the entire planet to air travel, by landing almost anywhere on land or sea. At least, open it up for Rutan and his wife; there are no plans or any indication of plans for the SkiGull to enter production. SkiGull is Rutan’s 47th aircraft design. He unveiled the plane concept earlier this summer at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture conference in Oshkosh, Wisconsin....
Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 specs Its spec list includes several superlatives in its class. The Legion Phone Duel 2 uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, which you’ll find in most flagship Android phones this year. It has a 6.92-inch AMOLED display that supports HDR 10+. In addition to its burly size, the screen also boasts a 144 Hz refresh rate, which means it can provide even smoother motion than the high-end 120 Hz phones during fast gaming action....
Microsoft is inviting a select group of developers to this secret room at the Microsoft Store starting today. The company is using the space to showcase its mixed reality headset Hololens, which layers digital images onto the real world using holograms (what some call “augmented reality,” or AR). Ahead of the developer previews in the private showroom, Popular Science was invited to the space to check it out. If you want to try Hololens yourself, there’s still time to sign up for the developer program....
By “bare essentials,” I mean three things: eliminating the News Feed, removing your personal information, and setting up email notifications for the stuff you actually do want to see. Once you’ve done those three things, you should rarely—if ever—need to visit Facebook again, but your friends will still be able to reach you without having to hunt you down on another platform. Unfollow Everyone The News Feed is Facebook’s cornerstone, the arena in which most other Facebook activity happens....
Even on a red-eye flight, if you’re not flying business, you will have a hard time falling asleep, simply because planes aren’t set up to make it easy. You have to stay sitting up, there’s noise from the engines and other passengers, the cabin crew will wake you up to feed you a miserable meal, and at some point someone will ask you to stand up so they can go to the restroom....
A team of mathematicians from New York University decided to take on the super daunting task of solving that mystery, and their findings, published in the latest issue of Physical Review Letters, brings us closer to understand how to blow the perfect bubble. Okay, let’s be clear: it’s not as if the team decided they just had to figure out how to blow the perfect bubble and inspire a new generation of master bubble blowers....
The researchers examined the fossilized teeth and jaws of the mammals, which were about the size of a giant rodent or small cat. They found that they belonged to a group called condylarths, or archaic ungulates, which includes the ancestors of today’s hooved animals. These specimens lived within the first 328,000 or so years after the dinosaurs disappeared, a time known as the early Puercan age. Most sites in the western United States and Canada with fossils from this period contain largely the same few mammal species, says Jaelyn Eberle, a curator at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History in Boulder....
Today, people with periods can choose between dozens of menstrual cups—bell-shaped silicon containers, meant to capture blood during menses, available for purchase online or in-stores. The product has arguably never been more popular. The global market for menstrual cups has been estimated at between $46 million and at $1.4 billion by 2023. Scientists also recently tested the cup’s benefits: In a July review of 43 studies, researchers concluded the cups are safe, effective, and more environmentally-friendly than disposable menstrual products like tampons and pads....
Hey @PopSci, is the #mysteryanimal a baboon? And then I might say “if you think that’s a baboon, perhaps you are the baboon!” But probably not, because this is a positive environment and all guesses are welcome and also this is not a very common animal so guess whatever you want! The first person to get it right wins! We’ll retweet the answer from @PopSci, and also update this post so your amazing animal knowledge will be permanently etched onto the internet....
