popular mechanics 2009 - 04

$3.99 nFFn @ot@ F t [...]... TECHNOLOGY // HOME // HOW-TO CENTRAL // VIDEO Car Buffs, Start Your Engines! Join Popular Mechanics New Online Auto Community at popularmechanics.com/myWheels You’re in the driver’s seat on myWheels: Share photos of your car Submit your car for the “Castrol EDGE Car of the Month!” April Online Features DIY RALLY 2009 Calling all inventors! It’s that time of the year, when POPULAR MECHANICS readers retreat... Engineering’s 7- -dia turbine has a ring around its blades that minimizes vibration and helps keep noise to less than 35 decibels—barely a whisper—no matter what the wind speed e $10,000 unit promises up to 2000 kilowatthours per year in high-wind areas, about 20 percent of the ele ricity used by a typical home | POPUL ARMECHANICS.COM FULL-SPECTRUM E-LITERACY + Reading devices with ele ronic paper, or e-books,... desk-bound e Lenovo inkPad 700ds (from $3660) is the fir laptop with a slide-out secondary screen is rig is priced for pro photographers, but the technology should eventually end up in more affordable machines — SETH PORGES POPUL ARMECHANICS.COM | APRIL 2009 27 U P G R A D E Join Popular Mechanics New Online Auto Community at popularmechanics.com/myWheels P M Car Buffs, Start Your Engines! Test Drive WINDOWS... WRENCH) Nuts and hexhead fa eners aren’t always located in easy-to-reach places (laundry appliances, in particular, are notorious for their poorly placed fa eners) e Klenk 1⁄4-In Adju able-Length Magnetic Nut Driver ($11) has a telescopic sha (the tool’s total length can be set between 7.5 and 10.5 in.), allowing users to reach mo out-of-the-way nuts and fa eners with a single tool Pre Approved P M U... the finishing touches on their 2009 DIY Rally entries Proje s can be anything from a handcra ed treehouse to a personal robot to an ele ric go-kart (Note: Your proje mu be built by the deadline.) e be reader proje s will be featured in a magazine ory this summer Submission deadline is April 1, 2009 To submit pics, video and description, go to popularmechanics.com/diyrally2009 Swap stories, tips and more... Rico and where prohibited by law Sweepstakes subject to complete official rules available at: popularmechanics.com/myWheels HOLLYWOOD F/X For the late behindthe-scenes explanation of how the udios render special effe s for tech-intensive movies, including Watchmen, Star Trek and Terminator Salvation, go to popularmechanics com/digital hollywood APOLLO TURNS 40 In 1969, Apollo 11 made hi ory when it ferried... involved in the Apollo 11 mission popularmechanics com/apolloturns40 Log on to popularmechanics.com every day for new stories and magazine-feature extras! NEWS + TRENDS + BREAKTHROUGHS Safety Snake Safety Snake afety A ROBOT BU ILT TO C O N D U C T D A N GER O U S I NSPECTI O N S SL ITH ER S TO TH E TO P O F A KOREA N T EC H C O N TEST B Y E R I N M C C A R T H Y Inspe ing high-rise con ru ion sites is a... that could be available for space- ation flights 2009 is unmanned ship was designed for transporting cargo to the International Space Station e fir of these expendable vehicles will launch this year aboard a new Japanese H-IIB rocket; no manned versions are planned China became Earth’s third space-faring nation with this vehicle’s fir launch in 2003 Since then, these single-use cra , loosely based on Soyuz... images A built-in ylus-operated tablet allows for precise image touchups without separate equipment PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER RIESETT e slide-out 10.6-in secondary screen can keep tool palettes and IM windows from infringing on the main work space Double Display Tech aficionados love using multiple monitors—the second screen boo s produ ivity But until now, such setups were reserved for the desk-bound e Lenovo... way up poles, go to popularmechanics.com/ robotsnake Tools for a Serpent Designers plan to outfit the robot with sensors, cameras and a tool manipulator Rounded Right Angles Each of HyDRAS’s modules has an ele rically powered universal joint POPUL ARMECHANICS.COM | Look Ma, No Wheels e modules are wrapped in high-fri ion rubber foam that helps the robot grip metal or concrete APRIL 2009 13 T E C H W A . inquiries, log on to service.popularmechanics.com, or write to Customer Service Department, Popular Mechanics, P.O. Box 7186, Red Oak, IA 51591. Subscribe Go to subscribe.popularmechanics.com or call. Executive Officer Geore R. Hearst, Jr. Chairman how to r each us E-Mail popularmechanics@hearst.com. Mail Popular Mechanics, 300 W . 57th St., New York, NY 10019-5899. Fax 646-280-1081. Please. Jerry Beilinson Managing Editor Tara Cox SUBSCRIPTIONS subscribe.popularmechanics.com EDITORIAL BOARD OF ADVISERS POPULAR MECHANICS is grateful to these scientists, innovators and leaders,