PC Magazine
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO HEALTH & FITNESS TECH - THE WFH (WORKOUT FROM HOME) EDITION
If the new year has you motivated to drop your quarantine 15 or take steps to boost your immunity amid the still-raging COVID-19 pandemic, there’s no shortage of smart health and fitness technologies that can help you meet your goal.
10+ min |
January 2021
PC Magazine
Sensi Touch Smart Thermostat ST75: Versatile and Affordable
Smart thermostats make it easy to control your home’s heating and cooling system from just about anywhere, and the Sensi Touch Smart Thermostat ST75 is no different. But in addition to phone and voice control, it offers a responsive color touch-screen control panel. Easy on the eyes and simple to install, the ST75 is a bit more expensive than our Editors’ Choice winner for affordable thermostats, the Nest Thermostat ($129.99). That said, the Sensi model adds support for Apple’s HomeKit and Samsung’s SmartThings home automation platforms, as well as native Siri voice control, making it an excellent alternative to the Nest Thermostat for those who use any of those systems.
5 min |
January 2021
PC Magazine
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold: The Future's Not Quite Here Yet
It’s somewhat surprising that the world’s first foldable-screen PC is a ThinkPad. When foldable screens debuted on phones last year, they were expensive gimmicks with questionable durability. ThinkPads are mostly expensive laptops, to be sure, but they’re legendary for being the opposite of gimmicky and flimsy. Fortunately, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold has the benefit of years of testing and research, and, at least as far as physical design is concerned, this Windows tablet mostly lives up to its ThinkPad name.
10+ min |
January 2021
PC Magazine
Roku Ultra (2020): Feature-Filled Media Hub
Roku’s 2020 model of the Ultra media streamer is an iterative update to the line. The previous Ultra was already a powerful, feature-filled media hub, so the fact that the new model simply adds Dolby Vision support and faster processing isn’t a letdown. The Ultra can stream 4K HDR content, supports loads of apps and services, and its remote includes a headphone jack for privately listening to whatever you’re watching. It remains a top pick among high-end media streaming devices, but at $99.99, it feels a bit pricey compared with some other new models.
4 min |
January 2021
PC Magazine
JBL Go 3: RIch Audio, Low Price
JBL makes lots of large, powerful Bluetooth speakers, but the Go 3 isn’t one of them. At $39.95, the Go 3 is about as portable (and affordable) as it gets—it’ll fit in any backpack or tote without issue. It’s also fully waterproof, making it ideal for outdoor use. There certainly isn’t any powerful bass depth coming out of a speaker this size, but the Go 3 does its best to muster some rich low-end presence at higher volumes. It could have longer battery life, but for the price, this a very solid value.
4 min |
January 2021
PC Magazine
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 (9310): Best Premium Convertible
With cutting-edge components and a sleek, sturdy chassis available in multiple color options and screen resolutions, the late-2020 reboot of Dell’s XPS 13 2-in-1 sets the bar for premium convertible notebooks. Intel’s latest “Tiger Lake” CPU and graphics options make the XPS 13 2-in-1 a top performer in its class. The battery life is impressive, as well. The starting configuration is a bit underpowered, but the premium for the wellequipped version reviewed here is reasonable. The system snags our Editors’ Choice award for best premium 2-in-1.
10 min |
January 2021
The Atlantic
The Covid-19 Manhattan Project
Never have so many researchers trained their minds on a single problem in so brief a time. Science will never be the same.
10+ min |
January - February 2021
Fast Company
Secrets Of The Most Productive People – Florian Krammer
“Science is not a job. It’s somewhere between a hobby and a passion.”
4 min |
Winter 2020/2021
Popular Science
waste watchers
YOU CAN TURN FOOD SCRAPS INTO FERTILIZER IN ALMOST ANY CONTAINER. THESE BINS USE THEIR OWN METHODS TO ENCOURAGE THE PROCESS, BUT BOTH KEEP BUGS AND STINK AT BAY.
1 min |
Winter 2020
Popular Science
why can't i forget how to ride a bike?
LEARNING TO PEDAL IS NO EASY FEAT.
1 min |
Winter 2020
Popular Science
the go-anywhere machine
GOODS
1 min |
Winter 2020
Popular Science
the little rovers that could
MATT KEUNEKE, MARS EXPLORATION ROVER MISSION OPERATIONS MANAGER AT NASA
1 min |
Winter 2020
Popular Science
sweat suit
YOUR MUSCLES DESERVE BETTER THAN YOUR RATTY OLD WORKOUT GEAR. DECK YOURSELF OUT IN THE RIGHT DUDS AND YOU’LL UPGRADE BOTH YOUR PERFORMANCE AND YOUR STYLE.
1 min |
Winter 2020
Popular Science
somethings run in the family
HUGOZEBERG, RESEARCHER AT THE MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR EVOLUTIONARY ANTHROPOLOGY
1 min |
Winter 2020
Popular Science
sitting pretty
ICON
1 min |
Winter 2020
Popular Science
listening to trees
MARIANO MORALES, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST AT THE ARGENTINIAN INSTITUTE OF SNOW SCIENCE, GLACIOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
1 min |
Winter 2020
Popular Science
home stretch
A HARD WORKOUT SHOULDN’T LEAVE YOU WITH LINGERING PAIN. THE RIGHT RECOVERY TOOLS WILL HELP INCREASE BLOOD FLOW AND FIGHT FATIGUE TO SOOTHE YOUR ACHES.
1 min |
Winter 2020
Popular Science
Behind The Cover
Butterflies may seem delicate, but they are surprisingly tough.
1 min |
Winter 2020
Popular Science
Tales From the Field – A cold one on mars
Kellie Gerardi, bioastronautics researcher at the International Institute for Austronautical Science
1 min |
Winter 2020
Popular Science
They Might Be Giants
A photographer-and-ecologist team are on a mission to document the forests’ mightiest members.
3 min |
Winter 2020
Popular Science
Droplet Stoppers
Covid-19 made face masks a crucial part of every outfit, and we’re likely to don them in the future when we feel ill. Fortunately, there’s a style for every need.
1 min |
Winter 2020
PC Magazine
Boston Dynamics' Spot Robodog Finds Work on a BP Oil Rig
Boston Dynamics’ four-legged canine-inspired Spot is by no means an old dog, but that doesn’t mean it can’t learn new tricks. The 55-pound robot, unveiled in 2016, has boarded BP’s Mad Dog oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, where it will master tasks including reading gauges, finding corrosion, mapping the facility, and sniffing out methane, according to Reuters.
1 min |
December 2020
PC Magazine
CAN THIS AI HELP SMOKERS QUIT?
While COVID-19 remains an occupying force in our world, and a viable vaccine is still out of reach, dealing with the pandemic comes down to mitigating health risks while coping with stress. If you’re a smoker, that’s going to be tough on both accounts. This isn’t the Mad Men era; everyone knows the risks of tobacco use, but cessation of addictive substances isn’t easy.
7 min |
December 2020
PC Magazine
Assassin's Creed Valhalla (for PC): Another Winner
The Assassin’s Creed series has taken us to numerous historical settings since its 2007 debut, including Ancient Greece, Renaissance Italy, and Revolutionary War-era America. The newest installment, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, details the Viking invasion of 9th Century England from the perspective of history’s most notorious raiders. Though Valhalla doesn’t introduce anything wholly new to the series, it’s an excellent PC game that follows in the footsteps of its equally exceptional predecessors, Origins and Odyssey.
6 min |
December 2020
PC Magazine
Microsoft Xbox Series X: An Impressive Console
The newest Xboxes are here, packing plenty of power into boxier frames than ever. Microsoft’s entries into the latest console generation are the Xbox Series X, reviewed here, and the Xbox Series S ($299).
9 min |
December 2020
PC Magazine
2020's Most Common Passwords Are Laughably Insecure
Chances are that if a password is easy for you to remember, a hacker can easily crack it. And despite years (and years) of tech companies warning consumers to use hard-to-crack passwords, plus two-factor authentication, people are still using laughably insecure codes.
1 min |
December 2020
PC Magazine
THE BEST PRODUCTS OF 2020
It’s been a weird year.
10+ min |
December 2020
PC Magazine
Virtual Movie Night: How to Watch Netflix With Friends Using Teleparty
Many of us are facing a long winter indoors, thanks to the ongoing pandemic. And though we have video streaming to distract us, watching shows and movies is more fun with friends. You could get everyone on Zoom and press play at the same time, but there’s an easier way: Teleparty (formerly known as Netflix Party).
2 min |
December 2020
PC Magazine
SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless Gaming Mouse: A Real Value
If, at first, you don’t succeed...make a wireless mouse? SteelSeries’ budget gaming mouse, the Rival 3, fell short of the competition earlier this year thanks to a small design flaw. You’d assume that a wireless version would fall into the same trap, but the Rival 3 Wireless stands out among basic wireless gaming mice thanks to a rich feature set. Like its predecessor, the Rival 3 Wireless has an imperfect shell, but the mouse’s upgraded sensor, incredible battery life, and multiple connection options make it a good choice for people looking to go wireless on a budget.
4 min |
December 2020
PC Magazine
Apple Mac mini (M1, Late 2020): Most Polished, Potent Tiny Desktop
The Mac mini doesn’t get upgraded often, but when it does, it makes an impact well out of proportion to its trim dimensions. The 2018 Mac mini was a PCMag Editors’ Choice pick for its pep, connectivity, build quality, and limited upgradability. A slight variation on the same sheet music, played with little fanfare earlier this year, pumped up the two base models’ SSD capacity. The real update of this iconic little desktop is this one, and it’s a big-band extravaganza. Apple’s own highly integrated system-on-a-chip (SoC), the M1 brings the Mac mini to new performance highs, and while a few fundamentals have changed, the peppy performance, the reasonable mix of connectivity, and a new lower $699 starting price combine to make it one of the best values in compact computers, period. It easily earns our Editors’ Choice nod.
10+ min |