PC Magazine
BEST FREE SOFTWARE
Your phone is full of apps, but don't neglect your computer. These free programs can make your life better on the PC, your browser, and beyond
10+ min |
March 2020
Popular Science
the original illusions
ILLUSIONS HAVE FASCINATED HUMANS FOR centuries. Before we fully understood the science of sensation and perception, philosophers like Aristotle simply observed the world— and picked up on some weird stuff. According to Vincent Hayward, who studies such phenomena at the Institute for Intelligent Systems and Robotics in Paris, these tricks occur when experience and context make you expect one feeling but perceive another due to abnormal circumstances. Here are three of Aristotle’s earliest observed illusions, explained by modern science.
1 min |
Spring 2020
Popular Science
stairs that start nowhere
GLANCE AT THE STAIRS ABOVE.
1 min |
Spring 2020
Popular Science
BIGGEST. DIG. EVER.
One massive rail project, 10 millennia of history, 60-plus excavations, 143 miles of track, and thousands of skeletons. How a crew of British archaeologists will make sense of their…
10+ min |
Spring 2020
Popular Science
WHY ARE WE NOSTALGIC?
WE’VE ALL FELT THAT JAB TO THE SOUL YOU get from driving by your old high school haunts or hearing a tune you once danced to. But why is that bittersweet sort of reminiscence so universal?
4 min |
Spring 2020
Popular Science
STARTER KIT: Fire it up
HUMANITY'S FIRST COOKS DIDN'T NEED ELABORATE BARBECUE SETUPS, AND NEITHER DO YOU. THESE FIVE TOOLS WILL HELP YOU PERFECTLY CHAR YOUR GRUB.
1 min |
Spring 2020
Popular Science
In Search of the Missing Microbe
Most Mongolians are lactose intolerant, and yet their diet relies on dairy. A mysterious world of bacteria could be at play.
10+ min |
Spring 2020
Popular Science
DOGS: A LOVE STORY
IT’S ONE OF THE LONGEST RELATIONSHIPS IN HISTORY. SCIENTISTS ARE RECONSIDERING WHO STARTED IT.
10+ min |
Spring 2020
Popular Science
Back to the land
To curb their climate impact, farmers are turning to ancient techniques that catch more carbon than they spew.
10+ min |
Spring 2020
Popular Science
A WORLD OF THEIR OWN
The birth of a new trend puts everyday people in control of the data that maps our planet.
10+ min |
Spring 2020
Popular Science
How Do We Know What Dinosaurs Looked Like?
YOU’VE SEEN ENOUGH MUSEUM models, illustrations, and CGI predators that you’d likely recognize a Tyrannosaurus rex if you saw one.
2 min |
Spring 2020
Popular Science
Could Doing Things The Old-Fashioned Way Make Us Better Modern Scientists?
Today, we imagine lab experiments as part of a separate realm from fine arts like painting or trades like carpentry.
3 min |
Spring 2020
PC Magazine
Lensbaby Omni Creative Filter System: Elegant Optical Effects
If you’re looking for a conversation starter to attach to your camera, you won’t do much better than the Lensbaby Omni Creative Filter System.
4 min |
January 2020
The Atlantic
20,000 Feet Under The Sea
The bottom of the ocean is as alien as Mars: a dark, mysterious place with purple octopuses, giant tube worms, and who knows what else. Mining companies are preparing to extract minerals that could wean the Earth from fossil fuels, but scientists have never explored many of the habitats they might destroy. The race between miners and scientists may determine the fate of the oceans, and the planet.
10+ min |
January - February 2020
PC Magazine
AI Makes The World A Weirder Place, And That's Okay
Artificial intelligence can do some amazing things, but it’s not perfect. Research scientist Dr. Janelle Shane has been cataloging “the sometimes hilarious, sometimes unsettling ways that algorithms get things wrong” on her website, AI Weirdness, and dives deeper into the topic in her new book, out this week.
7 min |
December 2019
PC Magazine
Disney+: Already, Nearly A Must-Have
Aside from its classic in-house films, Disney probably owns a few other entertainment properties you care about, among them Pixar and Marvel. Disney+, the company’s new video streaming service, delivers the vast majority of the content it owns in attractive interfaces with competitive features such as 4K streaming, offline downloads, and personalized recommendations.
10 min |
December 2019
PC Magazine
How To Disable Web Notifications
Interruptions on the internet take many forms—pop-up windows, video ads, page overlays, and of course, browser notifications.
3 min |
December 2019
PC Magazine
Leica SL2: Hands-On Preview
The Leica SL2 is the company’s first new L-mount camera since it announced a partnership with Sigma and Panasonic to leverage the existing lens mount a little over a year ago.
10+ min |
December 2019
PC Magazine
Microsoft Launches All-In-One Office Mobile App
Microsoft has launched an Office app that combines Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in a reimagined form for mobile users.
1 min |
December 2019
PC Magazine
The Best Tech Products Of 2019
Across 15 categories, among 2,000+ reviews, we present our annual collection of the finest products to pass through our lab doors this year. Just your luck: Our list of the best tech doubles as the ultimate holiday shopping list.
10+ min |
December 2019
PC Magazine
State By State: The Fastest And Slowest US Internet
Maryland has the fastest average internet speed and Alaska the slowest, according to a new analysis of internet speeds in the 50 states done by PCMag.com using data from Ookla Speedtest (which is owned by PCMag’s parent company, Ziff Davis).
2 min |
December 2019
Innovation & Tech Today
The Curious World Of Jeff Goldblum
The generation-spanning star allows viewers to see the world through his eyes in his upcoming show on Disney+.
10+ min |
Fall 2019
Innovation & Tech Today
Sting Like Sam Bee
Full Frontal Host Samantha Bee’s Mission to Save the World, One Joke at a Time
9 min |
Fall 2019
Innovation & Tech Today
Red Zones And Rocket Science
Jacksonville Jaguars Quarterback Josh Dobbs Reaches for the Sky
6 min |
Fall 2019
Innovation & Tech Today
Kevin Smith: How Jay And Silent Bob Changed His World
The director escaped death and used his heart attack to power the cameo-infused Jay and Silent Bob Reboot film in theaters.
5 min |
Fall 2019
Innovation & Tech Today
Capital, Connections, And Community
Solomon Ali: The Biggest Name You’ve Never Heard
4 min |
Fall 2019
Popular Science
I Wish Someone Would Invent...
Noise-selecting earbuds
1 min |
Winter 2019
Popular Science
How Birds Got Their Groove
NATURE PUTS EVERY CHIRP in its proper place. Avian sounds— flutish trills, alarmlike buzzes, and one-note squawks alike— are immediately absorbed, reflected, and scattered by everything in a bird’s habitat.
2 min |
Winter 2019
Popular Science
What It's Like To Sing On Another Planet
Acousticians sometimes speculate about how conversations might carry on alien worlds. Of course, you’d have no time to chat if you stood in the open air on Mars: Your blood would boil you to death in seconds. But what about those final screams?
1 min |
Winter 2019
Popular Science
Static On The Line
When our farthest-out craft call home, space itself sends a message.
10+ min |