As Satellite Program Fails, New Plans Arise to Take its Place

The Pentagon is scrapping the work that’s been done up until now on its Transformational Satellite program (TSAT) and opening the program to new bids. Fortunately this is not the only sat program the Air Force is working on. Click For More.

• PLUS: 4 High-Tech Systems to Save the U.S. Air Force

As Consumption Grows, China Stockpiles Oil Reserves

Following the example of the United States, oil-thirsty China is looking to take advantage of low crude oil prices to build up a strategic reserve of petroleum. Click For More.

• PLUS: New Tech to Tap Into U.S. Oil Reserves

HP Firebird is a Smaller, Cheaper and Serious Gaming PC

HP introduces a compact and lower cost follow-up to their popular Blackbird 002 gaming rig with the new Firebird: a clever mixture of desktop and high-powered laptop-size components starting at $2000. Click For More.

• PLUS: The 4 Best (Fictional) Video-Game Cities

New Earthquake-Proof Alloy Allows Bridges to Bend but Not Break (With Video!)

A nickel-titanium alloy recently developed and currently being tested by the University of Nevada, could make bridges elastic—allowing them to move slightly with vibrations and then revert back to their original shape. Click For More.

• PLUS: 5 Lessons From the Reopened Minnesota Bridge

The 9 Most Important Watches in the World

John Biggs offers an in-depth look at some of the most amazing watches from this century and beyond—including a hockey-puck-size watch that is one of the most complex mechanical devices ever made. Click For More.

• PLUS: PM's Favorite Tools and Gadgets for 2009

Apple's Last MacWorld and the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas: 01/05/09

MacWorld begins today in San Francisco and the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Popular Mechanics will bring you continuous coverage from both MacWorld and CES. Click For More.

• PLUS: Final MacWorld Signals the Death of the Mac Cult

7 Great Guitar Hero and Rock Band Hacks, With Video

The familiar hardware for Guitar Hero and Rock Band cries out to be tinkered with, and do-it-yourselfers answered the call: playing real guitars, rigging up double bass drums and just plain cheating. Click For More.

• PLUS: Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour and More

Israel and Hamas: A War Primer

Israeli forces are on the verge of a significant ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza. PM spoke to prominent military analysts to help better understand where the conflict now stands and where it could be moving in the very near future. Click For More.

• PLUS: Israeli Air Force Raid Iran's Nuclear Program

5 Time-Saving Bike Mods To Help you with Chores

All it takes is salvaged parts, leg muscles and a willingness to reinvent the wheel. PM has gathered a few of our favorite contraptions, both outlandish and ingenious. Click For More.

• PLUS: 5 Wild DIY Bike Mods, and How to Build Them

11 Geeked-Out 2009 Movies We're Waiting For

The holiday movie season has come and gone without so much as a certified blockbuster. Thank goodness for 2009, which is chock-full of movies for every fanboy (or girl), whether you're a Trekker or a John Connor wannabe. Click For More.

• PLUS: The Top 10 F/X Scenes of 2008

Extreme Sledding: 4 Sled Tech Breakthroughs Tested

PM tries out the latest in snow sled tech. In these tests we moved past the backyard toboggan and flexible flyer into sleds that handle stunts and powder. Click For More.

• PLUS: Win Snowball Fights With Superior Tech

The 6 Technologies That Shaped 2008

From high-definition streaming to tiny gadgets, 2008 saw technology continue its steady transformation toward the small, cheap and on-demand. Our resident gadget guru takes a look at the six developments that shaped 2008. Click For More.

• PLUS: Netflix Foresees Another Sea Change in Video

Underwater MP3 Player vs. Waterproof iPod Case: Gadget Face-Off

Multiple gadgets offer competing ways to bring music along while you swim, snorkel or shower. Pick your poison: Either a waterproof MP3 player, or a regular MP3 player shielded with a waterproof case and paired with underwater headphones. Click For More.

• PLUS: Build an Underwater iPod Touch Boombox

Top Ten F/X Scenes of 2008

The best F/X scenes are not always found in the best movies. Sometimes, they're in the worst. But if you can look past the plot, acting and dialogue, you might be able to appreciate the often-overlooked brilliance of today's best visual-effects crews. Click For More.

• PLUS: 20 Must-Have Blu-ray HD Epics

Trees to Power Their own Wildfire Sensors

MIT researchers have discovered that trees carry a (small) charge. Now, green energy takes on new meaning with wildfire sensors powered by the woody plants themselves. Here's how it works. Click For More.

• PLUS: The Best Eco-Friendly Products and Projects of '08

The Navy's Fighter-Plane-Size UAV, the X-47B, Is Unveiled in California

Northrop Grumman unveiled its first completed X-47B Navy Unmanned Combat Air System at its Palmdale, Calif., manufacturing facility. This giant UAV could soon be one of the most lethal unmanned aircraft in the U.S. military. Click For More.

• PLUS: The U.S. Navy's Holiday Wish List

Russian Warships Visit Cuba

In the last leg of a diplomatic mission throughout Latin America, a humble group of Russian warships visit Cuba for the first time since the end of the Cold War. Russia's message is multifaceted, as is the audience that this mission is meant to reach. Click For More.

• PLUS: Inside U.S. Missile Defense Tech

MacWorld Pullout Signals the Death of (the Cult of) Mac

Apple announced that it won't return to Macworld after 2009. PM contemplates a world where Apple is no longer an outlier, but a mainstream technology company with a larger but less crazed following. Click For More.

• PLUS: Apple Announces its Last MacWorld Ever

Bringing Stem Cells to War: Meet the Blood Pharmers

New research from DARPA could open the door to on-demand blood-cell manufacturing on battlefields and in hospitals. Who needs blood donations when you have blood pharming? Click For More.

• PLUS: 10 High-Tech Health Breakthroughs Coming Soon

The Man Behind NASA's Ballistic Range Complex

When the manager of NASA’s Ballistic Range Complex gets ready for target practice, he’s not firing ordinary shells. Rather, he's shooting tiny replicas of meteors and spacecraft to mimic how craters form and how vehicles may fare in space. Click For More.

• PLUS: Meteor Showers Create Lunar Explosions

LightSpeed Binoculars Transmit Sound and Image via Infrared LED

Military Special ops are stocking up on enhanced binoculars that give users more than a close view: They can transmit untappable voice and video signals. Click For More.

• PLUS: 4 Breakthrough Combat Devices @ DARPATech

Pioneer XMP3 Review: Portable Satellite Radio Player Records 5 Channels at Once

The device is small, easy to use and provides an awe-inspiring amount of content. But its high price tag plus subscription fees could make it hard to view the XMP3 as anything other than a luxury item. Click For More.

• PLUS: Is the Music Industry Trying to Kill Internet Radio?