17 September 2010

How clever cars will change your world. It’s no laughing matter (October 2010 issue)

Our cover feature this month focuses on breakthroughs in automotive technology – a subject of more than passing importance to every one of us, whether we care about cars or not. It’s estimated that well over 700 million motor vehicles are plying the world’s roads (and in the case of South African minibus... 

24 August 2010

Global warming: PM goes green without the groan (September 2010 issue)

Our cover design for this month’s issue was debated long and hard – and as always, with your stated interests uppermost in our minds. We knew that you cared about the environment (in fact, you’d told us so many times over the years... in letters, in surveys and at reader events), but was our green-themed... 

19 July 2010

Of guns and gravitas... let’s celebrate a good soaking (August 2010 issue)

Take a good look at the man on the cover of this issue. He looks like a serious kind of guy, and that futuristic weapon he’s holding undoubtedly confers a certain gravitas. But hang on... isn’t that a teensy hint of a smile? And what the hell is that gun about? 

17 June 2010

PERCHANCE to dream... of flight (July 2010 issue)

All of us (okay, most of us) have dreamed of soaring through the sky like Superman, casting off the shackles of gravity to flit among the clouds, marvel at the absence of minibus taxis and tease migrating ducks in a good-natured way. I’ve just shown this opening sentence to my wife, who takes issue with my... 

20 May 2010

BILTONG dryers, pulse jets and soccer brawls: just do it (June 2010 issue)

Popular Mechanics readers love doing things for themselves. They’re the sort of people who weld stuff for fun, get excited about new apps for their cellphones, use old washing machine motors to power their lawnmowers, and become extremely embarrassed when they have to call out a technician to fix their computer. 

15 April 2010

From naval engagements to teenage layabouts: our work continues (May 2010 issue)

It’s been an interesting month. Our writers unveiled the inner workings of South Africa’s space agency, ventured into a high-tech shooting range, explored some formidable ships, built a delightful tree house for kids, played with a couple of vigorous motorcycles, and discovered a very strange soccer ball. They... 

15 April 2010

Eclectic is good. Watches are perfectly acceptable, too. But we draw the line at the perfect béarnaise (April 2010 issue)

In compiling this month’s deliciously eclectic line-up, we ran our provisional hit list past the usual checks: were the articles and accompanying images entertaining, informative, relevant, thought-provoking? 

15 April 2010

Of course we can trust robots. Anyway, there are laws… (March 2010 issue)

Many years ago, on one of my regular visits to New York, I attended a lecture by celebrated science fiction writer Isaac Asimov at – of all places – the Convent of the Sacred Heart. Asimov was my hero for a number of reasons: his novels, and the Foundation trilogy in particular, had ignited a passion for far-out... 

15 April 2010

Will anthropomimetic machines ever rule? (February 2010 issue)

We’ve been asked many times to describe the editorial content of PM and explain why a potential reader or advertiser should find it compelling. Although we generally manage to come up with something neat and eloquent, we much prefer to hand over a copy of our latest issue and invite the questioner to “see for... 

15 April 2010

Of clean energy and evil-smelling jackals (January 2010 issue)

This month’s cover story prompts fond thoughts of Texas and the spirited, fiercely patriotic – and yes, occasionally bloody-minded – people who shaped its history and continue to build its future. Many years ago, I criss-crossed the state in Greyhound buses, exploring its weird attractions, meeting...