For many, myself included, the idea of getting a science mag subscription as a present would seem about as generous as giving an alarm clock to an insomniac, joggers to a legless person or a Darrell Lea voucher to a diabetic. But for those of you struggling to think of a gift for a science-minded loved one this Christmas, consider a 12 month subscription to new mag Popular Science. In all fairness, it really is a decent read, and at $84.95 for 12 issues, it's also good value. Of course, if Pop Sci doesn't really float your loved one's boat, there's any number of tech-orientated mags on the market you could consider... T3, Top Gear, APC... the list is endless.

Nintendo fanboys and fangirls rejoice! Future publishing has decided to flex their local publishing muscle by announcing the launch of the Official Nintendo Magazine in Australia. They already publish an official Nintendo mag in both the UK and the US, so they're hoping to leverage the relationship they have with Ninty overseas to enjoy the same success locally.

Managing Editor of the upcoming mag Nic Healey (who also edits my old baby, T3 Magazine, and is the finest online shopper I have ever known) says the mag will blend Future's international content as well as add local material from some of Australia's leading game journos.

The mag is set to target not just the hardcore Nintendo fans, but also the new audience that has been captured by the Wii's easily accessible nature (read: old people). It'll be interesting to see how the mag shapes up when the first issue hits newstands on December 10.

Just last week, Time announced what they considered the 50 most important technological breakthroughs of 2008. Not to be outdone, today Popular Science has named their 100 "Best of What's New." Unlike Time, PopSci has categorised their awards into achievements in Automotive, Aviation & Space, Computing, Engineering, Gadgets (of course!), Green Tech, Home Entertainment, Home Tech, Health, Recreation and Security. But you've had enough of a tease; you just want to see the winners:

Read More »

You probably only read Consumer Reports if a) you are at your grandparents house or b) you are a grandparent yourself. But that's too bad, because tucked quietly away in the NYC suburb of Yonkers lies one of the biggest and best electronics testing labs money can buy. And what goes on here at Consumer Reports main test facility probably puts most other tech pubs to shame.

Read More »

Time Magazine has gone through all of the inventions of 2008, from walking chairs to spaghetti forks, and declared to best 50 of the year (and of course, a winner, which was this at-home genetic testing service by 23andMe). Many of their choices are predictable, like the Large Hadron Collider. Some are easy to overlook, like the Global Seed Vault. And others are straight-up controversial, like the baseball instant replay or the game Spore.

Read More »

It's a sad day when Man can no longer scan his Good Housekeeping magazine subscription to share with those too insecure to subscribe themselves. But Mygazines has folded due to the pressures of the economy, lacking the deep pockets to support day to day operations any longer. While we mourn the loss of a well-executed idea, surely at least a few publishers are dancing on the site's digital grave. [Mygazines Thanks Jake]

Read More »

Needless to say, Esquire's recent e-ink cover stunt left most people a little disappointed when it hit newsstands. Enthusiasm grew a bit after word leaked out that Esquire expected people to hack the cover, but analysis of the dissected display revealed that there wasn't much opportunity for meaningful customisation outside of changing the timing for each section's blinking. Yeah, that's not all that exciting, but the folks at Hack-a-Day managed to make an interesting (but not super functional) e-paper clock this way—and you can too using their handy instructions. [Hack-a-Day]

Read More »

When the much-hyped Esquire E-Ink cover finally shipped to newsstands a few weeks ago, we were kind of underwhelmed. Using conventional methods, the sectioned panel isn't really hackable in any meaningful way, so Phone Losers took a more proactive approach: violence.

Read More »

Whoever said that print was dead? Popular Science, one of the world's biggest men's magazines, has launched in Australia this week. Why should you care? Because they care about the gadgets, and that makes them like you (and me).

The new mag promises to deliver a heap of content, from the latest tech to sports, vehicles, health and engineering. The first issue is on the newstands now for $8.95, and from the looks of that weird looking bike thing on the front cover, it might be right up your alley.

The launch issue's press release is after the jump, if you need convincing why you should read the mag...

[PopSci]

Read More »

Sometimes you sign up for a magazine subscription but then you realise that, no, you're never going to need 40 new ab exercises a month because that beer can that balances on your stomach strengthens your core just fine. Maghound offers Netflix-style subscriptions that allow you to dynamically change your magazines on the fly. Say you see that Popular Science has an especially enticing cover story for January, the plans allow you to forgo your PC Magazine subscription for a month so you can avoid newsstand markups. Plans start at $US4.95 for 3 magazines per month. And if that's too much, you can always read 'em free instead. [Maghound via Lifehacker]

Read More »