Editors' note: This post was updated on 7/16/2013 to reflect changes in newer iOS devices.

Connect an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to your TV

Until smart TVs get smarter and set-top boxes solve more problems, sometimes, the swiftest means to get media on your TV is directly via your phone or tablet.

It's not ideal for all cases, but if you've got home videos, photos, or even video-streaming apps you want to see on the big screen, you have a few options. The solution will depend on how new (or old) your device is, what video quality you're going for, and (as always) how much you're willing to spend.

Before you go out and buy whatever cable is compatible with your iDevice, take heed. Some solutions will surprise you with unexpected quirks worth knowing first.

AirPlay via Apple TV

Because it's wireless and offers video-streaming extras, the Apple TV is the best solution. It's $99, and you'll most likely keep it in one spot, but freedom from fussing with cables make it the best choice. Plus, there's an awesome bonus for gamers.

With an Apple TV set up, photos, videos, music, and even some app content can be beamed to your TV from your iDevice with a few taps. And, with newer iDevices, you can even mirror your entire iDevice's display, giving you a big-screen view of everything happening on your phone. It all happens ... [Read more]

Get from Here to There and from Now to Then

So, you want to time travel, but say you can't because it's impossible. Well, I'm here to tell you that it is, and I have NASA, quantum physics, and every time travel-based science fiction story (based in real science, of course) to back me up.

 

Okay, no one has yet proven time travel to be possible in this universe (that we know of -- wink, wink), but the operative word is yet. And hey, after decades of work, the folks at CERN finally proved there is a Higgs boson, so while time travel may be just theoretically possible right now, give it time.

 

For the sake of agreement instead of argument, let's say that time travel is possible now. From what I've found, what you need for time travel is a wormhole, time tunnel, or another kind of time portal; a time machine or other time travel device; or, in some instances, a life event. Each can get you from here to there, whether "there" is another place, another time, or both.

 

Late for a meeting? Time travel your way across the distance between home and office and arrive on time or even early. Wish you could do differently something from your past? No problem. Interrupt the time/space continuum and get it done right this time, altering the course of history be danged.

 

 

 

Is time travel possible?
What is time, anyway?
To understand time travel, we first have to understand time.

We think of time in linear terms. For us, our perceptions tell us that time moves on a straight path, ever forward. But just because our perception is our reality doesn't make it so. And just because we haven't physically traveled backwards or forwards in time (yet) doesn't mean we can't.