CNET Magazine looks into smart travel -- and beyond
For the 2016 summer issue of our magazine, we meet up with Star Trek's Zoe Saldana, get an inside look at Tesla's secretive electric car factory and offer up the best apps for traveling overseas.
- Member of the board, UCLA Daily Bruin Alumni Network; advisory board, Center for Ethical Leadership in the Media
Summer time. It's the season of long, sun-filled days, blockbuster entertainment and -- for many of us -- a chance to explore new worlds.
In the latest issue of CNET Magazine, we do some explorations of our own. Looking for better and easier ways to get from here to there? Our story on electric scooters, skateboards and hovercraft (spoiler alert: they don't really hover) tell you what to look for when you want to speed the last leg of your commute.
Traveling overseas? We talk about the best apps and tech tips for finding where to eat, what to see and speaking the language with just your phone and the right attitude. And for really high-speed travel, like getting from LA to San Francisco in 35 minutes, there's the hyperloop. Envisioned by tech visionary and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, the hyperloop could carry passengers across hundreds of miles at nearly the speed of sound -- and it could start to happen in the next decade.
Zoe Saldana, who plays Lt. Uhura in this summer's "Star Trek Beyond," told us she'd love the chance to -- energize! -- travel by transporter. "I would be a test dummy once you can prove to me that if you energize me in New York I'm not gonna be like applesauce by the time I land in Paris," she says.
Star Trek has always been known for its on-screen tech, from the transporter to communicators that look like the phones we all carry around now. Tech also has a starring role on USA Network's "Mr. Robot," which begins its second season this summer. Carly Chaikin, who plays a brilliant hacker fighting to bring down an evil corporation, told CNET she thinks hackers "have more power than anyone else in the world."
Don't worry if that idea -- combined with summer's long daylight hours -- keeps you awake. We also look at how technology can bring relief to people who have trouble sleeping.
So relax and get ready to be entertained, travel smarter and get a good night's rest.
And be sure to check out our 360-degree video of our magazine cover photo shoot with Saldana.