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Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books dealing with the subject of technology that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read.

The Internet of Things Is Wildly Insecure - And Often Unpatchable
(1,218 words)
by Bruce Schneier, Wired

Pocket

The race for the connected home has been on for sometime now, and with each passing month, it seems a new arsenal of gadgets pops up. Recently, issues surrounding the security of those internet-enabled devices have come to light -- including the ability to hack those units to shoot out a crop of spam emails. As Bruce Schneier writes, locking down that new washer or smart fridge is a lot easier said than done thanks to the lack of patching options for the exploited vulnerabilities. As you might expect, Schneier begins to lay out a worst-case scenario that he says is inevitable unless we force "embedded system vendors to design their systems better."

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By now, we've written nearly everything there is to say about the iPad Air, but that doesn't mean we can't revisit it here in "IRL." In particular, our own Jon Fingas bought one to see if it was lighter and faster than his third-gen model. Surprise: it is.

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Welcome to Time Machines, where we offer up a selection of mechanical oddities, milestone gadgets and unique inventions to test out your tech-history skills.

The military complex has certainly embraced the concept of telerobotics, especially in the use of drones, but luckily the technology has also led to other, more peaceful applications. Drones have been used to entertain, take on laborious tasks and even deliver packages (and burritos!). As we pursue the development of remotely controlled and autonomous craft, we must tread carefully or suffer the same fate as the fabled Icarus. Nikola Tesla saw both the terrible as well as the beneficial consequences for this technology when he debuted the "remote control" and the jury is still out as to whether we'll succumb to a dystopian Terminator-style future or reach a peaceful stasis, where we harness the usefulness of robots and autonomous devices, and avoid the worst-case scenarios. Head past the break for more of the story.

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Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

The North American International Auto Show kicked off last week in Detroit, and Team Inhabitat went to the Motor City for an early look at the industry's eco-friendly offerings. Topping the list at this year's show is Ford's C-MAX Solar Energi, a hybrid electric car with a set of high-efficiency SunPower photovoltaic panels installed on its roof. Also in Detroit, Audi unveiled its Allroad Shooting Brake Concept, a compact plug-in hybrid that's designed to handle "light off-road conditions." And Volkswagen showed off its new Passat BlueMotion concept, which boasts the highest highway fuel economy rating of any non-hybrid mid-size sedan. Auto companies have good reason to be bullish on eco-friendly cars -- just ask Tesla. The electric automaker recorded its highest sales figures in history in the fourth quarter of 2013. But despite recent advances in fuel efficiency, a new University of Michigan study makes a case for ditching personal cars altogether, proving that cars are the most inefficient form of transportation.

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Gaming is once again a thing at CES! Since splitting from the Consumer Electronics Show in 1995 and creating E3, the game industry has sat out much of the past 20 years. Between last year's big news from Valve and this year's reappearance of Sony's PlayStation, it's never been a better time to be a journalist covering gaming at CES.

In case the resurgence of gaming news wasn't enough to solidify our belief, the first ever Engadget-hosted Official CES Awards Best of Show trophy went to Oculus VR's Crystal Cove Rift prototype. Gaming, as it turns out, is more innovative and exciting than the curved TVs and psuedo-fashionable vitality monitors of the world -- not exactly a surprise, but validating our years-long assertion feels so, so right.

CES 2014 saw Steam Machines third-party support go official -- we even told you about all 14 partners a full 24 hours before Valve loosed the info -- a new, crazy/ambitious project from Razer and Oculus VR's latest prototype. And that's to say nothing of Sony's PlayStation Now and Huawei's China-exclusive Android game console, or the dozens of interviews we did.

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While this year was predictably quiet for smartphones, we weren't expecting it to be this quiet. Only a small sliver of companies announced new handsets at the show, and the ones we saw -- with the exception of the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact -- didn't impress. Even tablets, which have had pretty healthy showings in years past, failed to make an appearance. Naturally, this left a gaping void that needed to be filled by something, and wearables were up to the task. Read on as we take a look back at just a few of this week's mobile highlights.

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Every manufacturer needs to test its gear throughout the product cycle, and if in-flight connectivity is what you're peddling, frequent trials and partner demos can be tremendously costly for even the best-funded operations. For satellite internet providers, an antenna in the sky means you can accurately test performance even on the ground -- when JetBlue and ViaSat teamed up to launch Fly-Fi last year, the duo ran through a variety of scenarios from an ordinary Ford passenger van.

Gogo, on the other hand, gets you online using modified cell towers, so that company needs to test its service from the air in its own private jet. Regardless, there's no better place for any in-flight content provider to demo its product. Row 44, the satellite-based provider best known for getting Southwest's 737s online, figured it might as well have some fun with the compulsory endeavor, so the company purchased a Grumman HU16B Albatross flying boat -- it's one insanely awesome ride. Join us aboard Albatross One.

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Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

As most of the US bundled up and tried to stay warm during last week's unprecedented "polar vortex," the tech world descended on Las Vegas for the annual International CES. Intel started things off by vowing to use only conflict-free minerals in its microprocessors, and Ford officially unveiled its very first solar-powered car. Manufacturers also showcased several gadgets focused on personal improvement -- check out this smart bed that helps control snoring and the Lumo Lift, a gizmo that gently nags you to stand up straight. Also at CES, MPOWERD launched a colorful new inflatable solar lantern that will retail for just $25. In other green lighting news, Hulger introduced the Plumen 002, an innovative CFL that the company hopes will bring "magic and poetry back to the humble light bulb." Technology isn't just getting greener -- it's also changing lives. Case in point: Mick Ebeling, CEO and founder of Not Impossible Labs, recently traveled to Sudan to produce $100 3D-printed prosthetic limbs for amputees in war-torn Sudan. Apple has given its top-of-the-line workstation, the Mac Pro, a makeover that uses 74 percent less aluminum and steel than the previous generation. For backyard gardeners, Togetherfarm has produced a modular garden box system that snaps together like Lego bricks. And in other Lego news, Lego announced that a new Simpsons set would be produced this year.

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It wasn't exactly a banner year for laptops at CES. Hell, the "Best of CES" award for PCs ended up going to a desktop, and was nearly upstaged by an all-in-one running Chrome OS. Still, that didn't stop some companies (especially Lenovo) from trotting out new models. From a simple Haswell refresh to a dual-OS hybrid, we've rounded up every laptop announced at the show. Couldn't keep up with all the news the first time? Get ready to catch up right here.

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It's hard not to do a double-take when first laying eyes on the Onewheel. After all, it is a single-wheeled skateboard that uses an electric motor, accelerometers, gyros and a microcontroller to give riders a smooth, self-balancing ride. The contraption's creator, Kyle Doerksen, brought a prototype by the Engadget trailer here at CES, and we couldn't resist putting it through its paces. Although the unit we played with was a pre-production model that still needs refining, you can color us very impressed.

If the sight of a metal frame, wooden deck and a chunky go-kart wheel didn't convey a sense of great build quality, laying hands on (and picking up) the 25-pound package drives home its heavy-duty nature. When it comes to speed, the deck can go as fast as 12 MPH, but Doerksen tells us its acceleration is software-limited to allow for better self-balancing (and maybe even to protect users from overdoing it). As for range, Onewheel can go from four to six miles on a single charge thanks to a lithium battery, and it can be juiced up in two hours -- or 20 minutes with an "ultra" charger. What's more, the gadget sports regenerative braking to recoup roughly 30 percent of expended energy. Unfortunately, the device only has about 20 minutes worth of ride time in its battery, though that changes with terrain and personal driving style.

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