Technology Category
Independent news, views, opinions and reviews on the latest gadgets, games, science, technology and research from Apple and more. It’s about the technologies that change the way we live, work, love and behave.
The Steve Jobs Statue: The Making Of An iBronze
HOW to celebrate the life of Steve Jobs? Hungarian Sculptor Erno Toth knows. He’s made a big bronze statue.. It’s what Jobs would have wanted…
Posted: 8th, December 2011 | In: Technology | Comment
Stupid New Mexico Police Say Paedophiles Are Posing As Pedobear: Warn Your Kids
TO New Mexico, where the Attorney General’s Office says “paedobear” aka “pedobear” is a menace to children. Pedobear is the Internet meme introduced to the Western web by 4chan as a way or mocking paedophiles and anyone posting creepy images and stories about children. It is a renamed version of the 2chan ASCII art character “kuma”. You might have seen Pedobear hanging out with the Pope.
Lynn Southard with the AGO says cars in Albuquerque and southern New Mexico are carrying paedobear stickers. Says she:
“It’s very scary, it’s a very scary situation that’s been brought to our attention that these vehicles are circulating around New Mexico.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 30th, November 2011 | In: Key Posts, Technology | Comment (1)
Microsoft’s Tellme Versus Apple’s Siri: The Teen Anal Meeting
IN this challenge, the tech tester will see if Microsoft’s Tellme is better than Apple’s Siri.
The Teen Anal Meeting is at 10am:
Spotter: Daring Fireball and Boing Boing
Posted: 26th, November 2011 | In: Technology | Comment
The Jukusui-Kun Polar Bear Paw Pillow Stops You Snoring
FEAR not snorers. The new Jukusui-kun pillow (Japanese for deep sleep) lighly smacks you in the face whenever you snore. And the best bit is that it’s shaped like a polar bear 
– with a bid of a tweak the Snore Paw might take your face clean off. Try snoring without a nose, your noisy sleep-stealing swine.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 15th, November 2011 | In: Technology | Comment
Charlie Bite My Finger, Please: How Cute Kids Make A Mint On YouTube
WANT to turn your kids into star without the bother of stage school photos, agents and talent? Well, YouTube Will pay you big money for video of your children giggling, crying, or giggling and crying. You either contact them to become a partner, or else they spot your video going viral and call you. Typically, 1,000 views earns the video owner 60p.
Says Kevin Allocca, manager of YouTube trends:
“A tiny percentage of the videos that are uploaded to the site get up to the four or five million views. What they all have in common is the speed at which they are shared.”
This Is How:
Charlie Bit My Finger:
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 13th, November 2011 | In: Key Posts, Technology | Comment
Video Games Deaths: The Movie
VIDEO game deaths. There’s a film in this with Steve Buscemi playing the hero…
Spotter: Kottke
Posted: 11th, November 2011 | In: Technology | Comment
Yorkshire Man Buys iPad Shaped Like A Cold Potato
ANYONE buying iPads on the streets of Batley are reminded that they do NOT look like potatoes – not even hot potatoes nor potato chips.The iSpud seller is described as a “chubby white man in his forties who had dark blonde hair and an Irish accent”.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 11th, November 2011 | In: Technology | Comment
Learning Computers With Greta: Video
COMPUTERS were once the sole property of the ubergeek. No-one really understood them and those that tried thwacked the keys while typing like they were playing Whack-A-Mole.
Of course, geeks in the ’90s were a special, unlit breed of people (very much like the Games Workshop crowd, all vitamin deficient and filled with indecipherable jargon) which meant that they never got the girls at school or picked up ladies down the local bar.
And so, they had to make do with people like Greta. Who is Greta? Greta is a floral bikini clad lady who taught the world about Windows ’95.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 9th, November 2011 | In: Technology | Comment
Mission To Mars Is OK If You Go By Shed: Russians Survive 520 Day Simulation
SIX researchers -Alexey Sitev of Russia, Romain Charles of France, Suhrob Kamolov of Russia, Alexander Smoleevskiy of Russia, Diego Urbina of Italy/Colombia and Wang Yue of China – have been on a 520-day simulation of a flight to Mars.
Says Sitev:
“I actually thought that it would be harder and more stressful for me, and I was surprised how smoothly it went.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 8th, November 2011 | In: Technology | Comment
How Much Does The Internet Weigh? 50 Grams
HOW much does the Internet weigh? Answer: 50 grams:
Posted: 4th, November 2011 | In: Technology | Comment (1)
Petman Is The US Army’s Headless Robot That Sweats
PETMAN is a headless robot that tests clothing used by the US Army. It can sweat. As Spencer Ackerman tells it:
Boston Dynamics sells it as a way to “simulate how a soldier stresses protective clothing under realistic conditions,” including wearing heavy chemical weapons gear. Lest anyone think the Terminator comparison is far-fetched, the company assures that PETMAN’s ersatz “human physiology” means it will be “sweating when necessary.”
Forget the soldiers… Release Petman!
Posted: 3rd, November 2011 | In: Technology | Comment
Could Anonymous’ Anti-Child Abuse Drive Have Allowed Portsmouth Paedophiles To Evade Justice?
ANONYMOUS, the hacking group, has been posting the IP addresses of what it says are users of child porn forums. OpDarkNet focuses on the so-called “dark net” where paedophiles distribute and exhange images of children.
Today, Anonymous posted 190 IP addresses posted of people who had downloading a clever piece of bugged software which followed their online movements for 24 hours.
It’s a clever idea, and a righteous campaign. And it makes us wonder why Interpol and other official organisations have not harnessed the skills of Anonymous to help them trap the paedos. Unless they already have?
Meanwhile, in the Portsmouth, Melissa Noon, 30, her partner Robert Hathaway, 36, ran a nudist website that was a front of paedophilia. At Portsmouth Crown Court. Noon, Simon Hilton, Daniel Bell (left), Mark Day, John Maddox and Hathaway were found guilty of distributing indecent photos and videos of children playing naked Twister and being raped.
The gang were caught when authorities in Australia tipped off police in Hampshire. They had uncovered a “mirror image” ring, in which a young child was also abused.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 2nd, November 2011 | In: Technology | Comment
Charla Nash Photos: The Woman Who Lost Her Face To A Pet Chimpanzee
CHARLA Nash, 56, has a new face. Her original face was destroyed by a pet chimpanzee. The ape ripped off her hands, lips, nose and eyelids. It tore a chunk from her scalp. Doctors had to remove her eyes.
It was on February 16, 2009, when Charla went to Sandra Herold’s home in Stamford, Connecticut, Sandra was her boss. She had called to get help in placing her 14-year-old pet chimpanzee, Travis, back inside its cage.
Says Nash now:
“A lot of people tell me I look beautiful and I never had anyone tell me that before. I look OK now and I don’t have to worry about scaring anyone.”
Her twin brother Mike Nash puts it well:
“I saw her (and) I said ‘wow’. It’s amazing the miracles of science.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 28th, October 2011 | In: Key Posts, Technology | Comment
The Royal Society of Chemistry Presents Bobbitt
CAN anyone explain why Professor David Phillips, President of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a specialist in photodynamic therapy, came to call a glass-blown baby used for chemistry demonstrations Bobbitt? Anyone..? Anyone at all..?
Posted: 27th, October 2011 | In: Technology | Comment
The Lucky Charms Cereal Sifter: With 3D Teeth And Free Gastric Band
THE Lucky Charms Sifter removes the hideous cereal bits from your box of treats, leaving behind the more edible marshmallows. If you have a 3D printer you can make your own sifter. You can also make your own teeth, insulin and gastic band… You can then eat the box for the fibre.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 24th, October 2011 | In: Technology | Comment
Wired Writer Embeds Herself With Anonymous But Won’t Know Who They Are
WANT to know who Anonymous are, the shadowy group of hackers? Quinn Norton is here to help. He’s going to tell Wired readers just how Anonymous work and create a “concise history of the lulzy collective…explain their social structure, and [d]ocument their exploits and raids as they arise.”
Only, none of them will be famous. You see, Norton will not reveal the identity of the group.
As she says:
“I will never seek to unmask any Anons.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 19th, October 2011 | In: Technology | Comment
Faster Than Light Neutrinos Are Not Actually Faster Than Light
LOTS of scientists getting very excited a few weeks back as CERN announced that it had found some faster than light neutrinos. Something which all that Einstein stuff had said couldn’t happen and thus we’ve just found out that atom bombs don’t go bang, we’d have missed the Moon landing by a mile or two and computers no longer work.
Except, of course, all of those things did and do happen which is why actually, it wasn’t the scientists who got all that excited. They muttered “Hmm, measurement error, now, I wonder which one?” while everyone who wasn’t a scientist got all excited.
As it turns out we’ve now got a couple of scientists pointing to what was the measurement error. Independently of each other too: no, two people coming up with the same explanation doesn’t mean they’re right, not necessarily, but two people independently coming up with the same idea does give us some confidence in the logic. They’re here and here.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 19th, October 2011 | In: Technology | Comments (4)
New Electricity Pylon Unveiled
THE old stiff overcoat electricity pylons are to be replaced by a more trendy cropped T-shirt style produced by Danish engineering firm Bystrup:
Posted: 14th, October 2011 | In: Technology | Comment (1)
I-Tomb: An FT Apology To Steve Jobs
STEVE Jobs: An Apology:
“Clarification: Steve Jobs. Gillian Tett’s column in the FT Weekend Magazine about the new virtual cemetery website, I-Tomb, went to press before Apple founder Steve Jobs passed away. We regret any offence the article may cause to the Jobs family or Apple users.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 14th, October 2011 | In: Technology | Comment
Fantastic Photographs Of Animals’ Eyes
SUREN Manvelyan is a trained scientist with an eye for photography. His pictures of animal eyes combine both his talents. The pictures are fantastic. How do you see the world?
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 13th, October 2011 | In: Technology | Comment
Twitter Can Get You Sacked: Reporter’s Rob Crilly’s Tonto Tweets Go Global
ROB Crilly knows that Twitter can get you in trouble or sacked. Crilly is the Daily Telegraph’ freelance Pakistan correspondent. When Crilly got into a row with the news desk over their working of his story on Libya, things went awry.
Crilly told editor Tony Gallagher that his words had been “twisted beyond all recognition” by the deputy news editor Neville Dean. Crilly ordered: “I want you to sack him.”
The Tweets were picked up by the Telegraph’s automatic Twitter feed.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 11th, October 2011 | In: Technology | Comment
An Automated Phone Hanging-Up Device For Ending Cold Calls From Marks And Spencers Money
DO you want to stop unwanted calls? Are you fed up with, say, Marks And Spencer Money calling you 14 times in a single day? Well, you need a new phone number or a PX1020 Easy Hang Up. As the blurb tells us:
By simply pressing the activation button and hanging up the receiver (telephone), the device gives a short, polite, pre-recorded message. Upon completion of the message, the device will disconnect the line.
• Companies may customize any message — the current micro-processor being used allows for a 20 second message.
• Easy Hang-Ups in stock come with a pre-recorded message for unwanted debt collector calls. The pre-recorded message is:“Hello, you are hereby notified that we request all collection calls from your agency, firm and/or institution to my home, cell phone, and work cease immediately. You should remove all of my telephone numbers from your system. I demand that you communicate with me in writing to the address you have on file.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 7th, October 2011 | In: Technology | Comments (2)
Professor Wang Turns Breathing Into A Reusable Fuel: Lets Harvest Hot Air
THE University of Wisconsin has found a use for all that hot air:
Materials science and engineering assistant professor Xudong Wang, post-doctoral researcher Chengliang Sun and graduate student Jian Shi created a tiny device that generates electricity when passed over by low-speed airflow, such as that created by respiration (breathing)….
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 6th, October 2011 | In: Technology | Comments (2)
RIP Steve Jobs: Steve Jobs 2 Here Soon
RIP Steve Jobs. The new apple CEO has yet to appear in the Apple store, where the cult of personality holds sway. Experts are already wondering if this is the beginning of the end for Apple – or can they unveil a new faster, cheaper, slimmer version of the leader in time for Christmas…
Posted: 6th, October 2011 | In: Technology | Comment (1)
Anonymous Deny Anonymous Plan To Attack NYSE
DID you know that the anonymous persons of hacktivist group Anonymous will “erase” the New York Stock Exchange from the Internet next week at 3:30 p.m. on October 10th. Egads! Traders will have to relay on Bloomberg, Reuters and hand signals. The message is chilling:
Citizens of the World,
We are Anonymous.
For too long, the crimes of Wall Street bankers, CEOs, and a corrupt political system have created economic injustices that has gone unchallenged. A new civil rights movement has begun.
Today, the brave citizens of New York are standing up to these atrocities, a voice of reason in an ever-failing society. Over the past few days, thousands of people have chosen to take a stand against these injustices. The 1% has abused the freedom they have been given. We are taking to the streets to show the wealthy elite that we, the 99%, are no longer going to grease the gears of this abhorrent system.The lifeblood of the country is the working class, without it our people and our economy will crumble. Those who sustain present-day colonialism are the enablers of modern-day fascism. Our government has granted hefty tax exemptions to the rich at the cost of our social services. We as taxpayers have served as the multi-billion dollar credit line to the companies and banks that continue to systematically abuse us.
We are here to say that we do matter. We will not be manipulated, threatened, or toyed with by the wealthy. No longer can you acquire profit and political power to our detriment.
These few people are running the world, and they are running it into the ground.
Political power cannot be traded or bought; it must be earned and agreed upon by the governed. This is our chance to show them that the people will not allow this to continue.We are forced out of our homes. We are denied medical care. We suffer from poverty and pollution. We work long hours just to stay afloat, while the 1% reap benefits we can only imagine. Our sworn enemy is the corrupted corporation. –We are the 99%.
You have complained that something needs to be done. You now have an opportunity to make a difference.
Join the protests. Organize your own. Watch online. Be a part of the movement.This is our movement. This is your moment.
Together, make history.Vox Populi, Vox Anon.
The Voice of The People is the Voice of Anonymous.
The voice of the weak that are unable to speak. The voice of those strong who are enslaved.
We are your voice. We are the 99%.
We do not forgive corruption. We do not forget mistreatment.
Wall Street, Expect us.
Only, one questions: how do you kniw this ANonymous is the real y Anonymous? After that message was posted, another message was posted:
Citizens of the world
We are Anonymous! Recently something very disturbing has come to our attention. You must take all notices and information claiming to be ‘Anonymous’ with a grain of salt. Consider EVERYTHING.
Operation Invade Wall Street is bullshit! It is a fake planted operation by law enforcement and cyber crime agencies in order to get you to undermine the Occupy Wall Street movement. It proposes you use depreciated tools that have known flaws such as LOIC.
Anonymous would never tell you to use LOIC – Not after the arrests and failures of Operation Payback.
Anonymous wouldn’t attack NYSE on a HOLIDAY – It is debatable if Anonymous would ever even attack NYSE.
Be wary friends!
With so much anonymity, who needs super-injunctions?
Posted: 5th, October 2011 | In: Technology | Comment
