Metadata is in the news again with revelations that police in Australia have been getting access to data collected from mobile base stations (cell towers). In the wiretapping world there is a distinction…
Amazon, the e-commerce internet giant, is launching its first smartphone. Media attention is focusing on whether the phone’s features, such as its rumoured 3D interface, are really as cool as portrayed…
As each new computer virus attack or vulnerability comes to light, millions instinctively check their computer to see if their anti-malware application is up to date. This is a good idea and they are wise…
A giant shark hologram snaps Marty to advertise the latest Jaws 19 movie.
Movieclips.com
Do you remember the movie Back to the Future II and its vision of technology in 2015? Marty and Doc arrived in a world with giant shark holograms for movie adverts, flying cars, hoverboards and massive…
What can a smartphone tell by looking at your face?
Flickr/Peter Ras
Smartphones can already understand your voice commands but imagine if they tried to read your emotions as well. What if you asked it for details of movies showing at your local cinema and it replied: Well…
Think of the risks before scanning that QR code.
Flickr/ scott_bl8ke
Imagine this: you’re surfing the web while out at lunch. You decide to buy concert tickets, so to save having to put your sandwich down you ask a passer-by to log in to the ticketing website for you. As…
Samsung chief JK Shin unveils the Gear Fit.
samsungtomorrow/Flickr
Less than a year after the launch of the Galaxy S4 smartphone – and the battery issues that came with it – the Samsung Galaxy S5 was one of a host of offerings the electronics giant presented to the World…
The bird that just won’t die. But can you live without it?
Flappy Bird, a deceptively simple gaming app, has been withdrawn by its creator Dong Nguyen because it is too “addictive”. His decision appears to have sparked a frenzy among fans who are reportedly so…
Once-mighty Motorola will be part of Lenovo.
Titanas
Google’s decision to sell Motorola to Lenovo could easily be misread as a sign of defeat. In fact, it is win-win. And it spells trouble for struggling competitors Blackberry and HTC. Google originally…
Press two to cancel your mobile phone contract and revert to your landline.
_Wiedz
Concern over privacy has peaked in recent months, especially in telecommunications, where technological advances appear to bring total surveillance ever closer to reality. In one high-profile case of recent…
I knew I had a problem when, in the five seconds before the lift arrived, I found myself checking newsfeeds on my iPhone. The constant, restless fingering of the phone’s shiny surface, this filling of…
Choosing a mobile phone isn’t just about new features – it should also be about ethics.
Fairphone
Organic, cage-free or home-grown? We think about our purchasing ethics in many areas of daily life, but not often about technology. As with any product, though, we should think about the effects of our…
Advergames on mobile phones allow advertisers to directly target young children with games that promote unhealthy food.
Toca Boca/flickr
Advergaming is a relatively recent approach to advertising that overcomes many of the limitations of traditional advertising. But advergames are increasingly being used by fast food companies to target…
Shades of 60 elements that make a computer chip.
intelfreepress
A few centuries ago, there were just a few widely used materials: wood, brick, iron, copper, gold and silver. Today’s material diversity is astounding. A chip in your smartphone, for instance, contains…
It seems there is no end to the smartphone litigation saga. A long-running US court case just reappraised Samsung’s violation of Apple patents. Apple has now been awarded almost US$930m in the dispute…
New technology allows online customers to ‘try on’ gear using 3D images taken with a smartphone camera.
glasses.com
We know buying clothes and accessories online carries a certain level of risk - what if the delivered product doesn’t fit or looks ridiculous? But thanks to research into augmented reality you could soon…
Many consider manufacturer’s versions of Android to be
“bloatware” when compared with what’s available on Google’s own Nexus 4.
Janitors via Flickr
The practice of installing modified versions of the Google Android operating system on other smartphones is about to become mainstream. CyanogenMod, the people behind one of the custom ROMs (as these versions…
Consumers are excited about the launch of the iPhone 5S - but the pricing game means bargains are unlikely.
AAP
Game theory is a branch of strategic decision making that tries to predict how players in any strategic game are likely to act. It can be applied in many situations and it can also help to explain what…