The Alarm Clock is Dead, Long Live the Cellphone

Gadgets, like software and services, often end up being used in ways the creator didn’t intend. But how many companies make the most of this opportunity? Take the cellphone. More than a third of Brits use their mobile phone as an alarm clock, according to a survey by British hotel chain Travelodge (thanks textually.org): Budget… Read More »

When Technology Lets Us Down

(from tcbuzz’s flickr collection) Two recent events from the UK underlined how dangerous our dependence on technology can be. The soccer UEFA Cup final in Manchester was overshadowed by riots when one of the massive screens installed in the city for fans who didn’t have tickets broke down. And more recently, the inquest into the… Read More »

The Size of the Future

(This is a guest post from a friend and long-time colleague, Robin Lubbock of WBUR, who will be contributing to Loose Wire Blog. You can read his blog, the Future of New(s), here.) Why don’t you buy hard-back books? Either they are too expensive, or too big. They are too big to comfortably hold in… Read More »

Facebook’s Trapdoor

I’m puzzled. I can’t understand this quirk in Facebook that means I can’t politely brush off someone requesting my friendship without giving them access to all my friends and a lot of my info.  Receive a friend request and you get this message: I have a rule that I don’t make buddies with people I’ve… Read More »

Google Killer? A Clip Around the Ears, Maybe

There’s a new search engine out there, according to the Guardian, and it sort of tries to figure out what you’re looking for. Which is good. Google searches are great so long as they’re simple. But is Powerset up to snuff? Here are some searches I did (betraying my interests): Pretty good stuff. And how… Read More »