Why is everyone switching to the likes of Gmail and Google Reader, even when they aren’t sure why, or that they want to? The most compelling reason, I think, is the ease with which you can get up and running if you need to switch. Your computer crashes, or you’re away from it. Or you’ve… Read More »
The UK is taking its network of 4.2 million CCTV cameras a step further: disembodied recorded voices haranguing errant citizens via loudspeaker. It sounds awful, I know, but every time I visit my home town (one of the 20 towns where the system will be installed) I’m horrified at the behaviour and disregard for public… Read More »
The measure of a society should the simplest one: how it treats its foot-borne citizens. When I lived in Hong Kong a decade ago I remember the continual battle with security guards — Toytown Police, I’d call them — in the mall where my office was. There were precious few places to sit to have… Read More »
Everyone is twittering about Twitter, but I kind of liked this defintion from Leisa Rechelt; “Ambient intimacy”. I like the term, and the piece is definitely worth a read. clipped from www.disambiguity.com Ambient intimacy is about being able to keep in touch with people with a level of regularity and intimacy that you wouldn’t usually… Read More »
I was reading an exchange on a mailing list for a piece of software the other day, where after years of honing the program the developer suddenly faced a mutiny from some of his greatest supporters when it came down to pricing. So I wondered: Just how much are we prepared to pay for software?… Read More »