Mind the gaff: Metro reports science April Fool as fact
The media covering stories based on pseudoscience or dodgy statistics is one thing, but reporting news of a science innovation which is actually an April Fool is quite another. Yet this is what happened today when I opened up my copy of the Metro and…
Which languages work best for Twitter?
Every character counts when it comes to microblogging, and it seems that some languages are much better at saying more with less. That’s according to a recent Economist article I read (‘Twtr’, issue March 31 – April 6), which said that a 78-character tweet in English…
Sounds of science: using audio to bring science podcasting to life
We now have more ways of communicating science, or anything else for that matter, than ever before, with podcasting now one of the most effective tools in a communicator’s bag of tricks. Despite some believing at one stage that podcasting was on the wane, the…
Accidental inventions
What links key inventions such as teflon, synthetic dye, microwave ovens…and the slinky? Answer: they were all invented by accident. This video I stumbled upon recently includes these serendipitous by-products in its showcase of 10 accidental inventions, all set to a rather toe-tapping soundtrack. Other…
Tintin’s descent into the ‘Uncanny Valley’
Tintin, the quiffed young hero, will be making his UK debut on the big screen next week, but has the popular comic’s movie adaptation fallen into the ‘uncanny valley’, and how will this go down with audiences? The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn…
Mapping the news
I’m almost sold on Newsmap, the site which could potentially be one of my fave ways of keeping up on the news. Almost, but not quite, down to it still needing a few tweaks before I’ll become a regular user. The site, which is currently…
Computer, name that choon
Here’s a nifty site that could put an end to the days of humming tunes at bemused friends in a bid to identify that song that’s been rattling around your head for days: Midomi. If you haven’t heard of it already (and I hadn’t before…
Death of the fax machine?
Fax rage – the bane of the office worker The fax machine is dying? Bring it on. As Stephen Moss commented in the Guardian today, he was surprised fax machines even existed anymore. Sadly, my summer last year spent working as a receptionist proves the…
‘Spine-tingling’ Xbox technology
I’ve just read about a new interactive technology on the BBC news site which, from the looks of it, puts the Wii completely in the shade. It literally did make me go “wow”, it looks incredible. The technology, called Natal, was developed by Microsoft for…
Captcha’d
My attempt to Facebook message someone recently became so frustrating that I was on the verge of dusting off the pen and paper and hand-writing the blimin’ message instead. What stood in my way? A group of pesky squiggly letters, that’s what. The reason for…