The last company still manufacturing VCR technology, the Funai Corporation of Japan, has announced that it will stop making VCRs at the end of this month, mainly because of “difficulty acquiring parts.” The announcement represents the end of a technology that was introduced in the 1950s. It took several decades for VCRs to make their way into consumers’ homes, but in its heyday it was … Read More
The problem with driverless cars
Monday 4th January 2016 The self-driving car, that cutting-edge creation that’s supposed to lead to a world without accidents, is achieving the exact opposite right now: The vehicles have racked up a crash rate double that of those with human drivers. The glitch? They obey the law all the time, without exception. This may sound like the right way to … Read More
Evolving the Google Identity
Wednesday 2nd September 2015 Google is applying a makeover to its logo and identity, acknowledging the community’s move to an online world centred on mobile devices. In one of it’s biggest design changes since 1999, the company’s new banner uses a cleaner sans-serif typeface, while retaining the four colours (albeit in slightly different shades) of red, yellow, green and blue for the name Google. … Read More
Microsoft scrapping IE
Wednesday 18th March 2015 Microsoft has confirmed that it will use a new name for its upcoming browser successor, codenamed Project Spartan. Speaking at a Microsoft event yesterday, Microsoft’s marketing chief Chris Capossela revealed that the company is currently working on a new name and brand. Read more at The Verge >>>
2014’s worst passwords revealed
Friday 6th February 2014 Despite all the warnings, people persist in choosing easy-to-break passwords to protect their precious online data. For all the high-tech security threats lurking in the shadows, weak passwords are the easiest to fix, yet apparently the most ignored. It’s not that difficult to come up with complicated yet easy-to-remember passwords, it’s just that some people still aren’t prepared … Read More
Behind the famous Windows XP wallpaper
Tuesday 20th January 2015 Charles O’Rear, now 73, says he wishes he had negotiated a better deal with Microsoft when he licensed his photo of the green hills and blue sky (taken north of San Francisco) to accompany the launch of the XP operating system more than 13 years ago. Read more info about the famous photo at SMH >>>
Browser Stats – Dec 2014
Thursday 15th January 2015 With such a large portion of our screen time involving the use of a web browser, the stats for the share of the browser market provide a quick insight into how our preferences have changed over the years. Netscape anyone? View the latest browser stats >>>
No more clip art in Microsoft Office
Wednesday 10th December 2014 The end of an era…. Microsoft has announced it has done away with the expansive Clip Art library long associated with its Office suite of software, marking the end of an era for fans of the abstract, fuzzy cartoons used in desktop publishing, documents, invitations, greeting cards and presentations since the 90s. Read more at SMH … Read More
One second on the Internet
Friday 8th August 2014 From it’s first public ‘release’ in the early 90s, ‘the Internet’ has grown from a geeky hangout for super-nerds to an essential part of the average person’s everyday life. With this widespread adoption around the globe, have you ever wondered what happens in just a single second, every second, on the Internet? Find out >>>
Apple unveils new features at 2014 WWDC
Tuesday 3rd June 2014 Overnight, Apple have announced a stack of new features at their annual Worldwide Developers Conference, held in San Francisco. Check out the new OS X Yosemite, iOS8, iCloud Drive, MailDrop, HealthKit, and increased connectivity and sharing options between all your mobile devices and family members. Check out the Keynote address video >>>
Environment report provides sneek peek into iCloud data centre
Tuesday 20th May 2014 Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes when you send that email, or connect for a Facetime chat? This NBC report about Apple’s solar power initiatives give a rare sneak peek inside their iCloud data centre. Go to original NBC video >>>
Whatever happened to Netscape?
Monday 12th May 2014 For those old enough to remember… When the web first made an impact on the broader population, Netscape was really the only web browser available. In August of 1995 Netscape was valued at $3 billion. So, where did it all go pear-shaped for Netscape? Read the full story at Engadget >>>