Author: Stuart Dredge
Emporia Telecom touting mobile phones for the elderly
Mobile phones can be a lifeline for older people, yet show many even a fairly basic handset, and they’ll look thoroughly confused. That’s not their fault either: phones simply aren’t made with the elderly in mind. Well, most phones aren’t. It’s easy to forget this if you’ve been brought up with icon-based GUIs and interactive menu systems.
Nintendo Wii patent hints at future uses for Wiimote
You can do a lot more with a Wiimote than just wave it around, y’know. At least you will be able to, judging by a patent filed by Nintendo in Europe, concerning ways of using its innovative controller in new housings.
If you love The Pirate Bay, wear… yellow?
Surely if you wanted to dress up to show your support for besieged torrent-tracking outfit The Pirate Bay, it would involve black clothes, wooden legs and maybe a parrot or two? But no.
RIP Grange Hill: Here's 10 YouTube clips to say goodbye
Those bastards at the BBC! They've cancelled Grange Hill! How could they? Even though nobody who's eagerly joining the 'Save Grange Hill' Facebook groups has actually watched it in the last, ooh, ten years. Anyway, with those rose-tinted glasses firmly affixed, it's time for a trip down memory lane with ten of the best classic Grange Hill clips on YouTube. Starting with…
Could major labels' Total Music initiative run into regulatory trouble?
We’ve written about Total Music before – it’s an idea cooked up by record label Universal Music Group, which involves consumers getting music for free as part of an unlimited subscription, with the costs being footed by the manufacturers of mobile phones, MP3 players or ISPs.
BlinkBox lets you turn film and TV clips into messages
Another innovative Web 2.0 application comes from Michael Cornish, who used to be in charge of UK broadcaster Channel 4's new media services. His new venture is called blinkBox, and it's basically about mashing up clips from TV shows and films, then sending them on or embedding them on a blog or social networking profile.
Radiopaq aggregates online radio stations from around the world
All these cool streaming Music 2.0 sites are nice, but they don’t let you listen to local radio stations in Burnley or Stoke, do they? Well, a new site called Radiopaq does. Yes, of course it’s in beta…
Flixwagon lets you do a Justin.tv with your mobile phone
That is, of course, a wild generalisation. But it captures the essence of Flixwagon, a service that lets you broadcast live videos from your mobile handset to the internet. People can watch your footage on the Flixwagon website, and even post comments for you to see in real-time.
Toyota invents bug-busting car seat
Okay, so it doesn’t actually kill bugs (or, indeed, miniature aliens). But Toyota’s new car seat does come with an anti-mite allergen treatment, ensuring that you don’t come up in a rash because you haven’t cleaned the car for a few months.
Official: Mac users are pervier than Windows users
That’s right. Under Steve Jobs’ cuddly sweaters beats a heart that’s FILTHY and DEPRAVED and DIRTY. And there’s some Chinese love balls lurking in those trousers. It’s not me saying this, mind. It’s UK sex-toys retailer LoveHoney.
