Author: TechDigest writer
UK government considering monitoring social networks
You know those horribly intrusive laws invading people’s online privacy in the name of a greater security for all? The ones that insist that every ISP must hold user communication data for 12 months? Well, the Home Office security minister Vernon Coaker reckons those laws don’t go far enough, because they don’t cover social networking and instant messaging websites.
YouTube Video of the Day: Synchronised face dancing
Here’s a video to make you glad that none of your friends class themselves as ‘experimental media artists.’ In his latest video, Daito Manabe hooks up four (presumably former) friends to his face visualiser – a device which transforms music into electrical pulses that stimulate the facial muscles.
Portable turntable means DJs have no excuse not to join the party
I’ve done a little DJing before, and while it’s always more fun to be a little distanced from the dancefloor, you do feel like you’re missing something when you’re removed from the party. If only there was some kind of portable turntable so that you were free to move as you pleased. Well wish no more, as some genius has developed the scratchophone!
Tweet your way to employment with Twitter JobSearch
People always say that a CV or resume should be no longer than two sides of A4 paper long. Well, prepare to cut down your working history to 140 characters, because Twitter job hunting is the next big thing – if you believe a couple of new employment based startups for the service.
"Weapon of mosquito destruction" developed
I generally wouldn’t want to cause harm to any living creatures (we found a mouse in my flat a few weeks ago, and I wanted to reason with it), but mosquitoes are very much another story. As far as I’m concerned, the little bloodsuckers are very much fair game. And for those not feeling the classic ‘rolled up newspaper’ approach, a scientist has come up with the world’s first automated mosquito laser.
Gang smuggles 1,638 gallons of vodka across Russian border through massive pipeline
How far would you go out of your way to get cheap vodka? Personally, I may brave the Tesco value range, but I don’t think I’d ever go as far as the group of Russians and Estonians who created a massive pipeline across the Russian border to avoid import tax.
UK retailer says Playstation 3 and PSP price cuts imminent
It’s no secret that the Playstation 3 is struggling a bit. It’s hard to be firmly in last place in the console wars, yet still be the most expensive by quite a long way. It’s rumoured that publishers are warning them that if they don’t up their market share soon, then they’re going to lose developer support in favour of the Wii. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that CVG reports this morning that a “major UK retailer” has let them know that Sony have price cuts coming soon to both their PS3 and PSP consoles.
22% of the UK don't want your fancy high-speed internet
I remember when broadband first became available in the UK. I begged my parents to upgrade our slow, slow AOL dial-up internet access, so I could download bigger files and actually be competitive in online games (it was some years later when I discovered my poor performance was not solely attached to my slow connection). No avail, they were happy with AOL, which is a sentence you don’t see very often these days.
Regardless, they have (or had, rather – they got broadband pretty sharpish as soon as I’d left for university) quite a lot in common with 24% of the UK, who also don’t see the point in this high speed internet malarkey. That’s according to OFCOM’s CEO Ed Richards, who made the claim in a speech to the London School of Economics.
Mass Effect 2 officially announced
Is there any point in making an official announcement about a sequel when you’ve already told people the series will be a trilogy, and when have already released a teaser trailer? Probably not, but at least it gives me a bit more gaming news to write about, so it’s with some pleasure that I can officially announce a sequel to Mass Effect is in the works for release in 2010.
US media warns parents of sexual predators in Animal Crossing
Watch out! If your child is playing Animal Crossing: City Folk online, they may be chatting with sexual predators!
That’s the conclusion of an article on the Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force (catchy!), and reported by ABC 17 News. What’s more, according to the article, to reach the next level of the game you need to write letters, send gifts and – most ominously of all – “exchange favors”. In fact, according to Andy Anderson from said Task Force, “there is no reason an adult should have this game.”
